The friendship that Lu Hao had been so desperately trying to forge finally hit a breakthrough on the day that a stray cat moved into their neighborhood.

It was an angry, spitfire thing, with spiky grey fur and a sharp face that hissed at everyone that got close to it.

"No, you shouldn't touch it," Ma said, pulling Lu Hao back when he tried to go pet it. The cat puffed up where it sat on the gate wall, but when Ma held Lu Hao back the cat settled, tail swishing back and forth, beady eyes tracking them. Ma said sternly, "Cats don't like when strangers touch them. You need to be their friend first."

These words struck something in the back of Lu Hao's mind. He blinked up at his Ma and asked, "Then how do I become its friend?"

"Hm," Ma peered at the cat sitting alertly in front of them. "This cat doesn't trust people. See how it watches us? It thinks we might try to hurt it. But if we show that we're safe, it may come to like us. We can bring it a fish later, when we go to the market."

"A fish?" Lu Hao asked.

"Yes, cats love to eat fish. Everyone is happy to eat something delicious, right?"

Something delicious, Lu Hao repeated in his head. He accompanied his Ma to the market, and while she bartered for groceries, he looked around at the different shops.

There was a bakery nestled between the stores that sold dry goods and supplies. A sweet smell of sugar and baked bread wafted out of it. Ma and Lu Hao rarely went there; Pa really loved to eat sweet bread, but the doctor said it wasn't good for an older man to eat too many sweets, so Ma only bought some for him on special days.

Lu Hao didn't like sweets, but he remembered all of the girls talking about how delicious the snacks were, and how the boys fought over candies. He pulled Ma's hand and pointed at the bakery. "Ma, can we go there?"

"You want to buy some bread, Little Hao?" Ma indulgently lead Lu Hao over to the bakery. At the window, Lu Hao saw all kinds of things: cakes, pastries, and little snacks of all kinds.

Seeing so many options, Lu Hao became worried. "I wanna bring something for my friend, but I don't know what he likes..."

"Oh my, a gift. Well, we can get a few things."

They entered the store, and a small bell rang when the door opened. The girl behind the counter was very pretty, with long black hair tied in a ponytail. She greeted Ma and cooed over Lu Hao. Ma told her that Lu Hao wanted to buy a gift box for his friend, but didn't know what his tastes were like.

"Oh, that's not a problem - we can package a variety," the store employee said, and fetched a box. She asked Lu Hao to pick some of the small treats, motioning to the counter where the store displayed palm-sized dessert snacks.

Lu Hao checked with his Ma, who smiled encouragingly, and then pointed at some random things.

"Okay, so we have some pineapple buns, sponge cake, sweetheart cake, and egg custard tart. Will that be all?"

"Could we also get a few of these breads, please," and Ma purchased some buns to bring back for Pa.

The two of them left the market loaded down with food, and when they got home and put away all of the groceries, Ma said, "Oh, we forgot to get the fish."

Lu Hao tracked the boy down the next day. The boy peered blankly when Lu Hao said he had something for him, but went quietly to sit at the bench next to Lu Hao. Lu Hao couldn't wait, quickly popping open his bag and digging out the box. He handed it to the boy, who stared at the little white box until Lu Hao told him to take it in his hands. When the boy just looked at the closed box, Lu Hao had to tell him to open it, too.

Though he was hesitant, the boy slowly lifted the lid. The scent of baked goods wafted into the air, and the boy's eyes widened. His face had an expression like he'd never seen such food before.

He made no move to touch the desserts. His little throat bobbed, but he kept a very still face. It reminded Lu Hao of well-trained dogs that wouldn't eat a snack until they were given permission, even if you balanced the treats on their noses, held it in front of their mouths.

"They're for you," Lu Hao said.

The little boy looked at Lu Hao, his expression somehow sad and lost. Lu Hao's heart leaped into his throat.

He'd been excited, at first, ready to bounce out of his skin at the victory - but now he was worried that he'd gotten it wrong, and maybe this wasn't the right gift, maybe—

"Do you - do you want to eat them?" Lu Hao was about to say that if not, that was fine, Lu Hao could bring him something else - but the boy ducked his head with a small, shy nod.

A sigh of relief left Lu Hao's lungs. "Then go ahead!" He smiled and waved to the box. "They're all yours."

A look of wonder came upon the boy's face. Lu Hao's heart thumped excitedly. It was the first time he'd seen the boy look anything other than eerily blank, or wary. The boy turned his gaze back to the box and hesitantly moved his hand inside. Before he touched the pastries he glanced back at Lu Hao, who smiled encouragingly. The boy lowered his hand and picked up an egg tart.

He held the small tart reverently in his hands, the way you would hold a delicate bird. He took another glance at Lu Hao, like he was checking if this was really okay, before he lifted the tart to his lips and took a small bite.

And then—

A smile lifted the corners of the boy's mouth, his cheeks rising and his eyes forming happy crescents.

Lu Hao watched in awe as the boy nibbled on the sweets. The empty-faced, ghost-like boy could actually show such a sweet and happy expression. It was a fragile, fleeting thing, like a thin piece of paper that could get torn by a drop of rain, or blown away by a single breeze. Lu Hao didn't move a single centimeter, barely even breathing, too afraid of accidentally scaring away the softness of this moment.

When the boy finished licking the last crumbs of the tart from his fingertips, he glanced shyly at Lu Hao from the corner of his eyes. He chewed on his thin lips, then lowered his head and quietly whispered, "Thank you."

"I—" Lu Hao's head spun. He'd finally gotten the boy to speak. "You're welcome." Did this mean they were friends now? Did Lu Hao finally succeed? The little boy was still smiling, just a slight curve to the shape of his lips, but somehow it was enough to fill Lu Hao's heart with a strange, swooping feeling of joy. "What's your name?" Lu Hao blurted, because he had to know, now.

The boy blinked, and he said in that soft voice like falling snow, "Hong Sheng."