manynovel Chapter 857 A Girl's Thoughts
Chapter 857 A Girl's Thoughts
"Moving...?"
Gan Yu was slightly taken aback, her rosy lips unconsciously parted slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes.
She subconsciously furrowed her brow, her thoughts racing—
Could it be that someone in Fengdeng Tower unintentionally offended Junbai?
Otherwise, why would this usually quiet and self-disciplined senior suddenly have the idea of moving?
Noticing the confusion and hidden worry on her face, Jun Bai couldn't help but chuckle and quickly waved his hand to explain, "Don't overthink it, I'm not moving away from Fengdeng Tower."
"What I'm talking about is... the palace that the Emperor bestowed upon me has been gathering dust for a long time. I was thinking that it should be properly cleaned up and renovated."
His tone carried a hint of languor and self-deprecation: "I have to find something to do."
“Otherwise, I would sit idly in those misty pavilions all day long. I am not like the Dragon King Ruoduo, who can sleep for hundreds of years, nor am I like you, who is so busy reviewing documents and handling affairs that you never have time to rest.”
"If I continue to be so idle, I'm afraid mushrooms will grow on my body."
"...So it's true that sprouts can grow on your body, senior?"
Gan Yu blinked, then murmured earnestly, her gaze actually searching carefully for a lingzhi mushroom that was quietly sprouting on his shoulders and sleeves.
Seeing this, Jun Bai reached out and gently flicked her forehead again, laughing, "I was just using an analogy, it doesn't mean mushrooms will actually grow there."
“In short,” he said, his smile fading and his tone gentle but firm, “I just want to prepare for the future, not that I really want to move away.”
"Oh... I see." Gan Yu suddenly realized, her cheeks flushing slightly, feeling a little embarrassed by her wild imagination.
Jun Bai scratched the back of his head, looking slightly flustered, and continued, "Actually, there's another reason..."
"Recently, the Emperor and Gui Zhong have been taking turns to urge me to get married. Even my eldest and second brothers have been writing to me frequently, advising me to settle down and start a family as soon as possible."
"Although I have no such intention at the moment, I know that this is ultimately an inescapable fate."
He gazed at the misty sea of clouds outside the window, his voice lowering slightly:
"When that day comes, I can't possibly continue living in Fengdeng Building with my future partner, can I?"
"It doesn't make sense from either a moral or logical standpoint. So, finding a quiet place to stay in advance and tidying it up is a way to prepare for the future."
Gan Yu listened quietly, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of her sleeve, and nodded gently.
Marriage...is it with my senior?
She pictured him standing on a cloud in her mind, and imagined him in a wedding dress, holding another person's hand as they walked slowly forward—but she always felt that such a scene was as distant as a dream.
What puzzled her even more was what kind of person was worthy of standing beside that experienced and gentle senior.
I'm afraid... no one can match that.
A pang of sadness welled up in her heart, but she quickly suppressed it.
And the pressure to get married is surprisingly similar...
Memories, like a breeze, ripple across the lake of her heart. She couldn't help but recall the scene from her recent visit to her master at Mount Aozang.
At that time, True Monarch Liuyun, having transformed into human form, sat regally in the elegant chamber of her cave dwelling. A celadon teacup sat gently on the ground, its fragrant aroma rising softly. She gazed at her disciple before her, her tone gentle yet unyielding:
"Gan Yu, I am very pleased that you have come back to visit your teacher."
She paused slightly, then sighed softly, "But... you can't always come back alone."
Gan Yu was taken aback upon hearing this. She slowly put down her teacup and asked innocently, "Master, do you mean I should bring Shen He with me next time?"
"Don't play dumb in front of your master." True Monarch Liuyun Jiefeng frowned slightly, his eyes sharp. "You know what I mean."
Gan Yu remained silent, staring at the empty cup in her hand. After a long while, she finally spoke softly, "Master, I had no such thought."
"Being alone is fine too."
"Is it because you genuinely feel good about it," Lord Liuyun asked softly, "or has someone already taken up residence in your heart?"
The room was completely silent, save for the rustling sound of the wind through the bamboo grove.
After a long silence, Gan Yu finally said in a low voice, "Senior and I... are just friends."
"I didn't mention Jun Bai." Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun glanced at her sideways, a slight smile playing on his lips. "You're so quick to deny it; isn't that an admission of guilt?"
She stood up, walked to the window, gazed at the distant mountains in the twilight, and spoke with a deepening tone:
“When you were young, it was not appropriate for us elders to say much.”
“But now, you are no longer the children you once were, and we see that and are worried about you.”
She turned around, her gaze intense: "You only need to tell your teacher one question: Do you truly wish to live a solitary life like me, or... do you already have someone in your heart?"
