Zhong Mingwei looked at Ah Chou's tender face and listened to her chattering about taking on some work. His heart almost collapsed. He tried hard not to yell, and after a long while, he finally regained his composure. He asked in a deep voice, "How come you can embroider?"
"It was Nanny Xiang who taught me," Zhong Mingwei kept talking while lying face down. Ah Chou didn't notice anything wrong with him. He rubbed his waist and continued to chatter, "Nanny Xiang used to be an embroiderer in the Needlework Bureau. She has been working there for more than ten years. I heard that Nanny Xiang's skills were among the best in the Needlework Bureau. She even embroidered the palace costumes of the Queen Mother and Concubine Zhao. But she did too much embroidery and her eyes became blurry and she couldn't embroider anymore. So she came to our laundry bureau. She had nothing to do. From time to time, she would teach me embroidery. Hehe. I'm not bragging, my embroidery skills are really not worse than those of the embroiderers in the Needlework Bureau. It was Nanny Xiang who stopped me at the beginning, otherwise I would have joined the Needlework Bureau. I heard that the monthly salary there is very high. It's about three or four coins. But I heard that the Needlework Bureau is too tiring. You have to work all day long. Your eyes can't stand it after a long time..."
"Stop, stop talking." Zhong Mingwei couldn't bear to listen any more. He gritted his teeth and the veins on his forehead bulged.
"What's wrong?" Ah Chou was so busy that he stopped talking and leaned over carefully, looking at Zhong Mingwei's closed eyes, a little surprised, "Are you sleepy?"
"Well, I want to sleep for a while." Zhong Mingwei said.
"Okay, you should get some sleep first. It's sunny outside right now, and you'll definitely get burned if you go out," Ah Chou said, getting up and taking off the handkerchiefs, then covering Zhong Mingwei with a blanket. She got out of bed quietly and tucked the blanket in for him, "You go to sleep first, I'm going out."
Zhong Mingwei uttered "hmm", his voice was very vague, and it seemed that he was about to fall asleep.
"Fell asleep so quickly?" Ah Chou muttered to himself, as he went out with the basin of water. After a while, he came back and placed a bowl of brewed jasmine tea in front of the bed, where Zhong Mingwei could reach it with just his hand.
Zhong Mingwei sniffed the faint scent of jasmine in the air and suddenly exhaled a long breath, as if he wanted to exhale the stuffiness accumulated in his chest, but how could he really exhale it? His heart was still heavy, and when he heard the vague sound of washing clothes outside, he closed his eyes again in annoyance.
…
"Come, put your arms around me," Ah Chou held Zhong Mingwei's waist with both hands, trying to make him stand up. After finally keeping his balance, Ah Chou tied their waists together with a rope that he had prepared in advance, "Come, hold me."
Zhong Mingwei couldn't exert any strength in his legs. He held Achou's shoulders with one hand and supported himself against the wall with the other. Because he was not exerting any strength, his arms were extra strong. Achou's shoulders seemed to be crushed by him. Achou felt the pain but managed to hold it back. He was afraid that Zhong Mingwei would fall, so he still held his waist tightly with both hands.
"If your legs really can't bear the strength, don't force it. At least we can hold on to the wall today," Ah Chou comforted Zhong Mingwei while panting, "My feet will be stable and I won't let you fall. Don't worry, just hold on to the wall..."
"Who worries about falling?!" Zhong Mingwei was simply unable to bear it any longer. He looked at Achou's face covered with sweat, and listened to Achou's chattering, and felt annoyed to death.
It's not annoyance, it's anxiety, it's heartache.
Ah Chou was stunned by his sudden yelling, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. He whispered, "Don't worry, I won't let you fall, and I won't let you fall either."
Zhong Mingwei didn't say anything else. He held his head high and pursed his lips. After a while, he took a few breaths and then put his arm around Ah Chou's shoulders again: "Come again."
"Okay," Ah Chou hurriedly hugged Zhong Mingwei's waist again, as if afraid that he would lose heart again, "Don't rush to practice your legs and feet, try to use your waist to exert strength."
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