Chapter 38. She guessed it was a kiss.

She sensed something was wrong and reached out to touch her eyes. Just as she touched the cloth covering her eyes, her hands were grabbed.

Then, they were neatly tied behind their backs.

She couldn't move now; all she knew was that she was blindfolded, her hands were tied, and there seemed to be someone else beside her.

It was probably a man.

She sensed it when she leaned against that man's chest. His chest was cold and hard, and it felt very uncomfortable to rest her head against it.

Was I kidnapped?

Wasn't she just at the Yin residence?

"……Who are you?"

Instead of answering, the man took a strip of cloth and blindfolded her again, wrapping it tightly so that her brow bone ached.

She could still glimpse a faint light through the thin strip of cloth, but now she couldn't see any light at all.

Why did you do that?

As soon as she finished speaking, she knew why.

His cold hands began to caress her thighs, kneading them carefully, the pressure increasing with each stroke.

The location is also getting further and further in.

Leng Cuizhu understood perfectly.

It seems to be a womanizer who preys on women.

In the past, when she worked in brothels, she often saw customers who would run away without paying after their services. The madam would lead a few older women to chase after the customers to collect their money, but most of the time they would not get any.

In response, her former close friend taught her some coping strategies.

Aren't you afraid?

"..."

The man paused in his work.

"Aren't you afraid I'll die, making a scene that everyone knows, and ruining your reputation?"

Actually, she felt this method was useless. Why would a shameless womanizer care whether she died or not? And reputation was something that never existed at all.

But she had no other choice.

Unexpectedly, the man actually withdrew his hand and remained motionless for a long time.

She just sat there, keeping him company, until she got a little thirsty.

Because she was naked, she was shivering from the cold and her whole body went limp.

A moment later, a garment was draped over her back and gathered around her chest.

The clothes were of very good quality, the lining was probably made of satin, and it was covered with gray squirrel fur. The collar was also specially sewn with fluffy fox fur, the long fur brushing against her chin.

She was a little confused.

Did this person already succeed before I woke up?

"What do you mean?"

She was forcibly pushed down and made to lie on the bed.

The bed was very soft, and she didn't feel any discomfort while lying on it.

The man lifted her head, placed a pillow behind her head, covered her with a blanket, and carefully tucked the corners of the blanket in.

Huh?

Leng Cuizhu frowned.

How strange.

Now, she completely lost sight of what men are supposed to do.

But the bed was quite warm, not to mention she was wearing a coat, and when she got hot, she felt dizzy and wanted to sleep.

Could it be that this person is planning to take advantage of her while she is asleep?

Before she could figure out a solution, the man had already crawled into bed, put his arm around her shoulder, and pressed himself against her.

He was so cold, as if he were made of ice.

Even wearing an undergarment, it was still cold through the fabric.

The hand on her shoulder tightened even more, making her hunch her shoulders.

As she nestled against him, she felt an overwhelming surge of passion, yet instead became anxious and tense.

She absolutely dared not sleep.

However, despite her long period of vigilance, the man only put his arm around her shoulder and stroked her shoulder bone with his fingertips, without doing anything else.

She couldn't help but relax a little and start to think about the situation.

It seemed like the man was sharing the same pillow with her; if she moved her head slightly, she could even brush against his hair.

It has a slightly astringent cypress leaf scent.

The scent stirred something within her that stirred her emotions.

If only she were still young. When she was younger, she and Yin Yuan would often lie like this, and he would always cover her eyes so she wouldn't see, as if out of shyness.

No, it's not Yin Yuan.

But... Leng Cuizhu had long forgotten who that person was.

All the empty memories were filled with Yin Yuan.

Otherwise, she would completely forget those youthful days and become a rusty, empty shell.

She was woken up early in the morning by a disturbance; Madam Yin and her maidservant kept calling her name by her bedside.

“Little sister,” Yi Yinwan smiled, “get up quickly.”

She reached out and lifted Leng Cuizhu from the bed, placing a cushion behind her back.

Leng Cuizhu was completely bewildered.

Several maids came in to help her wash and dress. After they wiped her face with a towel, she finally woke up.

Where is this place?

“The Yin family,” Yi Yinwan said, holding a small jar of osmanthus oil, “you fainted halfway there last night, and it was Xiao Linglan who painstakingly dragged you back.”

"Is that right, Lily of the Valley?"

