17 Nightmare
◎This is obviously directed at her!◎
Outside the window, there is a bright moon and sparse stars. The east is already turning a fish belly color. The distant mountains are purple, and the nearby hills are green. The morning breeze brings coolness into the room through the cracks.
A cool breeze blew across the curtains beside the bed, lifting a corner. Song Jinyi's eyes were tightly closed, her forehead was covered in sweat, and she was mumbling something under her breath.
Her hands unconsciously covered her chest, breathing rapidly, she was trapped in a nightmare and couldn't wake up.
Until she felt someone calling her softly in her dream, and with the help of external force, she took a deep breath and sat up straight. She breathed deeply and looked ahead in a daze.
"Having a nightmare?"
She turned her head and saw Xu Ruolan, who was supposed to sleep in the bunk next to her, sitting beside her bed, looking at her with concern.
Seeing that she was uneasy, Xu Ruolan took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Song Jinyi's forehead.
Song Jinyi was still immersed in a nightmare. She was standing on a cliff thousands of feet high. The fog all around her obscured her vision. She could only see the bottomless cliff under her feet.
She stared at the cliff below and saw someone fell down!
She couldn't see his face clearly, only feeling panic and regret in her heart. This inexplicable complex emotion dominated her every feeling. The biting wind around the cliff seemed to want to blow her off...
Seeing that she was in a state of panic, Xu Ruolan stretched out her hand and waved it in front of her eyes.
She stepped back in shock, blinked, and realized where she was. She said in a daze, "It was clearly just a dream, but it felt so real, as if it really happened..."
"Don't think about it, it's just a dream, it's better to forget it." Xu Ruolan comforted.
"What time is it?" Song Jinyi asked, wiping the sweat from her face.
"The roosters outside haven't crowed yet, and it's not even completely light yet. It's about the hour of Yin."
Song Jinyi lifted the quilt and found a coat. If it were any other time, she would definitely sleep for another time, but she really couldn't sleep at this moment. She said, "I'll go wash my face. Sister Ruolan, you sleep a little longer."
Xu Ruolan shook her head and said, "I'm not going to sleep either. I'll get up and clean up. It will be daylight soon."
The sun had not yet risen and the temperature outside was a little low. Song Jinyi went out for convenience, wearing thin clothes. She shivered in the wind. She looked up at the sky and saw dark blue clouds crowded together, forming layers of cumulus clouds.
It looks like there will be a heavy rain today. It has been very hot recently and Song Jinyi is so hot that she takes a sauna every day. She hopes that God will send down some heavy rain. However, because she still has to do some small business in the evening, she hopes that the rain will stop early and the temperature will drop so that she can sell goods in the cool evening.
*****
Unexpectedly, the weather did not go as planned. The rain started to fall when the store was closing in the afternoon, and it rained heavily.
The rain was just as Song Jinyi had expected. The accumulated rainwater fell like a flood that had been released from the sluice gates. Several small puddles formed on the dry ground in an instant. Pedestrians on the road hurried to take shelter from the rain, and stepping into the puddles would cause splashes of water several inches high.
Song Jinyi expected that the tea drinkers who were looking for shelter in the shop at this moment would probably have to wait until the rain stopped.
She didn't want to not be able to do business at night, and now she had to work overtime and be an unlucky worker. She quickly hung the closing sign on the door before anyone came.
The three of them returned to the backyard and moved all the small wooden tables and chairs in the yard to the small house where Song Jinyi and Xu Ruolan lived.
The room was not spacious to begin with. Normally, with two small beds and a cabinet, there wasn't much space left. Now with this arrangement, it was even more crowded.
The window frame was covered with a thin layer of window paper. A corner of the lower left corner had been lifted at some point, allowing one to peek inside the house from the outside. Three people were sitting around a small wooden table, on which were three simple stir-fried vegetarian dishes that were delicious and vibrant.
Song Jinyi picked up vegetables for Xie Wuyang to eat from time to time, "You are as thin as paper, don't let people think that I am abusing you." There was a rare warmth in her voice.
