These words left Liu Hui frozen in place. It took her a long moment to process what Lin Aiyun had just said—the implication being that she’d be eating, drinking, and living at the Xiao residence from now on.
“You two…?” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
Fortunately, Lin Aiyun understood. She quickly explained: “There’s nothing between us. It’s purely a calligraphy teacher arrangement. Mr. Xiao saw me copying prescriptions for you last time—he must have liked my handwriting.”
It wasn’t her handwriting he liked—it was her.
Recalling Xiao Cheng’s ruthless efficiency from the night before, Liu Hui knew there was no changing what was already set. She could only remind Lin Aiyun, in roundabout ways, to protect herself and not be easily swayed by sweet words from men.
Sweet words? Lin Aiyun almost laughed. Xiao Cheng, in his current foul-tempered state, was more likely to bark than to sweet-talk. But still, this unexpected turn of events solved the problem she’d been worrying about—how to spend more time with him.
She just couldn’t figure out why he was doing this, or what he was after. But no matter what, she wasn’t afraid.
Once they’d finished talking, Liu Hui pointed to the frame by the window. “Oh, by the way—are you going to finish this embroidery?”
The piece showed a wutong tree, about two-thirds complete. The stitching was fine and meticulous, vivid and natural.
“I’ll finish it when I have time.” Not knowing how busy she’d be at Xiao Cheng’s, Lin Aiyun didn’t make any promises, but she intended to finish it whenever she had a free moment.
Liu Hui nodded thoughtfully. “Once you’re done, would you bring it back to show me?”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
After leaving the Liu household and loading her things into the trunk, Lin Aiyun made another stop at the Ding residence. But before the car could pull up, she saw a large crowd gathered nearby, pointing and gesturing at something. She followed their gaze—and her eyes widened. She quickly asked Zhou Jin to pull over, and they walked the rest of the way.
The closer she got, the clearer the chatter became.
“That shameless pair of adulterers—how disgusting. They killed so many girls and acted like nothing happened. I heard the Wang family’s missing niece was one of their victims—she was only in her teens. What a tragedy.”
“No kidding. Last night was so loud I thought some disaster had struck—turns out it was the police catching the criminals.”
“The real victim is Su Xiaomei’s husband, if you ask me. Out there working himself to the bone, and his wife cuckolds him and kills people on top of that. And those two kids—they’ve been corrupted too, tsk tsk.”
The voices buzzed around her. Lin Aiyun clutched the fabric in her hands and took a deep breath. She hadn’t expected this outcome—they’d been handed over to the police. The evildoers would finally face justice.
She hoped the souls of those poor girls who died so young could rest in peace and find happiness in their next lives.
Her name hadn’t appeared in any of the conversations—just as Xiao Cheng had said, he’d kept it out of it.
As her eyes swept through the crowd, she spotted several familiar faces.
“Auntie!” Lin Aiyun hurried over. Standing at the Ding household’s door was none other than Zhang Wenyue and her group.
After such a harrowing ordeal, suddenly seeing her family made Lin Aiyun’s eyes redden involuntarily.
“I heard about that Su Xiaomei woman—you were living so close, are you okay?” Zhang Wenyue grabbed Lin Aiyun’s arms and looked her over from head to toe. Only when she was sure nothing was wrong did she finally relax.
She’d been gone just a few days, but her left eyelid had been twitching constantly. Sure enough, she’d come back to find a major incident right in her neighborhood. Thankfully, it hadn’t affected their own home.
“I’m fine. I’ve been staying at Auntie Hui’s place the past few days—I only came back today.” Lin Aiyun remembered the note she’d left in Zhang Wenyue’s bedroom, just in case, and her heart skipped a beat. But seeing that they still had their luggage in hand, they’d probably just arrived and hadn’t even gone inside yet.
Since it was all over now, there was no need to tell them and make them worry. She’d just quietly retrieve the note later.
“You were scared staying alone, weren’t you? I should have taken you with me.” Zhang Wenyue didn’t overthink it—she assumed Lin Aiyun had been frightened being home alone.
But how could she, as an outsider, have tagged along to a funeral for the Ding family’s elder?
Lin Aiyun shook her head and changed the subject: “Did everything go well over there?”
“Mm, pretty much.”
With the passing of their elder, Ding’s father and Ding Weidong hadn’t yet recovered from their grief—their faces were still somber. The two children, however, were too young to hold onto sadness for long. The moment they saw Lin Aiyun, they rushed over affectionately.
“Let’s go inside first.” Zhang Wenyue ushered everyone in. Having something so sordid happen right across the street was bad luck enough—she didn’t want to linger outside any longer than necessary.
“Alright.” Before stepping inside, Lin Aiyun glanced back—Zhou Jin had already disappeared, probably waiting for her in the car.
“Let me help you.” Lin Aiyun quickly took the luggage from Zhang Wenyue’s hands. They chatted as they walked toward the bedroom. Using the opportunity, she tried to retrieve the note, but couldn’t find it anywhere.
“What’s wrong? Did you drop something?” Zhang Wenyue looked at Lin Aiyun, who was crouched on the floor searching for something, and asked curiously.
