STT – Chapter 53

Flower in the mirror, moon in the water.

She doesn’t know if it’s because of the fickle weather in March, suddenly warm yet still cold, with cotton jackets needed in the morning and gauze in the afternoon, but Jiang Huaixi caught a cold. At first, it was just a faint nasal congestion, but later it turned into an aggressive low fever with a cough.

Ji’an Village doesn’t have good conditions, with only a small village health clinic and inconvenient transportation, so Jiang Huaixi could only rely on the medicine brought from Linzhou for relief.

Several days passed, and although she no longer had a fever, Jiang Huaixi appeared as if she was fine, yet Lu Zizheng could still hear Jiang Huaixi’s deliberately suppressed low coughs at night, each sound making Lu Zizheng worried…

In the early morning hours, just as Lu Zizheng barely fell asleep in Jiang Huaixi’s embrace, she heard once more, from beside her ear, Jiang Huaixi’s deliberately suppressed low coughs. Lu Zizheng could clearly feel, with each sound, Jiang Huaixi’s body gently trembling, and in an instant, she awoke startled from sleep.

Lu Zizheng opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Jiang Huaixi.

Jiang Huaixi’s voice was somewhat hoarse and weak from the severe coughing. Seeing Lu Zizheng startled awake, she bit her lip, sighed, and softly said with embarrassment, “I woke you up again. Tomorrow, let Aunt Lin help me clean the study, put a bedding on the floor, and I’ll sleep there for a few days.”

Lu Zizheng turned her body, reached out to embrace Jiang Huaixi’s slender waist, gently shook her head, and refused, saying, “I can’t sleep alone, no matter who it is.” Pausing, she worriedly said, “Huaixi, I feel like the cold medicine we brought isn’t working. It’s been several days, and you’re still not better. How about we go back to Linzhou and visit the hospital?”

Jiang Huaixi extended her hand, gently stroking Lu Zizheng’s soft fine hair on her head, and smiled comfortingly, saying, “It’s not some magic pill; it can’t work that fast, you know? Don’t worry, I’ll be fine in a few days. Huaichuan’s engagement is in May, so let’s wait until then to go back, okay?”

In her embrace, she only heard Lu Zizheng’s muffled response: “Mm…”

Jiang Huaixi lowered her eyes, gently rubbing Lu Zizheng’s forehead with her chin, and lightly laughed, saying, “Mm, if you really want me to get better quickly, I know of a good medicine, but it depends on whether you’re willing to give it to me.”

Lu Zizheng suddenly became spirited, and abruptly lifted her head, her eyes bright as she seriously asked, “What?”

Jiang Huaixi’s beautiful eyes sparkled, with a sly smile, as she pointed to her own cheek, and said, “If you kiss me, I’ll absorb your love’s energy, and I will definitely get better quickly.”

Lu Zizheng was startled, reaching out to pat Jiang Huaixi’s arm, she couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated, saying, “I thought you were going to be serious.”

Jiang Huaixi furrowed her brows, let out a light hum, and said displeased, “Where did you see that I’m not serious?” As she spoke, she turned her face to get closer to Lu Zizheng’s lips, coolly saying, “Here’s a chance for you to make up for it.”

Looking at Jiang Huaixi’s proud demeanor, Lu Zizheng couldn’t help but smile, her brows arching as she gazed into Jiang Huaixi’s eyes full of amusement.

Finally, she pressed her hand on the bed, propping herself up, turned sideways and leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on Jiang Huaixi’s lips, her voice warm and soft, “Is the energy enough?”

Jiang Huaixi’s eyes were brilliant like stars, she bit her lip, and after a moment said, “I asked for a kiss on the cheek, now the effort is wasted, I’ve held back for several days, just afraid of infecting you…”

Lu Zizheng couldn’t help but laugh aloud, lowered her head, gently bit Jiang Huaixi’s lip, prying open her teeth, and with their lips and teeth entwined, she heard Jiang Huaixi murmur, “I’m not afraid, you don’t need to hold back…” As she spoke, one hand began slowly sliding down Jiang Huaixi’s delicate shoulder bone…

Jiang Huaixi’s body stiffened, she gently grabbed Lu Zizheng’s mischievous hand, turned her face away, weakly gasping, “Zizheng, energy overloaded…”

Lu Zizheng smiled, naturally following her cue, lowered her head to kiss Jiang Huaixi’s forehead, and instructed, “Alright, I’ve been so obedient, giving you so much energy, you need to get better by tomorrow.”

Jiang Huaixi regulated her breathing, smiled slightly, touched Lu Zizheng’s face, and coaxed her, saying, “Mm, just sleep obediently, good night. After a good sleep, I will be fine.”

Lu Zizheng nestled in her embrace, found a comfortable position, and grabbed Jiang Huaixi’s long hair, listening to Jiang Huaixi’s still somewhat hurried heartbeat. Gradually, she sank into a dream…

The next day, Aunt Lin came to clean, and upon seeing Lu Zizheng and Jiang Huaixi watching a movie together in the study, she casually asked, “Huaixi, are you going back for Qingming¹?”

