One boot still half off his foot, part of his weight still pressing down on Meng Yao's shoulder, Mingjue paused. "Meng Yao's what I call you now," he said. Then he paused, rumbled contemplatively, and finished pulling on his boot. Once more shod and standing square, he released Meng Yao and corrected himself: "Meng Yao is what I call the one I left behind."

He chased the thought. He didn't have to chase it far. The two Meng Yaos were obviously and dramatically different to the tune of almost two decades of life experience. A different name made sense.

"If you prefer it, I'll call you A-Yao," he decided. Over-affectionate, maybe, but it was a direct request and matched the over-affectionate nature of suddenly being called Da-ge by someone he'd never expected. "So that's settled. What now?"