selfish
Starting today, quit drinking.
Song Tiaotiao glanced at Gu Chengjue beside her and made a secret decision.
Yesterday, she thought that the wines in ancient times were all low-alcohol, so she drank a few more glasses.
But I forgot that my body is no longer what it used to be. When I woke up today, it was already noon.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Gu Chengjue waiting beside me.
The warm golden sun peeked in through the wooden window as usual, shining on his eyebrows and hair.
The sharp phoenix eyes were perfectly blended in the warm light, as gentle as a pool of spring water that melted the winter.
Song Tiaotiao just looked at it quietly for a moment.
Seeing that she was silent, Gu Chengjue lowered his eyes to observe her expression. Seeing that she seemed to be in no pain, he raised the bowl of water beside him and said with a soft smile, "Are you awake? Drink some water to moisten your throat first. There's porridge heating in the pot. I'll go get you some."
Song Tiaotiao took the bowl of water, cleared her throat, pursed her lips and smiled, "Thank you, Gu Chengjue."
Gu Chengjue shook his head and chuckled, "Based on the relationship between us, this is what I should do."
At that moment, she gazed at Gu Chengjue's radiant eyes and felt that he had truly changed. He gave her a sense of tolerant gentleness, and also displayed much of the brightness of youth. Or perhaps it had always been that way in him, just like his love of sweets, hidden from view without a deeper understanding?
Song Tiaotiao put on her clothes and walked towards the kitchen with a bowl of water.
Gu Chengjue was scooping porridge from the edge of the pot.
Song Tiaotiao lowered her eyes, followed Gu Chengjue's hand, and looked at the porridge in the pot that had been boiled into rice milk due to repeated heating.
She opened her lips slightly, feeling a little guilty.
Gu Chengjue turned around as if realizing something, and seeing Song Tiaotiao coming over, he smiled faintly and said, "Just wait for me to get back."
Song Tiaotiao lowered her head and sighed softly, "I've kept you waiting for a long time. From now on, I can quit drinking with you."
Gu Chengjue's eyes flickered slightly, and he placed the bowl of porridge on the table: "I see that you like drinking very much, so you can gradually quit drinking. Just drink in moderation from now on."
After Song Tiaotiao finished her breakfast, which was not too early, she and Gu Chengjue went to the rabbit hive to feed the rabbits as usual.
Seeing that it finally had a chance, the system quickly took advantage of the opportunity to say, "Song Tiaotiao, your strategy progress has reached 10%."
Song Tiaotiao blinked, then glanced sideways at Gu Chengjue, who was smiling as he fed the animals. She marveled inwardly, "How could this progress be so fast?" After a moment, she remembered how drunk she was yesterday, and said guiltily, "I remember I was pretty well behaved last night."
The system chuckled and said, "He's very obedient. He's crawling on my back like a koala. No matter how much I call him, he won't wake up."
Song Tiaotiao's ears suddenly felt hot, her eyes flickering as she looked at Gu Chengjue again, thinking to herself, "Master, in that case, do I have enough points now to buy the relationship map? And will the remaining points be enough to buy the pastry ingredients I selected earlier?"
The system chuckled, "Song Tiaotiao, you underestimate yourself. Your current balance, after deducting the points you used to buy the relationship map, still has 30,000 left."
Song Tiaotiao was delighted. She first bought a relationship diagram, and then used the more than enough points to buy ingredients for making pastries.
Song Tiaotiao touched Bai Xue's head, went through the osmanthus cake tutorial in his mind, and smiled at Gu Chengjue, "Gu Chengjue, can I teach you how to make cakes tonight?"
Gu Chengjue's eyes flickered as he nodded and replied with a smile, "Okay."
At this moment, a strong male voice came from not far away: "Cheng Jue, your joining the army has been completed."
The two turned around and saw Zhao Huaian and Jin Zhenjiao walking towards them side by side. Jin Zhenjiao was holding a letter in her hand and waving at them.
