After attending the wedding, Chen An greeted Chen Tao and Cheng Dong separately, saying he wanted to go to his great-uncle’s house to pick grapes and play. Both sets of parents felt that since it was a relative’s house, they could feel at ease about the trip.

The great-uncle’s eldest daughter’s job in the provincial capital had been arranged with Chen Tao’s help. Upon receiving Chen Tao’s phone call, he said without a second word to let the kids come over and play.

Three days later, Chen An took Cheng Lele to the countryside to begin a two-day, one-night grape-picking trip.

When Cheng Lele got to the countryside, it was like releasing a tiger back to the mountain. Like a wild monkey, she ran everywhere. She hadn’t picked more than two bunches of grapes before she’d already followed the country kids on a big circuit around the back mountain. Fishing for crayfish, feeling for snails, roasting sweet potatoes—running all over the place like hooves had been let loose. Chen An properly and obediently helped pick grapes all afternoon. Standing on a ladder, he could occasionally see Cheng Lele like a dragonfly, flying over one moment and flying away the next.

“Little Brother, the big crayfish I caught!”

“Little Brother, have you ever seen a leech?!”

“Little Brother, I just saw a male dog riding on top of another male dog!”

Each time she flew back, her face visibly darkened by one shade. No help for it—the sun was too scorching.

“Put on your hat!” Chen An shouted at Cheng Lele’s retreating figure.

Cheng Lele put it on. After running two steps, the hat flew to her back.

The great-aunt beside them filling baskets teased: “This little girl plays quite wildly, oh.”

Chen An snipped a bunch of grapes and said: “Yeah, a little fool.”

The great-aunt said: “You go play too.”

Chen An said: “I’m not going. If I go, I’ll have to watch over her, and she definitely won’t have fun playing.”

The great-aunt said: “Really cute.”

Chen An handed the grapes to the great-aunt: “Her? She is quite cute.”

The great-aunt said: “I’m saying you’re cute.”

Chen An asked puzzledly: “Me? Where am I cute?”

The great-aunt said: “Your great-uncle and I met at your age. There’s nothing I don’t understand.”

Chen An shook his head strangely, then gazed far into the distance at that dancing dragonfly again.