Lu Zizheng heard the voice and looked at Jiang Huaixi. Jiang Huaixi relaxed her brow and smiled faintly, saying, “Not going back, we’ll wait until May.”

Aunt Lin thought for a moment and hesitated before saying, “During those two days of Qingming, I will be busy with ancestor worship, so I may not have time to come over…”

As she considered how to express her difficult follow-up words, Jiang Huaixi rarely showed understanding, saying, “No problem, Aunt Lin, you go ahead and be busy. Zizheng and I can take care of things here.”

Aunt Lin shyly smiled at Jiang Huaixi and said, “That’s good… that’s good…”

Before long, she changed the trash bag in the study and was just about to go out when she seemed to suddenly remember something. She turned back and proposed, “The weather has been nice these past few days. Huaixi, if you don’t have anything to do, you could take the opportunity during Qingming to go out for a walk. Not far from here is Qingcheng Mountain’s Hanshan Temple, where the incense is especially strong during Qingming. The scenery is beautiful, and praying for wishes and signs is quite effective. There’s not much fun here, so if you’re interested, you could go and take a look.”

“Mm…” Jiang Huaixi pondered for a moment before replying, “Okay, Aunt Lin, we understand…”

However, even as she said this, Jiang Huaixi’s heart had already rejected the proposal; she still remembered Lu Zizheng had told her that she was afraid of heights.

The night before going to sleep, Jiang Huaixi still coughed from time to time. After a long period of silence, Lu Zizheng suddenly spoke, “Huaixi, let’s go to Qingcheng Mountain for a walk during Qingming.”

Jiang Huaixi was slightly surprised and asked, “It might be a bit high; aren’t you afraid?”

Lu Zizheng smiled with pursed lips and said with a warm voice, “Aren’t you there with me?”

Jiang Huaixi lightly snorted and teased, “But I’m a little afraid. What will you do if you start crying halfway up and beg me to carry you down the mountain?”

Lu Zizheng shook her head and gently rubbed her forehead against Jiang Huaixi, saying unhappily, “How is that possible!”

Seeing her half-playful and cute demeanor, Jiang Huaixi softened her voice and agreed, “Mm, then let’s go. At most, I can carry you down the mountain.”

Lu Zizheng ruthlessly exposed, “You can’t carry me.”

Jiang Huaixi raised an eyebrow and said lightly, “Oh? Then why don’t you try crying when the time comes?”

Lu Zizheng couldn’t help but chuckle and teased, “I won’t do that.”

Thus, the preparations began a few days before Qingming. Lu Zizheng earnestly asked Aunt Lin how to make rice balls, determined to personally prepare a picnic lunch for Jiang Huaixi on that day. She also borrowed Aunt Lin’s daughter’s newly bought two-wheeled electric scooter and practiced driving it for two days to get used to it.

On the day of departure, very early in the morning, Lu Zizheng woke up, brushed her teeth, washed her face, changed her clothes, and rolled up her sleeves excitedly to begin preparing a heartfelt lunch. Jiang Huaixi looked at her excited expression, dipped her finger in some flour, and lightly smeared it on Lu Zizheng’s face, mischievously laughing, “Zizheng, why are you so excited like a primary school student going on a spring outing?”

Lu Zizheng wrinkled her nose, lightly huffed, and said, “Huaixi, I see you really need some exercise lately. How about you don’t act as my vehicle and we walk to Qingcheng Mountain instead?”

Jiang Huaixi frowned and unhappily snorted, “You’ve also learned to threaten people recently. Well, tonight you are not allowed to climb into bed.”

Lu Zizheng was startled, silent for a moment, and dejectedly said, “You win…”

Jiang Huaixi proudly raised her eyebrows, feeling pleased as she reached out to help Lu Zizheng roll up her slipping sleeves.

On the way to Qingcheng Mountain, there were mountains and water, and the scenery was exceptionally beautiful. Jiang Huaixi didn’t know where she found a camera; sitting behind Lu Zizheng on the little electric scooter, she clicked nonstop, commanding like a queen, sometimes asking Lu Zizheng to speed up and sometimes asking her to slow down.

To tease Jiang Huaixi, Lu Zizheng sometimes deliberately went against her wishes; when Jiang Huaixi asked her to slow down, she sped up, and when she asked her to speed up, she slowed down, provoking Jiang Huaixi to get annoyed and tickle her soft waist, filling the way with laughter.

After parking the scooter, the two walked up the mountain one in front and one behind. Jiang Huaixi walked a bit and then stopped, sometimes taking pictures of the scenery and sometimes taking pictures of Lu Zizheng. After a little initial shyness, Lu Zizheng gradually got into it, happily playing the role of Jiang Huaixi’s model.

