After returning home, Wu Chun spent another sleepless night, cowering in a corner against the wall and crying for a long time.
Grandpa noticed his bad mood and didn’t say much that night. However, the next morning, after preparing breakfast, he took a stool and sat by Wu Chun’s bed and asked quietly,
“How is your ankle?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Perhaps because he cried for too long last night, Wu Chun’s voice was slightly hoarse at the moment. He gently touched his ankle where Grandpa had put a plaster last night. Even after a night had passed, the smell of the plaster still lingered around his ankle, refusing to dissipate.
“Chun Chun, were you unhappy with that kid last night?”
When Grandpa asked this question, his tone was very cautious, as if he was afraid of disturbing him. However, his deep inner concern for his grandson forced him to ask.
Wu Chun looked at his grandfather’s face, which was full of wrinkles and mostly white hair. He thought that the old man probably didn’t sleep well last night because of him.
A wave of guilt and self-blame washed over him.
Grandfather’s main feelings towards Xu Shi Yao were admiration and gratitude.
Since he was born and raised in this village, he had been confined by certain ideologies for a long time. Maybe he couldn’t even accept the fact that Wu Cun liked boys, let alone the fact that who Wuchun liked was beyond humans.
Wu Chun pursed his lips and said, “It’s nothing. Someone was just cutting down trees last night, and when I ran over, I accidentally twisted my ankle.”
“Someone was chopping down trees again?”
“Mm.” Wu Chun nodded. The unexpected incident last night had made both Wuchun and Xu Shi Yao forget about this matter.
Theoretically, ever since Xu Shi Yao had received the title of god, the people in the village had developed a sense of reverence for Shili Mountain, fearing to provoke the wrath of the god on the mountain. Wu Chun really did not expect such a situation to happen last night.
“It seems that there are still people who dare to take risks. Did you see who it was last night?”
Wu Chun shook his head.
Last night, Wu Chun’s mind was completely focused on Xu Shi Yao, and he didn’t even think about this matter.
“All right, you stay at home and rest. I’ll go out for a walk,” Grandpa said.
…
After Grandpa left, Wu Chun lay alone in bed, clutching the pine cone Xu Shi Yao had given him.
Remembering Xu Shi Yao’s words that whenever he spoke to the pine cone, the other person could receive his messages, Wu Chun moved the pine cone in his palm closer to his eyes.
“Xu Shi Yao, it’s me, Wu Chun. It’s already the second day. You haven’t forgotten what happened last night, have you?”
Judging from Xu Shi Yao’s behavior last night, it’s highly unlikely that he would document what happened.
He wanted Wu Chun to stay away from Shili Mountain, away from his world, and return to his own original life path. It’s likely that he won’t bother to record detailed information about Wu Chun in the future.
According to Xu Shi Yao’s intentions, he wanted their relationship to gradually fade away, eventually becoming nothing more than a casual mention of an old friend during the occasional tea.
But Wu Chun would not go along with his wishes!
Wu Chun propped himself up on one side of the bed, leaned his back against the wall, and held the pine cone in both hands. After thinking about it for a while, he slowly said, “We did so many things last night! We hugged and even kissed.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Despite Wu Chun’s fierce advances and his fearless demeanor last night, he couldn’t help but blush now that he was verbally describing it.
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After a long time of pondering, Wu Chun still couldn’t find an answer. Perhaps the final conclusion he came to was that no matter what Xu Shi Yao did, Wu Chun wouldn’t feel hurt, but rather a sense of heartache.
Wu Chun went through all the processes and experiences of their meeting and getting to know each other, reliving them once again. He also thought about Xu Shi Yao’s reaction last night, and felt both heartbroken and helpless.
Even if Xu Shi Yao didn’t understand what love was, if it weren’t for him, if it weren’t for the insurmountable barrier between them, how could Xu Shi Yao bear to push him away and retreat into his lonely world where no one treads?
During their time together, Wuchun could strongly sense that Xu Shi Yao cherished this relationship.
The detailed notes about himself on the tree bark, the vivid drawings, and the phrase “Read it once, do it once” all indicate one thing – Xu Shi Yao is reluctant to push him away.
But sometimes reason overrides desire, and his choices lead him down a path he didn’t want to take.
Xu Shi Yao retreats.
Wu Chun must move closer.
In every relationship, there is always one side that has to take the initiative, and in this relationship, that role falls to Wu Chun.
“Xu Shi Yao, it’s already too late.” Wu Chun stared at the pine cone and whispered softly, “If you had been so cold to me when I didn’t fully understand you, I might have given up. But now…”
Wu Chun chuckled softly, and as he laughed, tears ran down his cheeks.
“I won’t give up.” Wu Chun looked at the pine cone and repeated once again, “I won’t give up. Unless something unexpected happens in my life, I plan to end it when I’m eighty years old. I intend to rest forever under the pine tree where you exist. The moment I close my eyes in this world, I hope to meet you in your world. Until then, you won’t refuse me, will you?”
Wu Chun held the pine cone tightly to his chest, as if it would allow him to connect with the other person.
“Xu Shi Yao, I’ll say it again. Unless you can erase all my memories, if you try to avoid me, I’ll be by that pine tree waiting for sixty years.”
As soon as Wu Chun’s words fell, he felt a cool sensation in his palm. He quickly opened his hand and saw a faint green light emanating from around the pine tree.
Wu Chun smiled through his tears. He lowered his head and gently kissed the pine cone.
