Crossing Over to Yamada Love

Mo Lan's feet crunched on the snow. Before, her heart was bright, and everything seemed pleasing and beautiful. But now, everything seemed desolate and cold.

She stopped at a certain spot and gazed at it silently. This was the place where she had first met Cheng Xiao by chance. The gentle young man had once stood under the tree here and smiled at her.

He was the first man she had ever met in this world who she found agreeable. Thinking back to their first meeting, Mo Lan couldn't help but grin. The son of a scholar, actually accompanied her to dig dandelions, and she even pulled him down to the ground, covering him in dirt. How funny!

Instead of blaming herself, he became interested in her. That's human curiosity, isn't it? She felt she was different, and that's why he liked her. But what was the result? Mo Lan shook her head. Cheng Xiao was now her cousin and Mo Ju's husband. Life really is unpredictable.

She continued walking forward and arrived at the foot of the mountain, where she looked up at it.

The trees on the mountain were still covered in snow and ice, a blanket of white, not green—it was so cold. She couldn't help but shiver. This mountain would soon be green again, but what about her heart? When would it warm up, when would it come back to life? Mo Lan asked herself, but she had no answer. She continued to look at the mountain, for it held too many memories for her.

On the mountain, she picked all kinds of wild vegetables, mushrooms, walnuts and pine cones, medicinal herbs, and made Dada fragrant tea.

The mountains are a treasure trove; her shop not only sells products from the mountains, but also all sorts of animals that run and fly there. The mountains have brought her a considerable profit.

She had climbed this mountain with Cheng Xiao, and also with Liu Hu. She had even been knocked into the river by Mo Ju in the mountains.

Whether she's happy or sad, she comes here. Here, she can pick things up, relax, and shout. She can do whatever she wants because the mountain accepts everything about her.

This mountain holds many memories. Those who once came here together can never come back. Cheng Xiao is married to someone else and will never come up the mountain again. Mo Ju will never again knock her into the river. Liu Hu passed the imperial examination and became a scholar; his mother has found him a good marriage, and he will be getting married this year. He will also never come up the mountain with her again. But she is still happy for him. He has found a good home, and she can finally rest easy.

After thinking of several people, she remembered Xue Lingfeng. Right here at the foot of this mountain, where she was standing now, Xue Lingfeng had said he wanted to marry her. At the time, she thought he was possessed by a ghost. Such a cold person, yet he actually confessed his love to her—it was laughable to think about it now.

And then there was Xue Lingyun. It was he who had saved her that day at the foot of another mountain. Although she hadn't been violated that day, her clothes were disheveled. While she hadn't exposed her body, not even her innermost garments were visible, this was ancient times, and their thinking was different from modern times. She wouldn't have thought anything of him seeing her disheveled, but what about him? What about everyone else?

Little Fatty Xue Linglei is in the capital, and I haven't seen him for a long time. I wonder how he is? Is he still as cute as before? I even said I would take him up the mountain to collect the pagoda, but now that he's in the capital and I'm in this state, I'm afraid I'll never have that chance again.

Mo Lan's eyes welled up with tears. They were both good men, worthy of good women. She, a murderer, was unworthy of Xue Lingfeng. They were destined to be apart. She didn't want to see him, didn't want to marry him; she would let time heal all wounds, and live out her life alone.

"Ah. Xue Lingfeng." Although Mo Lan thought this, she was in great pain and shouted at the mountain, trying to shout out the frustration in her heart.

"I'm here." Mo Lan had barely finished calling out and hadn't even had a chance to catch her breath when she heard a deep reply from behind her.

Mo Lan was shocked. Someone was behind her? She hadn't even known. How careless of her! Was it him? Mo Lan closed her eyes, letting the tears stream down her face. She didn't turn around.

A chill ran down her spine. Someone was wiping away her tears. Mo Lan turned away; she wanted to run, she wanted to escape, she didn't want to see him. She couldn't face him.

But her opponent wouldn't let her escape, nor would they give her a chance. With a sudden pull, Mo Lan couldn't stop in time and fell into someone's arms. They held her tightly, preventing her from moving or escaping.

"Let me go, let me go!" Mo Lan struggled and tore at his flesh, trying to break free from his grasp. She didn't want to be in his arms. She didn't want to taint him with her.

Her hat fell to the ground during the struggle, but he held her tightly, no matter how much Mo Lan fought or struggled, he wouldn't budge. He just wouldn't let Mo Lan leave.

Mo Lan was too exhausted to resist any longer, and finally stopped, burying her face in the other's arms and sobbing. "Lan Lan. Lan Lan," the other called out tenderly, gently stroking Mo Lan's hair to comfort her and offer her warmth.

Mo Lan cried, cried loudly, releasing all the confusion, sorrow, and unease of the past few days.

