Geisteswissenschaftliche Fakultät

Kapitel 36

In a daze, I seemed to hear someone speaking to me. The dense darkness enveloped my body, and the comfortable feeling was so intoxicating that I unconsciously chose to ignore the untimely source of the sound from the outside—even though the voice was actually sweet and gentle. However, the owner of the voice did not give up because of my turtle-like behavior. On the contrary, she continued to call my name with that beautiful voice even more persistently.

"Get up, don't sleep!" The voice gradually amplified as my senses were forced back to their senses, causing me to unconsciously frown. On the other hand, perhaps to enhance the effect of this "soul-calling," after a touch of slightly icy body temperature, the attack on my face changed to a more ruthless tactic.

"Ouch!" I jolted awake with a start, opening my eyes with a cry of pain. My eyes, still lost in a dream, inevitably narrowed when they came into contact with the bright orange-red. I squinted, trying to identify the culprit that had woken me from my dream.

"Lazy girl, sleeping in a place like this again? What if you catch a cold?" Holding two cans of ice-cold soda, my cousin Xiaoqiu stood in front of me with a smile. Her long black hair swayed in the wind, and her delicate eyebrows and eyes looked especially beautiful in the bright sunset.

I instinctively shifted back a little. It's always been like this. Although we're sisters by blood, I didn't inherit any of the beauty from my mother's family, nor did I inherit the deep-rooted talent from my father's side. With neither striking looks nor any real talent, I felt utterly inferior to a beauty and a talented woman like Xiaoqiu. Besides, Xiaoqiu's character was impeccable—gentle, kind, intelligent, and beautiful. It puzzled me for a while that such a person would choose to live in a small county like Fengshui. After all, Xiaoqiu, who seemed like a figure from a painting, was a top student who graduated from a prestigious university. When almost everyone thought she would settle down in a big city, my cousin unexpectedly dragged her luggage back to this closed-off and backward county and chose to inherit the family's inn. It must have been almost a year ago.

"Silly girl, how could you fall asleep sitting on the stone steps? Even though it's summer, it'll still be cold at night." Xiaoqiu said, pulling me up and handing me a can of soda.

"Ah, I... I don't know why, I just suddenly fell asleep..." I said softly, my voice still sounding groggy and listless, as I had just woken up.

In early summer, the grapevines are laden with green leaves, their intertwined, curled branches swaying gently in the breeze, casting golden shadows on the ground. I casually brushed aside the playful branches and walked onto the path. The winding cobblestone path was crowded with deep green evergreen plants on both sides, densely clustered around it like a crowd of onlookers. Looking at them, I often had the illusion that beneath their still surface, they were living beings with breath and a heartbeat, and that my every move was being observed without fail.

"Sister, have you ever thought that they might hear what we say?" I asked my cousin Xiaoqiu, who was sitting next to me, with a strange sense of unease.

"Who? Who could hear me?" Xiaoqiu turned to ask me, her long hair swaying in the wind with her movement. Her hair, originally a brownish-black, was now bathed in a clear yellow under the setting sun, like the color of amber.

“Those…plants…” I stammered, knowing my thoughts were too strange. From a young age, I couldn’t help but think about strange things, like talking plants or foxes that could turn into human form. My mother said I used to tell everyone I’d seen a walking radish. These things earned me the nickname “liar” when I was young, which I only gradually shed when I entered junior high school. But that was only because as I grew up, I learned not to tell others my thoughts so easily anymore. However, those absurd ideas never stopped popping into my head, even though as time went by, I gradually began to understand how ridiculous my thoughts were.

"Plants?" Cousin Xiaoqiu frowned, tilted her head to think for a moment, and then smiled, "It's not impossible. It seems that some botanists claim that plants also have their own language and ways of communicating, for example... um..."

She unconsciously twitched her small nostrils, a habit that her cousin Xiaoqiu had had since childhood. Whenever she started to think hard, she would involuntarily make this cute gesture.

