I had been living a calm life for too long, suddenly it was announced to be over.
Zimiao stood by the window, with the setting sun coming through and casting a handsome shadow on the coffee table behind him.
I sat opposite, my gaze occasionally drifting through the swirling steam rising from the teacup, lingering briefly each time before moving away.
I had seen this figure in the faint orange light countless times, in the summer rain, winter snow, spring flowers, and autumn moon of Fulong Mountain, and it has been engraved in my heart.
"This small shop you opened is hidden away in the market and has its own elegance. It's very good." He turned around with an appreciative smile on his lips, "Shaluo, you've grown up."
"Have some tea," I raised the teacup to him, taking a sip for myself first. At this time, I had to do something to cover up the breathless uneasiness that I have been unable to reduce since I saw him.
But, I burnt my tongue and hastily spit it out, instinctively fanning my mouth.
Seeing my embarrassment, he smiled.
His smile didn't make one feel awkward, but I still blushed and didn't dare to look at him.
Sitting opposite me, he picked up the cup, gently blowing on the dark green tea, and took a sip. There was no sign of discomfort on his face. He took another sip and smiled, "Although this tea is bitter, it has a sweet aftertaste, its fragrance is hidden in the depths, and its taste is endless. Good tea, good tea!"
"This kind of tea is a specialty of Unceasing. I call it Fleeting Life."
I haven't been back to Unceasing for a long time, but fortunately, everything remained the same. I can still sit here peacefully and make a cup of my Fleeting Life. It's just that I never expected that when I took out the teacup again and brewed that cup of clear and green tea, the one drinking it would be him.
Ao Chi doesn't drink tea. He sat in the nearest place to me, took out a pile of walnuts from nowhere, constantly cracking them open and eating non-stop.
In Unceasing's hall, the otherwise quiet atmosphere is continually disrupted by the cracking sounds.
I held the cup, gazing into the air, while Zimiao sat nearby drinking tea as if no one else was there, and Ao Chi ferociously cracked walnuts. Oh, there's also Ao Chi's unexpected "relative" lying down in the bedroom who had not woken up yet.
Ao Chi abruptly tossed away the walnut shell, jumped up, rushed towards Zimiao, grabbed his collar, and asked loudly, "Are you really not dead???"
"Ao Chi!" I stood up, grabbing his fist with bulging veins, "What's gotten into you? Hasn't he already made it very clear?!"
Before returning to Unceasing, Zimiao explained everything with his usual calmness.
The reason behind the "accident" that almost made both Ao Chi and me lose our three hun and seven po[1] wasn't complicated—
That day, I, who had been missing, suddenly appeared in the woods where he and Xuechang lived. It was the first time he and I argued, and I left in despair. He watched my departing figure without chasing after me.
Three days later, he went into the mountains to search for a delicious wild fruit for Xuechang. While passing by a deep pool, he happened to see a young child struggling in the water and shouting for help. He jumped in to save the child, but little did he know, the child had an incredible strength and grabbed onto him, pulling him deeper into the water at a surprising speed. In the chaos, he only felt like he stepped on something hard, and immediately it seemed to be stuck to him, and he was dragged deeper by it. And the child continued to cling tightly to his waist, never letting go. He also used spells to free himself, but nothing worked. Along the way, everything was pitch black before him, with only the sound of rustling in his ears, like a nebula flowing by, and he couldn't tell the direction.
After a while, the object under his feet pushed him upwards, and when everything returned to brightness, he found himself by the shore of Duan Lake. The child stood in the water, grinning at him, and said, "Water God of the Four Directions, I have offended you. Please wait here for seven days, and you will meet an old friend." With that, the child dived into the lake and disappeared without a trace.
After a brief observation, he realized that this Duan Lake was different from before. Upon further exploration, he discovered that the world had completely changed its appearance. Calculating the time, he realized that in the blink of an eye, he had traveled across thousands of years. Although he didn't know where the child came from, since he was already here, he was at ease and stayed by Duan Lake.
Then, he just waited till a "metal bird" fell, along with me.
He said that the moment our plane crashed into Duan Lake, he felt a familiar aura. But he was not completely sure yet. It wasn't until that same night when the man and the woman broke into Duan Lake and fought fiercely, while he was secretly observing the situation from the sidelines, I really appeared before him in the flesh, and that's when he knew who the "old friend" the child mentioned was.
"Do you think I would believe this?" Ao Chi released his grip and looked at me, "Do you think life is some boring soap opera? Time travel?" He grabbed Zimiao again, scrutinizing him from head to toe. "This guy must be a bad intentioned demon in disguise! Remember that time when someone impersonated me to deceive you?"
