When you laugh, when you laugh
Mais en lisant ta lettre
But when I read your letter
Je vois qu'il n'y a plus d'espoir
I know there is no hope left.
Je sais que tu ne viendras pas
I know you won't come.
Au rendez-vous ce soir
Keeping our appointment tonight
J'avais tout préparé
And I have made careful preparations.
J'avais tout décidé
And I have made up my mind.
Mais tu ne viendras pas
But you won't come.
"What is this poem about?" Yu Nan became interested in the content of the poem for the first time.
Zhu Yao was speechless. Previously, Yu Nan would never ask her what poems she was reading; she would just search for them randomly.
"What it says... is probably unrequited love."
Yu Nan felt a tightness in her chest. "Then, would you ever experience unrequited love?"
"I won't," Zhu Yao put down her phone, lay back on the bed, and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling in the dark room. "I'll probably be single for life. I've lost the ability to like someone."
What if someone is pursuing you?
Yu Nan did not receive a reply.
In the early hours of the morning, Yu Nan woke up first and unintentionally saw that Zhu Yao's face was covered with tears.
"Are you alright..." After hesitating for a moment, Yu Nan woke Zhu Yao up.
"It's nothing," Zhu Yao wiped her eyes. "I'm a bit sensitive to unfamiliar beds, and I tend to have nightmares in unfamiliar places."
"You're actually afraid of nightmares?" Yu Nan teased.
Zhu Yao smiled and shook her head.
She wasn't afraid of dreaming about demons and monsters; she only dreamed about her family and her childhood.
I remembered the days of strict discipline after I was taken back by that "family".
There were very few tourists on the mountaintop in the early morning.
The mountain wind was cool, and the wind blowing in her face made Yu Nan shiver. Fortunately, Zhu Yao had brought an extra jacket, which she was currently draping over Yu Nan's shoulders.
"Let's go soak in the hot springs, there's no one around at this hour." Yu Nan pulled Zhu Yao towards the back mountain.
The pool was very large, and Zhu Yao and Yu Nan were several meters apart, looking at each other in silence in the darkness.
It was very quiet all around, with only the howling mountain wind and the faint chirping of cicadas.
Yu Nan walked over to Zhu Yao and leaned against the same rockery.
"Are you scared?" Zhu Yao asked, turning her head.
"Hmm," cowardice had become Yu Nan's excuse for openly approaching Zhu Yao.
Weren't you scared when you lived alone before?
"No, if you don't look at things related to ghosts and spirits, you won't be afraid if you don't know them."
Zhu Yao laughed, "So, was your previous fearlessness self-deception, or is your current fear self-deception?"
"I think so."
Yu Nan thought to herself that she was not deceiving herself, but rather "deceiving others".
Therefore, being taken care of by Zhu Yao is not bad.
"Zhu Yao, is there anything you're afraid of?"
"Yes," Zhu Yao looked up at the starry sky. The night sky over Mount Kongtong was clear, and the Milky Way could be seen clearly.
There are many things in this world that are more terrifying than ghosts and gods.
She was afraid of her past, afraid of her hysterical mother, afraid of her strange and domineering father, and afraid of her classmates' whispers.
“Then I can protect you,” Yu Nan said with a grin, resting her chin on Zhu Yao’s shoulder and wrapping her arms around her from behind. “I’m not afraid of anything except ghosts and gods.”
Zhu Yao let Yu Nan hug her; after all, her niece often hugged and cuddled during college.
“You’re still just a kid in your early twenties,” Zhu Yao flicked Yu Nan’s forehead. “I’m almost thirty, I don’t need you to protect me.”
"Furthermore, there are too many things in the world that are beyond our control. Ghosts and gods are just legends, but human malice is endless."
"Will my sister have any ill intentions towards me?" Yu Nan's eyes sparkled in the night.
Yu Nan's eyes are barely open during the day, but she's very energetic at night.
