20 Ch. 20: Games

The stillness of Yonghe Temple could be both comforting and frightening.

Wen Chuyi felt a mixture of both when he had approached the still figure seated on the rock, greatly resembling a scene out of a painting as the snow fell softly around her.

She turned around abruptly right before his hand could touch her and the appendage recoiled as the young man sucked in a breath.

The girl was not devastatingly beautiful. Wen Chuyi, a young man who had been surrounded by the flower-like beauties of Jiangnan's finest brothels and lovely concubines since his youth, had seen many beautiful faces. Innocent beauties, coquettish ones, icy girls who needed coaxing to emerge from their shells. He was a certified womanizer.

But the girl before him, he wasn't quite sure where to place her. Her face was smooth and oval, her cheeks red and wind-chapped from the elements that gave her a raw, natural beauty. But for the most part, she was a typical beauty if it weren't for her spellbinding eyes. The slight reddishness surrounding them lending a clever aura to the young woman that made him feel like a bumbling fool.

Sharp embarrassment flooded Wen Chuyi's senses as he found himself caught like a hare in the girl's mildly accusatory gaze, one that she was entitled to. After all, he had been the first to approach her where she had been sat. He was a rogue, but he knew better than to play with the girls at a temple, otherwise, his mother would flay him alive from the scandal.

However, his eyes slid over the glossy locks visible under her cap as he pondered the possibilities. The girl hadn't fully committed herself to buddhism and prayer, so Wen Chuyi surmised that the outcome would not be as drastic as if he had fallen for one of the several bald women roaming the temple.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked as she looked at him, her forlorn aura gone like a dream one had awoken from.

Wen Chuyi flinched back, afraid she would be angry with him, a man, breaking propriety and approaching her.

"Sorry, I had thought something was wrong..." he trailed off, as he realized his excuse was even more flimsy. A true gentleman would have fetched a senior nun to attend to this problem, instead of approaching himself. But curiously, the girl did not seem mad, or sad, or anything really.

Her eyes were open wide, large black orbs that seemed to pierce through Wen Chuyi's heavy cloak all the way to his soul. She stood up, revealing a stature a fair bit shorter than his own, and walked around him with her curious, wide-eyed gaze. Her gait was slow yet whimsical, unencumbered by the snow, and when she disappeared behind him, Wen Chuyi could still feel her gaze burning into his back.

"Who are you?" Meifeng asked inquisitively in her sweet voice, taking the upper hand in the conversation.

"Me? I-I'm Wen Chuyi," he admitted truthfully through clenched teeth, swallowing down his fear of her ultimately reporting him to a senior nun. She reappeared in his field of vision, her hands held behind her back as she twirled around playfully.

"You touched my shoulder. Don't you know the difference between men and women?" Meifeng asked carefully, watching Wen Chuyi's face poorly disguise the shock that ran through his system at the accusation.

The young master fumbled into a quick bow for forgiveness. "P-Please forgive, kind nun. I simply noticed that you seemed ups... I was briefly befuddled and made an error."

As someone who spent much of his time with alcohol and women, Wen Chuyi fancied himself to be very skilled at consoling women. However, he overestimated his grandeur, his words fumbled and rushed. But Meifeng was happy enough to play along, considering his words carefully with a hand placed on her delicate chin.

As the seconds drew on, Wen Chuyi thought she was sincerely considering his apology but his newfound hope was dashed with her next words.

"Alright, alright," the girl said goodnaturedly, "Nothing serious happened. But, if you don't want me to tell, you must do one small favor for me."

For emphasis she waved around one finger playfully in Wen Chuyi's face. The young master nodded, his tail tucked between his tails.

"Of course, a-anything!" he replied hurriedly. He tossed a stealthy glance over his shoulder in case another soul wandered by, but perhaps due to the intense chill outside and the somewhat secluded path he had taken, no one was present.

Meifeng crossed her arms, smiling in an extremely pleased manner. "I knew you would be agreeable. You said I looked upset? I am. I have lost something very precious and important, and I fear I will not be able to find it again in all this snow."

