THE SNOWFLAKES

"Boss... I think we already reached the border." Lin Jing called Zhao YunLan who still laid his head on Shen Wei's lap.

Zhao YunLan climbed his elbow and peered around. Zhu Jiu and Shen YongZheng were already there and to his surprise, Zhao XinChi was standing next to his best friend. "Pa?" Zhao YunLan pushed Zhao MingAn aside to grab the door.

"Geez, Ge. You can tell me that you want to open the door." Zhao MingAn grunted.

"Pa!" Zhao YunLan rushed to get his father. "What are you doing here?" Zhao YunLan asked.

Shen Wei and Zhao MingAn climbed down from the car and followed Zhao YunLan. "Sir." Shen Wei greeted both men.

"I'm here because YongZheng asked for my help." Zhao XinChi said. He then glanced at his younger son. "I heard that you left SID headquarters to do your thesis."

"Um... Yes..." Zhao MingAn answered, stuttering.

"Pa is not scolding you, why are you nervous?" Zhao YunLan frowned, eyes glancing at Zhao XinChi who only lifted his signature smile. "I'm the one who permitted him if you want to scold someone, you can scold me," Zhao YunLan said.

"I'm not." Zhao XinChi lowered his gaze as he smiled. "Someone should know when they must stop." He patted Zhao MingAn's shoulder.

"What do you do this time?" Zhao YunLan asked his younger brother after Zhao XinChi left with Shen YongZheng and Shen Wei.

"Huh? What?" Zhao MingAn froze.

"Pa will never say something meaningless. Do you try something stupid again this time?" Zhao YunLan nighed his distance from his younger brother.

"No, Ge!" Zhao MingAn flapped his hands in desperation, averting his eyes from his brother.

"Okay." Zhao YunLan punched his younger brother's chest lightly. "Don't make me worry." he reprimand the young man before he followed his lover.

"Sure." Zhao MingAn replied even though his brother could not hear him. He glanced at Shen YeZun who got out of another car and approached the man.

Zhao YunLan just walked a few steps when he stopped and whirled his head to see his brother. A loud alarm rang in his head at that time but he could not put his fingers on the reason.

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"That's Commander Chu!" Zhao MingAn shouted when he saw Chu NianZhi standing in front of a humble house. Lin Jing drove the car toward the house and soon after they reached the place, Zhao YunLan and Shen Wei climbed down from the car.

"We will stay at this place for a while, Sir." Chu NianZhi bowed to Shen Wei.

"Mhm." Shen Wei nodded. He glanced at Zhao YunLan who peered around the place. "It's kind of nostalgic indeed." Shen Wei smiled.

Zhao YunLan lowered his gaze. Of course, Shen Wei would remember the house they used once when they visited QingXi village in their past life. Zhao YunLan lifted his face, smiling. "Alright, everyone. Time to unload our luggage!" he shouted and everybody started to unpack.

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Gwang Li stood near a dark watered lake with her black hair and orbs. Her surroundings were dark and foggy. No one could tell where was she right now but her right hand was holding a creature. A familiar green creature. "Xiao Cài... You wait here, okay? I have a task for you." She said. The tiny little kappa was just nodding his head.

When Gwang Li left, Xiao Cài put a yellow duck Zhao MingAn gave him that he carried on the pond. He nudged the duck and clapped his tinny net hands in happiness when the duck floated further. The little kappa was about to enter the lake to take the duck when something long and slimy passed the water's surface and almost drown the duck.

Xiao Cài chirped to call Gwang Li but the lady was nowhere to be found. The scared little kappa peered around. His memory drifted to the time when he was taken from his parents a long time ago. Tears flew from the corner of his eyes as he remembered Shen YeZun and Zhao MingAn. Then, he glanced at the duck. The gift from Zhao MingAn. And Xiao Cài knew that he did not want to lose it.

Xiao Cài's tiny hands struggled to reach the duck but the toy was too far from him. Gulp, the little kappa entered the lake and swim toward the duck. He hugged the duck soon after he reached it. Xiao Cài was about to swim back to the dry land when a gigantic serpent came out from the lake. Xiao Cài whined in fear.

The scary serpent opened its mouth, displaying rows of sharp fangs. The poor little kappa hugged the duck tightly, memories of Shen YeZun and Zhao MingAn flashed in his mind when the serpent dived to swallow him. The crazily rippling water came quiet after sometimes and a yellow wooden duck emerged to the surface.

