Chapter 2: New Life

I had a fever for two days, and Chengxin, Ruyue and Qinhuai took care of me during that time. Mr. and Mrs. Zhang also came quite often!

This year, Mr. Zhang took care of me a lot. Brother Chengxin and the others came because Mr. Zhang saw that I was getting out of control.

That night when I was drunk, it was also Lao Zhang who took them all over the city to find me.

Two days later, my fever had subsided and I was almost back to normal. Ru Yue said she wanted to talk to me. In fact, they had all been avoiding talking to me for the past two days, and Ru Yue was the first to talk to me.

It was about Ru Xue.

I think that Ru Yue is more open-minded than I am when it comes to Ru Xue. After a short period of sadness, Ru Yue recovered and became even stronger and more energetic. I was curious about why this was, so I decided to talk to Ru Yue.

After a brief digression, she did start talking about Ruoxue. Her first words to me were: “Sister isn’t stuck in that dark, gloomy Dragon Tomb. She only goes there every once in a while to ‘perform a spell’ to make the bugs fall asleep. The rest of the time, she lives in that forest. Isn’t that great?”

“What’s good about it? You can’t see your relatives or friends.” There was another thing, which was selfish, that I didn’t say, and that was that she and I would never see each other again.

In response to my words, Ru Yue sighed softly, looking at me as I drank the porridge, and said to me, “Third brother, if that forest is really as beautiful as you and Cheng Xin described, like a secluded paradise, then my sister wouldn’t be so sad there. For so many years, you have never understood your sister. She is the kind of person who likes to keep everyone important in her heart. She doesn’t need to be with someone every day. She only needs to know that these people are in her heart, just as she cares about these people, and these people also care about her.

I put down my bowl and looked at Ruyue, as if I had realized something.

Ruyue continued, “In fact, my sister is very miserable. She is guarding the Moon Weir Miao Village, and she is also guarding the Dragon Tomb. But that kind of fairyland is full of spiritual energy, and there are so many senior cultivators, as well as so many rare medicinal herbs. My sister may have even gained some good fortune. Third brother, do you think there is anything wrong with that?”

Yes, what’s wrong with it? I was stunned!

Ruyue sighed and said, “Third brother, didn’t we say that we would bless my sister and let go of it with a clear heart? Just let go. Although I know that this is easier said than done and takes time, you have to let us see that you have let go of it.”

I didn’t say anything because I knew that Ru Yue was right. Didn’t we agree on this? It’s just that my heart hurts too much. That scene of parting was too tragic for me, so I just let myself sink into sadness.

Everyone who cares about me is “spoiling” me. My brother and sister, friends, and relatives are all giving me time to digest my pain. Aren’t they sad? They just don’t want to bother me. Some things can’t be done by others, just like Ru Yue said, I need time, but now, it’s been a year, isn’t that enough time?

Thinking of this, I touched my unshaven face and suddenly smiled. I petted Ruoxue’s hair like I used to when she was little and said, “I know. In a few days, Chen Chengyi will be back. Ruoxue will live well there, and Chen Chengyi will live well there too.”

When she heard this, she smiled, just like when she was a child, with a wrinkled nose and a very cute smile. It was also like a ray of sunshine, illuminating the gloomy mood I had been in for the past year.

Outside the window, the snow had stopped long ago, and outside the window, there was a rare winter sunshine. The sunshine shone through the window, making me squint my eyes, and it was so warm and comfortable that I felt relaxed for the first time in a year. This kind of relaxation made me feel so good that I even felt like breathing was easy.

I didn’t know when Qinhuai stood in the doorway and saw me, suddenly clapping his hands and shouting, “Tsk, welcome, our hero Chen Chengyi is back.”

I looked at Qin Huai and said, “If you keep exaggerating like this, I’ll fight you one-on-one.”

Qinhuai quickly walked up to me and pulled me up from the bed. He shouted, “Let’s go to the bathroom and see if you’re exaggerating or I am.”

I had been drunk and dreaming for a year, and for the past two days I had been lying in bed almost all the time. My steps were a bit unsteady, and it was almost Qin Huai who helped me into the bathroom.

As soon as we entered, Qin Huai pulled me to stand in front of the mirror, then he stood behind me, holding me, and said loudly, “Look at yourself, Chen Chengyi, who is exaggerating in the end?”

I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was messy, my eyes had no light, and I had lost a lot of weight this year because I drank a lot and didn’t eat much. I drank and then vomited, and even my stomach was a bit sick. How could I not lose weight? In addition, the beard that hadn’t been shaved for a long time made me look like I was ten years older, like a wild man from the mountains.

