Morning Encounters

The sky was just beginning to lighten when Qin Yuqing finally finished her drafting work. Exhausted, she collapsed onto the desk, drool trickling from the corner of her mouth. Qin An picked up a warm blanket from her closet and draped it over her, then collected the empty soda cans scattered on the floor.

Her bed was still a mess of laundry—various stockings and colorful clothes scattered everywhere. Qin An didn’t dwell on it; he simply scooped everything up and threw it into the washing machine.

The rooster was already crowing in the distance. Qin An twisted his neck and stretched, his joints popping with a series of sharp cracks.

“I’ll just catch up on sleep when I get to school,” he muttered, changing into a comfortable tracksuit before heading out for his morning exercise. This was his daily routine; unless something extreme came up, even heavy rain wouldn’t stop him.

He had to keep his body alert. If his reflexes ever grew sluggish, he, as a former assassin, wouldn’t be far from danger.

After a few simple warm-up exercises, Qin An picked up a cloth-wrapped wooden training sword and began his regular route around Shenchuan City.

On an ordinary uphill slope, with cherry blossoms still drifting in the morning breeze, they met.

She was a girl who looked like a traditional Yamato Nadeshiko—fair skin, a quiet straight fringe, a long ponytail hanging down her back, and a white bow in her hair. She wore a simple school tracksuit, but it couldn’t hide her natural grace. Strangely, she also carried a traditional cloth bag on her back.

Qin An passed her by. He felt as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite place it. He had a feeling that if he turned around, she would turn too, but he didn’t. A passerby was just a passerby.

“Sister, wait for me!” a short-haired girl wailed.

“Yuko, what kind of bento do you want?”

Qin An, wearing a Hello Kitty apron, stood with a spatula in one hand and a pot handle in the other, looking every bit the experienced househusband.

“That bento isn’t necessary. It’s too much trouble for you.”

“Then have the same as us! No problem, right?”

Yuko took the bento and bowed politely. “Qin-kun, I really can’t thank you enough. You’ve always been so kind.”

“Hmph, what a little fox. Big brother is an idiot.”

Qin Yage grabbed her schoolbag and stormed out, slamming the front door hard, leaving the others stunned in the entryway.

“I’m sorry, Qin-kun, it’s all my fault,” Yuko bowed again, feeling guilty.

“It’s not your fault, Sister Yuko. Big sister is always like that because she’s… well, because she’s flat-chested.”

Qin Chan said this with an air of absolute wisdom, but her eyes were fixed on the black cat sitting by Yuko’s feet.

Qin An looked at the three bento boxes piled like a pyramid—large, medium, and small—and felt a headache coming on. He would have to carry them all.

This time, on the way to the kindergarten, Qin Chan surprisingly didn’t ask Qin An to carry her. That was because she had finally caught the black cat. Though the cat looked a bit reluctant, it stayed quietly in her arms.

“Big brother, I want to keep it. I’ve decided, its name will be Little Qin,” Qin Chan said seriously.

Qin An gently stroked her hair. “This little cat originally had an owner, you know.”

“But they abandoned it, right? So it’s a stray cat. I found it, so it’s mine. And I gave it a name, so it’s part of our family now.”

Qin An suddenly found he had absolutely no counterargument.

“Meow!”

As if hearing something shocking, Little Qin struggled free from Qin Chan’s flat chest, jumped onto Yuko’s shoulder, and then burrowed right into her jacket, poking only its head out as it let out a satisfied, “Meow~”

Qin Chan stopped in her tracks, tugged at Qin An’s sleeve, and looked as though she was on the verge of tears.

Seeing her watery eyes, Qin An picked her up. “What’s wrong?”

“Big brother, Little Qin is a pervert. It only likes girls with big chests!”

She patted her own flat chest, tears finally brimming.

Qin An gently wiped her face. “That’s just because you haven’t grown up yet. When you do, you’ll grow properly.”

“But if I grow up like Yage, I don’t want that kind of growth.”

“You and Yage will grow up differently.”

“Really? Will I be as big as Sister Yuko?”

“Yes, not just as big as Yuko, but bigger than Auntie,” Qin An said firmly, though he knew that would be a long, long time from now.

“That’s great! I want to grow up fast!”

Because of a cat, the little girl finally had a strong desire to grow up.

