Childhood fun, Shi Yun live

Shi Yun handed the funds and procurement list from Director Zhang to An Huaixu and Pin Chi, no longer interfering with the matter, and turned to weave through the crowd, chatting with a few acquaintances.

Pin Chi, new to the lakeside market, took the back basket and, with great novelty, dragged the cameraman around.

Most of the market stalls were simple wooden frames, a small number just laid out a cloth on the ground, placing their goods on it.

Besides fruits and vegetables, there were all sorts of tools and implements.

Pin Chi stopped at one stall after another, asking questions. Sometimes, if he was sweet-mouthed, he’d even get a couple of tasty bites.

Just now, he had just stood before an auntie, and before he’d said much, the auntie immediately handed him a flower cake:

“Your energetic spirit reminds me of my son! Since I feel a connection with you, Auntie will give you a flower cake to try, this is our specialty!”

Pin Chi was pleasantly surprised and thanked her.

He took the flaky pastry, wrapped in oil paper, and smelled it up close; a fresh floral scent eagerly rushed into his nostrils.

The auntie introduced: “We don’t have much else here, but we have plenty of flowering trees and herbs all year round.

Making cakes from things like rosehips, jasmine, magnolia – you wouldn’t believe how delicious they are!”

Pin Chi, facing the camera, broke open the flower cake.

It was soft and multi-layered inside, encasing a golden-brown core, and the rich, crispy aroma instantly made one’s mouth water.

He took a small bite from a corner, his eyes immediately lighting up.

He finished half the cake in a few bites, still not feeling satisfied: “You really weren’t kidding, this flower cake is absolutely delicious!”

The auntie laughed: “As long as you like it!”

Pin Chi turned around, chatting and laughing, and unexpectedly discovered that the auntie’s stall offered a panoramic view of the market—the clear green lake rippled with tiny waves, willow branches hung low, swaying in the breeze and brushing everyone who passed through their shade.

He suddenly found it a bit strange why there were so many elderly people here, and even a few children no older than seven or eight sitting in corners, but very few young, strong adults.

Pin Chi saw the auntie beckoning customers, so he walked a few steps forward, casually striking up a conversation with a frail, white-haired old man.
“Grandpa, how old are you?”

The grandpa was hard of hearing. Pin Chi asked a few times, but still got no answer.

Just as he was about to give up, a one-armed uncle took over the conversation: “Him? He’s almost eighty. Is there something you need, young man?”

Pin Chi was quite outgoing and straightforwardly voiced his confusion.

The uncle sighed, lamenting: “These three villages of ours are actually villages for the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Those with ambition go out; whether they make a name for themselves is another matter, but they don’t come back. Those who just want a plain life…”

He gave a bitter laugh:

“They stay in the village, following the old path of these people, farming, planting trees, selling flowers, just eating what nature provides.

Nothing new, no big waves. You look like a young master who doesn’t have to worry about food or clothing, so you might not think much of it, but in reality… it’s hard.”

He looked up at the sky, his voice tinged with sadness: “You know, if I still had this arm, I would have made sure my wife and daughter ate well.”

Pin Chi subtly glanced at his arm twice, feeling too awkward to ask.

The one-armed uncle was straightforward and simple-minded.

Seeing his curiosity, he laughed heartily, as if he had already come to terms with it, and voluntarily began to tell him: “About ten years ago, Fugui Village had a big fire. Almost half the village was burned, and that’s when I lost my arm…”

Pin Chi seemed to empathize, and said with some discomfort: “That big fire…”

The one-armed uncle: “It was a natural disaster.”

An Huaixu heard this, his heart sank, and the gruesome scar on that pale back appeared before his eyes again.

Now that he thought about it, it really looked like a burn.

Over ten years ago…

He closed his eyes, not daring to dwell on it, yet in his mind, Shi Yun’s happy, innocent smiles flashed one after another, until a great fire consumed him, turning him to ash and scattering him from the world.

Immediately afterward, he heard echoes in his ears:

“He became like this all because of you… You are the one who should die, look at him, even though he’s stuck in a swamp, he’s still so kind.

If that incident hadn’t happened back then, he would have been the happiest child in the world. It’s you, it’s you, it’s you, it’s…”

“Teacher An!”

A clear voice instantly pulled him back to reality.

He opened his eyes and met a pair of clear pupils. The jumbled thoughts in his mind dispersed, and he slowly calmed down.
“Where did you go?”

Shi Yun happily raised his hand, showing off: “Ta-da! Candied hawthorn!”

Pin Chi heard the sound, uttered a ‘Heiyo,’ and turned to look: “I want the flat ones!”

Shi Yun, conflicted, handed him a skewer: “There aren’t any flat ones. Or, I could flatten this round one for you… it should be the same.”

Pin Chi didn’t really care, but he was in the mood to tease, so he coughed twice and said dramatically:

“Oh, it’s actually nothing, but Xiao Yun, look, with the back basket in my left hand and the shopping list in my right, I really can’t hold anything. How about you feed me a couple of bites?”

