The next day, Shi Ye accompanied Sheng Xia to buy aloe vera gel to apply on his face.

The vendor looked at Sheng Xia’s face for a while, sighed, and then said to Shi Ye, “How did you let your little brother get sunburned like this? His skin is so good, aren’t you worried?”

Shi Ye didn’t answer, just silently paid and took Sheng Xia out, saying, “They say I’m your brother, but you’ve never called me ge.”

Sheng Xia didn’t react to this comment. Then, because he didn’t see the steps clearly, he tripped. If Shi Ye hadn’t quickly grabbed him, Sheng Xia would have fallen into the water channel on the sides of the street in the ancient city.

Shi Ye felt helpless. In the past few days, he had already noticed that Sheng Xia’s eyesight didn’t seem to be very good. “Are you nearsighted?”

After Sheng Xia stabilized himself, Shi Ye was still holding his wrist. Sheng Xia didn’t move, just stood there obediently. “…Yeah.”

“How many degrees?”

“More than 300 in the left eye, more than 400 in the right eye.”

…It doesn’t seem too serious, but can’t you see clearly from a distance? Shi Ye frowned, “You know you can’t see clearly and you still don’t wear glasses?”

Sheng Xia was stunned for a moment before saying, “Actually, I’m used to seeing a blurry world. If I wear glasses and look at a clear world for a long time, I’ll feel a bit scared.”

Shi Ye fell silent, thinking that he was really overthinking this. In the past few days, he had fully felt Sheng Xia’s extraordinary thought process and peculiar life philosophy. Anyway, this kid had his reasons for everything he did.

“If you don’t want to wear them, then don’t.” Shi Ye didn’t dwell on it, “The weather’s nice, let’s take a walk and then have lunch?”

Sheng Xia took the mask Shi Ye handed him and covered his sunburned face, agreeing.

As they walked to Wuhua Building, Sheng Xia began his enthusiastic narration, “Teacher Shi Ye, look at this Wuhua Building. This used to be the state guesthouse of the Nanzhao Kingdom. After Kublai Khan conquered Dali, soldiers were stationed in front of this building…”

Shi Ye asked, “Did you already know this, or did you intentionally look up information and memorize it to tell me?”

Sheng Xia hesitated, “I looked it up and memorized it.”

“Good job.” Shi Ye nodded, “Then I’ll test your memorization. From now on, whenever you encounter historical sites, introduce them well. If you memorize tourist terms well, I’ll reward you.”

Sheng Xia’s eyes lit up, “What’s the reward?”

A few words could control a person’s emotional changes, and this feeling was quite good for Shi Ye.

He said slowly, “If you memorize them, I’ll sing for you, or play the guitar for you.”

“Great.” It was obvious that Sheng Xia was very happy, “Teacher Shi Ye, let’s go to the South Gate Tower… Let me tell you, Teacher Shi Ye, the South Gate is the first of the four gates of the Dali Ancient City, built at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it’s the oldest one. Then when we get there, remember to take photos. The characters ‘Dali’ on the city gate were personally written by Guo Moruo. Do you know what ‘Dali’ means, Teacher Shi Ye? It means ‘great governance and great prosperity’…”

“That’s quite exquisite. I just thought that the name Dali sounded very southern.” Shi Ye smiled, “Your name, too, sounds very summery, very southern.”

Sheng Xia didn’t quite understand this, as he had never been to the north. “Then what sounds very northern?” After saying this, he laughed and continued, “It’s probably like you, Teacher Shi Ye. You speak sharply, and it’s obvious you’re not from the south. But I feel… north and south are just feelings, people are all pretty much the same. Just like I feel very unfamiliar and fresh to you, but also feel very close.”

Actually, Sheng Xia often expressed himself unclearly, occasionally even confusing. Shi Ye felt he was a bit strange.

But he could always understand what Sheng Xia wanted to say.

Shi Ye’s face was expressionless as he asked, “We’ve only known each other for a few days, how can you feel close already?”

He didn’t know what he was denying.

“I don’t know either.” Sheng Xia’s voice seemed to be smiling, “I was a little scared of you at first, but after spending a few days with you, I found out that you’re very nice. You seem a bit fierce at first, but you’re easy to talk to.”

Looking at Sheng Xia, Shi Ye felt that youth was really good, and he could easily feel that someone was very nice.

It’s not just about age, but the feeling of youth. Actually, Shi Ye himself wasn’t that old, but he had experienced a lot in Sheng Xia’s age. Starting with his parents’ separation, struggling at the bottom, experiencing both the lows and highs of life, and experiencing ups and downs. Some people live for thirty or forty years and probably don’t have as exciting a life as his twenty years.

Shi Ye had encountered some cunning people in the past, each one slicker than the last, so he hadn’t felt that youthful vigor in a long time.

Pure, sincere, and clear. When you look at the other person, you feel that they are so naturally pure, like truth itself, undeniable.

Passionate.

The wind was passionate, the sunlight was, the skin was, Sheng Xia was, and so was Shi Ye. At that moment, it was like this, anyway, what Shi Ye felt was passion.

Driven by the environment, Shi Ye involuntarily fell into a gentle warmth with a taste of sunlight.

In his heart, he actually felt very regretful that this period of time would end, and he would eventually leave this place and return to Beijing to immerse himself in the suffocating life there. Why couldn’t time just stand still here?

He even wished he had been born in this leisurely little town, hoping he could always walk with Sheng Xia on the streets of the ancient city, basking in the sunshine, carefree. No need to think about tomorrow, no fear, no worries. He could listen to the scattered words of Sheng Xia beside him, they could buy strange-tasting snacks together, wait for the sunset, and welcome a new day.