I like the solitude of Moon Bamboo Temple the most, even at midnight.
In "Looking at the Red Dust", Liu Che sat quietly facing the distant red dust, bidding farewell to the last sunset and waiting for his own destiny.
After receiving guidance from the erhu master at the door, Xue Jiuyue hurried along. From a distance, she could discern Liu Che's back in the evenly spread twilight.
"Xiao Ming, you are so bad!"
Liu Che didn't argue but just greeted him gently, "You must be tired, sit down!"
Liu Che wasn't sitting on the stone bench he'd been sitting on before, but rather at a table. Xue Jiuyue was sitting across from him.
"Try it?" Liu Che handed over the thermos cup.
A sip of ice-cold non-alcoholic beer soothed the breathless Xue Jiuyue.
"Please, there are candles on the table."
The light from several candles filled the table. Only then did Xue Jiuyue notice that the table in front of her was already filled with a variety of chocolate candies and several lunch boxes. The hot pot in the middle was ready, just waiting to be lit.
"There is a switch on the corner of the table over there. You can press it." Liu Che reminded.
When the switch was pressed, the surrounding fences and trees emitted tiny dots of light, which extended outward into a band of light, undulating like waves with the branches. It turned out to be extremely tiny light bulbs.
At this time, night has fallen, a crescent of jade hangs in the sky, the vast mountains merge into the curtain of night, only the starlight that has just been lit outlines a flow like the Milky Way on this curtain, and "Kan Hongchen" is the focused point.
Xue Jiuyue couldn't imagine how Liu Che did all this. The indescribable excitement made her "speechless".
"Chocolate fondue, I wonder if you like it."
"I like it very much." Xue Jiuyue lit the charcoal fire.
Liu Che handed over a small box and said, "Try this first."
"Wow, so beautiful, thank you Xiao Ming!"
"Do you have to be so polite? Open it and take a look."
After unpacking it, it turned out to be a piece of chocolate.
The shape is very unique, like an S.
Xue Jiuyue was a little puzzled. Apart from her nickname Xiao Shi, there was nothing else related to S. But Liu Che had never called her Xiao Shi either.
Liu Che explained at the right moment, "The pattern is a vertical Tai Chi Yin-Yang fish. Want to try it?"
"I want to keep it. I can't bear to eat it."
"Silly girl, this is handmade by me. If you like it, you can have as much as you want. Come and have a taste."
"You made it yourself?" Xue Jiuyue finally understood why Liu Che wanted to give her chocolate when there was already a table of chocolate and chocolate hotpot.
Xue Jiuyue tried breaking off a small piece. The bitterness of the chocolate and the subtle sweetness were harmonious and wonderful. Upon closer inspection, she could discern a subtle fragrance lingering behind the rich cocoa, a familiar scent. "Is it Gynostemma pentaphyllum?"
"Yes, it has great medicinal properties and suits your condition. The Gynostemma pentaphyllum croissants you brought me were also very delicious, so I'll try putting them in chocolate."
"Yeah, it's very delicious and unique. I think it can be promoted widely."
"As long as you like it."
"Xiao Ming?" Amidst the sweet and mellow aftertaste, Xue Jiuyue drew out the "S" from before.
"Um?"
Xue Jiuyue stared at Liu Che unblinkingly in the candlelight and starlight. "Besides being a Tai Chi Yin Yang fish, what else does it mean?"
Liu Che's originally warm smile instantly faded, "Okay, I admit that it was Xiao Shi's idea."
"You still remember it, then why didn't you ever scream?"
“I’m used to it!”
"Then you remembered it again when you were making chocolate?"
"S looks better than Y."
Xue Jiuyue ignored Liu Che's various excuses and said, "I don't care. From now on, you have to call me Xiao Shi and Xiao Yue will ignore you."
"Okay, Xiaoyue!"
"You did it on purpose!"
"Hahahaha..." The laughter rolled like hot chocolate in a hot pot.
Opening each lunch box, Liu Che prepared a variety of cut fruits and dried fruits... A table full of sweetness blossomed from this small space, sweetening the lips, teeth, and heart. Following the long mountain wind, it sweetened the trees, the mountains, the sky, and the Milky Way, turning countless stars into blinking candies, one by one...
