My Wandering Swordsman

"Let's go eat."

"Okay!"

I grinned and instinctively swung my right hand, which bumped right into the water-and-fire stick next to me.

"Clang—"

The water-and-fire stick fell to the ground with a thud.

"what?"

My aunt instinctively looked in the direction of the sound, then bent down and picked it up...

The moment she touched it, her expression changed drastically. She turned to the constable and asked, "You just used this to give him thirty lashes?"

The extra seemed a bit flustered, stammering, "Teacher Yu, I'm not really sure either, maybe I took the wrong one..."

"If you hit someone with a solid stick, can you just say you grabbed the wrong one?"

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Assistant Director Wang quickly jogged over, his face beaming, "Weiwei, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

Without saying a word, the aunt forcefully shoved the fire stick in front of Assistant Director Wang.

Assistant Director Wang's face stiffened for a moment, then he slapped the constable on the back of the head: "How do you do your job! Are you blind? You can even grab the wrong props?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, Director Wang."

The two of them were singing in unison, and my aunt frowned as she watched. She was about to speak when I stopped her.

"It's alright, Auntie. My brother was holding back when he hit me; he didn't really hit me."

I tried to sow discord.

After hearing this, Assistant Director Wang was stunned. His gaze towards the constable changed immediately. The extra was speechless, his lips moving but unable to utter a single explanation.

How do you explain that?

You're saying you really hit him hard? Then how come this kid, who received thirty lashes, is still standing right in front of you like nothing happened? Nobody believes that.

My aunt had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she could only look at me with concern:

"Xiao Ji, are you really alright?"

I waved my hands repeatedly, "It's alright, it's alright, Assistant Director Wang and the others have been very kind to me."

This matter is a personal grudge between me and Assistant Director Wang. Let bygones be bygones; there's no need to involve my aunt.

When I said that, Assistant Director Wang's eyes flashed with surprise, but he smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Of course, he's Weiwei's nephew, we'll naturally take care of him..."

"Yes, yes, Director Wang has certainly taken good care of me..." I smiled and slowly stepped forward, leaning close to the assistant director's ear, my tone instantly turning cold:

"Hey Wang, let me tell you something: keep your eyes peeled from now on."

Assistant Director Wang's pupils contracted, his smile suddenly froze, and his face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

I didn't look at him again, and turned to smile at my aunt:

"Let's go eat."

"Um."

My aunt nodded, threw down the fire stick, rolled up her sleeves, and walked ahead.

I turned to the stunned monk and Liu Zi and shouted, "What are you standing there for? Go eat!"

The two of them followed along, completely bewildered.

My aunt glanced behind her:

"Is this your new friend?"

"Yes, these are Monk and Liu Zi," I introduced.

A hint of relief flashed across my aunt's eyes:

"That's right. In the workplace, having more friends means having more options."

As she spoke, she extended her hand to Monk Hua and Liu Zi: "My name is Yu Yang, and I'm Xiao Song's aunt. Thank you for being his friend."

The Flower Monk and Liu Zi were dumbfounded.

Is it appropriate for the legendary Yu Weiwei, a woman as beautiful as an angel, to shake hands and greet them?

"Teacher Yu... hello..." the Flower Monk stammered, his face turning red.

Liu Zi was even more exaggerated, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

My lips were pouting really high:

"Auntie, you're only a few years older than me, but you talk like an old lady."

"I'm only a few years older than you, so I'm still your aunt."

She ignored my protest and turned to the monk and Liu Zi: "Let's go eat, it's on me."

They both completely lost their ability to think and looked at me blankly.

I quickly waved my hand.

I'm determined not to let my aunt spend any more money today.

So I said, "Auntie, I'll treat you to dinner today."

My aunt's eyes crinkled into a smile:

"You still have money to treat me to dinner?"

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. You're not going to do anything about it."

She didn't refuse too much.

The four of us changed back into our own clothes and met at the entrance of the side courtyard.

My aunt changed into a simple casual outfit: a white T-shirt, jeans, and high-heeled sandals.

