Chapter 80, Anomaly.
Lu Xiaofeng left the next day without even having breakfast. Lu Yusheng thought he was really angry and nervously searched the online store for something that could be a gift.
She only felt relieved after Sikong Zhaixing asked her in the group chat and confirmed that she really had urgent business to attend to.
Life seemed to return to normal. Since she couldn't get it back, she stopped thinking about the things she had lost and focused more on studying the appearance of the music box she was preparing to make.
—Xingxiu Sea.
The little boy in white knelt on the ground trembling, kowtowing repeatedly to an old man on the table.
The old man had a ruddy complexion, long white hair and beard, and looked like an extremely refined and otherworldly person.
To be able to gently fan oneself with a carefree fan even in the dead of winter suggests a person of profound inner strength, completely unaffected by changes in external temperature.
Not far from him lay a crystal bead, which shimmered faintly even in the daylight, drawing people's gaze involuntarily to it.
The pearl was crystal clear, and inside was a pale pink flowering tree, from which the faint light emanated.
And swirling around the tree trunk are countless fluttering snowflakes, tireless, forever dancing in a regular rhythm within the transparent glass sphere.
This item is already rare, but the thing the old man is holding and playing with is even more exquisite and delicate.
—It was a small box about four feet square, inside which was a miniature world carved by some unknown craftsman.
Its main structure is a magnificent castle with no discernible style. Below the castle, the streets are adorned with countless pedestrians sculpted to scale, and intricate stained-glass windows reveal elegantly dressed women standing in various locations. There are also uniquely shaped fountain sculptures in the center of the streets...
All of these will activate after some inconspicuous little switch is pressed.
Small blue spheres simulating water droplets begin to overflow from the fountain. When these "droplets" fall to the ground, they automatically fall into a pre-designed passageway and cycle repeatedly. Pedestrians stroll around the fountain, while the ladies in the castle gracefully dance courtly steps.
As the mechanism operates, in addition to a crisp click of the mechanism, there is also extremely soft and soothing music.
...But all of these will never be seen again.
A careless junior disciple was startled while cleaning and accidentally knocked over the "Exquisite Treasure Box". At the time, nothing seemed amiss, but after Ding Chunqiu admired it several times, the mechanism seemed to break down and became unresponsive no matter how it was pressed.
This item was originally stolen by Jin Jiuling's men, and after changing hands several times, it failed to reach the final buyer. However, it was seized by Zhaixingzi, who was on his way to the Central Plains to find the Divine Wood King Cauldron, to please his master.
At this moment, Zhaixingzi was standing at the lower end, cursing the person who made the mistake a hundred times in his heart. Fortunately, he had found out the whereabouts of the traitor Azi, and found that the original owner of the treasure was in the same place as the one he had learned about during the treasure robbery.
Although Azi's exact whereabouts are unknown, Lu Yusheng's small building is not going anywhere.
Even if the Divine Wood King Cauldron cannot be found...
No, he mentally slapped himself for this thought and changed his mind, thinking that even if the process of finding the Divine Wood King Cauldron was not smooth, collecting a few more treasures would at least improve his master's mood.
Then the disciples in the hall saw that after their master whispered something to their eldest brother, his slightly gloomy expression slowly brightened.
"How could it be in Jiangnan... There aren't many poisonous insects there... It seems I have no choice but to go to the Central Plains this time."
Before long, Ding Chunqiu left the hall. Since he was in need of manpower at the time, he did not specifically explain the punishment to the disciple who made the mistake before leaving.
The kneeling child couldn't believe that the matter had been so easily dismissed. After realizing what had happened, he was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly, praising his master's kind and compassionate heart.
After tidying up here, they continued their journey without stopping, while on Lu Yusheng's side, life remained peaceful and serene.
Although Hua Manlou was temporarily summoned back by letters from his father and brothers, Sikong Zhaixing settled down here as previously stated.
The two people, who were eating potato chips and watching a movie in the lobby, occasionally whispered a few words about the plot.
When the end credits finally started, Lu Yusheng shook the empty bag of potato chips and the silent beverage can. Reluctantly, he got up to get a new one, but as he was leaving, Sikong Zhaixing grabbed his arm.
