Peach Blossom Land On Longyin Island Chapter 12

Swing

After breakfast, An Le went alone to Village Chief An Mu’s house. Village Chief An Mu wasn’t home; a neighbor said he had gone to the village storehouse. An Le then headed to the storehouse, seeing several fully loaded ox carts driving toward him along the way.

When An Le arrived at the storehouse, he saw Village Chief An Mu busy moving lumber out of the storage area. Seeing An Le approach, An Mu waved. “You came at the perfect time. Come give me a hand and move these onto the ox cart.”

“What are you planning to do, Grandpa An?” An Le took the wooden planks from Village Chief An Mu’s hands and asked.

An Mu wiped the sweat from his face and said, “Adding some furniture to your new house.”

“For me?” An Le placed the lumber on the ox cart, then returned to move the remaining wood.

An Mu chuckled. “That’s right. Your cousin’s wedding was postponed before the courtyard was even finished, so we never added new furniture after it was built. It’s a bit empty.”

“Then why don’t we get married a little later?” An Le seized the opportunity to suggest, but he saw An Mu looking at him with a strange smile.

An Le sensed a feeling of successful conspiracy in that look.

“G-Grandpa An… you weren’t doing this on purpose, were you?” An Le stammered.

“Hmm?” An Mu feigned ignorance, helping An Le lift the last piece of lumber onto the ox cart. He sat in the front of the cart, picked up the reins, and chuckled. “Doing what on purpose? Last night, you were the one who personally said you wanted to marry him. Get on. Let’s go.”

“But I didn’t say I wanted to get married so quickly! I’m only seventeen!” An Le shouted in dissatisfaction, plopping down on the other side of the flatbed cart.

An Mu cracked the ox whip, and the yellow ox grunted, pulling the cart slowly out of the courtyard.

“Since you like him, what’s wrong with getting married a little earlier?” An Mu said. “Here, seventeen is already the age to take a wife.”

“Even so, we don’t need to rush, do we? Dating and marriage should have a process. Am I just fast-forwarding straight to marriage? I haven’t even processed it yet.”

“It’s the same if you date after you’re married.”

“How can that be the same,” An Le muttered. “Breaking up while dating is called a breakup. Breaking up after marriage is called a divorce.”

“You’re thinking about divorce before you’re even married?” Village Chief An Mu laughed. “I don’t think An Xiaoyu will divorce you.”

“Sigh—” An Le had a grievance he couldn’t voice, so it turned into a long sigh.

Village Chief An Mu chuckled again. “Once you’re married and have a home, your heart will settle, and you won’t think about leaving anymore.”

An Le sat cross-legged on the ox cart, propping up his chin. “What if he recovers his memory and has to go back?”

“Once you become a Longyin Village person, you must abide by Longyin Village’s rules and can never go back.”

“But what if he insists on leaving? Grandpa An, would you stop him?”

“Of course.” An Mu nodded, speaking in a joking tone. “If he leaves, what will happen to our Le Le? Grandpa An will definitely help you stop him.”

An Le smiled and said, “If he is determined to leave, what’s the use of stopping the person? It’s better to let him go.”

An Mu said, “The first rule of Longyin Village is that no Longyin Village person is allowed to leave the island. I already gave him a chance yesterday; he chose to stay.”

“What happens if someone violates the village rules?” An Le asked.

“Sunk into the sea to feed the fish,” An Mu replied.

Hearing this, An Le turned to look at An Mu. Village Chief An Mu wore his usual kind and benevolent expression. An Le couldn’t discern the truth behind his words. After observing him for a moment, he turned back, remaining silent.

The air was crisp and refreshing in the autumn, and the scent of golden osmanthus drifted on the breeze. An Le smelled the osmanthus all the way until the fragrance became particularly strong, which was when he knew they had arrived at his new residence—there was an extremely thick and lush golden osmanthus tree in front of the new house. An Le guessed the tree was at least a hundred years old.

The bustling activity at the new residence far exceeded An Le’s expectations. The ox carts he had seen earlier were parked under the osmanthus tree, and many people were inside the courtyard, busy moving the items from the carts into the various rooms.

