Extra 1

<b>Extra 1</b>

People would often say that Autumn is a lonely season. After all, the faint light of the setting sun, the gentle wind blowing with a light coolness that brushes against the skin, the withered leaves fluttering and falling to the ground, all of this created an infinite sense of melancholy. Due to all of these things, ancient poets would often compare Autumn to sadness in their verses.

However, Qin Cheng didn’t think that way. As he watched the yellow leaves fall through the window of the research lab, he was unable to restrain himself from humming a tune. The night before, Qin Cheng had arranged a date with Su Jingmo, so today when he got off work, they would go to see the ginkgo and maple trees outside Xi’an…. Besides, today was also Su Jingmo’s birthday…..

Qin Cheng had already made arrangements in advance and booked a private room in an ancient-style Chinese restaurant. The atmosphere of the restaurant was extremely quiet and elegant, making it the best place to have a date in all of Xi’an City. Moreover, one could see the path of red maples and ginkgo trees from the window. Qin Cheng believed that Su Jingmo would love it.

While touching the object inside his pocket, Qin Cheng glanced at the clock on the wall from time to time. ‘ It feels as if time is passing unusually slowly today…. I checked the time just now and it was already 3:30 pm, how is it possible that when I look again it’s only 3:50 pm….? ’

“Qin Cheng, you seem to be in a very good mood today, hmm? This is the first time I’ve heard you humming a song during working hours.”

Zhao-ge’s voice brought Qin Cheng back to reality. Feeling a little embarrassed, Qin Cheng adjusted his glasses and asked: “Is it that obvious?”

“Yes. You’re usually so absorbed in the antiquities that, not to mention humming a tune, you don’t even have time to listen to us talk.” The female colleague couldn’t help, but joined in and teased him. “Since ancient times, Autumn has been associated with loneliness and sadness, but even though Autumn is already here, you look unusually happy.”

“Only single dogs feel melancholic in Autumn. When you have someone accompanying you, who would have free time to feel sad in this season?”

“Oh? Can you really see that Qin Cheng has someone special accompanying him?”The female colleague teased, with a smile on her face.

“How could I not notice? Qin Cheng has been looking at the clock every ten minutes, isn’t that a clear sign that he has a date with someone?” Zhao-ge teased Qin Cheng. “It’s also weird to see you so eager to get off work.”

“Do you got a partner?”

Looking at his female colleague who asked him this, Qin Cheng smiled and replied: “Yes.”

“It’s really rare to see you smile.” The female colleague stared at Qin Cheng and said: “You usually tend to have a serious face while working on your research. But you should smile more! When you smile, you look so handsome!”

“It can clearly be seen…. that Qin Cheng has always been handsome! It’s just that you girls don’t know how to appreciate it. You always like those smiling, long-haired, good-looking guys. What’s so attractive about them? They all look like women!”

“Ah! Zhao-ge, we girls don’t agree with you!” The voice came from Liu Yan, the youngest girl on the team.

Liu Yan put the half-finished task in her hands aside, took off her gloves, and approached Zhao-ge with her cell phone in hand. “Come, come, I’ll show you a handsome boy with long hair and a smiling face! He’s not like how you describe them.”

While saying this, Liu Yan opened the Weibo app and searched for the most popular video of the moment to show Zhao Hekai. “Look, look! Look at his height! His figure! His strength skills! Tell me, Zhao-ge, can you do what he’s doing?”

Qin Cheng, who was standing in front of Zhao Hekai, was unable to see the screen of Liu Yan’s phone. He could only hear the girls’ screams coming from the video. This surprised Qin Cheng greatly, wondering what it was that made people excited like this.

“Mm, he actually doesn’t look effeminate at all.” Zhao Hekai nodded after watching the video.

“That’s right!” Liu Yan held up her phone, holding it as if it were a treasure. “Early this morning, the entire internet and Weibo exploded with discussions as well as reposts of this video! My roommate and I watched it several times. Talking about it, some people on the internet said that he’s in Xi’an! Aaahhhhh! I’m going with my roommate to see him this Saturday!”

Qin Cheng looked at the girl screaming excitedly in front of him, and shook his head somewhat helplessly.

“Ah! That’s right, Cheng-ge! I remember that the internet ‘detectives’ were saying that the location where this video was recorded seems to be at a park in the southern part of the Chang’an District…. Cheng-ge, don’t you live in Chang’an District? Have you seen him?”

“A man with long hair?” Qin Cheng hurriedly shook his head as he thought of a man with shoulder-length hair. “I haven’t seen any man with shoulder-length hair.”

