Mo Li (II)
The three of them walked into the familiar teahouse at the corner of the street. The plain curtains inside had been removed and replaced with festive lanterns painted with gold and colors.
Waiters shuffled briskly between tables and chairs, clutching celadon vases filled with red plums. Each table was decorated with a seasonal assortment of fruit: almonds, pine nuts, and walnuts, drenched in translucent honey, their lustre alluring, like amber.
The storyteller was already seated in the high-backed chair in front, the shiny wake-up stick quietly placed beside the desk. He hadn't begun yet. His story today was still about the play Cangjue was most obsessed with, "Strange Tales from a Teahouse: The Blind Man's Prediction of World Affairs."
This simple-minded young man has always stubbornly believed that the extremely intelligent and worldly-insightful blind old man in the story is a senior master of their salamander clan who has been hiding in the city. He secretly looks forward to the day when he can also have such legendary deeds in the future, which will be written into a vernacular book and narrated by storytellers.
But at this moment, Cangjue was obviously more concerned about the friction between Heshu and Qingshan than the conversation that had not yet begun.
"Sister Sang..."
He quietly approached Sang Li, lowered his voice, and asked out of pure curiosity,
"Did Brother He have a fight with his lover?"
He was aware that his voice was very low, but He Shu heard it clearly. A suspicious blush appeared on his face, and with a bit of embarrassment, he interrupted Cang Jue's question in a harsh voice:
"What lover!"
"ah?"
Cang Jue was startled by the shouting, scratching his head in confusion, blinking his unfocused eyes, and asked more innocently,
"Could it be my husband? When did you get married? Why didn't you invite me to the wedding?"
He Shu looked at his innocent appearance, which didn't seem to be fake at all, and knew that this foolish boy was a stubborn person with no intention of beating around the bush. But hearing these words, coupled with his current state of mind, made him feel embarrassed and anxious, and his blood rushed to his head.
His face flushed red, he stood up suddenly, and said angrily in a timid tone:
"You little brat! You dare tease me!"
"No!"
Cangjue was frightened by his sudden anger and shrank his neck, his voice filled with a hint of grievance.
"alright!"
Sang Li reached out and tugged at He Shu's sleeve, her tone light,
"Why are you arguing with Cangjue? Is he wrong? Isn't it because you had a fight with Qingshan and are feeling upset that you came all the way to the cold pond to hide from him?"
After she finished speaking, she let go of her hand, turned her head, and whispered to Cang Jue, who was still a little timid:
"He and Qingshan haven't married yet. What you called him just now was not wrong. It's just that Wuming is a little shy."
“No way!”
He Shu protested quietly, but no one paid any attention. Sang Li continued:
"When that day comes, I will take you to the ceremony, don't worry."
"Okay! Then Sister Sang, when are they planning to get married?"
Cangjue's mouth corners immediately raised a brilliant arc, and he couldn't help but ask.
"this……"
Sang Li was stunned by the question and turned his eyes to the side subconsciously.
"I don't know. You'd have to ask..."
Before she finished speaking, both she and Cangjue's eyes were focused on Heshu.
"What are you all looking at me for!"
He Shu felt uncomfortable under these two gazes, stammered, and took several steps back, almost bumping into the table behind him.
He hurriedly looked away, not daring to meet their gaze. He felt his face burning and his heart beating like a drum.
Unable to stay any longer, he turned around abruptly and hurried out of the teahouse, almost escaping in panic, leaving behind only an incoherent mutter:
"Well, well...it's not dinner time yet, I'm going to go for a walk outside...the heater in here is burning too brightly, I'm almost suffocating..."
"Eh? Brother He!"
Cang Jue's anxious voice followed him.
"The storytelling is about to begin, don't you want to listen?"
He Shu didn't even turn his head, but just replied vaguely:
"I don't want to hear it anymore! When we get back... you can tell me..."
He had already been disturbed by the shocking words about "marriage" and "husband". Even his breathing felt a little irregular. At this moment, he had no intention of listening to the book. He just wanted to find a quiet corner where no one would disturb him, so that he could relax for a while and sort out his tangled emotions.
I walked aimlessly and unknowingly found myself at the familiar river.
The scene was completely different from the memory of green willows swaying on the bank and rippling blue waves at the turn of summer and autumn. The river surface in front of me was completely frozen by ice, like an extremely huge piece of glass, emitting a white and cold light, reflecting the gray sky, and revealing a sense of loneliness as all things were withered.
He Shu stood alone on the shore, staring at the frozen river in a daze, muttering something unconsciously. At this moment, fine snow fell sparsely from the gloomy sky.
