Chapter 19
Here's what happened.
I was born with a red string around my neck, making me stand out among the rabbits. My spiritual power also increased day by day, and finally, at the age of one hundred, I reached the level to transform into human form.
Chang'e realized something was wrong and sent me to the Heavenly Court.
The Heavenly Emperor sensed the spiritual energy on my red string, which matched that of previous matchmakers, and concluded that I was the reincarnation of the matchmaker. After I took human form, he found me a good master to teach me.
Back then I was more timid than I am now. I wouldn't listen to anyone but my master.
Whenever I had free time, I would sit at my master's feet, holding a book I couldn't understand, and be more docile than a little rabbit.
One day, my master suddenly made a decision, saying that he understood the purpose of the red string I had brought.
I stared at him with wide eyes.
"This red string of yours is something you were born with, something that cannot be cut or removed; it is more evil than anything else."
I shuddered at the sound of it, and the rabbit ears trembled behind its hair.
My master patted my head and said, "As long as you keep your mind steady, there's nothing to worry about. I have a plan to tie your own marriage red string to your body. The marriage red string is an auspicious item, and it counters the red string around your neck, thus maintaining your balance."
I was half-confused when I heard that.
Later, I noticed a red string wrapped around each of my hands and feet, and that's when I realized what it meant—
To put it bluntly, it serves a repressive purpose.
The red string around my neck is indeed unlucky, but it doesn't matter. My marriage red string is lucky. The two suppress each other, and I can barely survive.
But as time went by, two hundred years passed, and these five red ropes had become one with me. They were no longer in a relationship of mutual generation and restraint, but were all under my control.
My cultivation level is high enough to maintain my own balance, but I'm just unwilling to let go of it.
I never expected this day.
This hidden danger has unexpectedly emerged.
I pressed down on my ears, and my tail sprang out again, swaying from side to side.
Wu Qi stared at me for a long time as if I were a joke, then finally walked up to me, took one of my hands, and asked, "Are you that happy?"
I didn't even need to look to know how red my face was. "Is anyone around?"
Wu Qi's lips curled up. "What kind of good person comes here so late at night?"
I:"……"
No sooner had we finished speaking than we heard footsteps rustling on the fallen leaves.
Wu Qi and I froze in unison.
Wow, there are so many maple leaves here!
"Hurry up and take the photos, a little monk will be sweeping them tomorrow..."
"Yes, yes, I'll hurry up and find the right angle."
...
The tourists, who seemed like "not good people," walked this way, their footsteps growing closer. My gaze was filled with apprehension, and I couldn't utter a word, countless curses flashing through my mind.
Why is there nowhere to hide around?
A dilapidated temple!
I was halfway through making the hand seal when Wu Qi grabbed my wrist and suddenly pulled my body towards him.
He was very strong. With a sudden effort, I was pulled into his arms without warning. Then I felt him hugging my waist and hiding my body tightly.
My mind went blank for a moment.
Only the sounds of tourists echoed in the air.
"What's up ahead?"
"Okay... Oh, there's someone here! Let's come back later!"
Are you a young couple?
"Of course! That's why you're hugging me so tightly!"
I didn't have time to explain myself. All that was left in the world was the smell of Wu Qi—the smell of earth after the rain and the dust from his journey.
This person secretly carried a refreshing item, and I was fortunate enough to... steal a bite.
Thump.
I don't know whose heartbeat it was.
It's so obvious.
I've forgotten how to say it in plain language; my head is a complete mess. If I stuffed it into the computer, it would probably become the biggest virus ever.
Wu Qi, on the other hand, was much calmer. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he pinched my tail.
"..."
Before I could come up with anything plain to say, a swear word came to mind first. Before I could even utter it, Wu Qi preemptively accused me: "How long has it been, and you're still hugging?"
I:"?"
Wu Qi: "There's no need to thank me like this, is there?"
I looked up and glared at him.
Wu Qi: "Oh, getting angry out of embarrassment."
I really am.
I kicked out with a righteous slap, yelling, "Can you get lost?!"
Wu Qi was getting a little carried away. I saw that he actually caught my kick perfectly and slammed into the tree with a thud.
The maple tree couldn't withstand the impact, and a maple leaf fell down with a rustling sound, blocking our view.
I have never been clearer than I am now that it is autumn.
But my heart kept pounding, like a cicada startled by the season's chaos.
The red leaves fell gently to the ground, and I finally realized that it wasn't the season that was the problem.
The problem lies with me.
Wu Qi rubbed his lower back, still complaining to me, "You really don't even remember the life-saving grace. Your Highness the Matchmaker is so heartless."
I was stunned.
Wu Qi walked in front of me again, took off his school uniform, and approached me.
I avoided his gaze.
Just as I was about to get close, everything suddenly went black before my eyes, completely obscured by Wu Qi's coat.
I was stunned for a moment, then a face appeared: "What are you doing?"
"It's hot," Wu Qi said casually, putting his hands in his pockets. "You look pretty cold."
"..."
Where am I cold?
He probably doesn't think my face is so red because it's cold, does he?
I was just about to argue with him when I heard footsteps coming back. Wu Qi grabbed my school uniform and wrapped it around my neck.
In the stuffy, dark environment, I heard him say, "Talk to your little rabbit ears and don't embarrass yourself down the mountain."
"..."
OK.
I thought he meant well by putting his school uniform on me, and that he didn't think I was embarrassing.
