"Aiyah, I'm an idiot," punching the tree, Yao Mei rested her forehead against the bark of the wood in frustration.
Ye Lian Hua watched from her seat as Yao Mei scolded herself as she paced back and forth. 'Heh, this girl acts so much like my junior sister.
How cute.'
Yao Mei had just departed from Wan Li's side as she was already feeling the aches of regret.
"Hah, Yao Mei, why didn't you say anything," she groaned into her hands. Today, she had initially planned on telling Wan Li how she felt.
In fact, during their entire meeting, she had been building up the guts to say something.
However, all of that preparation went out of the window every time Wan Li smiled at her.
"Arghh, what am I doing?!" Every time that she met up with Wan Li, the sense of guilt never went away. It only grew the deeper she fell for her.
Yao Mei was almost sure that the other girl harbored the same feelings; however, those kind gestures of hers could be chalked up to a close friend's actions. "She's too good for me."
Wan Li had become a significant existence in her life, one that she didn't think that she needed or wanted before she met her.
She didn't want to ruin the relationship between all because of a mere hunch, and maybe a hint of wishful thinking.
"Ah," Ye Lian Hua shook her head with a sigh as she watched Yao Mei beat herself up on stage. "You silly girl.
It's better that you say something to her rather than continue this dance of mutual pining."
'Hah, this girl resembled Zhu Na Ran in more ways than one.'
The scene faded out before reappearing, showcasing Yao Mei surrounded by her comrades. "Hah, Xiao Min," they called out Yao Mei's disguised name of Yao Min. "Whatcha looking at?"
Before she could answer them, one had already snuck up behind her and snatch the small box in her hands. "Oooh, what's this," they teased as they tried to open the box.
"Hey, give it back!" Yao Mei tried to snatch the little wooden box back, however, to no avail, as they tossed it to and fro between them. "That's not for you!"
"Aiyah, wonder what's inside," her bunkmate, Li Wen, wondered out loud as he shook the box to hear what was inside. "For it to be in such a fancy box, it must be something expensive."
"Haha, open it, brother. I wonder what Xiao Min is hiding!" Her buddy, Liu Yi, laughed as he slung his arm around her shoulder, much to her chagrin. "I bet this is for that little lady, right? The one that you've sneaked away for every night?"
"You better be careful, Xiao Min," Li Wen chimed. "The general might get suspicious."
"Hah, enough!" Batting off Liu Yi's arm, she stepped on Li Wen's foot, causing him to hunch over and hold his foot. Leaving himself open as Yao Mei quickly snatched the small wooden box back. "This isn't for you to mess around with." Yao Mei used her sleeve to rub the box's top and cleaned it of any smudge marks. "I don't want your grubby hands to mess this up."
"Ooh, you got Xiao Min angry~," another mused as he patted her head. "There, there, Big Brother is here. "
"Oh, shut up, Tian Wu," she glared, half-heartedly and the three men, who giggled like gossiping maidens. "Heh, so much for being a big brother. What kind of big brother bullies their junior like this?"
"Oi, it's the rule of seniority," Liu Yi laughed as he rubbed his hand into her hair, creating a little nest of hairs. "The seniors bully the juniors, and in turn, the seniors will protect the junior from being bullied by others."
"Yeah, right, the only ones that dare bully me like this are you guys!
Tch!"
"Now, now, don't be mad. They're just curious as to why you've gotten yourself in a bunch."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on," Li Wen tsked. "It was so apparent that you were distracted by something! You even let Lousy Le land a strike on you during practice, and he's Lousy Le!
You should've seen the look on everyone's face!"
"Oh," Yao Mei scratched her head sheepishly. She supposes she was a bit distracted enough to let the worst fighter land a hit on her. "I suppose there is something…"
"Oooh! What it is," Liu Yi asked, excitedly. Stars practically gleamed in his eyes. "Tell your big brothers, right now!"
'Heh,' Ye Lian Hua cracked a small smile as she watched Liu Yi bounce around Yao Mei like a hyper-energetic child. 'That Liu Yi has matched Junior Sister's expression entirely whenever someone mentions treasure or adventure.
That girl... '
"Aiyah, calm down," Tian Wu smacked the back of Liu Yi's head, much to the younger one's displeasure. "Let Xiao Min speak.
