When the trio entered Xuanzhu Hall, Little Zhuqin openly shared a few things of hers in the room and informed the young Lan cousins that the room next to hers belonged to Zixuan. As mentioned, it was a side by side chamber that was quite magnificent for children. Since he did not get a thorough chance to be in the room last night, Huan seemed to be taking in the fantasizing things in the room, especially with her guqin that was designed with golden swirls of clouds and peonies. The instrument was resting on the long table placed directly in front of the large white peony designed window.
Little Zhan though...was obviously unfazed and remained silent.
"What is wrong?" Little Zhuqin questioned with quite the grin. "Feeling too full to move?"
Of course, Little Zhan was not experiencing an after dinner effect where the food was too good to want to stay in one place and do nothing. He just simply did not want to move because...he was already quite familiar with everything since he DID sleep in Little Zhuqin's room last night (lol).
"No," Little Zhan replied.
Huan had then remembered that his younger brother did not want to move around because...he already knew about Little Zhuqin's room. How did he know about Little Zhuqin's room? It was only obvious (lol).
"Oh that is right...Zhan had to dress up as A Qin and sleep in here last night," Huan thought and without noticing it, he had slipped out a small chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" Little Zhuqin asked.
"Ahem," Huan cleared his throat and elegantly fixed his sleeves. "Oh, nothing."
But Little Zhan knew.
The only thing his elder brother would laugh at was...when Little Zhan dressed up as Little Zhuqin for the night. Of course, the laughable memories of him being in girls clothes was obviously still sketched into Huan's heart (lol).
"Xiongzhang (Brother), are you still going to laugh at me in her clothes?" Little Zhan bluntly asked, forgetting that he was not allowed to let Little Zhuqin know they were in her room.
"Her clothes? Whose clothes?" Huan questioned and quickly walked over to his younger brother.
"Her,"
Little Zhan was just being honest and he was about to point his finger up at Little Zhuqin, but Huan quickly grabbed onto his hand then brought it down. Huan shook his head at Little Zhan and mentally asked if the young lad had forgotten what the Lan family was there to do. Heck, Huan had thought Little Zhuqin may find them strange if she found them or Little Zhan to be sleeping in her room (lol).
Little Zhuqin was quietly observing from the near distance and from what she understood...Little Zhan was in her clothes?
"...You were in wear my clothes?" She asked. "When?"
"Aha, what do you mean? Zhan does not wear girl clothes so why would he wear your clothes?" Huan nervously questioned.
"But he was about to," "Nothing! Nothing...he was going to point at nothing." Huan interrupted Little Zhuqin.
The young girl was obviously not convinced. At least...she did not SHOW that she was (lol).
"Ni men pie wo (You guys are lying to me). Wo bu xiangxin (I do not believe you)." She puckered her lips.
Since Little Zhan was the one who started it, it only made sense for him to also help his elder brother make sure that Little Zhuqin did not know he slept in her room last night. Considering that she had been making fun of him all along, Little Zhan did not want his younger cousin to ridicule him for wearing her clothes or even, for being in a girl's room.
"Meng (Dream)," He firmly began.
"...Meng (Dream)?" Little Zhuqin asked.
"...Brother told me he saw me in your clothing's in his dream." Little Zhan quickly explained.
"...Huan ge saw you in my clothing's...in his dream?"
"Uh, dui, dui, dui, Zhan shuo de dui (Uh, right, right, what Zhan said is right). Last night, I dreamed that he was wearing your clothing's. Uh, he told me about it and I..." Huan added with a nervous smile.
At this point, Little Zhuqin seemed to become a little convinced that Huan DID have a dream of Little Zhan wearing her clothing's. But...the elder Lan brother had quite the imagery for him to laugh like that.
"...You have quite the imagination Huan ge," Little Zhuqin began and laughed just a tad bit.
With that laugh, the two Lan brothers let out a somewhat relieved sigh as they know that even though Little Zhuqin was probably not too convinced, they were able to keep her sidetracked for a bit.
