Flowering (I)
The slender peach saplings trembled slightly in the chilly mountain breeze, and the newly green leaves shook off a few drops of morning dew.
The cat, like a snowball, tiptoed closer, lightly touched the moist soil with its pink nose, and curiously turned over the dark brown soil, revealing the cold tree roots underneath.
Just as it was about to stretch out its claws to poke at it, a soft shout stopped it.
"noob!"
The cat jumped away in fright, but immediately regained its composure, meowed, and rubbed against the trouser leg of the person who scolded it, with its tail raised high, as if saying "What can you do to me?"
He Shu squatted down in frustration and reached out to catch the mischievous cat.
Before my fingertips touched the white snow, the cat had already spun away nimbly.
It walked lightly back to the peach tree, curled up lazily, and slumped in the small shade of the tree. Its belly rose and fell gently with its breathing, and the tip of its tail swept the scorching ground from time to time, as if it had claimed this small space as its own.
The cicadas' cacophony ripped the sweltering air. The peach tree had already sprouted leaves, thriving in verdure, though the leaves were slightly curled by the scorching sun and covered with a fine layer of dust, with not a single bud visible.
"Go away, don't get in the way here..."
He Shu brought a bucket of water, and the clear water seeped into the dry cracks in the soil around the tree roots. He waved his hand to try to scare away the dozing cat.
"If you don't leave now, I'll really pour water all over you!"
The white cat just lazily opened its eyelids, glanced at him with its amber eyes, and closed them again calmly, and the tip of its tail swept across the back of his hand provocatively.
He Shu had no choice but to give up.
He looked up at the overly silent branches, and raised his hands to block the glaring sunlight that seeped through the gaps between the branches.
The time flowing through the fingers is sticky and slow, as if it is stuck in this endless waiting, stagnant.
Many times, he couldn't help but wonder whether the earth spirit of Qingshan was attached to this peach tree, or whether it was just his desperate fantasy.
The wind gradually turned cooler, causing the peach leaves to turn yellow and wither, like tired butterflies, swirling and falling on the bluestone floor, the white cat's soft back, and his shoulder.
The branches of the peach tree became clear, comfortable, and empty again, pointing stubbornly towards the increasingly higher blue sky.
The white cat suddenly became energetic, jumped towards the dead leaves slowly falling in the air, rolled and jumped on the thick "carpet" under the tree, making a slight rustling sound.
He Shu saw this and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. He continued to hold the broom, sweeping the increasing piles of fallen leaves, gathering them into a pile, revealing the ground covered with a thin layer of frost underneath.
Heavy snow covered the mountains, and the world was left with only varying shades of gray and white.
A dim, warm light streamed through the window of the cottage, barely illuminating a patch of falling snow outside. The white cat lay soundly asleep on a blanket by the fire.
Through the half-open paper window, He Shu looked at the motionless peach tree outside. Its black branches were covered with thick silver, silently bearing the weight of the accumulated snow. Occasionally, unable to bear the weight, a piece of snow would slide down, making a dull thud and hitting the open space under the tree that had been repeatedly swept and covered with new snow.
He looked in that direction and was stunned when suddenly a breeze blew through the trees in the courtyard. It was still cold, but it seemed to... bring a familiar sweet fragrance.
He suddenly raised his head——
The flowers are blooming.
Outside the window, the long-dormant peach tree has been immersed in flowers at some point. The layers of pink are flowing with a delicate luster in the sunlight, which is extremely beautiful.
Five years of cold and hot seasons seemed so long.
The white cat jumped lightly off the windowsill, with its tail erect, and walked half a circle around the peach tree. Finally, it squatted beside the thick trunk, raised its head, and stared at the long-lost, soft colors with its clear amber pupils.
He Shu stood in the study, not approaching, just watching.
More petals rustled down in the wind, like a gentle and continuous fragrant snow, passing through the window lattice, some floated into the house, and some fell under the eaves and on the stone steps.
A few of them were particularly mischievous, timidly and tentatively floating slowly towards his cheek.
He Shu subconsciously closed his eyes, but the expected touch of petals did not come. Instead, a warm breath suddenly brushed across his head, bringing a slight itch.
He was startled suddenly, and all the muscles in his body tensed instantly.
An extremely familiar voice, with a deep smile, sounded very close to his ear, and the vibration seemed to penetrate directly into his bones:
"One day without seeing you feels like three years... Wuming, I miss you too."
The blood seemed to stop flowing in an instant, and then rushed back to the heart with even greater momentum the next second, making the eardrums buzz. The long-awaited voice was so light and vague in my ears at this moment.
Qingshan... woke up.
He thought.
Breathing stops, bringing an almost painful feeling of suffocation in the chest.
He Shu suddenly opened his eyes, but his vision was blurred by the sudden surge of moisture. A slender hand quietly reached out from behind his ear, and its fingertips gently pinched the pink petal that was about to fall on his cheek.