The maid nodded and continued, "Yes, my lady, you were walking ahead when you suddenly fainted. It scared me to death! I couldn't just abandon you, so I used all my strength to bring you back to life and put you in this room."

Seeing how vividly the master and servant described it, Leng Cuizhu was skeptical.

She didn't really remember what happened last night, only that she seemed to have had a dream.

It was a terrible dream.

"Thank you for your trouble, Madam and Miss Linglan..."

She awkwardly adjusted her collar and discovered that her nightgown was extremely exquisite. Underneath was a pale red strapless dress, and over it was a jade-colored gauze shirt, with twin lotus flower patterns sewn in gold thread on the cuffs of the shirt.

Yi Yinwan: "You're wearing my nightgown."

“Is it suitable? It’s yours,” she said, pulling Leng Cuizhu up from the bed and leading her to sit in front of the dressing mirror. “I’ll comb your hair, and you can use my jewelry too. It’s all yours. I’ll also put together an outer outfit for you later, which you can also give to me.”

"Ah? This won't do! I'll just wear my own clothes..." She looked around but couldn't find her clothes anywhere—not on the rack, not on the bed.

Where did her clothes go?

Upon hearing this, the smile on Yi Yinwan's face vanished.

The young maidservant said timidly, "Oh dear, mistress, why are you still thinking about those few pieces of cloth when you already have beautiful clothes to wear..."

Leng Cuizhu also sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

"Okay, fine." She lowered her head, not wanting to upset Madam Yin.

Yi Yinwan styled her hair into a neat snake bun, which made her scalp ache from the tension.

Not only that, but they also put several gold-inlaid jade hairpins and hair ornaments of different styles in her hair. They originally planned to put a peony flower in her hair, but she was really annoyed and politely declined.

Adorned with jewels, she finally understood the weight of happiness.

"Let Linglan escort you to the door, then you can take a carriage back."

“Ah, no need, no need…” Leng Cuizhu waved her hands repeatedly, “I can manage on my own, there’s no need to trouble Miss Linglan.”

She held her neck with one hand and lifted her skirt with the other, following behind the servant toward the door.

As she passed through the courtyard, she felt vaguely uneasy, and a chill ran down the back of her neck.

She always felt like someone was watching her from the shadows.

She turned back halfway there.

Yi Yinwan was standing at the door counting money with her maid when she saw her return. She asked, "What? You've decided to wear a flower after all?"

"...Madam, please make sure you take good care of Leng Zhen."

She pursed the blush on her lips, awkwardly touching the pearl pendant in her hair, her expression sincere.

She knew that she was not familiar with Madam Yin, and was even a stranger to her.

But she would rather trust a stranger than trust a man again.

She was Yin Yuan's mistress, and Madam Yin would certainly not be able to reconcile with her.

There is hatred and loathing between them, but it goes far beyond that.

It's impossible for women to be so divided simply because of a man.

Having lived among all sorts of women in a brothel, she understood that women are most likely to sympathize with everything, and even the person they hate most cannot help but feel sorry for when they see them fall to the bottom.

Beautiful swans may be jealous and competitive, but they ultimately cannot accept that their rivals have their feathers plucked, their legs broken, and their bodies tied up, no longer able to frolic freely in the water, but forced to wriggle along in the muddy reed beds all day long.

She actually felt apologetic towards Madam Yin, but she had no choice but to take advantage of Yi Yinwan's pity.

But she only used a tiny bit, just a tiny bit.

It's just a matter of survival; who is more virtuous than whom?

Yi Yinwan stared at her, pondered for a long time, and then said, "Yes, I will."

The day after tomorrow, Leng Cuizhu will officially start her job.

Her job was simple and easy: she would sit behind the stage and play along with the old musicians who played the erhu and trumpet. She only played the pipa when the play was in full swing to add to the atmosphere; the rest of the time she would just sit and relax, waiting for the right moment.

“Your wife doesn’t look like a local.” The old musician dusted off his pipe. “She looks like she’s from the South, very pretty.”

"Ah, my ancestral home seems to be... Huainan."

Leng Cuizhu made it up on the spot. She had been living in brothels since she was a child, so how would she know where her ancestral home was?

Moreover, the old musician's purpose was not there at all; his lecherous gaze had already revealed everything to him.

She made an excuse to go out of the theater to change the strings of her pipa and get some fresh air.

"Cluck cluck! Cluck cluck—"

"Where did this chicken come from?"

Two men carrying a rooster were walking into the inner room, discussing how to cook it, when they passed by her.

