One and only
When these words were spoken, the whole room fell silent.
Bei Yuan turned to look at Jing Dan, as if unable to believe what she had just heard, and stuttered out, “You, you said what, what?”
Seeing her reaction, thinking she hadn’t understood, Jing Dan earnestly explained, “You see, if you acknowledge her as your older sister,” she pointed at He Yuan, then at herself and He Ying, continuing, “then He Ying and I would have to call you Auntie! But you really look so young, I don’t want to call you Auntie, I want to call you little sister!”
Bei Yuan stared blankly at her, unsure of how to respond.
On the side, He Yuan glanced at Jing Dan silently, then sighed softly to He Ying, firmly refusing, “I want to call her little sister, so you two can only call her Auntie!”
She definitely doesn’t want to be Bei Yuan’s mom!
Jing Dan: “…”
He Ying: “…”
Bei Yuan smiled apologetically at them.
Others stifled their laughter nearby. Hu Tu ran to He Ying’s side and nudged her shoulder, lowering her voice as she said, “I always feel like Huai Sheng isn’t so innocent in her intentions. Just look at how she lets others call her Xiaoyuan, but privately she calls her Jiujiu. So, I have reason to suspect that not only will you be calling her Auntie, but in the future, you might also be calling Huai Sheng Auntie!”
He Ying: “…”
She turned her head to look expressionlessly at Hu Tu.
Hu Tu innocently shrugged, gesturing for her to look at Huai Sheng.
He Ying turned her head and saw that Huai Sheng’s gaze was fixed on Bei Yuan, as if there were no one else in her eyes besides her.
“…”
On the other side, Jing Dan, who had been rejected, felt a bit disheartened. Why did it seem like anyone who showed up now had to be older than her!
He Ying stepped forward and pulled her back. She, realizing the inevitable, had begun to accept her fate.
Oh well, what’s the big deal about calling her auntie? As long as Lady He is happy, having one more doesn’t hurt!
Jing Dan turned to look at Jing Shiyue, sighing with a hint of melancholy, “Auntie, I tried my best, but it didn’t work. She insists on being your peer!”
Jing Shiyue: “?” I don’t seem to mind being her peer?
She turned to look at Bei Yuan, trying to squeeze a warm smile onto her somewhat serious face, greeting her, “Hello, He Ying’s Auntie. I’m Jing Dan’s Auntie. From now on, we’re family, so feel free to ask us for anything you need.”
Suddenly being treated so kindly by so many people, Bei Yuan felt like she was in a dream. She nodded shyly at Jing Shiyue and said softly, “Thank you, Jing Dan’s Auntie.”
Jing Shiyue: “…” This wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?
He Ying found it amusing and pulled Jing Shiyue away, saying to them, “You all carry on, Jing Dan and I are going to the management bureau.”
Their marriage certificate hadn’t been collected yet.
As soon as she heard “management bureau,” Jing Dan’s eyes lit up. She didn’t fuss over calling someone an auntie anymore. She even began waving goodbye to each of them. When it came to Bei Yuan, she waved earnestly, saying, “Auntie, goodbye! We’ll show you our marriage certificate when we come back!”
Upon hearing herself being called “Auntie” for real, Bei Yuan’s soft face started to blush a little, but she nodded earnestly and said, “Alright, niece.”
He Yuan lowered her eyes and smiled gently, while her energy continued to help nourish her spirit core.
Meanwhile, Huai Sheng, watching this series of events unfold, felt both happy for Bei Yuan and a bit bitter. She now had so many people caring for her. Would she still need her?
He Ying brought Jing Dan to the Spirit Management Bureau and encountered the man in the black robe. Surprisingly, it was he who personally handed them their marriage certificate.
Upon seeing him, He Ying smiled gently and took out a beautifully packaged box, handing it to him. “Since you’re here, I don’t need to go out of my way to find you. This is the wedding candy. I know you don’t like attending such events, so I brought the candy to you in advance. We won’t invite you to the banquet.”
Yesterday was the clan’s engagement ceremony, and naturally, they would still host a wedding banquet later.
