Chapter Text
The sun was setting over the city, casting the sky into vibrant hues of pink and orange. One by one, the colorful holiday lights on storefronts and over the roofs of resident homes flickered on, twinkling in the late afternoon haze. The winter air was infused with holiday cheer as passersby hurried along the bustling streets, finishing up the last of their holiday shopping.
Among the plethora of footsteps, a pair of small rubber boots stood out from the others as they treaded through the snow. The owner of the boots was a young boy sporting disheveled black hair, a bandage on his cheek, a backpack with a busted zipper, and nothing but a thin jacket to protect him from the cold.
Cheng Xiaoshi wasn’t exactly popular in his neighborhood. In fact, he was often regarded as the “weird kid”. His parents’ sudden disappearance had left him inundated by phony sympathy from shallow neighbors, and his brash nature eventually led to him lashing out at them.
Those shallow neighbors had probably gotten offended (as all shallow neighbors do) and gone on to tell their children all the usual shallow-neighborly things—
Stay away from him, he’s a bad influence;
Don’t even try to befriend him;
Just ignore him and pretend he doesn’t exist;
— things that Cheng Xiaoshi had gotten used to hearing, when the shallow neighbors gossip a little too loud.
As a result, all the neighborhood children either ignored him or singled him out as a bullying target. The latter is what led to his current situation, forced to trudge through the snow on tired legs after an hour of running around the school collecting his belongings on a sick prank of a scavenger hunt. He had missed the bus that usually took him home, so he had no choice but to embark on the 30 minute long walk through the snow.
Something soft and white landed on his eyelash, jolting him out of his moping.
Oh, there’s more of it on his jacket.
Oh, it’s wet, too.
Oh, it’s snowing.
Oh.
Cheng Xiaoshi’s heart sank as he looked around, realizing the streets were empty, the pedestrians having retreated into the nearby shops and cafes.
And where would he go? He didn’t have any money. He’d probably get kicked out for loitering, especially since it was the rush hour.
Without much thinking, he ducked under a nearby cafe’s awning, not wanting to spend another moment in the snow. As long as he didn’t enter the shop itself, he should be fine, right?
He turned toward the muffled chorus of voices inside, looking through the glass paned windows at the warm cafe lights and delicate pastries in beautiful display shelves. He heard his own stomach grumble as the scent of coffee and freshly baked bread wafted over to him.
His eyes lingered on a family of three seated around a table, talking and laughing and enjoying their afternoon snacks.
He missed his parents. He made a mental note to ask them to take him to this cafe when they finally came back.
Surely they’ll be back soon, right?
A drop of something warm and wet rolled down his cheek. And another. And another.
Cheng Xiaoshi turned away from the window and sat down on the cold hard floor, burying his own head in his arms. He wished he were home right now. Home with his parents. He wished this was all a bad dream and he’d wake up any moment now and have a warm, hearty dinner with his parents.
But he didn’t wake up.
The sound of the cafe doorbell rang, jolting him out of his thoughts.
It was the happy family he saw before. The child, a young boy about his age, met his eyes. He had lightly tousled white hair and upturned gray eyes that seemed to hold a wisdom that preceded his years. His neat (and weather appropriate) way of dress, with his thick coat and cozy scarf, hinted at an affluent background.
Cheng Xiaoshi thought the boy looked a little familiar, although he couldn’t imagine someone like him hanging around in his neighborhood full of thugs. He’d probably get his lunch money stolen every day, thought Cheng Xiaoshi darkly. Not that he’d miss it anyway.
The boy’s father, having noticed him, sidled over and bent down to reach eye level with Cheng Xiaoshi. “Hey, buddy. Are you all alone out here?”
Cheng Xiaoshi looked away. He didn’t need the pity.
The man’s smile didn’t falter. He gave Cheng Xiaoshi a gentle nudge on the shoulder. “C’mon, you’ll get cold out here. We can give you a ride home. Where do you live?”
Reluctantly, Cheng Xiaoshi stood up. He supposed getting a ride from a stranger would be much better than waiting and praying for the snow to stop.
