Song Man’s spine stiffened, and her body unconsciously straightened. The mahjong tile in her hand felt like a burning coal, and she quickly tossed it out.
Mrs. Zhang let out an “Aiya!” and swept the tiles together with a laugh. “Hu! I win!”
Ruan Wenhua protested, “What the heck! You won right after we started?”
Mrs. Zhang laughed. “It’s because Man’er threw the tile well.”
They traded remarks back and forth, but Song Man felt as if she had fallen into some kind of shroud—a membrane separating her from everything, making all sounds muffled. Only the violent pounding of her heart remained clear, layered with the shadow on the floor that grew closer with each step, faster and faster as it approached.
Song Junyan’s voice sounded from behind her.
Low, faintly cool.
“Yinyin said she wanted to try the famous drunken shrimp here.”
Yinyin.
Had it only been a few days, and he was already calling her that?
And he’d brought her into Peach Blossom Spring too.
Song Man’s fingers curled slightly. She felt as if the bite of ice she’d taken at school had only now been swallowed, chilling her all the way to the bottom of her heart.
Ruan Wenhua laughed. “Which private room?”
“Right next door.”
Shen Zhiyin’s voice was sweet and cloying.
Song Man heard the rustle of fabric brushing against fabric.
She didn’t dare turn around, afraid of seeing the two of them nestled together in intimacy. But sitting there stiff as a statue was hardly proper either.
Song Man had no choice but to rise and face them, her eyes fixed straight down at the carpet beneath her feet. “Uncle, Miss Shen.”
Hua Jiale echoed the greeting.
Song Junyan’s gaze darkened, but his voice carried almost no emotion. “Uncle?”
Ruan Wenhua picked up the conversation naturally. “Man’er’s friend—it’s only right for him to call you Uncle.”
The mahjong table stirred again as Ruan Wenhua said, “Man’er, pick your tiles.”
Song Man felt as if she’d been granted a reprieve. She immediately turned and returned to her seat.
Hua Jiale sat down beside her at the same time, one hand resting naturally on the back of her chair.
Before coming, Ruan Wenhua had dragged Song Man in for a fresh styling session, and the clothes she wore were the qipao Ruan Wenhua had always favored.
An indigo knee-length qipao with rounded collar and small flying sleeves, revealing two lengths of pale, slender arms. Beneath the mahjong table were a pair of smooth, rounded legs.
It always gave one the illusion of hot, fresh milk poured from a celadon teapot—enough to stir an almost unbearable craving.
Song Junyan stood in the shadows, while in the light, Hua Jiale’s hand stretched brazenly across the back of Song Man’s chair.
Suddenly Hua Jiale shifted, leaning a little closer to Song Man.
The distance of a whispered secret.
Yet Song Man, unaware, leaned toward him as well, her full, glossy earlobe nearly brushing against Hua Jiale’s lips.
Whatever Hua Jiale said, Song Man’s lips curved into a faint smile, shy and demure.
Song Junyan withdrew his gaze and said quickly to Ruan Wenhua, “We’ll head over first.”
The voice was not loud—calm, cold, and flat.
But it landed in Song Man’s ears and made her body snap taut, instantly pulling away from Hua Jiale.
Ruan Wenhua waved a hand. “Go on, go! The moment you showed up, I started losing! You’re blocking my luck!”
Song Man heard the air shift behind her, followed by a soft click of the door—they were gone. Her tense body suddenly relaxed, but her heart sank, plummeting into a void.
Hua Jiale glanced at her. Something flickered through his mind, but he couldn’t quite catch it.
…
Song Junyan and Shen Zhiyin arrived at the room next door.
Shen Zhiyin deliberately remarked, “Those two seem to get along quite well. Man’er probably isn’t seeing anyone.”
But her eyes secretly studied Song Junyan’s expression.
Unfortunately, the man was steeped in the ways of officialdom, long trained in the art of revealing nothing. There was no reading a single trace of his emotion.
She only heard his excessively calm voice: “She’s always been well-behaved.”
Shen Zhiyin couldn’t gauge what he meant by that.
