Eighty-five
Even if I have returned to my own world, some habits cannot be changed in a short time, such as -
It was just five o'clock in the morning when You Shu woke up automatically. It was the coldest time of the year and the breath turned into ice. It was also the end of the year, so most people wanted to stay in their warm and comfortable beds for a while longer, and young people were even more willing to sleep until noon and eat lunch together.
But You Shu had long been accustomed to his biological clock. Five o'clock in the morning was the time for him to get up for morning exercises. He had to get up at that time. This rule was engraved in his bones. There was no sword at hand for him to use, but he was still willing to get up, even if it was just to go out for a run.
After a quick wash, You Shu opened the bedroom door and went downstairs wearing only a thin sportswear. He thought everyone at home must still be asleep, but when he walked into the living room, he found that his eldest sister had also gotten up and seemed to be getting ready to go out.
You Yuan, who was wearing a red sportswear, turned around when she heard the noise and saw her younger brother walking towards her energetically. She was stunned for a moment and asked, "Why did you get up so early?"
You Shu scratched his head a little embarrassedly. His soft black hair was a little messy because of him. He looked very immature. "I can't sleep. I might as well get up and exercise."
"My sister also said that I am too lazy."
You Yuan hesitated and opened her mouth, and finally whispered: "That's not what I meant..."
"I know." You Shu walked over to put on his shoes in front of the entrance, whispering, "Sister, can I go jogging with you?"
You Yuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Of course."
After the siblings changed their shoes, they went out together. The eldest sister of the You family, Cong Xiao, was well-known for being capable and sensible. She was extremely self-disciplined at a young age. She had kept the habit of morning jogging since she was ten years old and had never missed a day in all these years. Even though she had just returned from abroad and had not yet fully adjusted to the jet lag, she still managed to stick to her habit.
You Shu is the most similar to her.
It was five in the morning in winter and the sun had not yet risen. There was still a crescent moon hanging in the sky. There was not a single person in sight in the villa area where they lived. You Shu was shivering with cold. He had not felt real cold for many years. It turned out that this body was too weak and had no internal strength to protect him.
It's like when you're playing a game, and you finally reach the maximum level with so much difficulty, and all your equipment and weapons are refined, but you return to the novice village one night and even a low-level monster can kill you. It's really sad.
You Shu started running. The cold wind in the early morning cut his face like a knife. Only by running could he warm up his body a little and temporarily forget the things that made him unable to calm down.
He ran up along the mountain road, and gradually his whole body became warm, and the fresh and cool air in the early morning made his mood slowly improve.
You Yuan ran silently beside him, and the brother and sister seemed to have a tacit understanding as they kept going up the mountain, each of them unwilling to admit defeat.
You Shu's body was too delicate after all. He was out of breath and exhausted after running for only half an hour. His forehead was covered with sweat. Even in such a cold winter, he wanted to take off all his clothes. His throat was fishy and sweet, and blood would come out as soon as he opened his mouth.
But he didn't want to stop just like that. He also wanted to go to the top of the mountain with his sister and watch the sunrise together.
You Yuan looked back, seeing You Shu staggering and panting, then turned around and trotted back, reaching out to support her staggering younger brother, and stopped him from going to the flower bed next to her, saying, "Take a break."
“I… I’m fine…” You Shu shook his head, wanting to hold on a little longer.
But You Yuan stopped him seriously, "Xiao Shu, I hope you can be stricter with yourself, but I don't want you to be so mean to yourself all of a sudden."
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
You Shu was supported by her and sat down next to the flower bed. You Yuan opened the thermos cup she carried with her and handed it to him: "Drink some water."
The two sat side by side. It was almost six o'clock. They could see lights on in many buildings at the foot of the mountain. You Shu held the thermos cup and sipped the warm water to suppress the fishy sweetness in his throat. He stared at the bright yellow lights at the foot of the mountain in a daze and didn't notice that his sister was also staring at him.
You Yuan noticed a black string hanging from You Shu's exposed neck under her thin sportswear. She asked curiously, "Didn't you dislike wearing necklaces before?"
After hearing her question, You Shu looked down at the thing on his neck and pulled it out to show his sister: "Is this it?"
