Chapter 106: It Is Rude Not to Reciprocate When Approached

Last night, the passenger ship was docked at a small pier. Many passengers had left their cabins to stroll on the brightly lit deck, chatting and unwinding.

The men who came out to the deck usually gathered together, whether familiar with each other or not. They would either engage in lively group conversations, listen to a gifted storyteller recounting strange and curious tales, or discuss recent major events back home. Occasionally, someone who had heard of or knew about the topic would join in, offering their views or posing questions. Meanwhile, some women brought their children to play on the deck. Children naturally bonded with one another and played, chased, and laughed without needing introductions. Likewise, women who were strangers at first found themselves chatting while watching over their little ones.

Thus, whenever the passenger ship was moored at a small pier and the weather was fair, the deck became the liveliest place on board. If docked at a large pier, most passengers preferred to disembark and explore the nearby town instead.

Yang Yaozong, when he first arrived in this world, was curious and inclined to visit such lively places. But now, accustomed to it all, he preferred the unique tranquility and comfort this world offered—so different from his past life. Zhang Lie also disliked such crowds, so the two of them remained in the cabin, chatting before turning in early.

Years of waking early had established a steady biological rhythm in Yang Yaozong. At the first hint of dawn, he stirred. Though the cabin was dim, he could still see Zhang Lie sound asleep.

Quietly sitting up, Yang Yaozong frowned after a moment. He sensed the ship was not moving. By his internal clock, it should be around the middle of the Mao hour, roughly six in the morning, and the ship ought to have been underway.

He wished the ship would sail day and night so he could reach the capital sooner, complete his affairs, and return to Tianjing to reunite with his cherished wives, Jing Yijun and Yin Ruxin. So he quietly rose, donned his robe, gently opened the cabin door, and stepped out onto the deck.

The moment he opened the door, a cold breeze mingled with faint, misty moisture rushed toward him. Hastily, he closed the door, put on his robe, and walked to the railing, frowning at the fog-shrouded river before him. Only then did he recall that it had rained briefly at midnight. Half-asleep, he had heard the rain, which was light and had soon ceased.

Fortunately, the fog was not dense and would likely dissipate as the sun rose, he thought with a furrowed brow.

Turning his head, he caught sight of someone standing by the middle of the railing—a person leaning on it, gazing out over the river. Through the thin mist, he recognized the girl he had seen the day before, the one from a foreign tribe. She was there with another girl, resting gracefully against the railing, her brow creased as if troubled by the fog.

The girl seemed to sense he was watching and turned toward him. Seeing it was Yang Yaozong, she nodded and smiled.

Yang Yaozong returned the nod and smile.

Just then, the cabin door opposite the girl opened, and the foreign girl from yesterday emerged, yawning and stretching her arms lazily, still drowsy.

“Se’u, when did you wake?” she asked sleepily. Before Se’u could answer, the foreign girl’s sapphire-blue eyes suddenly widened with excitement. Supporting herself on the railing, she leaned forward and exclaimed, “Wow! Fog! Such beautiful river mist!”

Though she had visited the Central Plains many times, this was her first time traveling by boat. Originally, the group had planned to ride horses northward, but because the foreign girl wanted to go by boat, they had changed their itinerary. The mist rising from the river only heightened her excitement.

Se’u stood quietly beside her, smiling but silent.

Seeing the foreign girl, Yang Yaozong recalled her stubborn and domineering temper and was about to return to the cabin.

But the girl noticed his intention and called out hurriedly, “Hey!”

Yang Yaozong knew she was calling him and frowned, quickening his pace back to the cabin.

Unexpectedly, the foreign girl ran toward him.

Yang Yaozong stopped, worried that if she knocked on his door, she would disturb Zhang Lie and other nearby passengers. Sighing, he returned to the railing.

The foreign girl approached him, with Se’u following behind.

As she neared, the girl slowed, walking beside him, and teasingly asked, “Hey! Why did you look at me like that when I ran?”

Yang Yaozong glanced at her helplessly, then back at the river.

“What’s that expression? Are you afraid I’m going to eat you?” she continued, frowning.

Yang Yaozong ignored her.

She took a few steps closer, irritated. “Hey! I’m talking to you!”

Noticing her voice rising, Yang Yaozong turned aside and made a shushing gesture, whispering, “Please keep your voice down; others are still resting.”

The girl pouted disdainfully but lowered her voice, still annoyed. “Hey, why don’t you answer me when I call you?”

“I told you, I don’t answer to ‘hey!’” he replied firmly.

