Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival.
At this mealtime hour, the village path is deserted, with only the occasional bark of a dog being heard from the village.
Jiang Xiaoxiao supports Xie Xun as they walk towards the ridge where she used to catch frogs.
Xie Xun, drinking for the first time, is clearly in a poor state, with flushed cheeks and slightly intoxicated eyes. After walking for a while, he stubbornly plops down on the ridge, refusing to go any further.
Jiang Xiaoxiao is puzzled by what Xie Xun intends to do when he suddenly grabs her wrist, causing her to fall down beside him.
"Jiang Xiaoxiao."
Xie Xun looks at her, his breath carrying a faint hint of alcohol.
"Jiang Xiaoxiao."
Seeing that she doesn't respond, he calls out again.
Each word sounding like a sulk.
Jiang Xiaoxiao says, "You're drunk."
"Jiang Xiaoxiao..."
Xie Xun grips her wrist.
His fingers are long and his palm is dry.
Due to the alcohol, his body temperature is much higher than usual.
"Why did you come to find me?"
As if afraid she might leave, he tightens his grip, like shackles binding her, with reddened eyes from the drunkenness.
Of course, it's because she has been cursed by an enchantment that even the Old Celestial can't undo, and the only person in this world capable of breaking her curse is Xie Xun.
That's why she came.
But these words are probably not what Xie Xun wants to hear.
Jiang Xiaoxiao carefully considers her words, "Because I want to marry you."
Jiang Xiaoxiao thinks she has answered flawlessly, but she overlooks the fact that she is currently facing a completely drunk Xie Xun.
The usually stern and unshakable Xie Xun, who remains unmoved even when chased and called a plague demon, is nowhere to be found.
He simply grips her wrist, repeatedly calling out.
"Jiang Xiaoxiao."
"Jiang Xiaoxiao."
"Jiang Xiaoxiao..."
Like a child with no sense of security.
Jiang Xiaoxiao sits silently.
He says, "I'm not going back to the Capital City. I'll stay here with you, catch frogs with you, and cook the dishes you love to eat."
Jiang Xiaoxiao looks at him, "But the Capital City is your home."
Xie Xun asks, "Will you send me back home then?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao nods, "I will."
"Then what?" he asks again.
"Then I'll help you avenge those who need avenging and reclaim what rightfully belongs to you."
"And then what?" he stares at her with drunken eyes, as if trying to see through her from skin to bone.
Jiang Xiaoxiao reaches out and brushes a fallen leaf from his head, "Xie Xun, you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk, I can still catch frogs."
Jiang Xiaoxiao: "..."
She remembers that the day she caught frogs, Xie Xun was unconscious from a fever. How did he know about that?
And is it really necessary to be so fixated on catching frogs?
"Jiang Xiaoxiao."
Xie Xun tightens his grip on her wrist, his palm burning hot.
"Why did you come to find me?"
He has circled back to the initial question.
Jiang Xiaoxiao patiently answers again, "Because I want to marry you."
He suddenly falls silent, staring at her blankly as the drunken haze in his eyes grows more apparent.
After a long while, Xie Xun still hasn't released her hand, and he opens his other palm, "Stand in my palm, and I'll take you home."
This is the first time Jiang Xiaoxiao has seen Xie Xun in such a state.
She never expected the usually aloof and dignified man to display such a stark contrast when drunk.
Of course, it's impossible for her to stand in his palm since she hasn't transformed.
In the end, the one who promised to take Jiang Xiaoxiao home ends up lying on Jiang Xiaoxiao's back.
Jiang Xiaoxiao carries him home.
Xie Xun obediently stretches out his arms, encircling her neck, his chin resting on her shoulder, his mouth still fixated on that question, "You don't even know me, why did you come to find me?"
As she walks, Jiang Xiaoxiao replies, "Because the divination says we are a fated pair destined by the heavens, so I came to marry you."
"Hmm..."
Xie Xun seems satisfied, letting out a soft hum, followed by the sound of even breathing.
He has finally fallen asleep.
Jiang Xiaoxiao breathes a silent sigh of relief.
As they pass the village chief's house, Yang Ershun gapes at the sight of these two.
It's not until Jiang Xiaoxiao has walked away that Yang Ershun snaps out of his daze and hurries to catch up, waddling behind them.
"Sister Jiang," Yang Ershun calls out.
Usually, when addressing outsiders, he would call them by their full name, but after being spanked twice by his mother, he has learned his lesson.
Jiang Xiaoxiao turns around.
Yang Ershun cups his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and whispers, "Has Xie Xun fallen asleep?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao nods.
"Then do you have food at your house?" Yang Ershun licks his lips hungrily.
Jiang Xiaoxiao recalls the table full of untouched dishes and nods that they do.
Yang Ershun grows even more excited, "Can I go have a taste? I'm not hungry, not hungry at all, I just can't bear to see food being wasted at other people's homes. My mother always says, 'Don't waste!'"
Jiang Xiaoxiao pauses for a moment, then says, "All right."
Seeing Yang Ershun's eyes light up, she adds ominously, "But remember to wash the dishes afterward."
Yang Ershun: "..."
Okay, to eat the dishes personally cooked by Xie Xun, he'll wash the dishes!
The little boy follows behind Jiang Xiaoxiao, and before long, they reach the east end of the village.
Upon entering the house and seeing Chen Sixi knocked unconscious on the table by Jiang Xiaoxiao, Yang Ershun is startled.
Jiang Xiaoxiao remains unfazed, "You can just pretend you didn't see him."
With that, she carries Xie Xun into the bedroom.
Jiang Xiaoxiao doesn't know how to brew a hangover soup, so she can only bring cold water and wet a towel to wipe his face.
Perhaps roused by the sudden chill, Xie Xun abruptly sits up, his gaze fixed intently on Jiang Xiaoxiao.
Fearing he might try to go out and catch frogs again, Jiang Xiaoxiao quickly casts a sleeping spell on him.
Xie Xun falls back down, finally settling down completely.
This spell will keep Xie Xun asleep until nightfall.
Jiang Xiaoxiao puts away the towel and returns to the main hall.
Yang Ershun is already wolfing down the food, his bulging cheeks stuffed to the brim.
Seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao enter, he grins at her.
Jiang Xiaoxiao sits down beside him.
Yang Ershun swallows the food in his mouth and looks at Jiang Xiaoxiao, "Sister, are you Xie Xun's wife?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao considers for a moment, then says, "I will be in the future."
Yang Ershun praises her, "You have great taste."
He pops a piece of fish into his mouth, then continues, "Xie Xun cooks so deliciously. If I were a girl, I would have married him too. I don't understand why people in the village don't want to be friends with him."
Jiang Xiaoxiao asks, "Then why do you keep coming to find Xie Xun every few days? Aren't you afraid your parents will beat you?"
Yang Ershun had been beaten by his father before for coming to see Xie Xun.
He snorts, "If my dad beats me, I'll just roll on the ground and threaten him that I'll acknowledge Xie Xun as my father from then on."
Jiang Xiaoxiao nods, "If Xie Xun had such a filial son as you, he would be very happy."
"No way!" Yang Ershun feels aggrieved just thinking about it, "I used to come find him all the time, but he never paid any attention to me."
Jiang Xiaoxiao says, "Then you must have had the wrong approach."
Yang Ershun sniffs, "I even called him 'dad,' but he just told me to scram!"
Jiang Xiaoxiao: "..."
