The Obligations of the Elderly - chapter 45

Chapter 44

There was a hand in the mirror-a fair, masculine hand. At this moment, that hand was flipping a pair of scissors back and forth, as if showing off the scissors? Or… looking in the mirror? The scissors were looking in the mirror?

‘Why do I look so ordinary?’ While looking in the mirror, Gong Si grumbled with dissatisfaction.

So Gong Si was looking in the mirror-in the form of a pair of scissors.

When he woke up to find himself locked in a dark room, Gong Si almost thought he was still dreaming, but he soon realized this wasn’t a dark room, but that he had turned into another form-a form that couldn’t move at all.

!!!!!!

Damn it, he had actually turned into a pair of scissors!

Gong Si instantly freaked out. He wanted to yell, to look for someone, to… He didn’t even know what he wanted to do!

He quickly began to worry again: Would calling for help do any good now? Can a pair of scissors talk?

But this worry soon vanished, as he heard Xi Liu’s voice-

“Awake?”

Xi Liu’s voice sounded no different from usual, and the sounds around them faded away. Xi Liu’s voice was especially ethereal and clear, as if coming from all directions, or whispered right beside his ear.

Gong Si instinctively wanted to scratch his ear, but quickly realized he couldn’t-he had no hands.

“Do you want to see what you look like now?” Xi Liu’s voice sounded again, calm and warm as usual. Gong Si’s mood, oddly enough, gradually settled down.

‘Okay.’ After thinking about it, there was nothing else he wanted to do anyway. He might as well see what he looked like first.

And then, the scene at the beginning of this chapter unfolded.

With Xi Liu’s help, Gong Si looked up and down, left and right at his new form-even at the connecting seam… he even had Xi Liu open the handle to help him look. The conclusion-

‘Just an ordinary pair of scissors!’ Gong Si said a little disappointedly. ‘And not even sharp.’

“Mm, I tried cutting paper. The paper ended up like this.” Xi Liu said, smiling as he took out a piece of white paper with a crease in the middle, obviously from trying to cut it for a long time without success, jamming and wrinkling it instead.

‘You actually used me to cut paper while I was sleeping?!’ Gong Si raised his voice.

“I even tried cutting flowers…” Xi Liu said weakly.

‘…’ After a moment of silence, Gong Si asked sullenly, ‘Did you manage to cut the flowers?’

“No…”

‘…’

Waking up as a pair of scissors was sad enough, but to hear he was such a dull pair of scissors, Gong Si…

‘I’d be better off as a hammer.’ Hammers don’t need to be sharp.

“A hammer this small probably couldn’t smash anything either~” Xi Liu reminded him with a laugh.

Gong Si: Damn!

He quickly accepted this sad fact. Anyway, he’d always known he was likely to be a useless Vessel. But as for Xi Liu-

Turning into a Vessel didn’t stop Gong Si from seeing Xi Liu. Although his visual angle was lower, now he felt as if he had “eyes all over his body”-his field of vision was actually wider than usual! Using this strange new perspective to look at the familiar room, Gong Si also secretly sized up Xi Liu, and noticed:

‘Hey, why do you look like you’ve overdone it? Be careful, you’re not that young anymore.’

At the end, he even reminded Xi Liu sincerely in the tone of a senior.

Xi Liu stared at Gong Si, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into an ambiguous smile: “It’s all your fault, you’re too good at absorbing, you drained me dry!”

‘What?!’ Gong Si got goosebumps at his smile, instinctively wanting to back away, but not only was he firmly gripped by Xi Liu, now he had no feet-so even if he wanted to run, he couldn’t!

Xi Liu then recounted everything that had happened yesterday.

Finally, he summed up: “We really are highly compatible. My energy is too much for me to handle, and you’re especially good at absorbing. We really are a perfect match!”

“You little energy-absorbing demon”-this phrase popped right into Gong Si’s mind when he heard Xi Liu’s evaluation.

Chills!

“…Xie Kai and the others all said so too. Xie Kai even praised my eye for judgment in private, saying that he immediately recognized Ah Si as the most suitable Vessel for me and decisively settled on you~” So there was more to the story!

After hearing this, Gong Si’s first reaction was: Oh no, did everyone see it? Not only his scissors form, but also the way he drained Xi Liu?

But his second reaction: That Xie Kai guy-he used to think their Master was old and muddleheaded, blinded by desire (?), and had chosen the wrong person. Hmph!

All kinds of emotions tangled in his heart… tangled, until finally Gong Si calmed down.

‘So, you can live a few more years now, is that what you mean?’ Gong Si asked.

“Mm, if Ah Si, you absorb even more, I could live longer than anyone else.” Xi Liu smiled sweetly.

‘Then I’ll try harder.’ Gong Si thought for a moment: ‘Use your energy to sharpen my blade a bit, that should use up more energy, right?’

“Mm.”

