"Phew …" Su Shuiche leaned against the wooden edge of the bathtub and let out a comfortable breath.
She hadn't taken a hot bath so happily in three months. She felt so happy.
She cupped a handful of warm water and poured it over her soft and white shoulders. She untied her waist-length black hair and gently rubbed it in the water.
Although there was no lack of water in the mountain forest, it was still cool. Moreover, she didn't have any toiletries on her, so washing her hair and wiping her body was very simple.
Now that she had returned to the secular world, Su Shuiche had a kind of unreal feeling, as if it was a lifetime ago.
It was as if being born in the Su Family's Embroidery Pavilion was a long and real dream.
Now that she had woken up, she had returned to her original life — an orphan girl who didn't know where her home was.
Su Shuiche sighed. Fine, since it was already like this, then she might as well try her best.
She believed that her mother and big brother would also dream of her and would be happy to see her living happily in another time and space.
… …
Outside the room, there was a crisp and powerful knock on the door, accompanied by an already familiar cold voice: "Time to eat."
"Oh, oh, I'll be done in a minute."
Su Shuiche heard this and came back to her senses. She found that the water was cold, so she quickly got up from the bathtub and reached out to grab a cotton bath towel draped over the back of the chair. She wrapped it around her body and wiped her dripping long hair.
Outside the door, Lin Siyao heard the splashing of water and the sound of the bathtub chair and stool colliding from inside. He could imagine her scrambling to get up from the bathtub. His body couldn't help but stiffen, and he hurriedly took two steps back. He turned around and leaned against the railing of the corridor outside the room. He wanted to concentrate his attention on the activity in the shop downstairs, but his mind was still thinking about that delicate person in the room from time to time.
Su Shuiche put on the complicated gauze dress with great difficulty. When she opened the door, she saw Lin Siyao looking downstairs with his back facing her.
"I'm done."
She called out softly with a faint smile in her eyes. She bumped into Lin Siyao, who had just turned around, and was momentarily stunned.
That's right, the man in front of her was wearing a smoky green robe. Around his waist was a belt of the same color that was darker than his robe. His long hair was tied up high with a similar smoky green jade clasp.
If it weren't for his unchanging iceberg face, Su Shuiche would have thought that the man in front of her was no longer the Lin Siyao from before, but rather his twin brother who looked similar to him, had a completely different temperament, and was much more refined.
Upon seeing this, Lin Siyao raised his sword-like eyebrows and frowned. He walked past her and pulled her into the room. He casually picked up a dry cotton towel and silently helped her dry her long hair, which was still wet and stuck to her back.
Su Shuiche blushed. She was afraid that he would wait too long, so she draped her long hair over her back and went out.
Who knew that after a while, her hair began to drip with water again. Instead, she had to trouble him to dry her hair …
Su Shuiche bit her lip and said in a low voice, "I'll do it myself."
"Don't move."
Lin Siyao gently pressed down on her shoulder with one hand, indicating for her to sit properly. He used his other hand to quickly dry her dripping black hair.
At the same time, he also removed the moisture from her slightly wet back.
"Thank you …" Su Shuiche muttered.
Of course, she felt her back gradually warm up, and then her clothes were completely dry. She turned her head and blinked. Her "so magical" expression made Lin Siyao's mood inexplicably better.
Then he put down the towel in his hand and walked out of the room. He called the waiter to find a servant girl who was cleaning up the room next door. She came and combed Su Shuiche's hair into a flying immortal hairstyle that young girls loved.
The servant girl deftly helped Su Shuiyin tie up her hair in a few moves. Her hair was tied up in a high flying cloud bun. The rest of her long hair was draped over her shoulders, leaving two strands of hair behind her ears and hanging gracefully in front of her chest. When the wind blew, it looked like the graceful and soft hair of a fairy from the Ninth Heaven.
It was very beautiful.
"Miss is so beautiful!" The servant girl praised from the bottom of her heart.
Su Shuiche in front of her was wearing a lotus green gauze dress that made her look even more white and tender. Her beautiful black hair was combed into a young girl's flying immortal hairstyle. Even if she didn't wear any ornaments or hairpins, it still made people's eyes light up.
Su Shuiche smiled faintly. She wasn't very clear about how beautiful this body was. Although there was a bronze mirror beside her, she could only vaguely see a rough outline. She only knew that it wasn't ugly.
Lin Siyao glanced at Su Shuiche. Indeed, she was very beautiful!
It wasn't her devastatingly beautiful appearance, but her elegant and graceful temperament.
She, who didn't wear any makeup or jewelry, looked even more gentle and moving.
He stiffly turned around and called out in a low voice, "Come and eat. Didn't you want to see the lotus lanterns?"
Su Shuiche's eyes lit up when she heard this. She thanked the servant girl who combed her hair and resisted the urge to give her a piece of silver. She somewhat embarrassedly followed Lin Siyao to his room to eat.
There were too many things that she needed money for.
She would remember this favor for now.
… …
On the seventh day of the seventh month, Fanluo City was celebrating through the night.
Calculating the time, it should be ten o 'clock in the evening, but the streets were still bustling with noise and excitement.