Song Tiaotiao's eyes lit up as she walked towards the two of them with a smile, saying excitedly, "It's great that things were done so quickly."
Jin Zhenjiao smiled sweetly and said, "It's a coincidence that I met a distinguished person in the army, so naturally, things will go much more smoothly than I imagined."
Gu Chengjue followed closely behind Song Tiaotiao. Zhao Huaian took the envelope and bowed to express his gratitude, "Thank you, Brother Zhao, Miss Jin, and everyone for your concern for me these days." After that, he opened the envelope at Jin Zhenjiao's urging.
In just a few lines, Gu Chengjue saw the name he knew by heart.
He read the letter carefully over and over again. When he saw that every word in the letter was true, he turned to look at Song Tiaotiao with a smile in his eyes.
But when his eyes caught sight of the joy in Song Tiaotiao's eyes and brows, the joy in his heart suddenly dulled as if it had touched ice and snow.
Zhao Huaian was genuinely concerned for Gu Chengjue, but he didn't notice the emotional ups and downs in Gu Chengjue's eyes. "There's a General An in the army, a former subordinate of General Gu. He's very concerned about you. But the army is crowded, so it's hard for him to keep you close to him. So, he's assigned you to Songbai Village, which is nearby."
Following Song Tiaotiao's smile, Jin Zhenjiao accidentally caught a glimpse of disappointment in Gu Chengjue's eyes. Her gaze drifted, and she patted Song Tiaotiao's shoulder. She said to Gu Chengjue, "The military camp isn't too far away, just north of the pine and cypress forest. It might be tough at first, but I promised Tiaotiao that I'd find a place for you so we can see each other more often. There's been no fighting in the Northern and Southern Dynasties for a while now, so once things stabilize, it wouldn't be a bad idea to see each other every two or three days."
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue's eyelashes trembled slightly, and a smile melted in his eyes: "Please help me pass on the message to General Xie An. If I have the opportunity to meet him in the future, I will thank you in person."
Zhao Huaian smiled and nodded, then asked, "Does the letter mention the date of departure? The envelope was delayed half a day on its way from the border camp, so it should have been five days."
Gu Chengjue pondered for a moment and said, "Eight days later."
Jin Zhenjiao frowned and said, "Then the time is running out. If we don't pack up and leave tomorrow, it will be too late no matter how fast we hurry."
When Song Tiaotiao heard this, her eyebrows slightly frowned and the smile in her eyes dimmed a little.
Ever since traveling into the book, Song Tiaotiao had never felt that time was so tight.
They got the news at noon, went to the market to buy things in the afternoon, and packed their luggage at night. At night, the two of them slept in the same bed as usual, but Song Tiaotiao was rarely sleepy.
Thinking that Gu Chengjue would have to leave early tomorrow, Song Tiaotiao took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to toss and turn.
After she had counted countless flocks of sheep, she quietly opened her tired eyes.
Song Tiaotiao stared at the pitch-black ceiling in silence for a long moment. After a moment, she gently tilted her gaze towards Gu Chengjue. The darkness around her should have been just as intense as the ceiling, but instead, she caught the glint in Gu Chengjue's eyes.
She looked at Gu Chengjue's gently blinking eyes, and felt that his eyes flickered like a lonely star in the silent night.
Song Tiaotiao confirmed that Gu Chengjue had not yet rested. She lowered her voice and said softly, "Gu Chengjue, why aren't you sleeping yet? We have to travel tomorrow, so you should rest early."
Gu Chengjue continued to look at her quietly, and replied with a faint smile: "Okay, you too."
Hearing this, Song Tiaotiao closed her eyes.
This time, she slept extremely soundly and did not wake up until the rooster crowed the next day.
Before leaving, Gu Chengjue looked at everyone, and after saying goodbye to the ancestors and grandchildren of the Zhao family one by one, Gu Chengjue's eyes finally lingered quietly on Song Tiaotiao's face.
He was selfish and left his farewell to Song Tiaotiao to the last.
