Chapter 14
Yu Le slept until two in the afternoon before waking up.
He was sobering up.
A bit dazed, he sat cross-legged on the bed, contemplating how he could get drunk just from tasting wine.
Fortunately, aside from feeling a bit foolish, he didn’t cause any major trouble.
It didn’t matter; Lu Yao had seen him at his most ridiculous state after drinking. He could afford to let loose around him.
But that cat…
Did the inn keep a cat? How come he had been here for days and hadn’t noticed it?
He threw off the covers and got out of bed, intending to look for the big orange cat again. However, as soon as he stepped out of the room, something else in the courtyard caught his attention.
The large tree covered in white flowers was swaying. On closer inspection, he saw that someone was under it manipulating the branches.
Yu Le went downstairs and entered the courtyard, only to see that it was Lu Yao, wearing a straw hat and picking flowers. Next to him was a small bamboo basket filled with the flowers he had picked, with the bottom already covered.
There was also a watermelon beside the basket.
“What are you picking the flowers for?” Yu Le asked curiously. “Are you worried that they’ll be too heavy and break the branches?”
“No, I’m making something to eat.”
Lu Yao threw a handful of flowers into the basket and glanced at him. “Are you feeling dizzy?”
“Not dizzy.” Yu Le was more interested in the flowers now. “Can you eat these flowers?”
“Locust flowers. Yes, you can eat them.” Lu Yao let go of the branch he had almost finished picking and moved to another one.
Yu Le said, “So this is locust flower…”
Lu Yao replied with an “Mm,” but before his fingertips could touch the higher branches, a sudden shower of rain began to fall.
Lu Yao was fine with his straw hat, but when he turned around, he saw that Yu Le wasn’t so lucky. He was soaked through, with water droplets hanging from his nose and several leaves stuck to his head.
After a moment of awkward silence, Yu Le shook his head, still holding onto a lush branch he had just pulled down.
“I wanted to help you pick them.”
He had forgotten that it had just rained and that the tree was full of water.
He brushed the leaves off his head and looked up, only to find Lu Yao placing his straw hat on Yu Le’s head.
“Look up,” Lu Yao said.
Yu Le instinctively obeyed.
Lu Yao adjusted the straps under Yu Le’s chin and tied them. Yu Le tilted his face up, and his gaze naturally fell on Lu Yao’s face.
It was rare to view the scenery from such a close distance, and Yu Le’s professional habit kicked in. He scrutinized Lu Yao’s face as if measuring it with a ruler.
Finding no faults, he decided it was great.
Yu Le reluctantly put away his mental ruler and glanced upward, his attention suddenly brightening.
It was the big orange cat, lounging on a branch and lazily flicking its tail.
The cat’s gaze had shifted away from him, and Lu Yao, who had been indifferent, now raised his eyelids, not immediately withdrawing his hand after tying the strap.
Yu Le stared at the cat when something soft brushed his cheek. He looked to see that it was a locust flower that Lu Yao had casually pinched between his fingers.
“?”
Yu Le’s gaze returned to Lu Yao. “What’s that for?”
Lu Yao, satisfied, calmly withdrew his hand. “Does your skin feel itchy?”
Yu Le almost immediately responded, “I’m not allergic to everything, okay? And this tree has been here the whole time. If I were allergic, I’d have reacted by now.”
“Mm.” Lu Yao complimented him. “Very good.”
Yu Le: “…”
It’s better if he didn’t compliment me.
Lu Yao moved the basket closer to Yu Le, “Just put the flowers in the basket when you’ve picked enough. I’ll go to the kitchen.”
Yu Le was happy to take on this task and asked, “How many should I pick?”
“Fill it halfway.”
Lu Yao walked out of the shade of the tree and, after glancing at the person still busy under the tree, lowered his gaze to the flower he was fiddling with between his fingers.
After a moment, he took an indeterminate sniff of the flower and casually set it aside.
Yu Le, who was unfamiliar with this task, was fortunate that Lu Yao had already picked a small portion before handing it over.
Lu Yao scooped the cooked noodles into a bowl, and when he looked up again, Yu Le had already set the basket aside and was playing with the jumping fat cat.
Or more accurately, Yu Le was playing with the cat unilaterally.
The orange cat seemed to be deliberately teasing him. It climbed down from the tree but ignored him, instead sitting on the stone like a hen, only its tail twitching occasionally, brushing past Yu Le’s wrist to give him a little taste of attention, its technique of teasing perfected.
Yu Le, who enjoyed the cat’s indifferent attitude, smiled and scratched its chin. When Lu Yao walked over, he asked, “Does it have a name?”
Lu Yao replied, “Da Huang.”
Yu Le asked, “Did you name it?”
Lu Yao answered, “Mm.”
Yu Le wrinkled his nose in disagreement. “That’s a bit too casual. If it were white or black, would it be named Da Bai (white) and Da Hei (black)?”
Lu Yao sat down on a stone, picking the leaves out of the basket one by one. “Then you can give it a new name.”
“……”
Yu Le was silent for two seconds, patting the cat’s head politely. “Hello, Da Huang.”
Lu Yao smiled silently.
Yu Le asked, “Is it kept at the inn? I hadn’t seen it around these past few days.”
Lu Yao explained, “It’s free-range; it goes wherever it wants. It’s been raining the past few days, so it must have been hiding in someone’s rafters.”
He paused and added, “There’s also a dog.”
Yu Le realized that he hadn’t seen either the cat or the dog in the past few days. “Is it also free-range?”
