There is no Redemption for A Scum Villain

Chapter 25

"The ponytail suits you," Yue Qingyuan quietly whispered to Shen Qingqiu after the man finally came out of the third shady store he visited this week, "It reminds me of when we were still desciples."

Shen Qingqiu looked at him. His disappointment of having found nothing again faded a little. Although he had spent the last three days together with Yue Qingyuan traveling through several cities and enjoying the time together, it still worsened his mood massively that he just couldn't obtain the thing he was looking for.

After giving Yue Qingyuan a soft smile he aggressively crossed through the third address Shang Qinghua had written on the paper.

"Nothing again?" Yue Qingyuan asked although knowing the answer already.

"Yes. But I'm not going to give up," Shen Qingqiu replied, "Even if I have to turn the whole of China upside down."

Yue Qingyuan looked after Shen Qingqiu with big eyes when he walked off towards a stall on the marketplace. He admired the other's determination, especially because he knew that Shen Qingqiu wasn't doing this for himself. As he had said before, this was something he was trying to get for Yue Qingyuan to mend 'marks carved through the passage of time' as he had put it.

Shen Qingqiu came back with two rice buns. He stuffed one into Yue Qingyuan's hand and started gnawing on his. Yue Qingyuan knew he shouldn't think that given that Shen Qingqiu was upset, but he thought that he was acting awfully cute right now.

"They said they recently sold it," Shen Qingqiu said through his bun, "Two days ago."

"That's bad luck," Yue Qingyuan said and sighed, "You know... If you're really trying to get this just for my sake you can just abandon the search. You shouldn't have to get so upset just because of me."

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Shen Qingqiu angrily snapped, almost spitting out half of his rice bun. He quickly swallowed and continued, "Even if I have to upturn the whole of China, I will find it. I meant it as I said. I need to find it."

Yue Qingyuan couldn't help himself but take a step back at the determination in the other's voice. How could this be so important that Shen Qingqiu was willing to go to such lengths? If it was Shen Qingqiu it truly had to be very important to him.

Shen Qingqiu almost tore his rice bun to shreds, looking very annoyed as he grumbled.

"If only I could remember what to do," he said, "But even then it would be too unsafe to just go by what I still have in my head. If anything goes wrong... No, that doesn't work."

He kept rambling on and on.

The next few days his mood got worse and worse the more addresses he had to cross out. Yue Qingyuan felt very bad for him, but he knew that there was nothing he could do but try and cheer him up a little by being with him and occasionally complementing him a little.

"When we're in the next city we can visit some friends of mine," Shen Qingqiu said off-handedly.

When he mentioned those 'friends of his' he seemed to be in a bit of a better mood. Yue Qingyuan began to wonder whom the other might be referring to.

They were close to the city when they reached a small meadow speckled with flowers. Yue Qingyuan suggested that they could get off their horses to walk the rest of the way. He didn't tell him that he only wished to do that so he could reach the flowers better.

After getting off his horse Yue Qingyuan bent down to pluck a daisy off its stem. Shen Qingqiu noticed him do so and frowned.

"Haven't you plucked enough flowers already? Do you need to pluck another?" he asked with a serious face. From his expression alone no one could see that he was merely making a joke again.