"Sorry, I can't remember." She smiled at me regretfully. "Qin's ideas are always very unique. Your cousin can't keep up with your thinking."

This time it was my turn to feel embarrassed. Xiaoqiu's kindness is that she never shows disdain or ridicule for my absurd ideas. She will seriously consider the rationality of my ideas and never be perfunctory with me.

"I was overthinking it." I put my hands in my pockets. Unlike my cousin Xiaoqiu, I'm the kind of tomboy who has no femininity at all. I have short hair, like to wear sporty clothes, and because I'm 1.7 meters tall, many people have mistaken me for a boy. I even had the embarrassing experience of receiving chocolates from girls on Valentine's Day.

"Ah, I almost forgot about the important matter," Xiaoqiu suddenly exclaimed, startling me.

"Hmm, is this serious business?"

"You'll see when you come with me." Xiaoqiu smiled mysteriously at me, then turned and walked towards the front hall.

****

"It's been more than ten years since we last met..." As soon as we reached the front yard, we heard my uncle's loud voice. Although my uncle, who used to be a physical education teacher, was nearly sixty years old, his voice and temper were still as impatient and loud as a young man's.

“It’s been fourteen years, Cousin Jin Cai. That year, the child was only six years old.”

A gentle female voice came from inside. She must be quite old. Her voice sounded very calm yet had a kind of resilient tension. Was there a guest? My cousin was talking about something important.

"Ah, it must have been at the old man's funeral. It's been so many years."

"Dad, I've brought Qin." Cousin Xiaoqiu tidied her hair and entered the hall first.

I followed her in, head down. Contrary to my appearance, I was actually quite shy. Even though I was at the age where I should be learning to face society, I stubbornly refused to leave my own little world, resisting excessive contact with others. Perhaps this was due to my peculiar mind. I hurried inside, my peripheral vision only catching a glimpse of two people sitting on a carved mahogany chair on the other side.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is my daughter, Xiaoqiu." My uncle got up from his chair and led my cousin to the guest. He also gestured for me to follow. Although I was reluctant, I walked up to the guest with my head down.

"Hello, Auntie," Xiaoqiu greeted obediently, and on the other end came the guests' praise.

"Have you grown so much already? What year are you in college this year?"

"Yes, I just graduated from university a year ago and now I help out at home."

"Ah, right, Xiaoqiu is three years older than my son, and he's already graduated," the guest remarked. "And this is..."

“This is Sister He Qiu’s child, the girl named Qin, do you remember her?” My uncle introduced her enthusiastically, as if I should be very familiar with this unfamiliar guest.

My cousin Xiaoqiu nudged me from the side, urging me to say a few words too. I hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and looked up, only to freeze in shock.

The guests standing before me included a middle-aged woman with short, neat hair and impeccable attire, clearly a well-mannered person. Although she was of advanced age, she still looked remarkably young. What was rare was that this youthfulness wasn't the result of using expensive skincare products, but rather an inner radiance emanating from her peaceful and youthful state of mind. However, what surprised me wasn't the middle-aged woman, but the young man standing before me.

I stared at him in astonishment, just as he stared at me in surprise.

"How could this be..." I muttered to myself. The man standing opposite me, though much taller than me, had such a similar face to mine that for a moment I thought I was seeing myself in the mirror.

"Qin, say hello!" Perhaps annoyed by my rudeness, my cousin Xiaoqiu had to speak up to remind me.

I suddenly snapped out of my daze and came to my senses.

"Hello, my name is Luo Qin." I was at a loss, not knowing who the other person was or how to address them, so I could only use "hello" as an inappropriate greeting.

"Is this Sister He Qiu's child? Let me take a good look at you." The middle-aged woman took my hand and examined me from head to toe with such focused eyes, as if she wanted to see something out of me.

Strange, why aren't they surprised? I look so much like that guest's child.

"How are your parents doing lately?" After a long while, she finally took my hand and asked.

