Past Two

On the steps outside the mansion, Pei Qinzhou sat alone, head bowed, arms wrapped around his knees, seemingly asleep.

Wen Zhibai got off the carriage, walked over to him, and squatted down: "I'm back. Why are you waiting for me here all by yourself?"

Pei Qinzhou met her gentle gaze, reached out and straightened her slightly crooked hairpin, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against Wen Zhibai's ear: "It's crooked."

Wen Zhibai flinched slightly, then continued, "Granny Chen said that you don't need to eat when I'm not in the mansion. I have to criticize you for that."

Pei Qinzhou looked aggrieved, resting his chin on his hand: "Without you, even the finest food and wine taste bland. Can you come home earlier next time?"

Wen Zhibai smiled and nodded in agreement.

...

As the weather turned cooler, the autumn wind ruffled Pei Qinzhou's clothes. He was wearing a silver-white cloak and looked quite frail: "I must return early today as well."

"A small request, granted."

Temple

Pilgrims came in an endless stream, offering incense before the Buddha. Their unyielding desires turned into white smoke in the sunlight and were carried to the Buddha.

Some people pray for wealth, while others pray for marriage.

Grandma Chen, holding three incense sticks, knelt before the Buddha like everyone else, and then asked the monk next to her for a peace charm.

Pei Qinzhou heard countless voices echoing in everyone's hearts—

"May the Bodhisattva bless me, and may I regain all the fertile land I lost in this gamble!!"

"May the Bodhisattva protect my husband and ensure his safe return from the battlefield."

"God, please tell me if I will be able to pass the imperial examination next year..."

Seeing that Pei Qinzhou remained motionless, Granny Chen approached with a peace charm: "What does Pei want?"

He looked at the Buddha statue in front of him and said, "What I asked for has been obtained."

The afterglow of the setting sun spread across the boundless sky.

Wen Zhibai stopped the carriage, went to the cloth shop to select several bolts of warm fabric, and ordered several sets of winter clothes.

The shopkeeper noted Wen Zhibai's request in his notebook: "Okay, we will expedite the production of the men's winter clothes and expect to deliver them to your residence by the middle of next month."

After confirming with the boss, Wen Zhibai thanked him and left.

Before long, the carriage stopped outside the mansion, and a familiar figure walked towards Wen Zhibai.

Pei Qinzhou covered her eyes with his hands.

"What is Pei Lang doing?"

"No rush, be careful with your steps first."

Upon returning to the front hall, a table laden with delicious food came into view.

She smiled faintly, suddenly remembering that today was her birthday.

Granny Chen took out the peace charms she had obtained, and found that there were two identical ones. She handed one to Wen Zhibai and the other to Pei Qinzhou.

"This old servant is fortunate to have been taken care of by the madam, and my life has been peaceful so far. I am extremely grateful and only hope that you will be safe and sound every year. As for Apei, although we have just met, you are still young, so I also hope that you will be healthy and peaceful."

Under the watchful eyes of the two, Wen Zhibai, with tears in her eyes, ate a mouthful of longevity noodles.

When is Pei Lang's birthday?

I have no birthday.

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhibai felt a pang of inexplicable pity. He then picked up a noodle and placed it in the other man's bowl, saying, "Then, Pei Lang, eat this bowl of noodles with me, and may you live a long and healthy life, year after year."

Pei Qinzhou's eyelashes trembled slightly as he looked at the white mist rising from the bowl. Would he live to be a hundred years old?

He didn't seem to have that concept, but it felt like that way he could stay with her a little longer.

Then, she picked up some more and gave it to Granny Chen, saying, "May you also enjoy good health and longevity."

...

A jasmine tassel wooden accessory was wrapped around her head and fell in front of her eyes.

Wen Zhibai turned around and saw the boy's plain white hair ribbon fluttering, as warm and smooth as jade, his index finger still hooking the rope of the wooden pendant.

Taking the jade pendant from his palm, it was easy to see the scratches on his fingers: "Have you been keeping the lamp lit every night these past few days for this?"

"Um."

She lightly touched his wound with her fingertips, unsure of what to say.

The two looked at each other for a long time before Wen Zhibai finally said, "Thank you. By the way, starting tomorrow, you will come to school with me."

Early in the morning, Wen Zhibai led Pei Qinzhou to pay their respects to the teacher.

After exchanging greetings, the teacher asked Wen Zhibai to fetch the books he needed for lecturing, and told Pei Qinzhou to wait inside the school.

"Hey, who's this?"

A group of students followed Gao Zheli.

Is there such a person in Shangjing City?

Gao Zheli, unsure of what to do, gave a perfunctory bow and asked, "This gentleman looks unfamiliar. Which family's young master are you?"

Pei Qinzhou's face turned cold, and he remained silent.

