He strained to pat the old cyan long robe - one which obviously did not belong to this era - on his body with his short hands. Then he bounced up like a ball and landed in front of the goldfish tank on the steps. Pointing at one of the vermilion-tailed small goldfish, a delighted smile appeared on his chubby face as he eagerly exclaimed, "Ah-Sheng, this one, this one! Hurry!"
"Okay." Ah-Sheng smiled and handed him the fishing net. Grandpa Winter Melon rolled up his sleeves and carefully scooped up the little thing he had set his eyes on from the fish tank, and put it into the glass bottle he had brought with him. The water in the bottle was a light blue.
"So beautiful!" Grandpa Winter Melon carefully watched the fish swimming in the glass bottle, unexpectedly moved to tears of excitement. As he spoke, he pulled out a handful of colorful pebbles from his sleeve and handed them to Ah-Sheng, repeatedly expressing his thanks.
Ah-Sheng stroked the pebbles in his hand and said, "This is too much. I should give you another fish."
"No, no, I'll come again next time. I can't let you lose money on this deal." Grandpa Winter Melon gratefully waved his hands repeatedly, joyfully carrying his fish away. Everywhere his footsteps touched, a colorful array of tiny wildflowers bloomed.
"Old Man Bai is always like this whenever he's happy, making the streets full of flowers. They won't fade until dawn," Ah-Sheng spoke as if talking to her, yet also like talking to himself. He stood up, placing the pebbles he'd received into a vase on the cabinet behind him. The ordinary glass vase wasn't filled with flowers but rather with variously shaped stones of every color under the sun. Each piece was as smooth as a mirror, casting a beautiful light on the glass.
That old man was clearly not human.
"You lost, you know," Ah-Sheng walked out, crossing his arms smugly.
"Umm... he..." Gu Qiqi couldn't recover for a moment and said unconvinced, "He didn't even pay! You just gave it to him for free! It doesn't count as your win!"
"Our bet didn't specify that the transaction currency had to be RMB, did it?" Ah-Sheng slowly approached her, leaning in to whisper in her ear, "Those stones are demon currency[1]."
Gu Qiqi had no concept of money, whether it was RMB or demon currency.
"Scared, aren't you? Old Man Bai is not human," Ah-Sheng said seriously, using a particularly ominous tone as he observed her motionless and stunned expression. "I advised you to go home, but you refused to leave."
Perhaps, the next scene he anticipated was Gu Qiqi clutching her head, screaming as she took to her heels and ran away. However, after a brief moment of absent-mindedness, Gu Qiqi grabbed his hand and earnestly asked, "Then... are you human?"
"Nonsense, of course, I am!" Ah-Sheng shook off her hand, and muttered with a frown, "Boring, you're not even scared."
His expression reminded Gu Qiqi of mischievous boys she had seen before who enjoyed teasing little girls but failed. Scaring her? If she took off her mask, he would surely be the one who fainted!
But now, she didn't want him to pass out. This boy was too interesting. He actually did business with supernatural beings! And that supernatural being was strange too. He bought a goldfish of all things? If it was meant as food, wasn't that fish awfully small?!
"Old Man Bai didn't buy the fish to eat. My goldfishes serve a different purpose," Ah-Sheng easily saw through her thoughts. He crouched down, his fingers paddling slowly in the clear water. The seemingly silly fish gathered around his fingers in succession as if they had gained intelligence, affectionately nodding their heads and wagging their tails. He smiled and asked, "Queer Sister, do you want to buy a goldfish too?"
"I don't have money..." Gu Qiqi blurted out, then suspiciously asked, "Are you really human?"
Ah-Sheng didn't answer; he grabbed Gu Qiqi's hand and pressed it against his chest.
The clear sound of his heartbeats and the warmth unique to human flesh, transmitted through his T-shirt to her palm. This chap was indeed human. However, even if he was human, he couldn't be a normal one. Otherwise, how could he have dealings with supernatural beings?
"Don't think I'm abnormal." Ah-Sheng always seemed to easily see through her, wiping off the water droplets from his fingers. "You're human too. You didn't faint of fright at the sight of an old demon like Old Man Bai. If I'm abnormal, you're no different."
His words reminded her that she was a human at the moment. She didn't want her identity to be exposed, at least not until her curiosity was satisfied. If possible, she wanted to be friends with this eloquent guy. The thought flashed through her mind.
"Alright. We're both normal," she cleared her throat, pretending to ask casually, "So, what's up with that Old Man Bai just now?"
"Old Man Bai is an earth spirit, a demon formed from soil. He lives underground all year round, occasionally coming out to bask in the sun. Earth spirits absorb spiritual energy from deep within the earth, and wherever they go, flowers bloom and dead woods revive," Ah-Sheng said seriously, then grinned, "You see, he's so short because he gets too little sun and lacks calcium. So, I advise you, Queer Sister, go out more during the day, or one day you might turn into an Old Lady Winter Melon like Old Man Bai."
"If it weren't for the Protection of Minors law, I'd punch you!" Gu Qiqi raised her fist at him.
"You really don't want to buy a goldfish?" He ignored her anger. "They are very interesting goldfish."
"I don't see what's interesting about them; they all look silly," Gu Qiqi said indignantly. The goldfishes in the water rolled their eyes at her and blew a series of displeased bubbles. Ah-Sheng looked up towards the east; there was a faint light on the horizon. He stretched lazily and began moving the fish tank, water basins, and other things from outside into the shop one by one.