Su Shuiche followed behind Lin Siyao. At her feet, there were two wolf pups who had eaten their fill and were taking a leisurely stroll.
Speaking of which, the waiter was very good to them.
Not only did he feed them a large bowl of rice, but he also gave them many bones to gnaw on.
Although there wasn't much meat on the bones, which were probably leftovers from the guests, the taste was really good. The savory sauce was much better than the salty barbecued meat they had eaten in the mountain forest.
Oh, next time, let's ask Master to make this kind of sauced pork ribs for us.
The two wolf pups leisurely strolled while thinking about the delicious food. The corners of their mouths were drooling, and the passersby couldn't help but laugh.
Lin Siyao brought Su Shuiche to the place where the lotus lanterns were placed. It was a calm and tranquil lake located at the eastern end of the main street of Fanluo City, connected to the moat.
"Wow!
It's so beautiful! "Su Shuiche, who had just arrived at the lakeside, couldn't help but praise the exquisite scenery in front of her.
The surface of the lake was already filled with flickering lotus lanterns. From afar, it looked like the night sky had accidentally fallen into the lake, and the stars were still twinkling.
"Miss, Young Master, do you want to buy some lotus lanterns?
It's only ten coppers per lantern. "
A little girl around eleven or twelve years old held a string of lotus lanterns in her hands. There were the most traditional lotus lanterns, small and cute jade rabbit lanterns, and anthropomorphic magpie lanterns … Su Shuiche was delighted when she saw them.
She looked up at Lin Siyao and smiled shyly. "Let's go and release some lotus lanterns, okay?"
Lin Siyao's body moved.
Did she understand the meaning of releasing lotus lanterns together?
The seventh day of the seventh month was an exclusive holiday for lovers.
It was said that if a single man or woman released a lotus lantern on this day, they would be able to find the right person in the coming year.
And if a man or woman released a lotus lantern together, they would be able to achieve their wish and grow old together.
However, looking at the burning desire in Su Shuiche's pure and innocent eyes, Lin Siyao couldn't help but nod his head.
Perhaps she didn't know about this legend.
Otherwise, why would she invite him to release lotus lanterns together with her?!
Su Shuiyue bought the cute jade rabbit lantern and carried it carefully as she walked on the green brick path by the lake. She looked up and smiled faintly as she asked Lin Siyao, who was beside her, "Have you ever let it go in the past?"
Lin Siyao's body stiffened, and he didn't answer.
A trace of disappointment flashed through his heart.
She really didn't understand the meaning of this.
That's good, I'll stop thinking about it.
"Let's go there and release it."
Su Shuiche glanced at a relatively empty space not far away, and happily pointed to Lin Siyao. Then, she turned around and called, "Xiaochun, Xiao Xue, let's go there." At the same time, her footsteps quickened.
… …
Looking at the jade rabbit lantern that was gradually disappearing, Su Shuiche closed her eyes, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and imitated the way the foreigners used to say mass in the church near the Su residence, and silently made a wish.
Lin Siyao fixed his eyes on her. Her lotus green clothes set off the lake water, her demure and gentle temperament, and her elegant and charming movements were even more dazzling under the gorgeous fireworks, and even made people unable to not look at her.
He quietly stood behind her, blocking the wretched eyes of some rascals for her.
Then, Lin Siyao took her to the street where the fairies were touring at night.
Su Shuiche curiously tiptoed through the bustling crowd, wanting to see the fairies' night tour that everyone praised.
It wasn't until the fairies slowly passed by Su Shuiyong that she came to a realization. It turned out that the so-called fairies' night tour was actually the procession of stilts that she knew.
The only difference was that there were seven fairies walking on stilts.
Each of the young women, who were dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, gracefully displayed their magical powers on the stilts.
Some were playing flutes, some were dancing ribbons, and some were scattering flower petals … In short, the seven fairies' clothes fluttered in the wind, and they were extremely enchanting.
Su Shuiyin heard the chatter of men and women. Only then did she learn that these women were actually the talented women selected from the annual poetry competition held in Fanluo City. Women who were lucky enough to be selected as Fairy of the Night's contestants not only had to be outstanding in their poems and songs, but their appearances were also top-notch.
Gradually, the seventh day of the seventh month of each year evolved into a festival for the noble ladies of Fanluo City to compete with each other.
Of course, in order to conform to the original characteristics of the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh month, these women had an extra generous exception. If they liked a man in the crowd on the street, they could leave their bouquets on the spot and choose another day to enjoy the flowers and the scenery with them.
This kind of opportunity was very rare. Perhaps a man would be lucky enough to climb up a branch and marry a talented and beautiful woman.
Su Shuiche listened with great interest at first, but later, more and more men began to yell at the fairies passing by. Beside her, there were also many men with explicit words and withered smiles who wanted to squeeze past her so that they could get closer to the fairies.
This made her blush with shame.
She wanted to take a few steps back to avoid them, but she didn't know who stepped on her foot. She staggered and almost tripped on the ground, but Lin Siyao quickly caught her from behind.
"Be careful." Lin Siyao frowned, pulled her into his arms, and shielded her as they walked toward the periphery.
The two wolf pups had already snuck outside to breathe in the fresh air.