Tang Wulin woke up to the sound of someone shouting his name.
"WULIN!"
His eyes snapped open.
"...Five more minutes."
"WULIN!"
"Three more minutes."
"WULIN!"
"...One minute?"
A dangerous silence followed.
Tang Wulin's eyes widened.
Oh no.
He immediately threw off his blanket and jumped out of bed.
His foot got caught.
The blanket won.
Thud.
"Aaaaaah!"
A loud crash echoed through the room.
A few seconds later, Tang Ziran's voice came from downstairs.
"Lang Yue."
"Yes?"
"I think our son just declared war on his bedroom again."
"I heard."
Wulin rubbed his forehead.
"I won this time," he muttered.
The fallen chair beside him suggested otherwise.
A minute later, he opened the door.
His hair looked like it had survived a hurricane.
One sock was missing.
He had no idea where.
Lang Yue stared at him.
Wulin stared back.
"...Morning?"
Lang Yue pointed at his face.
"Go wash."
"I did yesterday."
"Now."
Wulin sighed dramatically.
"Nobody trusts me in this family."
Tang Ziran walked past carrying a bowl.
"For good reason."
"Old Man!"
"Find your other sock."
"I don't know where it is!"
Tang Ziran took one look inside the room.
"...Neither does the room."
Lang Yue finally couldn't hold back her laughter.
Wulin puffed out his cheeks.
Everybody was bullying him today.
As he headed toward the bathroom, he glanced out the window.
The sea stretched endlessly beneath the morning sun.
Everything looked normal.
Then he noticed a faint violet streak far beyond the horizon.
Wulin stopped.
"...Huh weird."
He stared for a few seconds.
Then his stomach growled.
"What's weird?" Lang Yue asked without turning.
"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just the sky being dramatic."
"It does that sometimes," she said casually. "Come eat."
Wulin tore his eyes away and hurried to the kitchen.
Some part of him felt like the sky hadn't always been like that.But he was six. And six-year-olds did not question the sky.They questioned why breakfast didn't taste like dessert.
He slid into his seat.
"What's for breakfast?
"Porridge," Tang Ziran replied.
Wulin stared at him.
"…Why not noodles?"
"Because it's morning."
"That's a terrible reason."
"It's the only one you're getting."
Wulin pouted, stuffed a spoonful into his mouth, and immediately brightened.
"…Okay, it's good."
Lang Yue smiled and kissed the top of his head.
"Finish eating first. Your father has something for you to do today."
Tang Ziran looked up from his bowl.
"It's a simple task."
Wulin's eyes immediately lit up.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Like fishing?"
"No."
"Delivering something?"
"No."
"Fighting bandits?"
Tang Ziran nearly choked on his porridge.
"Wulin, you're six."
"So that's a maybe?"
"It's a no."
Wulin looked disappointed.
Tang Ziran sighed.
"It's a simple errand. Don't make it complicated."
Wulin nodded seriously.
Three seconds later, he was already imagining himself saving the town from pirates.
Hehe I'm gonna be the King of the pirates!
.
.
.
The morning sun rose over Eastsea City.
Fishing boats drifted across the water while seagulls circled overhead.
Tang Wulin stood at the edge of the pier with a bucket in one hand.
His expression was unusually serious.
Very serious.
Suspiciously serious.
Tang Ziran already knew that look.
"Wulin."
No response.
"Wulin."
Still nothing.
Tang Ziran walked over and looked down.
A clump of seaweed floated beside the dock.
"...What are you doing?"
Wulin pointed at it.
"Watching."
"Watching what?"
"It."
Tang Ziran stared.
"It" swayed gently with the waves.
"Wulin."
"Yes?"
"It's seaweed."
Wulin narrowed his eyes.
"That's what it wants you to think."
Tang Ziran looked at the sky for strength.
"Wulin, your mission today is to collect seaweed."
"Exactly."
"Then collect it."
"What if it's dangerous?"
Tang Ziran was silent for a moment.
Then he pointed at a nearby fisherman.
"See Uncle Li?"
Wulin nodded.
"He's been collecting seaweed for twenty years."
