Mid-Autumn Festival
"Sure, buy some cooked food and eat it directly. For our safety, you don't have to cook anymore." Qiu Zimu patted Ye Jing'an on the shoulder.
"If you want to eat, I will make it for you. Go now." Ye Jing'an pushed Qiu Zimu to the door.
Without Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu, the house was exceptionally quiet. Liu Muze called out twice, but got no response. He walked out and saw the car drive away, guessing they were out playing again.
"These two kids are quite energetic." Liu Muzhe chuckled and went out with a bottle of wine.
Beneath a large golden osmanthus tree on Yuhang Mountain, Liu Muze poured his wine onto the ground. He leaned against the trunk and sat on the ground, sighing and closing his eyes, wondering what he was thinking.
…
"Brother Liu, we're back!" The two of them were carrying several large bags, and Ye Jing'an was also holding a cardboard box.
The two shouted several times, but there was no sign of Liu Muzhe.
"Where did he run off to again?" Ye Jing'an was traumatized by his disappearance and always felt that he would be a thorn in his side as soon as he came back.
"Maybe he went shopping too. We just went out and forgot to take him with us." Qiu Zimu put the things on the table.
Ye Jingan called Liu Muze, but the call was unavailable: "Forget it, let's make arrangements first."
The two of them hung a few newly bought small red lanterns and some beautiful decorations in the house, and filled the table with fruits and snacks. They were all simple and ordinary things, but they brought a little warmth to this cold and deserted house.
"Sure, it looks good!" Qiu Zimu smiled and took a few photos with his mobile phone to send to his family.
"Of course, I bought it, of course." Ye Jingan put his hands on his waist and admired the room he decorated.
After eating, the two of them went to the third-floor balcony to play while waiting for Liu Muze to come home, so as to give him a surprise. They sat and waited for several hours, and it was almost dark, but he didn't come back.
Qiu Zimu suggested turning off all the lights and sitting on the first floor to wait. When Brother Liu came back, he could turn on the lights himself.
When it got dark, Liu Muzhe came back.
"Huh? They haven't come back yet?" Liu Muzhe turned on the light and was stunned by the layout of the house. If he hadn't seen the golden nanmu cabinet, he would have thought he had come to the wrong place.
While he was in a daze, Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu jumped out from behind the sofa and shouted with a smile: "Brother Liu, happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"
"Happy Mid-Autumn Festival." Liu Muze's lips curled up slightly. "Did you arrange all these?"
The two smiled and nodded, looking at him expectantly.
"It looks very good." The smile on Liu Muzhe's face deepened.
The temperature dropped today, and he didn't put on more clothes. He had been on the mountain for half a day, feeling the cold wind, and his whole body was freezing. But as soon as he entered this house, he felt a warm current flowing from his heart to his whole body.
He had been homeless since childhood. Even when Ye Chenyi took him to live with the Ye family as his younger brother, he had no sense of belonging. They just took him in out of kindness. After Ye Chenyi left, he wandered around, resting wherever he was tired. He always thought that the word home had nothing to do with him, but after who knows how many years, he felt the warmth of home.
"Great! Brother Liu said it looks great!"
"I told you Brother Liu would definitely like it."
Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu chatted with each other.
Liu Muze smiled as he watched the two of them play. He thought that although they were adults, they were still two playful children at heart. This was normal. When they first became adults and entered society, they would always carry their previous childishness with them.
"Brother Liu, where have you been? Why did you come back just now?" Ye Jing'an was too happy, then he remembered that Brother Liu seemed to look a little unwell when he just came back.
"I'm going to get gifts for you." Liu Muzhe took out two bracelets from his pocket.
"What is this?" Qiu Zimu took the bracelet.
"Cinnabar is very effective in expelling extremely yin things. Wearing it as a bracelet can calm the mind and ward off evil spirits." Liu Muzhe said.
When it comes to cinnabar, Ye Jingan is very familiar with it. His father likes cinnabar the most, and his family has bought a lot of cinnabar ornaments, necklaces and bracelets.
Ye Jing'an looked at the cinnabar bead Liu Muze had given him. It was purple, without a trace of impurities. It looked crystal clear, with a translucent, oily sheen. Gently holding the bead, Ye Jing'an was surprised to find that it actually radiated warmth.
Ye Jingan knew that purple gold sand was far more valuable than cinnabar. He wouldn't let Ye Jingan touch the purple gold sand treasures Ye Zhuoran had bought for him, fearing that the unfortunate child would break his treasures.
Although the bead that Brother Liu gave me was just a small one, none of the purple gold sands at home could compare to it. The difference was simply worlds apart. This one was a rare find.
"Do you like it?" Liu Muzhe asked with a smile.
The two of them put the beads on their hands and looked at them.
"I love it so much! Brother Liu is so nice."
"I like it, thank you Brother Liu!"
Seeing Liu Muze gift him such a precious gift, Ye Jing'an was so excited that he wanted to rush over and hug him. Just as he reached out his hand, he caught a glimpse of Qiu Zimu standing beside him. If he hugged him, Qiu Zimu would stare at him like a pervert for a few days. Ye Jing'an pulled his hand back and pretended to scratch his hair. He secretly muttered to himself: "It's okay to share the treasure given by Brother Liu, but why are you standing here in the way?"
