Chapter 57 Feeling Ashamed of Oneself "She has feelings for you."
"Oh," Gu Shanyue rubbed her eyes and yawned, "then let's go."
She always felt sleepy very quickly and intensely, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. When Qi Baitong slowly dawdled in, Gu Shanyue was already lying in bed asleep, looking like she had fallen asleep as soon as she lay down.
Qi Baitong's apprehension seemed to dissipate like a gentle breeze, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face. She quietly walked over and squatted down in front of the bed, helping her take off her outer garment and shoes.
Gu Shanyue's face was relaxed, her expression serene, and she slept peacefully.
Qi Baitong looked at her, all the chaotic thoughts in his mind vanished, and he unconsciously stared at her for a long time.
Gu Shanyue rolled over and accidentally tugged at her hairband, causing her to frown and groan.
Qi Baitong snapped out of her daze and gently untied her hair ribbon, pulling it out little by little. Gu Shanyue's furrowed brows relaxed. Qi Baitong wrapped the soft hair ribbon around her fingers, rolled it into a small ball, and held it to her nose, inhaling the faint fragrance emanating from her.
After taking a deep sniff, he carefully tucked the hairband into his pocket, climbed back onto the bed, turned to face her, keeping his distance, but his eyes were glued to her, gazing at her as if she were a dream so close at hand.
The next morning, the small window was pushed open halfway, and the warm sunlight shone on his face, waking Gu Shanyue.
She opened her eyes and saw the familiar blue canopy overhead. Turning her head, she saw the welcoming furnishings in the room.
She then remembered that she had returned to Zhuoguang Mountain.
Even though I only stayed in Shengjing for a little over a month, I felt like I had been in another world when I came back.
Gu Shanyue shook his head, jumped out of bed, and felt refreshed after a good night's sleep.
Just as she got up, she heard the sound of water running from the washstand. Qi Baitong leaned out and smiled gently, "You've slept well, come and wash up."
Gu Shanyue smiled and said, "Mm."
She walked over slowly. The water was just the right temperature and had a faint hibiscus scent. After a quick wash, she stepped out the door and felt the morning breeze on her face, which was moist and cool.
A rich, sweet aroma wafted through the air, and several plates of pale yellow pastries, steaming hot, were laid out on a small table in the courtyard.
Qi Baitong was setting out the bowls and chopsticks, and called to her, "A-Yue, come and have breakfast."
Gu Shanyue gazed at him as he turned and smiled at the table, the familiar scent of osmanthus filling her nostrils. For a moment, she felt as if time had reversed, and she had returned to the past.
"Ah Yue, Ah Yue?" Qi Baitong called to her.
Gu Shanyue smiled, walked over and sat down. The food on the table in front of her was fragrant with osmanthus, and even the warm milk in the bowl was sprinkled with osmanthus petals.
"Try it and see if it suits your taste. All the osmanthus flowers were picked from this osmanthus tree," Qi Baitong said with a smile, pointing to the tall osmanthus tree in the yard. "Now it's really going to be bald."
Gu Shanyue scooped up a spoonful of osmanthus yogurt, which was sweet and soft, and she laughed, "So what if I'm bald?"
Back when my senior sister was alive, this osmanthus tree would go bare before late autumn. Now that the paulownia tree is here, the osmanthus tree, which has been dormant for so many years, has finally found its purpose again.
Thinking this, Gu Shanyue's smile deepened, and the lingering melancholy seemed to have quietly dissipated somewhat.
Gu Shanyue buried her head in her food and ate a hearty breakfast. Just as she finished, Lu Ya's voice came from outside the courtyard gate.
"Master, are you up?"
"Come in."
Lu Ya pushed open the door and entered excitedly, carrying a food box: "Little Master, I brought you the osmanthus cake from your favorite shop down the mountain. It's still warm, you..."
His words stopped abruptly the moment he saw the scene before him.
On the small table in the courtyard, there was a lot of food, and most of it had been eaten. There were two plates of osmanthus cake alone.
