“Are you sure?”
The village chief’s voice carried an indescribable feeling of joy mixed with a cautious disbelief.
Wu Chun didn’t answer the village chief’s question directly. Instead, he turned around and looked at the pine tree beside him. Standing there, he looked towards Shili Village.
Even though this position was halfway up Shili Mountain, he could still see the entire village.
At that moment, smoke was billowing from the chimneys of the houses in the village, and sporadic shouts of farmers could be heard from the fields. When Wu Chun returned, he might see a group of grandfathers gathered under a tree at the entrance of the village, playing a card game that Wu Chun couldn’t understand. At the end of a certain alleyway in the village, a group of middle-aged women might have already gathered to discuss the latest gossip in the village.
On the main street of the village, there might already be people grinding grains such as corn or peanuts on a millstone, turning them into powder. The people here may not be very wealthy, but they are still able to exchange their accumulated wealth for a piece of meat during the annual New Year’s celebration, which brings them immense joy.
The scent of mundane firecrackers is everywhere.
Wu Chun’s lips curled up slightly as his gaze gradually softened.
He moved slightly toward the tree, picked up an apple that had accidentally rolled to the ground, and placed it back on the altar.
“I thought about it all night last night,” Wu Chun finally spoke, “I had never thought about it before you, Village Chief, but after you mentioned it last night, I felt deeply shaken. This feeling is unlike anything I’ve experienced in my eighteen years. It’s as if a force has violently removed the obstacles blocking my vision. I can feel its pull on me, but Village Chief, Can I really do it?”
Last night, Wu Chun asked himself countless times.
Can he really do it?
It’s not that simply declaring his commitment to such a career at this time will guarantee that it will unfold as he wishes. He needs a substantial reservoir of knowledge and even some practical experience.
But the current Wu Chun is far from sufficient.
He has occasionally come across similar content in the newspapers and magazines he normally reads.
However, Wu Chun has not yet undergone systematic learning, so he lacks a strong reservoir of knowledge, not to mention practical experience.
Moreover, if he were to take on such a task, he would have to bear the corresponding responsibility.
“Can I really do this?”
Wu Chun quietly repeated the sentence, this time sounding more like a self-question.
“You can.”
A voice of affirmative confidence echoed.
Wu Chun looked at the village chief, only to see the village chief’s expression become incredibly gentle.
He reached out and lightly patted Wu Chun’s shoulder.
“You can do it, I believe in you.”
As Wu Chun looked at the unwavering smile of the Village Chief, he also let out a slow breath of relief.
“Thank you, Village Chief.”
“Now hurry home and have breakfast.”
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.
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“Ktjcx sbe, Nliijuf Jtlfo.”
“Po sbe’gf kliilcu, sbe mjc mbwf klat wf rbwfalwf jcv ifjgc ogbw ws fzqfglfcmf.”
Wu Chun smiled slightly, “Sure.”
…
When Wu Chun returned home, his grandfather had already prepared the meal and set it up in the courtyard, fanning himself with a fan while waiting for Wu Chun.
“Back already?”
“Yes.” Wu Chun washed his hands and sat down.
Even for breakfast, his grandfather had prepared several dishes.
Wu Chun quickly finished two bowls of rice, and after swallowing the last bite, he looked up to meet his grandfather’s friendly gaze.
“Feeling better now?”
“En.” Wu Chun nodded.
“What did the village chief want from you yesterday?”
Wu Chun scratched his head, not sure how to answer.
“Wu Chun,” his grandfather’s tone suddenly became serious and solemn. He put down the fan in his hand and said to Wu Chun, “Wu Chun, do what you want to do. Don’t worry too much about what others think.”
“Okay, thank you, Grandpa.”
“Try to be more open-minded. A person’s life is only a few decades, so there’s no need to suppress yourself. But you mustn’t do wrong or bad things.”
Wu Chun furrowed his brow, lost in thought. After hesitating for a while, he finally voiced his inner doubts.
“But Grandpa, what is the specific definition of wrong things and bad things?”
Wu Chun had never really thought about this question before. Back then, he always believed that if something was condemned by the majority of people, then it must be problematic.
Is that really true?
If Wu Chun were to reveal that he liked Xu Shiyao, he would undoubtedly be severely condemned by the majority, if not by everyone.
Does this mean that his liking of Xu Shiyao is wrong or bad?
It seems that this world operates under a standard set of survival rules, and everyone is confined within that framework. If you step out of line, you are likely to be criticized and rejected by the majority, perhaps even nailed to the pillar of life’s shame.
Does blind adherence to the rules within the framework mean that they are always right?
Conversely, does anything outside the framework automatically become unforgivable?
These thoughts have indeed come to Wu Chun’s mind in the past few days. He has considered the idea of having a secret relationship with Xu Shiyao, simply because once someone learns about it, it will spread far and wide, putting both him and Xu Shiyao in a very dangerous situation.
However, Wu Chun doesn’t understand what he did wrong.
