The Beginning of Summer. The sunlight was bright and beautiful.
The wind blew in from the broad river, carrying a warm, damp breeze.
By the time Lin Wu and the others reached the wharf, the Zhiyun Trading Company’s ship had already come to shore.
Its sails billowed in the wind, gently striking the mast with a rhythmic thump-thump that blended into the bustle of the wharf. Coolies shouted as they carried crates back and forth, while flatbed carts nimbly threaded their way through the crowd.
At a glance, it truly looked like a large merchant vessel returning from a trading voyage.
With people milling everywhere, it was difficult to keep track of anything.
But Lin Wu’s gaze swept over the bobbing heads and soon settled on one particular figure.
Shen Guanting was remarkably easy to find.
Not merely because he was tall. Wherever he stood, the busy, chaotic scene around him seemed to fade into the background of its own accord.
He was turned slightly to one side, speaking with someone.
They were still too far apart, and with the clamorous noise of the wharf, not a trace of his voice carried over.
Today, he wore a pale blue robe with a sash at his waist, which made his tall, straight figure look all the more neat and refreshing. There was not the slightest sign of fatigue from the long journey by river; he looked as though he had merely gone out for a leisurely stroll.
The heavens were being kind, offering such a clear, radiant day. Above him stretched a swath of fresh blue sky, and sunlight spilled down over him.
Behind him shimmered the river, while boundless blue sky arched overhead. His light-colored robes harmonized with the blue of the water and sky, blending into the scenery of early summer. Amid the carts, horses, and crowds moving to and fro, he appeared especially elegant—and rather dazzling.
Compared with that figure bathed in sunlight and fresh breeze, Lin Wu suddenly felt that she, who had hurried out from the shop, looked more like someone who had just completed a long and arduous journey.
The beautiful scene was soon shattered by a shout.
“Brother! Brother, we’re over here!”
Tigerhead had spotted his elder brother and could no longer contain himself. Tugging Lin Jing by the hand, he squeezed and darted through the crowd.
The sight, and that heart-rending cry, immediately struck Lin Wu as familiar.
Shen Guanting looked up at the sound.
For the first time, he felt that his little brother’s banshee-like howling was not entirely unpleasant to hear.
His gaze passed over the shifting sea of heads, completely overlooking Tigerhead and Lin Jing, who were nimbly weaving between people’s legs and stacks of cargo. In a crowded wharf, it was perfectly ordinary for the two little beans to go unnoticed.
Then he saw her.
Lin Wu was making her way slowly through the somewhat congested crowd. She wore a lotus-pink silk jacket, and beneath the clear afternoon sunlight, a soft glow seemed to surround her.
Across that stretch of distance where light and shadow wavered, a smile surfaced in Shen Guanting’s usually distant eyes. The cool reserve that had surrounded him a moment earlier seemed to fade with it.
He gave the person beside him a slight nod and began walking.
Sparrow, who had been watching the merchant ship, noticed that her elder brother had moved and came back to herself. Perhaps because Tigerhead’s daily shrieking had long since become background noise, she had automatically ignored that familiar cry.
Now, following the sound, she looked over and immediately waved both arms with all her might.
“Sister! Sister!”
Her voice was exactly as loud and piercing as Tigerhead’s.
Overjoyed, Sparrow ran past Shen Guanting toward them.
Ahead of her, Tigerhead was still dragging Lin Jing through the crowd, fighting to clear a path.
The two siblings, one shouting “Sister” and the other shouting “Brother,” had voices so high and bright, their final syllables stretched so long, that they sounded like a duet.
With such a blazing display of enthusiasm, anyone who did not know better might have thought they had endured some incredible separation and hardship, and were now relatives and old friends reunited after narrowly surviving a disaster.
Lin Jing was clearly bewildered by the chaotic shouting. He simply followed Tigerhead along, unsure whether he ought to call out “Brother Ting” or “Mother.” His round, dark eyes darted from one person to another, and in the end, he decided to keep quiet.
