Transmigrated as the Villain and Driven Crazy by the Vengeful Male Lead - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: New Year’s Eve — He wants to spend day after day, year after year with him…

In the blink of an eye, New Year’s Eve arrived.

The He residence did not have many servants, mostly teenagers around thirteen or fourteen. On this day, Tao Xuanxuan gave them all leave, letting them go home for family reunions.

In the back kitchen of the north wing, only Lv Shuyao and Tao Xuanxuan were left busy at work. Su Cheyue and He Zixu sat under the corridor, each in a wheelchair, gazing at the eaves in the distance.

The mountains of Pingluan Town stood tall against the azure sky; the boundary between the peak and the heavens was as clear as if it had been washed. From the manor, one could see the snow covering the verdant ridges, sheltered beneath the crystal-blue dome of the sky—clear and dazzling.

He Zixu asked, “Does the Second Young Master feel any better?”

Su Cheyue was staring intently at a certain spot. Hearing this, he turned to him: “Thanks to the Young Master’s concern, much better. How about you?”

“Call me Zixu,” He Zixu smiled calmly. “As for me, everything is as usual.”

“Don’t look down on those four words. To me, they are already a massive blessing.”

Su Cheyue didn’t know how to comfort him, only saying, “Man can triumph over heaven. Neither you nor Miss Cong should be too pessimistic.”

“I never considered myself pessimistic.” He Zixu glanced toward the half-open window of the kitchen, only then realizing that was the angle Su Cheyue had been staring at. “And as for Zhouzhou, it goes without saying.”

Su Cheyue said, “You two… have lived together for a long time, haven’t you?”

“I’ve lost track. Perhaps ten years,” He Zixu replied. “In any case, it’s longer than you and Master Lv.”

Su Cheyue said, “She has never thought of leaving you.”

He Zixu paused, his smile carrying a hint of self-mockery. “It would be more accurate to say she has never thought of leaving this body of injuries.”

Su Cheyue looked puzzled. He Zixu continued: “Second Young Master, I’ll say it again: how lucky you are to meet someone like Master Lv. Perhaps in my entire life, I will never again see someone smile at me with such composure and breadth. He believes you will get better; he believes in your person, your heart, your everything—as easily as he believes he himself will live to a hundred.”

“He is your noble benefactor who fell from the sky.”

“…Noble benefactor.” Su Cheyue chewed on the words. “Rare things are noble; one in a hundred is called noble.”

He didn’t want Lv Shuyao to be “one in a hundred.”

He wanted to be with him day after day, year after year.

Su Cheyue suddenly asked, “Can a body full of injuries keep him?”

He Zixu looked at him with considerable surprise, watching as Su Cheyue’s gaze fell back onto that vivid purple figure beneath the window. He Zixu lowered his eyes and chuckled softly: “Guests are rare in my manor; I am quite pleased. Last night I was talkative and told Master Lv a story. Today, let me tell one to the Second Young Master as well.”

Su Cheyue said, “I am all ears.”

“I was born frail. At age six, my family sent me to the Tao Medical Sect, and I stayed with the Tao family to nurse my health.”

He was clever enough to know that the reason Lv and Su had come was because they recognized Cong Shang as the daughter of the Tao family, so he spoke openly without concealment. “The first time I saw Zhouzhou, she was wearing a willow-green dress, sitting in a small corner of their medical hall, using ginseng roots as counting rods, playing by herself in a trance.”

“Counting rods?”

He Zixu said, “Surprising, isn’t it? She was born into a family of medical cultivators; her father was a renowned healer-immortal. She was the center of attention from birth, everyone assuming she would follow in her father’s footsteps. After all, the spiritual world cannot do without the Tao family, and the Tao family cannot do without her, Tao Xuanxuan.”

“Her path and ideals were seemingly decided at the moment of birth. No one ever asked her what she liked, because no one thought she wouldn’t practice medicine—just as no one thinks the sun might one day hide and refuse to rise.”

“On her tenth birthday, I gave her a Tangram set. She was very happy. She said her home was always bustling with people, and the gifts from cultivators were piled high like mountains, but this was the most satisfying gift she had ever received.”

