Rise

Do I want to sleep next to you? No! I said no! It’s a stupid joke! “You’re not funny!” Lin Feng shouted at An Xin. She was teasing him again, something she seemed to find great pleasure in. He glared at her and said, “I just wanted to get my own pillow back. I can’t sleep on another pillow. I need my pillow!”

An Xin burst out laughing, her shoulders bouncing up and down, and couldn’t stop for a good several minutes. After she finally calmed herself down, forcing long and deep breaths, she looked up at Lin Feng. “Oh, Feng Feng, I’m so funny. You’ll understand one day. But I wasn’t laughing because of tha—” She started grinning again and quickly placed her hand before her mouth to stop herself from breaking into an uncontrollable laugh again. It took her a minute to gather herself again and then she continued, “You’re 19 already, but you’re still such a kid. It’s kind of cute that you still need your favourite pillow to fall asleep.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that!” Lin Feng argued, annoyed. “What’s so bad about having a favourite pillow? I just like how it sleeps! My head feels good on it! And, and… It’s all your fault! You had to steal my bed and my pillow! I need my pillow to sleep!”

An Xin couldn’t stop herself from giggling whenever she looked at the expression on Lin Feng’s face. He looked so serious and annoyed. She shook her head and focused on her breathing, forcing herself not to laugh, until she could talk again. “Alright. I understand. It’s my bad. You can have your favourite pillow back and I’ll take the one you have.” She watched him jump to his bed and grab his pillow, then cradle it in his arms. But she didn’t laugh at his comical response. She was just staring at him and asked, “Since we both can’t seem to fall asleep, why not keep me company for a bit and chat?”

Lin Feng held his favourite pillow close to him and grumbled, “I couldn’t sleep because you stole my room…” But he sat down on his bed and looked at An Xin, who sat with her back against the large window. She had put her legs up onto the windowsill and was hugging her knees. “Be careful you don’t fall off,” Lin Feng said, rubbing his butt as he remembered the last time he’d sat down on the windowsill.

An Xin looked back out of the window at the city nightscape, which was illuminated by the moonlight. “It’s fine,” she said. “I won’t fall. Plus, you have a really great view here. The park over there with the trees, and the large skyscrapers in the distance. It’s so beautiful. I like it.”

Lin Feng stared at An Xin. At his best friend in the whole world. He vividly remembered all the good times they’d shared together when they were younger, running around at the playground and pranking guests at dinner parties. There was never a dull moment with her around. But she looked so different now from the girl in his memories. Somewhere along the way, she’d grown from a meatbun into a beautiful woman. He smiled and said, “Hey, BunBun. You’ve become really pretty.”

An Xin was stunned. She slowly turned away from the window and looked at Lin Feng. He wasn’t ogling her nor was he trying to flirt, she could see it in his gaze. He was just saying what he thought, and he thought she was pretty. She started smiling, bright and cheerful, and said, “Thanks!”

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