Lantern: Reflection Of The Peach Blossoms Chapter 6

Volume 1: Incident of H City's Earth-born Fetus

Chapter 6 – A night between husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness.

Eight thirty that evening, Chu He stood in front of the dressing mirror in his hotel room as he gracefully put on a black shadow-st.i.tched Hermes tie with his slender fingers.

"Zhang Shun," he said without looking back, "I'm borrowing your car."

"…" Zhang Shun cursed angrily, "Are you really f*cking going?"

The master bedroom in the house was no longer livable after the fire, so Chu He had to stay at the hotel. His brother came along with the excuse of being too scared to stay at home alone. Actually, Zhang Shun intended to stay in the same room as Chu He, but he was too late. When Zhang Shun arrived at the hotel, a staff member guided him respectfully to another suite on the same floor —— "Chairman Chu specifically checked it in for you," the staff said. "He said he knew you would come.”

Zhang Shun threw his luggage to the side and sneaked into his brother's room like a burglar. However, as soon as he went in, he was stunned by Chairman Chu's low-key, luxurious, and stylish outfit: "Don't tell me you're really going to sleep with that woman?!"

"That's how you see me?"

Zhang Shun let out a sigh of relief, but he soon sucked it back in, "Wait! Are you saying that you're looking for a serious relationship with her?"

"…" Chu He looked at his brother in the mirror. "You have a problem with it?"

"Of course I do!" Zhang Shun suddenly jumped up from the bed. "You can tell at a glance that she's not a decent woman! She's so flirtatious! And she even tried to seduce you! I thought you liked the well bred, scholarly kind like Fu Ya. How did you lose your soul to such a man eater?! She'll eventually rip you off, and you won't even have a place to cry! Stop paying attention to her already!"

Chu He was surprised, "I remember you saying that Fu Ya has problems with her head and is extremely boring and dull…"

"Did I say that? Was I the one who said that? What kind of douchebag would talk about a lady like that?!" Zhang Shun immediately took out his phone and called Fu Ya: "Hey, are you free tonight? Get over here! My brother is inviting you to dinner…"

He was still talking when the weight in his hand was suddenly lifted. Zhang Shun looked up and saw his brother standing right in front of him. Chu He calmly pulled the phone out of Zhang Shun's hand and cut the call with a light tap. "Car key."

Zhang Shun's temples twitched slightly. After a while, he suddenly jumped up and rushed towards the door while covering his pocket. However, before he even made it two steps, Chu He had already grabbed him by the collar, pulled him back, and reached into Zhang Shun's trouser pocket to fetch the car key.

Zhang Shun: "…"

They were standing so closely at that moment that their bodies were practically pressing against each other's.

Zhang Shun was taller than his brother. All he could feel was his brother's warm breath brushing against the side of his neck. Cologne which smelled like a forest after the rain filled his nose with its light, s.e.xy scent. Because he was wearing a tight pair of pants, when his brother's hand crawled into its pocket, he even felt that every single vein on those silky, slender fingers could be picked up clearly by the skin on his outer thigh.

Zhang Shun felt a warmth inside his nose, and his already firm back tensed further into a rock.

Chu He fished out the Ferrari key and went straight to the entrance to change his shoes. After he finished, he looked up inadvertently, then broke into a smile: "Is your nose okay? Do you need to see a doctor?"

"…" Zhang Shun stared at his brother in a daze.

Chu He immediately walked over. "Are you okay?"

Zhang Shun frantically wiped his b.l.o.o.d.y nose. He pushed his brother away and rushed out through the door, stumbling along the way. Judging by the way he rushed out, he would not have noticed even if Chu He proceeded to steal his wallet as well, let alone the key.

"…Is he really okay?"

Chu He frowned. He thought about it again and again and could only conclude that Zhang Shun might have burst a blood vessel in his nose when he tripped earlier in the day. In any case, it was already too late to go after the chief criminal now. He could only shake his head and curse almost inaudibly, "That idiot Zhou Hui…"

***

Idiot Zhou was now standing in front of the hotel room's French windows, staring through it at the fire red Ferrari parked downstairs as well as the person in a black suit and white shirt who was leaning against the car door, smoking.

People who didn't know much about Zhou Hui often called him an idiot behind his back, but the expression on his face at this very moment really had nothing to do with the word "idiot". In fact, it even gave Li Hu a temporary start as she saw the reflection of Zhou Hui's face on the window gla.s.s.

