Chapter 27: I Really Will Keep Waiting
"Xiao Mo, how do you read these two characters?"
"Yaotiao."
"What about this character?"
"Qiu."
"'Yaotiao shunu, Gentleman hao qiu,' Xiao Mo, what does this sentence mean?"
"It means—that a beautiful and virtuous lady is a Gentleman's good match."
"Then how do I become a virtuous lady?"
"Study."
"I am studying."
"Not enough, you need to study more."
"Then how much do I need to study?"
"When you've studied enough, you'll know yourself."
"Oh-woo."
Bai Ruxue responded, then raised her head and looked at Xiao Mo's head.
"Eh? Xiao Mo, you seem to have grown taller."
"Have I?"
"Yes, you have." Bai Ruxue stood on her tiptoes and gestured, "Before, you were as tall as I am, but now you're a whole head taller than me."
"It seems so." Xiao Mo looked at the girl in front of him, "But why aren't you growing?"
"Exactly!" Bai Ruxue blinked, "Why am I not growing?"
"Maybe you're just this tall." Xiao Mo patted her head, and while leading the ox and reading a book, he continued walking forward.
"Impossible." Bai Ruxue caught up to Xiao Mo's back, "Xiao Mo, I will still grow! I will definitely grow very, very tall, and my legs will definitely be very, very long."
Xiao Mo smiled: "Alright, then I'll wait."
Every time Xiao Mo went up the mountain, he would encounter this girl.
The girl never said where she came from, and Xiao Monever asked about her residence.
When Xiao Mo rode the ox and read, the girl would sit sideways behind him, her small feet dangling beneath her skirt, looking at the white clouds, the grassland, and him in front of her.
Since the girl appeared, Xiao Mo spent much less time gathering medicinal herbs.
Mainly because Bai Ruxue would collect those herbs and bury them in the ground.
Every time Xiao Mo came, she would excitedly pull him into the mountains, saying, "I found so much ziyang grass and qinglong flower again."
Xiao Mo taught her to read and write, and Bai Ruxuewould pick up small silver pieces to pay Xiao Mo's tuition.
But even if Bai Ruxue had the best luck, she couldn't pick up money every day.
When Bai Ruxue didn't find any money, Xiao Mo even had to comfort her: "It's alright, you can pay my tuition with rabbits or pheasants sometime."
After that, every time the girl came to see Xiao Mo, her fair, tender hands would be carrying a rabbit or a pheasant.
"You should have said so earlier, rabbits and pheasants are much easier to find than silver," the girl said.
However, Bai Ruxue would still pick up silver every day.
No other reason.
Bai Ruxue heard Xiao Mo say that studying was very expensive, and she wanted to pick up money for him to study.
In summer, the weather gradually became hot.
Snakes like cool places.
Bai Ruxue stood at the mouth of the cave, and as soon as she saw the big sun, she didn't want to go out.
Bai Ruxue even felt that if she crawled out, her belly would get burned, and she would turn into a roasted snake.
But today Xiao Mo said he would go up the mountain to graze the ox.
Looking at the time, Xiao Mo should have finished lunch and was already riding the ox up the mountain.
"Xiao Qing, older sister is going out," Bai Ruxue said, mustering her courage.
Xiao Qing, who was lying on a cool stone, lazily raised its head: "Older sister, come back early."
After all this time, Xiao Qing no longer wanted to say much about her older sister going to find that human.
Anyway, her older sister wouldn't listen even if she said something.
Moreover, that human seemed quite foolish; he still hadn't discovered that her older sister was a demon.
"Mm, I'm leaving."
Bai Ruxue transformed into her human form and specifically checked her small feet.
They were indeed not tails; Bai Ruxue happily jumped out of the cave.
Sure enough, on the path he usually took up the mountain, Bai Ruxue saw one person and one ox.
"Xiao Mo," the girl happily waved her hand.
As usual, the two rode the big black ox, swaying through the mountains.
It's just that the sun was really scorching.
Bai Ruxue felt her eyes blurring, and her head was dizzy.
Just then, a shadow fell over the girl's face.
Bai Ruxue looked up; it was an oil-paper umbrella.
"Take this, it's hot, don't get heatstroke." Xiao Mohanded the umbrella to the girl.
"You're kind."
Bai Ruxue happily took the umbrella, rested it on her shoulder, and gently spun the handle like a child.
On the ox's back, the girl sat sideways holding the umbrella, while the boy sat astride reading a book.
The chirping of birds and insects in the mountains blended together.
A gentle breeze blew, ruffling Xiao Mo's hair.
The girl took a deep sniff, her eyes comfortably narrowed, the wind carrying the scent of earth and him.
It seemed that summer wasn't so annoying after all.
Late autumn.
The weather gradually turned cold, and the leaves became increasingly withered and yellow.
Many of the medicinal herbs in the mountains had also withered and died.
Sitting on the stone that was on his usual path up the mountain, the girl rested her chin on her fair, tender palm, looking a bit melancholic.
Compared to summer, Bai Ruxue found she disliked autumn even more.
Because in autumn, he didn't go up the mountain to graze the ox or gather herbs much anymore.
Although he would still come to play with her every few days, it was ultimately not as frequent as before.
She gazed and gazed, gazed and gazed.
The girl would sit on this stone every day, looking out from sunrise to sunset.
Unbeknownst to her, it was already evening.
In another half an hour, the sun would set.
Just as the girl thought he wouldn't come today, a familiar figure appeared on that small path.
The girl's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Xiao Mo," the girl happily ran over, "Why are you coming up the mountain so late today?"
"I just happened to have some free time today, so I came to take a look, thinking if I met you, I'd tell you something. I didn't expect you to still be on the mountain," Xiao Mo said with a smile.
"I, I'm also about to go down the mountain," the girl's eyes darted around, "What do you want to tell me?"
"The village chief said that what I've learned these past few years is pretty good, and I should be able to pass the children's examination. I've already signed up, and I'll be taking the exam next spring. The village chief told me to prepare well and strive for a good rank. It's almost winter, so I probably won't be coming over anymore."
"Oh-woo," Bai Ruxue lowered her head, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes.
"Sorry, I won't be able to teach you to read during this time."
"It's alright, it's alright." The girl quickly waved her hand, "Then next spring, you'll definitely come back, right?"
"Mm." Xiao Mo nodded.
"Then let's pinky swear." The girl extended her slender pinky finger.
Xiao Mo also extended his finger.
"Pinky swear, hang yourself, never change for a hundred years."
Their two fingers hooked together, the girl swayed their joined hands, her joyful voice echoing through the mountains.
"Xiao Mo, next spring, I'll wait for you here. You mustn't lie to me, okay?"
The girl raised her beautiful eyes, looking at Xiao Mowith reluctance.
"What if I lie to you?" Xiao Mo joked.
"You're not allowed to lie to me."
The girl pouted her small lips.
"Because… I really will keep waiting."