It was getting late, so we turned back the way we came.
There were many more footprints on the path, making it almost impossible to recognize the pair of people Wu Qi and I had come from. It seems there were more than just that one pair of pedestrians.
We should actually take two photos to remember the occasion.
But then I thought about it again, and realized that the scenery wasn't anything special. I would see the red maple leaves every year when I returned to the Temple of the Old Man Under the Moon.
Thinking of this, I looked back.
I'm still a little reluctant to leave; I'm starting to feel nostalgic for this world.
Wu Qi noticed my mood and said in a low voice from the front, "You can come again if you want, but you'd better watch your mood, or I won't be so hot next time."
Just as I was about to speak, I saw goosebumps on his forearm through his school uniform.
I had no choice but to swallow my words, cover my school uniform, and mutter something under my breath.
"……fraud."
-
Back at the foot of the mountain, staff members handed out wooden plaques, calling it the Maple Leaf Festival, and said people could have their names engraved on the plaques as a souvenir.
The wooden sign was dark red, five-lobed, and shaped like a maple leaf.
There were also people handing out knives nearby, and a row of people were carving little by little on the table.
Wu Qi and I each took one, but after waiting for ages without finding an empty seat, the young master Wu next to me finally got annoyed.
"What's so great about carving this?" He frowned, then said irritably, "I can carve it without a knife."
I turned my head to look at him.
He made a gesture of lifting his sleeve, using his finger as a knife, and said to me, "I can even carve the 'Slender Gold' style of calligraphy, believe it or not?"
I:"……"
At this point, my ears had disappeared. I was indeed too excited. I recited a section of the Tao Te Ching and finally returned to normal.
Holding the maple leaf-shaped wooden plaque that looked just like mine, I asked Wu Qi, "Have you decided what to carve?"
"not yet--"
Wu Qi sketched out the format, seemingly already having a draft in mind: "—The most handsome man in the world? How about that?"
I was speechless: "...Not really."
Another tourist left the round table next to us, and before we could even notice, that spot was taken.
We seem to be just decorations.
Wu Qi seemed completely unconcerned, so I made conversation: "Why did you think of bringing me here?"
He finally prepared to put down his pen, without looking up at me, and said, "Isn't red your favorite color?"
After saying that, he wrote on the wooden sign with fluid strokes and considerable force, writing carefully, with wood shavings flying everywhere, and finished carving it in no time.
I was very curious, so I stood on tiptoe to see.
Wu Qi glanced at me, and before I could even see a glimpse of it, he tossed it into the basket, where it mingled with the other wooden signs.
My gaze followed that wooden sign.
There's a feeling that once water is spilled, it can't be taken back.
never mind.
It's probably just some nonsense like "The most handsome man in the world, Mr. Wu" or "So handsome I'm lawless, my surname is Wu."
Mr. Wu asked me, "Are you going to write it or not?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Then go back and think about it slowly."
"……oh."
Wu Qi left after he finished speaking. It was completely dark, and I couldn't see the expression on his face.
But I always feel...
He seemed very worried that I would see that wooden sign.
Did they write down some family secrets?
Well, I'm not really interested either.
People with the surname Wu are so stingy.
As I walked to the bus stop I'd come from, I bent down to check how many stops it was before I heard Wu Qi yawn. I didn't know if he was sleepy or just tired from the walk.
It's possible that the journey was very boring for him.
Once on the bus, there were noticeably fewer people. Wu Qi and I sat in the last row, with the streetlights shining in from the side.
Wu Qi sat next to me and looked at his phone for a while, then swiped through the screens one by one, finally leaving only the WeChat screen, where he seemed to be arguing with Yu Yuan.
After getting tired of yelling, he locked the screen and let his hand hang down on his school uniform.
He seemed to glance at me, then abruptly looked away. I pretended not to see him, not daring to give him any more attention out of the corner of my eye.
The sleeves of the school uniform were wide and thick, and occasionally they would rub together.
They're so close.
"Hey, Yue," Wu Qi said in a low, husky voice, "Sit up straight and let me lean on your shoulder for a bit."
"..."
It's like they've been bewitched.
I leaned back hard, straightening my shoulders high and straight. Both hands obediently rested on my thighs, sitting upright.
Wu Qi seemed to be stunned for a moment.
I was stunned too.
When did I become so obedient?
Just as I was trying to salvage my public image, Wu Qi casually leaned closer. He absentmindedly brushed his hair against mine, searching for a comfortable position in the crook of my shoulder.
I forgot to breathe for a moment.
Turning his head slightly, he saw Wu Qi's long eyelashes almost touching him, and the light reflected the water stains on the glass window onto his face, as if he could reach out and touch them.
A pair of thin lips parted slightly, and wisps of warm breath escaped from my neck.
That's a bit crazy.
I'm actually a little confused about who's taking advantage of my vulnerability.
With the wooden plaque still tucked in my left hand, I dared not move. Only after a long while did I slowly lift it up.
Wu Qi seemed to have fallen asleep, his breathing even.
I raised my right hand, my mind a jumbled mess. Finally, amidst this chaos, I managed to sort things out, extended my index finger, and etched a few lines of text.
Crooked and wobbly, yet so cautious—
Two pieces of bad news.
First, Wu Qi fell asleep on my shoulder.
The second one.
I've fallen for Wu Qi.
...
I love it!
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