It's been three decades since the chaste reunion of Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian; but even today, there hasn't been a single day where Lan Zhan has been free of his worry when it comes to his beloved Wei Ying.
As for Wei Ying, he had only two moto in hi...
Just as my knees hit the ground with a thud, I turned around and grinned at my best friend jumping over a wall and skipping towards me. Pulling the corner of my already torn robe we run for our lives as one villager chases us for stealing a few Jujubes from his garden.
"Catch those thieves!" He yelled but was unable to close the distance. One, we were fast; and two, we knew every nook and corner of this place.
It just took us a few minutes but we finally escaped and hid under an old bridge. Gasping for air, I looked at the boy next to me and as our gaze met; we both started laughing loudly. We were unapologetically rowdies and to an extent we were proud of it.
"Here." He handed me a bag of Jujubes and we both took a seat next to each other and popped one by one into our mouths. They were plump and juicy.
"Hónghóng-er." I called out his name and with his one non-bandaged eye he glanced at my direction and asked, "Yeah?"
Handing him two Loquats I smiled, "Eat these. While you were busy with those Jujubes, I got these for you."
He was surprised and I knew it. We street urchins always have to look out for each other; and Hónghóng-er here was my best friend.
We met a year ago and I assumed he was probably a year younger to me; but it's quite difficult to determine his age due to his scrawny physique. He appeared to be extremely fatigued and exhausted but he was damn fast on his feet.
We weren't always best friends. At first he was on my turf and was always on a lookout for causing fights and disturbances. But one day he was sick and I couldn't leave him out in the open since it was also raining, so with whatever little means I owned, I gave him protection under a small self-made shed behind a dumpster and from then on he has always been by my side.
Hónghóng-er's right eye was wrapped in a bandage because of some old wounds. I never asked him about it since I didn't want him to feel embarrassed. We were already living a tough life and it made no point in making someone else miserable. One good thing about having Hónghóng-er next to me; he would always fend off the dogs.
We became each other's companions and in a way life long friends.
"Ah Xian should eat it."
"No. This is yours. I got it for you. So, eat this Loquat and tell me if you liked it!"
"What about Ah Xian?" His voice was soft and I rubbed away a speck of mud from his cheeks.
"I'll have these Jujubes." Popping one into my mouth I showed him that it was really me who wanted him to taste those Loquats.
With a small nod he popped one into his mouth and the other he stashed into his inner robes. "Hónghóng-er will have the other later."
That night we slept next to stream of river. The chirping of crickets was a lovely lullaby to our young ears. Millions of stars were our blankets and sleepily I looked wherever Hónghóng-er was pointing at.
"One day I'll feed Ah Xian all these tasty foods. Never will we go hungry again." He glanced at my direction and under the moonlight I gave him a warm smile.
"Promise?" I raised my little finger and he was quick to interlock his with mine. "Promise."
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