Chapter 1 : The Boy Next Door
When Bai Yan was six years old, a new family moved into the house next door.
It was the hottest summer she could remember.
The afternoon sun poured over the neighborhood, making the white concrete almost too bright to look at. Beneath the old banyan tree, the shade offered the only escape from the heat, while cicadas screamed from somewhere among the leaves.
Bai Yan didn’t seem to mind the heat at all.
She was crouched in the middle of the yard, supposedly watering the flowers her mother had planted.
In reality, she was holding a bright blue water gun.
She sprayed the flowers once.
Then twice.
And then, for reasons known only to a six-year-old girl, her attention shifted toward the wall separating the two houses.
Her eyes sparkled mischievously.
The next second—
“Hey!”
She squeezed the trigger.
A stream of water shot over the low wall and landed directly on a man carrying a box into the neighboring house.
The man froze.
He slowly looked down at his soaked shirt before looking toward the wall.
Bai Yan froze too.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Then she quietly hid the water gun behind her back.
“It wasn’t me.”
The man stared at her.
At that exact moment, Bai Yan’s mother walked out of the house.
She took one look at the scene.
“Bai Yan!”
“Mom…”
The little girl’s voice immediately became smaller.
Her mother took the water gun from behind her back.
“The neighbors just moved in today, and this is how you’re welcoming them?”
Bai Yan lowered her head.
Her mother sighed, then pointed toward the neighboring house.
“Go over and say hello.”
Bai Yan immediately looked up.
“New neighbors?”
“Mm.”
“Do they have children?”
“I think they have a boy around your age.”
“A boy?”
Her eyes lit up.
She completely forgot about the water gun.
Before her mother could say anything else, Bai Yan had already run toward the gate.
The neighboring house was filled with the chaos of moving day. Adults were carrying furniture inside, cardboard boxes were stacked everywhere, and the front gate stood wide open.
Bai Yan stood on tiptoe.
Then she saw him.
A boy stood quietly beside a pile of boxes.
He looked about her age.
He wore a clean white T-shirt, black shorts, and simple sneakers.
Unlike the other children Bai Yan knew, he wasn’t running around.
He wasn’t shouting.
He simply stood there quietly, almost as if the noisy world around him had nothing to do with him.
Bai Yan stared at him for a moment.
Then she whispered,
“He’s so quiet.”
Her mother smiled.
“Why don’t you go find out what he’s like?”
Bai Yan nodded and walked over.
She stopped directly in front of the boy.
He noticed her and slowly raised his eyes.
Their gazes met for the first time.
Neither of them spoke.
Finally, Bai Yan couldn’t stand the silence anymore.
“Hello.”
The boy nodded.
“Hello.”
His voice was quiet.
“What’s your name?”
“Lu Zhi.”
“Lu Zhi?”
“Mm.”
“My name is Bai Yan.”
“Mm.”
That was it.
Bai Yan waited.
One second.
Two seconds.
Nothing.
She frowned.
“Don’t you have anything else to say?”
Lu Zhi seemed to think about it seriously.
Then he shook his head.
“No.”
Bai Yan stared at him.
She had never met anyone who was this bad at talking.
“Do you not like talking?”
“Mm.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you like to play?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you like to eat?”
“I don’t know.”
Bai Yan finally lost her patience.
“How can you not know anything?”
Lu Zhi looked at her seriously.
“I know.”
Bai Yan blinked.
“You know what?”
“My name is Lu Zhi.”
For a moment, Bai Yan didn’t react.
Then she burst into laughter.
“You’re so silly!”
Lu Zhi didn’t defend himself.
He simply watched her laugh.
The sunlight fell across the girl’s face. Her eyes curved into little crescents, and two tiny dimples appeared on her cheeks.
Lu Zhi didn’t know why.
But somehow, he didn’t want her to stop smiling.
Of course, a six-year-old boy couldn’t possibly understand what that feeling meant.
He didn’t know that this girl named Bai Yan would one day become the most important person in his life.
He only knew that he liked seeing her smile.
And perhaps, at that age, that was enough.
The two families became close surprisingly quickly.
They lived right next door, and the children were around the same age.
Before long, having dinner together became a regular occurrence.
During their first dinner, Bai Yan discovered something important.
Lu Zhi was really, really quiet.
The adults chatted around the table while Lu Zhi simply sat there and ate.
He wasn’t picky.
He didn’t complain.
He didn’t interrupt.