"Qishi a, wo...shi zhen da haoqi (Actually, I am really curious)," She began.
Huan and Little Zhan both swallowed their own saliva then held in their own breaths.
"...Why would you," Little Zhuqin continued and pointed her finger at Huan. "...dream of you," She scanned her finger to Little Zhan then pointed at herself.
"...wearing my clothes?"
"Ah?" The Lan brothers inquired.
"Why would Huan ge dream of you wearing my clothes?" The young girl asked again and pointed at Little Zhan as she gave out another laugh.
It was only an excuse to get by but since the situation had already come to this, the Lan brother just had to go along with their younger cousin's curiosity.
"Uhm..." Huan began.
"...Did you forget what Brother said about you yesterday? He said you were really beautiful right? Maybe he could not forget about you," Little Zhan made up and looked at his elder brother.
"Shi ma (Is that right)?" The young girl questioned and looked at Huan who silently kept to himself. "But why would he dream of YOU in MY clothes? Could it be..."
Could it be what (lol)?
The two Lan brothers did not know what Little Zhuqin was thinking...
"Could it be...you two..." She continued slowly.
"...Us...?" Huan and Little Zhan questioned.
The young girl had thought that since they were blood brothers, there could have been nothing going on between them (AHEM lol). She had decided that since the day was getting a little more darker by the minute, Little Zhuqin did not want to carry on with the rather, laughable situation.
"Aiya, suan le suan le (Forget it)," She began with a smile and walked over to her guqin.
"Hao ba, wo men la wo de guqin (Ok, let's play my guqin)," Little Zhuqin cheerfully changed subjects and properly sat on the cushion in front of her guqin.
She placed her fingers on the strings and randomly strummed a few notes just to hear the peaceful sound of her guqin. She had played her instrument every night, but with recent activities, it had been a while since she last heard them.
"Unlike our Gusu Lan's guqin, your guqin is very beautiful and rich in color. Gold peonies and golden clouds," Huan added as he walked up to his younger cousin's side.
"I guess," The young girl generally replied, trying not to sound too high and mighty by her guqin designs simply being a different color.
The elder Lan brother looked at Little Zhan and slightly motioned his head to have his younger brother also come by his side to look at the guqin. But Little Zhan simply did not want to because...he already knew about it from last night (lol).
There was probably just one detail that both of the Lan siblings missed.
"Mm, I already know that her guqin has golden designs. Suo yi ne (So)?" Little Zhan simply questioned.
Again, he had forgotten to not let Little Zhuqin know that he was already familiar with the room. Well, it would not be such a big problem to let her know that Little Zhan slept in her room. Besides, judging from her somewhat open personality, she would not mind it right? But of course they just had to be careful since they were afraid the young and intelligent girl may catch on to the real reason why they are there.
"Zhan," Huan softly warned and nudged his head to the side a little.
Little Zhan looked up at his elder brother and gasped out quietly then looked away, knowing that he forgot to conceal the idea.
"Shenma (What)? You know? What do you mean 'you already know?'" Little Zhuqin questioned and immediately stopped strumming the strings.
"...We came by earlier and saw them." Little Zhan quickly replied as an excuse.
The young girl silently smiled to herself and turned over to look at his elder cousins.
"Shi ma (Is that so)?" She asked.
"Shi a (That is right)," Huan quickly stepped in.
He grabbed onto Little Zhuqin's right arm and helped her stand up then gestured for his younger brother to come sit down in her seat, in front of her guqin.
"Yesterday, he really wanted to play with your guqin but since it was late, he could not. He was quite disappointed since he really loves the guqin." Huan explained.
"Ah shenma (Huh, what)? Zuotian (Yesterday)?" Little Zhuqin asked again.
"Yes. We happened to come by here yesterday and he saw your guqin." The elder Lan brother continued to explain.
As requested from Huan and without hesitation, Little Zhan lightly patted his garment and elegantly sat down in his younger cousin's seat. His eyes were fixated on her golden designed guqin and he immediately placed his little fingers on the strings. But upon placing his fingers on the cords, Little Zhan noticed a familiar piece of white silk ribbon tied around the neck portion of the guqin. He slowly reached his hand to touch and observed the ribbon. There were two remaining long strands of strip that were tucked under the table.
