Chapter 147 The Tip of the Knot (Thirteen) Yet, she smelled the green plum.

Warm, with rippling water.

The soft yet resilient rope is rolled into a ball in the palm of your hand, then spreads out in the water, swaying gently like a swing.

Song Qiling slowly opened her eyes, looked at the world glowing red, and then lazily closed them again.

Crowded, crushed.

Squeeze it again and again.

My whole body ached as if I had been beaten up. Then, a blinding light came into view, and cold air swept in from all directions. In the next instant, I was lifted up and placed on my soft belly.

With her brows furrowed, she finally burst into tears.

"Wow, what a loud voice! And she's a perfectly healthy girl!"

"Congratulations, Madam! You have safely given birth to your little princess."

"Quickly, go tell the master!"

Song Qiling cried for a while and then stopped.

Wrapped in thick swaddling clothes, it felt like returning to that warm but cramped little house, with joyful congratulations all around, a lively and cheerful atmosphere that made me sleepy.

Dazed and disoriented, day after day.

The wrinkled baby gradually grew up and uttered the first word, "Mother," crisp and clear.

She reluctantly called out "Dad," which made the man so happy that he pinched her armpits, hugged her, and pressed his slightly stubble-covered face against her delicate cheek.

"Lingling, be good, let Daddy pamper you."

That's strange.

When did she start calling herself 'Lingling'?

"My daughter's voice is like the clear, melodious sound of spring water, like the tinkling of jade pendants." This is how her father explained it.

Song Qiling grew as vigorously as wild grass, growing rapidly with the wind.

At one year old, he could call out to people; at two, he could chase chickens; at three, he could climb trees; at four, he dared to fight dogs; at six, he was already a "little devil"; at seven...

She met the young master next door when she was seven years old.

That fool who was two years older than her.

Upon meeting, the man sat on the steps in front of his house, resting his chin on his hand, and stared at her quietly.

Song Qiling glanced down at the candied hawthorn in her hand, thinking that this person had probably never eaten such a rare thing before. She stood there for a while, looking down on it, and after thinking it over, she finally stepped forward, plucked the last hawthorn ball off the bamboo stick, and handed it over.

Looking at the red sugar stains on his fingers, the man pursed his lips, then raised the corners of his mouth and grinned at her.

I'm missing a tooth.

The dark, empty space seemed to be greeting her.

Turns out he's an idiot.

My parents said to stay away from idiots.

Song Qiling didn't dare to linger. She stuffed the hawthorn ball into the fool's hand and turned to run home.

"Oh dear, that's the young master of the Gu family. What a coincidence that Lingling ran into him, hahaha..." After finishing his shift, the father sat in the round chair, picked up the teacup and brought it to his lips to take a sip, then spat out the tea leaves with two "pui pui" sounds.

Song Qiling glanced at her father, whose face was flushed, then turned to look at her mother, who was sewing a sachet for her, and couldn't help but ask, "Mother, what are you laughing at? Isn't that man an idiot? How come you all know him?"

The young woman picked up a pair of scissors from a nearby table and cut off the thread on the sachet. She stroked the tassel on it, examined it carefully, and then put down her work. She looked up at her daughter and said, "That is your father's good friend, the son of Minister Gu, Gu Lianzhou."

"Oh, so it's an old acquaintance." Song Qiling nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly remembered the man's silly smile and couldn't help but purse her lips. "He doesn't look very bright."

As soon as she finished speaking, her father added from the side, "Is Lingling looking down on Young Master Gu?"

What do you mean by "dislike" or "not dislike"...

"I just saw him staring at my candied hawthorn and smiling, which was kind of creepy," she said, shaking her head. "And I noticed he was missing a tooth, which must be because he eats too many sweets."

"That's just normal tooth replacement, it's not because you're greedy for sweets." Mother said, raising her hand to gently stroke the bridge of her nose, and said helplessly, "But you, if you eat less sweets, you'll suffer less when you lose your teeth."

Song Qiling snorted in dissatisfaction, then suddenly remembered the young master's appearance and felt that he looked somewhat familiar.

