“Drink it, there’s no poison in it.”
The aroma lingering at the tip of my nose was exceedingly complex.
There was the gentle fragrance of bamboo drifting in from the grove outside the window, but if I sniffed a little closer, I felt as though it was actually coming from the bamboo cup I held in my hands.
Only when I tilted my head back slightly and took a sip of the green tea inside the cup, letting the fresh sweetness burst in my mouth, did I finally confirm that it was indeed the scent of tea leaves dominating everything.
The old woman in the cloak sat quietly on a wooden chair, holding a calico cat of unknown origin in her arms. It lazily yawned there, occasionally licking its own fleshy paws.
That elusive, dreamlike feeling all melted away with the swallow of clear tea, turning into wisps of steam drifting up from the bamboo cup, mixing with the air and vanishing without a trace.
I set the cup back on the table. Most of the furniture in this wooden hut was made from long bamboo tubes lashed together with thick ropes. It gave off a kind of casual wildness unique to survival in the wilderness. I couldn’t help but wonder how the old woman, at her age, managed to live alone in such an environment for so long.
With a stomach full of questions I wanted to ask, in the end, I held myself back, carefully considering my words before I finally asked in a cautious tone.
“Grandmother, you know why I’ve come here, don’t you? How many answers can I get from you? And what kind of price will I have to pay?”
I didn’t want to cut straight to the point too bluntly, for fear of offending her. Before I figured out her temperament, it was best to negotiate with her using more tactful words.
If being straightforward could win people’s trust and get you everything you wanted, most people in this world would be blunt. But obviously, speaking too directly just makes you seem rude. Only in TV dramas or those wuxia novels would you find those old masters who’d say, “Wow, this youngster is decisive and forthright, suits my taste,” and then haphazardly pass down their peerless martial arts.
Maybe it was because I was in such a near-utopian place that my mind wandered, thinking about all sorts of random things. Fortunately, the old woman didn’t take long to respond.
“I can’t read minds. I merely sensed that someone under the protection of fate was seeking me, so we met. You may ask me three questions, as long as they aren’t too secretive. The price is, I will take away the special trait you carry.”
As she spoke, the old woman turned slightly, shifting from looking out the window to facing me directly. Even through the thick, black hood of her cloak, I could feel her cat-like sharp eyes staring straight at me. The chill in that gaze made me shudder all over.
The slouch in my back was instantly corrected by that sudden chill. I sat up straight, furrowed my brow, and thought hard for over ten seconds before finally asking my first question…
*****
“Umi, I don’t get it! Gu Fan, can you explain it to me?”
It had been a while since I’d last seen Gu Fan. We were sitting in a corner of a ramen shop, waiting for the waiter to bring us our delicious bowls of ramen.
For some reason, after coming back from his hometown, Gu Fan’s entire demeanor had changed quite a bit. Before, whenever I secretly glanced at him from the side or the front, there was always this hazy, elusive feeling, making my heart feel strangely empty. It made me want nothing more than for Gu Fan to hold me tightly, to fill up that emptiness with a real, solid embrace.
But now, looking at Gu Fan, that blur was gone. When he unintentionally grabbed my wrist, his body temperature felt hotter than ever before, so hot my heart skipped a beat. A jolt like electricity raced across my skin, leaving behind a tingling, happy numbness.
Mm, maybe it was simply because it had been too long since I’d absorbed Gu Fan’s energy? That’s why I now clung to his hands, waist, and lips like some lovesick stalker… Ah, I can’t keep thinking about this. We’re in public right now. I’ll let myself run wild when we get home.
Before I could gather my thoughts, my childhood friend sitting across from me suddenly tossed me a strange question…
“It’s fine, Zhi Nian. Just say whatever comes to mind; you don’t have to worry if the words you use are perfect or not. We’re not strangers, there’s no need to be so cautious.”
Gu Fan’s tone was as gentle as ever, his voice deep and comfortable, like the cello accompanying an orchestra in an opera house.
I wasn’t sure if that was the best way to describe it, since I had only ever been taken to an opera house once as a child by my father, back before he became a total scumbag, to listen to a foreign orchestra perform.
What left the deepest impression on me was their cellist. Every time the music began or during the interludes, even if I was drowsy in my seat, I’d immediately wake up and fix my gaze on the middle-aged man sitting at the edge of the stage.
I vaguely remembered his face being a bit pale, wrinkled. When he played, he never looked at the sheet music or at the audience to nod; instead, he just stared at a spot on the floor, and even the wrinkles on his face seemed to be filled with threads of sorrow.
That heavy sound of the cello, which pressed my wavering heart firmly back to earth, was the most moving moment of that trip to the opera house.
Savoring the feeling Gu Fan’s voice brought me, my gaze drifted to the green young man sitting across from me. The Adam’s apple at his throat—a distinctly male feature—stood out clearly.
The scent of ramen wafted in from all directions, making me unconsciously lick my lips. It wasn’t that I was greedy, of course, it was just that the ramen everyone else was eating smelled so good…
That’s what I tried to convince myself, but my eyes couldn’t tear themselves away from Gu Fan.
At this moment, I almost wished I were one of those high school students in anime with superpowers. Best of all, a power that could pause time—then Gu Fan would lose consciousness, unable to move or speak, just frozen in place for me to do whatever I wanted.
Of course, I wouldn’t go too far. I’d just sneak over to his side and give his Adam’s apple a gentle bite, feeling the natural movement of it vibrating as he spoke—for science, obviously! It’s not like I had any improper thoughts, nor would I do anything inappropriate.
I’m already being super restrained, okay? Hmph…
I gave my head a little shake, trying hard to erase those senseless images from my mind.
Maybe my pensive expression was too obvious, because Gu Fan didn’t interrupt me. While my thoughts wandered, he quietly got up and walked to the vending machine to pick out some drinks.
Ah… No, no, I need to hurry up and think about how to answer Gu Fan’s question from just now. I can’t possibly tell him that for the whole minute I was spacing out, all I could think about was how to push him down and stick to him, right?
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