The sky had just begun to tint pink when Xu Qingling knocked gently at the wooden door of the Lin family courtyard.
Lin Mu had been waiting.
He opened the door to find her standing there with a straw hat in hand, a light canvas tote slung over one shoulder. She wore a loose white shirt tucked into soft blue pants and carried an air of calm anticipation.
"You're early," Lin Mu said.
"I couldn't sleep much," she replied with a soft smile. "I've been thinking about this all week."
---
They had agreed — after last weekend's market — that she could visit his garden.
Of course, he couldn't bring her into the real secret: the portable world.
But Lin Mu had prepared a compromise.
In the back of the family house, tucked behind an old well and shielded by high stone walls, there was a narrow strip of earth — formerly wild and overgrown, now cleaned, landscaped, and tended with care.
What had once been abandoned was now something else entirely.
"I've been working on this spot quietly," Lin Mu explained as he led her around the house and through the side gate.
When Xu Qingling stepped through, her eyes widened just slightly.
A winding gravel path led through rows of mint, chrysanthemum, and lavender. Young fruit trees stood in formation along the edge — pear, jujube, apricot. Wooden planters held climbing beans and squash. A small bamboo fence lined the herb beds.
At the far end was a shaded table with two bamboo stools — an echo of the setup in Lin Mu's portable world.
"This is… beautiful," she whispered.
"It's not big," Lin Mu said.
"It doesn't have to be."
---
For the next hour, she walked through the garden barefoot, hat in hand, occasionally kneeling to smell a leaf or brush her fingers over flower petals.
Lin Mu followed behind, answering questions gently.
"How long did this take?"
"About a month, give or take."
"Did you plant everything yourself?"
He nodded. "I brought most of it from cuttings and seedlings."
She turned to him with a half smile. "You do know you're the quietest gardener I've ever met?"
"I like letting the plants speak."
She laughed — not loud, but honest.
It was a good sound.
---
Later, they sat at the bamboo table under the tree canopy. Lin Mu brought out a small tray with chilled plum tea and lotus pastries.
"I tried a new cold brew method," he explained.
Xu Qingling took a sip, then closed her eyes briefly. "It tastes like shade on a summer day."
They ate quietly, listening to the sound of cicadas in the distant trees.
After a moment, Xu Qingling leaned back in her chair.
"You know… I feel like I could stay here all day."
"You can," Lin Mu said softly.
She glanced at him, a bit surprised.
"I mean it," he added. "Anytime."
---
Later, she helped him prune a few branches, rearrange a planter box, and re-tie some vines that had grown wild. The afternoon passed like melted sugar — slow, golden, satisfying.
As the sun dipped behind the hills, Lin Mu stood beside the fence, watching as Xu Qingling brushed her hands off and looked around one last time.
"You built something peaceful here," she said.
"I wanted to grow a place where time moves slowly."
"You did," she said.
Then, after a pause: "Can I ask something?"
"Of course."
"Have you ever thought about sharing this… more publicly?"
He was quiet for a while.
"I'm not sure," he said finally. "I like doing things one step at a time."
She nodded in understanding. "There's something beautiful in that. You don't need a crowd to make something meaningful."
She paused.
"But if… someday… you open a real tea house — with a space like this — I'd like to be part of it."
Lin Mu looked at her, truly looked.
"Then you will be," he said.
They stood in the fading light, not needing to say anything more.
---
That night, after she had gone home, Lin Mu entered the portable world.
The artificial stars shone overhead.
He expanded the chamomile field. Planted two new pomegranate trees near the pond. Then sat again at the table under the jujube tree.
The second stool no longer felt like an empty seat.
It felt like a promise waiting to bloom.
---
End of Chapter 7