"I didn't know… that he would really come." Li Hu suggested hesitantly, "Why don't I give him a call and tell him that something suddenly came up…"

"You shouldn't have teased him." Zhou Yi said quietly.

"He's already on the verge of becoming a demon. The only reason he's able to keep the last bit of his consciousness is because he has the Buddha's bone by his side, protecting him. I don't know why he chooses to walk on a tightrope like this, but dusk is the witching hour of the day. Your teasing could easily bring out his ferocious nature."

Li Hu couldn't hold back her question, "Are you sure he's Feng Si? Over the years, every time you see someone like him, you think it's Feng Si. If you go on like this, you'll lose your mind before he even becomes a demon…"

"I don't know, but Feng Si is with the Demon Lord now. If he really is Feng Si, then the Demon Lord Fanluo must be somewhere nearby." Staring through the gla.s.s, Zhou Yi slowly started to laugh, "The two most unforgivable crimes in this world: Killing one's parents, and… Taking one's wife…"

His expression gave Li Hu the shivers.

"D-Don't act recklessly. Remember? We have a mission this time. Before we leave the capital, you swore on your life to Director Yu that we must not let the j.a.panese take the 'Earth-born Fetus' in H City out of the country——"

After a short moment of silence, Zhou Yi gradually returned to normal.

"I know," he said. "You don't need to remind me about that."

***

Li Hu changed into a red dress which added more heat to her already s.e.xy figure. Chu He even praised her after seeing it, "Ms. Li surely has the power to bewitch the whole world."

But Li Hu somehow found it more of a courtesy, since he himself showed no sign of being bewitched.

On the contrary, when she saw Chairman Chu in his slim-fit, black Dior suite with that indifferent look on his pale face as he stood gracefully next to the fire red Ferrari like a vampire of the night, she had a feeling that this man might be more capable of bewitching the world than her —— Aside from Boss Zhou, who was already losing his head upstairs, even the young girls walking past them seemed like they were going to faint the very next second.

It's so strange, she thought. He has such a plain face right now, yet he could still…

Chu He personally opened the door for her and said, "I guess you must have had dinner already by now. There's a cafe on the top floor of West Cape that has a good view. Would you mind going there to sit for a bit?"

Li Hu's heart skipped a beat. She smiled at once, "I heard that Captain Feng Si in those years was a very romantic man. I didn't expect that one day I would have the fortune to experience it myself. I've got to see it."

While talking, she turned to Chu He, as though she could see through even the slightest change on this man's face.

——However, Chu He's face was nearly expressionless. "Ex-boyfriend?"

"…" Li Hu said, "I'm sorry. Just forget about it."

Reality had proven that romance was something which required skill to obtain when a person was poor. But for rich men, the supply was simply unlimited.

The cafe was next to a rooftop garden on the 40th floor. From there, a port was visible in the far distance. The sound of waves could be faintly heard in harmony with the melodious tune of a cello drifting along the night breeze. The carved armchairs next to the window had successfully eluded all light sources except for a few scented candles whose reflections in the silky red wine were as resplendent as the stars decorating the night sky above.

If Li Hu had originally imagined that it would be a little awkward to sit face to face with Chu He, then her worries were lifted a few minutes afterwards.  In addition to fine food and liquor, as well as the sensual pleasures that came with a luxurious life, Chairman Chu, a man who was not only educated but also had a sense of humor, was particularly good at proposing a topic and then falling back as a quiet listener —— By the time Li Hu had realized it, it was already past eleven. She had been talking with this man for over two hours without even noticing.

"I didn't expect you to be so humorous." Li Hu was swirling her red wine as she smiled, "It's hard to believe that a man like you is still single and doesn't even has a girlfriend. Is it because of your high standard?"

Chu He laughed, "Just take a look at Zhang Shun and you'll know. I've been busy raising that kid for the past ten years of my life."

Li Hu laughed so heartily that she almost spilled her wine. When she put the crystal wine gla.s.s back on the table, she inadvertently caught Chu He from the corner of her eyes as the latter looked down and glanced at his watch in a seemingly casual manner.

***

"I've been busy raising that kid for the past ten years of my life."

Zhang Shun: "…"

Zhang Shun's face almost convulsed. He put down the silverware and held his forehead in silence.

