The city had a marketplace that was held regularly. Various goods and food were displayed everywhere for people to pick and choose. Because the dayti sun was too intense and left people drained, the market was moved to the evening, turning into a lively night market.
A gentle breeze blew across the river, weaving through gaps between buildings and finally falling into the night market, carrying the noise of the crowd and the scent of food farther and farther away.
"Moli, is there anything you want to buy?" Under the bright moonlight, Xu Xi brought Xu Moli into the bustling night market. Shouts from vendors filled the air, and lanterns illuminated the ancient city under the deep night sky. Xu Xi himself didn’t have anything he wanted to buy, so he looked toward the girl walking beside him.
"Mm…" Under the hanging night sky, the usually decisive Xu Moli seed a little hesitant, "Brother, let’s walk ahead a bit more." Finding nothing interesting around, Xu Moli wanted to move forward. After speaking, she boldly grabbed Xu Xi’s hand and ran toward the depths of the market.
As they ran, the colorful lanterns passed by them, forming a flowing stream of lights at the edge of their vision. The lanterns, with their leaping flas, created blurry halos through different colored covers. The swaying lanterns looked like dazzling stars, illuminating the street perforrs and the stalls lining both sides of the old street. Children played and ran about, adults browsed goods, and the warm, vibrant atmosphere slowly spread, comforting every weary heart.
"Brother," Xu Moli suddenly stopped. Her clear, water-like eyes shone brightly. Following her gaze, Xu Xi saw a vendor carrying bunches of bright red candied hawthorn. In the night, they looked like vivid, frozen fireworks, sweet and shiny.
"Brother, I want to eat that," Xu Moli said, lightly tugging at Xu Xi’s sleeve and blinking at him just like she did when she was little, waiting for her brother to buy her candy.
"Alright, I understand," Xu Xi smiled and walked toward the vendor. When he returned, he was carrying several sticks of candied hawthorn. The thin, crisp sugar coating glead transparently, wrapping the bright red hawthorn fruits inside, looking fresh and irresistible.
"Here," Xu Xi said, handing all the candied hawthorn to Xu Moli. She was stunned for a mont before laughing out loud, "Brother, you should eat too." Xu Moli pulled out one stick and stuffed it into Xu Xi’s hand.
She laughed, thinking her brother was too silly. He had bought so many sticks of candy but gave them all to her without even keeping one for himself. A brother like this, it was really worrying… It wouldn’t be surprising if he got completely taken advantage of by those few other girls one day.
"Then I’ll accept Moli’s kind gift," Xu Xi smiled as he took the candy she handed him. Only then did Xu Moli happily savor her own.
Crunch —
The sugar shell cracked under her teeth. The sweetness of the sugar and the tartness of the hawthorn fruit burst out together, filling her mouth with a delightful taste.
"Is it good, Moli?" Xu Xi asked.
"Mm, it’s delicious," the girl said, looking at Xu Xi with a bright smile, "Because it’s candy from Brother, it tastes especially good."
"Is that so..." Xu Xi froze slightly, then his expression softened. Under the light of the lanterns, he reached out and gently rubbed the girl’s head, "Then I’ll take it as the truth."
"It is the truth," Xu Moli added quickly. As she spoke, she tugged Xu Xi’s hand again and continued walking forward. There was still plenty of ti before the market closed. The girl had many things she wanted to experience with Xu Xi—things that no one else could share, things that only her foolish brother could accompany her to see, to hear, and to live through.
"Moli, wait a mont," during their wandering, Xu Xi suddenly stopped. He crouched down and bought a fragrant flower hairpin from a stall. He walked behind Xu Moli, lifted her hair gently, and pinned it up with the hairpin. As the girl walked, the little ornants on the hairpin swayed slightly with her steps.
"Mm, that’s better," Xu Xi nodded with satisfaction, stepping back a few paces to admire his sister’s appearance from a broader view. He thought she looked truly beautiful, especially under the night market’s environnt where colorful lanterns hung everywhere. The hairpin seed to complent her perfectly, making her gentle beauty even more prominent.
"What do you think, Moli?" Xu Xi asked.
"...It’s very beautiful," Xu Moli said carefully, reaching up to touch the flower hairpin, her fingertips lightly brushing over its patterns, feeling the cool, smooth texture. In the next mont, her face blossod into a bright, happy smile—a smile so radiant that even Xu Xi rarely saw it.
...
The market eventually ca to an end. After buying the hairpin, Xu Xi and Xu Moli watched so acrobatic performances and bought so local delicacies. The scene was lively, full of the joyous energy of human life. Xu Xi liked it. Xu Moli liked that Xu Xi liked it.
However, such bustling night markets were not held every day. Most of the ti, the city’s people would go to bed early once night fell.
After returning to a peaceful life, Xu Xi busied himself with another task at ho. Under Xu Moli’s curious gaze, Xu Xi first fetched a large bamboo tray and then gathered a lot of wheat grains. After cleaning them, he spread them evenly across the cloth in the tray.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Xu Moli asked, puzzled.
"I’m preparing the materials for maltose, also known as candy syrup," Xu Xi explained without hiding anything.
But his answer only confused the girl more, "Candy syrup isn’t expensive. Why not just buy it, Brother?"
Outside the house, the shadows of sumr trees danced under the wind. When the breeze blew, the rustling sound could be heard, and the clouds moved slowly across the sky. In the shaded corner of the room, Xu Xi sprinkled more water over the wheat grains to keep them moist. After finishing all the preparations, he turned to look at Xu Moli.
"Moli," Xu Xi said softly, "I rember you said that candy tasted especially good because it was given by ."
"But I thought about it for a long ti, and I realized that wasn’t right."
Xu Xi’s voice paused briefly. His face carried a warm, gentle smile.
"I actually didn’t do anything. I just bought candy that soone else made, and yet it received all of your affection."
"That feels... a little too careless."
"So I want to try making candy myself this ti," Xu Xi said in a quiet, gentle voice—the sa voice that lived in her mories and had never changed, and never would.
It was clearly such a trivial matter, yet he rembered it so clearly and today he acted on it, just for her.
"Brother, you’re so silly, you won’t succeed," Xu Moli wanted to say a thousand things but choked up completely, unable to say anything else.
In the end, she only managed to whisper one sentence.
Her voice was a little hoarse, and it trembled slightly.
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