At this point, it was only common sense that the silk strip was a forehead ribbon, an extremely important and precious heirloom to the Gusu Lan sect. It was only obvious that he knew and was confident about this guess because even Little Zhuqin was part of their Lan family. Of course, unlike the Lan sect's silk ribbon that had only graceful blue clouds, Little Zhuqin's forehead ribbon was embroidered with golden designs of peonies and swirling clouds.
The young lad then thought how could he have missed the fine detail yesterday night. Well, perhaps Little Zhan could not blame himself since the circumstances did not allow him to; per say, sleeping in girl's clothes (lol).
"Mm...zhe shi ni de mo e ma (Uhm, isn't this your forehead ribbon)?" The young lad openly questioned, pulling the rest of the two long ribbon tails out from underneath the table.
Huan and Little Zhuqin turned their attention to her forehead ribbon that was tied onto the neck of the guqin, being held in Little Zhan's right palm. The elder Lan brother could tell it was indeed a forehead ribbon and slowly kneeled down besides his younger brother to take a closer look.
"Oh, dui a (Oh that is right)! Na shi wo de mo e (That is my forehead ribbon)!" Little Zhuqin cheerfully responded.
"Guoren (As expected)," Huan began with a gentle smile. "Considering you are also part of our Gusu Lan, of course you would have our family heirloom."
As Huan continued to carefully go over the fine details of the golden designs of peonies and swirling clouds, Little Zhan began to think deeper into why their younger cousin was not wearing the forehead ribbon.
"...From the looks of it, you don't seem to wear it. What is the use of having it?" He bluntly questioned.
"Mmm...does it matter if I wear it or not?" The young girl unknowingly asked.
"Ah?" The young Lan siblings blankly looked at each other.
"Does she...?" Huan thought to himself.
"Do you not know why it is important for you to wear your forehead ribbon all the time?" Little Zhan questioned.
Little Zhuqin stood in her space for a minute or so. She was definitely part of the Gusu Lan sect and it was not until today that she found out that she HAD direct cousins from her mother's side. Speaking of her mother...she never told Little Zhuqin how important the ribbon was...so the young maiden could not obviously blame herself for not knowing the true value of her family heirloom. Also, it was not like her Jin family was to blame too, because THEY did not belong to the Lan sect either.
It was only common sense for the young girl to be honest, and honest she was.
"Mm...bu zhi (Mm, I don't know)," She sincerely replied with puckered lips.
The Lan brothers both let out a short sigh and could only think that their aunty, Yunlin, hated their younger cousin so much to the point of not even sharing an important piece of treasure to her; their forehead ribbon. Huan looked at Little Zhan as the younger brother returned the elder's gaze. In their mind, it was as simple as saying, "Well the forehead ribbon is important to our Gusu Lan because the ribbon signifies love between two partners. One must wear their forehead ribbon at all times and the only person who can take it off, is the person that the Gusu Lan individual loves. And..."
...Perhaps love was not something easy for the two Lan brothers to think about and as they thought hard about HOW to explain the value of their forehead ribbon to Little Zhuqin, the young maiden was thinking about something else.
"How did they see my guqin....when they need to come in my room first and go through the back door...into the garden? The only way they can really see my guqin through this window is being in the back garden...so..."
Not realizing the two Lan brothers to still be thinking of how to properly explain the value of their forehead ribbon to her, Little Zhuqin unintentionally changed subjects.
"By the way, the only way you can see my guqin is to come by this window from the back garden," Little Zhuqin explained, trying not to sound too confused herself.
Both boys immediately stopped thinking of their forehead ribbon morals and began to think of ways to avoid Little Zhuqin's suspicions.
"Y-yes, we were in," Huan began and slightly paused in his statement.
They were IN her room (lol).
"...We were in the back garden and saw your guqin through this faint window. How much in detail would you even want us to go?" Little Zhan questioned and placed the ribbon tails onto the wooden floor.
