I Ate All of the Tai Sui’s Clones — Chapter 4
Edward Quan ·
“Three thousand years?!”
“Your spiritual energy will need three thousand years to fully merge with my fungal threads.”
“And what happens after three thousand years?”
He fell silent.
“Will you leave after three thousand years?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
“Will you?”
“No.”
“No what?”
“I won’t leave.”
He looked at me. A feeling I had never seen before appeared in his pale-gray eyes.
“After three thousand years, the fungal threads in your body will have completely merged with my true form.”
“And then?”
“Then you’ll be me, and I’ll be you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means… we won’t be able to separate anymore.”
His voice was very soft when he said it.
As if he were telling me something incredibly important.
And yet, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
I looked into his eyes, and suddenly my heart skipped a beat.
“Are you confessing your feelings to me?” I asked.
He stared at me, startled.
“What does ‘confess your feelings’ mean?”
“...You don’t know what that means?”
“I don’t.”
I took a deep breath.
“Tai Sui, how long have you been alive?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Have you ever loved anyone?”
“What is love?”
Looking at his earnest expression, I suddenly felt as though I were picking on someone who was genuinely honest.
“Never mind,” I said. “Forget I asked.”
“Mm.”
He turned to leave.
At the doorway, he paused.
“Xuan Ya.”
“What?”
“I won’t leave.”
“You already said that.”
“Mm.”
He went.
I stood rooted in place, my heart beating fast for no reason I could understand.
The Kitchen God poked his head out from behind the stove.
“Does he like you?”
“Shut up!”
“I’m serious. The way he looks at you—”
“I said shut up!”
The Kitchen God quickly ducked back out of sight.
But I reached up and touched my face.
It was burning.
6
Half a month passed.
Tai Sui still came every day.
But a few things had changed.
He started bringing me gifts.
On the first day, he brought me a lingzhi mushroom.
“It replenishes your energy,” he said.
On the second day, a handful of truffles.
“They taste good,” he said.
On the third day, a bunch of snow-white mushrooms.
“They’re pretty,” he said.
I asked him, “Where do you get all these?”
“They grow.”
“Where do they grow?”
“On me.”
I looked at the mushrooms in my hands, at a loss for words.
“You don’t have to pluck things off yourself every time you want to give me something to eat,” I said.
“Why not?”
“Because… it must hurt, right?”
He thought for a moment.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“You’re lying.”
He fell silent.
“A little,” he admitted.
“Then why do you keep doing it?”
“Because you want to eat.”
I looked into his eyes. Suddenly, I felt a prickling in my nose.
“Tai Sui,” I said, “you have a very strange way of treating someone well.”
“What’s strange about it?”
“When people are nice to someone, they give them flowers or gifts, or say something sweet. But you pluck things off your own body and give them to me to eat.”
“I don’t have any flowers.”
“Then grow some! Aren’t you Tai Sui?”
“I did.”
He paused.
“They didn’t grow.”
“Why not?”
“Because… your room doesn’t get any sunlight.”
I stared at him.
“You… planted flowers in my room?”
“Mm.”
“How long have you been doing that?”
“Every day.”
“You plant them every day?”
“Every day. But they don’t grow.”
He lowered his head, his voice barely audible.
“Your room is too dark.”
I looked at him.
He stood there in his gray-white robe, with his long hair loose and those pale-gray eyes.
Like a mushroom growing in a dark corner, quiet and withdrawn, never asking for anything.
And yet every day, he planted flowers in my room.
Even when they didn’t grow.
Every day.
“Tai Sui,” I called.
“Mm.”
“You don’t need to plant flowers anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” I took a deep breath. “Now that you’re here, my room won’t be dark anymore.”
He lifted his head and looked at me.
His pale-gray eyes brightened a little.
Only for an instant.
But I saw it.
“Really?” he asked.
“Really.”
He was quiet for a long time.
Then he said, “Then I’ll come every day.”
Three thousand years was a very long time.
But somehow, I wasn’t afraid anymore.
Because someone would come to see me every day.
He would bring me lingzhi, truffles, and white mushrooms.
He would plant flowers in my room.
He would stand outside my door and watch me sleep.
He would tell me, “I won’t leave.”
That was enough.
Oh, right.
One day, I asked Tai Sui:
“When you said I was your vessel, were you lying to me?”
He was quiet for a moment.
“Yes.”
“Then why did you follow me?”
“Because… you ate my clones.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“Because you were very serious when you ate.”
“...”
“When you eat, your eyes narrow a little. Your lips curl as you chew. And when you finish, you lick your fingers.”
“You were watching me that closely?”
“Because you look beautiful when you eat.”
My face burned again.
“So you didn’t follow me because I was your vessel?”
“No.”
“Then why did you follow me?”
He looked at me, his pale-gray eyes utterly serious.
“Because you want to eat.”
“...”
He looked at me, his pale-gray eyes utterly serious.
“Because you want to eat.”
“...”
“If you want to eat, I’ll give you food.”
“What if I want to eat for the rest of my life?”
“Then I’ll feed you for the rest of your life.”
I looked at him and suddenly laughed.
“Three thousand years is a long time.”
“Mm.”
“But I guess it isn’t that long after all.”
He tilted his head, confused. He clearly had no idea what I meant.
I rose onto my toes and gently kissed his cheek.
His face went completely pale—not that it wasn’t already pale.
But the tips of his ears turned red.
So red he couldn’t hide it.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Kissing you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re handsome.”
He was stunned for a moment.
Then he lowered his head, the tips of his ears turning even redder.
“Mm,” he said.
Just one syllable.
But I could tell.
He was smiling.
【THE END】
【AUTHOR’S NOTE】
This is a story about a gluttonous girl and a cool, aloof flower.
The heroine spent three years eating the hero’s clones.
The hero spent three thousand years giving himself to her in return.
Tai Sui doesn’t know how to say sweet things.
He only knows how to plant flowers, pluck off his own tendrils, and stand outside her door watching her sleep.
But that’s enough.
Because when you truly love someone,
words aren’t the only thing that matters.
The following is the next part; I’ll keep the historical style and won’t split the sentences or change the dialogue to quotation marks:
He looked at me, his pale-gray eyes utterly serious.
“Because you want to eat.”
“...”
“If you want to eat, I’ll give you food.”
“What if I want to eat for the rest of my life?”
“Then I’ll feed you for the rest of your life.”
I looked at him and suddenly laughed.
“Three thousand years is a long time.”
“Mm.”
“But I guess it isn’t that long after all.”
He tilted his head, confused. He clearly had no idea what I meant.
I rose onto my toes and gently kissed his cheek.
His face went completely pale—not that it wasn’t already pale.
But the tips of his ears turned red.
So red he couldn’t hide it.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Kissing you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re handsome.”
He was stunned for a moment.
Then he lowered his head, the tips of his ears turning even redder.
“Mm,” he said.
Just one syllable.
But I could tell.
He was smiling.
【THE END】
【AUTHOR’S NOTE】
This is a story about a gluttonous girl and a cool, aloof flower.
The heroine spent three years eating the hero’s clones.
The hero spent three thousand years giving himself to her in return.
Tai Sui doesn’t know how to say sweet things.
He only knows how to plant flowers, pluck off his own tendrils, and stand outside her door watching her sleep.
But that’s enough.
Because when you truly love someone,
words aren’t the only thing that matters.
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