Lost

Qiguan Yuan looked at her without speaking.

He looked into Jiang Wantang's eyes. There was a faint sheen of tears in them.

He shifted his gaze to the fortune stick and reached out to pick it up.

He did not actually need to read the fortune. He knew what it said.

But he read it anyway.

Two lines were carved into the stick in regular script, their strokes very fine and worn somewhat indistinct.

It was clear that Jiang Wantang had probably been touching this marriage fortune stick constantly over the past two days.

As Qiguan Yuan read the marriage fortune, something stirred faintly within him.

So this was connected to that strand in Ji Shiyu and Jiang Wantang's Thread of Fate, so thin it was nearly broken.

It was probably Jiang Wantang's own obsession that made that strand hold on to her, Ji Shiyu, and the Thread of Fate between them, forcibly keeping the thread from breaking.

She wanted to hold on to this bond. She did not want it to break.

Qiguan Yuan returned the stick to Jiang Wantang.

Holding its shaft between his fingers, he offered it to her and only let go once she had taken it.

"Two hearts misunderstood each other, a stretch of water kept them apart. On the far shore, your beloved, too, awaited the returning boat."

After saying this, he picked up his lidded tea bowl and took another sip.

The tea had gone cold. Its bitterness was stronger, and its sweet aftertaste lingered longer.

Jiang Wantang tucked the stick into her sleeve, the fingers gripping it trembling slightly.

She drew a breath, then let it out, her shoulders relaxing.

"Thank you, Mr. Qiguan." Her voice was much better than before. At least it no longer sounded strained.

Qiguan Yuan nodded.

Jiang Wantang stood and bowed slightly to Qiguan Yuan. "Then I won't take up any more of your time. Mr. Qiguan, I'll be going now."

She turned toward the door, paused when she reached it, and looked back at Qiguan Yuan.

Qiguan Yuan sat by the window, holding his lidded bowl and drinking tea.

Jiang Wantang left. Her footsteps sounded several times on the wooden floor, growing more distant until they could no longer be heard.

After some time, Qiguan Yuan finished the tea in his lidded bowl and set it down.

He stood, walked to the counter, and asked how much the tea cost.

Jiang Wantang had already paid.

He left the teahouse and stood on the steps outside, looking left, then right.

The stone-paved road branched outside the teahouse, one path to the left and one to the right. The two looked exactly alike.

He looked up at the sky. The sun was above him to his right.

He felt a little lost.

He tried to remember which direction he had come from, but even after thinking for a long time, he could not recall.

So he tentatively headed right.

After about five minutes, an old camphor tree appeared beside the road.

The tree was enormous. It would take two people to encircle its trunk with their arms, and its spreading branches shaded half the road.

Qiguan Yuan stood beneath the camphor tree, looking at the cracks in its trunk. He had never seen this tree before. He had not passed it on his way here.

Oh-ho, lost again.

He headed back. After five minutes, he returned to the teahouse entrance.

Standing on the steps, he looked left and right again.

This time, he chose the left.

After about ten minutes, a well appeared beside the road.

Its opening was round, built from blue stone and covered with wooden planks.

He leaned over to look inside. The well water was very clear, and he could see his own reflection.

Silver hair, a black shirt, pale eyes. His reflection swayed in the water, ripples spread, and the image shattered.

He had never seen this well either.

Qiguan Yuan crouched on the rim of the well, watching his reflection gather again in the water, then ripple apart.

With no other choice, he untied the red thread from his wrist. "Baby, you'd better lead me back."

The red thread twisted between his fingers, raising its end to point in the direction he had come from.

Qiguan Yuan glanced in the direction the red thread indicated, stood, and followed it.

Before long, he saw the terraced fields. They rose layer upon layer from the foot of the mountain to its summit, their bright water reflecting the light of the sky. He stood on a field ridge and watched for a while.

Pei Yubai was still bent over, planting rice seedlings in the paddy. Qiguan Yuan walked along the ridge until he stood behind him.

Pei Yubai straightened and turned his head. There was mud on his face, and the hair over his forehead was damp with sweat, plastered against his skin.

He held a bunch of rice seedlings, his fingers covered in mud.

Qiguan Yuan stood on the ridge, looking down at him.

"I got lost," Qiguan Yuan said.

Pei Yubai paused and looked at him, then planted the seedlings in his hand in the paddy and climbed onto the ridge.

He walked up to Qiguan Yuan and looked down at him.

He was just under half a head taller than Qiguan Yuan.

Qiguan Yuan could actually be considered very tall, but Pei Yubai was taller still.

Qiguan Yuan tilted his head up, his face expressionless, though there was a hint of innocence in his eyes.

Pei Yubai reached out, but his hand was dirty, so he withdrew it.

"I'll wash my hands first," Pei Yubai said.

Pei Yubai walked to the irrigation ditch, crouched, and put his hands in the water to wash them.

The water was very cool. It washed away the mud, revealing the skin beneath.

After washing his hands, he shook off the water, walked up to Qiguan Yuan, and held out his hand again.

Without asking what he intended to do, Qiguan Yuan reached out and took it.

Pei Yubai's hand was still cool, but warmer than Qiguan Yuan's.

Qiguan Yuan's hand rested in his palm like a piece of cold jade.

"Let's go. I'll take you back," Pei Yubai said. "I've nearly finished planting today's seedlings anyway. Next time you go somewhere, you can take me with you. Then you won't get lost."

Qiguan Yuan did not agree. He let Pei Yubai hold his hand as the two walked back along the field ridge.

Qiguan Yuan walked beside him with light steps, treading on the grass along the ridge. The grass bent beneath his feet, then slowly sprang back up.

Pei Yubai did not ask again. After walking for a few minutes, they reached the foot of the stilt house.

Pei Yubai released his hand and went up the stairs.

Qiguan Yuan followed behind.

After entering, Pei Yubai headed straight to the room.

The door on the second floor stood open. The sounds of stir-frying came from the kitchen, and the aroma of chilies drifted through the gap in the window.

Qiguan Yuan walked to the window and saw that the two white mushrooms tied with red thread were still on the sill, standing against the window frame.

He reached out and touched a mushroom's cap. It swayed, then steadied itself.

Pei Yubai came out of the room and walked over to Qiguan Yuan. Following his gaze, he saw the two mushrooms as well.

Pei Yubai took out a phone and handed it to Qiguan Yuan.

Qiguan Yuan accepted it. "What are you giving me this for?"

Pei Yubai explained, "If you don't want me following you all the time, then take this phone with you. If you get lost again, call me, and I'll come find you."

Holding the phone, Qiguan Yuan paused at his words, then suddenly laughed. "So because I didn't answer you, you thought I didn't want you following me?"

Pei Yubai pressed his lips together.

Qiguan Yuan raised his hand and pressed the phone against Pei Yubai's chin. "Why would I mind? Perhaps you could try it? Maybe I'd really like you following me around."

Pei Yubai said, "You wouldn't hate it?"

Qiguan Yuan said, "I think, if it's you, I might like it. Pei Yubai, you get special privileges with me."