TIMO - Chapter 41
Chapter 41
When was the last time Shi Nan had hugged her?
It seemed to be when Shi Nan had woken up from a nightmare. As Shi Nan cried in front of her, she had felt the emotion of “heartache” for the first time. After Shi Nan was startled awake from that nightmare, they seemed to have held each other for a long time.
This same scene, at this very moment, made Fu Zhao inevitably recall how she had felt being held by Shi Nan back then. She had been flustered, dealing with Shi Nan’s tears, her mind almost entirely consumed by guilt and self-blame, completely unable to think of anything else.
Yes, it seemed her mood, her thoughts, had changed after that embrace.
Now, Shi Nan was hugging her again, holding her tightly, her arms wrapped around her neck as if to meld her into her very breath, never to be separated again.
The thoughts in her mind exploded, her mind becoming a chaotic mess, so much so that her movements stiffened, and she remained bent over, motionless.
Her hand was still on the seatbelt buckle, forgotten, but her entire being felt as if it were floating on soft, light clouds, swaying gently. All the exploding thoughts, all the chaotic musings, condensed into a single sentence: Her heartbeat was so loud, what if Shi Nan heard it?
The chin in the crook of her shoulder rubbed against her again, and the cheek, already close, touched hers.
The touch was warm, accompanied by loose, slightly prickly strands of hair.
The ticklish sensation jolted Fu Zhao back to her senses. She fumbled to release the seatbelt buckle, pushed herself upright with her hands, and left that embrace where the heat had been spreading.
“We should go. We still need to buy Kongming lanterns, or we’ll miss it.”
After getting out of the car, out of that embrace, the midsummer night breeze that had felt sweltering now seemed cool again. Fu Zhao turned aside, her gaze lowered, not looking at Shi Nan. She tried her best to maintain a composed expression, one hand holding the car door.
It was quiet inside the car.
After a long moment, there was a rustling sound. The seat was adjusted back to its original position. It was the sound of Shi Nan getting out. A pair of calves wrapped in black and white sneakers and long white socks entered her field of vision. Her legs were shapely, her skin glowing under the night lights.
“Hmm, that’s an improvement. At least you didn’t turn and run this time, or stay silent.” A deliberately softened voice sounded by her ear, laced with a clear smile. “You’re just not being honest enough, you’d rather look at the car tire than at me.”
Her footsteps were light, and a familiar, fragrant scent drifted over.
Then came the warm touch on a familiar spot on her wrist. Slender white fingers clasped it, the grip very light, yet it pulled her hand from the car door, pulling her to start walking forward with gentle steps.
The sounds in her ears began to multiply: the friction of shoe soles on the ground, the noisy surge of the crowd, the powerful crash of waves by the sea, the light and leisurely street music…
“Clack-”
The sound of the car door closing behind them was abrupt.
Fu Zhao dazedly looked at the hand being held. Her fingertips were faintly white, a mark from gripping the car door too forcefully just now. Then her gaze slowly moved upward to Shi Nan’s graceful and well-proportioned back, to her ink-black hair that swayed gently in the air with her light steps, outlined in a soft chestnut-brown by the dim yellow streetlights.
A sliver of light shone through the strands of hair lifted by the wind, dazzling Fu Zhao’s eyes for a moment.
She was dazzled by Shi Nan, and her heart skipped a beat.
The neon lights grew more and more colorful. Street stalls displayed all sorts of Kongming lanterns, and the road was bustling with people.
The stars in the sky still shone brightly. The sea horizon merged with the night, and Kongming lanterns emitting a soft glow floated in the sky, one after another, occupying every corner of this part of the sky, illuminating what should have been a dim, colorless night.
Nanke Island was the place with the most flowers on UI Planet, and probably the place that loved flowers the most in the entire galaxy.
They bought Kongming lanterns and, joining the crowd clustered by the street, began to prepare to write their wishes on them. All kinds of colorful flower petals began to drift on the wind, dancing in the air.
Shi Nan looked up and saw wind machines constantly running in the air. The flower petals that had naturally fallen during this season had all been collected by environmental robots to be used in events or scenes like this.
Nanke Island, truly the most romantic place in the entire galaxy.
Even the robots understood romance.
But strangely, the Little Island Master of Nanke Island said she was not a romantic person.
Shi Nan looked at Fu Zhao sitting across from her, earnestly writing her wish on the Kongming lantern paper. Ripples stirred in her eyes. She felt that Fu Zhao was wrong; Fu Zhao was clearly a romantic person through and through.
Shi Nan felt gratified, yet also jealous. She wasn’t jealous that Fu Zhao was a romantic person, but because she felt she lacked the fervent emotion to match such romance.
She had always been a very goal-oriented and methodical person, constantly trying to guess the thoughts of everyone around her, as if only this could give her a sense of security.
Later, Fu Zhao died.
It became an image that made her tremble with fear every time she thought of it. She had constant nightmares, filled with remorse and self-blame. Similar emotions flooded her heart, and she lost the will to do many things, let alone experience such an ancient yet leisurely romantic act. But this time, she had rectified her regret. The Fu Zhao she could feel was more complete, and the happiness she could feel was greater.
This was her first time staying on Nanke Island for so long, and it was also the first time she had felt the meaning of this kind of romance.
Perhaps everything before was just a prelude, and this was the real beginning.
In this instant, she could cast aside all her thoughts.
She could truly, tangibly feel the romance of Nanke Island, and she could also truly feel the remorse welling up from the depths of her heart. She deeply regretted not having cultivated such a fervent emotion, and she felt regret for discovering this side of Fu Zhao so late.
