After leaving his master, Wuming truly felt heavy-hearted and deeply aggrieved. Now that his master no longer wanted him, and his biological parents were nowhere to be found, he suddenly found himself utterly alone in the world. Thinking of this, painful tears welled up in his eyes.
In that sense, his current situation was that of a drifting wanderer, dependent on no one.
Even so, Wuming felt he still needed to pull himself together, face reality, and find a way out of his predicament, lest he truly become a useless person.
Amidst his grief and sorrow, Wuming suddenly thought of Maiden Yuan Xin, for she was the only good friend he truly trusted.
To tell the truth, he had lived in seclusion deep in the mountains all his life, completely cut off from the outside world. Only when fetching wine for his master or buying provisions did he ever have the fortune to go down the mountain.
Now that he was forced to leave his master, he had no idea if he would ever have the chance to see Maiden Yuan Xin again after this departure.
Thinking of this, Wuming felt he should take the initiative to go and see Maiden Yuan Xin once. Otherwise, leaving with such a regret would surely weigh heavily on his heart; after all, Maiden Yuan Xin was the goddess of his dreams.
Once he made up his mind, Wuming involuntarily changed his route and headed toward Yuan Village.
By now dawn had broken, though the air felt unusually heavy and oppressive.
Wuming walked along the winding footpath for a while until he finally caught a vague glimpse of the outline of Yuan Family Village. By the roadside, a gate tower flew a sign reading "Yuan Family Winery".
Fortunately, the winery's doors were already open, but the shop floor was devoid of customers, making it appear exceptionally quiet.
Even so, Wuming approached and, bowing respectfully, greeted, "Uncle Yuan, good morning!"
Boss Yuan, who was busy arranging the shop in preparation for guests, saw that the little rascal Wuming had arrived and immediately broke into a smiling face, replying, "Little Master, why have you come so early today? Could it be that your master's craving for wine has flared up again!"
Boss Yuan was just in his early forties and possessed a very sturdy build. At the moment, he was dressed in short sleeves and shorts, looking every bit like a solid, hardworking expert at manual labor.
Precisely for this reason, Wuming got along well with Boss Yuan. Every time he came here to fetch wine, he would always chat with Boss Yuan for a few moments, making him a regular customer of the Yuan Family Winery.
In truth, it was not that the wine at the Yuan Family Winery was particularly delicious, but rather that the winery held Wuming's beloved. As for other wineries, no matter how good their wine might be, Wuming probably wouldn't bother to buy it.
Hearing Boss Yuan's remark, Wuming hurriedly explained, "Uncle Yuan, I'm not here to buy wine today. I just happened to pass by, and since we're old acquaintances anyway, I figured I should drop by and say hello."
"Is that so? Thank you, Little Master, for thinking of me. Even when just passing by, you don't forget to check in on your Uncle Yuan, hahaha!" Boss Yuan beamed with smiles as he answered the sweet-talking little rascal.
As Wuming laughed and chatted, he glanced back toward the inner hall, but regrettably, he didn't catch sight of Maiden Yuan Xin. Perhaps Maiden Yuan Xin hadn't gotten out of bed yet!
That being the case, he felt he simply had to wait. If he were to leave just like that, he would undoubtedly regret it later.
Besides, if Maiden Yuan Xin found out he had called today and didn't see her, she might feel deeply grieved or bitterly disappointed, and would surely end up hating him to the bone.
In order to successfully see Maiden Yuan Xin, Wuming deliberately raised his voice and said, "Uncle Yuan, you are truly so good to me. I admire you from the bottom of my heart, and I always hope to have a few more words with you, Uncle."
In fact, Boss Yuan knew very well in his heart that the little rascal before him was lingering without leaving precisely because he wanted to catch a glimpse of his daughter. Every time this brat came to buy wine, he would always spend a good while chatting and smiling broadly with his daughter.
To speak frankly, he did not want his precious daughter to have too much contact with this brat, lest the fellow hook his precious daughter's soul away and plunge her into a mire from which she could never extricate herself.
Yet for the sake of business, he didn't want to lose this young customer either, so he still had to greet him with a smiling face. After all, the customer is king—a principle he understood better than anyone.
That being the case, Boss Yuan continued with a smile, "Little Master, your words are so heartwarming. I, too, hope from the bottom of my heart to have a nice long chat with you."
"Really? That's simply wonderful!" Wuming chattered on about this and that while lending a hand to help out, hoping against hope that Maiden Yuan Xin would hear his voice and come out to see him as soon as possible.
And lo and forget, Wuming's painstaking efforts actually had an effect, waking up Maiden Yuan Xin who was still lying in bed.
At that moment, Maiden Yuan Xin had indeed been in the middle of a pleasant dream when she dazedly heard voices coming from the front hall—voices that sounded extraordinarily familiar.
She had no choice but to immediately flip over and sit up, listening more carefully. Sure enough, she recognized the voice of Brother Wuming.
She suddenly felt quite perplexed: why had Brother Wuming arrived so early?
All of Maiden Yuan Xin's sleepiness vanished at once; she had to get up immediately and hurry to the front hall to see what was going on.
That's right, Brother Wuming hadn't come to fetch wine for several days now, and thinking about it, it was about time he came.
To tell the truth, she hoped from the bottom of her heart that Brother Wuming would come every single day to fetch wine; even just catching a single glance of him or exchanging a word made her heart feel as sweet as honey.
Thinking of this, Maiden Yuan Xin could no longer stay put. She quickly leaped out of bed, got dressed, and hurried out the door—she simply could not afford to miss this opportunity.
When she arrived at the front hall and looked up, the figure that met her eyes was indeed Brother Wuming.
At that moment, she cared about little else and hurried forward with a radiant smile.
Maiden Yuan Xin was fifteen years old this year, right in the prime of her youth. With phoenix eyes and willow-leaf eyebrows, she looked fresh and vivacious, and in particular, her two long braids hung all the way down to her hips—a sight to make any man's mouth water.
Stepping right up to Brother Wuming, Maiden Yuan Xin beamed and said, "Brother Wuming, why did you come so early today?"
A gentle and affectionate voice rang in Wuming's ear. He hastily turned his head to look, and sure enough, it was Maiden Yuan Xin who had come out.
Seeing Maiden Yuan Xin, joy instantly bloomed across Wuming's face, and he hurriedly replied, "Maiden Yuan Xin, you're up? Was my voice too loud and did I wake you?"
"How could that be? Brother Wuming, don't overthink it. It's already broad daylight, so it's well past time to get up anyway. Oh, let me get your wine for you."
"Ah, I'm not here to get wine today," Wuming explained sheepishly.
Hearing Brother Wuming's explanation, Maiden Yuan Xin was instantly dumbfounded. If he wasn't here to get wine, what on earth was he doing at her house so early in the morning?