Kiyomi Tsuki et son renard

Chapitre 9

Gradually, he saw her surrounded. The crowd's harassment did not faze her at all; this woman seemed to have some courage.

What happened next was entirely predictable, until she said she had a stunningly beautiful face! At that moment, he didn't miss the fleeting smile in her eyes.

A stunning beauty? He had seen her real face, and it wasn't as exaggerated as she described. So she must have dressed up specially today, deliberately creating suspense and making people anticipate her appearance. See, he wasn't wrong, was he? To be worthy of him, she must have put a lot of effort into her face.

The face mask was finally about to be removed, and unconsciously, he began to feel a growing sense of anticipation. He even forgot to put down the teacup he was holding, keeping it suspended in mid-air. He thought to himself, "This woman really knows how to play hard to get! Just how beautiful is she trying to attract my attention? I'm going to have to see for myself."

But the moment the face mask was removed, the teacup he had been holding clattered to the table, splashing tea everywhere. He was oblivious to it, his eyes wide with disbelief, utterly dumbfounded for the first time in his life.

In a daze, he thought he saw her smile at him, a smug smile. A sudden chill ran through him, and he quickly snapped back to reality, lowering his head involuntarily. The next moment, he heard her soft, gentle voice: "From the moment I was born, the midwife, unable to bear delivering a child like me, gouged out her own eyes as atonement. My mother was so grief-stricken that she died on the spot. My father never wanted to see me again. Although I have a stunningly ugly face, I never intended to harm anyone. My life has been lonely and miserable because of it, with no one to rely on. And I'm so ugly. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry everyone..."

No way! Long Ming felt he couldn't take it anymore. For the first time in his life, he realized that his heart was actually very fragile...

Hearing those words, I couldn't help but feel a chill...

…………

The next chapter will be about the two of them climbing the western cliff; I'll update it as soon as possible. My two fingers were scalded by hot water and I applied medicine, so typing is a bit difficult. I hope it will be better tomorrow.

Main text: A Lover's Date

With a sob, he saw Tian Xiri feign pain and run away, and heard the sighs of the few remaining people on the street. For a moment, he was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Clearly, he had been tricked by her again. But for some reason, he wasn't angry like before; instead, he found it quite refreshing. Perhaps it was because Tian Xiri had made him look so ugly that this time, he felt much more comfortable.

There was something he hadn't expected: this young lady from the Tian family, despite being a young lady confined to her chambers, actually knew the art of disguise, and it seemed quite sophisticated. If it weren't for the fact that the Long family also had considerable knowledge of disguise, and that he hadn't seen her real face, he probably wouldn't have been able to tell that the face was fake.

He suddenly wanted to know what Tian Xiri's background was, that he actually knew the art of disguise.

Just then, the streets of Suzhou were quite deserted, so there was no need to worry. With a swift movement, he flew from the window onto the roof and disappeared among the buildings in a few leaps.

In the distance, he saw the three figures disappear at the end of an alley; so that's where she lived. Unable to move easily during the day, he didn't approach, planning to investigate her further at night.

As night fell, he carried a flask of wine and walked under the cover of darkness to Tian Xiri's residence. He stopped on a rooftop, knowing that she must be nearby, but he did not rush to find her. Instead, he leisurely lay down, gazing at the starry sky and drinking the aged green wine in his hand.

Tonight, the sky is deep blue, and the stars are scattered across it, twinkling playfully, just like the night sky his mother held tightly in her arms before she passed away, gazing at it together. On nights like this, with the bright moon and stars filling the sky, his mother would tell him stories about the constellations.

The night sky tonight was just like the one he had dreamed of for many years. He loved this kind of night sky, and he loved this kind of starry sky, as if his mother were still by his side.

In his childhood, he had a happy and fulfilling family. The Long family was extremely wealthy, and his father was not only highly skilled in martial arts but also exceptionally handsome. Back then, his father was far more popular than he is now. However, his father only married his mother in his entire life. People say that the men of the Long family are devoted to their wives, and this saying originated from his father.

He remembered it clearly, even though he was still young at the time.

My mother didn't have the so-called stunning beauty, but she became my father's only true love in his life.

He remembered that when he was little, his mother, like him, was sometimes a mischievous child, always wanting to play pranks on him. His father was always exasperated by them, but there was nothing he could do. The two of them caused his father a lot of trouble, but he never scolded them. He only secretly told him, "Xiao Ming is a man; you must protect your mother..."

At that time, he felt that his father loved him and his mother so much.

