"Hey, what are you looking at? Shifty eyes, looks like trouble,"
Fang Xiaoyu walked up to Wan Lei and smacked him on the head.
Wan Lei was currently hunched over a table, his eyes darting back and forth, looking here, then there.
"Shhh!"
Wan Lei put a finger to his lips and then slung an arm around Fang Xiaoyu's shoulders, pulling her down onto the table too.
"Look at Tian Suanzi. I noticed earlier, he's been staring at that Daoist nun. I asked him if he knew her, and he said she was a Daoist friend of his. Bah, a proper friend? Disgusting.
He's definitely got a thing for her. The shameless old man, with so many young girls around, he picks the little Daoist nun..."
*Smack!*
Young Master Lei got another smack.
"Then why are you staring at her? Do you have a thing for the little Daoist nun too?
Oh, let me see. This little Daoist nun is at her most mature age. That slender waist, the curves, the stubbornness and sorrow in her eyes, the carefree way she drinks. Tsk, tsk, truly alluring.
I like her too, go talk to her."
"Wife, you're too lustful these days. Being with you makes me feel so out of place. You should stay away from me, don't corrupt me."
"Stop talking nonsense. There's definitely a story here, watch carefully."
The two shifty-eyed individuals were hunched over the table, scrutinizing others.
Tian Suanzi sat on a chair, nursing a cup of the freely flowing Drunken Immortal Brew, taking sips here and there. His eyes, however, did not move, locked onto a single figure.
One hundred years. I have finally seen you again.
Tian Suanzi wanted to rise, to go talk to her, to ask her where she had been all these years, to see how she had fared...
He had so much to say, so many questions to ask. He had thought for a hundred years, searched for a hundred years.
Finally, upon finding her, he dared not approach. The words he had gathered, he didn't know where to begin.
He was afraid, uneasy. He feared that everything before him was just a dream, and upon waking, he would still be lying in the snow.
He dared not even walk over and simply say, "Long time no see."
He didn't even know if it was her he cared about, or simply a lingering obsession.
One hundred years. He had sought her in vain, only to encounter her unexpectedly today, at a wedding feast.
After their reunion, they had merely spoken each other's names. Then the little Daoist nun turned and walked away, casually sitting on a chair and drinking.
She didn't know why she had turned away. She also had so much to say to him. She didn't even know why she was sitting here, why she hadn't left directly. Was she sitting here waiting for him to come over and say, even just once,
"Long time no see?"
Did she hope for it?
Did she not hope for it?
She didn't know,
and dared not ask herself.
She sat there, equally flustered, fearful, uneasy, and anxious. She kept drinking, a fake smile gracing her lips, feigning carelessness and composure.
She dared not look at that familiar face, pretending indifference.
She failed to notice that the jade fingers holding the wine pot were trembling slightly.
The two were silent,
but their hearts were in an uproar.
Her quietness was a tempest,
his silence, deafening.
Tian Suanzi hesitated for a long time, then took a large gulp of wine and stood up.
He had finally mustered the courage to take that step.
Qi Manyao skipped out and walked up to the little Daoist nun.
Tian Suanzi sat back down.
At that moment, Wan Lei, for the first time, wanted to beat up Man Yaoyao.
"Fairy, Silu sent me to invite you over."
Qi Manyao giggled, took the little Daoist nun's hand, and led her inside.
"Ah? Ah, okay."
Before entering, the little Daoist nun glanced at Tian Suanzi, her eyes showing a hint of disappointment.
That fleeting glance shattered all his courage.
"Why did you call me?"
Looking at Feng Silu, who was applying a flower ornament to her forehead in the mirror, the little Daoist nun casually found a stool and sat down, continuing to drink.
"I just thought you might be bored sitting outside alone, not knowing anyone, so I invited you in to chat."
"What is there to talk about? Half a month ago, I didn't know you either."
The little Daoist nun rested one foot on another stool, her left arm slung over the back of the chair, appearing tipsy.
"Oh, Fairy, no matter what, blood is thicker than water. You're always living in a drunken stupor..."
"I'm not causing a scene, is that bothering you?"
"Sigh."
Feng Silu sighed, utterly helpless with her sudden, cheap aunt.
"Wife, how's the painting? Oh, it's beautiful, so beautiful."
Sui Xiaohang walked in and hugged Feng Silu, showering her with praise.
Watching them laugh and jest, a hint of bitterness welled up in the little Daoist nun's heart.
The flickering lamps cast a tender glow, illuminating a face as beautiful as a painting, like a gentle old dream from the tender branches of a cardamom plant.
In her dreams, she too had worn a wedding gown, waiting for the handsome young man to come and marry her.
The auspicious hour arrived.
The groom, holding the bride, entered the main hall.
Seated before the hall were Sui Potian and Feng Silu's parents.
The large red "囍" character pasted in the middle was particularly striking.
Wan Lei, Fang Xiaoyu, Qi Manyao, and others stood at the entrance, watching with amused smiles.
Tian Suanzi stood on the left, not daring to look up.
The little Daoist nun stood on the right, looking left and right.
"The auspicious hour has arrived. The bride and groom bow to heaven and earth..."
"Second bow to the elders..."
"Husband and wife bow to each other..."
The little Daoist nun finally stopped looking left and right. She raised her head and looked at the person opposite her.
The person opposite her also looked at her.
A smile appeared on his lips, a strained smile.
The little Daoist nun's gaze was cold, yet it couldn't conceal the tremor of apprehension in her heart.
Perhaps I should feign drunkenness and madness, seek refuge in your embrace to leave a trace of my lips, then softly sing of the past, letting others be astonished.
But I can only wear a false smile and pretend to be at ease, listening sideways to words of deep affection, not looking at your familiar face, just silently drinking, feigning indifference.
Do you know? I've fantasized countless times about you finding me, telling me you still loved me, that you wanted to marry me, that you'd put me in a sedan chair, we'd bow to our elders, and enter the bridal chamber.
But after a hundred years, looking back, you did nothing. It seems you've long forgotten me, forgotten our vows of love, forgotten the solemnity of your every word.
But you said...
You said you wanted to marry me,
you said it!
"When will you marry me?"
"Holy crap!"
Young Master Lei jolted, startled.
Fang Xiaoyu couldn't help but roll her eyes. She had just been moved by the scene and asked casually, only to scare him like this.
"Look at your reaction, have you never thought of marrying me? Hmph, you渣男 (scumbag)."
"No, no, haven't you forgotten? At Sui Xiaohang's wedding in the illusion, it was Man Yaoyao who said that, and then I turned around and made a big ghost face, which scared me to death."
"You're the ghost,"
Man Yaoyao smacked Young Master Lei on the head.
"You two are picking on me in different ways, and then showing off your affection in front of me. I'll fight you both."