Weirdly, the day Lu Tián Qǔ heard Wáng Fēng Hǔ died she felt off that whole day. For some odd reason, she even went to pay her final respects even though they were strangers to each other.
Sadly that fact the Lu TiánQǔ when to pay her final respects to Wáng Fēng Hǔ had seemed more newsworthy then Wáng Fēng Hǔ's death. It had received more coverage in the news then Wáng Fēng Hǔ's death. It had saddened Lu Tián Qǔ even more that Wáng Fēng Hǔ's death was on the front of newspapers in many different countries not because he died. But because Lu Tián Qǔ went to pay her last respects to him.
Wáng Fēng Hǔ had died in a car accident. He was speeding in a ridiculously expensive sports car. He had swerved to avoid hitting an old lady, lost control of his car, and slammed into a tree. It was reported he had three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system at the time of his death. He died on impact. He was driving so fast the impact of his car broken the tree. The tree he crashed into was a great big tree. It shouldn't have broke.
Wang Fèn Yǒng sat across from Liu Tián Qǔ, waiting for her reaction. Liu Tián Qǔ now knew who he was from his first life. However, never in a million years did he expect the reaction that Liu Tián Qǔ had after finding out who he was.
Liu Tián Qǔ looked at the young man that sat across from her. She really hoped that this life would treat him better. As she sat there thinking, it became very obvious to her that something went seriously wrong with Wang Fèn Yǒng in his first life.
Wang Fèn Yǒng was an extraordinarily brilliant and promising young man in his first life, but he deliberately and systematically destroyed it all. His second life was so bad that even now, he still hadn't gotten over whatever he experienced in his second life. Liu Tián Qǔ felt a deep sadness for Wang Fèn Yǒng whelm up in her heart.
In a soft voice, Liu Tián Qǔ asked, "Are you okay now? Are things better now?"
Although Wang Fèn Yǒng easily controlled his expression outwardly, inwardly deep shock, and astonishment ripped through him. He expected ridicule, curiosity, questions, disdain, contempt, scorn, and even mockery or laughter. Never did he expect the deep concern he saw on Liu Tián Qǔ's face or heard in her voice. It moved his heart. For the first time in a very long time, his heart moved.
"I'm not okay, but I'm getting better." Wang Fèn Yǒng decided to be truthful to this strange new friend that always did and said the unexpected.
"Then that is all that matters. Those times are of the past. Let's let them remain in the past. I love your new family. They're treating you well, right?" Liu Tián Qǔ couldn't help but feel a bit protective and try to find out if Wang Fèn Yǒng was treated well at home.
Wang Fèn Yǒng's heart felt warm at the undisguised concern and protectiveness on Liu Tián Qǔ face, "Yes, they treat me very well. The lives that I have lived have turned me into a twisted person. However, they love me and accept me as I am. Their love for me is not pretentious. Even my uncle, who is emperor, give me whatever I want and love me as I am." Wang Fèn Yǒng reassured his young friend.
"Did you reincarnated into the body of Wang Fèn Yǒng as well?" Liu Tián Qǔ asked in curiosity.
"No, I was born as an infant to my mother of this life Wǔ Gāng Huā." Wang Fèn Yǒng said.
"I reincarnated into this body a little over a month ago." Liu Tián Qǔ shared with Wang Fèn Yǒng.
"How did you die? If you don't mind me asking." Wang Fèn Yǒng asked.
"I don't know when I woke up I was already in this body." With a slight hesitation, Liu Tián Qu said, "There is also something else I wanted to tell you. I am really a female. However, I will be gender-bending as a man for a long while."
"I know," Wang Fèn Yǒng answer with a faint smile.
"You know? You Knew?! How? When? What gave me away?" Liu Tián Qǔ exclaimed in deep shock.
Wang Fèn Yǒng faint smile turned into a tiny little smirk, "I lived a whole life as a womanizer, there was no way I could not have known."
"But...But when, when did you know for sure?" Liu Tián Qǔ stuttered in shock.
"I suspected all along, I knew for sure as the way you look at me begin to change." Wang Fèn Yǒng said with a warm look in his eyes.
"The ... the way I look at you? How.. how do I look at you?" Liu Tián Qǔ didn't know why she was getting nervous, but she was.
"You love me." Wang Fèn Yǒng said in a soft firm voice as he stared at Liu Tián Qǔ with gentle eyes.
Liu Tián Qǔ's heart skipped a beat. However, since Liu Tián Qǔ had already accepted her feelings, she decided not to be ashamed of how she felt. She nodded in confirmation and said," I do, I do love you. I don't know how and I don't know why. But I love you."
"I accept," Wang Fèn Yǒng said as a slow, beautiful smile bloomed on his face transforming his face and sending Liu Tián Qǔ's heart racing.
"I accept, however, I won't be chasing you anytime soon. Although people that are thirteen years old get married in this era. Chasing a thirteen-year-old just don't seem right to me." Wang Fèn Yǒng said.