He just ate whatever was placed in front of him.
Bai Yan secretly watched him several times.
Finally, she picked up a piece of green vegetable from her own bowl and placed it into his.
“Eat this.”
Lu Zhi looked down.
“I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like vegetables?”
“Mm.”
“Then eat it.”
“Why?”
Bai Yan answered with complete confidence.
“Because my mom says children who don’t eat vegetables won’t grow tall.”
Lu Zhi looked at her.
Then he glanced at the vegetables still sitting untouched in her own bowl.
“You don’t eat them either.”
Bai Yan froze.
“…”
Her little face immediately became embarrassed.
“I just don’t want to eat them today.”
“Oh.”
Lu Zhi picked up the vegetable.
And ate it.
Bai Yan’s eyes immediately curved into a smile.
“See? That’s better.”
The adults couldn’t help laughing.
Bai Yan’s mother smiled.
“Yan Yan, you should play with Lu Zhi more often.”
“Okay!”
Bai Yan nodded enthusiastically.
“I will!”
Lu Zhi’s mother laughed.
“Lu Zhi has always been a quiet child. You’ll have to bring him out to play.”
Bai Yan immediately straightened her back.
“Don’t worry, Auntie! I’ll take good care of him!”
Lu Zhi looked up.
“I don’t need to be taken care of.”
Bai Yan frowned.
“You have to listen to me.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m better at playing than you.”
Lu Zhi was silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“Okay.”
And just like that, Bai Yan gained herself a little shadow.
At first, Bai Yan was always the one who went looking for him.
But slowly, things changed.
It became Lu Zhi who waited outside her house.
It became Lu Zhi who followed her around.
Wherever Bai Yan went, he went too.
When she played hopscotch, he watched nearby.
When she rode her bicycle around the neighborhood, he followed behind her.
When she played hide-and-seek with the other children, he joined.
He didn’t talk much.
But whenever Bai Yan called his name, he always answered.
“Lu Zhi!”
“Mm.”
“Come here.”
“Okay.”
“Lu Zhi!”
“What?”
“I’m hungry.”
Lu Zhi would quietly take the biscuits from his pocket and hand them to her.
“Here.”
Bai Yan happily took them.
“Aren’t you eating?”
“I’m not hungry.”
She never knew that he had been saving them for her.
Because Bai Yan liked biscuits.
And if she liked something, he didn’t mind giving it to her.
Days passed.
Then months.
Then years.
Without either of them realizing it, Lu Zhi became part of Bai Yan’s everyday life.
She became used to opening her front door every morning and seeing him next door.
She became used to walking home with him after school.
She became used to sitting beside him during meals.
Most of all, she became used to calling his name.
Because no matter where he was—
whenever she called,
“Lu Zhi.”
he would always turn around.
Always.
On the first day of elementary school, Bai Yan stood outside her house with a brand-new schoolbag on her back.
She wore her new uniform, and her mother had carefully tied her hair that morning.
She was excited.
And nervous.
Then the door next door opened.
Lu Zhi walked out with his schoolbag.
Their eyes met almost instantly.
Bai Yan’s nervousness disappeared.
“Lu Zhi!”
She ran toward him.
“We’re going to school!”
“Mm.”
“Are you nervous?”
“No.”
Bai Yan puffed out her cheeks.
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m starting elementary school.”
Lu Zhi looked at her for a moment.
“You’ll get used to it.”
Bai Yan thought about it.
Then she reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
“Then stay with me.”
Lu Zhi looked down at her hand.
Then he nodded.
“Okay.”
The two children walked toward school together.
Side by side.
Just like they always had.
Later, they discovered something even better.
They weren’t just neighbors.
They were classmates.
When the teacher began assigning seats, Bai Yan immediately raised her hand.
“Teacher!”
The teacher looked at her.
“What is it?”
“Can I sit with Lu Zhi?”
The entire classroom turned toward them.
The teacher smiled.
“You two know each other?”
Bai Yan nodded proudly.
“We’ve been playing together since we were little!”
The teacher laughed.
“Alright, then you can sit together.”
Bai Yan happily ran to the seat beside Lu Zhi.
Lu Zhi followed.
That year, they were six years old.
They didn’t know what childhood sweethearts meant.
They didn’t know what falling in love meant.
They didn’t know that some people entered your life quietly, only to stay there for a lifetime.
They simply knew one thing.
If they could see each other every day, then everything was fine.
And for them, that was enough.
