The Creatures That We Are
Chapter 1237: Wind

Chapter 1237: Wind

Spectres’ Mansion, Xijing District, the next day.

A few more graves with no tombstones were added to the grove in the back of the mansion, for War Tiger, Nine Frost, Mischievous Monkey, Dead Pig, and Harvest Song.

Nine Frost’s grave sat on a slightly elevated ground on the edge, as if he were watching over everyone else.

A woman sat beside the grave, dressed in a solemn black coat with a grey and white checkered scarf. Her hair was cut neatly short, just reaching her chin. While her face was youthful, her eyes were old.

On the ninth day of every month, Chen Ying would bring a bouquet of flowers to Nine Frost and sit with him for an afternoon. Today was no exception. She sat under the winter sun, scattered by the canopies overhead. A one-sided conversation was taking place.

“Yesterday, I visited Xiuyi’s grandmother at the nursing home. She looks good. And she asked about you. I told her that you have been busy with work...”

A gust of wind rustled Chen Ying’s short hair. Suddenly, memories flooded her mind.

After the tragedy at the Starcatching Pavilion, Chen Ying had been on the verge of a breakdown. Worried that she would take her own life, Gao Yang asked Nainai to share a room with her for the night and Nine Frost to keep an eye on her during the day.

Nine Frost wasn’t a man of many words, and he wasn’t good at comforting people. He came up with a crude solution: give Chen Ying a task every day to keep her occupied.

On a warm Sunday in winter, Nine Frost took Chen Ying out on a mission—well, there weren’t that many missions to take her on, so this time, he took her on a personal errand.

Nine Frost visited Xiuyi’s grandmother at the nursing home every month.

Xiuyi’s grandmother was ecstatic when she saw Nine Frost and Chen Ying.

“You’ve finally realized your mistake, Young Han! I told you that work can never be completed. At your age, you should be starting a family!”

The old woman took Chen Ying’s hands enthusiastically. “Young woman, you’ve got a good eye for men. Although Young Han is quiet, he’s a man of integrity and great consideration... It’s thanks to his care that my grandson has gotten better at studying and behaves himself better. He often talks to me about him, calling him Brother Han all the time. It’s also thanks to him that my grandson can go abroad to study...”

The old woman went on and on. Chen Ying managed to put up an act as Nine Frost’s girlfriend.

Then Nine Frost cleaned up the old woman’s room while Chen Ying washed her hair, clipped her nails, and massaged her. They left her happier than when they visited.

In the evening, Nine Frost and Chen Ying departed from the nursing home and took a bus back. Sitting in the back of the bus, they had remained silent for several stops.

“Thank you,” Nine Frost finally said.

Chen Ying gave him a questioning glance. “Is this not a mission?”

“It’s a personal matter.”

Chen Ying didn’t say anything to that.

“Every time I visited Xiuyi’s grandmother, I never knew what to say. I always said the same things and left in half an hour.” Nine Frost looked grateful. “Because of you, she’s happy today.”

Chen Ying shook her head. “I didn’t do anything. I just had a small talk with her.”

“Maybe that’s the point,” Nine Frost said, reflecting on himself. “I’m too rigid and think that every word out of one’s mouth should have a point. I’m not good at having small talk.”

“That’s a good thing,” Chen Ying said.

“It can be a bad thing sometimes,” Nine Frost responded.

Chen Ying thought for a while. “I can give you some tips.”

“Go on.”

“Old people are similar to kids. Just chat with them like they were children.”

Nine Frost looked at her silently.

Chen Ying said with realization, “Have you never spent time with children?”

Nine Frost nodded.

Chen Ying lowered her eyes, her chest tightening. “Old people and children crave company. Do you know why?”

Nine Frost shook his head.

“To them, the world is a large, strange place. A kid only sees the few people they know in their world, and an old person only sees the few people who remember them in their world.”

Nine Frost looked bemused.

“That’s not the case for young people. We always mistakenly believe that countless possibilities lie in our future, that we can form connections with anyone and anything, and that the world is ours. So young people don’t know how to treasure what we have, and neither are we good at companionship.”

Nine Frost’s face darkened, his fingers twitching.

A few seconds later, he said with difficulty, “Until we experienced loss.”

“Yes, until we lost them.” Chen Ying’s tears burst out all of a sudden, trailing down her face in plain sight.

Nine Frost quietly kept her company.

The bus shook slightly as it moved, taking the two of them on a safari trip through the concrete jungle cast in the evening’s gentle light. Night was descending. Countless lights were ignited one by one.

A cold gust swept into the bus, tousling Chen Ying’s hair and disturbing Nine Frost’s calm gaze. He found his eyes drawn to a well-lit house outside the window. Warmth bloomed in his chest, and his brain conjured a daydream:

Chen Ying, Little Tian, Xiuyi, and Xiuyi’s grandmother were sitting around the dining table, having a meal. As the head of the family, Chen Ying poured Little Tian a drink, filled Xiuyi’s bowl with rice, and put food on the old woman’s plate. They laughed and talked, the atmosphere warm. The steaming dishes seemed to embody the true essence of life.

Nine Frost stood outside the window, heart filled with anxiety and anticipation.

Chen Ying looked up and found him outside. “Oh, here you are. Have you eaten? Why don’t you join us?”

“Okay.” Nine Frost walked in and joined the four at the table, the loneliness in his heart melting under the warm light.

Screech. The bus made an audible halt. It reached a stop.

Nine Frost broke out of his daydream and followed Chen Ying out. They headed toward the base. Suddenly, Nine Frost stopped walking.

Chen Ying took another two steps before looking over her shoulder. “Is there another mission?”

“No.” Under Nine Frost’s carefully blank face, he was mustering all the courage he could manage at that moment. “I’m hungry. Why don’t we grab dinner together?”

Chen Ying nodded after a moment. She was hungry, too.

After they started their relationship, Nine Frost often talked to Chen Ying about that decisive moment.

“To you, it was only a normal evening, and the man beside you was merely a teammate watching over you to stop you from doing something reckless.”

“To me, though, it was the first time I made a decision purely instinctively rather than rationally. I just wanted to have dinner with you.”

“Maybe I hadn’t fallen in love with you then, and I didn’t have the presence of mind to consider it. But at that moment, the possibility of me falling for you and wanting to spend my life with you sprouted.”

“Sometimes I wonder if the wind isn’t a natural gust, but my future self hiding in fate and time and space, bringing me a miracle.”

“You’re being so poetic.” Chen Ying laughed and rested her head on his chest.

“That’s your response?” Nine Frost pursed his lips. “I’m being serious here.”

“Isn’t that what you love about me?” Chen Ying teased.

Nine Frost smiled resignedly, adoration clear on his face. “I can’t deny it.”

“I do have a better response, though.”

Nine Frost stared at her with heated eyes. “Tell me.”

Her finger glided along his brows. “From now on, I’ll think about you whenever there is wind. It must be your future self missing me.”

“Must be.” Nine Frost brushed the stray strands from her face and kissed her.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.