5. Dress
◎That pair of collarbones is surprisingly beautiful◎
The dim bathroom became brighter because of the half candle in Shu Yao's hand.
Ji Shijing fell to the ground in a mess, a thin gauze dress loosely covering him, revealing a large area of his chest. When he saw Shu Yao coming in, he quickly hugged his clothes, lowered his brows, and tried to stand up by holding the edge of the bathtub, but all his efforts were in vain.
When he fell to the ground again, he looked at the person at the door with his side face, his wet hair stuck to half of his face, water droplets flowed along the tips of his hair into his gauze clothes, leaving a large water stain, and the scenery under the clothes was faintly visible.
After Shu Yao came in, she closed the bathroom door. Just now, when she noticed the cold wind blowing in from outside, Ji Shijing shivered.
She asked, "Do you want my help?"
A hint of displeasure flashed across Ji Shijing's face. He glanced at the closed door behind him, hugged his clothes tighter again, and became more vigilant: "Close your eyes."
Shu Yao uttered an "oh" and obediently covered her eyes with her hands, leaving a small gap in the middle: "I was afraid that something might happen to you, so I came in."
Seeing that Ji Shijing didn't say anything, she put her hand down. In fact, he was almost dressed, and all the necessary parts were covered, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about.
Shu Yao put the candle in her hand on the table and walked towards him step by step.
Ji Shijing's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and his hands could not support the weight of his body, so he fell down again.
Shu Yao did not hesitate this time. She hurried to his side and wanted to help him up. Her hanging hair brushed across Ji Shijing's cheek intentionally or unintentionally. He felt a little itchy and turned his head to the other side with difficulty.
When Shu Yao's hand just touched him, he was startled and immediately dodged.
Shu Yao missed and the next second, she forcibly helped him up: "Don't move." This child is really naughty.
Ji Shijing really didn't have the strength to move, so he let her help him up. After he stood firmly, the belt around his waist, which was not tied tightly to begin with, completely came loose.
Shu Yao took a quick glance and saw a pair of surprisingly beautiful collarbones. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes, and then she immediately looked away.
Don’t look at what is indecent. Don’t look at what is indecent.
Because they were so close, Shu Yao's face accidentally rubbed against the muscles on his chest. When their skin touched, she immediately distanced herself, coughed twice, and felt a little embarrassed.
The delicate touch of the contact just now made Ji Shijing a little stunned. His Adam's apple rolled, and there was a layer of frost in his eyes, but his chest was burning hot.
After helping him get dressed, Shu Yao helped him back to the room.
It was not until the second half of the night that she finally fell asleep.
Before daybreak, a little maid came knocking on the door of the north courtyard in a hurry: "Miss Shu, Miss Shu."
Shu Yao yawned as she opened the door, her eyes a little blurry, clearly still asleep. "What's wrong?"
The maid replied, "It's already the hour of Mao. Please ask Miss Shu to go and pay her respects."
Shu Yao's head was buzzing. She looked up at the half-dark sky and asked, "Did the old lady ask you to call me?"
The little maid nodded.
Shu Yao understood: "Okay, I'll go clean it up." She left a word and went into the house.
The little maid waited at the gate of the courtyard. As the sky turned pale, Shu Yao still didn't come out. She couldn't help but call out a few more times, but there was no response in the empty courtyard.
She walked straight in, pushed open Shu Yao's door, and called out a few times tentatively, only to find Shu Yao still lying on the bed and sleeping soundly.
The little maidservant was petrified on the spot, and she actually fell asleep again.
The roosters began to crow, and Shu Yao finally finished washing and prepared to go out. Before leaving, she looked back at the innermost door. Ji Shijing caught a cold while taking a bath last night, and she didn't know if his condition would get worse.
…
Shu Yao was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. As she walked along, her hands and feet were cold and she was shivering all over.