After crying for a while, Mo Lan finally stopped. With the crying stopped, her heart calmed down a lot. She raised her head and looked at the other person's clothes, which were soaked by her tears. She sniffed embarrassedly. It was still cold that day, and the wet spots would probably freeze in a while. It would be quite interesting and funny to see him covered in ice. She would consider it her own masterpiece.

Mo Lan finally looked up. The person in front of her wore a mink hat, a black fox fur cloak, a thin blue cotton-padded jacket underneath, and thick black cotton boots. His handsome face was flushed slightly by the cold wind. He looked so handsome; who else could he be but the aloof Xue Lingfeng?

Seeing that Mo Lan had calmed down, Xue Lingfeng looked at her red face, red eyes, and red nose and felt a pang of pity. He took off his fox fur cloak and was about to put it on Mo Lan.

"No, I'm dressed warmly enough, I'm not cold. Your coat is so thin, you should wear it yourself." Mo Lan gently shook her head, refusing to let him put it on for her. It was cold in the mountains, and he was dressed so lightly underneath; she couldn't accept his cloak.

Xue Lingfeng pulled her over, draped the cloak over her shoulders, and said softly, "The wind is cold in the mountains. It's so strong that your clothes are seeping through. How can you not be cold? I'm healthy, so it's fine. I can't let you get sick from the cold."

Mo Lan smiled at him and didn't object. To be honest, the cloak was really nice; it warmed him up a lot after he put it on. It was just that Xue Lingfeng was going to suffer from the cold.

"Why are you here?" Mo Lan asked, trying to make conversation.

"I arrived at the shop as soon as you left. I asked around and they said you were out, so I figured you must have come here. I followed you all the way here, only to find you were thinking of me and calling my name. I was afraid you'd get anxious if I didn't answer, so I called out to you." Xue Lingfeng teased Mo Lan with a smile in his eyes.

"What? You're talking nonsense. Who missed you?" Mo Lan was a little embarrassed and denied it.

"Hehe." Xue Lingfeng chuckled but did not refute her. However, his laughter made Mo Lan blush.

"Xue Lingfeng, I killed someone." Mo Lan suddenly looked directly at Xue Lingfeng and said in a low voice. She didn't want to hide it from him.

“I know, they deserved to die. You did the right thing.” Xue Lingfeng had already guessed this, so he wasn’t surprised by Mo Lan’s words. On the contrary, he was happy that Mo Lan could say it to him, which meant that this girl valued him.

"Do you know that I was violated by them?" Mo Lan asked again.

Xue Lingfeng's body tensed. He stared at Mo Lan, whose expression was calm, revealing nothing from her face. "Girl, are you testing me? Your expression is calm as usual, but what about your heart? It must be aching terribly, doesn't it? Do you know how much I'm in pain! Do you know how much I hate myself for my incompetence? Do you know how much I blame myself for not protecting you?"

Xue Lingfeng grasped Mo Lan's shoulders with both hands, looking at her earnestly, and said, word by word, "Lanlan, remember. No matter what, you are still my wife, Xue Lingfeng's wife. In my heart, you will always be the best, the purest. From today onwards, I will never let your hands be stained with blood again. I will never let such a thing happen again. Don't say you are unclean, and don't say your hands are stained with blood, because if you blame yourself, it will make me feel even more ashamed."

From this day forward, if anyone is to kill, I, Xue Lingfeng, will wield the blade! If my hands are to be stained with blood, I, Xue Lingfeng, am not afraid of red. Whatever you must do, I, Xue Lingfeng, will be with you. Even if you are to fall into the eighteenth level of hell, I, Xue Lingfeng, will go with you.

Mo Lan looked at him, listening to his words, and tears fell again. She knew he was telling the truth; this aloof man truly loved her, even unconcerned that she had been violated. He said he would be with her no matter what. What had she done to deserve such love? What did she have to care about? Going to hell? With him by her side, she wasn't afraid!

"Let's go back." Although Mo Lan was very touched and felt much better, she didn't say anything and turned to leave.

Xue Lingfeng grabbed Mo Lan tightly, preventing her from moving. "Lanlan, if you agree to my proposal, I've already found a matchmaker to come and propose marriage. How about we get married next year?"

Mo Lan frowned. Was he afraid? Was he afraid of her safety and wanted to give her a title so he could protect her?

“I’m still young. I’ll only be fifteen next year,” Mo Lanyan said. She was only fifteen years old; she hadn’t grown up yet and really couldn’t get married.

“We can postpone the wedding ceremony. I can wait.” Xue Lingfeng knew that Mo Lan was a little young, but he really didn’t want to be powerless to protect his Lan Lan like he was now.

"Let's not talk about marriage yet, let's wait a while. My sister is getting married into the Chen family this year, and if I get engaged again, I'm afraid my mother and the others will be upset. Xue Lingfeng, I promise you, I promise you, wait until I'm seventeen, I'll marry you." Mo Lan disregarded her shyness and promised Xue Lingfeng that she would marry him when she turned seventeen. Such a good man, she didn't want to let him go, she didn't want to regret it later.