Labor Day was approaching. Students heading home for the holiday crowded the school gate, waiting for the traffic light. Some dispersed along either side of the gate, turning the whole street blue and white.
Zhou Li strolled along the tree-shaded pedestrian walkway, dappled with light and shadow. He was in no rush at all. After walking a distance, he took off his school uniform jacket, carried it over his arm, and then unconsciously glanced up at the sky. The sky was clear and spotless, without a single cloud. Zhou Li looked down. This year's summer seemed to be arriving late.It was starting to heat up.
When he reached an intersection, Zhou Li turned to observe the traffic on both sides. Some students also stood nearby, discussing where to pull an all-nighter and other gaming-related topics. A sweet and elegant scent filled the air. Zhou Li looked back and realized that the trees planted along the road had blossomed with strings of small white flowers, their scent faint.
They're locust flowers.
Locust trees are commonly used as street trees in northern cities but are not as common in the south. Yan City, where Zhou Li lived, only had locust trees on a few streets near the school; most other streets were lined with Small Ye Rong and ginkgos. It seemed the locust blossoms were also late this year.
Just as he reached the middle of the intersection, a vague ballad drifted over with the breeze, catching Zhou Li's ear. The tune was quite pleasant—simple and timeless. Unfortunately, it had no lyrics, just humming.
Zhou Li continued walking, instinctively looking up in the direction the ballad came from. He saw a slender figure sitting on a locust tree branch, legs dangling and swinging casually in the air. The youth wasn't wearing shoes and seemed to have a locust flower pressed to his lips, humming a melody through his nose while looking around as if out of sheer boredom. It was a youth with handsome features.
Zhou Li's gaze shifted slightly downwards. Upon catching sight of the youth's bare, dirt-stained feet, he frowned momentarily. As his eyes moved back up, the young man happened to turn his head idly in Zhou Li's direction.
In an instant, their gazes met!
Zhou Li naturally withdrew his gaze, pretending he had seen nothing, and continued on his way. But the locust tree and the youth were right in front of him.
Zhou Li tried to maintain his composure and breathe evenly, even glancing at the baked sweet potato stall across the street. However, his peripheral vision told him the youth was staring at him. Still staring, his gaze followed Zhou Li's movements.
Zhou Li remained calm for the moment. The weather was already warm, so it wouldn't be odd for someone to whimsically go out barefoot and climb a tree to pick locust flowers. Locust flowers themselves are edible and even have some medicinal value, attracting people to pick them every year.
However, just then, a voice reached his ears—
The youth had removed the locust flower from his lips and raised his eyebrows at Zhou Li, his tone full of surprise.
Zhou Li ignored him as if he had heard nothing.
The youth jumped down from the tree. Despite being barefoot, he landed silently. None of the many passersby on the road cast a glance his way.
After landing, the youth quickly followed Zhou Li, as if he had discovered rare prey.
"You can see me, right?"
"You must be able to see me!"
"You were looking at me just now!" The barefoot youth kept pace with Zhou Li.
"Stop pretending, I've figured you out!"
"Hey! You're still pretending?"
The youth walked slightly ahead of Zhou Li, at his side, making it convenient for him to turn and look at Zhou Li's face. Yet Zhou Li remained composed, his gaze occasionally scanning the cars on the road, occasionally glancing at the locust trees by the roadside bursting with white blossoms, and even occasionally looking in the youth's direction, as if his gaze could pass right through him to the shopfronts beyond.
"Why won't you talk to me?"
The youth's questions became less frequent. But Zhou Li's expression never altered.
Gradually, the youth slowed down and fell behind Zhou Li, scratching his head—
Zhou Li continued to walk on.
Ten minutes later, he arrived home safely. Only after he turned and shut the door did he finally exhale in relief. He set his school jacket on the shoe cabinet and started to change into slippers.
Wafts of fragrance came from the kitchen, accompanied by a woman's voice, "Back already?"
"Where's Xiao Shuang?"
"Not sure, probably still around back."
"I thought you two would come back together. It looks like we're out of vinegar..." A head peeked out from the kitchen. Seeing Zhou Li, having just changed into his slippers, straighten up and sigh in relief, she swallowed the rest of her words. "When Xiao Shuang gets back, before he changes his slippers, ask him to go to the supermarket across the street to buy a bottle."
"No need, just rest."
"Then I'll trouble you. Take some money yourself. Get the Ninghua Mansion Top Well brand."
Thus, Zhou Li put his shoes back on and left the house.
This was an old neighborhood, right next to Yan City Middle School. Turning left from his door, it was two hundred meters to the intersection where he had encountered the boy. He had deliberately taken a detour on his way back, and now, having to leave again made him somewhat anxious.
There was only one month left until the college entrance examination, a crucial period, and he didn't want any trouble.
The supermarket was right across from the neighborhood entrance. Zhou Li walked over calmly, bought the vinegar, and returned. All was well.
After dinner, Zhou Li sat on the sofa with Old Zhou to watch the news for a while and then went back to his room to read. Throughout this time, he kept thinking about the boy he met in the afternoon. He was so distracted that, before he knew it, it was time for bed.
He yawned and stretched, washed up, and lay down on the bed, lost in thought for a while before casually turning off the light.
The room suddenly grew dark. However, the city lights were still shining bright. Zhou Li turned on his side and looked out the window. He could see the orange horizon and the silhouettes of the hillsides, the small lit windows of the buildings, the distant, lamp-lit empty roads, and he could even hear the sound of a train whistle. His drowsiness grew, and his eyelids grew heavy.
He wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep or not when suddenly his bedroom window seemed to be pushed open by someone—
Zhou Li's drowsiness was instantly swept away!
He opened his eyes wide to see an unmistakable human silhouette on the square window frame!
This was the twenty-fifth floor!
Panic surged through Zhou Li's heart, but on the surface, he feigned confusion, glanced at the window, and, deciding it must have been a noise from next door, rolled over onto his back, preparing to go back to sleep.
"I've figured it out, you must be afraid of me!" the voice of the boy from earlier in the day returned. "I guessed right, didn't I? You think I'll harm you, that I'll eat people! But in fact, I won't harm you, and I don't eat people. I've never eaten anyone."
The boy turned his head to gauge Zhou Li's reaction, but there was no movement from the bed, which inevitably disappointed him. "You still don't want to talk to me... I know you can hear me, and you can see me. I saw it today; your eyes reflected my shadow."
Zhou Li lay on his bed, listening quietly. He believed at least eighty percent of what the boy said because, in all his life, he really hadn't seen them eat anyone—not even once. But that didn't mean interacting with them wouldn't be troublesome.
"Speak, will you? It's so hard to find someone who can see me. If you really don't want to see me, I'll leave!"
The room fell silent for a while.
"You're still afraid of me."
"Anyway, I really didn't plan to harm you. I just haven't met someone who can see me and talk to me in a long time..." There was an indefinable melancholy in the voice. "I just wanted to talk to you for a bit."
The room fell completely silent. Zhou Li had already opened his eyes.
He didn't turn his head to look, but the clean patch of light on the ceiling proved that the boy had indeed left.
Zhou Li lay with his eyes open, unable to fall asleep again for a long time.