The Same Return (I)
The dim morning light shines through the mulberry paper-covered windows, casting sparse and soft shadows on the bed.
He Shu slowly woke up from his sleep, his consciousness still immersed in the afterglow of his dream, when he found himself being embraced in Qingshan's arms.
The man's chest rose and fell regularly, and his warm breath brushed against the back of his neck, bringing a subtle and familiar itch.
Then, the crisp scent of soapberry with the aroma of sweet pine came quietly closer, and a gentle kiss touched and left behind his ear, so fast that it almost seemed an illusion.
He Shu's heart skipped a beat and he subconsciously wanted to shrink his neck, but he forced himself to hold it back. He still kept his eyes closed and pretended not to wake up. However, his long eyelashes, which trembled unconsciously, completely revealed that he was awake.
A low and joyful chuckle came from behind him, with a clear understanding of everything.
Qingshan did not expose it directly, but supported his upper body with his arms, and his ink-black long hair fell down, with a few strands of hair faintly brushing across the side of Heshu's face.
He leaned down and placed another tender kiss on the corners of those eyes, which were still closed but slightly moving.
This time the kiss had a presence that could not be ignored, and it startled the person lying on his side who was pretending to be asleep, completely losing his sleep. His long eyelashes trembled, and he suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were watery, with a hint of shame and confusion at being disturbed.
"woke up?"
Qingshan's voice was slightly hoarse, but a smile was clearly in it.
He Shu turned over, frowned slightly and looked at Qing Shan who had already sat up. He deliberately turned his face away and rubbed the other's fingertips that were still gathering the hair on the side of his face, complaining:
"Yeah, it's you who's causing all the trouble..."
He closed his eyes again, his voice still filled with the vagueness and laziness of just waking up.
"It's really unfair..."
Qingshan laughed and shook his head. He stopped teasing, sat up straight, put on his coat, and walked down from the bed quietly.
The room suddenly became quiet, with only the faint chirping of birds outside the window.
He Shu was drowsy, wrapped in the silence, his consciousness began to fade again, and he was about to fall asleep again, but at this moment the familiar footsteps came and went.
Qingshan reappeared at the bedroom door. Seeing that he had his eyes closed and was breathing evenly, he moved more gently, placed something on the bedside table, and whispered:
"I've put the osmanthus honey water on the table for you. If you're thirsty, drink some. Breakfast is in the steamer in the kitchen. It's hot sesame cakes. I've also fed Jin Wu. Everything is fine. You can rest assured and sleep for a while."
"Um……"
He Shu heard this, his eyelids moved slightly, and he opened his eyes a little, facing the direction where the voice came from, and responded vaguely.
Qingshan leaned over and placed one last light kiss on his warm forehead, which was filled with the slightly cool air from outside, then turned around and left quietly.
He seemed to be whispering something before going out, but He Shu's consciousness had been captured by sleepiness again. The words were like whispers in the wind, unclear. He finally closed his eyes and fell into a deep dream again.
I don’t know how long it was, but suddenly there was a crisp “click” sound outside the window, breaking the peace in the room.
Perhaps Jin Wu had eaten and drunk enough, and was playing in the yard, accidentally breaking a thin branch covered with morning frost.
The sound completely woke He Shu, who had been sound asleep. He sat up, stretched himself, and drank the cinnamon honey water on the table in one gulp.
After getting dressed, he pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard in early autumn.
In July, the heat is scorching and the frost is beginning to form. The temperature in the mountains is gradually getting cooler, and the air is refreshingly cool.
He took a deep breath of the extremely fresh morning air and his eyes leisurely swept across the quiet and peaceful world.
The clear sunlight illuminated the medicine bag hanging from the beam for repelling insects and warding off evil spirits. On the pile of pottery jars in the corner, a spider web had formed at some point, and the silver threads were dotted with condensed dew from the night, making it sparkle brightly.
The wooden door was ajar, revealing half a piece of green-brown new firewood, which Qingshan had chopped and picked up after returning from his training yesterday evening.
A bamboo sieve beside the herb garden was filled with cassia seeds drying in the sun, emitting a faint, bitter aroma. A single piece of kudzu cloth dangled from the clothesline, its hem still adorned with water droplets that were about to drip.
He Shu walked to the tree and easily caught the kitten that was happily playing with the broken branch.
He buried his face in Jin Wu's warm, furry belly and rubbed it until breathing became a little difficult. Then he suddenly raised his head and exhaled freely:
"Come on, go to the kitchen with your nameless brother and I'll bring you a snack."
As he spoke, he held Jin Wu firmly in his arms, turned and walked towards the kitchen, ready to enjoy the breakfast Qingshan prepared for him.
He picked up the sesame cake that had cooled down but still exuded the aroma of flour. With a slight movement of his fingertips, a trace of immortal power flowed through him, and the cake immediately returned to the perfect warmth.
He Shu stuffed the pancake into his mouth, freed his hands, and began to look for a jar of snacks for Jin Wu in the cupboard.
Just as he picked up a piece of fragrant dried fish, his eyes inadvertently swept across the bottom layer of the cupboard and caught a glimpse of an oil paper bag placed there alone. Inside was the Polygonatum odoratum he had collected yesterday.
