20demayo Chapter 337 Once upon a time, there was a mountain...
Chapter 337 Once upon a time, there was a mountain...
The carriage continued its swaying journey, and the atmosphere changed when there was an extra person in the carriage.
Yao Yao nestled in Lin Chen's arms, her eyes glancing at Ling Bo every now and then.
Blue Phoenix leaned back on the cushions, peeling oranges. Her movements were still slow and deliberate, but noticeably quieter than usual.
Liu Shengxue kept his eyes closed, his face expressionless, but he didn't turn a single page of the sheet music for a long time.
Liu Sheng Piaopiao sat next to her sister, head down, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.
Lin Chen leaned against the cushion, acting as if nothing had happened.
He took a sip of wine, smacked his lips, and patted Lan Fenghuang's leg:
"Where are the oranges?"
Lan Fenghuang rolled her eyes and handed over the freshly peeled orange in her hand.
Lin Chen opened his mouth to take it, chewed it a couple of times, and frowned: "It's sour."
"You eat the sour stuff too?" Lan Fenghuang said irritably.
Lin Chen chuckled and pinched her leg again.
Blue Phoenix glared at her and moved to the side.
Lin Chen moved over and placed his hand on hers again.
Yao Yao, watching from the side, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Lan Fenghuang blushed and reached out to hit her, but Yao Yao quickly shrank into Lin Chen's arms and stuck out her tongue.
"Sister Phoenix, why are you blushing?"
"Who's blushing?" Blue Phoenix flicked Yao Yao's forehead. "You talk too much."
Yao Yao covered her forehead, pouted, and looked at Lin Chen pitifully.
"It's alright, I'll deal with her properly tonight." Lin Chen smiled and patted Yao Yao's hair.
Yao Yao's eyes lit up, and she made a face at Blue Phoenix.
Lan Fenghuang blushed slightly, rolled her eyes, and didn't want to pay attention to this outspoken man or this little vixen who had completely let her true nature shine through.
Lin Chen ignored the interaction between the two women and squinted at Ling Bo.
The woman sat in the innermost corner of the carriage, leaning against the window, her gaze fixed on the outside, seemingly looking at something.
She sat very upright, her back straight, her hands on her knees, like a jade sculpture.
From the moment she got on the bus until now, she hasn't said a word, and her face is expressionless. She just sits there quietly, as if she doesn't exist.
Lin Chen glanced at her twice, then looked away and continued drinking his wine.
Lan Fenghuang peeled another orange, this time it was sweet. Lin Chen took it and ate it, then casually touched her face.
Lan Fenghuang glared at him, completely losing the will to say anything.
Yao Yao whispered, "Husband, I want some too."
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow: "What do you want?"
"I want you to feed me." Yao Yao blinked.
Lin Chen smiled, took a segment of orange from Lan Fenghuang's hand, and offered it to Yao Yao's lips.
Yao Yao opened her mouth to take it, then licked Lin Chen's fingertip, chewed it twice, and her eyes curved into crescent moons:
"It's sweet!"
"Of course it's sweet, how could it not be sweet when I feed it to you?" Lin Chen said smugly.
Yao Yao chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Lan Fenghuang.
Lan Fenghuang pretended not to see anything and continued to peel the oranges with concentration.
Lin Chen held Yao Yao in his arms, and squeezed her waist with one hand:
"It's a bit chubby."
"Really?" Yao Yao said, getting up.
Lin Chen pressed her down, chuckling, "A little bit of flesh makes it feel better!"
"Really?" Yao Yao blinked, kissed Lin Chen on the cheek, and whispered:
"Then, my husband, feel me more."
As she spoke, she pulled Lin Chen's hand inside her clothes, pressing it against her skin.
Lin Chen narrowed his eyes, his face full of...
Lan Fenghuang watched from the side, her lips twitching, too lazy to pay attention to the two of them.
Liu Shengxue paused for a moment while turning the pages of the sheet music, and her eyelids fluttered.
Liu Sheng Piao Piao stole a glance, then quickly lowered her head, her ears turning red.
Lingbo continued to look out the window, her face expressionless.
But her hand moved from her knee to the window frame, her fingertips resting lightly on it, as if she were measuring something.
Lin Chen scanned the area with his divine sense, then withdrew it, a slight smile playing on his lips.
The carriage continued forward.
After walking for about half an hour, Yao Yao couldn't sit still anymore. She twisted and turned as if there were nails on the stool.
Lin Chen patted her on the shoulder: "Behave yourself."
"Husband, I'm bored," Yao Yao pouted.
"Go to sleep if you're bored."
"I can't sleep."
