Chapter 126.2

After breakfast, Tan Wenbin lay back down on the bed. He had meant to pick up a book and read, but found he could not focus at all. He was restless and irritable.

Lin Shuyou packed up his books and said, “Brother Bin, it’s almost time. First period this morning is Advanced Mathematics.”

“You’re going to class?”

“The last time I went out, I didn’t get a leave slip and got marked absent. If I skip again, I might as well stop going this semester and wait for the makeup exam next term.”

“All right, then. I’ll go with you. Sigh, where did I put my Advanced Mathematics book?”

When Tan Wenbin walked into the classroom, quite a few classmates took the initiative to greet him:

“Morning, class monitor.”

“Class monitor, what a rare sight.”

“Class monitor, you actually came to class?”

The last row was already occupied, but when they saw Tan Wenbin arrive, everyone tacitly squeezed inward and made room for the class monitor in an auspicious spot.

Lin Shuyou sat in the second-to-last row, right in front of Tan Wenbin.

Their Advanced Mathematics teacher was an elderly man whose voice sounded like a radio announcer slowed down to one-third speed.

The moment he started lecturing, Tan Wenbin suddenly felt his eyelids begin to droop.

Yep, here it comes. This was the feeling.

Tan Wenbin lowered his head onto his arm and went straight to sleep.

The students beside him in the back row were amazed. The class monitor truly was the class monitor. He really did not waste a single minute of class time.

Lin Shuyou could only sit ramrod straight and block the teacher’s line of sight for Tan Wenbin.

After the two Advanced Mathematics periods ended, the third and fourth morning classes were in a different classroom. Lin Shuyou nudged Tan Wenbin, but could not wake him. Seeing how soundly he was sleeping, he had no choice but to stay behind with him.

All the other students left. Before long, the next class came in, and it was from the Economics and Management Department.

Their own class had only a few girls; this class had only a few boys. So when a whole group of girls came in and saw that there were two extra boys in the room, they all found it rather curious.

Throughout class, they kept glancing over, making Lin Shuyou blush bright red.

After all, having practiced martial arts since childhood, his build and bearing were first-rate among ordinary people. On top of that, before he had opened up, his personality had always been rather shy.

So Shuyou had actually always been very popular with girls.

Under normal circumstances, he probably would have started dating long ago.

The problem was that ever since military training at the start of the semester, he had spent most of his time lying in a hospital bed recovering from injuries.

After class, a few girls even came over on purpose, wanting to chat and get to know him.

“Ah~”

After sleeping the entire morning, Tan Wenbin felt completely refreshed. He pushed himself up and stretched his arms wide.

Honestly, classrooms really did have the perfect atmosphere for sleeping. He could never sleep this well anywhere else.

“Brother Bin, you’re awake.”

“It’s fine, go on.”

Tan Wenbin ran a hand through his hair, got up, and left. It was noon, and he had to go to the hospital to handle Zhou Yunyun’s discharge paperwork.

Lin Shuyou hurried after him.

“Why are you coming out? I’m going to the hospital.”

“Brother Bin, I’ll go with you.”

“Those female classmates just now were pretty nice, weren’t they? Though they looked unfamiliar. Did they suddenly learn how to dress up?”

“Brother, they’re not from our class.”

“Oh, no wonder. I was thinking they didn’t look familiar. But that doesn’t matter. Wasn’t there one you liked?”

“No.”

“Then what kind are you actually into?”

Lin Shuyou recalled the girl who had made his heart stir last time, only for it to die before it even began, and he shivered at once.

“Brother Bin, I think I’m still young. It’s too early to be thinking about that.”

“All right, suit yourself.”

Tan Wenbin brought Lin Shuyou to the hospital. He first sent Lin Shuyou off to ask when Zhou Yunyun could be discharged, then went into the hospital room by himself.

As he entered, Tan Wenbin spread his arms dramatically and said, “Aha, guess who came to see you!”

Then he saw Zhou Yunyun sitting on the bed, with Zheng Fang sitting beside it.

Tan Wenbin said, “Aha, so it’s my dear mommy!”

Binbin stepped forward and gave his mother, Zheng Fang, a warm hug.

