Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Chu Qiao, as if she did not see anything, patted the child’s head and said, “I’m going to sing a song for you. Listen up.

  “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

  “You make me happy when skies are grey.

  “You’ll never know how much I love you.

  “Please don’t take my sunshine away.”


  Her gentle voice was like a hypnotic incense as it drifted in the air. The lights in the room gave off a feeling of warmth. The woman dressed in white squatted on the ground, her hair hung over her shoulder. The child was placed in a black wooden basin.

  The woman was very emotionally invested in her song, but the child did not seem to pay attention to her. They grabbed at each other’s limbs, as the child in the basin tried to break free while the woman outside was trying to restrain him. Despite this, she managed to keep the tone of her song gentle. No one understood what she was singing as her voice started to sound like Rong’er. Their words were bizarre, but through her gentle voice, the emotions in her songs could be felt. She seemed like a caring mother, but resembled more of a devoted lover.

  Thud! The basin fell to the ground. Rong’er crawled out of the basin, naked, as he laughed. He squinted his eyes, causing his to appear much like his father.

  The room was a mess. Chu Qiao’s clothes had been drenched. She looked at the child in a daze, as she was reminded of Li Ce. She opened her eyes wide and said angrily, “You’re gone, yet you left this calamity for me.”


  Rong’er chuckled as he crawled towards the outside of the door, pinching his buttcheeks. Chu Qiao was about to hold him back, but she noticed the man standing by the door. He had seemingly been standing there for a long time. The lights from the corridor shone on his handsome face. He had a deep look in his eyes, while his skin was fair. However, he did not appear as a weakly scholar, but more of an aristocrat. He leaned by the side of the door and looked at her with interest. His expression was lazy; he did not smile, yet his eyes signalled his pleasure.

  At that instant, she was stunned. Perhaps, she had been bewitched by a handsome guy.

  Rong’er crawled to the door as he continued to pinch his butt. As he saw the unwelcome guest in front of him, he looked up and prepared to scream. However, he subconsciously realized that his height did not even exceed the opposition’s boots. Hence, he chose to remain silent.

  He sat there and thought to himself for a while. He looked back at Chu Qiao, then at Zhuge Yue, and then at the crib beside the bed. Finally, after seemingly engaging in an internal conflict in his heart, he sighed and tugged at Zhuge Yue’s sleeve. Zhuge Yue lowered his head and looked at him, realizing that he was pointing at a bunch of small swords, carved out of jade, hanging by his waist. This accessory was specially put on by Zhuge Yue himself to go with his clothes. It appeared shiny and bright under the lights. Zhuge Yue unfastened it and handed it over to the child.

  Rong’er put it in his mouth and bit it twice, but was unable to taste anything. He held the object tightly in his hands and crawled out of the door. The chubby kid crawled over to the room beside Chu Qiao’s and sat on the ground, using his legs to kick the door.

  Meixiang opened the door sleepily. Upon seeing him, she squealed in delight and carried the child in her arms. She walked out and looked towards Chu Qiao’s room and saw Zhuge Yue. She blushed in joy and nodded at Zhuge Yue, before retreating back to her room with the child. The troublesome fellow was out of the picture.

  Zhuge Yue thought to himself, Although this lad is troublesome, he’s as skilled as his dad when it comes to these types of things. He closed the doors of Chu Qiao’s room and walked to her. He looked down on her and reached out his hand. “Still not getting up?”


  Chu Qiao felt a little embarrassed as she frowned. What had gotten into her? Had she been bewitched by lust? She did not reach out her hand, choosing to get to her feet herself. As she moved, her legs buckled as she slipped, falling towards the ground again. However, before she fell to the ground, Zhuge Yue grabbed her waist to break her fall as his warm hand made contact with her skin. Her drenched clothes were unable to hide her wholesome figure, making it appear more seductive instead.

  She had squatted for too long, causing her legs to become numb. Zhuge Yue carried her onto the bed. Her hair had been drenched, with water dripping out. Her clothes had been drenched—it seemed more like she had been put into the basin instead.

  Zhuge Yue draped a blanket over her and stood by the side of the bed as he said, “Don’t catch a cold.”


  The lights in the room gave off an intimate ambience as it shone on his face. He took a piece of dry cotton cloth and wrapped it around her hair. He stood in front of her and dried her hair meticulously, but remained silent. She felt the room heat up in an instant as beads of sweat trickled down her face and into her clothes. A few strands of hair fell in front of her forehead and blurred her line of vision. Through her hair, she saw a few patterns of clouds embroidered onto his white outfit, causing her to feel dizzy.