“This is what a kiss feels like. If you have forgotten, let me remind you.”
Perhaps because of Xu Shi Yao’s response, the darkness in Wu Chun’s heart lightened considerably. He held the pine cone tightly as the accumulated fatigue from the past few days surged once again. Wu Chun closed his eyes and fell into a light sleep.
Wu Chun was awakened by his grandfather’s laughter. When he woke up, he saw his grandfather holding a red string and walking energetically from outside.
“Chun Chun, can you take this as a blessing in disguise?”
“What is it, Grandpa?”
Wuchun reattached the necklace and rubbed his heavy eyelids.
“Just now I went for a walk. Can you guess what I heard, Wu Chun?”
“About the person who wants to cut down the tree?”
“Yes,” Grandpa replied, pouring himself a glass of water and then another, which he handed to Wu Chun.
“Just now, when I went out, I saw a crowd gathered on the main street of the village. I didn’t know what they were talking about, so I went closer to listen. They were saying that the person who went to cut down the tree last night saw the true form of a deity. It seemed that the deity was angry with him, and he fell down the mountain. The way they described it was very vivid. The villagers believed it, and now they are even more afraid to go out and cut down trees. I thought that what he saw last night must have been you.”
“Is that person okay?” Wu Chun asked immediately.
“No problem,” Grandpa waved his hand. “Just like you, he sprained his ankle and got a small cut on his forehead, but it’s nothing serious.”
“That’s good,” Wu Chun took a small sip of water. He didn’t want others to get hurt because of him.
Although cutting down trees secretly at night was something that should be condemned.
“He’s just waiting for his foot to heal so he can apologize at Shili Mountain. He even mentioned making a grand gesture.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Chun choked on his water and felt a sense of emotion in his heart.
They always say that they have to wield their axes for their livelihood, but now they can be extravagant for some intangible things.
A grand gesture…
Wu Chun remembered the ceremony held in the village on his first day here.
Maybe Xu Shi Yao wouldn’t like this kind of empty formality either. Besides, the things they thought they were sending to the underworld would only turn to ashes with a single fire. They only wanted to give those people some peace of mind.
“I need to go to Shili Mountain,” Wu Chun said seriously.
“No.” Grandfather refused without a second thought. “Your foot has not healed yet. Stay at home obediently.”
“Grandfather, I have to go,” Wu Chun refused and looked at his grandfather with a serious expression.
“Is it absolutely necessary to leave?” Grandfather hesitated slightly.
“It is absolutely necessary.”
Even if there was nothing particularly important, Wu Chun always had to appear in front of Xu Shi Yao and force him to show up.
He couldn’t just go along with the other party’s wishes.
“Is there something important?” Grandpa asked quietly.
Wuchun lowered his head and remained silent.
Firstly, if he didn’t let Grandfather know that there was something important, he definitely wouldn’t let him go. Second, he felt guilty in his heart.
Using Grandpa’s admiration and guilt towards Xushi Yao to fulfill his own personal desires, Wuchun felt very guilty.
“Then Grandpa will accompany you there. I’ll meet you in the evening.”
Wuchun nodded.
“Thank you, Grandfather.”
…
The hottest days of summer are already over. Perhaps due to the lack of rain this year, some farmers have started harvesting peanuts in the fields.
Wu Chun’s feet only temporarily eased the pain, and it took him a long time to walk from home to Shili Mountain.
When he arrived at Shili Mountain, Wu Chun was fine, but his grandfather was sweating all over.
“Be careful, Grandpa will go back first.”
“Grandpa,” Wu Chun shouted, stopping his grandfather’s walking figure. He pointed to the stone bench under the pine tree. “Sit down for a moment.”
“Sit down and rest for a while.”
Grandpa smiled and nodded, “All right, it just so happens that Grandpa has something to talk to you about as well.”
With Grandpa’s support, Wu Chun slowly sat down and leaned against the pine tree.
“Wu Chun, it wasn’t just because someone cut down trees last night, was it? From the way you went back and came back, Grandpa feels like you’re hiding something in your heart.”
Wu Chun lowered his head, not knowing how to answer.
After all, this was the person who had watched him grow up, and his poor acting skills couldn’t possibly fool him.
“Do you have someone you like?”
Wu Chun was taken aback and stared blankly at his grandfather.
His expression, on the other hand, amused his grandfather and made him laugh.
“When your mom was dating your dad, you had the same look.”
“Grandpa, I…” Wu Chun said, sighing slowly.
“At such a young age, you shouldn’t sigh all the time. You keep saying you’re already an adult, so it’s normal to have someone you like. But judging from your expression, does the other person not know?”
Wu Chun bowed his head and remained silent for a long time.
He didn’t know how to bring up this matter with his grandfather; he wanted to keep his feelings for Xu Shiyao hidden.
“It seems like he doesn’t like me,” Wu Chun said vaguely.
“Our Chun Chun is so charming, how could he not like you?”
“Exactly!” Wu Chun said as he clenched his fist and lightly tapped the pine tree behind him in a corner where his grandfather couldn’t see.
The branches of the pine tree behind him gently swayed twice.
“Do you really like him?” Grandpa asked, seemingly joking.
“Hmm!” Wu Chun replied immediately, almost without hesitation, in a particularly serious tone, “I like him, I really like him.
A soybean:
He’s avoid him, he’s chase him, it’s hard for him to escape hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Go on, keep hiding inside your pine tree. Hehehe.