Ming Zhou suppressed his turbulent thoughts and yanked Ming Jiu out from where he was hiding by the doorway. Turning to Su Ying, he said:
“I got the truth out of this little bastard. He was the one who provoked the trouble first and threw the first punch. Getting beaten was entirely his own fault. We’ve come here today to bring him to apologize to Sanlang.”
Ming Jiu stumbled forward two steps from the shove. He looked up sullenly at Su Ying’s cold expression, then glanced at Pei Xiu, who stood behind her with his head bowed in silence. Panic immediately seized him. His still-swollen eye sockets turned red, and he said in a tearful voice:
“Third Brother, I know I was wrong… I shouldn’t have followed Zhang Qi in bullying people. I won’t do it again… Please, be the bigger person and don’t hold it against me.”
Ming Caiyun stepped forward as well. After first glaring fiercely at Ming Jiu, she put on a sweet and bright smile.
“My parents heard about what happened and gave him another thorough beating. He ought to have learned his lesson this time. Sister Ying, Sanlang, if you’re still angry, I’ll tie him to a bench right now and let you give him another beating.”
The little girl was exceptionally pretty. When she smiled, her brows and eyes curved like crescents, revealing two faint dimples in her cheeks. She was very charming, and her words were both polite and considerate. It was difficult to feel any antipathy toward her.
Su Ying said nothing. Whether to accept the apology was not her decision to make in the first place.
The three Ming siblings naturally saw Su Ying’s attitude and all turned their eyes toward Pei Xiu.
Pei Xiu had never felt much resentment toward Ming Jiu. That day, he could tell this was the first time the boy had tried to cause trouble for him. Even when he attacked, he had been timid and dared only to put on a show. Besides, Pei Xiu had already taught him a harsh lesson himself, so his anger had long since dissipated.
What was more, if he truly intended to settle down here, he had no desire to make enemies.
Seeing that they had sincerely come to apologize—and that they had helped him the day before—he accepted the offered way out and spoke gently:
“Enough. Since you know you were wrong, rein in your temper. From now on, just behave yourself.”
Ming Jiu hurriedly agreed. Ming Caiyun exchanged a glance with Ming Zhou and said, “We brought two hens and several packets of medicine for injuries. Please accept them as our apology. They’re humble gifts, but Sanlang, you really mustn’t refuse.”
Ming Zhou brought over the woven bamboo coop sitting outside the courtyard. Inside lay two plump, sturdy hens.
“These two hens lay eggs every day. You can slaughter them to make soup and nourish your bodies, or keep them to lay eggs. Either will do.”
Pei Xiu did not refuse. He thanked him without warmth or coldness.
Only then did the three Ming siblings truly relax.
Ming Zhou placed the coop beside the newly built vegetable plot and set the medicine on a bench beneath the veranda. While his younger sister chatted with Su Ying, he quietly surveyed the entire courtyard.
He soon discovered that it was truly tiny, with only three rooms in all.
One was the kitchen, one was the latrine, and the last was the bedroom.
Those two siblings, who were not related by blood… actually shared a room?
“Brother, we’re leaving,” Ming Caiyun called.
Ming Zhou’s thoughts were in turmoil, his mind completely occupied by that dim bedroom. He even forgot to say goodbye and simply trudged away in silence.
Ming Caiyun glared at his back, exasperated by his hopelessness. After bidding Su Ying and Pei Xiu farewell, she dragged Ming Jiu after him.
“Brother!”
She spoke indignantly. “What’s gotten into you today? You’re usually so carefree and uninhibited. Why is it that the moment you see Sister Ying, you can’t even speak?”
Ming Zhou had something weighing on his mind and ignored her.
“Brother!”
“Second Brother!”
“Ming Zhou!”
Only then did Ming Zhou glance at her. His features were sharp to begin with, and that casual look was enough to make Ming Caiyun instinctively fall silent.
Once her anger faded, she sensed that something was wrong and knitted her brows. “You were fine before we came. What exactly is wrong with you?”
Ming Zhou bit the corner of his lip. After a long while, he finally said in a low voice, “They… sleep in the same room.”
Ming Caiyun froze, then considered her words carefully. “There isn’t a second room in that courtyard fit for sleeping. Besides, they’re siblings who were raised together. Given how poor their family is, it’s not unusual for them to share a room but sleep in separate beds.”
“No.” Ming Zhou grew agitated and could not help wanting to bite his fingernails. “They aren’t blood relatives. Sanlang was adopted by Su Ying’s parents.”
Ming Caiyun fell silent.
They had walked a long way before she managed to force out a smile and comfort him. “They grew up together from childhood, and now they have only each other to rely on. Their bond has long since become no different from that between biological siblings.”
Seeing that Ming Zhou still looked troubled, she continued to persuade him. “Brother, stop overthinking things. If there were truly some other kind of feeling between Sister Ying and Sanlang, we don’t know anything about their backgrounds to begin with. They wouldn’t need to pretend to be siblings in public.”
That remark struck home with Ming Zhou.
The gloom between his brows vanished in an instant. “That makes sense.”
Seeing him so consumed by love, Ming Caiyun teased him, “Brother, the torment of having your heart stirred for the first time must be hard to bear, huh?”
She had braced herself to be scolded, but Ming Zhou merely let out a deep, drawn-out sigh. He lifted his eyes to the sky, his voice full of melancholy.
“It’s like plunging straight off a cliff, yet never quite reaching the ground.”
It was rare to hear her usually broad-minded twin brother say something so despondent. Ming Caiyun stared blankly for quite some time before shaking her head and sighing with feeling.
“Inquire of the world, what is love…”
Before she could finish, he shot her a look sharp enough to kill. She blinked playfully and swallowed the rest of the line.
Back in the courtyard, Su Ying took some vegetable leaves to feed the hens. If she had known someone would bring them chickens, she thought, she could have saved the watermelon rinds.
Pei Xiu stood behind her, clutching the edge of his sleeve. As though he had finally made up his mind, he called to her in a low voice:
“Su Ying…”
Su Ying was in a particularly good mood at the thought of gathering two eggs every day, so she answered him—a rare occurrence.
“Hmm?”
“Do you think…” Pei Xiu pressed his lips together. “That Ming Zhou seems to have feelings for you…”
Su Ying turned around and looked at him.
But Pei Xiu did not continue. He let out a soft breath and changed the subject. “That day, why did you conceal the fact that you had gone to Guling Mountain? Do you… dislike him?”
Su Ying fell silent.
She went to fetch the seeds and plant them, while Pei Xiu did not press her further. Instead, he drew some water and set it to one side.
Only after all the seeds had been planted in the soil did Su Ying rise and wash the dirt from her hands. Then she spoke indifferently:
“People can possess evil without cause, but rarely offer kindness for no reason. In the end, they always want something.”
After a long silence, Pei Xiu asked, “When you helped that day, did you also want something?”
“Of course,” Su Ying replied calmly.
“…” Pei Xiu asked, bewildered, “If that’s the case, why were you unwilling to acknowledge it?”
Su Ying had not intended to say more, but seeing the troubled unease on his face, she paused and finally explained:
“A man who makes his living by hunting and is in the prime of his life is usually the pillar of his family. If one of his hands is severed for no reason, he is as good as crippled.
“What I wanted was simply peace of mind.”