Just two days before New Year’s Eve, Xie Tao specially returned to Qizhen.
Fu Miaolan was wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket, making her look as if she had gained a lot of weight.
Everything in the small town seemed exactly as she left it, unchanged.
Only, red lanterns were hung at every street corner, and the town gradually saw the return of those who went out to work, adding a bit more festive atmosphere than usual.
The early morning was shrouded in mist, forming blurred shadows on the bridge. The branches, devoid of their soft green, reflected in the water under the bridge, pushing out in layers, causing ripples to gently spread.
Xie Tao and Aunt Fu, along with her daughter Fu Hua, ate breakfast at a breakfast shop at the head of the bridge.
It had been a long time since she last ate the cold noodles here.
Today, she specially ordered a large bowl.
“Tao Tao, how are you doing in Nan City? Is your study stressful?” Fu Miaolan asked while drinking porridge.
“I’m doing quite well, Aunt Fu.”
Xie Tao held the bowl and smiled at her, “I can keep up with my studies, don’t worry.”
Fu Miaolan pushed a small bowl of porridge towards her, then sized up Xie Tao again. Seeing that she didn’t appear to have lost weight and her complexion was fair and rosy, she felt much more at ease.
“Living on your own, don’t neglect yourself. If you have any difficulties, tell Aunt Fu. Don’t bear it alone, understand?” Fu Miaolan touched Xie Tao’s head with a look of both love and pity.
Xie Tao replied, “I know, Aunt Fu.”
In the afternoon, Fu Miaolan went out to prepare for the New Year’s shopping, leaving Xie Tao and Fu Hua to watch the store.
Xie Tao had been making crispy heart candies here for over a year. Upon her return, she was still familiar with the placement of everything.
After making a batch of peanut-flavored crispy heart candies, Xie Tao packed a box for herself and fed a few pieces to Fu Hua, the rest were displayed in a glass cabinet with warm yellow lamps.
In a short while, many regular customers of the Fu family’s cake shop came.
Each of them greeted Xie Tao with a smile upon seeing her return, some even gave her the pastries they had just bought.
Xie Tao couldn’t refuse and could only accept them with a smile.
“Sister Tao Tao, can I eat it?” Fu Hua looked eagerly at the pastry wrapped in kraft paper in her hands, her eyes filled with innocence.
Although she was already fifteen, because she had suffered brain damage when she was young, she always had the heart of a child.
Xie Tao untied the string outside, unfolded the kraft paper, and handed the chestnut osmanthus cake to her, “Eat it, Hua’er.”
Fu Hua bit into the pastry, crumbs sticking to her mouth, looking up at her with a smile.
Xie Tao did her homework for a while, then read the book “Unpolished Jade” she brought from Wei Yun.
Later, Fu Miaolan finally returned, carrying bags big and small.
Xie Tao hurried over to help her with the items.
“What about you, not spending New Year’s Eve here, where will you go?” Fu Miaolan had heard her mention in the morning that she couldn’t spend this year’s New Year’s Eve here. Now, as they brought the items to the backyard, it seemed she suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, “Tao Tao, are you going home for the New Year?”
She thought Xie Tao had finally figured it out.
Xie Tao shook her head, “No, Aunt Fu.”
Upon hearing this, Fu Miaolan asked, “Then where are you going?”
“Tao Tao, don’t wander around during the New Year, be careful of bad people,” she advised with concern.
Xie Tao smiled with her lips pursed and said, “I… am going to a friend’s place, Aunt Fu, don’t worry.”
After considering it, she decided not to tell Aunt Fu about Wei Yun just yet; she wanted to wait a bit longer.
At dusk, Fu Hua took Xie Tao’s hand, wanting Xie Tao to go out and play with her.
Xie Tao told Fu Miaolan and then took Fu Hua out.
In such cold weather and around mealtime, there weren’t many people walking around the small town.
Until her phone suddenly started ringing.
It was Wei Yun.
Xie Tao glanced at Fu Hua, who was squatting not far away playing with a dog, and pressed the answer button.
The moment the video call connected, Xie Tao saw Wei Yun’s figure on the phone screen.
“Where is this?”
Seeing the scenery moving behind her, different from the high-rise buildings of Nan City, Wei Yun asked.
“It’s Qizhen!”
Xie Tao said, and then switched the camera to show him the surrounding scenery.
The mottled walls with peeling white paint, the faded wooden arches, and the upturned eaves tied with copper bells… Occasionally, the dim shadows of trees beside the moat passed by, and the stone arch bridge over the river could be seen in the distance.
Xie Tao suddenly stopped and stood there.
Beneath her feet were uneven bluestone pavements.
Wei Yun looked at the rows of carved wooden doors and windows stretching into the distance, becoming blurry in the setting sun’s afterglow. The red lanterns at the corners of the eaves swayed with the wind, and the setting sun fell on this peaceful bluestone street, with people coming and going in twos and threes.