Xu Ruolan looked at the raindrops falling from the window lattice. The rapidly flowing water beads intertwined into a net, like a beaded curtain made of glass. "I think no one will wade through the rain on Luojin Bridge today."
Song Jinyi listened to the sound of the pouring rain, sighed softly, and thought: "Forget it, just treat it as a day off."
After the meal, Xie Wuyang put the dishes and chopsticks into a wooden barrel and took it to the east kitchen for washing. Song Jinyi took out a bulging little purse, turned her hand over it, and poured all the money in the purse onto the bed.
Xu Ruolan heard the noise, looked over and asked what was going on.
Song Jinyi spread out the money and said, "This is the money I made from setting up the stall for the past ten days. I happen to have nothing to do today, so let's split the bill."
Xu Ruolan pulled a small stool over, sat down beside the bed, and asked, "Why don't we wait for him to come and share it together?"
"Why should I give him a share?" Song Jinyi evenly split the copper coin in half. As she counted the coins, she said, "I spent fifty taels to buy him. He's like he owes me fifty taels. It's only right that he should work to pay off his debt."
Xu Ruolan lowered her head and laughed dumbly, saying, "Yes, yes, he owes you fifty taels, but you wouldn't even buy him a set of clothes to cover his body, would you?"
This seems to be saying: It was Song Jinyi's own will that she bought him in the first place, but now not only does she not pay him wages, she makes him work for free and doesn't even give him anything to wear, just like Zhou Paopi.
Song Jinyi was holding the copper coins. Her share was 1,500 coins. She gave some of her share to others and said, "I've always thought it was unbecoming for him to go out in his tattered clothes.
But I had just redeemed him at that time, and I didn't have much money. I saved some money later, but I was too busy to get away. Now that Sister Ruolan has spoken, how dare I disobey? If the rain stops soon, I will take him there. "
Half an hour later, Song Jinyi stared silently at the gradually clearing sky. She had just said it casually, but she didn't expect that God would give her such face?
Xu Ruolan was busy preparing things to sell tomorrow, so Song Jinyi had to take Xie Wuyang out alone to buy clothes.
Although Song Jinyi and Xie Wuyang went out together, one in front and one behind, they looked like master and servant rather than friends.
Xu Ruolan came out right after and saw this scene. She called Song Jinyi over and told her about it.
Song Jinyi retorted: "Of course I don't regard him as a servant. Now I just regard him as a...", and paused when he mentioned "identity".
What did she think of him as? A purchased slave? She had definitely not redeemed Xie Wuyang out of a need for a servant, so what was her reason? Was it out of pity?
Song Jinyi was speechless for a moment.
The two came to a garment shop on the west side of Qiaoge Street. The shop was not big, about the same size as a teahouse. Finished clothes were hung on all sides of the room. The cashier's counter was facing the door, and the latest styles of fabrics were displayed on it. They were so colorful that they couldn't help but take a second look.
Seeing her staring at the silk, the shopkeeper took the initiative to introduce it, "This is the new material from the Song Family Cloth Shop. It has a fine texture and is printed with beautiful patterns..."
Such fine material, without asking, one knows the price won't be cheap. Song Jinyi retracted her gaze and said to the shopkeeper, "I'm not buying clothes, I'm buying some clothes for this... little brother of mine."
"So you're buying clothes for your brother-in-law..." When the shopkeeper heard that it was for the person following Song Jinyi, he started praising her nonstop without even moving his eyes. From a distance, you could tell that she had long legs and a thin waist. What could not look good on such a figure?
When I got closer and took a closer look, hey—she was indeed beautiful! Even in this outfit… even in tatters, it was hard to ignore her beauty. Especially those dark green eyes, deep and mysterious, hiding an unfathomable danger, like a rolling green ocean.
The shopkeeper couldn't help but exclaim, "What a beauty!" He looked at the two of them curiously, imagining a cuckold drama in his mind. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Is this really the young lady's brother-in-law?"
"Of course not." Song Jinyi glanced at the shopkeeper and said lightly: "He is my friend's younger brother."
The shopkeeper laughed awkwardly and asked what kind of material he wanted.