"Then let's count sheep."
Yao Yao's eyes lit up: "Husband, will you tell me a story?"
Lin Chen sighed helplessly: "What do you want to hear?"
"Anything is fine."
Lin Chen thought for a moment, cleared his throat, and said:
"Once upon a time, there was a mountain, and on the mountain was a temple. In the temple, an old monk was telling a story to a young monk. The old monk said, 'Once upon a time, there was a mountain, and on the mountain was a temple…'"
Yao Yao: "...Husband, you're cheating."
Lin Chen laughed heartily.
Lan Fenghuang smiled too, and Liu Shengxue's lips curved into a smile.
Liu Sheng Piaopiao chuckled secretly, then quickly covered her mouth.
Even Lingbo's eyelashes trembled slightly, very faintly.
Yao Yao persisted, tugging at Lin Chen's sleeve and shaking it:
"Husband, change it, change it. I want to hear something serious."
Lin Chen, unable to resist her shaking, said, "Alright, I'll tell you something serious." He cleared his throat.
"Long, long ago, there was a scholar traveling to the capital to take the imperial examination. He passed by a desolate mountain..."
He told the story in a disjointed manner, but when he got to the part about the scholar meeting the fox spirit, Yao Yao listened intently, her eyes wide with wonder.
Lan Fenghuang listened attentively, her movements slowing down as she peeled the orange.
Liu Shengxue stopped turning the pages of the sheet music, and Liu Sheng Piaopiao peeked out from behind her sister.
Lingbo's gaze shifted from the window back to Lin Chen, a faint hint of surprise in her eyes.
Lin Chen recounted how a fox spirit transformed into a beautiful woman, leaving the scholar mesmerized. Yao Yao interjected:
"and then?"
Lin Chen chuckled: "And then, the scholar married the vixen."
Yao Yao blinked: "That's it?"
Lin Chen nodded: "That's it."
Yao Yao pouted, "This is too easy."
Lin Chen reached out and flicked her forehead: "Simplicity is good, simplicity is a blessing."
Yao Yao covered her forehead, indignantly asking, "What happened to that fox spirit afterward?"
"Later!" Lin Chen continued to make up a story: "The fox spirit gave birth to seven children for the scholar, and all seven of them became the top scholars in the imperial examinations."
The fox spirit lived for three hundred years, and the scholar lived for one hundred years. After they died, the fox spirit returned to the mountains.
Yao Yao was stunned, and whispered, "Isn't that fox spirit pitiful?"
Lin Chen shook his head: "It's not pitiful. She has three hundred years to remember him, that's enough."
The carriage fell silent for a moment.
Yao Yao leaned on Lin Chen's shoulder and remained silent.
Lan Fenghuang looked at Lin Chen with a complicated expression.
Yagyu Yuki gently plucked a string, producing a very soft sound.
Liu Sheng Piao Piao lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.
Lingbo's gaze lingered on Lin Chen's face for a moment before shifting away.
Lin Chen reached out and hugged Yao Yao tighter:
"Alright, stop thinking about it, it's just a story."
The carriage swayed and wobbled forward.
The carriage fell silent, with only the rumbling of the wheels on the ground.
After a long while, Lingbo suddenly spoke up: "That story, did you make it up?"
The voice was clear and cold, like melting snow, carrying an indescribable meaning.
Lin Chen looked at her and smiled, "Guess?"
Lingbo didn't speak, she just looked at Lin Chen.
That look was a bit strange, like looking at someone you've known for a long time, or like looking at a complete stranger.
Lin Chen felt a little uneasy under her gaze and touched his nose: "What's wrong?"
Lingbo withdrew her gaze and said calmly, "It's nothing."
She paused, then said, "The way you tell stories is a little different from what I expected."
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow: "What kind of person do you imagine me to be?"
Lingbo paused for a moment: "A rather unreliable person."
Lin Chen laughed heartily: "Then you're right, I'm the most unserious person."
Lan Fenghuang muttered quietly from the side, "That's the truth."
Lingbo's lips curved slightly, a faint smile that vanished in an instant.
Yao Yao saw it and whispered in Lin Chen's ear, "Husband, she smiled."
Lin Chen flicked her forehead: "Don't talk nonsense, she wasn't laughing."
Yao Yao covered her forehead and pouted, "Ming Ming was smiling."
Lin Chen ignored her, leaned back on the cushion, and closed his eyes.
The carriage continued forward.
Lingbo's gaze fell on the window again. The wind blew up the carriage curtain, and sunlight shone in, casting a shadow on her face.
She sat there quietly, like a jade sculpture.
But a slight smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.