"Oh."
"And he's still alive."
Wulin considered this carefully.
"...That's a good point."
A second later, he reached down and grabbed the seaweed.
Nothing happened.
Wulin blinked.
"Huh."
Tang Ziran folded his arms.
"Surprised?"
"A little."
"Hehehe KNEEL BEFORE ME SEAWEED! FOR I AM THE KING THE SEA AND WEED"
He leaned forward dramatically... too dramatically and lost his balance.
Splash.
Tang Ziran didn't even flinch. He simply stared down at the surface of the water where bubbles rose.
A small head popped back up a moment later, hair plastered to his forehead, face bright red.
"I meant to do that!" Wulin sputtered.
"Of course you did." Ziran reached out a hand. "Come here, tactical genius."
Wulin grabbed his father's hand and was hoisted up like a soggy bundle of laundry. Water dripped everywhere, including directly into Ziran's boots.
"…Great," Ziran muttered. "Exactly what I wanted today. Wet socks."
Wulin tried to wring out his shirt. It made a sad shlorp sound.
"Mom's gonna scold me again, isn't she?" he said quietly.
"Without a doubt," Ziran replied.
.
.
.
Back at home, a tiny apartment above a noodle shop. Lang Yue stood with her hands on her hips, eyebrows arched dangerously.
"Explain," she said.
Wulin pointed at his father. "Dad said we needed fresh seaweed!"
Tang Ziran blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You did say it!"
"I didn't say jump headfirst into the ocean like a suicidal carp!"
Lang Yue pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You two," she said, voice flat but trembling with fury, "are hopeless."
Wulin bowed his head in shame.
"I tried my best," he mumbled.
Lang Yue's icy expression cracked instantly.
She sighed and kneaded his damp hair affectionately.
"I know you did," she said softly. "But next time, try your best without drowning yourself. I'd really appreciate that."
"Okay…" Wulin whispered.
"And you," Lang Yue turned to Ziran. "What possessed you to let him jump?"
"I DIDN'T LET HIM—!" Ziran began.
"Did you stop him?"
Ziran opened his mouth.
Closed it.
"…No."
"Then you let him."
"Your logic is terrifying."
"Thank you."
.
.
.
They ate breakfast together. simple rice porridge and pickled vegetables. Wulin inhaled his portion like a starving beast.
Lang Yue watched him with an amused smile.
"Slow down. No one's stealing it."
Wulin nodded, then continued inhaling it at the exact same speed.
Tang Ziran shook his head. "This child eats like we've been starving him."
Lang Yue sipped her tea. "At least he has enthusiasm."
"That's one word for it."
Wulin looked between them, cheeks puffed with food.
"Hrrmph frmmly?"
Both parents stared.
"Swallow first," they said in unison.
He gulped.
"Can we go get some Ice cream after breakfast?"
Wulin asked with sparkling Eyes.
Ziran leaned back, thoughtful.
"Sure, why not," he said. "But finish first. And don't rush it."
Wulin grinned wide. "Alright"
After lunch, Wulin walked through the streets with his parents.
The scent of the sea lingered in the air. Fishermen called to one another as boats slowly left the harbor.
It was a normal day.
A good day.
Wulin looked toward the horizon.
.
.
.
The sun was beginning to set when Tang Wulin returned to the docks with his parents, his clothes finally clean and his pride only slightly damaged after he stumbled over his own feet falling face down somehow crushing his ice cream cone underneath his body.
As they turned the corner toward their home, a sharp thwack! echoed through the street.
"OW- ! Xinglan, stop hitting me!"
Another thwack! followed immediately.
"When I told you to train," a girl's voice snapped, "I meant train your sword technique, not your talent for running away like a terrified chicken!"
"I wasn't running! I was tactically retreating!"
"Then tactically stop screaming!"
Wulin blinked. Further ahead, a small girl stood in the street, wielding a wooden practice sword with frightening precision. She couldn't have been more than a year older than him.
Long blonde hair tied loosely behind her head, her green eyes sharp and focused like a hawk watching prey.
At her feet sat a trembling boy nursing a new bruise.
