The old locust tree at the alley entrance was in bloom again. Pei Heng squatted on the bluestone pavement, poking at the fallen blossoms with a twig, when he suddenly heard a silvery laugh from behind. Jiang Zhixi, with red ribbons tied in her hair, came skipping over. Clutched in her hand was a piece of sesame candy, which she snapped in half, sending crumbs fluttering down onto his shoes. "Brother Pei Heng! Mother praised the embroidered sachet I made again!"
He looked up at her. The setting sun stretched her shadow long, and locust petals clung to the ends of her hair, making her look like a little blessing doll stepping straight out of a New Year painting. When the adults from both families cooled off in the evening breeze by the alley, they would always tease, "When Zhixi grows up, she must be a bride for our Pei Heng!" At that, she would bury her face in her mother's bosom while her fingertips stealthily hooked onto his sleeve. His ears turning red, he would grind the fallen blossoms on the ground with the toe of his shoe, muttering, "As if I'd want that," yet secretly tucking the embroidered handkerchief she gave him under his pillow in the twilight.
When he was sixteen, he chased away a scoundrel trying to pick her hair ornaments at the end of the alley. His fist connected with the fellow's face, splashing a few drops of blood onto the hem of her skirt. She squatted by the well, helping him clean his wound as moonlight shattered across her eyelashes. "Will Brother P…
Chapter 42