0028 028 A Light That Cannot Be Seen
After a relaxing two-day weekend, Qi Shuyao woke up earlier than usual on Monday, feeling refreshed and ready to sit in the classroom. She waited until class started, but her deskmate still hadn't arrived.
After having a heart-to-heart talk with Qi Yu, she seemed to understand the source of his seemingly inexplicable hostility towards Qin Zhuohan. It has to be said that there is a refreshing and unique beauty to an older man's jealousy. If you don't look closely, you might really think it's an old father caring for his daughter.
She didn't make a fuss, and even silently enjoyed the feeling of being possessed.
Even though she wasn't fully awake, she realized that Qin Zhuohan's absence from school for three consecutive days must mean something was wrong.
"Dad, do you know what happened to my classmate's family? He hasn't come to school for three days."
At dinner, with the servants around, her natural "Dad" startled Qi Yu for a moment, before he smiled and gently rubbed her leg under the table.
“There was an accident at his family’s hospital, but the news was kept very secret. We couldn’t even find out who had the problem or what happened. Now no one is coming in or out, and his father hasn’t shown up for a long time.”
"Medical malpractice, that means someone died?"
"Or he could become disabled, either is possible."
"Ugh, that's scary."
"Don't think about them for now. We're going to a birthday party on Saturday. Have you prepared a dress and a gift?"
"You're acting really strange. When have you ever cared about this kind of thing before? Is that Zhu, or whatever boss Zhu is, that important to you?"
He didn't tell her.
Even though she wasn't someone anyone wanted to win over, Qi Shuyao still prepared a light blue dress for Jiang Yu's birthday party. It suited her skin tone perfectly without overshadowing her. Unable to sleep on Friday night, she stared at the dress hanging in the glass wardrobe, carefully recalling Jiang Yu's face in her mind.
They weren't really close; they were too different ages and didn't get along. But Jiang Yu always seemed very excited when she saw her, taking care of her like an older sister. When she was very young, she had just returned to Yangcheng and attended a banquet there for the first time with Qi Yu. Jiang Yu even carried her up to the top of the sky to watch the August sunset. It was a very hot day, and the sky was bathed in a reddish-purple light. Jiang Yu's embrace felt so comforting.
She fell asleep while thinking about it, but when she opened her eyes the next day, the little dress had been changed into a simple old-fashioned long cheongsam with a thick shawl over it.
"Miss Jiang said that she wouldn't be having any glitz and glamour today. She's just taking a few close friends and sisters to Fuchao Temple in Yueshan, to the south, to offer a prayer."
Han's mother approached and helped her up. Her somewhat aged fingers ran through Qi Shuyao's disheveled hair. Only when facing this woman did Qi Shuyao feel a sense of guilt. She hadn't dared to look into her eyes for a long time; she had already disappointed her.
South of Jingyang City lies north of Yangcheng. When Qi Yu led her to the foot of the mountain, Jiang Yu was already standing there, with several other girls from other families beside her, all wearing old-fashioned cheongsams.
Jiang Yu greeted her as soon as she saw her, her big eyes bright. When Qi Shuyao saw her, memories of the past flooded back. They hadn't met often, but she remembered Jiang Yu's usually listless eyes vividly. Now, however, her eyes were free of worry, and she looked much more energetic.
Jiang Yu reached out and brushed a yellowed leaf that had just fallen from her shoulder, her words still so affectionate.
“Little sister Yao has grown so much! I almost didn’t recognize her after all these years.”
Her older sister's slightly cool hand rested on her shoulder, very carefully, as if afraid of chilling her, not placing it completely on her shoulder. Qi Shuyao was a little taller than her, and she tilted her head slightly, looking her up and down, quite excited.
"I brought this cheongsam back from Changgang. It looks best on my younger sister. She's all grown up now and looks so beautiful."
The competition among beauties in so-called high society is fierce, and Qi Shuyao is no exception. However, Jiang Yu couldn't find any jealousy or dark emotions in her eyes. She was praising her sincerely, and every word was genuine.
"Thank you, sister."
"Why be so polite with your sister? Let's go upstairs."
There were five girls present, but Jiang Yu only held Qi Shuyao's hand. She was led uphill, and when she looked back, she saw Zhu Jiangxu come out of the woods at the foot of the mountain, shake hands with Qi Yu, and go inside to talk.
The girls chattered excitedly, their voices filled with laughter, but Qi Shuyao, walking on the far side, couldn't manage a smile. She couldn't join their conversation either; even when she was being led around, she was just an outsider, merely a tool to give Qi Yu a legitimate reason to meet Zhu Jiangxu.
Fuchao Temple is located halfway up the mountain. You can see its golden eaves by passing through a still dense forest. The wealthy young ladies and wives from inside and outside Jingyang City, who have been guided by some master, all flock to this small temple to offer incense. In just a few years, this dilapidated little temple has been able to drive the development of the entire scenic area.
The young ladies suppressed their smiles and adopted dignified and serious expressions as they walked in according to the rules. Only Qi Shuyao stopped and leaned against the handrail of the stairs.
As Jiang Yu walked, her left hand became empty. When she turned around, her younger sister had already squatted down with her back to the temple. She took a step forward and squatted down as well, touching her soft hair.
"What's wrong, Yao Yao?"
Her voice was so gentle that it made Qi Shuyao feel inexplicably want to cry. In the empty mountains, she suddenly felt wronged and wanted to rush into her arms and cry her heart out.
