Swamp Fantasy
She wasn't actually very keen on recalling the details of their time together; it wasn't that she didn't care as some people claimed, but rather that she preferred to imagine what would happen in the future.
Those memories, however sweet, now feel like dull knives, or a gentle swamp, from which one sinks deeper and deeper. So, ultimately, people still need fantasy and dreams; only by glimpsing a ray of light can Chu Yiqi keep his eyes open and await the dawn.
Perhaps it was because he saw Xi Ai—the protagonist in her ethereal imagination—that the past he had repeatedly forced himself to ignore resurfaced.
This breach was foreshadowed, perhaps from the moment she unconsciously dropped her chopsticks into the red soup, or perhaps even earlier, from when the assistant handed her the food with such confidence.
Then some waves gently caressed, eventually gathering into a tide, carrying memories irreversibly, overwhelming everything.
*
It must have been their book signing event at the end of spring. Xi Ai sat on the edge of the bed picking out clothes early in the morning, but Chu Yiqi soon stood in front of Xi Ai, wearing a light blue satin cheongsam with some dark patterns, blocking Xi Ai's view.
She picked out a shirt for Xi Ai and then took a tie from her own JK uniform to match. She placed it next to Xi Ai and put her hand on Xi Ai's shoulder.
"Stop picking and choosing, just wear this."
"Why?"
Chu Yiqi said, "It looks good."
Actually, Chu Yiqi herself liked seeing Xi Ai dressed in more formal clothes.
Xi Ai smiled, not revealing Chu Yiqi's thoughts, hooked her arm around Chu Yiqi's waist, gave him a brief kiss, and happily went to change her clothes.
Chu Yiqi chose a navy blue shirt made of comfortable silk, which also seemed to be from the same series as the cheongsam.
So, halfway through the registration, a girl with cotton dolls of both of them hanging from her bag asked directly, "Excuse me, can Qiqi and Xi'ai pose for a picture so I can take a picture?"
Chu Yiqi immediately turned to look at Xi Ai, who tilted her head and looked at her. Then the fan took out a picture.
The two couldn't help but chuckle. Chu Yiqi stood up, and Xi Ai looked up into Chu Yiqi's eyes.
In that instant, an unspoken understanding was reached.
"I want to perform a final exam review!"
"Okay, Teacher Chu."
So Xi Ai readily agreed and put on an innocent and pure appearance, even making her eyes slightly misty.
From Chu Yiqi's perspective, Xi Ai's skin was very fair, and the lines of her neck were beautiful. However, at this time, no one knew that, hidden under her shirt, Xi Ai had a recently tattooed mark on her collarbone.
It was a butterfly, exactly the same as the one Xi Ai had drawn for Chu Yiqi before.
A little to the side, there was a recently added bite mark—but that's not Miss Xi's fault.
Miss Xi had only left two buttons undone after getting dressed this morning, leaving them loose and revealing her collarbone and a tattoo.
Chu Yiqi stared for two seconds, then stood up, gathered Xi Ai's hair to one side from behind, placed her hand on Xi Ai's shoulder, and brushed the butterfly with an ambiguous gesture. After meeting Xi Ai's puzzled look, which seemed genuine, Chu Yiqi pursed her lips and lowered her head.
Xi Ai closed her eyes briefly, not resisting, but simply pinching Chu Yiqi's waist. She struggled for a few seconds against Chu Yiqi's slightly wicked glare, finally choosing to say in a very aggrieved tone, "It hurts, Teacher Chu..."
Chu Yiqi was still smiling when she asked, "Then what should we do? How about I let you bite it back?"
In that position, Xi Ai kissed Teacher Chu until Chu Yiqi couldn't hold on any longer and loosened his grip on Xi Ai's collar. Xi Ai moved away slightly and said with a smile, "It's okay now."
Chu Yiqi gave Xi Ai a second of his gaze, then slowly and methodically buttoned up Xi Ai's shirt and tied a perfect tie.
Xi Ai gently placed her hand on Chu Yiqi's hand that was clutching his tie. Noticing that Chu's gaze lingered on her shoulder, she smiled and pulled Chu Yiqi back to his senses: "Is this alright?"
