The Kindhearted Girl Gets a Wife 33

Chapter 33

The rustling sound from the back mountain started again. It seemed to have been there for the past few months, and occasionally there were voices of people talking, sometimes near, sometimes far.

Pei Yunle couldn’t sleep even with the quilt over her head. She opened the door and walked into the hallway, standing by the window to watch the movement on the back mountain. It was close to the mountain here, and the walls could even touch the dense branches. She looked down at the foot of the mountain. The leaves of a few trees were rustling, as if someone was standing underneath, wearing a mask and a hat, water bucket shoes, and tightly wrapped in long sleeves and long pants, holding something in their hands.

She squinted, trying to make out what it was from the layers of leaves, but could only vaguely see some small buckets made of wooden strips.

Pei Yunle’s mind came to no conclusion. She could only admit her bad luck and get up early for another day.

A ball of morning grumpiness was in her stomach, suppressing her appetite. She really had no mood to make any breakfast. Pei Yunle sat in the courtyard and stared at the flowers in a daze.

She took out her phone and wrote a to-do list in her notes. In addition to a few cleaning tasks, she also planned to go out and see if she could find another job.

She had thought about it for a long time under the quilt last night. The job at the clinic before was for Grandma Liu, for Chen Qingtang, but not for herself. And now that she had quit, Pei Yunle suddenly realized another thing. If she wanted to stay in Pingshun, she should find a job. She couldn’t use her feelings to persuade Chen Qingtang to let her be a parasite.

Even for ten yuan a day, Pei Yunle couldn’t accept it.

As for any private clinic, Pei Yunle silently put a big red X on it in her mind. She had to find a job that could sign a labor contract, at least not to fall into the same trap twice.

She scrolled through her phone. Her eyes suddenly fixed on a certain message, and then she jumped up from her chair.

The brand that had extended an olive branch to her a few months ago had actually replied to her message. She didn’t know if they hadn’t found another blogger to advertise with during this time, or if they were preparing for a big marketing push. They were still preparing to complete this business contract with Pei Yunle.

The two parties successfully added each other’s contact information. They briefly introduced their brand and purpose to Pei Yunle. It was an extremely niche brand. It was the first time Pei Yunle had heard this name. She searched for it on Baidu. It was a clothing brand established a few years ago. She hadn’t found any negative news yet. Then she went to a shopping app to search for the flagship store. There weren’t many fans, only about two hundred thousand. But the clothing style was a good match for Pei Yunle’s videos.

The two parties chatted for most of the day. Although the price was not high, Pei Yunle still decided to take the order. What she had to do was also very simple. After receiving the sample clothes, she would wear them and shoot a dance video and send it to the other party. If there were no objections, she would post it with the brand tag.

These things were very easy compared to what she had done at the clinic before. At least no one would release malice and impatience towards her for no reason.

Chen Qingtang came home under the moonlight. When she pushed open the door, she saw Pei Yunle practicing dancing.

Even though it wasn’t an official recording, she danced very comfortably. She was tall and slender, which was a natural advantage.

The streetlight cast a dim, soft yellow light. Chen Qingtang hid at the junction of light and shadow without making a sound, just quietly admiring.

The texture was different from the videos. She could see with her own eyes a thin layer of sweat on Pei Yunle’s neck. There was no sloppiness, only a vigorous vitality that was about to break through her body. She smelled the scent of dense green grass in the summer night.

Chen Qingtang seemed to have caught a glimpse of the “old” Pei Yunle.

The bangs on her forehead were plastered to her skin in sweaty strands. Pei Yunle pushed them back several times, but they would always fall from behind her ear and block her eyes. She glanced at the completely darkened sky and decided to call it a day.

Her entire face was flushed red from the heat. Pei Yunle didn’t dare to splash water directly on her face and decided to just go to the faucet to quickly rinse her bangs.

As soon as she turned around, she saw Chen Qingtang squatting by the doorframe, hidden in the shadows like a sneaky little thief.

After washing her bangs, Pei Yunle deliberately cupped some water in her palm, then quickly walked over and sprinkled a few cool droplets on the little thief.

“When did you get back?” Pei Yunle mimicked her, squatting down beside her. Although the light was dim, it offered them a bit of convenience. For instance—they could gaze at each other boldly in the faint light.

Chen Qingtang was too embarrassed to say she had been back for a long time; it would make it seem like she had been peeping.

She just told Pei Yunle that she wanted to see more.

“See what?” Pei Yunle propped up her face, her fingers pushing the skin tight against her bones into a wrinkle. She played dumb just like that.

Perhaps because they had spent a lot of time together, she had some understanding of Pei Yunle’s mischievous nature. Chen Qingtang shuffled over and saw the water droplets remaining on her face.

She gently wiped away the small beads with her fingertips, then replaced them with her warm, soft lips.

The light, as it happened, also concealed the upward curve of Pei Yunle’s lips.

She cleared her throat with a couple of coughs and took out her phone to open the music app. A series of English songs appeared before them.

“There are too many dances. I can’t possibly dance them all for you at once. See which song catches your eye, and I’ll dance the corresponding one for you.”

The dense English letters were enough to give one a headache at a glance. Chen Qingtang had no particular preference; she loved to watch whatever Pei Yunle danced.

She randomly pointed to a song. Pei Yunle let out a long, drawn-out “Oh,” as if it were very difficult. “This song is a bit hard to dance to.”

She held up two fingers. “So, I’ll need two kisses.”

With that, Pei Yunle naturally leaned her face closer, indicating one kiss on each side. Of course, she could also just plant two right on her lips.

Before, Chen Qingtang would have chosen the former. But now, surrounded by an ambiguous heat, she resolutely chose the latter.

Pei Yunle shamelessly asked for two more.