He suddenly heard her say, “It seems like this is where I found the phoenix tail scale.”
After listening to what Sheng Yueqi had said, Xie Tao also began to think about when exactly the phoenix tail scale had ended up in her phone.
After much thought, it could only have been when she was riding her bike to the station.
When she fell off her bike, she clearly saw a mysterious light screen and something seemed to fly out, scratching her eyelid.
Xie Tao originally thought that the light screen was just a momentary illusion.
But since being with Wei Yun, since she started to know about the existence of two different time-spaces, she realized that the light screen she saw before might not have been an illusion.
Though, she hadn’t managed to see clearly what the thing that scratched her eyelid looked like.
Xie Tao turned the camera back to herself, still eating candy, her voice a bit muffled, “This is where I lived before returning to Nan City.”
Before Wei Yun could speak, another head suddenly appeared on the screen.
It was a young girl who still looked tender and youthful.
“Wow…”
Upon seeing Wei Yun on Xie Tao’s phone screen, Fu Hua’s eyes widened a bit, pointing at the screen, looking at Xie Tao, “This brother is so handsome!”
Xie Tao was startled by Fu Hua, who suddenly leaned in close.
She accidentally swallowed the candy in her mouth, coughed several times while patting her chest, and the corners of her eyes were faintly moist.
In such a quiet street corner, her coughing sounded particularly clear.
Wei Yun frowned.
“You…”
He was about to say something when he heard Wei Jing’s voice coming from outside.
“My lord, someone from the palace has come, saying that His Majesty has requested your presence.”
Upon hearing this, Wei Yun’s originally somewhat softened eyebrows suddenly became more distant, “I understand.”
Xie Tao heard this too and couldn’t help but say, “It’s almost dark, and your emperor is still asking you to work overtime…”
Using the term “overtime” seemed surprisingly apt.
When Wei Yun looked at her through the screen, there was a trace of a smile in his eyes, “I’ll be back soon.”
“Go ahead!” Xie Tao waved at the phone screen.
After hanging up the video call and as the sky grew darker, Xie Tao walked back with Fu Hua.
By the time they returned, Fu Miaolan had already prepared dinner.
After dinner, Xie Tao played with Fu Hua for a while.
She kept waiting for Wei Yun, but even after 10 p.m., after she had washed up and lay down in Fu Hua’s bed, she still hadn’t received any message from him.
She didn’t know when, but she fell asleep in a daze.
Wei Yun returned under the stars, shaking off the fine snow from his body, a chill surrounding him.
After bathing in the bathroom, he finally returned to the main courtyard.
It was late at night by then, and Wei Yun didn’t want to disturb Xie Tao, but after lying on the bed for a while, he eventually got out of bed.
Pouring gold powder into the incense burner on the table, the moment the firestarter ignited the gold powder, a thick fog emanated from the carved gaps of the incense burner, swirling out like clouds rolling above the ninth heaven, layer upon layer, wafting and dispersing.
As the girl’s figure gradually became visible, Wei Yun promptly supported her.
She was wearing a fluffy, warm orange long-sleeve nightgown that reached just to her knees, thus her straight, slender legs, even her feet, were exposed in front of him.
She was still asleep, showing no signs of waking up.
Wei Yun averted his gaze, his jaw slightly lifted, as if unsure where to rest his eyes for the moment.
Before he returned, Wei Bo had already lit charcoal fire in the room, so it was not cold inside.
Wei Yun gently picked her up, placed her on the bed, pulled over the brocade quilt, and wrapped her up tightly.
Xie Tao’s mouth was slightly open, as if she was sleeping deeply. She unconsciously turned her face to one side, scratched her nose with her hand, and her breathing gradually became steady again.
Wei Yun sat on the edge of the bed, watching her unconscious small movements in her sleep, and actually watched for a long time.
After a while, he suddenly stretched out his hand, his fingers gently caressing her cheek.
In that instant, Xie Tao’s brows wrinkled slightly, but she rubbed her face against his palm.
For some reason, the corners of Wei Yun’s lips slightly curved, and his pupils, soaked in the light of the lamp, seemed to gain a few more degrees of warmth.
Only at this moment, when he quietly looked at her, did he relax a bit, and even his eyebrows and eyes inexplicably softened.
Until her lips unconsciously touched his palm, Wei Yun suddenly withdrew his hand and stood up. As he turned around, he bumped into a small table beside him, causing a few books and the lid of a teacup to fall down, making a clear sound.
When he turned his head, he met a pair of blurry eyes.
Xie Tao also took a while to react, even yawning, before she realized where she was.
The young master in front of her, dressed in a snow-white robe and with his long hair draped loosely, stood there like a statue that could not move.
“Wei Yun?”
When Xie Tao called him at this moment, her voice still carried a bit of sleepiness, “I told you, we need to use the gold powder sparingly, it’s so late, why did you ask me to come here?”
