Chapter 108: Breathing Disordered
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhuang Wan's courtyard became lively early in the morning.
Lixia brought a bucket of water to clean the stone mortar, and Zhuang Wan came out of the warehouse with a bag of rice to prepare to pound it.
Yes, she planned to make mooncakes herself. Zhuang Wan had a natural advantage: optimism. Although life in a book was hard, she still had to have a sense of ritual when celebrating a festival.
Besides, Pei Xingju had tactfully expressed his desire to eat the mooncakes she made two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival. As a qualified worker, what else could Zhuang Wan say?
Of course, she makes it because the boss wants to eat it.
At this moment, she, Lixia and Jingzhe were busy in and out, but Pei the creditor was sitting in the corridor reading a book like a big boss.
For some reason, he always liked to run to her yard. He didn't live in the big house he bought, but chose to stay in her tiny place.
When Zhuang Wan was carrying rice and passing by the corridor, she felt that he was blocking the way and coughed lightly.
Pei Xingju didn't even raise his head, but retracted his long legs and turned sideways.
“.......”
Zhuang Wan walked into the kitchen and said to Lixia, "Just pound this into fine flour."
"Okay! Leave it to me!"
Lixia loves to eat. When she was in Pei Mansion, she liked to follow Zhuang Wan around. Today, when she learned that Zhuang Wan was going to make mooncakes, she was even more enthusiastic and wanted to take care of all the work.
After a while, Erya also came and knocked on the door.
She carried a basket in her arms and asked as soon as she entered the room, "Sister Ruyi, do you think these eggs are enough?"
Zhuang Wan leaned over and took a look: "That's enough, just leave it there."
At first, Erya was a little scared when she saw Pei Xingju, but after spending two days with him, she was no longer afraid. While helping Zhuang Wan beat eggs, she also secretly went to see Pei Xingju.
Zhuang Wan squatted opposite her and saw her blushing face. She was amused and asked, "Is she really that beautiful?"
Erya nodded: "My mother said that Master Pei is a god in heaven, so I want to see what a god looks like."
Zhuang Wan couldn't help but laugh.
She finally understood that the residents of Lihua Alley were all about appearances. Pei Xingju had only been there a few days, and everyone from the eighty-year-old to the three-year-old liked him. But Pei Xingju was a man who was good at pretending. He acted one way in front of her, but when he met others outside, he was polite and well-mannered.
Sometimes Aunt Liu would earnestly advise, "Mr. Pei is such a good man, why aren't you willing? I think you two are a perfect match. He's young and rich, so much better than the wealthy men in our county. You wouldn't be able to find such a good man even if you searched with a lantern."
Zhuang Wan explained many times in a depressed manner, saying that she and Pei Xingju were just old friends and nothing more, but Aunt Liu looked unconvinced.
"If you two are just old friends, why does he come to your place every day to eat? For free?"
“........”
Zhuang Wan smiled and simply didn't bother to explain, as she couldn't explain it clearly anyway.
Therefore, in just a few days, Pei Xingju successfully rose to the top with his "infatuated personality" and became the most popular person in Lihua Lane.
At this moment, Zhuang Wan also glanced in the direction of Erya's gaze. Pei Xingju was sitting in the corridor, holding a book, with his head slightly tilted, looking focused and relaxed.
Half the morning light fell on the porch, illuminating his robe. I don't know what the robe was made of; at first glance, it looked dark, but in the sunlight, it shone a faint purple, dotted with colorful halos. The wind rustled the hem of his robe, and the halos shifted with it, like flowing light playing across it.
He was a clothes hanger, and he had an air of nobility about him. When he was reading quietly, he looked like a gentle gentleman, as bright as the moon in the sky.
Zhuang Wan glanced at it and couldn't help but glance again.
I thought to myself, he is indeed worthy of being the male lead, he is really good-looking.
.
This busy schedule lasted until the afternoon. When Zhuang Wan woke up from her nap, the sun was already hanging low over the wall.
Zhuang Wan stretched at the door and looked into the yard, but did not see Pei Xingju. Only Jingzhe was standing under the corridor chewing sugarcane.
She chewed the sugarcane in a very unique way, with no expression on her face and a fearless attitude. She took big bites as if she had a grudge against the sugarcane.
"Qingzhe?" Zhuang Wan shouted.
