The Kindhearted Girl Gets a Wife 27

Chapter 27

Grandma Liu made breakfast as usual. No one ate.

At noon, she made a light lunch again. The square table was still empty.

She slowly went up to the second floor with her cane. The doors to both of their rooms were tightly closed.

She knocked on Pei Yunle’s door. There was no answer from inside. She knocked three more times before the door was opened. What came into view was that head of permed-to-death pink hair. Pei Yunle was sleepy-eyed, wearing a work vest and barefoot, rubbing one eye. “Morning, Grandma.”

“It’s not morning anymore. Lunch has already gone cold once.”

The cane tapped the floor twice with a thudding sound. Grandma Liu saw a lump under the covers on her bed from behind Pei Yunle. There were only three people in this house, so it was obvious who was lying inside.

“You two slept in the same bed last night?”

“Ah? Ah.” Pei Yunle knew she had been found out, so she didn’t bother to hide it. She looked back at Chen Qingtang, who was still asleep on the bed. “We were watching a horror movie last night and were too scared to sleep separately, so we just made do and slept together.”

Pei Yunle’s voice grew less confident as she spoke. The current situation was like she, the yellow-haired girl, had tricked Grandma Liu’s precious granddaughter.

“We didn’t do anything.” She had to add this at the end, subconsciously touching her lips, afraid that the other person would see something was wrong.

“Why did Qingtang dye her hair? I remember when she was a child, she would cry her eyes out just getting a haircut.”

“It was buy one get one free at the salon yesterday, so it was a good deal to get it done together.”

Grandma Liu’s expression was strange. She glanced at the green hair outside the quilt, then at the pink hair in front of her.

Then she tapped Pei Yunle’s calf with her cane. “Don’t lead her astray. She’s a good girl.”

Pei Yunle gave a dry laugh. “I won’t, I won’t. I didn’t do anything.”

She watched the old woman leave, then looked back at the good girl who had bitten her lip until it bled last night.

It was already noon. Pei Yunle was still not fully awake. She lay back on the bed. It was too hot for two people to sleep together. She had woken up several times in the middle of the night, and her tank top was soaked with sweat.

She rolled over and looked at the lump of quilt next to her. She hugged the lump of quilt in her arms and then lifted a leg to clamp the soft thing.

Chen Qingtang was sleeping soundly when she felt like she was being flipped and fried like a pancake. Not having slept enough, she opened one eye and slowly crawled out from under the quilt.

Pei Yunle saw her dazed and innocent look and smiled, deliberately messing up her already messy hair even more. She buried her head in the other person’s warm neck, sniffing the pleasant scent of soap.

The words she spoke were hoarse from just waking up. “Your grandmother saw that you dyed your hair like me and warned me not to lead you astray. Did you hear that?”

Chen Qingtang was in a daze, not knowing what the person on her was chattering about. She could only nod a few times randomly.

“But who is leading who astray? If she knew that you were the one who was clinging to me and kissing me all night yesterday, she would probably feel sorry for me.”

Chen Qingtang heard the word “kiss” and opened her eyes, which were still bloodshot.

Pei Yunle was like a puppy nuzzling its owner. She rubbed her forehead back and forth against Chen Qingtang’s neck. “Get up, how long are you going to sleep? If you don’t open the store, how am I going to earn today’s 10 yuan?”

An itch spread all over Chen Qingtang’s body. She propped herself up on her elbows and sat up. Although her mind was in a daze, a thought came to her. She fumbled for her phone on the bedside table and asked Pei Yunle—Why do you still need to earn ten yuan?

Looking at the screen full of cracked glass, Pei Yunle was taken aback. Before, it was to save up for the bus fare home. Now, it seemed to have become a habit. But actually, if she wasn’t buying a ticket back to Anyang, it didn’t matter whether she had the ten yuan or not.

Her somewhat unfocused pupils suddenly sharpened the moment she saw Chen Qingtang’s phone. “Of course, it’s to save up and buy you a new phone.”

Pei Yunle opened her balance and looked at the payment history. “Although I’ve been here for a few months, I’ve also spent money here. The biggest expense is late-night snacks, which have cost me a few hundred yuan. I’m still far from being able to buy a phone.”

—I don’t need one.

“You do. This screen is all cracked. You won’t be able to see people’s faces clearly in photos in the future. When I’m not by your side, what will you have to remember me by, Boss Chen?”

Chen Qingtang felt that she had a point. She always felt that this person spoke like the head of a pyramid scheme.

Pei Yunle got out of bed and heard occasional noise from outside. She stood by the window and saw a few children hopping around with lotus flowers. The one in the lead had a large lotus leaf on her head.

“Chen Qingtang, where did they pick those lotus flowers?”

Chen Qingtang struggled to get out of bed. She also walked over barefoot. Seeing the golden light all over the ground outside, a wave of heat. A rare bit of clarity finally entered her mind. Today was Sunday. The town entrance was busy with the market, and the lotus pond at the foot of Ding Mountain would be crowded with people, with small stalls set up on both sides of the road.

She briefly explained this to Pei Yunle. The town had few and simple entertainment activities, so the residents would always come up with various ways to have fun and liven things up.

After hearing this, Pei Yunle’s eyes lit up. Even the two dark circles under her eyes seemed less lifeless. She shook Chen Qingtang’s arm. “I want to go too. Take me to see it. I’ve never been to a market before, and I want to go to the lotus pond to play.”

The store wouldn’t be able to open today either. Chen Qingtang suspected that sooner or later, Pei Yunle would cause her to go out of business. But she was happy to.