Zhou Yunyun lowered her head, her cheeks flushing red.

“Mom, why are you here?”

“Oh, very nice. You father and son both deliberately kept this from me. I only found out Yunyun had been hurt and hospitalized because I specifically went to her school to find her.”

“We just didn’t want you to worry.”

“You little brat, where have you been these past few days? Why didn’t you come to the hospital to take care of Yunyun?”

“My advisor gave me an assignment.”

He could hardly say that he had taken the time these past few days to shovel the murderer who harmed Yunyun to death.

Just then, Lin Shuyou came in. “Brother Bin, I asked. She can go through the discharge process right now. Should we do it? Huh? Auntie, you are... Zhou Yunyun’s mother?”

Zheng Fang nodded and smiled without speaking.

Tan Wenbin corrected him, “She’s my mom.”

Lin Shuyou’s brain failed to turn fast enough, and he blurted out, “Huh? Things progressed that fast? You’re already calling the same woman Mom?”

Zheng Fang burst out laughing and said, “All right, go handle Yunyun’s discharge papers. Then call a car. Yunyun will come stay at my place for a few days to recuperate before going back to school. I’ve already discussed it with her.”

Zhou Yunyun looked at Tan Wenbin and explained, “Auntie was just too enthusiastic, I...”

Tan Wenbin said, “Mom, won’t that be too much trouble for you? I think maybe...”

“Yunyun’s parents are in Nantong. I’m here. What’s wrong with me helping take care of her a little? Besides, no matter how much trouble it is, I’m willing.” As she spoke, Zheng Fang turned to Zhou Yunyun. “Girl, remember this. I’m taking care of you today. When I’m old and sick in the future, you’ll have to look after me too. Don’t嫌弃—”

She caught herself in nothing; rather, the meaning flowed naturally: don’t find me troublesome.

Zhou Yunyun flushed red again and lowered her head.

Tan Wenbin said, “Mom, what kind of talk is that? Don’t you have me as your son?”

Zheng Fang replied, “As if I’d believe a word of that.”

After the discharge paperwork was done, Zhou Yunyun was taken to Zheng Fang’s home.

Zheng Fang cooked, and Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou stayed to eat there too.

After the meal, Zheng Fang called Tan Wenbin out alone. “I asked the doctor. There’s nothing seriously wrong with Yunyun’s body. She was poisoned, yes, but luckily it didn’t leave any aftereffects.”

“Mm, I know.”

“Don’t let it become a knot in your heart. Don’t look down on her.”

“Huh?”

“She’s in the hospital, and yet you insist on running off to do some advisor’s project. You might fool Yunyun with that excuse, but you can’t fool your mother. Binbin, we absolutely cannot be that kind of heartless man.”

It took Tan Wenbin quite a while to finally sort out his mother’s train of thought. Roughly speaking, she had apparently assumed that he and Zhou Yunyun had already been together since high school, but had deliberately kept it from their families, and then both chosen Jinling for university.

Then when Zhou Yunyun got poisoned, he had just dumped her in the hospital and ignored her.

“All right, Mom. We still have class this afternoon, so we’re heading back to school. Ayou!”

“Coming, handsome Chen Shimei.”

Tan Wenbin hooked an arm around Lin Shuyou’s neck and dragged him down the stairs.

“Brother Bin, let go! It hurts, hurts, hurts!”

“So you were eavesdropping, huh? Eavesdropping, were you?”

The two of them messed around all the way outside the residential complex before separating and hailing a taxi back to school.

In the car, Lin Shuyou asked curiously, “Brother Bin, we don’t have class this afternoon.”

“This afternoon, according to plan, Little Yuanhou will help me settle those two children.”

Lin Shuyou said, “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Tan Wenbin nodded and turned to look at the street scene outside the car window. “Yeah. I’m looking forward to it too.”

…

That morning, when Li Zhuiyuan arrived at Granny Liu’s gate, he stopped and stood outside for a while.

He was thawing himself.

Every time he went out and then came back here, he seemed able to hear the crisp sound of himself melting.

He had felt this before, but the contrast had never been this strong.

Looking at it positively, being able to freeze more was only because he had become better at thawing. There had to be cold and heat for the four seasons to stand out so distinctly.

