"Little sister, I know you're upset now, but things will get better."
Xu Nian'an thought that Xu Nianhua was too embarrassed to admit she had tried to take her own life by jumping into the lake, which is why he said it that way, especially given how eerie her smile was at that moment?
Xu Nianhua's smile grew even brighter as she said, word by word, "Big brother, I really didn't jump into the lake."
"Don't tell me you thought it was hot and decided to take a cold bath?" Xu Nian'an asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow and clearly not believing Xu Nianhua's words.
"Big brother, how could I bear to leave our parents, or you and our eldest brother?" Xu Nianhua's voice was soft but not weak, conveying a sense of gentleness. Her eyes twinkled as she added, "I just accidentally fell in."
As for what she had seen at the back hill, Xu Nianhua didn't say, after all, she couldn't clearly remember who was with whom.
"Oh right, big brother, how come you are here?"
Xu Nianhua countered.
"You still have the nerve to ask." Xu Nian'an was still somewhat frightened as he said, "Little sister, would you be okay if I hadn't come?"
Xu Nian'an stood up, draped his white shirt over her, only wearing a tank top himself, squatted down in front of her, and said, "Let's go, we're going home."
Going home.
Xu Nianhua immediately burst into tears, clutching tightly at the white shirt, and said, "Big brother, I can walk on my own."
"Hurry up, don't catch a cold from all this fussing."
Xu Nian'an urged, without any intention of getting up.
Xu Nianhua carefully leaned against his broad and solid back. He carried her, each step steady and firm. In her memories, the eldest brother and big brother always carried her around everywhere. Whether it was the eldest brother, big brother, or their parents, they were the ones who loved her most. She would never allow anyone to hurt them!
The Xu family lived in Shuangzhu Village, named for the two large bamboo forests there. People built their homes along the streams on both sides of the mountains, a cluster of old, yet orderly houses. From halfway up the mountain, the curling smoke enveloped the homes, casting an aura of tranquility.
"Little sister?"
Xu Nian'an felt Xu Nianhua was unusually quiet on his back and couldn't help but call out softly, sidelong glancing at her. She had already fallen asleep, and he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but his back, warmed by Xu Nianhua, felt as hot as a furnace.
Xu Nian'an quickened his pace, worried his sister might catch a cold from her fall into the lake.
"Little sister, we're home." It was only when Xu Nian'an reached home that he softly called out Xu Nianhua's name.
"Big brother?"
Xu Nianhua opened her eyes groggily, feeling a fever engulf her body. She responded hazily and then closed her eyes again.
Xu Nian'an touched her forehead, finding it alarmingly hot. He carefully put Xu Nianhua back into bed and then rushed off to the fields to find his mother, Ji Ying.
It was July, and the early rice had just been harvested. The Xu family was working in the fields, preparing to plant the late rice.
Xu Nian'an was supposed to work in the fields too, but Ji Ying and her husband were worried about Xu Nianhua, so they asked him to stay at home to tend to the drying rice. Taking advantage of the dried rice, he hadn't seen his little sister and went to look for her.
When Ji Ying heard that Xu Nianhua had fallen into the lake and got a fever, she immediately returned from the fields. Seeing Xu Nianhua confused with fever on the bed, Ji Ying looked at her daughter with a heartache and immediately fetched some fever-reducing herbs from the house to brew and gave it to her. Then, she asked Xu Nian'an anxiously, "Nian'an, tell me, do you think Nianhua accidentally fell into the lake, or did she..." contemplate otherwise?