Chaptеr 20: Нuanhuan… Whаt Exасtlу Did Yоu Rеmеmber Тоdаy?
Нis heаrt stirred slightly; fоr а momеnt, he аlmоst trulу beliеvеd her wоrds.
Вut nо оnе in this wоrld knеw the fаte оf thаt wooden bird bettеr than hе did.
…Shen Zuihuаn’s mеmоrу was faultу, and she соuldn’t rесall things сleаrly.
Was hе, а mаn оf sоund mind, reаlly going to indulgе hеr in suсh fооlishness in the middle оf thе night?
Yеt as Gu Сhangсe lowеrеd his gаzе and saw hеr sрarkling eуes, his pаlе, thin liрs mоved slightlу bеfore he finally murmured softlу, “…Alright.”
Shеn Zuihuаn immеdiаtеly brоke into a smilе.
A fаint smile сurled аt the corners of her lips, revealing a pair of adorable little dimples beneath.
She plopped down onto a small rosewood stool nearby, furrowing her brows in deep thought as she slowly said to Gu Changce, “…I remember that after you left, I placed the little wooden bird in a black lacquered wooden box, right here in this room.”
Her delicate, pale fingers tapped lightly and intermittently on the small table beside her.
Shifting her gaze to Gu Changce in front of her, she asked, “My memory is very muddled right now, and you’re more familiar with this place than I am… Do you know where I put that small black lacquered wooden box?”
“……” Gu Changce.
In truth, before Shen Zuihuan lost her memory, she had detested seeing him, and he had always slept in another courtyard.
He wasn’t much more familiar with this place than she was.
Gu Changce silently shook his head.
Shen Zuihuan placed a finger to her lips, pondered for a moment, then turned her gaze to the flower-and-bird patterned screen in the dimly lit corner. Clapping her hands, she said to Gu Changce, “Go check behind there first to see if it’s there.”
Upon hearing this, he obediently strode behind the screen. A moment later,
Gu Changce emerged from behind it and shook his head at Shen Zuihuan.
He had known all along that nothing would be found.
Yet seeing the disappointment in Shen Zuihuan’s eyes still left a faint ache in his heart.
The girl was stubborn and refused to give up.
Since it wasn’t behind the screen, she dragged him around again, rummaging through the wardrobe, the drawers of the table, and even taking down every item displayed on the multi-tiered shelves to inspect them one by one.
But still, the black lacquered wooden box was nowhere to be found.
Half an hour later, the two of them had made such a clatter that they practically turned the room upside down, even nearly lifting the Palace Lantern shade, yet they found nothing.
Just as Shen Zuihuan was about to take down the dozen or so items she had just placed back on the multi-tiered shelves to inspect them again,
Gu Changce promptly grasped her slender, pale wrist.
He gritted his teeth, truly hating himself for having given in to temptation earlier and indulging the memory-lost Shen Zuihuan in such foolishness.
She had lost her memory, but he hadn’t.
Didn’t he know in his heart whether they would find it or not?
Both of them were thoroughly exhausted by now, beads of sweat glistening on their foreheads.
Shen Zuihuan lifted her flushed, tired little face to look at him.
Gu Changce steeled himself and said coldly to her, “If we can’t find it, then we can’t find it. It’s not something important anyway.”
But upon hearing this, Shen Zuihuan’s eyes flickered, and she suddenly lowered her head.
Somewhat dejectedly, she said to him, “…It is important.”
Gu Changce was taken aback.
Suddenly, he saw the woman before him, as if remembering something,
instantly dart away from him and run to the bed, calling out in a sweet voice, “Gu Changce! Gu Changce! Under the bed!”
She pointed under the bed as she spoke to him.
“We haven’t checked under the bed yet, right? Go take a look quickly. Maybe it’s under the bed.”She covered her face with both hands, feeling a bit stifled and embarrassed as she said, “…I almost forgot, since I was little, I’ve always liked hiding things under the bed.”
“…” Gu Changce.
He kept telling himself not to indulge her antics any further.
But then he thought again—since they had already searched the entire room, what harm was there in checking under the bed?
…After all, if they couldn’t find it, Shen Zuihuan would give up on her own.
He wasn’t sure whether this reasoning was meant to convince Shen Zuihuan or to reassure his own lingering hopes.
His lips pressed into a tight, straight line.
Guided by Shen Zuihuan’s instructions, he pulled open the redwood-carved square bed frame without much expectation, thinking to himself, …Now that she sees there’s nothing there, she should finally give up.
But then, unexpectedly, he heard Shen Zuihuan let out a joyful exclamation.
He looked up.
There, the delicate-looking woman was running toward him, holding a plain black lacquered wooden box in her arms.
With a smile on her face, she called out to Gu Changce as she ran, “See! I told you it would be under the bed.”
His heart skipped a heavy beat.
…Could Shen Zuihuan really have kept the things he had given her in the past?
His once-calm heart began to race again.
By the time Shen Zuihuan reached his side, Gu Changce quickly coughed to cover his emotions.
Shen Zuihuan tugged at his arm and placed the wooden box on the small table.
Pointing at it proudly, she declared, “That little wooden bird is definitely hidden inside!”
…Could it really be inside?
Gu Changce nervously glanced at the plain black lacquered box, feeling as though his heart were being tugged back and forth—lifted up and then dropped down.
But he showed no sign of it on his face, instead subtly averting his gaze.
In a stiff, indifferent tone, he said, “…Not necessarily.”
Shen Zuihuan, suddenly doused with cold water, felt a flash of irritation.
She reached out and opened the small wooden box to prove him wrong.
As the box opened, Gu Changce’s heart rose with it.
Inside, the box was packed full of items, all seemingly crammed in haphazardly.
There was even a grass ring, woven at some unknown time, now slightly yellowed from age.
When Gu Changce saw the grass ring, his gaze deepened.
But Shen Zuihuan only thought he was mocking her for collecting such worthless things.
She wondered to herself: Could it be that her grown-up self had some strange hoarding habit?
She kept rummaging through the contents of the box.
Finally—
In the corner at the very bottom, she found the pitiful little wooden bird with one broken wing.
When Shen Zuihuan pulled out the small wooden bird with a smile on her face,
Gu Changce nearly lost his footing and collapsed to his knees.
…So she hadn’t thrown it away. She really hadn’t thrown it away.
His eyes grew distant, and he murmured softly, “Why didn’t you throw it away…”
Shen Zuihuan didn’t quite catch his words, and the smile on her lips faded slightly.
She asked again, “What did you say?”
The next moment, Gu Changce suddenly grabbed her wrist.
His dark eyes fixed intently on her, his voice hoarse as he asked, “Huanhuan… what exactly did you remember today?”