Moonlit Night

The conflict between Chen Bozhou and Zhao Laosi that day eventually reached the ears of Village Chief Shen.

"You bastard! You're always causing trouble!" Village Chief Shen was so angry that his beard was shaking. "You're on patrol tonight. Reflect on your actions!"

The village rules state that anyone who fights in the village will be punished by being on night patrol for three days. Chen Bozhou had no complaints about this, but he felt a little disappointed when he thought about not being able to go out with Yunwu for three days.

On his first night patrol, the moonlight shone like water. Chen Bozhou, lantern in hand, strolled through the village, bored and vacant. The summer night, with its chirping insects and the evening breeze carrying the fragrance of rice, should have been a pleasant one, but instead, he felt only loneliness.

Walking to the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, a thin figure quietly emerged from behind the tree. The moonlight shone on him, making him look like a banished immortal.

"Yunwu?" Chen Bozhou was surprised and happy, "Why are you here?"

Yunwu was holding a small bamboo basket in her hand, and her tone was calm as usual: "Grandma made some glutinous rice cakes and asked me to bring them over."

Chen Bozhou took the bamboo basket, and a warm feeling surged in his heart. How could he not know that this was Yunwu's deliberate excuse?

The two walked slowly through the village side by side. The lantern swung gently in Shen Bozhou's hand, casting a crisscross of light and shadow on the bluestone slabs. At first, there was silence, but it wasn't awkward; instead, there was an unspoken tacit understanding.

"Actually, night patrol is not bad," Chen Bozhou said, breaking the silence. "You can see the night scene that you can't see normally."

Yun Wu hummed softly and looked up at the starry sky: "The stars are very bright tonight."

When they reached the small river outside the village, they both stopped. The river shimmered in the moonlight, and the rice fields on the opposite bank undulated in the night breeze like silver waves.

"Sit for a while?" Chen Bozhou suggested.

They sat down on the bluestones by the river. Yunwu took out a glutinous rice cake from a bamboo basket. The cake was white, soft, and oozing with the faint fragrance of osmanthus.

"Grandma Yun's cooking skills are really good." Chen Bozhou took a bite and was filled with sweet fragrance.

"Grandma said thank you for your care every day." Yunwu said softly.

Chen Bozhou put down the cake and looked at him seriously: "I'm not treating you well just to be thanked."

In the moonlight, Yunwu's profile is soft, and her long eyelashes cast light shadows under her eyes.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Do you know why I like growing things so much?"

Chen Bozhou shook his head and waited attentively for what was to come.

"Plants can't talk, but they never lie." Yunwu's voice was soft, as if afraid to disturb the quiet night. "How much care you give it, how much it will give back. The seeds break through the soil, the sprouts unfold into leaves, the flowers bloom and bear fruit... Every process is clear and obvious."

He reached out and gently touched a weed beside him: "Unlike human hearts, which are hard to guess and change at any time."

Chen Bozhou's heart was shocked, and he suddenly understood why Yunwu always kept to himself. It was not because he was naturally solitary, but because he had been hurt too deeply and did not dare to trust easily anymore.

"Not everyone changes." Chen Bozhou said softly, "Some feelings, once confirmed, will last a lifetime."

Yunwu turned to look at him, the moonlight reflected in his clear eyes, as if falling into a sky full of stars. He didn't say anything, but Chen Bozhou saw something flickering in his eyes, as if the frozen lake surface had finally cracked.

"Look at that tuberose," Yunwu suddenly pointed to a cluster of flowers not far away. "It's inconspicuous during the day, but it blooms in the dead of night, yet its fragrance can spread far away."

Chen Bozhou looked in the direction his finger pointed and saw the bunch of small white flowers blooming quietly in the moonlight, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Like you." Chen Bozhou blurted out.

Yunwu was slightly stunned.

"It's not ostentatious, but it has its own fragrance." Chen Bozhou added, his ears slightly warm.

Yunwu lowered her head, but the corners of her lips rose slightly.

That night, they talked a lot. Yunwu told Chen Bozhou how he could judge the fertility of the soil by observing the growth of plants, how he could predict the weather by the shape of the clouds, and how he could tell the change of seasons from the calls of birds.

Chen Bozhou listened quietly, and his heart was beating fast when he saw the light flashing in Yunwu's eyes when he talked about these things.

He had never seen such clouds and fog before. He was no longer the taciturn and aloof boy, but a wise man who was full of love for life and had a thorough understanding of nature.

"You really should talk about this more often," Chen Bozhou said sincerely, "everyone should know how amazing you are."

Yun Wu shook her head: "No need. Those who understand will understand."

These words brushed Chen Bozhou's heart like a feather. Was he the one who "understood"?

As the night deepened, the mist gradually rose. Chen Bozhou took off his coat and gently draped it over Yunwu's shoulders: "The dew is heavy, don't catch a cold."

Yunwu didn't refuse, but simply pulled his clothes tighter. Chen Bozhou's coat was a bit too big for him, making him look even thinner.

"You don't have to accompany me tomorrow," Chen Bozhou said. "Night patrols are boring. Don't bother yourself."

"It's not boring." Yunwu said softly.

These three simple words made Chen Bozhou's heart warm.

After sending Yunwu home, Chen Bozhou continued his night patrol alone.

The moonlight stretched his shadow very long, but he no longer felt lonely. The air seemed to still linger with the faint herbal fragrance of Yunwu, and his gentle words still echoed in his ears.

That night, Chen Bozhou wrote "all is well" in the night watchman's book, but his heart was in turmoil.

In the Yun family courtyard, Yunwu stroked the coat under the oil lamp. The fabric still carried Chen Bozhou's body temperature and scent. He gently buried his face in the coat, closed his eyes, and a smile that he didn't even notice played on the corner of his lips.