Ever since Director Yin personally came to the office and caused a ruckus, Xie Bai had a rough day. He had to be on guard against Yin Wushu's mischief while also dealing with Old Chen, Jiang Haoran, and their gossip. This made Xie Bai, who was always aloof and distant, feel very uncomfortable.

The instigator, Yin Wushu, solemnly remarked, "This is what it's like to experience life among humans. Your previous detached attitude, where you didn't want to interact with anyone, doesn't count as experiencing life. It's just quietly watching you mortals act foolish."

Xie Bai: "......"

He had the heart to choke on a word, but when he thought about it carefully, he really couldn't refute it.

Yin Wushu pointed at his eyes and continued, "When you're ignoring people, your eyes often say two things: 'You're annoying' on the left and 'Get lost' on the right."

Xie Bai stared at him expressionlessly for a moment before retorting, "Sometimes I look at you with the same expression, like now."

Yin Wushu shook his head, patted Xie Bai's shoulder, and muttered as he walked away, "Getting angry out of embarrassment isn't very dignified, Comrade Xiao Bai."

Xie Bai: "......".

After several rounds of banter like this, Xie Bai simply couldn't understand why Yin Wushu would come to play this role of a leader. Was he here to entertain himself by teasing him?

But this pattern of teasing and then withdrawing, only to tease again later, was exactly the same as when they lived together hundreds of years ago.

Yin Wushu's office was opposite theirs, so he didn't appear in front of everyone all day long.

Because everyone had their own work to do, things quickly returned to normal. They were busy with their tasks, occasionally chatting during tea breaks. Throughout the day, their conversation revolved around Xie Bai and cats.

Even as they were leaving in the evening, their conversation didn't stop.

Jiang Haoran and Lao Chen led the way, carrying their bags, while Xie Bai trailed a few steps behind. Just as they exited the office, Yin Wushu followed suit, walking alongside Xie Bai towards the building's entrance.

Jiang Haoran said to Old Chen, "Oh, I saw a method on Weibo yesterday that supposedly helps cats become more affectionate towards you."

Old Chen perked up, eager to hear more. "Really? What method? I hope it's not some nonsense."

Jiang Haoran replied, "I'm not sure if it's true. It's supposedly from some animal trainer. They say that when your cat misbehaves, if you blink slowly at it, it'll become submissive."

Old Chen clicked his tongue skeptically. "Just blink? That simple?"

"Well, your little ancestor never listens to you anyway. Give it a try, what's the harm? Worst-case scenario, you'll get scratched a bit more," Jiang Haoran said. "I tried it on my Milk Candy last night."

"Oh? How did it go?"

Jiang Haoran scratched his face. "I don't know, my Milk Candy is naturally soft anyway."

Old Chen angrily retorted, "Get lost, you brat!"

"I don't know what the principle behind it is, but give it a try. You won't die. Maybe your little ancestor will actually listen to you," Jiang Haoran suggested.

Xiao Shen, the only girl in the office, suddenly interjected: "I have also seen this method, saying that blinking slowly at the cat is similar to us confessing 'I love you', and when the cat is shy, it will soften.”

Suddenly, when they were about to step out of the sensor door, Xie Bai stopped in his tracks.

Ahead of him, Jiang Haoran was still teasing Old Chen, "Uh oh, it's over. Old Chen, you shouldn't try it. With your face, if you blink at your little ancestor, it won't get shy. It might even scratch your face out of anger and ruin your looks."

Old Chen squeezed out a word from between his teeth: "Scram."

The group of colleagues turned back to bid farewell and gradually walked away, soon disappearing into the adjacent residential area.

"Back to your senses?" Yin Wushu stood beside Xie Bai, lazily lifting his hand and waving it in front of him.

Xie Bai was momentarily stunned before snapping back to reality. He coughed uncomfortably and hurriedly descended the steps.

Although he thought Xiao Shen's explanation earlier was probably not true, even if it were, Yin Wushu might not necessarily know about it. Even if he did, the action earlier was mostly just to tease him about the spirit possessing the cat. It wasn't serious, but...

With no one around, and before he could even finish descending the last step, Xie Bai conjured a spiritual Yin Gate and, in the blink of an eye, returned to the riverside near his residence.

Just like yesterday, Yin Wushu followed closely behind, not saying a word, lazily trailing behind Xie Bai as they ascended the arched bridge. If it weren't for Yin Wushu's long legs, he would have been left far behind by Xie Bai's hurried steps.

Only when they followed the complex sequence and stood in front of the locked door on the opposite side did Yin Wushu, who was a step behind Xie Bai, make a move. He reached out towards the small black cat squatting beside the door, beckoning to it from a distance. With a swift motion, he scooped up the cat before Xie Bai and scratched its chin. Then, as if casually, he said, "Luckily, you didn't know what that meant at the time, otherwise, you might have scratched my face in anger."

