Feeling like sitting on pins and needles
The servants working nearby were so frightened by the scene that they rushed over and handed Jiang Yilin a handkerchief.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to." Her face also revealed a hint of worry and helplessness, while she was also waiting for Jiang Yilin's reaction.
He loved to eat radish and mugwort cakes, while she preferred to eat tofu and mugwort cakes. Every year during the Qingming Festival, when the adults went up the mountain to burn paper money, she would sneak into his house with the mugwort cakes her grandmother had made to find him. Jiang Yilin would only pick out the radish and mugwort cakes to eat.
Jin Xilu didn't control her strength well, and the rice cake flew farther than she expected. She knew that Jiang Yilin had developed a good habit of not wasting food since he was a child. She originally just wanted the rice cake to fall in front of him. He knew that she was allergic to radishes, so that he would pick up the rice cake and eat it in order not to waste it.
Jin Xilu was still standing, chopsticks still in her hand, nervously watching Jiang Yilin cover his mouth with a handkerchief. He used his fingers to wipe away the rice grains from the corners of his mouth with the handkerchief embroidered with gold flowers. His movements revealed a ruthless force. He put down the handkerchief and looked back at Jin Xilu coldly, his face ashen. He said to her, "Sit down. Don't cause trouble. Don't do those pointless little tricks that are easy to spot."
Jin Xilu watched as Jiang Yilin uttered these heartless words while elegantly picking out the mugwort cake with her chopsticks and placing it on a plate. She then lifted the plate and handed it to the maid beside her, her voice clear and strong: "Take it away and feed it to the chickens."
Jin Xilu's heart had turned completely cold. Jiang Yilin no longer cared about her, and it wouldn't be easy for them to reconcile. Even though they were sitting at the same table eating now, their hearts were far apart.
She gripped her chopsticks tightly and sat down dejectedly. As the servant wiped the rice porridge on the table, he also served her a small bowl of bitter vegetable porridge. It was thin and bland, and looked tasteless. She took two spoonfuls and tasted it, just as she had expected—bitter and unpalatable.
After this commotion, Jin Xilu no longer had the mind to observe Jiang Yilin out of the corner of her eye and began to concentrate on eating breakfast. So she didn't notice that while she was drinking her porridge, Jiang Yilin picked up another piece of mugwort cake and put it in the empty plate next to her porridge, took a bite and put it down.
Jin Xilu wanted to try all the local delicacies she saw, and before she knew it, she had eaten too much. There was still a third of rice noodles left in her bowl, and she was just about to try her best to finish them when...
Jiang Yilin gently put down the porridge spoon, picked up the silk handkerchief beside her to wipe her mouth, and said to the person next to her, "I'm finished eating, you can take it away now."
Jin Xilu hadn't finished her rice noodles yet, and she hurriedly tried to pick them up. Her grandmother, who had been standing behind her, stepped forward to stop her and took the porcelain bowl and chopsticks from her hands. As if she knew what Jin Xilu was worried about, she said, "It's okay. If you can't finish them, just put them down. They'll be given to the farmers on the back hill as chicken feed. There's no waste."
After hearing this, Jin Xilu put down her chopsticks and cleared away the breakfast. The servants also left, leaving only Jin Xilu and Jiang Yilin sitting at the large round table in the poorly lit living room, looking at each other.
Kim Hee-ro felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She adjusted her posture, sitting only on one-third of the chair, and her back straightened unconsciously. She placed her hands lightly on her knees, trying not to look so disheveled.
The living room is well-ventilated, with all the windows open. You can smell the fragrance of flowers from the yard even when you're sitting inside. What kind of flowers are these? They smell so good!
"What kind of flower is this? It smells so strong." Jin Xilu spoke very softly, almost to herself.
Jiang Yilin overheard it, though. He thought Jin Xilu would ask him about work, but he didn't expect this. He replied casually, "Rose, ordinary rose."
Seeing that Jiang Yilin wasn't planning to talk about work, Jin Xilu started chatting with him about random things: "Growing and caring for flowers takes a lot of time and energy. Do you have any recommendations for flower shops?"
"Oh, growing flowers takes quite a bit of time and effort. Which shop do you recommend?" Sitting across from her, Jiang Yilin's eyes were fixed on Jin Xilu. He deliberately imitated her tone of voice and then grinned at her.
Hearing his laughter made Jin Xilu feel uncomfortable. She realized that she was really not suited to playing games with him. When dealing with Jiang Yilin, she had to be direct and straightforward. She would always trust him.
"Okay, actually I'm looking for someone." Jin Xilu took a deep breath and spread her hands to make it clear. Afraid that Jiang Yilin wouldn't hear her if they were far apart and would pretend not to hear her, she stood up again and moved her chair closer to him.
Looking at each other face to face, Kim Hee-ro felt immense pressure. The two of them sitting side by side felt like they were back in junior high school when they were deskmates.
After changing seats, Jiang Yilin didn't run away. Good. Jin Xilu breathed a sigh of relief, omitting her original intention for returning and the letter. She only said that she remembered that her grandmother seemed to have a good relationship with a farmer in the town. She had been taken there to play when she was a child. She only found out by chance when she came back this year that her grandmother had borrowed 50,000 yuan from her before, and now it was time to repay the money. She wanted to go and find him.
