Everyone's been reborn, so who would bother finding a wife on their own?

Chapter 20 Cicadas

Song Huan finally went out.

It wasn't because Xiao Yunqing had begged him so many times; it was mainly because she had been squatting next to him, staring at him with her eyes watery, like a little puppy waiting to be walked.

He couldn't stand it.

There's always a sense of guilt about letting down a beautiful girl.

When they went out, Xiao Yunqing put her sun hat on his head.

"You wear it."

"And what about you?" Song Huan didn't refuse, after all, she was going to become a gigolo in the future.

"I have this." She held up the net bag in her hand.

Song Huan looked at her sunburnt face, wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't.

It's good for Xiao Yunqing to get some sun and supplement her vitamin D.

Everything is for the children!

A yellow sun hat with a daisy printed on the brim looked rather comical on Song Huan's head.

Xiao Yunqing walked behind him, holding an ice cream that Song Huan had just bought for her, and ate it happily.

Strawberry flavor, her favorite kind.

"Do you want some?" She held the ice cream up to him.

Song Huan glanced at it and saw a small tooth mark on it.

Song Huan: "..."

"I won't eat it."

"oh."

Xiao Yunqing withdrew her hand and continued to eat heartily, her eyes squinting with delight at the delicious food.

We hadn't walked far when we arrived at the grove of cicadas.

It's called a grove of trees, but it's actually just a patch of mixed trees behind the residential area. The trees aren't tall, but they're quite dense, and the cicadas chirp the loudest in the summer.

Xiao Yunqing rushed in with the net and began looking around.

Song Huan found a big tree, plopped down in its shade, and pulled her yellow sun hat over her face to block out the glaring sunlight.

It's windy.

The leaves rustled, and a cool breeze brushed against my face, carrying the scent of earth and grass.

The cicadas were chirping overhead, which was a bit noisy, but after a while, listening to them actually became somewhat hypnotic.

Just as he was falling asleep, he heard footsteps.

"Song Huan!"

He lifted his hat and squinted at the person in question.

Xiao Yunqing stood a few steps away, holding a net in her hand, her hair disheveled and her face covered in sweat.

"I just can't catch it!"

Song Huan glanced at her, then at the net bag in her hand.

"Weren't you being quite capable just now?"

Xiao Yunqing pouted.

"They all fly too fast."

Song Huan got up from the ground and dusted off her hands.

"Where?"

"I knew you were the best!"

Xiao Yunqing's eyes lit up, and she pulled him deeper into the woods.

"There! There!"

She pointed to a tree.

Song Huan looked up.

A cicada, dark brown with thin wings, was perched on a tree trunk, chirping enthusiastically.

"You catch it for me."

Xiao Yunqing looked up at him, her eyes bright.

Song Huan sighed again.

He took off his sun hat, put it back on her head, and then walked to the tree and began to climb up.

The tree wasn't tall; I climbed it in no time.

The cicadas were still chirping, and he hadn't been spotted.

He slowly reached out his hand, getting closer and closer.

Grab it tightly.

The cicadas' chirping stopped abruptly.

He jumped down from the tree and spread his hands.

"Here you are."

Xiao Yunqing leaned closer and stared wide-eyed at the cicada.

"So this is what a cicada is?"

Song Huan was stunned for a moment.

"You haven't seen it before?"

Xiao Yunqing shook her head.

"I've only read about it in books."

Song Huan didn't know what to say.

The children in the city had never even seen a cicada.

He handed her the cicada.

Xiao Yunqing carefully took it, held it in her hands, and brought it close to her eyes to look at it.

The cicada twitched in her palm and flapped its wings a few times.

She was startled and almost dropped it, but quickly held it steady.

"It moved!"

Song Huan couldn't help but laugh when she saw her like that.

Xiao Yunqing held the cicada in her hands, so happy that she danced with joy.

"I have cicadas now!"

She twirled around, her ponytail swinging, her skirt billowing, and her laughter echoing through the woods.

Cluck cluck, like a little bell.

Song Huan stood still, watching her spin around.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on the ground and onto her, sparkling brightly.

He smiled, turned around, and walked back to the big tree.

I lay back down, resting my head on my arm, looking at the leaves and sky above me.

The leaves are green, and the sky is blue.

A breeze blew by, causing the leaves to sway and the dappled sunlight to flicker.

Xiao Yunqing ran over, squatted down next to him, and held the cicada in front of him.

"Look, it's stopped barking."

"You scared me."

"Nonsense, I didn't scare it."

Song Huan didn't speak and continued to look at the leaves above her head.

Xiao Yunqing squatted for a while, then lay down next to him.

Her small body nestled against him, mimicking him, resting her head on her arm and gazing at the sky.

"The sky is so blue."

"Um."

"The leaves are so green."

"Um."

"The cicadas are so noisy."

"Um."

Xiao Yunqing turned to look at him and suddenly smiled.

Song Huan felt her gaze and turned to look at her.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing."

She turned back and continued looking at the sky.

After a while, she whispered, "I had a really fun day."

Song Huan didn't say anything.

He looked at the leaves and sky above him, feeling the warmth of the small space beside him.

If only time could slow down.

Growing up slowly, the adult world isn't actually happy.

He didn't know if his idea was right or wrong.

But at this moment, nothing seems wrong.

……

As the sun slowly sets in the west, the light turns orange-red.

Xiao Yunqing lay on the ground, having fallen asleep at some point.

She was still holding the cicada in her hand; the cicada hadn't run away, it just stayed there in her palm.

Song Huan sat up and glanced at her.

Her face was flushed, her eyelashes were long, and her breathing was soft.

He looked at the cicada again.

"You're quite well-behaved."

The cicadas ignored him.

Song Huan stood up and patted the dirt off her clothes.

Then he bent down and removed the yellow sun hat from her face.

I don't know when, but she put the hat over her face again and gently put it back on her head.

"Let's go home."

Xiao Yunqing opened her eyes groggily.

"Going home?"

"Um."

She got up, rubbed her eyes, and suddenly remembered something, looking down at her palms.

The cicadas are still there.

She smiled.

"It's still alive!"

Song Huan nodded.

"Let's go back and find a bottle to keep it in."

"No way, I want to let it go."

Xiao Yunqing refused, stood up, and followed him.

Why?

"Because it's a little life too!"

Xiao Yunqing said seriously.

"Alright then." Song Huan smacked her lips.

After taking a couple of steps, she ran up to him again and grabbed his hand.

Song Huan glanced down.

She didn't look at him, but simply held his hand and continued walking.

Song Huan didn't say anything, nor did she shake him off.

The two walked out of the woods and into the sunset.

Their shadows stretched long and leaned together.

Xiao Yunqing suddenly spoke.

"Song Huan".

"Um?"

"Let's come catch cicadas again tomorrow."

"No, I'm bored."

Come on, come on.

"No, it's too hot."

"Then I won't come; I'll stay home with you."

The cicadas are still chirping.

The wind is still blowing.

……

When I was eleven, I thought that if I caught that cicada, I could catch the whole summer.