After several heartbeats, Wang Fèn Yǒng quietly said, "Right now I am not in a good place. However, I think I will forever regret it if I let you go. I don't know if what I feel for you right now could be called love. So, for now, let's be friends and progress from there. Okay?" Wang Fèn Yǒng proposed.
Wang Fèn Yǒng never expected Liu Tián Qǔ to look down at her chest and blurt out mournfully, "They won't grow for a long time." Liu Tián Qǔ looked as if she was about to cry.
Wang Fèn Yǒng looked at the unpredictable Liu Tián Qǔ and didn't whether to laugh or cry. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Finally, he asked, "What do you mean?"
Liu Tián Qǔ quickly explained the Black Blossoms Dual Potions, its functions and drawbacks, and how it would benefit her to use it.
"I already know that I am broken. I'm not ready, and neither are you. Don't rush. Take your time. Do whatever it is you want to do. I have much healing to do, although now I am getting better. I am even able to touch you without wanting to kill you. You're the first person I felt that way with, outside of my family. The first time when you touched me, and I almost killed you. It's was more out of surprise and instinct than anything else. It was not because I felt the need to kill you." Wang Fèn Yǒng confessed.
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"It's from your second life, right?" Liu Tián Qǔ asked.
Wang Fèn Yǒng silently nodded.
In a very soft, almost shy voice, Liu Tián Qǔ asked, "Can...can I touch you?"
Wang Fèn Yǒng silently lifted an arm that was resting in his lap under the table. He extended it across the table towards Liu Tián Qǔ. Resting his arm on the table, Wang Fèn Yǒng held out his hand to her.
Liu Tián Qǔ heart was racing a mile a minute as she slowly slipped her hand into Wang Fèn Yǒng's hand. Wang Fèn Yǒng gently gripped her hand, holding her hand in his. Liu Tián Qǔ returned his grip. Their eyes met across the table, and for several heartbeats, they smiled at each other as they held hands.
With a soft smile on his face, Wang Fèn Yǒng asked, "You said I reminded you of someone. Who do I remind you of?"
Looking at the gentle, beautiful smile on Wang Fèn Yǒng's face. Liu Tián Qǔ's fluttering heart felt like it was going to fly away. "The you now reminded me of one of my best friends." Liu Tián Qǔ then began to tell Wang Fèn Yǒng of her American friend Nickolas. She also told him of how Nickolas would react violently when people touched him without his permission.
"One time, I asked Nickolas's wife how Nickolas became that way. His wife, Sarah, told me he wasn't always that way. However, he was sent on a long mission in Iraq during the war, and when he came back, he was never the same." Liu Tián Qǔ imparted to Wang Fèn Yǒng.
Wang Fèn Yǒng listen attentively as Liu Tián Qǔ told him about her best friend.
"That's when I knew that something terrible must have happened to him there. It took a while, but he slowly started to get better little by little. I had visited them a little before I reincarnated. I had to go to American for business. He greeted me at the airport with a hug. I felt so happy because I knew then that he was healing and getting better. I wonder how they are doing." Liu Tián Qǔ sighed softly with a hint of sadness.
"How about Jǐng Jiè? Who does he remind you of?" Wang Fèn Yǒng asked. He had no one he missed in any of his lives. So it interested him to hear Liu Tián Qǔ speak on people from her past life who she missed.
"Little Dumpling?" Liu Tián Qǔ asked with a grin. "Little Dumpling reminds so much of my nephew Little Taro." Liu Tián Qǔ began to tell Wang Fèn Yǒng all about her adorable nephew. She laughed as she told him memorable, funny stories about her nephew.
"How old were you when you reincarnated?" Wang Fèn Yǒng asked in curiosity.
"I was thirty-six years old," Liu Tián Qǔ blushed slightly.
"You were absolutely beautiful. How is it you never married?" Wang Fèn Yǒng wondered aloud.
"I only dated one man. I had a very horrible experience with love. It broke my heart so badly I decided to steer clear of all relationships and men. I decided never to get married. Any man that showed even the slightest interest in me, I either ran away or chased them away. My nephew was the child I never had. I was determined to never feel like that again." Liu Tián Qǔ told Wang Fèn Yǒng.
Liu Tián Qǔ looked deep into Wang Fèn Yǒng eyes and asked, "Please don't hurt me? I didn't have a choice but to love you. You just stole my heart. Later if you feel you can't love me or don't want to be with me, please let me know. Don't hurt me, okay?"
Wang Fèn Yong gently squeezed her hand, "That is something you never have to worry about. I promise I won't hurt you." he promised.
"I felt what that feels like in my first life. I know what it feels like to have your heart shredded by someone you loved and trusted. I would never do that someone else. I promise I would never do that to you."
