Sweet and Sour Memories (Ziqiu’s Side Story 2)
When she was about to say something, Shi Li quickly withdrew her hand, said it was nothing, stumbled to her feet, stretched her body, and soon disappeared around the corner of the street, leaving behind Zhou Ziqiu, who was still sobbing, standing there bewildered.
In Zhou Ziqiu’s memory, since that day, Shi Li never argued with her again, and she hadn’t seen her for a long time. People said that Shi Li, as a young escort chief, had taken her subordinates to Jianghu to escort goods.
Zhou Ziqiu’s life returned to peace. Every day, she played and studied with Ci Ke. The days flowed like water, and she gradually forgot the person who escorted goods.
The next time she saw Shi Li was two months later. It was a scorching summer day, and only at night could one feel a bit of coolness. The large courtyard was burning mugwort to repel mosquitoes. Zhou Ziqiu lay on a mat among the flowers with Ci Ke, fanning herself intermittently.
“Ci Ke, Auntie’s arm is sore.” Zhou Ziqiu pretended to be tired halfway through fanning. Ci Ke, who was beside her, stretched out her short arms, took the large palm-leaf fan from her hand, and struggled to fan her.
Zhou Ziqiu felt no guilt at all. Instead, she lay down comfortably, enjoying the little child’s service with peace of mind.
However, this comfort was soon interrupted. A young servant came running quickly, saying in a panic, “Miss, there’s an injured beggar lying outside the gate. You should take a look…”
“A beggar?” Zhou Ziqiu opened her eyes wide. “Just give him some money and take him to the medical clinic.”
“But that person is seriously injured. Before he fainted, he mentioned your name. We were afraid he might really be someone you know, so we came to ask.”
Hearing this, Zhou Ziqiu had no choice but to order the maid to watch over Ci Ke and followed the young servant out the gate. Looking down, she indeed saw someone lying on the steps, his clothes tattered and stained with mottled blood.
Zhou Ziqiu sensed a familiar feeling and hurriedly took the lantern from the young servant’s hand. As she walked closer and shone the light, she gasped. Who else could this person be but Shi Li?
“Quick, carry her into the side room, and you go get a doctor.” Zhou Ziqiu urgently pulled the young servant to the side and called for the guards to carry Shi Li into the Zhou residence.
Fortunately, the doctor arrived quickly and managed to stop Shi Li’s bleeding in time. Zhou Ziqiu watched from the side. When the ghastly wounds on the thin body came into view, she hurriedly turned away.
It was only then that she realized the younger girl lived a life of licking blood off the blade.1
Shi Li didn’t stay unconscious for long. She woke up early the next morning. It turned out that she had been entrusted with transporting something extremely important, and assassins had been pursuing and blocking her along the way. Near the capital, she was ambushed and got separated from her subordinates while carrying the item. She was also slashed during the struggle but managed to hold on until she reached the Zhou residence, where she collapsed at the gate.
“I don’t have any close acquaintances in the capital, so in a moment of inspiration, I thought of you.” Shi Li took out a small box wrapped in cloth from her dirty clothes and handed it to Zhou Ziqiu. “Miss Zhou, could you help me deliver this?”
Zhou Ziqiu took the blood-stained box, feeling inexplicably annoyed. “You used to call me Zhou Ziqiu, and now that you need something, I’m just Miss Zhou to you. I saved your life, and you haven’t even thanked me. Unless you beg me, I won’t help you.”
Shi Li, wearing only her undergarments with thick bandages over her wounds, looked at Zhou Ziqiu for a while before finally speaking, “Please.”
Zhou Ziqiu didn’t expect her to yield so quickly and suddenly felt a twinge of regret. She sullenly took the box and walked out the door.
From that day on, their relationship seemed to become somewhat subtle. Zhou Ziqiu couldn’t quite describe it, but it was both distant and not so distant.
She allowed Shi Li to stay and recuperate in a guest room at the Zhou residence.
From then on, Zhou Ziqiu saw Shi Li practicing her martial arts in the courtyard every day. Occasionally, Zhou Ziqiu would try to provoke her with a few words, but Shi Li no longer engaged in arguments. Sometimes, even when she heard provocative words, she would just quietly look at Zhou Ziqiu until Zhou Ziqiu fled in embarrassment.
This was too strange, Zhou Ziqiu thought. She didn’t know if it was out of curiosity or something else, but she began to observe Shi Li intentionally or unintentionally.
She discovered that Shi Li’s life was extremely disciplined. She would get up at dawn to practice martial arts without fail. Once her wounds were somewhat healed, she started practicing with her sword, scattering leaves all over the ground, and then courteously sweeping them up herself before returning to her room.
She also discovered that Shi Li loved to drink. Every evening, she would bring two jugs of rice wine back to her room. Tipsy, she would then practice sword dancing under the moonlight, her movements graceful and light, her swordsmanship as sharp as frost, like an immortal dancing.
