The first quarter moon rising over the lake is like a half-remnant moon, embedded in the night sky that looks like a sea of dark blue silk. Its glow is cool and cold, faintly revealing the color of bluish-white jade. The new lotuses in the lake also borrow the meaning of the moon, and the shadows of the lotus leaves seem to be light. The thin and brittle glass is reflected on the sparkling silver lake, splitting the lake into countless tiny pieces of mercury, changing rapidly and flowing erratically.
Jiang Mi was sitting cross-legged on a flat, dry stone near the lake. He was holding half a jar of wine in his right hand and resting it on his knees. His head was slightly buried, and he was dressed in black and could not be identified clearly in the shadow of the dancing trees.
"I thought you were locked in the Sutra Pavilion, but you were secretly drinking here?"
Gu Bufan ran to him out of breath, but the man didn't seem to hear him. He raised his hands and raised his neck. The wine fell straight into his throat, spilling a few strands along his chin, rolling over his Adam's apple, and soaking his collar, leaving a bright streak. The hot wine cut his throat like a knife, but he seemed to feel nothing, not even moving his eyebrows.
At the end, the young man turned his head to look at the person coming. His face was like a morning star, but his eyes were boundless and desolate.
"You go back."
Gu Bufan looked at him with some surprise. In his impression, Jiang Mi was always distant and calm, but now he was dejected, as if he had lost his soul.
"Is there something on your mind?"
Gu Bufan sat down next to him, patted his shoulder, and asked, pretending to be relaxed.
"After you met that Yan'er this morning, something didn't feel right when you came back. Could it be that you like that person?"
"It has nothing to do with her."
Just as he was about to continue asking, he asked instead.
"If someone doesn't contact you for three months, does that mean she doesn't want you anymore?"
The word "want" made Gu Bufan tremble all over. It looks like he is feeling hurt! Moreover, this girl is probably from a high-class family, and she might eat Jiang Mi to death.
"Perhaps something happened. Do you really have no information about her?"
"Yes."
Jiang Mi looked at the lake blankly, his fingers holding the wine jar tightened, almost transparent green.
"She is with someone else."
He would buy a copy of the Xianmeng tabloid every day, hoping to get some information about her from it. But the words "Baili Yao Yue" always appeared together with Xingyuan. He was jealous, angry, and helpless. Every time he looked at it, his heart felt as if someone was pinching it in his hands and rubbing it, causing it to ache. But the next day, he still buy new tabloids almost masochistically, drinking poison to quench his thirst.
"This—"
Gu Bufan looks confused. He also knew very little about the relationship between men and women, so it was difficult for him to give guidance to others.
"You should go first."
A faint blush appeared on his face due to the drunkenness, adding an indescribable and dazzling style.
"I will go back after drinking this jar of wine."
Gu Bufan remembered that there was an early class tomorrow and there was no danger at the foot of Wanjian Mountain, so he brushed the fallen leaves and stood up.
"Okay, then when you come back, walk around Ling Wujie's house, otherwise, he will find something to mess with you again."
He nodded, and when he heard Gu Bufan walk away, the wine jar tipped again, and strong wine splashed into his mouth, but the cool liquid made his heart burn, making him feel inexplicably restless and unable to vent.
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the moon in the sky and was fascinated by the crescent moon. He doesn't know how long it took, but a sudden gust of cool breeze brought him back to his senses. With a panic in his heart, he realized that Gu Bufan had come back.
Jiang Mi looked at the person who suddenly turned back inexplicably.
"Why did you come back?"
"I forgot to ask you something."
Gu Bufan smiled and sat side by side with him, holding his chin with his left hand.
"What does that Miss Yan'er have to do with you?"
"Last time I returned to the village, I met a young man from Wuguang City who insisted on taking her as a concubine. She refused, and those people almost beat her father to death, so I saved them."
After saying that, he looked at him suspiciously. He walked over.
"Is that why you're asking?"
Gu Bufan didn't answer and continued to ask more.
"Then how does she want to repay your kindness?"
"She begged me for an amulet from the temple."
Perhaps because of the drunkenness, Jiang Mi's head felt heavy, and everything around him felt strange.
Gu Bufan said "Oh" in a nonchalant manner and rolled his eyes.
"You just said that the girl in your heart is with someone else. Where did you hear about it?"
"Xianmeng Tabloid."
"The tabloids of Xianmeng love to talk nonsense, don't you know?!"
He was probably really drunk. There was a layer of redness on his cheeks, covering them like a rose. The redness in his eyes was unclear, whether it was tears or drunkenness. The wine he drank seemed to turn into fire and burn into his limbs and bones, making his heart sour and astringent. He even felt that the air exhaled from his nose was so hot—it was so hot that even his voice trembled for a moment.
"I only know that she has never looked for me."
Gu Bufan sighed and suddenly spoke very carefully and clearly.
"Then look, who am I?"
Jiang Mi turned his head, his eyes widened in the next second, his heart was beating so hard that his chest was about to explode. His mind was blank, his whole body was hot, and he couldn't say a word.
Under the bright white moonlight, the graceful and beautiful girl in red was smiling at him.
She stretched out her arms around his neck and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Seeing that he was still in a daze, she couldn't help teasing.
"It seems that you are really drunk."
The irritability that had been forcibly suppressed just now suddenly disappeared. He felt light and confused all over, and his tongue was filled with an indescribable numbness. After a long while, he heard himself muttering "Yao Yue" in a whisper.
It was as if he had entered his nightly dream again, and as long as the sound was louder, everything in front of him would be shattered.
"It's me."
Beside him is the real Baili Yao Yue.
All the blood in Jiang Mi's body suddenly surged to the top of his head, and his heart seemed to be beating wildly in the strong smell of alcohol. When he is about to hold the person he misses day and night into his arms, he uses his strength and kisses her as if he will swallow her.
But after just a few mouthfuls of her flower-like lips, she pushed him away fiercely. She frowned and spit in disgust.
"This wine tastes bitter and spicy, so I won't kiss you anymore."