Zhou Shi and Fu Wenxiao stood up simultaneously.
Because he rose too quickly, Fu Wenxiao’s body couldn’t handle it and swayed slightly, grabbing the table just in time for support.
“Xiao Ge’er!” Zhou Shi was flustered. “Don’t move, stay seated, I’ll go and check.”
Fu Wenxiao gave a faint hum and said, “Mother, go quickly, she’s drunk.”
There’s no reasoning with someone who’s drunk; they might even do incomprehensible things. That would be fine under ordinary circumstances, but he was worried about Yu Li doing something dangerous because drunk people often don’t realize the danger.
Zhou Shi hastily responded, lifted her skirt, and ran outside.
Fu Wenxiao held onto the table for support, standing there for a moment until he felt steadier. Then he too stepped toward the door.
The two children were a bit confused, holding mooncakes in their hands. They stared blankly at the two adults, then placed the mooncakes on the table and ran over to grab Fu Wenxiao’s hand.
“Little Uncle, we’ll help you!”
Fu Wenxiao was anxious but didn’t refuse the children. Together, they headed toward the doorway.
Zhou Shi opened the door and peeked outside.
The moonlight was bright and clear, bathing the peaceful and tranquil Qingshi Village in a serene glow. The atmosphere was harmonious, with faint voices from distant neighbors and the laughter of children playing tag.
Zhou Shi glanced around but didn’t see any sign of Yu Li.
Her heart sank with worry. She quickly stepped out of the house, looking around and calling out Yu Li’s name.
Not long after, Fu Wenxiao reached the doorway.
He leaned against the doorframe with one hand to ease his discomfort and saw Zhou Shi anxiously searching in all directions. Still, Yu Li’s figure was nowhere in sight.
He sighed inwardly. Her speed was truly impressive.
When Zhou Shi couldn’t find Yu Li nearby, her worry deepened. She turned to Fu Wenxiao at the door and said, “Xiao Ge’er, I can’t see Li Niang anywhere. I don’t know where she went—what should we do?”
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t be so anxious, but right now, Yu Li was drunk. And there was a river in Qingshi Village. What if she accidentally fell into the water?
The more she thought about it, the more worried she became, unsure what to do.
Fu Wenxiao was about to speak when his expression suddenly froze.
He slowly stepped out of the Fu family’s gate and looked toward a nearby tree. There was someone sitting in it.
Under the moonlight, her figure almost blended with the tree itself. If one didn’t look closely, they might not notice her at all.
Zhou Shi followed his gaze and quickly spotted Yu Li as well.
She was stunned. “How did Li Niang climb up there?”
The tree was quite tall, about two zhang (roughly six meters), and the branches at the top were thin. How was she sitting up there without breaking the branches and falling? Could it be because she was so slim?
Fu Wenxiao slowly walked to the base of the tree, looking up at the person sitting at the top.
He gazed at her for a long time before speaking gently, “Li Niang, can you come down?”
The person sitting in the tree was a beat slow in reacting. She lowered her head to look at him.
He stood under the moonlight, dressed in a plain blue robe. His posture was upright, exuding the elegance of a gentleman as refined as jade, combined with the cool purity of snow on a lonely mountain. He seemed like a noble young master of unparalleled grace, stepping through the moonlit night, his warm smile softening even the moonlight around him.
Unfortunately, a drunk person couldn’t appreciate such a beautiful man.
She tilted her head and looked at him for a while, as if confirming his identity, then said, “No!”
Fu Wenxiao: “…”
Fu Wenxiao chuckled helplessly. He knew there was no reasoning with a drunk person, so he patiently asked, “What are you doing up there?”
Zhou Shi didn’t dare make a sound, afraid of startling the person and causing her to fall.
She held the two children’s hands and retreated to the doorway, leaving Fu Wenxiao to negotiate with the drunkard in the tree, hoping he could quickly convince her to come down.
The tree was so tall—if she fell, she’d definitely get hurt.
“Enjoying the scenery,” Yu Li answered honestly. “It’s high up here, and you can see very far.”
Fu Wenxiao was slightly surprised. “Is the scenery beautiful?”
Yu Li nodded. “It’s beautiful!”