When she arrived at the mourning hall, there was no one inside. It seemed that she was the first one to come to pay her respects. Shu Yao yawned, her head still dizzy.
The little maidservant told her, "The old lady told you to light two incense sticks first, and then kneel for two hours."
"Okay." Shu Yao agreed, but as soon as the maid left, she immediately closed the door and lit the paper money in the funeral basin to keep warm.
Only a fool would kneel for four hours.
Her body finally regained some temperature. She sat on the futon with her head propped up, thinking about how she and Ji Shijing would live in the mansion in the future. A sickly man and a weak woman, the beginning of a world of collapse.
Shu Yao: [System, if Ji Shijing suddenly dies, will I disappear as well?]
System: [Yes.]
Shu Yao complained inwardly: "System, oh system, it would be fine if you could just find me a healthy person to bind to, but you chose a sickly beauty."
System: [Hey, Master, although Ji Shijing is not in good health, he is handsome. Master, facing such a face every day will make you feel better, right?]
Shu Yao: [Thank you. By the way, what if the trust value is not 100%?]
System: [Mission failed, Master, you will remain in the world of the book forever.]
Shu Yao: [Ah? So what's your trust score now?]
The system is embarrassed to say: [0%.]
Shu Yao pursed her dry lips and suddenly felt a little annoyed. She thought about how nice she was to him yesterday, but he was not grateful at all. She was so angry.
What a person who can never be kept warm.
…
I don’t know how much time passed, but it was already bright outside. Suddenly, there was a bustling sound at the door. Shu Yao rubbed her legs that were numb from sitting and stood up.
The door was pushed open from the outside. Before she could see who it was, she was hit hard by a middle-aged man in mourning clothes. Shu Yao staggered and almost fell.
The middle-aged man rushed in, hugged the coffin and cried, his face covered with snot and tears, he looked so sad.
"Second brother, why did you leave like this? Big brother wanted you to drink with me."
"And my dear nephew, he just got married at such a young age, but he didn't even leave a child. His life is not worth living."
“…”
He cried loudly. Shu Yao rubbed her shoulder that was hurt by the collision and silently moved away from him.
Then, a group of people rushed in from the doorway, led by an old lady on crutches. She wiped away the nonexistent tears from the corners of her eyes, placed her hand on the back of the middle-aged man, and continued to comfort him: "Now that your second brother is gone, you are the only son left to me."
The middle-aged man turned around and said to the old lady with tears in his eyes: "Don't worry, mother, I will take care of you well on behalf of my second brother in the future."
The old woman nodded with satisfaction: "I am the best, Dayong. He knows how to care for his mother."
Shu Yao turned her gaze to the people who had just come in with the old lady.
A woman in her forties was accompanied by three children, two girls and one boy, who all looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.
Everyone was in mourning.
The woman had a thick layer of rouge on her face, but it still couldn't hide her ordinary features. She wore two fine bracelets on her wrists, and the toes of her shoes were inlaid with several expensive pearls. At this moment, she was trying hard to pretend to be sad, but there was a gloating light in her eyes.
Next to her stood two very young girls, one of whom had inherited her looks exactly as she did, and they were now admiring their freshly painted nails with great delight.
The other girl looked much prettier, her eyes were red, and she was still sobbing.
Behind them followed the wretched-looking young man, who seemed to have just woken up and kept yawning.
Suddenly, he glanced and noticed Shu Yao. After seeing Shu Yao's appearance, he immediately became energetic. He dragged his lame leg and limped to her, his eyes shining.
Shu Yao looked at the wretched face in front of her. The two eyes as big as soybeans were staring at her, and her saliva was all over the floor.
She felt sick to her stomach.
"Wow, this girl is pretty, prettier than any other girl in Xuyang County. What's your name?" As he spoke, he revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth, and the air was filled with a sour and rotten smell.
Shu Yao frowned, feeling a little disgusted.
