Chapter 43
The alley returned to normal, and the lively sounds filled the alley again, easing the atmosphere between us.
To outsiders, it just looks like three people chatting casually.
But no one knows that the last time we stood together like this was hundreds of years ago.
Wu Qi's mood improved, and he took the initiative to explain: "The Heavenly Emperor sent us to the mortal realm to experience the various aspects of human life, and temporarily confiscated our cultivation."
Zhou Huai then asked with some doubt, "Is it just temporary...?"
"Otherwise?" Wu Qi said disdainfully, "If you have time to check our performance records, you'll also think that the Heavenly Emperor would never release someone."
Only after hearing this did Zhou Huai feel relieved.
That makes sense.
There's a God of Wealth and a God of Love; if these two were to leave together, the gods would probably lose their credibility.
Zhou Huai suddenly felt a pang of guilt, then, in a fit of anger and embarrassment, retorted, "Why didn't you two say so sooner!"
Wu Qi's insults were practically written all over his face: "You came up here and immediately put pressure on me, throwing a tantrum—do you know that in the human world, this kind of behavior is called 'superhuman'?"
Zhou Huai: "?"
He turned to look at me, trying to get an explanation of those two words.
I could only treat him like a child and said, "He's insulting you."
Zhou Huai: "..."
Me: "And the insults were really nasty."
Zhou Huai: "…………"
He instantly didn't want to know anymore.
"Ahem. Alright." Zhou Huai shrugged, a true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm, and then asked, "So how much longer are you two going to stay in the human world?"
Wu Qi's eyes darkened, as if he really didn't want to bring up the topic. "There's still one month left."
This topic is relatively unfamiliar to both of us.
Nearly a year has passed, enough time for us to develop some inexplicable feelings about humanity.
Noticing our unusual expressions, he frowned and asked, "What's with those expressions?"
Wu Qi closed his eyes, concealing part of his expression.
But Zhou Huai still caught them red-handed. "Don't tell me you two can't bear to leave the human world?"
Another silence followed.
For some reason, neither of us could give Zhou Huai a direct answer to this question.
He told us early on, before he was demoted, that the world was a terrible place.
He said that the human world is filthy, that no one deserves sympathy or care, that he despises the gods for doing so much for mortals, and that he tells us a thousand times that the human world is not worth it.
Now that time has passed, bringing up this topic again makes us feel like traitors.
When you reunite after a long separation, you shouldn't immediately touch on your most painful spots.
But I did say it.
If I had another chance, I would definitely tell him that there are beautiful meadows and vibrant life in the world.
Unfortunately, I was too weak, and before I could speak again, Zhou Huai nodded somewhat blankly, "...I understand."
What has Da Congming figured out this time?
I grumbled to myself.
Zhou Huai repeated himself, muttering, "I understand."
"Don't understand yet... let me explain—"
He hadn't even uttered the word "finished" yet.
Zhou Huai had already retreated several meters away from us.
He said, "It seems you have some misunderstandings about human nature. It's okay, I forgive you."
I:"?"
I'm begging you.
"You just wait." Zhou Huai lifted a corner of his clothes to cover his upper body, and then a gust of wind blew in his face, carrying a few dead branches from the alley.
Wu Qi covered my eyes, and after the wind subsided, I slowly opened them again. I could no longer see Zhou Huai's figure, only the last half of his sentence floated in the wind, "In the last month, I will make you rediscover—humanity."
I was so angry that I developed high blood pressure, and then I fainted.
This sleep brought back many long-forgotten memories.
I firmly believe that memories I don't want to remember, memories that have hurt me, will be silently deleted from my subconscious...
This includes Zhou Huai leaving without saying goodbye.
Wu Qi and I considered him a friend, yet he left without even a word to us.
The boy who regularly sweeps the courtyard knows to greet me before leaving, but he doesn't. It's one thing to say he doesn't understand these etiquettes, but he's exceptionally intelligent, so it's impossible that he doesn't.
That's how he disappeared so suddenly, one morning after that.
Wu Qi even caught a bat to deliver a message, sending it to the Demon Clan to ask if the Third Prince had returned.
If there had been no news at all, that would have been fine, but the little bat returned with a message not long after.
It said that the Third Prince suffered a lot when he left, and now the demons are making it up to him.
I didn't say a word to Wu Qi that day.
Our faces were both as dark as the other's.
It's very bitter, isn't it?
Is it the bitterness of the peaches we stole together? Or the bitterness of the sunrises we watched together? Is it the bitterness of the little hut we built for him with leaves? Or is it the bitterness of Wu Qi and me ourselves that made him suffer?
