Jinshi and Maomao Short Stories Collection

Stay with me! Epilogue

It was a quiet, tranquil night. The only sounds were the buzzing of some insects and the light breeze agitating the branches of the trees and carrying the smell of fragrant flowers through the air. A night like straight out of a romantic novel.

A lonely figure was walking solemnly under the vast star-spangled sky. Or perhaps not that lonely, after all: looking closer, one could see that this person was carrying another, shorter one in their arms. 

Yes, indeed. Maomao found herself in Jinshi's arms once again, and just like last time, blood was flowing out of the wound on her leg and dirtying her skirt, leaving little scarlet droplets behind on the way.

Yet, this time, it was different. For instance, there was no one watching them, for the two of them were completely alone, enveloped by the darkness of the night.

And second, Maomao was very much alive and kicking, far from being a lifeless doll. Just as it should be. 

Right now, she was glaring up at Jinshi's face and holding her forehead with both hands, the spot where he had headbutted her just a mere few moments ago.

Jinshi was glaring back at her, not even trying to hide his anger. Why should he? There was no one around, anyway, so he had no reason to put on an act and hide his emotions as he usually did. The mask of the dignified noble wasn't needed and had vanished for now.

He was fuming. Asking him for that damn bezoar now of all times! And here he had thought it was really something important, judging by the way she had acted before! But as it seemed, the word "important" held an utterly different meaning for her than for him.

And yet…

That behavior was so incredibly typical of Maomao, Jinshi would have laughed out loud if he wasn't so exasperated with her for neglecting her wound like that (once again). Instead, he let out a snort.

Climbing on the wall, dancing on it, making her wound reopen once more and then intending to sew it up herself! That girl was certainly something! Something special! The young lord was sure that he would never meet another person like her for as long as he lived.

And he had specifically asked her to be more careful... Pha! Of course, she wouldn't listen to him, what had he expected? That was Maomao, after all!

No, that apothecary would never change, that was for sure.  

Not that he really wanted her to. 

"One day, she really will be the death of me, huh?" he thought. And for some reason, that idea amused him a bit.

But still, a tiny shiver did run through his body as he inevitably remembered how she would have fallen from the wall if he hadn't caught her just in time, and he unconsciously held her a bit closer. Why did she always have to scare him like that?!

 And before his still slightly traumatized mind could wander off, he got distracted by her voice again.

“Are you sure you really have it, Master Jinshi?” She was frowning and eyeing him with suspicion.

Jinshi gritted his teeth. He adored her, he really did, but there were times when she was driving him insane.

“You will get your bezoar, you little pain in the neck!" he snapped at her, his voice ripping through the peaceful atmosphere of the night. "Just be patient, alright? As you must know by now, I don't break my promises! And calling ME annoying, tsk…”

He clicked his tongue in irritation and suddenly stopped, lifting her a bit higher, to his eye level. The tips of their noses almost touched. Her hands landed on his shoulders.

"Better tell me one thing: what would you have done if I hadn't arrived, eh? Remained stuck on that wall until morning? Because I don’t think you would’ve been able to climb down by yourself with that leg of yours even if you managed to stitch it up on your own.”

No answer. Just more glares.

But Jinshi was not impressed by them, holding her gaze without averting his eyes.

"You don't know? Doesn't surprise me.”

At long last, he sighed and just resumed his path, pressing Maomao to his chest once again. Her wound was still bleeding, after all, and in need of treatment. Luckily, she didn't seem to be in pain.

Maomao kept looking up grumpily at him without uttering a word, until her eyes eventually widened a bit, as she watched Jinshi's expression change out of the blue. Her own face showed all too clearly that she had a very bad feeling about that.

And indeed, his anger seemed to have faded, being replaced by what could be best described as a mischievous and playful smirk. His childish side was showing itself again.

“I believe a certain someone deserves another little punishment for being so careless, don’t you think?”

The young lord made sure to use an especially saccharine tone of voice, just to tease her.

He saw Maomao gulp. Perhaps, she was bracing herself for another headbutt.

But no, this time, he had a different plan!

"This is for making me worry once again!”

And with these words, he quickly kissed her still reddened forehead.

For a moment, the apothecary was just staring at him, dumbfounded, looking as if she had forgotten how to speak. But then she brought one hand to her forehead and started to protest loudly.

"Master Jinshi!"

"Hahahaha!”

The laughter Jinshi released was filled with happiness and relief from seeing that, despite the once again bleeding wound, she was alright and still the same Maomao she always had been. 

And when he eventually calmed down, the young lord couldn't help giving her a gentle smile. The love he felt in that very moment was so deep, so unreal, it was almost making his chest ache.

It was true that she was causing him an awful lot of trouble, but in the end, he knew that that incredible and adorable young woman was worth everything.

Absolutely everything in the world. 

He kissed her once again, this time on the cheek.

Which made her clench her small hands into fists and start kicking her healthy leg.

“Hey, careful! Don’t squirm like that! You’ll fall!”

Yes, she was definitely alive and full of energy. And this was what mattered.

Notes:
Yep, it’s that scene. :) It was my plan from the very beginning to end the story with it, I just found it perfect for creating a contrast to the first chapter.

And with this, another story is finished. It ended up being considerably longer than I thought it would be, in fact, it’s the longest story I’ve ever written until now! (I do have pretty long stories on ao3, but these are all translations).

Now, I will take a break (two weeks, maybe three, I can’t say yet) to let my ideas for the next stories “ripen” and to plan them out.

Thank you all for reading and leaving comments and votes! I really appreciate it!