Lu Yao clarified, “No, it’s kept in the yard. Before you arrived, it was borrowed by a family who needed to protect their newly hatched chicks from weasels.”
Yu Le’s eyes widened. “There are weasels on this mountain?”
Lu Yao said, “There’s everything on this mountain.”
Yu Le’s curiosity was piqued. “What about squirrels, jackals, mountain deer? Have you seen them?”
Lu Yao didn’t continue, “Let’s eat first.”
Had Lu Yao not said this, Yu Le might have forgotten. He hadn’t eaten since he returned in the morning.
The fried rice he missed last time gave him another chance to taste Lu Yao’s cooking today.
On the table was a bowl of noodles that looked and smelled delicious, cooked with some greens. The pork fat had melted and floated on the surface of the broth, and the fried egg was garnished with finely chopped green onions.
Yu Le took a bite and couldn’t help but wiggle his toes under the table. It was delicious, quite different from what he had at breakfast shops in the city.
As he ate, he watched Lu Yao draw water from the well and soak the picked locust flowers in it. Before putting the wooden bucket back into the well, Lu Yao placed the watermelon inside the bucket.
Yu Le had heard of chilling fruits before refrigerators existed by placing them in stream water or wells, but he had never seen or tasted watermelon chilled in well water. His curiosity was reignited.
As evening approached, Yu Le saw that Lu Yao had not taken the watermelon out, so he couldn’t help but ask.
Lu Yao raised an eyebrow, “Do you want some watermelon?”
Yu Le admitted, “I just want to try watermelon chilled in well water. I’ve never had it before.”
Lu Yao considered for a moment and said, “It’s too late today. Eating cold food might upset your stomach. Let’s do it tomorrow.”
“Next time, let me know earlier if you want anything.”
True to his word, Lu Yao had the watermelon ready and cut up by the next day even though Yu Le hadn’t mentioned it.
When Yu Le went downstairs, he saw Zhao Xiaosong with an unfamiliar child sitting under the tree, accompanied by a dog that looked like a bundle of sticks with its tongue out and tail wagging happily.
Yu Le approached and scrutinized the unfamiliar child, uncertainly asking Zhao Xiaosong, “Miao Miao?”
Before Zhao Xiaosong could respond, the child puffed up his cheeks and said, “I’m not Miao Miao! Miao Miao is a girl. I’m a boy!”
“Ah, sorry, I’m not good at distinguishing between boys and girls.”
Zhao Xiaosong, still a child himself, was unfazed by the mistake and laughed easily, “This is Ye Bao, who came to borrow water. And this,” he pointed to the dog, “is Shui Cai.”
Shui Cai looked very happy, its tail wagging almost like a propeller. It was a bit dirty, with mud smeared on its belly and paws.
Yu Le looked around but didn’t see Da Huang, so he sat down with Zhao Xiaosong and played with Shui Cai.
Lu Yao brought over the watermelon and made sure they all washed their hands in a nearby basin before giving each person a piece of watermelon.
Yu Le took a bite of the watermelon. It was indeed cold and sweet, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was a bit off.
The situation made him feel as though Lu Yao treated him like a child.
It was an overcast day, and the rain seemed unlikely to start again until evening. Under the locust tree, three people were eating watermelon, one was bathing the dog on a small stool, and a cat was napping on the wall.
Shui Cai was very well-behaved, not shaking its head while wet, and after being dried off, it jumped onto a stone to sit and air out its fur.
After washing the dog, Lu Yao saw that there was still plenty of water left. Rather than waste it, he decided to wash his own head.
Yu Le watched for a while, confused. “Just using water?”
Lu Yao explained, “It’s soap pod water.”
Soap pods were another thing that existed only in rumors for Yu Le.
Curiously, he asked, “Does it have a smell?”
Lu Yao said, “You can smell it.”
Yu Le glanced at the wooden basin on the ground and then at Lu Yao, who was lowering his head. He leaned in closer.
Lu Yao felt Yu Le’s sudden proximity and, as he looked up, felt the softness brush against his temple.
He paused for a moment, then looked up at Yu Le.
Yu Le had already moved back slightly, rubbing his damp nose and sniffing the water on his fingertips.
“It doesn’t seem to have much of a smell.”
Lu Yao gave a nonchalant “Mm” and, after standing up from the water, went to the eaves to get a dry towel. He then moved to a narrow resting room at the bottom of the stairs.
He changed out of his wet shirt and quickly dried his short hair.
The window was slightly open for ventilation. Leaning against the side, Lu Yao had a clear view of the people under the tree.
Yu Le had finished the watermelon and was leaning against the stone, fanning himself with a hand fan while playing on his phone. Zhao Xiaosong peeked over, and Yu Le helped fan him too.
Lu Yao rested his elbow on the window sill, turning his head just enough to see the scar on his temple reflected in an old mirror hanging on the wall.
He touched it, and for some reason, suddenly smiled.
The scar was from many years ago, which long since lost its sensation, but now, touched by Yu Le, it felt more present and even slightly warm.
Under the tree, Yu Le handed his phone to Zhao Xiaosong, who was playing a game, and slowed his hand movements with the fan. When no one was looking, he secretly tapped his nose with his fingers.
In fact, he hadn’t smelled anything at all.
It was a very subtle scent, mixed with the fragrance of plants, like ripe leaves or fruit soaked in water—calm and faint, reminiscent of the summer in the mountains with abundant shade and the sound of a babbling spring,
Just like the feeling Lu Yao gave him.
