Chapter 1321: NO. 225: Book learning feels shallow

NO. 225: Book learning feels shallow.

'Wine doesn't intoxicate people; people intoxicate themselves'—this saying has always been Ling's personal portrait.

As an incarnation of the Year Beast, unlike her elder brother who severed the essence of the Year, her constitution is naturally unique.

'The medical test results keep fluctuating high and low, which is not rigorous.'

This remark comes from the Rhodes Island Medical Department, and it is one such example.

The liquor that can get her drunk is exceedingly rare; she hardly ever gets a chance to touch it, and the liquor constantly in her gourd is not bought from ordinary taverns but brewed by her younger sister from home‑grown grain.

That is indeed extraordinary, yet it still cannot make her drunk.

However, Ling does not pursue this path either; she enjoys the drink, never seeking a drink that would blot out everything in a stupor.

She simply loves the taste, loves drawing from the West River, sipping the spirit of the Northern Dipper, loves the grand, eloquent feast, loves the scene of bells, drums, and jade delicacies, loves even more the drunken lamp‑lighting and the mournful, long dream's sound.

That is all her memories, and also her life thus far.

Only when immersed in such scenery, when those memories surface, can she release all her pent‑up feelings.

With heart set on ambition, speech becomes poetry; wherever inspiration strikes, whether writing poems or composing music, she does it effortlessly, and people call her the 'drunk poet who sings aloud after drinking, leaving ink‑stained verses.'

She is drunk, but not from the wine; she is drunk from the scenes evoked by wine as a medium.

She wishes to immerse herself in it, and to others it looks just like habitual heavy drinking.

So Xi frankly said, the more she drinks, the clearer she becomes, for each of her immersions stirs her interest and raises her thoughts.

She is like that internet meme that went around a while ago—people who constantly play xx are said to have clear vision, extreme confidence, and ever‑rising IQ, eventually becoming geniuses—blah blah blah.

During this period Xi has been playing a lot of online games, and she feels that for her elder sister, alcohol is absolutely a beneficial buff; even when she seems tipsy, she is far clearer than when she doesn't drink.

On the contrary, when she consciously starts not drinking, that is when she is truly drunk.

That means she must be pondering some matter.

That matter is clearly out of the ordinary, making it hard for her to ignore, hard to gloss over with her usual 'just leave it as is.'

Whether she is full of pride or troubled by hidden worries, this undeniably 'binds' her, and it is a kind of intoxication that throws everything off course.

But obviously, not all drunkenness brings joy.

Ling's purpose in seeking Xi was to find this seemingly passive, world‑avoiding sister who actually has another battlefield, even a sharp‑tongued, somewhat caustic younger sister, to give herself a splash of cold water to sober up from drink.

One should not keep hesitating like this.

Nor should one keep indulging like this.

Always a bystander, in the end one can only remain a bystander.

Always tolerant, the outcome is also riddled with wounds.

Ling has watched Aomo for too long these days—she sees him busy, sees him torn, sees him obviously mired in peach blossoms without realizing it, his pure enthusiasm tainted by ulterior motives, spending all day in endless tension, and what was once lively fun has gradually turned bland.

Even gradually, the time set aside for dreaming grows less and less, as if even a brief dream‑time chat has become a burden.

One should not be like this.

Even the relaxation and joy in those dreams ultimately cannot ease this oppressive heaviness.

One cannot do this.

She does not want to see him fall into this oppression, more radical than mere disappointment.

She feels she ought to do something, but when she thinks so, she also realizes that given Aomo's current situation, whether direct or indirect, any move would affect the whole body.

Breaking all this may not be a good thing for him.

But continuing to watch like this will only bring about that predetermined future.

'I think you've gone astray, Ling sis.'

"How can you tell?"

'The upheaval you fear in breaking all this is actually external, isn't it? It's like a sudden outside force shattering his relationships and bringing unpredictable changes to his life.'

'…Indeed, that's the case.'

'Ha… I didn't expect my guess to be wrong.'

'What?'

'Although my filter for Ling sis hasn't broken, I feel even more awkward.'

'Huh? Little Xi still has a lot on her mind; willing to share a bit?'

'Put simply, you have typical war‑like thinking, with not a trace of romance.'

'Uh……'

'Although my filter for Ling sis hasn't shattered, I feel even more awkward.'

'Huh? Little Xi still has a lot on her mind; willing to share a bit?'

'Put simply, you have typical war‑like thinking, with not a trace of romance.'

'Is this getting off the point?'