Shi Yun thought they were all grown men and good friends, so feeding…

An Huaixu immediately saw through Pin Chi’s ulterior motive.

He frowned, quickly grabbed the back basket, shoved the candied hawthorn into Pin Chi’s hand, and pulled Shi Yun away in one smooth motion, giving Pin Chi no time to react.

Shi Yun paused for a moment, then held out the other skewer to the cameraman: “Big brother, catch!”

The cameraman instinctively raised his hand to catch it. After taking it, he realized something wasn’t right and wanted to return it, but An Huaixu and Shi Yun had already walked some distance away.

An Huaixu saw that Shi Yun had distributed to everyone but hadn’t offered him any. He childishly reached out…

Shi Yun smiled mysteriously and handed him a bag containing a noticeably larger skewer of candied hawthorn: “I bought you the strawberry flavored one, don’t tell them, yours is the most expensive!”

An Huaixu quietly looked at Shi Yun, recalling the incident again.

‘That scar. He couldn’t see any sign that Shi Yun had experienced such a terrifying fire.’

‘This is just what he knows, what about what he doesn’t know?’

He had an impulse to confess everything, desperately wanting to take Shi Yun home and protect him in a secluded, airtight place where no one knew, and no incident could ever harm him.

Shi Yun saw An Huaixu frozen and motionless. He opened the bag and held it to his mouth.

An Huaixu instinctively took a bite. Unaware if it was the sweet stickiness of the strawberry or the sharp poke of the rock sugar on his tongue, his heart instantly fluttered a few times, his mind went blank, and all the chaotic thoughts vanished.

Nearby, Auntie had finished setting up her things and spotted Shi Yun, waving and calling out: “Xiao Shi, come here to Auntie’s!”

Shi Yun heard the call, patted An Huaixu’s hand, and led him to Auntie’s stall.

“Auntie, let me introduce you, this is my friend, An Huaixu.”

Auntie’s eyesight wasn’t good. She peered closer, then smiled, rummaged through her back basket, and took out a wrapped cake, offering it to both of them.

“Here, I heard your grandpa say he wanted to eat Auntie’s flower cakes early on. Today, I’ll satisfy you.”

Shi Yun happily took the flower cake, crossed his legs, and sat beside Auntie, chatting idly with her.

Auntie, like a kind elder, patted Shi Yun’s head and shakily handed a small stool to An Huaixu.

“Xiao Shi rarely brings out-of-town friends over. Come, sit down and try the cake. This old woman, this is the only skill I have that’s passable!”

Shi Yun, with crumbs on the corner of his mouth, emphasized: “Auntie’s flower cakes are the market’s specialty!”

Auntie chuckled, tapping his head: “You’ve always been sweet-tongued since you were little.”

When people get older, they love to reminisce about past events.

Auntie garrulously recounted a few amusing anecdotes about Shi Yun.

“The first time Xiao Shi cooked, when he was six or seven, I don’t know how he managed to create a cloud of black smoke.

It scared his parents into rushing home, only to see the silly child standing in front of a pot with a leaky bottom, all black, except for two white streaks on his cheeks from crying.

He was so funny and cute that our anger just vanished.”

“Oh, Auntie, that was an accident!”

“Then that time you were naughty, riding a pig and falling into the lake, was that an accident too?

And that time, little Gou Dan fell into a pit, and you went down to save him, and then both of you couldn’t get out and cried like crazy…”

“I’m sorry, Auntie!”

Shi Yun’s face turned red. He hurriedly crammed the last bite of flower cake into his mouth, clapped his hands, and urged An Huaixu to go do their task.

An Huaixu promised Auntie they would visit again, and with Shi Yun’s embarrassed gaze on him, he walked away, smiling.

Pin Chi had been wandering for a long time and was now very familiar with all the stalls.

Although the two of them didn’t quite see eye to eye, their cooperation in buying and carrying was surprisingly in sync.

Pin Chi frequently glanced at An Huaixu’s cold face.

He had always been astute in matters of emotion. Now that he was free from the ‘rivalry filter,’ he suddenly felt that An Huaixu’s affection for Shi Yun was unusual, somewhere between romantic love and familial affection, perhaps even leaning more towards the latter.

He couldn’t help but ask in a low voice: “What are you really thinking?”

An Huaixu bit into a candied hawthorn.

Pin Chi persisted: “If you don’t have that intention, then don’t interfere with me pursuing Xiao Yun.”

An Huaixu turned, gave him a sweeping glance, scoffed, and quickly walked away.

Pin Chi: “…”

‘Did he just call me overconfident?’

The group hurried back, mindful of the time.

Shi Yun volunteered for a second round with the tricycle.

Pin Chi flipped into the back, not noticing who was sitting in the driver’s seat.

He waved and chatted with the villagers who came to see them off, like a peacock showing off.

“Alright, Grandma, I’ll definitely come to the predestined night market in a few days!

Oh, Uncle, don’t see us off anymore, we’ll be home in a flash! No, I can’t take it, please take it back—huh?”