In the alleyways of City A, where loofah vines climb every wall, Ruan Yu’s daily life KPIs are: dodge the yardlong beans Grandma Zhang tries to foist on him, catch the homework notebook Grandma throws at him, and, when buying salt at the supermarket, avoid running into anyone weird.
Then one day, while buying a bag of salt at the supermarket, he gets into trouble and is rescued by a hero who saves the “beauty.”
His rescuer is Sui Zhi, a legendary figure at No. 3 Middle School: a regular at the top of the report card, an unofficial member of the smoking crowd outside the school gate, someone who can insult bullies until they cry and ace every question on a physics test.
Ruan Yu stares at the tuft of hair mussed by the wind at the back of Sui Zhi’s neck, lost in thought. When he fights bullies, his fists sound louder than the supermarket owner’s abacus. But when he smiles, he’s like the old locust tree at the mouth of the alley, with half of him basking in sunlight and the other half hiding in shadow.
Later, Ruan Yu realizes his life has quietly acquired another KPI: Can I see through Sui Zhi today?
(The answer: no. But he can pick up the cross necklace Sui Zhi drops, and hear him tell a bully, “Make one more peep and I’ll tie you to that old locust tree and hang you up like a loofah.”)
This is a story about bluestone paths that glow, bags of salt that bring people together, and fragrant locust blossoms. It’s actually a little shy, too.