An Le immediately spotted An Xiaoyu, who was noticeably tall and outstanding among the crowd.

“Why are you here?” An Le walked up and asked.

An Xiaoyu was unloading tables and chairs from an ox cart. Hearing the question, he turned and pointed toward the new house. “They are helping us arrange the new house, after all.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” There was no way to just stand by and let others do all the work. An Le immediately started helping An Xiaoyu unload the table.

Village Chief An Mu had said he was going to make some furniture for their new house, but after An Le finished moving the items on the ox cart, he realized they already had enough tables, chairs, and cabinets. He then saw Village Chief An Mu in the courtyard directing a strong man to pound a piece of bamboo into the ground. Confused, he asked, “Grandpa An, what are you doing? The furniture we brought is already enough.”

“I’m building a swing for you two,” Village Chief An Mu replied.

An Le curved his eyes into a smile. “I’m not a child anymore.”

“In Grandpa An’s eyes, you are all children,” An Mu said affectionately.

“Thank you, Grandpa An,” An Le hugged Village Chief An Mu in a spoiled manner. “I love swings.”

An Le genuinely loved swings. In his previous life, he also had a swing at home, made for him by his grandfather. It was very similar to the one Village Chief An Mu was making: a few thick wooden posts forming two triangular supports, with a crossbeam in the middle from which two sturdy ropes hung, connected to a seat with a backrest. However, the swing his grandfather made was smaller, only suitable for children. The one Village Chief An Mu was making was larger and sturdier; it could easily hold two adults. This swing at the new residence reminded him of the small swing at home in his past life. Village Chief An Mu, who personally made the swing for him, also made him connect him with the grandfather who made a swing for him in his past life. His grandfather and Grandpa An were actually not alike. His grandfather was a professor, a learned scholar, but not skilled in carpentry, while Grandpa An was excellent at woodworking. But in some ways, they were indeed similar: kind, warm, and affectionate.

“Grandpa An is very good, isn’t he?” The night wind was cool, and the waning moon hung low. An Le swung happily.

“Mm.” An Xiaoyu pushed the swing from behind, responding with a sound.

“So, if you sincerely ask him, maybe he’ll just give you the map,” An Le said.

“Perhaps before, but it’s too late now,” An Xiaoyu said flatly. “We are getting married tomorrow. If I show any intention of leaving again, it will only make him guard against me.”

Six days had passed, and with the combined efforts of the villagers, the new residence was decorated festively. Red lanterns hung all around the fence, and large red wedding characters were posted everywhere. Tomorrow, they would perform the marriage rites here, get married, and move into this small courtyard.

“I never thought I would actually get married,” An Le said, half-amused and half-joking. “Where I come from, I’m not even old enough to legally marry; I couldn’t even get a marriage certificate.”

“Marriage certificate?” An Xiaoyu asked.

“It’s like a marriage contract,” An Le’s voice fluctuated in the wind. “Do you think they will write a marriage contract for us?”

“They will.”

“How do you know?” An Le touched his toes to the ground, stopping the swing, and turned to ask.

“Sister Moli showed me her marriage contract with Brother An Tong. Village Chief An Mu wrote it,” An Xiaoyu’s tone remained calm.

An Le said, “Oh,” and patted the empty space beside him, asking, “Do you want to sit?”

An Xiaoyu stepped forward and sat down. An Le pushed off the ground with his heels, and the swing started swaying again.

“Does the marriage contract here have legal effect? Will the government outside recognize it?” After saying this, An Le suddenly laughed. “Do you think I’ll have to write you a letter of divorce when you leave?”

An Xiaoyu remained silent. An Le had said it casually and didn’t expect an answer. He was used to the other person’s reticence; it was hard to get a response from An Xiaoyu unless it was a serious matter. So, he continued talking to himself. “Aunt Hui said Brother An Tong was so nervous before his wedding that he couldn’t sleep for a month. Are you nervous? Probably not, since we are fake—”

“Nervous.” An Le had intended to say that since they were fake married, he shouldn’t be nervous—at least he wasn’t nervous at all—but he was surprised to hear An Xiaoyu say the word “nervous.”

Startled, An Le immediately stopped the swing with his feet, turned to look at An Xiaoyu, and asked in surprise, “You’re nervous?”