The cold snow foam, carried by the north wind, slanted across his uncovered face, causing a tiny sting like a needle. It fell silently on the ice, leaving behind delicate pale marks in the fine cracks.
On the shore, the willow trees that were once full of vitality have long lost their leaves. The dark dead branches are twisted and extend downwards, with piles of newly fallen snow wrapped between the branches, shivering in the incessant cold wind.
Suddenly, all the sounds of the whistling wind and falling snow became silent for a moment beside him, and a familiar breath brushed past his ears.
An oil-paper umbrella was quietly opened above his head, barely covering the small area.
The plain dark green umbrella makes the falling snow outside the umbrella appear even clearer and purer.
He Shu's heart was shaken, and he turned back suddenly -
Qingshan was standing half a step behind him.
He was wearing a thick, plain cloak. The fur edge at the collar was still stained with some snow that had not yet melted, and it swayed with the rise and fall of his chest.
Although he was panting slightly from hurried journey, his eyes were as calm and gentle as ever, as if all the anxiety and running around were settled the moment he saw him.
The umbrella handle was held firmly in his hands towards the stunned He Shu, blocking the flying snow and wind from outside.
"Look at the snow..."
A gentle voice sounded, deeper and hoarser than usual, clearly revealing the palpitations and fear of losing and regaining.
"I don't know where to find shelter."
The uneven ice surface reflected the figures leaning on each other under the umbrella, and the dead branches on the shore gradually became blurred in the increasingly dense snow.
He Shu looked at the deepening wet marks on Qingshan's shoulders, and his throat seemed to be blocked by something, making it difficult for him to speak.
All the previous surging, entangled and pulling thoughts, those ridiculous fears, regrets, longings, and deep-seated inferiority and powerlessness... all turned into surging heat in the eyes under the shadow of the tilted umbrella.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Qingshan..."
His voice couldn't stop trembling, with a strong nasal tone, and he plunged into the arms of the dusty man. It was not warm, but it seemed as if he wanted to embed himself in it. He Shu kept tightening his arms and buried his hot cheeks deeply in the other's cold clothes.
"I shouldn't have said that... It's my fault... It's all my fault... I clearly don't want you to go back to that Bai Mansion, not at all! I just want us to be together forever, no matter where, whether it's Luzhu Mountain or the ends of the earth, as long as I'm by your side..."
He choked up and revealed the selfish thoughts in his heart that he was too ashamed to reveal:
"I'm afraid... Is this too selfish? It's like trying to be everything to Qingshan... I've already asked you to accommodate so much for me, to bear so much... But I'm not satisfied, and I'm still greedily demanding more... I know, I know Qingshan, you have your own life to live, I can't... I can't..."
He Shu's voice became smaller and smaller, muffled and unclear in Qingshan's chest.
"nameless……"
His fingertips were suddenly tightly grasped by an icy palm. He raised his eyes with tears in his eyes and subconsciously took a half step back. The tears still rolled down his cheeks, wetting his collar and soaking through the front of Qingshan.
Trying hard to suppress his sobs, He Shu nodded vigorously, and responded with a voice thick with water vapor from his nose:
"Um?"
Qingshan raised his hand and placed their clasped palms against his cheek.
The slightly cool touch made He Shu tremble all over, but he did not retract his hand immediately. Instead, he stretched out his other hand and tried to warm the other person's cold cheek.
A light laugh, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, escaped Qingshan's throat. He felt the man turn his head and rub his palm fondly.
"I'm very happy that you can say this to me."
The voice of Qingshan is low and gentle,
"To be everything to Qingshan... How wonderful... How wonderful... I couldn't ask for more..."
Then, a gentle kiss landed on He Shu's warm palm, burning it.
"It's not selfish, Wuming...it's not..."
Qingshan's eyes were calm and focused, looking forcefully into the depths of those eyes that were still watery.
"We are partners, people chosen by each other to spend the rest of our lives together, so naturally we should regard each other as the most important part of our lives... So, don't feel burdened, okay?
His tone was gentle, almost pleading:
"Don't push me away again, don't leave me again..."
Tightening his clasped hands, Qingshan completely wrapped Heshu's fingertips into his gradually warming palm.
"Just hold on to me tightly like you do now, Wuming... From now on, we will walk the road together."
The palms that were pressed tightly together felt a warm and moist feeling.
He Shu's fingertips curled unconsciously, tickling the other person's fingertips, in exchange for a firmer grip.
"It's snowing heavily, come home with me?"
Qingshan held Heshu's hand and turned back to the way they came. They walked on the stone road covered with a thin layer of snow. The wide sleeves of their sleeves overlapped with their steps, making a rustling sound.
Two parallel lines of footprints, deep and shallow, were imprinted on the new snow, winding their way into the distance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
