Putting the butterfly matter out of her mind, He Sui’an stood beside the servants.
These people couldn’t help but glance at He Sui’an repeatedly. Anyone who saw a butterfly pattern on someone’s face would be unable to resist looking more closely.
He Sui’an felt their gazes but could only pretend she didn’t notice. She comforted herself internally, thinking they probably didn’t know the meaning of the butterfly pattern.
Qi Buyan leaned against the window, and He Sui’an quietly moved over to him.
She hid behind the young man.
He Sui’an still wasn’t used to being looked at by so many people. Qi Buyan was tall, and standing behind him, she could be completely shielded from view.
Qi Buyan turned to look at He Sui’an, and she pushed his face back.
The servants realized that He Sui’an had noticed their glances, so they lowered their heads and stopped looking, not wanting to make the princess’ guests uncomfortable. After completing their tasks, they left the room and closed the door.
As soon as they stepped outside, one impatient maid couldn’t wait to speak, “Did you see it? Miss He has a colorful butterfly on her face.”
“I saw it.”
“What a beautiful butterfly.”
One maid exclaimed, “Is it painted on? It’s so pretty. Chang’an has always been popular with huadian designs. I see those noble ladies always painting huadian on their faces. Since when did butterflies become the trend?”
Another maid replied, “I have to say, painting a butterfly on the face looks even better than huadian.” Their voices gradually faded away.
Inside the room, He Sui’an slowly walked out from behind Qi Buyan.
Qi Buyan gently stroked her face again.
In He Sui’an’s butterfly, there were also colors from his butterfly. She had a mix of black, purple, blue, pink, and other colors, interwoven into a beautiful pattern.
He Sui’an’s stomach growled loudly, and she awkwardly pressed her lips together, looking at the food on the table and swallowing repeatedly.
Qi Buyan sat down at the table with her and said calmly, “Eat.”
He Sui’an began to devour the food voraciously.
She was very hungry.
Although she thought she hadn’t exerted herself last night and it was Qi Buyan who had been active, she wondered why she felt so exhausted. She pondered this while eating.
She still remembered Qi Buyan’s injured hand and asked through a mouthful of food, “You still haven’t told me why you hurt your hand.”
He placed a piece of meat in her bowl and replied, “To feed the gu with blood.”
He Sui’an had heard Qi Buyan mention using blood to nourish gu before. Even though it was his personal matter, she still wanted to say, “Can you stop using your blood to feed the gu in the future? Can you use something else?”
“Okay,” he agreed.
Meanwhile, a few snakes attempting to crawl in from the window felt dejected. They realized they wouldn’t be able to drink Qi Buyan’s blood anymore. The problem was that his wounds weren’t entirely their doing; they drank very little of his blood.
The red snake found a corner and burrowed into a blanket. The silver snake tried to squeeze in with it but got glared at and slithered away.
The silver snake then took the blanket the black snake had finally found.
The black snake was on the verge of tears.
He Sui’an, unaware of the blanket war among the snakes, saw the black snake lying uncovered and tossed a piece of meat to it. The black snake was delighted and rubbed its head against her foot before eating.
Thankfully, there was a layer of shoe between them, so He Sui’an didn’t feel the sliminess. Otherwise, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t have reflexively kicked it away.
Qi Buyan watched the black snake calmly.
It took the meat and crawled away.
He Sui’an straightened up and continued eating her food. She was afraid of dirtying her cloak while eating, so she took it off and rolled up her sleeves.
Qi Buyan turned to look at He Sui’an’s hand. There was a faint red line in the middle of her wrist, a mark from the Love Gu planted in her. Unless the gu was removed, the mark would always be there.
His eyelashes fluttered slightly.
So, He Sui’an was currently in love with him because of the Love Gu.
The question of whether love born from the Love Gu was true love had appeared in the Miaojiang gu book—a small line of text, not written by the original author but by someone who had read the book.
As the gu book was passed down through generations, some people annotated it with their own thoughts.
Qi Buyan stopped looking at He Sui’an’s wrist. His grip on the jade chopsticks tightened. It didn’t matter whether the love was real or not; He Sui’an was in love with him now. They would not be separated, and she couldn’t leave him.
“Why aren’t you eating?” He Sui’an put a piece of meat into Qi Buyan’s bowl.
He continued eating, his expression calm.
They ate for about thirty minutes. He Sui’an, feeling full without realizing it, wanted to go out for a walk to aid digestion. Snow was different from rain; it didn’t soak through, and with enough clothing, she could go out into the courtyard anytime.
He Sui’an asked Qi Buyan if he wanted to join her. Even though he hadn’t eaten much, going out was better than staying cooped up in the room all day.
Qi Buyan took her hand and they pushed the door open to go outside.
The courtyard was covered in white snow. He Sui’an bent down to shake the snow off the flowers, revealing the deep red petals. After the flowers, she shook the grass.
Qi Buyan watched her play, not understanding what was so enjoyable about it. As he watched, he decided to try shaking a tree nearby. The snow came crashing down with a whoosh, leaving He Sui’an dumbfounded.
She was stunned as the snow engulfed her.
There was no way to avoid it.
