Four Seasons of Love

(Spring)

"...The ancient sages, though far superior to ordinary people, still sought out teachers and asked questions; yet the common people of today,

far inferior to the sages, are ashamed to learn from teachers. Therefore, the wise become wiser, and the foolish become more foolish. Is

this not the reason why the sages are sages and the fools are fools?" On the stage, Mr. Shao squinted, reciting Han Yu's

"On Teachers" with a swaying head. I yawned deeply, then straightened up, stretching

my back, which had been brittle from the winter chill . Sigh, it was so boring. The texts I already knew by heart held no interest. 　　As Mr. Shao's beloved student, I shouldn't have such thoughts. But over the past three years, while I wouldn't say I could recite all of Mr. Shao's writings perfectly, I was at least very familiar with them. To put it bluntly, even if I have n't surpassed my teacher, there's not much he knows that I don't. 　　I'm just sitting here wasting my time, using it as an excuse to avoid working alongside my father in the wind and rain . Looking out the wooden windowpane, a continuous stream of spring rain dripped from the eaves, and I grew increasingly drowsy. It was midday in March, a time when drowsiness was rampant. 　　"Dad, dinner's ready!" Without warning, a sweet, melodious voice, like a flower stem snapping rang out from the doorway. 　　It was…it was her! My drowsy state vanished instantly, and I looked towards the door. 　　She stood there, carrying a food box, looking like a delicate locust blossom. Her two braids , tied with red ribbons, hung obediently in front of her chest, and her blue floral-patterned jacket couldn't conceal her small breasts . Her well-tailored, coarse blue trousers were slightly damp, and her small feet, clad in white silk stockings, wore light red embroidered shoes, each toe embroidered with a swallow. 　　Her delicate oval face was flushed, like the rosy clouds on distant mountains at sunset. Strands of her bangs , damp from the rain, clung to her pink skin. Her cherry-like lips were slightly parted, and a wisp of mist swirled around her. 　　Her eyes, like autumn water, swept across the classroom from one end, finally settling on my face. A slight , and I felt something "whoosh" out from the top of my head, vanishing in an instant, while my breath stopped abruptly. 　　"Lanzhi, you've arrived," Mr. Shao nodded slightly, then turned to his disciples. "Rest for half an hour, have lunch, and I'll test your memorization at 1-3 PM." 　　The dozen or so young boys scattered with a "whoosh." I stood there for a while, then took my lunchbox from the bag hanging on the back of my chair and went outside to find a relatively clean spot under the eaves to eat my lunch. 　　"Brother Shi'er!" I'd only taken a few bites when a crisp, sweet voice called out behind me. 　　"Lan...Lanzhi?" I hurriedly stood up, brushing off non-existent dust from the back of my long robe. In her presence, I always felt inferior? 　　"Brother, have you been feeling unwell lately?" She fiddled with the braid hanging down her chest. "My father just scolded you, saying you're always distracted in class, and he sent me to ask you about it." 　　"No...no," I stammered, my mind completely captivated by her beauty as I stood before her. "Your teacher's kindness is profound; I dare not be distracted, dare not be distracted." 　　Lanzhi's eyes flickered, her tone becoming somewhat wistful. "That's it. Of all his disciples, your father values you the most. He's said many times that you'll surely achieve great things. My father spent twenty years as a scholar, but no one recommended him, and he had no money to donate, so he never became a tribute student. He's entrusted his entire life's hopes to you; you mustn't disappoint him!" 　　"When I was little, my fortune was told. My mother said I couldn't leave home before I turned fifteen. This year I'm going to take the autumn exam, and after my birthday at the end of the year , I...I'll be able to..." Thinking about it, I felt a little ashamed. Mr. Shao had always taken good care of me , but I hadn't been ambitious, only thinking of getting by. I truly felt ashamed of this seven-foot-tall body. 　　"Hehe, I knew it. You're the most sensible one." Lanzhi smiled, and suddenly even the lush turned grayish-white. It seemed that only that pale blue remained in the world, dazzlingly bright in my eyes. 　　"By the way, didn't I tell you not to call me 'Mr. Messenger'? Why are you calling me that again　　?" I was a little annoyed by the nickname the villagers gave me. "I'll call you that anyway, I'll call you that anyway. Who told you to always meddle in other people's business?" Lanzhi's bright eyes sparkled, and she smiled sweetly. I was instantly captivated again. 　　"Listen more and see more, and your knowledge will broaden; ask more and hear more, and your speech will become eloquent; do more and do more, and your mind will become clear. Even the ancient sages did this, so how can we not emulate them? Besides, the affairs of the world are for everyone to manage, so why talk about 'trivial matters'?" I argued confidently. 　　"Pfft!" Lanzhi couldn't hold back her laughter. "Sour, so sour! You dare to compare yourself to a sage? I think you're just a fool," she said, pointing a slender, jade-like finger at my nose. " Therefore, the wise become wiser, and the foolish become more foolish. The reason why the sage is a sage and the fool is a fool, is it all because of you?" 　　"Fine, you dare to call me a fool?" I feigned anger, realizing what she meant, and reached out to tickle Lanzhi. She giggled and ran away, but I chased after her relentlessly. The old, mottled eaves and beams seemed to gain a bit of life in her laughter . 　　"Bright room, dark room, little wife, beating man..." 　　Sometime during the night, my younger schoolmates, around seven or eight, and even ten years old, gathered in the hall, clapping and singing a nursery rhyme passed down from who-knows-when. Some had missing teeth, some still had rice grains stuck to their lips, but all wore mischievous smiles. 　　"Go away!" Lanzhi spat, her face instantly turning bright red, even her shallow dimples blossoming into a charming crimson. Embarrassed, she abruptly turned away, facing the wall, her fluttering braids intentionally or unintentionally releasing a sweet fragrance into my nostrils. 　　I forced a serious expression and waved away the laughing children. Though I couldn't see my own face, the burning sensation told me clearly that my face was at least as red as Guan Yu's in the shrine. Not daring to look at Lanzhi any longer, I turned and hurried away, picking up my lunchbox. 　　And so, in the soft, warm spring rain of the thirty-third year of the Guangxu reign, something belonging only to spring quietly took root in the hearts of a young couple. 　　(Summer) 　　Cicadas chirped noisily in the branches, and there wasn't a breath of wind in the house. The muggy weather made everyone feel sticky and uncomfortable.