Gu Shanyue and Qi Baitong sat very close together. Qi Baitong was wiping the oil stains from Gu Shanyue's lips with a cloth. Gu Shanyue was at ease and let him get close, so close that Lu Ya felt awkward, as if he had unintentionally stumbled into a scene of affection between a young couple.
Lu Ya slowly lowered the food box he had been holding, letting it dangle at his sides. He asked blankly, "...Little Master?"
Gu Shanyue hummed in response, without even turning to look at him.
On the contrary, Qi Baitong, after wiping Gu Shanyue's face, greeted him and said, "Lu Ya is here. Have you had breakfast? There is still osmanthus pudding and osmanthus cake in the kitchen. I will bring them to you."
Before Lu Ya could reply, he got up, tidied up the table, and quickly brought back some pastries, behaving like the host who was in charge of everything.
Lu Ya was still standing there dumbfounded when Qi Baitong brought him over and pushed the osmanthus cake in front of him.
"Try it, I made it myself, your master loves it."
Qi Baitong was completely different from the silent and taciturn person who stayed behind Gu Shanyue yesterday. Lu Ya originally thought that Qi Baitong was just a follower or guard. Even if he could sleep in Gu Shanyue's courtyard, he would at most sleep in Li Yuheng's room.
But upon closer inspection, he was no longer so sure.
Lu Ya took a couple of bites of the osmanthus cake, dazed, before the sweet taste brought her back to her senses.
He asked in surprise, "You made this? You made it yourself?"
With a faint smile, Qi Baitong nodded and said, "I made it myself. The osmanthus flowers were picked from this osmanthus tree in the yard. How does it taste?"
He was clearly polite and courteous, but for some reason, Lu Ya felt something was off about him.
Lu Ya nodded, having to admit, "It's delicious..."
The taste was indeed very good, so good that it reminded him of Wushan Jade from back then. The taste in his memory was too distant, and he couldn't judge whether Qi Baitong's version was as delicious as Wushan Jade.
Lu Ya looked at the tall osmanthus tree in the courtyard. Qi Baitong had only arrived last night. If he was going to serve a plate of osmanthus cakes made by himself this morning, he probably hadn't slept much last night.
After finally settling down from Shengjing to Zhuoguang Mountain, he didn't rest. He would get up at night to pick, wash, and dry osmanthus flowers to make osmanthus cakes.
"Eat more if you like it. A-Yue has eaten quite a lot too." Qi Baitong smiled slightly.
Although the osmanthus cake was sweet, Lu Ya found it bitter after chewing it for a while. He looked down at the food box he was carrying, then at Gu Shanyue who was resting her face on her hand and enjoying the breeze. He was too embarrassed to take the food box out again.
Other people make their osmanthus cakes by hand, staying up all night, while his osmanthus cakes were bought from the mountain by his junior disciple. In fact, Gu Shanyue had already eaten breakfast when he delivered them.
The contrast between the two is so stark that it makes one feel utterly ashamed.
"Have you finished eating?" Gu Shanyue suddenly asked.
Lu Ya immediately nodded, putting down the osmanthus cake that he hadn't tasted: "I've finished eating."
Gu Shanyue stood up, her voice lowered: "Take the prepared offerings and let's go to the cemetery."
Qi Baitong also stood up, the polite yet provocative smile on her face fading, leaving only her attention on Gu Shanyue.
The group headed towards the cemetery on the back mountain, with Gu Shanyue and his two companions leading the way, followed by the junior disciples carrying offerings.
The weather turned cloudy, and the autumn wind brought a slight chill. The cemetery was filled with tombstones, where the ancestors of Zhuoguang Mountain were buried. The newest tombstone was made of Wushan jade.
Her grave was well-maintained, with incense burning in a small incense burner, fruits and pastries on a jade plate, and the tombstone was spotless.
Gu Shanyue stood quietly in front of the tombstone and said, "Senior Sister, I've come back to celebrate your birthday."
Silence reigned all around, broken only by the howling wind.
Gu Shanyue sat down in front of the tombstone and beckoned Lu Ya to bring over the offerings one by one, without letting his junior disciple do it.
