Chapter Seventeen: Butterfly Dream

  Name: Shi Luo

  Gender: Male

  Age: Looks like twenty-something

  Occupation: Proprietor of Yi Bao Zhai

  Address: No. 2, Bomei Village, Nanshundun

  Lately I often have the same dream.

  In my dream, I wore ancient clothes from an unknown dynasty, with a head of long hair like a waterfall, dressing in front of the mirror. A man stood behind me, using extremely gentle movements to comb my long black hair. His movements were warm and his fingers were slender, he helped me coil up my hair and inserted the hairpin, saying: "This hairpin is truly suited for you..."

  "Wow, this must be the legendary past life memory!" Lily excitedly clenched her fists, her eyes shining with infinite longing as if two lines of crystal tears were about to flow down. Her face, flushed red from excitement, had a dreamy expression. "The romantic tragedy of my past life will have a perfect ending in this life! The male lead has crossed time and space to find his eternal lover... Oh heaven, why can't I encounter such a romantic and magical thing?!"

  She was saying something while tightly grasping Lin Qifei's hands, with a jealous look on her face, completely unaware that her strength had caused her good friend to furrow his brow.

  "How can you have such a rich imagination and not become a writer?" Zhang Yue, on the side, looked unbearable, ruthlessly interrupting her friend's wild thoughts. "Don't listen to her. Qi Fei, haven't you been too nervous lately that you're having such weird dreams?"

  "What a terrible dream!" Lily pouted in protest, "That's a sad memory of past life love!"

  "Do you believe in that sort of thing from past lives?" Zhang Yue clutched her textbook tightly and said disdainfully, "Those are just nonsense written by bored authors to fool people who have failed at love."

  "Huh, someone like Xiaoyue who only knows how to study and take exams all day, a perfect student, wouldn't understand the beauty of love. I think if you keep going on like this, your brain will become a machine too! Qifei, listen to me, your dream must be foretelling that your true prince charming will appear soon, just wait expectantly!"

  "Fang Xiaoli, do you really understand what dreams are?! Those are just the desires in my subconscious mind that were suppressed by my true self during the day, presented in a disguised form in my brain, and have nothing to do with past-life love affairs! And how do you know I don't understand love?!" Zhang Yue's face turned bright red with anger, and she unconsciously clenched her fists at the hem of her clothes.

  "Oh, so you're saying you have someone in mind, huh? Come on, confess quickly!"

  The moment before, Lili was still entangled with Lin Xifen, but when she heard the words, she immediately turned her spearhead and shifted her attention to Zhang Yue. Lin Xifen finally let out a sigh of relief and looked at her own hands, which had been pinched red and swollen. These two sworn sisters were fine in every other way, except that one was too calm and the other was too... "infatuated". Every time they quarreled, it gave her a headache. Like today, she had originally told them about the dream she had been having for nearly half a month just to hear their opinions, but who would have thought that not only did she not get any opinions, but the two of them actually started arguing first. With a helpless sigh, Lin Xifen began to casually take in the surrounding scenery, and as she looked around, she became stunned.

  At some point, I found myself in a bustling market with buildings overflowing with rich ancient charm. Pavilions and towers, intricately carved wooden doors hidden beneath blooming peach blossoms, looked especially serene and beautiful. The streets were crowded with people rushing to and fro, each seemingly having their own fixed destination. Merchants dressed up in all shapes and sizes, some modern, some ancient, yet without exception, gave off an unforgettable sense of wonder. Was this really the Han Tian Market?

  "Xiao Yue, Lily, do you guys feel..." Just as she was about to ask her friends for help, Lin Xifen suddenly stopped in front of a store. Inside the old-fashioned hall, various wooden racks were placed, holding trays of all sorts of jewelry, from ancient-style jade hairpins, gold earrings, and emerald bangles to trendy titanium rings and plastic earrings. Under the dazzling light of the jewelry, a beautiful woman with long hair, as if she had walked out of a traditional Chinese painting, was carefully threading a red bead necklace. She seemed not only the owner but also the creator of the jewelry. However, what made Lin Xifen stop in her tracks was not the abundance of goods in the store or the owner's beauty, but because she saw that brooch.

  It's absolutely true! Right in the middle of the third grid on the wooden frame at the entrance, that tray was holding the hairpin she had seen in her dream. Lin Xifen almost lost her soul as she walked into the store, walking up to the hairpin and stroking its body with her hand. The shape was just like in her dream, although it looked a bit old-fashioned. It wasn't made of precious gold or silver, but instead had a bronze glow, with a double-strand stem that resembled water texture, topped with a butterfly-shaped head the size of a coin. The hollow carving and fine patterns made the whole butterfly look lifelike, as if it was about to fly away before her eyes. At that moment, a deep sadness spread throughout her body. Lin Xifen had never been so certain that this hairpin and this dream were connected to herself without a doubt. She even thought that the man in her dream who never showed his face might really be her lover from a past life, as Lili said. Was he back to find her?