“Nervous.” An Xiaoyu looked at An Le and repeated the word calmly.

In the darkness, An Xiaoyu’s dark eyes didn’t show much emotion, and his expression was as indifferent as ever, but An Le suddenly felt a strange sensation.

He was nervous. Nervous about what? They weren’t really getting married. What was there to be nervous about? An Le was about to ask this, but An Xiaoyu offered an explanation first.

“It’s my first time getting married,” An Xiaoyu said.

“Mm… that’s true. Even if it’s fake, it’s still the first time.” Hearing this, An Le immediately felt relieved. He kicked the swing, gently swaying it, and continued, “But you don’t need to be too nervous. Just pretend we’re playing house. You know what playing house is, right? Where two people pretend to be husband and wife…”

“I know,” An Xiaoyu interrupted An Le before he finished speaking. “Su Su dragged me into playing it before.”

“Pfft—” An Le burst out laughing. “Su Su dragged you to play house? What role did you play? Father? Brother? It couldn’t have been the husband, could it?”

“Sister-in-law.”

“Oh, it seems Su Su really wants you to be her sister-in-law.” An Le shook his head and sighed with a smile. “What a pity.”

“Pity about what?” An Xiaoyu asked.

“It’s a pity her brother isn’t here anymore, so you can’t be her sister-in-law.” An Le sighed deeply, leaning back on the swing, and murmured, “I wonder if An Le is alive or dead…”

If their souls had swapped, and he had come to An Le’s world and become An Le, while An Le went to his world and became him, would that be better? His parents and relatives wouldn’t have to endure the pain of losing a child. Even if it was a foolish son, wouldn’t it at least be some comfort?

“An Le.” In his daze, An Le heard An Xiaoyu call his name softly.

“What is it?” An Le snapped back to attention and asked.

“That night during the Mid-Autumn Festival, why did you say you were already dead in your world?”

“Ah, that’s hard to explain,” An Le sighed. “Do you know about parallel worlds or time travel?”

An Xiaoyu shook his head blankly. “Never heard of them.”

“Hmm…” An Le wasn’t surprised. After thinking for a while, he said, “Maybe it’s not time travel. Have you ever had a dream?”

“I have.” An Xiaoyu said.

An Le nodded, but then suddenly froze, his brows furrowed. “Could it be a dream? Could this all be a dream? A dream I’m having after I died. A paradise, a mermaid, gentle parents, a lovely sister, an island I can’t leave… Only if it’s a dream can all this be explained. But if this is a dream…”

Why had he never considered that this was a dream? If everything here was fake, and all the beauty here was a dream woven by his subconscious, then what… what should he do?

An Le suddenly felt a surge of panic and didn’t want to think further.

“An Le,” as if sensing An Le’s panic in his eyes, An Xiaoyu grasped An Le’s wrist and said softly, “This is not a dream, and this is not an isolated island.”

Hearing this, An Le slowly raised his head, his gaze dull and confused as he looked at An Xiaoyu. “How do you know? How can you be sure this isn’t a dream? I really died. I clearly remember my heart stopping. I couldn’t possibly misremember that pain—”

“An Le,” An Xiaoyu raised his voice slightly but kept it gentle. He tightened his grip on An Le’s hand, interrupting An Le’s muddled murmuring as if he were trapped in a dream. He looked at An Le seriously and tenderly, his voice light and firm: “I am certain this is not a dream, because I am certain that I am real, and you are real. An Le, this is not an island we cannot leave. We will eventually find the map and leave this place.”

It was like a giant boulder rolling down from a mountaintop, piercing through the stone wall blocking its path with overwhelming force, and continuing to roll forward with devastating momentum, unstoppable.

In an instant, it was like the clouds parting and the sun breaking through the mist. An Le saw through the fog, spotted the lighthouse, and suddenly understood.

His scattered pupils refocused on the young man in front of him. The curve of An Le’s mouth slowly rose into a smile. “An Xiaoyu, you must find the map and leave this place. Only then can I be sure this is real.”

“Good.” An Xiaoyu looked gently at An Le and promised, “I will definitely find the map and take you away from here.”