Song Jinyi said there was no need to choose the material, just pick one of the ready-made clothes. She glanced at the ready-made clothes in the store.
There were not many men's styles, and they were all the most common solid-colored straight robes. Due to her short money, Song Jinyi could only pick out two pieces of elegant colors from the pile of ugly clothes and asked Xie Wuyang to take them to the changing room to change.
Xie Wuyang changed his clothes into the simplest moss green cotton and linen robe. When he put it on, it seemed as if he had turned into silk and satin, and his value suddenly increased.
Xie Wuyang's face was undoubtedly handsome, and his figure was also certified by the owner of a clothing store. With a slim waist and long legs, what clothes wouldn't look good on him? It was this dress. Although it was a bit plain, Jinyi was a spendthrift after all, and didn't want to buy something that didn't satisfy her.
She pointed to another star-blue coat and asked Xie Wuyang to try it on.
When they came out again, Song Jinyi casually said, "Isn't this one too plain?"
Xie Wuyang has a face with sharp edges and clear lines, three-dimensional features, deep eyebrows and eyes, and a mixed-race texture. The plain clothes really don't suit him.
Seeing that she was not satisfied, the shopkeeper recommended a set of Tengluo purple long gown and inner wear.
Song Jinyi felt that the texture was light and soft. Although it looked inconspicuous, a closer look revealed dark patterns on it. It was luxurious, low-key and profound, and it was obviously suitable for Xie Wuyang's temperament.
Ask the price again.
My goodness, what kind of clothes are worth two taels of silver?
She had no choice but to settle for the star-blue coat.
Xie Wuyang actually liked this dress very much. He raised his sleeves to look at it and said to Song Jinyi several times in a shy manner, "Thank you, sister."
******
The sunset glow on the horizon looked like paint layered over and over again. As dusk deepened, sparse lanterns lit up on both sides of the road, and the dim glow outlined the contours of the street.
Xie Wuyang stared at Song Jinyi who was walking in front of him. Song Jinyi seemed to sense something and looked back at him, but he quickly turned his head to avoid her sight.
Song Jinyi followed his gaze and looked towards the alley on the right. In the middle of the alley, there was a man holding a straw target and selling candied haws.
"Want to eat?" Seeing Xie Wuyang shaking his head, Song Jinyi thought that he was embarrassed. She thought of what Xu Ruolan and the boss said, asking her to be nice to Xie Wuyang. Xie Wuyang was also linked to her luck value. Since they had been out for a while, a string of candied haws was only a few cents, so it would be okay to buy one.
"Wait for me here," he said, and went into the alley.
Xie Wuyang saw Song Jinyi selling candied haws on the street. He had been with Song Jinyi for a month and knew that she was short of money. She was a person who was always frugal in doing business and would rather spend every penny in her life.
Why did she buy him clothes again this time? She also bought him candied haws because she misunderstood that he wanted to eat them.
What does she want to do?
He turned his back and faced the moon. The soft and quiet moonlight spread on the ground like a white gauze as thin as a cicada's wing. His tall figure was covered by the moonlight, like the beautiful and untainted Son of Persia.
In the alley, Song Jinyi picked two strings of the largest candied haws, paid and walked back. One string had six candied haws on it, and she gave one string to Xie Wuyang. She and Xu Ruolan didn't like sweet food, so it wasn't a waste for them to have one string for two.
Suddenly, her lowered eyes caught sight of a dark shadow. She raised her eyes and saw a group of people standing in front of her. They were wearing uniform clothes and stood in a row of tall people, blocking the intersection tightly. In this dim alley, people felt a very strong sense of oppression.
She paused, stood still, and looked warily at this group of people with unknown purposes. She was not sure who these people were coming for, but she did not dare to move forward.
She tilted her head slightly and glanced behind her, unsure if there was any other way out. Since the boss was not there, she could only rely on her intuition.
Song Jinyi retreated calmly, keeping some distance between them. Seeing the other person's figure swaying, she also took a step forward slightly.
She immediately turned around and ran into the alley. It was obvious that they were coming for her!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
