Beneath the blossoms, someone asked the young master, "Have you ever loved someone so much that even when they disappeared between one blink and the next, you were left terrified and utterly afraid?"
The young master slowly shook his head, whether because it had never happened or because he could no longer remember.
He had once hoped that if another person were happy, he would be happy too. But happiness without the two of them together was no happiness at all.
The young master felt an inexpressible melancholy. No one had ever said such things to him before. People were always surprised or laughed at the way he dressed and spoke, or came to him for the strange medical skills he shared. The young master had no family and no friends, only a little white creature called Xiao Bai, not quite a dog, who kept him company as they passed the days fooling around.