Have they met before?

With doubts lingering in her mind, half a month passed in a flash, until one morning, she was awakened by a rustling sound outside the window.

Pushing open the carved wooden window, one could see that a bamboo scaffold had been erected outside the neighboring courtyard wall at some point, and the young master of the Gu family, who was missing a tooth, was squatting on the wall, carefully reaching out to reach the branches of the Song family's tree in the courtyard.

The morning light filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows on his moon-white robe. He was so focused that he didn't even notice his sleeve getting caught on a branch.

"Hey—" Song Qiling called out to him from the window frame.

The toothless idiot was startled, his hand trembled, and he almost fell off the wall.

"What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head.

Gu Xiaolang steadied himself, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face, and pointed upwards, "I... am looking for a kite."

Song Qiling followed his slender finger and looked through the layers of emerald green leaves, finally spotting an exquisite swallow kite among the highest branches.

She yawned, stopped asking questions, and leaned against the windowsill, resting her chin on her hands, watching with great interest as he took down the kite.

The morning light grew brighter, gilding his moon-white robes with a fuzzy, light gold hue.

He stood on tiptoe, stretched out his arms, and reached his fingertips toward the branch from which the kite was hanging.

Unfortunately, he was still small, and the branch was too high. He tried several times, but he was always just a little short.

Finally, in an attempt to reach a little more, he leaned most of his body out, and his foot slipped, causing the tiles to rustle.

Song Qiling's heart jumped into her throat, and she almost cried out in alarm, but she saw him hurriedly grab the bamboo frame next to him and sway several times before he was steady.

"Fool, if you can't catch it, don't bother," she finally couldn't help but say. "It's just a kite, you can just buy another one."

Gu Jialang withdrew his hand dejectedly, his gaze falling on the little girl behind the window. "This is a birthday gift from my mother. If I don't take it down today, tomorrow... if it rains tomorrow, this kite will probably be ruined."

Song Qiling finally looked at him properly, her heart fluttering slightly, and she couldn't help but smile.

Turns out this guy isn't stupid.

After a moment, she tilted her head and said, "You wait here."

Although Gu Xiaolang was puzzled, he still sat obediently on the wall and waited.

A moment later, the girl, dressed neatly, came out of the house carrying a bamboo pole. She came to the base of the wall, raised her head at him, and couldn't help but look smug.

"How can you reach it with just your hands?" Song Qiling handed over a bamboo pole several times her own height and directed the young man to poke, pick, hook, and deflect.

The two worked together, and in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the kite gracefully fell from the gaps in the branches, and a pair of white, lotus-root-like arms embraced it.

Song Qiling raised her hand and gently brushed away the cobwebs and dust from the kite, then looked up at Gu Xiaolang on the wall and grinned, "See, my method works better, doesn't it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the man on the wall, holding a bamboo pole in both hands, stared blankly at the scene, speechless for a long time.

Song Qiling couldn't help but scratch his head.

Why does this person... seem a bit silly?

-

The two courtyards are separated by only one wall, and at the corner of the wall stands an ancient pear tree with lush branches and leaves that reach out to both sides.

Song Qiling often sat on a stone bench under a tree with a book in his hand, imitating his father by swaying his head as he recited the text.

One day, she was pondering the meaning of the phrase "A friend comes from afar" when she suddenly heard a clear child's voice coming from the top of the wall: "Does it mean that it is also a happy thing to have like-minded friends come from afar?"

Song Qiling looked up and saw Gu Xiaolang leaning against the wall, holding a book in his hands, looking at her with bright eyes.

Hey, this guy.

Ever since he helped him find the kite last time, he has been talking to her every now and then, across the courtyard wall.

Once, the two argued endlessly over a fable over a wall until sunset, when their parents called them back for dinner with smiles.

Song Qiling, hands on her hips, puffed out her cheeks in a huff, when a package wrapped in oiled paper was thrown over the wall. "Don't be angry, let's discuss it again tomorrow, okay?"

She picked up the oil paper package and opened it, only to find candied fruit covered in frosting. Being a child at heart, she picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. The sweetness melted away, and her competitive spirit suddenly subsided.

