Hearing this, Lin Aiyun paused mid-motion as she wrung out the water from her skirt on the corridor. She looked up sharply, met his eyes, and answered softly, word by word.
“Lin, Ai, Yun.”
Her long hair, once braided, had come loose and now hung wet over her shoulders, the ends brushing against her cheeks. She carried a delicate, cool beauty that stirred an inexplicable itch in the heart.
“It’s a good name.”
“Thank you.” Lin Aiyun nodded. Seeing that he had no more to say, she turned around and bent down to clean the mud off her shoes. Her slender waist and rounded hips—still with a youthful curve—were fully on display.
Her skin was pale as if glowing, and the section of calf exposed was smooth and straight.
Xiao Cheng fished a cigarette pack from his pocket, his half-lidded eyes blurred behind the smoke rising from his fingertips. His mind drifted into a blank space. He didn’t understand when he’d developed such patience—able to sit idly in this shabby little place wasting time.
Time—wasn’t that the most expensive thing of all?
The corner of his eye lifted slightly as he caught sight of that deep blue figure following Liu Hui up to the second floor. The two of them chatted and laughed, and the arc of her smile was particularly striking. So some people really did look that beautiful when they smiled.
But right now, Xiao Cheng only wanted to see what she looked like crying. After all, tears made it more interesting—didn’t they?
With that thought, he rose leisurely, took his umbrella, and walked back to the door. Standing on the steps, he looked down and waved at Jiang Yan, who was still kneeling not far away.
After kneeling so long, Jiang Yan stumbled as he ran over, nearly falling. His voice was hoarse: “Brother Cheng.”
“Last chance. Find out everything for me.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Yan lowered his head, naturally understanding who he meant. Only after Xiao Cheng had gone back inside did he slowly lift his gaze.
—
“Wear this set. I’ve barely worn it a few times—don’t mind it.” Liu Hui pulled out a cream-colored top and black trousers from the wardrobe and handed them to Lin Aiyun.
“I’m grateful to you, how could I mind?” Lin Aiyun smiled in thanks.
Hearing this, Liu Hui’s smile deepened. She was about to leave and give Lin Aiyun privacy to change, but then something occurred to her. She quickly turned back, looking at her niece with some hesitation.
“Auntie Hui, what’s wrong?” The shift in mood was too obvious for Lin Aiyun to miss, so she added: “Whatever you want to say, just say it.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Liu Hui met her sincere, curious gaze and couldn’t hold back: “Do you know that Mr. Xiao downstairs from before?”
“No, I don’t.” Lin Aiyun shook her head. They indeed “didn’t” know each other—but that didn’t mean they’d stay strangers. Xiao Cheng, as always, was “fond of beauty”—well, to be precise, fond of her beauty.
No matter what age they met, Xiao Cheng would fall for her.
Based on her understanding of him, she was confident of that.
In the popular phrase of later years, it was love at first sight—he couldn’t have anyone else but her? If she teased him a little more, she wasn’t afraid he wouldn’t take the bait.
“Mmhm. That man is a big shot from the capital—people like us can’t afford to provoke him. I can tell…” Liu Hui was experienced. Having lived more than half her life, she could read Xiao Cheng’s intentions without him spelling them out—especially since he’d never bothered to hide them.
It was nothing more than lust at first sight—wanting to have some fun with a young girl.
Someone like Lin Aiyun—pretty and innocent, a country girl who hadn’t seen much of the world—was easy prey in their eyes.
She wanted to say it outright, but thought better of it. She sighed and said: “In any case, it’s best if we keep our distance.”
Lin Aiyun caught her meaning and felt warm inside knowing Liu Hui cared for her. But keep her distance from Xiao Cheng? How was that possible?
She’d thought it would take much longer to find him, but perhaps heaven had taken pity on her and let them meet now.
She had always regarded this unbelievable rebirth as a gift from above. Now that she had a chance to reunite with Xiao Cheng, she only wanted to cherish every moment with him. Why would she push him away?
But Liu Hui’s words reminded her of something important. Logically, Xiao Cheng should be in the capital right now. Why would he suddenly appear in Lanxi County?
With that thought, Lin Aiyun feigned curiosity: “From the capital? Why’d he come all this way?”
Liu Hui didn’t catch the hint of unease in her voice. She lowered her voice and said: “What else could it be? For treatment.”
But what kind of illness? When Lin Aiyun pressed further, Liu Hui stopped answering. She only urged her to change quickly and come downstairs to grind medicinal powder, then opened the door and left directly.
“Treatment?” Lin Aiyun murmured to herself, her fingers unconsciously gripping the clothes in her hands, her breath quickening. It couldn’t be anything serious, could it? In her previous life, Xiao Cheng had always been healthy—even in old age, he rarely visited the hospital.
She, on the other hand, had worn herself out working the fields in her youth and suffered from constant minor ailments later on.
At that thought, Lin Aiyun’s tense expression eased slightly. But until she knew the real reason, she still couldn’t fully relax.