  "Miss, miss?"

  A clear and melodious voice called Lin Xifen back to reality, she slowly turned around to see that the long-haired woman was standing beside her, with a faint smile on her face, the smile made her beauty even more unreal, like a dream, although they were both women, Lin Xifen was stunned for a moment.

  "Sorry, this pen..."

  "......Huh?" Lin Xifen only reacted after a while, realizing that she had already tightly clenched the hairpin in her hand. If the shop owner hadn't woken her up just now, perhaps she would have unknowingly stolen it.

  "Sorry, I'm not a thief...I just..." Lin Qifei explained awkwardly, but found himself getting more and more entangled.

  "It doesn't matter, I know the young lady is not a thief." The shopkeeper's voice was like the gentle gurgling of a brook in March, with a soothing effect on people's hearts. "This pin is something a friend left here for safekeeping, it's not for sale in our store."

  "This pin is not for sale?!" Lin Qifei exclaimed, looking at the hairpin in her hand and unable to accept the reality of putting it back.

  "Yes, because this is a friend's private property, and it was only recently that he wasn't around so he entrusted me to take care of the hairpin. It's rare for a young lady like you to like it, I'm really sorry." The beautiful shopkeeper then came over to retrieve the hairpin.

  Lin Xie unconsciously took a few steps back, tightly grasping the hairpin in her hand. This action was completed naturally without her thinking about it, and when she became aware of her behavior, her face suddenly turned red.

  "I'm...I'm sorry." She stammered, unsure of what to do next. "I really like this hairpin, could you please ask your friend if they would be willing to sell it to me?" Seeing the shop owner furrow his brow, she hastily added a few more sentences. "As for the price, I don't care how much it is, I'll pay it. Really, as long as you're willing to sell it to me...I know it's not right to take something someone else loves, but I really do like this hairpin, it's very important to me!"

  The beautiful shop owner was considering whether or not to do this business, she slowly walked over and sat down, leisurely picked up a cup of tea, brought it to her lips and blew on it, took a few sips, before putting down the teacup and saying: "Although this hairpin is a personal item, it's not something I'm particularly fond of, if you really want to buy it, that's fine... however..."

  Upon hearing the shop owner's words, Lin Xifen suddenly felt a surge of excitement, but then she thought about what she had just said - no matter how much money it was, she would pay for it. She was just joking, after all, she was only an ordinary middle school student, where would she get that kind of money? If the price really was sky-high, where would she go to make up for it? Thinking about this, her good mood instantly disappeared, and her face fell again. Was it true that she really had no fate with this hairpin?

  "It's not a problem with the money." The shop owner seemed to know what she was thinking, and said lightly, "I'm just curious why Miss is so particular about this pin? I don't know if you can tell me the reason?"

  Is that so? Lin Xiangyi looked at the shopkeeper with some surprise, wondering if a beautiful woman like an ancient lady would call herself that. But she quickly threw off this doubt.

  "Because... because..." She stammered, unable to speak, thinking about whether or not she should tell a stranger about the things in her dreams, and wondering if he would even believe her.

  "Because of this pin... um... because it's exactly the same as one I lost before, that pin was given to me by my ex-boyfriend, it's a very meaningful thing to me, so..." Lin Qifen quickly came up with a story on the spot, replacing her past life lover with her ex-boyfriend, and this story shouldn't be too far-fetched either.

  The shop owner put down her teacup and smiled. For some reason, Lin Xifen felt that her smile seemed to carry a kind of transparent understanding, giving her an instant feeling of being seen through.

  "If that's the case, I'm afraid I won't be able to give it to you. It's possible that this is the one you lost." The shop owner said, taking out a long, rectangular paper box from a drawer and carefully wrapping the butterfly hairpin in thin silk before handing it over to Lin Xifen. "This hairpin belongs to you now."

  "Huh?" Lin Qifei lowered her head to look at the box in her hand, the tactile sensation of the object reminding her that she already had it, yet she seemed to still be in a daze, "Money... how much money?"

  She suddenly realized that she hadn't paid yet, and hastily pulled out her purse to search for all the loose change: "Sorry, I only have this much money now. If it's not enough, I still have two friends..." Lin Qifei only then discovered that Lily and Zhang Yue had long since gone who-knows-where, probably getting separated when she went into the store. "It's okay, I can write an IOU and pay you back another day. Look, this is my student ID." Lin Qifei hastily pulled out her student ID and money together to hand over to the shop owner, but was smiled at and handed back instead.

