When she woke up, she felt a bit dazed, always thinking she had just had an indescribably beautiful dream.
Shang Can blinked in a daze, and when she instinctively turned over, she found no one beside her. Shocked, she suddenly came to her senses and practically leapt out of bed, looking around in confusion.
But the room was so small that it was clear at a glance that she was the only one there.
Shang Can’s heart sank, and she began to doubt her memories. Those enchanting scenes were still fresh in her mind; could it really have just been a dream? That would be too—
As she was lost in thought, the slightly ajar door was pushed open, and Yun Duan entered the room, neatly dressed and carrying a food box. Upon seeing the person still asleep by the door staring at her wide-eyed, Yun Duan immediately understood the reason for the panic on Shang Can’s face. So, she took Shang Can’s hand, placed the food box on the table, and pulled her to sit down.
“I made some food,” she said. Noticing that Shang Can seemed a bit out of it, Yun Duan felt a secret joy swell inside her. She reached out to smooth out the slightly messy collar of Shang Can’s clothing and gently asked, “Did you think I ran away?”
“……”
The teasing tone was unmistakable. Shang Can felt her face flush at the implication of “the runaway specialist,” but she nodded straightforwardly, took Yun Duan’s hand, rubbed it against her lips, and muttered, “Yeah, I thought I was dreaming.”
Caught off guard by her open display of affection, Yun Duan’s face turned red in response to Shang Can’s intimate gesture. She could feel warmth spreading from the back of her hand where Shang Can had kissed her, making her want to pull her hand back but reluctant to do so. After being in this dilemma for a while, Shang Can finally relaxed, released her hand, and said, “I’ll wash up first,” then went to tidy herself up, leaving Yun Duan staring blankly at her hand, instinctively curling her fingers.
The atmosphere in the room became a bit strange, and it didn’t completely improve even when Shang Can sat down at the table to eat. While eating, she glanced at Yun Duan and hesitated for a long time before speaking, “……If you wake up earlier than me next time, please wake me up. You were already quite tired last night; you shouldn’t have to get up early to make food…”
Yun Duan, who usually adhered to etiquette at the dining table, accidentally clinked her spoon against the bowl, creating a crisp sound. She paused for a moment, and after a while, she responded in as calm a tone as possible, “It’s fine; it doesn’t… take much effort.”
Yun Duan had intended to say, “It’s not that tiring,” since Shang Can had been taking care of her the entire night, but the words felt wrong in her mouth, so she managed to turn the statement around. However, the person beside her didn’t seem to accept her answer at all; rare as it was, she didn’t follow Yun Duan’s lead and insisted on her own view. Not wanting to argue in this situation, Yun Duan could only nod gently. Shang Can then felt satisfied and happily sipped her congee.
Shang Can was happy, but Yun Duan still had lingering thoughts. She mechanically stirred the porridge in her bowl, her attention completely elsewhere.
…”Next time”…
When Shang Can said that, she probably hadn’t thought much of it, but it suddenly became ambiguous in Yun Duan’s ears—considering what they had been doing over the past two days, it wasn’t hard to deduce what “next time” referred to. It couldn’t possibly just mean sharing the same bed again.
After solidifying their relationship, the embarrassment that had been neglected for the past few days surged to the forefront of Yun Duan’s mind, making her almost reluctant to look at Shang Can’s face. This morning, when she opened her eyes and saw Shang Can’s sleeping face so close, she had to use a lot of effort to carefully slip out from under the arm that was wrapped around her waist, afraid that her heart, pounding like a drum, would disturb her beloved’s slumber. After that, she escaped from the room, finally able to face the shocking things she had done over these past few days.
In just two short days, their relationship had undergone a dramatic change.
Still struggling to adapt to this shift in their relationship, Yun Duan felt a bit at a loss. However, this sense of confusion was quickly picked up by Shang Can, who had been in a passive state for so long. Now that she had finally revealed the secrets she had kept for years, she felt refreshingly unburdened. Coupled with the relief from her earlier scare, Shang Can now appeared more at ease than Yun Duan.
