Untouchable Lovers - Chapter 259

Chapter 259: Chapter 236: Youth Issues Chapter 259: Chapter 236: Youth Issues Spring came early again this year.

After experiencing autumn frost and winter snow, Chu Garden once again filled with vibrant greenery. Chu Yu had spent a peaceful year and more in Northern Wei.

The spring breeze greened Chu Garden, and similarly greened the residence of Guan Canghai, where in a corner of the backyard, there was a pond over ten meters wide. Chu Yu sat by the pond, scooping up feed with a small spoon, and scattering it into the water.

Recently, she had taken an interest in fish farming, and luckily Guan Canghai’s home had a pond, so she brought in dozens of live fish–red, white, and gray ones, uneven in shape. She did not fuss about the species, simply mixed them together for farming.

Chu Yu innovated ways to prepare feed every day, sometimes using leftovers of rice and vegetables, sometimes specially frying millet, and at times, even throwing in a bone directly. Sometimes, when she forgot, she did not feed them at all. Yet, having kept them alive for so many days without her killing them was nothing short of a miracle.

This bowl of feed was made with cooked rice grains mixed with wheat bran powder, with a bit of seasoning added. A scoop thrown in, and the hungry fish swarmed over, nearly crashing into each other, then chasing the sinking grains to continually gulp them down.

Guan Canghai sat beside Chu Yu, listening to the sounds, his hand moved slightly, and several pebbles shot straight out, striking directly on the heads of a few fish that were fiercely jostling for food.

His force was just right, enough to startle and pain the fish, but not enough to hurt them seriously. Those few fish panically moved back a bit, and the others quickly took their place.

With one feeding and the other playing, feeding while playing, even though they did not speak, there seemed to be an unspoken understanding and joy between them. By the time Guan Canghai had almost used up his handful of stones, Chu Yu’s half bowl of feed had also nearly run out. At that moment, bouncing footsteps came from behind them, Chu Yu sighed inwardly, then her neck was embraced by a pair of arms.

Liu Sang affectionately rubbed her shoulder while saying, “Chu Yu, Chu Yu, let’s go out and enjoy the spring scenery, shall we?” In the past few months, Liu Sang had stopped calling her brother, sister, or princess, instead started following Huan Yuan’s example by calling her by her name. Chu Yu had tried to correct him several times, but failed to bring him around, so she let it be.

At this time, although Liu Sang’s face remained as fair and rosy as ever and his eyes as large and round, he had grown significantly taller compared to the height he was a year ago when he arrived in Luoyang, growing about six or seven inches. Now he was as tall as Chu Yu’s eyebrows. She wondered whether it was because Luoyang’s water was particularly nourishing for children or if it was just that Liu Sang was hitting a growth spurt.

Gently pulling Liu Sang’s arms off her neck, Chu Yu turned around with a smile on her face, “You can go and play yourself, why not find Amman and Brother Huan to accompany you?” After a pause, she smiled, “I feel rather tired today, not really up for going out.”

Liu Sang pouted, reluctantly murmured ok, casting a secretive glance at Guan Canghai sitting by Chu Yu. Ever since this man appeared, he had monopolized much of Chu Yu’s time, yet he didn’t dare to hold any resentment against him; for some reason, seeing Guan Canghai made him involuntarily comply.

After waiting a while and seeing that Chu Yu didn’t intend to agree, Liu Sang sadly hung his head and slowly walked back the way he had come. Once he was far away, Chu Yu heard a chuckle beside her, “How come I didn’t know that you were feeling weak today?”

Chu Yu glanced at Guan Canghai, helplessly said, “It was just an excuse, don’t take it seriously.”

Guan Canghai laughed, “But if there’s anything troubling you, tell me about it.”

Chu Yu sighed lightly and said, “A few days ago, while I was out enjoying the spring with Liu Sang and others, we encountered a family who was also out having fun. They had a child about Liu Sang’s age, and the two children played together. The family casually asked if Liu Sang was married yet and mentioned their child’s future plans.”

This was just casual conversation, but it touched on an issue Chu Yu had been ignoring: when she first met Liu Sang, he was still a child of twelve, but over two years, he had grown taller, and his voice had lost its earlier crispness, turning slightly husky. He had reached the age where he could be considered a teenager.

Now, here she was in Luoyang, acting like a freeloader, leading a group of people in living off stored wealth, as they had brought enough assets with them when they escaped the Southern Dynasty. Currently, she had no specific goals, and living like this for decades wouldn’t pose a problem.

But this was wrong.

Chu Yu said somberly, “This is wrong. In the past, I… I used to spoil Liu Sang too much, making him overly dependent on me. But his life shouldn’t revolve solely around me. In the future, he should get married and ideally achieve something for himself, to not waste his life.” Liu Sang’s life trajectory and focus had been wholly skewed by Shan Yin’s Princess, and she didn’t know how to get him back on track.

Huan Yuan was an adult who knew what he wanted, had his own opinions, and didn’t need her concern. Amman, due to her unique identity, was best kept by her side. But Liu Sang was different; he was supposed to have a normal and beautiful life, not one that revolved solely around her.

But she didn’t know how to convince Liu Sang to break out of this circle. She had tried expressing her wishes to Liu Sang, but that immediately met with strong resistance, and he questioned whether she found him bothersome and no longer wanted him. Afterward, Liu Sang, having perhaps detected something, became even more clingy.

After finishing with a frown, Chu Yu looked up at Guan Canghai, only to see a mischievous smile on his face. She couldn’t help feeling slightly annoyed and said, “What are you laughing at? Are you happy to see me worried?”

Guan Canghai laughed again, then slowly said, “I just don’t understand why you always worry about such strange things.” That was someone else’s life; she didn’t need to be so concerned, did she? Why did she take it so seriously and get so upset over it?

Chu Yu pouted and said, “You might think I have too much free time, but I must find a solution. Liu Sang is my family; how can I not plan for him?” If it were someone unrelated, she wouldn’t bother so much.

Upon hearing this, Guan Canghai, still smiling, fell silent and did not speak again until Chu Yu clapped her hands and walked away. He then said softly, “Family?”

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Although she had confidently declared in front of Guan Canghai that she must find a way, in the following days, Chu Yu still had no progress. While harsh words could indeed drive Liu Sang away, just as with Xiao Bie, the situation with Liu Sang was different. Despite both being issues left by Shan Yin’s Princess, Xiao Bie was an outsider to Chu Yu, but over the past two years, she had come to see Liu Sang as a younger brother.

She wanted to achieve her goal without hurting him, but that goal still seemed very far off, as Liu Sang was currently clinging to her, counting the days and telling her that it had been a whole half-month since she last spent time with him.

Chu Yu was being tugged at the sleeve by him, nagged to the point of giving in, when suddenly Liu Sang stopped, tilted his head to listen to something. After a moment, his expression went through several changes–surprised, nostalgic, and somewhat incredulous. After a moment, he let go of Chu Yu and sprinted outside.

Confused and concerned that something might happen to Liu Sang, Chu Yu called to Amman and together they chased after him to the doorway.