“Chun Chun, I can’t explain exactly what a bad or wrong action is,” Grandpa said, “but I do know one thing. If what you do doesn’t harm others or society, and if it doesn’t have a negative impact, then at least it’s not considered a bad or wrong thing.”
Wu Chun sighed slowly. After a while, he lifted his head, looked at his grandfather, and said earnestly, “I understand now, Grandpa.”
…
After breakfast, Wu Chun hurried to the village chief’s house and got the books. There were many books, and based on the village chief’s advice, Wu Chun chose a relatively simple one and took it to Shili Mountain.
The sunlight was dazzling, and there was a hint that the weather was starting to warm up, but no matter how much it warmed up, Wu Chun couldn’t feel it.
Not only could he not feel the warmth brought by the sunlight, but there were also no traces of the sun passing over his body.
In the past, Wu Chun’s skin would darken a few shades during the summer, but this year, his complexion seemed to be even fairer.
It’s all thanks to Xu Shi Yao. Wu Chun didn’t know what tricks he was using, but it felt like he had cast a protective shield over him.
Wu Chun sat down on the tree branch where he usually sat, opened the book, and began to read attentively.
At that moment, the branches of the pine tree that were scattered in different directions slowly converged above Wu Chun’s head, perfectly blocking the beam of light that was shining on his book.
Wu Chun felt delighted as he imagined himself being embraced by Xu Shi Yao while reading. His heart couldn’t help but flutter with excitement.
He patted the trunk behind him and said unreasonably, “Remember to come out tonight, or else…”
Wu Chun thought for a while, but couldn’t figure out what to do. So he could only say, “Otherwise, I’ll just sleep here tonight!”
The tree branch swayed twice, as if it was responding to him.
…
Wu Chun was completely engrossed in the book, forgetting the passage of time. He carefully savored every sentence in the book and occasionally made notes.
When he turned to the last page, he noticed that the sky was beginning to darken.
After sitting on the pine tree for too long, Wu Chun’s buttocks felt a bit numb. When he came down from the tree, he looked at the sun that was about to disappear behind the mountains. He thought about how in the past, Xu Shi Yao would come out of the pine tree when the last ray of light faded, and they would enjoy a moment together admiring the sunset.
Now, I suppose the other person would probably want to come out as late as possible.
However, what surprised Wu Chun was that right after this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt a cool breeze behind him.
Wu Chun immediately turned around to see Xu Shi Yao dressed in white.
His hair was still styled the same as when they last met.
Wu Chun suppressed his inner joy and made an effort to speak calmly, “Xu Shi Yao, would you like to watch the sunset together?”
Xu Shi Yao didn’t refuse, but it wasn’t like before when he lifted Wu Chun up to the treetops. He paused for a moment, thought for a moment, then took a few quick steps forward and stood next to Wu Chun.
After several days had passed, they once again caught the tail of the sunset.
And today’s scene surpassed all the previous ones.
The lingering glow of the setting sun generously enveloped the village, creating a sense of tranquility.
At first glance, it seemed as if they were witnessing a peaceful era.
“Are you coming back?”
“Mm.” Wu Chun knew that Xu Shi Yao was going to ask him, but he was unsure in his heart. “What do you think?”
He wanted to know Xu Shi Yao’s inner thoughts.
However, Xu Shi Yao didn’t answer right away. During that brief moment of waiting for an answer, Wu Chun’s heart was tied in knots.
To be honest, Wu Chun was afraid of hearing a negative answer from Xu Shi Yao.
Anxiously, Wu Chun waited, glancing at Xu Shi Yao every now and then.
“Wu Chun.”
As Xu Shi Yao spoke, Wu Chun felt like his heart was in his throat. He looked at Xu Shi Yao nervously and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”
“In my opinion, you should do whatever you want,” Xu Shi Yao said.
To say the least, Wu Chun couldn’t hold back his tears at this statement.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing him like this, Xu Shi Yao immediately asked worriedly.
“It’s nothing,” Wu Chun hastily wiped away his tears. “I’m happy. I thought…”
Wu Chun didn’t say the rest of his words.
“Why? Did you think I would disagree?” Xu Shi Yao’s tone was unusually soft. He reached out and ruffled Wu Chun’s hair, continuing in a tender voice, “As long as it’s something you want to do, I support it. Go ahead and do it boldly.”
“Then is it because I like you or because it’s something I want to do? You still refuse it in the same way.”
Xu Shi Yao did not expect such a reaction from Wu Chun. He pondered for a while, unsure of how to respond, and ended up repeating the same sentence he had said countless times before.
“This is not good for us.”
“The number of times you’ve repeated that phrase is as many as the number of times you’ve emphasized that I’m a ghost in the first place,” Wu Chun said sarcastically without holding back, taking the opportunity to step closer to Xu Shi Yao.
“Xu Shi Yao, since I did not distance myself from you because of the phrase ‘I’m a ghost’ back then, I will not give up today because of your ‘not good’.” Wu Chun shook the book in his hand and continued triumphantly, “But that’s okay, we still have a lot of time ahead of us.”
A soybean:
Good evening everyone!
Yay, new chapters!! Thank you translator~