"Lu Xunguang, do you know? In my hometown, there are also fine steeds like Treading Clouds that can travel a thousand li," Li Ying stood up and gently patted Treading Clouds on the forehead.
The horse was quite intelligent and knew she was its mistress. It had long become familiar with her and affectionately rubbed its face against her small hand.
Li Ying gently stroked Treading Clouds' long red mane while slowly and self - consciously continuing, "When I was a child, I often heard in the opera that a young general, valiant and heroic, rode a blood - sweating treasure horse into battle, making contributions and establishing great feats. At that time, I dreamed that one day, I would also buy such a horse."
"The first time I met the red - maned horse in my dream was on a stormy night with thunder and lightning. He was lying in the straw pile of a dilapidated temple, covered in wounds, dying and lifeless."
"Even so, I still clearly saw the unruly look in his eyes and the hidden tenderness."
Li Ying squinted slightly, and her face showed an expression of infinite nostalgia.
"That was the darkest moment of my life. I bravely put on a show of strength, but in fact, I wasn't even sure if I could see the sun the next day."
"I looked at him and thought, this horse is really wonderful. But I, who had fallen to the bottom, probably didn't have the qualification to own him in this lifetime."
Li Ying stopped her hand. Her star - like eyes, reflecting the gentle breeze and bright moon, sparkled as she looked at Lu Xunguang.
In his deep pupils, there was only her figure.
"At that time, I never thought that one day, I could comb the hair of this proud red - maned stallion with my own hands."
Li Ying smiled and quietly looked at him.
Wasn't she actually talking about the horse?
In Lu Xunguang's eyes, which were as calm as a mirror lake, huge waves suddenly rose. He tightly hugged Li Ying in his arms, wishing he could blend every bone of her into his own. Scattered kisses fell on her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes.
"A Ying, A Ying..."
He murmured her name softly. Li Ying finally managed to break free from his surging love, almost suffocating.
"Lu Xunguang, the Qixi Festival gift I prepared is about to be crushed by you!"
She gasped for fresh air and pretended to be angry as she shouted at him. Then she carefully took out a flat and delicate box from her bosom.
Lu Xunguang opened the box curiously, and the sweet aroma of pastries rushed towards him.
He had seen this kind of pastry before. It was the rose - filled fried dumplings newly launched by Yufengxiang Dumpling Shop.
But it was a bit different.
It looked more like a shortbread.
Li Ying looked at him eagerly, picked up a piece and fed it to his mouth.
"Try it. This is called rose and red bean paste cookie. It's very difficult to master the baking temperature. I experimented many times before I finally made this box!"
Lu Xunguang took a bite from her hand. The crispy cookie melted in his mouth instantly, and the sweet aroma of red bean paste immediately filled his whole mouth.
"Well, do you like it?"
Li Ying looked at him expectantly, looking like a child waiting for praise.
Lu Xunguang could only taste the sweetness in his heart and mouth. He said softly, "A Ying's cooking skills are always the best."
As if he remembered something, he frowned slightly.
If he remembered correctly, on the signboard that A Ying wrote for Yufengxiang Dumpling Shop, it clearly marked that nine roses represented everlasting love, and ten roses meant perfection.
But in this box in his hand, no matter how he counted, there were exactly eleven cookies.
Lu Xunguang hesitated to speak. He didn't know whether he should ask. Li Ying saw his hesitation and proudly laughed.
"You don't understand this, do you? The meaning of eleven roses is..."
She deliberately dragged out the sound to pique his curiosity.
Seeing that Lu Xunguang's eyes darkened a bit more, Li Ying was afraid that he would pounce on her like a hungry tiger again. She quickly put away her teasing and honestly explained, "Eleven roses mean 'a couple for life'."
Stared at by Lu Xunguang's burning gaze, Li Ying somehow felt embarrassed. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum, and her face blushed a bit.
"Why didn't you write such a beautiful and auspicious meaning on the dumpling shop?"
Lu Xunguang looked completely confused. Li Ying didn't know if he was deliberately teasing her or really confused. She could only blush and continue to explain.
"I just wanted to give you the first romantic thing in the world, so I deliberately hid this meaning. You fool, you don't understand a girl's heart at all!"
Lu Xunguang nodded seriously, "Each fried dumpling is sold two less. It's quite a big loss when calculated. A Ying's unique romance is so expensive."
Li Ying heard the joking in his words and also joked, "Tomorrow I'll tell Boss Bao the meaning of eleven roses. Men are important, and silver is also important!"
After they joked for a while, they also released the lotus lanterns with their wishes written on them. The last bit of estrangement between them completely disappeared. They only felt that their hearts were closer to each other.
No one noticed that not far away, the wick of the lotus lantern in Su Buchi's hand had burned out, and it was cold without a trace of warmth.
He slowly sighed.
His original intention was that the situation during the lantern riddle guessing just now was really embarrassing.
Although he avoided talking about it, Li Ying was a girl after all. If she was gossiped about, it would be bad. So he rushed here in a hurry just to apologize to her.
Unexpectedly, what came into his view was his beloved girl making up with Lu Xunguang and being in perfect harmony.
"I'm superfluous..."
Su Buchi murmured to himself, and a helpless bitter smile flashed in his eyes.
"Girl Ying is a good girl. Fool, you two just don't have the fate. It's a helpless thing. You can't force it," a leisurely voice came from behind. Su Buchi turned around and shyly bowed.
"Master."
Yan Lianzhi looked at his dejected appearance and sneered disdainfully.
"Fool, that day when girl Ying first saw you, she called you little uncle. At that time, you should have known that she had long taken a fancy to the Lu family boy. At that time, you were blind and couldn't see clearly. You should wake up now, right?"
Although these words were not very lenient, Yan Lianzhi still felt sorry for his young disciple and patiently gave him a hint.
Su Buchi looked at the two affectionate figures in the distance. After a long time, he finally sorted out his thoughts and bowed to Yan Lianzhi with his hands clasped.
"Master, disciple still has one last thing to do. After I finish it, I will serve you every day."
Without waiting for Yan Lianzhi's approval, he rushed away.
Yan Lianzhi watched his figure walking towards the lotus lanterns floating along the sea current and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
This young disciple must be going to fish out Li Ying's water lantern.
If he guessed correctly, the thing Su Buchi wanted to do was to fulfill the wish that girl Ying had written down.
What sin had his sect committed? Why did they only produce lovelorn people? None of them had learned his free and unrestrained style!