He stood rooted, eyes wide. His chest hammered, his head spun. His mother's rules, the teacher's warnings... all of it vanished in the sheer terror of watching her sink.
"Yanmei!" His voice cracked. He waded in, shoes and all, slipping on the mud as cold water surged into his socks. His hands grabbed blindly until they found her wrist.
"Stand up!" he shouted desperately. "It's shallow... just stand!"
"I... I can't!" Her voice was high with panic, water choking her words.
"Don't be stupid!" he yelled, pulling with all his strength. She clung to him like a drowning kitten, nails digging into his arms. He almost toppled but dug his heels into the mud, dragging her toward the shore.
By the time they stumbled onto the grass, both were drenched and shaking.
Yanmei coughed and coughed, water dripping from her braid. Yanzhi sat beside her, breathing hard, his face pale. His neat hair stuck to his forehead, ruined. His polished shoes squelched with every move.
"Are you crazy?" His voice shook more than he wanted. "You could've... " He stopped, his throat tight. He didn't want to say the word.
Yanmei, still panting, suddenly grinned through her tears. "Wow… You saved me."
He glared, trembling. "Do you think this is funny? I thought... I thought... " His words broke, and he turned away, biting his lip hard.
She tilted her head, watching him. For once, she didn't tease. Her small hand reached out, tugging his sleeve.
"See? Now you really can't escape. You're my friend forever."
Yanzhi closed his eyes, breathing unevenly. He wanted to shake her off. He wanted to yell again. But he couldn't.
Instead, he muttered, "Idiot."
She burst out laughing, loud and shameless, echoing over the river.
•••
The walk back from the riverside was less a walk and more a parade of shame.
Two children, both soaked from head to toe, trudged side by side along the narrow dirt path. Wang Yanmei's braids had come loose, her ribbons hanging like defeated flags. Mud streaked across her cheeks as if she'd painted war stripes before battle. Each step left a wet squelch that made her burst into louder and louder laughter.
Beside her walked Huo Yanzhi, hair plastered to his forehead, shirt clinging uncomfortably to his frame, shoes ruined beyond salvation. The boy who had entered the village like a tiny noble son now looked like a stray dog dragged from a ditch.
"You should've seen your face," Yanmei howled, holding her belly. Her laugh came in sharp hiccups, head thrown back, eyes shining with mischief. "Like this... " She scrunched her face, puffed her cheeks, and widened her eyes in mock terror. "Ah! Mei mei! Don't drown, mei mei!"
"I don't sound like that," Yanzhi muttered, cheeks tinged pink.
"You do, you do!" She bent double with laughter. "And when you jumped in... oh, your legs were kicking like a duck!"
He glared at her, his dignity dripping away with each step of waterlogged shoes. "You nearly drowned, mei mei. Do you even understand? If I hadn't... "
"Then I'd have turned into a river spirit," she interrupted, wagging her fingers like claws. "I'd haunt you every night, drag you by the ankle, say... boo, City Prince, remember me?"
He almost tripped. "You're insufferable."
Her grin widened, completely unbothered. "Yet you still walk with me. That means you like me."
"I do not."
"Yes, you do." She skipped ahead, mud flying from her feet. "You saved me. You're stuck with me forever!"
For a fleeting second, despite himself, Huo Yanzhi laughed. Just one quiet sound that startled him more than the river had.
They passed the crooked row of houses at the edge of the village. Old women perched on low stools, gossiping with hands busy over beans. Their voices fell silent as the children appeared.
"There she is again," one clucked her tongue. "Wild like her mother."
"And she's dragged the new boy into her filth," another sighed dramatically. "What a pity. Such a polite child, ruined already."
"The apple never falls far from the tree. That girl will grow up just as loud and troublesome."
Yanmei paused only to stick her tongue out. "Pah! All you do is sit and talk. If your tongues worked half as hard as your hands, you'd have golden houses by now."
"Yanmei!" Yanzhi hissed, mortified. "Don't talk to elders like that."
She rolled her eyes. "Their tongues can't bite." Then she looped her muddy arm through his clean-but-now-ruined sleeve and dragged him along, leaving the women sputtering behind them.
"Hey," she said suddenly, her eyes bright with mischief, "let's go check my trap on the big mango tree. Maybe I caught something today!"
He stopped in his tracks. "After nearly dying? Absolutely not."
"there's nothing to be scared of."
"You said that about the river, too."
She pouted, stomping the ground. "Coward."
"Smart," he corrected stiffly, nose in the air. But deep inside, he wasn't sure anymore. Somehow, she made even his best arguments sound flimsy.
•••
At the Huo Residence
By the time they reached the large white-walled house at the end of the lane, the sun had dipped low, staining the sky with orange. A man stood at the gate, tall, expression as stiff as carved stone.
Yanmei slowed, squinting at him. "Who's that scary stick?"
"That's Uncle Zhou," Yanzhi whispered, suddenly tense. "He handles things for my family."
Uncle Zhou's eyes swept over the children. For years, his young master had been spotless, hair neat, shoes polished, manners impeccable. Today, the boy looked like he had fought a war in the mud and lost. Beside him bounced a chatterbox girl with dirt on her cheeks and a grin brighter than the sunset.
For one second, Zhou's mask cracked. Then his face smoothed again.
"Young Master," he said flatly, bowing ever so slightly.
Yanzhi lowered his head, dread sinking in. Punishment was certain.
•••
At the Wang Household
Across the lane, chaos already brewed. The moment Yanmei slipped into the courtyard, Mrs. Wang's shrill voice rose like a rooster's call.
"Wang Yanmei! Look at you! Filthy from head to toe! Do you think detergent grows on trees?"
Yanmei tried to tiptoe toward her room. "It's just mud, Mother. Mud is free. The river will be sad if I leave it behind."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Mrs. Wang lunged, catching her daughter by the ear.
"Ahhh! My ear, my ear will fall off!" Yanmei yelped, hopping on one leg.
"You'll wash your uniform and shoes tonight until they shine," Mrs. Wang snapped. "And if you don't, I'll hang them out dirty tomorrow so the whole school can laugh at you!"
Her father sat on the rickety couch in the corner, glasses slipping down his nose. He let out a long, weary sigh.
"Just let the girl be, Wife. She's alive, isn't she? That's what matters."
"Alive to make my life miserable," Mrs. Wang retorted, shaking her daughter's ear again.
Yanmei finally broke free, cheeks flushed, hair sticking up in muddy clumps. Despite the chaos, she grinned wide enough to show all her teeth.