…

Pingshun had a market twice a week. One was on Wednesday, which was smaller and located outside a community instead of at the town entrance. The other was on Sunday, at the town entrance. In addition to the local residents, there were also people from other villages. At this time, the town entrance was so crowded that there was no place to even put your foot down.

The roads on both sides were completely blocked. Most of the vendors were old people who had occupied their spots early, carrying their goods in bamboo baskets. They would spread out a plastic bag on the ground and put a little of everything on it. They didn’t shout, just squatted there obediently, waiting for passersby to buy.

At the entrance, they were selling yellow glutinous rice cakes, five yuan for two. The cold rice cakes were wrapped in green leaves. Pei Yunle had never seen this before. She immediately spent five yuan to buy two. Since she hadn’t eaten anything, she peeled off the green leaves and handed one to Chen Qingtang behind her.

Seeing Chen Qingtang take a small bite, Pei Yunle took it and, following the mark of her bite, took a large bite herself.

The glutinous rice cake stuck to the roof of her mouth, and she spoke with a slight lisp. “You should eat more. Every time I lie on you, I’m afraid I’ll break your ribs.”

Chen Qingtang immediately looked around. Fortunately, the place was noisy and no one noticed them. She slapped Pei Yunle on the butt, telling her not to talk nonsense in public.

The glutinous rice cake was already cooked and could be eaten without heating. The taste was nothing special. Besides its own sweetness, there was only the faint fragrance of the leaves as a garnish.

The two of them continued to stroll. Seeing that the fruit was cheap, they bought a jin of strawberries for ten yuan. After eating a few, they were so sour that their teeth almost fell out. Pei Yunle couldn’t bear to throw them away. She took the biggest and reddest one from the bag and handed it to Chen Qingtang’s mouth.

“It’s very sweet. Have one.”

Chen Qingtang had just finished a glutinous rice cake and had no appetite. She turned her head away to refuse.

Pei Yunle’s hand followed her more closely. “Eat it. I’ve given you the best one. I won’t let go until you eat it.”

Helpless, and afraid that others would see—the people in the town were the biggest gossips—Chen Qingtang had no choice but to bite the strawberry.

Seeing Chen Qingtang chew and swallow with a blank expression, Pei Yunle was curious. “Is it sweet?”

Chen Qingtang held back the tears that were about to fall and nodded.

Seeing her like this, Pei Yunle half-believed her and picked up another one to eat. It was still so sour that her facial features were about to contort. Just as she was about to ask Chen Qingtang if her sense of taste was dead, the person had already walked ahead of her.

After another period of stopping and starting, they bought three jin of oranges for ten yuan, a pomelo for three yuan, and a jin of persimmons for five yuan. Their hands were full. In the end, Pei Yunle insisted on buying a bag of spicy potato chips.

Chen Qingtang had wanted her to buy less. After all, not all cheap things were good. Most of them were probably not very tasty. But seeing her so excited, she could only silently follow behind her and pay.

After going home to put down the things they had bought, Pei Yunle eagerly pulled her to the lotus pond to play.

The lotus pond in Pingshun was no different from any other. The lotus leaves were either curled or spread out, like round plates or jade plates. Some of the lotus flowers were in bud, while others were in full bloom, in pink and white. There were a few small boats on the pond, which was also a paid attraction.

Children squatted by the wooden fence, occasionally reaching out to pick the lotus flowers.

A dragonfly skimmed the surface of the water, its wings fluttering in front of Pei Yunle.

Some dried lotus leaves were sold here. Some people would buy them to make tea or cook with, but Pei Yunle was not interested. There were also a few people of the same age selling hair ties and beaded flowers at stalls. Chen Qingtang was not interested either.

The two of them walked around the path. Pei Yunle suddenly stopped in front of a small stall.

Chen Qingtang looked closely. It was a stall selling rings. Of course, they were not diamond rings or gold rings from a jewelry store, but crystal rings for children to play with.

Pei Yunle picked out a few rings from the box and put one on each of her fingers. “Chen Qingtang, are they pretty?”

Her fingers were slender and fair. Even with the colorful and exaggerated rings, they didn’t look tacky. Chen Qingtang squatted next to her, looking at the colors that could almost make up a rainbow, and sincerely nodded.

“When I was a child, I also bought one at a street stall. I begged my mom for a long time. I don’t know where I lost it later, and I still haven’t found it.”

Pei Yunle muttered to herself and took off the rings on her fingers one by one. “How much are these rings?”

“The ones on your left are five yuan each, and the ones on your right are ten yuan each. If you buy more, I can give you a discount.”

Pei Yunle nodded and picked out the most normal-looking ring from the ten-yuan side. It was inlaid with a very ordinary diamond. “I’ll buy it for you to wear.”

The light from the sky shone down from the clouds. The cheap diamond absorbed it and reflected its own unique light. The specks of light shone on Pei Yunle’s face, as if the colorful, tacky light was kissing her excellent side profile.

It was the first time Chen Qingtang had been interested in this kind of ring. It was as if wearing it would create a bond between the two of them. Although the light was fleeting, that one moment was beautiful enough.

Pei Yunle hadn’t thought that such a serious person as Chen Qingtang would go along with her childish game. She was already preparing to put the ring back when she felt a not-so-light weight.

She saw Chen Qingtang’s index finger slowly squeezing into the ring that was completely unsuitable for her, as if as long as she tried hard enough, the unsuitability could be worn away.

Until the ring reached the end of her knuckle.

Pei Yunle couldn’t help but touch Chen Qingtang’s fingertip. “I’ve heard people say that wearing a ring on the index finger means you’re unmarried or single.”

She took off the ring and put it on Chen Qingtang’s beautiful ring finger. “So, you should wear it here.”

“You asked me what I was saving ten yuan for. See, it’s just enough to buy you a ring.”