Friendship Rope

Under the hazy, ambiguous lights of the nightclub, she was very drunk, her clothes soaked with alcohol, her blue makeup slowly fading, like a slow and melancholic dream.

The man gently placed his right hand on her shoulder, supporting her silently and steadily. With his left hand, he repeatedly picked up the gleaming wine glass, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp. I guessed he longed to get completely drunk like her, but lacked the courage.

They led her away from the bar. The streets at five in the morning were empty and cold, like being submerged in the deep sea. In the distance, a few stars floated by. Closer still, a taxi sped by, its dim headlights illuminating their pale and tired faces for a moment.

The car was moving fast. She slumped in his arms, murmuring another man’s name. He didn’t dare hold her; his arms were stiffly outstretched, a strange and forlorn posture. The girl laughed indistinctly in his arms, her wine-red lips gently parting, as if dreaming of something incredibly pleasant. However, the more she laughed, the more his head throbbed. Finally, he couldn’t help but pull her away from him and carefully place her upright in the car seat.

She suddenly woke up, looking at him with confused and hazy eyes. She stared at him for a while, as if trying to distinguish the man in front of her from someone else. Finally, a polite smile appeared on her lips, tinged with slight disappointment. She said, “Thank you, Ji.” He keenly sensed her emotions and began to worry that he would lose control, but he simply nodded and said in a very calm tone, “It’s nothing.”

The car drove to the end of the road and turned again. One, two, they didn’t speak anymore, letting the still-burning neon lights sweep across their faces.

I meticulously documented everything. I didn’t understand why my master wanted me to follow and observe this man day and night. This week, she called him out three times: once for barbecue at a street stall, once for karaoke, and once for drinks at a bar. Every time he received a call from this girl, no matter how busy or chaotic things were, he could immediately drop everything to be with her. The girl called him “bro,” patted his shoulder naturally, but her hand was tightly holding another man’s.

She called him “Ji” and another man “Qiaomu”. She made the distinction very clear: Qiaomu was her boyfriend, while he and she were just good friends.

By the time he reached her building, the sky was already turning white. A gust of cold wind seemed to sober her up. She wouldn’t let him come upstairs, saying there was no need to see her off, that her house was too messy, and that he should go home and rest. He didn’t insist anymore. Just before leaving, he suddenly remembered something, pulled a bottle of cold medicine from his pocket, handed it to her, and said, “You seem to have caught a cold. Remember to take your medicine.”

She hesitated for a moment, then took the bottle of medicine.

A moment of silence…

Suddenly, as if he had been seen through, he hurriedly said, “Ah! I caught a cold too. When I went to buy medicine, I didn’t have any change, so I bought an extra bottle. You got a good deal!”

She laughed, “I knew you weren’t that kind, going out of your way to buy medicine for me. Okay, I’m going up now, bye-bye.” With that, she patted his shoulder, turned around, and slowly walked upstairs.

He watched her until she disappeared around the corner in the stairwell, then hailed another taxi and went home.

The goldfish in the house were all floating on the surface, panting, because they were hungry. He went inside, sprinkled some fish food, and then went to the bathroom to wash his face. Ever since he left the girl, he had maintained that rock-hard expression, and I was worried he might suddenly collapse. He filled a basin with water to wash his face, and amidst the rising steam, he submerged his head completely in the hot water.

For a long, long time, he didn’t look up. I suspected he had fallen asleep without me noticing, so I flew closer to check. His face was strangely contorted in the water, as if he were struggling repeatedly with pain. Closer still, I heard faint sobs. It was him, sobbing stubbornly and helplessly like a wild beast. Tiny bubbles rose in the water; he was crying.

This tough yet pitiful man even had to cry in the water, afraid to see his own weak tears.

I told my master everything, word for word. In the bluish-purple smoke, her expression shifted, seemingly a triumphant laugh, yet also tinged with sadness and resentment. My master’s mind was in turmoil; she was more focused on the man named “Ji” than on her own witchcraft.

“Tie them together when you have the chance,” the master said, pulling a thin rope that shimmered with an eerie blue light from a large, curved-necked bottle and handing it to me.

Although I’ve only just taken over this job, I know very well that this monster called the “Friendship Rope” can bind a friendship for a year. During that year, the friendship will be immortal; nothing else is possible.

I took the rope and examined it carefully for a while. My level is too low, so it’s rare for me to see such a superior monster.

“Stop looking, just go!” the master said impatiently. “If you don’t do it right, I’ll never give you your freedom!”