You Yuan came closer and took a closer look under the streetlight. She also knew a little about jade. She reached out and touched the jade pendant and said with emotion, "This jadeite is good. When did you buy it?"
You Shu looked down at the fishtail pendant for a while before whispering, "I didn't buy it."
"It was given by... a very important person."
You Yuan looked up, and You Shu's gaze fell on the lights at the foot of the mountain again. They were clearly right next to her, but You Yuan felt that her brother seemed very far away from her. She subconsciously reached out and held You Shu's hand.
You Shu turned around to look at her and suddenly smiled: "Sister, have you ever... liked anyone?"
"No." You Yuan replied softly. She followed his gaze and looked down the mountain. She shook her head and said, "Maybe I did, but I don't remember."
In You Shu's memory, her elder sister, who is ten years older than him, has always been the most reliable person in the family. She has been very independent since she was young and has never annoyed her parents. Even during adolescence, she was not as rebellious as other children. She seemed to be born to be calm and sensible. You Shu has always admired her in his heart and thought that it would be great if he could be as good as his elder sister.
"Xiao Shu has someone he likes?" You Yuan asked him, "What kind of person is he?"
Xiao Weixin's figure appeared in You Shu's mind. The corners of his mouth unconsciously raised, and he sighed and replied: "He..."
"He's very good-looking. Although he has a bad temper, he's actually very afraid of being alone. Sometimes he's unpredictable and hard to understand. He always says one thing and means another, and most of the time he won't say it out loud."
"He has severe mysophobia, hates close contact with people, and is very domineering. He doesn't allow others to disobey him."
"When he has nothing to do, he doesn't go out to fool around. He just likes to read and write at home. His handwriting is really good."
"He has a lot of things in his heart that he can't share with others, so he looks more indifferent than anyone else. People who don't know him would think he is heartless."
"But when he likes someone, he becomes a different person."
You Yuan listened to him silently and frowned, "It sounds like this girl's personality is not likable."
"Haha." You Shu couldn't help laughing, and didn't correct his sister's mistake about gender. "It doesn't matter if you're not liked by others, as long as you like me."
You Yuan held the thermos cup in her hand, wondering what she was thinking about, with some sadness in her eyes, "Since you like her so much, you should treat her well and don't do anything rash just because you are young."
"Since her personality is a bit withdrawn, you should be more tolerant."
You Shu raised his head and looked at the sky which was already turning pale. He suddenly chuckled and said, "Of course I will treat him well."
If he still had a chance.
The brother and sister rested by the flower bed for half an hour and then set off again. You Shu ran and stopped all the way and finally reached the top of the mountain before sunrise. He and You Yuan stood side by side in the pavilion and looked out.
A huge red sun slowly jumped out from the horizon, and the red-gold light spread across the originally dark sky, illuminating the quiet city with a red glow. You Shu was quietly enjoying the sunset while feeling the mountain breeze, but what he was thinking in his heart was, it would be great if his prince was here too.
He probably had never seen such a beautiful sunrise.
———
When the first ray of sunlight appeared in the early morning sky, Xiao Weixin had already gotten up. He went straight to the study without having breakfast. As he had been very depressed in the past few days, he had lost a lot of weight, and the flesh on both sides of his cheeks were sunken. Although it did not affect his beauty, he looked extremely depressed.
If You Shu saw him like this with his own eyes, he would be so heartbroken.
"What do you mean?" After Xiao Weixin sat down, he took the hot tea brought by Huachun, took a sip, and then looked up and asked.
Shen Qingyu, who had been waiting on the side, shook her head and said, "It's too late. The five border cities have already..."
"I know." Xiao Weixin nodded. He held the cup tightly, with a sinister look in his eyes. "I didn't expect Xiao Weishen to be so useless. He is not worthy of being a member of my Xiao family."
Shen Qingyu was upset and couldn't sleep well for a few days. He couldn't close his eyes when he thought of 30,000 people dying under the butcher's knife of Xirong. "Xia Maoan is no longer satisfied with being just a prime minister. I think he wants to..."
"With Queen Mother Xia not in control of the government, he is of course eager to take action." Xiao Weixin said coldly, "Although we were a step slower, we didn't lose too much."
