Case 05: “My Wish Is to Be with You Once Again…”

Most of the villagers in Yangjiang village believed that if you wrote down your wish on the lantern during the night at the annual festival. It will most likely become true…

There are many people who have claimed it to be true. For example, like the old man who owns a fruit stand, not many villagers came to his stand as there are much better fruit shops around the village. He wished for his business to raise an income and have decent money to live. The next day, most of the villagers came to his stand and bought all the fruits. Some even become his regulars who requested a certain fruit from time to time and paid higher demand for it. Another example was a married couple who haven't been granted a child. The two of them wished to have a child and seven days later the wife claimed to be pregnant. And so much more until Zhao Yu almost believed it herself.

"Even if it's really true… my wish will never be granted." Zhao Yu muttered to herself as she looked at the lantern stands from left to right. Today is the annual festival held to respect the wise General whose wife was a deity that ascended to the moon. What a silly fairy tale…

"Yu-er, are you going to write about your wish?" Zhao Yi came to Zhao Yu with two cotton candies on both of his hands. He handed the other one to Zhao Yu and she accepted it naturally.

"No, I don't believe those rumors." Besides, even if Haoran got reincarnated in this world as well. The chance to encounter him was less than twenty percent, also… he probably doesn't remember anything.

"But who knows, right? Maybe it will grant your wish this time. If it doesn't, then just think it's just a mere rumor."

To be honest, this is the first time Zhao Yu has come to the festival at the village. She was an unfavored child in her family, so her parents were stricter to her than her other siblings. When she reached three years old, her father began to hire many tutors to teach her all the knowledge she should know. Since the Zhao family is the owner of Xue Hu sect, Zhao Yu was expected to excel in martial arts and studying cultivation. Hence, she never stepped outside her house for five years. Until today, her big brother Zhao Yi brought her out with him to visit the festival. Originally their youngest brother Zhao Yun wanted to come along too, but as he hadn't mastered the book of rites. Their father detained him until he could memorize the book.

"Since this is my first time coming to this festival.. I might as well try it." Zhao Yu gave three silver stones for the lantern. In this world, they used silver stone as their currency. The shopkeeper handed Zhao Yu the lantern along with a brush. Zhao Yi tried to peek at Zhao Yu, but once Zhao Yu glared at him. He cast aside that idea and took two steps away from her. After making sure her big brother couldn't see the lantern. Zhao Yu quickly wrote her wish on the lantern.

'I wish to be with him once again…'

Zhao Yu handed the brush to the shopkeeper and released the lantern up to the sky. Zhao Yi quickly came to Zhao Yu, "What did you write?"

"It's a secret."

"Tch, so stingy."

Zhao Yu ignored her big brother and just stared at the lantern, who no longer can be seen. She stared at it for a good while and reminisced about her time with Xu Haoran during the Mid-Autumn festival. An image of Xu Haoran stuffed his mouth with mooncakes until his cheek resembled a pufferfish flashed to her mind. Tears flowed down on Zhao Yu's cheek, she closed her eyes and chuckled, "If I knew it will end up this way, I should have let you eat a ton of mooncakes back then."

Zhao Yu wiped her tears as she searched for her big brother, "Anyway, let's go ho—" when she finally looked around, Zhao Yi was no longer beside her.

"…Ge?"

She turned around and asked the shopkeeper about her big brother's whereabouts. Alas, the shopkeeper was too busy handling the other customers. He didn't know where Zhao Yi went off to. Zhao Yu sighed and thanked the shopkeeper. Originally, she intended to stand at the same spot to wait for Zhao Yi to pick her up. But she got bored and her legs started to go numb from all the standing.

"Let's just look around."

Zhao Yu began to walk away from the lantern shop. It's already past nine at night, but the street is still crowded. Zhao Yu is still a five years old kid, so she gets pushed by adults from left to right when she walks. Until she accidentally tripped and scratched her knee. Everyone was too busy with their own business, they didn't even realize that Zhao Yu was tripped to the ground. Zhao Yu didn't let out any sound either when she tripped. She just silently stood up back and wiped her clothes off of the dirt. From behind, a clear and soothing voice called out to her.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Zhao Yu turned around and before her, Liu Meifeng stood with a Tanghulu on her left hand. In the middle of the crowds, the two have finally met again. Zhao Yu's bemused expression reflected on Liu Meifeng's clear Aquamarine eyes. Zhao Yu realized that Liu Meifeng was that cute girl with peculiar eyes she saw earlier.

