Si Teng (Rattan) – Epilogue

Epilogue

Yan Furui let Qin Fang stay for a day. The next morning, when he was busy preparing meals for everyone in the steamy construction site kitchen, Qin Fang came in, looked at him for a while, and said, “Yan Furui, if you are short of money, just tell me; I have it.”

Qin Fang had always been rich, and his current situation of being almost half-demon made him even more indifferent to money, but not every rich person would be generous to friends. Yan Furui was quite moved. The rising steam made his eyes wet. He concealed his expression with the sound of lifting the lid and banging the pot. “Oh, oh, I know.”

Yan Furui decided to talk to Qin Fang and persuade him with all his heart like a friend.

After eating, he watched Qin Fang check the condition of the car for the last time and mustered up the courage to say, “Qin Fang, actually, you can live a very good life now, really.”

Qin Fang glanced at him, and Yan Furui seemed to be afraid of being interrupted and not having the courage to say anything more, and continued hurriedly. “You are no different from a normal person now, or even better, and you have money. What kind of life have you thought about? I remember you mentioned that at the beginning, you were about to get married, and you could find another one… Then, what kind of life have you thought about?”

Yan Furui didn’t have the ability to use flowery language to outline a beautiful future, and he kept repeating the same real sentence: What kind of life have you thought about?

“You don’t have to feel sorry for Miss Si Teng, really. Qin Fang, you were unconscious for a while before and after Bai Ying appeared, and you didn’t see her. You don’t know; Miss Si Teng talked to me, and I don’t think she really wants to be a human or a demon. She said herself that it would be better to be a vine again, blooming when she wants to and not blooming when she doesn’t want to. She is a vine after all, and her thinking is different from us humans. Maybe this is the best result.”

Qin Fang seemed to have heard it but also seemed not to have heard it. He finally checked and kicked the tire, opened the car door, and got in the car. “Yan Furui, I’m leaving. Call me if you need anything.”

Yan Furui was anxious. When the car started, he didn’t know what was wrong with him. He went over to grab the rolled-down window and jogged with the car. “Oh, Qin Fang, I know you can’t let it go for the time being. I can see it. You may like Miss Si Teng, but Miss Si Teng doesn’t like you. You have to let it go. If you let it go, what kind of life do you want to live…”

“Don’t block the road; I’m speeding up. Be careful.”

Yan Furui couldn’t keep up with the speed of the car, and his reaction was half a beat slow. He stumbled a few times and choked on several mouthfuls of dust and exhaust. When he looked up again, the car had gone far away. After watching for a while, the car turned a corner and disappeared.

Yan Furui sighed, but he was not very worried. He felt that he should give Qin Fang some time. Slowly, he would figure it out. Wasn’t he depressed and sad for a long time because of the Wafang incident?

Of course, he still couldn’t understand why Qin Fang fell in love with Si Teng inexplicably. Miss Si Teng was not gentle. As for her appearance…

Anyway, Yan Furui didn’t like Si Teng like this. He preferred the fat and round ones. He felt good just by looking at and thinking about them.

The Qingcheng Mountain Road was exceptionally quiet early in the morning. The tires rubbed against the road, making a rhythmic rustling sound. Qin Fang slowed down for a while, then slowly pulled over to the side and stopped at the foot of the mountain wall. There was a tree of an unknown species, growing diagonally with low pressure. A bunch of branches and leaves were just touching the edge of the car window. Under the lush green leaves, dense clusters of purple berries were close together, as if they could be picked with just a stretch of the hand.

Yan Furui said that he had been in a coma for a period of time before and after Bai Ying appeared, and he had not seen Si Teng. This was not entirely true.

Si Teng said goodbye to him before she left.

During the coma, his whole being felt like he was floating in chaotic air, neither up nor down, neither close nor far. Then, as if hearing some call, he opened his eyes, regained consciousness, and his body slowly moved down, and his feet finally touched the ground.

In the dream, he knew clearly that it was a dream.

But this time was different.

In the past, it seemed like he always saw Si Teng at night, on a stage that was either noisy or silent, with the clatter of high heels and a gloomy atmosphere with no escape.

This time was different. The air was fresh, the leaves rustled, and he was in a deep, almost deserted forest. Unknown insects and birds chirped, and a stream gurgled in the distance. It seemed that there was no season. The leaves on the branches were bright green, but yellow leaves were flying all over the sky. Si Teng stood at the entrance to the depths of the dense forest, wearing a knee-length windbreaker, her hands in her pockets, her long hair lifted and lifted again in the wind.

Qin Fang vaguely felt that something was going to happen.

Si Teng said, “Qin Fang, I have done what I promised you.”

Promised him? What did he ask for? Qin Fang thought for a long time and finally remembered: at the very beginning, he said that he wanted to be human again.

So what about Si Teng? Did she become a demon again?