At the kindergarten gate, he gently set Qin Chan down. She called out to Little Qin a few times, but the cat turned away and ignored her. Qin Chan gritted her teeth and patted her chest. “When I grow up, I’ll let you cuddle in my shirt every day!”

She had planned to bring Little Qin into the classroom to show off to her friends, but it seemed her plan had failed.

“Chan, remember to eat your meat! Don’t just eat the vegetables.”

“I know, big brother. Bye-bye! Bye, Sister Yuko!” Qin Chan waved her little hand happily as she said goodbye.

The kindergarten Qin Chan attended was located at the foot of the hill below Dongling Middle School in Shenchuan City. With its gently sloping hills, shallow streams, and cherry blossoms everywhere, it was a beautiful place.

“Chan is such a sensible child.”

“She’s always been smart, so she’s naturally sensible.”

“Qin-kun, what about your parents?”

“They passed away a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have brought up painful memories.”

After apologizing, she bowed deeply again.

“It’s okay. I can barely remember what they looked like anyway.”

Qin An turned and smiled at her, but his smile carried a depth of experience that was far too mature for his age.

“I wonder if my parents still think of me,” Yuko said, lowering her head, a hint of sadness crossing her face.

“They must. Maybe you just haven’t noticed. If you have nowhere to go tonight, come find me at the Cat King Bookstore.” Qin An waved and walked ahead toward the school.

“Do you think they really remember me, Little Qin?” Yuko held the black cat in both hands. Her eyes and the cat’s looked equally sorrowful in the morning light.

“Honey, Yuko didn’t come home last night. She didn’t come for breakfast yesterday morning either! That child has always been so quiet, she never tells us anything. Her teacher said she’s been cutting class lately. What if she’s run into bad people? What if she got tricked? She’s still so young. What if something happens to her? Let’s call the police, honey!”

“Wait a bit. Let’s call the school first. Maybe she just ran away to a friend’s house. It’s all our fault—we’ve been so busy with work and paying off the housing loan that we never really spent time with her. I’m to blame. If only we had stayed in the countryside.”

“It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I was the one who insisted on buying a house in the city. We borrowed so much money, wuwuwu…”

They had acquired a physical house, but they had lost the warmth of a home. It was a classic case of putting the cart before the horse.

“Don’t cry. I’ll ask her teacher right now.”

Beep, beep, beep—

Qianye Lingmei, lounging in her office with her legs crossed, jumped to her feet at the sound of the ringing telephone, even though it wasn’t the one on her own desk.

In an exaggeratedly sweet voice, she answered, “Hello! This is the prettiest and youngest teacher in the third-year office of Dongling Middle School, Qianye Lingmei-chan!”

On the other end came a hoarse, anxious voice: “Um, is this Teacher Fujisawa? I’m Yuko Hirano’s father!”

“I’m Teacher Qianye from the adjacent class. Whatever the issue, I can help!”

“Uh, Teacher Qianye, did Yuko Hirano go to school today?”

“Yuko-chan? She comes to school every single day! The student who skipped class wasn’t Yuko-chan, it was another student entirely. Teacher Fujisawa must have gotten the records mixed up. He’s actually been sick the past few days, so he hasn’t been able to reply. Sorry about that.”

Whether Teacher Fujisawa was actually sick, Qianye Lingmei didn’t care in the slightest.

“Teacher Qianye, Yuko seems to be upset with us and ran away from home. Could you ask her to come back? Please tell her we’re incredibly worried.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her. Helping rebellious students find their way is a teacher’s duty. But you two need to think about how to make it up to her. Also, Yuko-chan has been staying under my supervision lately. Rest assured, I’ll send her home safely in a few days.”

“Thank you, Teacher Qianye. We’ll definitely make it up to her. My wife has already decided to quit her part-time job.”

“Um, Yuko’s father? I’m young, unmarried, and have a highly stable job. Do you know anyone suitable to introduce to me? Whether it’s your brother or a friend, I don’t mind. And let me tell you, I’m a real catch!”

Beep, beep, beep—

The other party hung up immediately. She didn’t know how much of her sales pitch he had actually heard. Qianye Lingmei spun around in her swivel chair a few times, giggling. “So boring. Little An-an, I just told a massive lie for you. You’ll have to repay me well. How about treating me to a nice lunch? Your sister would probably agree, since I’m so helpful, hehehe~”

Qianye Lingmei showed a mischievous, highly pleased smile.