The air smelled of warm mud and sunlight. Cicadas droned lazily from the reeds lining the pond, their buzzing so constant it almost faded into nothing. Gu Ye knelt at the edge of the water, dipping his fingers in, watching the ripples fan outward like tiny glass waves. A dragonfly skimmed the surface, its reflection dancing before vanishing in a splash he hadn't caused.
"Gu Ye! Catch me if you can!" Luo Bingyuan's voice rang sharp and bright. She darted across the shallow pond, splashing water with every step, the hem of her shorts soaked and clinging to her knees. Gu Ye stood quickly, brushing water from his palms.
"I will! Wait, don't run so fast!" His voice carried a laugh he didn't bother hiding, though it was messy and uneven, like a kite caught in the wind.
She zigzagged between patches of lily pads, hair plastered to her face by the sweat and water, and glanced back with a teasing grin. "Too slow!"
He lunged, muddy water splattering against his legs. Their bare feet slid against the soft bottom, and for a heartbeat, he thought the pond might swallow him entirely. Then she laughed again—light, unguarded, a sound that seemed to trap the entire summer in a single note.
He reached for her hand, brushing it by accident as she darted past. She squealed, flinched, but didn't pull away entirely.
"You're cheating!" she said, still laughing, trying to keep her balance as she kicked water at him.
"Cheating? I'm not even touching you!" He held his hands up, though his heart thumped in a way that made it impossible to speak clearly.
For a moment, the world shrank to water, mud, sunlight, and her—the mischievous, fearless girl who made every day feel like it would last forever.
Then he froze.
He didn't even know why he spoke next. Words stumbled out of him before he could second-guess them:
"Bingyuan… will you… promise me something?"
The words hung between them like the shimmer of heat over the pond. She paused mid-step, head tilted, the usual spark in her eyes dimming into uncertainty.
"What… promise?" she asked, small, cautious.
"You'll… you'll promise me," he said again, struggling, "that… when we're grown… we'll… be together."
The words felt clumsy, almost childish, but the weight behind them pressed against his chest like a stone. He watched her, expecting laughter or mockery, but instead, her eyes widened, lips parting slightly, color rising across her cheeks.
"…I… I promise," she whispered, barely audible, voice trembling.
It wasn't a playful tease. It wasn't casual. It was a vow—small, fleeting, and fragile—but in that instant, it became as real as the water rippling at their feet.
She shifted closer, brushing mud from her knees, and for a moment, they simply stood there, two children in a pond too big for them, the sun lowering in the sky, water catching its gold in soft flickers. Neither said anything. The world didn't need words. The promise had been made.
They went back to splashing, laughing, teasing each other as though nothing had changed—but everything had.
From that day forward, the pond, the sunlight, and the warmth of summer would always hold that secret: a promise too big for two children to fully understand, yet powerful enough to stretch across worlds.