Zhuang Zi'ang and Su Yudiel sat on the grass, wistfully gazing at the sky, envying the carefree drift of the clouds. The occasional butterfly flitted past, adding to the idyllic se.

  "If only I were a butterfly," Su Yudiel mused aloud, "then I could flutter across the river and see what lies beyond."

  "We could fly a kite," Zhuang Zi'ang suggested with a smile, "a be our eyes in the sky."

  "That's a brilliant idea! You're so clever," Su Yudiel excimed, her eyes sparkling with delight.

  "You just called me dumb," Zhuang Zi'ang teased. "So, shall I go get a kite now, then?"

  Su Yudiel g the position of the sun in the sky and shook her head. "It's gettioday. I o head home soon to catch my bus."

  "'t you stay out a little ter?" Zhuang Zi'ang asked, his disappoi evident.

  "No, I really have to catch that specific bus." Su Yudiel's tone implied that she came from a rather strict household. Which was uandable; it wasirely safe for a young girl to be out alooo te.

  "Little Butterfly, tomorrow's Saturday, a day off from school. How about we meet here and fly that kite?" Zhuang Zi'ang proposed, a hopeful note in his voice.

  "Sounds like a p's meet at Xishan Park tomorrow m then," Su Yudiel agreed readily.

  The sun, now a fiery orb, was sinking lower in the western sky, casting long shadows across the ndscape. The tranquil atmosphere tly shattered by the shrill ring of a cell phone.

  Zhuang Zi'ang pulled out his phohe caller ID dispyed "Mom." He stared at the s for a long moment before finally answering the call.

  "Mom, shouldn't you be w? What's up?"

  Xu Hui's voice came through the speaker, tinged with , "I heard you had an argument with your father?"

  Zhuang Zi'aated briefly before replying, "I don't want to go back there. I'll stay at your pce for now. I'll be here when you get back."

  Xu Hui sighed, her voice filled with a familiar weariness. "Zi'ang, I know your father and I getting divorced has been hard on you. Try to be more uanding of your father. Try to get along with your stepmother and Yuhang. Don't make things more difficult for your dad by being犟, okay? I know I haven't been the most present mother..." Her voice trailed off.

  Zhuang Zi'ang abruptly ged the subject, "Mom, what about that colleague of yours? How are things progressing?"

  Xu Hui was momentarily taken aback. "Why the sudden i in my personal life, Zi'ang?"

  Zhuang Zi'ang's voice cracked slightly. "Just... find someone who will truly cherish and take care of you. You deserve to be happy, Mom. Don't wear yourself out."

  Xu Hui chuckled softly. "Once you're all grown up, you take care of me, silly!"

  Zhuang Zi'ang's heart ched. I won't get the ce to grow up.

  Xu Hui, oblivious to the hidden meaning in his words, offered a few more words of fort before hastily ending the call.

  "Little Butterfly," Zhuang Zi'ang began, turning to the girl beside him, "Your mom treats you well, doesn't she?" Her stant cheerfulness must surely be a refle of a loving and supportive family enviro. Parents who undoubtedly doted on her and cherished her like a precious jewel.

  Su Yudiel nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! My mom is the most wonderful person in the world. I miss her terribly every single day and long to be held in her embrace again." Her words, though filled with warmth, struck a slightly discordant note.

  Zhuang Zi'ang and Su Yudiel lingered on the grassy bank until nearly six o'clock, then rose and began the slow ast up the stoeps. Time, as always, proved to be a fickle thing. A forty-five-mih css could feel like ay. Yet, simply sitting here with Little Butterfly, doing nothing in particur, two hours had vanished in the blink of an eye.

  Upon reag the bus stop, they found a small group of students already waiting for their respective buses. Su Yudiel's arrival immediately drew the attention of all the boys present. Her beauty was simply too captivating to ig was as if the very air around her shimmered with an added sweetness. Zhuang Zi'a a surge of protectiveness, a desire to shield her from those unwanted gazes.

  The No. 19 bus, appearing from around the er, sighe immi parting. Despite the promise of seeing each other the following day, a pang of reluce tugged at his heart.

  "I'll be waiting for you at the park tomorrow," Zhuang Zi'ang said, a hint en his voice. "Promise you'll e?"

  "Of course, I'll be there. Pinky swear?" Su Yudiel responded, extending her little fiowards him.

  Zhuang Zi'aated for a fra of a sed. At eighteen, wasn't a pinky swear a tad childish? Especially uhe watchful gaze of the other students.

  "e on!" Impatient, Su Yudiel seized his hand and liheir little fiogether. "Pinky swear, y heart and hope to die, promise you won't stand me up!" Su Yudiel decred, sealing the pact by pressihumb against his.

  The pinky swear, a solemn vow held sacred amongst children. Adults, despite being bound by ws and societal norms, often failed to uphold their itments. But children? Once a pinky promise was made, it was sidered unbreakable.

  The bus arrived at the stop, and the waiting students began to board. Su Yudiel deliberately lingered, b st, in order to savor those final few moments with Zhuang Zi'ang.

  "See you tomorrow, Little Butterfly."

  Zhuang Zi'ang watched as the No. 19 bus receded into the distas red taillights eventually disappearing from view, before finally turning away. His gaze lingered on the bus route sign, attempting to deduce at which stop Little Butterfly might alight. He stared at it until the words began to swim before his eyes, then, with a sigh nation, he finally turned and walked away.

  He hadn't gone far when a bck sedan pulled up alongside him. The window glided down, revealing Lin Mushi's face within. As the universally aowledged school beauty, her looks were, of course, beyond reproach. While Zhuang Zi'ang personally found Su Yudiel more attractive, he aowledged that this might be due to his own subjective preferences. And Li Huangxuan's earlier praise of Su Yudiel had likely been motivated by a desire to provoke Lin Mushi and puncture her infted ego.

  "Zhuang Zi'ang, you are absolutely, positively not g on me again tomorrow, Saturday," Lin Mushi decred, her tone brooking nument.

  Zhuang Zi'ang was suddenly reminded of the movie outiill owed her. But tomorrow had already been promised to Su Yudiel, sealed with a sacred pinky swear. And a pinky swear, as everyone knew, was invioble.

  "Mushi, something's e up for tomorrow. Would you mind terribly if we postpo just a little?" Zhuang Zi'ang pinched his thumb and pinky fiogether, showing just how tiny a postpo he meant.

  Lin Mushi looked suspicious. "You going to fool around with that girl again?"

  Zhuang Zi'ang coughed lightly. "Hey! 'Fool around'? Watouth."

  Lin Mushi pouted. "Zhuang Zi'ang, you've been ag more and more out of liely, skipping css all the time. Yonna ruin yourself."

  Hearing his friend's scolding, Zhuang Zi'ang didn't know how to expin. He couldn't just drop the bomb on her. After a moment, he figured the best way was just to py it cool. "Mushi, are you jealous?"

  Lin Mushi's eyebrows shot up. "Zhuang Zi'ang! Jealous of you? Get lost! Go as far away as you !"

  "What if one day I really do get lost, far away and never e back? Will you miss me?" Zhuang Zi'ang had asked Li Huangxuan the same thing. Now it was Lin Mushi's turn, and she gave him the same look of disgust.

  "Why would I miss you? Just disappear already! There's a line of guys wanting to take me to the movies, you think I actually care about you? You're clueless. Go fool around with whoever you want, I don't care anymore!"

  Lin Mushi rolled up the window and told her driver to go, leaving Zhuang Zi'ang standing alone on the curb, feeling lost. The evening wind was strong, gritty with sand, making his eyes water.