Snow on the Eaves - Chapter 1

The man who picked me up was shabbily dressed.

He had a delicate, handsome face, with something of that god who dwelt high in the heavens about him.

But the murky aura surrounding him made it easy enough to tell that he was mortal.

He crouched down, looking astonished.

“I never knew an egg could be this big.”

I rocked a little. He looked even more surprised.

Then he smiled, his eyes bright, his teeth white. Utterly charming.

“So you can understand me. Would you like to come home with me?”

I didn’t answer, but he carefully gathered me into his arms anyway.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes.”

The young man’s name was Xu Chang’an, and my guess had been right. His family was poor. Very poor.

That would have been bad enough, but he also had a little sister. Neither of them ever knew where their next meal was coming from.

The moment she saw me, joy burst across her face.

“Brother, can we eat it tonight?”

By “it,” of course, she meant me. Xu Chang’an shook his head and laid me in a nest made from a few pieces of clothing.

“Xiaoxiao, we can’t eat this one. This egg has a spirit.”

“A spirit?”

Xiaoxiao lit up. “Then can it grant my wish? I want a flowery padded jacket!”

Xu Chang’an’s smile faltered. He let out a long sigh.

“Once I’ve sold these herbs, I’ll buy you one.”

So, during my days as an egg, the pair of them pestered me at every opportunity.

Every morning and evening, Xiaoxiao stood before me with her palms pressed together, wishing for a flowery jacket.

As for Xu Chang’an, he patted me before leaving each day and talked to himself.

“You look a little bigger than yesterday. I wonder what will hatch out of you.

“Egg, if you really do have a spirit, bless me with a little more money today.

“Are you cold? Those are all the clothes I have. If you need anything else, tell me in a dream.”

I did run into trouble. Heavy snow began falling one evening, and Xu Chang’an’s house was too cold. I should have been ready to hatch in two more days, but now there was no sign of my shell loosening at all.

Anxious, I visited his dreams that very night to tell him.

Xu Chang’an woke with a start in the middle of the night. There was nothing else in the house to keep out the cold, so he gritted his teeth, picked me up, and took me under the covers with him.

A person’s warmth was quite different from the weather outside. His embrace was almost hot.

Perhaps he, too, felt that hugging an egg to hatch it was a rather improper thing to do. His whole body was stiff.

I, on the other hand, slept without a care.

Two days passed like this. On the third morning, the person beside me suddenly shot upright.

I stretched and found myself looking into Xu Chang’an’s terrified eyes.

One look at him told me I had taken human form.

His face was red right up to his ears. He looked so flustered you’d have thought someone had taken liberties with him.

I couldn’t resist teasing him, and leaned closer.

“Oh dear. Now you’ll have to take responsibility for me—”

Xu Chang’an clutched the quilt and huddled in a corner without a word.

Someone like him probably only ever spoke to girls when he was selling vegetables. This had clearly given him quite a fright.

I yawned and hopped out of bed.

Only then did Xu Chang’an speak softly behind me. “I’m too poor. I’d only hold you back.”

I couldn’t be bothered to answer.

Xiaoxiao, meanwhile, was delighted to have another person in the house.

“That egg really did grant wishes! I wished for a wife for my brother!”

She bounced around me without stopping. “A fairy! You’re the prettiest fairy in the whole world!”

The little imp. She’d said she wanted a flowery jacket, while secretly wishing for this.

She couldn’t even say what she meant when making a wish!

I glanced at the scarlet-faced Xu Chang’an. He hurriedly lowered his head and shoveled rice into his mouth, pretending not to have heard.

Too adorable.

Our phoenix clan produced boys with sweet, childish faces. Back home, they chased after me every day, calling me big sister.

I’d begun to think I didn’t like men at all. It turned out I simply didn’t like the boyish kind.

As soon as he finished eating, Xu Chang’an hurried off to gather herbs, his basket on his back, as though I might eat him alive.

I caught his wrist. “Shall I come?”

His skin was very fair. Even that light grip left his wrist red.

“N-no need.” His voice trembled.

“I… I can manage on my own.”