She noticed that Ci Ke seemed to like Shi Li very much, often sitting to the side watching her sword dance. When she finished, Shi Li would let Ci Ke sit on her shoulders and stroll around the garden.
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Shi Li was very skilled at making small crafts. She could carve a piece of wood into a delicate, polished sword. Over the days, Ci Ke’s room became filled with these items, and even Zhou Ziqiu found herself liking them, secretly snatching a wooden rabbit from Ci Ke’s hands.
Shi Li also…
Finally, one day, Zhou Ziqiu realized something unusual about herself.
That day, Shi Li did not appear in the courtyard. Zhou Ziqiu held back for half a day before finding an excuse to go to her room, only to discover that Shi Li had already gone out. She had to return to her room in a huff, feeling irritable and finding everything annoying, so much so that even Ci Ke avoided her from a distance.
From daytime until late at night, although Zhou Ziqiu would never admit she was waiting for Shi Li, she still rushed out the door upon hearing the maid’s announcement, almost bumping into Shi Li.
“Miss Zhou?” Shi Li looked fresh and neat, her hair tied up high, looking handsome and clean. She adjusted the sword on her back and steadied the oiled paper package in her hand.
“Where did you go?” Zhou Ziqiu raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms, and asked.
Shi Li was taken aback, her light-colored eyes reflecting the lantern’s glow. “The madam of the Duke’s residence heard that I have high martial arts skills and that I am a woman, so she invited me to be the martial arts instructor for her eldest daughter.”
“No matter who invites you, you are currently staying in my house. You should at least inform the host before you leave. Leaving without saying anything is truly rude!” Zhou Ziqiu couldn’t suppress her anger, her words like firecrackers, causing Shi Li to take half a step back.
“It was thoughtless of me,” Shi Li said with a frown, glancing at the paper package in her hand.
“So, are you leaving?” Zhou Ziqiu asked.
Shi Li nodded. “I’ve troubled you these past days. Thank you, Miss Zhou. These are lychees I brought back, freshly picked and fast-tracked to the capital. You…”
She handed the paper package to Zhou Ziqiu, but Zhou Ziqiu did not take it. Instead, she waved it away.
An awkward expression flashed across Shi Li’s face. She withdrew her hand and smiled. “Of course, you are from a noble family. You must have plenty of such ordinary things.”
“As long as you understand. Since you want to leave, then go.” Zhou Ziqiu averted her gaze, her red lips pressed into a thin line. She turned and went back inside, the hem of her dress, the color of lychee, brushing against Shi Li’s clothes.
“Miss Zhou,” Shi Li suddenly called out, stopping Zhou Ziqiu.
Hesitating, she slowly said, “If you don’t want me to leave, then…”
“Who said I don’t want you to leave! You’re just an outsider I saved in passing. Saving you was just an act of kindness. Whether you stay or go has nothing to do with me!” Zhou Ziqiu spun around abruptly, speaking irritably.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Zhou Ziqiu regretted them. But words once spoken cannot be taken back, so she could only stand stiffly, maintaining her lifelong pride and dignity.
Shi Li’s expression changed several times. She opened her mouth to retort, but swallowed her words, nodded, and turned to leave.
But after taking only a few steps, Shi Li couldn’t swallow her anger. She turned back, only to see the girl with phoenix eyes and peach cheeks still standing there, fuming, her red lips tightly pressed, and the corners of her eyes tinted with a faint blush.
The words Shi Li had planned to say got stuck in her throat again. She looked away to calm herself, then slowly spoke.
“Don’t throw a tantrum. I’ll ask you once more, Zhou Ziqiu, do you want me to leave?”
Zhou Ziqiu remained silent.
Shi Li walked closer to her. Despite her young age, her eyes were steadfast and composed from years of martial arts training.
“I hear from all directions, someone is secretly watching me. I heard it loud and clear. But if I misunderstood, then I apologize to you.”
“One last time, do you want me to leave or stay?” Shi Li asked.
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Zhou Ziqiu stubbornly straightened her back, standing in front of Shi Li, but her eyes couldn’t land on her. Gradually, she found herself increasingly at odds with her own feelings, and eventually, her eyes reddened.
Just as Shi Li was about to give up, Zhou Ziqiu finally made a very low sound, “Can you not leave?”
She was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, a beloved and pampered child of fortune who had never yielded to anyone in her life. And so, she grew to resent Shi Li, resenting her for bending her will.
But this resentment lasted only a moment, for the next moment, she was enveloped in Shi Li’s embrace, the sword on Shi Li’s back knocking against her arm, and the girl’s fragrance once again filled her nostrils.
Zhou Ziqiu instinctively reached out her hand but didn’t use any force. She was both embarrassed and angry, “What are you doing!”
