These past few days he's been going to the Daxiangguo Temple a lot, but he doesn't do anything special, just light an incense stick and listen to the chanting for a while.
Yet he dared not linger, fearing that his own sins of killing might violate taboos and implicate Chu Huaixu.
The antidote for the Gu poison was destroyed by Dong Maolin. Song Ting had suffered from this poison before and knew very well that Chu Huaixu didn't have many days left to live, so burning incense and praying to Buddha would be useless.
But whether it works or not, he would always give it a try as long as there was even the slightest chance of survival.
Whether it's burning incense and praying to Buddha, or anything else, as long as it can save Huaixu, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, Song Ting is always willing to give it a try.
What if?
What if...?
He always thought that way.
The two talked intermittently for a while, with Chu Huaixu doing most of the talking, while Song Ting was tongue-tied and never spoke much.
"I'm a little tired, I want to sleep for a while," Chu Huaixu said after a while.
"Okay, go to sleep. I'll stay here with you. Today is New Year's Eve, we'll get up later to eat dumplings."
Song couldn't resist kissing him on the forehead. "Tell Chef Wang to make some more reunion dishes. What kind of filling do you want?"
Chu Huaixu thought about it carefully for a while and said, "Sesame and peanut."
"Okay, then I'll have the sesame and peanut flavor, and two red bean flavors too."
Chu Huaixu loves to eat reunion dumplings, but he doesn't eat much. He always struggles between sesame filling and red bean filling, which is quite adorable.
Chu Huaixu smiled again, seemingly satisfied: "Yes, remember to wake me up."
...
The dishes had been reheated three times, and the dumplings and reunion dumplings were so mixed up that it was impossible to tell which were dumplings and which were reunion dumplings.
Chu Huaixu then woke up.
Because it was New Year's Eve, the mansion was very lively. The maids and servants received their rewards and happily pasted paper-cuts on the windows and hung red lanterns. Chu Huaixu ate half a sesame seed for reunion that Song Ting fed him and watched everyone running in and out.
The most troublesome one was Xiao An. It was one thing for him to cause trouble, but he also dragged A Bao into it. The two half-grown boys were enough to turn the Song family upside down.
Because of his sudden departure, Xiao An cried for several days. When he returned, she hugged him and cried. Song Ting was annoyed by her crying and sent her to school to ask the teacher to discipline her.
People are only allowed to return on the night of the family reunion.
Xiao Wu and Qi Zhou were drinking on the rooftop. The two were talking about something, glancing at them every now and then, while Xiao Wu laughed so hard he was doubled over.
Song Ting brought over a bright golden lotus lantern: "Make a wish, and all your New Year's Eve wishes will come true."
The new servant was still a child. He ran too fast and bumped his head on the high threshold, howling in pain. His companions behind him clutched their stomachs and laughed.
Chu Huaixu smiled as well, but didn't respond to Song Ting's comment.
Song Ting could guess what he was thinking, and instead of letting the matter drop, she squatted down in front of him and said, "Don't think nonsense. Your life is mine now."
The words were blunt, but the tone was gentle.
Chu Huaixu looked down at his palm, then looked up at Song Ting and asked, "You really don't hate me?"
"I don't hate you. I did those things willingly. I told you, I would give up my life for you."
"But I hate myself for not being able to protect you properly and for making you suffer so much. I hate myself so much."
"But Mingyu, you can't keep thinking about leaving me. If you leave, I will hate you. I will hate you to death."
"So you need to eat well, rest well, stay healthy, and stay by my side."
He wanted to touch Chu Huaixu's face, but remembering his illness, he couldn't bring himself to actually do it. His fingers tightened unwillingly.
"Everything I've done is to keep you alive. Don't let all my efforts become a joke."
"Mingyu, don't do this. Don't let the sacrifices of the old prince and the two young masters be in vain. Don't be so cruel."
Chu Huaixu never imagined that Song Ting would say such a thing to him one day. He was stunned for a moment and did not know how to respond.
He returned to Song Ting's side with the intention of revenge, originally thinking that there was a blood feud between them and that the final outcome would either be that he would kill Song Ting to avenge his family, or that Song Ting would kill him.
They will never be like this again.
But the truth dealt him a heavy blow: the person he hated, resented, and abused was the most innocent in the whole affair. If there was any hatred, it should have been Song Ting who hated him.
He felt he couldn't face this person, and he was also afraid that Song Ting would be saddened by his death, so he chose to leave without saying goodbye.
But this person is still here begging him to live for his sake.
How silly, his little dog.
He reached out and touched Song Ting's face. The excruciating pain traveled through his fingertips straight to his heart, and a layer of cold sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.
Song Ting's face paled slightly.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Chu Huaixu smiled.
"I'm not talking nonsense, I'm serious. Mingyu, I'm serious."
The bright red lanterns were already hanging high, and the bright red light reflected on Song Ting's face, making his features appear much gentler than usual.
“I know what you’re thinking, but none of that matters. It was my own choice. There was no other way back then. Even if time could turn back hundreds of times, I would still do it.”
"That was the best and only way at the time. Whether it was me, the old prince, or the eldest and second young masters, we all hoped that you could live."
“Mingyu, you don’t need to feel guilty, it’s not your fault. But you have to live on. If you live on, our sacrifices will not be in vain. You understand, right?”
The banquet in the palace reached its climax, and fireworks illuminated half the sky. All the maids and servants in the mansion rushed to the courtyard to watch the fireworks, leaving only the two of them in the hall, which was very quiet.
Chu Huaixu remained silent throughout.
Song Ting's heart sank little by little.
He forced a smile and turned to look at a distant firework: "You might not believe it, but I used to value my life a lot. I would do anything to survive."
"But ever since you took me home, you have slowly become the most important person in my life. Nothing else can compare to you, not even my life."
“Or rather, Mingyu,” he turned his gaze back to Chu Huaixu’s eyes, “you are my life.”
"You know, someone like me who values life so much wouldn't risk it, so I will never let you go easily. No one can take you away from me, not even God."
“Mingyu, if you really can’t get over that hurdle in your heart and feel indebted to me, then I will give you a good way to make it up to you.”
Chu Huaixu then reacted slightly, gently raising his eyes to look at him, as if he was interested in the method he had described.
Song Ting smiled slightly, tiptoed, and gently touched his lips. She simply couldn't resist.
"Stay with me, stay with me."
"This is all the compensation I want."
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