Chapter 36

The conversation that day did not go any further.

Perhaps he was just asking casually. As for whether you really like him, Fang Xu doesn't seem as obsessed as he appears. He's someone who doesn't feel lonely, while you're someone who can tolerate loneliness very well.

Fang Xu woke up the next day full of energy, having rested quite a bit. However, since he didn't intend to leave anytime soon, he simply canceled his meticulously planned trip and leisurely strolled around Kunming.

Let's make some handicrafts together, watch a movie, go fishing, or spend an afternoon at our favorite bar.

Fang Xu asks a lot of silly questions without thinking. You'll often only get a serious answer after you glance at him and see him rush over in embarrassment and indignation.

As you stroll through the night amidst the neon lights, he quietly takes your hand, and your face slowly flushes.

I traveled at a leisurely pace, from Kunming to Lijiang, and then from Lijiang to Shangri-La, visiting all the attractions listed in my notebook. It took me about half a month to complete the trip.

In the final days of your trip, you arrived at the last stop of your journey: Xizhou in Dali.

You don't like taking pictures on the street, but Fang Xu is very enthusiastic. Every time he sees something delicious or fun, he jumps up like a child and pulls you over quickly.

He puts his arm around your shoulder, holds your hand, and seizes every opportunity to draw you into his body, eager for you to completely accept him.

He has inexhaustible passion, while you are as still as a deep pool. When he criticizes you for being too indifferent, you rarely explain yourself. A relationship that burns too fast also fades away just as quickly.

While strolling around Xizhou Ancient Town, Fang Xu unexpectedly discovered tie-dyed cloth and insisted on making one himself. You, on the other hand, wasn't interested in it and preferred to walk in the rice paddies and see the misty mountains.

So the two of you were separated for a short period of time.

The midday sun was blazing and hot. After arriving in Xizhou, the short-sleeved shirt and shorts Fang Xu had bought didn't last long in the sun, so you put on your own shirt and trousers and walked along the shady side until you reached the outskirts of town.

The white walls and black tiles gradually faded into the distance.

People become indistinct dots, and in the rows of paddy fields beneath your feet, the green rice is growing perfectly. You encounter a young painter sketching in the fields, squat down and chat with him for a few minutes.

What brings you to Dali?

The painter, unconcerned with formalities, dipped his brushes in the flowing ditches of the rice paddies. The watercolors turned transparent as they flowed through the water. You looked at his clean painting, then at his disheveled appearance, paused for a moment, and said with a smile, "Come over here and make a wish."

The painter was curious, so he chatted casually, probably thinking you'd say you came here for fun. But he was surprised to hear the answer: "To fulfill a vow? I've been here for more than half a year, and I've never heard of any particularly efficacious temples."

You sit cross-legged next to him and say seriously, "So, if it really comes true, then he's lucky; if it doesn't, then he deserves what he got."

The painter was both amused and exasperated. Just as he was about to say something more, a gust of wind blew his hat into the paddy field, sending it flying far away.

He went down to pick up his hat, and asked you to stay here and look at his painting.

You nodded in agreement and sat on a small stool to wait for him to return. The sun was high and far away, yet the heat spread from your back to your cheeks, and sweat beaded on your forehead. You were somewhat lost in thought, your finger swiping across your phone without opening it. Mentioning this matter, the things that had been building up in your heart, things you didn't want to recall, condensed into howling dark clouds.

You remain calm and composed.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over your head, and a hat was placed on your head. You looked up in surprise, adjusting the hat. Fang Xu was squatting in front of you with a smile, holding two ice creams, and his cool hand touched your cheek.

"Found you!"

The rice paddies did not mask the scent of the sea and the fragrance of the forest.

He was hot and sweaty, his hair was tied in a small round bun, and his forehead was soaked with sweat. His expression was like a warm little lion, tail up, jumping on its owner's lap to act cute.

You couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to pinch his cheek, making a goldfish mouth shape. Fang Xu gave you a "don't be silly" look, tore open the ice cream, and handed it to you.

The green rice swayed in the wind, creating ripples like water.

Fang Xu sat down next to you and handed you a small cloth bag with a sun pattern on it. You took it and looked at it, raising your eyebrows slightly with a hint of something: "Did you make this?"

Fang Xu touched his nose: "I bought it. The one I made... Hmm, I think this pattern suits you better."

You smiled gently and didn't say anything. Fang Xu was about to explain when he suddenly stared at you blankly, his ears turning red, and he quietly took your hand.

When the painter returned, the people who had been looking at his paintings were gone. He followed the direction of the town and saw two figures holding hands on the ridge of a field, slowly disappearing into the distance.

The painter thought for a moment, then raised his hand and painted on the canvas.

Before you and Fang Xu left, you went to that temple, donated money for incense, and then officially got together before flying back to City A.

After we became boyfriend and girlfriend, we saw each other much more often.

You spend most of your time in his "private cinema," and you discover that he has a serious smoking habit, but you yourself have been smoking non-stop for the past year, so you can't ask him to be too demanding.

But smoking is harmful to health, so I persuaded him to quit smoking together.

Fang Xu was extremely unwilling at first and tried every means to hide cigarettes in various places. After you dealt with him a few times without any mercy, he learned his lesson.

When you want a cigarette, you can dawdle over and ask for one. If you keep dawdling, they'll eventually give in. It's much better than getting caught.

But gradually, he stopped coming to see you as often.

Author's Note:

Almost there, almost there, the knife is about to be cut! It's time for my favorite part!