[She Sees the World] Junior Sister, do you think this peach blossom cake is too sweet?
After finishing the seemingly joking conversation with her master, Zhou Suyao's heart calmed down a lot. She walked slowly in the mountains, and unknowingly, she came to the top of the mountain where the eldest brother was, and the peach blossom forest was in full bloom.
It is no longer late spring, and the peach blossoms have passed their most prosperous period, but since the eldest brother recovered, these peach blossoms are still blooming brilliantly under his care.
Clusters of tender pink covered the hillside, and the breeze blew through the fallen petals, making them scatter in a riot of colour.
It's like a pink snow.
And in this "snow scene" is a thin figure.
He was standing under the ancient peach tree.
Zhou Suyao recognized him at a glance. This was her senior brother Zhou Shanyuan.
He wasn't practicing swordplay, nor was he meditating. He had rolled up his wide sleeves, revealing his wrists, which were somewhat too pale.
If you look more closely, you can see that he is holding a small white jade pestle, leaning over slightly, and grinding the peach petals in the stone mortar into fine pollen bit by bit with great concentration.
His movements were graceful and slow. If Zhou Suyao had not seen clearly what he was doing, she would have mistakenly thought that he was practicing some unique martial arts, just like everyone else.
Sunlight filtered through the intertwined peach branches, casting dappled shadows on his body. His already stunning profile was now even more profound in the interplay of light and shadow. His long eyelashes drooped, barely concealing any emotion in his eyes. He seemed unconcerned with the trivialities of the world, merging with the surrounding peach trees in this moment, creating a tranquil scene.
Zhou Suyao's footsteps stopped involuntarily.
His appearance at this moment, his trembling hand holding her in the imperial city, and the description of him from her third senior brother's mouth...all the images and sounds rushed into her mind at this moment. An inexplicable courage, or it could be said that this was an impulse so strong that it could not be suppressed, suddenly took hold of her at this moment, and she suddenly wanted to ask clearly.
Big Brother, who are you?
Should I believe you?
What kind of secrets are hidden under the heavy fog surrounding him?
Zhou Suyao took a deep breath, stepped on the soft peach blossoms on the ground, and walked towards him step by step.
The closer she got, the more she could smell the crisp peach blossom scent on him, and the more clearly she could see his profile, which was focused to the point of almost piousness as he ground the pollen.
Even if the petals given by the tickler blew on his face in the breeze, he didn't move at all.
Just so quiet, so quiet.
Zhou Suyao didn't know why her heart beat faster involuntarily and why sweat appeared on her palms.
Finally, she stopped a few steps behind him, opened her mouth, and found her throat dry and tight.
Those questions that had circled in her mind countless times, but now she couldn't utter a single word.
How should she ask?
Just ask directly, "Big Brother, are you a good person or a bad person?"
Or should I ask, “What are you and Master hiding from me?”
Or ask, "What is your purpose in being nice to me?"
No matter which question it was, it seemed so abrupt and offensive at this moment when he was so calmly submerged in pollen.
Even... stupid.
She was in a dilemma, her cheeks burning, and she almost wanted to turn around and run away.
But it was also at this moment.
Zhou Shanyuan stopped moving.
He didn't look back, as if he had already known of her arrival. He just turned slightly and used his fingers, which were slightly stained with pollen, to pick up a small piece of peach blossom-shaped, delicate pastry from the exquisite food box beside him.
Then he turned and faced her directly.
He smiled faintly, and there seemed to be no coldness or alienation in his eyes. Instead, they were more like the melting snow in early spring, with an indescribable gentle concentration.
Zhou Suyao felt the fragrance of peach blossoms coming towards her, but she couldn't tell for a moment whether the fragrance came from this huge peach blossom forest.
Or the senior brother in front of her.
However, just when Zhou Suyao had no time to react, she suddenly felt something sweet and soft on her lips.
The hand that was handing her something had cool fingertips, carrying the fragrance of peach blossoms, and even faintly touched her lower lip.
Zhou Suyao's whole body stiffened instantly, her mind went blank, and she could only stare blankly at his face that looked like a god so close to her.
