By the window, Chu Xinning curled her right hand, covering her mouth, exactly as Mu Tianye remembered.
He recalled how she often coughed as a child, and Dad would always soak a loquat fruit in water for her, saying it could soothe the throat...
A small loquat fruit would expand into a large cluster in the water glass, bobbing up and down like a black fruit.
He was around three or four years old then, too young to understand much, only finding it amusing and reaching out to grab the glass. Chu Xinning screamed and rushed over, pulling him away from the table.
He was unharmed, but she got one pant leg soaked.
The water was hot, steam rising from her pant leg. She winced in pain but only looked him up and down nervously, repeatedly asking, "Did it burn you? Where does it hurt?"
...
Chu Xinning stopped coughing and spoke softly, "I just... came back to see Grandpa."
Drawing back from old memories, Mu Tianye lowered his eyes, no longer looking at her.
"Get out!"
"Tianye!"