Earlier in the dorm, Tan Wenbin had told him that he did not need Li Zhuiyuan to comfort him, because Binbin understood that doing so would only cause Li Zhuiyuan pain.

But sometimes, being able to restrain that painful nausea and still express those words and that concern was, for Li Zhuiyuan, a kind of victory too.

Li Zhuiyuan pushed open the courtyard gate, entered the yard, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window on the first floor, and slid it open.

Ah Li was performing sleep.

Ever since he had said he wanted to experience the feeling of waiting for her to wake up, she had kept cooperating like this.

It was neither blind obedience nor indulgence, but the mutual caution of two very young “patients.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the bedside and softly called, “Ah Li.”

The girl opened her eyes.

“The weather is very nice today. Shall we go take a walk on the school track?”

The girl nodded.

She got out of bed and put on her shoes. Dressed in white silk pajamas, with her glossy black hair hanging down, she was perfectly prepared to go out just like that.

Liu Yumei took great pride in having raised a refined young lady, but Ah Li herself did not care about such things. The reason she did not resist them was probably because that way, she could simply sit there and make her grandmother happy.

“Come, sit here.”

The girl sat down in front of the dressing table.

Li Zhuiyuan opened the drawer, took out a comb, and began brushing her hair.

He had once come early and seen Liu Yumei brushing Ah Li’s hair while he sat beside them watching, and that was how he had learned.

The girl’s hair was very smooth, like satin, and felt pleasant in his hands.

As he combed, Li Zhuiyuan felt his heart gradually quiet down. The corners of his lips unconsciously lifted into a faint smile, sincere and without the slightest trace of performance, simply melting into the peace of the moment.

At last, he saw the hairpin that had already been made—the final trace left behind after that great fish had been burned to ashes.

Neither of them cared about whether it was auspicious or inauspicious, lucky or unlucky. They preferred to see it as a trophy.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the hairpin and used it to secure Ah Li’s hair in its final place.

In the mirror, both of them were smiling.

“Let me see if there are any clothes in the wardrobe.”

Li Zhuiyuan opened the wardrobe. Inside hung many outfits, all in Hanfu styles.

The boy took out a set and placed it on the bed, then walked outside, drew the curtains, shut the floor-to-ceiling window, and sat on the steps in the yard with his back to the room.

Not long after, the door behind him opened. Ah Li stood there, already changed.

A white upper garment and a black skirt—simple, yet fresh and graceful.

Hand in hand, the two of them walked out of the courtyard.

After they left, Uncle Qin came out from a corner carrying a bucket and began watering the vegetables in the yard.

On the second-floor balcony, Liu Yumei stood there watching the two small figures in the distance, hand in hand as they gradually walked away.

Aunt Liu leaned out from behind her. “Well then, looks like there’s no need to set out a dish of vinegar this morning.”

Liu Yumei said nothing and lightly tapped the railing with her left hand.

Seeing that the old lady was genuinely emotional, Aunt Liu immediately changed her tone and comforted her. “Isn’t this exactly what you’ve always wanted to see?”

“Yes. It is what I wanted to see.”

What she had always feared was this: when she was gone someday, what would happen if Ah Li were left alone in this world?

Would Ah Li feel lonely? Would she find it hard to adjust? That was the treasure she had cherished above all else for her entire life. She could not bear for her to suffer the slightest grievance.

But now that the scene that should have put her heart at ease had finally appeared, she could not help feeling a little wistful over her own fading sense of importance.

“Well, in the future it’ll all be theirs anyway, so just take it easy.”

Liu Yumei closed her eyes and nodded.

“What would you like to eat this morning?”

“I can’t eat. Make me a pot of tea.”

“How can you drink tea on an empty stomach first thing in the morning?”

“I’ve got heartburn. I need to cool off a little.”

…

There were more people on the track in the evening. In the early morning, there were very few, especially at this hour, when the students generally were not even awake yet.

On the empty track, only a few scattered figures could be seen. Li Zhuiyuan and Ah Li walked and talked, though mostly he spoke and she listened.

This time it was not a wave, but it still counted as a story.