Seeing that Zhao Yu didn't answer the question, Liu Meifeng thought that the girl before her was hurt to the point she cannot speak. Especially when she saw there's an injury on both of the girl's knees. Liu Meifeng walked closer and handed her Tanghulu to Zhao Yu, "Hold this."

"Huh?"

Before Zhao Yu could react, Liu Meifeng already carried her in a princess-carry. Zhao Yu wanted to struggle, but when she saw Liu Meifeng's eyes she turned silent. Thanks to Liu Meifeng's mixed-blood she could lift Zhao Yu without breaking a sweat. She walked to a less crowded spot and put Zhao Yu down.

"Although, this wound isn't fatal. But you fell to the ground and there's some dirt covering your wound. You might get an infection if we don't treat it right away."

Zhao Yu didn't say anything while Liu Meifeng took her medical pouch. She kneeled before Zhao Yu and started to clean Zhao Yu's wound.

"This might sting, bear with it." Liu Meifeng said and applied a medicine made from Coneflower's extract mixed with other ingredients on Zhao Yu's knees. "Ghh." Zhao Yu grunted a little bit, it does sting…

After she had done applying the medicine, Liu Meifeng blew Zhao Yu's knee to repress the pain. Zhao Yu stared at Liu Meifeng and asked, "Who are you?"

Still kneeling, Liu Meifeng tilted her head to look at Zhao Yu, "I'm Meifeng, a traveler. I just arrived here with my grandfather this evening… and if you're wondering about my unusual eyes, it's because I'm a mixed-blood. What about you?"

So that's why her eyes were different from our people…

"You can call me Yu-er."

"Alright then, Yu-er. Say, did you come here alone? It's pretty dangerous, especially with those pedestrians who walked like a school of anchovies."

Zhao Yu chuckled and found what Liu Meifeng said is a bit funny, "No, I came here with my big brother. But we got separated on the way. It's my first time coming to the festival too, so I don't know how to get back on my own. I wanted to wait for him at the spot where we got separated. But I've been waiting for an hour and he still hadn't shown up. So…"

"..So you decided to walk around." Liu Meifeng finished the last sentence. Zhao Yu nodded her head and the two of them fell silent for a while. Liu Meifeng averted her gaze on the street, then she looked back to Zhao Yu again. Today was both of their first time coming to this festival, Liu Meifeng still had so many things she wanted to look at. But at the same time, she cannot bear to leave this little girl alone.

Zhao Yu also knew that Liu Meifeng wanted to leave to enjoy the festival. But she hesitated to do so because of her. When Zhao Yu was about to speak, Liu Meifeng suddenly turned her back "Get on."

Zhao Yu was astonished. She blinked twice and asked, "What?"

Liu Meifeng sighed and said without turning her head, "Today is your first time coming to this festival, right? Coincidentally, today is my first time either. Let's go together and look for your brother while at it."

Zhao Yu hesitated, "But…" however, Liu Meifeng didn't want to waste any time either. Hence, she cut in, "Just think of it as a payment for your treatment." Zhao Yu was astonished but then she decided to yield and let Liu Meifeng carry her on a piggy-back.

Liu Meifeng rose from the ground while carrying Zhao Yu on her back. "Alright, let's visit the food stall first." Liu Meifeng said cheerfully.

"Didn't you just eat a whole Tanghulu by yourself?"

"Oh, shut up. I'm still growing."

"Hahaha! You're weird."

"It's called 'cute'."

The two of them talked along the way while strolling around the street, they also bought many sweets from the food stalls around them. Although, they've just met a few minutes ago. But they're already getting along very well.

"Let's take a rest over there." Liu Meifeng pointed to the two small crates between the buildings. She had been walking around while carrying Zhao Yu on her back for hours. Even though Zhao Yu isn't heavy, it'll still exhaust her.

Zhao Yu nodded from behind and gave a short, "Un." The two of them sat on the two crates while enjoying the lantern's lights. It's already past eleven, so the street started to get less crowded. Liu Meifeng's Shifu must have already gone back to the inn. She cannot stay any longer, but this girl beside her doesn't even know a way back to her house. How can she possibly just leave her be?

"Say.. it's already past eleven. Are you sure you don't want to ask people for direction? I could take you there."