This question was asked to the female fan, who happily nodded and said, "Okay, okay!"
So Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi took their seats one after the other.
Do you know what that, examination, is?
Xi Ai stopped writing, then raised her pen and said almost in unison with Chu Yiqi, "I don't know."
How could I not know? We were sitting together reading fanfiction about examination.
Instead of dwelling on it, she asked the only infighting issue in their CP fandom: "If you really had to choose one, would you choose final exam review or just going through the motions?"
The two remained silent for a moment.
Chu Yiqi chose the answer first: "Let's review for the final exams."
So Xi Ai chimed in, "We absolutely have to choose that time to review for the final exams."
"Good, good, the eldest son wins!"
So thanks to this younger sister, that night when Xi Ai went back to bed, she leaned against the headboard, hugged the oversized orange body pillow, and read fanfiction. Then she looked up at Chu Yiqi and asked, "Teacher Chu, do you know Examination?"
"I don't know." Chu Yiqi smiled as he hung up his cardigan, walked over, and started wrapping the tie around himself from the bottom, finally pulling Xi Ai closer.
Xi Ai put down her phone and obediently looked up at Chu Yiqi. Chu Yiqi then turned his head and bit Xi Ai's neck.
Xi Ai hissed, then laughed, snatched the tie from Chu Yiqi's hand, and casually pinched Chu Yiqi's waist.
"Perhaps we could discuss what the exam will cover?"
"Not really."
Xi Ai said, "It's okay, I'll rest tomorrow. I'll join the crew the day after tomorrow."
Chu Yiqi compromised and took it for granted, ignoring Xi Ai's hand that landed on his ankle.
The next moment, a string of clear bells rang out. Chu Yiqi was stunned for a moment, and then felt a string of jade bells hanging on his ankle.
"..."
Chu Yiqi unbuttoned Xi Ai's first button and said, "The exam didn't mention this."
“I changed the question.” Xi Ai said unreasonably.
Chu Yiqi had only raised one leg to prop himself up on the edge of the bed, but he simply sat on Xi Ai's lap, took Xi Ai's hand, and wrapped the silver thread tie around both of their hands. He also took the red rope that Xi Ai had left by the window—with another silver bell strung on it—and hung it on the tie.
With her eyes crinkled, Xi Ai waited for Chu Yiqi to finish doing all this. Just as Chu Yiqi placed his hand on her neck, he suddenly raised one of his bound hands. Chu Yiqi then placed his hand near Xi Ai's ear, leaned down, and refused any possibility of Xi Ai speaking.
Xi Ai raised her hand and took off the hairpin that she had chosen and styled for Chu Yiqi that morning. A touch of dark blue at the ends of her black hair brushed against Xi Ai's neck, making her feel a little itchy.
The hairpin was custom-made, with long tassels that seemed to chase butterflies, all of which ended up scattered on Xi Ai's fingertips.
When Chu Yiqi leaned forward again, Xi Ai raised her head in response. After a long while, Chu Yiqi moved away slightly, but Xi Ai pressed down on the back of his neck again.
Chu Yiqi slapped Xi Ai's hair in a fit of pique and said, "You fouled."
Xi Ai smiled and replied, "Mhm."
Then a bell rang, and Xi Ai put her arm around Chu Yiqi's waist, and the two switched positions.
*
The eldest son's victory is definitely fake, and the examination has already accepted this fact, but he is still active in the "final exam review" CP super topic. At this moment, he is hiding in Shi Yunshan's room supervising Shi Yunshan to write lyrics.
Chu Yiqi felt a little dizzy, but a hand grabbed her wrist, and Chu Yiqi was able to distinguish between memories and reality.
[Hey, hey, hey, are you tying the leash already?]
[No, no, no, this is nothing! Our fingers are intertwined!]
Coming to her senses, Xi Ai saw that Yu Nianxi had already come downstairs. Seeing Yu Nianxi reminded her of something she had just learned a little while ago. But when she saw Yu Nianxi holding a selfie stick, she could only step back slowly.
Therefore, Xi Ai chose to disturb Chu Yiqi.
