Chapter 31: Pavilion Woman

He had originally wanted to turn and leave, but Cheng Shouping was watching him. Given Cheng Shouping's unreliable mouth, if he escaped from his sight, everyone in the Chu family would surely know about it the next second.

Currently, he had no choice but to stay with the Chu family, so he could only temporarily swallow his pride and endure. Ah, living off others wasn't as easy as it seemed.

He decided to go into the school first and then find a deserted place to slip away.

He snatched the schoolbag Cheng Shouping had prepared for him. A grown man carrying a schoolbag to school—how utterly embarrassing.

Zu An entered the school gate with a sullen expression. Once inside, he found a wide, tree-lined avenue stretching ahead, flanked by ancient, towering trees that made it exceptionally serene.

He looked around and noticed many beautiful young women along the way: enthusiastic ponytails, short skirts fluttering in the wind, and glimpses of fair legs…

The students in this world dressed far more openly than he had imagined. Perhaps attending school here wouldn't be so unbearable after all.

From a distance, he saw another large gate further ahead, where people were checking students entering and exiting. It seemed there was another school gate there.

Zu An's eyes darted around, and he seized an opportunity to slip away from the crowd, taking a small path nearby.

Go to school? Impossible! He would never go to school again, not in this lifetime!

He walked along a tree-lined path nearby, but Brightmoon Academy’s surroundings were so lush with flowers, plants, and large trees that he ended up getting a bit lost wandering around.

By the time he finally left the vicinity of Brightmoon Academy, he couldn't even tell which direction was which.

"Where am I?" Brightmoon City was vast, and he had only been in this world for a couple of days. He was completely unfamiliar with the city and had no idea where he was.

"The Yu family is so famous; someone must know where their home is." All Zu An could think about was how to complete Ji Dengtu's task and regain his strength as soon as possible. Otherwise, what was the point of cultivation or anything else?

He wandered for a long time, but to his surprise, as if the place were haunted, he couldn't find anyone nearby to ask for directions.

Boom!

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, then thunder rumbled faintly in the dark clouds, followed by individual raindrops beginning to fall.

Zu An didn't mind the light rain, but the thunder made him uneasy. He knew he had been struck by lightning to arrive in this world, and he didn't believe another strike would send him back; it was far more likely to end his life.

Boom!

The thunder grew louder and louder. Zu An looked around, spotted a pavilion not far away, and quickly ran towards it for shelter.

Upon entering, he paused, startled to find someone already there: a woman in a plain dress, sitting languidly on a chair at the edge of the pavilion, leaning against the railing. One hand propped her chin as she stared blankly into the distant rain, while the index finger of her other hand gently hooked a green wine gourd. The gourd swayed lightly with her finger, as if it might drop at any moment with the slightest breeze, yet it remained perfectly stable on her fingertip, refusing to fall.

Zu An was quickly drawn to another sight: the woman’s legs were naturally bent on the chair, and her shoes were neatly placed on the ground. Consequently, a pair of pristine, glowing white slender feet were visible beneath her skirt—truly more lustrous than jade and smoother than silk.

Before today, Zu An had always believed that, apart from preferences for faces, chests, waists, or legs, all other fascinations were peculiar. But at this moment, he finally began to understand why some people had a foot fetish.

"Have you seen enough?" The woman didn't turn around, yet she seemed to be perfectly aware of everything happening behind her.

"Not enough," Zu An blurted out, immediately regretting his words. When would he ever curb his insolent tongue? This wasn't the internet; there was no screen or wire between them, and she might actually come over and hit him.

Even though he had just attained the strength of twenty men, he still had a feeling that the woman before him was beyond his ability to handle.

The woman clearly hadn't expected him to answer with such brazenness. She couldn't help but turn to look at the impudent fellow, sizing him up, before turning back to gaze blankly at the distant rain curtain.

"Then continue to look."

Now it was Zu An’s turn to be surprised. Even having encountered all sorts of eccentric characters online before, he hadn't expected such a response from this woman. From that fleeting glimpse, he had already noted her extreme beauty, though her eyes, as profound and clear as autumn water, seemed to hold an inexplicable sorrow.

She leaned against the railing, neither quite sitting nor quite lying, as fine rain drifted in from outside the pavilion and sprinkled onto her. She remained indifferent, and from a distance, one could almost sense her quiet breathing.

Zu An initially gazed at the beautiful woman's graceful figure with keen interest, but for some unknown reason, as he continued to watch, he found himself involuntarily overcome with sadness.

He averted his gaze and, like her, looked out at the drizzling rain beyond the pavilion. Just then, a melody he had never heard before reached his ears. For a moment, he felt a profound sense of disorientation, as if he saw a waterfall flowing upstream, dandelion seeds drifting back from the distance to form a perfect sphere, the sun rising in the west and setting in the east, and the busy figure in the kitchen during his ten years of diligent study…

"Are you crying?"

A clear, elegant voice reached his ears, and only then did Zu An realize his face was wet with tears. The woman opposite him was looking at him with curiosity.

