Jiang Huai and Jiang Ning embarked on the summer’s first date.
The snack street was a half-hour walk from home. Jiang Huai and Jiang Ning had walked this route many times before. In his past life, he often visited with the gluttonous Jiang Ning. The vendors in the snack street changed frequently, and they always got to try some new snacks each time.
But it seemed no matter how many times they went, it couldn’t compare to this moment.
Jiang Ning skipped along, holding his hand, like a child with their most beloved toy, or like a little girl leading her adult. Her steps were so light, she seemed like she could leap into the clouds any second.
Traffic flowed incessantly, and the leaves by the roadside were slightly wilted from the sun. The air carried a faint scent of dust. The afterglow of the setting sun descended, making everything appear peaceful, serene, and yet somber. But she was the most vibrant and brilliant color in this painting.
Her steps were so fast that she was slightly gasping for breath upon arrival. Her delicate pink lips parted slightly, and the aroma of various snacks already wafted to her nose. Dinner began with a box of crispy, spicy pot-baked potatoes. After buying it, she placed it in Jiang Huai’s hand. She ate with her lips glistening from oil, taking a bite, and then feeding Jiang Huai a piece, always holding it to his lips, watching him eat, and then showing a look of contentment.
After the pot-baked potatoes came the spicy and sour noodles. The two sat side-by-side at a stall. The spicy and sour noodles had a strong flavor, and soon Jiang Ning’s face was flushed red from the spice. Fortunately, Jiang Huai returned with two cups of iced lemonade.
Jiang Ning sucked on the straw, and a small portion of the lemonade in the cup disappeared. After finishing the spicy and sour noodles, her eyes fixated on the braised shrimp by the roadside, her eyes shining and unable to move. So, Jiang Huai sat down again, put on gloves with her, and peeled shrimp while blowing in the evening breeze.
The lemonade was soon finished, and Jiang Ning ordered two jugs of beer.
Jiang Huai popped a peeled shrimp into his mouth and was momentarily dazed, then snapped back to reality.
He suddenly realized that nothing seemed to have changed. Although they had gone from siblings to lovers, Jiang Ning was still Jiang Ning, and he was still himself. They had long been accustomed to this way of interacting, never needing grand promises of love or any overly romantic ambiguity. Simply sitting there, peeling braised shrimp, and watching the other person’s face turn red from the spice made him unable to stop laughing.
After eating a pound of braised shrimp, Jiang Ning still wanted more and ordered another pound. She also ordered two more jugs of ice-cold beer and gulped down a large mouthful. When the two left the stall, they had finished all the beer they ordered. Jiang Ning leaned close, her body pressing against Jiang Huai’s arm, like a wobbly koala.
Jiang Ning was full, and she continued to stroll with Jiang Huai on the street. The city night was filled with neon lights. Her body was very close, fragrant and soft. She was slightly unsteady on her feet. Jiang Huai lowered his head to look at her, but only smiled. “Can’t handle two jugs of beer today?”
“Who, who can’t handle it?” Her voice was slurred. “If I don’t get drunk, how will you get your chance? Silly.”
She hugged him tighter and they walked towards the park. The park was still lit at night. There were mothers dancing in groups, creating a lively and peaceful atmosphere. Jiang Huai and Jiang Ning sat on a bench not far away. Jiang Ning nestled in Jiang Huai’s embrace, saying nothing, just wanting to be held by him.
The streetlights cast a dim, yellowish glow, and the shadows of the leaves swayed in the wind. Jiang Huai felt his skin gradually warming up.
In the past, he often held Jiang Ning in his arms. It wasn’t that he initiated it; he was the one who wanted to avoid suspicion as they got older. But Jiang Ning always wanted to leap into his arms. They said that the lonelier a person is, the more they crave physical contact.
Jiang Ning always smelled fragrant. A wisp of that faint scent drifted to Jiang Huai’s nose again, as if she had become a cool, sweet grape gummy.
“Ge,” Jiang Ning seemed to suddenly think of something and softly called his name.
“What?”
“If, I’m just saying if…”
“If what?”
“If one day in the future, I do something that makes you angry, will you forgive me?”
“That depends on what it is.”
“Hey! You won’t forgive me unconditionally?” Jiang Ning turned to look at him, her delicate pink lips suddenly brushing lightly against his cheek. Her tender cheeks showed an expression of coyness.
“It still depends on what it is…”
“For example, if I told you a well-intentioned lie.”
“A lie is a lie, regardless of whether it’s well-intentioned.”
“I’m going to throw a tantrum!” Jiang Ning suddenly got up from his embrace, but before Jiang Huai could speak, she straddled him, her slender waist pressing against his body. She leaned in and hugged his neck, her forehead resting against his. “I don’t care, I don’t care, I want unconditional love.”
“That’s just being unreasonable!”
“Being unreasonable is a woman’s privilege.” Jiang Ning pouted slightly, looking at him with a wronged expression. “I don’t care… Ge, you’re the best.”
“That won’t do,” Jiang Huai extended a finger. “At least you’ll have to be spanked.”
Jiang Ning’s eyes stared at him intently for a few seconds, then she burst into a chuckle. “Oh… so will you take my skirt off to spank me, or spank me through my skirt?”
