"Here, have a taste and see how it is."
At Nangong's prompting, Yanluo picked up the cup, took a small sip, and nodded.
"It tastes good."
Nangong looked at Yanluo and nodded.
"It seems I made the right choice in selecting these beans. I'll get some for you to take back later."
Yan Luo quickly refused.
"No, that won't do. Yours tastes better, I like what you make."
Nangong smiled and put down the cup. "No problem, come anytime you want some of my cooking."
"I will always be here waiting for you."
What should have been an extremely ambiguous statement sounded so warm to Yanluo, and she couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
At the same time, Yanluo also felt something unusual, wondering why she always felt a sense of security and care from her elders when facing Nangong.
Yanluo took a bite of the cake; it was soft, sweet, and delicious, but he still didn't like eating too many sweet things.
"I've never asked before, Sister Nangong, how old are you this year?"
Nangong picked up his cup again.
"I'm twenty-six."
Nangong died at the age of twenty-five due to a family curse. After reuniting with Yanluo, she felt reborn. As time continued to move forward, the new year had just arrived, and she added a year to her age.
Yan Luo then came to her senses; the new year had arrived, and she was already twenty-two.
Time passed so quickly that nothing felt substantial, leaving Yan Luo somewhat dazed. So much had happened, yet it felt like a long time had passed, a contradictory feeling lingering in his mind.
“Four years older than me.” Yanluo took another bite of cake.
Nangong chuckled and said, "I knew I was older than you. We've known each other for so long, and this is the first time we've talked about our ages."
Yanluo put down her fork and took a sip of coffee.
"Doesn't Sister Nangong have a boyfriend?"
"What, are you interested in me?" Nangong looked at Yanluo with a smile in his beautiful blood-red eyes.
Before Yanlu could explain, Nangong added, "That won't do. I'm a pure lover and I don't want to share with other women."
Yanluo choked and coughed. Seeing Yanluo's embarrassing situation, Nangong covered his mouth and laughed very well.
Nangong stood up and slowly walked towards the piano placed in the corner.
"Have you learned that song, Xiao Luo?"
Yan Luo nodded.
Sitting on the piano bench, Nangong Yu's fingers lightly touched the keys as she played "Pocahontas" in a lower key.
Yanluo stared intently at her back, but the figure gradually overlapped with the image of her grandfather in her memory. Yanluo thought she was just thinking of him while listening to the music, and that she remembered Yan Wuxie in the music filled with longing.
When the song ended, Nangong sat back down opposite Yanluo.
"How does it sound if I lower the pitch a little?"
"It sounds beautiful. Unlike the original key, which is full of the beautiful feeling of love, the key-down version seems to express the longing for a lover. My grandfather often played the key-down version when I was a child."
Nangong paused for a moment, her eyes sparkling with tender emotions, and her voice trembled slightly.
"Your grandfather really likes this piece of music, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he likes it very much."
That's wonderful.
Yanluo finished the whole cake. It was too greasy after a while, but it was really delicious to have a piece once in a while.
Coming back to his senses from his past memories, Nangong looked at Yanluo and said, "I'll have to get some cakes for you to take back later. Coco loves sweets, doesn't she?"
Yanluo nodded with a smile.
"She likes anything that's edible."
Even when Yanluo left, he was never able to confirm whether Nangong was a corpse demon. No matter how he sensed that the other party was just an ordinary person, Yanluo never let go of his doubts.
Everything requires caution. He is both a player and a strategist, and to maintain control of the overall situation, he must remain vigilant.
Tu Yier's unintentional words and Tu Keke's serious attitude made Yan Luo have to take them seriously.
After seeing Yanluo off, Nangong returned to the shop, tidied up the cups on the corner table, went back to the bar and made herself another cup of coffee. Watching people come and go outside, Nangong fell into memories again.
When she was nineteen, Nangong, knowing she didn't have many years left to live, escaped her family's control. She didn't want to marry just anyone, she didn't want to become a tool for the family's reproduction, and she didn't want her children to bear such a terrible curse.
Having escaped, Nangong didn't know where to go and didn't have much money. In those days, it wasn't easy to do anything. Overwhelmed by worries and hunger, the girl sat alone by the stream, watching the water flow. The setting sun made the water surface sparkle beautifully.
"It's getting dark, aren't you going home?"
The sudden question startled the stunned Nangong. She cried out and fell uncontrollably into the cold stream. Half of her body was kneeling in the water when Nangong turned around and saw a handsome young man with short hair.
Seeing that the boy was younger than her, she angrily shouted at him, "Why did you suddenly start talking to me?!"
The boy apologetically reached out his hand, wanting Nangong to hold his hand and pull her up. Nangong did not refuse. It was late autumn, and the icy stream water made her feel somewhat numb.
The boy helped Nangong up, put his backpack on the ground, and took off his coat to put it on Nangong.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Yan Wuxie, Yan as in pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and Wuxie as in innocent and naive."
Nangong trembled as she tightened the fragrant coat draped over her shoulders. She wasn't too angry about the incident; instead, she generously extended her hand.
"My surname is Nangong. I look older than you, so you can just call me Sister Nangong!"
Looking at the girl who was shorter than him, Yan Wuxie smiled and shook hands with her.
Nangong could tell from his expression that he didn't believe her. "You look so disbelieving. How old are you?"
Yan Wuxie picked up the bag from the ground and patted the dust off the bottom of it.
"eighteen."
Nangong smiled smugly.
"I guessed right, you are younger than me. I'm nineteen. Call me 'older sister'."
"No." Yan Wuxie refused decisively.
Nangong squinted at him and said in a deep voice, "Who made my clothes wet?"
"sister."
Yan Wuxie spoke very softly, and just one word made him blush.
Seeing Yan Wuxie's reaction, Nangong felt very pleased and patted Yan Wuxie on the shoulder.
"Good, good, little brother Wuxie is so well-behaved."
Just as he finished speaking, a gust of autumn wind blew by, causing Nangong to sneeze. His spittle landed on Yan Wuxie's face, who was standing very close by. Yan Wuxie wiped his face expressionlessly.
Nangong chuckled and quickly wiped Yan Wuxie's face with the sleeve of his coat.
Yan Wuxie looked at Nangong speechlessly.
"I'm sorry again for getting you wet. It's not safe here at night, so you should go home soon. Here's your coat as compensation."
As Yan Wuxie turned to leave, Nangong grabbed his hand.
"Well, well, I have nowhere to stay."
"Can you take me in?"
And so, Nangong naturally moved into the home of Yan Wuxie, who had come to the capital alone to join the Ghost Hunting Team.
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