Xie Bai's hand, which was about to knock on the door, paused as he turned to look at Yin Wushu, not quite understanding what he meant.

Yin Wushu's dark eyes contained a hint of amusement as they met Xie Bai's. Just like years ago, his gaze carried a lazy and nonchalant demeanor, as if he didn't care about anything yet understood everything.

After looking at Xie Bai for a while, Yin Wushu slowly blinked.

Xie Bai's heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat. If he still didn't understand what Yin Wushu meant by now, he would truly be too slow.

As his fingers curled and loosened at his side, Xie Bai stared at Yin Wushu blankly, opening his mouth but not knowing what to say or what was appropriate to say.

After observing him for a while, Yin Wushu suddenly smiled, then grabbed his wrist and naturally pressed his fingers against the door, saying, "What are you spacing out for? Luckily, I remember where you usually knock on the door. May I enter today, young master?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, and Xie Bai, who was almost dazed, was half-pushed and half-led into the room by Yin Wushu. He tried to maintain a composed expression, but it was clear he was not calm.

As soon as Yin Wushu stepped into the room, he opened his mouth and made a deadpan expression. He touched Xie Bai's earlobe with the fingers on his shoulder, teasing, "Xie-surnamed young man, why does your earlobe turn red when you have a straight face?"

Being touched like this, Xie Bai's body stiffened. It was only then that he suddenly realized Yin Wushu was about to enter the room. He covered his ears with one hand, turned his head to glare at Yin Wushu, and then, without saying a word, attempted to close the door behind him, trying to shut Yin Wushu out.

"Hey—" Yin Wushu quickly blocked the door with his hand, then sidestepped and squeezed in through the half-open door. "Don't even want the cat anymore?"

With a creak, the door closed firmly, emitting a golden light as the prohibition resealed, making it impossible for anyone else to enter.

"What are you hiding in this place? Why are you so afraid of me seeing it?" Yin Wushu, with one hand holding the cat and the other patting Xie Bai's shoulder, said, "Now that I'm inside, you can't drive me away. Don't tense up your face. Don't worry, I won't laugh at whatever I see."

After entering the room, they stood in a narrow alley about five or six meters long, like a vestibule of the house, blocking the view of the surroundings and making it impossible to see anything special about this place. Yin Wushu pushed Xie Bai forward while lazily observing the alley.

Before, when he asked Xie Bai why he moved away from there, Xie Bai had told him that it was because it was too noisy there. At that time, he had joked, "The Yin guest residence is formed according to the Yin guest’s most preferred style. How could it go against your preferences?" But now, as they walked along this not-so-long old alley, he suddenly had a faint premonition.

"Xiao Bai, you..." When Yin Wushu spoke, the two of them had reached the end of the alley, and more of the surroundings came into view, reflecting in his eyes.

At the corner of the alley, a paper lantern was propped up against the wall. Its original red color had faded considerably, giving it a somewhat dull appearance. On it, written in black ink, was a character "布" (cloth). This was a silk and cloth shop, owned by a middle-aged man who resembled Maitreya (NT: A bodhisattva regarded as the future buddha). The shopkeeper's wife was talkative and could charm the dead back to life. Despite their constant quarrels, their relationship was good, and they were adept at attracting customers.

Opposite the cloth shop was a tavern. Hanging above the tavern was a plaque with two characters "衔月" (Xianyue - Holding the Moon). The rich aroma of wine wafted intermittently from the courtyard on the breeze. The owner of the tavern, Lou Xianyue, competed with his parrot all day to see who had the sharper voice. He also kept a group of lively young girls to brew wine, and their laughter echoed as far as the fragrance of the wine.

Heading east from here, there were various shops bustling all year round, with people coming and going incessantly. During the day, the street was filled with chatter, making it the busiest street in the area.

Heading west, there were several large residential houses, with yards adjacent to each other. Smoke and firelight wafted through the night, with the former Tai Xuan Dao nestled among them.

This was Guyang Street.

Guyang Street had long since changed beyond recognition. Apart from Lou Xianyue and Luo Zhusheng, the people on the street had changed from one generation to the next.

But in the place where Xie Bai lived, Guyang Street remained unchanged, with establishments like the Xianyue tavern, Taowu Pawnshop, Qian's Cloth Shop, and De Xing Inn still intact. Yin Wushu once thought that with Xie Bai's personality, even if he lived here for decades or centuries, he wouldn't remember these unrelated people around him.

But in reality, he was much more sentimental than he appeared. He remembered every detail, even the cracks in the lantern, the curvature of the peach tree trunk in the courtyard, and the cracks at the well's edge.

Everything here was exactly the same as it was years ago, with time stubbornly locked by its owner almost a century ago, unchanged in the slightest.

 

Translator : DarNan