“Why did they leave?” I suddenly looked up and asked.

The owner paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting me to ask so directly. After a long pause, she said, “They completed their mission, so I let them go.”

He paused, then added, “The timeframe is one year. After you finish the year, you can be free.”

A faint smile crept across my lips; just as I expected.

The master’s mind was in turmoil; she would never again be the powerful sorceress who could command the wind and rain.

I pushed open the door and went out…

She and Qiao Mu had another argument. Qiao Mu, this handsome yet cold man, leaned against the door with a smirk, looking at her disdainfully and saying, “You love me that much?”

Tears streamed down her face. Yes, she loved him so much, and because of this love, she was at a disadvantage.

There is no equality in love; Qiao Mu treats her, and she treats Ji.

She woke Ji from her sleep once again and accompanied her on a brisk walk through the midnight streets.

One by one, the glittering shops went out. She searched frantically, just wanting to find a warm, safe, fairytale-like house. He followed closely behind her, not daring to step forward and take her hand, yet unable to leave. He would follow her like this, until the seas dried up and the rocks crumbled, until the world changed.

She was exhausted and could walk no more. In the late hours of early winter, the air was so cold it felt like it was frozen. Her body shivered beneath her thin overcoat, like a homeless fallen leaf. He quickly took off his thick coat and draped it over her shoulders.

She cried, her tears falling like pearls: “Why can’t he treat me as well as you treat me?”

He was speechless, awkward and somewhat embarrassed. What could he say? He was her best friend, her guardian angel, her confidant who would always be there for her. But this time, he couldn’t say anything. He wasn’t the one she loved most, not her boyfriend, and wouldn’t be her final harbor.

She smiled again, her face upturned with tears streaming down her cheeks, pleading timidly and urgently, “Ji, only you, only you are the best to me. In this world, only our friendship is long-lasting and steadfast. Promise me, you will always be by my side and will never abandon me!”

He reached out, his hand trembling, wanting to touch her face, her pitiful face. He couldn’t understand why that person could be so cruel and heartless as to let those tears stream down her face, and he couldn’t understand why his heart ached more than hers. At the last moment, he gave up, his outstretched hand gently and cautiously resting on her shoulder: “Wait for me here, I’ll be back soon.”

He ran towards the only light on the street, a 24-hour convenience store. The light seemed so close, yet it felt so far as he ran. The cold wind whistled past his ears, and he felt an indescribable metallic taste of blood rise in his throat. Then, his eyes welled up with tears, glistening slightly.

As he stepped into the convenience store, he quickly blinked, thus holding back his tears.

She huddled there quietly, waiting for him, wrapped in his thick, oversized coat. The coat carried a familiar yet unfamiliar scent. This man named “Ji” had been with her for so long; she knew him so well, yet he was also so strange. She suddenly realized that she had confided so much to him, yet had never heard his story. She didn’t know why he had given up a high-paying job at a foreign company to come to this remote town to make a living, whether his work was going well, or whether he had ever had a girlfriend. This man named “Ji,” though they had been friends since university, always seemed silent and gentle, keeping her company, comforting her loneliness, gently and carefully placing his hand on her shoulder, offering warm comfort and help, but never asking for anything in return.

A strange feeling suddenly welled up in her heart. Was his relationship with her just a lifelong friendship? And had she overlooked and missed the best opportunity?

“Once it’s missed, it can’t be made up for!” I murmured softly, but this girl didn’t understand that. The instant he ran to her with his hands in his pockets, I threw out the “Friendship Rope,” the blue rope binding their legs securely. I knew this spell was about to work once again.

The curse of best friends: they can only be best friends!

He helped her up and said excitedly, “Guess what I bought?”

She shook her head, looking deeply into his eyes. The emotions that had surged within her vanished suddenly. The man before her, with his sorrowful eyes and resolute lips, was unlike his mischievous smile or his slanted gaze. He wasn’t him, not Qiao Mu; he was just her good friend, not the person she both loved and hated.

“Look!” He suddenly opened his hand, revealing a candy wrapped in a glittering silver wrapper in his palm.

“Fairy Tale Candy!” she exclaimed happily. He actually knew about the snack she had loved for a long time. This sweet and crunchy candy had accompanied her through her four years of college.

He was pleased to see her happily eating the candy, but still carefully explained, “Actually, I also really like this kind of candy, so I bought some according to my taste.”

I continued to report his whereabouts and actions to my master, and each time, her expression changed. Sometimes, as soon as I stepped out of the cabin, I would hear her soft sigh.

