(……Yesterday……?)
Yun Hao was momentarily stunned. Hadn’t he come yesterday? Why was his junior sister saying he hadn’t? He forced a stiff smile.
“I came yesterday, didn’t I? I even wore the clothes you sewed for me.”
“Hmph～ Still lying. As expected, Senior Brother finds me troublesome and doesn’t want to come anymore.”
Lin Shengyu’s girlish temper seemed to have surfaced. She deliberately spoke in a sarcastic tone. She had waited so bitterly yesterday. Just the day before, she had tried on the new clothes for him, yet he had not come yesterday at all.
This was highly unusual. Ever since Senior Brother had promised her two years ago, he had returned to see her every single day. But yesterday she had waited from morning until night, and he had never appeared.
It made her extremely uneasy. She worried that mentioning the marriage agreement the day before had annoyed him, so he no longer wanted to come.
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. She had secretly sniffled several times, and even last night she had slept restlessly.
Now that Senior Brother had finally come, he acted as if nothing had happened. He did not explain why he had not come yesterday and even claimed he had slept until dawn.
This made her feel both embarrassed and angry. The little girl’s temper she had buried deep inside resurfaced, and all her usual dignified ladylike behavior was thrown to the back of her mind.
(Lying!!!!)
The speaker had meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Lin Shengyu’s words struck heavily against the hollow space in Yun Hao’s chest—lying……
He had not lied. He really had not lied!
Tears once again glistened in his eyes. The youth spoke with rare urgency, his voice heavy for the first time.
“Junior Sister! Senior Brother did not lie! Senior Brother really did come yesterday!”
Yun Hao grew incoherent. His hands flailed helplessly. The calm expression he had barely managed to maintain instantly collapsed. His handsome face was filled with uncontainable sorrow and panic as he tried to make his junior sister believe him.
He would never lie…… Please believe him.
……
The youth’s appearance left Lin Shengyu momentarily stunned. She did not know what to say either and could only nod hurriedly.
“I…… I understand. I was just teasing you earlier. Senior Brother, let’s go inside first.”
With that, she led Yun Hao into the cave abode. Along the way, Lin Shengyu deliberately slowed her pace, secretly observing the youth’s expression.
When they first met, she had been too busy acting spoiled to notice that something was wrong with him now.
Senior Brother’s expression was somewhat dazed. His originally handsome face occasionally flashed with pain. Although he was trying his best to hide it, that sorrowful emotion still seeped out through his eyes.
Lin Shengyu had never seen Senior Brother look so lost and absent-minded before. An inexplicable ache rose in her heart. Had something happened to him?
She wanted to ask, but the grief that kept surfacing on the youth’s face made her hesitate. Asking him what had happened right now would only make him suffer more. It would be better not to ask.
She would wait until Senior Brother was ready to tell her himself. For now, she would pretend not to know and simply take good care of him.
She examined him more carefully. Earlier, she had been too rough and had not noticed—half of Senior Brother’s cheek was slightly swollen and red. Lin Shengyu’s heart trembled faintly. That was clearly not from a fall. Someone had hit him.
Her hands clenched tightly, but she still held herself back.
The two of them walked slowly. Lin Shengyu tried to start a conversation. Walking ahead without turning back, she smiled and said,
“Senior Brother, guess what I found in the corner of Grandfather’s bamboo house?”
“……What is it?”
Yun Hao was still somewhat immersed in his memories and could not immediately respond to Lin Shengyu’s words. His mind was muddled. He wanted to climb out of the mire of pain, but he had no strength left.
Lin Shengyu saw how forced his reply was and felt a sharp pain in her heart. Still, she pretended not to notice and answered with a smile.
“Senior Brother, you’re so dumb. You won’t even guess.”
“It’s peach blossoms. I used to like peach blossoms, so Grandfather collected a lot and preserved them with spiritual energy. After you left yesterday, I dug them out.”
She chattered on like she was making casual conversation, talking about making peach blossom wine and peach blossom porridge, saying they would definitely taste wonderful.
But in truth, Lin Shengyu was lying. She had deceived Yun Hao.
There were indeed peach blossoms inside the cave abode now, but they had not been left behind by Lin Xian. Last spring, she had secretly picked an entire basket from the peach forest within the sect and brought them back.
She wanted to make a large jar of peach blossom wine. Because the hairpin Senior Brother had given her was a peach blossom hairpin, she felt that he liked peach blossoms.
On their wedding day, she and Senior Brother would exchange wine cups and drink the nuptial wine. Then, on the wedding bed, she would give herself to him completely. From then on, they would live their carefree days together.