Fortunately, Shi Li only hugged her briefly, like a dragonfly touching water, and quickly let her go. Also fortunate was that it was nighttime, so the sudden blush on Zhou Ziqiu’s face wasn’t clearly visible.
Shi Li shoved the paper package into her arms and quickly ran away, even taking the wrong direction in her haste, ultimately jumping over the courtyard wall and disappearing into the moonlight.
Zhou Ziqiu knew that from this night onward, their relationship would be completely turned upside down.
Shi Li no longer contradicted any of her words, even to the point of complying with everything. Zhou Ziqiu found herself increasingly unable to resist Shi Li’s allure. Although she clearly understood what this meant, she couldn’t help but accept the little trinkets Shi Li gave her. After hesitating for a long time, she would secretly return the favor.
She couldn’t resist watching Shi Li’s figure as she practiced her swordplay, couldn’t resist waiting for her to return when she went out, couldn’t resist getting closer to her, and couldn’t resist curbing her own temper as the young lady. She became like a lovesick girl from a book, each step defying ethics, yet she didn’t care.
A long, long time passed, and Zhou Ziqiu always remembered that late summer afternoon. It was so ordinary, with warm breezes brushing her face, butterflies fluttering, and sunlight filtering through cloud layers like thin smoke, casting mottled shadows in the courtyard.
She was napping on a reclining chair, tiny spots of light falling on her eyelids, awakening her from her sleep.
She didn’t open her eyes, feeling someone using a round fan to block those spots of light for her, bringing cool shade once again.
She kept her eyes closed, and that person continued to shield her, remaining still for a very long time.
In the end, Zhou Ziqiu couldn’t help but open her eyes. The daylight was somewhat dazzling, and the figure before her was initially very blurry, finally becoming clear.
The girl with slightly curly hair sat quietly beside her, her arm steadily extended to shield her from the sun. Her eyes, under the sunlight, appeared to have a golden hue, radiant and dazzling.
Zhou Ziqiu met her gaze, and as her heart beat faster, confusion welled up in her eyes.
“Yesterday, a matchmaker visited my sister-in-law to propose marriage for me,” Zhou Ziqiu said, lying down and looking directly at Shi Li.
Upon hearing this, Shi Li’s eyes dimmed slightly. “How did you respond?”
“I didn’t respond,” Zhou Ziqiu said softly, the reclining chair swaying side to side, her forehead’s strands occasionally turning golden in the sunlight.
Shi Li looked at Zhou Ziqiu, staring at her for a while, then suddenly said, “I’ll take you somewhere.”
Shi Li took her to a sea of flowers. Zhou Ziqiu didn’t know that such wildflowers could still be blooming so vigorously at the end of summer, proudly stretching towards the sky, growing like colorful clouds in the endless green waves.
Zhou Ziqiu struggled through the dense flower bushes, eventually losing her balance and could only watch as Shi Li extended her palm, placing her hand into it.
The girl’s hand was soft yet dry, with the calluses unique to martial artists. Though rough, it was incredibly heart-stirring. Zhou Ziqiu’s attention was entirely on the hand, and when she looked up again, the path they had come from was no longer visible.
She felt a bit uneasy but heard the girl speak, pointing to the distant, undulating mountains: “If you ride straight in this direction, through the mountains and shallow lakes, you will reach my home.”
“My mother once said, if I ever meet someone I love, I must bring them back to meet her.”
Zhou Ziqiu’s heart suddenly began to beat fiercely.
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“You’re so young, yet you’re thinking about such things,” Zhou Ziqiu said dryly.
“So, in the future, would you be willing to come back with me to take a look?” Shi Li didn’t respond to her words, instead speaking earnestly and brightly on her own.
The fierce heartbeat just now suddenly skipped a beat. Zhou Ziqiu felt her cheeks burning from the sun, and at the same time, an indescribable tremor surrounded her.
She knew she was happy, that instant of joy surpassed every previous happiness, making her feel like she was on cloud nine. She couldn’t help but hold Shi Li’s hand tighter.
“Alright.” Zhou Ziqiu deliberately hid her words in the wind, waiting for Shi Li to lean in and ask.
“I can’t agree so easily. I have to wait for my elder brother to return from the border before I can leave the capital,” Zhou Ziqiu said, raising her chin. Then she took Shi Li’s hand and ran towards the farther flower bushes.
Shi Li also let out a sigh of relief, her eyes curving into a smile, following Zhou Ziqiu’s lead.
Under the boundless sky, an ordinary pair of girls ran hand in hand, merging with the flowers. Their skirts and the wind swelled together. They had no extra thoughts, their hearts filled with pure joy.
The vast blue sky and the endless green sea bore witness to their brave love.
At least at this moment, they delighted in each other. The future was irrelevant.
Footnotes
- Licking blood off the blade (刀上舔血的日子): A phrase used to describe a dangerous lifestyle, often associated with warriors or those living perilous lives.