Chapter 923: My Wish

Chapter 923: My WishEnjoying the sweet aftertaste of the fresh tea, Xia Zhao's thoughts were wandering off. And finally, he couldn't help saying, "Young Master Ru, I disagree with you."        

Ru lifted his brows and questioned, "Is that so?"    

"You and Raelle aren't similar," he stated. "She is the peace, you're the storm."    

Ru didn't refute his words and offered a sly smile.    

Getting this reaction, he shook his head. In fact, it was very obvious. Ru's temperament was different from Raelle's.      

"By the way, when did you allowed shadow guards to follow you? No, since when did you need someone to protect you? Aren't you enough to protect yourself?"    

Ru sighed very heavily displaying his mood, "They aren't following me to protect me."    

"Then?"    

"They are here to keep an eye on me."    

Xia Zhao burst out laughing, "You really lost the Clan's faith in you. Everyone is afraid you'd run away again. This is so funny. The mighty Young Master Ru is being watched."    

Ru gave him a look, "You can laugh all you want, little uncle. This young master doesn't care. And let's be real. If I want to escape, no one would be able to stop me. If I was so easily caged, wouldn't that ruin my prestige?"    

Xia Zhao stopped laughing and nodded in agreement. He could argue with those words. If Ru really wanted, he'd still find a way out. He glanced at Ru who was drinking tea elegantly and sighed. Once upon a time, this young master was chasing freedom.      

"Did you stop chasing freedom?" asked Xia Zhao.    

"No, I found my freedom," replied Ru. "It was right there in front of me all along. I was too blind to realize it."    

Xia Zhao gave Ru a probing look. He knew Ru ran from the clan when he was young. And he disappeared for a decade and yet, in the end, he came back home on his own. So, he wasn't lying. Maybe his freedom really lied back home.    

"Help me send something to the Xiang house," said Ru and didn't explain anything further as he stood up and get back to his own things. This sentence was mysterious but Xia Zhao didn't question or probe about it. If Ru brought this up, it must be something important.    

Meanwhile, the one they were talking about was dragging her husband toward the banyan tree she learned about. When Shui Xian came back with the fish feed, he found Raelle crouched down beside the fish pond as she craned her neck to look in the pond. She looked like she was studying the fish.    

And when he asked, she replied, "Someone just told me that there are some very interesting fishes in the pond. I found silver carp just now but it slipped away."    

Shui Xian listened to her as she even imparted her knowledge to him regarding the places in this temple. Even Shui Xian didn't know about these things so he listened attentively. In fact, he'd listen to whatever Raelle said so there was nothing really new or special about that. He was just that kind of a husband who liked to listen to his wife.    

"There is another interesting place, let's go over there," said Raelle when she dragged him along. Following the directions she was told earlier, she arrived at the platform where the aged-old banyan tree was.    

It was really huge and gave off a majestic and equally historic feeling. But it was lush green and the branches were dancing with the winds leisurely. As the last hues of the sun fell through the branches, it made this place look peaceful. But then again, Raelle thought everything in this temple looked peaceful. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that it was a secluded place or more to do with the fact that it was a holy sanctuary.    

Whatever it was, the clean and silent environment was certainly to her liking.    

The thin and long ribbon strips tied to the branches were also swaying currently. She looked on for a moment. Each ribbon seemed to have a wish written on it. No one could tell what was on her mind right now.    

Noticing her interest in this, Shui Xian knew that she had never done this kind of a thing before. Well, she wasn't like him to begin with. It was he who even used coins to wish on wishing fountains. He was just like that.      

While Raelle was closely observing the tree that was hundreds of years old, he ran off and brought back two ribbons for them. He walked over to her and asked, "Wifey, how about you also write a wish?"    

"Will it work?" she asked instinctively but suddenly recalled what Ru had told her so she nodded in the end. "I heard there is a tree spirit here."        

Shui Xian chuckled his head, "Oh? Do you believe that?"    

"Whether I do or not, doesn't really matter. Everyone else seems to believe it," she told him. "Or else there won't be so many wishes here."    

"Okay, let's write our own then," he said. "Whether it works or not, we'll see."    

Raelle nodded her head and took the writing brush before she froze. Oh, right. She still didn't know what to wish for. What was there she could ask for? What could she possibly ask for? She was thinking so seriously that one might think that a genie granted her a wish and asked her to choose wisely what she wished for or she'll lose her chance.    

But perhaps, that was really Raelle's mindset right now. She was awfully serious about this.      

Even when Shui Xian was done writing, she just stood there at a loss. Shui Xian didn't disturb her. He just observed her closely. He didn't want to rush her. To be honest, he wanted her to look inside herself and find what she wanted. There must be something.      

Finally, the tip of her brush touched the ribbon as she wrote seriously. Shui Xian didn't want to peek but his eyes inadvertently caught a sigh at what she was writing and were left stunned.      

She wrote a very simple sentence, 'I wish that my family stays healthy and happy.'    

It was just that. After all that thinking, it was still just that sentence. Simple but it displayed her whole heart. It was almost like she exposed her deepest thoughts through this sentence.      

Because it was very easy to tell where this sentence came from. Raelle's life was all about her family. It'd be a surprise if she didn't add them to her wish. Even if it was a wish of a lifetime, she'd still wish for the same thing because nothing else was more important to her than family.    

Sighing helplessly, Shui Xian said, "Baby, won't you wish for something for yourself?"    

Raelle looked at him and said, "Isn't this for myself?"    

"What about your own health and happiness?" asked Shui Xian.    

"If my family is happy and healthy, they'll make sure to keep me happy and healthy," she replied. "You know, my day brightens up when you give me that beautiful smile. So, in turn, I become happy. If you think about it carefully, this wish is entirely for myself."    

Shui Xian shook his head and hugged her all of a sudden.      

He didn't say anything and looked at his own wish, 'I wish that my Raelle is full of smiles in life and never has to get hurt again.'    

He suddenly felt like it was okay if she didn't know what to wish for herself. He was here. His wishes will always have her. Wasn't that enough? He'll continue to wish in her place and work on making those wishes come true. If his smiles were behind her happiness, he'll keep smiling for her without getting tired.    

"Let's tie them up," said Raelle.      

"Okay," he agreed. "They say the higher to tie the ribbon, the more chances that it'll come true."    

"Hm? Really?" Then she looked up and then she looked at her legs. Was she supposed to fly up there now?    

Seeing her reaction, Shui Xian pressed his lips together to suppress his laughter. He bent down a little and hugged her legs as he pushed her up. Raelle instinctively placed her hands on his shoulder and asked, "What are you doing?"    

"I'm taking the role of being your ladder," he replied. "I'll lift you up so you can even snatch the stars from the sky much less a wish."    

"Cheesy!" she commented.    

Shui Xian chuckled, "You already know I'm cheesy. Now, tie up your ribbon at the highest branch you can reach. Don't hold back. Or maybe you can sit on my shoulders to reach even higher?"    

"No, this is enough," she said. "My wish isn't that urgent."        

Then she tied up the ribbon with a tight knot making sure it won't fall down from the wind that easily. Satisfied with her work, she tapped on Shui Xian's head, "Put me down."    

Shui Xian lifted her down a little but before her feet could touch the ground, he kissed her lips and placed her down.