As the first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the room, Li Baolong slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Honghong, still fast asleep beside him, her hair slightly disheveled on the pillow, her face radiating a peaceful weariness. A complex mix of emotions welled up within Li Baolong. He quietly got up, dressed, and left the room, returning home.
Sitting on his familiar old sofa at home, Li Baolong's thoughts were a jumbled mess. Recalling his passionate encounter with Honghong the previous night, a deep sense of guilt overwhelmed him. Although Honghong insisted that her cousin Huang Jian had left her and that they had no further connection, Li Baolong couldn't let it go. In his heart, his cousin Huang Jian had always been a respected family member and a guide on his path of growth. Now, he himself had such an intimate relationship with his cousin's former lover. This hurdle in his heart caused him agonizing struggle.
"I can't do this again." He murmured to himself, as if making a solemn promise to himself, or as if trying to suppress the surging emotions within him. He knew all too well that love, while intoxicating, was a double-edged sword if it was built on violating moral ethics and hurting loved ones, harming both himself and others.
Li Baolong had been attending classes at school for the past few days. He'd fallen behind in his major courses lately, so he was spending time improving himself. That evening, back home, Li Baolong suddenly remembered the jade bottle in his spatial storage. He casually took it out and examined it carefully, finding nothing unusual. But when he put the bottle back into his storage space, he suddenly noticed it had doubled in size—a phenomenon known as "one becoming two." Li Baolong used his consciousness to observe the space. It was two cubic meters in size, and there seemed to be faint writing on the four walls—Taoist scripture. Li Baolong copied down these hundreds of characters one by one; it was already past midnight. He planned to go to the Qingyang Palace in the city the next day to find someone knowledgeable in Taoist scriptures to help him translate them.
Filled with curiosity and anticipation, Li Baolong stayed up all night. The next morning, he took two sheets of paper with him: one to copy a passage from the celestial book, and the other to trace a passage of text from within the spatial dimension. He eagerly set off for Qingyang Palace. Along the way, his mind was filled with countless thoughts, and the mysterious Taoist script from the spatial dimension kept appearing in his mind, as if it concealed a great secret, waiting to be revealed.
Upon arriving at Qingyang Palace, incense smoke curled and Taoist music played softly. Li Baolong inquired around and finally found a highly respected old Taoist priest who had studied Taoism in Qingyang Palace for many years. His Taoist name was Mingyue. With a nervous heart, he handed over the Taoist text he had copied to the old Taoist priest Mingyue, his eyes full of earnestness and expectation.
The old Taoist priest took the two sheets of paper. His gaze fell upon the cloud-like script, and a look of surprise and solemnity crossed his face. He examined them carefully for a long time before slowly saying, "These Taoist characters are ancient and obscure, containing profound Taoist philosophy and cultivation methods. They cannot be fully deciphered in a short time." Hearing this, Li Baolong felt somewhat disappointed, but he refused to give up and begged the old Taoist priest to do his best to help.
After a moment of contemplation, the old Taoist priest agreed to spend some time conducting in-depth research and instructed the young Taoists beside him to exchange contact information so he could be notified of the results. Li Baolong thanked him profusely and left Qingyang Palace.
Li Baolong lived his usual mundane and routine life, going about his daily routine of living and studying. However, this weekend was different. He had gone to help out at the dance hall run by Sister Honghong as arranged. As he stepped into that familiar yet unfamiliar place, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him.
The moment he saw Honghong, time seemed to freeze. Their eyes met, and in that instant, an indescribable awkwardness welled up in both of them. Recalling the wild experience of that night, those passionate scenes involuntarily flashed through their minds, causing their hearts to beat faster and their breathing to become slightly rapid.
Li Baolong felt his cheeks burning slightly. He didn't even dare to look directly into Honghong's beautiful and captivating eyes. It was as if if he looked any longer, she would see through the secrets and emotions hidden deep within his heart. So, like a startled rabbit, he hurriedly turned away and pretended to be busy running towards where he needed to work.
After work, Sister Honghong smiled and invited Li Baolong to have a late-night snack together. The two sat down at a bustling food stall and ordered some delicious food. They ate and chatted, the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant. However, after finishing their meal, Honghong suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Baolong's hand, looking at him with firm eyes and saying, "Baolong, don't feel guilty! I will absolutely not let you bear any responsibility for what happened that night."
After saying this, her cheeks flushed slightly, but she bravely continued to express her feelings: "Actually, I've liked you ever since you started helping out at the dance hall. I know we can't get married, after all, I'm ten years older than you. What happened that night might have been a bit sudden, and I didn't want to hide my feelings anymore. I'm the kind of person who dares to love and act, and if I miss out on you because of fear, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. That's why I did that with you. Don't worry, I won't interfere in your life. Just keep me company when I'm feeling down."
Li Baolong gently placed his hand on Honghong's shoulder and said softly, "Sister Honghong, you've taken such good care of me these past few months. Whether it's my studies or my life, you've been incredibly dedicated and tireless. Because of you by my side, I can grow up so peacefully and happily, living each day without a care in the world." He gazed deeply into Honghong's eyes and continued, "Now that I'm an adult, I want to do everything I can to share some of your burdens. Whatever I can do, no matter how hard it is, I will do it without hesitation. I sincerely hope that we can continue to be happy like this, without worries, only with each other's warm companionship." After saying this, Li Baolong held Honghong's hand tightly, as if it were the strongest bond between them. Then, he slowly accompanied Honghong on the way home. As the sun set, their shadows were stretched long and thin, like a beautiful and heartwarming painting.
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