I was in agony; sweat poured out like slurry, dripping onto the pages of my book, making the ink-stained characters sticky and

intertwined. Even

with my palm-leaf fan swirling in my hand, my short jacket unbuttoned, and my trousers rolled up

to my knees, I was too restless to concentrate on my studies. The pent-up frustration in my chest threatened to burst forth,

even explode.

The exam was in September, and the closer that day got, the less I could focus on a single word. Restless,

I suppressed the urge to smash things several times, pacing back and forth in the dimly lit room.

"Da Ya, Da Ya," my father called my childhood name from the main room.

"What is it?" I wiped the sweat from my brow, then smashed the books to pieces on the floor

before going the main room.

"Your mother went to the river to wash clothes and forgot to take the soap. Take it to her," Dad said, taking the pipe from his mouth

and pointing with the pipe to the wooden rack by the courtyard. "Go out and get some fresh air. Don't stay cooped up inside all the time; you'll

ruin your brain."

"Okay!" I replied, buttoning up my short jacket, taking the soap from the rack, and stepping outside.

Without the roof's shade, the heat outside was unbearable. The earth, grass, and houses were all bathed in a scorching

sun, stinging my eyes. I walked quickly across the sweltering fields, head down, until I reached

the bamboo grove . Only under the dense bamboo branches and leaves did I find a tiny bit of coolness.

The sound of rushing water ahead was refreshing.

The winding stream flowed through the bamboo grove, circling briefly among the trees and rocks before

continuing its long journey. My mother had wrapped her not-yet-three-year-old son, Qin Di, tightly around her back with strips of cloth .

She was squatting by the stream with several other women, beating clothes. The "slap-slap" sound and the women's boisterous

laughter echoed through the woods.

"Mom, here you go." I slowly walked over and handed her the soap.

Qin Di saw me and danced with joy, calling out, "Brother, brother!"

"I can just use theirs, why did you have to come all this way?" My mother said, but her eyes, narrowed to

slits , were full of smiles. "It's good to get some fresh air; don't let yourself get suffocated inside all the time."

Hearing her words, so similar to my father's, warmed my heart. The provincial examination three months later didn't seem so

dreadful anymore.

"You think Da Ya just came to bring you soap?" My outspoken aunt grinned. "I

think he's here to see his little wife, isn't he?"

I was still bewildered when my mother gestured downstream. "Lan'er's over there, aren't you

going to go say hello?"

I turned and saw that familiar, pretty figure not far away. My heart

skipped a , and I stumbled, tripping over a pebble. The women

laughed even harder, startling a few bamboo sparrows and bringing a burning sensation back to my face.

"Mom, I'm going over there." Not daring to look back, I quickly walked downstream, leaving the teasing

laughter far behind.