Shen Qingyu nodded, then remembered something and said, "He seems to be beginning to doubt Li Liang."
"You were able to return safely this time, thanks to Lord Li's conscience. Xia Maoan now wants to put all the charges of collaborating with the enemy on his stewards Chen Yin and Li Liang."
Xiao Weixin sneered, "What difference does it make whether you push it or not? Even if he really colluded with them, do you think Xiao Weishen would dare to say anything wrong?"
"After this incident, doesn't he know how cruel Xia Maoan is?"
It was Xia Maoan who pushed Xiao Weishen onto the throne back then, and it would be easy for him to be pulled down now. It was because of this incident that Xiao Weishen saw through the matter, and the little thought of fighting for power he had originally had disappeared in an instant.
"Then what should we do?" Shen Qingyu pondered, "Zhenbei Camp has just fallen into the hands of King Qin. If the emperor loses his temper, won't he go back again?"
The teacup in Xiao Weixin's hand was finally crushed by his strong force. The ceramic fragments were squeezed tightly into his flesh, and blood dripped down along the ceramic fragments. His eyes were bloodshot, but the corners of his mouth were smiling: "Give it back?"
"No one can take away what's in my mouth."
"What's more, Xia Maoan killed the one I love. One day - I will make him pay back a hundredfold."
Shen Qingyu's heart suddenly trembled, and he quickly lowered his head and dared not say another word.
After staying in the study for half an hour, it was light outside when the door of the study was opened again, and Shen Qingyu hurriedly left through the back door of the palace. Xiao Weixin also got up and walked out of the study, but did not listen to Huachun's words and go to the front hall to eat breakfast.
He was wearing a thin cloak and walked lightly towards the Shadow Guard Camp.
The world will still exist without anyone, and the loss of Shadow Three in the Shadow Guard Battalion will not affect its operation. They got up for morning exercises as usual at dawn. On the training ground, a group of young and strong men in black were sweating profusely during training, and all of them were elites.
Xiao Weixin stood at the door looking at them, and suddenly he looked a little dazed.
In the past, Xiao Shu did the same thing, wearing the same clothes and practicing seriously among this group of people.
I heard from Xie Feiyuan that he always got first place and never missed a day.
Xiao Weixin stopped and looked for a while, then turned around and went somewhere else. That was the residence of the shadow guards in the backyard. He had been there once before.
The last time he came, Xiao Weixin didn't take a close look. Now when he came again and pushed open the small, old wooden door, he had the illusion that things had changed and people had changed.
The furnishings in the house were still so simple. It was cold in autumn, and there was only a simple old cotton blanket on the bed. Xiao Weixin walked in. Before, he just thought that this house was small and damp, not worthy of his little comfort.
It's funny that now he only has this room to miss.
Xiao Weixin sat gently on You Shu's bed. The wooden bed made a creaking sound. After he sat firmly, he slowly bent down and dragged out an iron box from under the bed.
'That's where all my secrets are.'
Xiao Weixin opened the iron box, inside which were several old, yellowed booklets. He picked up one and touched the blue cover with his hand lingeringly.
Xiao Shu...what kind of secret does she have
He opened the first page. Although the text inside was a little strange and some of it did not seem to be in a common font, it did not particularly affect the reading.
'I never thought that one day I would encounter such a terrible thing as time travel.'
"But fortunately, I have my idol, so it's not too bad."
"My male protagonist is also handsome today, of course I am not bad either."
"Although the difference in status is a bit big, I believe everything depends on human effort."
"One day, sooner or later, I will become a good enough person to stand behind him."
'If only he had seen me sooner.'
'Come on, Xiaoshu.'
'Tomorrow will be better than today.'
…
Xiao Weixin turned the pages one by one. After reading the words he didn't understand many times, he could gradually guess their meaning.
So, Xiao Shu… risked his life to be by his side.
In front of Xiao Weixin's eyes emerged the image of himself sitting alone under the lamp, carefully recording everything. It seemed as if he could see with his own eyes his growth over the past fifteen years from these ordinary booklets.
He is just like himself, lonely but persistent.
Xiao Weixin cried silently, holding the diaries that represented You Shu's difficult and lonely past.
Xiao Shu never had a single day of peace until his death.