[Suggested song for this chapter: Lakmé, Act 1; Duo des fleurs (Instrumental Version), by Delibes]
Tan Bowen shepherded Meili into a garden pavilion.
"Mei Meili, I barely get to see you anymore, it's very sad," he shook his head morosely. "I used to be able to drop by anytime I wanted to."
"We were young then, Tan Bowen. We're growing up. It makes sense that you can't keep climbing the wall into my courtyard forever, don't you think?" she asked him gently.
"No!" he said petulantly. "You should still be at home, and I should still be climbing into your courtyard. If I'd known I would only have you there for such a short while, I would have dropped by every day…" he sounded wistful.
She laughed lightly. "If you had dropped by every day, you surely would have been found out, and then you wouldn't have ever been able to come and visit me. It was just as it should be. They were perfectly happy days," she said, smiling in pleasure at the memory.