Jiang Huai reached out and pinched her cheeks. “No dirty jokes when we’re outside.”
“So can I tell them at home?” Jiang Ning moved even closer. Her delicate, soft pink lips approached again. She closed her eyes, the dim streetlights falling on her eyelashes.
This time, Jiang Huai’s hesitation was much, much shorter. After struggling in his heart for 0.38 seconds, he leaned in and gently kissed Jiang Ning’s lips.
Jiang Ning opened her eyes, the corners of her mouth turned up, and her eyes were bright. “I’m drunk.”
“Huh?”
The next second, she leaned in like a woodpecker, kissing Jiang Huai’s cheeks repeatedly. With the air of a little madwoman, Jiang Huai laughed helplessly, embraced her slender waist, and gently held her in his arms, caressing her back.
Jiang Ning rested her chin on his shoulder. At this moment, she finally seemed to become obedient.
Jiang Huai couldn’t see her eyes, so she no longer had to pretend to be an innocent and naive young girl. Her eyes were slightly misty now, it was unclear whether it was joy or something else.
Ten thousand years was too long, too far. So much so that at the moment of their reunion, she began to fear. She didn’t dare to tell him all the truth, even revealing her feelings of love had to be in this world he thought was an illusion.
She had once consoled herself with the excuse of not wanting to worry her older brother, but it was clearly time for her to tell him the truth. Yet, she began to feel flustered and uneasy. She was afraid he would be angry, afraid he wasn’t ready, afraid he didn’t love her that much, afraid he would know that many of the things he had experienced in this life were more or less influenced by her.
During the thousand years in the Qingmu Realm, she hadn’t thought so much. She only wanted to leave him all the best for the future, but she had ignored whether he would truly like it. It was she who caused the flames of war to spread among the Monster Clan, she who caused Jun Anshui to be lonely for a thousand years, and she who caused Jiang Zhi to be confined by the so-called “fate” for the past thousand years, unable to struggle or think too much.
Even if she could say that without her, there would be no Qingmu Realm at all, that it would have been destroyed long ago, the truth was still mixed with lies. The beginning of one lie required countless lies to mend.
Ten thousand years was too long, too far. She was no longer the Jiang Ning of the past. She had become arrogant and selfish, with a cold disposition. Everyone in the Upper Realm God Domain knew that the Divine Emperor was arrogant, willful, cruel, and ruthless. If she were angered in the slightest, she would have your entire clan annihilated.
Perhaps only in this illusion, only in front of him, when looking into his eyes, could she slowly recall the appearance of the Jiang Ning she once was. This was not only Jiang Huai’s illusion, but also hers.
Could revisiting old places be considered like “marking a boat to find a dropped sword”?
Jiang Huai’s fingertips gently stroked her back. Jiang Ning’s cheek rested against his. Her voice trembled slightly. “Ge.”
“Hmm?”
“Hold me a little longer…”
Listening to her dream-like murmur, Jiang Huai was amused and exasperated. He whispered in her ear, “How long do you want to be held?”
“A lifetime.”
“How long is a lifetime?”
“It’s a thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years. Even when we’re dead, we’ll be together forever. No one is allowed to abandon the other.”
“Why do you always say you’re afraid of being abandoned by me?”
“Because… I’m afraid of being abandoned.” Jiang Ning’s voice trembled slightly. “She didn’t want me anymore… only you love me.”
Jiang Huai was slightly stunned, instantly understanding the fragility in Jiang Ning’s voice.
Jiang Ning’s biological father had died early, and her mother was eager to remarry. The person she remarried was reluctant to have her daughter living with them. So, Jiang Ning was fostered at Jiang Huai’s home, becoming Jiang Huai’s sister.
She was almost equivalent to being abandoned by her birth mother. Even though her birth mother would visit monthly with snacks and gifts, pretending to care, she always acted obedient and well-behaved. However, Jiang Huai had long discerned from her eyes that she was not happy at all. She almost felt nauseous at that false concern, a self-congratulatory atonement.
Later, at the funeral of Jiang Huai’s parents, her birth mother reappeared, saying she wanted to take Jiang Ning with her. At that moment, she became like a mother leopard, going mad, yelling hysterically with tears streaming down her face, clinging tightly to his clothes, as if afraid Jiang Huai would abandon her again.
In his past life, Jiang Huai was always a timid mushroom, his shoulders slumped every day, hanging out in internet cafes. He didn’t even dare to look back at pretty girls on the street. Only that one time was he brave. Like protecting a chick, he shielded Jiang Ning behind him, stubbornly saying that they would live together from now on and that he would take good care of her.
In fact, Jiang Ning’s birth mother wasn’t that resolute. She only proposed taking Jiang Ning with her because of a small moral obligation in her heart. Perhaps Jiang Ning’s frenzied reaction that day was too frightening, or perhaps Jiang Huai’s attitude was too firm. In the end, the two lived together. Their previous homes were gone, and they formed their own small home, huddling for warmth in that tiny world.
It was like two puppies licking each other’s wounds. Once the other disappeared, the other puppy’s wound would ache excruciatingly.