What troubles you, little bro."
"Ahh," Yao Mei chuckled nervously as her neck turned red. "How does one give…. a gift to a lady?"
"I knew it! So it was a gift for a little lady, huh!"
"Y-yeah, I suppose I didn't do a good job of hiding it, huh?"
"Absolutely."
"You were an open book."
"Even a blind man can see that you were seeing someone."
At her brother's simulations agreement, Yao Mei's face reddened deeper in embarrassment. "This is my first time doing this, okay?!"
"Aww, big brothers know," Li Wen patted her head in an exaggerated baby voice. "Our little bro has grown up so much.
Say, when you get married, be sure to take care of us. After all, we're still unmarried and getting older by the minute."
"Fine, fine, whatever you want," Yao Mei swatted away Li Wen's mischievous hands, in annoyance.
"So," Tian Wu started as he brought the discussion back onto the topic at hand. "What did you get her?"
"Uh," Yao Mei blushed as she unlocked the dainty box to show off what she had gotten for Wan Li.
"Thumb rings[1]?!" Liu Yi looked at her, stunned. The others didn't look too good either, looking at her as if she were joking with them. "You got a dainty young lady, a chunky thumb ring?!"
"Well, she's not exactly dainty…" After all, a girl who's able to climb and walk several li's uphill on her own with a lunchbox of food and maintain her appearance; is definitely made of sterner stuff. "Plus! What's wrong with a thumb ring!? It's quite nice if I say so myself!"
The rings, although not the most aesthetically pleasing to some, were made from rather fine jade. The kind that was warm to the touch and made people unwilling to part with it.
And, she's been saving up for these rings for some time, taking on odd jobs, saving her meager salary and savings to afford such a gift. Luckily for her, the shop manager took a liking to her and offered to throw in an extra ring for free.
Although, she insisted on paying for the second ring before she knew it, as she pushed out the door with the box of rings in hand.
"Why would you get that poor girl a thumb ring in the first place?"
"Well, that's because Ah Li wanted mine in the first place," she said as she flashed them the ring that sat on her thumb. It was a standard-issue one that she received when she joined the army, made of elk antlers.
It wasn't exactly the best as the old bone grew yellowed with time, and it created a callous on her thumb from the friction.
Yao Mei wasn't sure why Wan Li insisted on receiving her thumb ring, as she thought that she'd want something else that most girls like. Such as a new dress or a fancy hairpin, but since her Wan Li wanted one, she saw no reason not to listen.
"I figured I'd at least get her something that's befitting of her stature."
"Ooh~! So it's a noble lady!"
"Well, I don't know about that for sure; however, she does conduct herself as one." Hair always perfectly in place, skin pale as the moon, and hands as soft as the dainty petals of flowers; Wan Li always looked like a flower fairy that has descended from the heavens.
At least, that's how Yao Mei remembers her when Wan Li saved her life on that fateful day.
Perhaps, because of that, she felt like it was wrong for her even to consider herself being Wan Li's equal; nonetheless, her other half.
"...Do you guys think that she's not going to like it?"
They didn't answer her right away until Tian Wu placed his hand on her shoulder. "If it's from you, Xiao Min…
This brother is sure that she's going to love it."
[1] thumb rings - a piece of equipment designed to protect the thumb during archery. This is a ring of leather, stone, horn, wood, bone, antler, ivory, metal, ceramics, plastic, or glass which fits over the end of the thumb, coming to rest at the outer edge of the outer joint. The flat area typically extends from the ring to protect the thumb's pad from the bowstring; a leather extension may supplement this. Though, I'm going to guess that Yao Mei might've gotten her a ring that's not fit for archery, but rather for cosmetic appeal. There used to be a trend in which lesbians would identify themselves by wearing a ring on their thumb or pinkie finger, but in recent years, that trend has spread to nearly all ten fingers, so there goes that. Some messages could be brought across based on how you wear the ring, such as how in Hawaiian culture. Unmarried ladies wear a flower behind their right ear, which means that they're available while wearing one on the left means they're taken—same situation with these thumb rings. Now the question is, which side will Yao Mei put Wan Li's ring on?