"It's...not bad." I'm not familiar with my parents' generation of relatives. Apart from my cousin Xiaoqiu's family, I don't know who else they are. Although I've heard that my father's family seems to be a very prestigious family with a distinction between the main family and the branch family, I hardly know any of them because my parents never interact with them. Even my uncle Jincai's family only started to reconnect after I was admitted to the school where my uncle was.

"That's good... Sigh... When Sister-in-law He Qiu and the others left back then, I was really reluctant to let them go, but I couldn't keep them..." She sighed, seemingly lost in memories, yet still holding my hand tightly. I awkwardly turned my head away, unexpectedly meeting a pair of eyes—dark, bright eyes, like the night absorbing all light, possessing a frightening beauty. Those eyes belonged to him, to the young man who looked just like me.

"Mom, how long are you going to hold onto that person's hand?" Perhaps sensing my embarrassment, he spoke up to help me out, his voice calm and gentle, reminding me of a lake under an autumn sky.

"You child, how can you talk like that?" The middle-aged woman looked at him reproachfully. "My child is always so disrespectful. It's all my fault for spoiling him too much since he was little."

"Not at all, Lin is a very outstanding child," Jin Cai's uncle chuckled, not forgetting to praise him a few times.

So his name is Lin, I thought to myself, it really does suit his temperament.

"Jin Cai, it's time to eat," his aunt called from the kitchen.

“Okay.” The uncle agreed and said to the guests, “Let’s have a light meal in the side hall. You must be tired from your journey. Eat early, take a bath, and get some rest.”

As he spoke, he led the middle-aged woman away. I hesitated, wondering whether to go with her to eat or go back to my room to catch up on some sleep first. My drowsiness from earlier hadn't ended just because Xiaoqiu interrupted me. At that moment, I felt completely drained.

"You...can see it, right?" The man suddenly stopped and asked me as he passed by me.

“Look…?” I stared at him blankly. My cousin Xiaoqiu had already left, leaving only the two of us in the large hall. His figure was turned away from the door, and the last rays of sunlight weakly shone in through the open door, obscuring his face in the dim darkness.

"Didn't you realize?" He seemed to pause for a moment before speaking, "You can see it." Leaving me with a meaningful glance, he turned and left, leaving me dumbfounded, my sleepiness completely gone.

My uncle's house was an old-fashioned Jiangnan-style mansion, directly opposite the Fengchuan River, from which the county town was named. A long, gentle, light blue river flowed past the faded vermilion gate, and occasionally you could see improved small boats coming and going on the waterway—those that didn't use motors and moved slowly on the river were mostly passenger boats; those that started their motors and sped across the river were mostly cargo ships transporting cloth and silk.

The house dates back to the Guangxu era, thus exhibiting the architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The enclosure, made of blue bricks and white walls, stretches for dozens of meters, and within the courtyard stand two brick houses with upturned eaves and bracket sets. The first two-story building is now used as a hotel, catering to tourists seeking out historical sites in Jiangnan, while the second house served as the family's residence. Several side rooms were also converted for kitchen and other utility purposes. A screen door separates the two houses, leading to a small garden both inside and outside the door.

After showering, I sat alone on a stone bench in the garden to cool off. It wasn't quite the start of summer yet, and even though the daytime temperature had already exceeded twenty-five degrees Celsius, the garden still felt slightly cool after sunset. Looking at the starry sky, my mind was still lingering on that first meeting before dinner.

"You can see it." Luo Lin's face suddenly appeared before me, his dark eyes staring intently at me, as if hiding endless meaning, and it was that meaning that inexplicably made me feel extremely irritated.

What can I see? I waved my hand in frustration, deciding to give up on pursuing the question. This man, who looked remarkably like me, had a completely different temperament. At least I wouldn't be so rude as to say such nonsensical things to someone I'd just met, causing them so much annoyance.