“I’m going back to being a vine, Qin Fang. I’ve thought about it for a long time. Maybe I don’t really want to be a monster, nor do I want to be a human. I was suddenly pushed into the human world by Qiu Shan, and I had to do a lot of things I didn’t like. I’m so tired of it. I want to go back and take a long rest. You, I, and everyone else should return to your respective places.”

Qin Fang couldn’t tell what he felt in his heart. “Then can I still see you?”

Si Teng smiled. “Why do you want to see me?”

Bai Ying was right. Si Teng was an emotionless monster. They misunderstood. They always thought that having no emotions meant being cruel, cold, and inhumane, but that was not the case. There was another type, like Si Teng. She could laugh, feel sad, and take extra care of others, but there was nothing she could not leave behind. She could leave in the next second and would curiously ask him. “Why do you want to see me?”

Just like she said to Yan Furui. “Why are you crying and sad? I’m not nice to you.”

He, Yan Furui, and even Wang Qiankun all had different feelings for Si Teng, deep or shallow, but Si Teng did not, so Yan Furui shouted angrily. “But Miss Si Teng doesn’t like you…”

Si Teng sighed. “I’ll be a vine again. I have no eyes and no senses. I can’t see you even if you come. What’s the point of seeing me? If you have time, go see an old friend.”

Qin Fang’s eyes suddenly turned red, and he said stubbornly, “I just want to see you.”

The wind got stronger, and the leaves in the air collided with each other, making a rustling sound. The corner of Si Teng’s clothes was blown up by the wind. Qin Fang stared at the fluttering hem. He had never touched her hand, and he didn’t even dare to grab the corner of her clothes. If it wasn’t in a dream, he probably wouldn’t say such funny and childish words.

Si Teng smiled and said, “What a silly child.”

After that, she turned around and walked towards the depths of the dense forest. For some reason, Qin Fang followed her stubbornly. In the dream, he felt extremely wronged, just like an abandoned child. Si Teng stopped helplessly. “Qin Fang, do you believe that I can’t force you out of this dream with just one slap?”

Qin Fang didn’t say anything. Si Teng was very troubled by him. After thinking for a while, she said, “I have no choice. I’m already a vine again. I don’t know how many years it will take for me to transform into a spirit again, and no one will help me. It’s not that I don’t want to see you.”

Qin Fang’s eyes lit up, because the tiny hope in her words was simply a surprise. “You mean, you are willing to transform into a spirit again?”

“Without Qiu Shan and Bai Ying, no one will bother me. I can be just as comfortable after transforming into a spirit, but it’s not something I can do just because I want to.”

Qin Fang blurted out, “I’ll find a way.”

Si Teng said, “Okay, then. When you come up with a solution, come find me.”

She turned and continued walking inside. Qin Fang kept watching. Halfway through, she suddenly turned back and smiled, “Qin Fang, when you come to see me, please bring some new clothes. I like your clothes.”

A car passed behind them. As it brushed past, it seemed dissatisfied with Qin Fang’s parking on such a narrow mountain road and honked the horn several times. Qin Fang came out of his trance, took a deep breath, and started the car again.

He drove slowly, his mind racing with thoughts.

—Could he find Qiu Shan’s origins? Maybe. After all, he had a long time to inquire and ask questions.

—Even if he found out the method to help Si Teng transform, would she be able to do so quickly? Not necessarily. Perhaps she still needed time to recover. Perhaps he wouldn’t live to see that day.

—Would the Si Teng who transformed again be the Si Teng she is now? Or after she transformed into a spirit again, she would be a child who knew nothing about the world. She would look at him in surprise and say, “Ah.”

There were too many unknowns, too many uncertainties. It was impossible for a person to step into the same river twice, and there were no two leaves in the world that were exactly the same. In fact, he knew clearly in his heart that the Si Teng he knew, the half-demon Si Teng, would never come back.

Qin Fang’s vision blurred, and he came to a fork in the road again. He turned the steering wheel and drove in another direction.

—People living in the world must have a goal and a purpose. Even elementary school students write “my dream” in their essays. Qin Fang, do you have a dream?

—I want to be a human again.

—What about now?

—I want to see Si Teng again.

That future was so far away that he couldn’t explain it clearly. Maybe Yan Furui was right; he just couldn’t let it go for the time being. Maybe Si Teng was right too, and everyone would go their own way.

Those who were willing to leave left early, while those who were reluctant struggled alone to stay. He set a direction for himself and stubbornly walked along this path. As for who he would meet, what would happen, what changes would occur, and whether it would be as he wished, that would all be left to the future.

…

Pedestrians and cars increased, and Qingcheng was left far behind. The bustling city came into view in the distance. Qin Fang’s car slowly drove into the traffic, and after a few turns and changes of direction, it was no longer clear.

–End of the main text–

T/N: There’s more…