He began to strum random notes on the young girl's guqin.
At this point, Little Zhuqin just had one eyebrow higher than the other; she was a tad bit suspicious but not to the exact point where she would suspect that they DID something wrong (lol). As mentioned, it would not be a big problem to openly let the young girl know that they were in her room last night. But her suspicions would only rise if she asked about what their true purpose was to have Little Zhan sleep in her room (lol) when there were so many other guest rooms in Jin Lin Tai (Carp Tower). Besides, judging from his behavior towards Little Zhuqin, there was no way he would want to sleep in her room out of ALL rooms (lol).
BUT...the Lan sibling's excuse...were not making sense since her room and the back garden was structured differently from what they explained.
Little Zhuqin slowly kneeled down besides Little Zhan as he continued to strum random notes on her guqin. Huan could only watch and silently hope that their young cousin did not catch on to anything.
Well...she did (lol).
She made herself comfortable and fixed her clothes of any wrinkles she may have had. Little Zhuqin then cleared her throat and leaned over to place her head onto the extra space on her long table while Little Zhan continued to focus on her guqin.
"Mmm...You know, I find it kind of strange." Little Zhuqin began with a bubbly smile.
Little Zhan stopped plucking the strings and Huan's eyes scanned over to the young girl.
"What is?" Asked Little Zhan, as the sound of the guqin gradually faded away.
"What if I told you both..." She began and placed her arms on the table. "What if I said that the only way to get into the back garden is to go through my back door?"
The Lan siblings slightly froze in their position; Little Zhan's fingers still hovered over the guqin and Huan's eyes fixated on Little Zhuqin.
"But...you guys told me that you were in the back garden and happened to see my guqin from this window..." The young girl logically explained and sat back up with her hands in her lap. "...How can you both be in the back garden when you need to come through my room first...?"
Huan and Little Zhan quietly gasped out loud then quickly scanned around her room. They indeed saw a big back door and Huan wanted to run over to see if the back garden was indeed only entered through that back door alone, but the elder brother did not want to sabotage his lie (lol). If anything, he had asked himself of how he could miss such big detail last night before he left Little Zhan to sleep in her room.
Little Zhan...was in the same boat as his elder brother (lol). If anything, he was afraid their younger cousin would know he was dressed in her clothes.
"Also...how did you know my guqin had gold peonies and clouds Huan ge?" Questioned Little Zhuqin.
Huan turned his attention back to the young girl and nervously smiled, already knowing that the excuse they made was already turning into a mess.
"Uh...I have good vision," He quickly said while Little Zhan nodded in agreement.
"Oooh..." Little Zhuqin said, trying to sound as convinced as possible.
But the young maiden was not the least convinced (lol).
"Mmm...to enter the back garden, you both must have had to enter through my back door...to enter my back door, you both must have had to enter my roommmmmMM?" The young girl thoroughly explained and stood up then placed both her hands on her hips.
While Huan kept his eyes on Little Zhuqin, Little Zhan slowly turned his head to look at the young girl and steadily pulled his arms back into his laps. At this point, the Lan brothers knew they could not hide the true fact anymore. Well, at least HALF of the true fact (lol).
Huan started out with a short sigh and placed his palms on his younger brother's head.
"Uh...to be honest A Qin...we were in here yesterday late afternoon. We were afraid you would find it weird that two boys were in your room so that is why," "Xiongzhang (Brother)," Little Zhan interrupted the elder brother with another gasp. "We were not." He tried convincing the young maiden.
"Hey, you think I would believe you?" Little Zhuqin laughed then pointed her finger at the younger Lan brother.
"Zhan, we have to tell her the truth since she already knows that we were in here before." Huan said, intending to just tell her that they were in her room for a short visit (lol).
But Little Zhan thought differently, "What if Brother tells her that I had to dress up as her and be bait for her mother?"
"Anyways, we were definitely in your room yesterday A Qin. We just did not want you to find us weird that is why we were trying so hard to...not tell you." Huan explained again, and nervously scratched the side of his head with a smile.