She looked at him just as resolutely. “Then why won’t you tell me your name?”

Not wanting to be further entangled, Yang Yaozong sighed, “Why do you want to know my name? In this vast sea of people, once we leave this ship, we may never meet again. It takes a hundred years’ fate to share a boat, a thousand years to share a pillow. Our fate is but a hundred years; sooner or later, we will forget each other in the world. Isn’t it better to remain strangers, so our hearts carry less burden? Don’t you agree, stranger? If fate allows us to meet again after disembarking, a nod and a smile with a ‘hello, stranger’ would be far more pleasant than fussing over names.”

The girl leaned lightly on the railing, tilting her head as she murmured, “Stranger? A hundred years to share a boat, a thousand years to share a pillow…” Then, blushing slightly, she looked at him shyly and asked, “In your heart, is fate between people only about sharing a boat or a pillow?”

Yang Yaozong was speechless. Se’u glanced at the girl with a faint smile and then awkwardly at Yang Yaozong.

Yang Yaozong thought this was a cultural difference between their two peoples and sighed before explaining, “That phrase is just a general way to describe fate between people. I meant to say, why must acquaintances be made upon meeting? We have no fate to be friends. So I don’t want to tell you my name, nor do I wish to know yours.”

“You!” The girl glared at him, then suddenly smiled mischievously and slyly said, “Brother Yang.”

Yang Yaozong frowned, staring intently at her. The girl, caught off guard by his gaze, stepped back shyly and asked, “It was your companion who called you ‘Brother Yang’ when summoning you aboard. That’s how I knew your surname. Is ‘Brother Yang’ your name or just how your companion addresses you?”

After saying this, she felt a sudden nervousness under his gaze but, gathering courage, stepped closer again.

Hearing her explanation, Yang Yaozong relaxed and smiled gently, saying, “My surname is Yang.”

Upon hearing him confirm his surname, the girl hurriedly said, “I’m Ai! It would be rude not to return a name when you’ve told me yours. Since you shared your surname, I’ll generously tell you mine.”

Yang Yaozong chuckled softly and nodded, “It’s the first time I’ve heard ‘it’s rude not to reciprocate’ used this way.”

Ai giggled, blushing. “So we’re no longer strangers, right? According to your saying about a hundred years to share a boat and a thousand years to share a pillow, we must have had several hundred years of fate between us.”

Yang Yaozong found Ai clever and charming. He nodded with a smile. “Five hundred glances back in a past life earned us this lifetime’s brush past. Five hundred past-life brush pasts earned us this lifetime’s meeting. Five hundred past-life meetings earned us this lifetime’s acquaintance.”

Ai looked at him in surprise, then burst into a bright laugh and nodded. “You’re quite the character, speaking in riddles. But it makes sense. Five hundred glances back for a brush past, five hundred brush pasts for a meeting, five hundred meetings for an acquaintance. What does five hundred past-life acquaintances lead to this lifetime?”

Yang Yaozong thought of Yin Ruxin and Jing Yijun, then of Yin Ruyun, with whom he had shared intimacy. Gazing at the river as the sun rose and the mist cleared, he spoke softly, “Five hundred past-life acquaintances lead to a lifetime’s understanding. Five hundred past-life understandings lead to a lifetime’s love.”

“Five hundred past-life acquaintances lead to a lifetime’s understanding. Five hundred past-life understandings lead to a lifetime’s love,” Ai whispered, looking at this handsome man named Yang with a feeling she could not quite describe. She recalled how she initially thought him a fickle talent—a man with many wives and little loyalty, whom she despised. So she had intentionally provoked him. But instead of anger, she found him amusing. Unlike the others from the Great Zhou, he openly declared he was no gentleman, which made him all the more intriguing and unique.

Se’u quietly observed Yang Yaozong, silently reflecting on his words, as if savoring their deeper meaning.

Ai leaned softly on the railing beside Yang Yaozong, whispering, “Young Master Yang, where are we headed by boat?”

“To the capital,” Yang Yaozong replied, then glanced at Ai. “And you?”

“To the capital,” Ai responded, her bright eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

The sun finally burst forth from the river, the thin mist began to fade, and the view widened and cleared. The sunlight warmed those on deck.

Ai gazed enchantedly at the river and exclaimed, “So beautiful!”

Yang Yaozong admired the magnificent scene as well and nodded. “Indeed.”

“Set sail!” A clear, resonant shout rang out as the passenger ship slowly left the small pier, heading north.