“Nothing.” Lin Aiyun shook her head. The note had probably been blown away by the wind somewhere. She just hoped Zhang Wenyue and the others wouldn’t find it—if they did, she’d have to come up with a lie to cover for it.
More pressing now was how to tell them that she was going to work as Xiao Cheng’s calligraphy teacher and live at his place.
“Have you given any thought to what your mother said in her letter over these past few days?”
Lin Aiyun hadn’t yet figured out how to broach the subject when Zhang Wenyue spoke up first. But the topic she raised gave her a headache. She said helplessly: “I truly have no intention of getting together with Xu Fengyang.”
The girl had even changed how she addressed him—from “Brother Fengyang” to “Xu Fengyang”—clearly she was completely averse to the idea.
Zhang Wenyue sighed and was about to persuade her further when Lin Aiyun said: “Auntie, I’ve found a new job as a calligraphy teacher. The pay is triple what I’m making now, and it includes meals and accommodation. With all the lesson prep I’ll have to do, I won’t even have time for romance.”
“Triple? Meals and accommodation included?” Zhang Wenyue couldn’t help but click her tongue in amazement—that was even more than she earned.
“Yes. Making more money is better than dating, isn’t it? Besides, I’m still young—there’s no rush to get married.” Lin Aiyun tried earnestly to convince Zhang Wenyue, not wanting her to constantly team up with Zhang Wenhua to push her into marriage.
Zhang Wenyue hesitated. She knew Lin Aiyun was right—that if she made something of herself, she’d have no trouble finding an even better match. But still…
“Is this even reliable? Things like this don’t just fall out of the sky.”
“That person is one of Auntie Hui’s patients. He saw me copying prescriptions once and brought it up.” Lin Aiyun repeated what she’d told Liu Hui, and added: “I even went to his house today—the whole area is full of Western-style villas. He’s clearly very wealthy.”
“Western-style villas?” There was only one place in Lanxi County with villas like that. Anyone living there was either wealthy or powerful.
But if he was that rich, he could find any calligraphy teacher he wanted. Why would he need Lin Aiyun? Zhang Wenyue had her suspicions.
Her eyes swept over Lin Aiyun’s delicate face, and her brow furrowed.
“Auntie, I’ve met this person before—I can vouch for his character. Don’t worry, would I let myself be taken advantage of?” Seeing Zhang Wenyue’s expression, Lin Aiyun knew what she was worried about. She stepped forward, put an arm around her aunt’s shoulders, and softened her tone, coaxing.
“Right now, I just want to earn more money on my own. That way, I’ll have more confidence when I do marry in the future.”
At that, Zhang Wenyue’s gaze flickered. Those words struck a chord with her. Though many years had passed and some memories had faded, the hardships she’d endured when she first married into the Ding family could never be erased.
She had married well above her station. At first, her in-laws had looked down on her as a country fox who’d seduced their son for status. The household was run entirely by her mother-in-law—she couldn’t even decide what to have for breakfast or dinner, let alone spend money. If it hadn’t been for support from her own family, she wouldn’t have had a single new outfit all year.
It was only over time, through daily interactions, that the Ding family’s opinion of her gradually improved.
Others didn’t know any of this. She’d always shared only the good news, swallowing her difficulties in silence. But when she counted it all up—the sour, the sweet, the bitter, the spicy—the sweet still outweighed the rest. Look how well her life was going now.
“Though Xu Fengyang and his family are wonderful, the gap between our families is quite large. Who knows how things might turn out later? So I want to improve myself first, and think about marriage later.”
“An opportunity is right in front of me now. If I hesitate and hold back, I’ll never get anything done. I’m not a child anymore—I know what I can and can’t do. I’ll protect myself.”
“I’ll write to my mother and convince her. Auntie, please let me go?”
After hearing all that, Zhang Wenyue could clearly see how determined Lin Aiyun was. After a moment’s hesitation, she said: “Safety comes first. Since you say it’s fine and I trust you, then go ahead. Your mother and I can’t look after you forever. Just don’t regret your choice.”
“I won’t.” Her tone was firm.
The two of them talked for a long time in the room. When Zhang Wenyue learned that Lin Aiyun was moving out that very night, she was reluctant to let her go—but there was no helping it. She could only stuff a few things into her bag, cook a table full of good food, and finally let her leave.
When Lin Aiyun arrived at the spot where the car had been parked, Zhou Jin was leaning against the door, smoking. Seeing her approach from a distance, he stubbed out his cigarette and took her bags.
“Have you eaten? I brought you some food.” Lin Aiyun handed him a lunchbox.
“No need.” Same cold response. She was used to it by now. She pushed the lunchbox toward him again: “Take it. It’s already packed—it’d be a waste if you didn’t. I heard Mr. Xiao call you Zhou Jin—how should I address you?”
“Just call me by my name, same as Brother Cheng does.” Zhou Jin glanced at the lunchbox and finally took it.
Seeing him accept it, Lin Aiyun’s eyes curved into a smile. “Alright, Zhou Jin.”
“Mm.” Zhou Jin nodded, then checked his watch—it was getting late. If they left now, they’d just make it back before eight.
If they were late, Brother Cheng would lose his temper.
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