Feng thought maybe Bugz didn’t actually like him that much. Or at least not the way he liked her. She was really going after him.

“Well, talking to women has never been my strong suit.”

They both exhaled. A crow called in the tree branches overhead.

“You know how to talk to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. You’re just fishing for a compliment.” Bugz paused.

“Well?”

“Well, grow up.” She looked away.

“I like talking to you,” Feng said.

“And I like it when you talk to me.” Bugz’s demeanor softened. “There.”

“Hey.” Feng stopped and took Bugz’s hands in his own. “We’re getting caught up on the wrong thing when there’s something way more important I want to tell you.”

“Yeah?” Bugz looked back at him expectantly.

“Yeah.” Feng broke into a grin. “The squirrel’s still right behind us!”

Feng took off running and Bugz gave chase for a few dozen yards. She caught up to him and gave him a good-natured push on the shoulder. They walked together.

“So, you gonna tell me your other secret now?” Bugz asked. Feng stayed silent. “Why did you leave China if you love it so much?”

“You want the long answer, or the version I tell everyone?”

“Tell me whichever one is true,” Bugz said with a smile, “but make it snappy.”

“Well, I was doing some work for the government. Volunteering, I guess. Going after people online, comment sections, you know.”

“Sounds like real tough guy stuff.”

Feng shrugged. “They had it coming. There are a lot of extremists where I lived in Xinjiang.”

“Wait, is this where those children are being taken away?”

“Yeah, well, I’m one of them. I’m Uyghur.”

“Whoa, I had no idea.”

“Yeah.” Feng paused before deciding to bare some of his past to Bugz. “But some people can’t let go.” He sucked his teeth. “When I was little, the government took me away from my family.” He sighed. “I went to a boarding school, got educated, and left the old ways behind.”

Bugz was silenced. Feng heard crickets striking up a chorus. He watched her throw a stick she’d been playing with to the ground. “They did that to my great-grandparents here too. They were taken to residential boarding schools by the government.” She breathed deeply. “They hated it there.” She looked to Feng. “How do you feel about the one you went to?”

“Honestly? It was tough.” Feng found trust in Bugz’s eyes. “But I think it was good. We had to change, get with the times of today.”

“But it’s wrong to take kids away like that,” Bugz said. “What they did here was called genocide. Cultural genocide, they tried to destroy our identity.”

“I know who I am.”

“Do you?”