Chapter 11? Who was it that kowtowed so early? ...
Qiao Xi blinked her bright, sparkling eyes and looked up at Morax, seemingly waiting for a response.
But Morax only paused slightly. He looked at Qiao Xi and subconsciously reached for the cup beside him, but there was nothing there.
Morax could only look at Qiao Xi calmly and say with some helplessness, "I didn't understand."
The wind outside the window swirled snowflakes, which seeped in through the cracks and landed on the bamboo desk, where they melted.
The candlelight flickered, but Qiao Xi just smiled. She knew that Morax couldn't understand English, and that the question she had just asked was just a phrasal verb that her teacher had taught her in class.
So she asked the other person again, "Would you like to build a snowman?"
The sound fell into the snow outside the house.
This was the heaviest snowfall since the beginning of winter on Tianheng Mountain. The fine snowflakes fell continuously for a long time, and the newly added footprints outside the courtyard were quickly covered by the fresh snow. If it weren't for the two figures sitting together by the window inside the house, it would have been as if no one had ever been here.
Bamboo Garden is located on the top of Tianheng Mountain, and it is a secluded place unless you specifically look for it.
Now, Qiao Xi didn't speak, Morax didn't speak, and no one spoke in the bamboo forest on the mountaintop.
Qiao Xi maintained her smile, gazing at Morax with a gentle gaze. The candlelight fell upon her dark eyes as she awaited Morax's response.
The other person's words determined whether she should continue to struggle with this boring book.
So her eyes were expectant and devout, yet under the dazzling light and shadow, on her pure face, they held an ambiguous meaning.
She was still only wearing that silk nightgown, wrapped in a bright red cloak with a fluffy collar, through which you could see the collar of the dress that she hadn't properly adjusted and had tucked inside.
Morax calmly withdrew his gaze.
He said, "I don't want to."
Qiao Xi immediately deflated like a punctured balloon, and even the vibrant colors on her body dimmed considerably.
Morax lowered his head slightly and saw that the black cloak he had draped over Qiao Xi not long ago was now hanging obediently in the corner, blending into the background of the room.
Despite being a very valuable fur, it was so difficult to notice it against the backdrop of Qiao Xi's cotton-based cloak.
Qiao Xi stopped struggling and continued to imitate the buzzing of flies.
Morax quietly stayed with her while she studied, as the sunlight outside gradually brightened, and the snowflakes refracted a myriad of colors.
He could vaguely make out from Qiao Xi's muffled voice that she was reciting "Initially, the Rock King descended to reside there."
It was an article about him. It was the first time he had seen Qiao Xi since he returned, and the girl was reading it.
Morax didn't consider that Qiao Xi was repeating such a short article because she couldn't memorize it.
After all, given his exceptional abilities, such an article should be unforgettable.
He thought the girl was reviewing her old knowledge.
Reviewing what you've learned and knowing how to revise shows that this child has a serious attitude towards learning.
But that sobbing and mumbling sounded awful.
And because this story is about Morax himself.
So Morax felt that Qiao Xi read his name very badly.
To be honest, I feel a bit upset.
"Qiao Xi," Morax suddenly interrupted her reading.
The air suddenly became quiet, the sound of snowflakes falling outside the window was clear, and sparrows out foraging for food in winter flapped their wings and suddenly flew past the eaves.
Qiao Xi looked up at Morax: "What's wrong?"
Her voice sounded crisp and clear in the snow, yet also a little hoarse from reading for a long time.
It rubs against someone's ear like a whisper, and it's a little itchy.
Morax asked her, "What question did you just ask me?"
Qiao Xi frowned, as if she didn't understand what the other person meant.
Morax repeated, "What question did you just ask me?"
“Hmm… didn’t you understand that?” Qiao Xi said.
"No, it's the next sentence." Morax was a little speechless.
"Want to build a snowman?"
"I don't want to," Morax replied again.
Qiao Xi felt like the other person was playing her, and said listlessly, "I thought you had changed your mind. What a disappointment."
Morax looked at her: "Or could you ask me something else?"
How about rephrasing the question? What does that mean?
Qiao Xi looked into the other person's eyes, thought for a moment, and then, as if struck by a sudden thought, asked uncertainly:
Would you like to come with me to build a snowman?
Although she wasn't quite sure when she asked the question, she couldn't help but laugh as soon as she said it.
It's as if she's certain that the other person didn't say anything at all.
Morax didn't answer her directly. He simply stood up, walked to the door, glanced back at her, and said softly:
Let's go.
Then he pushed open the door and went out.
Outside, the sound of falling snow was quiet, soft and rustling, freezing into ice on the branches, and the cool breeze that swept over us was pleasant.
Without the buzzing sound of students reading aloud, I felt much more clear-headed.
Morax took a breath of fresh air, feeling as if he had been transported to another world.
