After everyone finished their snacks, they returned to work.
Li Yingtang also prepared to leave.
“A Xian, I’m heading back first. Will you be able to finish the work here tomorrow?”
Qin Xian glanced out the window. The night stretched endlessly like a dark curtain.
In the countryside, the moonlight was bright enough that she had still cried in fear while walking at night.
Tonight, however, there wasn’t even a moon.
There were a few streetlights along the road, scattered here and there, illuminating only small patches of ground. What about the places they couldn’t reach? How frightened would she be?
And if she happened to run into hooligans again…
“I’ll be off work soon as well. I’m not sure about tomorrow, but it should be finished the day after. Wait here for a little while.”
“Okay.”
Li Yingtang casually found a seat.
The room’s heating was so warm that she took off her coat and hat.
As she combed through her hair with her fingers, the young woman beside her, Xu Luzhu, struck up a conversation.
“Is your hair naturally curly?”
“I had it permed.”
“Where did you get it done? I want to change my hairstyle too. Do you think your hairstyle would suit me?”
Li Yingtang carefully examined her face.
She had a long face, a somewhat broad forehead, a square chin, and while none of her features stood out individually, together they looked harmonious and delicate.
Hair was a woman’s greatest accessory. If she casually named a salon, and Xu Luzhu went there expecting the same hairstyle but ended up with something different, she’d surely be disappointed.
“Curly hair frizzes easily and takes a lot of maintenance. May I ask something? Do you have children?”
Although Xu Luzhu looked young, the baby hairs around her hairline were sparse. One of Li Yingtang’s coworkers in her previous life had looked the same after giving birth.
“Yes. A two-year-old.”
“You work, and your child takes up a lot of your time, so you probably don’t have much time to style your hair. I’d suggest cutting it to shoulder length with bangs, about here.”
She gestured just above her eyebrows.
“You have big eyes and dark eyebrows. Once your forehead is covered, people will naturally focus on your eyes, making the shape of your face much less noticeable.”
“You really have a sharp eye. I’ve lived more than twenty years before realizing my chin is square. There are already so many women with oval faces—would one more really matter?”
Li Yingtang laughed softly.
“Your face has its own advantages. It holds fullness well. Other people start looking older as they age, but you’ll still look youthful.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Little sister, take a look at me too!”
“Me too!”
In an instant, the female coworkers surrounded Li Yingtang, eagerly asking her for beauty advice.
“Quiet! What are you all doing?”
Xi Yue slapped the table.
His sharp gaze swept across Li Yingtang. The bright smile that had seemed capable of making spring itself bloom froze on her face before slowly fading away.
The women returned reluctantly to their desks, secretly glaring at him.
He coughed twice before walking away.
Li Yingtang lowered her voice.
“Did I disrupt everyone’s work?”
“He’s always picking on us. Don’t worry about it.” Xu Luzhu smiled. “Where do you live? I’ll come visit when I have time.”
“I live in—”
Before she could finish, Qin Xian appeared.
“Tangtang, it’s time to go.”
“Oh, okay.”
She waved cheerfully.
“Goodbye, everyone! A Xian and I live at the Dahe Village Clinic. There’s a reservoir nearby where you can fish, and in winter you can skate on the ice. Come over sometime and I’ll treat everyone to grilled fish!”
“How about this weekend?”
“Sure!”
After making plans, she bundled herself up again and left with Qin Xian.
The temperature had dropped sharply.
Li Yingtang sat on the back of Qin Xian’s bicycle, wrapping her arms around him to shield herself from the wind.
As they passed a long street, she said,
“A Xian, stop here. It’s freezing outside. There’s not much road left. I’ll walk the rest myself.”
Without saying anything, Qin Xian quietly surveyed the surroundings.
His gaze stopped on the guesthouse diagonally across the street.
After a brief pause, he asked,
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your parents? Or… do they not even know I exist?”
Li Yingtang met his eyes directly, making herself appear as sincere as possible.
“Of course they know! They’ve gone out of town. You’ll meet them another time. I just feel bad making you ride against the wind.”
Qin Xian’s eyes held a faint smile.
Wasn’t she simply trying to send him away?
Li Yingtang blinked.
“Hurry up. I’ll watch you leave.”
He let her have her way and rode off.
Only after disappearing into the darkness did he stop.
He watched as she confidently walked into the guesthouse.
After pondering silently for a while, he turned his bicycle toward Xian’an Road.
When he arrived, he almost failed to recognize the place.
The front gate had been replaced.
By the dim streetlight, he could see piles of red bricks inside. The doors and windows of the main house were gone.
The next day during his lunch break, he learned the truth from the renovation workers.
“A young lady hired us.”
“What did she look like?”
Qin Xian handed the man a cigarette and lit it for him.
The worker took a puff before answering.
“Her face was wrapped up, so I couldn’t see clearly. But her eyes were beautiful, her skin was incredibly fair, and her hands were as soft as tofu.
The moment I arrived, she told me to cut the lock and smash open the door.
I heard her chatting with an old neighbor. She said she was renting the place.
I thought she had money to burn. Why renovate a rented house?
Look at this place now. The doors and windows are all gone, the kitchen was completely torn out, even the roof was removed.
The bed, quilts, cabinets—everything got thrown away.
She insisted we install the heating pipes properly. Said she’d bring her laogong here to live someday and didn’t want him to suffer.
I don’t even know what laogong means.
All this work will cost at least two thousand yuan.
She’d have been better off buying another house.
This old place has nothing, and it’s next to both a hospital and a crematorium.
Who knows what she’s thinking?
Once the lease is over, won’t all these improvements just benefit the landlord?”
Qin Xian’s ears gradually turned red.
Laogong…
It was an outside term for one’s husband.
Where had she learned it?
Was she… referring to him?
Or someone else?
A bitter wind swept through the air.
There weren’t many people at today’s flea market.
Li Yingtang wandered around casually and overheard another buyer mention that three miles away, in Luojiazhuang, there was a hidden black market where genuine treasures often appeared.
If she found something valuable, she wouldn’t have to worry about food or money for the next three years.
Her heart stirred immediately.
She decided to try her luck.
After checking the map and confirming the route, she headed straight for her destination.
The black market was indeed well hidden.
It occupied high ground, making it easy for everyone to notice trouble and react quickly.
Wrapped up tightly, with both hands tucked into her sleeves, Li Yingtang entered.
“Hey! What are you here for?”
“Hello, big brother. I’m here treasure hunting.”
She deliberately lowered her voice and slipped two packs of premium cigarettes into the man’s hands.
After accepting them, he stopped questioning her and even kindly pointed her toward someone.
“The stall belonging to Third Master Luo—the old man wearing a traditional Chinese jacket. He has plenty of genuine items. Whether you can get one depends on your ability.”
“Thank you, big brother.”
She clasped her hands politely and walked over.
Third Master Luo had white hair and a thin build.
His padded traditional jacket hung loosely from his frame.
His eyes were sharp and calculating, as if he could see through anyone at a glance.
His stall displayed jade, paintings, bronze vessels, and countless antiques.
Li Yingtang stood quietly before the stall instead of rushing to inspect anything.
Someone with decades of experience was far beyond her ability to outwit.
Besides, this was a black market with guards posted outside.
The tricks she’d used against ordinary flea market vendors would only backfire here.
She needed to think carefully about how to deal with him.
“Young lady,” the old man finally spoke, “you’ve been standing there for quite a while. What are you looking at?”
Li Yingtang answered honestly.
“I’m looking at you. Your hair is completely white, yet your face doesn’t have a single wrinkle. Your skin is even smoother than my older brother’s.”