An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

After staying outside for half an hour, Jing Chunxi estimated that the time was almost up, and with a thought, he flashed into the space.

Sure enough, her adoptive father Xu Dingchun was holding an empty bowl in the room, obviously having just finished feeding her a bowl of porridge.

Seeing her daughter suddenly appear, Jing Qiurong's face flushed instantly. She pushed away the person who was still in front of her with a little embarrassment and whispered angrily, "I told you not to feed me..."

"Mom, how can he feel at ease if Daddy doesn't feed him?" Jing Chunxi couldn't help but laugh out loud, jokingly saying, "In the future, if he's busy feeding his younger siblings, I'm afraid it won't be his turn when you want to ask him to feed them."

"Alright, alright, now that Xi'er's in, get out! I need to rest." Jing Qiurong turned to urge her daughter, but her tone softened. "Let him out quickly. How can he survive without someone guarding him outside?"

This time when he came out, Xu Dingchun staggered one step and stood firm, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise to his ears, and his eyes and eyebrows were full of a comfortable smile that could not be hidden.

...

"Why don't you eat first, Xiaokang? Aren't you hungry enough?"

Jing Chunxi burst out laughing when he saw Xu Zize sitting blankly at the dinner table with his lips pursed and a look of aggrieved.

"Come, Brother Xiaokang, have some spare ribs." After she came out of her mother's room, she was worried that the steamed spare ribs might have been eaten up, so she specially brought out a bowl of greasy braised pork and a plate of sweet and sour spare ribs from the warehouse.

"You went out without telling your brother, making me look for you everywhere." Xu Zize's tone still contained some complaints, but his expression had softened a lot. As if in a fit of anger, he picked up two pieces of shiny fat braised pork and put them in her bowl.

Jing Chunxi didn't refuse, picked up a piece and took a big bite, mumbling: "It's delicious!"

She hadn't tasted this flavor for a long time, and she had been hungry for most of the day. The most important thing was that she knew her mother was safe, so her appetite naturally increased.

In a short while, the two plates of food and half a pot of porridge were eaten up by the two of them.

"Brother Xiaokang, do you want to go out? Do you want to go out and accompany Uncle San?" Jing Chunxi was a little worried when he thought that there was only one room in the space that could accommodate people.

"Just now, when my third uncle was cooking porridge, I went to the weapons room and found a tent that could be used." Xu Zize pointed to the corner of the room. Sure enough, there was a neatly folded, gray cloth bag. The style seemed familiar, and it was obviously the standard used in the army.

"Brother, where do you want to sleep? Under the eaves? Or in the yard?" Knowing that he didn't want to sleep outside, she was actually a little happy.

"The grass outside is nice, soft and spacious. But we have to tie up the thunder and lightning to prevent them from making trouble in the middle of the night."

As they were talking, two wolves that were fat as balls and rolling around happily in the grass outside suddenly shuddered. Their backs felt cold and they both pricked up their ears and looked around.

The two of them squatted beside the wooden basin in the corner of the yard, picking tender green leaves. Xu Zize's fingers occasionally touched the back of Jing Chunxi's hand. She retracted her hand slightly, but he pretended to be casual and continued picking vegetables.

The fire in the stove crackled, and the aroma of rice mixed with the salty fragrance of steamed bacon lingered in the house.

When Xu Zize added firewood, he secretly looked at her profile illuminated by the firelight, and felt that such daily life was more precious than any palace banquet.

A warm feeling surged in his heart, and he vaguely felt that this was the feeling of "husband singing and wife following". He wished that time would freeze in the curling smoke and never pass away again.

"Xier, come out tonight." After dinner, seeing her roll up her sleeves and skillfully clean up the dishes, Xu Zize squatted beside her and whispered to her.

The candlelight flickered in his eyes, and there was an imperceptible expectation in his voice.

Thinking about sleeping alone in a deserted tent tonight, he felt as if something was pulling at his heart, and felt empty and uncomfortable.

"Impossible, I have to stay with my mother." Jing Chunxi didn't even raise her head as she deftly stacked the dishes into the bamboo dustpan. The sound of water splashing was loud and the splashing water wet her cuffs.

"I'll just come out for a while. Brother Xiaokang will watch the stars with you." As he said this, his ears felt slightly hot and his heart felt uneasy. He wondered to himself, although this secret space seemed like the mortal world, he wondered if there would really be a galaxy of stars and a moonlit night after nightfall.

