Side story: The God of Time and the God of Wine (part one)

He is the God of Time.

Before he begins, he must first clarify one point.

He was by no means a devoted God of Fate, much less a heartless scoundrel.

He acts with integrity and honesty, and never engages in underhanded tactics to eliminate rivals in love.

If something really happened to his rivals, it could only be considered a coincidence, or that they were just unlucky.

The life of the God of Time has always been very simple.

It's nothing more than sitting on the bank of the River of Time, day after day, watching the rise and fall, the joys and sorrows of all living beings.

Everything seemed so uninteresting to him.

No matter how magnificent the waves are, they can never withstand the relentless flow of time. He watched for far too long, so long that he thought his heart, like that river, was no longer capable of stirring any waves.

--Until one day, Love God appeared.

As the saying goes, Gods come and go, but love remains constant.

Gods come and go, and the years rise and fall.

It's him, it's him! Love God has come again!

Love God opened his little notebook, which had been read countless times, and his gaze fell on a few particularly difficult names. His brows furrowed slightly as he fell into deep thought.

On that page, the four characters "God of Fate" were slashed out with tremendous force, the force penetrating the back of the paper.

A few words were also written in a flamboyant style next to it:

Old man's pork belly, destined to be alone.

Love God stared at that line of annotation for a long time, then let out a deep sigh.

After finishing his last task, he returned to his Love God Palace and slept soundly for decades.

I slept soundly for ages, and when I woke up I felt refreshed and inexplicably comfortable all over.

He stretched, sat up from the bed, and the first thing he did was take out the small notebook from under his pillow and turn to a new page.

Time to get to work.

This time, his target was a name even more difficult to deal with than the God of Fate.

--The God of Time.

In the eyes of Love God, this was far more troublesome than the God of Fate.

At least the God of Fate occasionally makes an appearance.

But the God of Time is different; you can hardly ever see him anywhere on ordinary days.

He doesn't attend religious banquets, doesn't visit other people's homes, and doesn't join in the fun.

If you want to see him, there is a way:

Go to the River of Time.

If you go there, you're sure to see him.

He is always there, without exception.

Love God cleared his throat, pulled out a small notebook, put on a professional smile honed over many years, and began to speak:

"God of Time, I have come..."

"Leave."

Unfortunately, before Love God could finish speaking, the God of Time interrupted him and issued a banishment order.

Cupid, now Love God, frowned.

He had been interrupted in the same way when he faced the God of Fate before.

This God of Time is even more outrageous, not even glancing at him. At least the God of Fate looked him in the eye when he spoke.

"Time and Fate, how... heh."

He chuckled twice, but didn't actually get angry.

Ultimately, it's not that he can't understand.

If he were the God of Time or the God of Fate, wielding such exalted Authority and overlooking the birth and death of all things and the passage of time, he would probably be incredibly arrogant, even more so than he is now.

But then again, what's the point of being arrogant?

Is being destined to be alone still the same as being destined to be alone?

It's a pity he was just a Love God, a pitiful god who was abandoned by the Goddess of Beauty to "Lust".

However, when Goddess of Beauty abandoned "Lust," Love God readily accepted it. After all, having more Divine Office makes one more powerful, and besides, this was a perfect fit for him.

Love God put away his notebook, too lazy to waste any more words.

He took out the pen he always carried, turned to the page with the name of the God of Time written on it, and drew a big X.

Then, he wrote a note next to it:

Lao Bangzi Meat No. 2

After writing the last word, Love God closed the notebook and left without looking back.

From this day forward, he solemnly declared in his heart:

He would never touch pork belly again.

It's hard to chew and a waste of your teeth, and you don't even give him a friendly look. What's the point?

Love God departed silently.

The River of Time continues its ceaseless flow, and the God of Time has not even lifted an eyelid.

He didn't take this matter to heart at all.

One day, the God of Time sat as usual on the River of Time, his gaze fixed on the ever-flowing waters.

Suddenly, his brow twitched very slightly.

He sensed it.

Another guest has arrived at his Temple of Time.

That's not surprising.

Strangely, along with that aroma came a faint, almost imperceptible scent of wine.

Liquor?

The expression on the God of Time finally underwent an extremely subtle change.

He remembered something.

It happened nearly a thousand years ago, and it was an extremely serious incident caused by his drinking.

That was the first time the God of Time made a mistake.

For this, he was ridiculed by the God of Fate.

Since then, the God of Time has paid more attention to everything related to "wine".

This time, however, is the first time in nearly a thousand years that he has shifted his gaze away from the River of Time.

He rose and returned to his Temple of Time.

The temple was empty and silent, with the dust of time floating and sinking in the light.

Standing in the hall was a Gods, dressed in a simple blue robe, with his Blue Robe tied up in a white crown, and a Wine Gourd hanging from his waist, leisurely surveying his surroundings.

God of Wine.

The God of Time recognized the newcomer at a glance.

He wasn't exactly familiar with this Gods, but he wasn't a complete stranger either.

Among these Gods who come and go, there are many friends of God of Wine, who occasionally mention this Gods with Wine Gourd hanging from his waist.

It is said that his winemaking skills are unparalleled in the Divine Realm, that he is generous and unrestrained, that he can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, and so on... These fragmented words, pieced together, have already sketched a rough outline in the mind of the God of Time.

So when the God of Wine of wine in his Blue Robe and white crown truly stood before him, the God of Time felt no sense of unfamiliarity, as if he were facing an old acquaintance with whom he had already met countless times in casual conversation.

Meanwhile, God of Wine was seeing the God of Time in This Venerable for the first time. He looked the other up and down, and the first thought that popped into his mind was, "This God of Time is really handsome."

God of Wine is never hesitant to make friends; if he finds someone agreeable, he feels even more strongly that they are indispensable friends.

Without a word, the God of Wine pulled out a jar of fine wine from behind his back and approached with a smile.

Of course, his enthusiasm also concealed some selfish motives that he couldn't tell outsiders.

Hehe, this is the God of Time.

He would spend decades or even centuries brewing a single fine wine, a process that was more unbearable than a hundred claws scratching at his heart for God of Wine who loved it more than life itself.

But if you could become friends with this person, things would be completely different. Want to drink a jar of fine vintage wine?

It's very simple. Just have the God of Time flick the wine jar, and it will speed up time by a hundred or two hundred years. Wouldn't that be more satisfying than anything else?

The more God of Wine thought about it, the more worthwhile this friendship seemed, and his smile grew even brighter as he strode towards the God of Time.

But to his utter surprise, for every step he took forward, the other person took a step back.

He took another step forward, and the other person took another step back.

It made him seem like a thug who wanted to force himself on respectable women.

Forehead?

What's going on?