Sitting across from him, Zhou Yi burst out laughing. He laughed so loud that the waiter pa.s.sing by them almost dropped his tray. However, he soon covered his mouth with a napkin, and only his shoulders continued to shake incessantly. "B-brother-in-law [1], your big brother's description of himself is so accurate to the point… Hahahahaha…"

Zhang Shun retorted angrily, "Who's your brother-in-law?!"

They were sitting at a corner not far from Chu He. The position was a very smart choice: it was not too far from where Chu He and Li Hu were sitting so that they could occasionally hear the conversation over there. At the same time, it was also very remote and was blocked by a bonsai so that people wouldn't notice it easily.

"Psychic, why're you here?" Zhang Shun simply didn't know what to do with him. "If you're f*cking afraid that my brother will take advantage of your colleague, then you can go back now. Just look that her face. It's not clear who's taking advantage of whom yet. Or perhaps you're secretly in love with your colleague? Are you coming to spy on them because you're afraid that you'll be NTR'd by my brother?"

Zhou Yi finished laughing. He wiped his mouth with the napkin, then said quite elegantly, "I'm here for the same reason as you."

"….I just happened to come here for dinner, alright?!"

"Oh, then me too."

These two handsome men looked face to face for a while, then Zhou Yi slapped his cardholder onto the table. "Don't worry, brother-in-law.Your dinner is on me."

"…Who's your brother-in-law!" Zhang Shun exploded.

At the same time, ten meters away from them, Li Hu pointed at the very expensive looking watch on Chu He's wrist, asking, "Are you in a hurry to go back?"

"I'm always in a hurry, but tonight is an exception…" A smile slowly blossomed on Chu He's face. "I'm waiting for the fireworks at eleven thirty. Look!"

He turned to the window. A bright line streaked across the night sky and suddenly burst into a large rose! Countless flowers formed by light rushed to bloom on the starry lawn, lighting up the entire hall into one brilliant piece, attracting all guests in the restaurant to get up and gather before the window.

"This… this is gorgeous!" Li Hu exclaimed in admiration. "I didn't know that H City had such beautiful fireworks at night. I've never heard about it before…" She suddenly realized something: "Chairman Chu, was it you——?"

As she turned around, she saw Chu He leaning against the table with his arms crossed. He motioned a "Shh" in a very gentlemanlike way, and said, "No need to say it out loud."

At that moment, outlined by the light of the fireworks, his slim and graceful figure appeared as elegant as an orchid. Even the simple movement of putting his finger next to his lips seemed to contain an immeasurable amount of charm.

Li Hu: "…"

By now, Li Hu was totally convinced. Zhou Yi and Zhang Shun were lady-killers just because they were handsome, but this Chairman Chu in front of her was genuinely skilled!

"I'm really flattered that you would…" Li Hu thought she should say something, but she immediately closed her mouth. Through the reflection on the gla.s.s, she saw that when Chu He moved his finger away from his lips, he once again eyed his watch secretly.

Is he in a hurry? Is he waiting for someone?

All the details from tonight started to flash across her mind and in the end, it all froze on that one surprising invitation in the evening: "Beauty, may I have the pleasure of inviting you to a midnight snack tonight?"

——He's avoiding a certain time. Li Hu realized almost instantly.

Out of a group of people, he chose her —— not his ignorant little brother, not that mysterious Zhou Yi, not a random pa.s.serby on the street, but her, a person who was seemingly harmless but at the same time carried a little weight —— to avoid being alone at midnight [2].

In that case, Li Hu thought, what is he hiding from?

Or perhaps, who is he hiding from?

***

Li Hu instantly made a bold decision.

The fireworks ended, and everyone returned to their seats, still astonished at its beauty. The restaurant resumed its usual peace and elegance. Sound of violin slowly flowed in amidst the fragrance enveloping the place. Li Hu put down the napkin. There seemed to be an enticing glamor in her smiling red lips: "Chairman Chu, it might be a little presumptuous for me to ask but… Would you do me a favor?"

"Yes?"

"The seaport over there seems very beautiful under the starlight. I want to take a walk on the viewing deck. Would you mind going together with me?"

Chu He lifted his head and looked at her. He was silent at first, but after a few seconds, he suddenly broke into a smile, "You —— Ms. Li, you look very much like one of my old friends when you smile, especially from this angle…"

Li Hu's eyes narrowed at once. There was a s.e.xy provocation in her tone: "Your ex-girlfriend?"