Lin Wu’s gaze followed the three little figures flickering in and out of sight ahead of her as they made their way through the crowd. Every now and then, through the disorder, the clamor, and the warm breeze, her eyes met the gaze being cast toward her from across the way.
As Sparrow and Tigerhead finally quieted down, the distance between the two groups shrank as well.
It was time to greet him.
Lin Wu thought that, since she had come to welcome him, she ought to speak first. Yet when the words reached her lips, under the gaze of those smiling eyes, all she managed to squeeze out was four stiff words.
“Long time no see.”
Perhaps she should have said, “You must be tired after the journey,” or “Welcome back.”
But Shen Guanting’s home was in Huzhou. She was the outsider who had traveled all the way here, so either phrase would have sounded strangely out of place.
Shen Guanting’s brows lifted almost imperceptibly, and the smile in his eyes spread to the corners of his lips.
“A Wu, long time no see.” His voice sounded a little lighter, perhaps because he was relaxing after the long journey.
“Brother! Where’s my present?”
Their brief, almost perfunctory greeting had barely ended when Tigerhead, who had already circled his elder brother twice, interrupted with astonishing lack of tact. He came up to Shen Guanting, tipped up his little face, and asked with complete confidence.
Whenever Shen Guanting returned from a journey, no matter how short, he always brought back some new and interesting trinkets for them. Tigerhead had been thinking about them for ages.
Shen Guanting lowered his head and looked at the impatient little monkey. The brotherly warmth he had felt a moment earlier vanished instantly. He rather wanted to grab Tigerhead by the collar and toss him back onto the ship, which had not even finished unloading its cargo.
He reached out and pressed down on the top of Tigerhead’s head, pinning that restless little skull in place.
“That depends on how well you’ve behaved at home lately.”
As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Lin Jing.
“And A Jing? Have you been practicing your martial arts diligently?”
Lin Jing immediately straightened his little body and nodded earnestly.
“I practice every day. I haven’t missed a single day.”
“So have I! So have I!” Tigerhead cried, raising his hand at once, unwilling to be outdone. “Brother, I’ve been practicing diligently too. I practice with Jing every day. Whenever Brother Zheng calls, I get up right away.”
Shen Guanting was somewhat skeptical. Of all people, he knew Tigerhead’s nature best.
But this time, Tigerhead had actually been telling the truth.
Ever since Lin Jing had told him that they would keep a record and settle accounts with Brother Ting when he returned, Tigerhead had been terribly enthusiastic at the prospect of holding his elder brother accountable. Though he mostly slacked off during practice, he was extraordinarily serious about recording every infraction in his little notebook.
The group chatted and laughed as they followed the flow of people from the wharf toward the main street, strolling along at an easy pace.
The warm breeze brushed their faces, dispersing the heaviness left by the long journey.
Their side of things was lively and warm. Not far away, however, the group from the Shen family who had come to receive the young master stood rooted to the spot, exchanging bewildered looks.
The wharf was not far from the main street; a short walk would bring them to the bustling marketplace. But the Shen residence lay in the northern part of the city, a considerable distance away. The Shen family’s carriage had therefore been prepared long ago and was waiting quietly by the roadside.
Yet now, everyone could only watch as the Shen family’s eldest young master, along with Sparrow and Tigerhead, naturally walked beside Shopkeeper Lin, chatting with her as they went. Without the slightest hesitation, they headed straight toward the main street, leaving the waiting Shen family party farther and farther behind.
Master Shen watched his son’s retreating figure and suddenly thought of something.
“This scene... Why does it look so familiar? I feel as though I’ve seen it somewhere before.”
Madam Shen smiled as she replied, “Of course it does. Last year, when Shopkeeper Lin and Little Jing first arrived in Huzhou, Sparrow and Tigerhead followed them off just like this.”
Shen Zhongming let out a hearty laugh. “That boy—who knows what else he gained from his journey, but he certainly learned, all on his own, the art of passing right by his front door without going in.”
Madam Shen turned to the servants waiting nearby and said, “Never mind. Let the youngsters enjoy themselves. At least he’s safely home, and now we can all put our minds at ease.”