Thinking of this, I pursed my lips and decided to go back inside to watch some TV. Just as I stood up, I suddenly realized that someone seemed to be secretly watching me from outside the viewing door. I looked over in confusion. The semi-circular door wasn't fully closed, and the bright golden light from the carved lanterns with bulbs shone through the gaps in the door, leaving a thin golden streak on the blue brick floor, like the winding gold threads embroidered with flying dragons on the emperor's robe I'd seen in operas as a child.

"Is anyone there?" I called out as I walked over. But when I reached the door, there was still no answer. Could it be a thief? I chuckled to myself as I tried to push the door. The hinges had been lubricated just two days ago, so it was effortless to push. I was worried about hurting the person outside, so I didn't use much force.

"Huh? Nobody's here!" The outer room, with its wide-open door, was a brightly lit garden, but there wasn't a soul in sight. I looked further into the distance; not far away was the side room used as a kitchen, where I could vaguely see some figures hurrying about, and occasionally hear Mandarin spoken in various accents. It seemed a tour group had arrived. These guests always arrived late, yet they were all very picky. Arranging their food and lodging always took quite a bit of effort.

I turned to close the door, feeling bored, but suddenly someone tugged at my clothes. Looking down in the direction of the force, I saw a boy, probably around ten years old, standing in front of me. So he was the one who had been watching me from outside. He was wearing plain clothes and was standing in the shadows of a tree, which was why even with my good eyesight, I hadn't noticed him immediately.

"Is there something you need?" I leaned down and asked him.

The little boy was very handsome, with a pair of large, bright eyes set in his slender, oval face, as beautiful as the stars in the sky. He tugged at my clothes, staring intently at me, as if trying to discern something.

"Is there anything I can help you with, sister?" I asked him, reaching out to pat his head. But the moment he saw my hand outstretched, he suddenly let go of my clothes and ran away quickly.

"What's going on?" I stood up, somewhat frustrated. The lights in the distance were brilliant, but I could no longer see his small figure. The little guy's movements were surprisingly nimble. He was probably curious about the scenery in the park, so he sneaked over to take a look without telling the adults. I thought to myself, I reached out to close the door, but when I turned around, I found someone standing behind me—Luo Lin.

“You…” He looked at me, his delicate brows furrowed, as if I were some kind of detestable being.

"If you have nothing to do, please don't stand behind people silently and scare them, okay?" Perhaps provoked by his disgusted look, coupled with the terrible impression from our meeting earlier that day, I instantly felt aversion towards Luo Lin. After throwing out those harsh words, I turned and left, not intending to give him another chance to speak. But then I felt a tightness on my shoulder; he was blocking my way.

“Originally, I could have just ignored this, but you…” He hesitated for a moment, as if considering how to begin, “After all, we’re relatives, and it would be too heartless not to remind you. If you don’t want to get into trouble, then don’t have any further contact with the person you just met.”

"What are you talking about?!" I was really angry. I shoved his hand off my shoulder and turned to look him in the eye. "What do you mean by 'no more contact'? Who exactly are you? And what about that thing from earlier today? What do you mean by 'I can see'? Explain that to me! Don't always leave things unsaid!"

Actually, I'm usually a very good-tempered person, so much so that I often don't even know how to refuse when asked to do very troublesome things. But for some reason, I inexplicably become easily angered when facing Luo Lin. Looking at that face that looks exactly like mine, an inexplicable fire instantly ignites in my heart. It seems that this is what they call being born incompatible.

"I won't listen to you unless you explain yourself clearly." I looked up at him, trying to put on what I thought was the most arrogant expression.

"Whatever you want." He smiled instead, his thin lips parting to reveal a breathtaking beauty. Strange, we have the same face, so why can't I ever smile like that? I unconsciously pulled at my cheeks, trying to mimic his expression.

"Of course you don't have to listen. I'm just doing my duty as a relative." He nodded slightly to me. "Well then, goodbye."

I watched him turn and walk away, bewildered. In the lamplight, his figure appeared somewhat blurry. Hmm, that wasn't blurry?! It was... two figures?! How... how could there be two Luo Lins?! I watched as Luo Lin's figure walked and walked, and suddenly it turned into two, with one of the Luo Lins even turning around and winking at me from afar, his expression exaggerated like a naughty child.

