Chapter 49 (Part 1) (2/2)

Truthfully speaking, a person like me didn’t have any hobbies beyond minding other people’s business.

He lifted his eyes to peer at me. Beneath the folds of his white robes, I could see the tail of that parrot hiding behind his body. He only smiled, just looking.

He seemed so cold that I started to have a guilty conscience. I wondered whether the intelligence and eloquence of this bird had already blabbed out everything to Fang Hua. Forcing a smile, I backed away and prepared to make a stealthy escape.

And yet, he chose this moment to open his mouth, eyes staring intently at me as he spoke like a lonely gentleman of a good family. “I want to brew some wine, but I don’t know how.”

Ah…

If you didn’t know how to brew, would I know instead?! I was still an amnesiac.

I lifted my eyes to look at the skies, but couldn’t resist looking back to him again.he was dressed very simply, but the first rays of the sun that shone on his face outlined his jaw, forehead, and eyebrows, making it a bewitching sight. You could even say it was completely picturesque, like jade so fine it approached the appearance of snow. His charm stopped me and my timidity in its tracks.

I shook my head.

“To want to brew wine…hehe, Lord Hua’s tastes are elegant and refined, however…” I pointed with my finger as I glanced uncertainly at his side. “This is the first time I’ve heard of putting flowers in wine.”

He lowered his head, holding back a smile. The curve of his eyebrows seemed to suggest a flirtatious air.

F…flirtatious air?

“Y-you drank alcohol?” I scooted over suspiciously.

“Just a taste,” he smiled gently, expression as mild as always. Yet that elegant profile held a different charm than usual.

That…’just a taste.’ I looked over and discovered a large jug of wine by his side, the top off and the contents completely empty. Right now he was leaning against the ground, looking at me as he pointed at the empty wine jug. “There used to be a person who could brew delicious wine every time. But I’ve wasted all the jugs…”

“I had a pa.s.sing whim to drink again, I can’t capture the same flavor when I’m brewing, even though I was the one who taught her how to make it in the first place. Now I keep thinking that I’m missing something.”

I crouched there as I listened, unsure of how to reply. His hands rested on mine, the mole beneath his eye dark red.

“Can I entreat you…to brew together with me?”

“What entreating?” I rolled up my sleeves. “I’ll just go ahead and help you.”

I took the chance to glance at the parrot burrowing into Fang Hua’s robes and bared my teeth in a show of strength. Since I was helping its master, its tattling wouldn’t have much effect on him.

Fang Hua stared at me in a daze. He was very attractive. Blood rushed upwards as I lowered my head, focusing on grinding, picking, and laying out the flowers to dry. He stayed silently by my side, not speaking. Occasionally, I’d look his way and catch his gaze on me every time.

Strangely enough, an odd feeling rose in my chest. It almost resembled fermenting wine, slowly growing sweeter and more mellow. Time flew by like water until the evening sun cast its oblique rays upon us. He quietly watched me as I foolishly continued to work, wasting half my day by his side. My legs had long turned numb by the time the wine jug was full. Taking advantage of my work, he grabbed a small dish with his long, slender fingers and ladled out some wine. Giving me a broad smile, he lowered his head to taste a sip.

“How is it?” After working for most of the day, I was using my sleeves to wipe my face.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted this flavor.”

“Really.” I took a sip from his plate.

Huh?

This flavor was very queer…it was obviously astringent and not tasty at all, extremely clas.h.i.+ng for the taste buds. I choked and started to cough uncontrollably, ladling up a large spoonful of water to rinse my mouth.

The liquid that had just been brewed in the jug tasted like nothing except flowers. There wasn’t a hint of alcohol, yet he raised it to his lips and drank greedily…as if it was excellent wine.

This person was pretty weird, enjoying himself like this so much…

I stared at him while he was totally unawares. After a while, it seemed he’d been reckless enough. His body relaxed and sluggishly collapsed in my lap. I stiffened in response, my scalp turning numb as my face grew hot in surprise. “Aiya, what are you doing…a man and woman…” Shouldn’t be so intimate together.

My voice gradually faded out.

He raised his head to look at me, not knowing where to point with his hand holding the jug. He ended up hugging the container to his chest instead. Even his gaze seemed intoxicated, and my attempts at persuasion gave up to let him do as he wanted…

He didn’t seem to have any alcohol tolerance at all.

“What exactly is romantic love in this world…?” A soft voice asked searchingly.

Yeah, what exactly was it? My heart echoed his question.

His hand clutched at the front of my clothing as he scooted closer. That tipsy gaze turned towards me as he spokely indistinctly. “How far have you and Zichuan gone? Have you tasted the flavor of romantic love?”

I lowered my head to look at him, probably wearing a strange expression on my face. This guy…what exactly did he want to hear? When I didn’t reply for a long time, he drew closer, making me topple backwards from the weight. In the end, he ended up lying on top of me. He seemed to regard me with a disdainful glance that almost seemed a bit cold…and yet, it was a distressful look as well.

Why did he always make my heart pound and ache?

“He’s my husband,” I forgot to dodge the question and replied honestly. “The two of us are blood relations[1].”

“Teach me. I can do it too…”

He flipped over, hand resting around my neck. His cheeks were as red as peach blossoms, and his eyes seemed to s.h.i.+ne with a light that was both intoxicated and stupefied beneath his slender eyebrows. He was looking at me with an expression of suffering…

My chest felt stifled as it strove to beat out of my chest. I hastily pushed him aside and got to my feet in a panic, back facing him as my heart pounded like thunder until it was hard to breathe.

Too shocking.

There was a laugh, but it sounded immeasurably lonely.

Astonished, I turned my head. He was half-lying on the ground, head propped in his hands with effort. Soft light illuminated his features and his beautiful expression of longing as he gave a self-ridiculing laugh. “Look at me…” Fang Hua kept laughing until his body trembled, before finally hiding his face away. His voice was low as he spoke. “It seems that we’ve only met recently. Yifu shouldn’t scare you like this…”

He was drunk, so I couldn’t tell whether he was laughing or crying. At the very least, he was still clutching the wine jug to his chest, and that laugh was cold enough to chill the liver. For a long time afterwards, I remembered the words he spoke.

He said, in the lonely dusks to come, only that jug of wine could be warmed…

I didn’t understand him then. By the time I did, it was too late.

-o-  Original and most updated translations are from volaretranslations.

[1] blood relations (肌肤之亲) －jifu zhiqin, basically bonded by blood, or family.