Chapter 20.1| Keychain

Meng Yin was sent home, while Lin Xipei took the initiative to confess her mistakes to grandparents, sincerely apologized, and made assurances. The grandparents did not blame the children, instead comforting them by saying, "Yin's mother also couldn't distinguish between fermented Jiuniang and rice wine when she was young." 

Subsequently, two important updates appeared on the online forum. 

Firstly, Xu Zhiyi responded under a post inquiring about his keychain with his real name ID, stating, "The keychain was not lost, it has been returned to its rightful owner." 

The second update was from a user named "PeppaPigisnotpink" in a premium post, saying, "I've been lying flat at the bottom of your pit for a long time!"

Early in the morning, Yin woke up. Her eyes were sore, indicating they were likely swollen. The events of the previous night played back in her mind more vividly than a movie. Pulling the blanket over her head, she sat still in the dim room, lost in thought. It wasn't until she heard some faint noise downstairs that she emerged from her room. The curtains effectively blocked out the light, leaving her clueless about the time of day. 

Turning on the bedside lamp, she immediately noticed Xu Zhiyi's keychain placed on the bedside table. Yin was momentarily stunned, sat up, and began to fiddle with the keychain.

The keychain is both simple and complex.

Due to his grandmother's Buddhist beliefs, Yin had some understanding of these things. Hanging from the clasp is a red agate bead strung with woven Buddha beads, the agate connected to a no matter card. Made of translucent reddish-brown Hainan yellow rosewood, with a genuine sweet and mellow fragrance, its patterns are beautiful, resembling a wooden fence intercepting the Milky Way. In the lower right corner of the no matter card, two characters are engraved in seal script — Xi Mu（析木）. 

Yin stared at these two characters blankly, "I have long been lying at the bottom of your pit," bending into her ear, the silent heartbeat coexisting with thunder, her eyes suddenly reddening. 

Unable to dwell further, Yin grabbed her clothes and hurried off to freshen up.

Yin suddenly stopped on the last few steps, catching a glimpse of Xu Zhiyi's back of the head. He was sitting in the living room, having tea with his grandfather. It seemed he had been here for a while. The toes curled slightly in the slippers.

Upon seeing Meng Yin standing at the stairway, sipping on green tea, Grandfather teased, "Sweetie, your alcohol tolerance isn't quite up to par." 

Yin stood still in place, a slight smirk forming at the corner of her mouth. Grandfather then nodded towards Xu Zhiyi, his expression gentle and warm. 

Zhiyi stood up, turned to look at Yin, a natural smile spreading across her face, as if the rising temperature of spring, the delicate awkwardness and ambiguity dissipated into the air. Yin held onto her phone and keychain, meeting Xu Zhiyi's gaze, her features relaxing, lips curling into a light but easy smile. This sensation felt a bit odd, yet mostly like a natural progression. 

Approaching Yin, Zhiyi asked, "Headache?" 

Yin shook her head. 

Staring at her swollen eyes, Xu Zhiyi inquired, "Are your eyes hurting?" 

"A bit. Dry and sore," came the reply. 

"Do you remember what happened last night?" 

Meng Yin: "... I remember everything." 

Xu Zhiyi had already noticed the keychain in her hand, and proceeded, "Would you like to talk about it some more?" 

Yin met his gaze, nasal passage connected to the throat, and crisply responded with an affirmative nod.

Under the gaze of Xu Zhiyi, Meng Yin gently applied a warm towel to her eyes, then sat down at the dining table for breakfast. 

"I'd like to hear the story of the good friend who gave you the keychain," Yin scooped up some millet porridge but didn't eat. 

Following her lead, it was Xu Zhiyi's turn to confess. "It wasn't a gift from a friend abroad, but something I had custom-made," Xu Zhiyi sat across from Meng Yin, her hands resting lightly on her thighs, speaking candidly and naturally. "I wanted to tell you three years ago in the summer, but back then, circumstances weren't right, so I went ahead and did it."

Three years ago in the summer, they had just graduated from junior high school. Yin had always seen herself as a strong person, but when she saw her high school entrance exam results, a string in her mind snapped. When Xu Zhiyi called her, she was sitting on the couch, held in her grandmother's arms, crying uncontrollably. "Xu Zhiyi, I can't go to FHS." This was the first and only thing she managed to say through sobs and tears, barely coherent. 

Xu Zhiyi wanted to console her, but Meng Yin was too overwhelmed to listen. So he just stayed on the line, letting her vent. 

Finally, Zhiyi spoke up, "Meng Yin, wipe your tears, I'm at the door."

When Yin found Zhiyi, he was sitting on a long wooden bench along the way, the white light from the street lamp casting a halo over him like a guide in the night. Xu Zhiyi didn't bring up the exam results, they just made a promise - to stay in touch and work hard separately, to meet at the peak in three years even if they weren't in the same place. 

A few days after the results came out, it was their graduation ceremony. Yin rushed in and out, Xu Zhiyi didn't see her but received a text message from Yin. - "I'm off to Australia to see my parents."

During one of the hottest months, Xu Zhiyi went to his grandmother's house to escape the heat. Despite not believing in Buddhism or Taoism, he stumbled upon a book about the "no matter card" in his grandfather's study. He spent an entire afternoon engrossed in this book.

As the end of summer approached, a smooth and delicate "no matter card" with the character "Xi Mu" engraved in the lower right corner caught his attention, and he couldn't stop rubbing it between his fingers. This meticulously crafted card made of Hainan Huanghuali wood, from the careful selection of the wood grain to the cutting and carving of the characters, and even seeking guidance from the Grandmaster to pray in the Taoist temple to consecrate it on an auspicious day, every step was personally attended to by Xu Zhiyi.

Xu Zhiyi looked down at the "no matter card" in his hand, and suddenly chuckled at himself. Upon seeing the phrase "Peace and Security" in the book, he decided to give this piece to Meng Yin. This gesture was very characteristic of Xu Zhiyi, yet at the same time, quite unlike him. However, up until yesterday, he still hadn't figured out how to deliver it.