Little Zhuqin lowered her head and kept her eyes fixated on Huan then looked down at Little Zhan who only looked up at her with quite the stoic facial expression. One could probably tell, the Lan brothers were definitely holding in their breaths (lol). Without saying anything, the young girl crossed her arms together and just stood there, puckering her lips then sniffling her nose a bit to not make the atmosphere too tense.
"Why is she not saying anything?" Huan nervously thought with a still smile.
"Does she already know that I dressed up in her clothes?" Little Zhan thought.
"...Could she possibly think that we are weird? But we just started to get more acquainted with each other."
The young maiden continued to stare hard into the souls of the Lan brothers and only smiled at them. Then she calmly inhaled followed with an exhale and she simply placed her hands on her hips again.
"What are you both thinking right now?" Asked Little Zhuqin.
"We?" Huan questioned.
Little Zhuqin nodded her head in response.
"Nothing," Little Zhan quietly spoke.
"Let me guess...are you both afraid that I will say something bad because you guys were in my room without me knowing?" The young girl inquired with a smile.
The Lan brothers just slowly nodded their head.
Little Zhuqin inhaled again and held her breath for a couple seconds. While she did so, she had been thinking that she was not angry that her Lan cousins visited her room without her knowledge. She was also thinking that because Xuanzhu Hall was the only building with such a unique bedroom structure (a huge side by side sleeping hall), who would not be curious enough to want to tour it a little?
Besides, fortunately for the Lan siblings, the young maiden was not aware of anything else. Anything else as in Little Zhan having to dress up in her clothes and him being a decoy in case Aunty Yunlin decided to attack yesterday night.
Then Little Zhuqin let out another short exhale.
"Why should you guys worry?!" She cheerfully started. "I am more than happy to have such visitors into my room without me knowing!"
"...Ah?" Both Lan siblings questioned as they both tilted their head to the right.
"Ni shi zhen da da (Are you really stu)," "DA...DA...DA...I...DAI....dai....(BIG...BIG....RAISE, RAISE...raise)," Huan loudly interrupted Little Zhan, who was clearly going to ask if their younger cousin was being a little more dim-witted than the usual (lol).
"Uh...dai...haizi (Uh, raise...children)," He quickly said with a smile.
Mini Note: The three 'Dai' can mean many things but in this case, it means 'big,' 'stupid' or 'to raise' with different radicals.
"Da (Big)? Dai haizi (Raise children)? Huan ge, ni dao di shuo shenme ne (What are you exactly saying elder brother Huan)?" Little Zhuqin laughed, not realizing that Little Zhan meant to call her something completely different from what Huan said.
"Meishenme...meishenme (Nothing...it is nothing)," The elder Lan brother quickly responded.
"You meishenme ah (Nothing again huh)?" Little Zhuqin cheerfully mocked and took a few steps forward.
As she took a few steps forward, Huan knew she was coming for him and before he knew it, the young lad began to step back. He almost tripped backwards when Little Zhuqin quickly grabbed onto his outer garment and pulled him forward.
"Uh..." Huan quietly uttered.
He was obviously supposed to be surprised at Little Zhuqin's openness to touch other people than her direct family members. But just earlier, they shared quite the unintended embrace because of Huan's deceased mother.
Huan then thought, "It was an embrace out of pure sympathy from my sweet cousin."
"Ei, ni zenma le (Hey, what is wrong with you)? If you fell down just now, I would have felt bad." Little Zhuqin said.
As she saw that Huan was standing on his two feet again, the young girl let go of his garment with a smile and quickly fixed his fabric of any wrinkles.
"You...why did you suddenly walk towards me like that?" Huan openly inquired as he caught his own breath.
"Mm...wo zenma zhi dao a (How am I supposed to know)?" Little Zhuqin jokingly questioned back and turned around.
"...Do you have something against my Brother?" Little Zhan asked while he looked up at the young girl.
Little Zhuqin looked down at the younger Lan boy and squatted down in a sitting position then wrapped her arms around her knees.
