Xu Xiaoyu

Time flew by, and several days passed.

Sunlight occasionally peeked into the dim room, illuminating a sleeping black-haired youth. Half-covered by a quilt, he lay sprawled across the bed in the shape of a sprawling “X.”

Beep… beep…

A gentle alarm chimed softly. The boy’s brow furrowed, and his hand fumbled around until he finally slammed the button down. Silence reclaimed the room. He crinkled his nose and promptly drifted back into a deep slumber.

Creak.

The door was nudged open by a hand holding a kitchen utensil. A middle-aged woman took a sharp breath and suddenly let out a deafening roar.

“Jiang Yun! Get up!”

The shout jolted the boy awake. He sat up, trembling with lingering shock, clutching his thumping heart as he turned a disgruntled gaze toward the woman.

“Mom, don’t scare me like that. My poor heart can’t take it.” Jiang Yun feigned a look of agony as if he had truly been frightened half to death.

“You think I don’t know exactly how much ‘courage’ you have? Get up and eat breakfast! Go for a walk! Don’t spend all day cooped up in the house making my life difficult!” Jiang Yun’s mother didn’t mince words; having said her piece, she turned and headed back to serve breakfast.

“Sigh, where am I even supposed to go?” Jiang Yun rubbed his neck and yawned, reluctantly dragging himself out of bed.

After changing and eating, Jiang Yun was forced out of the house. He stared up at the scorching sun, momentarily at a loss for where to head.

Spending the day at an internet cafe wasn’t a bad idea, but he’d played enough on his home computer, and it was boring without company. Thinking of company, his mind naturally drifted to his high school deskmate and best bud, Xu Feng.

That brat Xu Feng… who knows what he’s been up to lately? I’ll just go find him today. I have to drag him out of the house regardless. Maybe we can head to the scenic district; I heard there’s a lake for fishing over there.

Once the idea took root, Jiang Yun put it into action, sprinting toward the bus station.

Since his home was near the main terminal, the buses were usually empty when they arrived. Jiang Yun hopped on, and after about fifteen minutes of stop-and-go travel, the bus neared Xu Feng’s neighborhood. By now, the vehicle had become somewhat crowded.

The moment they reached the stop, Jiang Yun stepped off. Following right behind him—amidst a crowd of elderly folks—was a black-haired girl dressed in a light-colored JK school uniform. She had her hair tied into two adorable buns that bobbed along with her movements as she hauled a suitcase off the bus, giving her a playful and cute aura.

Jiang Yun stole a few extra glances. Her skin was delicate and fair, with a healthy pink glow from the heat—a look that had just shed its childhood innocence but hadn’t yet reached full maturity. It was a perfectly balanced kind of beauty.

The girl wiped her forehead and adjusted her bangs, her gaze inadvertently meeting Jiang Yun’s.

Jiang Yun immediately looked away and turned to walk off, not wanting to cause an awkward or creepy misunderstanding. To his surprise, however, the girl suddenly called out to him.

“Brother Yun! Don’t you recognize me anymore?”

“Huh?”

Jiang Yun turned back to look at her. As he stared, her features seemed to stir a distant memory. A few years back, he had heard that same “Brother Yun,” but back then, the girl had a much smaller, more childish face.

“Brother Yun? You really forgot me? I’ll give you three seconds to guess my name, or I’m going to be mad.” The girl dragged her suitcase in front of her and leaned over slightly, resting her hands on the handle. She blinked at him, looking up from a lower angle.

Jiang Yun scratched his head, eyes wide as he scanned her from head to toe. Finally, he tentatively spoke the name that was blurring in his mind.

“Xiao… Xiao Yu?”

“Phew! Correct! Brother Yun didn’t forget me.” The girl broke into a smile—a radiant expression like a sunflower blooming in the summer heat.

“Whoa, it’s been a few years. You’ve grown into a big girl.” Jiang Yun felt his face redden, his tongue suddenly feeling clumsy. He hadn’t expected the little girl who was Xu Feng’s younger sister to change so much; she was almost unrecognizable.

“People grow up, Brother Yun. You too—you’re much taller, and you’re about to start college.” Xiao Yu stood up straight and then looked around fretfully as if searching for something.

“Did you come here alone, Xiao Yu?” Jiang Yun asked casually.

“Yeah. I came to check on my big brother. It’s been weeks since the college entrance exams ended, and he hasn’t called home once,” Xu Xiao Yu complained, her voice tinged with resentment.

“Uh, he’s been pretty busy lately,” Jiang Yun tried to cover for his friend. Xu Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow, shot him a look, and then pulled a phone from her pocket, waving it in front of him.

“Don’t lie to me, Brother Yun. I know exactly what he’s been doing. Playing games, right?”

“Ah… well…” Jiang Yun looked away, unable to argue.

“Hmph. I still have him on my friends list. Even if he uses that Steam platform to try and dodge the usual ways I check on him,” Xiao Yu said proudly, a hint of swagger in her tone.

Jiang Yun was stunned. He thought to himself: So Xiao Yu has been secretly keeping tabs on Xu Feng this whole time? My cover story was useless.

“So, Brother Yun, what are you doing here? Don’t worry, I haven’t told Mom or Dad about my brother’s slacking,” Xiao Yu said, seeing right through his concern. Jiang Yun scratched his neck again and laughed awkwardly.

“Uh, that’s good. I was actually coming to get Xu Feng to go out for a bit. He’s been… sick at home lately.”

Thud.

The suitcase in front of Xiao Yu wobbled. She took a step forward, leaning in close to Jiang Yun as she shouted, “Big Brother is sick?!”

“Ah… yes.” Jiang Yun stepped back slightly, surprised by the intensity of her reaction.

“Is it serious?” she pressed, closing the distance between them.

“I think he’s okay. Much better than before.” Jiang Yun couldn’t say for sure, but since Xu Feng was able to go out, he assumed there was no major issue.

“Tsk! What is wrong with him! Brother Yun, help me carry my luggage up! I’m going to the apartment first!” Xiao Yu hurriedly abandoned her suitcase and sprinted into the residential complex, leaving Jiang Yun standing there in a daze.

Did Xiao Yu always care about Xu Feng this much? Jiang Yun couldn’t remember, nor had he ever paid much attention to it.

…

Inside Xu Feng’s room, the golden seedling sat on the windowsill, basking in the sun. In just a few days, it had grown a golden, star-shaped fruit. Within the skin of the fruit, the faint silhouette of a tiny golden figure was taking shape.

Xu Feng and Wei Jiu watched the seedling, quite satisfied with the results of their cultivation. The sprouted Dream Seedling grew incredibly fast; it was already on the verge of full maturity and ready to drop its fruit.

“Will the spirit come out today?” Wei Jiu asked, stroking the seedling’s leaves.

“It should. Once it does, I’ll finally have my voice back.” Xu Feng checked the time on her phone. It had been a full day since the seedling had gone silent to prepare for its transition.

“What about your family? What are you going to do later?” Wei Jiu turned back, asking with genuine concern.

“We’ll see. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Xu Feng gave one of her twin tails a little tug. She felt that living like this wasn’t actually that much of a burden.

It was just being a girl, after all.