"To think I waited so long just to meet you!"
——Prologue
Once, she was an orchid growing beside a stream and beneath a large tree, listening daily to the songs of birds and the cheerful babble of the water, feeling as though even the sunlight caressing her skin was sighing with contentment. The years were peaceful; what did she know of troubles or worries?
Perhaps even the ordinary orchid herself never imagined that her life was destined to be anything but ordinary.
An inadvertent visit by the God of Flowers changed the orchid's fate.
Passing by quite casually, the God of Flowers let his gaze linger briefly on the orchid, followed by a soft sigh. That breath of immortal essence granted the orchid a human form—a slender, graceful woman with delicate features, a light-colored gauze dress, hair like silk, bright eyes, and a radiant expression.
The handiwork of a deity is never simple. The orchid was transformed into a spirit, endowed with immortality; as long as she had sunlight and water, she could remain radiantly beautiful. Yet she could not speak, nor could she utter a sound. As the incarnation of grass, her existence was meant to be silent.
She was simple and happy. By day, she lingered by the stream, listening to the various animals that came to drink tell their stories; by night, she found a spot on a tree branch with a view of the night sky, gazing blankly at the stars until she drifted peacefully into dreams.
Life remained as simple as it had been when she was merely an ordinary blade of grass, and she felt there was nothing wrong with that. In her mind, the concept of loneliness did not exist, and admiring her own reflection in solitude became a pleasure in itself!
Of course, the forest would never let the orchid spirit feel lonely, for besides her, the Star-Forgetting Forest was home to countless spirits, fairies, and goblins of all sizes. By the orchid's side had once been a little sprite named Alin. Knowing that the grass spirit lacked her own freedom to roam and travel everywhere, Alin loved to tell the orchid about all the things she had seen and heard.
One talked endlessly while the other listened quietly, often losing track of time in conversation. Soulmates were usually born this way!
Alin would often leave the Star-Forgetting Forest to wander and see other places so she could bring back better stories for the orchid. Thus, returning this time and finding that the orchid had transformed into a spirit, she was happier than anyone else!
"You're so pretty, you look like a fairy! How long have you been like this? What's your name? Where do you want to go play?" Alin excitedly pulled the grass spirit around in circles. "Why aren't you talking? Say something!"
The "fairy" smiled, pointed to her throat, and shook her head, feeling for the first time that being unable to speak was a regret.
Perhaps even she herself did not know this was a flaw—her only shortcoming since birth, much like the Little Mermaid who traded her voice for legs.
"You can't speak?" Alin looked with a trace of sadness at the woman who still wore a smile, then quickly recovered her previous buoyancy. "No matter, though. You can listen to my stories, you can travel the mountains and rivers with me, and you're free now! Oh, right, you don't have a name, do you? Well, you're a spirit transformed from an orchid, and you're so pure and refined, as light as snowflakes—how about I call you Lan Ruoxue? And you can call me Alan! How's that, do you like it?"
The woman nodded, smiling most happily, and then drew out a pair of purple orchid-shaped earrings to hand to Alin. Alin immediately used them to replace her own fan-shaped pendants.
"Come on, let's go out and play! You've never left this forest; you should go see the outside world. There will be surprises you never expected, trust me!"
With that, without waiting for a nod, she pulled away the beauty whose smile was still lingering and too late to retract, fearing that a moment's delay might lead to her grand enterprise being met with a refusal!
Having made no prior plans, Alin took Lan Ruoxue to linger in places of exquisite natural scenery, enjoying beautiful sights, tasting delicious food, and chatting with all sorts of people.
The woman transformed from the orchid had never seen so many people, but she seemed accustomed to listening, always sitting with a smile amidst Alin and the crowd like a fairy untainted by mortal dust.
"Greetings, miss. Every other place here is full; may I sit beside you for a moment?" On this day, while Alin went to buy food, a complete stranger took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Lan Ruoxue.
Seeing that Alin would not be back for a moment, Lan Ruoxue had no choice but to smile and nod.