Zhao Yu considered for a moment…

It's true that she could ask the people around to show her the direction back to her home. Since her father is the leader of the Xue Hu sect. Nearly all the villagers in Yangjiang village knew where Zhao's mansion was. However, the one who brought Zhao Yu to this festival was Zhao Yi. If she came back before him, surely her father would scold her or even punish her for leaving her big brother alone.

"Yes, because I might get scolded if I didn't go back with my big brother." Zhao Yu said weakly, she looked down and stared at the ground.

Liu Meifeng could tell that Zhao Yu's family is harsh just like her parents her past life. Naturally, she knew more or less about Zhao Yu's pressure and responsibility. "Then, let's wait a bit more. If your big brother didn't show up before twelve, you can stay the night in my room. And the next day, I'll take you home and explain things to your parents. How's that sound?"

Zhao Yu shook her head quickly, "No no no, I can't possibly let you get involved in this problem." Liu Meifeng turned around to face Zhao Yu beside her, "But I'm the one who made you stay. Strictly speaking, I'm already involved in this matter."

Zhao Yu turned her face to look at Liu Meifeng. Once again, she was captivated by her gemstone-like eyes. Initially, she was about to say something.. but when those beautiful Aquamarine eyes greeted her combined with those pale skin. Zhao Yu turned speechless, hence she just stared at Liu Meifeng.

Seeing that Zhao Yu just silently stared at her face, Liu Meifeng tilted her head and smiled. Apparently, she realized that her face attracted Zhao Yu. Is this a sign of a love flag? She must find it out!

"Is there something on my face?"

Zhao Yu regained her senses and quickly looked away, "N-nothing.. just.. I've never seen someone with beautiful eyes like you. It's like a gemstone."

Liu Meifeng smirked as she nodded her head a few times, "Hm~" suddenly, a young boy who looked a bit like Zhao Yu approached them.

"Yu-er!" he screamed.

Zhao Yu stood up right away and a bit startled, "Gege!"

Zhao Yi came before Zhao Yu and hugged her, his clothes were a bit dampened by his sweats. It seems like he has been running around the village.

"I'm so glad you're alright! I'm sorry for leaving you earlier."

Zhao Yu buried her face on Zhao Yi's shoulder, "Where did you go?"

The two of them parted while Zhao Yi averted his gaze, "…I was taking a leak." His face looked nervous as if he's hiding something. Liu Meifeng who's just watching from behind grabbed Zhao Yi's hand and closed her eyes. Zhao Yi flinched and finally realized that Zhao Yu wasn't alone.

"Um…?"

Liu Meifeng finally opened her eyes and sighed. She tilted her head to face Zhao Yi, "You're lying."

Zhao Yi's eyes widened, he was both shocked and captivated by Liu Meifeng's eyes. and just like Zhao Yu, he turned speechless. Although, Liu Meifeng treated her nicely. But Zhao Yu can't just stay silent when her big brother gets accused. Hence she asked angrily, "What do you mean?"

Liu Meifeng realized that she had offended Zhao Yu, but she can't reveal this secret power of hearing people's hearts to her either. Hence, she can only explain it in a psychological way. "My apology, I didn't mean to offend you. But I'm certain your big brother here is lying. He took quite a while to say the reason and didn't dare to look at you in the eye. That's a sign of someone who's lying… if you don't believe me. Why don't you ask your big brother, why did he leave?" Actually, Liu Meifeng already knows why Zhao Yi left Zhao Yu alone. but just as she had thought earlier, she can't reveal everything or else she might get suspected.

Looking at such determination on Liu Meifeng's pretty face. Zhao Yi decided to believe her and turned to Zhao Yi, "Is that true?"

Zhao Yi is sweating again, he rolled his eyes around and scratched his cheek nervously. "What your friend here said… is true. B-but I really had a good reason! I swear I didn't mean to leave you alone!"

Zhao Yu's eyes turned cold and she asked shortly, "Explain."

Although, Zhao Yi is the eldest son in the family. But when he's facing a raged Zhao Yu, it's as if their statuses were reversed. Zhao Yi quickly prostrated on the ground, "Please forgive this whimsical gege of yours! I really didn't mean to leave you alone. it's just that.. I saw a really beautiful girl earlier and.. I chased after her." This time he's not lying. Liu Meifeng turned away awkwardly, as someone who's still had the mind of a man. She could understand why Zhao Yi could do such things. But she won't be that stupid either to leave a little girl in the midst of a crowd. Thankfully, she found Zhao Yu first. Who knows what would happen to her if the two of them didn't meet.

