The old man struggled as he patted his old, faded green long robe, which clearly belonged to another era. Then, like a ball, he bounced up and nded in front of the fish tank on the steps. He pointed eagerly at a small red goldfish in the tank, a joyful smile spreading across his chubby face as he urgently called out, "Ah, Sheng, it, it! Quickly!"

  "Okay," Ah Sheng smiled as he handed the fish net to him. The round old man rolled up his sleeves and carefully scooped out the little fish from the tank, pcing it into a gss jar he had brought with him. The water inside the jar was a pale blue.

  "So beautiful!" The old man marveled at the fish swimming in the gss jar, his eyes welling up with tears of joy. Then, from his sleeves, he pulled out a handful of colorful little stones and pced them in Ah Sheng′s hands, repeatedly thanking him.

  Ah Sheng, holding the stones, said, "You′ve given too much. I should give you another fish."

  "No, no, I′ll come back next time. I can′t let you make a loss in business," the old man insisted, waving his hands in gratitude as he happily cradled his fish and walked away. As he walked, a patch of colorful wildflowers bloomed in his wake.

  "Whenever White Old Man gets happy, this happens—flowers everywhere on the street. It won′t stop until dawn," Ah Sheng remarked, as if talking to her or to himself. He stood up and pced the stones into a gss vase on the shelf behind him. The simple gss vase wasn′t holding flowers but was instead filled with multicolored stones of various shapes, each one smooth as gss, casting beautiful reflections on the gss surface.

  That old man was clearly not human.

  "You lost," Ah Sheng said with a smug grin as he crossed his arms.

  "This... he...," Gu Qiqi was momentarily stunned, then, feeling defeated, said, "He didn′t even pay! It was practically a gift! You didn′t win!"

  "Our bet didn′t specify that the payment had to be in RMB, did it?" Ah Sheng walked up to her and, leaning toward her ear, whispered softly, "Those stones are Yaokai currency."

  Gu Qiqi didn′t have much of a concept of money, whether it was RMB or fairy currency.

  "Scared, huh? The White Old Man is not human." Seeing her motionless, stunned expression, Ah Sheng spoke seriously, using a particurly grim tone. "I told you to go home, but you refused to leave."

  Perhaps he was expecting her to scream and run away, clutching her head in fear. But Gu Qiqi, after a brief moment of daze, grabbed his hand and asked earnestly, "Then... are you human?"

  "Of course I am!" Ah Sheng shrugged her off, frowning and muttering, "This is boring. You′re not even scared."

  His expression reminded Gu Qiqi of the mischievous boys she used to see, who enjoyed scaring little girls but never succeeded. Scare her? If she took off her mask, he′d be the one to faint!

  But right now, she didn′t want him to faint. This boy was too interesting—he did business with yaokais, and the yaokai was strange too. Why buy goldfish of all things? If they were for food, that little fish was way too small!

  "The White Old Man didn't buy the fish to eat. My goldfish serve another purpose," Ah Sheng easily saw through her thoughts. He crouched down, moving his fingers slowly through the clear water. The seemingly clumsy fish, almost as if awakened to some kind of intelligence, swam around his fingers, wagging their tails in affection. He smiled and asked, "Creepy sister, do you want to buy a goldfish too?"

  "I don′t have money..." Gu Qiqi blurted out, then suspiciously added, "Are you really human?"

  Ah Sheng didn′t answer her. Instead, he grabbed her hand and pced it over his chest.

  The clear sound of his heartbeat, along with the warm, human temperature of flesh and blood, traveled from beneath his T-shirt into her palm. This guy was really human. But even if he was human, he couldn′t be a normal one. Otherwise, how could he be dealing with Yaokais?

  "Don′t think I′m abnormal," Ah Sheng seemed to effortlessly see through her thoughts as he wiped water droplets from his fingers. "You′re human too. You didn′t faint from seeing the White Old Man, that old yaokai. If I′m not normal, you′re no different."

  His words reminded her that she was human now. She didn′t want her true identity to be exposed, at least not before her curiosity was fully satisfied. If possible, she wanted to be friends with this sharp-tongued guy. The thought crossed her mind for a moment.

  "Alright. We′re both perfectly normal." She cleared her throat and casually asked, "So what exactly is that White Old Man?"

  "The White Old Man is a diyou (earth yaokai), a yaokai made of earth that has lived underground for years. He occasionally comes out to bask in the sun. Diyou contains the essence of the deep earth, and wherever he goes, flowers bloom and withered trees come to life," Ah Sheng said seriously, then smirked mischievously. "You see, because he doesn′t get much sun, he′s calcium deficient, which is why he′s so short. So, I advise you, creepy sis, you should get out and touch some sunlight more. Otherwise, one day, you might end up like the White Old Man—just like a winter melon old dy."

  "If it weren′t for the minor protection ws, I′d punch you!" Gu Qiqi raised her fist at him.

  "Really not buying a goldfish?" Ah Sheng, unfazed by her anger, asked. "They′re very interesting goldfish."

  "I don′t see what's interesting about them. They all look clumsy," Gu Qiqi huffed. The goldfish in the water rolled their eyes at her, blowing out a stream of bubbles in displeasure. Ah Sheng looked up toward the east, where the sky had started to show faint light. He stretched zily and began moving the fish tanks and bowls outside, one by one, back into the shop.