This was, of course, just an excuse. Jin Xilu already owed Jiang Yilin a lot, and she didn't want to involve him in this letter anymore.
"You know, I'm really short of money."
She can't stop talking about money; she's obsessed with it. Now she can just spout things like that without thinking, especially since she's currently burdened with a huge debt.
"Jin Xilu." Jiang Yilin suddenly read her name seriously. Just when Jin Xilu thought he believed the story and had a clue, she heard Jiang Yilin say it through gritted teeth, his arrogant voice flowing into her ears.
“Jin Xilu, you haven’t been doing so well since you left.”
“Yes!” Kim Hee-ro had been told similar things countless times outside, which had made her thick-skinned and able to face her current unsatisfactory life.
It's okay, she will try her best to make it better little by little, and she is also improving.
"Jiang Yilin, I know you're trying to help me, so please help me look again." Jin Xilu pleaded earnestly once more. Actually, she had only come with a try-it-and-see attitude and had originally planned to give up, but after having breakfast, she felt that there was still a possibility.
Sure enough, she heard him say, "I'll extend my work for another week, and you'll also take care of my cat."
It's true that no matter how innocent and adorable a man is when he's young, once he gets rich, he'll only turn into a heartless boss.
"Okay, sure." Jin Xilu thought that she had just returned, and not many people in the town would believe her anyway. If she tried to inquire with her connections, the person she was looking for would probably have already run away by the time she finished asking around.
Seeing that Jin Xilu readily agreed, Jiang Yilin realized that Jin Xilu had indeed come back for something. He wondered what she was looking for, so he asked, "Are you talking about Mr. Li from the flower shop in the West Street Market?"
West Street? Jin Xilu had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Wasn't West Street all antique stalls?
But in her memory, the master was indeed quite old, probably around the same age as Xin Xuan. Her grandmother often called him Little Li, or Master Li.
"I think so." Jin Xilu nodded hesitantly, then asked, "Did they move later? Can you open a flower shop on West Street?"
Jiang Yilin shifted to a more relaxed posture, resting her chin on her hand and looking rather lazy. Suddenly, she turned around, blinked at her, and said, "You don't believe me? West Street was redeveloped five years ago."
"Oh, of course you don't know, you're only thinking about leaving."
What a masterstroke! Kim Hee-ro was speechless. She turned her head blankly, avoiding his eyes, and finally managed to utter those awkward and unfamiliar words: "Thank you for your help."
After asking for help, Jin Xilu stood up and left without looking back. She stood by the window, not wanting to say anything more to Jiang Yilin, whose words could sometimes be really blunt and hurtful.
Sitting in his seat, Jiang Yilin watched Jin Xilu's slender figure walk away with a dim look in his eyes, feeling somewhat annoyed. She always left so decisively and without any lingering. The words he couldn't say to her kept rolling in his throat: Jin Xilu, you've always looked forward to growing up, but have you realized your dream yet? Do you still believe in me?
The morning sunlight is like a soft-boiled egg; it is warm, it is expectant, and sometimes it gives those who look directly at it a false sense of happiness.
The brief silence was broken by a phone call. Jiang Yilin answered the phone, and the person on the other end seemed very anxious and frightened, repeatedly calling out for the clan leader, saying that he had woken up and was looking for him, and that he needed to come quickly.
Jiang Yilin's expression suddenly turned serious. He pushed back his chair and stood up. Seeing Jin Xilu about to catch up, he decisively hung up the phone and shook her off: "I have something to do today. Your task is to take good care of the orange cat and the calico cat. They are not picky eaters."
Jiang Yilin took the car keys, the garage shutter door flipped up, and an old Xiali drove out. The car drove out of her sight, leaving only a trail of exhaust fumes, and her sharp words pierced her heart.
"Don't follow me. If you have time, have pity on yourself!"
Jiang Yilin held the steering wheel with one hand and rolled down the gray glass window with the other. Looking at the woman in the rearview mirror who was getting smaller and smaller, he only pressed the accelerator hard to accelerate and didn't say a word more.
The car left the inner town and continued driving outwards; he was going up the mountain to meet someone.
There was no honking along the way, and the hands on the steering wheel seemed less impatient after leaving the town.
Jiang Yilin stared at the unlit mountain path, his face grim and his brows furrowed. He wondered if someone had tipped him off when the old man woke up today.
Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? He had just picked up Jin Xilu when the old man woke up and called him, specifically asking him to come see him.
The car stopped in front of a white house halfway up the mountain. Someone inside heard the car and soon a thin old man wearing a black knitted hat ran out to meet him.
"Why are you here? The head of the family just fell asleep inside." The old man who had been staying here to take care of him walked beside Jiang Yilin and helped him push open the gate to the courtyard.
"What's going on now? Didn't they say he'd never wake up again?" Jiang Yilin asked, noticing the strange look the old man next to him was giving her.
How did he suddenly wake up?
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