Her voice, still familiar and soft in his ears.
Wei Yun’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, but before he could speak, he heard her yawn again and ask him, “Aren’t you tired?”
Then, he saw the girl on the bed shrink inward, lift a corner of the blanket, and look at him again.
Standing there, Wei Yun’s eyelashes trembled slightly, “It’s not right…”
But before he could finish speaking, he saw Xie Tao had already lifted the blanket and ran over to him barefoot, pulling at his sleeve.
The floor was covered with only a thin carpet, which could hardly keep out the cold from the ground.
Seeing her running over barefoot, Wei Yun’s eyebrows instantly furrowed, almost without thinking, he directly picked her up.
Xie Tao reflexively hooked her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
Her face turned red first, but she had no intention of letting go.
“The floor is cold.”
Wei Yun’s eyes remained straight ahead, not looking at her.
Until he brought Xie Tao back to the side of the bed, originally intending to put her down, but she was clinging to his neck, showing no intention of getting down.
“Get down,” Wei Yun said, somewhat helplessly.
“I won’t.”
Xie Tao buried her head in his chest.
“Xie Tao.” He called her name but ultimately couldn’t bear to speak harshly.
Eventually, Xie Tao obediently let go of him.
But as Wei Yun bent down to cover her with the blanket, she looked up at him with drooping eyes, her mind unable to think of anything in time, and she kissed him on the lips.
His lips were as red as vermilion, soft, and even carried a slightly cool temperature.
In that moment, Wei Yun’s pupils dilated as if his heart had abruptly stopped for an instant.
It was still a brief touch, ending in a moment.
Xie Tao’s cheeks were already flushed, but through her days of interaction with Wei Yun, she found that Wei Yun was even shyer than herself, which made her bolder than before.
Especially now, when she saw his ears almost dripping blood with redness.
Originally shy, she suddenly smiled, stretched out both hands, and suddenly pinched his earlobes.
Wei Yun appeared particularly embarrassed at this moment. Usually unremarkable and calm, his eyes, which were always serene, now fluttered with panic. Finally, when she pinched his earlobes, he seemed somewhat infuriated, pressing one hand on her shoulder and pinching her cheek with the other.
Even then, he was careful not to pinch her too hard, fearing it might hurt her.
“How could you…”
He started to speak but then stopped abruptly.
She had been like this recently, kissing and hugging him repeatedly.
Sometimes, while he was reading, she would hide in the inner room eating pastries, her mouth full of crumbs, and then leap onto him to kiss his cheek before covering her face and giggling into his chest.
Other times, while he was drinking tea, she would be doing homework at the table. Turning around to see him leisurely reading and drinking tea, she would lean in to kiss him quickly and then run away.
This often made Wei Yun’s ears incredibly warm and red.
She was like a child fond of playing pranks, used to his cold and calm demeanor, unable to resist testing him again and again upon discovering the secret of his ears.
“Can’t I kiss you?” Xie Tao’s voice was muffled, half her face hidden under the blanket.
Wei Yun met her dewy, almond-shaped eyes and couldn’t utter a simple “no” for a long time.
Suddenly turning his head and lowering his gaze, his eyelashes trembled noticeably, and he coughed lightly, “Go to sleep.”
He was about to stand up but she grabbed his wrist.
“Where are you going?” Xie Tao looked at him.
Wei Yun glanced at her then turned his face away, “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
With that, he went to the other side, opposite the bed, and lay down on the couch.
“But you don’t have a blanket…”
Xie Tao leaned over the bed, looking at Wei Yun lying on the couch opposite.
“I’m not cold,” Wei Yun said, his eyes closed.
Xie Tao watched him for a moment, then got out of bed and walked to a cabinet on the other side.
“Xie Tao.”
Wei Yun opened his eyes just in time to see her barefoot on the ground, his voice somewhat cold.
Xie Tao pulled out a brocade quilt from inside, ran to Wei Yun, threw the quilt over him, and then covered him up.
Just as he had covered her with a blanket, she wrapped him up tightly, like a silkworm in a cocoon.
And before Wei Yun could say anything, she suddenly hugged him through the blanket.
Her cheek was pressed against his.
His earlobes turned red again in embarrassment, her breath was so close, he heard her giggling foolishly by his ear.
She said, “Good night, Wei Yun.”
Then she turned and ran to the bed on the other side, wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, peered over the edge of the bed at him, and when she saw him looking at her, her cheeks flushed red, and she turned and curled up on the inside of the bed.
At this moment, in this night,
Wei Yun thought he could hear his own heartbeat.
Beat after beat, seemingly a bit out of rhythm.
But as he looked at her back on the opposite bed, the moonlight-like clarity in his eyes, he couldn’t help but slightly curl the corners of his lips.
Such a jade-like face, in the half-light and half-dark, the smile at the corners of his eyes and brows grew thicker, making him seem less like the cold ice and sharp swords, adding softness and brilliance.
