Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 89
Jun Lin, I am destined to owe you.
Zi Jin gave a bitter smile. What was she doing? She'd only been isolated for a day, and she was already wallowing in self-pity? But was the person who haunted her dreams every night really here? Was this obsession from her past life, or her own? She couldn't figure it out… she just couldn't understand…
"What are you doing here?"
"Thinking about things."
"What... are you thinking about?"
"Imagine life, imagine the road ahead, imagine the direction."
Is thinking so much useful?
"Aren't you going to talk nonsense?! It's useless for me to think about it... Who are you?!" Zi Jin finally lost all her patience and impatiently opened her eyes, only to be startled by the magnified face.
Although dusk had fallen and the surroundings were gradually darkening, the person before him seemed like a natural luminous being, casting a strange, ethereal glow upon the area. His almost translucent skin and silky silver-white hair complemented each other beautifully. His warm, dark eyes shimmered with layers of light, and his pure, youthful face was exquisitely beautiful yet subtly alluring. A white, flowing robe draped casually over his body fluttered in the wind, accentuating his captivating, otherworldly charm.
"Just passing by." The white-haired youth casually sat down next to Zi Jin, raised his eyes and smiled gently, his smile as pure and charming as a lotus flower blooming in the morning.
Zi Jin stood frozen in place, her heart a jumble of emotions. It was the same white-haired boy from the Moon Kingdom palace four years ago, a boy who seemed like a celestial being. Four years had left no trace on the boy's face. The enchanting and innocent boy from back then seemed to still be standing there, with the same appearance, the same voice, and the same smile.
Four years had passed, and I had transformed from a child into who I am today. Since that parting, I had countless times imagined we might meet again sometime in the palace. Over the years, I thought I had long forgotten that thought, but when he reappeared before me, I realized… I had never forgotten. His brows and eyes were so familiar that I recognized him at a glance.
But no matter what, I never imagined we'd meet again in the Chen Kingdom's palace. Who is he? I remember seeing him with west Le before? Who could he be?
The white-haired youth seemed uncomfortable under Zi Jin's gaze, subconsciously tugging at his robes before raising his eyes with a faint smile: "Have we... met before?"
"Huh?! Ah... no... no, no."
The white-haired youth seemed a little uneasy, tugged at his robes, a smile playing on his lips, yet remained silent.
Following the boy's hand, Zi Jin noticed that his white robe was stained and torn at the waist, making him look extremely disheveled. However, his innate elegance and otherworldly charm completely concealed his disheveled state.
Zi Jin knew it was understandable that the young man wouldn't recognize her, after all, she was so different from how she was four years ago, even her voice was no longer the same. But for some reason, a faint sense of loss and bitterness welled up in her heart. But that faint sense of loss and bitterness was quickly buried by the joy of reunion.
The young man's gentle eyes looked at Zi Jin's ever-changing face with a puzzled expression: "That..."
"Um?"
"My hand hurts a lot." The boy looked at Zi Jin with a hint of grievance.
Zi Jin was slightly taken aback. Although it was already dark, with the faint light, Zi Jin could still see the boy's hands. One hand was clenched into a fist, and the other was open, but his hands, which should have been flawless, were covered with scratches, and upon closer inspection, it seemed that there were also scratches on his wrists: "How did he get injured like this?"
"I didn't mean to... I accidentally..." The boy awkwardly covered the injury on his hand, like a child who had made a mistake and was waiting to be punished. His injured hand twisted at his robe, and blood seeped out little by little, smearing onto the robe.
Zi Jin gently pulled open the robe that had been abusing her fingers, and took the hands covered in scratches in her hand: "Why don't you apply medicine?"
"I'm lost." The boy seemed a little shy. He turned his face away, but did not reject Zi Jin's tugging. However, he did not let go of the hand he was holding.
"Let me find someone to take you home."
"No, they'll see, that won't be right." A hint of anxiety flickered in the young man's eyes.
Zi Jin looked at the boy's robes and the wounds on his hands: "Then come back with me, and I'll apply medicine for you."
"Being seen..." the boy said sullenly, lowering his head.
"Don't worry, nobody goes there."
The boy tilted his head and looked at Zi Jin for a while, as if deep in thought, then nodded gently.
Zi Jin, holding the boy's hand, quietly entered Weiyang Palace under the cover of darkness. Suddenly, a white shadow flashed by, and Zi Jin, caught off guard, quickly pulled the boy to hide in a corner.
"Is the hot water ready? Has the young master not returned yet?" Xiaopu's voice rang out from afar.
"Everything is ready. Shall we call the young master back to bathe?" The other voice should be Xiaoshuang's.
"The prince said that as long as the young master doesn't leave Weiyang Palace, we don't need to restrain him so much. Just wait."
"Yes." The words had barely left her lips when the sound of footsteps receding into the distance could be heard.
Once the noise subsided, Zi Jin pulled the boy up and quickly slipped into her bedroom, locking the door tightly behind her. Releasing the boy's arm, Zi Jin let out a long sigh of relief.
The boy stared blankly at his arm, which Zi Jin had released, his expression somewhat strange.
The dim, yellowish light from the glass palace lamp in the hall created an ambiguous and mysterious atmosphere.
"Um...you find a place to sit first, I'll go find the medicine."
The boy walked thoughtfully to the bedside, sat down, and looked around with some curiosity: "I... think I've been here before."
"Hmm, really?" Zi Jin replied casually, looking around for her little bundle. Wait a minute, I remember Xi Le brought it back, where is it? Where did she put it?
"I seem to have been here in a dream..." the boy murmured softly, a faint weariness and dazedness between his brows, and he gently closed his eyes.
After searching for a while, Zi Jin finally gave up, assuming that Xi Le had already taken the bundle away. She casually picked up the wound medicine from the cabinet, walked to the bedside, and saw that the boy had already fallen into a deep sleep leaning against the bed rail.
His long, curled eyelashes, like fans, formed a beautiful arc in the dim light. He had a pert nose and delicate, baby-like, rosy lips with a faint smile. He was breathing evenly and sleeping soundly, but his eyes were dark and purplish, and his brows were furrowed with a deep weariness and exhaustion, suggesting he suffered from chronic insomnia.
Zi Jin tiptoed into the inner room, found a cloth, and wet it in a basin of water at a suitable temperature.
She gently wiped the wounds on his hands, and if he felt even the slightest discomfort, he would frown and groan softly. After wiping with one hand, the other hand, which had been clenched into a fist, remained tightly gripped. Zi Jin slowly pried open that hand, and the sleeping boy did not resist; his fingers loosened one by one. With a "clink," a shiny object slid to the ground, making a crisp sound.
The boy suddenly woke up and quickly checked his tightly clenched left hand, a hint of anxiety flashing in his gentle eyes.
Zi Jin picked up the item; it was an exquisite agate earring inlaid with gold. A flicker of emotion crossed her eyes before she handed it over: "Such exquisite earrings are quite rare."
The boy took the earring, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and held it in his palm again, a smile playing on his lips as if recalling something. His dark, warm eyes shimmered with light, and his smile was as beautiful as a flower: "It fell off while we were boating on the lake yesterday. She was very worried and searched for it all day before finally finding it."