"But?" She finally raised her head, wiped her wet hands on her skirt, and placed the heavy dustpan on the wooden rack beside the stove. "I have to wait until my mother cleans it and she falls asleep." Her tone softened a little, and there was a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

"Brother Xiaokang is waiting for you. I'll go set up the tent now!" Xu Zize suddenly smiled, his eyes and eyebrows flying, like a child who had gotten candy. He turned around and ran out of the house, with a breeze blowing on his clothes.

"How childish!" Jing Chunxi muttered softly as he looked at his excited back, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

Looking at the man who was clearly a tall man, but now exuding the sincerity of a young boy, her heart felt slightly warm, and she actually began to look forward to spending the night with him.

A deeper thought quietly emerged: How wonderful it would be if we could avoid the red walls and deep palace forever and just stay together like this?

When the night sky was as dark as ink, Xu Zize had already spread a thick felt on the grass slope and set up a tent on the side with its opening facing the open night sky.

Beside the felt was a plate of wild fruits he had picked from the mountain, and a pot of tea he had specially prepared.

Jing Chunxi walked over gently, holding up the hem of her skirt, and the grass leaves made a crackling sound under her feet.

He reached out and pulled her to sit down. When their palms touched, her fingertips were slightly cold, so he naturally held her hand in his warm palm.

Above the zenith, the stars were even brighter than those on earth. They were spread out densely like a river and so low that they seemed within reach, as if they were specially prepared for them tonight.

A bright moon hung in the sky, casting a soft light that silvered the grass near and far. Fireflies drifted in the night, like fallen stars.

The tiny, skinny jackal cubs of the past—now grown into majestic figures, yet still clumsy—fluttered and played around them. One nudged Xu Zize's palm with its furry head, while the other tried to grab hold of Jing Chunxi's fluttering clothes, purring coquettishly.

Xu Zize smiled and rubbed the wolf's ears, and Jing Chunxi gently stroked their thick back fur. The wolf cubs lay down contentedly, their chubby bodies pressed against their legs, and their tails made a rustling sound on the grass.

"Do you see the brightest star by the Milky Way?" Xu Zize whispered, pointing his finger to the sky, "The Imperial Grandmother once said that it was Vega. The four small stars around her are arranged in the shape of a shuttle, as if they are always weaving a brocade of lovesickness." His voice was as quiet as water, melting into the night wind.

He then told an ancient story: "Legend has it that on the seventh day of every seventh month, magpies fly to the Milky Way and build a bridge for the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd to meet."

"But the Empress Dowager told me another version of the story. She said the Weaver Girl had secretly hidden a strand of brocade near the Milky Way, and every year on Qixi Festival, she would use it as a boat and row to the other side. This was because she didn't want to pin her hopes of reunion entirely on others, even if that other person was a well-intentioned magpie."

Jing Chunxi leaned on his shoulder, listening quietly, occasionally asking, "Won't the Queen Mother find out?"

"So the Weaver Girl always had to return before dawn," he chuckled, "and she had to be careful to wipe away any water marks on the cloud brocade. One year, she was almost discovered because Yue Lao secretly pulled a cloud to cover the celestial mirror."

His fingers gently combed her long hair. "Grandmother said that the best fate in this world must be earned by oneself."

"Xier's happy brocade must be drawn by brother Xiaokang." It can be heard that this is another promise to her.

Her breath gently brushed against his neck, carrying a faint scent of soapberry.

He looked down at her. The moonlight cast tiny shadows on her eyelashes, and her eyes shone brighter than the stars. The chirping of insects in the distance only added to the tranquility of the night.

Gradually, her words became fewer and her voice became more blurred. She nodded her head slightly, finally leaning completely into his arms, her breathing becoming even and long. The wild fruit in her hand had somehow rolled onto the grass, being carried everywhere by the thunder and lightning.

The moonlight gently enveloped the two people snuggling together and the wolf. Even the moon seemed ashamed to peek at this quiet sweetness, and quietly pulled a thin cloud across to cover its slightly red face.

Xu Zize tightened his arms, pulled her closer, and carefully wrapped his cloak around her thin shoulders. His heart was at peace, and he only wished the warmth in his arms could last forever.