Love Better than Immortality (天雷一部之春花秋月): Episode 8

~ Chun Hua & Qiu Yue’s sibling bonding time ~

Synopsis:

At this point, Xiao Bai is already certain of Chun Hua’s identity as Hua Xiao Lei but he is also aware that there are many suspicious points about her and despite his dismissal of Cai Cai’s accusations, he had taken them into account. He is well aware of the possibility that she could have relations to the evil sects, although what he had assumed was that the innocent and naive Chun Hua was being manipulated by the evil sects. Concerned for Chun Hua’s safety and worried that exposing her identity as Hua Xiao Lei might bring her trouble from the evil sects, Xiao Bai decided to investigate further into what had happened to Hua Xiao Lei. As usual, he consulted his confidant Liu Feng, who came up with the idea of visiting the Hua family under the guise of the Mid-Autumn festivities. The Hua family lived near to the location of the festivities so they would be able to visit the Hua family inconspicuously without anyone raising questions about why Xiao Bai would suddenly travel so far to visit the family of his dead fiancee.

The day soon arrive and the five set off together once more. Upon their arrival at an inn, the innkeeper informed them that there were only two rooms left and that the other inns would be the same due to the festivities. Hearing this, Liu Feng glanced over at Leng Ning with excitement as he asked her how they should split the rooms, to which she replied that Xiao Bai and him would take one room and the three girls would take the other, much to his dismay.

Soon, night fell and the festivities began. Xiao Bai and Liu Feng headed for the Hua family together under the guise of viewing the coloured lanterns while the three girls waited in their room for the two to return. The trio sat around a table, silently and awkwardly staring at one another. Unable to take it any further, Chun Hua made her escape saying that she would go out to buy some mooncakes for them.

At the Hua family manor, Xiao Bai reveals to Lord Hua that his daughter Hua Xiao Lei was still alive, sharing his suspicions that she could’ve been manipulated by the evil sects. Hearing this, Lord Hua immediately flared up and told them to leave.

Meanwhile, Chun Hua skipped along the bustling streets excitedly as she admired the lanterns. She was soon approached by a little girl who told her that her older brother had taken her toy, asking for help to find him and get it back. She followed the little girl as she pulled her along and they soon find her older brother. Chun Hua tapped the young man’s shoulder with an exasperated expression on her face which turned to shock when he turned around. It was Qiu Yue. He spun the toy and the girl chased after it. Chun Hua then questioned him on the existence of this other younger sister and he told her that he had taken in the orphan girl because Chun Hua had killed her parents. Chun Hua was upset as she grappled with the reality of what the previous her had done when she heard the little girl’s voice calling for her parents. It turns out that Qiu Yue had lied to her, his face in a teasing smile when the realisation dawned on her. The two then walked along the streets together and Chun Hua wished upon the sky lanterns, with Qiu Yue scoffing at the silliness of it. Qiu Yue then saw something that he had never seen before – mooncakes, and decided that he wanted to eat it.

Qiu Yue brought Chun Hua back to Qian Yue Cave and she sets about making mooncakes. However, they soon end up in a flour fight that Qiu Yue had started, running around the room as they threw flour at each other. After the mooncakes were finally completed, Qiu Yue had asked Ye Xing Zhu to taste one and when she told him that it tasted good, Qiu Yue’s gaze hardened as he asked her why he hadn’t had it before. To calm down the tense situation, Chun Hua quickly suggested to Qiu Yue that they went outside to admire the moon. They then had a heart to heart talk, where Qiu Yue told Chun Hua that their parents had been dead for so long that he didn’t even remember what they looked like anymore. Feeling sorry for him, Chun Hua reached out to hold his hand, telling him that she would be his only family from then on, that she would find time to accompany him. Qiu Yue’s gaze softened and a smile crossed his lips as he tightened his fingers around the hand she had placed on his.

Qiu Yue then brought Chun Hua to the waterside pavilion and she marveled at the beauty of the place, suddenly exclaiming that Qiu Yue must have been born during the mid-Autumn because that would explain why he was as beautiful as the moon in the sky. Qiu Yue smiled at her wordlessly. She then tried to pick a lotus flower unsuccessfully and he finally helped her after she followed his request to plead with him. As she admired the Lotus flower, Qiu Yue’s gaze wandered to their shadow and he stepped closer to her, smiling in satisfaction at their shadow. It was soon disturbed by wind-blown white drapes and he frowned, answering Chun Hua’s question about his sudden change in mood by saying that the drapes weren’t good. A confused Chun Hua then commented that in his heart, nothing was good, to which he replied that in his heart, Xiao Chun Hua was the best. It was soon time for her to leave and she managed to convince him after agreeing to get the Xin Fa within ten days.

Back at the inn, Cai Cai and Leng Ning were playing chess as they waited for the other three to return. When Chun Hua had yet to return even after Xiao Bai and Liu Feng were already back, Xiao Bai became worried and went in search of her, the other three following suit.

Thoughts:

It is right here and right now with this episode that I can say with absolute certainty that Qiu Yue has fallen for Chun Hua. Before this episode, he would always do or say things that would plant doubt in my mind and cause me to sway back and forth but right now, I’m certain. Firstly, knowing Qiu Yue’s character, when she had sneezed the flour onto him, she would’ve had it handed to her. The fact that they ended up in a flour fight spoke volumes about the higher than usual tolerance that he now has with her. Secondly, when Chun Hua had told him that she would be his family, the look he had in his eyes, the way his fingers tightened around her hand…he’s growing soft for her. He might not know it yet but he’s well on his way to falling in love with her. Lastly, that moment with the drapes. You know you’re in love when the slightest, silliest things make you happy. Did you see the smile he had when he saw their shadows close together?! Eight episodes in and the ship is finally preparing to set sail YEAH! and as usual, Qiu Yue photo spam!

Lord Hua’s reaction to what Xiao Bai had to say is highly suspicious. Instead of grabbing onto what Xiao Bai had said about Hua Xiao Lei being alive, Lord Hua was more concentrated on defending the Hua family honour, saying that there was no way his daughter would get herself involved with the evil sects. Like…hello? Your daughter is alive? If it were me, I would drop everything and clarify that one fact. It almost seems like he already knew that she wasn’t dead? Hm…

← Episode 7  ♡  Introduction  ♡  Episode 9 →
♢  Lyrics for “Unfinished Moment”  ♢
☆  Novel ~ Chapter 8  ☆