Orange dress

"You still haven't told me!"

"What's your name?" Jin Xilu, clutching her grandmother's pants, shuffled slowly toward the Jiang family's gate. She didn't receive a reply from the blond prince; instead, she heard the resounding slam of the heavy iron gate closing.

Not wanting to miss any opportunity to observe the Jiang family, she craned her neck and stood on tiptoe to look into the courtyard.

She saw the tall clan chief gently stroking the little boy's head, his movements slow and light, his expression one of quiet happiness. In stark contrast, the child being stroked was expressionless, his lips tightly pursed, like a weary puppet being manipulated.

With one last glance, she watched as the last bit of plaster was wiped off his face, leaving behind a face even whiter than the paint on a wall.

White wall paint, wall paint?

That's right! The longer Kim Hee-ro stared at him, the more he felt that he resembled the gray New Year's fish painting nailed to her living room wall. She struggled with the thought that this metaphor seemed a bit strange.

He was just a moment ago full of life, chasing after her and throwing flowers. How come he's turned into a silent, gray, lifeless fish now that he's back in the clan leader's hands?

The Jiang family's gate was already closed, leaving only Jin Xilu and her grandmother standing innocently at the wooden doorway, as if they had been forgotten. At that time, Jin Xilu only felt a little bored, but as she grew up, she belatedly realized that this was contempt and ridicule.

The Jiang family's arrogance is like the fine gold sand flowing down an hourglass; it only cycles and repeats itself over time. The accumulated sand is never blown away; it is simply accumulating strength for the next generation.

Xilu loosened her grip on the fabric of her grandmother's pants, looking down as if staring at the small stones at her feet. But her mind was filled with memories of the blond boy inside, recalling the scene of their final parting. She sighed and murmured, "How strange."

"What did you say? Let's go home." Grandma stared at the Jiang family's door with a solemn expression. Her mind was still a little numb. She didn't want to dwell on how her granddaughter had gotten into the Jiang family. Her mind was now entirely focused on how to save He Min.

Jin Xilu had already prepared her excuse of getting lost and entering through the main gate. After waiting for a while and her grandmother still hadn't asked her anything, she looked up and was surprised to find that her grandmother was just staring at the Jiang family's gate, with silent tears streaming down her face.

She couldn't help but feel flustered and anxious. Right now, neither the blond boy nor the red-haired boy was as important as her grandmother's sad tears. In her memory, her grandmother was kind and gentle to everyone. Why was she crying now?

"Why are you crying? Did someone from the Jiang family bully you?" Jin Xilu quickly hugged her grandmother's waist, buried her face in her stomach, and held her tightly, not wanting to let go for a moment. She said firmly, "Did someone inside bully you? I'll help you! I'll throw stones at them."

Faced with Kim Hee-ro, who was as stubborn and obstinate as a calf, Kim Mi-ryung quickly wiped away her tears and swallowed the few useless words stuck in her throat. She couldn't make a sound, so she could only bend down and hug her little girl in a way that was both an embrace and a protection.

After recovering, she managed a smile at Jin Xilu, her voice returning to calm: "No one bullied me. It's just that the festival is coming soon, and I accidentally touched a chili pepper while helping to chop vegetables today. It's just spicy. Don't worry about it, Xilu."

In the end, Jin Xilu was carried back in her grandmother's arms. That night, before going to bed, she drank some sweet brown sugar rice wine. Her grandmother sat in a chair, fanning herself with a palm leaf fan, her warm fingers gently wiping away the stray hairs stuck to her forehead.

Before going to bed, Jin Xilu asked, "Grandma, what do you think happens to fish if they leave the water?"

"Fish, fish out of water?"

Before her grandmother could answer, Jin Xilu lifted her leg and kicked it out, as if she were a fish about to create a beautiful splash in the water. Before her grandmother could speak, she said, "It will die, the fish will die, right!"

Grandma pulled a thin blanket over her and sat back down on the edge of the bed. Her soft voice echoed in the small, earthy room. Grandma didn't answer directly, but said, "When a fish leaves the water, it struggles desperately, splashing water and sending out distress signals with its powerful tail time and time again."

As her grandmother's gentle voice swayed her, Jin Xilu unconsciously slowed her breathing and closed her eyes. Before falling asleep, she was still thinking: the fish will still die.

"When a fish is out of water, it struggles until it has no strength left and then quietly dies. I don't want the fish to get hurt, I don't want to make it sad, and I don't want it to be alone..."

There are too many people here. She loves her grandmother and her good friends. Now, the blond little boy next door has also become a special presence in her dreams.

In her dream, she clearly remembered running over and hugging Jiang Yilin, who was all alone in the crowd, wanting to take him away in a simple and brutal way. But as soon as she opened her mouth, Jiang Yilin disappeared. When she looked down, all she had left in her hand was a dead fish whose tail wouldn't move.

It was still dark outside, and the sky outside the window was a misty blue, full of moisture. If you listened carefully, you could hear a few chickens moving around near their coop, making the bamboo branches creak like rain. It was a quiet morning, perfect for doing something naughty.

Jin Xilu didn't hesitate at all. When she woke up, she climbed out of bed and squatted barefoot under the wall where the painting was hanging. She looked up at the painting with the simplest eyes of a child. She wasn't thinking about anything, but the idea was becoming clearer and clearer.

"Ouch, my feet are so cold." After saying that, Kim Hee-ro finally stood up. She tiptoed and easily peeled off the gray fish painting on the wall.

Fish are most comfortable in the water.

After doing all this, Jin Xilu crawled back into her small bed, satisfied, and hugged her slightly cold legs as she fell asleep, as if everything she had just done was part of a dream.

In reality, there's much more to her than that.

She just wanted to see that boy.

Daylight broke, the sunlight was as bright as ever, the watermarks on the ground had disappeared, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.

Kim Hee-ro wore another orange dress and carried a large basket of apples and green persimmons. For aesthetic purposes, she also picked a few pomelo leaves from her front door to cover them. The apples were a gift from the old man at the market, and the green persimmons were picked by her good friend, Guoqing. But this did not affect her from seeing herself as a heroine queen who rescued the prince.

On her fifth or sixth knock, the Jiang family's door finally opened.

Kim Hee-ro didn't know the blond boy's name, but that didn't stop her from holding up her full fruit basket the moment she opened the door, flashing a bright smile and greeting him loudly and fluently.

"Hello, I'm looking for your child with the fair complexion."

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man. He was still holding a broom in his hand. He looked down and saw that it was just a little girl. He glanced at her and then kept his hand on the door, showing no intention of letting her in. He didn't take Jin Xilu, this child, seriously at all.

"Go away, go away, how would I know who you're looking for? Get out, get out."

Jin Xilu's arms ached from carrying the fruit basket. Standing in the shadow of the basket, she didn't see the adults' glares, but she did see the busy ants in the corner. She had an idea.