"Many thanks, miss. I come from a far place, and hearing that these parts boast clear waters, lush mountains, and beauties, it seems truly to be true. Meeting you, lady, makes this trip well worth it. May I be so bold as to ask your esteemed name?" The man wore a thoroughly ingratiating expression, gazing smilingly at the woman in green opposite him.
"Who do you think you are? This is my seat, if you'd be so kind as to clear out. This is my sister, and she doesn't talk to people she doesn't know. If you have something to say, talk to me!" Seeing from afar that a man had taken her seat and occupied her sister, Alin dropped the fruit onto the table with an expression of displeasure and began chasing him away.
"I am here to visit friends and relatives, miss, please do not be angry. I did not mean to take your seat." As he spoke, the man stood up, let Alin sit down, and pulled over another stool to sit beside them, watching Alin and Lan Ruoxue eat fruit while completely ignoring his presence. He thought to himself: Are they really sisters? One is elegant and graceful, the other lively and outgoing; one is silent, the other eloquent—the gap between them is simply too wide!
"What are you looking at? Where are your manners? Don't think that just because my sister is pretty you can just stare at her. If you look too long and fall in love with her, you're going to be in trouble!" Alin waved a piece of fruit in one hand while gesturing in front of the man's eyes with the other, striking a pose that declared: Getting any ideas about her means getting past this girl first!
The man hurriedly looked away and smiled somewhat awkwardly.
Before finishing their meal, Alin pulled Lan Ruoxue away without looking back.
Watching the figures of the two women vanish into the crowd, the man suddenly felt a sense of loss—how strange, they were merely passersby who happened to cross paths, and they shouldn't have had any connection, right?
"I'm sure that guy had designs on you, so you have to be careful. There are too many swindlers these days, especially scoundrels who toy with people's affections; you can't afford to let your guard down!" Alin pulled along the woman who was covering her mouth and laughing, speaking with an air of absolute seriousness.
"Don't laugh, I'm telling you the truth. Until you're sure he doesn't harbor malicious intentions toward you, don't trust him easily." Alin paused and added, "Do no harm, but keep your guard up. Lan Ruoxue, have you laughed enough? We are discussing a serious topic!"
The woman in green finally put away her smile, looked at Alin, and nodded earnestly.
"That's more like it! Oh, look over there, there's a waterfall! Let's go, let's go play in the water!" Alin's attention was completely captured by the laughter and the sound of flowing water not far away.
Trotting up to the waterfall, the two girls began to laugh foolishly, throwing aside all decorum as they cupped the clear spring water from the pool and splashed each other.
Their playful appearance became the ideal subject for a painter holding a brush—scenery and beauties, what could be more touching than such natural beauty and smiles welling up from the heart?
Splashing water, dancing hair, and scattered glimmers of light fragmenting into a sky full of stars within their memories. Such beauty, fortunately captured and recorded, would naturally be carved into the heart to become eternal.
"Oh, your clothes are all wet, how womanly! You truly are the grass chosen by the God of Flowers! Your hair is soaked, come, let me wipe it for you. You're so pretty, just how many hearts will you captivate? Could the God of Flowers have designs on you, too?" While tending to Lan Ruoxue's hair, Alin exposed her secrets without the slightest fear of strangers overhearing and letting their imaginations run wild!
Lan Ruoxue clamped a hand over Alin's chattering mouth and made a shushing gesture. She always felt as though someone was watching them, though she wasn't sure if it was just her imagination.
"Come on, with so many people around, it's not even certain anyone would recognize us. Someone must be captivated by your beauty and staring at you!" Alin batted Lan Ruoxue's hand away and continued drying her hair.
Lan Ruoxue suddenly stopped smiling. Her gaze was drawn to a figure in white that had abruptly appeared—in this world, there was probably no one more magnetic to the woman in green than him. Those brows, those eyes, the curve of those lips when they rose, every movement made it hard to look away. The God of Flowers was a rare and handsome man; the moment he appeared, even a city-toppling profusion of blossoms became mere ornamentation, reduced to a backdrop.
