As evening approached, the scorching glare of midsummer lost its aggression, filtering through the lush green leaves of the treetops to brush against the children’s heads like a warm palm.
School had just let out. The entrance of the primary school was a cacophony of noise. A young female teacher maintained order, meeting with each parent and dutifully handing over the children, receiving a few milky cries of “Goodbye, teacher” in return.
“Xiao Yu, I’m sorry, Big Sister is late.” A teenage girl hurried through the crowd toward a small boy. She was panting, and beads of sweat caused strands of hair to stick to her forehead.
“Sister Yun, you came to pick me up!” The boy’s round eyes filled with joy. He left the line and affectionately took the girl’s hand.
The teacher looked at the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl. Her exquisite, beautiful face carried an air of elegant nobility that should have felt out of place in these surroundings, yet she was so gentle and composed that one couldn’t find a single flaw.
Recalling the phone call from the student’s father that afternoon, the teacher asked, “You must be Xiao Yu’s neighbor, the big sister he mentioned? I’ll leave him in your hands then.”
“Yes, thank you, Teacher. We’ll be heading off now.” Yun Qianxin looked down at Gu Yu and stroked the boy’s head. As she withdrew her gaze, her voice was soft and cultured. “Xiao Yu, say goodbye to the teacher.”
“Goodbye, Teacher Su.”
“Goodbye, Xiao Yu. Make sure you do your homework!”
Gu Yu’s face instantly soured. He turned away to avoid his smiling homeroom teacher and followed Yun Qianxin into the distance.
The air was humid and stifling. The summer cicadas, having shrieked all day by the roadside, had yet to quiet down. The sidewalk was jammed with parents picking up their children after work, and the greasy, rich aroma of various snacks wafted from the street stalls.
The sweat on her forehead dried quickly. Yun Qianxin held the boy’s hand tightly, watching him look left and right, lured by the sights. His eyes were fixed on a stall selling golden, glistening snacks, his feet almost refusing to move.
Yun Qianxin smiled and asked, “Do you want to eat something, Xiao Yu? Should Sister treat you?”
The boy swallowed hard and hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “No, no. Dad said I shouldn’t let Sister Yun spend money, and I shouldn’t eat street food, or he’ll scold me.”
He turned his head and quickened his pace, walking in front. “Let’s go home quickly. I want Dad to make something delicious tonight.”
Yun Qianxin smiled and kept pace with him. The small hand in her palm had tender skin; the boy looked innocent and pure.
After a short journey and a few traffic lights, they turned into an old residential district. The grayish-black walls were peeling and chipped. Old trees, surrounded by buildings, were in full bloom, casting large patches of green shade.
Yun Qianxin led the boy into the building. The lighting in the stairwell was poor—dark, cold, and smelling of dust. They climbed the unpaved cement steps and stopped before a metal door covered in various advertisements.
Yun Qianxin pulled out her keys to open the door and asked the boy, “Why don’t you sit at Sister’s place for a while? You can head back once your dad is home, okay?”
“Okay! I’ll do whatever Sister Yun says.”
Gu Yu looked up with his cute little face and agreed obediently. He followed Yun Qianxin into the room, and the iron door clicked shut behind them.
The apartment he often visited was as clean as ever, the furniture simple and laid out clearly at a single glance.
“Do your homework first, Xiao Yu. Sister is going to cook… would you like to have dinner here?”
“Yes, yes! Sister’s cooking is delicious, I love it.” The boy’s praise was heartfelt, his eyes sparkling with genuine joy.
The child’s voice was clear and tender, so sweet it made one’s heart overflow with happiness.
A smile curved on Yun Qianxin’s lips. Every expression was breathtakingly beautiful, like peach and plum blossoms ready to bud in a spring garden after the snow has melted.
But the moment she turned around and tied up her hair, exposing the cheeks previously hidden by her thick black tresses, her eyes filled with a murky, distorted greed.
She licked her dry lips. Beneath her calm facade, a hideous and grotesque craving was nearly overflowing; the symptoms of a frantic madness began to take hold.
The cold water running over her fair hands helped her regain her composure. This was a turning point; at such a critical junction, she had to remain steady. She had to continue playing the role of the gentle, kind older sister until she could lure the prey into the trap and claim him as her own.
She knew she was greedy. She yearned to monopolize the light, to have it shine only for her, to have its warmth granted only to her.
She wanted to build a profound and unshakable love between them—one that would surpass all worldly emotions, etched into the heart, the bones, and the soul, impossible to erase even if burned to ash.
…
Tonight’s dinner was exceptionally lavish. She had prepared many dishes for this final meal in a place filled with warm memories, doing her best to cater to the boy’s tastes.
At the dining table, Gu Yu ate happily, devouring the food and going back for seconds. His mouth was stained with oil, and two grains of rice stuck to his face.
Seeing he had finished the rice in his bowl, Yun Qianxin didn’t offer more. She pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth.
“Are you full, Xiao Yu?”
The boy set down his utensils and responded with an innocent smile. “Mm, I’m full. Thank you, Sister Yun. Your cooking is the best.”
“Then, do you like Sister? Do you want to be able to eat Sister’s cooking forever?” Yun Qianxin tilted her head to look at him, observing the boy’s defenseless, fragile, and young form. Beneath her long eyelashes, the predatory nature of her gaze was becoming impossible to hide.
“Of course I like you! I like Sister Yun the most. I want to be with Sister forever.”
“Then let’s leave this place, okay? Just the two of us. We won’t tell anyone else. In the future, it will just be us. We can be together forever and never be apart.”
“I can’t do that. If I leave, Dad will be sad. I don’t want to leave Dad, or the grandpas and grandmas downstairs who are so nice to me, or my friends at school.”
“Them? …So, Xiao Yu doesn’t want to go with Sister?”
Yun Qianxin’s tone turned cold. Her gentle and kind facade shattered instantly, leaving no trace behind. It was as if a bleak winter had arrived, and all life had withered.
“But didn’t you say you liked Sister the most?”
“I… Sister, is something bothering you? You look… very un…”
A sudden wave of drowsiness cut off his words. His head felt heavy, and a second later, his eyes drifted shut.
“How could you lie to Sister? You’re being a naughty boy.”
Yun Qianxin’s eyes stained a blood-red hue as her greed manifested without restraint. She walked behind the boy and wrapped her arms around his slender neck, inhaling the clean, sun-kissed scent lingering at the tip of her nose.
She couldn’t let this chance go. This was the only time. If she missed it, he might fade out of her life entirely, and she would never find him again.
Everything was prepared. She would seize this hard-won treasure now; from then on, he would belong entirely to her.
But then she began to hesitate. The light seized in this manner would surely grow dim, and they could never return to how they were… But… so what? What could be more painful to her than losing him?
…
Midsummer departed, and time flowed forward. Gu Yu moved up in school and grew older. He met many people and understood many truths—for instance, that some precious things slip away quietly when one isn’t looking, leaving him caught off guard without even the chance to say goodbye…
Just like that evening when he had inexplicably fallen asleep while the sunset was still perfect. By the time he was woken up by his father returning home, the neighbor sister who had been his source of gentleness for years had already left, never to be found again…