Volume 15
Chapter 16: Lu Li Says (Part 3)
Chu Jingyi was the most considerate girl Lu Li had ever met. She didn’t have the natural divine sense of Hupo, nor was she as unapproachable as Zhu Xi. The Silly Goose was like a small, cream-filled candy. She looked sweet, tasted sweet, and when you bit into the filling, a golden, warm liquid would flow out, making your whole mouth bloom with sweetness.
Lu Li felt that one of the most correct things he had done in this life was not to let Chu Jingyi down, not to arrive late when she had completely lost heart for fairy tales and fantasies. Perhaps he felt guilty for being entangled with other women, but no matter what, Lu Li’s love for Chu Jingyi was firm, flawless, and pure, just like her love for him.
The neon lights on the pedestrian street were a mesmerizing blur. Lu Li and Chu Jingyi walked hand-in-hand, like any other university student couple—sweet, happy, innocent, unaware of the cruelty of the world. What was different from other university student couples was that they weren’t just imagining they could walk to the end of the world; they could really grow old together, side by side. A stable love exists in a stable relationship, family, material foundation, and personality compatibility.
After experiencing their brief separation before, both Lu Li and Chu Jingyi realized that they couldn’t bear to be apart.
The two of them bought snacks along the way, talking and laughing, eating and drinking until they reached the end of the pedestrian street. Here was one of Capital University’s famous attractions: the Mandarin Duck Trees. Two old osmanthus trees had been growing in the same posture for who knows how many years, until their branches intertwined, indistinguishable from each other. According to folk legend, in 1901, after the constitutionalist representative Zhao Lianhua lost his wife, he passed by this place. Seeing the two old trees that had been together for who knows how many years, he burst into tears. After returning home, he fell ill and couldn’t get up. After arranging his affairs, he said, “In my entire life, I have only wronged my wife,” and then passed away. Zhao Lianhua and his wife, Jiang Yueyun, had been in love for a lifetime. But Zhao Lianhua, as a high-ranking official and a key figure in pushing for the constitution, often worked late into the night. To wait for the latest news, he would sleep on a stone bridge outside the imperial palace. Jiang Yueyun not only had no complaints, but would also bring him food and clothes every day. It was a pity that on the day she died of illness, Zhao Lianhua was unable to take time off from his busy affairs to accompany his beloved wife on her final journey. Later generations said that Zhao Lianhua had seen the hundred-year-old Mandarin Duck Trees, thought of his deceased wife, and was filled with guilt, which was what had caused the illness to attack his heart. Others said that Zhao Lianhua’s death had nothing to do with this, but was just a poisoning by his political enemies. But after a hundred years, no one knew with what kind of mood Zhao Lianhua had walked through the last three months of his life, nor did anyone know the real truth.
A hundred years later, today, Lu Li and Chu Jingyi came under the Mandarin Duck Trees and saw the community’s notice board: “Please do not climb.” On the right side, there was a line of small characters, introducing the species, age, and story of the Mandarin Duck Trees. The community staff had also set up a small stall on the side. For fifty yuan a time, you could ask the staff to hang a nameplate in an empty spot on the ancient tree’s branches.
“Actually, Zhao Lianhua and Jiang Yueyun can be considered my ancestors,” the Silly Goose said with emotion after reading the introduction on the notice board. “There has always been a tradition of intermarriage among the upper-class families. We are actually all related to each other.”
Lu Li looked up at the tall Mandarin Duck Trees, at the grain of the trunk and the large and small nameplates on the branches. Suddenly, a sense of déjà vu arose from nowhere, as if he had seen it somewhere before. He was extremely familiar with its grain, as if he had really climbed this tree before.
The neon lights were a blur, the Chang’an road was slanted, and the wind blew through the osmanthus trees. Lu Li’s mind was in a daze. The beginning of his and Chu Jingyi’s love seemed to have been witnessed by an osmanthus tree.
The Silly Goose asked for two nameplates and seriously wrote her and Lu Li’s names on them. Then the two of them held hands and watched as the staff hung the nameplates on the branches of the Mandarin Duck Trees, becoming one of the thousands of beautiful wishes.
At this time, the night was just right, the flowers were beautiful, and the moon was full. Lu Li was inspired. He suddenly felt that this was the right time to propose to the Silly Goose. He turned his head and happened to find the Silly Goose looking at him with deep affection.
“Lu Li…”
“I’m here.”
Chu Jingyi smiled foolishly and called out in a small voice, “Lu Li~”
“I’m here.”
“Lu Li~” her voice was sweet and coquettish, like a little marshmallow.
“I’m here.”
She loved this feeling of calling out to Lu Li and getting a response, as if all the love she had given had been reciprocated. The feelings in her heart flowed out sweetly, making her unable to resist getting closer to Lu Li. She liked Lu Li’s scent, liked the temperature of Lu Li’s body, liked everything about him.
Lu Li, under the little girl’s surprised gaze, took out a ring. “Jingyi, this is for you.”
She was so excited she was incoherent. “Now… really, is it for me? Isn’t it too early… can I wear it now?”
“Of course it’s for you, my little sweetheart. I’ve already told our dad,” Lu Li said with a smile. He didn’t kneel to propose as he had before, but after slowly putting the ring on Chu Jingyi’s finger, he hooked his little finger with hers. The Silly Goose instantly understood his meaning, and the strong emotions in her heart poured out like a flood.
“Do you remember, you used to say, ‘Mom said that if a promise made with a pinky swear is broken, you just have to walk back fifty steps, and it will be as if nothing ever happened.’”
The little girl was reminded of the past, and tears streamed down her face. “Wuwu… I remember…”
“I think what your mom said wasn’t complete. If, after walking back, you make another pinky promise, then they will never be able to be separated again. Because if even walking back can’t defeat their feelings, then what else can?”
Chu Jingyi both cried and laughed. “You bad guy. Why did you make me cry…”
Lu Li gently shook their linked little fingers. The bright ring shone exceptionally brightly against the backdrop of the Mandarin Duck Trees. “I promise you, I will always be with you in the future. No matter what changes fate brings, I will never leave you. Yibao, are you willing to accompany this somewhat greedy toad?”
Chu Jingyi looked at the wedding ring on her finger and suddenly felt as if the world had exploded into a magnificent firework. The little girl’s mind was filled with Lu Li’s words, and she said, crying, “I never want to leave you again… wuwu… I’m willing…”
“Pinky promise, hang it up…”
“Wuwu… a hundred years—no, ten million, ten thousand years, no changing…”
“Whoever changes is a—” Lu Li’s words were not finished before they were blocked by Chu Jingyi’s fragrant lips. The Silly Goose rarely took the initiative to kiss him. She was a shy, conservative, and classical girl, but today was an exception.
“…No one will change, and they’re not allowed to change.” Her lips pressed against Lu Li’s, not letting him finish.
Okay, Lu Li said in his heart. Then he held her tight, and under the ancient, serene Mandarin Duck Trees, they kissed passionately, as if the world had only the two of them.
On the notice board under the Mandarin Duck Trees, there were two more lines of small characters:
May I ask the river tide and the sea, how do they compare to your love and my heart?
To hate each other is not as good as the tide, which is faithful. To love each other is to finally realize the sea is not deep.
—Bai Juyi, inscribed by Zhao Lianhua