No looking back.
He didn't dare look back, for fear that if he moved, this warm breath and this close touch would disappear like a mirage in the water.
"Why aren't you talking?"
The person behind him saw that he hadn't responded for a long time and seemed to smile very lightly. The breath of his breath touched his sensitive earlobes, bringing an uncontrollable shudder.
"Wuming, please pay attention to me..."
The voice carried the tenderness in his memory, as well as a hint of dryness and hoarseness, which made He Shu's throat tighten.
He opened his mouth, but found that the word "Qingshan" that had rolled between his lips and teeth thousands of times was so difficult to say at this moment.
The warmth behind him suddenly receded a little, and then a short cry accompanied by an unstable stumble came from behind.
Before he could react, someone grabbed his wrist tightly, and a force pulled him backward, causing him to stagger and fall.
“Hmm—”
Unexpectedly, their backs bumped into a warm and strong embrace, and the two of them fell into a heap in a mess.
Qingshan sat on the slightly cool floor. The desk was shaken by the bump, and several pages of rice paper covered with scribbles fell down and covered the overlapping parts of their sleeves.
The tender and gentle atmosphere just now was shattered by this sudden accident. After a brief moment of dead silence, He Shu felt the chest of the person beneath him vibrate violently and let out an unbelievable laugh.
"Hahahaha... I haven't used these legs for a long time, and they're so useless..."
The hearty laughter washed away all of He Shu's previous tense temptations and cautious sadness. Qingshan laughed so hard that he could hardly breathe, but his arms were still firmly around the waist of the person in his arms.
"I'm sorry, Wuming. As soon as we met... I got you into trouble."
The laughter was so familiar that it made He Shu's heart ache. He was stunned for a moment, then a sense of absurdity and yet incredibly real gripped him, as if these five years... these hundred years of separation and suffering had never existed.
It's as if time has never passed.
He is still the little crane fairy who has just entered the mortal world, and Qingshan is still the scholar who treats him wholeheartedly.
He Shu couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth, and his shoulders trembled slightly.
This smile seemed to open the valve of emotions, and the surging waves hit his heart, and he could no longer stop shaking.
Years of accumulated worry, fear, and loneliness, combined with the ecstasy of regaining what had been lost, intertwined into a huge torrent that swept away all his restraint.
He turned his head and their eyes met unexpectedly. Seeing the same look of astonishment and deep attachment on each other's faces, He Shu could no longer hold back and burst into laughter. Then, like a dam breaking, he and Qingshan laughed together, but his eyes quickly turned red uncontrollably and the accumulated tears rolled down his cheeks.
He laughed until he was exhausted, and simply let go of all his strength, leaning back and leaning against the chest behind him, feeling the real and strong heartbeat coming through the layer of clothes and hitting his back.
"Look..."
He laughed and panted, his voice was heavily nasal, and his tears flowed even more violently, but it was hard to tell whether he was laughing or crying:
"I told you to show off!"
The intermittent laughter gradually died down, turning into heavy breathing. Their warm breaths inevitably intertwined, and the distance between them became extremely close without them noticing.
It was so close that when he turned his head slightly, he could clearly feel the hot breath from the other person brushing against the corners of his eyes where tears were hanging.
The fresh fragrance of peach blossoms in the air suddenly became stronger, and an indescribable, heart-pounding undercurrent surged in the small space.
“…I thought…”
He Shu's voice was so soft that it was almost a whisper, with sobs still lingering.
"You will forget me..."
The moment he blurted out these words, he realized what he feared most in his heart.
It's not the pain of separation.
He knew that Qingshan would leave him one day...
But he must not be forgotten.
If Qingshan was right before his eyes but he couldn't be with him, he wouldn't be able to go on for even a moment in this long life...
The air gradually became thick and warm, and the surroundings became quiet, so quiet that one could hear the subtle sound of petals falling outside the window.
"getting over You?"
Qingshan said this as he slowly leaned over and gently pressed his forehead against Heshu's, with an intimacy and cherishment that crossed the line.
His voice was as gentle as spring water, but the words he spoke were so paranoid that they were frightening:
"Wuming, if I forget you, won't everything I've given up and endured become a joke? I don't want to forget you..."
He looked into He Shu's misty eyes, which were as deep as the night, and were filled with heavy emotions accumulated from several lifetimes of memories:
"Throughout my life, whether our love is deep or our fate is shallow, I will never forget you... I will never..."
The last word turned into a sigh, blending into the intertwined breaths of the two people.
They stopped laughing and just looked into each other's eyes quietly.
Each other's figures were clearly reflected in it, with a lingering smile and deeper, intense emotions that almost drowned people.
He Shu saw the other person's gaze slowly fall, finally stopping on his lips which were still stained with tears, with restrained desire.
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