  “What were you singing just now?” Zhuge Yue asked with a gentle, hoarse tone which was alluring for a man.

  She looked up and saw his handsome face. She smelt the fragrance of his body, which was almost hypnotizing. Zhuge Yue, seeing that she did not answer his question, frowned slightly and asked again, “Xing’er?”


  “You are my sunshine.”


  Zhuge Yue was stunned and asked, “Is that your hometown language?”


  “Yes,” Chu Qiao nodded honestly.

  “Sing it again for me.”


  His voice seemingly carried a special force within it tonight, causing her to not want to bicker with him, which was unlike the usual. She took two deep breaths as she started to sing out in a soothing tone.

  You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

  You make me happy when skies are grey……

  The song took them down the memory lane once again as they revisited the past times. From the first time that they met, to the times they were after each other’s lives, life was like a piece of barren wasteland. The location of the traps and lifelines within were unknown. He stood in front of her, drying her hair. His long fingers caressed her jet-black hair, as if he was trying to stir up the tides of time. The material of his clothes were soft as she leaned her head on his waist, singing her favorite song from her previous life.

  You’ll never know how much I love you.

  Please don’t take my sunshine away.

  The room was warm, which reminded her of the days that she spent in St. Lorn’s Orphanage many years ago. The principal of the orphanage was a war veteran who had fought resistance battles for eight years, and had been on the battlefields of North Korea. He had lost a leg while fighting, but he had managed to bomb an American plane in the process. After he retired, he took his pension money back to his hometown and opened an orphanage, to take in those children who had lost their parents. She was different from the other orphans, fortunate enough to have a good grandfather. After that, he provided for her education, used his connections to get her into military school. From then on, she enlisted into the army, becoming a valiant soldier who protected her country.

  She did not let her grandfather down as she continued to grow and mature. Her results were outstanding. Coupled with the fact that her brain was lively, and that she had a kind character, she made it into the command center and became a part of the Secret Service. Her life had been predestined, as she followed down a standard path without many setbacks.

  When she was young, her grandfather had told her that the utmost priority of a soldier was to love his country and to protect its people, especially the weaker ones. He told her many stories about the military, taught her the principles of honesty and personal integrity, the meaning of life and its principles. She was like a small tree, being nurtured into a big one under the care of her grandfather. She remembered the happy look on her grandfather’s face at the time where she was conferred an award upon the completion of her first mission. His wrinkles twitched under the sunlight; as he laughed, his chest heaved up and down. Her grandfather embraced her as he exclaimed in joy, “My good granddaughter!”


  Those were the happiest times of her life, where she had a family member that loved her more than anyone else in the world, where she received the warmest hug of her life.

  Her grandfather had studied abroad in England when he was younger. As a result, he had a good command of the language there. He taught her English, the western cultures, and how to dance the waltz.

  Left, right, left, right, horizontal across, take three steps, twirl……

  And the song that her grandfather taught her to sing……

  The other night dear as I lay sleeping.

  I dreamed I held you in my arms.

  But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken.

  And I hung my head and cried.

  She suddenly reached out her hand and wrapped it around Zhuge Yue’s waist. The shadows of the candlelights in the room seemed to break out in a dance, as they flashed across the window. The boat swayed from side to side on the surface on the water. The mountains by the shores on both sides disappeared into the distance as the sounds of the winds blowing past could be heard.

  “Xing’er,” Zhuge Yue lowered his head and asked, “What’s the meaning of this song?”


  Unknowingly, Chu Qiao’s face started to turn red. She lowered her head as well, and remained silent.

  A warm breath landed on her as his chest jerked slightly. Chu Qiao knew that he was laughing although there was no sound.

  “It’s nice,” Zhuge Yue stopped and looked at her. He held her hand as he continued to say while smiling, “I like it very much.”


  His hand was big and warm as he wrapped it around her fist. She had never known that he possessed such strength, as she was unable to move.

  He leaned forward with a deep look in his eyes. His voice was low and hoarse as he whispered by her ear, “This is your punishment for behaving so badly in the day.” As he finished his sentence, he lowered his head and planted a kiss on her lips. She suddenly felt incredibly tense. Although she had been through two different lives and had kissed someone before, she still felt irrationally nervous whenever she was faced with him. She did not know where to put her limbs. However, after a long while of closing her eyes, nothing happened. She opened her eyes carefully and saw the man looking at her with a smile under the lights. Upon seeing her peek at him, the man leaned forward as his warm breath landed on her face. With a smile, he said, “Are you waiting for me to kiss you?”