"A little homesick," Zu An said, wiping away his tears. He had always been carefree and thoughtless, and his mind had previously been consumed by the excitement and fear of transmigrating to a new world. Only now did he consider how heartbroken his parents in his original world would be upon hearing of his death.

The woman’s expression shifted, clearly not expecting him to understand the music she had played.

Zu An noticed she was holding a conch-shaped instrument and couldn't help but ask, "Was that what you used to play just now?"

"Mm," the woman nodded.

"Can I borrow it for a moment?" Zu An asked.

"You also understand music?" The woman was a little surprised.

Zu An gave a self-deprecating smile. "I have a slight grasp of all skills that can't make money and are ultimately useless."

The woman couldn't help but smile and tossed the instrument to him. Zu An caught it, observing its unique conch-like shape. Though the musical principles were the same, as he was about to bring it to his lips to test its various tones, he noticed a faint trace of the woman's lipstick still on it. He hesitated, "Is this alright?"

The woman smiled faintly and gently nodded.

Zu An then put it to his lips and began to play, quickly discerning its sound production, which was very similar to the ocarina from his own world.

Since his homesick emotions had just been stirred, he subconsciously played "Original Scenery of My Hometown." In his previous life, he had painstakingly learned it in college to impress girls, but he later realized that no matter how well he played the ocarina with both hands, it couldn’t compare to someone driving a Ferrari with one.

Recalling various things from his past life, Zu An was momentarily unsure if he was Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or if a butterfly was dreaming of Zhuang Zhou.

When the music ended, the two people in the pavilion each became lost in their thoughts, remaining silent for a long time.

Only when the woman opposite him wiped the corner of her eye did Zu An feel a sense of balance. "You cried too," he observed.

The woman sighed softly. "From this piece, I seemed to see fields, sunsets, and farewells. What is the name of your song?"

"'Original Scenery of My Hometown'," Zu An replied. "What about your piece?"

"'Silent Sea'," the woman said, raising her wine gourd and taking a sip. "Do you want some?"

Zu An hesitated. "I don't have a cup." For some reason, he found it difficult to entertain any illicit thoughts when facing this woman; he was acting quite unlike his usual self.

The woman simply tossed the wine gourd to him. "I don't mind; why should you be afraid?"

Seeing her so uninhibited, Zu An felt a bit stuffy himself. He tilted his head back and took a large gulp. The moment it went down, a fiery sensation shot straight to his throat, making him feel as if his entire body were aflame.

He choked, his face flushing slightly. "What kind of alcohol is this? It's so strong!" This drink was far more potent than any vodka he had ever consumed in his previous life.

"This alcohol is called 'Sky Burner'," the woman explained. "Most people truly can't handle it. My constitution is a bit unusual, so I often drink this to warm myself." She took back the gourd and sipped delicately again, a faint blush appearing on her fair, jade-like cheeks. She was clearly enjoying it immensely.

"My name is Zu An, what about you?" Zu An asked subconsciously.

The woman smiled faintly and gently shook her head. "Life is fleeting; we meet so little and part so much. It's better not to know."

"But you already know my name," Zu An muttered, looking depressed.

The woman replied, "You said it yourself; I didn't ask you to tell me."

"I feel like I've been seriously shortchanged," Zu An grumbled, clearly annoyed.

The woman stifled a laugh. "You drank my alcohol, so you haven't really lost out, have you?"

"That's true," Zu An conceded, noticing the rain had gradually stopped. He stood up. "If fate brings us together again, will you tell me your name next time?"

"I'm afraid there won't be another chance to meet," the woman said, shaking her head. Suddenly, her gaze fell upon the bag on his back, and her expression turned extremely odd. "Are you a student of Brightmoon Academy?"

Zu An's heart skipped a beat, knowing he had escaped from inside. He responded cautiously, "You won't answer my questions, so why should I answer yours?"

The woman pointed to his backpack. "Actually, I know even if you don't tell me. This is the standard backpack issued by Brightmoon Academy; only their students have it. It should be class time now, so why are you here?"

"Including kindergarten, I've been in school for twenty years. I don't want to attend school ever again in this lifetime," Zu An said, growing irritated just talking about it.

"Kindergarten?" A flicker of confusion crossed the woman’s eyes, as she clearly didn't understand what he meant. However, she didn't bother to inquire further, sighing inwardly, *I'm much the same. What right do I have to criticize him?*

"Thank you for the alcohol. I have to go now," Zu An said. He was still thinking about finding Yu Yanluo, after all, his lifelong happiness depended on it.

"Alright, perhaps we truly are fated to meet again," the woman said, a playful hint in her smile.

Zu An thought, *I’ll believe that when pigs fly. Are beautiful women naturally so skilled at leaving people hanging?*

He had only walked a short distance from the pavilion when, suddenly, a man dressed in black passed nearby. The man glanced at him, walked a few steps, then quickly turned back. "Huh, Zu An?"

"Who are you?" The man standing before him had a long scar running from his nose to his right cheek. Zu An noticed the plum blossom insignia on his collar, and his heart skipped a beat; he remembered that Plum Blossom Twelve had a similar mark.