Chapter 28 Tomorrow, Jiaojiao, marry me.
What he was thinking was that love is irrationality, irrationality, and an uncontrollable possessiveness. Love is cowardice, inferiority, and something that cannot be spoken.
But is this how he's supposed to teach her?
So he could only stammer, "Love is the second half of your name."
Jiaojiao blinked at him, puzzled.
He remained silent for a long time before awkwardly saying, "Love is wanting to spend every day and night with one person, to be with them for the rest of your life. It can't be anyone else... it can only be that one person."
Jiaojiao nodded, seemingly pondering whether the statement made sense or was credible.
Then she carefully raised her eyes and asked, "So, I want to tie your hairband every day, does that count? I only want to tie it for you."
His eyes instantly turned red, and his voice trembled so badly he could barely speak.
"……Calculate."
When tears welled up too quickly, the first sensation that rose in his eyes was pain, as if some nail had been completely inserted into his only remaining eye.
But he remained standing there, pale and stubborn, saying, "Love is more than this. How can love be fully described in words... Only the heart knows."
Jiaojiao hesitated, lowering her eyes in thought; only her heart knew.
Yes, her butterfly heart is so precious, it must have a spirit.
So she took Liu Yuhen's hand without hesitation.
Indeed, he no longer has hands.
She gently lifted his black sleeve.
The moment the iron ring touching the pale skin was exposed to the air, Liu Yuhen heard a sizzling sound, as if some broken thing was being boiled in oil.
His exposed skin felt as if it had been doused with a venom that would cause it to fester rapidly, causing him excruciating pain.
This was almost like tearing off the last fig leaf he had left in front of her, exposing all his ugliness, unbearable flaws, and imperfections to her.
Look, Liu Yuhen is such a cripple who is neither human nor ghost.
He instinctively wanted to struggle, dodge, and escape in agony.
Jiaojiao, however, would not allow him to back down.
She held the scarred wrist tightly, gently yet firmly, and placed it against her heart.
"Then ask it."
His pale wrist, crisscrossed with scars, pressed tightly against his chest, the heartbeat piercing through his flesh, as if imprisoning a swarm of startled butterflies trying to break free through a window.
The veins on Liu Yuhen's wrist bulged, almost bursting out of their sockets.
The world was completely silent, except for this series of heartbeats that seemed to overflow from my chest.
His eardrums resonated uncontrollably with it, and in a daze, he heard her pressing him, asking, "Did you hear the answer?"
At that moment, he felt as if he were surrounded by her, and what surrounded him was love...
That's a bit absurd.
The absurdity made him choke up.
It was only then that he suddenly realized that one can only teach another how to love, but can never teach one to fall in love with a concrete, specific person.
Her heart had already given him the answer.
From the very beginning... he didn't need to be taught.
...
That night.
The two lay on the narrow wooden bed, and Jiaojiao fell asleep in his arms.
He looked at the gray rooftop as if he were Yu Qingshan gazing at a sky full of stars.
Liu Yuhen's chest heaved with turmoil, making it impossible for him to sleep.
He realized that no dream could be more beautiful than reality.
It turns out that even a quiet, dark night can bring a sense of peace and happiness.
Using the sliver of moonlight filtering through the cracks, he tirelessly sketched her and relived her story again and again.
His eyes were so gentle they seemed to hold water, but Jiaojiao remained oblivious.
She gently turned over in her sleep and placed her wrist on his chest.
The sharp edges of the crystal pressed against his chest, and Liu Yuhen's breath caught in his throat, afraid that his rapid heartbeat would wake her.
He futilely tried to control his racing heart, his gaze fixed on her jade-like hands. A black-threaded bracelet was wrapped around her snow-white wrist, from which hung a deep blue crystal.
It wasn't rounded, but angular. And the blue was chaotic, so blue that he seemed to see waves rippling within it.
Even such an unusual bracelet looked stunning on her wrist, and Liu Yuhen couldn't help but gently hook the deep-sea-like crystal with an iron hook.
Unexpectedly, her wrists were so thin that the loose bracelet slipped from her grasp and fell off in an instant.
Before he could react, his arms suddenly felt lighter, and the warm, soft waist turned into a cool breeze.
Suddenly, a green butterfly landed abruptly on his chest.
Liu Yuhen's trembling gaze suddenly fell on its transparent, glass-like tattered wing.
His pupils trembled and constricted; only then did he finally realize what was happening.
Scenes flashed through his mind.
The glass bottle hanging in the basement, the butterfly with broken wings that flew over mountains and rivers and landed on his brow, the spring flower that he shook to the ground...
Words that once seemed ironic or disheartening are now becoming clearer.
'It seems Brother Liu is quite pleased with this butterfly.'
I just wanted to make you happy.
I don't need you to do anything for me.
'Because you saved me, I will always be with you.'
His thoughts gradually came together, and all the past inconsistencies found their answers.
He stared blankly at the beautiful, fragile butterfly, which was... his Jiaojiao.
For a moment, Liu Yuhen seemed to have lost all ability to think, and even doubted whether he was really in a dream.
Otherwise, how could such a thing happen in the world?
It does not refer to strange tales such as butterflies transforming into humans.
What he once deeply believed to be a trap turned out to be the sincere love of a butterfly.
It turns out her heart was transparent from the very beginning.
