"Hai Xueyan! Where are you going with those flyers?!" Madam Hai's voice echoed across the room.
The younger girl flopped into a chair near the entrance, dropping the flyers carelessly on the table. "It's hot outside, Mom. No one wants flyers in this weather."
Hai Lin, who had just finished tying a ribbon around the last table set-up, looked over.
Their mother crossed her arms. "This restaurant is tucked away in the corner of the town. If you girls don't spread the word, how will anyone find us? Flyers don't hand themselves out."
"I'll do it," Hai Lin said quietly, walking over and picking up the stack.
Xueyan blinked. "You will?"
"Yeah." She adjusted her glasses and tied her short hair back with a clip. "Besides, you don't like the sun anyway."
"It's blazing hot out there. You'll get a tan," Xueyan warned.
Hai Lin smiled a little. "It's fine. I don't care about that stuff."
Without sunscreen, a hat, or even an umbrella, Hai Lin stepped outside. The sun was merciless, and the pavement seemed to shimmer with heat, but she held her flyers tightly and walked through the nearby streets.
While passing a fruit stand, she overheard two aunties chatting loudly.
"They say the school nearby's having a basketball match!" one said.
"Oh yes! The girls are going wild for that one boy. What was his name? So handsome!"
Curious, Hai Lin blinked. "Basketball match... maybe I can give the flyers there?"
She turned toward the school's open field, where students were gathered around the court. The noise grew louder as she approached.
She peeked in through the gates and saw the crowd erupt in cheers.
A basketball swooshed into the hoop.
There he was.
The boy from the morning.
His hair was damp with sweat, pushed back by a headband. He wore a sleeveless blue jersey, black shorts, and wristbands. His every movement was fast, fluid, and graceful.
Hai Lin froze, flyers clutched tightly in her hand.
He was stunning.
Her heart thudded in her chest.
Suddenly, the ball flew out of bounds—heading straight for her.
She gasped and flinched.
But before it could hit her, a hand appeared and smacked it away.
Sun Shian.
He landed lightly, glanced at her with a quick smile, and turned back toward the court.
The crowd went wild.
"Sun Shian!!" they shouted.
So that's his name…
Hai Lin's face turned bright red. She clutched her chest. Her ears burned.
Why is my heart beating so fast?
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
It was her mother.
[Mom]: "Come back home now."
Reluctantly, Hai Lin turned away from the court and made her way back. On the way, she bought two ice creams—one for her and one for Xueyan.
When she entered the restaurant again, her mother didn't hold back.
"You went out like that? No sunscreen? No lotion? You'll ruin your skin!"
Hai Lin didn't answer. She handed an ice cream to her sister and walked upstairs quietly.
She stepped out onto the rooftop, letting the breeze hit her face.
Pulling out her phone, she called her old best friend from her previous school.
"Yuxin?"
The screen lit up with Zhang Yuxin's smiling face.
"Lin! You're calling me already? Missed me that much?"
"I think… I think I have my first crush," Hai Lin whispered shyly.
Yuxin grinned. "Oh ho?"
Hai Lin sat on the rooftop, watching the sky slowly shift into hues of gold and orange, her heart still fluttering.
And for the first time in a long while, she smiled just for herself.