green persimmons
Ten minutes later, Jin Xilu brought over some stools from her home and piled them up against the wall.
Having learned how to scale the wall, it wasn't long before a messy head popped up from the edge of the wall. Then, Jin Xilu used both hands and feet to climb the wall, with a heavy basket hooked on her arm. She wanted to put the gift on the Jiang family's wall first.
If you carry a basket for a long time and relax for a moment, it will be knocked over if you're not paying attention.
"Oh, my persimmons!" Kim Hee-ro exclaimed with a frown, then her lips twitched as she exhaled, her expression a mixture of regret and distress.
These are all persimmons that she carefully selected.
She thought to herself that the blond boy was good-looking, but he must have a strange temper and a picky personality. If the persimmons were broken, he definitely wouldn't accept them.
Without the basket, Jin Xilu climbed over the wall more easily. Before she could even brush off the grass roots that had trampled her, she collapsed against the corner of the wall as soon as she touched the ground, her fingers spread out like a slightly twitching octopus. In reality, she was just eager to see the boy as soon as possible.
Fortunately, she managed to find the unripe persimmons one by one and put them into the basket she had brought.
"Phew, thank goodness! It's a bit dirty, but it's not torn!" Kim Hee-ro comforted herself inwardly. She hadn't even stood up again when she was startled by the rough voice of the man behind her.
"So it's you again! What are you doing sneaking into the Jiang family's house like this!"
Jin Xilu turned around, but before she could even see the man's face clearly, she was grabbed by the collar and lifted up like a rabbit.
"How did you know I was here? I clearly checked the area; this side is the furthest from the gate!"
Kim Hee-ro's feet were off the ground, her face puffed up like a wrinkled peach, and she was full of strength, stomping her feet down repeatedly, trying to get Bato's hand to control her.
The man's strong arms tightened around her, and in one swift motion, he dragged Jin Xilu out of the backyard. She clutched her basket tightly, thinking that she absolutely couldn't drop it again; she didn't want to waste such delicious persimmons.
However, she still suffered from being too young. No matter how much she struggled, it was all in vain. Jin Xilu was like a yellow catfish skewered on a barbecue grill. She was flipped over and kicked out of the Jiang family, basket and all.
Before the Jiang family's gate closed, Jin Xilu heard the gatekeeper snort through his nostrils, his tone still arrogant enough to make one want to smash a basket in his face: "Little girl, really, our young master doesn't even know you. If it weren't for the young master reminding me, I wouldn't have known when a little mouse had sneaked into the yard."
After hearing this, Jin Xilu wanted to rush up to the position to prove herself, but all she found was a heavy iron gate. She angrily picked up her basket and walked a few steps away.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. So she picked up a stone from the side and placed it at the front door, hoping that when the blond boy came out, he would slip heavily on the stone and fall asleep, and preferably scratch his face as messy as an unrecoverable jigsaw puzzle.
Of course, this was impossible, and Kim Hee-ro knew that, so she left the stone there without worry.
With Jin Xilu gone, the Jiang family fell silent once more, and every flower in the perfect and splendid courtyard bloomed beautifully.
An antique blue-and-white porcelain fish tank sits in the center of the courtyard, with a few red koi fish shimmering in the sunlight among the lotus leaves. The sound of water is negligible, and the wind does not whistle the copper wind chimes hanging from the eaves. Time seems to have been paused.
Only people's hearts are wavering; anxiety, haste, and panic drive the changes in the courtyard.
The principles that were originally as perfect as a fake painting now seem somewhat out of place in one place: the patch of ground in the corner, where the leaves that Jin Xilu had stirred up have not yet been swept up.
"Hurry up, be quick and clean, the head of the family will be back soon." The man in charge of the gate bent down and looked at the woman inside the window, his tone completely different from when he had spoken to Jin Xilu.
Jiang Yilin stood by the window listening to the conversation, his eyes dimming slightly, his fingers gripping the wood tightly. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw several women emerge from the small house with unchanged expressions. Then, like a shadow, he silently and ethereally walked into the small house.
Yes, he took advantage of Kim Hee-ro.
Late at night, Jiang Yilin lay on his bed staring at the window opposite him. His expression gradually changed from indifference to a dreamy look. He seemed to be trapped. As soon as he closed his eyes, the image of that girl's silly, red face appeared in his mind. She was kind of cute. He couldn't enter a real dream for a long time.
Emotions stirred his mind, tormented him, and also propelled him forward.
At this moment, Jiang Yilin was far less brave than Jin Xilu, but she still managed to slip out of the room and fall several times while everyone was asleep. Today is Thursday, will the servants get up early to fetch water before going out?
The little boy, like a star that never shines in the darkness, darted about in the dull and oppressive grass, stubbornly burying his head close to the soil.