I know all this; I’m just waiting for the right moment.

They made up again.

She went to her class reunion with Qiao Mu along. Her college classmates were all envious, saying she’d found a handsome guy. Some even jokingly asked her, feigning surprise, why she and Ji hadn’t become lovers after being together for so long. She casually took Ji’s arm and laughed, saying, “He’s the one who doesn’t want me!”

A thought struck him.

The students burst into laughter. “Xu Ji, you have such high standards! You didn’t want such a beautiful girl. Now look what happened, someone else snatched her up.”

He gave an awkward smile and said, “Ask her again, who really doesn’t want whom.”

She chuckled and waved her hand, explaining, “No, no, we’re just good friends, there’s nothing between us, haha, we’ll be best friends forever, long live friendship!”

She flashed him a radiant smile, her hand tightly gripping Qiao Mu’s. He felt something inside him shatter, never to be pieced back together… Forever? Long live friendship? He smiled too, but the pain was so intense he couldn’t utter a word…

When I entered the cabin in the woods again, the owner was half-squatting on the ground, clutching her chest tightly, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her black shamanic robe lay scattered to the side, like a flower about to wither.

“Master, what’s wrong?” I calmly stepped forward.

“Seven years…” she said, forcing herself to speak, “It’s almost here, it’s been seven years!”

Her eyes had lost their sparkle; I knew she had exhausted herself.

I turned my face away and said coldly, “Master, your wish has been fulfilled. They will only ever be good friends. Any curse will take effect permanently after seven years. Any woman he falls in love with will only see him as a good friend. He has paid the price for his neglect. Master, your wish has been fulfilled.”

The master asked in utter astonishment, “How…how do you know all this?”

I turned to look at her; her eyes were empty. I knew her witchcraft was slowly fading, and I no longer needed to be afraid of her.

“Why could they leave so easily? Why could your former elves escape your control one by one? Master, your lies are too clumsy. Though I am but a lowly elf, I have read the ‘Complete Book of Magic.’ The spell of a good friend is a punishment for a faithless person, but only a wizard devoid of emotion and desire can unleash its full power and emerge unscathed. But you, master, you cannot forget him. You cast the spell with deep emotion, causing the magic to weaken until it disappears completely. Your elves left you not because you granted them freedom, but because you could no longer control them!”

“You’re right, it’s not over yet, and you’re not wrong either. I can’t control it, and you can leave now.”

I didn’t want to leave so soon; I still had so much to do. I asked her, “Do you still love him?”

“Love…” she uttered the word with difficulty. Then she took a breath and slowly said, “We’ve known each other since we were very young. I’ve always loved him, silently and sadly, for many years. I was there for him in his joy and sorrow, I sang with him, I drank with him… He repeatedly said that I was his best friend. Best friend? Ha, that word is so cruel! I thought he would understand someday, so I stayed by his side and waited for so many years, only to be met with the reality that he fell in love with another girl.”

“So you went into the Blackwood Forest and became a wizard?”

“The Blackwood Forest is a ruin of love, full of wizards heartbroken and desperate about love. The deeper one loves and the more painful the wound, the higher one’s understanding of witchcraft becomes. As you can see, in just a few years, I have become a powerful witch.”

“But, can no wizard be spared?”

“Yes! No one can escape punishment. We punish the ones we love, and we punish ourselves. There is nothing wrong with loving someone. What is wrong is that we are all too attached.”

After saying this, she couldn’t stop coughing, as if she had completely exhausted all her strength.

I waved towards the door, hoping they would slowly walk over. This was a dream, one I gave them.

A dream.

He woke up from this strange dream, covered in sweat.

He suddenly dreamed of the girl from his past, the girl who had always been by his side, never abandoning him. He considered her a friend, a friend for life, and took her devotion for granted. But during the summer vacation after he started university, she suddenly disappeared and never appeared again.

In his dream, Ji told her he understood. He truly understood the girl’s years of unwavering dedication and affection.

Because I understand, I forgive.

He so wished that the girl he loved could understand.

My master may never know that I used all my spiritual power to break the curse at the very last moment of the seven-year period.

The curse of best friends: they can only be best friends!

If they are truly destined to be together, and have a deep and abiding love for each other, they should give each other a chance!

I just want him to be happy.

I am but a lowly spirit, unaware of all the complexities and twists of life. Originally, I only wished for complete freedom, but now, I only wish for his happiness.

I hope the person I love can be happy!