When she erged, the sky outside was still dark, in fact, it was only around ten o’clock, but now she couldn’t sleep anymore, so she casually picked up a book and began to flip through it, page by page, reading without knowing how much ti had passed before she fell asleep. The next day, when she woke up, the book was still in her hands, coincidentally opened to that one page, marked by traces of her reading.
Friends gather with no regard to age; on this day of reunion, you just happen to co as I am here. The water is just right, the tea is just perfect. You co, from a crowd of strangers, like a chance eting in this vast jianghu. Relationships ford over myriad lifetis, all prearranged.
Nodding with a smile, staying silent without a word, simply lifting the tea cup is enough. Within this cup, lie infinite causes and effects, a gentle sip is all it takes, no need to delve deeper.
Everyone has their own story, either quietly daydreaming, enjoying a mont of vacant respite, or forgetting it all in laughter and conversation with you.
You just happen to co, I happen to be here.
She closed the book and placed it on the bedside table, outside, the warmth of the early rising sun perated, while at this mont, it’s the refreshing coolness of autumn.
Opening the door, a slight breeze greeted her face, and not far under the big tree, two large dogs were lying there, seemingly basking in the sun; soon after, they exposed their bellies. A young man was squatting on the ground, seemingly talking to them, his fingers on the head of one of the dogs.
For an instant, it seed as though the light outside was a bit too strong; Qin Chunuan found it hard to keep her eyes open. She shielded her eyes with her hand, and upon opening them again, she saw the man now standing under the parasol tree, tall and elegant, standing against the wind, his hair sotis tousled by the breeze, his countenance clean and crisp.
He had long passed the age of fluttering white robes, had moved on from chasing girls of his younger years, and had even forgotten the girl he once shared a desk with.
Yet after all these years, what remained etched in his life were not just the tis that had passed but perhaps the maturity and worldly wisdom gifted to him.
A person who has tumbled through officialdom can never be simple.
You say he’s old? No, he is young, certainly a lot younger than a weathered Qin Xiangnuan.
Then you say he’s young? That’s not quite right either. Having been through the wringer of bureaucracy for so many years, his disposition has long been tempered to resilience.
Qin Xiangnuan moved forward, even the slight squinting of her eyes shimred with specks of clear light, a layer of warm gold that seed to gild her entire being, her entire gaze.
She approached and squatted down.
Congtou was still small, upon seeing her, he nuzzled her hand and began rolling on the ground.
"Awake?" Jian Zhiqing’s voice still carried a trace of laughter, yet it held a customary coolness.
"Mm," Qin Xiangnuan responded gently, yet inside she felt so indescribable tension.
"Have you figured it out?"
Qin Xiangnuan’s fingers brushed across Congtou’s glossy fur. Her lips were tinted red and slightly pursed, and despite her calm exterior, a faint smile began to erge, points of clear light ripple in her eyes.
She stood up, walked over to Jian Zhiqing, then lifted her face to look at him. The man before her had an outstanding appearance, with his tall stature, he was the kind of man won would fight over just for his looks, good family background, and his job, not to ntion he was a decent person—so much better than Song Wang, and of course, as different as the clouds in the sky from the mud on the ground compared to Wang Dali, who wasn’t even worthy to carry shoes for others.
In her past life, she had even married a man like Wang Dali, so why was she afraid of marrying Jian Zhiqing?
After all, wasn’t he much better than soone like Wang Dali? And the thought of it seed pretty good.
She lightly tapped her chin, asking sowhat teasingly, "Brother Jian, all these years you’ve never married, never had a girlfriend, could it be you were waiting for to grow up?"
"What do you think?" Jian Zhiqing sighed, took his hand out of his pocket, and then placed it on Qin Xiangnuan’s face, giving it a firm pinch, "If you don’t grow up soon, your Brother Jian will beco an old man; at twenty-seven years old," A bachelor at twenty-seven is rare in this day and age, especially for soone in Jian Zhiqing’s position, able to withstand pressure from all sides—it demands more than a little energy and resilience.
Qin Xiangnuan’s question had been in jest, but she hadn’t expected Jian Zhiqing to respond so seriously, leaving her sowhat at a loss for words, awkwardly silent.
Jian Zhiqing sighed softly, then reached out his hand to wrap it around the young lady’s shoulder. Qin Xiangnuan’s body stiffened, yet she didn’t push him away. Then his hand tightened, marking the first ti the two were so close.
"Actually, as you can see, taking that step forward isn’t so difficult, just your single step, the rest is my journey to walk."
Qin Xiangnuan closed her eyes and leant her head against the man’s body, his scent, so familiar to her, had accompanied her growth all these years. Sotis she wondered what it would be like without him, replaced by soone else.
It seed unimaginable.
But he was right; that one step wasn’t difficult. The hand by her side clenched slightly, then reached out and wrapped around the man’s waist.
"It seems like..."
"Mm..."
"It really isn’t hard."
"Heh heh..." Jian Zhiqing ruffled Qin Xiangnuan’s hair, and beneath the parasol tree, the youths from the past had grown up. If they grew any longer, they would indeed beco old, so so things needed to be put in order, and soon.
It’s like growing one’s own lush carrots, watching them near harvest; if soone else were to uproot them, one might truly regret it for life.
From that day on, sothing seed to have changed; everyone could feel it, Qin Xiangnuan beca more talkative, especially towards Jian Zhiqing. Their rapport was getting better and better, perhaps because it was so strong that people could sense it.
The two of them were ant to be, irreplaceable to one another, and sotis, once things are understood and the barriers broken, everything just seamlessly cos together.
"I’ve always been worried about my sister’s stubbornness, wondering when she would co around. Never thought it would be so soon, you’re quite capable," Qin Xiangyang slapped Jian Zhiqing’s shoulder; he had known there would co a day like this, but now his concerns lay elsewhere.
"What do you say, should I call you Brother Jian or should you call brother?"
By seniority, Jian Zhiqing should be the one calling Qin Xiangyang ’brother,’ but for so many years, Qin Xiangyang had been the one calling Jian Zhiqing ’Brother Jian,’ which was sowhat awkward indeed.
"Just call by na."
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