"You mentioned... destiny?" Miss Yun looked at him.
Her husband had just brought up destiny, saying it was wonderful and that he liked it very much.
What a coincidence.
Miss Zhu was indeed one of his original destinies.
"Whatâs wrong with destiny?" Xu Changâan didnât expect to hear such a mystical word from Miss Yun.
His young lady wasnât the type to be interested in such intangible things; something as sentimental as destiny shouldnât come from her lips. Generally, Miss Yun cared far more about candied fruits than such concepts.
He thought about it for a moment and realized that it was his earlier praise of destinyâs goodness that made Miss Yun think this was something he liked, hence her interest.
However, Xu Changâan didnât plan to discuss with Yun Qian anything about destiny, which he found extravagant and even far-fetched. He merely tightened his grip around Miss Yunâs waist and said, "Werenât we... talking about Senior Zhu? The lady wants to know about Seniorâs affairs, but if we donât talk about it soon, weâll be there..."
If in the end they didnât talk about Zhu Pingniang, wouldnât Miss Yun be held in his arms for nothing?
After all, such closeness was originally to prevent Zhu Pingniang from eavesdropping.
"Miss Zhu?" Yun Qian was a bit puzzled. "Arenât I talking about her?"
She was talking about destiny.
Not something intangible.
Because Zhu Pingniang was supposed to be part of his destiny, so Miss Yun wasnât off topic at all.
Xu Changâan was perplexed about what Yun Qian was talking about, but then Yun Qianâs calm words reached his ears.
"You once told me, a sip and a bite, perhaps predetermined... The Buddhist sect also uses this to illustrate cause and effect, maybe a personâs fate is really destined by heaven."
Yun Qian mimicked Xu Changâanâs tone to perfection, even capturing that note of sentimentality and bewilderment.
"Did I say something like that?" Xu Changâan scratched his head.
"You did." Yun Qian nodded, saying that even the number of grains of rice a person eats is fated.
"Really." Xu Changâan responded, then said, "Destiny may be predetermined. Itâs a part of the doctrine of fate; I donât quite understand it, so I take an observant attitude. Just doing whatâs necessary is enough."
He didnât want to believe in the existence of fate.
But as an ordinary person, without the help of destiny, how could he have met such an extraordinarily perfect lady?
So, he believed in and was grateful for the existence of fate.
After all, meeting Miss Yun wasnât something that could be achieved by effort alone.
"Predetermined?" Yun Qian blinked.
"I told you to read more books." Xu Changâan sighed softly and then said, "Predetermined refers to something that is already established. Predetermined by heaven means a fate that is already established and unchangeable."
After saying this, he found it somewhat amusing.
Because in the past, the lady would hold him, teaching him to recognize characters and read phonetics.
But now, itâs he whoâs holding the lady, talking to her about these pointless things.
Should it be said that this is also a manifestation of destiny?
"I donât quite understand." Yun Qian shook her head. "Predetermined by heaven?"
The lady thought it shouldnât be so.
Because fate could be changed. Zhu Pingniang and Li Zhibai were supposed to be part of his destiny, but now they had become outsiders residing outside his heart.
"Why are you interested in such a thing?" Xu Changâan opened his eyes, then glanced at the ladyâs figure, and closed them again.
The lady looked beautiful, so she could do whatever she wanted.
Xu Changâan explained simply, "My lady, destiny, broken down... âMingâ refers to the innate nature given at birth, and âYunâ refers to the ups and downs of lifeâs various stages."
"So, fate is lifelong, fortune is momentary."
Xu Changâan dug up his chaotic knowledge reserve from his past life, saying somewhat inexplicably, "The book says destiny is a manifestation of the uniqueness and irreversibility of time... Huh? Destiny is part of the river of time... is that what it means?"
Xu Changâan was dumbfounded and murmured, "The ancients said itâs both time and fate; the âtimeâ there is âfortune.â The movement of oneâs birth chart along the river of time defines fortune, so... is the power of destiny secretly floating in the river of time?"
Forget it.
What kind of philosophical problem is this?
He himself couldnât understand it.
So he shook his head.
In his past life, he didnât have a girlfriend, nor many friends, spent every day immersed in the ocean of books, and read too much useless stuff.
"My lady, I was just speaking randomly. If you donât understand, donât ask me, because I donât get it either." Xu Changâan spread his hands, then opened his eyes and looked up, only to be dumbfounded.
Because Miss Yun had a thoughtful expression.
???
Several question marks appeared above Xu Changâanâs head one after another.
What was the ladyâs situation?
Previously, when talking about the difference between being close at home and outside, Miss Yun couldnât even grasp the distinction between tenderness and teasing, so how come now that he had spouted a lot of nonsense, Miss Yun had an expression of "understanding everything, fully understood."
Xu Changâan couldnât help but speak.
"My lady, did you understand?"
"What about what you said would I not understand?" Yun Qian gave Xu Changâan a strange look, then frowned.
So the so-called destiny is merely a part of the river of time.
Come to think of it, destiny pertains specifically to individual matters and people, while time exists whether or not people or things do.
No wonder she didnât know what destiny was, for that thingâs level had never caught the ladyâs eye, after all... even the river of time couldnât compare to the stream she used to soak her feet while leisurely reading on usual days.