Qi Baitong watched without offering any help, simply standing silently beside Gu Shanyue.
"Look, your favorite wine, your favorite mung bean cake, your favorite fabrics... I'll give you more. I went to Shengjing the other day and remembered that you also like to wear this kind of bright golden satin. Do you think this is it?"
Gu Shanyue tore a piece of the bright yellow silk and handed it to the tombstone.
The tombstone is silent.
After a while, Gu Shanyue withdrew her hand: "I won't be mistaken, I know even if you don't say anything."
After the junior disciples finished offering the sacrifices, they gradually left. Lu Ya squatted down beside Gu Shanyue, handing her the offerings. Listening to her casual tone, his eyes reddened.
Gu Shanyue talked on and on, picking up one thing and chatting with the tombstone for a long time, even though no one responded.
This was the first time Qi Baitong had heard Gu Shanyue speak so much; she was like a lonely little bird chirping to itself.
After a long while, with all the offerings piled up in front of the Wushan Jade Tomb, Gu Shanyue finally fell silent, having nothing more to say.
She quietly raised her hand to stroke the tombstone, and after a long while, her voice became a little hoarse: "My senior sister and I will stay for a while, you guys go first."
Qi Baitong and Lu Ya left, leaving the space to Gu Shanyue.
The two walked along the path behind the mountain, withered yellow leaves fluttering in the wind and a cold breeze blowing. Qi Baitong remained silent, still thinking about Gu Shanyue's appearance just now.
When she was sad, his heart ached too.
“Young Master Qi, you are the only person besides Li Yuheng to have spent the night in ‘Moonlight and Jade Purity’,” Lu Ya suddenly said.
Qi Baitong glanced at him, her tone flat and emotionless: "Is that so?"
"You really like your little master, don't you?" Lu Ya stared intently at his face.
Qi Baitong replied frankly, "Of course."
He wasn't in the mood to say much more to Lu Ya right now.
“Master likes you too,” Lu Ya said again, his smile tinged with weariness and bitterness.
Qi Baitong's eyes widened in surprise, then she shook her head, her expression turning somber: "She doesn't like me. You don't understand her."
Even though they were very close, he always knew that he resembled someone, and that person was the one Gu Shanyue truly cared about.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ya's expression turned strange, and he said with certainty, "You just don't understand her, do you? I'm only asking you, which room did you sleep in last night?"
Qi Baitong replied, "How could I offend Lady Wu? I also cannot disturb Li Yuheng's room, so I will naturally sleep in A Yue's room."
Lu Ya had an "I knew it" look on his face: "There are very few people in Zhuoguang Mountain, and there are countless empty houses. Why would there be a shortage of empty houses for you to live in? You make it sound like you're in a difficult situation and have no choice but to live with your master."
Qi Baitong frowned, wanting to explain: "I..."
Lu Ya ignored him and interrupted him, saying, "Besides, what kind of person is Master? If anyone she dislikes dares to get close to her, Wu Gou would probably have already drawn his sword and taken that person's life. She allows you to get this close, so she must have feelings for you."
In the end, Lu Ya sighed first.
Qi Baitong's eyes flashed with thoughtful light. Lu Ya's words sounded very appealing, and he wanted to believe them.
But everything that happened in Shengjing constantly reminded him that he had asked Gu Shanyue himself, and Li Yuheng had also let Gu Shanyue make the choice himself, so how could Gu Shanyue lie?
Looking up, Lu Ya's face was full of sadness. Qi Baitong squinted and said, "I don't know about A Yue, but your feelings for her go beyond just teacher-student affection, don't they?"
Lu Ya grinned, a smile both carefree and sorrowful: "When I was young and just beginning to experience love, the girl I met was a swordswoman who could shake the martial arts world. How could I not like her?"
Qi Baitong felt a brief moment of empathy for Lu Ya. He had felt the same way back then. He remembered Lu Ya for so many years after just one fleeting glance as a young boy. How much more so now that he had spent so much time with Lu Ya.
But his empathy only went this far before he began to feel jealous, jealous of the decades that this person had spent with Gu Shanyue.
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