A Youths Summer (1)

A girl with silver hair that seemed like December's snow was waiting by the Poison and Puppetry sect gate. Her figure attracted many curious eyes. They had never seen this junior before, who was the lucky bastard she was waiting for?

"Hua-jie!" Now everyone's eyes were focused on the newly arrived figure that came running out of the sect.

Eyes round like a little rabbit, and personality bright like the sun... Who could not have heard about the new beloved junior of the sect? Even the least informed disciple that stayed in the research lab all year round would at least hear about her name once.

"Ming er" Ying Hua acknowledges her with a smile but then frowned when she saw Ming Ming's figure slumped over to her with a pout on her face, "What's the matter?"

"Tired... I couldn't see you for the entire week and was stuck at having to cram all the formulas into my brain…" She whined, snuggling tighter to Ying Hua's embrace, engulfing herself in the older's comfort.

"There, there you did well" Ying Hua wrapped her arms around the youngers shoulder and petted her head

"Mhmm"

...

In a sea of heads, it was just us two- unbothered by anything else,

Hands within each other's grasp,

We are in our own little world,

In a fantasy we created ourselves.

...

Winds passed by,

The younger of the two animatedly talked about her experience in the sect while adding a few complaints along the way, while the older simply listened and nodded once in a while. It was a peaceful walk for the two.

"Ying er! Ming er!" someone shouted both of their names, "Here!!!"

They looked towards the one that screamed,

"Xiao kai" Ming Ming greeted him with a huge wave as she trotted over

"Are you two free?" He asked, "Yin-Biao Ge said to invite you two to the Qing peak bamboo forest if you both were free"

"Bamboo forest?" Ming Ming drawled, "for what?"

"I dunno, he didn't say" He said, walking forward towards the peak's entrance. Ming Ming and Ying Hua instinctively followed behind him. "But knowing Yin- biao ge…"

"His soo gonna get in trouble" Ming Ming put her finger to her lips and hummed before she loudly exclaimed, "Lets go!"

The walk to the Forest itself was not that interesting. They passed by dozens of small stalls and shops selling a variety of things. From basic necessities to accessories to other peculiar things.

Ming Ming stopped,

"Ming er?" Ying Hua questioned why she suddenly stopped and looked in the direction Ming Ming was looking at, "Are you interested?" she questioned

The stall Ming Ming was looking at was selling different kinds of hairpins and other hair decorations, fans, and tassels. It's a very common kind of stall around these parts. Ying Hua wondered what caught the younger's attention.

"Yea," Ming Ming murmured and walked towards the stall and took a jade Zan(1), shaped as a resting crane with several jades as the complementary decoration. She put it next to Ying Hua's head, "This looks good on you Hua jie,"

"Hm?"

Ming Ming faced the stall owner, "I'll take this uncle"

"That'll be 3 tael young miss"

She took three tael and gave it to him

"Thank you for the purchase"

After the purchase, Ming Ming went to where Ying Hua and Kang Kai stands and waved the pin,

"Hua-jie can I quickly do your hair?"

"En"

With the permission, Ming Ming went towards Ying Hua and softly took several strands of hair beside the crown and braid it before sealing the ends with the Zan with the crown at the middle.

"Done~"

Kang Kai stared at the braids Ming Ming did to the elders' hair and was truly amazed. Both sides were now done to braids with the center of it being the crown that's held up by the Zan, Ming Ming just bought for Ying Hua and the original MeiHua (plum blossom) Bu Yao(2) she had, "I didn't know you can do hairs"

"Hehe… are you impressed? Too bad, I won't do anyone else's hair except Hua-jie's"

"What-- Why would I ask you to do my hair?"

"I dunno, maybe you can look more decent if you actually brush your hair"

"Hey! I brush my hair-- just, my hair had always been on the rough side"

"Yea yea~" she non-ethically waved him off

"Ugh, lets just hurry up and go to the forest"

Kang Kai scratched his head and walked forward first to the entrance of the Bamboo forest, albeit, a bit frustrated. Ying Hua and Ming Ming simply followed behind.