While we were waiting for her, the three of us had already bought our dinner: cold dishes, kebabs, rice noodle rolls... and finally, we also carried three cases of beer.

Well, this is the big meal we're going to treat my aunt to.

My aunt looked at the things we were carrying, seemed a little dazed, shook her head and laughed a few times before following us.

We arrived at the tin-roofed house.

I pushed two stools together to make room for a clean space.

Liu Zi found a plastic stool, wiped it repeatedly with his sleeve, and handed it to his aunt with both hands: "Teacher Yu, please sit down."

My aunt was very approachable and readily accepted the invitation: "Don't call me Teacher Yu. There are no actors or extras today, just the four of us eating."

The Flower Monk and Liu Zi looked at each other, not daring to breathe.

Seeing their embarrassed expressions, I laughed:

"Call someone! Call your auntie!"

My aunt rolled her eyes at me: "What nonsense are you talking about? How old are you and how old are you? Here's the deal, let's just call each other by our full names, Yu Yang."

As she spoke, she poured wine for all of us.

My aunt raised her glass: "Come on, Brother Monk, Brother Liu, let me toast you both to thank you for taking care of Xiaosong."

After saying that, she tilted her head back and downed the drink in one gulp, her generosity was unbelievable.

Seeing how down-to-earth she was, the monk and Liu Zi gradually relaxed.

After a few drinks, they started talking more.

My aunt is very good at creating a lively atmosphere.

She said she used to work as an extra, earning ten yuan a day. She would squat by the roadside eating a boxed lunch, which only contained one chicken leg. She couldn't bear to eat it and would save it for a late-night snack...

After a few words, the monks' gazes towards their aunt changed from looking up to admiration to affection.

The more they drank, the more talkative they became.

The tin-roofed house was bustling with activity.

Liu Zi and I are both light drinkers, so in the second half of the night it was mostly my aunt and the monk who were drinking.

The Flower Monk raised his wine cup: "Young lady, let's play a drinking game."

My aunt rolled up her sleeve, revealing her slender, fair wrist: "Then let's cut it."

"Five champions, six six six—"

"All eight horses have arrived—"

"..."

I don't know how much time passed, but in a daze, I felt someone patting my face.

"Komatsu, Komatsu."

I opened my eyes, and my aunt was squatting in front of me, her cheeks flushed with a faint blush, like a ripe watermelon.

"I'm going back now," she said.

I jolted awake and forced myself to stand up: "I'll take you."

My aunt didn't refuse.

Stepping out of the tin shack, the night breeze intensified the effects of the alcohol.

The Fukang car was parked at the door. My aunt swayed her waist a few times, leaned lazily against the hood of the car, and crossed her legs.

Faced with this beautiful scenery, I paused, momentarily stunned: "Auntie, you've had so much to drink, are you sure you're okay driving?"

Back then, there was no such thing as drunk driving checks. My concern was whether my aunt, who had drunk so much, would be able to drive home.

"No problem, I used to drink a pound of baijiu and still drive like that."

I was speechless. I had never seen her touch alcohol during the Chinese New Year. Who would have thought that her alcohol tolerance was superhuman?

She suddenly leaned closer and looked at me.

I looked up and could see a hint of intoxication and tenderness in my aunt's eyes:

"Xiaosong, your aunt is very happy tonight. I haven't been this happy in a very, very long time."

My aunt is happy, and I'm happy too.

"So, will your aunt come over every day from now on?"

My aunt's eyes dimmed slightly, and she shook her head: "No, no."

I frowned. "Auntie, are you unhappy?"

She froze for a moment.

The wind ruffled her bangs, and her aunt forced a smile: "Adults, how can there be so many happy things? After acting for so long, I can't even tell which one is the real me anymore."

She leaned against the car, the streetlights casting a half-light, half-shadow on her profile, and her eyelashes seemed to be covered with a little starlight.

"Hmm~"

I suddenly felt my heart hit something, and it was beating so fast that I was a little panicked.

"Auntie, if you're unhappy, then stop acting."

"If I don't act, what will I eat and drink?"

Looking at the woman in front of me, the alcohol surged up, and I blurted out:

"I'll take care of you!"