This time, things got even worse. Taking advantage of the adults' absence, this person climbed onto the wall and started talking to her.

"Look at you, thinking you can do this? You want to be a schoolteacher?" She pouted, rolled up the book in her hands, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So, according to the book, your behavior is... a thief?"

Gu Xiaolang wasn't annoyed; he just smiled and corrected him, "This is the top of the wall, not the roof beam."

Song Qiling felt a headache coming on. "Isn't it all the same? By the way, why did you climb over my wall for no reason?"

"No," the boy shook his head. "This is my family's wall."

Song Qiling: "..."

After a while.

All that could be heard was a "clattering" sound coming from under the wall.

Gu Xiaolang looked down and watched as the little girl brought over a stool, climbed up the wall by stepping on the cracks, and then rolled over and straddled the top of the wall.

“This is also my wall.” She raised her chin defiantly at the other person, “If you can climb the wall, so can I.”

Gu Xiaolang didn't respond, but quietly moved closer to her. He noticed that her hair was covered with moss from when she climbed the wall, and his fingertips twitched slightly, but he was too embarrassed to reach out.

"What are you looking at?" She swung her dangling feet and kicked Gu Xiaolang's cloth shoes. "Did you hear that? From now on, this wall belongs to my surname, Song!"

Gu Jialang's ears burned, and his gaze drifted to the newly blooming peony bush in the corner of the wall. He responded in a muffled voice, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw her take out an oil paper package from her sleeve, and the aroma of caramel mixed with the fragrance of sesame wafted over.

"Sesame shortbread from Granny Wang's shop on East Street." She broke open the golden-brown shortbread, making a crisp crunch. "Would you like some?"

As soon as the question was asked, half a pancake was handed to him.

Gu Xiaolang obediently took it, lowered his head and took a small bite, completely unaware that sugar residue was stuck to his lips.

"Is it sweet?" she asked, leaning closer.

He stared at the dangling toes of his shoes and whispered, "Hmm, very sweet."

He frowned.

It's a bit too sweet.

-

Song Qiling gradually realized that the silly boy next door actually had a "trouble-making" constitution.

Perhaps because of his wealthy family background and gentle nature, he was often bullied by some unreasonable spoiled brats.

That day, she was playing shuttlecock in front of her house when she turned around and saw this person being blocked at the alley entrance by several teenagers, who were pushing and shoving each other.

Without thinking, Song Qiling swung the shuttlecock in her hand and threw it, hitting the leader precisely on the back of the head.

"Anyone who bullies him is going against me, Song Qiling!" She stood with her hands on her hips, and although she was shorter than the others, she had the imposing presence of a little tiger, radiating a fierce aura.

The children scattered in all directions.

Gu Xiaolang looked at the little girl who was blocking his way, her hair was askew and her skirt was covered in dust, and chuckled, "Actually... I can handle it myself."

"Solve my ass! I'll protect you from now on!" Song Qiling patted her chest, picked up the shuttlecock, and walked back with a heroic air, not noticing Gu Xiaolang watching her back with a soft smile in his eyes.

However, she also makes mistakes sometimes.

When Gu Xiaolang lost all his candy in a pitch-pot competition, he quietly left his entire share to her.

Cricket fighting was popular in the capital. She begged her father to catch a strong one, but she lost the contest miserably. She squatted in the corner, wiping away tears and muttering that she wanted to win back her losses. Gu Xiaolang came and handed her a shiny cricket: "Uncle brought this. It's very good at fighting."

She later learned that he had traded his most treasured ink stick for it.

Even when she twisted her ankle while helping him chase away a vicious dog, and was sitting on the ground wincing in pain, he didn't say a word, squatted down, let her climb onto his back, and walked home step by step.

The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them.

Song Qiling lay on his still thin back and muttered, "It seems that just being good at fighting isn't enough; you also need to be good at studying and reasoning like you."

Gu Xiaolang paused, gently supporting her knees, and said softly, "It's alright, you protect me, and I... will help you study."