Wulin whispered to his dad, "Should we… save him?"
Tang Ziran put a hand on his shoulder. "No. This is a learning opportunity."
"Learning what?"
"Never make that girl angry."
Wulin gulped.
Their eyes met.
Wulin immediately stood up straighter.
For some reason, he felt like he was being inspected.
The girl walked over.
One step.
Then another.
The bruised boy saw his chance and immediately escaped.
Traitor.
Wulin tried to look brave.
He failed.
"Y-You're very good with a sword," he squeaked.
She didn't smile.
Instead, she lifted her wooden sword and lightly poked him in the forehead.
"You flinched."
Wulin immediately covered his forehead.
"I did not!"
"You did."
"I was blinking."
"You blinked three times."
"Maybe my eyes felt like it."
Xinglan stared at him.
Wulin stared back.
For some reason, he felt like he was losing.
Finally, Xinglan lowered her sword.
"You're strange." She said with a slight smile.
Wulin puffed out his cheeks.
"You're scary."
"Good."
The answer came so quickly that Wulin froze.
Xinglan nodded as if that settled everything.
"Then maybe you'll think before doing something stupid."
Wulin looked offended.
"I don't do stupid things."
From behind them, Tang Ziran coughed.
Loudly.
Wulin ignored him.
Tang Ziran nodded approvingly. "But wise girl."
Lang Yue patted Wulin's back sympathetically.
"Looks like you made a friend."
"A friend?!" Wulin sputtered. "She attacked my face!"
Ye Xinglan tilted her head. "If I attacked your face, you'd be on the ground."
Wulin's mouth fell open.
She looked him straight in the eyes.
"Smile more," she said suddenly.
"It suits you better than looking like a startled goldfish."
Ye Xinglan took two steps before pausing.She glanced back over her shoulder, eyes narrowing again.
"HIEEK Please don't hit me"
"Hey," she said.
Wulin straightened like he was about to be drafted into the army."Y-Yes?"
She pointed her wooden sword at the crushed ice cream still smeared on his shirt.
"Did you fall," she asked slowly, "or did the ice cream attack you?"
Tang Ziran choked. Lang Yue covered her mouth to hide a smile.
Wulin's ears turned red.
"It was an ambush," he muttered. "Very sneaky ice cream."
Xinglan stared.
Then maybe Wulin imagined it her lips twitched. Barely. Like a secret smile escaped and she tried to kill it before anyone noticed.
"Next time," she said, "don't lose to desserts."
Wulin bristled. "I wasn't losing! I tripped!"
"So you lost to gravity? Pathetic"
"That's different!"
She walked closer again, and Wulin froze.She leaned down ever so slightly, peering into his eyes with that unsettling hawk-like intensity.
"You really are weird," she said.
Tang Ziran whispered to Lang Yue, "She's terrifying. I love her."
Lang Yue nodded. "Adorable. But terrifying."
He groaned into his hands. "Why is my life like this…"
Wulin opened his mouth to protest, but she continued:
"...But you don't look bad when you're trying your best."
Wulin froze.
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Even Tang Ziran looked surprised.
Wulin wasn't sure what to say.
So he didn't say anything at all.
Xinglan seemed completely unaware of the effect her words had.
She casually spun the wooden sword in her hand.
Then she nodded to herself.
"Fine."
Wulin suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Fine what?"
"I'll help you."
"Help me with what?"
"So you stop embarrassing yourself."
Wulin stared at her.
"What does that even mean?!"
"It means exactly what I said."
Xinglan sounded very patient.
The kind of patient that somehow made it worse.
"Someone has to make sure you don't do anything stupid."
"I don't do stupid things!"
Tang Ziran coughed again.
Wulin ignored him again.
Xinglan sighed.
Then she held out her hand.
Wulin looked down at it.
"...Why?"
Xinglan blinked.
"To shake hands."
"Oh."
Wulin quickly wiped his palm on his shirt.
Then he shook her hand.
Her grip was firm.
And surprisingly warm.
"Friends?" he asked.
Xinglan thought about it for a second.
Then she nodded.
"Friends."