*
Inside the house, Qiao Xi was still a little dazed. When she realized that Morax had agreed to let her build a snowman, the smile on her lips began to spread upwards little by little.
This person is too nice!
Why am I even a little touched?
Qiao Xi quickly tied the drawstring at the collar, pulled the hood of the cloak over her head, and chubbyly squeezed out the door, like a warm ball, and came to Morax's side.
She looked up and asked Morax with a smile, "Morax, what kind of snowman do you want to build? I'm quite good at building snowmen!"
Qiao Xi looked ready to get to work, full of vigor and determination.
Morax looked down at her face, then quickly looked away, gazing at the withered forest hidden in the wind and snow in the distance. "A little rounder."
“I like round ones too.” Qiao Xi smiled, her eyes sparkling even brighter.
*
Morax carried a bamboo chair and sat in front of the door, holding a book in his hands, watching Qiao Xi in the yard push a white snowball around and around.
The snow was still falling, though not very noticeable. Qiao Xi's bright red cloak made her blend into the vast white world, like the sweet red fruit on a jujube and walnut pastry.
The red fruit will leave its mark on the snow-white pastry, but Qiao Xi will not.
She was busy, coming and going, and had a great time by herself.
Just as she said, she was very good at building snowmen. Soon, two snowballs of different sizes, but both incredibly round, were quietly placed in the yard.
Morax was holding a book he had read countless times, but he suddenly thought that it would be nice to have a cup of piping hot tea at hand right now.
It must be scalding hot, the kind of hot that would melt the surrounding snow instantly if accidentally dropped on it.
Qiao Xi has the skill of rolling a snowball, but she doesn't have the skill of stacking two snowballs together.
So she stood next to the snowball that was almost waist-high and waved at Morax: "Morax, help me put these two together!"
Morax looked at her but didn't say anything.
Qiao Xi skipped over to him, the snow soaking her red cloak in patches of dark and light. She smiled at Morax and said, "I don't have that much strength."
Morax looked up at her.
Qiao Xi smiled again: "You should be free now, right?"
Morax finally spoke: "I'm free."
He only noticed when he stood up that Qiao Xi had waded through the snow several times, and her shoes were completely wet.
He advised, "Go change your shoes first."
Qiao Xi lowered her head upon hearing this, her feet almost numb from the cold. She laughed, "I was having so much fun that I forgot everything."
Morax then looked at the watermark on her body: "Change your cloak while you're at it."
"I only have this one, it's fine, it'll dry after a while."
Morax seemed to be pondering Qiao Xi's words. Loose snow gradually accumulated on the snowballs in the yard. He said, "Didn't I give you one?"
Qiao Xi: "That's yours. I was planning to ask you to take it back when you left."
Morax replied calmly, "It's yours."
Qiao Xi stared blankly, seemingly recalling the soft, luxurious feel of the fur on that cloak. "Why?"
Morax looked at her: "A New Year's gift."
Qiao Xi calculated the time: "There are still two or three months until the New Year."
Morax looked at her, his expression indifferent, as if retorting: "Who recently paid a New Year's visit?"
Upon hearing this, Qiao Xi's face flushed slightly. Indeed, not long ago, she not only kowtowed deeply to Morax, who had turned into an old man, but also, in a moment of madness, shouted, "Wishing you an early Happy New Year!"
She didn't expect Morax to actually take those words to heart.
It's partly her fault; after all, the act of kowtowing is indeed quite an excessive gesture.
But the other party is Mocas, so it should be fine, right?
Qiao Xi thought again that her thoughts were not important; what mattered was that Morax cared.
Since it's a New Year's gift, and since it was given to me because I kowtowed, it would be really inappropriate to refuse.
Qiao Xi put away her smile and said to Morax very seriously, "I'll give you a gift too when it's New Year's."
Morax looked at her chubby face wrapped in winter clothes, didn't reply to her question, but simply stood up, put his hands behind his back, and calmly reminded her, "Go change your shoes."
"Okay, boss!" Qiao Xi dashed into the room.
Morax, who was still in a daze, wondered if the girl had just called him "boss" again.
*
Qiao Xi quickly changed her shoes, but when she came out, Morax was already gone. In the yard, there was only a snowman that had been quietly placed.
In addition to stacking two spheres together, it also has a pair of bright black eyes.
It looks absolutely beautiful in the snow.
Qiao Xi sat on the chair that Morax had sat on not long ago in front of the door, admiring the snowman in the yard and grinning foolishly.
The chair had long lost the warmth of Morax, though Qiao Xi wouldn't think about it that way now.
Just then, her good friend Jinlan from Qianyan Army appeared in sight, leaning on a small bamboo cane, looking rather unfortunate.
After recognizing the person, Qiao Xi quickly put on a black cloak and ran over to greet Jin Lan.
A note from the author:
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See you tomorrow, goodnight.
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