Jingzhe turned around and asked: "What do you want, young lady?"
"What girl? You can call me Zhuang Wan, or Ruyi." Zhuang Wan stepped out. "Others may not know, but don't you know? I'm the same as you now, but also different."
She said sadly, "You are richer than me, and I am so poor that I can only sell my body to pay off my debts."
Jingzhe's face remained unchanged after hearing this, and he continued, "You are someone close to the master, so you should call me girl."
hehe!
What on earth did Pei Xingju do to give them this illusion?
"No..." Zhuang Wan tried to explain, "I just sold my body... No, I just signed a work contract, that's all. It's not what you think."
Jingzhe looked like he knew a lot about the inside story and nodded, "Yes."
“…”
Forget it, she didn't want to explain.
Zhuang Wan took two deep breaths and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moonlight is bright and quiet, and the courtyard seems to be covered with a layer of silver frost.
After Pei Xingju finished his meal, he sat motionless in Zhuang Wan's rocking chair, as if he wanted to stay and eat mooncakes.
Zhuang Wan simply brought out a small table, on which she placed the prepared mooncakes and two pomelos. Eating pomelos during the Mid-Autumn Festival was a custom. When the family sat together, her father would usually be the one peeling the fruit, while she would simply eat it.
Thinking of her past life, she sighed softly.
I don’t know how my parents spent this Mid-Autumn Festival.
Pei Xingju turned his head and saw her staring at the pomelo and sighing. He asked, "Do you want to eat?"
Zhuang Wan shook her head.
She likes to eat grapefruit, but doesn't like to peel it. Now that there is no one to peel it, she has no desire to eat it.
After arranging the things, she went back into the house to pick up little Wangcai. Little Wangcai was only one month old and spent most of the day sleeping. Mid-Autumn Festival was a day of reunion, so naturally she couldn't leave little Wangcai behind, so she simply brought the dog and the nest out together.
However, when he walked over, he saw Pei Xingju peeling a pomelo.
His movements were slow and methodical, and very beautiful, as if what he held in his hand was not a pomelo but a work of art.
Zhuang Wan glanced at the pomelo peel he had taken off and thought to herself that he must have obsessive-compulsive disorder, as each piece was evenly sized, as if it had been measured with a ruler.
After a while, he peeled the pomelo and handed it to me: "Eat it."
Zhuang Wan was stunned.
He handed over some more: "Don't you want to eat?"
"I don't want to eat."
"You lied." He stared at her calmly, as if he saw through her.
Zhuang Wan was unconvinced: "I never said I like to eat it, and you're not a fat bug in my stomach, so why are you so sure that I like to eat it?"
"Don't forget, I'm from the Ministry of Justice." Pei Xingju said casually, "When the Ministry of Justice conducts an interrogation, it's customary to look into a person's eyes first."
"Your eyes tell me..." He said slowly, enunciating each word: "You really want to eat."
"Oh, really?" Zhuang Wan simply leaned forward and said, "Now look again, what do my eyes tell you?"
She suddenly came closer, her bright face sly, her breath warm.
Pei Xingju's breathing slowed down, and it took him a long time to meet her gaze.
The cool breeze, the fragrance of flowers, and the atmosphere became inexplicably ambiguous...
Zhuang Wan also sensed it and felt awkward. But if she simply retreated, it would only confirm her shyness, making it even more awkward.
She felt a little regretful.
So he blinked hard and pretended to be calm and asked, "Master Pei, did you see it?"
"I can see it," Pei Xingju said with a gentle smile in his eyes: "Your eyes tell me that you want..."
At this time, Xiao Wangcai was clinging to Pei Xingju's feet, whimpering, as if wanting him to hug him.
Zhuang Wan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to retreat.
That was close!
Pei Xingju looked so gentle just now, and I almost thought he liked me.
Zhuang Wan stroked Xiao Wangcai's furry head and said, "Wait, I'll get you something to eat."
As she stepped back, Pei Xingju slowly sat up. He seemed normal, but in reality, his breathing was a bit irregular, and even his heartbeat was erratic.
When Zhuang Wan came out with the food, Pei Xingju was no longer on the rocking chair.
Zhuang Wan asked Lixia, "Where are the others?"
Lixia said, "My Lord said he had something else to do, so he left first."
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