Yuchen froze.
Then he marched to the door and opened it to see Yingyue rising to her feet.
"Shixiong!"she exclaimed brightly with an enthusiastic bow "you're here too!".
Yuchen really did not know how he was supposed to react to this brazen display of shamelessness. What person listens at doors anyway?
"C'mon, Shixiong. Let's go in. My, I've been looking everywhere for you".
Yuchen could feel a headache coming. He brushed past her and made to walk away.
"We aren't done talking, Yuchen"his uncle spoke pleasantly"you should return to your seat".
Yuchen could not stop himself from glaring at the man. But he did return to his seat, because how could he not obey?
"You're welcome to join us, A-Yue".
"Thank you, Dage".
She stepped in and pointedly sat right next to Yuchen.
"May I help you, A-Yue?".
"I came to see Shixiong".
"Sure. He's right beside you, isn't he?".
Yingyue turned to face him.
"Shixiong, this is for you"she said, pushing the box to his side of the table.
Yuchen looked at it,then at her. He was rendered rather speechless by this unexpected move.
"Dage said you don't attend festivals, and I don't think that's very good, so I got you materials for making a lantern. I would have made it for you, but I don't know how to, so I hope you do. There's a lot of fun to be had at festivals. You'll be happy you came, especially since it's your birthday, and since you've never gotten birthday presents before, I'll make sure to get you some. So make sure you come, okay?".
She had practically rapped the whole thing, and now she waited expectantly for some sort of reaction.
Yuchen looked from Yingyue to Junjie. Just how much had these two discussed him behind his back?
When she saw that Yuchen was not even making any attempt to open the box, Yingyue's face fell.
"Didn't I do it right, Dage?".
Junjie nearly laughed.
"You did fine, A-Yue. I'm sure Yuchen is just speechless from joy".
Now Yuchen was officially tired of this man.
He shot the Sect leader a glare the latter refused to notice.
"Okay,"Yingyue beamed"see you then, Shixiong!".
She rose and breezed out merrily.
Silence reigned in her absence. Then Junjie leaned forward.
"So, are you going to attend the festival?".
Yuchen's face was stony when he looked at his uncle,then he stood up and stormed out.
*
*
*
"Are you still asleep?".
Meilian's icy voice made Ling open his eyes. No,he was not asleep. He had been awake the whole time, listening to her tell the healers that his parents wanted him home before the festival.
"When will I return to the Mist Oasis?"he asked.
"After the lantern festival. Get up,we leave immediately. I already had your things packed. Do not keep our parents waiting".
Ling sighed, sitting up.
It was just like them to intrude at the very moment he absolutely did not want them.
He and Yingyue had planned to go into the village together and release their lanterns. Would it still work out,he wondered.
He looked at his sister, busily packing up the items on his bedside table and throwing them into a small bag, and imagined the two of them, releasing lanterns side by side and watching them drift towards the heavens.
Just like old times.
"Jiejie"he spoke before he could stop himself.
It had been so long since he called her that, and it tasted nostalgic on his tongue.
"What?"she asked distractedly, folding his hankies.
"Do you plan to attend the festival?".
Her head shot up, and she looked at him with hard eyes,as if he had insulted her.
"What, you think I have that much free time? You're the one who got relieved of your duties as successor, not me. If you have the time to ask stupid questions,then you should do the rest of the packing yourself".
She shoved the bag at him and barged out of the room.
Ling sat still, watching her as she went. Then his eyes went cold. What had he been thinking, anyway? The loving elder sister from his memories had seized to exist long ago.
*
*
*
Ling stared up at the large umbrella tree,at the way the sun's golden rays snuck into the smallest spaces between the leaves, drawing in his mind what he would transfer to paper.
Inside the room behind him, Meilian spoke with their parents, and try as he did Ling could not hear a thing.
It was always like this, their parents summoning them into that intimidating study of theirs, one after another, to say nothing positive. They had done that right before making them spar against each other as children. They had done that right before stripping him of his rights as the successor of the Guangchang clan.
Meilian emerged, her face giving nothing away.
"You're up"she said unnecessarily.
Ling walked in silently, his heart suddenly starting to thud. It was a reflex he could not get rid of, just like the trepidation that curdled inside him like milk.
His parents sat at their usual positions: his father near the closed window at the right extreme, his mother near the open window at the left extreme. While his father looked older than he remembered, with tight lines around his mouth, his mother was still looking fresh as a lily on a spring morning, despite the new, elaborate coiffure that looked like it could give her a severe headache. They were both in the deep indigo robes of the Guangchang clan.
"Father. Mother".
"A-Ling,"his mother spoke"how are you, child?".
The usual prologue. So Ling gave the usual, expected, and very untrue answer.
"I am very fine, mother. Thank you".
"That is good to know. Your father and I were very distressed to hear of your condition after the field trip".
This was how it always began. They kept their faces blank as they lied politely to each other.
"I am sorry to have worried you"he said.
"How is your... golden core? Perfectly fine, I believe?".
Behind him, Ling's fists clenched until his knuckles were white. How dare she?
He had gotten weaker each passing day, relentless pain speared his chest from within, and just this morning he had coughed into a hankie only to find smears of fresh blood on it. His mother knew all this, he could tell. He saw it in the dispassionate depths of her exceptionally dark eyes,in the firm set of her long, bow shaped mouth,red as a fresh wound on her porcelain face.
But only one answer was allowed.
"Yes, mother. It is fine".
"Good. Now on the issue of your performance at the Mist Oasis...".
Meilian was waiting when Ling stepped out, his expression thick with displeasure.
He ignored her and made to walk away, but she gripped his upper arm.
"What happened in there?".
"Nothing you should concern yourself with"he snapped, trying to pull away.
But Meilian had no intention of letting go.
"What do you want?"he spat.
What did she want? Meilian had no idea what answer to give.
All she knew was that seeing him like that had squeezed something inside of her. In addition to the fact that she had been feeling sorry for her behavior at the Mist Oasis' infirmatory.
She badly wanted to attend the lantern festival, but she knew what her parents would say, knew what names they would call her if she went out to have fun instead of training.
So hearing him ask had felt like he was deliberately pricking an already sore spot, resulting in her uncalled-for reaction.
"Stop it, you're holding too tightly. Ouch!".
Ling shoved her, and Meilian let go, stumbling backwards. Only then did she realize what she had done while she was lost in unpleasant thoughts.
"Sorry...".
But Ling was already walking away.
"Ling"she called.
He snubbed her at first, but apparently thought better of it, because he stopped and turned around.
"What is it now?If you want something...".
"You're going to attend the festival, right?".
She watched his face twist slightly,as if he had tasted something bitter. Then that expression was replaced by a cynical one that somehow managed to inflict an unseen, painful injury on her heart.
"Yes, I am. If not anything, it's an opportunity to escape seeing your stupid face".
"You...!".
He looked oddly satisfied with himself as he continued walking away. Meilian looked around, spotted two wooden practice swords, and flung one at her brother.
Ling whirled around and caught the weapon in midair. Before he could understand what was going on, Meilian dashed forward and swung the second one down with all her might.
Ling lifted the wooden sword in his hands and blocked the blow, but the impact brought him to his knees.
"What a shame,"Meilian clicked her tongue"to think you used to be the better sword fighter".
She dropped the other sword on the ground beside him and walked away, feeling much better.