What were you two doing behind my back again?

One Saturday in late May, Hua Hua got up very early.

Actually, she hasn't been sleeping well lately. She keeps thinking about one thing—Xia Mo and Fei Biao haven't visited her for a month.

It's not an exaggeration.

She scrolled through her phone's chat history and realized that the last time the three of them went out together was in late April; they hadn't even managed to make plans for the Golden Week holiday.

She messaged Feibiao, asking, "Want to go out this weekend?" Two hours later, she received a reply: "I'm so tired, I'll skip it this week."

I messaged Xia Mo to ask him "What have you been up to lately?" He replied the next day, "Nothing much."

"Didn't do anything?" "So tired?" Hua Hua stared at those lines of text for a long time, feeling that something was off.

Before, when the three of them chatted, messages would come out in a continuous stream. Now, when she sends out a message, it's like a pebble thrown into an abyss, not even making a sound.

She decided not to wait any longer.

On Saturday morning, without giving any prior notice, she boarded the tram from Bunkyo Ward to Katsushika Ward. During the forty-minute journey, she kept thinking about how to bring it up—

"Don't you guys want to play with me anymore?" Wouldn't that be too heavy a tone?

Would it be too fake to pretend that I was just passing by and stopped by?

Finally, she decided: we'll see when we get there.

Feiniao's house is a five-minute walk from the south exit of the station, on the third floor of a small, beige apartment building.

Hua Hua had been here several times before, so she easily climbed the stairs and rang the doorbell.

Asuka's mother opened the door. Seeing Hana, she smiled and said, "Hana-chan's here? Asuka's in her room, I'll go get her."

"No need, Auntie, I'll go find her myself!" Hua Hua rushed towards Fei Niao's bedroom in three quick steps.

The door to Asuka's room was ajar. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a sheet music in her hand, humming something, with a pair of drumsticks at her feet.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Hua Hua standing at the door, and she was stunned for a moment.

"Hua Hua? What's wrong with you—"

"Change your shoes and come with me." Hua Hua pulled Fei Niao's wrist and dragged her off the bed.

"Where are we going?" Asuka stumbled a couple of steps as she was dragged along, and the sheet music in her hand fell to the ground.

"Let's go to Xia Mo's house." Hua Hua bent down to pick up the sheet music, stuffed it into Fei Niao's schoolbag, and then tossed the schoolbag over her shoulder. "Are you free today?"

"I'm fine, but—"

"If there's nothing else, let's go." Hua Hua had already pulled her out of the room and called downstairs, "Auntie! I'm taking Fei Niao Jiang to Xia Mo's house to play! I'll bring her back before dinner!"

The mother bird's voice came from the kitchen: "Okay—be careful on the road—"

Before Feibiao could even tie her shoelaces, Huahua dragged her out of the house. The May breeze felt warm on her face.

"Huahua, wait a minute! My shoelace—"

"I'll tie it when it's late summer."

"I haven't even grabbed my drumsticks yet—"

"I put it in your backpack."

"...What exactly are you here for?"

Hua Hua stopped and turned to look at her. Fei Niao felt a little uneasy under her gaze and subconsciously took a half step back.

"Have you guys been secretly doing something fun without me lately?" Hua Hua said, emphasizing each word.

The bird opened its beak, then closed it again.

"Silence means consent." Hua Hua turned around and continued walking briskly forward. Fei Niao followed behind, her shoelaces dragging on the ground like two little tails.

Xia Mo's house was at the other end of the station, about a fifteen-minute walk from Fei Niao's house. Hua Hua walked very fast, and Fei Niao almost jogged to keep up. When they came to a red light, Hua Hua finally stopped, and Fei Niao took the opportunity to bend down and tie her shoelaces.

"Hua Hua, what's wrong—" Asuka gasped for breath, "What's wrong?"

Hua Hua stared at the red light countdown, her voice muffled: "You guys haven't been talking to me lately. No reply to my messages, no answer to my calls. When I asked what you were doing, one said 'So tired,' and the other said 'Nothing.' Do you know I almost thought my phone was broken? I restarted it three times!"

The bird fell silent.

The light turned green, and Huahua continued walking. Feibiao followed, walking beside her, about half a step away.

"I'm sorry," Asuka said softly, "I have been... a bit busy lately."

"What are you busy with?" Hua Hua didn't look at her, her voice tinged with grievance. "Are you two seeing other people behind my back?"

"...There's no one else."

