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“I’m nine, Jiejie, I don’t need a babysitter,” Jiang Cheng says, glaring at the sleek black SUV pulling up in front of Jiang Manor.
“It’s not a babysitter,” she says. “It’s a friend, I hope.” She puts a comforting arm around his shoulder. “I have met Nie Mingjue, and he is a nice boy, despite his grumpy demeanor.” She squeezes Jiang Cheng in a hug. “Like someone else I know.”
“Hmph.” Jiang Cheng crosses his arms across his chest. He tries not to watch the three people who exit the vehicle — a man taller than his baba, a handsome boy who was a year or so older than Yanli, and a slight, short boy hiding behind the older one.
“Don’t worry, you’ll have fun with Nie Huiasang. He’s the same age as you.”
“So? That doesn’t mean I’m gonna like him.” He glowers darkly at the tree fort where Wei Ying is bothering Lan Wangji. “Just cuz we’re the same age.”
Yanli kneels down beside Jiang Cheng. “Listen. I wasn’t going to say anything, but you remember that Madame Nie, Huaisang’s mother and Mingjue’s stepmother, died last fall? Well, Huaisang has had a bit of a hard time.”
“What am I supposed to do about that!”
“Nothing, A-Cheng, nothing. I simply told you because I hoped it would make it easier for you to be a bit kind to him. A-Sang is very different from A-Xian. He is not so...boisterous.”
Jiang Cheng pouted. “You mean he’s boring.”
“I mean, it might take a little time for him to be very friendly, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you.”
“Hmph,” Jiang Cheng says again, with added emphasis.
“Wanyin!” Their father is waiting impatiently with the Nies.
“Aww crap,” Jiang Cheng mutters.
Yanli pats him on the back. “Go on,” she whispers, “it will be alright.”
Jiang Cheng strides to the group with as much haughty dignity as he can muster. He stops sharply and bows, first to Sect Leader Nie, then to his father, then to Nie Mingjue, and then, shallowly and without much grace, to Nie Huaisang.
“Welcome to Lotus Pier,” he says. When his father nods, Jiang Cheng turns to Huaisang. “May I show you around?”
The boy, he sees, clutches a lacquer and silk fan to his chest with one hand and hangs on to Mingjue’s shirt with the other. He blinks slowly at Jiang Cheng, big hazel eyes uncertain and scared.
“Go on, A-Sang,” Sect Leader Nie says. He smiles fondly at his son, and a simmering fire of jealousy flares in Jiang Cheng, but he tamps it down. He will not give his father further cause to dismiss him.
He is unsure how to proceed, however. They are nine, after all, and the children of important sect leaders. After another moment’s hesitation, he extends his hand to Huaisang.
“Come on. Let’s get a snack.”
Huaisang takes his hand and yelps as Jiang Cheng pulls him along to the house. Jiang Cheng hears their fathers chuckle, but he doesn’t look back. He drags the hapless boy behind him until they are safely out of sight. Only then does he drop the boy’s hand and stop.
Jiang Cheng crosses his arms and gives Huaisang an appraising once over. “We have peach iced tea and some cookies,” he says. He stares at Huaisang, noting the boy’s hollow cheeks and long lashes. “And some Kit-Kats,” he amends. “My jiejie brought them home from her trip to Japan.”
“Oh, Jiang-xiong, I’m not hungry. Thank you.”
Jiang Cheng glares at him again. “There’s sake flavor.”
Huaisang arches an eyebrow. “I’m too young,” he says, though the corner of his mouth twitches.
“It doesn’t really taste like alcohol,” Jiang Cheng scoffs. “My dumb brother just thinks it makes him seem cool. We can steal some from his room.”
Huaisang appears to consider this. “Does it even taste good?”
“No,” Jiang Cheng admits. “It tastes gross. But I have some raspberry and some mint ones in my room. They taste pretty good.”
“I like raspberries.”
“Okay.” Jiang Cheng jerks his head toward the stairs. “Come on.”
Jiang Cheng’s room has a large bay window that looks out over the lotus pond in the backyard. A built in bench, piled high with pillows and a few plush dogs that Yanli had bought him over the year, is tucked under it. Huaisang sits in the center of the bench and tucks his feet up under him while Jiang Cheng pulls a locked box out from under his bed.
“Does your brother steal things from you?” Huaisang asks.
“No, but it doesn't hurt to have a safe place for your treasures, right?”
Huaisang smiles. “I have a wooden box that looks like a pirate chest. Da-ge bought it for me.”
Jiang Cheng plops onto the floor beside the box and spins the dial on the combination lock. “Cool,” he says.
“Yeah.”
Jiang Cheng takes a raspberry Kit Kat and tosses it to Huaisang.
“Thank you.” Huaisang peels the wrapper away and nibbles the chocolate.