"Mm...Lan gongzi, ni cai a (Mm, young master Lan, you guess)," The young girl slightly chuckled.
Hearing such formality from Little Zhuqin was a little rare but somehow, just hearing her say 'Lan gongzi' made Little Zhan squint his eyes at her. It was almost as if he was not comfortable with her saying it; they were just starting to get acquainted after all (lol).
But yet...
"Lan gongzi, ni cai a, (Young master Lan, you guess),"
"Oh right," The young girl remembered, interrupting the young lad's train of thought.
She stood up then looked at Huan.
"What were you talking about...raising children?"
"I already said it is nothing, how can she keep asking and actually remember?" Huan silently thought to himself while a faint sweat dropped down the side of his head.
"Uhm...I...well, does your elder brother...like raising children?" The elder brother randomly asked.
Little Zhuqin could not help but laugh just a little at the fact that she would need to imagine Zixuan taking care or at least raising children since there were no other children in the Jin sect at the moment. Heck, he was not even at age to properly marry and have a family yet (lol).
Well maybe, the only child Zixuan had raised so far was...just her right?
"Mmm...if you are asking about Xuan ge...if I was able to live to this day, I am for sure he loves to raise children?" Little Zhuqin responded, still laughing at Huan's random question.
"OOooh, I see." Huan simply said, trying to sound amazed.
The young girl returned a generous smile and looked at her guqin.
"Say...Huan ge, do you also play the guqin?" Little Zhuqin questioned.
"Me? Well as a disciple of our Gusu Lan, it is only expected that we learn the guqin but I am learning how to play the xiao (flute)." Huan replied.
Hearing this, it was only a child's instinct to want to teach others something new and Little Zhuqin excitedly introduced the idea that she could teach her elder cousin how to play the guqin sometimes later.
"Hmph...how can you teach something so elegant to my Brother? Do you even know elegance?" Little Zhan irritatingly questioned.
"Hey, do I even know elegance?" Little Zhuqin asked back then placed her hands on her hips again in a playful manner. "Listen, I AM elegance."
With that last statement having been said about his younger cousin being the elegance itself, Huan could not help and slipped out a laugh just as Little Zhan stood from the cushioned seat.
"Xiongzhang (Brother), you cannot possibly agree with her right?" He asked.
"I...I can't?" Huan laughed, sounding almost disappointed in his younger brother.
"No it's not that, it's..." Little Zhan paused in his train of thought and looked at the young maiden next to him.
Little Zhuqin just playfully smiled back at him as the young lad turned on his stoic facial expression again. She sat beside her cushioned seat again and gently slid her fingers down her guqin strings from top to the very bottom.
"Zhan ge, if you say I do not know elegance....then why don't you play 'Elegance' on this guqin?" She suggested with a playful smile.
"Ah?" Little Zhan asked while he fixated his attention on her.
"Great idea, that is a great idea," Huan encouraged and patted his younger brother's shoulder.
"But I," "You asked me if I knew what elegance was...if you did not know, you would not have said anything right?" Little Zhuqin abruptly interrupted Little Zhan with a bubbly smile, almost mocking him (lol).
Little Zhan irritatingly let out a small sigh then sat back down in the cushioned seat. He slowly raised his hands up to her guqin and had his fingers out, placing them gently onto the strings.
"Mm, nice pose. Now for the music," The young girl nodded her head and placed her left elbow on the table then set her head on her left hand.
The young lad made quite the unhappy side glance at Little Zhuqin and calmly breathed his irritated feelings out. From the looks of it, Little Zhan may have seemed irritated at Little Zhuqin (he probably was), but in truth, he was just not aware that the young maiden herself would make such an intelligent request in regards to music in relation to the characteristic of 'elegance.'
Huan too, was quite impressed that Little Zhuqin was able to turn the tables around and make his younger brother do just what he asked of the young girl herself.
