Under the starry sky of midsummer, the cool breeze brings a melodious and pleasant tune, and the simple notes are repeated over and over again, flowing like a cold spring and refreshing.
In the brightly lit village, a tall and handsome young man embraced his beloved girl and danced to the music in an unstructured but joyful and intoxicating dance.
When the song ended, the friends who had been waiting around rushed forward, whistling, screaming, laughing... breaking the silence that had been immersed in the notes.
"Aubrey, you're amazing!" One of them excitedly hugged today's male protagonist and ruffled his carefully groomed hair. "The most beautiful girl in our village is yours!"
The male protagonist, Aubrey, smiled brightly and affectionately hugged the friends who had sent their blessings one by one. Then, with his short hair like a chicken coop, he stood on tiptoe with difficulty, poked his head out from the enthusiastic crowd, and looked into the shadows at the edge of the open space.
There was a person standing there, and it was easy to overlook him if you didn't look carefully.
"Ash!" Aubrey raised his arms and waved, raising his voice so that it wouldn't be drowned out by the cheers. "Thanks for tonight—"
After he finished yelling, he didn't get to see the other party's response, as his enthusiastic friends held his head and hugged him.
Soon, he was once again immersed in the warm and cheerful atmosphere of the young people.
Ash responded.
He squeezed the warm harmonica in his hand, licked his dry lips, raised his hand and waved to the field, whispering, "You're welcome."
But he was so far away from the center of the field, and it was so dark in the corner that even if someone wanted to notice him, they would not be able to see or hear him clearly. Not to mention now, the boys and girls in the village were agitated and making a fuss, so it was even more difficult to notice him.
Ash didn't care. He put the old wooden harmonica into his pocket and quietly left the busy open space with the joy of helping his friend.
He still has his own places he wants to go and things he wants to do.
Aubrey's request to help him confess his feelings had disrupted his daily habits. Now that things had ended well, he could go on with his daily life.
He walked briskly towards the high ground outside the village.
When they were about to leave the village, they met Uncle Derek who lived on the edge of the village. He was the former captain of the village hunting team and the current gatekeeper. He was tall and rugged with strong muscles. Although he liked to drink, Ash had never seen him drunk. He was a very reliable man.
"Uncle Derek."
Ash greeted politely.
"Don't you live in the village?" Derek swung the wine bag in his hand. "I heard that Aubrey is going to confess his love to Shanna tonight?"
"Um."
Has the news spread so far that even adults have heard of it? Aubrey still thinks he has done a good job of keeping it a secret.
Ash smiled quietly inwardly and added, "It already worked."
"Aubrey was really quick to act." Derek laughed, "Shayanna is the most beautiful girl in our village! Many of you boys like her, right?"
Ash nodded.
"You like it too?" Derek winked at him mischievously.
Ash continued to nod.
Derek looked horrified. "Oh my God, Ash, you're heartbroken tonight, aren't you?" He eagerly handed the wine bag to Ash. "Do you need comfort? Uncle can drink with you all night."
"No," Ash said, "I'm not heartbroken."
He liked Shanna, Aubrey, Uncle Derek, and everyone in Duogu Village.
He was born here when he was a child. His parents died early due to some reasons. It was the kindness of the villagers that allowed him to grow up healthy.
He thought quietly and simply summed up his current mood: "I'm very happy." Aubrey and Shanna are both very good people. One is willing to play with him, and the other can make delicious cookies for him. They can be together, and he feels sincerely happy for them, just like his cheering friends in the field.
He pursed his lips and smiled, revealing two shallow dimples.
There was really no way to find fulfillment in teasing Ash. Derek grunted in frustration, and his reaction was not funny at all.
He sighed: "If you are so happy, why not celebrate with them?" Those little guys will definitely be so excited that they won't be able to sleep tonight.
Ash didn't answer, but just put his hands behind his back, looked up at Derek quietly. Under his soft brown bangs, his pair of light blue eyes were particularly clear, like a shallow pool of water under the sun.
"Okay, okay, I get it." Derek raised his hands in surrender, "I know you're in a hurry to go to the stone tower to sleep - I really don't know what's so good about that bare stone pillar. Is it more attractive to you than Shanna?"
Ash blinked and nodded honestly.
Derek: “…”
"No wonder Grandma Lena said that you can only find a wife if God helps you." He was also very disappointed with his friend. "Learn more from Aubrey! Tonight is a great opportunity!" - The young boys and girls who were moved by their friend's love affair... reminded him of his own youth, green, ambiguous, restless, and everything came naturally, how great is that?