A short dance in exchange for four kisses. She felt her victory was obvious, but she had to suppress that little bit of smugness.

Pei Yunle quickly tied her hair into a low side bun with a green elastic band. A touch of green was tucked into the pink hair. The garish color combination made Chen Q Qingtang smell a hint of spring, and before her was a vibrant flower. The slightly loose tank top, under the blessing of the light at a special angle, revealed a faint outline of her body. She had already stood up straight, but suddenly she beckoned to Chen Qingtang.

Seeing Chen Qingtang obediently run towards her, her face filled with a hazy confusion, she could clearly see the fine hairs on her face, like a crisp peach.

Pei Yunle took a bite upwards and was met with an unceremonious push from Chen Qingtang. Pei Yunle smiled and made a “surrender” gesture.

She handed her phone to Chen Qingtang, having already opened the video recorder. “Find a slightly brighter spot later. It doesn’t matter if my face is clear, what’s important is that the clothes are filmed clearly.”

Pei Yunle hadn’t told her that she was filming a commercial. She had originally planned to film it herself the next day, but seeing that the light was soft, the location was also very suitable, and her emotions were also high, it was the most suitable time to shoot a video. Not all videos had to be completed in bright light; the atmosphere was also a factor for success.

As compensation, she could kiss Chen Qingtang back eight times.

“If it doesn’t turn out well, we won’t film it. We’ll just film this one take.”

Chen Qingtang didn’t know why she was recording, but thinking of what she had said about “recording beautiful moments,” she didn’t raise any objections and just took the phone to find a good spot.

About ten minutes later, the two of them went back into the house to watch the video.

She could feel that Chen Qingtang’s hands were a little unsteady, but overall it was very good. She had also been trained by the camera and knew how to find the light source and angle. And this video also had some things that Pei Yunle’s own videos didn’t have.

She tilted her head and glanced at Chen Qingtang standing next to her. The person was still seriously rewatching the video, her eyelashes lowered, covering her eyes, but the like and love in her eyes were about to burst out.

Pei Yunle knew what was extra. Her heart felt like it was soaked in hot sugar water, tickled by the heat, and then submerged in honey. She could even hear the gurgling sound of bubbles bursting.

She took the lead and gave Chen Qingtang the eight kisses as a reward, kissing her eagerly and fiercely. In the end, Chen Qingtang could only touch her slightly numb cheeks.

Chen Qingtang slipped out of her embrace and finally into her own room. She still had to do her handicrafts to sell tomorrow. She said good night to Pei Yunle.

Although Pei Yunle, who had gotten a little candy, hadn’t had enough, it was enough to satisfy her for now.

She lay on the bed and used the remaining time to edit the video she had just shot. She sent the video to the client before midnight. If the other party didn’t raise any objections, then this video could be released.

A dreamcatcher hung at the head of the bed. Although it looked a bit too simple and the technique was very clumsy, it was the first one Chen Qingtang had completed. Pei Yunle had pestered her to give it to her. Because the quality was not very good, Chen Qingtang was of course very happy to, since she couldn’t sell it anyway.

Pei Yunle poked the feather hanging from it with her finger. It was light and airy. She squeezed the colorful little beads and, after playing enough, lay back down and covered herself with the quilt.

Perhaps because of the dreamcatcher, she had a good dream all night.

…

The other party replied very quickly and basically didn’t make any requests. They agreed on a release time and a subsequent payment time, and it was done.

In addition, besides the mandatory tag, the other party also reminded Pei Yunle to remember to reply to comments asking for the clothing link. If no one asked, they would also find a few shills. As for the other irrelevant comments, it was up to her whether she wanted to reply or not.

After a few polite exchanges, this matter was considered over. Since she hadn’t released any works for a long time, her already small fan base was probably “dead” for the most part. Pei Yunle first released a set of stock photos to prove that she was still “alive” and to activate her fans and traffic.

Seeing that the feedback was not bad, she posted the video with a little more peace of mind.

Similar to her previous comment sections, most of them were some girls who expressed their liking with some slightly exaggerated remarks, which seemed to have a hint of flirting.

Pei Yunle understood them very well. If she were single before, she would naturally have no scruples about playing along with the jokes. But it was different now. She had Chen Qingtang, so she could only pick some more normal comments and reply a few times.

But the overall atmosphere was there, and different people would have different feelings when they looked at it.

For example, Chen Qingtang, who was also holding her phone on the other end, silently canceled the lit red heart and the flashing orange five-pointed star next to it.

She bit her lower lip, the edge of her teeth rubbing against the soft flesh, occasionally tearing a little of the soft membrane, and her tongue would taste a little blood.

Chen Qingtang held the dreamcatcher, and Pei Yunle’s dance video was on a loop. The BGM went from unfamiliar to familiar, and the tune was even engraved in her mind.

She was only confused about two things now. Perhaps the confusion was mixed with anger, and she couldn’t tell which component was more.

The first thing was, why did Pei Yunle post the video she had taken online? It felt like her hidden joy and expectation had been casually dissected in front of everyone. And she didn’t want her Pei Yunle to be shared with others.

The second thing was, looking at those covetous gazes projected in the explicit words. Chen Qingtang also didn’t like it. Why did she have to reply to them?

Chen Qingtang couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation. Pei Yunle’s video was still playing over and over.

Just like the celebrity merchandise that those children liked, it shone brightly in its own field. The light that she had originally liked was now dazzling. But Chen Qingtang didn’t know what to do. She only knew that her heart was filled with ice lemon water. Her breathing squeezed it, and what overflowed was a sour liquid mixed with blood, cold, numb, and astringent.

Looking at the dazzling light, she chose to hunch her back and lie on the counter, like an ostrich that urgently needed to bury its head in the sand, or perhaps she needed to find a hard shell to shrink her limbs into, so that no one could find her.