Awakening of Insects
The morning air still carried the chill of early spring, but in the south, cotton-padded coats had already been stuffed back into the corner of the closet, waiting to be seen again next year.
Gu Jiansheng slowly washed his face, poured out the water in the basin, and then dragged his feet out the door.
The misty rain shrouded the village in a layer of fog. Gu Jiansheng didn't use an umbrella. Looking around, he saw people already busy at work on the ridges of the fields.
Spring plowing is about to begin. Taking advantage of the Awakening of Insects to remove pests is a good way to ensure that this year's rice is free from pests and to bring good harvest.
"elder brother!"
A black dog ran out of the alleyway, followed closely by a fit young man in a short-sleeved shirt. His smile was bright and clear even through the misty rain.
Gu Jiansheng stopped in his tracks: "Where's your brother?"
Zhou Shusheng: "You're in the fields! Third Brother asked me to come and get you breakfast!"
Gu Jiansheng remained noncommittal and silently followed in Zhou Shusheng's footsteps.
It has been almost a month since the last accident.
At the time, Zhou Shusheng did indeed follow Zhou Tian to the town in a daze, but as soon as he arrived there, he was taken into custody by Chen Libang's men and did not have time to meet with He Huaizhi's men.
Zhou Shusheng must have thought he had just gone to town for a visit, completely unaware of the dangers and horrors that lay ahead.
Gu Jiansheng blinked his heavy, wet eyelashes, looking listless and somewhat dispirited.
When Zhou Lexing left him alone, Gu Jiansheng had many terrible dreams.
Those dreams were so real, directly hitting the softest spot in Gu Jiansheng's heart that he feared the most. So even though time passed and repeatedly erased his pale memories, the content of the dreams still haunted him, with a relentless momentum, leaving Gu Jiansheng always feeling very tired.
Within a month, Gu Jiansheng had visibly lost weight.
"Have one more." Zhou Shusheng poked at the two remaining meatballs in Gu Jiansheng's soup bowl, his expression serious.
He had received orders from his third brother to complete the mission diligently!
Gu Jiansheng yawned and poked at the meatballs in his bowl with his chopsticks, but didn't put them in his mouth for a long time. Just as Zhou Shusheng was getting restless, a large hand pressed down on Gu Jiansheng's head, finally bringing him back to his senses.
"Go play!" Zhou Lexing's words drew cheers from Zhou Shusheng, and the black dog barked twice. The man and the dog quickly darted out of the house and disappeared from sight.
"Can't eat?"
Zhou Lexing, still damp from the steam, sat down next to Gu Jiansheng, took the soup bowl in front of him, poked a meatball through it with chopsticks, and personally offered it to Gu Jiansheng's lips.
Gu Jiansheng looked at the meatballs, then at Zhou Lexing, and said nothing.
Zhou Lexing smiled slightly: "I didn't put any drugs in it."
Gu Jiansheng pursed his lips, but finally opened his mouth and took a bite of the meatball.
"Want to come out with me today?"
The second meatball was bitten once, but a second bite never came.
Zhou Lexing took it directly, ate it in one bite, and then got up to wash the dishes by the well.
When Zhou Lexing got up, he found Gu Jiansheng standing silently behind him.
Zhou Lexing smiled, reached out and pulled the listless head close, giving it a kiss: "Let's go, let's go out for a walk to clear our heads."
That's it.
strangeness.
Gu Jiansheng pursed his lips and remained silent.
Zhou Lexing looks exactly the same; he still smiles and takes care of those around him in every little way, yet something is different about him.
The rain was drizzling down, and the two walked hand in hand for a long time. The ridges of the fields gradually receded into the distance, and the houses clustered together looked like inconspicuous grains of rice from afar.
Are you tired?
Zhou Lexing turned to look at him.
Gu Jiansheng shook his head, then used some force to pull him up a small hill. After going around the hill, they could see the house near the edge of the woods.
The house was old and dilapidated, originally the dwelling of the forest rangers. After turbulent times, the people had scattered, but the house remained.
Zhou Lexing led him toward the house.
Gu Jiansheng suddenly felt a little scared.
Through a curtain of rain, the house looked like a hideous monster with its mouth wide open, as if it might break through the ethereal mist and pounce on them at any moment.
The sound of rain hitting the raincoat grew louder and louder. Gu Jiansheng moved closer to Zhou Lexing, and the two stopped behind the house.
The drafty window couldn't stop the slanting wind and rain. Zhou Lexing led Gu Jiansheng to stand in front of him and look into the room.
The room was dimly lit, furnished only with a bed, a table, and chairs.
"roll!"
Gu Jiansheng shuddered.
A familiar voice inside the house was screaming hysterically, the sound cutting through the rain and reaching his ears.
"You think I'll forgive you like this?! Let me tell you! Once I recover, the first person I'll kill is you!"
In the dim light, the person on the bed struggled, but even sitting up was difficult. The man sitting next to him was unmoved by what he said and insisted on reaching out to hug him.
