Moonlit Reflections and Lingering Thoughts

Zhuang Xun stood on the pier by the river. The wind rustled along the banks, a gentle breeze stirring the wisps of hair on her forehead.

She gazed at the distant, brightly lit city reflected in the moonlit water, and for a moment, her thoughts drifted.

The next second, another person’s reflection appeared beside hers in the water.

“What are you looking at?”

Zhuang Xun snapped back to reality and turned to look at Shen Xian. Shen Xian held a plastic bag containing an unusual item for the season: ice cream.

“Senior Sister.”

Shen Xian stood on a nearby step, making her slightly taller than Zhuang Xun. She closed her eyes, letting the river breeze caress her face. “At this hour, the gentle breeze feels truly comfortable.”

Zhuang Xun leaned slightly against a nearby pillar, her voice carrying on the wind to Shen Xian’s ears. “Senior Sister, why did you decide to use my home address for the delivery?”

When this question had first come up, Shen Xian’s stomach had rumbled with hunger, abruptly cutting off their conversation. It was only now, as they walked to digest their food, that Zhuang Xun brought it up again.

The plastic bag rustled as Shen Xian pulled out an ice cream and offered it to Zhuang Xun. “Since I bought those things for you, of course I needed to use your home address.”

Her tone revealed little emotion, sounding merely like the natural care an elder might show a junior.

Zhuang Xun took the ice cream but did not open it. “The game prize was won by you, Senior Sister.”

“But the doll was caught by you, wasn’t it?” Shen Xian tore open her own ice cream and took a bite. “Besides, if I send it to your place, won’t I have more of an excuse to come over and visit you?”

Zhuang Xun froze. The moonlight cast a flickering glow on Shen Xian’s face.

Even such a casually spoken, innocent remark—so typical of her Senior Sister’s natural charm—sent a tremor through Zhuang Xun’s heart.

Zhuang Xun bit her lip gently, then slowly exhaled. “Senior Sister, that’s cheating. That’s too much.”

Shen Xian blinked, looking utterly perplexed. “Eh—? I didn’t cheat, you know. If I cheated and still didn’t win against you, wouldn’t that be a huge blow to my self-esteem?”

Zhuang Xun tore open her ice cream wrapper, her gaze shifting away from Shen Xian. “No, Senior Sister has already won.”

Shen Xian stood still, shaking her head slightly. “If little Zhuang Xun says I’ve won, does that mean the right to a request is transferred to me too?”

Zhuang Xun avoided Shen Xian’s gaze, turning her head away. She declared righteously, “No.”

“Eh… but you just said I won?”

“Senior Sister was the one who said earlier that a bet is a bet.”

Shen Xian leaned back against the pillar, her eyes fixed solely on Zhuang Xun amidst the city lights. “Hmm… alright then. But have you thought about how you want to use this request yet?”

“I haven’t thought about it. Is there a time limit?” Zhuang Xun felt the intensity of that gaze and couldn’t help but turn her head back.

The next second, their eyes met.

Shen Xian’s expression was mischievous. “I’m just teasing you; there’s no time limit.”

Then, a soft, slow, reassuring sensation settled on Zhuang Xun’s head as a palm gently covered it. She instinctively lowered her head slightly, her gaze falling to the dazzling pink crystal at Shen Xian’s chest.

“Go home and get some good rest tonight. Our tasks this week are quite demanding.”

Shen Xian ruffled her hair, then quickly withdrew her hand.

The moment the touch on her head vanished, Zhuang Xun couldn’t help but look up. The emotions in her own eyes were probably inscrutable even to herself.

It wasn’t until the ice cream melted and dripped onto her hand that she realized their eye contact had lasted too long—long enough to arouse suspicion.

So Zhuang Xun quickly averted her gaze, nodding as if nothing had happened. “You too, Senior Sister. Get some rest early.”

Shen Xian suddenly spoke again. “Should I walk you home?”

Zhuang Xun paused, then shook her head. “No, Senior Sister should also rest early.”

“A little regrettable. I wanted to spend more time with little Zhuang Xun.”

Zhuang Xun sighed helplessly to herself. She truly couldn’t win against her Senior Sister.

“If Senior Sister doesn’t mind, I can walk you to the station? There’s a bus there that also goes near my house.”

“Won’t that be a bit out of the way?”

Zhuang Xun offered a faint, fleeting smile. “Didn’t Senior Sister say she wanted to spend more time with me?”

“Hmm… I suppose I did say that. Then make sure to text me when you get home.”

“Okay, I will.”

An hour later, Zhuang Xun opened her apartment door. She closed it and leaned back against the wood in the entryway.

Aside from the moonlight, only a profound stillness filled the room. The moonlight in the darkness was like a comforting beam, spilling onto the living room carpet—the very carpet where she and her Senior Sister had once lain together.

She lowered her head, slowly exhaling. She had known about her Senior Sister’s natural, oblivious charm for a long time, but such intimate gestures always made her greedier.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zhuang Xun noticed the sloth doll in the plastic bag staring at her with wide, round eyes. Shen Xian’s image involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

She slid down to the floor, reaching out to poke the sloth doll. “This is… truly terrible.”

Ding, ding, ding…

Her phone suddenly rang with a series of notifications. Zhuang Xun took it out; it was a message from Shen Xian.

[Xian Yin (Senior Sister Shen Xian): Little Zhuang Xun~ Did you get home safely?]

[Xian Yin (Senior Sister Shen Xian): Sloth peeking JPG.]

Zhuang Xun noticed the emoji Shen Xian sent and blinked.

[Zhuang Xun: I’m home, Senior Sister.]

[Xian Yin (Senior Sister Shen Xian): That’s good~ I’m about to take a bath. Don’t you think this doll looks cute here?]

Immediately after, Shen Xian sent a picture.

[Xian Yin (Senior Sister Shen Xian): Image JPG.]

Zhuang Xun zoomed in on the picture. It showed the raven doll leaning against a picture frame by Shen Xian’s bedside. The frame held a childhood photo of her Senior Sister.

She couldn’t help but zoom in on the photo further. Her gaze completely ignored the raven doll, meticulously scrutinizing the blurry image within the frame. Though the photo was extremely blurry, even so, it was clear that her Senior Sister had been incredibly cute as a child.

I kind of want to save it…

Zhuang Xun struggled internally for a moment, then long-pressed the image and chose to save it.

After saving it and returning to the chat interface, she noticed Shen Xian had sent another message.

[Xian Yin (Senior Sister Shen Xian): Why did you suddenly go quiet? Sloth poking JPG.]

Zhuang Xun quickly typed a reply.

[Zhuang Xun: Very cute.]

[Xian Yin (Senior Sister Shen Xian): Right! I’m going to shower now. Little Zhuang Xun~ remember to get some rest early.]

[Zhuang Xun: Okay, Senior Sister. You too, Senior Sister.]

The interface stopped at this last message.

She turned on the light, took off her shoes, and walked toward the sofa, hugging the sloth doll to her chest. She curled up in the exact spot where Shen Xian had once curled up and poked the doll’s nose.

The phone lay on the coffee table, its screen still showing their conversation.

She murmured softly to the empty room, “She clearly doesn’t know what I meant by ‘very cute’…”

After an unknown amount of time, Zhuang Xun rose again and walked toward the bathroom. She reached out and wiped the fog from the mirror, looking at her reflection, unsure of what expression she was even supposed to make.

On Saturday.