Raindrops slid down the wall, falling onto the slender blades of grass, while the wind stirred the flowers, causing them to drift together across the water’s surface.
Summer rain always arrives with such unpredictable moods. Just like tonight—the drizzle is as light as drifting catkins. Holding an umbrella feels excessive, yet without one, the rain falls thick and soft, quietly soaking you through.
When Duan Yelin walked in the door of Jinyan Tang, the summer rain had just begun to fall.
As he passed by Qiyuan, he spotted Chan Yi crouched at the doorway, peeking out as if watching something intently. He walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. Chan Yi turned, gave a quick salute, then raised a finger to her lips and whispered, “Commander, look—the Head of the Household is acting really strange today.”
He mimicked Chan Yi’s posture and looked in the same direction. Xu Hang stood beneath the weeping willow by the lotus pond, dressed in a white gauze robe. He held no umbrella, letting the rain fall freely on him, and it was unclear what he was doing.
Chan Yi peeked at the door and said, “Today, when the Head of the Household came back at night, he took off his coat as soon as he entered and stood there and didn’t allow us to go in even a step. Commander, did you piss him off again?”
Duan Yelin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What? So in your eyes, every time he acts a little strange, it’s somehow my fault?”
Chan Yi pursed her lips: “You know it clearly.”
Without saying anything more to her, Duan Yelin waved his hand and told her to leave, and then he went into Qiyuan.
How could one truly know the beauty of spring without stepping into the garden? The moment Duan Yelin entered, it felt as though he had walked into an ancient painting—perhaps even a dreamlike, otherworldly realm.
The willows weep, the lotus trees lean, rain falls gently, and the soft notes of a yangqin drift across the pond.
Xu Hang stood sideways on a large rock, a glazed lantern hanging from the willow tree’s branches. The soft, misty light bathed his profile, casting him in an ethereal glow, like a faint moon. He tilted his head slightly, and tiny water droplets clung to the fine hairs on his neck.
When Duan Yelin got closer, he realized that Xu Hang was barefoot. His ankles were as white as snow and matched the dark stone surface.
Don’t be concerned about the lotus flower fragrance that follows your steps, for you will always be worried about your silk socks floating on the water. It is difficult to describe its delicate beauty, one must feel it in the palm of their hands.
He once read a poem called ‘With feet like snow, without stockings’.
At the time, he was very surprised. How could anyone say that someone’s feet were like frost and snow? Only today did he realize that the poet was indeed a person whose feet seemed carved from ice and jade, delicate as if they would melt if touched in the hands.
Xu Hang squinted his eyes and hummed the tune of Yue Opera.
It was like a piece of jade being gently rubbed in cotton wool, and it made people’s ears soften.
“Clear lotus leaves and a crystal-clear pond, mandarin ducks swimming in pairs. Brother Liang, if Yingtai is the woman in red, would you be willing to be a pair with her, like the mandarin ducks?”
After singing a line, he hooked his hands and twisted them, as if holding a fan, and then sang, “The pair of mandarin ducks, the pair of mandarin ducks, but it’s a pity that you, Yingtai, are not the woman in red.”
“Walk through the bamboo forest, pass the ancestral hall, and you will reach the Guanyin Hall ahead. The Bodhisattva Guanyin will serve as the matchmaker. You, Brother Liang, and I will come to the hall to offer our prayers.”
“My dear brother, your words are getting more and more ridiculous. How can two men get married?”
Everyone in Hezhou spoke of the former pillar of the Lihua Troupe, praising their authentic and refined singing style, but no one knew that the voice of Xu Da, the head of the Jinyan Tang, was worth a thousand gold.
He played both roles himself. His voice was handsome and clear when he sang Liang Shanbo, and shy and sweet when he sang Zhu Yingtai. Though it seemed as if he was singing casually, he outshone many true experts who had practiced tirelessly.
Duan Yelin had only heard it once, four years ago. He had assumed that Xu Hang must despise these things so much that he would never bring it up again in his presence. But tonight, he had the rare fortune of hearing it once more.
He walked forward cautiously. Xu Hang had stopped reciting the words and was just holding the tune in his mouth. He sniffed and smelled a hint of Lihua Bai.
Is he drunk?
Pushing a strand of hair behind his ear, Duan Yelin asked, “Shaotang, are you unhappy?”
Xu Hang had a faint smile on his face and shook his head, as if he was really drunk and happy.
Duan Yelin sighed, “You didn’t even invite me when you drank?”
Xu Hang didn’t look back, his breath was erratic: “You like to drink Pizhen Chun, and I only drink Lihua Bai. We… can’t drink together.”
The tone of voice, which was tinged with alcohol, seemed particularly emotional. Duan Yelin picked him up horizontally to prevent him from getting hurt by his bare feet on the ground.