Then he leaned forward slightly, his voice low and pleasant, like the crisp sound of jade pendants colliding.
"I thought it wouldn't taste good since it was my first time making it, so I asked Master to test it for poison first."
"But since you're here, give it a try first."
He looked at her eyes which suddenly opened wide and were filled with astonishment. There seemed to be an elusive meaning in her tone, as if she was cautiously begging for intimacy.
"Is it too sweet for your taste?"
The slightly cool touch and fragrance on her lips were like a subtle electric current, causing Zhou Suyao's brain to go blank for a moment. Almost instinctively, she opened her mouth slightly and let the senior brother put the pastry between her lips and teeth.
As her teeth bit into the pastry, an extremely rich sweetness, almost overbearing, instantly took over her taste buds.
It wasn't just ordinary sweetness, but a cloying sweetness that made her throat tighten.
Even the tip of the tongue feels a little sour.
She frowned slightly because of the sweet taste and subconsciously wanted to cough, but when she saw Zhou Shanyuan's eyes, she forced herself to hold it back.
Zhou Shanyuan lowered her head slightly. She was very close to her, so close that she could almost see the shadow cast by her eyelashes under her eyelids.
His heart moved slightly.
He pursed his lips, his mind distracted for a few moments.
Hold your breath... concentrate...
But she probably likes sweet things like this.
Zhou Suyao stared into his eyes with such concentration, as if at this moment, the only thing he cared about was her evaluation of the peach blossom cake.
It seemed as if this almost intimate action was just a very, very natural thing in his eyes.
In an instant, all her prepared questions, doubts, and unspeakable emotions were completely blocked by this focused and pure gaze.
She couldn't ask a single word.
I couldn't utter a word.
What could she say? That the peach blossom cake was too sweet?
Or say.
Whose senior brother are you, anyway?
The atmosphere was frozen at this moment. The only sounds in the air around them were the sound of peach petals being blown by the wind and the tense silence between the two of them.
Time seemed to be stretched out.
They just stayed like this, one with his head slightly raised, the other with his head lowered. In this somewhat Mary Sue scene, no one was the first to look away.
Of course, none of them spoke first.
Zhou Suyao could even hear her own heartbeat like a drum.
One sound after another hit her eardrums.
It also impacts this suffocating silence.
Just when she felt that she was about to be drowned in this silence and suffocated -
"Big Brother! I got the lees you asked for! Can this stuff really be used to make peach blossom wine?..."
A loud voice with a hint of impatience instantly broke the silence of the peach forest.
And the sound stopped abruptly.
Then, another panicked voice cried out in a muffled voice: "Second Brother! Stop making noise!"
Zhou Suyao was startled by the two sounds and came back to her senses suddenly. As if she was scalded, she took a step back in an instant, widening the distance between herself and Zhou Shanyuan, and her cheeks also started to burn.
She turned her head hurriedly and looked towards the source of the sound.
At the entrance of the peach forest, the second senior brother was carrying a jar of wine that was neither too big nor too small. He stood there stiffly with a look of shock on his face. The disbelief in his eyes was visible to anyone with a discerning eye.
The third senior brother next to him was pulling his other arm tightly, his face flushed red. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't know what to do. He had to grit his teeth and pull the second senior brother aside.
Four people, eight eyes, looked at each other awkwardly in this peach blossom forest.
The air was dead silent for a moment.
The next second, Zhou Zonglan seemed to finally react. He suddenly pulled Qu Mingwu, who was still in a daze, and said incoherently: "I'm sorry! Senior Brother! Junior Sister! We didn't see anything! Let's go now! Right now!"
After saying that, he turned around and ran, using almost all his strength to drag Qu Mingwu, who was still confused and had no idea about the current situation.
Qu Mingwu staggered as he was dragged by him, and the wine jar on his shoulder almost slipped off. He subconsciously protected the wine jar. While being dragged away by his third junior brother, he looked back at the two of them, and his facial features became distorted with his mood.
But in the end he said nothing, shook off Zhou Zonglan's hand and said helplessly: "Okay, I will go by myself."