"oops!"
He muttered something vaguely.
"Why did Qingshan forget to bring this?"
Jin Wu, who was standing by, was quick-witted and quick-handed. She snatched the dried fish from between his fingers in a flash, flicked her tail, and slipped off to some corner to enjoy the delicious food.
He Shu didn't care about it at the moment. He quickly finished the sesame cake in his hand, patted the crumbs on his fingertips, picked up the bag of Polygonatum, hurried out the door, and walked down the mountain along the path covered with yellow leaves.
As the golden wind blows, the treetops all over the mountains begin to whisper, as if exchanging messages of autumn.
The golden ginkgo leaves are the most impatient. They are the first to break free from the branches, dancing like butterflies, blowing against your face, bringing a strong sense of autumn.
Yesterday Qingshan mentioned to him that there was a child named A Su in the private school who had a dry cough, an itchy throat and a dry cough, and felt quite uncomfortable.
Secretary He remembered that he had just harvested and processed a lot of good-quality Polygonatum a few days ago, so he thought of asking Qingshan to take some to the sick child to nourish the spleen and lungs, moisten the body and relieve cough.
Although it was not a life-saving item that needed to be delivered urgently, he had nothing to do in the yard at the moment. Since he was idle anyway, he might as well take this opportunity to take a walk in the city and accompany Qingshan who was giving a lecture.
After walking for a while without rushing, the private school where the sound of reading could be heard came into view.
He Shu walked lightly, like a thief, and quietly pushed the window open to a gap half a palm wide.
He gently placed the golden color wrapped in oil paper on the windowsill, then held his breath and quietly looked into the private school.
Amidst the swaying shadows of the osmanthus trees, a faint fragrance floated in the air. Qingshan, dressed in a plain white robe, was standing in front of a cypress desk with a scroll in his hand, his figure as straight as a pine tree.
His clear, jade-like voice, accompanied by the faint scent of ink, drifted out of the window:
"Qi'ao" says: 'As if cutting, as if sighing, as if polishing...' Come, let's recite it together..."
He put down the book, walked down the podium slowly, and bent over to carefully guide the children's lessons.
In the corner, a little boy with a pigtail tied in his hair was listening and feeling drowsy. His little head was nodding and was about to hit the table.
Qingshan saw it, but did not scold him. He just picked up the ruler at hand and knocked on the other person's desk three times, neither too light nor too heavy.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The crisp sound startled the little boy, who stood up suddenly and looked around in confusion. The children in the room saw this and immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter.
He Shu, who was standing outside the window, saw this interesting scene and couldn't help laughing, with the corners of his mouth raised high.
Just at this moment, Qingshan was explaining the poem and walked to the back corner of the house, very close to the window.
"Look at the Qi River, where the green bamboos stand..."
The voice of the person reading the article seemed to be ringing next to my ears, warm and pleasant.
He Shu subconsciously turned his head towards the sound, wanting to see more clearly, but he was caught off guard and his figure, along with the smile on his face, which he had not yet been able to hide, bumped into Qingshan's deep eyes, which suddenly turned around and looked at him with a smile.
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain that he had not peeked on purpose, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something and he couldn't utter a single word.
He Shu really didn't want to disturb Qingshan's lecture, so in a hurry, he hurriedly raised the bag of Polygonatum that he had been holding in his hand in front of him, trying to use it to cover his cheeks that were gradually turning red.
He quickly gestured to Qingshan with the object in his hand, silently indicating his purpose with his lips. Then, regardless of the other party's reaction, he turned abruptly and ran to the osmanthus tree in full bloom in the yard in a few steps. He deliberately raised his head, put his hands behind his back, and pretended to be concentrating on admiring the flowers.
The air was filled with the rich, honey-like fragrance of osmanthus, which was so refreshing and soon calmed his somewhat flustered thoughts.
However, he still couldn't muster up the courage to look back, so he could only focus his attention on the osmanthus tree in front of him with branches full of flowers and admire it carefully.
But the four-lobed petals are so small and adorable, just like gold foil carefully cut out by a skilled craftsman, clustered into flower balls the size of corn.
Some of them are shyly hidden under the green leaves, still with a hint of greenness, while those that have already bloomed have already revealed an alluring honey color similar to that of apricots.
He had been standing for a long time, his legs and feet feeling a little sore. He simply brushed the grass under the tree, sat down on the ground, leaned back against the rough yet solid trunk of the osmanthus tree, and closed his eyes again.
The clear sound of reading coming from the private school seemed to turn into a melodious lullaby in his ears, and the intoxicating fragrance of osmanthus lingering around him wrapped him like the softest quilt.
He Shu relaxed his body and mind, and dozed off in a daze in the atmosphere of the fragrance of books and flowers.
The sun gradually rose higher, shining warmly on his body. As his sleepiness deepened, his head began to fall forward bit by bit, and his consciousness became increasingly blurred.
Just when he lost his balance and was about to fall to the ground, he stumbled subconsciously and suddenly woke up.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