Xi Ai glanced around and suddenly said, "Perhaps, Teacher Chu, would like to hear 'Swan'—"
Chu Yiqi looked at Xi Ai, neither agreeing nor refusing.
"Stop trying to harm our precious Qiqi." But Yu Nianxi turned her gaze away—Chu Yiqi didn't seem to mind at all.
Moreover, Chu Yiqi hesitated for a moment, looked at Xi Ai, and suddenly smiled, throwing the question back to Xi Ai: "Teacher Xi, 'Swan' is suitable for piano ensemble, can you play it?"
Chu Yiqi glanced at Xi Ai's arm as if making a pointed remark, paused briefly, and finally looked directly into Xi Ai's eyes.
She actually had her own selfish motives; she wanted to complete the long-overdue duet with Xi Ai.
Perhaps, as Su Luojian said, once Xi Ai's contract expires, it's really hard to say what will happen in the future, so she always wants to leave something behind.
Before she had even decided what she wanted to do, she had already started preparing memories for herself.
Chu Yiqi's selfish motives coincided perfectly with Xi Ai's idea: Xi Ai had originally deliberately picked out "Swan" from a bunch of violins.
In fact, For 8 is quite complementary. Everyone has some skills, but there is basically no overlap. Even if it's just singing, their comfort zones are completely unrelated.
—So it was once jokingly said that they were like ecological niches with no overlap, yet they were surprisingly harmonious.
Yu Nianxi is particularly happy to see these two people in the same frame.
Especially after Yu Qinglin's accident the year before last, there was always regret. So he hoped that Chu Yiqi would come back soon and not stay at odds with Xi Ai. It would be better to be friends than to torture each other with mutual affection.
Xi Ai sat down at the piano, her shirt cuffs rolled up once again. Chu Yiqi noticed the cufflinks as Xi Ai rolled up her cuffs.
—A pair of pink butterflies, with purple tinges on their wings and tails.
It appears to be a limited-edition jewelry set from last year.
Chu Yiqi also received one, and Nadia said at the time that it was a belated birthday present. But in reality, that day was a day she spent with Xi Ai.
Chu Yiqi blinked, his gaze shifting as if trying to cover something up, finally settling on Xi Ai's loose hair.
After a moment of silence, she stood up and took out a hair clip.
Xi Ai stared at her and recognized the hair clip as a Phalaenopsis orchid.
She had already seen it before.
—It was at one of Chu Yiqi's concerts. She was in a somewhat out-of-the-way spot, so I didn't see her clearly at the time. It wasn't until the next day that someone took a picture and started looking for the same item, but they didn't find anything.
Sisley had no choice but to ask Nadia indirectly.
Nadia was clearly unhappy, but quickly told her that it was Chu Yiqi who had customized it himself.
Chu Yiqi answered casually at the time: "I just really like Phalaenopsis orchids, so I had a pair made." Because they were a gift from Xi Ai, and they were the only pink plants they kept at home.
Chu Yiqi didn't mention that she wandered around the market again and again before finally finding a beautiful piece of purple jadeite with a gradual change to a bluish-green hue. Afterwards, she drew up a design herself and went to work with her craftsman to modify it. After observing the first hair clip, she completed the remaining half herself.
Nadia naturally didn't notice the calluses on Chu Yiqi's hands and the slightly red and scabbed wounds, so Miss Xi couldn't get the same style she had been longing for and had to give up.
However, Chu Yiqi never used the one made later; he always carried it with him.
She intended to keep it for Xi Ai, though she might not be able to give it away.
Coincidentally, the current scene is perfect for delivering this hair clip to Xi Ai in a rather ambiguous manner.
At the very least, she could see Xi Ai wearing it, which would be a kind of fulfillment. Some regrets would be made up for.
However, she had other plans besides that—in fact, Xi Ai's loose hair did not affect her playing the piano, but from Chu Yiqi's perspective, he could not see Xi Ai's profile.
If she couldn't see the person's face during a rare ensemble performance, she would rather she had never made that choice, at least to avoid adding another regret.
Perhaps humans are inherently greedy, always wanting everything to be perfect. The inability to perfectly fulfill a dream inevitably becomes a new, unforgettable yearning for what cannot be obtained.
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