Qiu Zimu liked the bracelet very much and was fascinated by it. Suddenly, he caught Ye Jingan's eyes with an unknown hostility: "What are you looking at me with? Why are you looking at me?"
"You look so handsome, why don't you let people see you?" Ye Jing'an said to him unhappily, then turned around and told Liu Muzhe with a smile that he had bought a lot of delicious food and dragged him to eat, leaving Qiu Zimu alone there.
Qiu Zimu: "???"
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the bustling atmosphere in the streets reached its peak, presenting a peaceful and joyous scene.
The streets were festooned with lights and colorful decorations, and the shops were packed with people. The dazzling array of goods was simply overwhelming. The bustling streets were filled with the sounds of car horns, vendors' cries, various music, and people's laughter, creating a bustling atmosphere.
Liu Muze was used to a quiet environment and didn't like this noisy environment, which hurt his ears. But he was still pulled by Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu to accompany them on a stroll.
"Brother Liu, there seems to be a performance up ahead. Do you want to go and see it?" Qiu Zimu turned around and asked.
Liu Muze: "Okay."
The Mid-Autumn Festival parade began on the southern side of Zhongtan Street. Dragon and lion dance troupes stopped just in front of the three of them, amidst the crowds, to perform their spectacular performance. The dragons, framed in straw and bamboo and adorned with colorful robes, were manipulated by performers, accompanied by dragon balls and drum music. The already vividly portrayed dragons came even more vividly, and more and more people gathered to watch the performance.
Ye Jingan thought that Liu Muze didn't like noisy environments, so he moved closer to him and asked loudly: "Brother Liu, do you like watching this?"
"Do you like it?" Liu Muzhe asked.
"I like it." Ye Jing'an didn't really like watching dragon dancing, but he thought it was fun to watch it with so many people.
"I like it too." Liu Muzhe said with a faint smile.
They walked around almost all the bustling places, bought a lot of food, and then planned to go home. On the way, Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu heard many people say that a large lantern festival would be held in He Street in the evening, which would be very lively.
"Brother Liu, are you going?"
Liu Muze also heard it, and his eyelids twitched a few times. Under the expectant gazes of the two, he slowly said: "Go."
Ye Jing'an and Qiu Zimu looked at each other with a smile, then pulled Liu Muzhe towards the parking lot.
Back home, Liu Muze's feet were sore, and he lamented that shopping was even more tiring than fighting the Sky Demon. He didn't feel like doing anything anymore, so he just collapsed on the bed and went to sleep. Ye Jing'an and Qiu Zimu weren't much better, they just lay down on the sofa and didn't get up again.
"Brother Liu, wake up! The Lantern Festival is about to begin. Let's go!" Liu Muze heard Ye Jing'an calling him in a daze. He got up and found that his feet were even more sore than before. It seemed like this was the first time he had walked so far, and he had to walk at night!
He looked at Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu as if nothing had happened, still talking and laughing, not looking tired at all, and felt that he was really old.
Even before the car arrived, the dazzling lights of the ten-mile-long street could be seen from afar. Tile lights illuminated the roofs of the antique buildings, outlining their contours and highlighting their unique characteristics. A variety of lanterns hung around the houses, giving the entire river street a completely different look than during the day.
Many people were releasing lanterns along the riverbank, and the once dark and silent river surface became lively because of the colorful lanterns. Unlike the hustle and bustle of traffic and crowds during the day, the brilliant lights in the dark night gave people a warm feeling.
The bustling festive atmosphere and the dim yellow river lanterns made Liu Muze's thoughts drift back to the Mid-Autumn Festival many years ago...
"Hey, there are actually sugar figures for sale here." Ye Jing'an pulled Qiu Zimu over.
"When I was a kid, I always loved eating candy figures. I haven't seen anyone selling this stuff for many years." Qiu Zimu sighed with a smile.
The two of them squatted beside the candy figurine stall and started choosing patterns, forgetting about Liu Muzhe.
The candy man was ready. Ye Jingan took a lick and said, "Well, it still tastes the same as before, but it doesn't have the same happy feeling as when I was a child getting a candy man."
"Don't you see how grown up you are? You're almost growing horns on your head, yet you still want to feel like a child." Qiu Zimu took the candy man and tried the taste.
Ye Jingan bit the candy man into pieces and put it into his mouth, chewing it with a crisp sound: "Hey, here it is, this is how I ate it when I was a kid."
Qiu Zimu: "..."
"By the way, I'll buy one for Brother Liu." Ye Jing'an squatted down again to look at the pattern.
Qiu Zimu twitched his lips: "Are you sure? I've never seen Brother Liu eat candy, how could he like this?"
"Boss, make me another little rabbit." Ye Jing'an turned and smiled at Qiu Zimu, "No matter whether he likes it or not, I'm happy to buy it for him!"
The little rabbit candy figure was ready. Ye Jingan took it and turned around and called out habitually: "Brother Liu, this is for you..."
"Huh?" Ye Jing'an looked around but didn't see Liu Muze. "Damn, we were just looking at the sugar man and forgot to bring him over!"
Qiu Zimu: "!!!"
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