Wang Fèn Yong then began to explain some of his past actions in his previous life, "In my first life I was not exactly a good example of a human being. Virtue? Morals? I threw everything away. However, every woman I had been with, I made sure to tell them commitment from me was not an option. All the women I had a relationship or a one night stand with. They all knew the score. Most of them were using me anyway, if not for money then for my family's connections. I didn't care. I was using them as well to satisfy my needs. However, if there is one thing I know for certain is that I fathered no children. The women that claimed I did were lying. In that life, when I was young, I had an extraordinary high fever that by right should have killed me. That fever rendered me sterile. I was unable to father children," Wang Fèn Yǒng said with a sardonic look on his face.
That confirmed what Liu Tián Qǔ suspected all along. Something went horribly wrong in Wang Fèn Yǒng's first life. However, she decided not to pick at his old wounds. If Wang Fèn Yǒng wished to share anything, she would listen. However, she decided not to ask him any questions.
"Thank you. I promise to protect you, heart. I vow never to abuse your trust or hurt you." A sincere Liu Tián Qǔ said.
Wang Fèn Yǒng smiled and finally released Liu Tián Qǔ's hand to refreshen the tea in their cups.
"Did you inherit the memories of the original body owner?" Wang Fèn Yǒng suddenly asked as he poured tea.
"I did," Liu Tián Qǔ said. "However, they are not much help at all. My predecessor spent the majority of her life in confinement. There are major gaps in her knowledge and education. She was raised by an illiterate momo and didn't even know how to read. She was scared to go out, so she obediently stayed confined in her courtyard. Her life was mostly spent gardening and sneaking around the Lu compound dressed as a maid." Liu Tián Qǔ decided not to share the fact that her predecessor died only after being reincarnated to the age of thirteen. She felt it would probably bring more harm than good. Plus, the fate of the Tolling Land changed. Many things would now be different. So, for now, she decided to keep that information to herself.
Slyly changing the subject, Liu Tián Qǔ said, "Hey! You never did tell me how you figured out I was not from this era?"
"Although I suspected, I didn't know for sure until you answered me when I spoke to you in English." Wang Fèn Yǒng said with a faint smirk on his face.
"You cheat!" Liu Tián Qǔ pointed at him and accused him. By now, Liu Tián Qǔ and Wang Fèn Yǒng had already grown very comfortable with each other. Liu Tián Qǔ unconsciously began treating Wang Fèn Yǒng as she would a close friend from the 21st century and Wang Fèn Yǒng allowed it with a small smile on his face.
"Let me tell you why I suspected you. Number one is, there is this knowing and understanding in your eyes and a certain indescribable aura about you that just don't belong on a thirteen-year-old child.
Liu Tián Qǔ sulkily said with a pout as she crossed her arms across her chest and puffed out her cheeks, "That is not telling me anything.
"Number two is you just don't act like people of this era." Liu Tián Qǔ gave Wang Fèn Yǒng a baleful look but said nothing, so he continued.
"Number three is Lao Tzu," Wang Fèn Yǒng informed Liu Tián Qǔ. He was referring to the words of wisdom he overheard her telling Little Dumpling.
"Okay, I will own that one. What else?" Liu Tián Qǔ asked.
"The Horse Stance. That is a Kung fu form, isn't it?" Wang Fèn Yǒng asked.
"The horse stance it is practiced in most Asian martial arts." Liu Tián Qǔ refuted with a frown.
"Here, the martial arts practiced is different. The martial arts are predominately more of a variation of the ancient Korean Gwonbeo and ancient Japanese Kenjutsu with thousands of different variations and technics thrown in. There are also many hidden forms of martial arts, especially in the martial world. I've spent my life on the battlefield and amongst warriors, never had I seen any forms or stance of kungfu. The moment I saw the horse stance, my suspicions only deepened." Wang Fèn Yǒng informed her.
"I will definitely be practicing Qi Gong, Shaolin Kung fu, and many other martial arts disciplines that I picked up in my previous life. That means I will have to be more sneaky." Liu Tián Qǔ said with a contemplating look on her face.
Liu Tián Qǔ and Wang Fèn Yǒng talked past dawn all the way until the sun came up. It's been so long since Wang Fèn Yǒng felt comfortable with anyone to speak more than a couple of words. He really enjoyed talking with Liu Tián Qǔ.
Liu Tián Qǔ wanted time to stop so she could continue enjoying Wang Fèn Yǒng company. She didn't want him to go back to the cold face, expressionless unapproachable young man. She loved his smiles, those faint smirks, and the many expression he allowed her to see on his face. Those were the best gifts he could have given her.
All through the early hours of the morning, her heart pounded, raced, skip beats, and froze. It sped up, and it slowed down, and she enjoyed every moment of it. They talked about anything and everything. The past, the present, the future. It was only when the sun came up did they reluctantly part ways.
Wang Fèn Yǒng had to hurry home. The Lord, Lady, and Heir of Wang Royal Manor had to enter the Imperial Palace.