“Later, her counting rods, Tangrams, and Huarong Path puzzles were all discovered by her father. They had a massive argument. Zhouzhou, with her doll-like face cold, asked her father: why must she walk the path they expected? She didn’t like medicine; she preferred the art of commerce. She insisted on…”

“Her father interrupted her: ‘Because your surname is Tao. You are the child of Tao Zhongran.'”

“‘Tao Xuanxuan, do you think you are unique? That your fate is not determined by heaven? Who ever asked me what I wanted back then? Facing those bloody wounds, I vomited until my stomach cramped. So what? Your grandfather still didn’t let me go. Your grandfather said the world praises healers as divine, but they don’t know that the higher our skills, the more life and death we witness, the more numb and cold our hearts become. Is that true? Yes, it is. After all, for the Tao clan, a healer’s heart is about saving the world and striving for everyone’s longevity. For this ethereal, unattainable wish, even the feelings of one’s own flesh and blood can be disregarded.'”

“‘Tao Xuanxuan, you have been cold-natured since childhood; you were born for the fate of a healer.'”

“Zhouzhou still said, ‘I don’t want to.’ She was stubborn; no matter how her father beat or punished her, she wouldn’t budge. If forced to read medical books, she would burn them all in one go; if locked in the medicine hut to fast and reflect, she would eat the medicinal ingredients as meals.”

Su Cheyue recalled the Tao Xuanxuan of today. One could say she was doing what she liked, yet she carried a needle pouch and medicine everywhere, knowing his and He Zixu’s conditions perfectly. One could say she followed the medical path, yet she rebelliously hid away so no one could find her, refusing to help anyone regardless of their pleas.

“How did she eventually compromise?”

He Zixu grew tired from talking. His face was pale, and he said with lowered eyes, “That is another story.”

…

Lv Shuyao sprinkled salt into the soup. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Su Cheyue sitting under the corridor looking in his direction, and his hand shook nervously.

He instinctively looked back, only to find Tao Xuanxuan standing behind him organizing the bowls and chopsticks.

…Is he looking at Tao Xuanxuan?

Hmph. Men really are visual creatures; they can’t look away once they see a woman they like.

That gaze was so hot it was affecting his cooking speed.

Lv Shuyao grumbled, ladled the soup, and shouted toward the window: “Dinner is served! Sating your eyes isn’t as good as sating your stomach!”

Behind him, Tao Xuanxuan was startled: “…Madman.”

Call me a madman now, but once you two get together, you’d better thank me! I’m sitting at the head table!

Tao Xuanxuan walked over and said, “Who upset you? Why so unhappy?”

“Am I? I think I’m very happy!”

Fantasizing about the male and female lead is great!

Lv Shuyao carried the soup into the hall. He purposely didn’t look at Su Cheyue as he passed the corridor. He Zixu smiled: “Second Young Master, shall we?”

Su Cheyue waited for a while. Seeing that the person had no intention of coming over to push him, the light in his eyes dimmed. “What I said just now, Young Master He needn’t take to heart. I meant all of it.”

Then, without another word, he pushed his own wheelchair over.

The four of them sat around the hall. Although it was New Year’s Eve, He Zixu couldn’t eat rich foods, and Su Cheyue was still recovering, so the meal was relatively simple. Lv Shuyao served the soup to Su Cheyue with a stiff face. He watched as Su Cheyue took a sip and frowned slightly: “A bit salty.”

It’s salty because of you.

Tao Xuanxuan said, “Salty?” She also took a sip and looked at Lv Shuyao with disgust. “This is your skill?”

She stood up. “I’ll redo it.”

But Su Cheyue followed up: “No need. I like salty food.”

Doesn’t he like sweet things? To save the female lead the trouble, he’s willing to lie through his teeth??

Lv Shuyao huffed, “I’ll do it, fine.”

He was destined to be a workhorse.

Su Cheyue looked even more displeased: “I said, no need.”

What did he have to be unhappy about?

He Zixu stepped in to smooth things over: “Enough, it’s New Year’s Eve; the focus isn’t on the meal.” His eyes, usually dull from pain, showed clear amusement. “The fireworks at night are the main event.”