A faint smile tugged at his lips as Fu Wenxiao continued, “Li Niang, I’d like to see it too.”
Yu Li glanced at him again, then shook her head disdainfully. “No way. You’re too weak. You can’t climb up here.”
Fu Wenxiao: “….”
Ever since meeting this girl named Yu Li, Fu Wenxiao had often found himself at a loss for words. His usual eloquence was completely useless with her.
He took a deep breath and played his trump card. “Li Niang, your mooncake isn’t finished yet. If you don’t eat it, someone else will.”
Sure enough, her expression shifted slightly, as if she were hesitating.
Fu Wenxiao pressed on, “And your sweet cake, your peaches, your…”
Before he could finish, someone leapt down from the tree, landing lightly in front of him.
Zhou Shi gasped in shock, nearly frightened out of her wits.
The two children, unaware of the danger, had their eyes shining brightly, their little mouths exclaiming in awe.
“Auntie can fly! So amazing!”
After jumping down from the tree, Yu Li looked at Fu Wenxiao with some concern. “You’re not allowed to eat my mooncake.”
“I won’t eat it!” Fu Wenxiao replied good-naturedly.
Yu Li nodded in satisfaction, then grabbed his hand and started walking back toward the house. Fu Wenxiao, completely unprepared, stumbled slightly and almost fell. She quickly reached out to steady him by holding his waist.
“Fu Wenxiao, you’re so weak!” she muttered. “You can’t even walk properly…”
Fu Wenxiao closed his eyes briefly. His voice remained gentle as he sincerely apologized, “I’m sorry.”
Yu Li looked at him in confusion. “Why are you apologizing? Your body is weak, not because you want it to be. Something destroyed the vitality inside you, trying to kill you, isn’t that right?”
Fu Wenxiao’s pupils trembled slightly, but he didn’t reply.
“You’re really pitiful,” Yu Li said calmly. It wasn’t sympathy, just a simple statement of fact.
He couldn’t even leave his home, trapped in a small room, unable to eat well or sleep peacefully, silently waiting for death. Wasn’t that pitiful?
Fu Wenxiao still didn’t respond.
At this moment, she said again, “But you will get better. I will make sure you recover.”
Fu Wenxiao finally turned to look at her. Under the moonlight, he revealed a charming smile and said, “Mm, I believe you!”
She seemed very satisfied. “You should believe me!”
Zhou Shi watched as Yu Li led Fu Wenxiao back, even deliberately slowing her pace to match his. She couldn’t stop smiling.
Being a considerate person, Zhou Shi quickly took the two children back into the house, leaving them alone.
When Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao returned to the courtyard and sat down again, Zhou Shi had already brought the children to their room.
Although the moon-viewing wasn’t over yet, what was the point of continuing? It was better to give them some space and let these two young ones nurture some feelings.
With such a round full moon on the fifteenth night, the atmosphere was so perfect that it would naturally foster emotions between a young man and woman.
Yu Li picked up a mooncake, took a bite, and belatedly realized something. She asked sluggishly, “Where did Mother, Yanhui, and Yansheng go?”
“They’ve gone to their rooms to rest,” Fu Wenxiao replied.
Yu Li made a sound of acknowledgment and said, “Then everything on the table is mine now.”
Fu Wenxiao chuckled softly, his voice gentle. “Mm, it’s all yours.”
Drunk people are usually unreasonable, but Yu Li didn’t seem drunk at all. Not only was she reasonable, but she also looked completely clear-headed.
If it weren’t for her flushed cheeks under the moonlight, he would have truly thought she wasn’t drunk.
Perhaps being drunk didn’t affect her logic or thinking; it merely caused her to do things out of the ordinary. As long as it wasn’t dangerous for her, it didn’t matter.
Yu Li ate the mooncakes one bite at a time, and the ones on the table disappeared at an astonishing speed.
Even though he had witnessed her appetite before, Fu Wenxiao was still a bit concerned. He said, “Li Niang, don’t eat too much, you’ll hurt your stomach.”
“I won’t!” Yu Li replied seriously. “I gave you my energy twice today, so I’ve been hungry this whole time.”