"Ao Chi!" I felt inexplicably annoyed and raised my voice. "Whether he's Zimiao or not, nobody in the world knows better than me!"
As soon as these words came out, all three of us fell silent for a moment.
Ao Chi took three deep breaths, released Zimiao, slumped back into his chair, and continued venting his frustration on the walnuts without saying a word.
"Married but still uncertain," Zimiao smiled and shook his head.
"It's not your turn to lecture me!" With his head held high, Ao Chi crushed the three hard walnuts in his hand into pieces.
"Could you please calm down a bit?" I already had a headache, and this guy's loud voice would only make me more upset.
"Where am I not calm?" Ao Chi threw a walnut at my head, "I am not a man made of water. There's no way I'll remain silent like a woman!"
"How dare you throw that at me!" I grabbed a handful of walnuts and threw them back at him, a completely instinctive reaction.
Zimiao watched us making trouble with each other, sipping his tea cheerfully.
Walnut shells were flying in the air, along with chair cushions, teacup lids, and more. Such scenes of complete chaos seemed to be a common occurrence for Ao Chi and me.
Amidst the fierce battle, a red figure cautiously moved in from outside.
Ao Chi's "relative," the girl who had nearly died at the hands of the scaly man, walked gracefully towards us.
It seems that the tonic I had given her to restore her vitality is quite effective.
The moment she approached, four words, like horses running out of the sky, galloped back and forth in my mind — beauty is like jade.
She truly lives up to these four words.
Her exquisite features don't need further description. Just a tiny vermilion mole between her eyebrows has an indescribable clever charm. Her light red robe always seems to be gently swaying with the breeze, and with every movement she makes, it floats like clouds before my eyes. The intangible aura rolling out from her gaze, fingertips, cuffs, and skirt hem filled the air with a natural elegance akin to that found between mountains and rivers. I guess that anyone who sees such a woman won't be able to take their eyes off her.
How could such a demure and graceful beauty be involved with that fierce-looking scaly man and almost lose her life?
As soon as he saw her step into the room, Ao Chi's expression immediately darkened, as if he was about to squeeze out water.
"Go back to the East China Sea immediately!" He stood up, blocking her path.
"But I finally got out," she looked at Ao Chi aggrievedly, "It took me a long time to leave, I just..."
"I order you to go back immediately!" He completely ignored her aggrieved look and pointed towards the door. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her body trembled slightly.
I couldn't bear to watch anymore and stepped forward, giving Ao Chi a shove. "If you have something to say, speak nicely. Who are you showing your harshness to?"
Seemingly in a fit of rage all this time, he didn't listen to my advice at all. Instead, he raised his voice and grabbed her wrist. "Don't you understand what I said? I'm telling you to go back to the East China Sea immediately!"
She bit her lower lip tightly, remaining silent for a long time. Finally, she raised her head, plucking up her courage to shout loudly, "I... I came to see my husband. What's wrong with that?!"
Husband?!
Outside, spring was in full bloom, while indoors, the scent of tea filled the air in the quiet room. Yet, I just heard a thunderclap, my ears buzzing with the explosion.
"You call him... husband?" I asked her. She nodded affirmatively.
I took a deep breath, turned around, picked up a teacup regardless of whether it belonged to Zimiao or me, slowly took a sip, and slowly swallowed.
As the tea flowed down my throat, it extinguished something along the way.
"Let her go," I held the teacup, calmly looking at Ao Chi. "Do you think other people's hands are made of iron?"
Ao Chi's gaze is rarely complicated, but this moment is an exception.
He let go of her and stood in front of me with some urgency: "This... I..."
I avoided his hand trying to grasp my shoulder, glanced at the girl, and smiled. "Since you're acquaintances, and visitors are guests, you should help her settle down well. I'm a bit tired, so I'll take a nap. Wake me up in three hours, then explain everything to me. That's it."
So, I left them behind, shutting out the gazes I didn't want to see for the time being, isolating them behind me.
I said I wanted to sleep, but instead of heading to my bedroom, I walked towards Unceasing's door. I had actually forgotten what I was supposed to do so quickly.
Someone wanted to follow me, their impatient footsteps making it obvious who it was even without looking back.
"Don't." I never looked back. The footsteps stopped.
I stepped out of Unceasing's door in the last ray of sunshine today.
I'm not angry. After all, today is the Lantern Festival. How can I be angry on such a good day?
I just feel that the shop is unbearably crowded, even if there are only a few people.
[1] souls. I've explained this in one of the earlier chapters.
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