"No, just a normal friend."

"I see." Only then did Li Hu reach out her soft and fine hand to him: "If she's just a normal friend, let's not have her dampen our spirits on a beautiful night like this, shall we?"

Chu He stared fixedly at the hand offered to him, a hand that was as tender as if it was boneless. After a while, he smiled and shook his head. It was hard to tell whether the expression on his face was more of a satirical one or a self-mockery. Then, he readily accepted Li Hu's hand and, bathed in his little brother's alarmed gaze from ten meters away, walked towards the elevator to the viewing deck.

The viewing deck was a small rooftop garden that hung above the revolving restaurant. It could be accessed through a gla.s.s elevator inside the building. Compared to the restaurant, it had more privacy and a more beautiful environment. Large cl.u.s.ters of roses and tulips were planted around the gardens, gladdening people's hearts with their delicate fragrance floating through the night breeze.

This seemed to be a more suitable place for developing a romantic relationship than the one downstairs. Like a young girl, Li Hu walked for quite some time with her hand in Chu He's before she suddenly turned her head to the side, asking coquettishly, "Chairman Chu, why do you look so absent minded? Are you still thinking about that old friend even when you're with me?"

Chu He said, "I really wasn't."

"Really?"

"If I hold hands with him," Chu He pointed to his hand which was held by Li Hu, "I'm really going to throw up."

Li Hu: "…"

Li Hu's mouth twitched slightly. After a while, she still decided to ask, "Why you dislike this person so much?"

As if he found this question quite interesting, Chu He even clicked his tongue.

"To be more precise, it's not a person, but a fox —— Of course, with his level of cultivation, you can't treat him as an ordinary fox anymore, but that seductive, cunning, mischievous nature characteristic to the fox race is still the same. Well, I wouldn't care if that was all. The main problem is that he is —— hmm, how should I put it…"

There was a lingering pause, then Chu He continued, "Very, very mouthy…"

Li Hu looked a little stiff: "For you to hate her to this extent, I guess she must be extremely mouthy?"

"Oh, that's not true." Chu He immediately explained, "I don't hate him. I just find it quite interesting that a person can be so consistently displeasing for so many years."

While talking, he even turned his head and smiled at Li Hu, his eyes narrowed.

"…" It gave Li Hu a rather indescribable feeling. She slowly halted her steps and said, "I'm sorry, Chairman Chu. I need to use the restroom. Could you wait here for two minutes?"

Chu He nodded politely.

Li Hu flashed him a meaningful smile, then left in her high heels, her red dress fluttering like a b.u.t.terfly between the flower shrubs.

Waves from afar murmured in the gentle night, mixing itself with the colliding of gla.s.ses and the unending music from the restaurant below, making the little garden an earthly paradise. However, the b.u.t.terfly that had flown away from the paradise didn't return in two minutes. In fact, it still hadn't returned after ten minutes. It almost seemed like it would never return again.

Chu He looked at his watch again —— This was the twelfth time that he checked his watch tonight, but this time, he wasn't as relaxed as the first eleven times.

Midnight still hadn't past yet. He decided to return to the restaurant first.

However, immediately after he started to head back, the air behind him was suddenly ripped apart. The howling of wind surged from the ground together with an enormous attractive force!

"That little beauty of yours…"

A lofty black robed figure appeared from the hollow crack, like a demon descending onto earth in the dark night. Chu He stopped. Just as he expected, in the next second, a deep voice sounded right next to his ears, "——I think she stood you up on purpose."

"…" Chu He sighed, "I should have known."

The Demon Lord Fanluo pressed one hand onto Chu He's shoulder, while the other hand snaked around Chu He's body to lift his chin. The shadow he cast was so huge that it completely covered Chu He's. Under the moonlight, their shadows looked as intimate as if they were from the same person.

"Then, were you dating that little beauty to avoid me?"

***

At the same time, in the restaurant downstairs.

Zhou Yi seemed to have sensed something. His knife produced a light screech against the plate as he cut the steak.

"Brother-in-law." He put down his knife and said in all earnesty, "An emergency came up and your big brother has to leave first. Are you really not letting me pay for your meal?"

Zhang Shun's answer was implied by his action: "Waiter! Check, please! Seperated!"　　