Jiang Cheng pokes through the things in his lockbox. “So. What do you like?”
“Beautiful things,” Huaisang sighs. He flicks his fan open and shows Jiang Cheng the scene painted on the silk, small brown birds and delicate white and pink flowers. “My mother gave me this.”
“It’s nice.” Jiang Cheng doesn’t know if he should ask about Huaisang’s mother. He tries to imagine how he would feel if his own mother died. Or Yanli-jie. He can’t fathom it.
“You don’t have to play with me or anything, Jiang-xiong. It’s okay.”
“Jiang Cheng.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You can call me Jiang Cheng. Do you want to look at my treasures?”
Huaisang nods, and Jiang Cheng takes out a small metal box, one of Yanli’s old watercolor boxes, and sits beside Huaisang on the bench. He leans comfortably against the pillows and his new friend and opens the box.
“These are my most treasured possessions,” he says, his voice hushed and serious. He hands the box to Huaisang. “You can hold it.”
Huaisang looks startled, but he takes the box and listens, engrossed, as Jiang Cheng goes through the contents. He is suitably impressed by the shark’s tooth that’s as big as his thumb, the egg-sized geode, an owl pellet, and a variety of things that have caught Jiang Cheng’s attention over the years. When that’s exhausted, they move on to Jiang Cheng’s comic book collection. Yanli finds them sprawled across the carpet, cackling over the adventures of Tintin, Calvin and Hobbes, and Spider-Man.
“A-Sang, your family is ready to leave,” she says, after surreptitiously snapping a picture of the boys with her phone.
Jiang Cheng hops up and crowds Yanli out of the room. “We’ll be down in a sec, jiejie.” He grins and shuts the door in her face. “Listen, Huaisang, I have something for you.” He opens a drawer on his desk and digs around until he finds what he’s looking for.
“A dog?” Huaisang examines the small ceramic husky that Jiang Cheng gives him.
“Yeah, but also, look!” He closes his hand around Huaisang’s and the dog in his palm and shuts his eyes, his face scowling in concentration. Huaisang yelps as the figurine grows warm and starts to glow.
“What’s that?!”
Jiang Cheng grins and retrieves the figurine. “Don’t tell, but Wei Ying an’ me have been practicing with spells. Wei Ying found a talisman that you put in a thing, like this little dog? And when you activate it and give it to a person, when the person holds it, it’s like the person who made it is thinking about you. I was gonna give this one to jiejie because she’s going away to boarding school this year, but I can make another one for her. You take this one.” He puts it in Huaisang’s palm and curls his fingers around it. “If you get worried or sad or something.”
Huaisang’s eyes are enormous when he looks up at Jiang Cheng. “Oh, Jiang-xiong, I can’t—“
“I said, call me Jiang Cheng.”
“Jiang Cheng. I—“
“Take it,” he says. “Really.”
“But I don’t have anything for you!”
Jiang Cheng shrugs. “You can draw me a picture or something. I bet your dad has my dad’s address. You could send a card.”
“O-okay.” Huaisang throws his arms around Jiang Cheng for a fierce hug, and just as quickly, he backs away. He brushes the back of his hand across his eyes. “Thank you,” he says, his voice a hoarse whisper.
“You better go,” Jiang Cheng says, blinking rapidly.
Huaisang nods and runs out of the room. Jiang Cheng doesn’t follow. He feels strangely warm and a little bit sick. Probably too much candy, he thinks as he cleans up his room. He is almost calm when Yanli knocks on his door.
“What did you think of A-Sang?” she asks.
Jiang Cheng shrugs. “He’s alright.”
“Oh?” Yanli pulls Jiang Cheng into a hug.
“Yeah. He’s quiet.”
“You know, Nie Mingjue mentioned that he bought Huaisang a cell phone recently. And I was going to give you my old one when I upgrade next month, but I could give it to you sooner.”
“Mother says I’m too young for a phone,” Jiang Cheng mumbles against his sister’s shoulder.
“Mmm, that’s true.” Yanli strokes Jiang Cheng’s hair. “But I was thinking, I want to add you to my plan so you can call me when I’m away at school. I don’t see any reason why we can’t do that now. And I think A-Sang would like to have a friend he could call or text.”
“You’re sure Mother won’t get mad?”
Yanli kisses the top of his head. “I’ll talk to her. You’ll just have to be careful and not let A-Xian play with it. I’m getting a special, indestructible model for him.”
“Hah! Like that’ll last long.”
“Well, he’ll have to try,” Yanli says.
“Thanks, jiejie,” Jiang Cheng says.
“Of course, A-Cheng.” She hugs him tightly. “Now, let’s go down to dinner.”
“Yes, jiejie.” Jiang Cheng follows his sister downstairs, warmth filling him up from his toes, and this time, he thinks it might be something like happiness.