At the same time, Shen YeZun unloaded his luggage. He took Xiao Cài's old wooden duck from his suitcase and put it on the table. The house was big but it had no private room. Everyone's bed was prepared on the floor in the same compartment. Meanwhile, unpacking luggage was not an easy task. Everyone was too busy to be aware of their surroundings. The unattentive Lin Jing bumped into the table. Not only he knocked down the wooden duck, but he also stepped on it. Shen YeZun was too late to rescue the wooden duck.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Professor Shen." Lin Jing said when he saw that the wooden duck's neck was snapped. But Shen YeZun was too stunned to reply. When

When everybody was busy scolding Lin Jing, Shen YeZun picked the wooden duck. "Xiao Cài..." Shen YeZun muttered, hugging the wooden duck as he felt an impending doom over the little kappa.

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"Food is ready!" Guo ChangCheng shouted. The motel owner came in the early morning and passed him so many foods. The diligent young man prepared the food on the table along with warm tea when everyone was still asleep.

When everyone was at the table, Shen Wei realized that his brother was nowhere to be seen. "Where is YeZun?" he asked.

"Maybe still upstairs." Zhu Hong replied. "I think he is still upset because someone irresponsibly destroyed something he treasures." she glared at Lin Jing.

"It was an accident, geez." Lin Jing pouted.

Zhao MingAn stood up. "Let me find him," he said, ignoring the confused stares from everyone at the table.

"That's odd." Shen YongZheng took his chopsticks. "Usually, if we can't find YeZun, we won't find Zhao MingAn. But now..." he did not need to finish his words to deliver his thoughts.

"Hey, Zhao YunLan. Are they in the middle of the cold war or something?" Da Qing asked after Zhao MingAn strode away.

"I wonder." Zhao YunLan replied, eyes glancing upstairs.

"Arguments are common things between couples. Let them deal with it themselves." Chu NianZhi said as he took some food and put them on his plate.

"Seems like you talked from your experience." Chu ShuZhi quipped.

"At least I don't deny myself and ended up with shout at a pregnant woman." Chu NianZhi refuted his elder brother.

"And whose fault is that?" Chu ShuZhi refused to lose.

"It's someone with a high level of stupidity who is at fault." Chu NianZhi retorted. "He even did not bother to make research whether there is such a hermaphrodite snake or not."

"You-"

"Enough!" Shen Wei's heavy voice shut the bicker at once. Everybody lowered their face to hide their laughter only the upset Shen Wei and the gullible Guo ChangCheng who were not.

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Zhao MingAn climbed the stairs only to find his lover sitting on the bed, staring at the broken wooden duck. "Professor Shen." Zhao MingAn called. Shen YeZun did not reply but averted his face as he tried to hide his sadness. Zhao MingAn sat beside the man, caressing Shen YeZun's shoulder softly. "What happens?" Zhao MingAn asked.

YeZun pulled himself from his lover, striding to the window. He was still too angry with Zhao MingAn to respond to the gentleness. But Zhao MingAn was a devoted young man. He stepped to the window, nighing their distance slowly. "What happened?" Zhao MingAn asked once more.

"Xiao Cài." Shen YeZun could not finish his words as tears flew out from his beautiful eyes.

"He will be fine." Zhao MingAn hugged his lover.

"This is my fault. I told him that I will visit him but... But..."

"There are so many things that happened lately, it isn't your fault." Zhao MingAn caressed Shen YeZun's hair. "It's not like our brother will let us go to visit Xiao Cài. Besides, we don't know where Madame Gwang is. She is the only person who knows Xiao Cài's whereabouts." Zhao MingAn wiped his lover's tears with his thumbs.

Shen YeZun nodded but then, he pulled himself from his younger lover. "I let you touch me because I'm worried about Xiao Cài but it doesn't mean that I forgive you," he said.

Zhao MingAn lowered his face to hide his smile. "Yes, yes, Professor Shen. I'm not finished persuading you yet." he kissed YeZun's cheek.

"I said that I do not forgive you yet." Shen YeZun pushed his lover away.

"And you know how adamant I am." Zhao MingAn's teasing smile adorned his handsome face.

"Stop that! I'm being serious here." Shen YeZun never could scold his lover as Zhao MingAn pushed him back to the bed. "MingAn-" YeZun had to swallow his anger when Zhao MingAn bit his lips and devoured them. The weak Shen YeZun fell into the young man's trap. He almost gave up in the wave of fervor if not because Zhao MingAn pulled from him forcefully.

"Director Shen." Zhao MingAn stuttered as he realized who the one dragged his collar.

"I let you find my brother so he can eat not to let you 'eat' him." Shen Wei glared at Zhao MingAn. Zhao MingAn glanced at his older brother who stood near the stair but Zhao YunLan did not do anything to help him.

"Well..."

"Get down!" Shen Wei cut the young man as he pushed Zhao MingAn in the direction of the stairs before Zhao YunLan's brother gave him an excuse.