The man smiled even wider and opened up a huge umbrella, big enough for his family of three and Cheng Xiaoshi to all fit under. As they walked to the car, he wrapped his arm around the boy and pulled him close, providing him with some warmth. Strangely, the sensation felt a bit nostalgic to Cheng Xiaoshi. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.
Once he had given the man his address and gotten situated in the backseat of their very fancy car, Cheng Xiaoshi finally breathed a sigh of relief. The parents were chatting away in the front row while he and their son sat in silence in the back. He shot a glance at the other boy to find him already staring back.
“Hey…your name is Cheng Xiaoshi, right?”
Cheng Xiaoshi blinked. The emotion behind those calculating gray eyes was unreadable.
“How do you know my name?” he demanded.
“We go to the same school. I transferred in about a month ago.”
“Really? Then how come I haven’t seen you before?”
“You don’t seem to pay a lot of attention to your surroundings.”
Cheng Xiaoshi scowled. “Listen here, if you’re just gonna insult me-”
“I’m not insulting you.”
“Yeah, right.”
Neither knowing how to continue the conversation, they faded into silence once more.
“Cheng Xiaoshi, do you…have any friends?”
The question came suddenly. Cheng Xiaoshi scowled once again. “And you say you aren’t insulting me!”
The other boy seemed taken aback, quickly clearing his throat. “Ah, that…wasn’t my intention. I was asking a genuine question.”
Cheng Xiaoshi softened. When he thought about it, his one and only friend really was just Qiao Ling. He suddenly felt a little lonely.
“Well, I guess I do have one…her name is Qiao Ling. She’s like a big sister to me. She can be pretty scary sometimes, though.”
The other boy nodded. “Must be nice.”
Cheng Xiaoshi nodded back. He wondered what that statement was supposed to mean. Deciding to continue the conversation, he followed up: “Do you live nearby…uh, what was your name again?”
“Lu Guang.”
Remembering the manners his parents taught him, he nodded and responded, “It’s nice to meet you, Lu Guang.”
“Likewise,” the other responded.
Lu Guang continued, “I actually live quite near you, just a few streets away and closer to the downtown area. You live in the Hero Photo Studio, right? I’ve heard about your…situation. I’m very sorry about that.”
“It’s alright. I’m alright,” Cheng Xiaoshi answered a little too quickly. He’d heard those words so many times already that the response was trained into his brain.
Except it wasn’t alright, and he wasn’t alright.
He felt a soft pat on his shoulder and turned to find Lu Guang’s hand there, a faint reassuring smile wavering on his lips. It looked like he wasn’t quite sure what to do, but he wanted to try to help anyway. Cheng Xiaoshi found the gesture a little endearing. He smiled back, despite himself.
“Thank you.”
For the rest of the ride, the two talked about all the things boys talked about—sports, toys, games, cartoons—except it was more like a game of twenty questions.
“Lu Guang, have you really not watched the Triple Star Warriors? What have you watched then?”
“Like I’ve said, I mostly prefer to read books.”
“What a nerd.”
Despite it all, Cheng Xiaoshi still found Lu Guang surprisingly easy to talk to. He wasn’t as energetic as Qiao Ling; conversely, he was a little reserved and definitely very nerdy. Yet when he spoke, his words held a calm certainty that was refreshing to hear.
Cheng Xiaoshi had been pleasantly surprised to find out that Lu Guang at least played basketball. So he wasn’t a total nerd. He was actually pretty cool, once Cheng Xiaoshi thought about it. He found himself smiling again, despite himself.
When they dropped him off, Lu Guang had even run after him, insisting on giving him his scarf.
“So you don’t get cold. Since you clearly don’t know how to dress according to the weather,” he had said.
Now, as Cheng Xiaoshi sat at his dining table eating dinner alone, he nearly rolled his eyes at the other’s words.
The scarf was pale blue with a grumpy-looking cat embroidered in white thread on one end. Cheng Xiaoshi absentmindedly traced a finger over the cat as he ate, brain still swimming from the whole interaction.
What a day.