The backyard resembled a high-end park more than a yard. The backyard had a pure and natural theme in contrast to the highly automated Suman City; it was almost incongruous. As soon as one came in, one would see the giant and robust evergreen tree, which looked symmetrical from any angle. In theory, you could never find two leaves that were exactly the same in the world, but this tree would defy your beliefs, not to mention no one had ever trimmed the tree. In just ten years, the tree grew thicker than ten people could wrap their arms around, and the top of the tree was tall enough to cover the sun. Even more bizarre, the flowers and shrubs around the tree grew around the tree like sunflowers wors.h.i.+pping the sun. Year after year, the plants grew in concentric circles despite the gardeners never planting them this way. The man-made lake, used for irrigation, flowed down in a winding river around the tree. There was no motor equipment, but the water always circled back to its source every day, making tinkling sounds, The grandiose tree apparently became this backyard’s master. The sights nearby were not as magical as this tree, but they had their charm. The eleventh level Suman stoneware designer, Stern, designed and built the lightning bug pavilion himself, which stored energy by day and powered the light at night. The designer’s apprentice, Katvil, found all sorts of unique rocks from the beach, building an intricate rock facade along the backyard wall, featuring slopes, peaks, and valleys. Nestled among the flowers and shrubs, it could almost compete with the tree. But none of the amazing creations caught Youyue’s attention. He continued to walk past the wooden bridge, straight to the giant tree. “Pfft, I know my brother is good, but why is Aiyao admiring him like that? Her eyes looked way too excited.” “Who is your master?” Youyue whined. “If my Aiyao was in love with someone else, what’s the point of me, a loser, wanting anything? Like I’ll ever get better. I might as well just give up.” Youyue walked under the tree. He sat down and leaned against the trunk where it connected with the roots above ground, feeling the slight sounds from inside the tree. He sighed. “Old friend, you are just a tree, but in this family, you’re my only friend. I really hope you’ll bring me good luck.” Youyue looked tired. Snoring sounds came from under the tree. As if answering Youyue’s request, the tree dropped a leaf unlike all the other leaves, which slowly floated down to his right hand. Upon contact, it turned into granules and scattered in the wind. If Youyue had been awake, he’d have been stunned. “Aiyao, it’s past noon. Go find Youyue," Aina told Aiyao when she didn’t see Youyue in the living room. "If he didn’t want to go to school with his brother, he should at least help with ch.o.r.es. He shouldn’t be lazy and get talked about.” “Yes, m’am.” Answered Aiyao.

Aiyao turned to leave. She didn’t ask anyone if they’d seen her master; she just headed to the backyard. While Youyue napped, storm clouds gathered over the clock tower and spread all over. The sunny skies were suddenly covered with dense clouds.

The sounds of thunder, lightning, and rain mixed together ominously. Unlike regular bad weather, this was more like a crisis for the entire Suman City. “What the . . . ? This weather is crazy. It was so sunny before.” “d.a.m.n it. Why didn’t the Elders’ people let us know over the radio? All the materials we just made are gonna be ruined.” “Oh no, I haven’t waterproofed the Chilong today. Hey, why aren’t you moving?” “. . .” The Sumans, long used to acting on information from the Elders, complained and cussed, as they were caught in the terrible weather by surprise. Aiyao rushed to the backyard as the weather changed. She could see Youyue leaning against the tree and resting, as if oblivious to the thunder and lightning.

Aiyao zoomed next to Youyue. Here, the giant tree branches acted like a natural umbrella, s.h.i.+elding him from any and all rain.

“Sleeping like a baby with this kind of weather . . .  Master is really gifted in this area!” Aiyao chuckled. Then Aiyao noticed something weird about Youyue. His eyes were closed, but his right eye seemed to show a green light though the eyelid. Also, at his right hand, the leaves turned again and again with the falling leaves. Youyue frowned. His eyes moved rapidly beneath his eyelids, and his lips mumbled something. Aiyao thought he must be having a nightmare, so she started shaking him. Youyue suddenly shouted, “No, no!” The moment Youyue was woken up by Aiyao, a shaft of thunder pierced through the robust leaves like a predator aiming for Youyue’s head. It was now or never! Aiyao launched her acceleration program and dragged Youyue aside just as the thunder hit the ground, making a big hole that sizzled with smoke. “Hey, what happened? Where did the picture in front of my eye go? Aiyao, what are you doing here?” Youyue asked as he noticed Aiyao. He waved away the dust in front of him. Aiyao was silent. She unclenched her fist and rotated it once in front of her chest, then pushed down. “Ha!” The leftover smoke scattered with the wind Aiyao made; this trick was elementary for her, as she had scored perfect in close combat. “Master, what do you mean by photo? I came to get you with your mom’s orders and found you having a nightmare under the tree, so I woke you up. That was when the thunder came,” Aiyao explained. “Oh, so you saved me again. Guess I can’t blame you for interrupting an important dream,” Youyue mumbled as he watched the giant hole made by the thunder. “Hah, so saving Suman City and the photo I saw in my eye were all dreams? I was thinking of sleeping next to the Xuan Clock Tower even in my dreams. I’m so useless.” “Master?” Aiyao looked confused as she watched Youyue talk to himself. Youyue looked at the innocent face of Aiyao, remembered that morning, and said bitterly, “Why did you bother saving me? You should have let the thunder kill me. Then you wouldn’t have to bother with me anymore. One less thing to do, right?” “Protecting you is a joint order from both your father and mother. It is my mission. I would give my life for you at any time!” Aiyao answered resolutely. “Enough, enough! You always say this whenever I ask. Isn’t it annoying?” Youyue was impatient. He didn’t know why Aiyao liked to say “mission” all the time, just like the other Chilong robots. He’d never treated her like a Chilong, but rather . . . Ever since Youyue was ten years old, Aiyao—made by Qingyin and Aina—had been protecting him in every way. But whenever he was touched by her efforts and asked her why she was so selflessly protecting him, who was so weak and useless, Aiyao would answer, “This is my mission.”

“Protecting you because I want to” was what Youyue wanted to hear from Aiyao. His jealousy didn’t go away; instead, more unnamed anger surged inside him. He took a deep breath and turned away, not looking at Aiyao. “Master, look!” “What now?” Youyue asked. “Look at this pit on the ground.” While the two of them were talking, the ground, which had blown apart from the thunder, was closing up bit by bit with some kind of force. Soon, the hole on the ground was filled. The flowers and gra.s.s over the ground also grew rapidly, at a speed visible to the naked eye, and returned to its original state. Youyue watched everything being repaired, but he didn’t feel surprised. But his right eye did feel odd. The rapidly moving green granules on the ground looked familiar. But he couldn’t remember where he last saw them. Youyue was a bit anxious, since the leftover granules were about to all go into the soil. “Aiyao, do you see these granules moving on the ground?” he asked. “Master, I don’t see any granules,” Aiyao answered honestly. “You really don’t see anything? Oh, no, the last one went away, too.” Youyue pointed at one soybean-sized green granule as it disappeared inside the ground. He felt a little disappointed. “I don’t see it,” she replied firmly after staring intently for a while, but not seeing anything.

“Don’t see it? Don’t see it . . .  Wait, I get it!” Youyue looked as if he had an epiphany. He stared at the giant tree next to him and said, “It’s you, my old friend.” The severe weather returned to normal after Youyue had woke up. Sunlight chased away the dark clouds, softly s.h.i.+ning on the two of them. Everything seemed to be harmonious again. Aiyao was about to pull up Youyue, but found a smile she’d never seen before playing on his lips. He was staring at his “old friend” in a trance.