As he worked, he talked as if muttering to himself, "Old Man Bai was a handsome guy in his younger days. He and his wife lived in a lotus pond. Oh, his wife was a lotus demon. After they got married, Old Man Bai stopped wandering elsewhere and stayed in the lotus pond. During that time, the lotus flowers in that pond were always the most beautiful within a hundred miles, and even the pond water was clearer and brighter than anywhere else."
"And then?" Gu Qiqi couldn't help but ask. She disliked this guy's sharp tongue but enjoyed the sound of his storytelling.
"Then?" He took an iron hook from the corner and hooked it on the rolled-up shutter door above his head, "Then his wife was captured by a Taoist priest who refined her true essence into an elixir. All that was left in the lotus pond was a dead lotus," he sighed, "Earth spirits don't age, but Old Man Bai poured his vitality into that withered lotus every day for hundreds of years, saying that one day she would come back to life. After squandering all that vitality, a once lively young man turned into a short old man with one foot in the grave."
He said it humorously, but Gu Qiqi found it discomforting.
"But...what does this have to do with him buying goldfish from you?" she still wanted to know. Ah-Sheng pulled down the shutter, locked it with a key, and said, "What he bought was not a goldfish; it was a dream."
Gu Qiqi became even more confused. Ah-Sheng walked up to her, and said word by word, "My goldfish can only be kept alive with tears." A strange force emanated from behind his sunglasses, leaving Gu Qiqi stunned in place.
"BYE! I'm going home. You should hurry up and go home too." Ah-Sheng waved at her, turned and headed towards the alley entrance. "Don't forget, you lost the bet today. You owe me a wish. When I figure out what I want, I'll let you know."
His slender figure quickly disappeared into the lingering twilight of the narrow alley.
Gu Qiqi stood blankly in the deserted alley. The bet with her brother, the hope that had almost died away, now seemed to rekindle inexplicably.
Ah-Sheng, Live, who are you really?
After that night, Gu Qiqi seemed to have found the focus of her life. She enjoyed being with Ah-Sheng, liked listening to his humorous and natural storytelling about the supernatural beings who came to buy goldfish from him.
Her favorite part was that he never asked about her background and never questioned why she always appeared in his presence like a wrapped-up rice dumpling. If he asked, given her nature, she would tell him the truth. She had been taught since childhood that bone demons must live honestly, just like their form, without any disguise or embellishment.
While she enjoyed this rare sense of ease between friends, she also had a faint worry. One day, she would have to reveal her true self to him; it was part of the bet with her brother. If possible, she hoped that day would be postponed as much as possible.
Ah-Sheng still liked to tease and mock her with all kinds of sharp words, but he no longer treated her with indifference as before. Instead, he would bring out a chair for her to sit on. Although the chair was terribly old, it had a backrest and was quite comfortable. Occasionally, he would even adjust the direction of the fan in the shop towards her and comment on how she dressed too warmly in the middle of summer. He joked that he was too lazy to collect her body if she died of heat.
She gradually got used to Ah-Sheng's tone, and when he told stories about demons, she would also enthusiastically share various interesting encounters with people and things she had seen in different countries. It's quite amusing that two individuals who hadn't even seen each other's complete appearances could meet by chance and chat tirelessly until dawn.
A bone demon and a peculiar human, on summer nights filled with the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of insects, sat in a goldfish shop rendered into a bright world by lights, chatting animatedly. Yes, they were just chatting - the simplest talking and listening in the world - yet it brought an indescribable sense of contentment and joy. She felt that Ah-Sheng understood her thoughts and her yearnings.
Gu Qiqi began to feel that daytime was unnecessary; how great it would be if it were night for 24 hours. This way, she would have enough time to spend with Ah-Sheng, as the goldfish shop only operated from dusk until dawn.
She had inquired before and learned that the small shop had been rented out a year ago to a middle-aged man surnamed Xiao, rumored to be a professor at some university. Could this Professor Xiao be Ah-Sheng's relative? His father, perhaps?
But they didn't look anything alike.
A week after she met Ah-Sheng, she saw Professor Xiao in the goldfish shop. He was a middle-aged man with gray hair. His slightly stooped back made him appear more elderly than he was. He wore thin golden-rimmed glasses on his fairly prominent nose. His clothes, though not fashionable, were neat and tidy. He always carried a thick book in his hand, so he really had an academic style.
Professor Xiao would come to the shop about twice a week. Sometimes he brought snacks for Ah-Sheng, and at other times, he brought books. Their conversations were like those between any ordinary father and son, discussing studies, health, and occasionally inquiring about the goldfish shop's business — affectionate yet somewhat distant. Ah-Sheng mentioned that Professor Xiao wasn't related to him by blood, but he regarded him as his father because Professor Xiao had saved his life.
Over a year ago, Ah-Sheng had slipped and fallen from a mountain. By chance, Professor Xiao, who was collecting specimens in the mountains, came across him and rescued him. Ah-Sheng had no ID, no household registration, and couldn't attend school. The only thing he was good at was raising fish. So, he earnestly requested Professor Xiao to help him rent the small shop to sell goldfish. It would allow him not only to make money but also kill boring time.
"Why do you want to stay here? What about your family?" Gu Qiqi didn't quite understand why Ah-Sheng continued to stay with Professor Xiao.
"Professor Xiao doesn't have children, and his health isn't the best. Since he saved my life, it's only right for me to stay and take care of him," Ah-Sheng explained in a calm tone, his expression barely changing. "Besides, my home is too far away and I won’t be able to go back for a while."
[1] RMB is Renminbi, the Chinese currency. 妖精 币: yaojing are magical creatures/beings. bi is money; coins; currency. I'm using demon currency as our story is mainly focused on demons.
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