The man in the black robe took the wedding candy and glanced at Jing Dan standing beside her. “You two are well-matched. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and harmony.”
He Ying smiled, and Jing Dan earnestly thanked him.
The man in the black robe was also busy. After handing them their marriage certificate and holding the wedding candy, he left.
The two eagerly took their marriage certificate, which was made of a special material. It was non-decaying, difficult to burn, and wouldn’t fade. For them, spirits with long lives, it couldn’t have been better.
Their marriage certificate, with a white background and silver trim, looked particularly elegant. Upon opening it, they could see bamboo forests swaying in the wind as if they were real. Above the bamboo forest, a white crane was carrying a panda cub with a silly expression on its head, flying. The scene looked particularly warm and loving.
Jing Dan’s eyes sparkled. She really liked this marriage certificate.
He Ying also smiled, looking at the information about her and Jing Dan recorded on the marriage certificate, smiling softly.
When they returned to their clan with their marriage certificate, the sky had already darkened completely. They went back to their little building first, but when they saw the light coming from inside, they exchanged a puzzled glance. Logically, besides them, there shouldn’t be anyone else in that building, right?
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Upon entering, they found Hu Tu drunk in their living room. She turned her head upon hearing the door open, grinned foolishly at them.
Both: “…” Clearly, she was drunk.
He Ying sighed and approached, taking the bottle from her hand. “Why suddenly feel like drinking?”
And getting herself so drunk at that.
Hu Tu looked at He Ying in a daze, then glanced at Jing Dan, murmuring softly, “You’re both married now.”
He Ying was puzzled. Why would Hu Tu drink so much just because they got married?
Hu Tu took both of their hands and placed them together, looking at their intertwined hands. Her nose felt even more sore, and she said earnestly, “Even though I know your relationship is different, and not like theirs, I still want to say, you must take good care of each other.”
As Jing Dan’s best friend, Hu Tu naturally hoped she would have a good partner and a lasting relationship.
Upon hearing “not like theirs,” both of them involuntarily thought of the man living outside the Gulong Mountain Range. He Ying fell silent for a moment before sitting down and asking Hu Tu, “Who are they? Can you tell us?”
Hu Tu looked at them in a daze, then suddenly chuckled softly, tears almost welling up in her eyes.
“Of course I can. You’re my best friends.”
Her gaze seemed distant, her voice soft as she continued, “My biological father, back then he was with my mom, and they had me. But just after my mom gave birth to me, he proposed separating from her. His reason was that over the years, he never could embrace the role of a husband, and now adding the role of a father terrified him.”
“He said he rushed into things with my mom, and only afterward realized she wasn’t who he thought she was.”
Hu Tu chuckled softly again, tears slowly streaming down her face. “You’d never imagine how he treats me now, considering what he was like before, right? But back then, he was just that selfish, abandoning his wife and daughter.”
He Ying furrowed her brows slightly, and Jing Dan handed her a tissue to wipe away her tears, feeling uneasy inside.
Neither of them said any comforting words. Instead, He Ying accompanied Hu Tu as she slowly drank. Perhaps it was because of the engagement with Jing Dan that reminded her of her mother’s past with that man.
“I never believed in men’s words anyway,” Hu Tu said, covering her eyes.
Even before she realized she liked women, she had already started avoiding men like the snakes and scorpions. She felt all their promises were so false.
“It’s okay,” He Ying comforted softly. “If you don’t want to believe, then don’t. No matter what, you just need to be happy.”
“Exactly, and Auntie seems to be doing well now, right? You’re moving forward too,” Jing Dan said softly, not wanting to see Hu Tu upset.
Hu Tu lowered her head, covering her eyes with her palm, choked up. “Even though I don’t want to acknowledge him as my dad, it seems like I’ve inherited his bad genes. I’m not responsible in relationships either.”
She detests such people, yet in the end, she has become one herself.
“But you haven’t deceived anyone’s feelings, have you?” He Ying pondered. In her memory, Hu Tu hardly ever had relationships with anyone. She always made it clear from the start what the relationship was, without involving emotions. And during a relationship, she never sought out others.
Since everything was made clear from the beginning, with both parties knowing there were no ulterior motives, can this still be considered irresponsible towards relationships?