"...Something... precious?" Wen Chuyi parroted. He smiled smugly to himself. So this was simply a case of money. He did not mind paying money to hush others and with his generous monthly allowance, he was certain he could replace anything belonging to this humble nun.

As he patiently waited for the girl to state a price, Wen Chuyi was instead surprised by her cocking her head to the side, her actions resembling that of a puppy.

"Wearing such nice clothes, do you think you can pay me and be done with it? I'm telling you, if I scream you will not be able to handle the consequences!" Meifeng threatened softly, her words ringing like a death knell in Wen Chuyi's head.

In fact, he was on thin ice with his father for the sheer amount of disturbances the magistrate had to silence for his son. From not paying the proper fare at a restaurant to stealing away the beloved concubine of an important coworker, Wen Chuyi's father had promised to disown him and seek out a distant relation as his heir if he messed up again. Madam Fang constantly talked into his ear of how he could have anything he wanted once he inherited his father's role, he only had to behave now. Wen Chuyi knew he could not bear the consequences of sullying a maiden at the most famous temple west of the capital.

"That was not my intention!" he told the girl urgently, stepping away from his idea. Wen Chuyi felt lost as he had meandered into uncharted territory. He had often found himself in situations where women threw themselves at him or were willing to accompany him, but never where one sincerely wanted to ruin his reputation no matter the cost.

"Easy to say, difficult to prove," Meifeng sang, enjoying the look of panic on his face. She sat back down on the rock.

Wen Chuyi swallowed nervously. "Ok. What is this... item you have lost?" he finally asked.

Meifeng beamed at him and the young man was momentarily dazzled by what he had previously deemed an ordinary beauty.

"I'm glad you asked. My precious cuju ball, I have lost it in the snow," In a moment, like the clouds obscuring a sunny day, her dazzling expression was exchanged for one of sorrow. Meifeng's eyes appeared watery as if she were about to shed tears and the expression tugged at Wen Chuyi's susceptible heartstrings. He truly was a fool when it came to attractive women.

Meifeng subtly wiped her eye, although she knew the tears were in no danger of falling. "It is the last thing I have from my home, before I lost it," she said in a tone barely above a whisper, causing Wen Chuyi to lean in.

The girl smelled like tea, the ginger tea he hated to drink whenever he took ill. However, at that moment surrounded by snow and faced with a peculiar girl, he found he did not hate it that much. Wen Chuyi cast a glance at the tepid sky and back towards the where his mother was still in prayer.

He crossed his arms across his chest. "In that case, I'll help you look for it."

Scarcely had the words left his mouth did the same exuberant expression overtake the girl's face.

"Thank you! Thank you!" she exclaimed. Wen Chuyi properly confirmed that this girl was indeed even more lovely when she smiled.

When Lin Xiao finally happened upon the scene at the appointed time Meifeng had told her and was surprised by what she witnessed. She had lived long enough in the rural village that many of the rules of female propriety she had learned in her childhood days of Jiangnan were but a distant memory. Nonetheless, Lin Xiao knew the scene before her was quite improper. A man and a woman playing ball together.

System was similarly surprised, but more so by its Master. Animated laughter, equivalent to the sound of ringing bells, echoed through the bamboo and her benefactor's voice sounded as she had never heard it- lively, youthful. Meifeng had sounded playful before, but it always sent chills down System's spine to hear it. It did not understand the purpose behind Meifeng's decision to befriend the foolish son of the town magistrate, but it had accompanied its Master long enough to know that nothing good would come out of it for those involved.

The young subordinate was diligent, quickly scouting the surroundings with a thorough eye before coming in close.

"You missed! The ball is mine now!"

"Hey! You cheated since you're much taller than me!"

"I did not-"

"Yes, you did!"

The setting felt colorful despite the dull colors and a white backdrop, the sudden cheer within the austere Temple could be likened to fireworks across a dark sky. Meifeng and Wen Chuyi ran around each other as they kicked the ball, the fallen snow creating a merry obstacle. Lin Xiao almost hated to break up the game, but she had to do as Meifeng had commanded.

Breaking away from the trees she had been hiding behind, Lin Xiao feigned to be out of breath. Standing in the middle of the intimate game and breathing loudly, the impromptu game of cuju came to an abrupt halt.