Unlike Tan Wenbin, who had to hide things from Zhou Yunyun, Li Zhuiyuan could recount everything exactly as it had happened, because she would not be frightened, nor would she find it bloody or unsettling.

To Ah Li, these things were no more than a light drizzle.

Still, when she heard that Zhao Yi had dug open the Gate of Life himself and chosen to walk the river, Ah Li’s grip on the boy’s hand tightened slightly.

Those Dead Sinkers and malevolent spirits, however intelligent they might be, still had their limitations. But people were different.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that Uncle Qin had failed in his river walk because of people.

Sensing the girl’s worry, Li Zhuiyuan comforted her. “There’s no need to be afraid of that. They should be the ones afraid of me. Because I’m even less like a human being than they are.”

The girl stopped and looked at the boy.

Li Zhuiyuan turned and looked at her as well.

Their foreheads lightly touched, and the girl smiled.

In this world, she was probably the only one who could understand that cold joke of his.

The two of them continued walking. As the girl swung her arm, she put a little force into it. Li Zhuiyuan followed along, and the hands they held together began to swing back and forth more exaggeratedly than before, as if deliberately showing a kind of childlike innocence not yet lost.

By the time it was nearly breakfast hour for the students, Li Zhuiyuan was ready to take Ah Li back.

At the track exit, he saw Liu Tao and Lu An’an. The two of them had clearly spotted him a long time ago and had been waiting there for quite a while.

They were the vice president and president of the Physiognomy Society. The last time they were recruiting at the track, Li Zhuiyuan had even sat down at their booth.

Liu Tao had read his face until he got a nosebleed, and Lu An’an had been taught Finger Tremor Echoing three times by him, though she still did not seem to have learned it.

They were carrying soy milk, fried dough sticks, and buns. When Li Zhuiyuan walked over, both of them smiled at once.

But calling him junior brother clearly felt inappropriate, while calling him senior was overly old-fashioned. Apparently they had not discussed beforehand how to address him, so both of them froze there, mouths open in silly smiles.

“Hello, Senior Brother, Senior Sister.”

Li Zhuiyuan held Ah Li’s hand in his right hand and raised his left to greet them.

Lu An’an said, “Ah, hello, junior-senior.”

Liu Tao froze for a moment, then quickly followed, “Hello, junior-senior.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “If there’s nothing else, then I’ll—”

Lu An’an hurriedly said, “It’s like this, junior-senior. Next week we have a joint multi-school club event. Quite a few practitioners of physiognomy will be coming to participate. The two of us wanted to invite you to come along. Would that be possible?”

“No.” Li Zhuiyuan refused very straightforwardly. “But I can recommend someone. He’s the class monitor of Class 1, first-year River Engineering Dept., named Tan Wenbin. His physiognomy and fortune-telling are both better than mine.”

Liu Tao said, “Really?”

Lu An’an said, “Really?”

“Mm. He’s warmhearted and always willing to help his fellow students.”

After saying that, Li Zhuiyuan left holding Ah Li’s hand.

Liu Tao looked at Lu An’an. “So... should we go look for that classmate Tan?”

Lu An’an lifted the breakfast she was carrying. “We specifically bought breakfast for him and forgot to give it to him!”

After Li Zhuiyuan and Ah Li returned from their walk, they sat down at the dining table while Aunt Liu brought breakfast over.

“Is Granny Liu not coming to eat breakfast?”

Aunt Liu said, “The old lady already ate earlier. She’s a bit too full now.”

“Oh, I see.”

Aunt Liu continued teasing, “Xiaoyuan, don’t you want to know what exactly the old lady secretly ate this morning?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “I understand. I was being presumptuous.”

Aunt Liu immediately felt that talking to a child who was too clever was no fun at all.

After breakfast, Li Zhuiyuan spent the morning in the study drawing plans.

Ah Li, meanwhile, was painting. By the time Li Zhuiyuan finished the drawing in front of him, Ah Li’s painting had also begun to take shape.

In the picture was an old courtyard engulfed in roaring flames, though the details and figures had not yet been added.

“Is this painting going into the framed album too?”

Ah Li shook her head.

“Then let’s count it as casual amusement.”

Ah Li nodded.

“Ah Li, trouble yourself a little and help me carve this rune.”