"boom!"
A clap of thunder flashed across the horizon, and the rain intensified. Coupled with the hysterical shouts and insults, Gu Jiansheng's body began to tremble involuntarily.
Those hazy dreams, flashing by with lightning, finally tore through the barrier that sometimes seemed near and sometimes far, allowing him to glimpse the cruel truth within.
Those dreams were real, bought with blood and lives.
"Don't be afraid." Zhou Lexing's voice was soft, but it couldn't hide the indifference in it. "He's crippled, he won't have a chance to get close to you again."
“He…” Gu Jiansheng began, but stopped after uttering only one syllable due to the sob and trembling inside.
Zhou Lexing guessed what he was going to say and calmly said, "He heals very quickly, but it doesn't matter. His subordinates want to keep him alive even more than we do."
When Qiu Ming obeyed orders to kill He Huai under the threat of death, there was no turning back for him in this lifetime.
He feared He Huaizhi's resurgence more than anyone else, so the knife in his hand became lighter and lighter with each stroke.
At least, he will never be able to let go of the knife that cut off He Huaizhi's hands and feet in this lifetime.
Gu Jiansheng opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Zhou Lexing probably thought that those nightmares were related to He Huaizhi, which is why he chose to tell him about He Huaizhi's recent situation.
However, what he truly feared was Zhou Lexing's increasingly indifferent gaze in his dreams, and the repeated news of his death that reached his ears.
But now, Gu Jiansheng has never been so certain that those dreams were real.
The moment Gu Jiansheng saw Zhou Lexing, he felt that he was special.
And as it turns out, he was indeed different.
Gu Jiansheng turned around and met Zhou Lexing's gaze through the rain.
Zhou Lexing's gaze returned calmly, devoid of the flamboyant energy he once possessed.
"...You want to let him go?" Zhou Lexing raised his hand, his calloused hand gently stroking Gu Jiansheng's face, only then did Gu Jiansheng realize that his face was icy cold.
Gu Jiansheng shook his head: "I also want to take you somewhere."
The rain was getting heavier.
The two walked slowly through the rain, with flashes of lightning occasionally illuminating the world, but only casting two shadows, as if at this moment, only the two of them remained in the world.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, farmhouses and fields reappeared before their eyes, but Gu Jiansheng did not approach them. Instead, he circled around and walked to the border between Zhoujia Village and Lijia Village. There were only two households there, far from the protection of the villages. Perhaps because of the rain, they did not see anyone on the road.
Gu Jiansheng, familiar with the place, pushed open one of the doors and led Zhou Le inside.
Zhou Lexing immediately spotted the woman mending things in the side room with the light on.
The woman's hair was meticulously combed, and her expression was always tense. When she heard a noise and looked over, her face immediately showed a mixture of unease, rejection, and disgust.
She sat there without moving, and Gu Jiansheng also stood in the courtyard without going any further. The sound of rain pattering on the eaves created a heavy tranquility amidst the noise.
“She thinks I’m crazy,” Gu Jiansheng said softly, his voice quickly blending into the sound of the rain and becoming inaudible. “I refuse to go to the hospital and I don’t want to be locked up by my uncle. She’s afraid of me and hates me.”
Gu Jiansheng turned his head to look, and Zhou Lexing was just quietly looking at him.
Gu Jiansheng looked at his own silhouette in Zhou Lexing's eyes, and it wasn't some terrifying monster: "This is my maternal grandparents' house. They've both passed away. My mother lived with me, but she was always scared, so I had her move here."
At that time, Zhou Lexing had not yet fully brought Gu Jiansheng under his wing. Rather than having her constantly watched by people with ulterior motives in the Gu family, or having her mother suffer the same danger because of his special status, it was better for her to live here.
“She doesn’t like going out.” Gu Jiansheng looked towards the kitchen, where two bags of rice were piled up, undisturbed by the slanting rain. However, the bamboo basket by the door was soaked, and the bamboo shoots inside were covered in water droplets that kept dripping down.
"I'll have someone deliver things to me regularly..."
"Bang!"
Zhou Lanhua finally got up and closed the door to the side room.
The two stood in the rain for a while longer, then Zhou Lexing led them out of the house.
The door closed again without alerting anyone.
The Awakening of Insects passed quietly, and neither of them mentioned what they had seen or heard during that time. But Gu Jiansheng knew that the heavy shackles that had been weighing them down would lessen with the passage of time they spent together.
They shared each other's secrets, their past, and their future, and until the end of their lives, they no longer needed to feel the fear of losing each other.
As for the next life...
"Don't think about it."
Zhou Lexing carried the exhausted Gu Jiansheng on his back. The rain gradually subsided, but Zhou Lexing's steps remained firm, his broad back bearing his entire weight.
"The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge. Even if it's crooked, there's always a way to navigate it. I'll be with you."
"……good."
The rain gradually subsided, and the dark clouds drifted away with the breeze, revealing the pale sunlight behind them.
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