"Tianbao, she is your sister-in-law." The old lady stood between Shu Yao and Ji Tianbao. She didn't want Shu Yao's dejection to be passed on to her precious grandson.
Ji Tianbao chuckled twice: "So it's my sister-in-law."
Shu Yao ignored him.
The old lady introduced her eldest son and his family to Shu Yao one by one.
"This is your uncle." The old lady introduced her to the middle-aged man who rushed in at the beginning.
Ji Dayong was a fat man with a face full of flesh. He seemed to have a bad temper. His droopy eyes were exactly the same as the old lady's. He glanced at Shu Yao indifferently without saying much.
Then the old lady pointed at the older woman and said, "This is your great aunt."
Guo Cuiping touched the jade bracelet on her wrist without even looking at Shu Yao.
It just so happened that Shu Yao was too lazy to deal with these interpersonal relationships.
The girl on Guo Cuiping's left is Ji Zhao, the eldest daughter of Ji Dayong and his wife. She was admiring her new nails that she had just painted yesterday, but when she looked up, she saw Shu Yao's beautiful face. A hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes, and she snorted and turned her head away.
The other girl was called Ji Lai, Ji Dayong's second daughter. She smiled at Shu Yao and said, "Hello, sister-in-law."
Shu Yao nodded politely, and the two of them greeted each other.
While getting to know people, Shu Yao always felt someone's gaze fixed on her, which made her feel sticky and uncomfortable.
When she turned around, she saw Ji Tianbao looking at her with shifty eyes, and she got goose bumps all over her body.
After noticing Ji Tianbao's look, Guo Cuiping went up and grabbed her son's ear, leading him to the two coffins: "How dare you look at that little goblin? That little goblin killed your second uncle and eldest brother. Aren't you afraid that she will kill you too?"
The old lady felt distressed when she saw Guo Cuiping pulling her grandson's ears, and hurried over to pull the two people apart. Guo Cuiping hugged her arms and snorted coldly.
Ji Tianbao was still harboring evil intentions, and he looked at Shu Yao with the eyes of a poisonous snake.
Shu Yao rolled her eyes at him.
"Mom, where's the second kid?" Ji Dayong asked casually, then moved closer to the old lady. The sadness on his face had disappeared, replaced by blatant greed. "Did the second brother leave anything for him?"
The old lady was about to speak, but when she noticed Shu Yao was beside her, she changed the subject: "That kid is not in good health either. I don't know if he can survive this winter." While speaking, she kept hinting at Ji Dayong with her eyes.
Can't survive this winter.
Ji Dayong nodded, a ruthless look flashing in his eyes.
Shu Yao accidentally looked up and caught Ji Dayong's gaze. She was shocked. She always felt that her uncle's family was not that simple.
It was already bright outside, and people came one after another to pay their respects. Ji Dayong and his wife cried solemnly for the whole morning. Near noon, the family went to the old lady's yard to have lunch.
Shu Yao stretched and prepared to return to the North Courtyard.
On the way back, she passed by a small kitchen where the chef was busy and the aroma of meat filled the air. A plate of juicy braised pork was passed to her.
Shu Yao was so greedy that her mouth was watering. She looked at the door and couldn't help but walk in.
Shu Yao had only been here for two days. Apart from the maids and servants around the old lady, many people in the mansion didn't know her, and the cooks only treated her as a little maid.
There were not enough people to serve the dishes, so the cook just put the freshly cooked squirrel fish on a tray and asked Shu Yao to take it to the old lady's room.
Shu Yao nodded hurriedly, secretly filled two bowls of rice while the chefs were not paying attention, then picked up the squirrel fish and ran away.
Along the way, Shu Yao was in a very good mood and her steps became lighter.
But just as she reached the north courtyard gate, she heard a burst of foul language coming from inside. She stopped and when she heard the words clearly, her hand holding the tray tightened unconsciously.
Unable to bear it any longer, she clenched her fists and kicked the door open with a bang.
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