In between chatting and eating delicious food, Xue Jiuyue gathered up her long hair that was dyed sweet by the wind, but remembered that she didn't bring her hairpin with her.
Just as Xue Jiuyue was looking around for a substitute, Liu Che handed over another small box.
"This is?"
"Open it and take a look."
Soon a golden hairpin appeared in front of Xue Jiuyue, and the head of the hairpin was still in the same "S" shape as before.
"Where whispers are held in the gold hairpins, who is there, beneath the shadows of the winding corridors..." Xue Jiuyue couldn't help but recall these lines. "On the seventh day of the seventh month, in the Hall of Eternal Life, at midnight, when no one is whispering,"—that's when Emperor Minghuang of Tang first met Yang Guifei. "On the night of their engagement, he presented her with a gold hairpin and a jewel box to seal their love," a story that became a beloved love story. From that day forward, using a gold hairpin and a jewel box to seal love on Qixi Festival gradually became a custom during the Tang and Song dynasties.
"Xiao Ming?"
"Um?"
“What are you doing…?”
"I made chocolates as a gift. I just remembered."
"Okay, then, you have to plug it in."
"Yes, sir!"
The two of them came to a stone bench and sat down side by side.
Xue Jiuyue put the golden hairpin in Liu Che's hand, tied up her long hair again, and then took Liu Che's hand and inserted the golden hairpin into her hair.
A numbing feeling came from between her fingers, and her whole body was tense with tension. However, no matter how carefully Xue Jiuyue savored the subtle sensation, she didn't feel any pain at all.
"I don't feel any pain anymore!"
"congratulations!"
"Thank you!"
"Do you have to be so polite?"
"Okay then, watch the stars with me!"
"good!"
The night sky in the mountains was as clear as water. Xue Jiuyue rested her head on Liu Che's shoulder. Unlike holding hands or drawing eyebrows, this was her first time being so intimate, and she still felt a slight pain, but Xue Jiuyue endured it.
"Don't be impatient, take your time, wait for me."
Xue Jiuyue reluctantly sat up, waiting for Liu Che to rummage through his "treasure box." When he came back, he had another box in his hand, but it was much bigger than the previous two!
"besides?!"
"Open it and take a look?"
The scent of lavender emanated from Xue Jiuyue as she unwrapped the box. It was a pillow. Xue Jiuyue hugged it tightly, pressing her face against it. With a deep breath, the scent of lavender quickly filled her air, the subtle yet dominant freshness of Gynostemma pentaphyllum.
"Did you buy it in exchange for the hairpin?"
"Wow, you can even guess that! They're all for calming the nerves, try it?"
Xue Jiuyue put the pillow on Liu Che's shoulder and leaned against it comfortably.
He closed his eyes, immersed in the gentle and soothing fragrance. Unlike Ke Yi, who could use a few inches of space as a stage to show his ingenuity, and unlike Qian Jianjun, who used thousands of acres of land to paint, showing his grandeur, Liu Che only used the softest way to express his feelings subtly and naturally. Xue Jiyue asked softly, "Xiao Ming, do you know the story of Yuezhu Temple?"
Liu Che smiled and nodded.
"Then do you know that I don't know the story of Yuezhu Temple?"
Liu Che nodded again.
"Then you know I almost missed it, and you waited in vain."
Liu Che shook his head, then spoke softly, without a trace of fireworks, "Aren't you here?"
"Tsk, you can even guess this! You almost left yourself with nothing, it was just a little bit!"
"If you are happy, why do you think of me? If you think of me, I have never left."
"Why didn't you just tell me? You never said anything directly. You even carefully prepared a gift and insisted it was a free gift from the store."
"Wait for the cause and effect." Liu Che said it in a Zen-like manner.
"Do you believe in fate?"
"I never said I didn't believe it!"
"You are so bad, bad Xiao Ming! Bad Xiao Ming..."
Xue Jiuyue's voice gradually became lower until the smell of Gynostemma pentaphyllum pierced her eyes.
