The Creatures that We Are

Liu Qingying cursed Miss out before turning to Songstress with a smile. “How can you take it? I’d have slapped him.”

“He’s not that bad a person,” Songstress said resignedly.

“Really? You’re still defending him?” Liu Qingying scoffed. “Whatever the reason, all men who get violent with women are scum to me.”

“I knew Qin You from way back.” Songstress sighed softly, recalling her past.

“Oh, dear, it seems I’ve visited at the right time.” Liu Qingying covered her mouth and smirked dramatically. “I was only going to get a bouquet, but I got a gossip for free.”

“Did I say I’d tell you the story?” Songstress shot her an exasperated yet playful glare.

“Sis.” Liu Qingying went up to hook her arm around Songstress’. “It’s a nice day today. We should listen to music and have afternoon tea together while we curse out terrible men. What a wonderful time it’ll be.”

Songstress knew that Liu Qingying hadn’t come to just get flowers. She smiled faintly, “Alright. We’ll have afternoon tea.”

She flipped the sign outside to “closed” and made two cups of coffee, going up to the mezzanine floor with Liu Qingying.

Despite Songstress’ reluctance, she relented under Liu Qingying’s insistence and reminisced about her past with Qin You.

“Qin You and I were neighbors. He was three years older than me...”

“Huh? Only three years?” Liu Qingying was shocked. “He looks at least a decade older than you. Isn’t he aging way too quickly?”

Songstress smiled without commenting on it, continuing with her story. “My father passed away when I was young. My mother worked two jobs in order to support me and didn’t have the time to take care of me. But she was close to an auntie who lived near us. The auntie told her son to take care of me. That was Qin You.”

“When I was in elementary school, Qin You took me to school and picked me up after school every day. Sometimes, when my mother worked night shifts, he would come to our home to help me do homework until my mother returned.”

Songstress put her hands around her cup of coffee and lamented, “When he was little, Qin You was a square of a boy who saw it as his duty to take care of me.”

“Once, he went to the restroom and came out to find me, who should be doing homework, gone. He searched through the house and was terrified of losing me somewhere. He almost called the police.”

“I just went to the shop downstairs to get a popsicle, and I went home after ten minutes. Qin You was mad. He scolded me for going out just like that. I felt wronged. It was my home. I could get out whenever I wanted. We fought over that and gave each other the silent treatment for a week. It’s funny when I think about it now.”

Liu Qingying’s expression turned complicated. She shook her head. “The Qin You from your childhood doesn’t sound like the Miss I know.”

“People change.”

Songstress narrowed her eyes and smiled a little ruefully. “I admired him quite a lot when I was young. He knew everything and he was brave. I remember once, on our way home, a vicious dog lunged at us, and he got bitten for protecting me. I was moved. I went home and told my mother that I would marry Brother You when I grew up.”

Songstress waved her hand. “Of course, you can’t take a child at their word.”

“Then we grew up, and we remained close. I treated him as an older brother. When I went to high school, he was in college. And at some point I couldn’t remember, Qin You came to feel something other than brotherly love for me. He brought me gifts every holiday and asked me out to meals, shopping, and movies.”

“The summer after I graduated high school, Qin You asked me to go out with him on the night of qixi[1].” Songstress smiled. “I could more or less guess that he was going to confess to me.”

“I’ve got to say Qin You was quite patient before.” Liu Qingying felt conflicted.

“Yeah, he’s always been a little sensitive and had a bit of an inferiority complex. He grew up without a father, and his family wasn’t well off. He’s not particularly good-looking, either.”

“Alright. Let’s not get into that. Talk about the date.” Liu Qingying smirked.

“You’re incorrigible.” Songstress sipped on her coffee. “I only just understood matters of the heart then and could tell that he liked me, but I was too insensitive to tell if my feelings for him were for a friend, family, or love interest. We knew each other when we were young, and all sorts of feelings were involved. It was difficult to tell them apart.”

“Like a fish unable to describe what water is because it lives in it,” Liu Qingying made an analogy.

“Yeah.” Songstress nodded with a smile. “Although I agreed to go on the date, I didn’t have an answer. It was said in a book that a coin toss could help when we couldn’t make a decision. The moment the coin is tossed, the heart would know the answer.”

“So I thought perhaps I would have the answer when he confessed to me. I would know if I wanted to accept or reject him.”

“Then?” Liu Qingying leaned toward her slightly.

“Then I waited until late at night, but he never showed up.” Songstress cocked her head and pursed her lips.

“Oh dear, it’s so cliche my head hurts.” Liu Qingying could guess what happened next. She leaned back. “So, he awakened?”

Songstress nodded. “I only learned afterward that he awakened suddenly and almost got killed by a good friend of his. The Hundred Rivers Union saved him. When he learned the truth of the Mist World, he cut all ties without hesitation and joined the Union.”

“To me, Qin You might as well have vanished from the world. His mother only had him and was worried sick. She even got mentally ill because of it. I’d been wondering about him, too. Then I graduated from college and opened a flower shop, meeting Ghost Horse.”

“Ghost Horse was a frequent patron of my shop. One day, when I suddenly awakened, it was he who noticed in time and saved me. I joined the Twelve Zodiac Signs then, and the rest is history.”

Liu Qingying nodded slightly, looking bemused.

“Only after becoming an awakener did I know that Qin You had joined the Hundred Rivers Union and given himself the name Miss. I didn’t really resent him since I could understand his decision. Still, it did sadden me to think about his mother. I wished he would visit her, but Miss kept avoiding me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps he felt guilty and didn’t know how to face me and his mother. Or perhaps he felt inferior because his Talent was weaker than mine.”

“I was quite surprised when he sought me out today.” Songstress smiled bitterly. “It feels like he’s changed completely, but not changed at all at the same time.”

Liu Qingying sighed. “Fate’s a fickle mistress.”

“True that.” Songstress put down her cup and stretched elegantly.

“Still, I think fate treats me quite well. It was my greatest luck to have known Ghost Horse. I’ve already seen the most wonderful scenery. I have no regret in life.”

“What a coincidence.” Liu Qingying chuckled. “I’d say the same about myself.”

“That’s a gossip about myself.” Songstress gave Liu Qingying a meaningful look. “Isn’t it time to talk about yours?”

“Haha, I don’t have such a story to tell.” Liu Qingying reached out and placed a hand on Songstress’ arm with a smile, injecting energy into her palm. It was the mark of Sweet Dream.

“I’m here to get flowers and free afternoon tea.” Liu Qingying rose to her feet and went downstairs.

Songstress stood up too.

As expected of an information broker. She’s cautious.

1. Chinese Valentine’s Day. ☜

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