Startled by the change in Lan Ruoxue's expression, Alin looked up and froze as well—such a gorgeous person, and though dressed ordinarily, his presence radiated an awe-inspiring vigor!
The man walked up to Lan Ruoxue, looked at the orchid faintly visible on the woman's gauze dress, and suddenly turned to Alin. "Audacious little spirit, is gawking all you can do when you see me?"
"F-Flower God, sir! Your arrival is a great honor, and this humble one failed to welcome you properly. A crime, a crime! Please forgive me, Flower God. If my presence offends your eyes, this little spirit will vanish right this instant and will certainly not disturb the two of you!" With that, she turned to bolt—of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is best. A true deity had descended, surely looking for Alan; if not now, when? From now on, she'd watch what she said. Talk about Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives!
"You are not permitted to go. Go brew a pot of good tea for me—I want top-grade Silver Needle, steeped in fine Wulong mountain spring water. It's rare for me to make a trip here, and I happen to be thirsty!"
Hah, wasn't this deliberate harassment? A god, yet he was picking on a little spirit, and even wearing a look that said, "I'm bullying you, what are you going to do about it?" Truly, truly too much!
"Flower God, please wait here; this humble one will go brew tea for you." Grumbling in her heart while spreading honeyed words across her lips, Alin flashed a beaming smile, cupped her fists, and prepared to bolt.
"Call me Mei Hanluo or Lord Mei. Hearing 'Flower God' at every turn makes my scalp go numb."
He was originally the proudest flower in this world—the winter plum, blooming alone amidst the cold with a secluded fragrance that intoxicated the soul. After a millennium of cultivation through unyielding pride, he ultimately became the God of Flowers as the foremost of the Four Gentlemen, sharing the title of floral realm leader with Manjusaka, the flower of the netherworld. Yet by nature he was serene, disliking bustling crowds, and occasionally prone to teasing. Naturally, a little sprite was left stunned and stupefied!
"Mei Hanluo, what a fine name!" With that, Alin manifested transparent wings and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"A mischievous little sprite! Still, she must make things very lively for her companions. Ah, I heard her call you Lan Ruoxue. A lovely name—Ruoxue. It bears a close resemblance to my true form." Gazing in the direction of Alin's departure with a profound look and an upbeat tone, Mei Hanluo seemed deep in thought before turning back to walk at a leisurely pace toward the deep lake within the forest.
Behind him, the woman in green wore a liquid expression, occasionally lifting her gaze to look at the man in white ahead of her with devout reverence.
A woman's beauty is a gift from the heavens, yet it can also become the root of disaster. Lan Ruoxue, I altered your fate with my own hands—it was an unintentional act, yet you are innocent and pure by nature. You were doing well in the Star-Forgetting Forest; has Alin bringing you into this kaleidoscopic mortal world brought you good fortune or disaster?
Mei Hanluo walked along, lost in thought, paying no attention to the ground beneath his feet. Yet every inch of earth he traversed seemed to sense the arrival of the Flower God, causing all flowers to bloom simultaneously and release a fragrant aroma, though none could rival even a fraction of the winter plum's intoxicating, secluded scent.
From that moment on, three characters took root in Lan Ruoxue's heart—Mei Hanluo. Beside the Luo River stood a winter plum, slowly taking root, sprouting, branching, and blossoming, filling the purple-clad woman's heart entirely.
Lord Mei was the only god in her heart; no one could change or replace him by even a fraction. Peerless in elegance and charm, there was none other like him in the world.
Lingering thoughts weave through the passage of years. Every minute and second, she saw clearly how her past self had turned the dream she once yearned for into an obsession she now dared not touch. Much like those unyielding thoughts, amidst the fading interest and dimming lamps, she beheld the truest desires of a person's heart.
May the shifting of the four seasons tell no tales of parting's sorrow; may the vitality of spring proclaim that behind every perseverance lies sunshine; may the exuberance of summer convey a tomorrow pregnant with infinite possibilities; may the bountiful harvest of autumn declare that a lifetime of hardship and toil finds a destination; and may the snows of winter manifest a heart of utmost purity and a blessing for the world!