Binhai City, July sun was at its scorching peak. The air was filled with heat waves, crowds bustling, traffic flowing like a river.
A silver Maserati stopped in a weedy area on the outskirts. The door opened, and a black flat-heeled shoe lightly stepped onto the ground. The slender calf carried a breathtaking beauty.
Xu Yinsheng emerged from the car, glanced around at the surroundings, then raised her foot and pressed down on the weeds.
“This is where you wanted to bring me?”
“My… grave?”
This was the grave Zhao Yicheng had built for Xu Yinsheng before. It was constructed from layers of white marble, pure and sacred. In front of the tombstone were three gold offering bowls filled with fruits, a Holy Light Cross, a Tai Chi Yin Yang Bagua Diagram, and several sacrificial candles. Surrounding it were lush white chrysanthemums.
At first glance, it somewhat resembled the Altar of the Light God from fantasy novels.
But that was its original appearance. After several years without maintenance, and with the rumors spreading in Binhai’s wealthy circle about Xu Yinsheng “coming back from the dead,” the place had long since become desolate. Vegetation withered, weeds overran everything. Not to mention the stained cross, the tattered bagua diagram, and the three golden bowls that had vanished without a trace. Even the once-gleaming obsidian tombstone engraved with Xu Yinsheng’s birth and death dates was now dirty and covered in dust, its former radiance and beauty unrecognizable.
The air was filled with a rotting, damp smell that made anyone wrinkle their nose.
Zhao Yicheng also got out of the car, wearing a white shirt and black trousers. He opened the trunk, pulled out two large sledgehammers, and walked over to Xu Yinsheng.
“What do you want to do?” Xu Yinsheng glanced at the man. The grave, especially the obsidian tombstone in the middle, brought back some unpleasant memories.
A large sledgehammer was shoved into her hand. Zhao Yicheng somehow produced sunglasses and put them on his nose, looking a bit handsome.
“What else? I’m going to drag my good buddy out of the grave!”
With that, he laughed and patted her head, then took Xu Yinsheng’s hand and led her toward the marble grave.
Xu Yinsheng’s grave was built on the ruins of her former villa, a high marble platform of nearly 40 square meters. In the center of the platform, a tombstone was constructed from cement and obsidian, engraved with Xu Yinsheng’s birth and death dates, with a black-and-white photo embedded inside.
Zhao Yicheng led Xu Yinsheng through the weeds and stopped in front of the tombstone. He gently wiped the dirt off the black-and-white photo inside the stone with a tissue, then crouched down and reached out to touch the boy’s cheeks in the photo:
“Xu Yinsheng, my good buddy. Back then, my wish came true. Now I’m going to save you.” He spoke very gently, very affectionately, as if the photo wasn’t a lifeless image but a living person.
“Little Yin, let’s begin.” Zhao Yicheng turned to look at Xu Yinsheng, the corners of his mouth curling up. “I told you, once you fell in love with me, I would let you out.” Even though Xu Yinsheng was standing right in front of him, his thumb kept rubbing the black-and-white photo embedded in the obsidian tombstone, and his eyes were full of tenderness, as if a “good buddy Xu Yinsheng” were really buried beneath.
Xu Yinsheng: …
“Sometimes I really suspect that a mental illness damaged your brain,” she muttered softly.
Zhao Yicheng just smiled at that.
Then, under the girl’s gaze, he suddenly raised the sledgehammer over his head, his body arching like a bow!
Thud!
The hammer struck heavily, a dull sound echoed, and the entire marble grave seemed to tremble!
But it was useless…
Obsidian has a Mohs hardness of 5, and when combined with cement, the tombstone’s hardness was off the charts. How could a small sledgehammer do anything?
Even though Zhao Yicheng struck repeatedly with force, he only left a few barely noticeable scratches on the stone.
But Zhao Yicheng didn’t seem to care whether he was wasting his effort. He just kept swinging, one hammer after another, steady and powerful.
Slowly, as black fragments flew, the man’s lips unconsciously curled into a smile.
Seeing this, Xu Yinsheng didn’t stop him. She waved her hand and coated both their hammers with a layer of Liquid Metal to increase durability and attack power, then joined in the tombstone-smashing endeavor.
A couple working in harmony—nothing more than that.
Bang bang bang! Bang!!
Debris flew, dust rose slightly, one sound after another, continuous. The sun shifted westward, and the once-tall tombstone gradually grew shorter.
Xu Yinsheng was smashing enthusiastically when she suddenly thought of something. She turned to look at the man beside her and asked, “Old Zhao, let me ask you something. Back then, why did you choose to build me an obsidian tombstone?”
“Remember that year in high school when you drank yourself into alcohol poisoning and ended up in the hospital?”
“I remember. If you hadn’t taken leave to come care for me, I might have lain in that hospital bed for months.”
