"No way, absolutely not, that's forbidden!" Hearing Ivy Shen's words, Aiden Chen hurriedly chased after her, then suddenly darted in front to block her path, holding out his hand with deadly seriousness: "You can't set your sights on Young Master Eli!"
"Why not? Are you jealous because you've fallen for me?"
"Y-you—you’re so shameless! I’m super pure, okay? Don’t flatter yourself!"
"So what if I am? What if I want to steal your young master for myself, huh?" She finished, ignored him, and kept heading toward the Purple Bamboo Grove.
(A brief pause)
"Just don’t corrupt Young Master Eli, okay? He’s super pure, you know?" Realizing he couldn’t stop Ivy Shen, Aiden Chen followed her toward the Purple Bamboo Grove.
Seeing this, Ivy stopped, turned her head, and shot a look at the little gossip: "Enough! You’re driving me nuts. Seriously, how does Old Man Sai put up with you? Relax, I’m just going to thank your young master, not eat him. What are you so worried about?" She raised an eyebrow. "Or are you afraid he’ll fall for my stunning looks?!"
"Pfft, you call that stunning? Bet there are girls like you everywhere outside." Having never left the valley, he’d only seen pretty women in comic books, so he figured all girls out there must be gorgeous.
"Not wasting my breath on you!" Ivy sped up, refusing to bicker further.
"Y-you—ugh!" Seeing she totally ignored him, Aiden stomped his feet in frustration.
Just then, a gentle, low melody drifted out from deep within the woods, as if carried from ancient times. The sound was tranquil, soothing, and steady, swirling around Ivy Shen’s ears like a waterfall in a valley—powerful yet calming. In that moment, all her restlessness melted away.
Drawn by the music, Ivy hurried in its direction. As she walked, she spotted an old wooden pavilion, where a white-clad figure in a loose brocade robe sat. In the soft breeze, his white sleeves fluttered gently, and the delicate notes flowed from his slender fingertips.
"Young Master!" Aiden suddenly shouted loudly.
At the sound, the young man in the pavilion paused, then turned around in his wheelchair.
Ivy was instantly stunned. What kind of face was this—delicate yet distant, handsomely sculpted, with pale skin and eyes so dark they seemed to peer through lifetimes of sorrow. His nose was straight, his lips softly tinted, and his profile was sharply defined yet gentle enough to stir the heart. Dressed all in white, he looked ethereal and perfect.
But his thin face held an unnatural paleness. Even so, that paleness couldn’t hide his dreamlike aura. In that moment, Ivy felt he was like a figure from a painting—almost unreal.
Ivy stared blankly at this poetic, picturesque man, feeling a faint, inexplicable ripple in her heart.
Seeing them approach, he greeted them with a faint, unreadable smile. His deep, obsidian eyes were both mysterious and gentle. "Miss," he said.
Ivy hurried into the pavilion. In the center stood a large stone table, with the guqin he’d just played resting on top. Beside it sat an ornate incense burner, sending up wisps of fragrant smoke.
"Thank you for saving me, Young Master," Ivy said with a smile to this wind-like man.
"No need to be so formal, Miss. My surname is Bai, and my name is Linghe—you can just call me Bai Linghe. Actually, it wasn’t me who saved you, but Little White."
"Little White?"
"That’s Young Master Eli’s spirit pet—super smart, totally understands people!" Aiden chimed in, all gossipy.
"Wow, what a coincidence! You’re Bai Linghe, and your spirit pet’s a white crane too. So I’ll just call you Little White—and your pet can be Little Little White!" Ivy suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hey, hey, hey, what nonsense is that? My young master isn’t someone you can just nickname! And Little White is the pet’s name, okay? Little Little White sounds like you and Young Master already have a kid together!" Aiden rolled his eyes.
He’d meant to roast Ivy, but instead she suddenly got embarrassed. Her and his kid? Little Little White?!
"Aiden, enough nonsense."
"Young Master!"
"Please don’t mind him, Miss. He just talks too fast for his own good—he means well." Bai Linghe quickly explained.