“Why are you drinking? You didn’t like to drink before.”
“Who said I don’t like to drink?” Xu Hang pursed his lips. “Wine is harmful to the liver and the body. People who work with medicine know that, and they don’t touch it. Today… today is a good day. I want to drink a little.”
Good day? Duan Yelin thought for a long time but couldn’t think of what a good day today was.
The drizzle fell gently, and Xu Hang’s hair hung on his cheeks. Duan Yelin was confused: “By the way, you sang ‘Eighteen Farewells’ just now?”
“En.”
“This is also my favorite part. You sang this part when we first met in Qiyuan.”
Xu Hang raised his dark eyes, which were a little misty: “…This part is good, but the rest is about returning to Eighteenth, meeting on the balcony, crying at the grave, and turning into a butterfly…”
The more he spoke, the lower his voice became, and the last note was actually a sigh.
Hearing this, Duan Yelin finally understood that Xu Hang was adding sadness to the life and death of people today, and he didn’t know whether it was because of the fire a few days ago or the matter between Duan Zhanzhou and Cong Lin.
No wonder Chan Yi said that he was strange today.
“You are drunk. I will take you back.”
He extended his arms and lifted Xu Hang sideways. He heard the little guy gasp, as if trying to defend himself, but his body relaxed and fell softly against him. He held him firmly and walked into the room.
Walking on the gravel road, Xu Hang huddled in his arms and suddenly asked, “Why aren’t you watching your brother today?”
“He took Cong Lin away, saying he wanted to bury him with Cong Wei. He will come back, and he will slowly settle this account with Yuan Sen.”
Xu Hang chuckled and shook his head: “One can only feel the depth of love when one dies… heh… Duan Yelin, if I die, will you be like Duan Zhanzhou?”
Duan Yelin suddenly paused in his steps. Water droplets from the rain gathered on his cheeks, trailing down to his chin before dripping off. He lowered his head and noticed that Xu Hang’s expression was neither sad nor happy. Tightening his grip, he held him even closer.
“Shaotang, we will never have this day. I will never let you die.”
He said it as if he were the King of Hell who controlled life and death.
“As you live another day, you can never know whether tomorrow will bring blessing or disaster. Life and death are governed by fate—there’s no way to predict it…” Xu Hang opened his eyes slightly, stretched out a finger, tapped Duan Yelin’s nose, and said, “…If my father were still alive, today would be his birthday.”
So that’s how it is.
No wonder it’s called a “good day”.
Xu Hang hadn’t seen his parents for more than ten years. It wasn’t that he didn’t have time to see them, but that they were separated by life and death.
Over the years, he rarely revealed his feelings and past events. When he suddenly spoke today, Duan Yelin felt sorry for him.
A calm and indifferent person like him would actually drink to relieve his sorrow, which shows how deep the pain is in his heart.
He brought the person back to the room. The small window was open. Duan Yelin put him against the window frame, put his forehead against him, looked at him for a while, and then kissed him.
The body soaked by the rain was so delicious that Duan Yelin couldn’t help but stick out his tongue to lick it and bite the two lips repeatedly. Xu Hang, who was sitting on the windowsill, was slightly taller than Duan Yelin, so Duan Yelin raised his chin slightly and hooked the back of Xu Hang’s head with his other hand to press it down.
The smell of Lihua Bai on the tip of the tongue is so sweet. Duan Yelin likes to drink strong liquor, and Lihua Bai is too light and too sweet for him. But now it tastes just right.
Xu Hang was a little out of breath and couldn’t help but fall back. Duan Yelin’s hand was holding Xu Hang’s lower back.
It was a happy rain on a summer night.
Duan Yelin took off Xu Hang’s clothes while kissing him and then took off his own clothes as well. Xu Hang’s half body was outside the window, his neck slightly tilted up, and the rain hit the place where their skin touched, sometimes feeling hot and sometimes cold.
The flowers and plants in the yard had turned into essence, having been thirsty for several days, finally receiving rain today. But this rain was truly frustrating. It fell in tiny drops, making people’s bodies damp but not truly hydrating anything. Instead, it only left an irritating, itchy feeling inside.
The flowers twisted their waists, the leaves trembled, and the rain finally got heavier.
Duan Yelin bit Xu Hang’s collarbone, and Xu Hang’s brain exploded. He grabbed Duan Yelin’s hair with one hand: “Stop…”
“It’s not that I won’t stop,” Duan Yelin raised his head, hugged Xu Hang tightly, and kissed him so hard that he almost fell out of the window. “…It’s you who won’t let me go.”
The rain became more and more excessive, soaking the bark of the trees. The insects hiding in the tree holes began to swear and crawl around, restless.