“Alright.”
Fu Zhao looked up from across the table. Her amber eyes seemed to be immersed in the boundless lamplight, clear and warm. The corners of her eyes curved down slightly, her slender eyelashes lifted gently. Her straight, fluffy black hair was tied in a low ponytail at the back of her head, with a few strands of fringe fluttering lightly. Her white shirt was crisp and clean.
“Your turn to write.”
Fu Zhao passed the Kongming lantern paper and the brush over, her cheek cast in a faint shadow by the streetlight.
Shi Nan subconsciously took the brush, but her fingertips accidentally touched Fu Zhao’s warm, soft ones. She froze for a moment, but before she could savor the sensation on her fingertips, Fu Zhao quickly pulled her hand back, propped her cheek on her hand, her eyelashes trembling as they lowered. “Hurry up and write, before the ink dries.”
“Okay, I know.”
Shi Nan stared at the writing brush in her hand and the spread-out lantern paper, once again feeling the magic of Nanke Island. Using Kongming lanterns for blessings was a distant custom from thousands of years ago. She only knew what they were from reading about such customs in ancient texts. The writing brush in her hand was also a product of a distant past; she had never seen one anywhere else in the galaxy.
But on Nanke Island, such distant and romantic customs were still preserved.
She was a little surprised, yet she felt that when all of this happened on Nanke Island, it was no longer surprising.
Nanke Island itself was magical, an island that had preserved its unique slow pace while time on all other planets in the galaxy had sped up.
Shi Nan recalled Fu Zhao’s posture when holding the brush, dipped it in the ink Fu Zhao had just ground, and held the brush properly, yet she didn’t know how to begin. She paused silently for a moment before speaking, “I never thought there’d be a place in the whole galaxy where residents can accept high-tech intelligent robots in their daily lives, yet are also accustomed to ancient customs and items like Kongming lanterns and writing brushes…”
“Ancient?”
A flicker of confusion crossed Fu Zhao’s eyes, which then dissipated and was replaced by understanding. Looking at how Shi Nan held the brush, she smiled. “They are quite ancient. Maybe they’re not commonly used elsewhere in the galaxy, but I’ve gotten used to them since coming to Nanke Island. Mother said Nanke Island has a long history, and the islanders love these ‘ancient’ customs and items, so they were never phased out. The Flower Throwing Ceremony, the parades, the Kongming lanterns you see are all part of the traditional cultural education children on the island receive…”
As Fu Zhao spoke, she stood up and slowly walked to Shi Nan’s side, pulling out a new sheet of lantern paper from a stack and spreading it on the table.
“That’s not how you hold a brush,” Fu Zhao said beside her. Her voice was much softer, yet it seemed to amplify in her ear.
Shi Nan froze for a second. Then, a warm touch covered the back of her hand, and the fresh, mellow scent of tea wafted to her nose. Her hand was being held in Fu Zhao’s.
It wasn’t a full grip, just a light support on the back of her hand.
They were also standing quite far apart; there was even enough space for another person to stand between them.
Her gaze fell on Fu Zhao standing beside her. Flower petals swirled on the wind, drifting down to land on Fu Zhao’s tied-back black hair and on the slender shoulders covered by her white shirt. Some tiny ones even slipped onto her long eyelashes and clung there.
As if feeling the tickle, Fu Zhao blinked, and the small petal fragments on her lashes fell away. But her eyes grew moist from the slight discomfort, looking as if seen through a layer of mist, hazy, translucent, and alluring.
“Look…”
“You should extend your palm naturally, thumb up, ring and pinky fingers slightly bent. Rest the brush gently on the tips of your middle and ring fingers…”
Fu Zhao spoke in a soft, low voice, guiding her hand, placing each of her fingers in the correct position.
A drop of ink fell from the brush, blooming on the lantern paper in spreading circles.
“Is this it?” Shi Nan asked, looking at the ink blot spreading on the paper, still feeling a bit dazed. “But how do you write like this?”
She had never used a writing brush before, had never even seen such an “ancient” item. It was normal for her not to know how.
Fu Zhao probably understood this. She smiled, her eyes curving gently, then curled her own fingers and held Shi Nan’s entire hand. “Then I’ll teach you how to write a few characters like this.”
“Get a feel for it.”
Shi Nan wiggled her fingers, held in a warm, soft palm. The feeling of skin against skin was delicate and smooth. She spoke softly, “Okay.”
And so, her hand, guided by that well-defined, long, and slender one, left traces of ink on the paper, stroke by stroke.
After just one try, Shi Nan fell in love with this ancient way of writing.
She couldn’t help but glance at Fu Zhao’s profile, cast in shadow on one side and illuminated by the light on the other. Petals drifted down continuously. The defined lines of her profile were haloed in light, and the light in her eyes shimmered faintly.
Fu Zhao wasn’t looking at her. Perhaps it was because she didn’t dare to, or perhaps it was simply because she needed to concentrate on guiding her hand.
But in any case, Fu Zhao was incredibly charming in this moment.
Shi Nan watched for a moment, then refocused her attention on the strokes being written before her.
They were characters she didn’t recognize, probably an ancient script from the “traditional culture” taught on Nanke Island.
“What characters are these?” Shi Nan asked, staring at the two large characters on the paper.
Fu Zhao finished the last stroke but didn’t immediately let go of Shi Nan’s hand. Hearing Shi Nan’s question, she turned to look at her, her gaze trembling slightly. The corners of her lips curved up with an unconscious affection and gentleness.
“It’s your name, Shi Nan.”
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