“The manor has many medicinal herbs; we cannot have open flames,” Tao Xuanxuan immediately refused.

“Then…” He Zixu wouldn’t let it go. “How about going to the town? It must be very lively, especially under the Bottle-Tear Tree…”

Lv Shuyao asked, “What is the Bottle-Tear Tree?”

“The most famous sight in Pingluan Town.” Seeing someone interested in his recommendation, He Zixu cheered up, his voice gaining strength. “Pingluan Town was originally called Pinglei (Bottle-Tear) Town, named after that tree in the center of the main street. That tree has likely grown there for hundreds of years; the oldest elders in town grew up running around it.”

“Back then, people didn’t know what kind of tree it was. They only saw that it bore fruit every year with thick limbs and thin waists, resembling green jade bottles, so they called it the ‘Bottle-Green Tree’ (Pinglv). Because of different accents, ‘Bottle-Green’ gradually became ‘Bottle-Tear’ (Pinglei).”

“The townspeople simply took the words ‘Bottle-Tear’ and made a simple, beautiful wish upon the tree. Legend has it that if you pluck a fruit, hollow it out, wash it clean, fill it with your tears, carve your name on it, and hang it back up, the Bottle-Tear Tree can grant your wish.”

The last time Lv Shuyao was superstitious was before his college entrance exams, when his best friend dragged him to a temple to pray. He wasn’t interested in folk rumors with zero scientific basis, but he didn’t voice his skepticism.

Because he wasn’t going to climb the tree to see if the bottles were full of tears, nor was he going to hold a bottle and wail to make a wish.

He always believed that success depends on human effort. For example, getting back home would require his persistence and wit. Bottle-Tear Tree? Give me a break.

Su Cheyue, however, asked, “Has Young Master He ever tried it?”

He Zixu laughed. “Of course not. In my condition, if I truly had to cry a full bottle of tears, I’m afraid I’d die eight hundred times over.”

Tao Xuanxuan: “He Zixu.”

“Look at my mouth,” He Zixu apologized. “I forgot for a moment.”

“You have been talking too much these past few days,” Tao Xuanxuan said.

“Fine, I’ll stop. But can we go see the Bottle-Tear Tree?” He looked like a curious child.

Tao Xuanxuan acted even less interested than Lv Shuyao. “What’s there to see in such groundless nonsense?”

“Let’s go, Zhouzhou,” He Zixu smiled palely. “It’s New Year’s Eve. Since you won’t let me hire performers for entertainment, you should at least let me go out.”

“…”

Before Tao Xuanxuan could speak, he suddenly pulled out a handkerchief, covered his mouth, and coughed violently.

Tao Xuanxuan’s expression changed. He Zixu looked up: “Sorry. It seems…”

The scent of blood seeped through his teeth. After so many days, his lips were finally stained red once.

Tao Xuanxuan’s panic vanished in an instant. She quickly pulled a medicinal pill from her robes and fed it to him.

“Do you still dare to make demands?” Tao Xuanxuan quickly pushed him out without looking back. “Lv Shuyao, Su Cheyue—don’t talk to him so much in the future.”

The New Year’s Eve dinner ended abruptly.

Lv Shuyao remembered that in the book, New Year’s Eve was a key turning point for the romance between Su Cheyue and Tao Xuanxuan. First, Su Cheyue would be in a low mood after dinner and go out alone to clear his head. Then, He Zixu would purposely provoke Tao Xuanxuan, making her leave the manor in anger. The male and female leads would then coincidentally spend a pleasant night in town.

He didn’t know which step had gone wrong, but it looked like there was no chance of that now.

However…

Low mood after dinner? Why would he be in a low mood?

Lv Shuyao looked up at Su Cheyue across from him, who was silently lowering his eyes, taking small sips of the soup.

I told you it was salty, yet you insist on drinking it. Isn’t your mood going to get worse the more you drink?

The Second Young Master was truly hard to coax, and he truly needed coaxing.

Lv Shuyao sighed internally. His eyes curved into a smile as he said softly, “Although Young Master He is ill and it might not seem right to bring this up now… do you want to go out for a walk?”