"No," Zhu Yao was speechless for a moment.
"Then I'm not afraid anymore!" Yu Nan was very satisfied with her answer, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter.
Zhu Yao shook her head helplessly.
After leaving the hot spring, the two arrived at the mountaintop, where there was a campsite.
Some people are taking pictures of the stars with their equipment, while others are preparing to watch the sunrise.
Yu Nan and Zhu Yao leaned against each other, looking up at the starry sky.
"Look over there, that's Vega and Altair."
Yu Nan pointed to the starry sky, and Zhu Yao looked in the same direction and saw a Milky Way, but she couldn't tell which star Yu Nan was referring to.
"The brightest stars in the southeast direction are Vega in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus, and Altair in Aquila, which together form the Summer Triangle."
Zhu Yao squinted and looked closely. "There seem to be two small stars below the Cowherd."
Yu Nan nodded. "They are the legendary pair of children."
"It really is like being separated by the Milky Way..."
Zhu Yao was amazed. She had only ever heard of the mythical Cowherd and Weaver Girl separated by the Milky Way, with their children by the Milky Way.
Unexpectedly, the stars and the legends could correspond.
“The legends are all false,” Yu Nan said, mercilessly ruining the romantic atmosphere. “They were all made up by people in ancient times when there was no science.”
"Ghosts and gods are fake, so why are you afraid?"
Yu Nan sighed, "That's different..."
Zhu Yao stopped teasing her and slowly watched the sky turn white.
People who had been hiking at night gradually came up, and everyone stood on the mountaintop gazing into the distance.
As dawn broke, vendors began setting up their stalls.
"I'm going to buy ice cream, do you want some?"
Zhu Yao nodded.
Yu Nan stood up, walked towards the ice cream truck, and soon returned with two ice creams in her arms.
Just a moment after she left, a man and a woman stood beside Zhu Yao, looking at her with mockery.
Yu Nan hesitated for a moment, then stood behind a tree and pretended to pass by. Zhu Yao had her back to the tree and couldn't see her.
"Isn't this Miss Zhu?" the woman said sarcastically. "It's been over ten years, and you're still a lesbian?"
"Ugh, that's disgusting," another person said, covering his mouth and nose. "How can two women be doing this together?"
After they finished speaking, the two began to laugh strangely, drawing sidelong glances from those around them.
Zhu Yao ignored him, only clenching her fist into the hand hanging by her side.
“He’s a top student, with a broad perspective and progressive ideas.” The woman curled her lip. “Let’s go, don’t get infected.”
The two left as if avoiding a plague, accompanied by bursts of strange laughter.
Yu Nan stood behind the tree for a while longer, then walked back to her original spot with the ice cream in her hand, her expression unchanged.
"I just set up my stall this morning, and the ice cream wasn't ready yet, so I had to wait ages..."
Yu Nan sat down and handed Zhu Yao a cigarette, saying, "Here, this is for you."
Zhu Yao glanced at it and saw that the ice cream cream had melted and was sliding onto Yu Nan's hand, looking very sticky.
Zhu Yao took the ice cream and handed a tissue to Yu Nan.
"It's so hot today!" Yu Nan took a big bite of ice cream, as if venting her frustration.
“Yes,” Zhu Yao replied with a smile, “It’s really uncomfortable to stay outside when it’s hot.”
"I heard there are monkeys on the mountain that steal things from tourists and even hurt people. They're noisy and unruly, so let's go down the mountain soon."
Zhu Yao was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."
Chapter 31 Playing Games with Wolf Knife
"The sun is rising!" someone shouted from the side.
The two looked to the east, where the pale sky was tinged with golden orange, then slowly turned red, and a red sun slowly peeked out from the horizon, dyeing half the sky red.
The rising sun blazed like fire, scorching the vast sky.
The mountain mist was tinged with gold, like ribbons wrapped around the mountainside, and peach blossoms covered in morning dew could be seen in the distance.