Chapter 22: Umbrella Acquaintance, Still?

Chapter 22: Umbrella Acquaintance, Still?

(The previous chapter was called "Raise Your Hand If You're Taking Leave"—that was the chapter title, not an actual leave notice... Surely no one actually thought I was taking leave and got angry, right? Barely made it in time, didn't get to revise this chapter.)
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Tang Thirty-Six raised his hand very low, his head also very low, and his voice was actually very low too.
Even though his face couldn't be seen, one could imagine just how awkward he must have felt.
The crowd parted like a tide. No matter how embarrassed he was, as a well-known friend of Chen Changsheng, especially bearing the title of Supervisor of the National Academy, and with Su Moyu and Xuan Yuan Po stubbornly turning their heads away, he could only walk forward, all the way to the front of His Holiness the Pope.

Mao Qiuyu's expression was somewhat unpleasant; he barely restrained himself from scolding him.
But the Pope's demeanor was very calm as he handed the divine staff into his hands.

The divine staff was not as heavy as people imagined, but Tang Thirty-Six felt it was as heavy as a mountain, almost too much to bear. He bent his knee to perform a bow on behalf of Chen Changsheng.
With his head lowered, he could still feel the gazes cast at him from all directions—some were astonished, some disdainful, some gratified, but most were hostile, sharp as swords.
He felt he was utterly innocent, and thus very annoyed. Following Mao Qiuyu's guidance, he spoke words of gratitude and such, while cursing incessantly in his mind.
Those curses were, of course, meant for Chen Changsheng, wherever he might be at that moment.
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The snow fell heavier and heavier; there were no longer any pedestrians in the streets and alleys. Lamps were being lit one after another in the lanes.
Chen Changsheng had been standing on Fushui Street for a long time. Looking at the sky, he sighed inwardly.
Snow clouds obscured the sun, making the capital somewhat dim. Only by the faint brightness could he tell that the sun was moving westward, about to sink.
The note said the time was dusk, but dusk in the world was often blurry; dusk itself was a vague concept. From the moment the sun began to set until it completely fell below the horizon, there was always about an hour. So, was it still dusk now?
Had he arrived too early? Or was she really not coming?
He thought, if she still hadn't come by the time it was fully dark, then he would leave.

Just then, a loud noise came from afar, faintly from the direction of the Li Palace. He had no idea what had happened, let alone that it was related to him. Rubbing his hands in the wind and snow, he glanced now toward the direction of the Imperial Palace, now toward the direction of the Eastern Imperial General's Mansion.
His meridians had problems; the amount of true essence he could output was insufficient, but the true essence in his body was actually quite abundant, so he wasn't afraid of the cold at all. The reason he kept rubbing his hands and occasionally stomping his feet now was purely a matter of mood.

The sky gradually darkened; it was truly about to turn black, and he had abandoned all hope.
Just then, a voice sounded from somewhere behind him, a little ways off.
"What are you standing here for?"

Hearing this voice, his body stiffened slightly. He turned to look and saw a person holding an umbrella slowly approaching from the alley behind.
That umbrella looked somewhat old, somewhat strange. In the dim light, it isolated the space beneath it, making it hard to see clearly. Ordinary people might not even be able to see it at all.
But Chen Changsheng could, because he was very familiar with this umbrella. It was originally supposed to be his. This umbrella was, of course, the Yellow Paper Umbrella.

Like a fallen leaf in the snow, the Yellow Paper Umbrella slowly came before him, then tilted slightly backward, revealing Xu Yourong's face.
That face was difficult to describe in words; one could only resort to the cliché of calling it "perfect."
Looking at this face, so beautiful and indeed so unfamiliar, Chen Changsheng felt nervous, dazed.
He looked into her eyes, found that familiar tranquility and calm, and finally began to relax.

He was familiar with her voice, and also familiar with her eyes. Once their gazes met, the strangeness vanished, and the two seemed to return to the Garden of Zhou.
Traveling together through life and death, accompanying each other day and night, sitting and discussing philosophy, rising to face enemies—acquaintances at first sight, growing old together.
Umbrella acquaintance, still.
But why talk about growing old together now?