Qi Shuyao quickly turned her face away from the mountain, deliberately avoiding looking at her.
"I don't believe in these things, you can go inside."
Jiang Yu wanted to talk to her more, but she could no longer figure out the girl's temper. She had heard Zhu Jiangxu mention that Secretary Qi's daughter had a terrible temper and was a notorious little powder keg that no one dared to mess with.
Qi Shuyao only turned around hastily after hearing the footsteps behind her disappear. From her, she could see a corner of the Buddha statue inside the temple. It was particularly tall and expressionless, yet it always gave her a silent sense of oppression.
She had only told Han's mother about this feeling, but she said, "You haven't done anything wrong, so why would you have such thoughts?"
She looked around the temple and found it increasingly strange. Qi Yu said that Jingyang had not approved the construction of new temples for many years, so they could only repair and patch up this small temple site. After the renovation, all the objects here were frighteningly large, and a few statues were even erected outdoors in the mountains. Although they were called statues, their heads looked more like demons, with blue mouths and fangs, holding huge magical artifacts in their hands, and their whole bodies were flashing with an eerie yellow light. In this season full of withered yellow leaves, they looked even more terrifying.
What's even more frightening is that the heads of these statues are always obscured by tree branches from various angles, so from a distance they look like headless statues with mythical beasts like dragons and phoenixes wrapped around them.
She carefully stood up and looked down. To the west, there was another passageway, all steep cliffs. The wind and sun would cause rocks to fall down with the slightest touch. It was a windy spot and even colder. The passageway led down to where Qi Yu and the others were now. The glittering rest room seemed completely out of place with the natural scenery.
Sometimes she felt that these officials and rich people were quite foolish, making the area around the temple look so obviously problematic, and she didn't know what they were thinking.
She was amused by her own self-deprecation, and the corners of her mouth curved upwards. When she turned around, she saw another group of people walking uphill. The lady at the head of the group needed someone to help her walk. Qi Shuyao tried hard to recognize her, and just as she was about to walk up, she suddenly remembered that she looked like Pei Youwen's mother.
For some reason, she instinctively wanted to hide. She walked along the branches of the tree beside the railing toward the side hall, but Madam Pei and her entourage were going to the side hall, so Qi Shuyao had no choice but to run further inside.
She hid behind the Buddha statue outside the house, able to see but not hear what the abbot and Madam Pei were saying. After that, they knelt down devoutly, and the temple was quiet.
There's been so much going on lately that she'd almost forgotten about Pei Youwen's talk of an illegitimate child. But it seems no news has leaked out; it's just a matter of paying to settle things, sending the girl away—far, far away. You can't just…
She seemed to have forgotten that the Pei family gang was a ruthless organization that would devour people without spitting out the bones; making someone disappear was an incredibly easy thing for them.
So, is Madam Pei here to bathe the Buddha after committing murder...?
She dared not think any further. Lifting the slit of her cheongsam, she ran deeper into the temple, intending to circle back from the back. The back was even quieter, and the statues were even more frightening. Her heart pounded endlessly in the empty mountains. Although she was in a sacred Buddhist site, she could not calm her heart.
Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows who exactly is always running around the temples in and around Jingyang, and how much filth has been tainted on the hands of these people and their families.
Her steps faltered, and as she passed a small courtyard without a sign, she heard a familiar voice coming from inside, which startled her so much that she stopped in her tracks.
"Why did we lose contact the following year? What were you doing over there?"
“It’s nothing. He goes to the company every day for business dinners and social events. I can’t go out often because I’m at home. He only takes me out when he has events or banquets.”
"I sent you to gather intelligence and bring it back, not to enjoy life."
“I can’t do it. He’s too guarded. I can’t even get into the study in the villa.”
"When did you find out that Liu Jiangyan and he were cousins?"
Who is Liu Jiangyan?
"Minister of Finance."
“I don’t know, I don’t know him. He just said once that some relatives were coming over for a meal, but they didn’t end up eating at home. I met that man once, and he said I could just call him ‘big brother,’ but I don’t know if it’s the person you’re talking about.”
After that, the two inside did something, and there were only rustling sounds without speaking. After a while, Xu Mei's angry voice came through.
"Your eyes can't lie to me. I've raised you for so many years, I can see what you're thinking. You've known about Zhu Jiangxu and Liu Jiangyan's relationship for a long time, you could have guessed it, but you just wouldn't tell me. Now your heart is with that Zhu guy, right? You've fallen in love with him?"
“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think everyone is like you? You’re the one who sent me to him, to a man more than ten years older than me, regardless of the fact that I’m not an adult yet and that he already has a fiancée. You let me be kept like a plaything, but you never asked me if I wanted to live this kind of life. Why didn’t you just throw me away too, throw me somewhere you can’t even find me now, without caring whether I live or die, without caring whether I can have enough to eat?”
"I did all this for..."
"You make it sound nice, but all you're after is your own wealth and status. Over the years, how many opportunities have you had to go to him? Why didn't you go? You've gone to find one man after another with a higher official position, but unfortunately, none of them are stupid and will marry you. When you're lying in a man's arms and laughing, have you ever thought about where your child will cry after you abandon him?"
Snap—
Xu Mei slapped the woman in front of her across the face. The woman's frail body staggered back a few steps and leaned against the door frame. From where Qi Shuyao was hiding, she could see half of Jiang Yu's expressionless face and her tear stains.
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