Liu Yuhen gazed deeply at the butterfly, so deeply that tears welled up in its single eye.
Reddish tears streamed down the crisscrossing scars on his face, leaving behind layers of water streaks.
Just as tears were about to drip down his chin, he turned his head away in agony, and the tears streamed down, soaking the bedsheets like a paste binding his heart together.
His tears wet his eyelashes as he looked at the broken wing that had once moved him, bathed in moonlight. All that remained in his heart was heartache and a surge of intense emotion rising from the depths of his soul.
The mere thought of someone cruelly breaking her wings stirred a dark, churning malice within him.
He felt an urge to devour him alive; this pain and hatred caused his heart to clench and rot as well.
Yet he had also harbored murderous intent towards her when she was a butterfly, and even nearly killed her with his own hands.
The taste of blood filled Liu Yuhen's mouth, and his heart was pounding so hard that he could hardly breathe.
He struggled to slow the flow of his tears, otherwise what would happen if they got wet when Jiaojiao transformed into a human?
He could only be grateful for his compassion and sorrow at that time, even though he was actually pitying himself...
Liu Yuhen's arms trembled uncontrollably, and after a long while, he tentatively wrapped her around the center of the hand rope in a daze.
A faint blue light flickered for a moment, and the next instant, warm breath was once again showering his chest.
He couldn't help but curl up and hug her tightly, as if he wanted to melt her into his own flesh and blood, day and night.
The ruthless Liu Yuhen prayed to all the gods and Buddhas in his heart.
He will never again commit murder.
If there truly are gods and Buddhas in this world, I beg you... let us never be separated.
The trembling, barely-there embrace finally woke Jiaojiao up. Her eyes were not fully open yet, and she was already groping for his back in the darkness with sleepy eyes.
"Brother Yuhen, I'm here." Her voice was muffled in his chest, with a slightly hoarse softness.
Her hand traced his spine, moving it relentlessly for a long time.
In his presence, Jiaojiao was always gentle without asking why.
Liu Yuhen suddenly realized why he couldn't say those three words in the Embroidery Workshop.
Aside from feeling sorry and heartbroken, the most important thing is that only when a person feels that they are being loved intensely will they sincerely believe that they are also worthy of being loved.
And so, on such an ordinary midnight.
He suppressed the lump in his throat and said calmly and gently, "Jiaojiao, marry me."
Without hesitation, even before she fully grasped the weight of those three words, Jiaojiao replied, "Okay, how can I marry you?"
Liu Yuhen's eyes instantly filled with a soft and gentle light, and he said softly, "Jiaojiao, put on your bright red wedding dress, marry me, and become husband and wife."
"From now on, we will be together day and night, never to be separated."
His voice, like a gentle spring breeze in the cool night, was full of vitality and anticipation.
No one could possibly imagine that such a glimmer of hope and life came from a disfigured and disabled cold-blooded killer.
Upon hearing this, Jiaojiao revealed a shallow dimple, raised her hand to hug his neck tightly, and said joyfully in his ear, "Then I must marry you."
"Once this matter is over, we will get married."
Jiaojiao snuggled against him, resisting clingily, "But I want to marry you tomorrow. Tomorrow..."
Her tone was like a coquettish pleading with him for a favorite item.
Liu Yuhen turned his head away, his chest heaving noticeably, his heart feeling as if it had been filled with a thick layer of honey.
He held her tightly, his heart softening as he stammered, "Tomorrow is too rushed. Jiaojiao deserves the best wedding ceremony in the world."
She suddenly looked up, her eyes glistening with tears, and said with a hint of grievance, "Then I want to kiss you."
What she said was too blunt and too abrupt.
Perhaps the bed is too small, because when a person lies in bed, their mind always uncontrollably pops up with some inappropriate thoughts.
Liu Yuhen's expression remained relatively calm, but his ears turned red. He suddenly remembered what he had said to Jiaojiao when they first met, and blurted out, "I... I'm not unhappy."
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt remorseful.
He didn't know why he said such a thing; it sounded almost like a rejection.
Liu Yuhen suddenly felt helpless. He opened his mouth, not knowing how to explain, when he heard Jiaojiao say, "But I'm not happy because I can't kiss you. I'm even more unhappy because I can't marry you tomorrow. I don't even want to think about tomorrow."
A tingling, numbing current, mixed with the dampness, meandered through his heart.
He finally escaped that ever-present prison.
In the barren, arid land, because of the hovering of a butterfly, some vegetation finally began to grow wildly.
His reddened eyes stared intently at her.
Finally, unable to resist the temptation, he kissed that soft petal.
The bright moonlight filtering through the cracks shone precisely on his blushing ears.
Soft, lingering murmurs escaped her lips, "Tomorrow."
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Author's Note: A source of high-quality water to irrigate parched land: Tears of happiness (harvested)
The Butterfly and Willow couple's story has come to a temporary end!
Leave the grand scale for the future~
The wings and scars will be repaired in the later stages!
May we greet each other with our best selves at an even grander wedding in the future!
Please, he's a handsome young man!
The next episode will witness how a seemingly tough but actually gentle man wins over a sickly, manipulative female ghost!
Desperate to absorb yang energy + superb tea ceremony skills + poor physique + instant pitiful act + tearful and pitiful appearance + a little scheming, so what? + every expression and movement is meticulously designed
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
