She was so choked up by his words that she nearly couldn't catch her breath. She stood there, chest heaving, while Chu Yang casually lowered his head and continued shaving his bamboo branch.
Sun Wukong squatted nearby, munching on a peach and thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. "Fox, don't waste your breath. That's just how he is."
"Brother Monkey, you're taking his side too?"
"I'm not taking his side. I'm stating a fact."
"But if we keep wasting time like this—"
"We won't." Sun Wukong tossed away the peach pit and grinned. "If we really get delayed, little brother knows better than you do."
"He knows?" Su Wanwan pointed at Chu Yang. "He spends all day either drinking or sightseeing. Does he look like someone who knows what he's doing?"
Chu Yang finally clicked his tongue. He stuck the finished bamboo branch into the ground and slowly rose to his feet. "Am I really that unreliable in your eyes?"
"Why don't you tell me where exactly you're reliable?"
"I'm reliable because—" He paused, as if suddenly wanting to tease her, and curled his lips into a smile. "I make sure you eat well every day and never have to sleep in a ruined temple."
"Who was talking about that?!"
She was practically about to explode.
From then on, a subtle new routine gradually emerged within the group.
Su Wanwan handled the nagging.
Chu Yang handled brushing her off.
Sun Wukong handled stirring up trouble from the side.
Tang Monk, meanwhile, was caught between them, persuading one, then the other, until it usually ended with, "Amitabha, stop arguing."
For instance, one morning at daybreak, Su Wanwan got up to pack their things and urged everyone to get moving.
"If we don't get up now, the sun will be high already!"
Sun Wukong