Evening self-study ended at nine o'clock, and it had gotten completely dark.
The wind was blowing outside, making it exceptionally cool. Occasionally, a bright light flashed across the sky.
A heavy rain was approaching.
Li Nan called out from behind Zhou Li, "Zhou Li, are you walking or biking? Do you want me to ask a boarding student to lend you an umbrella?"
Zhou Li turned around. "My house is very close."
"Well, okay then."
"Goodbye."
"Uh-huh!"
Zhou Li, with his backpack on, jostled through the crowd heading downstairs. He casually glanced around but didn't see his younger brother, Zhu Shuang. He didn't wait for him and simply headed toward the school exit on his own.
As he joined the stream of students leaving, he glanced into the distance. That figure was still standing by that tree, staring blankly in the direction where the lightning had just flashed.
Once outside the school gate, the streetlights stretched out one after another.
The scent of locust blooms grew stronger, wafting in gusts with the wind. White petals were blown off, then swirled on the ground.
Zhou Li watched the road, his mind beginning to ponder.
'They' were becoming more numerous. In his memory, there had never been so many 'them' before. Even in the mountains, it was rare to see one, so he only needed to be a bit careful to avoid crossing paths with them. But somehow, now he was seeing them often. This was in the city.
This was starting to unsettle Zhou Li.
After a while, he mumbled to himself, "Perhaps it's time for me to try something new."
As he neared his residential area, he suddenly stopped.
Looking up, he saw a figure sitting on the locust tree across the intersection. It was the same slim figure, wearing the same clothes as the other day. The dense canopy of the locust tree was an area streetlights struggled to reach, but he could vaguely make out long hair fluttering.
It was a girl, and she was wearing shoes.
Zhou Li was somewhat dumbfounded. When the green light came on, he slowly walked over, occasionally glancing up at the branches.
As Zhou Li approached, the girl's gaze locked onto him. She suppressed the surprise in her eyes, first frowned, then spoke, "Weren't you pretending not to see me? Why aren't you pretending today?"
Zhou Li looked up at her. "How did you... become a girl?"
WHOOSH!
The girl jumped down again, her movements agile.
A flash of lightning illuminated her face, making it appear deathly white.
"Why did you want to see me today?"
"Just to talk."
"Aren't you afraid I'll eat you?" she firmly believed that Zhou Li had been afraid of being devoured by her the day before yesterday.
"Not afraid."
"Hmph!"
The girl snorted lightly, then immediately broke into a smile. "Let's go somewhere else to talk; people are watching you."
Zhou Li's expression remained calm. "Let them watch."
"Others will think you're crazy."
"I'm used to it."
The girl didn't respond. She walked a few steps forward, glanced back at him, and when she saw he was following, continued on, slowing her pace.
Zhou Li watched the back of the girl's neck. It was only at such a close distance that he noticed the difference between her and humans—
Her skin was too perfect!
Her complexion was quite fair, but not unnaturally so.
Yet it was too delicate!
There were no visible pores or vellus hair. Under the light from the shops lining the street, her skin reflected a crystalline sheen.
She must have some kind of shape-shifting ability, right? If that's the case, it would make sense—she was completely different from yesterday, and Zhou Li had never seen 'them' who looked almost exactly like humans as she did.
With this thought, he scrutinized the girl more closely.
Her loose linen pants outlined the curves of her body; perhaps there was a tail shorter than a rabbit's hidden underneath?
Zhou Li shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Soon, they reached an alley that was slightly less crowded. It wasn't deserted, just lacking streetlights or shops, making it a bit darker.
The girl didn't venture deep into the alley. She walked only a few meters in before leaning against a wall.
"Let's just stay here. We don't need to go further in, lest you worry again that I'm going to eat you."
"…"
Zhou Li couldn't be bothered to explain.
The alley was somewhat dark. A red "Peach Garden Internet Café" sign in its center provided some illumination; otherwise, the light mostly came from the windows of the buildings on either side. A few stray cats were gathered by a trash heap as if holding a meeting. Nearby, a few young men with dyed hair squatted at the entrance to the internet café, smoking. Both the stray cats and the young men would occasionally glance in their direction, their movements oddly similar.
It seemed tiny raindrops had begun to fall.
Zhou Li looked at the girl and hesitated before asking, "Is this your original appearance?"
"No."
"Like yesterday then?"
"Not that either," the girl replied, then added, "Don't be confused by my appearance."
"So, are you male or female?"
"For us, this is just a shell!" the girl said. "I can become whatever I want."
"How capricious."
"What is your name?"
"Zhou Li. What about you?"
"My name is... Huai Xu," the girl said thoughtfully. "Since we've exchanged names like this, does that mean we're acquainted now?"
"I guess so. But could you change back to how you looked yesterday? Your current appearance makes me... uncomfortable." The girl in front of him was stunningly beautiful, which put a lot of pressure on the recently-turned-adult Zhou Li.
"Why? Don't I look good?" Huai Xu lowered his head to look himself over. "Or do you think the one from yesterday was better looking?"
"I'm used to the one from yesterday."
"Hmm... so you like guys, huh? Well, I have to wait until day and night intersect to change back."
"Dusk and dawn?"
"Exactly."