Ah Li put down her brush, walked to the other end of the long table, sat down, picked up a carving knife, and first took a memorial tablet from the table, shaving off two palm-sized layers of wood.

Her movements were smooth and the wood shavings neat. At a glance, it was obvious she was highly practiced.

Then Ah Li began carving the patterns.

There was a kind of talisman recorded in Wei Zhengdao’s book called the Two Realms Talisman.

Its function was to open the Underworld in a person and the world of the living in an evil spirit. In its traditional sense, it was used to help the living and the dead communicate.

A lot of sham spirit-medium businesses in various places included exactly that service: summoning a deceased loved one up so the client could chat with them.

But Li Zhuiyuan had modified the Two Realms Talisman, removing its communication function and strengthening the boundary between yin and yang.

Tan Wenbin only needed to stick these two pieces of wood skin onto his shoulders, and it would create a separation between human and ghost on his body. Although the price of Ghost-control technique still shortening his Lifespan would not change, at least it could minimize the clash between human and ghost as much as possible.

Ah Li carved the patterns very quickly, and with an exceptionally vivid artistic resonance.

Li Zhuiyuan could not help tracing a few motions in the air himself just to satisfy the itch a little.

It could not be helped. He could understand talismans and even alter them, but he truly could not draw them.

There were also four sets of clothing designs on the desk, four different colors and styles, respectively corresponding to himself, Yin Meng, Runsheng, and Tan Wenbin.

It was also obvious that there were original drafts and then revised versions, and the revisions had probably been done by Liu Yumei.

The clothes really did look good—not identical, yet clearly sharing a common style. Wearing them out would not make anyone think they looked strange, and certain places were even specially marked for inner linings and unique design features, making them highly practical.

For instance, he liked to keep his ink pad in his pocket. With this outfit, it could be built into the buttoned cuff at the wrist, so the next time he needed to press red ink, he would not have to reach into his trouser pocket. It would be faster and more discreet.

Besides that, Ah Li had already made some of the crucial small parts he needed. Once Runsheng used the plans to have a nearby small factory make up the larger pieces, the job would be finished.

After Ah Li carved the two Two Realms Talismans, Li Zhuiyuan put them away. Once he got back, he would prepare some adhesive and then stick them to Tan Wenbin’s shoulders.

This wood material was of excellent quality. It could blend into the skin’s color and would not affect daily life at all.

In fact, Li Zhuiyuan had even worked out Ghost-control technique, but the spell was still in its infancy and had many problems.

Although Officers of the Command Banner did not have a long history, it was still from a proper orthodox lineage. No matter how stingy those Yin gods might be, at worst they merely drained the spirit medium’s body dry. But Tan Wenbin’s ghost-control method was completely different—it was fighting with his Lifespan.

If the balance between its side effects and merit were not properly controlled, then Tan Wenbin would...

the more he used his Lifespan, the younger he would become.

Still, with Runsheng around, and now even Lin Shuyou available as a temporary worker who could be assigned into the team whenever needed, Tan Wenbin would not have to bear the main burden of frontline combat.

That meant Li Zhuiyuan could design some simple methods for Tan Wenbin to learn. They would consume little, and the merit from river walks would more than cover them.

But he could also teach him moves with high Lifespan consumption. When the critical moment came, if your life was already gone, then however much Lifespan you had left would be meaningless.

Bang!

From upstairs came the sound of a cup shattering.

Who knew which kiln’s fine ware had been smashed this time, or how many apartments’ worth of value had been vented away.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little surprised. Could it be that Granny Liu was still angry about this morning?

He stepped out of the study. Not seeing Aunt Liu, he could only head upstairs.

In the second-floor sitting room, Li Zhuiyuan saw Aunt Liu standing beside Liu Yumei, her face calm.

For Aunt Liu, who was usually sweet and pleasant, to show that expression already said quite a lot.

Liu Yumei sat in a rattan chair, clutching a jade-green gleaming calling card so tightly that the veins stood out on the back of her hand.

“Hahaha...

“Well done, you Zhao Family of Jiujiang. So your abacus beads are flying straight into my face now, are they? You actually want to wipe out my family line!”

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