Zhao Yu turned speechless, she can't believe that Zhao Yi left her alone for another girl. But just like Liu Meifeng, she could understand her big brother for she too is a man on the inside. In the end, she can only sigh and give a light punishment for this big brother of hers.

"Fine, I'll forgive you. But you have to promise me, this will be the last time. And you have to buy me a Wonton soup for tomorrow's breakfast."

Zhao Yi rose from the ground and gave a salute to Zhao Yu, "Yes, ma'am!"

Hearing the silly conversation between brother and sister, Liu Meifeng was caught in nostalgia. In her previous life, whenever she gets into an argument with Huang Liangjin to the point of being ignored for days. She would always bring his favorite Wonton soup and apologize to him. And he would always forgive her too, but sadly she can only remember it fondly in her memories.

"Ah, right. This is my new friend, Meifeng. She found me when I stumbled on the ground and healed my wound." Both Zhao Yu and Zhao Yi turned to Liu Meifeng who was spacing out. She quickly regained her composure and smiled, "I'm Meifeng. I'm sorry for pointing at you earlier, but I can't just stay silent when someone's lying to my friend." Liu Meifeng bowed to Zhao Yi. He immediately waved his hands, "No no no, it was my fault for being a bad brother. Besides, you saved my precious younger sister.. naturally, I should be thanking you for that."

Liu Meifeng straightened her back and answered reassuringly, "Ah, it's okay. Yu-er already repays me by accompanying me earlier." She throws a gaze towards Zhao Yu and smiles. Zhao Yu's heartbeat quickened, but she answered Liu Meifeng's smile with her smile too.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yi silently observes these two girls who're smiling and staring intimately at each other from the side. He suddenly recalled what Zhao Yu said this evening.

'It's nothing, I just.. saw a girl with an unusual appearance.'

Then, Zhao Yi stared at Liu Meifeng. From her overall appearance, she looked like the common people of the earth. Except for her eyes… no one ever had such beautiful gemstone-like eyes before. Although, the color resembles the eyes of the people of the sea. But none of their eyes were as stunning as Liu Meifeng. So, this is the girl that Yu-er saw this evening.

"By any chance, did you just arrive at the village this evening?" Zhao Yi asked. Liu Meifeng turned to him and nodded, "Yes. I've been traveling with my grandfather and he happened to have some business here. So, we decided to stay at the Yangjiang inn for a while."

Zhao Yi propped his chin and smirked, then he turned to Zhao Yu "Hoo~ then, she must be that girl with the unusual appearance you saw this evening."

Liu Meifeng tilted her head in confusion, while Zhao Yu tried her best not to blush.

"Is that so? I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you. I was so captivated by the village's scenery, so I didn't pay attention to my surroundings." Liu Meifeng bowed once again.

Zhao Yu panicked and helped Liu Meifeng straighten her back, "No no, that's alright. We don't know each other earlier, so it's only natural." Liu Meifeng smiles happily and suddenly had an urge to tease this girl before her.

"But for you to remember my appearance in a single sight. My appearance must be a very odd one, huh?"

This time Zhao Yi butted in, "Not at all, she said that you're—urk!" Suddenly, Zhao Yu punched Zhao Yi's abdomen, he kneeled on the ground and grunted. Liu Meifeng was baffled by witnessing such a scene. Zhao Yu didn't realize that she had used her strength too much. She quickly helped Zhao Yi, "I-I'm sorry, I used too much strength."

Liu Meifeng kneeled on the ground and pulled out her medical pouch. Then, she gave Zhao Yi a dark-brown pill. "Eat this to lessen the pain."

Zhao Yi thanked Liu Meifeng weakly and swallowed the pill. In just a few seconds, the pain on his stomach had dissipated. He praised Liu Meifeng greatly. Suddenly, the bell in the village rang. It shows that it's already past midnight.

Liu Meifeng parted with Zhao Yi and Zhao Yu to return to the inn. The two siblings originally wanted to accompany Liu Meifeng. But she refused since it's already past midnight. Both Zhao Yi and Zhao Yu didn't force her either, they just stared at Liu Meifeng who slowly disappeared from their sight.

"Ge, you don't have to buy me Wonton soup."

Zhao Yi tilted his head to Zhao Yu who's a few inches shorter than him. He knew what's on Zhao Yu's mind, but he still asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"I want to see her again."