Chapter 51 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Kiss.

The sound of gongs and drums had already begun, and many people had gathered. An old man and a young man sitting behind the stage slowly picked up the puppets from the box.

Yu Jing watched as they picked up the puppets and threaded strings onto each finger. They were performing Mulan, and the first act featured a female puppet sitting in front of a backdrop, doing her makeup.

Yu Jing found it amazing. It was clearly a wooden puppet, but after they put the finger sleeves on it, the puppet seemed to come alive and become very lively.

There are plays in Heaven too, but they're all just shadow plays, conjured up by the gods using their magic. It's always the same few acts, and while Yu Jing found them novel at first, he grew tired of them after seeing them so many times. Only some newly ascended immortals still found them fascinating. This was the first time Yu Jing had ever seen such a play, and he found it quite intriguing.

As the play reached its climax, the surrounding crowd erupted in noise. Xie Xuan turned his head to look, and Yu Jing sat quietly in her seat, a slight smile playing on her lips. In the dim light, her red lips and white teeth shone through, her eyes clear and bright, reflecting the gently flickering candlelight, making her appear like a deity.

Xie Xuan was completely absorbed in watching. Yu Jing also wanted to cheer like the people around him, but unfortunately his hand was injured and he had pulled it out the night before, so he couldn't move easily.

Once you're immersed in a play, time flies by, and it feels like it's over in no time. The crowd thinned out, and many dispersed quickly. Yu Jing remembered that Li Yun and Sun Jun had also come, so she thought she would go back with them. After looking around with Xie Xuan, they couldn't see them, so she had no choice but to go back with Xie Xuan.

Before she had taken two steps, she smelled the aroma of food. Following the scent, she saw a small stall set up at the end of the open space. A group of children were gathered around the stall. Yu Jing swallowed hard, her mouth watering at the smell. She had been engrossed in watching the play, and now the aroma made her incredibly hungry.

Xie Xuan noticed Yu Jing's movements, glanced at the stall, and hesitated for a moment. But then he turned to Yu Jing and said, "Wait here for a while."

Before Yu Jing could respond, she saw Xie Xuan walk towards the stall. Yu Jing knew he had no money, and wondered what he was up to. Xie Xuan stood in front of the stall and spoke a few words to the man selling food. Then he stood there waiting for a while, occasionally turning back to look at Yu Jing, seemingly worried about her.

After a while, the children who had been gathered around the stall ran off with the food wrapped in oil paper. Then Yu Jing saw the man pack one for Xie Xuan. Somewhat surprised, she watched as Xie Xuan took it. Before Xie Xuan even reached him, Yu Jing couldn't help but ask, "What did you say to the shopkeeper?"

"I said, could you give me one on credit first? My wife has never had one before. I'll send the money to his house tomorrow." Xie Xuan replied casually, handing the oiled paper in his hand to Yu Jing.

Yu Jing reached out and took it somewhat shyly. Perhaps because it had just been taken out of the pot, the oil paper wrapping it was still a little hot to the touch, and the aroma of fried food instantly filled her nostrils, making her mouth water. Yu Jing peeled off a bit of the oil paper and found that there was only one. She said, "There's only one. Let's break it up and eat it."

After all, there's no reason why the Heavenly Emperor wouldn't eat what she ate.

"No need, Madam can taste it for me," Xie Xuan replied, somewhat awkwardly touching the tip of his ear.

Since Xie Xuan had already said that, it would be somewhat awkward for Yu Jing to insist. So Yu Jing took a small bite. She hadn't expected it to be so hot, but it smelled delicious. The outside was wrapped in flour, round and fried until crispy. Inside was a filling of radish and minced meat, mixed with some chopped green onions, and it smelled incredibly fragrant.

Yu Jing swallowed what was in her mouth and asked Xie Xuan softly, "What's this called?"

"The shopkeeper said it's called 'Lamp Cake'."

"Lamp cake." Yu Jing repeated softly, then looked at the lamp cake in her hand, feeling that the name was strangely fitting.

"Xie Xuan, are you sure you don't want to try it? It smells really good!" Yu Jing took another bite and swallowed, then spoke again.

"Please eat, Madam," Xie Xuan replied. They were walking along the road now, and because they had waited quite a while for the lantern cakes, there was no one else on the road. Only the candle in Xie Xuan's hand shone brightly.

There was no wind at this moment, only a crescent moon in the sky, with sparse stars dotting the sky. Apart from the moonlight, the brightest thing around was the candle in Xie Xuan's hand.

As Yu Jing walked, she saw Xie Xuan still holding an umbrella and struck up a conversation with him, saying, "I thought it would rain tonight, but not only did it not rain, the moon even came out."

“Yes,” Xie Xuan replied.

Yu Jing quickly finished the lantern cake. After the last bite, Yu Jing felt a warm sensation on her wrist, a feeling that was extremely familiar.

"Xie Xuan." Yu Jing suddenly stopped and called out to Xie Xuan.

Xie Xuan sensed Yu Jing stop, so he also stopped and turned to look at her. Yu Jing stood frozen in place, her breathing and heartbeat quickening. She turned her head to look into Xie Xuan's eyes, and couldn't help but lean closer.

