Fan Fiction |
by geeky girl
A young gentleman swiftly somersaulted from one cherry blossom tree to the next. Sensing that he was quickly losing his opponent, he became overconfident and slowed down his pace. He turned his head briefly and saw that his opponent could not keep up with him; he smiled to himself as he thought that it was getting much too easy to defeat her.
The young lady looked up and frowned. She was more determined to beat him to get rid of the smirk on his face. She recklessly used all of her energy as she tried to accelerate and blindly gave chase; unfortunately, she failed to jump over the branch as she miscalculated its height.
The gentleman turned around as he heard her call for help, “Senior Brother!” She was surprised by his speed as he rushed over to her aid; it never occurred to her that he had to exert very little effort to outrun her. Nevertheless, she could not pretend to be upset at him as she observed his concern for her. She lovingly stared at his face while he was examining her injured leg and blushed as she realized how close he was to her.
Touching it tenderly, he asked her, “Where does it hurt?” He explored her leg and applied some pressure to it until the young lady flinched.
“Senior Brother, please be more gentle.”
“Junior Sister, we have to bring you home to Teacher’s wife.” He pulled her up and when he discovered that she was limping, he offered his back, which she giddily jumped on to. He effortlessly carried her back home.
Their home was a simple shack made of bamboos with a window in each room. Who would have thought that such a home was inaccessible to strangers? To get into the home was not an easy feat for outsiders, for the home was situated in the middle of a hidden maze. Only those taught the proper entry into the home could safely enter and leave as desired.
“Junior Sister, hold on tightly,” the young gentleman warned as he quickly maneuvered his way through the maze. Once he safely reached the shack, he was welcomed by his teacher’s wife.
One could tell that his teacher’s wife was an extraordinary beauty during her youth; however, the big scar across her left cheek masked whatever beauty was left in her older years. This scar had been with her for so long that she no longer remembered what she looked like without it.
The teacher’s wife approached them and noticed the young lady limping after she got off the young man’s back.
The woman immediately approached them and asked worriedly, “Li Qian, what happened to your leg? Lam Fung, I thought I told you to keep an eye on her?”
The young girl limped towards her mother and pouted, “Mother, can you spare the lecture for later? My leg is in pain.”
Lam Fung bowed his head apologetically, “Teacher’s wife, it was my fault for racing Li Qian.”
Suddenly another figure came forward from the maze. The three recognized him to be the head of the house; however, they did not recognize the unconscious maiden he carried around his shoulders. Unlike his wife, Li Lian Jie was an average looking man, some would even call him brutish. None would recognize that he was once a scholar, but that was long ago before the many difficulties he had to overcome to be with his wife. Li Lian Jie knew the three were interested in this stranger, for he had never brought home a visitor in this manner before. He offered them a warm and friendly smile before he proceeded to tease his daughter, “Li Qian, you are a naughty girl. You know it was your fault for provoking your senior brother to race you, yet you allow your mom to blame him?”
His wife returned his smile, “That’s enough, Husband. Our daughter is hurt right now so we should forgive her this time.” She turned her eyes toward the figure and asked, “Who is this young lady?”
The man replied, “I don’t know.”
“Then why did you bring her home?” Such a simple question, yet the concerns were perplexing and possibly devastating.
“Because of her necklace.”