While Huan silently watched, and Little Zhuqin patiently waiting to hear Little Zhan's musical form of what 'elegance' was, Little Zhan just sat in his seat. He was practically blank but did not want to give up as his elder brother was watching him and his annoying little cousin was expecting something out of him. In short, Little Zhan did not want to embarrass himself (lol).
The young lad then had thought, "What kind of elegance does Zhuqin want?"
He paused for a moment and looked over to his left side. Little Zhuqin was looking directly at her guqin and was still anticipating some kind of music that symbolized just what kind of elegance Little Zhan was thinking of. Her smile was still and her eyes were bright. Even though the young girl was quite irritating or hard to understand at times, she had a strong and kind heart. Little Zhuqin was not afraid to stand in Uncle Qiren's way and risk getting her own butt lashed 50 times in exchange for his (lol). No matter how he looked or talked about the young girl, she would always return the same bubbly smile and...what?
Little Zhan shook his head side to side and as the young girl noticed, she looked at him just as the young lad turned back to look down at the golden designed guqin.
"Xiao jiu peng you (Little wine friend)," Little Zhuqin started with a small whisper. "Gangcai...ni daodi kan shenme ne (Just now...what were you thinking)?" She openly asked, intending...that she had mentally heard his inner thoughts.
"Shenma (What)?" The young lad hastily turned his attention back to the young girl.
"'Zhuqin is not afraid to stand in Uncle's way and get her own butt lashed 50 times in exchange...for mine?'" The young girl openly said, saying exactly what was on Little Zhan's mind seconds ago.
"Uh, Zhan..." Huan quietly said, sounding almost as if he was about to laugh.
"How did....you..." Little Zhan said as his voice quietly faded away.
"I was wondering why you were taking forever to come up with what elegance was. So you were thinking about me getting my butt lashed 50 times by Uncle huh?" The young girl jokingly said and slightly laughed.
"I, no that's not..." The young lad stuttered and looked up his elder brother who immediately stopped laughing, followed by a quick sound of him clearing his throat.
"Then, what is elegance?" Little Zhuqin continued to ask.
Little Zhan let out another frustrated sigh then looked at Little Zhuqin again.
He had thought again, "How could this girl possibly have known what I was thinking of?"
The young lad turned to look down at his younger cousin's golden designed instrument again. Finally thinking of a distinct sound of what elegance was through music, Little Zhan first plucked the strings one by one. The peaceful sound of the guqin strings vocally resonated inside Xuanzhu Hall...but those serene noises began to slowly fade away. As they faded away...Little Zhuqin and Huan did not expect Little Zhan to do what he was about to do.
Little Zhan placed all his fingers on the strings and began to randomly strum up and down the instrument, creating such an awful yet tasteful blend of music, it was almost impossible to think that Little Zhan was the one composing such thing (lol). Heck, he did not seem like the type to randomly surprise people through such a dreadful play of such an elegant piece of instrument. But the young boy had a purpose for playing such notes; Little Zhuqin was his inspiration for such randomness because even SHE was quite random at times. That was Little Zhan's way of showing what kind of elegance Little Zhuqin had; peaceful, beautiful, bubbly, untamed and strong (lol).
After strumming for another minute or so, the young lad finally stopped and placed his fingers on the strings to stop the sounds from vibrating. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly...then exhaled calmly. He then turned to look at Little Zhuqin who, if anything, only had quite the fascinated smile while Huan, surprisingly, did not have his ears covered.
"WHAT WAS THAT SOUND?! THAT WAS THE UGLIEST SOUND I HAVE EVER HEARD IN 10 YEARS OF MY LIFE!"
From the distant paths leading to Xuanzhu Hall, Zixuan came running to the 'ugliest' sound he had ever heard and ended up going straight into Little Zhuqin's room, as it was only obvious where the sound was coming from. He had his spiritual dog talisman in his hand and was ready to tackle the ugliest sound with his spiritual dog, Dan Dan, but Zixuan only put it away when he was aware that the ugliest sound was not going to be playing anymore (lol).
"Pft, Xuan ge ni lai le (Xuan ge you have come)," Little Zhuqin slightly laughed as all their attention turned to Zixuan.