Uncle Derek wanted to hold him up and teach him all the pursuit skills.
But the person concerned remained calm and unperturbed. After Derek finished speaking, he neither refuted nor argued, but politely waved his hand and said, "Uncle Derek, it's getting late. I'll go first."
"Go ahead, go ahead." Derek felt helpless, thinking that he would definitely be an older bachelor in the future.
Ash was completely unaware of Uncle Derek's concerns about his future. He did not take a lantern, but only used the bright starlight to guide him as he slowly climbed to a high ground outside the village.
The high ground was covered with a layer of fluffy green grass sprouts, and there was a stone pillar as tall as an adult man, shaped like a tower, so it was often called the Stone Tower by the people of Duogu Village. Next to the stone tower was a solid wooden house, which was empty except for a wooden bed.
This was originally just a place to sleep.
Ash walked straight in and lay down on the wooden bed. All the muscles and bones in his body seemed to relax at once, and he closed his eyes comfortably.
Everyone in the village knew that Ash loved the stone tower.
When Ash was a little snotty-nosed kid, he would often run to the Stone Tower. If you wanted to invite Ash to your house for dinner, you just had to go to the Stone Tower.
While other boys of his age were hating cats and dogs and making a fuss in the village, Ash could always stay quietly on the high ground outside the village for the whole day.
Later, when Ash grew up a little, he even liked to sleep under the stone tower at night.
Seeing that he insisted, Aubrey and his friends stopped trying to persuade him. Instead, they worked together to build a simple house for him on the high ground, providing him with a better environment for sleeping in the suburbs.
——But although everyone supported him with their actions, they still didn’t understand what was so good about the stone tower and how it attracted Ash.
What's so good about the stone tower?
Ash was lying on the wooden bed with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep and in a dream, but also as if he was awake and out of his body.
He felt like he had entered a vast space, a dark space with countless intertwined lights, depicting three-dimensional or abstract patterns, full of mysterious and graceful beauty. He couldn't understand these lines and patterns, but he felt particularly comfortable while watching them.
It was as if my body and mind had been cleansed, all my illnesses were gone, and I felt extremely relaxed and at ease.
He had tried to explain this to those who did not understand, but no one could feel the ethereal and free feeling he described, as if flying freely in the sky, next to the stone tower.
But fortunately, although everyone did not understand, they always respected his approach. Even though his behavior seemed extremely strange, everyone would only help him build a wooden house, give him insect repellent in the summer, and cover his house with warm fur in the winter.
Lying in the wooden house that embodies everyone's love and care, my mind enters a bizarre and magical world, stretched and free infinitely. There is nothing more satisfying than this.
Unfortunately, no one in the village can understand this.
Ash felt a little regretful that he couldn't share the things he liked with the people he loved.
In this slight regret, he seemed to be asleep, yet also seemed to be awake all the time.
In his opinion, the long night was as short as a moment.
As the morning sun shone into the house, Ash reluctantly left that peaceful and remote space full of endless mysteries and slowly opened his eyes.
He sat up from the bed, stretched, and felt refreshed and relaxed.
It’s as if the lightness in the dream has been brought into reality.
He jumped out of bed and bounced lightly. Next, he had to go to the village to work as a pharmacy apprentice for Mr. Nathan.
He has been an apprentice to Nathan the pharmacist since he was eight years old. Nathan said that he is calm and careful, and can make very stable medicines. If nothing unexpected happens, he will succeed Nathan and become the next pharmacist in the village.
Now that he is almost sixteen, Teacher Nathan can already safely let him prepare various medicines for the villagers to treat illnesses and injuries.
Ash returned to his home in the village, washed up briefly, bought some breakfast bread nearby, and then went to Teacher Nathan's house.
Duogu Village is a small village, and there are no shops. Pharmacy, snacks, ironwork, etc. are all small workshops in the courtyards of the villagers. If the villagers need anything, they can just visit their homes.
Ash walked towards Teacher Nathan's residence with familiarity, thinking that today would be the same as usual, but soon he found that there were many more people in the direction he was going - all of them were people from the village, gathering on this path.
The enthusiastic discussions and conversations made the morning, which should have been quiet, suddenly lively.
The author has something to say: Derek (sighs): This will definitely be an older bachelor in the future.
SIGOURNEY (sneering) Like you?
Derek (= =): This hurts my heart... Hey, wait, who are you?
Ash (behaved): My future partner! Uncle Derek, I will soon be single and won't end up being an old bachelor like you.
Derek: ...
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