When Qingmu returned to Liuying Lane, it was just dusk.
A few customers were already scattered around the Ruhua Bar, and the new waiters were standing at the entrance trying to attract customers. The storefront, which was much brighter and more spacious than before, allowed a clear view of the stage inside. Mo Yu was sitting on the stage, tuning his guitar, while Xiao Qi watched him intently from behind the bar counter.
Qingmu walked in, leaned lazily against the bar, and said, "A beer, please."
Xiao Qi, having recovered from his daze, smiled and said, "Boss, why don't you try my cocktail?"
Qingmu said, "Forget it, with your cooking skills, I'd rather drink beer."
Xiao Qi wasn't angry at all. He cheerfully poured a beer for Qingmu, skillfully pushed it forward, and the glass slid across the smooth table, stopping right in front of Qingmu.
"I learned the secret from the proprietress; the customers all say it's delicious!"
"Isn't it Mo Yu who truly inherited the skills?" Qingmu raised his glass, looking at Mo Yu on the stage, and said, "Isn't there a band? Why are you letting your wife show her face in public? Aren't you afraid she'll be snatched away by a rich second-generation?"
"Tch, who dares!" Xiao Qi said disdainfully. "Who dares to defy the powerful? My relationship with Mo Yu was approved by the boss's wife!"
"Are you treating me like Empress Dowager Cixi?!" Bi Shenghua came in through the back door, just in time to hear Xiao Qi's words. She also sat down next to Qingmu at the bar. "A Margarita, please, let's see your skills."
Xiao Qi stuck his tongue out at Qingmu, then turned to mix drinks.
Ever since seeing Zhao Pengcheng's illusory later life, Qingmu's perception of Bi Shenghua has changed. He seems to see that middle-aged woman with crow's feet around her eyes and a hint of sadness in her gaze, carrying a vegetable basket and walking alone on the desolate Liuying Lane.
The unfolding of memories in a dream is but a fleeting moment, yet for that world, it feels like a real ten years. Life is short, and beauty fades quickly; a woman dedicated her best years to a man lying in bed, never to wake again. Now, he has returned. But has she returned too?
Qingmu suddenly remembered what Duwa had said: that Situ was looking for evidence that World War II was a hoax. He used to think this idea and the Tushu were absurd, but now he wondered, if someone had been trapped in a zero-dimensional Dream Corridor before World War II, and if he had ever escaped, would time and space have been pulled back to that era?
However, is he the only one who returned, or will the whole world return because of him? Just like Qingmu returned, Zhao Pengcheng returned, but has the world that Zhao Pengcheng experienced truly returned?
This is an unsolvable mystery, because neither Qingmu nor Zhao Pengcheng can ever go back to that world again. And where did Ruhua, who gradually aged in that world, ultimately go? Is she the same person as Bi Shenghua before us?
Bi Shenghua saw Qingmu looking at her with a strange expression, and she glared at him, saying, "What are you looking at? Do you have writing on my face?"
Qingmu stared blankly, as if admiring a rare treasure. A deep emotion gradually welled up in his eyes, filling the air.
"Thank you!" he said.
"What?" Bi Shenghua asked, puzzled. "Thank me for what?"
Thank you for always being there for me, for never leaving me. From today onward, I will treat you well. Once I have completed my mission, we will find a small island and be together forever.
"You're insane!" Bi Shenghua muttered under her breath, looking at Qingmu as if he were a monster.
Qingmu's expression was serious, his tone sincere, and his eyes burning. Bi Shenghua knew he wasn't joking; her face flushed instantly, and her heart began to pound involuntarily.
Xiao Qi, who was mixing drinks, chuckled, but didn't dare to laugh too loudly, looking as if he had a stomachache.
A thick, sticky mood hung in the air, like a glass of red wine tinged with the sunset's glow. Bi Shenghua couldn't take it anymore. Avoiding Qingmu's gaze, she said to Xiao Qi, "Just focus on mixing your drinks, what are you laughing at!"
Xiao Qi suppressed a laugh, placed a glass of Margarita on the bar, and winked at Bi Shenghua: " The Sun must have risen in the west today, the boss knows how to sweet-talk, it's like an iron tree has finally blossomed."
Bi Shenghua feigned disdain and said, "Tch, you hear that kind of talk hundreds of times a day in bars, I'm sick of it."
The bar started to fill up, and Mo Yu started singing on stage, creating a lively atmosphere. Bi Shenghua and Qingmu silently drank their drinks, Xiao Qi focused on mixing drinks for the customers.
Whether it was due to the alcohol or something else, Bi Shenghua's face always had a rosy glow like a fresh peach blossom, while Qingmu's eyes were filled with a deep, gentle light.
Bi Shenghua dared not look Qingmu in the eye, silently pleading, "Say something, you idiot! Say something! Stop staring like that! Say something else, while my heart is still soft, while that damned Crow is away..."
However, Crow are everywhere.
" Guagua, I'm out here braving the wind and sun while you guys are enjoying yourselves here!"
The Boss Coal suddenly appeared out of nowhere, flapping his wings and leaping onto the bar, pacing back and forth in front of Qingmu and Bi Shenghua.
"Found him! Found him! Guagua... I'm so amazing! In such a big city, can you guess how I found him?"
He paced back and forth on the bar, muttering to himself, but received no response. Sensing something was off, he looked up. Seeing the lingering blush on the proprietress's face and Qingmu's honeyed eyes, Crow seemed to understand something:
"Oh no, is the sky falling? Ru--Hua--, hang in there!"
Bi Shenghua raised her hand as if to hit him, laughing and scolding, "You damned Crow, aren't you hungry anymore!"
The Crow Guagua twice. "Is the braised pork knuckle ready?"
Bi Shenghua said, "It's upstairs, go eat by yourself."
The Crow calmly nodded, hopped onto the Qingmu, scratched the Qingmu's hair with its claws, stretched its neck, and hung its head upside down in front of the Qingmu, saying, "Go for it!"
The customers in the shop were all attracted by the comical Crow and took out their phones to take pictures. The Crow quickly covered its face with its wings. "Caw! The rules here are: chatting is fine, but no photos and no posting on social media."
The guests laughed after a little coaxing.
Qingmu pulled the Crow off his head and said, "If you keep flaunting yourself, you could become an internet celebrity." Then he said to Bi Shenghua, "Let's go for a walk."
Bi Shenghua nodded and stood up with Qingmu.
Crow, held in Qingmu's arms, poked its head out and cawed, "Caw! Oh, be gentle! I can't breathe! Wow, you should be holding the landlady, not me!"
After leaving the bar, the Crow returned to Qingmu's head. The evening breeze ruffled the feathers on his neck. He looked down at Qingmu, then glanced at Bi Shenghua, and said, "I think I'll go eat some braised pork knuckle."
Qingmu asked, "What did you just say you found it?"
The Boss Coal said, "That stupid cat caws."
" Hanran?" Qingmu knew how important the cat was to Yu Meiren. "Where is it?"
The Boss Coal said, "A kind old lady took him in. It's not convenient to take him out during the day, so I plan to pick him up at night. Oh, by the way, it seems that old lady got into some trouble."
Bi Shenghua said, "This is an important matter. Let's go pick it up now and avoid any unforeseen complications."