.

.

.

"Xiao-Kai, Hua er, Ming er! You're finally here!" Yin Yue greeted them,

The place they were standing right now was in the middle of the forest which was located near the peak.

A decently sized gazebo made of the jade-like bamboo, which stood proudly at the center of the free space surrounded by the tall greenery.

There, in front of it all stands a young boy with a carefree smile, his rosewood colored hair was loosely tied to the side, tied with a ribbon near the edge. His slanted eyes smiled towards the three newcomers welcomely.

"Yue-Biao ge," Kang Kai greeted him with a smile but then looked around questioningly "where's Ye- Biao ge?"

"Are you really asking that?" Yin Yue huffed,

Kang Kai immediately took notice of the intention they were called out. He already had a hunch but, "A prank?"

"Of course,"

"Who's the unfortunate soul?"

Yin Yue smiled sweetly… maybe a bit too sweetly for Ying Hua's comfort.

"Ohoho?" Ming Ming laughs, "Yeye?"

"That's a Ye-yes for you,"

Ying Hua frowned, "isn't that a bit… too risky? Remember last time?" She motioned towards her neck and pointed at it, "Someone nearly got decapitated"

"Nah, it'll be okay" Yin Yue took out a book from his sleeves and waved it, "Let's do something a bit different this time~"

.

.

.

Several soft rays of light passed through the bamboo window openings and brought its warmth to the small room along with the gentle gust of wind.

"Hmm" Guo sighed in content as he flipped another page from the book he was reading. His eyes were slowly fluttering closed, while his head nodded off. His grip on the book loosened and he ended up dropping it to the table while he, himself, slept. Both arms crossed, acting as a pillow for his tired head.

…

"Ok, target has finally fallen asleep"

A small figure went to the sleeping Guo Ye and pulled out a book from their sleeves. They slowly inch closer to Guo Ye's arm and pull the book he was previously reading. But as the figure was about to exchange the books, Guo Ye's shoulder shuffled a bit. The figure held their breath and calmed down when Guo Ye showed no sign of waking up. The figure successfully replaced the original book with the prepared book.

They let out a small chuckle before exiting the room the same manner when they entered. Outside, the figure was greeted by three others. The figure and the other two smiled with each other while the last simply sighed.

Unbeknownst to them, one of Guo Ye's eyes was slightly opened. He stared at the book that was left to him and hummed, "What to do…" he was still sleepy, but knowing his twin, it's best to counter before he had another weird idea.

He sat up and grabbed the book, opening it.

Guo Ye was a bit curious at what kind of prank Yin Yue would have pulled this time, considering the last prank he did almost made him lose his head. And as he opened it, he immediately understood what kind of prank it was.

"Of course," he mused albeit a bit frustratingly, he still tried to keep his facial expression blank as he knew the little trouble maker would be watching him, "Of course he would do this kind of prank"

He stood up, opened the windows wide, and let the strong wind enter the room. He was in the first floor room, so even if he jumped out, it wouldn't injure him at all.

He pondered, what will his dear elder twin have to face... if he were to just throw this book to the Koi pond right outside this window...

...

(1)Zan was originally called Ji , but it was only after the Qin and Han dynasties that it became known as Zan. By the Shang and Zhou period, the head style of Ji began to diversify, the emergence of umbrella-shaped, geometric shapes, and a variety of birds and animals shapes. Zan from the Qin and Han dynasties onward became more elaborate in style and craftsmanship, and materials such as gold, jade, and green feathers also became popular.

(2) Buyao evolved out of Zan, Chai, the base is usually Chai and then adorned with moving flowering branches, butterfly and bird wings, and dangling beads. They are made from a variety of materials, including gold, silver, agate, and pearls, and are highly crafted.

..

A/N; Yin Yue is the oldest with Guo Ye being the second oldest. Followed by Ying Hua, Kang Kai then Ming Ming.