Gu Xiao'e, Junior Attendant of the Five Workshops

In just a moment, the noisy little courtyard fell quiet. Aye and the chickens had all fallen asleep. Crickets still chirped in the grass, a little dog named Awang paced across the courtyard, its paws making a faint rustling sound, and the white falcon perched among the cypress branches, occasionally flapping its wings.

The young man had left, just as he had never been there at all.

Xiao'e leaned against the window again, gazing up at the ink-dark night sky. A flash of white glimmered at the corner of her eye, and a shooting star streaked across the heavens.

Xiao'e thought, he was like that shooting star. He was a star in the night sky, and I was a hunter's daughter in the mountains. Nothing had ever changed.

Theme: Love, class, human nature