❝Does this look infected to you?❞ Nanfeng holds out her index finger, which had the tiniest little cut at the tip. Whether or not she was serious was debatable.
❝Maybe if I become an officer, I could impress Father. But I’m a girl, and would it even impress him? I think he wants a son anyway. With all these sons making their fathers proud, I feel kinda left out. He and I are so… uh. I dunno.
–Ugh, talking to myself again. People will think I’m crazy…er. But, it gets really lonely at night…❞
“If you prefer to be named such, then please refer to me as Taiyou, Lad— Nanfeng.”
Oh heavens, proper manners had to be dropped. He knew he could do it, it was fine to mess up a couple of times, right? He needed practice in adapting to his surroundings anyway.
“I’m taking a break from studies and other duties, so I have no real destination to walk to.”
❝Taiyou?❞
Nanfeng paused, furrowing her brows ever so slightly. Drat, she couldn’t think of a nickname for that at the moment. Oh well, she could come up with one later! The little raven gave a big grin and skipped over to be right next to him.
❝What kind of things are you studying? Oh… hey, wanna hang out then? We could, uh… um. Do… something? What do you like to do?❞
“That’s correct, Lady Jia. Sima You, son of Sima Shi.”
Or rather adopted son, but he preferred to not mention that part. She seemed to be fine with the conversation so far.
“So you did well. It can’t be easy to remember all of us.”
❝Ohh, Sima Shi? Really? Cool! You can just call me Nanfeng, you know.❞
And what a cute guy! More handsome than a lot of the other Sima children she’d met. She always loved being in the presence of men like these – make all the girls jealous. It was fun to watch.
❝Where are you headed, Sima You?❞
“No..I don’t..and if you want to feel what it’s like..jump up and hit your head on a cave.”
❝Sourpuss! Sourpuss! Can’t you do it just once? Come on, I’m not gonna bite you or anything. Pleeeeease?❞ Nanfeng begged, giving him her best pout.
❝Whooooa, you’re so tall! Hey, do you offer piggyback rides? I want to see what it’s like to be a tall person.❞
“Sounds really tasty, sure! Its really nice to meet you Jia. Lets go grab some baozi then.”
❝You don’t need to call me by my family name, silly! Just call me Nanfeng. Alright, there’s a really nice one just down the street here. They make great tea, too! Let’s go!❞ Nanfeng giggled and excitedly pulled her new partner along.