As I got closer, my heart pounded even harder, "thump, thump," like a drum at a market during the New Year

. Rounding a large rock as tall as a person, Lanzhi squatted by the stream with her back to me, repeatedly striking a

faded blue cloth robe with a clothes stick—the one Mr. Shao often wore.

Her two braids were twisted and coiled on her head, secured with a thorn branch, a few

stray strands lingering on the back of her snow-white neck. The blue cloth robe made her graceful figure appear even more delicate

, and her forearms, with their sleeves rolled up high, resembled freshly picked and washed lotus roots. The small patch of jade-like skin exposed at her lower back

from bending over made my lower abdomen burn with desire.

"Lanzhi," I called softly after standing for a while, letting my heartbeat calm down a bit.

She was startled, turned around, and saw it was me. She clutched her chest, looking frightened. "Brother Shi'er, it's

you! You scared me!" Then she gave me a sweet smile. "Why aren't you reading inside? What are you doing here?"

"I...I'm bringing...some soap to Mom, and I just wanted to say hello." Whenever I

was alone with her, I couldn't help feeling awkward.

"Is that so?" She frowned slightly, her delicate eyebrows furrowing. "It's so uncomfortable talking to you with my head turned away! Come

here." She pointed with her clothes stick to a flat, blue stone in the stream.

"Okay!" I replied, taking off my shoes and wading into the water to sit on the smooth stone, facing her directly.

"My father's been quite restless these past few days. This morning he was nagging me

about how your studies were going and how you were feeling. I told him, '

Don't you know your disciple? You'll definitely do well, don't worry.'" Her hands never stopped moving, and her mouth

chattered away like she'd eaten roasted beans.

I listened half-heartedly, my attention completely focused on her pair of fair, white feet. Lanzhi had never

bound her feet; her natural feet were like ice sculptures, radiating stunning beauty. One foot was on the sandy bank of

the stream , the other half submerged in the clear water. The ripples made five jade-like feet seem

to come alive, bouncing up and down.

I wished I could transform into the water, even just for a moment, even if it meant disappearing like the stream, just to tickle those

delicate little feet, to gently caress her slender toes. Just once, just once, and I'd be content.

Looking up, her delicate ankles were pink and white, and through the shimmering water, I could almost see

the blue veins beneath the translucent skin. Further up, her rounded calves trembled with each movement of her hands,

dazzling and mesmerizing me.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, why are you…" Lanzhi looked up and met my gaze, noticing

where I was looking. Her pretty face flushed red to her ears. "Brother, you…"

"I…I didn't…Lanzhi, you…I…" Caught peeping in the act, I was mortified. I

stammered , unable to utter a complete sentence, and could only lower my head dejectedly. "I…

I'm sorry."

An awkward silence fell. Lanzhi stopped pounding her clothes, her head bowed low, her little feet

fidgeting , as if trying to put them away but unsure where to place them.

Just as I was feeling utterly ashamed and wanted to disappear into the ground, she chuckled crisply, "You're not learning anything good!

What are you thinking about? I hope the sparrows will peck those thieving eyes out of you."

She had a half-smile on her face, her little face still flushed, and when she saw me looking up at her,

she scratched her tender face with her wet fingers, her delicate nose wrinkling adorably. "You're supposed to be a scholar, peeking at

a girl 's feet, aren't you ashamed?"

Seeing that she wasn't angry, I became bolder, "Lanzhi, your...your feet are...so...

beautiful!"

She seemed not to hear my praise, and picked up the clothes stick to continue hitting the long gown, "My father said that in the past,

a girl's feet couldn't be seen by a man. If she was accidentally seen, she would have to...she would have to marry that

man ." Her voice grew softer and softer, almost inaudible.

"Huh?" My mind went blank, my heart pounded wildly, as if it

would "I mean... I..."

She chuckled, sticking her tongue out at me. "Look at you, so silly! Who said I was going to marry you

? Didn't you hear me? That was in the past."

A wave of immense disappointment washed over me. The contrast of falling from the clouds to the ground left me dazed, and the pretty figure

in front of me blurred.

"Rumble..." A dull sound startled me. I looked up and saw that the sky was already covered

with constantly shifting and gathering overhead. Looking upstream, I saw that my mother and the other women

were nowhere to be seen.

"Lanzhi, it's going to rain! Hurry back!" I climbed down from the rock and returned to the shore, frantically

helping Lanzhi pack her clothes.

The two of us hurried back along the flagstone path. A fierce wind arose,

blocked by the dense, green bamboo groves on both sides, crashing a few times in the narrow alleyway before roaring through. The north wind, whipping up bamboo leaves,

stung my face; I could barely bear it, but the petite and delicate Lanzhi looked as if she might be

blown away .