“At that time, you told me: if you ever partied yourself to death.” Zhao Yicheng paused deliberately, as if giving Xu Yinsheng time to recall.
He smiled and continued, “You said to build you an obsidian cenotaph, then burn your body and scatter the ashes in the sea, so you could party forever.” At this point, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter first.
Xu Yinsheng’s pale toes curled and gripped the ground. Her cheeks flushed, and she turned her head away.
Those chuunibyou speeches from high school being brought up now… well, that was a different kind of Black History.
After a while, the tombstone grew shorter and shorter, and the obsidian debris around them gradually covered their feet. Zhao Yicheng went back to the trunk and retrieved two shovels, one for each of them.
The shovels rose and fell in their hands. Loose soil piled up on both sides. Before long, a decaying wooden coffin appeared in the pit.
Zhao Yicheng used the shovel as a hammer and smashed a large hole in the wooden coffin.
Xu Yinsheng vaguely guessed what the man was thinking. She pulled a piece of Liquid Metal from her body and, coordinating with him, tossed it into the coffin.
The coffin had originally been a custom-made Golden Silk Nanmu Coffin that Zhao Yicheng had paid a fortune for, with gold and silver inlaid on the outside. But after years of decay, it was now ragged and rotten, like rotting wood. The clothes and belongings buried inside had also been worn away by time.
As the dough-like Liquid Metal fell, it twisted a few times and rapidly transformed into a human figure in the man’s sight. It wore a high-end black-and-white striped school uniform, sharp and upright, handsome and elegant, pale and clean, warm as jade.
What a graceful young gentleman!
When Zhao Yicheng saw him, a trace of tender memory flashed in his eyes. He extended his hand: “Welcome home, my good buddy.”
A pale hand gripped his firmly, as if witnessing the friendship spanning over twenty years. The “School Uniform Xu Yinsheng” used his help to stand up, a faint smile blooming on his lips: “Still calling me good buddy at a time like this?”
“Dear wife.”
“Mm.”
The two smiled at each other.
Xu Yinsheng pouted beside them.
She snapped her fingers, and the “School Uniform Xu Yinsheng” turned back into Liquid Metal, merging into her body.
She crossed her arms and glared at the man with some jealousy: “Surname Zhao, rein it in! I’m a girl now, and I don’t want the person sleeping next to me to be bi!”
“I only love you. I don’t care about gender.”
The man said, gently hooking his index finger under the girl’s delicate chin, a domineering curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
Smack!
Zhao Yicheng quickly kissed Xu Yinsheng’s cheek, then wrapped his arms around her waist, his eyes filled with undisguised affection.
“Alright, dear wife, don’t be mad.”
“Hmph!”
The setting sun cast its twilight glow on the two of them, reflecting their silhouettes. Zhao Yicheng brought a few bottles of Chongqing beer from the trunk and set them beside them.
Xu Yinsheng half-leaned in the man’s arms, looking at the sunset, muttering softly: “The setting sun sinks westward, a broken hearted person at the end of the world. I remember this poem was taught by our middle school Chinese teacher. Back then, we were already desk mates.”
“At that time, you were short, chubby, and often had your hair sticking up, just like a big lair cat.”
Zhao Yicheng gently bumped her with his forehead.
“Back then, I wanted to hold you in my arms and stroke your fur.”
“Little Yin kitty~”
No matter what the two had been through together over the years, no matter how many stories had happened between them, at this moment, this was a world belonging only to the two of them.
Xu Yinsheng snorted, her face reddening. She yelled, “You, you, you… I want to drink~ Hurry up~”
Zhao Yicheng shook his head with a smile, then opened both bottles. He handed one to Xu Yinsheng and held the other himself.
They both tilted their heads back and took a big gulp. The pale yellow liquor and fine foam burned from their mouths down to their stomachs. The spiciness slid down their throats, and they felt incredibly refreshed!
Whether it was the alcohol affecting him or just his mood, Zhao Yicheng pulled Xu Yinsheng closer, making her sit between his legs, and pressed her against his chest. The position was ambiguous.
He raised his beer toward the starry sky: “This toast is for our disgraceful past.”
Xu Yinsheng didn’t quite understand, but she followed suit, raising her beer: “To the past.”
They raised the bottles again toward the setting sun.
“This toast is for our sweet present.”
“To the present.”
The beer bottles lightly clinked against each other, making a crisp sound.
Zhao Yicheng put down his bottle, took a sip, and Xu Yinsheng turned her head to look at him with confusion: “Not toasting to the future?”
“The future~”
Zhao Yicheng pressed his forehead against hers and smiled very gently: “It’s right under your feet~”
“The story of you and me, the sweet story of Xu Yinsheng and Zhao Yicheng, the story of two crazy people leaning on each other.”
It’s a beautiful story, isn’t it?
(The End)