Until he pulled a stunted little persimmon from the bushes in the corner of the wall. The persimmon's skin was no longer smooth; the green peel had been rubbed open, and in the darkness, the juice looked like an evil, tempting poison that made one's head spin and swell.
"Hmph, I knew you were careless in doing things."
Although he said that, Jiang Yilin felt extremely satisfied. The process of being filled with this sense of happiness made him lose his mind, and he even thought how wonderful it would be if he could see Jin Xilu here right now.
But soon, Jiang Yilin tripped and fell again because the road was too dark. He punched himself in the face. He was so dizzy that it seemed even the moon in the night sky above him was mocking him, calling him a weirdo and a crazy idiot.
Even with only one, he was still unwilling to give up. He continued to bend down, his hands and feet going numb, which gave him a taste of how difficult it was for Jin Xilu to be locked to the wall.
Finding persimmons in the dark is by no means an easy task. He also has to be constantly on guard against the possibility of another servant suddenly appearing to wake up the whole family and drag him back to kneel in front of the sandalwood armchair. Even if he hides with his head down, he still doesn't want to see Jiang Lianyin.
If this were to happen in reality, Jiang Lianyin would definitely grab his neck and shake him around like a wilted, stunted branch, as easily as if he were dealing with an artificial flower.
He was a human being, but Jiang Yilin couldn't resist him. Over time, Jiang Lianyin grew tired of his reactions, and the silence between father and son became as quiet as the hour and minute hands of the clock on the table.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, these accumulated disappointments, Jiang Lianyin's silence was a slow poison killing Jiang Yilin's self-awareness.
Even though the fear of facing the future kept replaying in his mind, Jiang Yilin's groping hands didn't stop; he still wanted to find the fruit.
His thoughts were simple: that little girl was so stubborn, she probably wouldn't come back after this departure. He wanted to see what kind of precious fruits she had brought in after all that busy work.
Thinking this to himself, a bitter feeling crept in. It had only been two days, and he already couldn't forget her. It was unbelievable.
Unfortunately, there was only one persimmon.
"You stingy thing, why didn't you drop more?"
Recalling the moment when he saw Jin Xilu peek out from upstairs today, even though he knew Jin Xilu couldn't see him, Jiang Yilin still subconsciously squatted down. Then, his narrow phoenix eyes swept upwards at the clock on the wall. Jiang Lianyin would be back in 20 minutes.
Thinking of this, even though his mind clearly wanted to drive Kim Hee-ro away, he couldn't help but resonate with her. In his room, he was like a shy and helpless monkey, slowly and quietly moving upwards until his eyes could completely capture the lively and cheerful girl.
His tongue touched his teeth and flicked lightly with a sigh. Seeing the girl struggling to get the basket onto the wall, he didn't even notice that he had frowned, worried about her safety.
Finally, the basket was knocked over, and persimmons rolled all over the ground. He covered his mouth with his hand, thinking that this would hide his good mood. He was amused by Kim Hee-ro, whose mood was written all over his face.
He laughed at Jin Xilu's stupidity in his heart, thinking: "I'll reluctantly go down and help you pick persimmons because I feel sorry for you."
But when he took a step onto the stairs, he stopped, his face darkening as he caught a glimpse of the heavy, tightly closed iron gate to the courtyard from the other window of the room.
Jiang Yilin hesitated for a moment, then went downstairs without hesitation and walked in the opposite direction from Jin Xilu. He had used Jin Xilu, he was the one who drove Jin Xilu out, and he was also the one who dared not face his true thoughts.
Having successfully lured the gatekeeper and the person cleaning the small house out, Jiang Yilin finally saw the woman who had been locked up after half a month.
He Min was asleep. The only lamp in the dim basement was shining its weakest white light, illuminating her smooth, fair skin, making her bluish veins stand out. Her faint breathing was like dust falling from the wall, making him choke and afraid to make any rash moves.
Jiang Yilin wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that she wasn't asleep. He just stared at his mother without any emotional fluctuation, because he remembered that the last time he came to see her, she didn't have anything to say to him either.
Estimating that it was about time, Jiang Yilin left before the cleaning servants returned.
As the memories faded, Jiang Yilin lost all control and took out the only remaining precious persimmon.
At this moment, the only orange peel on the bottom of the green persimmon, which had spilled over, was also scratched. He couldn't tell if it was because his palms were too sweaty or the persimmon was rotten. Before he could think any further, he started licking the persimmon peel, his tongue pressing against the flesh and the juice bursting on his tongue.
His expression of disgust froze on his face for a moment, then his mind went blank for a long time before he finally laughed and said, "It's actually sweet."
After eating the whole persimmon, Jiang Yilin belatedly felt his mouth go numb. The next morning, when he looked in the mirror, his lips were surrounded by a bluish tinge. Only then did he realize that he was allergic to persimmons. But that's another story.
Before this, his heart was finally at peace; he could no longer deceive himself.
Jiang Yilin wanted to see that girl again; it could only be her.
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