I don't understand.
I can't accept that either.
I burned everything in the house that had anything to do with him, as if he had never been there.
I thought we would never see each other again in this life, but he made such a grand entrance, inheriting Wu Qi's consistent style, and appeared weak and aggressive when he saw me.
I couldn't help but wonder—could there really be a hidden story?
He also said it was unstable...
yes.
I've always known that if one of the five red strings on my body is missing, things will become unstable. They were originally complementary. Now that I've lost one of my karmic red string and the evil red string I was born with, leaving only four, it will definitely affect the previous stability. I understand all of this.
But what I don't understand is, how did Zhou Huai know?
Why was he so surprised to see that the red string on my wrist was gone?
Just as I was racking my brains trying to figure it out, I felt a cool touch on my forehead.
I shuddered when I was touched, and then I felt the person carefully pull their hand back.
I don't know how long I slept, my eyelids felt as heavy as stones.
I struggled to lift it open, but only a small crack was visible.
My throat was incredibly dry, as if I were swallowing a small knife.
I saw Wu Qi sitting by my bedside. I opened my eyes and was stunned for a moment before turning around and picking up the bowl containing the medicine.
The worry in his eyes flashed by in an instant, and he returned to his usual relaxed self.
"If he doesn't wake up soon, the medicine will get cold."
Looking at him, I was overwhelmed with a surge of grievances.
It's hard to explain.
Fortunately, he understands everything without needing to be told.
A faint smile tugged at my pale lips: "Not radish soup?"
“It’s just radish soup.” Wu Qi scooped up a spoonful, tested the temperature with his lips, blew on it to cool it down, and then handed it over. “Did I say it was medicine earlier? That was a mistake.”
I didn't call him out on it, and instead took a sip.
"Why aren't there any radishes?" I asked.
“The radishes have all sunk to the bottom,” Wu Qi replied. “You’ll get to eat them if you finish all the water.”
"..."
fraud.
He drank it all but didn't get to eat any radish, leaving only a bitter taste in his mouth.
Wu Qi unwrapped a piece of original Alpenliebe candy, pried open my lips, and stuffed it inside.
"It's not bitter anymore, is it?" Wu Qi paused his fingertip at the corner of my mouth, wiping away the spilled medicine.
I thought of Zhou Huai again, and bit my lip in grievance, "Still bitter."
Wu Qi chuckled, his long eyelashes drooping. "So bitter?"
I managed to utter a single word: "Mmm."
He stopped talking, tidied the hair at my temples and tucked it behind my ear, then cupped my face and gently kissed my lips.
A kiss with an Alpine flavor was left behind.
"I'm here."
He only said those three words.
He knows why I'm suffering, but he doesn't say it out loud.
The tongue swirls the candy, making a light "click" sound as it taps against the teeth.
I don't know what my expression was like; I was staring intently at Wu Qi. He couldn't stand it anymore and finally raised his hand to cover my gaze.
Her other hand slid down to my neck and touched the red string around my neck.
He slipped his index finger under the red string, pressed it against my most vulnerable spot, and then hooked it back up, twirling it between his fingertips. The gesture seemed like flirting, but we didn't have any ulterior motives.
Wu Qi said, "A Yue, take the red string away. You must have a way."
He was referring to the one in his hand.
My eyelashes, hidden in his palm, trembled.
Take it?
It sounds easy, but I didn't hand it over with open arms; it clearly grew legs on its own, recognized its owner, and ran away.
They left without even knowing how they got there, yet they say they want to come back?
Do you think I'm a rental center?
I got angrier the more I thought about it, so I slapped his hand away and glared at him. "Weren't you so smug before? Now you just want to give it back? You just want to take it away?"
Wu Qi was startled by my reaction. Just a moment ago, he was pitifully complaining about how bitter things were, but now he looked fierce, like a rabbit that had gone berserk.
"Fine, I won't take it then," Wu Qi said, withdrawing his hand with a disdainful air. "I didn't want to give it to you anyway."
"..."
I glanced at him.
Wu Qi then said, “I must admire it every day, watching it 1,800 times a day. Tomorrow I will have someone make a copy, frame it, and hang it on my head as a lucky cat.”
I:"……"
Wu Qi: "That's not enough. When I go back to heaven, I'll flaunt it to the Heavenly Emperor and have him hold an exhibition for me. I'll also set up a merchandise stall there. I'll make a fortune, and finally, I'll put this thing in a museum."
I:"…………"
I finally managed to make him laugh.
Divine gold.
