Before dawn the next morning, Song Yunfei woke up.
She couldn’t stop thinking about going to the embroidery workshop in town, and the thought left her restless. She slept lightly, too. Quietly getting up, she rummaged in the bottom of the original owner’s trunk in the dark and pulled out a fairly respectable outfit—a skirt and top made of fine cotton—to change into.
The clothes were a little worn, but clean enough, and when she sniffed them, they still smelled of sunshine.
In the faint morning light coming through the window, Song Yunfei carefully combed her long black hair until every strand was neat, then twisted it into a simple married woman’s bun.
The reflection in the mirror was blurry, but she could still make out those bright, alert eyes. She looked nothing like the original owner, with her listless, bedraggled air.
She had just finished getting ready when Chu Jinhan rose as well.
He drew some water from the courtyard and came in after washing his face. His hair was still slightly damp at the ends, and the rough cloth of his clothes only made his tall, straight figure look all the more neat and composed.
Chu Jinhan paused as soon as he crossed the threshold.
His gaze fell on Song Yunfei, who was dressing by the window, and a fleeting glimmer of admiration flashed in his eyes.
The woman before him was slender. Her plain-colored clothes made her skin look even fairer, while her eyes and brows held a liveliness and slyness he had never seen in her before.
Was this really Song Yunfei, who spent her days either lying down or sitting around, too lazy even to comb her hair?
“You’re going to town now?” he asked. His voice sounded as it always did, revealing not the slightest hint of emotion.
“Mm.” Song Yunfei nodded. His gaze made her feel a little self-conscious, and she smoothed the loose strands by her temple before replying, “Auntie Wang went out of her way to put in a good word for me yesterday.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she was explaining herself.
He hadn’t even said she couldn’t go. Why was she so eager to explain?
Chu Jinhan said nothing more. He turned and quietly ladled out two bowls of the porridge warming on the stove, then picked up the half a steamed bun left over from the day before.
They ate breakfast in silence. By then, it was broad daylight.
Auntie Wang’s husband was already driving his ox cart to town. His calls carried from a distance, and Song Yunfei quickly picked up her embroidery, wrapped it in a piece of coarse cloth, and hurriedly said goodbye to Chu Jinhan. “Cousin, I’m off.”
“Wait.” Chu Jinhan suddenly picked up the ax from the corner and followed her. “I’ll go with you.”
Song Yunfei froze. “You’re going too?”
“We’re out of firewood.”
She wondered, If he needs firewood, shouldn’t he go to the hills to chop some? What’s he going to town for?
Still, having him along made her feel inexplicably safe.
So she didn’t ask anything more.
Today, Uncle Wang’s ox cart was the only one going from the village to town.
When the two of them climbed aboard, they discovered that the cart bed was already packed with people. Most were women headed to town for market day, chattering about the village’s family affairs. The air was a mixture of sweat and the grassy scent from the roadside.
Song Yunfei finally found a corner at the edge of the cart bed and sat down. Every jolt sent her swaying uncontrollably, and the food she’d eaten that morning kept churning in her stomach.
Just as she was beginning to regret taking the ox cart, Chu Jinhan somehow crouched down in front of her, his broad back shielding her from some of the crowding and jostling.
He set the ax by his feet and braced both hands on the wooden rail, enclosing Song Yunfei within the space of his arms.
Her heart pounded.
All she could smell was the pleasant scent of soapberry on Chu Jinhan.
“Th-thank you, Cousin.” She lowered her head, a blush blooming across her cheeks, her voice barely audible.
“Hold on tight.” His tone was still as cool as ever, but Song Yunfei thought she heard something different in it.
The ox cart rolled slowly along the rutted road. With every jolt, Song Yunfei was inevitably thrown against his solid chest.
Through the thin fabric of their clothes, she could clearly feel the heat of his body and the contours of his muscles.
The atmosphere grew both intimate and awkward.
Song Yunfei could feel her cheeks burning. She could only duck her head lower and pretend to study her toes.
Suddenly, one of the cart’s wheels seemed to sink into a muddy rut, and the whole cart lurched violently.
“Ah!”
The women on board cried out in alarm.
Song Yunfei was caught completely off guard and pitched straight toward Chu Jinhan. In the confusion, a sharp pain shot through her chest, and she let out a muffled groan.
She lifted her head and met Chu Jinhan’s eyes, which held a trace of surprise.
At the worst of the jolting, his elbow had struck her squarely in the chest.
Song Yunfei hissed in pain, and her face paled.
“F-Fei’er…” Chu Jinhan flushed and hurriedly drew back a little. Then, very discreetly, he shifted the hand he had braced on the wooden rail. He meant to use his whole upper body to form a sturdier barrier at her side, making sure she wouldn’t be knocked again.
The closer they got to town, the smoother the road became.
The cart jolted much less, and the passengers settled down after the commotion.
The women started chatting again, but the atmosphere between Song Yunfei and Chu Jinhan grew more and more awkward.
The pain in Song Yunfei’s chest gradually eased, replaced by an even more mortifying tingling sensation—especially whenever she felt Chu Jinhan’s warm breath.
“Fei’er, you—you shouldn’t go after all,” Chu Jinhan said quietly, breaking the silence.
For once, he wasn’t speaking in clipped, two-word bursts.
Song Yunfei stared at him, taken aback.
“Mm, I—I mean, you won’t be able to keep at it for many days anyway.” Chu Jinhan lowered his eyes to her. “Why put yourself through this?”
Song Yunfei knew what he meant: given how lazy and indulgent she had been, her claim that she was going to work at an embroidery shop was nothing but an act.
What he didn’t know was that Song Yunfei was a different person now.
“Don’t look down on me.” She glared at him with those bright eyes and shot back without backing down. “Who says I can’t last more than two days? From now on, I’m not only going to work hard; I’m going to do better than anyone. Just you wait and see!”
With her claws out, she looked just like a kitten that had been provoked, utterly unlike her usual listless self.
Chu Jinhan looked at the stubbornness and anger in her eyes, momentarily at a loss for words.
The ox cart soon reached Taoyuan Town. As if to prove how determined she was, Song Yunfei jumped down first before the cart had even come to a full stop and headed straight for Zhang Embroidery Workshop, the biggest one in town, without looking back.
Chu Jinhan jumped down after her, his gaze following her slender, upright figure until she disappeared around the street corner.
By evening, when Song Yunfei dragged her tired body back to the Thatched Cottage, Chu Jinhan was already sitting at the table reading.
A dim oil lamp lit the room, its flickering flame sharpening the lines of his profile.
“You’re back?”
“Mm.”
“The food’s warming in the pot.”
“Mm.”
Song Yunfei was too tired to say another word. She hurriedly shoveled down a few bites, washed up quickly, then collapsed onto the bed.
On her first day at the embroidery workshop, she had practically brought out her best work to convince the owners to keep her, concentrating intensely all day.
The moment she touched the bed, she was almost instantly asleep.
Half-dreaming, she thought she heard the oil lamp being blown out in the outer room. A moment later, familiar footsteps stopped beside the bed.
In her sleep, Song Yunfei vaguely felt the bed dip slightly beside her.