The girl looked to be in her early twenties. She was fair-skinned, had long hair, and big, bright eyes.
"What are you doing in the bushes?" Song Jianmin asked, still in shock.
The girl clutched her knee, her voice hoarse, "I just fell while walking and couldn't get up. I was feeling a little better when I ran into you, and you almost made me fall again!"
Song Jianmin touched his nose.
"Alright then, I'm leaving."
The girl called out to him again, "Wait a minute, there are no cars around. My home is near the Fourth Military Hospital. Could you take me home?"
Sending a woman away late at night.
Song Jianmin didn't have that idea.
"I'm in a hurry to get home."
The girl's eyes were red with anxiety. "Why don't you take me to a nearby place? It's pitch black here, and I don't know how long it will take me to walk back."
Song Jianmin sighed irritably, "Then come up here."
"Okay, thanks."
The girl then stood up; her height was not apparent when she was sitting by the roadside.
If he stood up straight now, he would probably be 1.7 meters tall.
Song Jianmin couldn't help but think that someone taller than his mother was only 1.6 meters tall. If his mother were 1.7 meters tall, she could probably smash his head in.
The girl went around to sit next to Song Jianmin.
"Go squat in the car, what are you doing sitting there?"
The girl laughed, "Of course I'll give you directions. Alright, alright, I'm all seated now, you can drive."
Song Jianmin frowned, stepped on the gas, and drove off.
The girl was very outgoing. She said her name was Yu Fang and that she came to the capital from out of town to work. She was currently helping people sell things in a shopping mall.
Song Jianmin scoffed inwardly, "Isn't that the same job as Liu Aimei?"
Suddenly, Song Jianmin sniffed, "What do you smell like?"
The girl was wearing a thick black cotton-padded coat, which made her face look even whiter.
"Does it smell like mud? I feel uncomfortable even smelling it myself."
Song Jianmin didn't think much of it, and the girl started talking to him in a familiar way again.
She said she came from the mountains in Southwest China. Her parents favored boys over girls and wanted to sell her to an old man to get a dowry for her brothers' weddings. Yu Fang ran away and worked on the coast. She came to the capital two years ago, saying she wanted to settle down there.
When Song Jianmin heard Yu Fang say that she used to be hungry and cold and that she was bullied by her younger brothers, he frowned and subconsciously thought of Song Yingying.
Although Song Yingying never went hungry, Song Jianmin often ordered her to do his homework when they were young, taking advantage of her young age to make her do this and that.
Song Jianmin softened his tone when speaking to Yu Fang.
"Are you still in contact with your family?"
Yu Fang sniffed. "No, although I miss them a lot, I can't let them know where I am."
Song Jianmin felt sorry for Yu Fang. "Then why were you near the furniture factory in the middle of the night?"
Yu Fang smiled and said, "There's a restaurant on the roadside in front of the furniture factory. I work part-time there at night. I used to ride my bicycle to and from the factory, but my bicycle was stolen a few days ago. I can't afford a new one, and walking here every day is too far. Today is my last day working part-time at the restaurant. I won't be going there anymore."
Song Jianmin responded with an "oh".
After a while, he said, "Never mind, where do you live? I'll take you home."
Yu Fang's eyes lit up. "Okay then."
Yu Fang's home is in an alley not far from the Fourth Military Hospital.
It was dark and gloomy inside, with no streetlights, and it was several times more dilapidated than Heping Lane.
Can you see the way back?
"Don't worry, I've walked this road many times." Yu Fang thought for a moment and asked, "By the way, are you a worker at the furniture factory?"
Song Jianmin shook his head. "No, I need to go home. It's too late now."
Yu Fang stood there, smiling as she watched the small truck drive away.
Yu Fang returned to the very end of the alley, humming a song all the way home, and turned on the lights.
She lives on the first floor, with a basement below.
Yu Fang took off her black overcoat, took out a whole piece of hair with blood on it from the inner layer of the cotton-padded coat, put it in the basement, and then went back downstairs to take a shower and go to sleep.
-
Song Jianmin drove the small truck back to the teahouse, where people gradually left.
Song Jianmin gave the shop owner two yuan.
"Sure, Song Jianmin, how much did you get for it?"
Song Jianmin sighed, "At twenty-five, I've still lost money."
The boss patted him on the shoulder, "Thinking about it, it's good that you sold the furniture. If the Zhang family hadn't paid you, you would have suffered the loss."
Song Jianmin shook his head. "I'm going back."
Just after Song Jianmin walked away, the teahouse owner drove the car back to the back courtyard and parked it. When he got out of the car, he noticed a dark stain under the seat.
The boss muttered something about what it was, assuming it was dirty, and ignored it before going back inside.
It was already 10:30 when Song Jianmin walked back to the Song family home. He was exhausted and hadn't eaten dinner yet.
Hearing the commotion, Song Xinfu came out. "Fifth Brother, why are you so late?"
Song Jianmin gave his father ten yuan.
"Dad, I went to the Zhang family and got the money back. It's my living expenses for next month."
Song Xinfu took it, looked Song Jianmin up and down, and suddenly took a breath, "What's that smell on you?"
Song Jianmin ran a hand through his hair and told them about going to the furniture factory.
"I guess it was that woman who got it on her. She said she fell, and it was probably the smell of mud."
Song Xinfu told Song Jianmin to go take a shower first.
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