A Glimpse into the Hundred Faces (13)
Yun Yanqiu ran wildly down the road, his steps faltering. He didn't know where to go, instinctively wanting to escape that mansion, as far away as possible. The wind howled in his ears, but it couldn't dispel the burning heat in his eyes—he dared not stop, afraid that if he paused even slightly, the tears that had been suppressed for so many years would burst forth.
He ran for an unknown amount of time, and when he finally stopped, panting heavily, he realized he had arrived at the back of the mountain. A clear stream shimmered like shattered silver in the sunlight, and the tinkling sound of the spring water was like a gentle whisper, gradually calming his violently heaving chest.
He staggered to the stream and slumped down on the wet pebbles. His pale face was reflected in the water, and his once bright eyes were now dull and clouded with dust.
"Chirp—"
With a soft thud, Ye Yingying fluttered down onto his lap. Her blue feathers shimmered, and her beady black eyes stared at him intently. Yun Yanqiu subconsciously glanced around; in the empty forest, there was no one else but the two of them.
He stretched out his long, slender fingers and gently stroked the bird's head. The warm touch from his fingertips made him suddenly choke up. When he spoke, his voice was full of lingering bitterness: "So she never wanted me to come back."
"If I don't write letters, has she ever contacted me on her own initiative?"
"Why did she start by criticizing me like that? When they sent me away back then, why didn't they ask me if I wanted to go?"
The stream carried his sobs into the distance, and Ye Yingying suddenly rubbed her palm against his. The soft down brushed against his skin, like a silent comfort. Perhaps that furry touch really worked; Yun Yanqiu stroked the little bird's feathers repeatedly, and suddenly felt much better.
Yun Yanqiu cradled Ye Yingying in her arms, burying her face in the warm feathers: "You're the best..."
He looked up again, his eyes shining once more: "Take good care of yourself, and don't faint again." His tone was gentle yet firm: "You're family too."
Family. Ye Yingying froze. The word was like a drop of honey falling into a lake, creating ripples. She stared blankly at the boy's face, her heart pounding even harder.
She couldn't help but let out a joyful chirp, and Yun Yanqiu returned her a warm, trusting smile. Ye Yingying suddenly felt a pang of regret—why was she just a little bird?
However, the next second, Yun Yanqiu suddenly stood up and looked at the mountain road in confusion: "Where is Zhao Huai Ren? Why hasn't he caught up yet? Can he be this much slower than you?"
At this time, Zhao Huai Ren was staying at Yun's Winery and refused to leave. After he said he wanted to buy wine, Yun Yu Xi didn't want to turn him away, so he asked the shop assistant to accompany him to choose wine.
Zhao Huai-ren was quite particular, and he picked out seven or eight different wines in a row, but he wasn't satisfied with any of them. One minute he complained that this one was too bland, and the next he said that that one was too bitter. The waiter, considering that Zhao was a friend of the young master, couldn't show his displeasure and could only suppress his annoyance and continue to bring him new wines to taste.
Zhao Huai-ren took the small cup, sipped it, his eyes darkening slightly, and remained silent for a long time. The waiter, thinking he had finally tasted something to his liking, held his breath, waiting for him to nod and pay the bill.
But Zhao Huai Ren smacked his lips, suddenly beckoned to him to come closer, then covered his mouth and whispered, "Is your manager married yet?"
"Huh?" The waiter was speechless. So you'd been tasting it all this time, but you weren't really interested in the wine. He took a deep breath and said with a smile, "No."
"Oh my~" Zhao Huai Ren's face lit up with joy. He slyly pulled out a few taels of silver from his pocket and secretly stuffed them into the shop assistant's hand. "Your manager is so beautiful, there must be a lot of people chasing after her."
The waiter weighed the silver in his hand, somewhat satisfied, then bent down and whispered, "Our manager, known to everyone around as the Iron Lady, is decisive and efficient. She really needs a capable wife by her side." After saying that, he carefully examined Zhao Huai Ren's face, shook his head and curled his lip, "It's not that I want to discourage you, but your looks are definitely not her type."
"Ah." Zhao Huai-ren shrank back. "So what kind of girl does she like?"
The man straightened up and gestured for him to follow him to the doorway. He then slightly lifted the curtain to reveal the drying area behind it.
"See those burly men carrying things?"
Zhao Huai Ren followed his finger and saw a group of strong men with thick arms and bulging muscles, each carrying several large sacks of heavy objects.
The guy clicked his tongue in admiration: "He should at least be the kind with a lot of muscles, preferably with a few scars on his face and a tanned complexion, the kind that looks really burly."
"Hiss..." Zhao Huai-ren stroked his chin, "This is a bit difficult..."
"Of course, if it's not challenging, the shopkeeper won't even look at it," the waiter said, spouting nonsense with a straight face.
Yun Yuxi had no interest in this type, but it didn't matter; she just wanted to make this fool back down. The waiter glanced silently at Zhao Huai Ren, who was still comparing the thickness of his own arm to Zhao Huai Ren's, showing no shame whatsoever for lying to him for taking his money. That money wasn't for buying information; it was clearly compensation for the trouble he'd caused Zhao Huai Ren by serving him wine for so long!
Under the persuasion of the shopkeeper, Zhao Huai-ren secretly decided to practice more. He bought the last taste of the wine, picked up the wine pot, and prepared to go out to find Yun Yanqiu.
