The Healing Sunshine (一厘米的阳光)

Chapter 4.1 - That Person of the Past has Now Returned (1)

There were no stairs here, only a big slope that was all green grass during the summer and all withered grass in the winter.

Hopping this way and that to evade the dirty mounds of snow and pieces of ice, Jǐ Yi jogged down to the moat's edge. After extending out a foot, stomping on the surface of the ice, and concluding that it was safe, she began scurrying across it. When those elderly men skating behind her caught sight of her, they called out over and over, "Little lass, go a little slower."

Turning around, she made an impish face and even did not forget to remind one of the elderly men who had nearly slipped, "Grandpa, you be careful, too."

Once she had scrambled up the slope on the other side of the moat, she hid herself behind a pine tree, planning out how, when her classmates all ran past this place, she would pretend to pant and puff and then slip in with the back of the group. Right when she was delighting in her scheming, she suddenly felt someone tap her on her shoulder. At once, she withered. "Teacher Zhao... I was wrong..."

She turned, putting on a face of remorse.

But the remorse... froze on her face.

"Xixi." The man in front of her spoke her name. "I'm Jì Chengyang."

"Mm-hmm... I know... Little... Jì Chengyang." Jǐ Yi uttered his name softly.

He was the same as back then, yet, also not really the same.

Back when she was young and had looked at him, she would see his very fair complexion, his double eyelids, and those other very superficial, outward traits. But now... as she gazed upon him again, she found she could notice the calm in his eyes and the quiet, unperturbed composure he carried.

"Why did you cross the ice to get here?"

"I didn't want to do the morning run," Jǐ Yi explained somewhat sheepishly, "so I came over across the ice."

He was about to follow up with another question, but Jǐ Yi all of a sudden let out a "Shh!" and, grabbing him by the sleeve, tugged him over to where she was. Then stooping over at the waist, she concealed herself behind the screen that he and the pine tree had formed. Furtively lifting up Jì Chengyang's arm, she peeked through the little opening to see that "good, self-motivated youth," their class prefect, the O great Xu Qing, leading the first batch of their class and running over toward where she was.

Jì Chengyang turned his head toward her.

Immediately, Jǐ Yi put on a pitifully wretched look, begging for mercy.

He therefore could only put himself in a posture like he was leaning against the tree for a smoke. With very adept and familiar motions, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a light inhale. Such a familiar smell... She was not certain why, but Jǐ Yi had always felt that that faint scent on him, intermingled with the aroma of cigarettes, was not reproducible by anyone else. As she breathed in lightly, she felt as if, in an instant, she had been transported back to that summer break after graduating from primary school.

"All right." His voice was like the waters of a deep pond, icy-cold, indifferent, and aloof.

But unfortunately, this had no effect on her.

Letting out a breath, she straightened back up. "You... When did you come back?"

Jì Chengyang gave a slight lift of his brow. "Why aren't you calling me Little Uncle Jì?"

"I'm grown up already." Her eyes drifted this way and that and then continued to observe something off in the distance. "And plus... you're not that old, either."