After a while, the woman outside the bookshelf panted lightly, resting her chin on the man’s shoulder. Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes seductive, her lips glistening, and her fingers occasionally playing with his belt.
The man smiled and brushed the woman’s hair, asking her what she had decided.
They were the ones summoned to the Jingsi Library to organize books. It was here that they developed feelings for each other and dreamed of running away together.
But running away was easier said than done; they needed a thorough plan. Naturally, the woman wanted to leave Fengling Town with the man. If she stayed any longer, her gambling-addicted father might sell her to a brothel.
They had to leave.
The most important thing was to have money.
They set their sights on the library owner. He was a mute, lived alone, had no servants, and ran an unprofitable library, yet he never lacked food or clothing.
If they killed the library owner and took all his possessions, they could surely live well in the future.
He Sui’an felt increasingly uncomfortable listening to them.
From their words, it was clear that the library owner treated them well, yet they repaid his kindness with betrayal—like the fable of the farmer and the snake.
The man kissed the woman again, more passionately. He Sui’an unconsciously raised her hand to cover Qi Buyan’s eyes. She turned her head away, but his eyelashes brushed against her palm.
“Are you covering my eyes because…”
He asked, “You don’t want me to see?”
He Sui’an softly murmured “mm,” her earlobes turning red from the sounds outside. Qi Buyan’s little finger accidentally brushed her earlobe, his gaze seeming to penetrate her palm and land on her tightly pressed lips.
“They’ve been like this for a while,” Qi Buyan pulled down He Sui’an’s hand, looking calmly outside the bookshelf, “Why do they do this?”
If someone else had asked He Sui’an this question, she would have thought they were mocking her.
But with Qi Buyan, she had to believe he was simply curious. Having lived alone on a remote mountain since childhood, he had only just left Tianshui Village this year. His lack of understanding was natural.
He Sui’an was at a loss for words.
How should she explain it?
After a moment’s thought, she said in a voice only they could hear, “A kiss represents a close relationship between two people. It’s a way to express affection and cherish someone.”
A kiss represents a close relationship between two people. It’s a way to express affection and cherish someone. Qi Buyan repeated this sentence to himself and asked, “What does it feel like?”
He Sui’an lowered her head even more: “You have to experience it yourself to know.”
“Really?”
She nodded firmly: “Mm.”
Qi Buyan seemed to be tired from being pressed by He Sui’an. He rested his chin in the crook of her shoulder, his long fingers threading through her soft, black hair. Their breaths intertwined and separated. “Have you never tried it?” he asked.
He Sui’an paused, realizing that Qi Buyan must be uncomfortable with her pressing on him. She let him rest his chin on her shoulder, even though this position felt a bit too intimate.
“I don’t think so,” she thought for a moment. “Though I don’t remember much from before.”
He lowered his head slightly to look at her.
“Do you want to remember the past?”
The noise from the man and woman was loud enough to cover their conversation, so speaking softly was fine. He Sui’an replied, “I’ll let things take their course; I won’t force myself.”
Qi Buyan neither agreed nor disagreed.
As the man was about to untie the woman’s dress, she wanted to ask Qi Buyan if he had any insects that could make them temporarily fall asleep.
At a critical moment, there was a knock on the door.
No one spoke.
The man and woman, familiar with the library owner, knew she was back. They quickly tidied up their clothes.
The woman, quick with her hands, straightened herself up and opened the door with a smile, greeting the library owner, He Hua, and explaining, “Miss He Hua, we saw it was dirty inside and came in to clean.”
The mountains have balsam, and the riverbanks have He Hua.
He Hua’s name was taken from the poem “The Mountains Have Balsam.” She smiled gently and waved her hand to indicate it was fine, even thanking them instead.
She entered holding a scroll.
Hiding in the bookshelf, He Sui’an saw He Hua’s appearance clearly. She was dressed simply, with only a wooden hairpin in her bun. Her features were elegant and captivating, her eyes radiant, gentle like poetry, and her temperament orchid-like.
She didn’t seem very old, probably in her twenties.
Since the man had not decided when to act or figured out how to handle the aftermath, he didn’t plan to act today. He greeted He Hua along with the woman, pretended to dust off a bookshelf, and said it was clean. They wouldn’t disturb her reading any further.
He Hua nodded and closed the door after they left. She walked to the desk and spread out the scroll she had brought. Her expression was sorrowful as she stroked the characters on it.
It started raining, pitter-pattering.
Many books were drying in the courtyard. Afraid the rain would wet them, He Hua hurried outside.
He Sui’an seized the opportunity to come out of the bookshelf, her legs numb. The door was open, and the wind blew in, scattering the scrolls on the desk. She bent down to pick them up, glanced at one, and couldn’t look away.
It was about Yan Wuheng.
It didn’t look like a historical record or a storybook, but it chronicled Yan Wuheng’s past.
He Sui’an called Qi Buyan over to look. He took the scroll she handed him and read it quickly, scanning ten lines at a glance. Qi Buyan’s reading speed was very fast, but she could keep up without getting distracted.
Logic told He Sui’an it was time to leave; otherwise, He Hua would return soon.
Somehow, she still didn’t want to move.