Song Tiaotiao's watery almond-shaped eyes were now slightly raised, as always, containing his figure between her smiling eyes.
But today's smiling eyes are like a crescent moon floating in the water, more bright and beautiful than before, with a layer of lingering mist rising from them.
Perhaps because of the sadness of parting, Song Tiaotiao spoke more than before.
"Gu Chengjue, I don't know when you'll be back. But don't worry too much about things at home. We will all work together to live a good life."
"I know you're the type who only reports good news and not bad news, but if you're feeling down, you can write to me and confide in me. Don't keep it bottled up, or you'll get yourself hurt."
"Although I don't have time to make pastries for you, I can learn more pastry recipes during your absence, and I will make them for you when you come back. I will also take good care of Bai Xue and Mo Mo. When you see them next time, they will be two fluffy little balls."
At this point, Song Tiaotiao saw the dawn in the distance. She lowered her eyes and laughed dryly, "Look, I've been chattering away for so long that I've forgotten how late it is. Then I won't delay your departure."
Gu Chengjue lowered his eyes and looked at Song Tiaotiao, and detected obvious reluctance in her eyes. His hands holding the luggage loosened and tightened again.
Finally, he filled his eyes with a gentle smile and said solemnly: "Song Tiaotiao, I will try to come back as soon as possible. Goodbye."
Song Tiaotiao concealed the faint sadness in her heart. She curved her almond-shaped eyes and waved, "Goodbye."
She watched Gu Chengjue go until his handsome figure, as tall as a pine tree, disappeared among the vast pines and cypresses.
"You seem to be in a very low mood today, just like... just like the day I bound you, when you thought Gu Chengjue's life was in danger."
The system's sigh echoed in Song Tiaotiao's ears.
Song Tiaotiao handed feed to a pair of rabbits in the cage and said with lowered eyes, "It is a farewell after all."
Seeing this, the system said in a gentle tone, "Alright, Gu Chengjue said he would be back soon, and he will definitely keep his word. And you haven't checked the relationship diagram yet? How about some melon to relax?"
Song Tiaotiao agreed with a faint smile.
The relationship diagram only shows the relationships between known people.
But even so, it was enough for Song Tiaotiao to broaden her horizons in the melon field.
The small Songbai Village is full of hidden talents, which is enough to condense all the bloody plots imaginable in TV dramas.
After calming down, Song Tiaotiao decided to put aside trivial details like Zhang San and Li Si and most of the known relationships, and focus on the characters in the book.
The system filtered out the relevant people, and only Jin Zhenjiao remained.
The network relationship diagram with Jin Zhenjiao as the main point is unfolded.
The most obvious relationship is the double arrow with the word "lovers" written on it between Jin Zhenjiao and Zhao Huaian. In addition, there are also signs of childhood sweethearts and the murky relationship between them, such as master and servant.
What Song Tiaotiao didn't expect was the cousin relationship between Jin Zhenjiao and Su Lin, as well as the cooperative relationship between Su Lin and Qin Xing.
A cooperative relationship? However, none of the shopkeepers in Songbai Village who relied on each other for resources had such a relationship.
Song Tiaotiao was confused. When she looked up, she saw Jin Zhenjiao, who had appeared out of nowhere. She was folding her arms and scolded, "What are you thinking about? I called you several times, but you're still not awake? You really let me down. I thought Gu Chengjue had to leave early today, so I came here to keep you company, but you didn't give me a chance."
Song Tiaotiao shook her head and chuckled, "It's just that there are some things I haven't figured out. I welcome you to come."
Jin Zhenjiao beamed at the words, "That's good. Actually, I came here to discuss something with you. Didn't I just take over the Jin Family Food Shop from my hands a few days ago? Although it's a bit out of the way, the facilities inside are first-class in Songbai Village. Since it's the first food shop you encounter coming from the north, all the merchants from the Northern Dynasty pass by. And it's not far from your house, only a quarter of an hour's walk away. What do you think? Do you want to try it out?"
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