Seeing Yun Duan’s distracted demeanor, Shang Can tilted her head and looked at her for a while, then kindly reminded her, “Your porridge is getting cold; do you want me to warm it up for you?”
Yun Duan, her ears inexplicably red, was startled by Shang Can’s sudden comment. In a panic, she glanced at her and quickly looked away, saying shyly, “……No need; I’ll finish it soon.”
This unusual behavior struck Shang Can as very odd. Concerned for Yun Duan, she reached out and touched Yun Duan’s flushed earlobe, feeling it was slightly warm to the touch. Startled by the contact, Yun Duan instinctively recoiled and covered the spot that Shang Can had touched. Shang Can frowned slightly, hesitating for a moment before quietly asking, “Is the medicine… still not completely effective?”
To her credit, Shang Can’s inquiry stemmed purely from concern, but the blush on Yun Duan’s face suddenly made Shang Can realize the implication behind her words. Immediately tense, she hurriedly explained, “I didn’t mean it like that! I was just saying—by the way, how did it go at the Apothecary yesterday? Did the physician give you a good check-up?”
Knowing that she had overreacted, Yun Duan wanted to quickly rectify the atmosphere. So, she nodded firmly, saying, “I was checked; it’s nothing serious.”
Only then did Shang Can feel a bit relieved but quickly grew curious and asked directly, “What were you thinking earlier? You weren’t concentrating on your meal.”
She was now adapting quite well, easily using affectionate terms as if the person who had been awkward before their confession was someone else entirely. It was only at this moment that Yun Duan finally realized the source of her discomfort—she and Shang Can had completely inverted the progression of their relationship. They had done everything they were supposed to do, but only now were they beginning to… date.
It was hard to determine whose fault it was. Yun Duan was momentarily at a loss for words, while Shang Can, after a long silence without receiving a response, grew worried again. She moved her chair closer to Yun Duan and stared directly at her face. Yun Duan, however, was too preoccupied to deal with the intensity of that gaze, especially upon hearing the faint sound of metal scraping below.
Yun Duan took a moment to realize what the sound was. Suddenly forgetting to eat, she put down her bowl of congee and looked down to see the iron chain still tied around Shang Can’s ankle scraping against the floor. Meanwhile, the one still bound seemed oblivious to it, simply asking in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
Even though Shang Can appeared completely unconcerned, Yun Duan immediately panicked. Instinctively, she reached for her waist but found nothing. She suddenly remembered that Shang Can would not bring weapons into her room. Just as she was about to perform a spell to break the chain, Shang Can, who was unaware of the situation, grasped her hand. Seeing the concern in her expression, Shang Can followed her gaze to the chain and thoughtfully asked, “Are you planning to unlock it?”
Yun Duan was left feeling somewhat at a loss, as if she had seen a past self who had been naive. She bit her lip in discomfort and murmured, “……I’ve thought too much before, and my actions were indeed rather impulsive…”
The possessiveness and insecurity that had been rampant in her heart gradually diminished after receiving Shang Can’s promise. Instead, it was replaced by a sense of tenderness and guilt toward her lover, especially after learning the real reason behind Shang Can’s past suicide. A wave of self-reproach surged within Yun Duan, frustrated with her own impulsiveness, and she firmly declared, “I’ll unlock it for you right now.”
For some reason, though, the one bound seemed to be in no hurry. Shang Can blinked, pondering for a moment before speaking in a slightly nuanced tone, “……Actually, if you want, I wouldn’t mind being tied up for a while longer…?”
“……”
Completely unprepared to hear such a response, Yun Duan froze, staring blankly at Shang Can. As soon as those words left Shang Can’s lips, she quickly realized something was amiss, and her fair face flushed red. She hurriedly waved her hands to clarify, “I—I don’t mean to say that I enjoy being locked up; I just think…”
“Just think it doesn’t matter.” Shang Can tried to calm herself down, shaking her head. “Anyway, I’m someone who has died and come back to life. Since I’m going to be by your side no matter what, then thinking about it, it doesn’t seem to matter whether I’m locked up or not—if this visible and tangible restraint can make you feel at ease, then I really don’t mind being locked up.”