Soon, He Sui’an caught a glimpse of a figure in the distance. She raised her eyes and saw someone standing at the door—it was He Hua.
She was holding books, her hair adorned with raindrops as fine as sugar frost.
He Hua couldn’t speak.
But He Sui’an felt as if she was asking who they were, why they were there, and why they were reading her books.
However, He Hua remained calm and composed. She placed the books down, took up a pen and ink, and wrote, asking if they wanted to know about King Yan Yan Wuheng without questioning their reasons.
If they weren’t interested in Yan Wuheng, they wouldn’t have been so absorbed in the book He Hua left on the desk; they would have dismissed it as useless notes.
He Sui’an handed the book back to her.
“Yes.”
He Hua smiled, her eyes glistening with tears, as if she was crying with joy. She wiped her eyes and wrote another line: “If you want to know something, I can tell you.”
Remembering something, He Hua added, “But not today. I have matters to attend to. Please come back tomorrow. I will tell you everything I know, without holding back. Is that okay?”
He Sui’an felt a strange sensation.
It wasn’t He Hua herself that felt strange, but the situation. Why was He Hua so emotional upon learning they wanted to know about Yan Wuheng? She didn’t care about their motives and still wanted to share.
Normally, someone who found them sneaking in and showing interest in their things would quietly report them to the authorities. Reactions like He Hua’s were rare.
Nevertheless, she agreed.
After agreeing, she remembered that Qi Buyan had not yet expressed his opinion. She looked at him.
Qi Buyan smiled lightly, “Okay.”
He Hua bowed deeply to them. He Sui’an couldn’t accept such a grand gesture and helped her up, apologizing, “Sorry, we intruded into your library without your permission.”
He Hua wrote on the paper again: “It’s okay, I don’t mind. On the contrary, I’m glad you want to know about him. No matter the reason, it’s good that someone remembers him…”
He Sui’an reminded He Hua to be cautious of the two people still working in the library.
He Hua was not surprised.
“I’ve known about this for a long time. You don’t need to worry about me.” After writing the last sentence, He Hua personally saw them out.
He Sui’an held the bamboo umbrella He Hua had given them and left the library, frequently looking back at He Hua standing at the door, watching them leave. The rain blurred her face more and more.
*
After seeing He Sui’an and Qi Buyan off, He Hua returned to her room and took out a well-preserved painting. In the painting, a young man stood tall, dressed in splendid clothes with an imposing demeanor.
Strangely, the young man’s facial features were not depicted, making one wonder why the artist chose to do so.
He Hua carefully rolled up the painting.
She held it tenderly against her chest, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.
The woman and man, who wanted to ask He Hua where to place the new books in the library, exchanged a glance and unanimously thought that He Hua was somewhat mentally disturbed, often daydreaming and laughing or crying alone.
A mute and a simpleton, what a waste of a good face.
That was what they thought of her.
*
As the sun set, casting a twilight glow, the rain stopped, and He Sui’an put away her umbrella and entered the inn.
A quarter of an hour ago, the rain had intensified, and despite having an umbrella, He Sui’an still got wet. She called the innkeeper to prepare hot water and asked him to send some to Qi Buyan as well.
Shen Jianhe was eating in the inn’s hall. Seeing them return, he nodded and smiled, then turned back into his thoughts.
The innkeeper quickly brought hot water to He Sui’an’s room.
He Sui’an thanked him and closed the door to take a bath.
She avoided the wound on her waist and abdomen while bathing. Feeling lazy after the bath, she wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. She slowly moved to the bed like a snail, planning to take a nap before going to find Qi Buyan to discuss what had happened today.
Lying down, He Sui’an stared at the ceiling without closing her eyes. She changed her mind and decided to find Qi Buyan first, then come back to sleep.
Qi Buyan’s room was next door, to the left as she stepped out.
She raised her hand and knocked on the door.
The person inside called for her to come in.
He Sui’an pushed the door open and entered. Qi Buyan had just finished bathing as well, his hair still wet, dripping water. His face was flushed from the steam, and his eyes were moist from the water vapor.
She closed the door behind her.
Qi Buyan walked to the window, hoping to let the evening breeze dry his long hair. He Sui’an followed him, about to speak when she saw a yellow-tipped pink butterfly slowly fly in along the window edge and land on his hair.
He Sui’an feared insects and snakes but liked butterflies, which transformed from insects. Instinctively, she stood on tiptoe to touch the yellow-tipped pink butterfly.
Qi Buyan turned his face slightly, as he had last time. This time, her lips brushed against the corner of his mouth.
Soft and fragrant.
The wind stirred the bell on Qi Buyan’s wrist. He lifted his eyes, his gaze indifferent, his mind recalling the words he heard today. Smiling, he asked, “Do you want to try and experience what a kiss feels like with me?”
The yellow-tipped pink butterfly flew away.
The misunderstanding was huge. He Sui’an opened her mouth to explain, “I was…”
“It’s not that it’s impossible,” Qi Buyan’s voice was very soft, blending with the sound of the bell. The young man turned his face completely, closed his eyes like the woman from the library, and let his long eyelashes fall, inviting He Sui’an to kiss him.