She also realized she shouldn’t keep bringing the girl up—it would only reinforce her presence in Song Junyan’s mind.
So she fell silent. While waiting for the tea, her hand slipped beneath the table, quietly pulled out her phone, and quickly sent a message.
Soon, a call came in.
Shen Zhiyin answered with feigned naturalness. After a few exchanges back and forth, she finally got to the point.
“What a coincidence? You’re near Peach Blossom Spring?”
Whatever was said on the other end, Shen Zhiyin’s voice suddenly rose a notch. “How could that happen?”
Song Junyan looked up. “What’s wrong?”
Shen Zhiyin seemed deeply flustered, hesitating for a long moment before speaking with difficulty. “It’s my brother… He’s nearby negotiating a business deal, and the private room he’d booked was taken by someone else.”
The implication was obvious.
But Song Junyan didn’t take the bait. He lifted his cup and savored his tea.
In the silence, Shen Zhiyin felt Song Junyan’s gaze on her, warm as if it had been touched by sunlight.
Shen Zhiyin bit her lip. “Forget it, I’ll just—”
Song Junyan set down his cup. “Tell your brother to come negotiate here. I’ll have a word with the manager of Peach Blossom Spring.”
Shen Zhiyin’s eyes lit up. After relaying the message to the person on the phone, she hung up gleefully, ran over to Song Junyan’s side, and wrapped her arms around his.
“Junyan, you’re so good to me.”
Song Junyan smiled faintly. “That’s enough to make you happy?”
His voice was light and soft, like the murmur of intimate whispers.
Shen Zhiyin’s face flushed. Unconsciously, she let some of her weight lean into him…
Their silhouettes cast upon the screen, intertwined and overlapping, like a shadow play of lovers.
Song Man had excused herself to go to the restroom when she noticed the door across the way was ajar. In the end, her curiosity got the better of her, and she peered inside.
The next instant, it was as if she’d been struck by lightning.
An embrace? A kiss?
Or…
She remembered Song Junyan’s address—”Yinyin.”
If there were no substantive relationship between them, how could they have progressed to such intimacy?
Song Man’s mind went completely numb.
So much so that during the subsequent card game, whatever Hua Jiale directed, she simply followed.
When she snapped back to reality, the chips in front of her were nearly gone.
She seized on the opportunity, looking as if she might cry: “What do I do? I’ve lost so much of your money.”
Hua Jiale laughed: “Money is meant to be spent, especially when it’s spent on you.”
This remark was undeniably suggestive, and even more so, as he said it, he deliberately leaned in a little closer, so that his breath was sprayed entirely against her ear.
Song Man felt nothing but unease, shifting away uncomfortably.
Seeing this, Mrs. Hua added fuel to the fire: “You’ve forgotten your mother-in-law so soon? What will you do in the future!”
The group burst into laughter.
Amidst such an atmosphere, Song Man suddenly felt a surge of irritation.
She was annoyed by the rules and constraints of this world.
She was also annoyed at herself, at everyone, for being so easily bound by these shackles.
She suddenly threw a little tantrum: “That won’t do. I’ve lost so much of your money, I’m too embarrassed to keep playing.”
Ruan Wenhua frowned.
Mrs. Hua remained cheerful, with the tolerance of an elder: “Why not let Jiale take you out for a stroll?”
Ruan Wenhua nodded: “It must be a bit dull for you two young folks mixing with us old-timers.”
Song Man: “But then there’ll be no one at the card table.”
Ruan Wenhua smiled: “Are you afraid we can’t find someone? There are plenty right next door.”
The scene of the two of them entangled just moments ago suddenly flashed through her mind.
Song Man pressed her lips together: “I…”
“Man’er, go.”
The last two words were spoken with extra emphasis by Ruan Wenhua.
Hearing this, Song Man dared not say another word. She obediently rose and followed Hua Jiale out the door.
As luck would have it.
Someone was also coming out of the door across the way.
Song Man, completely unprepared, collided directly with Song Junyan’s gaze.
Song Man froze for an instant.
But Song Junyan quickly averted his eyes.
His gaze was calm, distant.
As if he had merely noticed a speck of dust floating in the air.