"No worries, I don’t stoop to his level." (Translation: I totally treat everything he says as hot air!)
"Little White, can you play another song for me? Your music is really beautiful!" Ivy didn’t care if he accepted the nickname—she was going to call him that anyway.
"Alright!" To Aiden’s shock, not only did he not object to being called 'Little White,' he actually agreed to play for her? This... this...
He gave a faint smile, laid his hands on the guqin, lowered his lashes, and gently plucked the strings.
The guqin’s ethereal, ancient notes floated out—like a leaf drifting on the wind, rising and falling, trembling as it landed in a clear stream. The leaf rode the rushing water, swept along by the current. An endless loneliness spread from the music, instantly stealing her breath away.
It was a fated, inescapable loneliness—struggle or escape, nothing could change it. The sound wasn’t pain or self-pity, but a deep, bone-level solitude infused with the scent of death, as if life itself might vanish at any moment inside this loneliness...
Ivy gazed at his thin, handsome face, overwhelmed by a feeling that was almost suffocating. The music stirred the blank space in her heart, as if it was full of things she couldn’t quite grasp, no matter how hard she tried.
Shadowy figures flashed through her mind—so fast she couldn’t catch a single clear look. They flickered like lightning, leaving only a hint of brightness before vanishing. Suddenly, her head and chest throbbed with sharp pain—so, so painful...
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to keep reading!)
A single tear slipped from her eye without warning, sliding down her cheek and falling with a soft plink onto the stone table.
Seeing this, Bai Linghe paused, lifting his gaze to meet hers. All the sorrow, longing, pain, and uncertainty in her eyes were quietly taken in by his own.
He reached out and gently brushed the tear from her cheek with his thumb, his gaze deepening, dark as the sea. "What’s wrong? Did the music remind you of something sad?"
Ivy quickly shook her head.
"Don’t worry. I’ll help you remember."
Ivy looked up at him with tearful eyes and asked, "Why do you want to help me remember? Didn’t Old Man Sai say my past might only hurt me?"
Bai Linghe smiled softly. "But it’s still your past. If you want to start over, you can decide after you remember. Otherwise, your life will never be complete." She couldn’t remember much, but when he saved her, she’d clung to his hand and whispered over and over, 'I’ll trade my life for yours. Promise me, live well! Live well!' After that, she fell into a deep sleep.
That phrase had shocked him. He realized her past must be complicated—she had people she wanted to protect, and was willing to risk her life for them. Surely, she wouldn’t want to forget them.
"Thank you!"
"Little Bird, why do you have so many problems? You want Young Master to help with everything! He’s got plenty of his own stuff to deal with—you’re just making more trouble for him." Aiden huffed.
"Aiden." Bai Linghe quickly stopped him from rambling.
"What? It’s not like he asked you for help, so why are you whining? Gossip Queen!" Ivy rolled her eyes at him.
"Y-you—wait, is it raining?" Aiden was still fuming when the drizzle outside caught him off guard.
Hearing this, Ivy turned to look outside. At some point, a gentle misty rain had started to fall. In the valley, it was always spring—no summer heat, no winter chill. Even the rain here was soft.
The drizzle pattered down, cool damp breezes drifting in, veiling the Purple Bamboo Grove in a hazy mist.
Seeing this, Aiden said, "Young Master, it’s raining and the wind’s strong here in the pavilion. Let me escort you back." He reached under the stone table and pulled out an umbrella—there were always two stashed there, just in case, since it often drizzled in the valley.
At that, Bai Linghe stood up. Aiden hurried to push his wheelchair, but Bai Linghe calmly said, "No need. I want to walk for a bit. You should escort Miss Ivy back instead."
Aiden hesitated, wanting to protest, but he knew arguing with Young Master was pointless. So he opened the umbrella and handed it to Bai Linghe.
Taking the umbrella, Bai Linghe walked slowly out of the pavilion. His slender figure disappeared into the soft rain, the scene like an elegant ink-wash painting.