To keep from falling, Xu Hang clung tightly to the window frame with both hands, his neck arched upward like a swan—slender and delicate. Duan Yelin, being deliberately mean, didn’t offer a hand to help. He was clearly bullying someone who was drunk. Watching Xu Hang’s trembling arms, fluttering lashes, and breathless expression, he still had more than enough energy to keep pressing forward.
Completely out of strength, Xu Hang rested his chin on Duan Yelin’s shoulder, which only made Duan Yelin want to bite him in frustration.
Duan Yelin blew into his ear: “Shaotang, you’d better not let me know that you still have any strength left.”
A dark cloud came in the night, unseen by anyone, and it began to rain heavily, soaking the entire garden. Each raindrop was large and full, hitting the garden with such force that the flowers and plants could not help but cry out.
The delicate potted flowers began to lose their color as well, crying out, “Too much, too much!” They tried to shield their blushing faces with their leaves. The water, thick and heavy, rose to the brim of the pots, nearly spilling over—they could hold no more.
There was no way the dark cloud would relent. The more he heard the cries from the living things below, the more he felt the pulse of summer’s vitality. His body shuddered with excitement, growing even more energized.
At this moment, two maids were heard chattering as they walked towards the room at the garden gate.
All the spirits in the garden suddenly became calm and quiet.
“Sister Chan Yi, where are you going so late?”
“The Head of the Household has drunk too much. I’ll bring him a bowl of sobering soup. You can go to bed first.”
The two, lost in their moment of affection, were suddenly startled. They heard footsteps drawing nearer and nearer—if anyone stepped into the garden now, the first thing they’d witness would be this utterly scandalous scene.
Duan Yelin was licking Xu Hang’s left little finger at this time, but Xu Hang pulled his hand away and slapped him softly: “… Stop it.”
The footsteps were precarious. Duan Yelin picked Xu Hang up, closed the window, fell on the bed, and blew out the lights.
Chan Yi walked up to the door and noticed the lights were off. She gently knocked and said softly, “Head of the Household? Be careful as to wake up with a headache tomorrow. Please drink some sobering soup.”
This incident sobered Xu Hang up a lot. He lay on the bed, staring at Duan Yelin.
After staring at each other for a long time, Xu Hang said with a slightly hoarse voice, “I don’t want to drink, you can leave it at the door…”
If one listens carefully, this sound is completely different from usual. It’s just that the rain outside is getting louder, so Chan Yi didn’t pay attention and just put down the soup and left.
“Get out…” After sobering up, his expression changed. Xu Hang turned his head and put his hand on Duan Yelin’s chest.
Duan Yelin naturally did not move and even asked back, “Who are you asking to get out?”
“……”
Once they were in bed, Duan Yelin turned into a complete two-faced scoundrel. Xu Hang, holding onto his self-righteous pride, stubbornly refused to say anything so indecent to him.
If possible, Xu Hang wanted to slap Duan Yelin again, but he grabbed his hands and pressed them on the bed.
Duan Yelin leaned in close, his nose almost touching Xu Hang’s, and said, “Good, you’re a little more sober now. I want to respond to what you just said.”
His eyes were like the morning stars in the sky on a summer night, extremely dazzling.
“Shaotang, I’m a soldier. People who fight on the battlefield can’t make promises like ‘holding your hand and growing old together’. I also don’t want to lie to you,” Duan Yelin panted slightly and said, “But I dare say that I will be with you through life and death.”
I can’t promise you that we’ll grow old together, but I have made an agreement with you regarding life and death.
Xu Hang, who was drunk, suddenly opened his eyes. His sight was not on Duan Yelin but on the beams of the room. Not sure what he was looking at. After a long while, he slowly closed his eyes.
Whatever, he was drunk anyway, so he just thought it was nonsense.
“You can’t make a promise casually… be careful of the consequences.”
“Didn’t you say that? You hope that I can always be so confident.”
Duan Yelin leaned down and began teasing Xu Hang with another kiss, and the flowers and plants in the garden, which had been feigning seriousness, burst into celebration once more.
Drinking really messes things up. I will never drink again, Xu Hang thought.
The rain outside the window had finally ceased. The flowers hung limp at the edges of their pots, their petals drenched. Water trickled from the stamens, falling to the ground drop by drop. In a soft murmur, they cursed the ungrateful rain.
Perhaps the dark cloud heard it, he smiled, turned over, and became energetic again.
After a while, Xu Hang finally felt that he could not bear it any longer. He had drunk some wine tonight and was sleepy, so he said weakly, “You should stop…”
But drunk Xu Hang is very rare, and Duan Yelin only gets this once-in-a-lifetime chance, so how could he let him off easily?
What an injustice…
Only a few knew when the rain had stopped, so naturally, the bowl of sobering soup grew cold, untouched by anyone.