The wind finally stopped, but the surroundings suddenly darkened. A few raindrops landed on the stone slabs, hissing

and disappearing in a puff of white smoke without leaving a trace. I dared not stop, inwardly cursing,

just as I was about to give up, countless large raindrops poured down from the sky.

Running in the rain for a dozen steps, I pulled Lanzhi into a small shack in the vegetable garden beside the bamboo grove. This

was a small thatched hut where farmers slept at night while watching the fields, barely enough for two people. I followed Lanzhi inside; the cramped

space offered no room to move around.

Looking around, the world was a vast expanse of white, everything shrouded in a layer of white mist,

making it impossible to discern anything beyond a few feet. A huge curtain of water surrounded us, obscuring every human figure, and the

only sound was the rushing water.

"Brother Shi'er, I...I'm cold," a soft, insect-like voice whispered in my ear.

Looking down, I saw Lanzhi, her arms wrapped around herself, completely soaked, her dark hair disheveled and clinging to her forehead, her

large, beautiful eyes looking pitiful. Her lips were no longer their usual rosy color, and her pearly

teeth chattered softly. Her wet blue robe clung tightly to her body and arms, as if

constantly being squeezed and compressed.

In this urgent situation, I disregarded propriety, quickly pulled off my short jacket, wrung it out,

and draped it over Lanzhi. In the limited space, this simple action

left several bloody scratches on my arms from splinters in the shed wall.

"And...and you? Aren't you cold?" She looked up, her eyes filled with gratitude.

At such close range, her fragrant breath wafted effortlessly across my face.

The wind, carrying the scent of raindrops, brushed against my bare skin, making it seem less cold.

Before I could answer, a loud "crack!" echoed, a flash of silver light punctuated the silence, followed by a thunderclap

overhead . Lan Zhi cried out in surprise, throwing herself into my arms.

"Thump!" This sudden heartbeat was even more powerful than the sudden shock of the heavens and earth. My eyes were tightly shut, and I felt every pore on

my body open. All my energy dissipated into invisible, intangible

particles, emanating from those tiny openings, leaving me limp and utterly powerless.

Lan Zhi's cool face pressed against my bare chest, her wet hair brushing against my neck. And that soft mass on my stomach

... could it be...? Her warm breath was landing right on my left nipple,

a tingling sensation I'd never experienced before, leaving my left side numb and devoid of feeling.

"Ah!" With another clap of thunder, her cry of surprise rang out again, "I'm scared... I'm scared..."

The soft, fragrant body in my arms trembled, and I wondered where her slender arms got such strength, gripping me

painfully. The sweet scent of a young woman filled my nostrils, and I cautiously opened my eyes, only

to wrapped around the girl's shoulders and back, looking so natural, as if... as if my hands

had always been there.

"Lanzhi, don't be afraid, I... I'm here." As I comforted her, I

pinched myself hard with the hand I'd placed behind her back; the pain was so real, this wasn't a dream.

"Heavens," I prayed fervently, "please let this thunderstorm continue indefinitely."

Unfortunately, the course of events in this world often contradicts human wishes. After about half an incense stick's time, the rain

gradually subsided. Soon, even the pattering sound disappeared; the rain stopped.

Outside the hut, a clear breeze parted the thick clouds, and golden beams of sunlight streamed down from the gaps. The grass and trees

were lush and green the water reflecting a clear blue hue—compared to the previous fury, the mountains and villages now resembled a docile lamb.

The sky had cleared, the rain had stopped. I lost all reason to hold Lanzhi any longer, and reluctantly let go, leaving

the hut . She followed, head bowed.

Her wet hair was still disheveled, yet it possessed an ethereal beauty; her blue cloth robe still clung to

her delicate body , outlining an incomparably captivating silhouette; her delicate eyelashes trembled slightly as before, radiating

an irresistible, poignant charm. Lanzhi stood before me,

her face bright and vibrant, like the mountains and forests after the rain.

"Brother Shi'er..." Lanzhi placed my short jacket into the wooden basin of clothes in her hands, then looked up at

me.

In her eyes, I saw gratitude, shyness, pity, and... the same as mine.

Reluctant to part?

"Um... thank you!" She turned and ran off, her braided pigtails bouncing behind her as she waved goodbye.

I stood there, shirtless, in the field, lost in thought, gazing at her retreating figure.

Her slender, green silhouette, like a leaf in early summer, drifted further and further away, finally

disappearing .

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