The nanny who took care of me called me for dinner, but I refused to leave my room.
After a while, Mu Wang arrived. He knocked on my door and asked, “Sheng Ji, why are you sulking and skipping dinner?”
Still upset, I took it out on him. “Because you’re annoying! You’re a big idiot!”
Mu Wang chuckled softly. “Yes, I’m a big idiot. I don’t understand why Sheng Ji is upset. That’s very foolish of me. Can you tell me, so I can fix it?”
I opened the door, and the moment I saw his gentle face, tears welled up in my eyes.
I was so angry.
Why had I spent seventeen years without ever kissing Mu Wang? And why could that awful Zhang Qiling just kiss me whenever he wanted? He was far braver than I was.
I threw myself into Mu Wang’s arms, looking up at him through my blurred vision. His bright and beautiful face seemed hazy, so close yet so far away. Summoning all my courage, I asked, “Mu Wang, can you kiss me?”
Mu Wang reached out and gently stroked my hair, then pulled my head into his shoulder.
I cried, silently, my tears soaking into his robes.
Mu Wang said, “I’m sorry, Sheng Ji. I’m old enough to be your great-grandfather. I can’t take advantage of a little girl.”
That was the last thing I wanted to hear.
Mu Wang used age as an excuse to reject me, but the truth was, he simply didn’t love me.
Zhang Qiling was over ten thousand years old, yet he still openly admitted his feelings for me.
The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I felt something unusual.
I got out of bed and noticed a shadow at my window.
Walking over, I opened it and saw Zhang Qiling standing outside. His eyebrows and eyelashes were damp with morning dew, glistening like tiny crystals, making him look even more beautiful.
I was shocked. “You actually dared to come to Cloud Palace and find me?”
Zhang Qiling smiled. “No matter where you are, whether in the heavens or on the earth—I will always come for you.”
His smile was breathtaking.
Then Zhang Qiling said, “Hai Sheng, I want to take you to meet my friends. They’ve been with me for ten thousand years—they’re like my family.”
I was still half-asleep, and with such beauty right in front of me, it was impossible to refuse. Dazed and half-conscious, I nodded.
Zhang Qiling took my hand, and together, we soared into the sky, flying to Sunrise Peak on Wang Bai Mountain. Below us, the brilliant morning glow stretched endlessly beneath my feet.
A fiery red phoenix flew toward us. I gasped in amazement. “A phoenix?”
Zhang Qiling said, “Her name is Vermilion Bird [Zhu Que]. She’s a girl, just like you.”
Vermilion Bird flew past me, and I reached out, brushing my fingers against her magnificent tail feathers. They were warm to the touch, faintly radiating heat.
Then, a massive dragon the color of deep blue-green clouds glided through the air and stopped in front of me. It opened its mouth and spoke in a human voice:
“Hai Sheng, our Qiling has lived for ten thousand years, but in all this time, his heart has never been moved by the mortal world. You are his first love.”
Zhang Qiling snapped, clearly embarrassed, “Who told you to say that?!”
Before I could react, Zhang Qiling grabbed my hand and pulled me away, flying far from the mountain until we finally landed on the branch of a large tree.
We sat side by side on the sturdy branch. The air was cool, and I instinctively shifted closer to Zhang Qiling.
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his warmth. Then, in a voice as gentle as the wind, he whispered in my ear:
“Zhang Hai Sheng, I love you.”
I lifted my head from his embrace, looking into his eyes—brighter than the moon, more dazzling than the stars.
Zhang Qiling slowly lowered his head.
This was our second kiss.
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