"Qin er, you ok?" Zixuan asked as he quickly walked to his little sister's side and helped her stand up.
"Aiya mei shi a mei shi (Oh it's nothing, never mind it)," The young girl said and lightly shook her elder brother's hands off.
"What do you mean 'it's nothing?' And what WAS that sound just now? It was so hideous, even the elders had a difficult time trying to understand what it was." Zixuan argued.
"Oh...it was Zhan ge's way of saying how elegant I am," Little Zhuqin bluntly said and chuckled a bit to lighten up the comedic atmosphere.
"Ah? Again?" Little Zhan quietly thought to himself.
"Isn't that right Zhan ge? Didn't you say I was your inspiration for such music just now? 'This is my way of showing what kind of elegance Zhuqin has...' right?" The young girl cheerfully stated, pulling the exact words out of Little Zhan's mouth a couple minutes earlier.
Huan observed his younger brother and by the looks of it, Little Zhuqin was only correct. She was reading his mind...but how was she doing it? Was she unintentionally reading his mind? Or was Little Zhan saying something to enable her to read what he was secretly thinking about?
"What? You, this...that...dreadful piece of MUSIC? WAS TO SHOW HOW elegant my younger sister was?" Zixuan asked, his voice rising up high and low in between his question (lol).
"Aiya Xuan ge, ni bie shenqi a (Brother, do not be angry)." The younger sister laughed and patted Zixuan's back.
"...How...did you know I played this wild piece of music to represent what kind of elegance you are?" Little Zhan curiously questioned with quite the monotone like voice.
"Mmm...ni cai a (You guess)," Little Zhuqin joyfully said and saw the elders approaching from the distance through her front room's window.
She was about to run and excitedly greet the elders but Huan quickly stopped her with his gentle question.
"Actually I am quite curious too A Qin...how were you able to know what Zhan was thinking?"
Instead of avoiding the elder Lan brother's question, Little Zhuqin stated that she too, did not know how she did it but the young girl was just able to. Perhaps it was just a new cultivation skill; being able to read other people's mind...through hearing her name when that person said her name in their thoughts.
"Maybe," "Qin er, come, now we must go and greet the elders." Zixuan interrupted his younger sister.
Little Zhuqin let out a long short sigh then smiled at her elder brother, giving him quite the look that said, "Well NOW you are being a good son and proper host!"
"Oh (Ok)," She simply said.
As Zixuan walked ahead of her to the main entrance of her room, Little Zhuqin was about to follow but stopped again when Little Zhan stood up from his seat to remind the young girl about her forehead ribbon. He had eventually hurriedly untied the long strand from the neck portion of the guqin and walked to her, the ribbon floating along in his palm.
"Oh yeah, the forehead ribbon," Little Zhuqin thought, almost forgetting about the precious gem because of the 'dreadful' music earlier (lol).
The young girl could not help and laughed just a little because she did not expect her cousin to actually untie her forehead ribbon from her guqin. Let alone, he was the one holding it (lol). It only meant that Little Zhan valued their forehead ribbon heirloom and he mentally wanted his younger cousin to also embrace such treasure. On the other hand, the young girl could have simply said 'Yes,' and take the ribbon from him. But even she felt happy enough to actually joke around again.
"What if I said I will never wear it?" She joked with a smile.
"...Then you do not belong to our Gusu Lan," Little Zhan stoically responded as Huan walked over to them.
"Hao, hao, hao, wo zhe shi kan wanxiao a (Ok, ok, I was only joking)," Little Zhuqin cheerfully giggled and grabbed onto one end of her forehead ribbon.
As it was just a natural thing to do, she slowly pulled the one end of her ribbon and as the entire silked strap slipped out of Little Zhan's hand, Little Zhuqin took a few steps back. Almost as if the young girl was going to do a short ribbon dance, she gracefully twirled her forehead ribbon around her body and smiled at the two brothers, clearly indicating her childlike intent that she was eventually going to wear it someday. The trio then left her room in pursuit of greeting the elders outside Xuanzhu Hall.