Gan Yu lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun took a deep breath, as if making a tremendous decision, and even shivered, which was rare for him, before gritting his teeth and saying:
"If you truly love him... even if I've had disagreements with him in the past, even if old grudges haven't been resolved, I'm willing to personally descend the mountain and act as your matchmaker!"
She spoke each word clearly and forcefully: "I don't believe that with the combined pressure from me, the Emperor, and Gui Zhong, Jun Bai would still choose to run away!"
Upon hearing this, Gan Yu fell silent once again.
The silence was as deep and profound as a still pool, stretching on for a long time, so long that even the mountain breeze seemed to freeze, and the candlelight flickered and was about to go out.
Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun almost thought that she had quietly entered a meditative state while sitting in meditation, or that she had fallen into a deep sleep due to the weight of the years.
Finally, she slowly raised her head, her eyes misty, as if looking back at a blurred past through three thousand years of smoke and dust, her voice as soft as a falling leaf brushing against stone steps:
"Master, I don't know."
"N-no, I don't know?" Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun frowned slightly, his tone full of astonishment, his gaze fixed intently on her.
Gan Yu nodded gently, a bittersweet smile playing on her lips: "I don't know..."
"How exactly do I feel about my seniors?"
She paused briefly, as if sorting through a jumble of memories, then whispered:
"But... Senior is the opposite sex with whom I have spent the most time as peers. We have been together since childhood, grown up together, wielded swords side by side, and fought bloody battles together in the flames of the war between demons and gods to fight against that world-destroying calamity."
"We cried together, we laughed together; we huddled together for warmth in the cold night, and we shielded each other from fatal blows on the battlefield, bleeding together and struggling to survive together..."
"Together we rely on each other and walk through these three thousand years of time that are so long they seem almost unreal."
Her voice gradually softened, yet each word remained clear, like the lingering echo of an ancient bell, reverberating in the silence:
"To me, my seniors are more than just friends, more than just comrades-in-arms... more like... family?"
She slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, as if to release all the heaviness that had been weighing on her heart. Her eyes gradually cleared, yet remained tinged with confusion.
“But before, I never saw him as a man.”
"I have never had any romantic feelings for him."
"I just took it for granted that my senior would always be by my side, as naturally as breathing."
“Until recently… I began to realize that he was a man and I was a woman.”
Liu Yun Jie Feng Zhenjun asked softly, "Why now?"
A hint of confusion flashed across Gan Yu's eyes, as if a ripple was spreading across them:
"Because... I noticed that the way my senior looked at me seemed different than before. His attitude and his words subtly revealed an emotion that I couldn't ignore."
"But strangely enough, that emotion... seemed to be no different from how I felt about him."
She tilted her head slightly, gazing at the cloud patterns swirling around the top of the cave, and murmured:
"It's like... we both suddenly realized at the same moment that we were so important to each other, but in a 'different' way."
"So, I really don't know... where my heart is pointing right now. Is it habit? Is it dependence? Or... a deeper emotion? I can't judge, and I dare not define it easily."
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her expression was earnest: "So, Master, please give me a little more time."
She paused for a moment, her voice even softer, yet with a touch more gentleness: "Please... give your senior some time as well."
……
My thoughts receded like flowing water, returning to this moment.
Gan Yu gazed at Jun Bai, who was so close to her, and ripples quietly spread across the depths of her heart, subtle yet difficult to quell.
That night, during their long conversation under the moon, she almost blurted it out, almost took that step.
But afterwards, sitting alone by the window, with the cold moon casting her shadow, she suddenly felt that the impulse did not stem from love, but rather from the excitement of a long-awaited reunion, a belated awakening.
It wasn't just simple liking; it was a complex emotion intertwined with memories, ties, and the entanglement of fate.
They were so close, so long together, that even their heartbeats became synchronized, to the point that they never noticed:
Perhaps without realizing it, the two of them had already become the most special people in each other's lives.
Gan Yu gently gathered up the chaotic thoughts in her heart, as if brushing away a fallen flower.
Let time tell where the future will lead.
At least for now, they remain comrades-in-arms, inseparable friends deep in each other's souls.
She smiled, her eyes clear and bright like stars falling into autumn water, and asked softly:
"If you wish to renovate your house, do you have any items you'd like to use?"
Jun Bai pondered for a moment, then shook his head and smiled, "If I knew, why would I bother you?"
"You go ahead and do your work. Once you're done, we'll go for a walk in the street together and see if there's anything suitable to display."
Gan Yu smiled knowingly, her smile as gentle as a spring breeze across a lake: "Okay."
After speaking, she gracefully sat down, bent over her desk again, and picked up her pen. The air was filled with the fragrance of ink, and the pages rustled softly.
Jun Bai stood quietly to the side, his gaze gently fixed on the girl's focused profile. Under the lamplight, her eyelashes cast a soft shadow on her face.
At this moment, no words are needed, only tranquility flows, as if time itself has paused for this moment.