Chen Changsheng felt that suddenly recalling these phrases was terribly awkward.
He didn't yet know that there was someone in the Li Palace who was even more awkward than he was.

"Why are you standing here? Didn't we agree to go eat bean curd fish?"
Unlike Chen Changsheng's current nervousness, Xu Yourong had always known he was who he was. Dozens of days had been enough for her to calm down. Moreover, they had truly spent too much time together in the Garden of Zhou. Seeing him, she really couldn't feel strange, let alone put on any air of distance.

"...I searched the alley twice earlier but couldn't find the bean curd fish you mentioned," Chen Changsheng said.
Xu Yourong was startled for a moment. Looking into the alley, she said with some regret, "It's been three years since I was last back, and it's gone. That place really had good fish."
"But... why did you come from over there?" Chen Changsheng pointed at the alley entrance she had come from.
That street wasn't the way from the Imperial Palace, nor from the Eastern Imperial General's Mansion, which was why he hadn't noticed.

"I went to Little Orange Garden and waited for a while. Mo Yu... hadn't returned, so I came over. A bit late."
As she said this, Xu Yourong's eyelashes fluttered slightly, her gaze dropped a little, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
Before the appointment, it suddenly occurred to her that this was her and Chen Changsheng's first... private meeting. The Garden of Zhou naturally didn't count. She suddenly felt a bit shy, and remembering that she had been the one to extend the invitation on the Bridge of Helplessness, she didn't want to seem too forward, so on a whim, she thought of bringing Mo Yu along.
Who knew Mo Yu wouldn't be there?
She didn't know whether to feel regret or relief.
In any case, these matters were far more complicated for her than deciphering the Heavenly Book Monoliths.

The sky was too dim; Chen Changsheng didn't see her expression. He was quite slow in such matters and naturally couldn't guess why she had gone to Little Orange Garden to find Mo Yu. He only thought that today's purpose was to have a meal together, so he asked uncertainly, "How about we eat something else in the alley, or... go somewhere else?"
"Let's just stay here."
Xu Yourong handed the umbrella handle to him.
Chen Changsheng took it very naturally.
No words were needed, not even a glance. The action of handing and receiving the umbrella was so natural, as if they had done it countless times.
Because they truly had done it countless times in the Garden of Zhou—on the Never-Setting Sun Grasslands, when encountering demonic beasts, when hurrying along the road. Most of the time, she was on his back, the umbrella in her hand, and when she got tired, she would hand it to him.

Holding the umbrella, Chen Changsheng walked shoulder to shoulder with her into the snowy alley.
Time's speed in changing the world might not be much faster than flowing water, but changing the taverns on a street was very easy.
Fushui Street's most famous offering was no longer bean curd fish, but iron-pot stewed bones.
In the short alley, there were five places selling iron-pot stewed bones, all with signs claiming to be the authentic Qishi big bones. Who knew which one was real?
The hot steam from the iron pots seeped out from those taverns, mixed with the extremely rich aroma of meat, incredibly enticing in the cold winter.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong weren't afraid of the wind and cold, but they still felt some longing for this sensation. Finding a place that looked a bit cleaner, they went inside.

Iron-pot stewed bones were always served on a kang table. When the thick cotton door curtain was lifted, a wave of hot air rushed at them.
Business was slow today. In a shop usually so lively, there was only one kang table with customers. In such a situation, those customers were true food lovers, their attention entirely on the delicious meat bones and wine, not even noticing the young man and woman who had entered.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong walked to the very back. Before they could sit down, they heard a fierce argument erupt behind them.
A customer slammed his wine bowl heavily onto the table and roared angrily, "Miss Yourong beat that Chen Changsheng like a dog! How could she have lost!"
Another customer sneered, "Then why did Miss Yourong concede?"
The first customer's face flushed red as he choked out, "...It's because she still has lingering feelings for the past. She thought about how Chen Changsheng was once her fiancé, so she went easy on him."
The owner, hearing the argument from the back kitchen, hurried over to mediate. After finally calming those customers down, he noticed two new guests in the shadowy corner. The young man and woman hadn't sat down yet, and the atmosphere seemed a bit awkward. He found it strange, thinking, what does their argument have to do with you two?