And so, the Shen family had no choice but to watch as their young master, along with those lively children, disappeared into the bustling crowd at the wharf.
Of the group strolling leisurely toward Shuangmu Pastry Shop, Lin Wu was the only one who found anything odd about it.
After walking for a while, with the familiar market streets drawing nearer and nearer, Lin Wu finally could not hold back her question. “Master Shen, surely you aren’t planning to walk all the way home like this?”
Shen Guanting turned his head at her. “I’ve been cooped up on the boat for so long that I thought I’d stretch my legs and loosen my muscles. Besides…”
His gaze swept over the familiar streets before settling on the small figures racing ahead, chasing one another.
“After all that traveling, I hardly had a few meals in the capital that suited my taste. Now that I’m back in Huzhou, naturally the first thing to do is find something delicious. And if you ask where I’m going to eat—”
“Shuangmu Pastry Shop!” Tigerhead, whose ears were sharp as could be, immediately came running back on his short legs, answering in a loud voice.
“You wouldn’t believe how many new things they added while you were gone, Brother!” Sparrow chimed in.
As the Shen family member who had visited the pastry shop most often, Tigerhead immediately began counting on his chubby little fingers. “There are wontons, with fresh soup and tender meat, and three-colored rice dumplings in sweet soup. Those are my favorite! Oh, and there’s cold tossed starch noodles too—they’re so refreshing lately. Ah, I almost forgot! There’s also soup noodles.”
Little Shopkeeper Lin Jing tipped up his small head and gave a solemn report. “The shop has expanded. Now people can sit down and eat there.”
At that, he puffed out his little chest. “We even hired two more helpers, Auntie He and Brother Gao Cang. The pastry shop is a proper big establishment now!”
Tigerhead immediately echoed him, spreading his arms wide to demonstrate. “It’s huge! There are six sets of tables and chairs, and business is booming!”
Besides the original tables and chairs inside the shop, two more sets had been placed beneath the awning outside.
Shen Guanting listened quietly, then sighed with feeling. “It seems I missed quite a lot during my absence. Shopkeeper Lin’s business has truly flourished. I wonder, if I go over now, will there still be a seat for me?”
Lin Wu, Shopkeeper Lin, answered smoothly, “With Master Shen making a personal visit, how could we possibly make you wait for a table? Of course we saved you a seat.”
She said it as though it were only natural. What she was thinking, however, was that even if there really were no seats left, Young Master Shen probably would not mind sitting on the little stool in the kitchen—or on the long bench outside the shop. After all, he had sat in both places before.
Hearing her address him as “Master Shen,” Shen Guanting raised his voice slightly. “What’s happened to you, A Wu? I’ve only been away for a little over a month, yet you sound much more distant and formal with me.”
Though he said it jokingly, Lin Wu found herself reflecting on his words. Thinking carefully, it did seem to be true.
Before, he had come to the shop almost every day to buy pastries and chat with her; they had been thoroughly familiar with each other. But after being apart for more than a month, their distant glimpse at the wharf and the polite greetings that followed seemed to carry an indistinct sense of unfamiliarity.
She smiled but did not take up the subject.
During this leisurely conversation after their long separation, Sparrow was the only one who had not forgotten the real business at hand.
As soon as there was a pause in the conversation, she put on a stern little face and immediately began to complain. “Brother! Don’t think only about eating! While you were away from Huzhou, something happened that was absolutely infuriating and troublesome!”
The moment she brought it up, Tigerhead stopped grinning and clenched his little fists. Lin Jing let out an indignant “Hmph” as well.
The children immediately began speaking over one another, each eager to tell the story.
“It was that nasty manager from the grain company!”
“No, everyone says Fourth Young Master Liang was the one who ordered it!”
“It was Liang Fourth Son—the one who’s enemies with Brother!”
“He wouldn’t let the starch-noodle shop sell starch noodles to Big Sis!”
“And he even smeared Brother Xuan’s reputation!”
The children chattered away, mixing emotion with explanation, jumping from one detail to another. Only after a great deal of back-and-forth did they finally manage to make the whole story clear.
