Kiyomi Tsuki et son renard

Chapitre 12

"Once upon a time, there were seven fairies. The youngest of them was named Weaver Girl. She secretly descended to earth and married the Cowherd, and had two children. Later, the Queen Mother of the West caught them and separated them. After that, she allowed them to meet once a year on the Qixi Festival. That was the end."

"Hmm...this story is really cliché."

"Can we go now, Young Master Long?"

"Tell me another one."

"Are you ever going to stop?!"

"It's not over yet."

"..."

“You just killed a living being,” Xi Ri said, pointing to the limp snake under the boulder.

"Snake meat is delicious. I'll take it back and make snake soup to eat later."

"How cruel..."

"Anyway, it's already dead."

"Then why do you still eat it? That's even more cruel."

"Can you eat something that's immortal?"

"You are so cruel."

"Are you ever going to stop?"

"It's not over yet." Xi Ri finally turned the tide.

"..."

"I have an apple, do you want some?" Long Ming pulled out a red apple from somewhere and handed it over.

Xi Ri glanced at it, then turned her head away and said, "I won't eat."

"Hmm... Luckily you don't eat it, I've been wanting to for a while..." Just as Long Ming was about to put it to her mouth to bite, Xi Ri snatched it away.

"You gave it to me first." Xi Ri opened her mouth and took a bite, thus establishing ownership.

"Luckily, there's still one left." He took out another one and took a bite.

After finishing the two apples, Xi Ri casually tossed them off the cliff, and only after a long while did she hear a soft sound. Then she heard the person behind her sigh, "Miss Tian, don't litter. It would be bad if you accidentally hit a child, and even if you don't hit a child, it's not good if you hit the flowers and plants."

Looking back, I saw Long Ming smiling softly. Was this Long Ming? Could she be possessed by a ghost? Shock…

Long Ming chuckled softly, his mood quite pleasant, and said, "These words were spoken by my mother before she passed away. This boulder was also the place my father loved to bring us to when my mother was alive. Whenever there was a night like this and the moonlight was like this, my father would bring my mother and me here. Occasionally, he would catch a snake or two and cook snake soup for me. That's why I love the moonlight and starlight here the most, and the snake meat here. Hehe..."

He smiled gently, as if he had returned to the past, when the three of them would watch the stars and the moon here. His father would bring him and his mother some apples to eat. His smile was so gentle. Under the moonlight, it was as if he had returned to the happy past.

At this moment, Xi Ri stared blankly at him. Beside such a handsome man, under such starlight and moonlight, a tranquility and tenderness she had never felt before washed over her.

She also had a loving mother who had passed away, but she was not as lucky as him.

Although her father also doted on her and her mother, his love was divided into several parts, and she grew up amidst intrigue, scheming, pretense, and deception.

Gaining her father's favor and the affection of her aunt, who was the Empress Dowager, were things her mother had required her to learn from the moment she was born.

I remember when I was three years old, when my father was holding me, I was hungry and wanted to eat, but I forced myself to resist because my mother had said that being able to let my father hold me for one more second was the most important thing, and I had to endure everything else.

Over the years, she has been careful and prudent, obedient and charming in front of her father, and always trying to appear noble, generous, knowledgeable and reasonable in front of outsiders. She is also considerate and coquettish in front of her aunt, doing everything she can to make her aunt smile.

She was taught by her mother to dress up however she pleased as long as it pleased the person who needed it.

Until her mother passed away, she grew tired of competing for her father's favor with her other siblings, tired of going back to the palace to try and please her aunt, and tired of always living for the opinions of others. Perhaps it was her mother's meaningful words before she died that made her change; she began to indulge herself.

Since arriving in Suzhou, she seemed to have become increasingly indulgent, to the point that she no longer recognized herself. But this feeling of indulgence was wonderful, truly wonderful; she began to like it, genuinely liked this version of herself…

It seemed she owed all this to one person, someone who made her cast aside all constraints and become so carefree. She turned to look at the man behind her and saw that his gentleness was gone, replaced by sorrow. He must have been thinking of his family. He had just said that his mother was gone too. A tender pity washed over her.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Long Ming suddenly asked.

Xi Ri paused for a moment, then sighed, "Such a beautiful day, with such a handsome young man like Young Master Long by my side, I can't help but sigh at how time flies. I wish the sun would never rise, I wish the sun would never rise..."

"Alright, why does that sound so cold?" Long Ming looked at Xi Ri as if she were a monster.

She was displeased; he had clearly learned that expression from her, and it was always her who should look at him that way. She hadn't intended anything, but her malice had been stirred up. She suddenly turned and crawled towards where Long Ming was lying, laughing as she went.

"What are you laughing at? Why do you look so vicious and sinister?" Long Ming said, subconsciously getting up and moving back.

"Heh, heh." Xi Ri chuckled dryly. She reached out to remove the white cloth strip from his nose.

Long Ming was shocked and dodged backward, unaware that he had moved to the edge of the boulder. Long Ming, whose martial arts were exceptional and whose lightness skill was unparalleled, had once again had his lifelong reputation ruined…

Looking down, one could see a person lying on their back like an overturned turtle under the boulder.

Hahaha... On the boulder, the woman laughed so hard she pounded her chest and chiseled at the rock.

It was past midnight when Xi Ri sneaked back to her bedroom door. The moment Long Ming, with his dark nose and stern face, released her from behind her collar, she gasped for breath. Knowing that Long Ming was deliberately making her feel so uncomfortable, she still smiled, turned around and looked directly at him, deliberately and silently grinning.

Long Ming's face was dark. When he saw her grin again, he snorted coldly, but his eyes were bright. He turned around, pushed off with his feet, and rose into the air, casually uttering two words: "Gone." His clothes fluttered, and he disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

Only after she could no longer see him did Xiri cover her mouth, laugh, and tiptoe into the house.

The next morning, Tian Shuang was combing Xi Ri's hair when she saw her mistress in the mirror, her eyes smiling and seemingly lost in thought.

Miss went out last night without telling them where she was going, and forbade them to follow. She only asked them to secretly impersonate Miss and go inside to rest early, so as not to arouse Liu Mama's suspicion. It was agreed that she would open the back door when Miss meowed three times, but Miss went in by herself at midnight. She dared not ask any questions, as Miss never spoke of things on her own, not even to the late Madam. But looking at Miss's smile now, it seemed that she had a very pleasant night.