The breeze of the Central Plains always carried a touch of warm earthy scent, mixed with the sweet fragrance of sugar paintings in the streets and alleys, and the laughter of A Yan and me chasing and playing together when we were young. Back then, our families were of matching social status and deep friendship. The adults would sit around the stone table in the courtyard, waving cattail-leaf fans, watching us play house under the grape trellis, and always smilingly tease: "These two children have been close since they were little. When they grow up, they should just get married and make the bond even closer!"
My name is Yun Shu, and his name is Shen Yan. A Yan was a name carved into my life for as long as I could remember. He was two years older than me and always protected me like a little adult. I was afraid of dogs, so whenever we passed an alley with dogs, he would shield me behind him, his hand tightly clutching small stones. I loved candied haws, so he would use his saved-up pocket money to run all through the street to buy me the biggest skewer with the thickest sugar coating. I was slow at studying and couldn't memorize poems, so he would patiently teach me over and over again until I understood.
The sky back then was always very blue, and the days were very long. We thought such times would last forever, until "growing up and getting married" truly became reality. I would imagine what I looked like in a bridal gown, and he would surely be that young man riding a ta…
Chapter 140