Gone with the Bustling World Chapter 3: Chapter Three

"Childe Xiao, this is Duke Fang Junqian, who has admired you for long. Duke Fang, Qingyu has peerless talent as you. I believe you'll enjoy each other's company. Now, I have to go. Take your time…"

Fang Junqian laughed happily, "See you later, master!"

At this time of year, the garden of the temple was teemed with all kinds of colorful flowers. However, with Xiao Qingyu sitting in the luxurious wheelchair, the numerous flowers seemed to be eclipsed by his grace and charm.

Fang Junqian smiled wickedly, "Nice to meet you again, Childe Xiao. Since we last met, I've been thinking about you. I never expected to see you again here. Do you think it's the so-called destiny?"

Xiao Qingyu didn't display any joy of meeting an old friend that had separated for a long time. Instead, his blade-shaped eyebrows knitted a little, making him indifferent and stern. An inward and deep-minded person as he was, only chill could be seen from his eyes.

Seeing the footboy wasn't around, Fang Junqian asked curiously, "Where's your footboy? Why isn't he around to take care of you?"

"I don't need others to take care of me." His voice was calm and bland, in a manner of stating a fact, "I'm always the caretaker."

"But your legs…"

"It's true I can't walk since childhood because of my leg disease."

"Then…" Why did you say you don't need other's care?

Xiao Qingyu was silent for a while and replied seriously, "Sometimes, disability doesn't mean inability. I never complained for not being able to walk or thought any less of myself. In this world, there are loads of people who aren't disable but unable."

These words instantly aroused respect in Fang Junqian towards Xiao Qingyu. Even Fang Junqian didn't expect that this fragile scholarly-looking youth who couldn't stand up and stayed in wheelchair all day long should be a unique tough-minded and dauntless man!

Through his disabled body, Fang Junqian saw an awful spirit of tenacity and persistence. Fang Junqian had his own criteria to decide whether a person was respectable or not. In his eyes, only two kinds of people deserved his respect. The first kind was those with admirable talent; the second kind was those with unwavering persistence and remained indomitable even after repeated setbacks. Except for these two criteria, there wasn't a third one. Some people of high social status and great wealth, in his eyes, weren't necessarily more respectable than peasants that worked on their lands. Even the noble sons like the crown prince would find it difficult to gain Fang Junqian's sincere reverence—although to all others, this Young Duke Fang always wore an amiable and humble smile and treated other with proper courtesy. Few people won his respect. However, Xiao Qingyu did, and not superficial one, but heart-felt respect.

Fang Junqian questioned himself, would he be so tenacious and open-mined if he was the one who couldn't walk?

He smiled bitterly: probably not…

Looking at him, Fang Junqian sighed: what a pity…

How perfect it would be if this person could stand up. Was the heaven also jealous of talented people? Didn't the heaven like a flawless man so that it deprived him of legs and made him struggle in the bitter secular world?

The wind stopped. There was no sound. Was the world also sad or mourning once it turned silent entirely?

Xiao Qingyu wore the plainest moon-white clothes, without any accessories, twiddling a coil of gold thread in his hand. The mild and calm countenance, and dense eyelashes reminded Young Duke Fang of the butterflies that he had seen in the temple a few days ago.

"Brother Xiao, do you still remember what you said on our first encounter?"

A person displaying contempt against the royal family could be sentenced to death by dismembering the body.

Xiao Qingyu pulled his face, and instantly the jade-mild face seemed to be frozen with a layer of thin frost which was chilly and piercing. He gazed at Fang Junqian with a sneer, "Are you 'reminding' me, duke?"

Sometimes, reminding meant the same with threatening. However, Xiao Qingyu couldn't buy this!

"No, I'm just saying," he leaned over to approach him, "I forgot what you said. What about you?" Xiao Qingyu understood at once and smiled, "I forgot too."

The two glanced at each other and suddenly burst into laughter—

These two were both clever men, and things didn't need to be driven home between two clever men. Sometimes, the meaning could only be suggested instead of being spelt out. Otherwise, misfortune like death might drop from above!

A pretty young girl jumped out from behind the artificial hill, "Cousin…"

Fang Junqian had met her just at the peach forest next to the lake. At this moment, the girl wore lake-green dress and a sweet smile. Her snow-white skin and fair complexion cheered others up immediately!

"You again?" Evidently, the girl remembered Fang Junqian.

Actually, few people could forget Young Duke Fang.

After all, Young Duke Fang was the lover in dream or Mr. Right for all the noble ladies in the capital city.

"Are you a friend of my cousin?" the girl asked sweetly.

The pretty sweet girl had left a good impression on Fang Junqian—in fact, he liked all the pretty girls. The girls liked him too, but he treated them with courtesy, neither too close nor distant.

"Yes, I'm Qingyu's friend. I feel so lucky to meet you in my life. Can I have your name?"

The girl wrinkled her little nose, "No, you're not! All cousin's friends call him 'Childe'. Nobody calls him 'Qingyu' directly! Are you that close to my cousin to call him so intimately?!" The girl wasn't very nice to Fang Junqian.

She didn't know why but since last time she had seen Fang Junqian standing together with cousin, she had felt an inexplicable restlessness, due to which, she hated him more.

This handsome, noble man with red scarf seemed to be her life-long enemy!

"Yiyi, you're being rude." Xiao Qingyu's voice wasn't loud. It could be said mild and frail, but it contained a firmness and authority that tolerated no resistance. Yiyi clamed up at once.

"This is my cousin, Lin Yiyi, the daughter of the Prime Minister Lin Wenzheng. Yiyi, this is Young Duke Fang, the single son of Prince Dingguo. Be nice."

"Yes." Lin Yiyi answered meekly but secretly made faces at Fang Junqian and waved her little fist unyieldingly.

Fang Junqian burst into laughter and felt this girl was really cute. Her admiration and protection to Xiao Qingyu could be smelt three miles away…

"Cousin, let's go back. It's so late already…" Lin Yiyi played cute.

"Yiyi, you go back first." Xiao Qingyu whisked off the petals on his clothes gracefully, "The sunset is beautiful too. Let me chat with Duke Fang for a while."

"Cousin…!" She disagreed and, seeing Xiao Qingyu's serious expression, swallowed down the objection at the tip of her tongue and left obediently.

Fang Junqian suggested, "She likes you."

"I have leg disease since I was little. Yiyi pities for me and takes care of me since we were children. We're like sister and brother." He twiddled the gold thread in his hand and said quietly.

"You're playing dumb." Fang Junqian smiled meaningfully, "You know the way she likes you."

Xiao Qingyu was a little annoyed and replied, "Duke Fang, you're such a gossiper!"

"You're flattering me." Fang Junqian was thick-skinned and didn't care, "In fact, I think I have the potential to be a match-maker."

Xiao Qingyu cracked a smile, "Prince Dingguo would piss off if he heard this." His smile melted the bitter frozen winter, catalyzed blossoms, dispelled the dark clouds and revealed the bright moon. The red cinnabar between his eyebrows turned fresher and made him even better-looking with neatly-sculpted features.

At this moment, Fang Junqian seemed to have witnessed a cluster of orchids breaking out of ice, frost and snow melting, clouds dispelled and the sky becoming clear. "You should laugh more." He suggested sincerely, "You look pretty and cute when you laugh, although I know you don't like such words to describe you."

"Fang Junqian…" He stopped laughing, sitting straight in wheelchair like a silent sword immersing in the depth of a lake for thousands of years, "Do you know that sometimes you're so annoying?" Then, without taking a look at Fang Junqian's expression, he waved his sleeve and left!

Fang Junqian turned silent.

Chapter end