"So what are you doing?"

Feiniao hesitated for a moment, then looked at Huahua's profile—her lips were slightly pouting, her eyes were fixed on the road ahead, and she had an expression that said, "I won't forgive you until you tell me."

"We," Asuka took a deep breath, "have joined the ensemble."

Hua Hua paused for a moment, but didn't stop. After walking a few more steps, she spoke, "Ensemble? Are you going to participate in the performance?"

"Um."

"So for over a month... you haven't replied to messages in the afternoons..."

"Practicing," Asuka said.

"Do you have to practice after school too?"

"Um."

"Do you often practice until dark before going home?"

"almost."

Hua Hua didn't ask any more questions. The two walked the rest of the way in silence until they stood in front of Xia Mo's house.

Hua Hua rang the doorbell, and Xia Mo, who opened the door, was stunned to see the two people standing there.

"Flowers? Birds? What are you doing—"

"Just passing by," Hua Hua said matter-of-factly, "and just wanted to see if you were up to anything interesting." With that, she changed her shoes, walked straight into the living room, and sat down on the sofa.

Xia Mo glanced at Fei Niao. Fei Niao mouthed silently, "She knows," and then followed her inside.

Xia Mo was stunned for a moment, then shook her head helplessly. She had no choice but to go into the kitchen, get some soda, and cut up a watermelon.

Okay, let's use something to shut them up first.

On the coffee table in the living room sat a half-finished cup of barley tea and an open sheet music book. Xia Mo was probably practicing the piano when they interrupted her.

Hua Hua took the orange-flavored ramune soda that Xia Mo handed her, popped the marbles in her mouth, took a big gulp, and then put it on the coffee table with a crisp sound.

"Speak," she said, glancing at Xia Mo and letting out a few cold laughs. "You actually kept something this fun from me?"

Xia Mo sat down on the single sofa to the side, raised her hand and touched her ear: "What's so fun?"

"Stop pretending! The birds have already told me!" Hua Hua's voice rose half an octave, but she felt a little wronged as she spoke, and her tone softened unconsciously.

"I know, ensemble club. Asuka-chan just told me."

The living room fell silent for a moment.

"I was planning to tell you after I'd practiced enough..." Asuka whispered.

"By the time you guys have practiced enough, I'll probably have already graduated!"

Hua Hua leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, and let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Do you know how bored I am all alone in Bunkyo Ward? After school, I want to chat with someone, so I open my phone and send a message to Asuka-chan—no reply. I send one to Natsu-kun—no reply."

She grabbed a cushion and hugged it to her chest, her voice muffled: "Even the watermelon isn't sweet anymore."

Feiniao and Xiamo exchanged a glance. Xiamo nodded slightly.

"Hana," Asuka said, "when the ensemble's practice results are ready, we'd like to invite you to visit the school, okay?"

Hua Hua turned to look at her: "Really?"

"Really. It could be the ensemble's open practice day, or the end-of-term performance. I'll let you know in advance, and you can come watch our performance."

"And what about you?" Hua Hua looked at her. "You play the timpani?"

Asuka nodded: "Although I'm not very good at it yet, it should be presentable by then."

Hua Hua then turned to Xia Mo: "What about you? Why did you choose the oboe? It's so hard to learn!"

Xia Mo was silent for a moment: "I can play it, but I can't play it well."

"His low notes are already steady, and he can play scales, but his high notes are still not quite there," Asuka said on his behalf.

She herself didn't realize that when she said this, there was a hint of smugness in her tone, as if to say, "I know a lot, don't I?"

Hua Hua looked at the flying birds, then at the end of summer, and the light in her eyes gradually returned.

She picked up a watermelon from the fruit bowl on the coffee table, took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, and nodded: "Hmm, this watermelon is sweet again."

Asuka breathed a sigh of relief.

"However," Hua Hua spoke again, her voice twice as loud as before, "what you owe me can't be repaid with just one performance!"

Xia Mo leaned back on the sofa, raised her hand and touched her ear: "So what do you want?"

Hua Hua tossed the cushion aside and sat up straight: "Make me a meal at noon."

"I want to eat Chinese food!"

Xia Mo looked at her, waited for a long time, and realized she wasn't joking: "...That's it?"

"That's it! You always say your cooking is pretty good, right? I've never tried your Chinese food before, and I've never had Asuka sauce either, have I?"

Feiniao shook her head. She had indeed never eaten Chinese food prepared by Xia Mo.