“Brother Jiuye!”
The wind from the goat horns died down, and on the towering figure opposite, a pair of bright eyes were like cold stars in the night sky.
"Xiaoyue, come with me, it will be too late if you don't leave now!"
"Brother Jiuye, I won't go with you."
"Do you really like that doctor that much? He's too weak. He can't protect you."
"Then I'll protect him!"
"Xiao Yue, wake up! Are you wasting a thousand years of your pure cultivation just for a few decades of worldly love?"
"Brother Jiuye, have you ever thought about this? Without love, what is the point of our immortality?"
"You said the same thing last time! You risked your life for that scholar last time, but how did he treat you? You've only known this doctor for a few days, and you..."
"Brother Jiuye, this time is different. Ming, he's truly exceptional! The righteousness in his bones is even more intoxicating than our Qingqiu's 'Monkey Wine'. He's incredibly kind and gentle. When I look into his eyes, I can see into his heart, and that makes me feel incredibly at ease!"
"But you have committed divine punishment and will die this time!"
"Last time, Guanyin Bodhisattva saved me from a disaster. Didn't that mean I had already escaped the punishment from heaven? Brother Jiuye, stop scaring me. I won't go with you!"
"You stole alpine snow lotus and thousand-year-old ginseng, forcibly extending Wu Riyu's life. The remaining medicinal residue even gave Wu Jingcheng another son. Last time, you suffered the calamity for interfering in the affairs of the mortal world. And the divine punishment for your interference in the world's literary destiny is imminent. Only by returning with me to Qingqiu can I ask the two Supreme Elders to save your life."
"I won't leave Brother Jiuye. I'd rather die in his arms!"
"Die in his arms, let him see you turn into a fox, then throw you away in disgust and step on you a few times?"
Xiaoyue was furious and said, "I don't care, I won't go back with you!"
"You, you better take care of yourself..."
The epilepsy came back, taking away Jiu Ye's resentment, but the scent of Gynostemma pentaphyllum still wafted in the air.
Ye Yi's clear voice rang out immediately, "I'm sorry, Xiao Shi, I'm sorry!"
"It's okay, I don't blame you."
"I didn't expect everyone to heckle. Kissing shouldn't be done in public."
"It's my fault. I wasn't prepared." After a pause, he added, "In all aspects."
"It's okay. It's still a while before I go abroad. Can we go to the beach together to relax in a few days?"
"Yeah! I'm sorry for making you serve so many people..."
Ye Yi comforted him, "It's okay. It doesn't matter what others think. What matters is how you think."
"Let's go back, everyone is waiting."
"good."
Ye Yi took the lead and walked into the darkness, but the smell of Gynostemma pentaphyllum did not go away, and even became stronger...
Xue Jiuyue's absence turned the fireworks show that Qian Jianjun had carefully prepared from a fairy tale hidden in his heart into a fairy tale that he could see with his eyes - shallow and boring.
The confusion of lacking a goal left him isolated and alone under the clear night sky of Qixi Festival.
Inertia made him feel hungry.
Lao Zhou and several teachers were left to take care of the children, and we called a car to go to the place where we used to go every year on the Chinese Valentine's Day.
Ever since they first arrived at this place, every Qixi Festival, even when their relationship was at its most strained, Qian Jianjun and Mei Rugu would come here for a late-night snack—a bowl of satay noodles. But today, not only was Qian Jianjun alone, but he didn't even want to think about Mei Rugu. He was simply hungry and craved a bowl of noodles.
Even the romance of Qixi Festival couldn't drown out the bustling crowds here. Familiar aromas evoked a dim light like an old photograph, but Qian Jianjun didn't want to look at the tattered portraits in those photos. He ordered a bowl of noodles, a bottle of wine, and huddled in a corner.
I didn't savor the taste etched in my memory anymore, I just wolfed it down. I ate noodles and drank wine in big gulps, just to fill the damn emptiness in my body!
One bowl is not enough, one bottle is not enough, ask for more!
Amidst the anxiety of waiting, he looked around the bustling crowd and saw a familiar figure from behind.
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