"I'm asking you a question!" Gao Zheli reverted to his arrogant demeanor, looking down at him. When he didn't answer, he kicked over the desk in front of him.

Seeing that he still didn't speak, Gao Zheli picked up Wen Zhibai's table and was about to smash it down on his head.

Pei Qinzhou stood up, half a head taller than Gao Zheli, and easily snatched the desk, placing it steadily behind him.

His leaden pupils flickered, turning into vertical pupils for a fleeting moment: "You tainted her things with an unpleasant smell."

He raised his hand and grabbed Gao Zheli by the neck, his veins bulging.

Those behind them were terrified. Gao Zheli was still struggling, his face flushed. Only two people who had reacted also raised the table and were about to smash it at Pei Qinzhou.

Just a second before Mr. and Wen Zhibai entered, Pei Qinzhou quickly released Gao Zheli.

"What are you doing?!" The man stepped forward first.

Pei Qinzhou could have dodged, but he stopped in his tracks after noticing Wen Zhibai's footsteps.

Blood trickled down my forehead, bringing a sharp pain.

Wen Zhibai dropped his pen and ink, pushed through the crowd, and ran towards him.

Pei Qinzhou's blood stained her clothes: "...It's dirtied you."

"Sir!" Gao Zheli scrambled to his feet, grabbing the man's leg, his finger trembling as he pointed at Pei Qinzhou, "He...he's not human! He just tried to kill me!"

The gentleman pushed Gao Zheli away and gave him a stern reprimand.

"No, no, sir, it really was him! He tried to kill me! You can ask them if you don't believe me!"

Wen Zhibai: "That's enough, go and fetch a doctor first!"

"I'm fine," he whispered in her ear.

Gao Zheli crawled toward him with lingering fear, trying to look into his eyes.

Pei Qinzhou merely curled the corners of his lips and raised an eyebrow, his humanoid pupils cracking open with cold vertical lines in an instant unnoticed by anyone.

Gao Zheli shouted, "Demon! Demon!!!"

After the doctor arrives, have another man put his arm around Pei Qinzhou's shoulder.

Wen Zhibai looked at the group of people, but before she could call out who to come, everyone lowered their heads.

The person in her arms saw through her thoughts: "Are you afraid of me?"

"No, no." She tried to sound calm. "Let me do it."

"It hurts..." His eyelashes were thick and long, and his thin lips were lightly biting, which aroused a bit of pity in her. Her face became hot, and she turned her head away.

...

The ink fell on the Xuan paper, and after Pei Qinzhou wrote her name, Wen Zhibai wrote "Pei Qinzhou" next to the three characters "Wen Zhibai".

Is this your handwriting?

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore."

"Although I do not know your past or understand your feelings, I hope that even if you are alone in this vast world, you will live well."

He smiled, "Did Miss Wen manage to do it?"

"I don't know if I've done it or not, but I will do it."

"If you do it this way, I'll do it this way too." After saying this, the two looked at each other and smiled for no apparent reason.

Just like a crescent moon, finally the clouds that covered the remaining half of it have receded, and it becomes whole again.

The other students at the school noticed that the two didn't seem like ordinary friends and began to whisper among themselves.

Time passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to leave school. Unfortunately, it started to rain.

"Wait for me here, I'll be right back." Pei Qinzhou ran out of the front yard and found a small stall selling oiled paper umbrellas.

He turned around and found himself surrounded by several classmates from the school.

"Young Master Pei, let me give you a friendly reminder: a young lady like her befriending you like this is definitely just a fling. Don't take it too seriously!"

He remained calm and opened the umbrella in his hand: "I am willing to let her play with my feelings."

Wen Zhibai waited under the long corridor, looking at the sky in all four corners.

As if in a hallucination, she saw her mother's figure and unknowingly stepped out from under the eaves of the pavilion where she had sought shelter from the rain.

Just as the cool rain was about to touch her forehead, a dark blue oil-paper umbrella suddenly tilted over her.

The rain curtain hanging from the eaves of the umbrella separated them from the outside world. Pei Qinzhou grasped her wrist. "Is it because you don't want to wait for me anymore?"

His voice shattered the illusion before her eyes, pulling her back to the reality of the rainy season.

She took half a step back, bumping into his solid chest.

"Feel sorry."

At Xiangfeng Tower, the two of them, holding umbrellas together, stepped into the shop. The shopkeeper's smiling face froze the moment he met Pei Qinzhou's gaze.

"Young master, these are the finest gold and precious stones in our shop. Please feel free to browse."

Three gold pieces and nine treasures... those are things used only for weddings.

Wen Zhibai looked at Pei Qinzhou in confusion, only to see him casually thank him and then carefully select items.

"This is……?"

He smiled, not directly answering her question, and said, "Just looking around."

