Lin Jielin.

“What’s your name, young boy?” the singer asked.

Yixing opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. His mind went blank, and for a moment he had forgotten how to think. Was it possible that he could still understand Chinese? Or, had it been the other way around?

He willed his mouth to move, he willed himself to speak. But all he could say was, “I’m sorry, Mr. Lin, but…what did you ask?”

Lin Jielin heard the woman behind Yixing grunt and mutter under her breath. Mr. Lin peered past the long line of people, who were all standing behind Yixing, waiting for their turn for their CD’s to be signed as well. He only laughed inwardly, then sighed.

Fan-signing was a difficult and tiresome job for an artist, especially if one really tried to accommodate a fan. Some fans, especially female ones, were just…way too enthusiastic. Oftentimes, they would forget how to have self-preservation. They would shriek shamelessly in front of their idol, forcefully grab a hand to shake it vigorously, try to sneak into the waiting room just to take pictures with their idol, and etcetera.

Lin Jielin had had different kinds of fans—teenage girls, adult men and women, older men. He had targeted age groups above age 13. And needless to say, he seldom had fans aged 10 and below. Admitting to himself, he was rather surprised. The boy asking for his sign right now looked to be around 7, and judging from his accent, Lin Jielin guessed he must have come from another southern province all the way to Guangzhou just to obtain his signature.

“I said, what’s your name?” asked Lin Jielin patiently.

“Ah! Zh-Zhang Y-Yixing…”

Lin Jielin couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. Yixing’s cheeks were bright red from embarrassment as he stumbled on saying his own name. The way Yixing kept looking down on the table or at his feet—and Lin Jielin had no way of knowing that—the way Yixing wrung his handkerchief between his small hands…

God, this boy looks so cute.

Unbidden, a memory of another boy with jet black hair, asking for his sign earlier in the afternoon, surfaced in his mind. Compared to this boy, that boy was rude…but handsome. They seemed to be around the same age. But while this boy seemed to be a certified music lover, the other one was a certified book lover.

“Mind telling me which characters they are?” Lin Jielin asked again, his lips still curved into a genuine smile.

“Yi as in art and Xing as in to flourish.”

So Lin Jielin scribbled and scribbled, actually filling the entire front portion of the disk with Chinese characters. He mused himself with the idea that he could no longer find a single space left for a period alone.

“Here you go, Yixing.”

“Th-Thank you, Mr. Lin. I’m really happy for this opportunity,” Yixing said. He had clumsily taken back his CD from Lin Jielin and held it tightly between his hands, clutching the object really close to his chest.

“Make sure you read what I wrote. I had a lot to say.”

“Y-Yes. When I get home, Mr. Lin.”

“Where do you live, by the way? Maybe I can visit your town next time around.”

Yixing’s eyes sparkled. “Changsha! Changsha, Hunan.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“Be on your way already, brat!” the woman behind him shouted at him as she pushed him away.

Yixing tumbled but easily caught his balance. “I’m really grateful, Mr. Lin!” Yixing said again, bowing so low.

Yixing turn on his heel only to be tripped by a teenage boy. Yixing fell to the ground with a splat, his precious CD flying out of his hand.

“Know your place, idiot!”

Then, he heard a moan beneath him. Yixing blinked his eyes several times, only to see that he was lying on top of another boy. Upon reflex, Yixing stood up and bowed several times as he ranted his endless series of apology.

“I’m really sorry. I was too careless. I did not see you. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

I’m really sorry.

The other boy had stood up, still wincing in pain as he ruffled his jet black hair and smoothed down his clothes. He had been walking leisurely around, carrying his books and Lin Jielin’s signed CD, when suddenly a taller boy bumped into him and pushed him onto the ground.

He looked at the boy with scrutinizing eyes. The circumstance annoyed him. Or probably, almost struck a nerve in him. He ought to be mad. But it was not like he did not see what actually happened. And the boy looked so innocent and cute and shy and was incredibly taller than he was. And he was apologizing sincerely. But way too sincerely. So instead of lashing out at the taller boy, he just sighed and bent down to pick up his books and his CD—wait, now... There were to CD cases lying on the floor. Both had Lin Jielin’s signature on the lower right portion of the case. He took both.

“Um… So, I suppose this one’s mine,” the boy said, deciding on the one he was holding with his left hand. “And this one’s yours.”

Yixing only nodded, his light brown hair following the movement of his head in perfect unison.

He’s got beautiful hair, the stranger thought.

The black-haired boy handed the other CD to Yixing.

“I’m really sorry. Next time, I’ll definitely watch out for my steps,” Yixing said with a low bow after taking the CD from the stranger.

“Don’t fuss over it,” the stranger said, waving a hand at Yixing. He managed to smile a bit after recognizing Yixing’s Changsha accent. “And if I were you, I’d put that CD inside my bag. It’s a treasure after all.”

“Oh! Yes, yes. Thank you again.”

Yixing went afterwards to wherever he was going, his back towards the stranger as he inched farther away from him. The black-haired boy inclined his head and saw that Lin Jielin was looking at him with a gentle smile.

Ashamed of being seen, he turned around and walked towards the opposite direction. He slid his CD, along with his other books, into his backpack and walked out of the mall. It was almost time to go home.

He stood at the entrance of the mall, where his mother promised him they would meet. Parcels of memory of the incident replayed in his head from time to time. He continued to muse at the memory.

But meeting the Changsha boy again was far from his list of possibilities.

After all China is a big country. Guangzhou and Changsha are highly populated. And he would be migrating to Canada in a few weeks.

How small or big was the probability that they would meet each other again?

The black-haired boy did not know.

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A/N: Hi, guys!!! Thank you for reading my first chapter. I hope it doesn't as much as I think it would. Anyway, it's Kris's first meeting with Yixing when they were just kids. It might take me a long time to upload the real first chapter so please be patient. Please don't forget to leave comments. Saranghae yo!