She stopped instinctively, her eyes sparkling as she looked back: "Are you going to get it?"
Lu Yusheng, feeling lazy, stopped. Sikong Zhaixing gave her a complicated look, guessing that she wouldn't leave anytime soon, so she went to get her some food.
Without giving it much thought, the latter retreated to his original seat.
She continued to rest her chin on her hand and wait, but then she vaguely sensed that something was off about his gaze...
Something felt off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it was because the movie I just watched was too tragic. The male and female leads were separated by death, and even though they were a couple in love, they couldn't even be buried together.
She sat there waiting for a plot twist, too afraid to leave, until the end credits rolled and there was less than a minute left on the progress bar before she finally gave up.
Just as he was pondering this, Sikong Zhaixing returned.
The snack cabinet didn't have many varieties; he took two bags of potato chips and two bags of candy, and also had two cans of cola in his other hand.
He handed the food to Lu Yusheng, watched her eat, and figured she must be in a good mood. With a mix of certainty and trepidation, he asked, "Would you... marry me?"
The latter choked on a mouthful of cola and coughed uncontrollably, patting his chest as he replied intermittently, "You... what's wrong with you... why are you suddenly asking this?"
Sikong Zhaixing was not intimidated by her reaction and replied very patiently, "Because I like you."
After fully understanding the meaning behind the other person's words, Lu Yusheng was both shocked and horrified.
Because she really only considered him a friend.
She even began to reflect on whether she hadn't grasped the proper boundaries in their relationship because he was her first male friend in both her lives.
So when he spoke again, Lu Yusheng's expression became very unnatural.
He asked with a tone of reassurance, "Are you really sure you like me? Is it because you rarely spend so much time with girls that you've misunderstood your feelings?"
Unfortunately, the person in front of her clearly had no intention of giving her a chance to get away with it.
At this moment, Sikong Zhaixing had a vague premonition that things were not going well. Her face gradually calmed down, and her voice returned to its usual calmness, but she still said stubbornly, "I am happy as soon as I see you, how can that not mean I like you?"
"I'm happy to see you too, but some feelings of liking are just based on friendship between friends."
Do you really think that at my age I would still mistake friendship for love?
Thus, Lu Yusheng's attempt to deceive himself was also ruthlessly crushed.
Oh, I see.
It seems that his previous inexplicable actions have all become reasonable explanations: suddenly being cooked by her, suddenly having his face changed to this, inexplicably starting to compete with Hua Manlou, oh, and knitting...
So this was his way of pursuing someone.
Lu Yusheng sometimes felt that her thought process was really strange. In just a few seconds, her thoughts jumped from "What should I do if my friend confesses to me?" to "You're quite innocent, kid."
However, despite the turmoil in his mind, he couldn't escape this awkward situation in reality.
At this moment, she wished she had skills like "time stop" or "rewind" from anime, so that she could at least have more time to think, instead of feeling so powerless.
He tried to look away, but the chair was turned at an angle by a strong force the next second.
Actually, even before she responded immediately, Sikong Zhaixing roughly understood her thoughts, but she was determined to get a personal answer.
However, given their age difference of only a few years, he could distinguish between liking and disliking, and Lu Yusheng could naturally do the same.
Moreover... Lu Yusheng later recalled Hua Manlou's behavior that day when he was drunk.
She had never been treated with such tenderness before. In his presence, she felt like a special treasure, deserving of his gentle and loving treatment. She thought she probably couldn't bear to lose this care.
The reason for the lack of a clear response is simply because they are afraid of change, content with the status quo, and pretending to be ignorant while relying on Hua Manlou's tolerance.
As they spent more and more time together, Lu Yusheng became somewhat clear about his own feelings.
So she lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry."
Sikong Zhaixing did not reply.
He is a somewhat proud person at heart. He has done his best to get to this point. Since he can only be refused, what else can he do?
So he left.
Lu Yusheng remained motionless with her head down, and after a long while, glistening water droplets fell from her drooping hair.
She couldn't stop her tears; losing her first friend in this world was still worth crying over.
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Author's Note: Don't worry, this is a sweet story; the characters will reconcile within two chapters.
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