  "Is it that I don't have enough money? I can call and ask my parents to send some over." Lin Qifei anxiously searched for the store's phone but was stopped by the smiling shop owner.

  "As I said earlier, money is no object, since this watch has a connection with you, Miss, I'll give it to you."

  "Really?" Lin Qifei exclaimed in disbelief, then immediately realized her mistake and whispered, "Then who's your friend?"

  "It's all right, he's a reasonable person, just let me and him explain it to him, you don't have to worry about this. It's getting late too, your parents must be worried about you, so Miss, you should head back soon."

  Lin Xifen turned her head to look outside and was surprised to find that the scenery, which was still dusk just now, had suddenly become a starry night sky. The colorful lights in the market jumped on the ancient streets, shining brightly like a fantasy world. How could it be so fast? Lin Xifen looked down at her watch and exclaimed, pointing to the hands that had already passed ten o'clock.

  "Then... thank you, and please apologize to your friend for me. I'm leaving. Goodbye!" Lin Qifen hastily packed up her school bag, holding the hairpin box excitedly as she left, leaving the beautiful shop owner standing alone in the hall, lost in thought as she gazed at Lin's receding figure.

  "Old Shi, where's that hairpin I left with you last time?" A man who was rummaging through the boxes and drawers like a thief, his bright red eyes and handsome features were not inferior to those of the shop owner who was polishing the jade pendant, but he had an air of mischief about him.

  "I've had enough of you, that hairpin of yours is always causing me trouble, I'd be glad to get rid of it sooner." Shuo said, taking a few steps back to avoid the jade hairpin that Yan Xiang threw at him in anger, the pin grazed his ear and fell to the ground without breaking.

  "You raised it for so long and planned to keep it to eat, but you gave it away so easily?!?" Xiangyan saw that one blow didn't work, so she huffed and puffed, rolled up her sleeves, and rushed over to grab Shiluo's collar, as if she was going to hit him.

  "You just know how to eat." Shuo wrinkled his brow and pushed away the two paws covered in oil stains, looking at the clear black fingerprints on his newly changed long shirt with annoyance.

  "Don't blame him, Shi Luo. You also know how persistent Yan Xiang is when it comes to food." Hua Ru smiled and sipped her fragrant tea while mediating the situation calmly.

  "Isn't he already fed up with eating souls?!" Schro spat, wiping the oil stain from his collar, which instantly disappeared. "That guy's been sighing and groaning all day, almost driving me crazy! Now that I finally have a chance to get rid of him, how could I possibly let it slip?"

  "Hey, isn't that girl the one who has a connection with Qian Li?" Hua Xiang suddenly pulled out a crystal cake from behind her back and waved it at Yan Xiang. Just a moment ago, Yan Xiang was still looking for an opportunity to take revenge and intended to smash everything in Yi Bao Zhai into pieces. But now, she ran over like a well-behaved dog, completely forgetting about Qian Li.

  "Maybe, who knows after so many years?" Schroeder said casually.

  Past life and next life are just different individuals, mostly mutually unrecognizable.

  "If even Lord Shiro can't see through it, who else would be able to know?" The little sparrow sitting beside him took out a handkerchief and wiped his master's mouth, which was quite messy from eating. This eating appearance really didn't match his charming looks, indeed one shouldn't judge by appearances!

  "There must be a story behind that hairpin, but I don't have the leisure to find out; since that girl can sense his memories, it's as if they're fated to be together."

  "It sounds like the story of a bodiless spirit and an ordinary high school girl should be a tragedy." Yikō, who had been quietly playing with a puzzle on the ground beside them, casually tossed out a sentence.

  "Who knows?" Shu said with a nonchalant expression.

  "What's certain about you, always saying I don't know!" Yan Xiang took the opportunity to mock him during the change of plates. This man, who was praised for being as handsome as himself but more intelligent and rational, had severely hurt his vanity, so he wanted to mock him whenever he got the chance.

  Schrodinger faintly drew a smile: "One thing I can be certain of is that I'm going to open for business!"

  "Ah, then let's take our leave." Huā Róng said, leading the way out. Shēng Shāng also patted his hands and got up from the ground, preparing to return to the store. Only Yàn Xiāng desperately clung to the Eight Immortals' table, trying to shirk the responsibility of being the shopkeeper, but was dragged out by Shī Luó with a single pull.

  "Hey, wait a minute, I haven't eaten yet..." As the wailing sound faded away, the entire store suddenly darkened, and the beautiful shop owner sat quietly under the lamp, re-threading her beads.

  "By the time you come back to me, I suppose you'll have confirmed what price you want to pay, right? Until then, take your time and think carefully about what you're willing to give up." He said lazily, adding another sentence, "Who knows!"

  This is Bohemi Market, a market that sells the unthinkable, full of unknown markets, now in operation.