Chapter 33

I woke up at 6 p.m.

You carefully got out of bed, opened the window, and saw the bamboo forest rustling outside. There was an artificial lotus pond that had been dug out, with emerald green lotus leaves crowded together and pink and white flowers emerging from it.

On a midsummer evening, the fragrance of lotus blossoms wafts through the air.

You lit a mosquito coil, placed it by the window, and squinted as you watched the sunset for a while.

Fang Xu was fast asleep. In novels and TV dramas, the protagonist always has a childlike sleeping face when he falls asleep, which makes people smile. But in real life, Fang Xu seems a bit indifferent when he is asleep.

You didn't wake him. You quietly changed into the clothes Qiu Li had given you, put on slippers, and quietly went out the door.

The Lotus Manor area is not open to the public. Qiu Li and his wife come here to escape the summer heat, so there are not many people here.

Downstairs was a courtyard for cooling off and resting, connected to a lotus pond. On both sides of the wall, Qiu Li and Fan Yue had planted roses, cherry trees, and different varieties of wood sorrel according to their own preferences, creating a magnificent and expansive display.

Qiu Li called your name, and you went over. Fan Yue was washing vegetables by the mountain spring that had been turned into a water channel, preparing to cook.

Do you need help?

"Oh, no need. What can you two do? I'll take care of these things. If you really can't stand being idle, go with Qiu Li to the woods and pick some bamboo shoots."

Qiu Li asked if you wanted to come with him. Two men wouldn't be of much help here, and Fan Yue would probably think they were clumsy. So, without prior arrangement, they both went into the storeroom and got a sickle and a basket.

Little Bean is already asleep, otherwise we could have taken her along.

On the way to the bamboo forest, Qiu Li casually parted the weeds, found a place to sit down, and clearly had something to say. He hesitated several times, unsure of how to ask. You ignored him, stood to the side, lit a cigarette, and took a puff.

After hesitating for a while, Qiu Li finally spoke up: "Hey, is that senior still in contact with you?"

You flicked off your cigarette ash and looked at him with amusement: "He wouldn't dare."

Qiu Li chuckled, then rubbed the back of her head in distress, sighing and wishing she could bang her head against the wall, saying dejectedly, "I wanted to go find you back then, but you said it was nothing."

You paused for a moment, then slowly said, "It's really nothing. It's been almost a year and a half, I'm fine now, why would I still think about him?"

"And what about this child this time?"

"Come play with me."

Qiu Li responded with an "Oh," and then asked, "Does he want to pursue you?"

You squinted, looking through the blue smoke of your cigarette at the distant, dim mountains. It wasn't that you didn't want to answer, but you had so many guesses and thoughts that you couldn't honestly tell Qiu Li. Your life was too far removed from the normal, grown-up, married Qiu Li.

Qiu Li sat in the woods and talked to you a lot. He had many worries, but after all, you are adults and not so sentimental.

You pick and choose what to say to him, and as you talk, you end up comforting him. He can't understand why his senior is promiscuous, and he's worried that you're hurt. You brush it off in a few words, not wanting to bring up the topic, and just say, "I'm fine."

Qiu Li was about to say something when someone suddenly called your name from the other side of the road. You answered and took a few steps in that direction, your slippers making a clattering sound on the bluestone slabs.

We talked for over an hour, and the sun had completely set. The bamboo forest was pitch black, and only the general outlines could be seen.

You turn on your phone's flashlight and wave it towards the source of the sound. A tall, dark figure jogs closer and closer, stepping over fallen leaves and loose soil. But he has absolutely no experience and slips down a small mound, falling flat on his face, his slippers flying far away.

Startled, and fearing the person might fall and get hurt, you frowned and said, "Don't move. The road here is difficult to walk on. I'll come over. You just stay there."

As you walk over, the flashlight illuminates Fang Xu's dazed face.

"Fang Xu?" You looked him up and down.

Fang Xu was sprawled out, looking sullen as you walked over. He wouldn't say where he had fallen, but he held onto your waist tightly, saying, "Teacher Nan."

You: "...Stand up."

Fang Xu: "I don't want to get up."

You: "Really not getting up?"

Fang Xu said, "No, you haven't spoken to me properly all day. Can't we chat here for a while?"

You looked at Qiu Li in the dark bamboo forest behind you and asked, "Are you sure? There are three people."

Fang Xu: ...

Two seconds was enough. Fang Xu immediately stood up, looking mature, composed, and nonchalant. His voice was eight octaves lower, sounding magnetic and deep: "Sister Fan Yue asked me to call you back for dinner."

Author's Note:

It will be available for purchase tomorrow, but the editor has already left work. I need to reapply tomorrow, so it will be a bit late.