Zhou Yi had no choice but to take out his credit card. "We'll become family soon, yet you still treat me as a stranger. Brother-in-law, you're really…"

The series of "brother-in-law" almost made Zhang Shun's blood run cold. If Zhou Yi was a scoundrel, then one could just say that he was shamelessly taking advantage of second young master Zhang's brother. However, with Zhou Yi's hollywood star like handsome face and his expensive clothes, one could only conclude that there must be something wrong with his head.

"How did my brother end up with a friend like you?" Zhang Shun couldn't help but ask sincerely, "How much do you need to break up with him?"

The waiter happened to return with the check. After hearing the words, the expression on his face was simply indescribable.

"Say, brother-in-law," Zhou Yi sat down once again and asked extremely sincerely, "You look down on me very much, don't you? You feel that even though I'm quite rich, I'm not at all good enough for Chairman Chu, right?"

Zhang Shun was completely helpless: "Bro, can we leave first before you start acting up…"

"Nonono, I'm very serious. Did you know that your brother has a boyfriend right now?"

"Of course I do… WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Second young master Zhang was completely stunned. "Who has a boyfriend?!"

Zhou Yi was wearing an extremely otherworldly expression, very much like an immortal pointing out the right path to people lost in the secular world. If one had to describe it, he was quite similar to those masters on Prosperity Street who charged ten yuan per person for fortune telling. However, with the same expression, they normally weren't saying "Your brother has a boyfriend" but rather something like "Sir, the place between your brows is dark. It seems like you're going to have a b.l.o.o.d.y disaster soon. Would you like me to use ten years' worth of my cultivation to help you break it? I'll give you a discount!"

"Brother-in-law," Zhou Yi said. "You think I'm not good enough for your brother, but wait until you see his current boyfriend. Then you'll realize what a nice person I am. Other things aside, your house has been haunted recently, hasn't it? There seem to be problems with your blood circulation and you often feel low spirited. You have frequent nightmares, and can only sleep well next to you brother. Am I right?"

Zhang Shun: "…"

"Your brother's boyfriend did all of this! Who else do you think can sneak into your house and stand next to your bed to scare you?!" Zhou Yi pressed his forehead against his hand and, in Zhang Shun's astonished stare, continued sorrowfully, "You two were enemies in your previous life, which is why he keeps going after you. He has been lurking next to Chairman Chu, waiting for a chance to harm you. If I came just a little later, both you and Chairman Chu might have fallen into his clutches already!"

"…" Zhang Shun asked, "Are you saying that my brother's boyfriend is a ghost?"

"You should go ask your brother about that." Zhou Yi smiled as he narrowed his eyes. He got up and slowly said, "Brother-in-law, if you run into any troubles in the future, don't go to those dabblers on Prosperity Street. You've got a relative right here. This big brother might be just so-so in other things, but as for ghost hunting, I'm a professional credited by the country. Well, since we're family, I can give you a 5% discount…"

Zhou Yi glanced upward seemingly inadvertently, then smiled, "I have to go now. Enjoy your meal." He grabbed the key as he talked and then strolled his way out. Perhaps it was Zhang Shun's imagination, but looking at him from behind, this freak actually appeared to be somewhat mysterious and otherworldly.

…How does this psychic know that our house is haunted? Is he a true expert?

Zhang Shun was still beating his head against the wall trying to figure it out when he saw Zhou Yi suddenly look back as if he just thought of something: "Remember, there's a 2% transaction fee with cards!"

"…" Zhang Shun shouted, "Go away, pleeeeeese!"

***

Just as second young master Zhang was gritting his teeth trying to recall all of his brother's recent suspicious behavior and that abusive looking hickey on the side of his neck, in the rooftop garden above him, Chu He was looking at the Demon Lord expressionlessly: "Yes, so what?"

He turned around, took half a step back, then stared at Fanluo in the eyes.

This was a man whose face was always pale and whose expression always indifferent. When looking closely, there was even a subtle but sickly gloom over his countenance. Neither was his thin, angular body a match for the Demon Lord's. However, when he a.s.sumed such an obvious confrontational posture, he appeared collected and resolute. In fact, his manner was so imposing that he didn't seem any weaker than the Demon Lord.

"Nothing." Towering above, the Demon Lord stared at him for a moment, then continued, "I just feel that on one hand, you use me as shelter to save you from the Heavenly Trial, while on the other hand, you guard at the side of the Buddha's Bone all day, using its power to keep you from completely becoming a demon… Aren't you thinking a little too kindly of me?"