When they reached halfway up the mountain, Lu Zizheng began to feel a bit afraid to look down, only lowering her head and no longer daring to look around. Jiang Huaixi noticed her nervousness, calmly put away the camera, and said, “The camera is heavy, my hand is a bit sore, so let’s not take pictures for now.” Then, she extended her hand, interlocking her fingers with Lu Zizheng’s, leading her to walk up together.

At the moment their fingers intertwined, Lu Zizheng glanced at Jiang Huaixi, who had a calm expression yet contained tenderness, and felt her heart slowly calm down. She smiled teasingly and said, “Still pretending to be strong, saying you can carry me?” Then, she tightened her grip on Jiang Huaixi’s hand and walked side by side toward the heights.

After a long journey, they finally reached the mountain top and saw the Hanshan Temple, where the incense was flourishing and the smoke was swirling.

Lu Zizheng turned her head, with a hint of pleading, and said to Jiang Huaixi, “Huaixi, Aunt Lin said that praying for wishes here is very effective. Can we go in to worship?”

Lu Zizheng originally held a sense of reverence towards these spiritual matters but never had high expectations. However, now, with her heartfelt prayers being so strong, she couldn’t help but want to give it a try, just to find peace of mind.

Jiang Huaixi looked at Lu Zizheng’s hopeful eyes and suddenly seemed to understand why Lu Zizheng was willing to overcome her fear and make the difficult journey to this place.

This silly girl…

How could Jiang Huaixi bear to refuse her? She simply remained silent, took Lu Zizheng’s hand, and led her into the temple.

They donated money for incense and then knelt together on the meditation cushion, closing their eyes and silently reciting their wishes.

Lu Zizheng sincerely made a wish in her heart: “May the Bodhisattva bless Huaixi with good health and a long life.” She recited it three times in her heart before lowering her head and beginning to bow earnestly.

Jiang Huaixi closed her eyes and deeply looked at Lu Zizheng for a moment, a gentle smile appearing at the corners of her lips as she sincerely wished, “Please let Zizheng have everything she wishes for.” After that, she leaned down and respectfully bowed three times, then opened her eyes and prepared to rise.

As she was getting up, she turned her head and discovered that Lu Zizheng was still earnestly bowing, one after another. Her heart couldn’t help but feel a bit sour and softened…

Beside them was a Daoist-looking person who spoke and asked Jiang Huaixi, “Miss, would you like to draw a fortune from the Matchmaker?”

Jiang Huaixi glanced deeply at the devoutly bowing Lu Zizheng, slightly lowered her eyes, and finally nodded gently.

After Lu Zizheng completed ninety-nine bows and stood up, she felt a bit dizzy, almost unable to steady herself for a moment. After a while, she steadied her mind and cleared her head, searching for Jiang Huaixi.

She noticed that Jiang Huaixi was no longer by her side. Lu Zizheng looked around and saw, amidst the crowd, that Jiang Huaixi stood tall and graceful, with her back to her, lowering her head at a stall that said “Fortune Interpretation.”

Just as Lu Zizheng was about to step toward Jiang Huaixi, she saw Jiang Huaixi seemingly sensing something, suddenly turning around to look straight at her. When their eyes met, Lu Zizheng felt that Jiang Huaixi seemed to slightly dodge her gaze, and then looked at her again, revealing a hint of a smile as she walked toward her.

When Jiang Huaixi arrived in front of Lu Zizheng, Lu Zizheng smiled and asked, “What fortune did you draw?”

Jiang Huaixi held her hand, and together they walked outside, her smile carrying a hint of gentleness as she replied, “Mm.”

Lu Zizheng curiously asked, “How is it?”

Jiang Huaixi’s footsteps slightly paused, her expression somewhat serious as she looked at Lu Zizheng, causing Lu Zizheng’s heart to feel uneasy and thump rapidly. Biting her lip, she couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Only then did Jiang Huaixi suddenly break into a smile, her voice gentle as she said, “With you here, it is naturally the best fortune.”

Lu Zizheng’s heart relaxed, and she couldn’t help but smile, teasingly saying, “Is it fun to scare me?”

Jiang Huaixi raised her eyebrows and lightly laughed, saying, “It’s quite fun.”

Lu Zizheng lightly huffed, pretending to be angry, turned around, and without waiting for Jiang Huaixi, walked out on her own.

Jiang Huaixi stood in place, watching Lu Zizheng’s slowly retreating figure, the smile at the corners of her lips gradually fading, and bitterness slowly creeping up to her brow and eyes.

In her ears, the voice of the fortune teller rang out: “The person in your heart, the heart in the person. Flowers in the mirror, the moon in the water; this is the fortune of balanced peace.”

“This fortune indicates that you are a young couple, a match made in heaven, deeply in love. However, deep feelings do not last long, and the blessings are shallow; it is likely that you will find it difficult to grow old together.”

LP: Re-translated on September 14, 2024

1. Qing Ming Festival: Literally meaning Pure Brightness Festival, takes place on the fifteenth day after the spring equinox. As a holiday devoted to remembering and honoring the deceased, people sweep and decorate gravesites, burn incense. and paper money, and make food offerings.