The rooster stretched its neck and cried out with all its might, "Host! Help me!"

"Wait!" she exclaimed, wringing her handkerchief. "Brothers, this chicken..."

The guy waved his hand and said, "Hey! I picked it up from the ground."

“This is my chicken.”

“It’s a chicken I’ve raised since it was a chick. If you don’t believe me, you can look at its tail; there’s a small patch of feather that was singed off by the fire.” She pouted, covered her nose, and wept. “It must have missed me while it was at home, so it came here to find me.”

Her pitiful appearance would soften anyone's heart, let alone look up at the two waiters in front of her with her big, watery eyes.

"Oh dear, my wife, I'm so sorry, so very sorry!" The waiter, feeling guilty, hurriedly handed the chicken to her.

She gave a soft thank you, picked up the chicken, and turned to walk into the woodshed.

As soon as the door was bolted, the chicken was thrown to the ground.

"What are you doing here? Wasn't I telling you to stay home and look after Leng Zhen?"

Ouch!

The rooster fell face-first to the ground, grumbled as it got up, and rushed to her skirt in a few quick steps: "Because I missed you! I missed you..."

“Your son is so big now, he can take care of himself.” It rubbed against her legs. “Before I left, I locked the door from the outside, so he couldn’t get out. Besides, when I left, he had just finished his work and was about to go inside for a nap. He must be fast asleep in bed now, it’s impossible for him to run around.”

How was your work today?

The rooster seemed to have nothing better to do, circling around her.

"Are you tired? Are you tired?"

"If you truly cared about me, you wouldn't have come to me and caused me trouble," she shook her head and sighed, bending down to pick up the chicken. "Have you eaten?"

"No," the rooster chuckled, "I want to eat scrambled eggs!"

“There are no scrambled eggs,” she said, raising her hand to cover the chicken’s beak. “I’ll go to the market and buy you a steamed bun. You stay here and behave yourself. Don’t go anywhere. Guard my pipa well.”

When Leng Cuizhu returned after buying the steamed buns, she pushed open the door but saw no chicken. Instead, she saw a naked person squatting by the shelf, curiously looking at the pipa she had placed there.

The dodder turned around and smiled brightly: "Host, you're back!"

That dodder is a strange child; it has the same appetite as a chicken and the same appetite as a human, ridiculously large.

One steamed bun is certainly not enough, but Leng Cuizhu wouldn't spend money to buy her a second one.

"If you're hungry, go back home. There's food at home, including eggs. Just cook them yourself."

She sat on the chair with her head down, tuning the pipa strings, without glancing at the dodder.

Dodder pouted.

It seems she's trying to get rid of him. But he's only been here a short time, so why doesn't the host care about him?

I thought she would be happy if I came to see her, but it turns out it was just wishful thinking on my part.

He hugged his knees and huddled on the ground.

Running around naked all day, yet his skin didn't get tanned; it remained a light wheat color, and a few strands of hair on his head shone brightly in the sunlight.

Seeing that the usually noisy person was silent, she looked up and asked, "What's wrong? Are you dizzy? You must have caught a cold from not wearing clothes. I've already told you that people need to wear clothes. Anyone who doesn't wear clothes is a pervert."

Leng Cuizhu put down her pipa, stood up, and took off her outer robe to drape over him.

"Or... is your body feverish again?"

She crouched down close to the dodder and reached out to touch his forehead.

He was neither hot nor cold, but his brows were furrowed.

What's wrong with you?

"I……"

If he were to tell her that he was having a disagreement with her, she would definitely get angry again, angry that he was being unreasonable.

After all, he's not physically ill, he's mentally ill.

Yes, he's mentally ill, so what?

Why hasn't she gotten her treated yet...?

He bit his lip and replied, "Guess."

Leng Cuizhu: "I don't want to guess."

Dodder was momentarily speechless: "You..."

He lowered his eyes listlessly and said absentmindedly, "What am I supposed to do if you don't guess..."

“Alright,” she looked at him amusedly and beckoned to him, “come here, let me guess.”

He obediently moved closer.

They were so close that he kept blinking, his eyes fixed on the pink flower ornament between her eyebrows, and his breathing slowed down.

Her slender, delicate hand touched his cheek.

He stiffened his neck and urged in a low voice, "Guess, guess..."

She responded softly, "Mmm..."

She guessed it was a kiss.

So she cupped his cheeks and kissed him.