Chapter 22: Irene’s letter

Tuan Tuan and I accompanied the weak Ru Xue to the tree. That was Irene’s last words. Here she left Ru Xue a letter. When Ru Xue woke up, I told Ru Xue the news. After all, this was Irene’s last wish.

I felt a little sad as I watched Ru Xue laboriously digging up the soil under the tree. I wanted to help, but was stopped by Tuan Tuan, who said to me, “Chengyi, from now on, you have to adapt to the role of a friend, just like Master Jiang and Grandma Lingqing. Besides, since it was Irene’s last wish, Ru Xue must want to take out the letter herself.”

Tuan Tuan’s words made me feel mixed emotions, and I thought of what Ru Xue had told me all the way.

“The number of times the poisonous dragon can be summoned is limited.”

“If I marry Bu Zhou, it will be the best solution for the village. Not only will it bring years of peace, but the power of the Black Rock Miao Village will also be divided into two factions, and I can still play a certain role in the middle.

“I think I can’t marry anyone before I forget you. I always feel that I can’t forget you for the rest of my life. Maybe you will gradually forget me. But it doesn’t matter. The women of our Miao village have always dared to love and hate. A heart that is bound will not regret it. Thank you. I’ve been fine for the past six months.”

Thinking about these words, I was stunned. The wind gradually blew, like blowing up the bitterness in my heart, making my mouth bitter. Looking at the figure under the snow-covered tree, I really wanted to rush over and tell her, “Okay, I’ll stay in the Miao village.”

But I hated my own rationality. I knew I couldn’t, so I simply turned around, lit a cigarette, and dared not look at Ru Xue again.

When the cigarette was almost burnt out, Tuan Tuan told me that Ru Xue had received the letter.

It was a thick letter. Ru Xue sat under the tree and started reading it. Before she started, she said to me and Tuan Tuan, “I’m afraid I can’t handle it alone. Let’s read it together.”

So we saw Irene’s life.

When Irene met Lin Chen, it was in the spring three years ago. Spring is always Kunming’s best season, with flowers in full bloom and the wind not cold.

The first time she saw this man was at her sister’s shop. That year, Irene was 22 years old and had just returned from studying abroad.

He was wearing a black suit, black shirt, black pants, and his black hair was a little messy, but his dark eyes were exceptionally deep.

This man’s face is good-looking, not handsome, but a three-dimensional, manly look. This kind of three-dimensional look should have a feeling of vicissitudes of life, but the faint smile on the corner of his mouth makes him look young, uninhibited, and somewhat proud.

At that time, he went to buy flowers at the shop of his sixth sister. Irene hid in the shop and secretly watched him. It was really rare that a Han man could be so rough and yet so chic.

He bought the flowers and left quickly, never once looking at Irene, or perhaps he didn’t even notice her.

Irene’s heart quickly calmed down. It was just a fleeting glance of a chance encounter, leaving a good impression of the man, but not a ripple in her heart.

The love of a Miao woman is hot, unique, passionate, and lifelong, but it is not something that can be easily given.

When she turned around, she saw Irene’s gaze and teased her, “You’ve fallen for a Han man? Do you think he’s better looking than our Miao men?”

“Yes, he is good-looking. I don’t like the kind of man who is too soft and effeminate. I told Ru Xue that my husband must be a proud, upright man.” Irene is a straightforward woman who doesn’t hide her feelings.

“Pride and standing tall are not about appearances, silly girl.” Sister Liu didn’t care. Every day, the flower shop had many customers. A man who bought flowers, whom she had met by chance, was just a passer-by in their lives.

But is he really a passerby?

The second time she saw that man was on the bus to Cuihu the next day. That day, Irene sat alone in a window seat, her head leaning against the window, watching the hustle and bustle of the city slip by her eyes, her face calm.

At that moment, she smelled a nice smell, a faint smell of tobacco mixed with the smell of detergent on his clothes, plus a hint of the unique musky smell of a man, which suddenly surrounded her.

There are differences in the smell of men. Just as many men have a stinky sweat smell, but whose smell is so good? Irene looked up and saw a pair of deep eyes looking at her with a playful gaze.

It was him, the man from yesterday, who was now standing next to Irene, looking at her with a playful expression.

The fire-like Irene, who was never timid, felt a little hot in her ears, but would she be afraid of a man’s gaze? She would not lose, and she continued to stare at the man bravely. The two were in silence, their gazes crossing.

The bus was crowded, but it seemed that only he and she were left, staring at each other in the bus.

Time seemed to have stopped at this moment. Gradually, the playful look in his eyes turned into a smile, and a smile spread across his lips. He spoke up, “I saw you yesterday, in the flower shop. You hid inside and watched me. I saw you.”

His voice was deep and pleasant, with a hint of rising pride, as if he were bewitching people.

For the first time, Irene felt a sense of defeat in her pride, because he had actually noticed her. He had discovered that she was peeking, but she could never lose face. She replied in a crisp voice, “Where did I peek? I was blatantly looking! Are you men allowed to look at women, but we women aren’t allowed to look at men?”

He smiled, his deep features, the corners of his mouth turned up, and suddenly because of this hearty laugh, his pride and uninhibitedness turned into sunshine, as if he had already seen through Irene’s pretentious toughness. He said, “My name is Lin Chen. I was thinking yesterday that if I met you a second time, I would tell you my name.”

Lin Chen, it turns out that his name is Lin Chen. At this moment, Irene’s calm heart finally melted because of this smile. She said, “My name is Yang Can. This is my Miao name. My parents’ Han name is Cao. I didn’t give myself a Han name. My nickname is Xiao Xiao. You might as well call me Cao Xiao Xiao.”

“It’s very complicated,” he said with a smile.

“So, have you remembered it?”

“Xiao Xiao, a very cute name. I remember it. I’m going to Cuihu. What about you?”

“Me too.”

“Do you mind if we go together?”

Erin smiled. She must not mind. In the early spring at the Green Lake, she was surrounded by a flamboyant man with a nice smell.

This is how Irene met Lin Chen.

Words are just symbols, cold and devoid of any emotion, but in this beautiful scene, Irene has frozen it in her letter with such deep affection that even when she thinks of him, every word she writes is full of beauty.

They met like this, and it seemed that they were destined to fall in love.

“There will be such a man in your life. He was born to fulfill all your fantasies about a man. He may be poison, but you are willing to take it. Who let him fulfill all your aspirations? This man appears in your life, and you may just have a secret crush on him, and then you miss him. You may also confess your love recklessly, but you will get a polite rejection in return. But what if you fall in love with him? I think that is the love that is willing to give everything once, even if this time, it is already poisoning you to the bone, and it is hard to forget, and then it will be a scourge for the rest of your life.

“Ruoxue, so, you forgive me, forgive me for being willing to burn myself for him, to do anything, even if I betray my family, my friends, you, and our village.”

Seeing this, Ru Xue shed a tear. I sighed. Perhaps in front of Irene, Ru Xue and I were not brave enough. Perhaps, Ru Xue and I were too brave, so brave that we were afraid to face each other.

Poison? Maybe when I decided to be with Ru Xue for half a year, I was taking poison. She was the same.

The letter continued, recounting everything that had happened between Irene and Lin Chen. They fell in love the day after they visited the Green Lake together, and for the rest of the time, they were inseparable. It was a time when even the sun seemed golden and honey-like, and the world was no bigger than the people in love.

Until the night when Irene was leaving Kunming…