But then again, I understand that he just doesn't want me to suddenly reveal myself again.
After all, in the human world, anything that grows ears and a tail would probably be considered an anomaly, even a little rabbit.
Whatever, I don't care.
There's nothing that can't be explained in a few words. I can always say I'm into cosplay later.
Looking back, I realize I was being too naive.
Zhou Huai's words, "Waiting to get to know people again," came quickly as expected.
It's almost here; it will happen during a break between classes the day after tomorrow.
Li Guangheng and Xu Feng came to find Wu Qi with a basketball after class. Wu Qi had just slept through the entire math class and was so sleepy that he hadn't even opened his eyes when he was dragged downstairs.
Meng Xiaoqiong was reading a novel nearby, and when she got to an exciting part, she couldn't help but slap her thigh.
...and he patted my thigh.
While taking pictures, she exclaimed, "It's so sweet! Why aren't these two kissing yet!"
An ordinary break between classes.
I was so engrossed in solving problems that I couldn't get out. One derivative problem took me an entire page of scratch paper. I decided to try a different approach and take Taylor's theorem.
Just as I pulled a piece of non-scrap paper from my desk, I suddenly saw a black cat in the flower bed in the distance.
When did such a beautiful black kitten sneak into the school?
The kitten licked itself with its paws outstretched, looking out of place in the blooming flowerbed, yet also like the finishing touch to a masterpiece.
I stopped what I was doing and stared at it, mesmerized.
Noticing my gaze, the cat looked over from a distance.
A pair of yellow eyes, with pupils that were slits.
Then, with its claws planted in the soil, it revealed its fangs and actually spat out a tongue!
Suddenly, I felt my heart clench.
I jerked backward, the surrounding air becoming scorching and suffocating. I had no choice but to bend over, open my mouth to breathe, and large beads of sweat slid down my forehead.
This action was so unusual that it drew the attention of the entire class.
Before I realized something was wrong, several screams suddenly rang out from the classroom.
"Oh my god—"
"What...what is that?"
"It's so long."
"White...and furry..."
"It has rabbit ears! And a tail!!!"
...
Wait.
Wait a moment.
Let me explain.
Let me explain first...
I raised my hand, wanting to grab Meng Xiaoqiong and tell her that everything had an explanation, and I thought of many, many reasons.
But when I clutched my chest and looked up at her, she took a step back in a strange manner, the pages of the novel in her hand scattered and fell to the ground.
My outstretched hand fell to the ground, hanging limply in despair.
Suddenly, I couldn't think of anyone to talk to.
Who would believe me now?
Amidst the noise, I heard a piercing sound.
"She...she...she's a monster..."
"Don't kill me..."
I am not.
I am a formally appointed deity in heaven, the Old Man of the Moon who oversees marriages on earth.
...Don't talk to me like that.
Everyone was clearly getting further and further away from me, and the air around me was getting thinner and thinner.
The red string around my neck is too tight.
It's too tight.
It felt like it had been embedded into my flesh, tearing my skin and flesh apart.
"monster."
"Call the police."
"Would it do any good to call the police? This is obviously a wild rabbit that has become a spirit; who knows how many people it has eaten."
"Quick, grab a utility knife. If we don't take care of her now, the whole school might be wiped out along with her."
"Are you all crazy?! Get out of here and stop fantasizing... Sang Yue is just feeling unwell..."
"Can you transform into a different species if you're feeling unwell?"
"What happened—Sister Yue…" I heard Li Guangheng's voice coming from outside the door, and then it gradually faded away.
I looked up at him with my last shred of hope, hoping he would believe me.
But all I saw was a blank and fearful expression.
His lips were moving, and he was muttering, "Who is this..."
The last bit of color drained from her face.
"I've found the knife! Who? Who dares to subdue her?"
"No way, what if you scratch me?"
Stop talking!
Stop talking!
stop--
"Boom."
I heard a crisp sound.
There was nothing around my neck preventing me from breathing anymore.
The red string that accompanied me from birth to adulthood broke in two and slid to the ground.
I took deep breaths.
I thought I should catch my breath first, so everyone could finally hear my explanation. Listen to me, it was all a script I made up; I was just a little girl cosplaying a bunny girl.
But his breathing stopped the next moment.
My vision blurred, and I leaned back.
Before I lost consciousness, I fell into someone's arms.
Wu Qi called my name, trembling violently, broke through the crowd, picked me up and ran out of the classroom. He chanted an incantation and disappeared from the school, leaving behind only a mess.
I messed up.
I am a little rabbit who can't do anything right.
I don't have any friends anymore.
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