Hu Tu took a sip of wine and remained silent. Watching her friends pairing up one by one, she started to feel a bit lost.
She once yearned for a long-lasting, stable relationship, but at the same time, she was afraid. She feared she wouldn’t be able to sustain such a relationship, unable to imagine what it would be like to be in one for the long haul. So, she kept her distance. But now, watching Jing Dan and the others, she unexpectedly began to waver.
Their relationship was too good, so good that she even started to envy it. She began to imagine what changes she would need to make for her own relationship to continue, if she were to have one.
He Ying didn’t dare let Jing Dan drink more, so she drank with Hu Tu instead. Seeing Hu Tu fall asleep on the couch from drinking, Jing Dan fetched a blanket to cover her, placed a glass of water within her reach, then quietly went upstairs with He Ying.
He Ying rubbed her head. Despite her high tolerance for alcohol, drinking so much earlier couldn’t have left her completely unaffected.
Seeing her like this, Jing Dan poured her another cup of hot water, then mimicked the way she used to massage her head, asking softly, “Still feeling unwell?”
He Ying leaned back against her, closing her eyes with a smile. “Just a little.”
Hearing this, Jing Dan began massaging her more earnestly.
Later, He Ying pulled her into the bathroom to take a bath together. Fueled by alcohol, she teased Jing Dan mercilessly, as if reliving the events of last night, except this time, it was He Ying who had drunk too much.
Jing Dan sniffled. Despite being the one teased mercilessly, in the end, she had to help He Ying onto the bed, unable to walk properly.
Both of them tumbled onto the bed, and Jing Dan, looking at He Ying’s satisfied expression, murmured softly before falling asleep, holding her close.
The next day, they were awakened by Hu Tu’s piercing scream. Hastily putting on their clothes and rushing downstairs, they saw Hu Tu and Bei Yuan staring at each other wide-eyed. Hu Tu looked utterly shocked, while Bei Yuan’s face was flushed with embarrassment as she awkwardly tried to explain herself. When she saw them coming down, she looked like she had found a lifeline and quickly scurried over, whispering, “Nieces, please help me explain to her. I wasn’t trying to kiss her, and I didn’t kiss her! I just saw her blanket fall to the floor and wanted to pick it up and cover her with it.”
Bei Yuan looked on the verge of tears, terrified that Hu Tu might misunderstand.
He Ying: “… You should just call us by our names. Calling us nieces feels a bit strange.”
Her expression was somewhat awkward. She couldn’t bring herself to call Bei Yuan “Auntie,” and hearing herself being called “niece” was equally uncomfortable.
“Oh,” Bei Yuan nodded, indicating she understood.
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He Ying walked up to Hu Tu, looking at her frightened expression with some exasperation. “Why do you have that look? Shouldn’t she be the one more scared?”
Besides, if anyone looked like they were sneaking a kiss, it’s more likely you than her, right?
Hu Tu patted her small chest to calm herself down, pulling He Ying aside and whispering, “I was just scared that if something did accidentally happen, Huai Sheng would kill me!”
He Ying was speechless. Although Huai Sheng seemed protective of Bei Yuan, it didn’t really look like there was anything more to it.
However, she didn’t say much more about the matter, simply turning to Bei Yuan and saying, “It was all a misunderstanding. Everything’s fine now.”
Hearing He Ying say this, Bei Yuan visibly relaxed, a shy smile appearing on her face.
“Why did you come over?” He Ying asked softly.
“Oh, it was Sister who asked me to call you for dinner,” Bei Yuan replied quietly.
He Ying chuckled softly at this. It seemed that Lady He wanted them all to get along well.
She felt she had a vague idea why Lady He was so special to her.
Could she really be my little aunt?
The group arrived at Jing Shiyue’s small building. From a distance, they saw Huai Sheng standing at the door, looking expectantly. The moment she saw Bei Yuan, a relaxed smile spread across her face, and she walked up to greet her.
“How are you? Were you scared?” Huai Sheng didn’t spare a glance for anyone else; her attention was entirely on Bei Yuan.