The two gradually walked away, and they were just watching them whispering to each other, probably slandering each other. Zhou Suyao watched them walk away, she didn't even have the courage to touch her face, just thinking that her face must be red now.
The figures of the two quickly disappeared outside the peach forest, leaving behind only the sound of hurried footsteps and a few startled peach blossoms falling.
In the forest, only Zhou Suyao and Zhou Shanyuan were left again.
However, the ambiguous and tense atmosphere had already been shattered by this sudden intrusion and escape.
Zhou Suyao felt the heat on her face was almost burning her. She didn't dare to look at Zhou Shanyuan anymore. She had to lower her head and stare at the peach petals on the tip of her shoes.
In fact, her heart was already pounding and her mind was in a mess.
She shouldn't have thought about how her second and third brothers would view today's scene.
Compared to her panic, Zhou Shanyuan seemed much calmer.
He simply glanced indifferently in the direction where the two disappeared, with no ripple on his face, as if the little chaos just now had not happened.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he spoke again softly, his tone calm:
"So, it's too sweet?"
"No……"
Zhou Suyao opened her mouth, but faced with the gentle and calm questioning of the senior brother, she was actually a little incoherent and explained in a panic, "No...that's not what I meant. This pastry tastes very good, it's just...it's just that I...maybe I like it a little lighter...but it's really delicious! Really!"
The more she spoke, the more confused she became. She almost wanted to spit out the cake she had just swallowed, or cut open her stomach like in the movie "Let the Bullets Fly" to restore the cake's original appearance to prove that she really "liked it".
But the more she explained, the more confused she became. She didn't know what to say, or whether the senior brother would think she was insincere when he saw her like this. In the end, she had no choice but to cover her eyes, not daring to look into the senior brother's eyes again.
But just now, the lower lip that was touched by his fingertips seemed to be still faintly hot.
Seeing her anxiously trying to explain herself and at a loss as to what to do, Zhou Shanyuan couldn't help but chuckle, and the corners of his mouth seemed to bend slightly upwards.
The arc was extremely faint and fleeting, as if it was just an illusion caused by the sunlight passing through the peach branches. But in Zhou Suyao's eyes, it was as if all the ice and snow around her had melted a little.
"It's okay." His voice was still low and soft. "You don't have to worry."
He paused, his eyes passing over her red ears, and he felt his face getting hot. He said slowly, "If you don't like it this sweet, I'll make something that suits your taste later."
He said this with remarkable naturalness, as if adjusting the sweetness of the peach blossom cake for her was a matter of course, something he was supposed to do. He then raised his hand slightly, signaling, "Those were just a taste. If you don't like them, I won't make this one quite as sweet."
"Besides," he changed the subject very naturally, "I'm sure Master has already told you that the sect's disciple evaluation is coming soon. I can't help much, so I'll just make some of your favorite food to prove that I truly care about you."
Zhou Suyao was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly. She didn't know how to respond to these words, so she had to consider carefully: "Master told me... to be more restrained."
"Well," Zhou Shanyuan said, "Now that you're immersed in the role, you need to conserve your energy."
"Your injuries have just healed, and your spiritual power has not yet fully recovered. You should take good care of your breathing these days and avoid running around."
"Go back," he said finally, his tone filled with an undeniable authority. "It's getting dark, and the cold dew is heavy in the mountains. Go back early, or the cold air won't get to you and hurt you."
After saying this, he turned around and picked up the small white jade pestle again, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him again.
Zhou Suyao stood there, looking at his focused profile. The sweet taste between her lips and teeth seemed to have not completely dissipated yet, mixed with the peach blossom scent on his body, which made her feel a little palpitated.
She still has a lot to say and a lot to ask.
But in the end, she just whispered to his back: "Yes,"
"Big Brother, I'll go back first."
Zhou Shanyuan didn't look back, but just nodded slightly.
Zhou Suyao turned around and walked out of the peach blossom forest step by step. The setting sun stretched her shadow very long and cast it into the falling flowers.
But she didn't know that the gaze behind her was looking at her the moment she turned around.
Quietly, he sent her to the end of the peach forest path.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
