âStupid Feng Shen, how dare you treat my goodwill as dog shit. I hope you get tortured by your cold sickness along the way.â Still unsettled by her temper, Ye Ling Yue snatches up one of the paper cranes and starts fiddling with it.
Regarding this box of cranes, itâs been over a year since she gave it away so it came as a huge surprise that none of the spirit smoke inside were used.
Unexpectedly enough, she soon discovered something different about these cranes. Itâs been refolded before based on her assessment.
Now that came as odd to her. Curious, she quickly unfolds the thing and saw the words inside.
âFeng Shen loves Ye Ling Yue.â The fingers shook as her grip loosened around the paper, leaving it to fall to the ground.
Not wanting to wait another second, she swiftly unraveled the other cranes and found the same sentence one after another.
All of a sudden, the image of a sickly young boy sitting there alone to write these words had popped into her mind. Itâs pretty obvious the boy was afraid his work would be discovered, hence the reason why the cranes were so clumsily refolded.
Ninety-nine cranes and ninety love confessions, thatâs the message Feng Shen wanted to pass onto Ling Yue here today.
In this very moment, this very second, all notions of time had frozen over for the girl. All that sadness, all that anger she experienced, itâs completely replaced with exhilaration and excitement. What a good day it was.
âIs Feng Shen your boss instead of me you little rascal, why are you being so dutiful to him?â Despite the girl giving his little friend there a heavy knock on the head, that beaming smile cannot hide Ling Yueâs joy and happiness.
âSqueak (Iâm not, I am only loyal to Mistress! I only feel sorry for himâ¦.)â
âWhat sorry. If he had wanted to convey his love for me then he shouldâve done it in person instead of doing something so easily misinterpreted.â Puckering her lips into a pinch, that smile had already spread into her eyes.
Back over at the road, Feng Shenâs carriage remains parked on the side, unwilling to move despite the hours.
âYour Highness, if we donât start moving soon then we wonât be able to make it to the nearest town by nightfall,â Dao Nu didnât understand why his lord was being so persistent here.
Heâs asked several times before already and got no answer. The big guy may not understand what it means to love someone in his current state, but heâs not stupid. He can clearly see his lord loves the girl and the girl loves his lord back. So why, why all this fuss and indecision.
Just as Dao Nu was busy scratching his head and ready to make another attempt to persuade the boy to move on, a sudden sound from behind had caught his attention.
âMiss, Miss Ling Yueâ¦â The big guy almost couldnât believe his eyes.
Not missing a single spec of that name, Feng Shenâs lifeless expression instantly became rejuvenated. Eager in his movement, the boy swiftly opens up the curtain to his carriage door. Sadly though, the expected presence of the familiar figure was nowhere to be seen.
âIts Miss Ling Yueâs little fox,â the big guy points down at the ground in front of the car. It was Little Squeak struggling to push the box over with his tiny body.
Sinking in his face, Feng Shen gives an eyeful to his follower to show his displeasure.
Heâs decided. The moment they return to North Qing he will be deducting Dao Nuâs salary, a heavy deduction until the big guy buckles up in the waist due to hunger.
âLittle Squeak, what are you doing here?â Picking the white fox off the ground, Feng Shen didnât quite understand whatâs going on until he opened up the lid to the container. It was the paper cranes, all ninety-nine of them.
Didnât Dao Nu say she tossed them away, why did she pick them up again? The boy became confused by the act.
âSqueak (Mistress told me to see you off. She said sheâs still upset with you)â Unfortunately for the boy, Feng Shen didnât have a clue as to what the fox was saying.
While confusion hovered over the boyâs head, something magical was taking place with the cranes. They were flapping their wings and flying out of the box all at once. Ninety-nine paper cranes now surrounds the boy on all sides like a fairy tale.
âStinking Feng Shen, if you dare lose my stuff again then donât come back to Da Xia anymore.â Both angry and shy in that familiar voice, the sound from these paper cranes had left the boy both startled and elated.
Now he understands, these paper cranes arenât the same one from before, which meansâ¦. His heart starts beating hard to the point where he felt like it would explode at any moment.
Sheâs found it, the secret inside those cranes. The storm brewing all this time over Feng Shenâs dreary face was now over. Light, now radiates across his face.
The reason? Itâs the bet he made today. Heâs won the gamble!
The boy understands very clearly he shouldnât be trying to get too close to the girl, but his heart wonât have it any other way. Itâs like a trap, once heâs stepped into it he can no longer get out. As such, Feng Shen took a gamble for once, a gamble that Ling Yue would see his love confession in the cranes.
However, if the outcome was any different today, like she didnât see the message, then he will admit defeat and give up for good. That was his plan, but⦠his hope has been answered!
âLittle Squeak, you truly are my lucky star.â Picking the fox off the ground, Feng Shen issues out a booming laugh never before seen on the boy. This was his victory cry, the one victory heâs earned through sheer stubbornness and persistence.
This naturally left the big attendant completely baffled on the side. He just didnât get whatâs happening with his lord. Thereâs been too many changes occurring recently that heâs having trouble matching the one here to the one in his memories.
Also, what did that sentence mean? Did she forgive the young master or not?
âDao Nu, weâre heading back to North Qing.â Happily accepting the box, Feng Shen joyously returns to the carriage while Little Squeak heads back to make his report.
âThis time I will not yield to anyone, not even âhimâ.â Stern in the face, Feng Shen tightly clenches onto his precious box like a man making an oath.
In tandem to that statement, a current of mysterious power started to seemingly seep out of his core, making the boy look stronger and more mature than ever before. This change wasnât a gradual one, rather itâs nearly instantaneous like an evolution had taken place.
Before long, the presence of the grandiose carriage was gone from sight, leaving only Ling Yue watching on from a nearby cliff.
âUghh, I seem to have done something wrong again,â the girlâs hand still holding a box similar in appearance to the one in the boyâs hand. She too can feel their relationship was a taboo, but she canât
âIs he gone now?â Lan Caier leans out of the side with a teasing smile.
She just knew her sister wouldnât be so cruel to the boy. Besides, such a handsome fella doesnât come often. Who can reject that face!