Liang Yue: It moved, Grandfather! Lift the pole!
Grandfather: Oh, that's not a fish biting, just the wind picking up.
Liang Yue: Oh, not a fish?
Grandfather: The bobber going up and down like that is normal. When a real fish comes, you'll know.
Liang Yue's Mother: …
Liang Yue: That's … pretty much the situation.
Liang Yue's Mother: …
Liang Yue's Mother: Yuè, your father wants to talk to you.
Liang Yue: …
Liang Yue: *exhales*
Liang Yue: Hi Dad, go ahead.
Liang Yue's Father: …
Liang Yue's Father: You're not hurt, are you?
Liang Yue: …!
Liang Yue: I-I'm fine. I'm okay.
Liang Yue's Father: How far ahead is your rent paid? I need to know so I can book your flight.
Liang Yue's Father: Morning arrival or afternoon?
Liang Yue's Father: Maybe around mealtime? That way you can have some of your mom's dumplings while they're still warm.
Liang Yue: …
Liang Yue: Dad.
The receiver in her hand is damp with sweat.
The hallway is silent, save for distant cheers and clattering from the skate park.
Her shadow hangs at the edge of the light, unmoved by the sounds of joy or the creeping stillness of the night.
Liang Yue: Do you remember the couplet we hung in the hallway before we moved?
Liang Yue's Father: …
Liang Yue: The Han-Wei inscription said: "The paulownia blossoms stretch across the crimson mountain paths, and the young phoenix sings clearer than the old."
Liang Yue's Father: …
Liang Yue: You said it was something meaningful to reflect on. You told me to read it often.
Liang Yue: So I read it every day, over and over, until I started to wonder.
Liang Yue: What if the paulownia blossoms don't bloom, and the phoenix doesn't sing? Then what?
…
Questions. Accusations. Anger. Hesitance.
They all fade into silence.
Liáng Yuè hears her father setting down his tea.
The faint clatter suggests his hand had trembled, nearly spilling the cup.
Liang Yue's Father: …
Liang Yue's Father: We never told you. That day … was your grandfather's funeral.
Liang Yue: "That day"? You mean …?
Liang Yue's Father: Yes, the day of the Jingzhe festival when you were six.
Liang Yue's Father: It was also the day you met Qiángliáng.
Liáng Yuè raised her hand, studying an old scar.
Liang Yue's Father: Your grandfather spent his whole life hoping to see Qiángliáng.
Liang Yue's Father: His mastery of arcane skills was the strongest in five generations of our family, yet he left this world filled with regret.
Liang Yue's Father: Even after all I suffered through, from his expectations and his disappointment, I can't find it in myself to hate him.
Liang Yue: …
Liang Yue's Father: That couplet. I remember it.
Liang Yue's Father: I've packed it away.
Her father takes a deep breath, the weight of years laced with remorse finally granting an innocent prisoner their exoneration.
Liang Yue's Father: That rain was never meant to fall on you, yet you bore it all.
Three chimes from the ancestral bell echo in her head, clearing a lifetime of doubt.
Liang Yue: Grandfather, the fish still aren't biting.
Grandfather: Haha, patience is the key with fishing.
Grandfather: Here, take this little stick. You can draw in the dirt while you wait with me.
Liang Yue: Draw … Hmm, what should I draw?
Grandfather: Whatever you like. Fish, birds, anything you like.
Liang Yue: Something I like, oh, I know!
Liang Yue: Grandfather, look!
Grandfather: What's this? It's not a tiger or a dragon.
Liang Yue: It's my secret friend.
Grandfather: A secret friend? Oh! Wait, I see it now. You're drawing Qiángliáng, aren't you?
Liang Yue: Yes.
Grandfather: Haha, Yuè, that's not a very easy thing to draw.
Grandfather: Why don't you try something else? A bunny, a fox, or that stray cat we saw last time?
Liang Yue: But I want to draw it.
Liang Yue: I just want to draw it.
Liang Yue: You said to draw what I like.
Liang Yue: And I love it.
Liang Yue: —!
Liang Yue: I …
Liang Yue: I … love it?
Three more chimes from the ancestral bell.
Liang Yue: I …
Liang Yue: I …
Liang Yue: I …
Liang Yue: Father ...
Part 6 Commencement of Spring
Liang Yue: "I Love Los Angeles" T-shirts—ten in total. Besides family, one for the neighbor's kid, Huhu, too.
Liang Yue: And Dad's watch, packed. The meat grinder Mom wanted, packed. Fancy cat toys for Mimi, packed.
Poitier: Hey, I'm not interrupting, am I?
Poitier: Has our little hero not finished packing yet? Everyone's ready for your farewell party.
Liang Yue: Did Deputy Chief Elden really let you decorate the precinct like, uh, what did he call it, "a high school prom"?
Poitier: What does he know about dances? That guy definitely was not invited to parties.
Liáng Yuè chuckles, shaking her head.
Poitier: So, heading out the day after tomorrow?
Liang Yue: Yes.
Poitier: Oh, you got plans for the next two days? Studying for the makeup test?
Liáng Yuè thinks to herself, searching for an answer.
Liang Yue: I want to take some time to just enjoy the moment.
Poitier: Hold on a minute. Enjoy the moment?
Liang Yue: Yes.
Poitier: Wow, that's a new one from you.
Liang Yue: I'll probably only hear from the Vigiles about their final decision after I return.
Liang Yue: For now, I just want to try all the things I've never done before or didn't dare to do.
Poitier: Hmmm.
Facing such undeniable conviction, Poitier could only whistle.
Poitier: Don't sweat the results, princess. Between you and me, I overheard Elden talking to the Foundation. It was all good stuff. I think he's got a soft spot for troublemakers.
Liang Yue: Thank you, Instructor Poitier.
Poitier: Ahem! What? What are you thanking me for?! I didn't do a single thing!
Liang Yue: No, you've helped me the most.
Poitier: …!
Sincerity, at times, can be its own way to stop a conversation.
Fortunately, it also paves the way to deeper connections.
Liang Yue: By the way, Poitier.
Poitier: Yeah, what's on your mind?
Liang Yue: When I get home, I'd really like to send you some local specialties from my hometown. I hope you'll try them!
As if trying to conceal some emotion, the instructor awkwardly twitched her nose.
Poitier: Why certainly, Ms. Liáng.