“Who said he had shoulder-length hair?!” Liu Yan rolled her eyes at Qin Cheng. “It’s much longer than that…!”

“Much longer?”

Qin Cheng froze. Before he even had the time to think, Liu Yan walked over and interrupted him: “Oh, forget it, forget it. Let me show you. In case you ever meet him, you have to call me! Take a picture of him and send it to me!”

Without even waiting for Qin Cheng to react, Liu Yan handed him the phone and clicked on the video.

With just a single glance, Qin Cheng was dumbfounded.

The man in the video had a tall and attractive figure, standing out among the group of people of various ages exercising in the park. The man appeared to be practicing Tai Chi taught by the elders, but the man was making changes in his movements. These changes made the martial art, that was originally gentle and seemingly soft, become a martial art with an aggressive feel to it. It was clear that the man had a background in martial arts, as his movements were quite fluid, demonstrating extraordinary agility and strength…..

“Cheng-ge, you really haven’t seen him?”

However, Qin Cheng didn’t respond. His gaze remained fixed on the man in the video.

How could Qin Cheng not have seen him?

The man in the video was wearing a dark gray sweater, identical to his own….

Every morning, when he woke up, Qin Cheng would find the man lying in his arms, with his long black hair untied, scattered on the pillow, the blanket, and on his body….

Those smiling peach blossom eyes, and the corners of his curved lips, Qin Cheng could be infatuated with them for a lifetime….

His long slender legs, that slim and strong waist, that long neck, those pale pink lips…. all had been kissed by Qin Cheng…. Even the night before, Qin Cheng had left ambiguous traces all over his body….

Su Jingmo.

It turned out that the man, who was causing sensations all over the internet, was the one who shared Qin Cheng’s days and nights. The one he loved from the bottom of his heart…..

Qin Cheng had always thought that someone as talented and handsome as Su Jingmo was bound to attract the attention of others. But he never expected that Su Jingmo would attract this level of attention from passersby.

Looking at Liu Yan, who had vowed to go see this man, Qin Cheng decided to stay silent and discuss it with Su Jingmo later. Su Jingmo would have to find a different place to do his morning exercises….

—

As it was late Autumn, the leaves of the ginkgo and maple trees on both sides of the pedestrian street lay frozen by the early morning dew, gradually turning yellow. With the cold wind, the leaves fell off one by one, covering the street pavement with yellow-orange colors.

In the setting sun of late autumn, the landscape of ginkgo trees before his eyes reflected a melancholic scene. In fact, Su Jingmo felt that the scenery wasn’t as beautiful as those sights he had seen thousands of years ago. However, since he was walking next to Qin Cheng, and felt the continuous gazes of the people around him, Su Jingmo felt that his mood was inexplicably happy.

“The restaurant in which I made a reservation is up ahead.” Qin Cheng said, looking at Su Jingmo’s profile. All of a sudden, Qin Cheng’s heart pounded. With a smile, Qin Cheng gently took his lover’s hand that lay hanging by his side. Su Jingmo raised an eyebrow and looked at their joined hands, but didn’t pull away. Qin Cheng smiled even more and said: “It’s six o’clock, let’s go. The private room has a view of the ginkgo trees.”

Su Jingmo nodded: “All right, let’s go. I’m a little thirsty.”

Qin Cheng had chosen a restaurant at the end of the pedestrian street. It was an old building, inspired by the two-story Jiangnan restaurants of the Ming Dynasty. There was a large hall on the 1st floor, while the 2nd floor had private rooms separated by screens. Su Jingmo examined the restaurant’s decoration in detail: The screens were intricately carved, and there were traditional ink calligraphy paintings on the walls. Although they weren’t famous pieces, they were exquisitely crafted. The table was located right next to the window, whose view directly overlooked the path of red maple and ginkgo trees, where passersby could be seen walking, where the lanterns began to be lit at dusk.

Su Jingmo, upon seeing Qin Cheng’s face full of anticipation, waiting for his words, couldn’t help, but smile and ask: “How did you know that I would like this kind of restaurant?”

Knowing that Su Jingmo would like it, Qin Cheng smiled and said: “I guessed. I simply thought you would like it.”

“Naturally, I like it.” After having lived in this modern world for more than a month, which was still quite unfamiliar to him, Su Jingmo had the feeling that he had returned to the Xu Dynasty when he arrived here. Looking at Qin Cheng, who had just poured him a cup of wine, Su Jingmo became slightly stunned. It was as if he was sharing a cup of wine with Qin Cheng in the Xu Dynasty.