After a simple discussion about their (sharpening) direction for the future, Gong Si was taken outside by Xi Liu for the first time.
This time, Gong Si felt that his treatment was completely different when he left the palace!

In the past, those stewards were indeed respectful to him, but mostly because of Xi Liu’s requirements. There was always a sense of resignation in their respect, and Gong Si was no fool-he could see it all.

But now, things had changed. Although he was currently just a pair of scissors, the way the stewards looked at him was entirely different: joy? Gratitude? Gong Si even saw vitality in the eyes of these old men, who together might be a thousand years old!

When they saw him, everyone came out to greet him. Because he was being held in Xi Liu’s hand, and given his current height of vision, they even bent down to greet him.

This made Gong Si feel as if he had become a child again.

Xie Kai also greeted him. His tone didn’t sound much different from usual, but-

“From now on, Master Gong Si will spend a certain amount of time each day accompanying Master Xi Liu in the form of a Vessel. It’s inconvenient to always be held in hand, and with such a low perspective, Master Gong Si might find it hard to adjust. Please try this-”

As he spoke, Xie Kai took out a delicate… pocket? from his suit pocket.

Held in Xi Liu’s hand, Gong Si used his 360-degree view to examine the pocket in front of him: black, made of the same slippery fabric Xi Liu usually favored, shimmering slightly in the sunlight. The black was only the outer layer; the inside was yellow, a bright shade leaning toward orange. The color combination was strikingly pleasing! The craftsmanship was excellent too! It was a fine pocket!

But… what was this pocket for?

“Ah Si is asking what this pocket is for?” Before Gong Si could ask, Xi Liu voiced his question for him.

“Allow me to demonstrate,” Xie Kai said, placing the pocket closer to Gong Si. “This is Master Gong Si’s usual seat, his bed… Master Gong Si can define the name as he likes.”

“When fully unfolded, it’s a pocket, the same size as the pocket on Master Xi Liu’s School Uniform, and fits perfectly inside it. Master Gong Si can rest in this pocket, which feels much finer than the School Uniform’s pocket.” As Xie Kai spoke, he unfolded the inner pocket for Gong Si to see the soft fabric, and showed off the design inside.

Only then did Gong Si notice that while the outside was a pocket, the inner lining was shaped to fit the head of a pair of scissors.

“If you want to see the outside world, just fold the pocket down a bit to reveal part of the yellow lining. If you don’t want to look and just want to rest, Master Xi Liu can lift the pocket up completely, and its length will just cover Master Gong Si.”

Xie Kai demonstrated both the folded and unfolded states of the pocket.

“Very nice,” Xi Liu said, taking the pocket and slipping it into his School Uniform pocket, then placing Gong Si inside-it fit perfectly.

Not only did Xi Liu think so, even Gong Si felt this spot was just right!

He wasn’t sure about comfort, but the view here was much better than before! He still preferred looking at people from a perspective similar to his usual one!

Suddenly, he understood Xie Kai’s intention with this design: was it to prevent him from feeling too much of a gap? Suddenly becoming such a small Vessel, even if Xi Liu held him in his hand and everyone bent down to talk to him, once outside, his perspective would drop sharply, and he might feel a sense of loss.

Gong Si pondered.

He called out to Xi Liu in his mind.

After quietly listening to Gong Si, Xi Liu nodded and turned to Xie Kai: “Gong Si asked me to thank you on his behalf.”

“This is what I should do, no need to thank me.”

He had intended to return to his original spot, but paused, then finally stopped and said in a low voice, “Master Gong Si, I apologize for my previous attitude toward you. But if I had to do it again, I would still act the same.”

His voice grew firm again.

Are you conceding or showing off-thought the other stewards nearby, silently complaining.

They were used to their Steward’s temperament, but outsiders didn’t understand. Even some of their own staff thought Steward Xie Kai was cold and ruthless, a strict man who recognized no kin.

Who would have thought, the next moment Xi Liu said, “Gong Si says he knows-you were just doing your job.”

“He says he knows you’re not actually a bad person.”

“When we were flying here, on the Aircraft, there was a time he went to the bathroom. Qiu Xia went up front to get water for Ah Ji’s formula, Dong Chun was sleeping like a dead pig, and Ah Ji rolled on the floor for ages without anyone noticing. In the end, you were the one who picked him up and soothed him for a long time until he calmed down.”

“Your movements weren’t practiced, but you were very gentle.”

“He saw it from behind the curtain when he came back.”

“From that moment, he felt you weren’t a bad person, so he decided to give me a chance to see for myself.”

At this, Xie Kai’s mouth opened, then closed tightly after a moment, and he retreated to his place, standing there with his wrinkled face, unmoving.

But if you looked closely, you’d notice: beneath the wrinkles… there was a hint of red.

“When you arrived, you saw that? Why didn’t you ever tell me before?” After leaving the stewards and boarding the Aircraft bound for the Academy, Xi Liu asked curiously.

