175 Untitled (1/2)
”Princess, you must not-”
”Pah!”
With a flick of his claw, the guinea pig had thrown a chicken bone into the mouth of the person exaggerating, and the bone locked itself between her upper and lower gum.
Annoyed, Meng Fuyao smashed her bowl on the thunder and said, ”Not even letting me complete my sentence! How am I supposed to live?”
Beside her, Yun Hen sighed. ”I have already heard that dramatic scene thrice.”
Meng Fuyao pouted her lips and pushed the bowl. ”Not hungry!” she shouted, and she left straightaway, refusing to look at anyone.
A person quietly ate his wantons in deep thought, and the guinea pig squatted in front of him, showing a sympathetic expression of ”master, you're in trouble”.
Smiling, Zhangsun Wuji caressed the guinea pig, causing him to dance in joy. As the guinea pig offered his half-eaten nut, his expression had already changed to one of ”the trouble lies with Meng Fuyao, master is forever victorious”.
Zhangsun Wuji stuffed that nut back in the guinea pig's mouth as a form of affirmation, then grabbed him and headed straight towards a room. Behind them, Yun Hen silently gazed at their figures for a few moments and turned his head away.
Out of the blue, Ya Lanzhu asked, ”Yun Hen, what's your feeling?” She still had a mouthful of soup, so her question sounded more like a mumble.
Yun Hen turned to look at her, and sparks flew by in his clear eyes. Without answering or raging, he pushed aside his chair and walked over to the window, choosing to watch the impending nightfall.
His bamboo-like silhouette seemed to be embedded into the dark backdrop, appearing lonely but resiliently bright. But even that firm brightness was inevitably coated with a darker shade, radiating soft glimmers of sadness.
Meanwhile, Ya Lanzhu refused to give up and went up to him. Tilting her head, she suddenly said, ”Actually, I know how that feels.”
Yun Hen looked back and was met with her smile. At that moment, she was no longer the radiant, colorful and cheerful girl, but more mellow and depressed.
She said, ”I like Zhan Beiye, and I have been chasing him for five years.”
There was so sign of shyness on her face. Openly, she told Yun Hen, ”For five years since I was 12 years old, I have chased after him from Fufeng to Heaven Demon, then to Taiyuan, Wuji, and back to Heaven Demon again. In the end, it became a natural habit, and I ended up being the joke of Fufeng. My parents would scold me every time and ground me in the palace, but I would always escape either through climbing past the window, digging a tunnel, faking death, or bribing my attendants. Then, my parents confiscated my allowance so that I would have no money to survive outside, but I sold all my expensive jewelry, and even the gem on the royal seat was not spared. The whole of Fufeng knew that Princess Ya was an obsessive woman, and had lost her mind from chasing after men - the more they disapproved or laughed at my actions, the more unwilling I was to give up. What did they know? Did they ever wash the heads of their mothers? Did they ever bleed for their subordinates? Have they ever starved themselves to hunt down their enemies, just to let their nation enjoy peace? These people merely sleep on their beds and kick away the women who wash their heads - they are the universally recognized men, the machos, but not the ones I acknowledge.”
Stunned, Yun Hen wanted to say something, but in the end, he chose to be silent.
Ya Lanzhu's expression suddenly changed to one of wistfulness. ”I chased after him for so long that it became a routine. There were many times when I felt very, very tired, and I terribly missed home, but I would assure myself to hang on for a while more. Zhan Beiye might have been avoiding me, but one day I would become an inseparable part of him, and he would not be able to do live without me. It has been five years, five full years, and Zhan Beiye has already gradually become number towards my chase, sometimes even smiling at how disheveled I look. Hence, I thought that the day was approaching… then, Meng Fuyao appeared and then, it was love at first sight for him.”
Cocking her head to one side, with her big round eyes glistening under the moonlight, she questioned Yun Hen, ”So, what do you think I should feel?”
Yun Hen froze, and he instantly felt that it was hard for him to talk. A few moments later, he tried to explain, ”She didn't do it on purpose…”
”Look at you, look at all of you, the first reaction is always to defend her as if I would eat her up,” interrupted Ya Lanzhu. Though she giggled, her smile had a hint of helplessness. ”Meng Fuyao has a tough life, but at the same time, she's very lucky. All the people she met are people who understand, love and protect her. Compared to her, I often feel that I have nothing at all.”
After she sat down, Ya Lanzhu kept her hands beneath her colorful robes and slightly swayed as she wistfully watched the stars shining brightly in the horizon. ”Today, in the palace, when I saw how miserable and ugly Lotus was after she brought demise upon herself, I felt that she did it only because of love. Only because she wanted love, and I am no different from her. But when I saw her state, I suddenly felt shivers all over my body. I don't want to be like her, that's too pitiful.”
”I like Zhan Beiye, and I like how righteous and frank he is. So, I also want to be a frank and righteous person to be able to stand by his side. If not, if I look down upon myself first, how will Zhan Beiye even take a look at me?”