I rubbed my eyes, but when I looked again, he had already turned the corner of the eaves and disappeared.

Two Luolin?

I slapped my forehead and suddenly realized that I might really need to get a good night's sleep, otherwise how could I have started experiencing hallucinations?

"Qin, this is your favorite dish, diced fish with fermented black beans, Qin... Qin?"

"Hey, girl, what are you spacing out for!"

"Huh?" Startled by Uncle Jin Cai's loud voice, the chopsticks in my hand fell to the ground with a clatter and landed under the table.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" My cousin Xiaoqiu, who was sitting next to me, bent down to pick up the pair of dirty, gold-lacquered wooden chopsticks and asked me with concern.

"I'll go get you a new pair of chopsticks." Uncle Zhang, the head chef sitting at the same table, quickly stood up and went to the kitchen to get me some. Although my uncle's family didn't have a strong sense of hierarchy, they were still an old family with many years of tradition, and some rules couldn't be completely abolished. Besides, Uncle Zhang's family had been serving the Luo family for generations. If even a branch family was so particular, I couldn't imagine how strict the rules must be in my father's main family.

Speaking of our family... I couldn't help but steal a glance at Luo Lin sitting across from me. He was intently devouring the pile of food in his bowl, showing absolutely no concern for my lapse in behavior. But why? I rubbed my eyes and looked again—still two?!

Two Luo Lin!

Last night I thought I was seeing things, but it's clearly daytime now, so why do I see two people sitting where there should only be Luo Lin? Two Luo Lins! No, it's not so much that two Luo Lins are sitting side by side, but rather that you can see the other Luo Lin through the shadow of one Luo Lin. The two shadows are overlapping, and one of them keeps looking up and making faces at me. That look is just... unbearable!

"What are you doing?" Uncle Jincai stared at me in astonishment, as if I had done something outrageous.

"Uh...me?" I looked at my uncle with some confusion, and then followed his gaze. Only then did I realize what I had done. Then, a loud bang rang in my ears, and I was completely stunned.

"Hey, cousin, what's wrong with me?" I lay on the bed, burying my face deep in the pillow, and no matter how much my cousin Xiaoqiu pulled me up, I just wouldn't get up.

How embarrassing, so incredibly embarrassing! What on earth happened to me? I... I actually ran up to a boy who was practically a complete stranger and reached out to grab his face. This is just... I pounded my pillow in frustration, but... why were there two Luo Lins? And why didn't my uncle and the others notice?

"Qin, can I ask you something?" My cousin Xiaoqiu thought for a while before answering me in a serious tone.

"Say it," I said, pulling at my short hair, strand by strand, as if I wanted to pluck it all out. It's a habit I've had since childhood; from the past until now, whenever I encounter trouble, I unconsciously destroy my hair, as if plucking out a single hair would lessen my worries. Maybe when I'm bald, everyone will forget the embarrassing thing I did, I thought wistfully. I hope they forget soon, otherwise I won't dare go out.

"You..." Cousin Xiaoqiu hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Have you fallen for Luo Lin?"

"What..." My cousin's question startled me so much that I almost fell off the bed.

"Cousin, are you...are you kidding me? How...how could I..." I pounded my chest, coughing violently. It turns out people really can choke on their own saliva!

"Don't lie to your cousin," Xiaoqiu smiled at me knowingly. "I noticed it a long time ago. You took a liking to him as soon as he arrived, didn't you?"

"My dear cousin, where did you get this conclusion from?" I collapsed again in exasperation. My cousin's conclusion was truly astonishing.

"Your cousin noticed, didn't she? The day Luo Lin arrived, you stared at him for a long time. You still say you've fallen for him?" My cousin nudged me. "Little girl, you're still a long way from fooling your cousin!"

I was staring at her? Oh, it was that girl. I sat up, feeling bored, and shamelessly grabbed my cousin's hand, pulling her close.