God's Gift

It was midnight and the lights in the general's mansion were still on. The loquat tree in the courtyard was a hundred years old and was now lush and leafy.

The swallows and sparrows perched on the branches should have fallen asleep long ago, but they were unable to fall asleep because of the creaking sound of the swing. They stood on the tree trunks in rows, looking down at Yu Youyou who was swinging on the swing in the yard late at night.

She was wearing a light orange skirt and was standing on the swing. She tied a shawl around her arm because it was too troublesome and it fluttered in the wind as she swayed.

A frivolous and casual voice came from behind, "Youyou, do you want to eat chicken eggs?"

Yu Youyou turned her head and looked at Ning Yue who was half leaning against the eaves. He was holding a white egg in his hand. She responded without hesitation, "Eat!"

Ning Yue laughed, then sat down casually on the wooden board, knocked the chicken against the railing beside him, and peeled off the eggshell.

He took the egg and the eggshell and walked to the swing. Yu Youyou stretched out a foot and stepped on the ground to stop the swing.

Ning Yue then walked up to Yu Youyou, looked at Yu Youyou's hands holding the rope, and put the eggshell in his hand in front of Yu Youyou.

Yu Youyou looked at the eggshell that Ning Yue brought to her mouth, raised her eyes to glance at Ning Yue, opened her mouth to take the eggshell, and chewed it crisply in her mouth.

Ning Yue looked at Yu Youyou's actions, chuckled, and suddenly said: "I don't like Qingyi from Huachunfang very much, stay away from him."

"Qingyi?" Yu Youyou listened to Ning Yue's inexplicable words, grabbed the eggshells in Ning Yue's hand, stuffed them all into her mouth, and said while chewing: "You have never seen Qingyi, why don't you like him?"

"Although I have never met him in person, I have met him many times." Ning Yue brushed off the eggshell crumbs on his hands, walked behind Yu Youyou, put his hands behind her back, pushed her up, and replied: "He has evil intentions."

Yu Youyou tilted her head and thought for a while, then suddenly nodded as if she had suddenly realized something, and then asked seriously, "What is evil intentions?"

"It means bad intentions." Ning Yue explained.

"Oh." Yu Youyou nodded again and continued to ask: "What does that have to do with you?"

Ning Yue looked at Yu Youyou's clear eyes, smiled suddenly, and sighed: "You always make others sad because you know everything or nothing."

"Make others sad?" Yu Youyou leaned over to Ning Yue and repeated his words. She looked straight at Ning Yue with her bright eyes and asked:

"Do you already know what sadness is?"

Ning Yue looked at Yu Youyou's inquiring eyes and replied calmly, "I am a human being, so I naturally understand what sadness is."

Hearing this, Yu Youyou slowly stood up, calmly looked away, and lightly pushed her feet to start the swing again.

“But I don’t know what sadness is yet.”

Ning Yue pushed Yu Youyou's swing, his voice as dull as the moonlight, and replied, "You'll understand eventually."

Yu Youyou did not respond. She looked at the moonlight between the loquat trees, her long skirt fluttering in the wind. After a long while, she said to Ning Yue:

"You can't be a human being."

Ning Yue's hand that was pushing the swing paused, then gradually clenched. He stood there stiffly for a long time before he raised his head. That casual and unrestrained smile appeared on his face again. His pair of peach blossom eyes were slightly curved, and his eyes were as sparkling as autumn water.

"Youyou, you're joking. I'm a human being, so why can't I be a human being?"

Yu Youyou's swing swung past Ning Yue. Her eyes met Ning Yue's for a moment, then looked away without saying anything.

"Ah!" Ning Yue stretched lazily, yawned, and walked into the house, saying as he walked, "It's getting late, I need to rest my old bones."

His footsteps disappeared on the wooden floor, and his figure sank into the darkness of the room. Only the complaints remained in the silent night.

"I don't know where Ajin has gone. Why hasn't he come home so late?"

After Ning Yue left, Yu Youyou kicked her feet harder and harder, and the swing swung high up, as if it was flying into the sky, getting closer and closer to the stars in the sky.

-

One day after the Dragon Boat Festival, Yu Youyou sat in the box of Huachunfang as usual, with her face buried on the table, listening to Lu Keming playing the piano in boredom.

"What song is this?"

Lu Keming was wearing a snow-white robe, his thin fingers pressed on the strings. When he heard this question, he looked up at Yu Youyou and replied, "The name of this song is Wild Geese Falling on the Plain Sand."

Yu Youyou's eyes were as clear and pure as ever. Lu Keming looked at her eyes without any impurities, sighed slightly, and explained familiarly:

"This song belongs to you humans. It depicts the clear autumn air, calm winds and flat sands, and the sound of clouds flying across the sky. It borrows the far-reaching ambitions of the wild geese to describe the mind of the hermit."

"Oh..." Yu Youyou's brain froze for two seconds after receiving too many unfamiliar words at once. Her eyes fluttered in the air for a few circles, and then she straightened her back, patted Lu Keming's shoulder like a leader inspecting work, and praised him earnestly:

“It still sounds good!”

Lu Keming knew from Yu Youyou's wandering eyes that she might not understand, but he was worried that she would find these songs boring, so he asked, "Do you have any songs you like to listen to?"

"Song?" Yu Youyou hesitated for a few seconds, and the song her mother sang to her flashed through her mind. She nodded immediately and said, "Yes, my mother sang it to me."

Lu Keming breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Do you still remember the tune? I'll play it for you."

Hearing his request, Yu Youyou immediately became interested, rolled up her sleeves, stood up, and asked, "Which song do you want to hear? I'll sing it for you!"

Lu Keming looked at Yu Youyou's enthusiasm and his face was dull for a moment, but he quickly reacted and said to Youyou, "As long as you like it."

"Then I'll sing." Yu Youyou immediately started to move, put her hands to her ears and made the shape of two small fans, opened her eyes wide, put her hands on her hips, raised her feet and walked beside Lu Keming with her head held high.

Lu Keming watched Yu Youyou's series of actions with some doubt in his eyes. The next moment, he heard Yu Youyou singing:

"Bajie, Bajie, you have a good heart~ Bajie, Bajie, you are cute and silly~ You are fat and have many ears, it is a blessing to suffer a loss, you learn from your mistakes, you make things worse, Bajie lives a very comfortable life~"

Lu Keming was silent for a few seconds, then he smiled and praised without hesitation: "Youyou sang really well."

"And more." Yu Youyou smiled proudly at Lu Keming's praise. She straightened her back and continued to sing:

"Huluwa, Huluwa, seven flowers on one vine. The little vine is my home, la la la la ~ ding dang dang dong dang dang ~ little vine, ding dang dang dong dang dang ~ is my home ~ la la la la ~"

After Yu Youyou finished singing, she stopped again and looked at Lu Keming expectantly. Lu Keming continued to praise her without changing his expression, saying, "This song is very unique, and Youyou sang very well."