‘I’m not a blabbermouth, why should I tell you everything?’ Gong Si replied, a bit annoyed.
“But actually, Xie Kai has a really good temper. He was so shy as a kid, always getting bullied. In the end, I told him to put on a stern face and act cold, so others would be afraid of him and wouldn’t dare bully him anymore.”

‘So, Xie Kai turned out this way because of you.’

“Uh… How was I supposed to know he’d stick to it so stubbornly, using that trick for his whole life…” Xi Liu shrugged. “But Xie Kai’s nature hasn’t really changed. He actually loves doing handicrafts. The bag he gave us today was sewn by him personally.”

‘What?! Xie Kai sewed this bag himself?’ That was explosive news! Gong Si was utterly shocked!

“Yeah, he likes sewing things. When he was little, if someone lost a button, he’d help sew it back on. Later, he often made little crafts and things…”

Imagining Xie Kai’s serious face as he sewed and did handicrafts, Gong Si fell silent.

‘No wonder. So Dong Chun’s clothes were sewn by him too, and maybe even Ah Ji’s socks were mended by him.’ Gong Si said.

“?”

‘Dong Chun loves sports, so his clothes get torn all the time. Before, Grandma Lin from next door used to mend them for him. But since we came here, some of his clothes had small tears, and by the next day, someone had already fixed them. At first, I thought it was the servants, but now I think it must’ve been Xie Kai. There was even a time when I was asked to help mend something, and Xie Kai was right there.’

‘Grandma Lin knitted socks for Ah Ji, but the yarn came loose as Ah Ji grew taller. Later, not only were the socks mended, but extra yarn was added to make them bigger.’

“Mm, that’s definitely Xie Kai. He loves doing that stuff the most,” Xi Liu said.

The two of them were silent for a while, then both laughed.

‘So strange, you can hear whatever I’m thinking. Hey! From now on, you’re not allowed to covet my privacy.’ Gong Si spoke first.

“A Vessel and its User… That’s just how it is. Anyway, I’m not guarded against you, so feel free to look back at me!”

‘Who wants to look!’

“Aren’t you always peeking?” Xi Liu was referring to when Gong Si saw Xie Kai comforting Ah Ji.

‘That was an accident! An accident! Totally unconscious!’ Gong Si yelled.

“Then me hearing your thoughts is unconscious too.”

…

Adjusting to their new way of interacting, the two returned to campus once again.

“Isn’t this great? You’ve finally succeeded in taking shape~” Looking at Gong Si, now a pair of scissors in Xi Liu’s chest pocket, the silver-haired old teacher smiled kindly.

‘But… I’m not very sharp, and I can’t cut anything, not even paper,’ Gong Si said quietly.

“Do you really just want to be a pair of scissors that can cut paper?” the teacher asked in return.

Gong Si was stunned, then quickly realized something: “You… can hear me?”

He was clearly already Vesselized now.

“I’m a Vessel too. When Vessels are close enough, they can communicate with each other-using this.” The old teacher smiled and pointed to his own head.

Before Gong Si could think further, he continued, “Think carefully about what I said to you. Also, congratulations on graduating from this class. Next, you can enter the more advanced Vessel Academy, where there are more courses you’ll take together with your User.”

He turned to Ni Lu beside him: “Ni Lu, you need to work hard too. Besides Gong Si, I hope you can find the form you want to become soon.”

Seeing Ni Lu looking envious, Gong Si looked at him seriously and tried to send a strong encouragement via brainwaves. However-

“Haha, Ni Lu hasn’t awakened at all, so he can’t receive your signal~” The teacher received the signal that Ni Lu missed, leaned in to look at Gong Si the scissors, and smiled, “Next, you’re going to explore a much more interesting world. But be careful, don’t get hurt~”

‘Thank you, Teacher. But I have another question-‘ Gong Si thought for a moment: ‘In my dream, what I saw was silver, with lots of red threads on it. Why is the scissors I actually became black, with nothing on it?’

Not only that, but on closer inspection, the two pairs of scissors were completely different~

The old teacher thought for a while, then answered, “Dreams are mysterious things, manifestations of your deeper consciousness. What you dreamed might just be a hint, a clue about your core. It tells you what you are, but because of different circumstances, different Users, different energies, your final form will differ from the original form in your dream.”

After saying this, he paused for a moment, then his brows furrowed slightly: “There’s another possibility: your dream was just a dream, a dream about your origin. What you saw was a scene you once witnessed but later forgot. In the process of contemplating your true self, that scene surfaced from deep memory. That scene doesn’t represent your true self, but is just something you saw before.”

After thinking for a moment more, the old man smiled: “But now you’ve become scissors, so that possibility probably doesn’t exist anymore, right? After all, a Vessel can, under certain circumstances, decide its own form, but it’s not so easy to become whatever you want. In any case, now that you’ve Vesselized, just keep going down this path with determination.”

“Good luck to you both.”

The old teacher smiled and waved goodbye to Gong Si and Xi Liu.