"Don't think too much. Zhou Hui suddenly appeared in H City. I just didn't want him to find you."

"Oh? Really?"

Instead of answering, Chu He asked back, "Back then, when Zhou Hui led the encirclement of the Realm of h.e.l.l-Dwellers, had I not turned my coat at the last moment, you would have been sealed away already. We have been hiding in H City for only a few years. What do you think the odds of winning would be if you are to face him directly?"

Full of interest, the Demon Lord lifted his chin a little higher and asked, "What if we take you into account too?"

"…"

"If we join hands, even killing Zhou Hui won't be a problem, right?"

This time, Chu He remained silent for a long time, so long that even the Demon Lord thought he had nothing more to say, before he suddenly broke into a strange smile: "As they say… A night between husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness. Since we've slept together before, why would I kill Zhou Hui?"

It was simply too amusing to hear such sickening words from someone like Chu He. If he hadn't heard it himself, the Demon Lord probably would not believe that Chu He could say something like that. After realizing it, the Demon Lord immediately burst into laughter, "A night between husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness… Good. A hundred days of kindness… That being said, how much kindness have we acc.u.mulated so far? If Zhou Hui wants to kill me one day, are you going to reply to him with the same words??"

Chu He's mouth stretched into a cold smile, "If he wants to kill you, he'll do it himself. It's more likely that he'll ask me to watch on the side. But if he really asks me to help, I will definitely reply to him with the same line. I don't care which one of you survives."

The Demon Lord let out a hearty laugh.

Back then, in the war against the Realm of h.e.l.l-Dwellers, the Demons indeed lost a large number of their fighting force to Zhou Hui. If Chu He hadn't betrayed them at the last moment, even the Demon Lord himself would probably have already been sealed away by Zhou Hui. However, one could not deny that for a very long period of time, Zhou Hui and Fanluo, as the representatives of the Realm of G.o.ds and the Realm of h.e.l.l-Dwellers respectively, had been the apex among all creatures in the Six Realms.

The opposition between them was equal to the opposition between two Realms. Since the creation of the world in the age of mythology, they had been fighting nonstop as representatives from the Realms of Goodness and the Realms of Evil. However, what was ridiculous was that there was now a person who hid among other mortal beings with a concealed ident.i.ty and was half forced into an intimate yet delicate relationship with both of them at the same time.

The Demon Lord pulled Chu He by his jaw and forced him to raise his head. At that moment, there was something almost tenderlike in Fanluo's black eyes, but it soon disappeared, so fast that it was close to an illusion.

"I heard that you were once very close to becoming a Buddha, but you failed because of Zhou Hui." Fanluo whispered next to his ear, "But becoming a demon is much easier than cultivating into a Buddha. Sometimes, all you need is a thought."

Chu He didn't move. He just closed his eyes.

He could feel his collar being pulled down. The air brought with it an icy chilliness as his warm neck was exposed. The next thing he knew was the Demon Lord biting right into the most vital point on his neck! The sharp teeth pierced mercilessly into the tender flesh in an instant, and his heart-tip blood gushed out at once as the cold demonic breaths cut into his body with its irresistible force!

Chu He trembled, his fingers cramping in the hope of grabbing onto something. Fanluo raised his hand and tried to hold him back, but Chu He immediately broke free.

He caught the rose stems that were climbing up along the wall —— so hard that blood soon began to seep out of his cold, blue knuckles.

"You…"

Fan Luo squinted his long and narrow eyes. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but suddenly, a nonchalant voice came from afar: "Chairman Chu?"

——It was Zhou Yi!

In an instant, Chu He's pupils contracted and then dilated again. He pushed the Demon Lord to the side, but was soon caught by Fanluo again.

"Chairman Chu?" Zhou Yi strolled up from the restaurant downstairs and even gave a few token knocks on the floral pendant gla.s.s gate of the rooftop gardens. "Excuse me. Are you in there?"

Translator's Notes:

[1] Brother-in-law: The word Zhou Yi called Zhang Shun with is actually "younger brother of my wife".

[2] At midnight: I took liberty with this translation. In the originial text it was referring to the 子 period of the day, which is a two-hour period that spans from 11:00pm to 1:00am. So Chu He was trying to avoid being along at this time span. And the firework is at 12:30 in the original story. I felt it would be easier to understand this way and doesn't really affect the story, so I used the term midnight and moved the firework to 11:30. ^ ^