  As he worked, he muttered to himself, "The White Old Man was quite a handsome guy when he was young. He and his wife lived in a lotus pond. Oh, his wife was a lotus yaokai. After they married, the White Old Man never wandered elsewhere again, staying in the lotus pond. During that time, the lotus flowers in that pond always bloomed the most beautifully within a hundred miles, and even the pond water was clearer and more vibrant than anywhere else."

  "Then what happened?" Gu Qiqi asked, unable to help herself. She hated how quick-witted he was, but she liked the sound of his storytelling voice.

  "Then?" He took an iron hook from the corner, used it to hook the roller shutter above, and began lifting it. "Then his wife was taken by a Taoist priest; her essence used to form an elixir. All that was left in the lotus pond was a single wilted lotus flower." He took a deep breath. "The Diyou doesn't age, but the White Old Man poured his essence into that wilted lotus flower for hundreds of years, saying that one day she would come back to life. After all that, a young, handsome man turned into a feeble old dwarf."

  He spoke with humor, but Gu Qiqi felt a pang of discomfort.

  "But... what does this have to do with him buying your goldfish?" She still wanted to know. Ah Sheng pulled down the roller shutter, took out a key, and locked it. "He didn′t buy a goldfish. He bought a dream."

  Gu Qiqi was even more confused. He walked up to her, speaking slowly, each word clear and deliberate. "My goldfish needs tears to survive." From behind his sungsses, a strange power emanated, leaving Gu Qiqi rooted to the spot.

  "BYE! I'm heading home. You should go back too," Ah Sheng waved at her and turned to walk towards the alley's entrance. "Don't forget, you lost the bet today. You owe me a wish. I'll let you know what I want once I've thought it over."

  His slender figure quickly disappeared into the dim twilight, still hanging with the lingering shadows of dusk.

  Gu Qiqi stood motionless in the empty alley, the bet with her brother, and the hope that had almost faded suddenly fred up again, inexplicably rekindled.

  Ah Sheng, `Live′, what exactly are you?

  Since that night, Gu Qiqi seemed to have found a new focus in her

  She enjoyed being with Ah Sheng, listening to him narrate stories about the Yaokais who came to buy goldfish from him, all with his witty and natural tone.

  What she liked the most was that he never asked about her background, nor did he ever question why she always wrapped herself up like a dumpling whenever they met. If he did ask, she would probably tell him the truth. She had been taught since childhood that, as a Bone Yaokai, she had to live honestly, just like her form, without any disguise or embellishment.

  She enjoyed this rare and rexed camaraderie between friends, but deep down, she worried that one day she would have to show him her true face. It was part of the bet with her brother. If possible, she hoped that day would be deyed as long as possible.

  Ah Sheng still liked to use sharp words to tease and mock her, but he no longer ignored her like before. Instead, he would bring out a stool for her to sit on. Although the stool was old, it had a backrest and was surprisingly comfortable. Sometimes, he would even adjust the fan in the shop, directing it towards her, saying something about how wearing so many yers in the hot summer was going to kill her, and if she did faint from heat, he couldn't be bothered to deal with her body.

  She gradually got used to Ah Sheng's tone. When he told stories about the Yaokais, she eagerly shared her own tales of the interesting people and events she'd encountered in different countries. Funny enough, even though they hadn't seen each other's full faces, these two strangers, meeting by chance, could chat tirelessly until dawn.

  A bone yaokai and an eccentric human, sitting in a goldfish shop lit up by warm lights on a summer night, talking animatedly. Yes, they were just talking—simple conversation, the most natural exchange of words—but there was an indescribable sense of ease and joy in it. She felt that Ah Sheng understood her thoughts and longings.

  Gu Qiqi began to feel that daytime was unnecessary and wished that there were 24 hours of night. That way, she would have enough time to spend with Ah Sheng. Because the goldfish shop's business hours were only from dusk to dawn.

  She had asked around before and learned that the shop had been rented out a year ago to a middle-aged man with the st name Xiao. She heard that this man was a professor at some university. Could this Professor Xiao be Ah Sheng's retive? His father?

  But they didn′t look alike at all.

  A week after she had gotten to know Ah Sheng, she saw Professor Xiao in the goldfish shop. He was a man with graying hair, slightly hunched back, and though middle-aged, he looked older than his years. The thin gold-rimmed gsses rested on his still fairly prominent nose, and though his clothes were not fashionable, they were always neat and clean. He was always holding a thick book in his hands, which gave him a schorly appearance.

  Professor Xiao comes to the shop about twice a week. Sometimes he brings snacks for Ah Sheng, sometimes books. Then, like in any ordinary father-son conversation, they talk about studies and health and sometimes ask about the business at the goldfish shop—kind yet somewhat distant. Ah Sheng said that Professor Xiao was not reted to him by blood, but he treated him like a father because he had saved his life.

  More than a year ago, Ah Sheng fell from a high mountain and happened to be rescued by Professor Xiao, who was collecting specimens in the mountains. He had no ID or household registration and couldn′t attend school. The only thing he was good at was raising fish, so he begged Professor Xiao to rent the small shop to sell goldfish. This way, he could make money and pass the time.

  "Why do you stay here? What about your family?" Gu Qiqi didn′t really understand why Ah Sheng continued to stay with Professor Xiao.

  "Professor Xiao doesn′t have any children, and his health isn′t very good. Since he saved my life, it′s only natural for me to stay and take care of him," Ah Sheng replied, his tone very calm, with no visible change in his expression. "Besides, my home is too far away. I can′t go back for a while."