All the snow from the tree fell on them. It didn’t hurt; it was like a snowball fight. He Sui’an brushed the snow off her shoulders, “Why didn’t you wait until we were out of the way before shaking the tree?”
Qi Buyan looked up at the tree and then brushed the snow off her hair, “I will next time.”
He Sui’an didn’t argue with him.
As she brushed off the rest of the snow from herself, she heard her parents calling her name again. Hesitantly, she looked up and saw her parents once more in the snow-filled sky. The scene seemed much more realistic.
They were still in the ancient city of Xi’an, anxiously showing her photo on their phones and asking people if they had seen her. Occasionally, they would loudly call her name, and the tourist area broadcast loud messages about her.
He Sui’an told herself it was an illusion, not to believe it, but everything felt too real.
Qi Buyan didn’t miss her expression.
He followed He Sui’an’s gaze to the sky, which held nothing but snow and clouds. She had the same look yesterday before running off without a backward glance.
Qi Buyan calmly held her hand, “He Sui’an, what are you seeing again?”
He Sui’an spoke honestly, “It’s my parents again. I know you can’t see them, but I want to say that these images are too real, like they are happening right now, projected right in front of me.”
He lifted his hand to cover her eyes, “It’s an illusion, don’t look.”
“Okay.”
Qi Buyan led He Sui’an back to the room, releasing her once they were inside. “Do these illusions appear when you stay in the snow for a while?”
He Sui’an nodded with a slight nasal tone, “Maybe. Yesterday, I saw my parents after being in the snow for a bit. It happened again today. I don’t understand why.”
He took the teapot hanging above the charcoal brazier and poured a cup of hot tea for her.
He Sui’an took the teacup, blew on it, sipped a few times, and began to feel warm. Still feeling cold, she shamelessly grabbed Qi Buyan’s hand to use as a natural heater.
Qi Buyan casually said, “Can you tell me in detail how you came to this world?”
“Sure.”
He Sui’an had previously told Qi Buyan where she came from, though not in detail. Since he wanted to know how she arrived in this world, she didn’t mind sharing.
Feeling like she had found someone to confide in, He Sui’an climbed back onto the bed, covered herself with the blanket, and motioned for him to sit beside her.
Qi Buyan sat next to her.
She pulled the blanket over him too, regardless of whether he was cold, and began recounting her fantastical experience. When she spoke of being hit on the head, her expression turned indignant.
Qi Buyan’s gaze never left her.
He lowered his eyes and then looked up, “You said you saw something when you fainted?”
He Sui’an tried to recall, “A blurry figure, maybe someone passing by. Oh, and the ancient city. I was visiting the ancient city at the time, but…”
Qi Buyan prompted, “But?”
“Nothing.” She suspected she had been too dazed to see clearly. The buildings looked like the ancient city, yet they didn’t, more like this world, filled with the essence of ancient life.
Modern renovations often strip historical sites of their authentic ancient charm.
These details weren’t important.
He Sui’an rested her hands on her knees, cupping her face in her palms, and blinked, “It was my first time seeing snow in June. It was beautiful.”
She still remembered the scene vividly.
“Just like the heavy snow we’ve had these past few days,” He Sui’an added. It was a rare spectacle to see such heavy snow when it wasn’t supposed to snow, a true marvel.
She didn’t notice Qi Buyan’s hand slowly clenching at his side.
Qi Buyan silently repeated the word “snow.”
When he first met He Sui’an, it was snowing; when she came to this world, it was snowing; and now, when she saw “illusions” of her parents, it was snowing.
Could it be that He Sui’an’s arrival was triggered by the unusual phenomenon of snow in June? Yesterday’s snowfall in April was also an extraordinary event. So, could she… Qi Buyan gazed at He Sui’an.
The blanket slipped from He Sui’an’s knees, and she pulled it back up. “I’m done talking.”
Qi Buyan suddenly got out of bed.
Instinctively, she grabbed him.
“Where are you going?” He Sui’an blurted out. Qi Buyan replied, “I want to get something from the wardrobe.”
He Sui’an released him.
Qi Buyan returned with an indigo silk ribbon. “Since you see illusions of your parents after looking at the snow for too long, you should cover your eyes when you go out until the snow stops.”
After a brief pause, he lowered his long eyelashes, concealing his gaze, and said slowly, “But you can only go out if I’m with you. You know that these illusions can be dangerous.”
She looked at the ribbon. “Is that really necessary? I just won’t go out often.”
Qi Buyan folded the ribbon neatly and placed it under the soft pillow. “It’s fine. If you don’t want to wear it, you can stay in this room during this period. Is that okay?”
Just stay in this room?
That’s not impossible. He Sui’an lay down on the bed. “Okay.”
Qi Buyan went out for a while. He Sui’an didn’t ask what he was going to do. Shortly after, she heard the sound of windows being sealed. She got up from the bed, very surprised, and looked towards the window.
The windows were sealed tightly.
Qi Buyan returned, closed the door, and sat down to He Sui’an’s right. “I was worried you might forget and open the window. Opening the window would let you see the snow.”
He kissed the butterfly on her cheek that hadn’t faded yet. “You must not see the snow.”