Meeting the neighbors

Excitedly running towards the fields as a light breeze gently embraced her hair, she moved her small hand upwards to pin a stray lock behind her ear.

Chen Mei Ling lifted her head towards the blue cloudless skies, showing them her most beautiful smile, as cute dimples formed at the sides of her cheeks.

"Good morning mom, dad."

Her smile not diminishing the slightest, she turned towards the older man behind her.

Golden red leaves floating down like a floral rain, as though a mere background image to accentuate his splendid features.

His silky long black hair merely wavering with the breeze, singing the world's most beautiful duet.

His height of 170 cm stood with arms lightly crossed in front of his chest, leaning casually onto the dark wooden frame of the door.

He watched her with a tender smile that can cause the downfall of the greatest empires.

Sometimes, Chen Mei Ling questioned his gender, but for someone of such ambiance and demeanor that could cause her to lose her soul with a mere smile, it was almost impossible for him to be female.

Besides, he did not reject her calling him 'gege'.

Today, they had to harvest some of the fully grown crops, before they become less desirable to the potential customers.

Overgrown vegetables can result in hard woody stems and interiors.

Grabbing two weaved bamboo baskets from the rundown storage shack, she grabbed Jasper's hand, pulling him along towards the field of radishes.

She snuck a few quick glances in admiration at his hands.

They seemed to reflect the rays of late morning sun as they touched upon his subtle skin, drawing attention to his small crystalline blood vessels underneath.

She glanced at her own coarse hand holding onto his delicate one.

Her hands were smaller than his, but were tanned by the daily exposure to the hot radiation from above.

They were filled with the blisters she had always claimed to be badges of honor for her hard work.

Her nails had been roughly ripped short, with dirt around its cuticles.

The thin crevices in her skin were all tinted a shade of black.

She reached her other hand towards her face, placing it against her scratchy skin that had a few small freckles.

Smiling bitterly, she shook her head out of her thoughts, before sprouting a big smile once again on her small face.

Midway through their work, the sound of bicycle wheels pushing against the hard earth made its way to their ears.

They simultaneously lifted their heads from the shrubs of greenery, spotting an elderly man with an almost balding head of sparse black and white hair.

The elderly rode up to the side of the fence surrounding this small plot of farm land, slowly got off as it neared, and pushed it the rest of the way.

He left the bicycle leaning against the flimsy wooden structure, before turning to walk towards the two of them.

His eyes squinted with a kind smile when he saw Chen Mei Ling.

Noticing the tall figure standing next to the small girl, he slightly gave a frown in suspicion.

He eyed Jasper from head to toe and back, carefully taking in every feature of this stranger.

His eyes landed back onto the girl when he was a meter in front of them, giving her a gentle smile.

[Xiao Ling, grandma Chen cooked too much food again. Would you like to join us for lunch?]

They had the same last name, but they were not blood related at all.

Every family in this small village had the surname of Chen.

They might have had a common ancestor from generations ago, but the blood had already thinned over the hundreds of years.

This grandpa Chen and his wife, grandma Chen sympathized with the young orphan girl.

They admired her resilience and work ethic despite losing both of her parents at such a young age.

Their children had moved to the big city years ago, along with their own children, leaving the two elders alone in the countryside.

Their children all had lives of their own, and hardly ever had time to visit besides their birthdays and Chinese New Year.

They started treating the young girl as their own after her parents' death, often inviting her over to their house for a meal.

Chen Mei Ling turned her head to look at the figure beside her.

He noticed her glance, and slightly nodded his head in agreement. She turned back towards grandpa Chen with a bright smile.

Seeing their interaction, the elderly man couldn't help but be filled with doubt.

He had never seen or heard about this young man from Chen Mei Ling before.

[Who might this handsome lad be, Xiao Ling?]

Jasper's body straightened with wary, before Chen Mei Ling answered the elderly without hesitation.

"He is a distant older cousin!"

Relief can be clearly seen from grandpa Chen's wrinkly face. Jasper's tense muscles also relaxed at her answer.

The old man looked towards him with a polite smile.

"I have not met you before. It is great that you've come here to visit Xiao Ling. A girl her age living all alone is very dangerous these days."

"Yes, I'll be staying here with her from now on. Please take care of me grandpa Chen."

Grandpa Chen became mesmerized by Jasper's gentle smile.

[Is he perhaps a girl?] he thought.

"Hoho, just come to our house if you have any problems in the future, umm..."

Remembering the name Chen Mei Ling gave him last night, he replied, "Jia Bi Yu."

He better start getting used to this new name of his, as he might be staying in this world for a long time to come.