Butterfly Loves Flowers (Part 1)

It started raining in Fenshuiling Town, dripping onto the eaves, falling in strands onto the oil-paper umbrellas, and blending into the green hills and vegetation.

An had already opened the window, and in the distance, Qi Ling was leading his horse to graze.

She heard the sound of rain and tried to wash away the image of that person from her mind with the rain and sound, but the person opened an oil-paper umbrella again, and instead of washing it away, he got closer and closer.

An felt a pang of pain in her heart and felt useless. She didn't close the window and went back to sleep. She didn't know how long she slept before being woken up by a phone ringing.

An had hung up on an unfamiliar phone number as usual, but it called back immediately after she hung up twice. Only then did she answer and put the phone to her ear.

"Sister-in-law, I'm sorry to bother you," Ji Wen's voice was urgent, "My brother might be in danger, can you help?"

An's consciousness snapped back to reality: "What?"

“I just called my brother, and he told me he was in Fenshuiling Town and would be there soon. While we were talking, there was a loud bang on my brother's end, like a car accident. I can't get through to my brother on the phone.”

“I’ve already contacted the rescue hotline, but I’m still worried. I know there might be some issues between you two recently, but you’re the closest person to him right now. If it’s convenient for you, could you go and check on him?”

An immediately got up and dressed. Ji Wen only knew that Ji Qingzhou was in Fenshuiling Town, but he had no specific information about where she was.

She immediately went to Qi Ling for help.

Looking at the falling rain, Qi Ling immediately guessed, "It's been raining for two days now, there might be a landslide."

The rain was getting heavier, and the pattering sound was becoming more and more urgent.

While waiting for the rain to subside, An had already inquired online about places with car accidents or landslides, while Qi Ling quickly organized manpower.

As soon as the rain subsided, the group set off to search for the person along the only mountain path they could take.

Five kilometers from the guesthouse, they arrived ahead of the rescue team and spotted a landslide with a white car trapped underneath.

An's heart was clenched tightly as she rushed over and saw Ji Qingzhou in the car.

He was trapped between the airbags and fell into a coma.

Fortunately, the landslide area was not large. They quickly searched for tools and rescued people, racing against time to pull Ji Qingzhou out of the car.

As soon as people left, large boulders from the steep mountain, along with mud and gravel, crashed down onto the ground with a loud crash.

The white car was buried so completely that there wasn't a trace of it.

Everyone hurriedly retreated and quickly left the area, still shaken.

Qi Lingbangan had already taken Ji Qingzhou to the town's hospital.

After undergoing numerous examinations, Ji Qingzhou was relatively lucky; she only had a scalp hematoma and her left arm was fractured when it was squeezed by the car door.

He's in a cast and on an IV drip; he'll be fine once he wakes up.

The person was found and was unharmed, so An Yi let Qi Ling go home and then called Ji Wen to explain the situation. Ji Wen was finally relieved. He solemnly thanked An Yi.

An Yi said, "It's nothing, it's what I should do."

Once everything settled down, An was sitting next to Ji Qingzhou, and only then did she have time to take a good look at Ji Qingzhou.

It had been more than half a month since the two had last seen each other.

Ji Qingzhou's eyes were shrouded in a faint halo, indicating he had been quite busy lately; stubble was peeking out from under his chin.

This was the first time she had seen Ji Qingzhou with a slight beard; he always appeared clean-cut in front of her.

She encountered such a hurried and chaotic situation.

An had already sized up Ji Qingzhou, and then noticed a piece of yellow paper sticking out of his pants pocket.

She thought it was trash that had gone into her pocket, so she pinched it with two fingers and pulled it out. She unfolded a long strip of yellow paper with red writing in vermilion ink on it.

An had looked it over and over, but couldn't tell if it was words or pictures. However, it was easy to recognize; it looked like the talismans from TV dramas.

If it really is a talisman, how could this appear on Ji Qingzhou? Isn't he an atheist? Besides, even if he isn't an atheist, it's hard to understand why this thing would appear on Ji Qingzhou.

Just as An was about to take a closer look, the yellow strip of paper somehow tore into four or five pieces.

An dared not move; the paper would shatter into pieces with the slightest pull.

Just as she was worrying about what to do with the thing, Ji Qingzhou woke up slowly.

"Throw it away." His voice was low and hoarse from not speaking for a long time. He looked at the thing as if he was satisfied that it had completed some kind of mission.

An was worried that Ji Qingzhou might not be fully conscious at this moment, so she asked what it was.

Ji Qingzhou said, "The time we went to the temple, I asked the master for a peace charm. The master said that one person's unrest needs to be exchanged for another person's peace."

"Do you always carry it with you? Are you worried that something might happen to me because I haven't severed ties with my past?"

Ji Qingzhou nodded.

An pursed her lips. Although she would kneel and worship when she saw Buddha or Bodhisattva, she still believed in science, and she might not believe in things involving metaphysics.

But the amulet shattered right before his eyes, and Ji Qingzhou was also struck by bad luck.

She brought over some lukewarm water that had been left to cool, and helped Ji Qingzhou up to drink it.

"Don't do that again."

An had already thrown the tattered talisman into the trash can.

