Firefly.
Qiao Tan Yuan was amazed at how Gu Jiao Wu effortlessly scaled and fillet the fishes.
‘Do you want to eat braised fish or steamed fish?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Braised fish,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan thought it would be harder to braise a fish than steaming a fish. Gu Jiao Wu amazed her again, his braised fish was delicious. After dinner, she washed dishes and she was happy she only broke two dishes.
‘Not bad,’ Gu Jiao Wu praised. ‘You managed to wash the dishes, and only broke two dishes.’
‘Washing dishes is easy,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Gu Jiao Wu wisely kept his mouth closed. He held Qiao Tan Yuan’s hand, and pulled her to the sofa to help rub cream on her swollen fingers.
‘As a reward I want to take you somewhere,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘Where do you want to take me?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
Gu Jiao Wu held Qiao Tan Yuan’s hand and took her to the forest behind the house. She was scared of the dark, and pulled his hand to return to the house.
‘Don’t worry,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘There’s no ghost.’
‘You can say what you want to me inside the house,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘If you want to gaze at the stars, we can sit at the front of the house. Why do you want to take me to a dark place?’
‘I want you to see different stars,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Gu Jiao Wu dragged Qiao Tan Yuan further into the dense forest. If she wasn’t wearing hiking boots, her feet would have been cut by the sticks and twigs on the ground. A while later, they reached a big field of gra.s.s. The fireflies lit up the skyline, and the bright stars harmonised with the fireflies’ glowing bodies.
‘How did you know about this place?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Is it beautiful?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
Gu Jiao Wu caught a firefly, and showed the firefly to Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘Beautiful,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan was used to living in the city. It was the first time she saw fireflies.
‘Do you like it here?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Um, I like this place,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘It’s good you like it here,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Gu Jiao Wu sat on the gra.s.s.
‘Sit here,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘I don’t want to,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t want to sit on the dirty gra.s.s. Gu Jiao Wu pulled her down onto his lap.
‘Look up,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan was dazzled by the sight of fireflies dancing around the twinkling stars.
‘What do you think?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Beautiful,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘You have good eyes for beautiful sceneries.’
‘We’ll sleep here tonight,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘I don’t want to,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘There are mosquitoes, and we could catch a cold. Let’s go back to the house.’
‘You can go back,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I’m sleeping here tonight.’
‘Are you joking?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
Without Gu Jiao Wu guiding Qiao Tan Yuan back through the dense forest, she would be lost.
‘Are you scared of going back on your own?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘What is there to be scared of?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Good, because before I saw something floating behind you,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘What… did you see?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘What else?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked. He looked behind them, and acted like he saw something. ‘Ghosts. The forest ghosts people talk about.’
‘Ah!’ Qiao Tan Yuan cried out. She turned her head around and glared at Gu Jiao Wu. ‘You… don’t scare me.’
‘I’m not scaring you,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Turn around, and you’ll see…’
‘Don’t say anything else,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said and hugged Gu Jiao Wu’s neck.
Qiao Tan Yuan wished she never watched horror movies before.
‘It’s true,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Look behind you.’
‘I don’t want to look,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Can we go back to the house?’
‘Don’t you want to wait for them to leave before going back?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan buried her head into Gu Jiao Wu’s chest.
‘Stop,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I’m begging you not to say anything else.’
‘OK,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Are you scared of ghosts?’
‘Can you not mention that word?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘What word?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked. ‘Ghosts?’
‘If you say that word again, I’ll ignore you,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. She gripped Gu Jiao Wu’s shoulders. ‘My legs are numb.’
Qiao Tan Yuan knew Gu Jiao Wu wanted to scare her in the middle of the night. She was so scared she didn’t dare move her legs.
‘For a gutsy woman, I didn’t think you’ll be scared of…’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘Don’t say it!’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I mean it. If you say that word again, I’ll ignore you.’
‘OK,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘I’ll piggy back you to the house.’
Qiao Tan Yuan was scared and tired. She wrapped her arms around Gu Jiao Wu’s neck, her legs around his waist and didn’t dare to look behind them.
Gu Jiao Wu felt Qiao Tan Yuan’s trembling body on his back.
‘You’re a college graduate,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘You know scientifically there are no such thing as…’
‘You’re not allowed to say it!’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Gu Jiao Wu stopped teasing Qiao Tan Yuan, and walked slowly back to the house. She thought his broad shoulders were strong, reliable and warm. For a moment she wished the path they were walking on wouldn’t end.
When Gu Jiao Wu and Qiao Tan Yuan returned to the bedroom, she heard the sounds of leaves rustling outside the window and couldn’t sleep.
‘I’ll help you sleep,’ Gu Jiao Wu whispered in Qiao Tan Yuan’s ear.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t know if she was more scared of ghosts or Gu Jiao Wu’s idea of comfort.
In the morning, Gu Jiao Wu woke up first.
‘Wake up,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘Let me sleep,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t get to sleep all night, because Gu Jiao Wu used his way to comfort her all night.
‘If you don’t wake up, I’ll help you change clothes,’ Gu Jiao Wu threatened.
Qiao Tan Yuan opened her eyes.
‘Change into what?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
End of Chapter Ninety-Five