'No, it's not off‑topic! The biggest problem right now lies in your war‑minded brain, Ling sis—you only think about how your attack will turn out, never considering letting him change himself.'

'You think it's unrealistic to expect a prince surrounded by heavy troops to grow strong, so you've completely ignored this direction, right?'

'……'

'This isn't war—! Ling sis, this is about conduct in life, about interpersonal relations! According to you, that guy is driving himself into a dead end, but could it be that he actually has the full ability to handle these things? It's just that his mind is rigid, and he never thought he could do this—why are you looking at me like that?'

'One sentence from you is worth ten years of reading, Little Xi—you actually understand interpersonal relations?'

'What do you take me for?! I've got loads of online friends now!'

'…online friends……'

'Off topic, off topic! In short, you don't need to scheme or reveal your feelings—just go at whatever pace you want!'

'But the one thing you can do is give him a push; judging by your description, that guy is probably just as torn as you are, though his turmoil is likely about whether life can go on—after all, I've always thought he's like a rotten chess‑pot.'

'Nitpicking and loving to horn‑in on a bull's horn.'

Oh... then I understand what you mean.

Good, since you understand, then go execute it now! The faster the better, speed is essential in warfare!

Then come back and drink!

I, the subordinate, have received the order!!!

Under the exertion of the great painter Interpersonal Mentor Xi, Ling almost vanished on the spot, leaving the former staring dumbfounded.

He actually didn't use divine travel but went in person.

Although big sister's usual demeanor shows no sign of having a love interest, and she doesn't act shy when talking about this topic, completely lacking the charm of romance manga, it also keeps her filter from breaking.

When listening to her talk about her worries, presenting a military-campaign style demeanor, Xi laughed, relieved.

Apart from sighing that she's still the same, unchanged, he didn't think much else.

If you remove the love-related vocabulary from this conversation, it's practically just an ordinary sisterly heart-to-heart.

Although it's already unusual for the Sui family to have such an ordinary sisterly chat, that's not important; what matters is that Xi truly feels that Elder Sister Ling doesn't really like that guy.

Only when she uttered that lighthearted, humorous 'I, the subordinate, have received the order!' before leaving, and then suddenly vanished on the spot, did she finally gain some sense of reality.

Never before have I seen her care so much about anyone outside her siblings.

Will I soon gain a brother-in-law? That guy? Uh...

Upon careful thought, coming up with this idea still leaves a bit of regret.

But he seems to have had a rough time anyway, so helping is fine... at least he wrote such a script.

However, thinking back, given Elder Sister Ling's consistently unhurried demeanor, it probably won't be fast either.

Everyone is still at a disadvantage due to the mindset brought by longevity; although it feels like Elder Sister Ling could outlast others if she endures, in truth few humans can truly adapt to immortality, and they all experience some psychological alienation to varying degrees.

The negative impact on feelings is also immeasurable.

But that also depends on Aomo ultimately choosing immortality as well.

Don't be fooled by her current exquisite counterpart; it's still uncertain how things will turn out... Before she previously retreated into obscurity, even earlier, Xi had seen mountains and rivers, flowers and feathers, forests and abysses, peddlers and passersby, old and young, men and women, and thus had a considerable understanding of the power of time, not to make hasty judgments.

Especially after having undergone two shifts in mindset herself, she becomes all the more cautious.

So she actually isn't optimistic about Elder Sister Ling's this 'first love'.

Regardless of the man's situation or the woman's personality, it's destined to be a rather long, painstaking endeavor.

But it doesn't matter, right?

Xi doesn't think any of the siblings would pursue a mortal-like fervent love; seeing Elder Sister Ling's reaction throughout this talk, it's also not unexpected.

For such a situation, the best outcome is hard to be lifelong companionship; it's more likely they each live their own lives, occasionally meeting.

Even humans themselves say love is never a necessity of life; Xi also finds it hard to imagine that siblings with their own joys and paths would delay their journey for a partner.

Thus, after Ling left, she merely briefly recalled and organized her own actions, immersed herself in the achievement of 'I actually had a chance to enlighten big sister!', and then had to get back to work.

——The draft hasn't been drawn yet.

Let big sister handle her own affairs at her own pace; I should first draw congratulatory pictures for the Yama Memorial and the Dream Cup... As she thought that, she went to take a shower, returned, and prepared to face the big gamble of perspective, shading, human figure, clothing folds, and hair flow.

She suddenly felt a familiar presence, turned her head, and saw Elder Sister Ling standing by the door.

"You came back so quickly? Did it go well?"

"Xi."

"Hmm?"

"I... let the slip."

"Ah?"