To everyone's surprise, Ji Qingzhou smiled and said, "I think it's quite effective. I'll go ask for a few more later."

An looked at the person in front of him and realized that he had completely forgotten that he was a PhD student in physics when he said those words.

Ji Qingzhou woke up, and An Yi also felt relieved.

She chuckled and said, "Be careful you don't fail to graduate with your doctorate."

Ji Qingzhou laughed along, "If you can't graduate, you can't graduate. At worst, I'll make oil-paper umbrellas to support you."

An was stunned. This scene overlapped with her dream, and her mood became heavy.

Ji Qingzhou's unbroken hand had somehow managed to pull An Yi's fingers inside.

"What did you want to say when you called me?" An Yi didn't know what to say yet, so Ji Qingzhou continued, "When you called, I was at a party hosted by my mentor. I had to go out, and my mentor's wife answered the phone for me. She knew it was my girlfriend calling, and she just said a few things to tease you. My mentor has already told her off, so don't take it to heart."

An was taken aback; it turned out to be her master's wife.

"When I call you again, you don't answer."

Ji Qingzhou felt a little wronged and helpless, but he would never show these emotions, much less blame An Yi.

He didn't keep a close eye on his phone.

He asked, "So what do you want to tell me?"

An opened her mouth: "You came here just to ask me what I wanted to say to you on the phone?"

Ji Qingzhou nodded, that's true, but he was afraid she might need to contact him urgently, so she rarely took the initiative to contact him.

So even though coming here might lead to something, he came anyway because of what he feared even more.

The rain that had been falling outside the window for two days finally stopped, and the rain in An's heart also stopped.

“It’s nothing,” she said with a smile, her eyes relaxing. “I just wanted to tell you—Ji Qingzhou, I like you.”

Ji Qingzhou's body stiffened, as if startled by these sudden words, and she asked An Yi incredulously, "What did you just say?"

Fireworks exploded in my mind, one after another, and finally all of them shot into the sky, creating a bright and lively sea of ​​flowers.

"If you can't hear me, then forget it." An picked up the empty water glass, intending to refill it.

Ji Qingzhou grabbed her hand to stop her from leaving, and hurriedly said, "I heard you, I heard you, you can't go back on your word."

An had no choice; once you like someone, you like them, so what's the point of going back on your word?

Ji Qingzhou's gaze was like a burning flame, making An uncomfortable. She still got up to get water.

His gaze followed her wherever she went.

Ji Qingzhou stayed in the hospital for two days, then went to An's inn with her.

An didn't want him to go anymore. He had clearly booked a hotel, and the hotel should be in a better environment so she could visit him when she had free time.

Ji Qingzhou refused, insisting that the inn's environment was suitable for recuperating.

A few days ago, he probably wouldn't have dared to disobey An Yi's wishes, but now it's different; now An Yi says she likes him.

She said it herself; she said it voluntarily. He didn't ask, guess, or force her.

If you like it, you should have some rights.

He actually wanted An Yi to say that they wouldn't break up now, and to promise that they would never break up, but he didn't say it.

What if An feels he's taking advantage of her? What if his question reminds her that she originally wanted to break up?

He dared not do anything that wasn't 100% certain.

Qi Ling felt extremely disliked Ji Qingzhou the moment she saw him.

What is a man with a broken arm doing here?

Qi Ling couldn't help but complain to her grandmother about the man, but her grandmother reminded her that he provided a place for people to rest in exchange for money.

This reminded Qi Ling that he could ask for more money. Originally, it was agreed that only one person would stay, but now that there was another person, it would mean more water and electricity, more meals to cook, and more air to breathe.

An felt apologetic about this and was willing to pay more, but Qi Ling refused her money and only asked Ji Qingzhou for it.

Ji Qingzhou didn't want to give it, not because he was stingy, but because of the instinct between men.

Qi Ling was hostile to him, and he was hostile to Qi Ling as well.

Ji Qingzhou looked at An Yi, who was still in a daze, and was glad that she had come along.

She carefully guarded her boyfriend's identity, not allowing anyone to covet it.

"An and I are going out for a while."

Ji Qingzhou stood up: "I'll go too."

An looked at the extra hand on her waist, puzzled. "I'm going out with Qi Ling to feed the horses. Are you coming too?"

"Go, I like feeding the horses."

In fact, Ji Qingzhou had a broken left arm, making climbing the mountain very inconvenient, and he needed An Yi's help.

An was also starting to sweat; he hadn't had to walk such steep terrain when feeding the horses before.

Seeing that An was tired, Qi Ling did not continue walking forward.

An is combing the horse's tail.

Ji Qingzhou went to Qi Ling's side and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Tell me."

Qi Ling knew what he meant.

Actually, when An first arrived, he had a few thoughts on it.

An is very cute. I love watching him make umbrellas. When I watch him, it's like watching his horse learn to walk. I love going with him to feed the horses. His horses love her too.

He lost interest after learning that An already had a boyfriend, and he had no right to be unhappy.

However, he just didn't like Ji Qingzhou. An Yi was very happy when he first arrived, but he spent a few days in a daze because of this guy.

Qi Ling glanced at Ji Qingzhou: "She's been crying a lot since she arrived a few days ago, it must be because of you."