At that moment, the group of young men squatting at the internet café entrance stood up. However, instead of heading upstairs into the café, they started walking towards Zhou Li and Huai Xu.
Huai Xu turned his head to glance at them and fell silent.
As the group passed by Zhou Li, they glanced at his school uniform. "It's raining, and you're still not heading home!"
Zhou Li didn't respond.
Once they had left the alley, Zhou Li said, "It's starting to rain hard. Aren't you going home?"
"I'm not afraid of getting wet."
"I am."
"I don't have a home."
"No home?"
"Yeah," Huai Xu said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Maybe I did, once. I just can't remember."
"Can't remember?" Zhou Li was filled with questions—not just about Huai Xu from the past few days, but also questions he had accumulated over more than a decade. "Did something happen to you?"
"I don't know. I couldn't remember anything when I woke up."
"Woke up..."
The word made Zhou Li pause, as images of them crawling out of the soil flashed in his mind, next to crooked tombstones. Suddenly, a sunflower destroyed this frightening scene.
"Actually, I have a lot of questions for you."
"Ask away!" Huai Xu's eyes brightened. "I'll tell you everything I know!"
"Okay." Zhou Li could sense it. The being before him genuinely wanted to talk to someone—just to have a simple conversation.
But the rain was quickly intensifying, drumming loudly on the ground and the awnings of the low houses in the alley, threatening to become a deluge.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Li caught sight of a familiar figure with an umbrella walking by the roadside. He thought for a moment, then turned to Huai Xu, who was still expectantly waiting for him to ask questions, and asked, "Where do you go when it rains?"
"I like to stay in trees. Sometimes I go into houses to take shelter. Lots of houses around here aren't locked at night, heh. Anyway, no one can see me, and I don't get cold."
"I have to go. My Aunt Jiang is out looking for me."
"Oh..."
Zhou Li saw the light in his eyes dim, so he quickly added, "You can come find me. You know where I live, right?"
His eyes suddenly widened, reflecting even more light.
"Okay!" Huai Xu exclaimed.
Zhou Li said, "Right! I'm off!"
"Goodbye!" Huai Xu called after him.
"Bye," Zhou Li replied.
Zhou Li turned and walked out of the alley. Protecting his backpack, he quickened his pace into a run. It wasn't long before he caught up with Aunt Jiang, his hair completely soaked by then.
"Aunt Jiang, why did you come out?"
"Eh, how did you end up behind me?" Aunt Jiang handed her umbrella to him and opened another for herself.
"You probably didn't see me. I'd already walked past when I realized it was you, so I ran back," Zhou Li said helplessly. "You don't need to come out to get me. It's just a short walk. A little rain is nothing; if it gets too heavy, I can just run."
"The rain is quite heavy."
"Then I'll just take a taxi."
"When it rains this hard, everyone tries to get a taxi, and there aren't enough. Besides, your college entrance exams are coming up. What if you get soaked and catch a cold or a fever?" Aunt Jiang said, glancing at his hair. "Look, your hair is drenched. Quick, use your sleeve or something to dry it."
"Where's Xiao Shuang?"
"I just ran into him. I gave him an umbrella."
"Oh."
"I made you pork trotter soup with white radish. When we get back, take a shower first. I told Xiao Shuang to let you go first since you're soaked..."
Zhou Li's parents divorced when he was very young. Due to his paternal grandparents' insistence on him continuing the family line, he went to live with his father. His current family was a blended one; Aunt Jiang was his stepmother. She also had a son, Zhu Shuang, who was just a year younger than Zhou Li. Zhu Shuang also attended Yan City Middle School and was currently in his second year of high school.
Back home, Zhou Li showered and changed into dry clothes. When he emerged, a bowl of freshly ladled pork trotter soup was on the table. Unlike how most people prepared it, Aunt Jiang's version didn't have a thick layer of oil on top; she considered that too unhealthy.
Zhou Li really liked the white radish in the soup.
"I'm going to work on my practice exams now."
"Rest early."
"Okay."
Zhou Li shuffled in his slippers to his room. When he opened the door, he saw a figure sitting on the windowsill. This time, it was facing him, though its head was turned to gaze out at the rain. A cool breeze carried the damp scent of rain inside.
"You're here already!" Zhou Li said, surprised.
"Yeah. It seemed like you were eager to ask those questions," Huai Xu replied readily. "On my way here, I saw a girl in a uniform like yours being chased and snapped at by a big dog!"
"Oh."
Zhou Li walked to his desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
He turned on his desk lamp, and its eye-friendly light instantly bathed the desktop. He took the slightly damp practice exams from his backpack, smoothed them out, and then looked at Huai Xu. "Come in and sit down."
The room wasn't large; apartments in this residential complex generally weren't spacious. It contained a bunk bed, a nightstand, a bookshelf, a small wardrobe, and Zhou Li's desk and chair. Huai Xu hopped down from the windowsill and scanned the room, realizing the only place to sit was Zhou Li's bed. But he was wet. He had always hesitated to come inside before, afraid of dripping water on the floor of Zhou Li's house.
The floor was reflective and seemed valuable.
He didn't dare sit, so he leaned against the ladder of the bunk bed and began to survey Zhou Li's room.