No sooner had he stepped halfway out the door than a magnificent carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the winery, and an elderly woman with gray hair stepped out.
The waiter immediately went up to greet the woman: "Madam, what brings you back?"
"Playing cards wasn't fun, so I came back early." The woman was clearly unhappy, having lost a lot of money playing cards today. "Is Ayu in the shop?"
"Yes, yes, the shopkeeper is drying the yeast in the back!" the waiter replied enthusiastically.
The woman walked into the house and bumped into Zhao Huai-ren, who was about to leave. She looked at him with surprise and asked, "And this is...?"
Zhao Huai-ren immediately clasped his hands and bowed: "Auntie, I am Zhao Huai-ren, a friend of Brother Yanqiu. I am here to accompany him to visit you two."
"Yanqiu?" The woman was stunned and didn't react for a moment.
"Well..." Zhao Huai-ren hadn't finished speaking when the waiter immediately stepped between the two, trying to evade the question: "He's the immortal who came to buy wine! He and the young master were old acquaintances, and he just happened to be passing by and stopped by!"
Zhao Huai-ren had no idea what was going on and blinked blankly.
The woman gazed at the boy before her, who was about the same age as her son, and fell into deep longing: "That child, Ayan, should be about this age by now..."
"Madam, you must be tired from the journey. Please come inside and rest." The waiter tried to change the subject, but the woman couldn't help but think of the young master. She grabbed Zhao Huai Ren's hand and pulled him inside, smiling broadly. "Since you're an old acquaintance of A Yan, we must treat you well. A Yu is really something, not even offering you a meal. Come on, come inside with me. I'll have to prepare a few dishes for you to try today."
Zhao Huai Ren pulled his leg back after taking a step forward, overjoyed at the thought of having dinner with Yun Yu Xi later.
The waiter watched in terror, but the lady was adamant, pulling Zhao Huai-ren inside without giving her a chance to persuade her. He hurriedly followed her to the drying ground, only to find Yun Yu-xi already facing them. He was immediately filled with embarrassment.
He frantically gestured to the shopkeeper, pleading that he had done everything he could to save the situation. Yun Yuxi received his signal, her eyes twitched slightly, and her gaze shifted complicatedly to her mother and her younger brother's companion who should have already left: "Mother, what's going on?"
"You! As the host, you don't even treat him properly. You kick him out before he's even had dinner? Is this how your father and I have always taught you?"
"Mother, what kind of hospitality does he want? He just bought some wine." Yun Yuxi was speechless, looking at Zhao Huai Ren suspiciously, unsure of what inappropriate things he had said to her mother.
"What do you mean 'just buying a bottle of wine'? That immortal is an old acquaintance of Ayan's. He finally made the trip, and you're charging him for the wine?" The woman suddenly became furious. "How much did you charge? Give it back!"
"No, he..." Yun Yuxi was speechless. Seeing Zhao Huai Ren's stunned look, she was afraid that saying too much would expose the truth, so she could only close her eyes and admit defeat. "Sigh, okay, okay."
She waved to the waiter, signaling him to get the money, and then negotiated with her mother: "Let's skip the meal. Don't those immortal cultivators abstain from grains? How can they eat the food of us mortals?"
“It’s alright, it’s alright! Even if you’re fasting, you can still eat. You have to satisfy your cravings every now and then!” Zhao Huai-ren was unusually proactive, never missing any opportunity to spend more time with Yun Yu-xi.
Although Yun Yuxi couldn't figure out what he was thinking, she had already glared at him several times. Was this guy genuinely stupid or just pretending? Couldn't he tell she was being chased away?!
"As long as it's edible, that's fine. Our cook is amazing, you have to try it!" The woman happily took Zhao Huai Ren's arm and walked towards the dining hall, not forgetting to instruct her daughter as they went, "Ayu, after you're done cleaning up, count all the wine outside. When I came in today, it smelled a bit sour, see if any of the jars of wine has gone bad."
Helpless, Yun Yuxi had no choice but to obediently order wine as her mother instructed. The woman led Zhao Huai'ren into a long corridor, and Zhao Huai'ren's dazed state finally dissipated. He came to his senses and suddenly felt nervous: something was wrong. He had only wanted to spend more time with Yun Yuxi to cultivate their relationship, but wasn't this order a little off? Why did it seem like he was trying to win over his future mother-in-law first?!
Hmm, Zhao Huai-ren thought about it again, and it didn't seem like a bad thing. If he could win over his mother-in-law, wouldn't pursuing Yun Yu-xi be a piece of cake?
Just as he was about to start flattering his future mother-in-law, she spoke first: "Master Zhao."
"Auntie, just call me Xiao Zhao! I'm not much different from Brother Yanqiu."
“Alright, Xiao Zhao…” The woman smiled, her eyes crinkling. “There’s something I want to ask you. You don’t need to worry about my daughter; just tell me the truth.”
"What is it? Please tell me."
"It's my son, Ayan." The woman paused, her lips trembling slightly. "Yunyanqiu, is he still alive?"
"Huh?" This question stumped Zhao Huai-ren. "Alive? Of course I'm alive."
"Is this true?" The woman's eyes suddenly lit up.
“It’s definitely true, he was in the winery just now!” Zhao Huai-ren said with certainty. “I just don’t know what Miss A-Yu and he talked about in the room, because he ran out on his own as soon as he came out.”
The woman paused, her face showing astonishment: "Ayan is back?"
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