QG Chapter72

The dark night sky exploded with fireworks, vibrant colors spreading out, unfolding a dazzling scroll across the air.

 

It was New Year’s Day night, and bonfires were lit once again in the Miao Ethnic Village.

 

A large portion of Dongjiang Miao Village’s income now comes from tourism, so during various holidays, when there are more visitors, they host ethnically themed events. This serves to both retain guests and attract new ones.

 

The lusheng’s melody was cheerful and soaring. The “Ah-mei” linked arms, dancing gracefully to the rhythm of the music, their mouths singing Miao folk songs that I couldn’t understand.

 

Shen Jianqing held my hand, and we aimlessly drifted with the crowd, gradually reaching the central square along with everyone else.

 

I suddenly remembered wandering the streets of Yancheng back then, people bustling past just like now, but I had been alone, just a solitary figure. This moment now felt like something I had once longed for deeply, and at last, it had come true.

 

Along the way, people occasionally turned to look at us, casting strange glances at our clasped hands. Shen Jianqing noticed too, but he simply raised our joined hands higher, as if proclaiming to the world, We truly are a couple!

 

I was unaccustomed to dealing with such gazes, but I let Shen Jianqing have his way.

 

We found a place on one of the viewing platforms flanking the square and sat down, surrounded by the crowd, quietly watching the lively scene unfold.

 

The last time I sat here, no matter how far my imagination stretched, pushing past every creative boundary, I never could’ve predicted all that would follow.

 

Suddenly, Shen Jianqing leaned close to my ear and said, “Yuze Ah-ge, do you still remember the foot-stomping ceremony you participated in here before?”

 

I knew exactly what he was referring to without needing to think and nodded, “What about it?”

 

Shen Jianqing paused, his gaze fixed on my face, and then said, “Actually, I stepped on you that time.”

 

I froze.

 

At the time, I vaguely remembered a footprint on my shoe. I thought someone had accidentally stepped on it in the chaos, and I wiped it clean.

 

But now, I turned my head to look at Shen Jianqing, at his incomparably handsome face, at the way he gazed at me with such tenderness. My heart was suddenly filled with a strange sense of joy.

 

“You…”

 

Before I could speak, Shen Jianqing immediately accused, “But you turned around and wiped it clean.”

 

My shoe was dirty; was I supposed to leave it dirty and wait for it to air dry?

 

However, I couldn’t say that out loud.

 

I thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll let you step on it again now.”

 

As I spoke, I extended my foot, presenting the pure white surface of my shoe to him, making it easy for him to step on.

 

Shen Jianqing immediately brightened, and without hesitation, he lifted his foot and left a clear footprint on my shoe.

 

It was a beautiful butterfly, poised as if about to take flight, with what looked like flowers beside it.

 

After stepping, Shen Jianqing even examined it, smugly remarking, “Not bad, it was even a bit more precise than last time.”

 

I almost laughed.

 

Shen Jianqing then said, “Yuze Ah-ge, since I’ve stepped on you, you’re mine. You can never leave me for your whole life.”

 

A whole life?

 

Thinking about it, spending an entire life with him didn’t seem like something difficult to endure at all.

 

I curved my lips and solemnly said, “Okay.”

 

Time flowed like water, and before we knew it, we had already come a long, long way.

 

After graduation, I returned to Dongjiang and became a full-time writer.

 

I often thought about writing the story of Shen Jianqing and myself, but when I picked up my pen, I didn’t know where to begin.

 

Although I didn’t join the Yancheng Daily, their editor thought highly of me and kept in touch. Most of my manuscripts were submitted to them.

 

I suddenly felt that such peaceful and leisurely days weren’t bad at all.

 

Shen Jianqing had taken on the role of promoting the Miao language within the village. Due to increased interaction with the outside world, many Miao people weren’t very familiar with their own language. The village also needed to showcase Miao customs and culture, so the Miao language naturally received a lot of attention.

 

That day, Shen Jianqing was out working, and I was at home, busy with my manuscript.

 

Yancheng Daily recently wanted to launch a new column and invited me to be the lead writer. I needed to send the file to the editor by the deadline.

 

When I finished writing, it was still early, so I decided to tidy up the house. Neither Shen Jianqing nor I was good at keeping the house organized; we’d always let it get into a complete mess before rushing to clean it up.

 

Hong Hong was lying by my computer desk. When it saw me get up, it also got up on its legs, following my every move.

 

It was very well-behaved, with such a small head but so understanding.

 

The inner room was a mess, with cups and saucers left casually aside and books Shen Jianqing had read but never put back in their original place.

 

Oh, there was a period when he felt particularly inferior because he wasn’t very educated, but he’d hardly turn two pages before almost falling asleep.

 

Thinking of Shen Jianqing, I couldn’t help but smile.

 

After tidying the room, I put things into the cabinet. Suddenly, I glimpsed something very familiar in the deepest corner of the cabinet.

 

I leaned in slightly and “dug” it out from the corner.

 

It was the Gu container, Shen Jianqing’s Gu container, that I had seen before.

 

Its lid was tightly sealed, just as I remembered, and it even had a slight sheen, as if it were often held and rubbed in someone’s hands.

 

Shen Jianqing had said before that when he left Shidi Miao Village, he only took a few important things his parents had left him, but he never mentioned the Gu container.

 

A strong wave of curiosity rose from the depths of my heart.

 

What was inside?

 

A Gu? No, Shen Jianqing had said he does not cast a Gu.

 

Then what was in it?

 

Hong Hong climbed onto the lid of the Gu container, circling it a couple of times. I didn’t know what it meant, was it trying to stop me or urging me to open it quickly?

 

I really couldn’t resist the urge of curiosity.

 

To be honest, in my heart, Shen Jianqing was the most important person in my world, and I knew he felt the same about me.

 

So, looking into his Gu container should be fine, right?

 

Thinking this, I extended my hands towards the Gu container and slowly opened its lid.

 

A sickly, strange scent suddenly wafted out, and I instinctively held my breath, looking inside.

 

But in the Gu container, there seemed to be a strange object.

 

It looked like a piece of paper.

 

A piece of paper?

 

I reached out and took it out, but the moment I saw it clearly, my mind went “buzz”, and everything vanished.

 

It wasn’t a Gu.

 

It was a photograph.

 

I was dressed in traditional Miao clothes, sitting silently in front of a bed, gazing directly into the camera. I was younger then, and the slightly cold look in my eyes felt unfamiliar to me.

 

Was it that photo taken in Shidi Miao Village?

 

Inside the Gu container was actually my picture.

 

“Yuze Ah-ge.” Shen Jianqing’s voice suddenly came from behind me. I didn’t know when he had appeared at the doorway.

 

I turned around, dazed. He saw what was in my hand and simply curved his lips in a sigh, as if a harmless little secret of his had been discovered, with a mix of shyness and joy.

 

“In your Gu container…?” I asked.

 

Shen Jianqing replied, “Yuze Ah-ge, I told you long ago, I don’t cast Gu.”

 

He truly hadn’t lied to me. My love for him was entirely instinctive.

 

If there truly was a love Gu, perhaps, it was Shen Jianqing himself.

 

He was my love Gu.

 

(End of Main Text)

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T/N: The end of the main story guys, all extra chapters will be posted tomorrow.