Later, they would have a child. In front of Grandfather’s grave, they would let him see his great-grandson, and let her parents see their little grandson.
Then they would raise their children with peace of mind. When the time was right, they would teach them the path of cultivation. From then on, they would live as hidden cultivators, free from worldly affairs.
She did not ask for anything else. As long as she had these things, she would be content.
……
Watching his chattering junior sister, Yun Hao gradually returned to his senses. He blamed himself inwardly. What on earth was he doing? He had come to accompany her, yet he kept sinking into his own sorrow.
He took a deep breath and put on his mask again. The youth’s voice suddenly became bright and warm, though it still felt like something was missing.
“Senior Brother is just too dumb. I couldn’t even guess that.”
“That’s right. Senior Brother is a big dummy…… a big dummy who doesn’t know anything……”
Lin Shengyu responded to his self-mockery, but her voice gradually grew smaller…… In her heart, she truly felt that Senior Brother was a big dummy who knew nothing……
After saying this, she slowly reduced her speed until Yun Hao walked up beside her.
“……What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
Yun Hao looked at his suddenly halted junior sister, his expression tense and unnatural, his movements stiff.
“……Dummy……”
Lin Shengyu pouted cutely and turned her little face away, refusing to look at him. Her pink earlobes were flushed red. Her small hand gently extended toward a place where Yun Hao could easily reach it.
Her voice was soft, carrying a trace of shyness.
“……Don’t make me take the initiative every time……”
Yun Hao looked at his junior sister, who had turned her face away. His heart gave a violent lurch. He hesitated. Was it really appropriate to hold her hand right now? He……
……
In the end, the youth gently took his junior sister’s small hand. He did not grip it tightly, but held it loosely.
After that, he walked forward in silence.
Feeling that Senior Brother’s gentlemanly grip had remained unchanged after two years, Lin Shengyu’s mood sank slightly. Sometimes she really doubted her own charm—perhaps she was not good-looking enough to interest him.
But whenever she looked at her own reflection, she was undeniably first-rate in appearance.
She came back to her senses and quietly shook her head, refusing to dwell on it. She would stay by Senior Brother’s side. No matter how long it took to walk into his heart, she was willing to wait—because she…… loved Yun Hao.
Holding Lin Shengyu’s hand, Yun Hao slowly walked over to the long chair that had already been prepared. He intended to settle his junior sister down first, but Lin Shengyu gently shook her head and refused.
With a tender expression, she lightly pressed Yun Hao onto the bamboo chair. Then a pair of slender hands gently caressed the slightly swollen half of his face. She spoke softly,
“It’s just a little injury. Don’t touch it. It’ll make me feel bad.”
She blew on it gently. The force was light, and Yun Hao even felt a slight ticklish sensation.
Feeling his junior sister’s gentle breath, the youth’s nose suddenly turned sour for some reason. He suppressed his emotions with all his might, trying not to let anything show.
But he did not know that, in the girl’s eyes, this appearance of his was nothing more than self-deception. For two years, Lin Shengyu had regarded Senior Brother as her future husband. Observing his expressions had long since become second nature to her.
(Something really did happen to Senior Brother……)
She could tell, but she did not say it out loud. Since the youth did not want her to know, she would pretend not to. Everything would go according to his wishes.
Yun Hao felt he had regained control of his emotions. He steadied himself and smiled at his junior sister, who was still blowing on his face.
“No need to blow on it. It’s just a minor external injury. It’s nothing.”
This time, however, Lin Shengyu did not listen to him. She rolled her eyes at him, then silently walked into Lin Xian’s bamboo house.
A moment later, she came out carrying a white porcelain medicine mortar. She took out a medicinal pill from her clothes and carefully ground it.
“Senior Brother, you never take care of yourself. When you’re old, you’ll definitely suffer a lot.”
As she spoke, she gently applied the medicine to Yun Hao.
“Back when you trained with Grandfather, it was the same. You always pushed yourself until you were exhausted and came back looking completely wretched. You only knew how to work hard yourself and never realized that someone was worrying about you.”
Listening to his junior sister’s “scolding,” Yun Hao’s heart grew even more bitter. His junior sister was always like this—constantly caring for him. No matter how wretched he looked, she never found him bothersome……
But he had never been this good to her.
His nose stung, and tears gradually welled up in his eyes. Yun Hao held them back with all his strength. He did not want his junior sister to worry about him.
“……Junior Sister is right. Senior Brother was inconsiderate.”
Lin Shengyu did not reply. She continued applying the medicine to Yun Hao. His face was very handsome. If it were damaged, it would be such a pity. Most of all, it hurt her heart.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.