My mother was seriously injured when she was young, and her body was very weak. Every month she had to take strange pills with a bloody taste to keep her alive. After giving birth to him, her health deteriorated further, and the life-sustaining pills became less effective. My father tried every means to find the best doctors in the world and to find all kinds of precious medicinal herbs, trying every possible way to prolong my mother's life, but in the end...

He and his mother, his father clearly loved his mother more, but he wasn't jealous. On the contrary, he only felt happy because his mother loved him more.

But when he was ten years old, his mother passed away. His father missed his mother day and night, and was almost inconsolable. Within a year, his black hair had begun to turn white.

He clearly remembered that one night, also like this, he sat side by side with his father, and he told him the stories his mother had told him. That night, his father stared at him blankly, as if he saw his mother through him. When he saw that tender and cherished look in his father's eyes again, he couldn't help but tear up. But his father told him, "Men of the Long family can suffer, but they cannot cry."

From then on, he never cried again.

He always remembered clearly how his father looked at his mother with the same eyes that looked at the most precious treasure in the world. At that time, he was too young to understand what love was. But as he grew up, he gradually hoped that there would be someone in his life who would look at him like that, or be looked at like that by him.

Over the years, it wasn't that he didn't want to deal with his own romantic relationships; he was just silently waiting for the one and only person who belonged to him to appear.

Just like mothers and fathers, they may not necessarily stay together for a lifetime, but they will never forget each other.

Could that person be Tian Xiri, who had suddenly appeared? He didn't know, but he had already realized that Tian Xiri was the most special among the women who had surrounded him over the years, and the only one he had ever truly paid attention to. After a whole day of thought, he finally made his decision! He, Long Ming, was a man of his word. He had made a promise beforehand, and since she had truly passed that hurdle, he would never break his promise to give her the opportunity he had made.

He'll give her a chance to spend time with him. Let's start tonight, since he's already here.

Just then, footsteps sounded. Looking down, he saw Tian Xiri approaching alone, carrying a lantern. Unexpectedly, the rooftop where he casually landed was her bedroom. Long Ming smiled, casually lifting a few tiles, thinking to himself: Would this count as peeping? For a gentleman like himself, this seemed rather inappropriate. But if he were to suddenly appear before her like this, wouldn't it seem too forward? Oh well, he might as well remove a few more tiles; that way, she'd eventually notice him, and it wouldn't count as peeping then.

With a single move, five or six pieces of rubble were removed, instantly creating a large hole in the roof, allowing a clear view of everything happening inside.

He saw Xi Ri enter the house, close the door, and put down the lantern. Long Ming suddenly tensed up, thinking to himself: "Wouldn't she change and go to bed right away? This... I didn't mean to peek. There's such a big hole in the roof, how could she not notice?" Long Ming stared intently at Xi Ri in the room, hoping she would notice him soon!

Finally, he saw Xi Ri holding a book, leaning against the soft couch and reading by lamplight. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt uneasy. A woman was lying right in front of him, and he was on her roof. He really felt like a womanizer! Thinking of this, Long Ming also found his actions quite interesting. It was the first time he had ever spied on a girl from her roof... This feeling was really strange.

Just as he was pondering this, a soft "Huh?" came from inside the room. He looked down and saw that she had put down the book she was holding and was looking up at him defiantly. Their eyes met, and Long Ming suddenly felt his heart begin to beat faster...

There's a poem that goes something like this: "Silence speaks louder than words..."

He abruptly raised his head and took a swig of wine to calm his wildly beating heart. Then he looked down at her again, gently curving his lips into a smile, and said as if bestowing a favor, "You've passed."

I thought she would be overjoyed, but to my surprise, she just smiled faintly and replied, "So what?"

He suddenly felt at a loss, abruptly withdrew his gaze from her, and without answering, lay back on the roof, gazing at the starlight, trying to calm his thoughts.

He was acting very strangely today. Was he drunk? He picked up a piece of rubble and fiddled with it in his hand. The night was so familiar that it made him think of his mother.

A gentle feeling crept into his heart, and as if possessed, he blurted out, "Let's start dating." But he regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

The person below chuckled and replied, "Why should I go on a date with you? You're boring."

He suddenly flew into a rage, crushing the rubble in his hand. This was the first time in his life he had ever asked a woman out, and she dared to be so ungrateful. He snapped, "You just don't have the guts to come, do you?"

She replied, "You didn't have to deliberately crack the tiles so I have nothing to cover my roof tonight! If it rains tonight, do you expect me to bring a jar to catch the rain after making such a big hole?"

Crack, crack, crack—three consecutive sounds of tiles shattering rang out. So what if he broke them on purpose? "Even if I tear down your entire roof, what can you do about it?"

"Who says I don't have the guts to go? You tell me the time and place! I'll be there!"