Despite the connection through Dr. Liu, there was no guarantee when Xiao Cheng might return to the capital.
Right now, the most important thing was to figure out a way to keep Xiao Cheng here—to delay his return to the capital. Once he went back, there was no telling when they’d meet again.
Realizing this, Lin Aiyun quickened her pace changing clothes. But when she came downstairs, Xiao Cheng was nowhere to be seen.
“He said he had urgent business and left.” Liu Hui noticed Lin Aiyun’s searching gaze and offered an explanation.
“Does he come every day? I haven’t seen him the past few days.” Lin Aiyun sat down in her usual spot, picked up some herbs, and placed them in the mortar, feigning casualness.
Liu Hui was tidying the teacups and didn’t turn around: “Usually at night. He’s a busy man—no time during the day.”
At night, Lin Aiyun would have already left work long ago. No wonder she’d never run into him.
Lin Aiyun lowered her gaze. So they’d been missing each other—chances to meet were few and far between.
Rain beat against the wisteria, making a crackling sound with no sign of letting up.
By the time her shift was almost over, Lin Aiyun still hadn’t come up with a good idea. She couldn’t exactly loiter by the door until nightfall, waiting for Xiao Cheng to show up and pretend it was a coincidence—that would be too deliberate and would easily give away her real intentions.
If she was mistaken for some gold-digging loose woman, she’d lose more than she’d gain.
A knock sounded at the front door. Lin Aiyun raised her umbrella and crossed the fine drizzle to open it, only to see Zhang Wenyue standing outside, holding several umbrellas.
“Auntie, what are you doing here?” It was still work hours for her.
“I took a half day off to bring you all umbrellas… Did you change clothes?” Zhang Wenyue had clearly come in a hurry, slightly out of breath. She noticed Lin Aiyun’s different outfit and asked instinctively.
“The rain caught me off guard—I got soaked on the way. Luckily Auntie Hui lent me some clothes.” Lin Aiyun took the umbrella Zhang Wenyue handed her and explained briefly.
“Good. Make sure you drink some ginger soup tonight—don’t catch a cold. I’ve got to go bring umbrellas to your cousins now. Be careful when you head home later.” With those instructions, Zhang Wenyue hurried off again.
“Auntie, you be careful too—it’s slippery, don’t fall!”
“Don’t worry.”
—
That evening, everyone gathered around to drink ginger soup. The pungent, sharp smell filled the kitchen and spread through the living room. Ding Ronghao and Ding Rongchun pinched their noses, unable to stomach it, and clung to their father, begging him to let them skip it.
Ding Weidong was at a loss and tried to compromise: “You didn’t get that wet anyway…”
But before he could finish, a sharp glare flew his way, landing right in his mouth and effectively cutting off his sentence.
“Less talk—everyone drinks. Are you two the only ones who get to be precious? If you catch a cold, the medicine will taste even worse. Then what will you do?” Zhang Wenyue rolled her eyes, tipped her own bowl back without a single furrow of her brow, and downed it all.
“Your mother can do it—why can’t you? Don’t embarrass me out there.”
Seeing that, the two children dared not argue further and obediently sipped the foul-tasting ginger soup in tiny gulps.
Lin Aiyun also decided that enduring it all at once was better than dragging it out. She gritted her teeth and downed her bowl in one go. Her stomach churned and she nearly threw up, but thankfully only dry-heaved twice. She couldn’t help but admire Zhang Wenyue, who had remained completely composed throughout.
“Aiyun, go take a hot bath once you’re done. I’ll have to watch the three of them finish theirs.” Zhang Wenyue gathered the empty bowls into the kitchen and called over her shoulder.
“Alright, I’ll go first then.” Lin Aiyun nodded, went to her room to get a change of clothes, and carried hot water to the bathroom.
As she undressed, the fabric rubbed against her chest, causing a dull ache. She noticed the spot where the cigarette ash had burned her earlier had broken the skin slightly—not serious, it would heal in a few days.
After her bath, she washed and hung up the clothes Liu Hui had lent her before coming out. She was about to help clean the kitchen but was shooed away by Zhang Wenyue.
“You’ve got work tomorrow—get some rest early. Your uncle and I will have this tidied up in no time.”
“Yeah, we’ve got it. Go on.” Ding Weidong nodded in agreement. In their household, whatever Zhang Wenyue said went, and he never had any objections.
Since that was the case, Lin Aiyun didn’t insist. She went back to her room and lay down to sleep.
Watching her niece walk away, Zhang Wenyue pulled Ding Weidong into the kitchen and cut straight to the point in a low voice: “What about that thing I asked you to check on a few days ago? You’ve been putting it off—are you not willing to help?”
“Darling, you’re wronging me. It’s not that I don’t want to—the boss’s mother got sick and he took time off to care for her. I couldn’t find him anywhere. How was I supposed to do anything?” Ding Weidong spread his hands, looking wronged.
“Well, I suppose there’s nothing to be done about that.” Zhang Wenyue frowned. Before she could say more, Ding Weidong shifted the topic: “But the good news is he came back from leave today.”
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