"Professor Shen-"

"Get down!" now both Zhao YunLan and Shen Wei shouted in unison. Zhao MingAn pouted but he did not have any choice but to obey.

"Are you alright?" Shen Wei asked his younger brother after Zhao MingAn climbed down the stairs.

"Mhm." Shen YeZun nodded. "I just cannot sleep last night."

"What happened?" Shen Wei sat beside his brother.

"I... Thinking about Xiao Cài." Shen YeZun lowered his gaze.

"Xiao Cài is with his family. He will be just fine." Shen Wei patted YeZun's head.

"I know. I suppose to think that way. But..." he looked at the broken toy.

"I'll get you some food." Zhao YunLan interrupted YeZun's thought. "After that, you can go back to sleep."

Shen YeZun lifted his eyes to look at Shen Wei and Zhao YunLan then nodded. "Mhm."

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"What happened to Professor Shen?" Zhu Jiu asked his childhood friend when Zhao MingAn appeared.

"He has a bad feeling about Xiao Cài when his wooden duck broke." Zhao MingAn pulled the chair.

"Geez, how can Xiao Cài and the wooden duck connect?" Lin Jing asked. "Is not like something happens to Xiao Cài."

"Lin Jing Ge is very insensitive. It is called paternal instinct. You never have a child how do you know the feeling?" Guo ChangCheng protested.

"This and that are two different things. How can we know that something happened to Xiao Cài by seeing what happened to his toy?" Lin Jing frowned. "Scientifically unproven."

"How many times did Chief Zhao predict something and he is right?" Guo ChangCheng retorted.

"That's just a lucky wild guess." Lin Jing refuted the young man.

"It's called intuition." Shen YongZheng knocked on the wooden table as he avoid to hitting the ignorant scientist's head.

"Lin Jing, I'm sure that as a scientist, you know that many things in the world are unexplainable. Some are waiting to be discovered, while others are better to be kept hidden. Some can be learned, some others are to be trusted as they are." Zhao XinChi glanced at the scientist. Lin Jing pursed his lips as he could not answer back.

"How's he?" Shen YongZheng asked Zhao YunLan when the man strode toward the table.

"He is alright just tired because he could not sleep last night." Zhao YunLan took a plate and picked up some food. "He needs to eat medicine," he said as he put down the plate.

"In my bag." Zhao MingAn said as he stood up.

"It's alright, let me take it." Zhao YunLan said. He was about to reach Zhao MingAn's bag but the young man snatched the bag before he could touch it. "Hey!" Zhao YunLan frowned upon his younger brother's attitude.

"You will mess up the arrangement." Zhao MingAn reasoned. The young man took a certain box and gave it to Zhao YunLan. "This is Professor Shen's medicine. He knows the dosage." Zhao MingAn said.

"Ah, alright." Zhao YunLan said. He climbed the stairs after taking the plate he prepared for YeZun but his eyes were glued to his brother who fixing something inside the bag.

"Where is the medicine?" Shen Wei asked. Zhao YunLan did not reply. He passed the plate and the box to Shen Wei. "What happened?" Shen Wei asked.

"Professor Shen... May I ask about something?" Zhao YunLan stared at Shen Wei's twin meaningfully.

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"He drinks the medicine?" Zhao MingAn asked his brother when Zhao YunLan climbed down the stairs along with Shen Wei. "Ge... What happened?" he asked as Zhao YunLan only stared at him with a strange look.

"Lao Chu." Zhao YunLan muttered.

"Yes?" Chu ShuZhi stood up.

"Hold that boy! Without my command, don't let him go!" Zhao YunLan pointed at Zhao MingAn.

"What?" Everyone was agape but Chu ShuZhi was a trained soldier, he grabbed Zhao MingAn's hands and locked them behind the young man's back as Zhao YunLan searched for something in Zhao MingAn's bag despite the young man's screams and struggles.

"Zhao YunLan, what are you doing?" Da Qing asked when the man threw out everything inside Zhao MingAn's bag.

"Zhao YunLan, are you out of your mind?" Zhu Hong shouted but Zhao YunLan was not stopping.

"Ge, stop it!" Zhao MingAn pleaded, "You'll break everything."

However, the whole drama ended when Zhao YunLan lifted a thin box from Zhao MingAn's bag. "What is this?" Zhao YunLan asked his brother. "What the God damn stuff is this?" he glared at the young man. And all Zhao MingAn did was just gulp...

Snowflakes began to form when an extremely cold water droplet was frozen into pollen or dust particle in the sky. While snowflakes appeared white as they fell from the sky, they were in fact very clear. Not transparent but translucent. The light passed through but not directly. However, no matter how the crystal bent the light, it would pierce through it...

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Picture credit of thought.co