After pouring some wine for Su Jingmo, Qin Cheng smiled and said: “Come to think of it, this is the first time you and I are going to drink together.”

“Hmm.” Su Jingmo appreciated the aroma of the wine and drank the wine in one gulp. “The wine is quite fragrant.”

“Your health has slowly improved, so it would be better for you not to drink too much.”

“I’ve been doing morning exercise these days, so my health should be fine.” After eating a few mouthfuls of food, Su Jingmo smiled and said: “For some reason, this situation seems a little strange to me. Usually, it should be Ning Yunze or Zhang Jing who would be sitting in front of me. But now it’s you.”

“Ning… Yunze? Zhang Jing?”

Su Jingmo nodded: “They were my good friends, and would often drink with me.” After thinking for a moment, Su Jingmo added: “You should know them….”

“Ah?” Qin Cheng was puzzled. “Where could I have met them?”

“On my big wedding day. Do you remember the ‘Yinzan ¹ ‘ and the ‘Tongzan ² ‘?”

Qin Cheng thought for a moment, then finally nodded, “Yes, I remember them. Were they your close friends?”

“Yes. During my reigning years, they helped me out quite a bit.” After pouring himself some more wine and drinking it, Su Jingmo let out a sigh with a frown. “But I’m afraid that after my death, Su Jingyan must not have treated them kindly.”

Seeing Su Jingmo’s frown, Qin Cheng felt a slight pain inside his heart. Qin Cheng then reached out and took Su Jingmo’s hand, which was holding the cup of wine, but didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t worry.” Seeing the concerned expression on Qin Cheng’s face, Su Jingmo smiled slightly. “I was simply reflecting on them and feeling sentimental. It might even be possible that they have been reincarnated in this era and are living happy lives.”

Looking at Su Jingmo, Qin Cheng slowly said: “I cannot give you anything.”

Su Jingmo smiled: “But didn’t you already give yourself to me?”

Feeling a strong flutter inside his heart, Qin Cheng pursed his lips and said: “Jingmo, today is your birthday….”

“I know.” Su Jingmo smiled at Qin Cheng and asked: “And?”

Thinking about what he had inside his pocket, Qin Cheng became somewhat nervous. After taking a deep breath, with trembling hands, Qin Cheng took out a small velvet box from his coat pocket. Then, he stood up and pulled Su Jingmo to stand up as well.

Su Jingmo couldn’t understand what Qin Cheng was doing, even seeing him suddenly kneel nervously before him. With trembling fingers, Qin Cheng took out a ring from the small box, and with a flushed face, raised his head to stare at Su Jingmo.

“Jingmo, will you marry me?”

Qin Cheng’s sheepish appearance may have been somewhat amusing, but Su Jingmo couldn’t laugh. He rather wanted to make even a lighthearted joke, asking: Aren’t we already married?

But in the end, Su Jingmo didn’t say these words.

Instead, Su Jingmo opened his mouth and said: “Qin Cheng, do you remember when you found out from Lin Zuo that I had used you….? The words you said to me when you returned to the tomb, do you still remember them?”

Qin Cheng froze, and Su Jingmo continued: “At that time, I thought that my plan had failed, so I had prepared myself to have a confrontation with you. I felt very upset. Even then, I never expected that you were going to say to me: The red maple and the ginkgo trees in the south of Xi’an are very beautiful. I really want to take you there to see it….”

“At that moment, I knew I had already fallen in love with you a long time ago.”

Qin Cheng smiled and put the ring on his beloved’s finger: “How long ago?”

Raising an eyebrow, Su Jingmo leaned over and used his index finger to lift Qin Cheng’s chin.

“What do you thi—-?”

The teasing words went unfinished, disappearing the moment their lips met in a kiss…..

Replaced by the sweet and delicious taste of the fragrant wine….

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Footnotes

<ol><b>引赞</b> <b>yǐn zàn</b> ; It refers to the role of “Praising the Groom” during a wedding ceremony. A ceremonial position where a person, usually a close friend or relative of the groom, speaks highly of the groom’s virtues, accomplishments, as well as qualities to express congratulations and blessings. <b>通赞</b> <b>tōng zàn</b> ; Another ceremonial role during a wedding ceremony, which means “Congratulating the Groom” or “Offering General Blessings” (to the groom). The person assigned to this role delivers a speech or offers well wishes to the groom by praising the groom’s family background, virtues, along with future prospects, serving as a way to celebrate and acknowledge the groom’s entry into married life.</ol>