Using her abilities consumed a lot of physical and mental energy, and she could only recover it through food.
There was no other way. The magnetic field of this world was normal, and there was no special magnetic field to help her cultivate her abilities. She could only replenish them through eating.
Fu Wenxiao was momentarily stunned, realizing that she had revealed her greatest secret to him.
So, the thing that could heal his body was called an ability (异能).
He didn’t know what an ability was, but judging from the term, he assumed it was some sort of energy—and it was something intrinsic to her, something only she possessed.
There must be significant limitations to its use. Otherwise, she wouldn’t need to eat so much.
It also wasn’t all-powerful. From the past two days, he could tell that she could only transfer her ability to him twice a day.
Watching her eat like a little squirrel, he found her both adorable and worrisome.
“Li Niang, don’t reveal anything about your ability to others in the future,” he said. He was worried that if she got drunk one day, she might accidentally let this secret slip.
He never underestimated the darkness and ugliness of human nature. He didn’t want her to become a target, persecuted by others.
Yu Li tilted her head and looked at him, replying matter-of-factly, “Of course, I won’t tell others. I’m not stupid!”
Fu Wenxiao’s heart gave a faint thump. His face began to heat up, and he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curving upward.
So, she only told him?
“I’m only telling you.” She picked up a peach, gnawing on it as she spoke. “You’re not ‘others.’”
Fu Wenxiao lightly touched his chest, staring at her in a daze. He had never realized how wonderful language could be, that someone could say so many sweet words that made his heart feel as if it were blooming.
Yu Li continued, “You’re so weak, you definitely couldn’t beat me! Plus, your life was saved by me, so you have to repay me by earning money for me to spend.”
Fu Wenxiao: “….”
She thought he was so weak that even if she let him know about her abilities, it wouldn’t matter because he wouldn’t be a threat to her.
She saved his life, so he had to earn money for her to spend, help her adapt to this world, and therefore, it was fine to tell him.
Fu Wenxiao was silent for a moment, then smiled. His tone was gentle as he said, “Mm, my life was saved by you. From now on, I’ll listen to you.”
It didn’t matter, because the person she chose was him.
In this world, he was the one closest to her.
Yu Li ate all the food on the table.
Then, she stood up and walked toward the courtyard wall.
Fu Wenxiao’s eyelid twitched. Was she planning to climb the wall again? He quickly called out, “Li Niang, where are you going?”
Yu Li stopped, turned her head, and said, “I’m full. I’m going to do something.”
“What are you going to do?” Fu Wenxiao propped himself up on the table and walked toward her.
Yu Li stood there quietly, waiting for him to approach. Then she said, “I won’t tell you now. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
Fu Wenxiao: “…”
He confirmed once again that she was quite drunk.
He sighed, knowing that it was impossible to stop a drunken person with her level of strength. He could only say, “Li Niang, don’t do anything dangerous, and stay safe.”
“There’s no danger!” Yu Li replied.
“I mean, stay away from the water, don’t fall in.” After a moment, he added, “And don’t hurt yourself either.”
Yu Li gave a sound of acknowledgment, then climbed over the wall and left.
Fu Wenxiao: “….” Why climb the wall? You could just use the door.
Standing in the moonlight, Fu Wenxiao looked at the courtyard wall.
The Fu family’s courtyard wall was built quite high, about one zhang (roughly three meters). Normal people wouldn’t be able to climb over it. When they built the house, they made the wall so tall mainly due to the family’s unique circumstances—to prevent thieves or ill-intentioned individuals from climbing in.
But to her, the wall seemed like nothing. She climbed over it effortlessly.
After a moment, Fu Wenxiao chuckled.
He felt that tonight’s Mid-Autumn Festival was probably the most peculiar festival he had ever experienced in his life—one he would never forget.
It was quite nice.
“Xiao Ge’er.”
Zhou Shi came out of the house and saw Fu Wenxiao standing alone in the courtyard. She asked, “Where’s Li Niang?”
Fu Wenxiao replied, “She left.”
“What?” Zhou Shi was stunned for a moment, then asked worriedly, “She left again? Did she go climb a tree?”
Fu Wenxiao shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know.