“You’re not going to say anything, are you? You think I’m exaggerating, don’t you? If I hadn’t known you for so many years, I would have already remembered your eyebrows and eyes clearly. Don’t move…” While Qin Huai was talking, he was busy working quickly. First, he used a hot towel on my face for a while, then he put on shaving cream and started shaving my beard with a razor.

I didn’t say a word, and let Qin Huai help me shave my beard. It was just like the time in the courtyard when he used water to help me fix my hair, and he made me look like a “good student” instead of a “Cui Jian style” so that I wouldn’t get beaten up by my master when I went back!

The beard mixed with shaving cream fell off in strands into the sink, just as my decadent and sad emotions were gradually being shaved off. My face became clean and my mood gradually settled down.

The pain of training and the pain of sinking, I used it for a year, and finally I am almost at the light. Master, I understand a little.

After ten minutes, Qinhuai carefully shaved my beard clean. Looking at myself in the mirror, I smiled and Qinhuai handed me a comb, saying, “Brother Chengxin is waiting for you outside. He said he wants to go for a walk with you by the river and talk to you. You’d better clean up a bit. Take a shower! If you’re in good spirits, what else is there to let you down? You’ve made yourself into that state, just waiting for someone to feel sorry for you?

“Come on, don’t be so annoying. I know.” I turned on the water heater and quickly took off my clothes. Qin Huai was still standing there.

“What, you still have to watch me take a shower, right?” I teased Qin Huai.

“Well, every time I came to see you this year, including the day when you were so cold that you still held my goddaughter in your arms to see you, you were always in a state of dying, and you almost said that I was a decadent beggar. I’m really not used to this.” Qin Huai shook his head and said.

I smiled and threw my clothes over his shoulder, saying, “Come on, you’re just afraid that I’m a handsome guy who’s back and is going to steal the limelight from you. You think I don’t know?”

“Fuck, you can save it.” Qin Huai smiled and left. I could see that he was really happy.

Chen Chengyi may have been unfortunate, leaving home as a child, leaving his teacher as a young man, and losing the woman he loved in his life. But Chen Chengyi was also very lucky, because the people around him were very sincere in their feelings for him, including everyone who left.

The hot water hitting my face, my thoughts were as simple as that.

After taking a shower and tidying up, I felt much more comfortable. Qin Huai accompanied me all the way out the door and down the stairs. He told me that my brother was waiting for me in the courtyard. I couldn’t understand why my brother had to make such a big deal out of it.

When I was walking downstairs, Qinhuai suddenly stopped me and said, “Chengyi!”

“Huh?” I turned around in surprise and saw that Qin Huai’s expression was a bit complicated. I frowned slightly and didn’t know what Qin Huai was talking about.

“I… I plan to get engaged to Ruyue after the Spring Festival next year. It’s either marriage or engagement.” Qin Huai said it in a stammering voice, as if it was something that couldn’t be seen in the light, and he deliberately explained to me that it was only an engagement, not a marriage.

I frowned and looked at Qin Huai, and suddenly walked over to him. Qin Huai thought I was going to hit him, and subconsciously ducked his head. But I gave him a bear hug and whispered in his ear, “Buddy, I’m really happy for you, really! Be happy with Ru Yue! Do you want me to say this a hundred times before you’ll be relieved?”

Qin Huai let out a sigh of relief, then also moved to hug me, and then left and punched me, saying, “Can I be at ease? I always feel like I’m taking advantage of someone in trouble, and besides, Ru Yue has liked you for so many years, and now you and Ru Xue are like that, I always feel like I should be engaged to Ru Yue, it’s not right, thinking about whether to give you a chance, if you have Ru Yue it would be better? I’ve always thought so.”

Qin Huai listened carefully and said to me.

I gave him the finger and said, “Idiot!”

Qin Huai was amused and not angry.

Then I turned around and left, saying, “Come on, a sister will always be a sister. The happiest thing for me is for you to be nice to her. In this world, no one can replace anyone, and no one’s feelings can be so great that they can be given away, because feelings are not things! I will be able to marry you someday, just like Ruoxue and Yueyue, and someday, I will also be able to marry you with a clear heart. That’s it.”

Qin Huai didn’t say anything in the back, but suddenly he cursed in Sichuan dialect: “Chen Chengyi, you son of a bitch, you just pretended to want to beat me, scared the hell out of me!”

I laughed a few times, looked up, and saw my brother Chengxin standing at the gate of the courtyard, leaning lazily against the door, smiling at me.