She wandered to the inner part of the attic and was attracted by a gilded phoenix crown—it was like pearls and snow, and emerald feathers shimmering with light.

"like?"

“It’s very beautiful. Have you decided?” Wen Zhibai asked.

“Hmm.” Pei Qinzhou took out a peach blossom hairpin with tassels.

“…Pei Lang, I don’t lack these things.”

He didn't say much, his fingertips unintentionally brushing her burning earlobe and tucking it into her hair: "I want to give this to you."

"This is not appropriate." With that, Wen Zhibai was about to take it off.

But the icy fingertips reached out and blocked her hair first.

"I bought this for no other reason than that I thought it suited you, so please don't refuse me, okay?"

After a long pause, she nodded, her lowered eyes filled with tenderness.

In the dead of night, all was quiet.

Like a dream, Wen Zhibai suddenly felt a cool and slippery touch on her wrist. Her body tensed up, and she tried to open her eyes, but as if in a nightmare, she couldn't move.

As the damp, cool snake scales slithered across her collarbone, she vaguely heard the sound of rain in reality—yet outside the window, the moon was bright and the stars were few.

He was like a vine growing on her body, brushing against every inch of her skin, and a cool sensation gradually arose.

"Wen Zhibai..." A clear, cool voice seemed to come from the distant mountains and forests, tenderly calling her name, "Zhibai..."

She wanted to ask him who he was, but she couldn't make a sound.

I woke up with a start, only to find the sun already just beginning to rise.

After the dream ended, she felt an indescribable soreness all over her body.

Wen Zhibai ran to the bronze mirror, his fingers trembling as he stroked his collarbone and the side of his neck.

However, her skin in the mirror was as smooth as jade, without any trace of imperfection.

"Could it be... that I've been too tired lately?" she murmured to herself, unable to suppress the strange unease in her heart.

Wen Zhibai quickly changed his clothes and ran to the opposite side to knock on Pei Qinzhou's door.

A maid from the manor ran to her side and relayed a message to Wen Zhibai: "Miss, Young Master Pei left early this morning. He asked me to tell you that he will be away for a few days."

school

"Wen Zhibai!" a student shouted, "They all say something happened to your family!"

"What's going on?" She quickly walked up to the student.

“A classmate of mine was passing by the Wen residence just now and heard a lot of noise coming from your house. He climbed over the wall and saw that your father had brought back a lot of unfamiliar people.”

An inexplicable sense of panic washed over her, and she rushed out of the school and ran towards home.

Rushing into the Wen family's front yard, they saw everyone in the mansion gathered together, forming a semi-encirclement.

Grandma Chen knelt on the ground, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, as slaps continued to fall on her aged face.

"Stop!" Wen Zhibai noticed the redness and swelling on her face at first glance and stood in front of Granny Chen.

With a furrowed brow, she helped Granny Chen up and slapped the unfamiliar maidservant hard across the face: "Who gave you the audacity to lay a hand on my people!"

The maid covered her face, glared at her defiantly, and ran towards the house behind her. Just as she was about to chase after her, Granny Chen hurriedly grabbed Wen Zhibai's sleeve: "Miss, Madam, she... has disappeared... Listen to me, a new lady named Qin has been added to the manor, along with her two children."

"What?" she stammered.

"Oh, Master, it's Zhibai who's back." Qin Yanzhen was dressed in a purple brocade dress, with a pearl hairpin and a swaying ornament in her hair. Standing beside her was her dignified father.

Upon seeing Wen Zhibai, Qin Yanzhen sized her up and down, then waved her hand, signaling a servant to bring over a teacup.

Wen Zhibai gently touched Granny Chen's swollen face: "Thank you for your hard work."

“My wife and I have been together for many years, but now I’m here with you instead of just accompanying her.” Grandma Chen held her hand tightly.

Wen Zhibai shielded Granny Chen behind him: "Was this done by your people?"

Qin Yanzhen adjusted the jeweled hairpin in her hair: "This lowly servant has committed an act of insubordination and deserves punishment."

Under the eaves, the Qin family was completely swallowed by the shadows of the corridor, while Wen Zhibai stood in the blazing sun, the boundary between light and darkness severed between them.

"Slap!" A loud slap landed on Qin Yanzhen's face.

Qin cried out and retreated, knocking over the incense burner with intertwined branches on the table, looking quite disheveled.

"Wen Zhibai, what are you doing?!" Wen Lingchen strode over to Qin Yanzhen's side.

"Can't even take a slap?" Wen Zhibai sneered. Her strength wasn't enough to knock Qin Yanzhen to the ground. This act was too clumsy.

Qin's two children had just entered from outside the mansion when they saw this scene and quickly stepped forward to block Wen Zhibai.

Wen Fushi: "Why does my sister treat my mother like this!"