Xie Xuan stood there, watching Yu Jing slowly approach him, unconsciously holding his breath. Yu Jing drew closer and closer, their lips just two fingers apart, their breaths mingling. Xie Xuan was much taller than Yu Jing, so she was looking up at him. Her eyes reflected the twinkling stars behind them.

"Xie Xuan, don't you really want to try it?" Yu Jing asked Xie Xuan with burning eyes. She was sober at the moment, but her words and actions were somewhat out of her control.

Yu Jing was probably too focused on staring at Xie Xuan and didn't notice that the heat on her wrist had faded.

Before Xie Xuan could react, his lips were sealed with a warm, soft, moist, and exceptionally fragrant lantern cake.

When Yu Jing's lips touched Xie Xuan's lips, her eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't believe that she had done such a thing to Xie Xuan.

The moment their lips touched, a sudden gust of wind blew out the candle in Xie Xuan's hand. By the moonlight, Xie Xuan could only vaguely make out Yu Jing's features. In that instant, his heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, pounding wildly. He had always thought that only he harbored such feelings for Yu Jing, but he never imagined that Yu Jing felt the same way…

The moment the candlelight went out, he threw all his worries, along with the extinguished candle and umbrella, onto the ground. Yu Jing only felt Xie Xuan's hand land on her shoulder. Their lips were slowly pried open, and the initiative shifted to Xie Xuan. His kiss was awkward, but extremely gentle, lingering and tender.

Yu Jing had never experienced love before. She only felt no resistance when Xie Xuan kissed her; in fact, she felt her heart was full. But she didn't understand love and only attributed it to the effect of the nine-tailed red fox's inner core on her wrist.

The moonlight was still, with only their slightly rapid breathing mingling with the sound of the wind. Yu Jing felt a little short of breath, raised her hand and gently touched Xie Xuan's chest, letting out a soft groan.

Xie Xuan shifted slightly back, and even though the moonlight wasn't very clear, Yu Jing could still see that Xie Xuan's entire face had turned quite red. Yu Jing could still feel the warmth of Xie Xuan on her lips, and somewhat absentmindedly, she raised her hand to lightly touch the corner of her lips. Xie Xuan seemed a little embarrassed as well, squatting down to pick up the things on the ground. He didn't immediately light the candles, but stood there for a long while; that moment just now truly felt like a dream, leaving him unable to come back to his senses.

Yu Jing felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward. She stood there for a long time, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say. In the end, she only managed to utter a few words: "Let's go."

"Hmm." Xie Xuan responded, tucking the umbrella under his elbow and taking out a tinderbox from his pocket to light the candle. Perhaps due to the wind, Xie Xuan had some difficulty lighting it. Yu Jing felt the flickering flame, slightly shifted her body, and used her left hand to shield the other side of the candle. Without looking up, Xie Xuan saw Yu Jing's fair hand appear before him. Thinking back to what had just happened, his hand holding the tinderbox trembled slightly.

The moment the candles were lit, their faces were bathed in a warm, dim light. Xie Xuan suddenly felt an impulse; some things, if not said now, might never be said again. His throat tightened, but then he remembered their identities and remained silent. His former military prowess paled in comparison to Yu Jing's.

Seeing that the candles were lit, Yu Jing said, "Let's go back."

"Hmm," Xie Xuan responded, walking behind Yu Jing. The candlelight in his hand mingled with the moonlight, illuminating Yu Jing. Her water-red robes shone brightly, and the red silk flower in her hair swayed with her movements, entering his heart. He wanted to reach out and touch the silk flower, but the moment he did, Yu Jing took a step forward, and he still didn't touch it.

Li Yun and Sun Jun were already home. Hearing the noise, Li Yun pushed open the door and came out, saying, "Why are you only coming back now? Didn't the play end a while ago?"

Yu Jing and Xie Xuan were both taken aback. Yu Jing replied, "Oh, I saw some lantern cakes for sale when we came out just now. I was a little tempted, so I asked Xie Xuan to buy some. There were a lot of children buying them, so we had to wait a while."

After Yu Jing finished speaking, she instantly felt a sense of relief.

"Do you have any money on you?" Li Yun asked with concern. "I remember last time Old Sun said he would give you money, but you didn't take it."

"I bought it on credit from the shopkeeper, and I'll deliver the money to his house tomorrow," Xie Xuan replied somewhat embarrassedly. Unexpectedly, he would ultimately have to ask Li Yun and Sun Jun for it.

“Oh, I see. I’ll have Old Sun go tomorrow. You probably don’t know where Old Wu’s house is,” Li Yun replied.

"No need, I'll go tomorrow. I'll just ask around if I don't know the way."

“Everyone’s out working during the day, so there’s probably not much people around. Let Old Sun go,” Li Yun said as he returned to the house.

When Yu Jing and Xie Xuan saw Li Yun enter the house, they also wanted to go in, but unexpectedly, just as they were about to push the door open, Li Yun came out again.

"Big sister." Yu Jing called out, somewhat confused. Then she saw Li Yun hand her something. Yu Jing looked down and saw that it was a small piece of silver.

"Big sister?" Yu Jing repeated, looking up at Li Yun.

"There will still be places where we need the money, so let's keep it."

Yu Jing was deeply moved and replied with a smile, "Okay, thank you, elder sister."

"No need to thank me, this is your money anyway," Li Yun said. "It's getting late, you should wash up and rest."

"Um."