Bei Yuan shyly shook her head. “They were all very nice.”
Huai Sheng smiled faintly and followed them inside.
The house was filled with the aroma of a large spread of dishes, and everyone was seated around the table. As the newlyweds entered, Qiu Shuhuai smiled and said, “Where’s your marriage certificate? Shouldn’t you show it to us?”
Hearing this, Jing Dan immediately brightened up. She held their marriage certificate with a mix of pride and modesty as she handed it over.
Seeing Jing Dan’s expression—clearly overjoyed but trying to act casual by pursing her lips—the others chuckled softly, not exposing her pretense, and took the certificate to look at it.
Besides the photos of their human forms, the most striking aspect was the depiction of their true forms. Upon seeing this, everyone fell silent for a moment.
It felt as if the scene in the pictures could come to life at any moment.
“Poof!” Qiu Shuhuai suddenly burst into laughter. The depiction of their true forms on the marriage certificate was so realistic that she felt as if she could actually see He Ying’s true form carrying Jing Dan’s true form, flying over a bamboo forest, with Jing Dan’s tuft of hair swaying in the wind.
The others also started laughing. He Ying kept a stern face, pretending not to hear them, while Jing Dan, genuinely puzzled, looked at them, not understanding why they were laughing.
Handing the marriage certificate back to Jing Dan, Jing Li, holding back her laughter, placed a piece of food in He Ying’s bowl. “You’ve had it tough.”
Carrying a little cub while flying.
He Ying maintained her serious expression. “It’s not tough.”
“Why didn’t you give me any?” Jing Dan was somewhat dissatisfied. Why did they only serve He Ying?
Jing Li glanced at her clueless daughter and then served her some food as well.
Jing Dan was satisfied this time.
After returning from the Panda Clan, the two began preparing for their wedding. During this time, He Ying took Jing Dan back to her home in Lanjiang City and brought her to her own room.
Jing Dan looked curiously at the door. She had never been inside this room before.
“What’s inside?” Jing Dan asked, her curiosity piqued.
He Ying smiled gently, “Why don’t you go in and see for yourself?”
Jing Dan walked in and was immediately faced with a wall full of certificates and awards. Her eyes lit up as she thought about how outstanding He Ying must have been in the past to have earned all these accolades.
She leaned in to take a closer look at the awards He Ying had received. When she saw them clearly, her expression froze, and her eyes began to show some confusion.
Student He Ying:
Congratulations on winning the Most Mischievous Student Award for the first half of 2005.
Student He Ying:
Congratulations on winning the Most Fights Award for the second half of 2005.
Student He Ying:
Congratulations on winning the Most Parental Visits Award for the second half of 2008.
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……
Among the many awards, most of them were similar in content. After Jing Dan finished reading, she was at a loss for words.
Even she didn’t know what to say and just blinked at He Ying.
He Ying pursed her lips and smiled, not at all embarrassed. She then led Jing Dan to a glass display case. Inside, a white feather lay quietly. He Ying explained, “This is the feather I shed when I came of age. My mom once said that the feather a white crane sheds upon reaching adulthood is our most unique one. According to the traditions of the White Crane Clan, this feather is meant to be given to your lover.”
“Jing Dan, now this feather is yours.”
She took out the feather and handed it to Jing Dan, smiling gently. She didn’t even ask if Jing Dan would accept it because she knew without asking that Jing Dan would.
Simply because she loved Jing Dan, and Jing Dan loved her in return, she had the confidence that Jing Dan would accept her feather.
Jing Dan accepted her feather. The feather was pure white and soft, feeling like silk when touched. Her smile became even brighter, as she reached out to embrace He Ying, her eyes shining, saying, “I am your one and only!”
He Ying returned her embrace, her warm eyes expressing her affection for Jing Dan, “You have always been my one and only.”
Even before she fell in love with Jing Dan, she had been her one and only.
An unconscious sense of being each other’s one and only.
In the time to come, both of them will forever be each other’s one and only.
The author has something to say:
It’s a wrap! Next up, it’s time to nurture flying panda cubs!
LP: Main part of the novel is over but there’s still like, 25 extra chapters :3