As she spoke, something suddenly came to her mind, and she added, “But I really do want to meet with Wan Shaochu and the others. I still owe them a favor for cleaning up the mess I left back then—ah, right! Since we’re already at Qingyu, I’d like to visit my master, but…”
Shang Can paused, revealing a look of melancholy and difficulty on her face as she lowered her voice. “But I probably can’t go see him. After all, ‘Shang Can’ has been dead for so long. Suddenly appearing and telling my master that I’ve been a Cang Zhe all these years would be too…”
Hearing Shang Can’s words laced with sadness, Yun Duan pursed her lips, suppressing the gloomy thoughts stirred by Shang Can’s earlier remarks about the chains. She tightened her grip on Shang Can’s hand and softly said, “You can meet him; my master already knows.”
Shang Can looked up in surprise, catching a glimpse of a faint blush on Yun Duan’s face, and awkwardly replied, “Whether it’s about your past identity or the fact that I didn’t lose my memory, or even that you’re currently in Qingyu… my master knows it all.”
Inside the Yuheng Hall.
Wang Yue sat upright at the table, meticulously holding a book and reading with great concentration. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes sparkled with intensity, exuding the air of a diligent master lost in study.
After a long while, Wang Yue finally exhaled softly, silently closing the book and placing it on the table before slowly shutting her eyes.
—Hmm, this book isn’t bad either, but it doesn’t quite capture the characters’ personalities accurately. It seems Shang Can has appeared too infrequently in the immortal cultivation world.
The cover of the book boldly proclaimed the title “Cloud of Cang,” straightforwardly revealing its content. It was clear that Wang Yue, the head of the Yuheng Peak, had recently developed a new hobby; she remained unfazed, maintaining a serious demeanor that would make anyone who looked at her guess that she had just finished reading a novel based on her two disciples.
Ah, I wonder how the main characters are doing now?
As the memories of the dialogue from the book lingered, Wang Yue’s thoughts turned to her two disciples, who seemed entangled in a web of love and hate. A frown creased her face in distress. It had been several days since Yun Duan last visited to discuss her interactions with Shang Can, and Yun Duan had seemed rather down during that visit. She couldn’t help but worry if Shang Can could find a way to cheer her up.
After learning that Shang Can had successfully awakened, Wang Yue often worried whether her decision to allow Yun Duan and Shang Can to be alone together was correct. However, she ultimately chose to let the young ones handle their affairs, agreeing to Yun Duan’s request to bring Shang Can out once they determined the reason for her suicide years ago.
Yet now, looking at the half-month that had passed, why did it feel like there hadn’t been any progress? Wang Yue crossed her arms in frustration, but after reflecting, she realized there had been some development; at least Yun Duan’s mental state was visibly better than before, and she no longer seemed so tense, as if walking a tightrope on the edge of a cliff. But she still wondered how Shang Can was doing. Perhaps she should find time to ask Yun Duan about it? It should be okay to delicately suggest that she wanted to check in on them—
As she was deep in thought, there was a gentle knock on the door, followed by three polite raps that stopped immediately—clearly, it was Yun Duan’s style.
Thinking this was just what she wished for, Wang Yue hurriedly stuffed the novel on the table into the bookshelf and then grabbed a serious book to sit at the table before calling out, “Come in.”
Although she had already answered the door, for some reason, it didn’t open right away. Just as a hint of confusion arose in Wang Yue’s mind, the tightly closed door was slowly pushed open. First, Yun Duan entered, as graceful and refined as ever in her white attire, but there was a hint of pink on her pale face. Following her was a person slightly taller than her, appearing anxious and out of sorts, their familiar peach blossom eyes cautiously looking toward Wang Yue.
Wang Yue’s breath caught for a moment as she stared at the two, momentarily lost in thought. It took her a while to snap back to reality, blinking as she slowly let her gaze drop to their tightly held hands.
“…”
Wang Yue’s brow twitched slightly, unable to hide her excitement as she softly remarked, “How strange—ordinarily, I would say my two disciples are here to see me, but somehow, it feels like one of my disciples has brought their partner to visit.”
Comment