“A-Yun, go and take a look. Why hasn’t that old man come back at this hour? Don’t tell me he’s gone and started chatting with someone again…”
The woman’s nagging was still ringing in her ears when Ying Yun had already risen. She casually picked up two umbrellas and teased with a smile, “Grandma, when Grandpa’s at home you complain he’s annoying, but it isn’t even six yet and you’ve already mentioned him so many times.”
“You wretched girl, even your grandma dares to tease me? I won’t give you dinner later.”
The old woman’s laughing scold, tinged with fond reproach, was drowned out by the splashing sound stirred up by Ying Yun’s hurried footsteps.
In the plum rain season, every corner of the small Jiangnan town carried a trace of dampness.
Dark green moss crept over the foot of the walls through one gloomy night after another.
In the eyes of the locals, that shade of dark green meant nothing beyond proclaiming the ancient simplicity of this town’s long history.
Oh, and it also served as a constant warning—don’t be tripped by it when you weren’t paying attention.
But to those young masters and young ladies who lived among towering skyscrapers, it was the Jiangnan charm painted on those priceless works hanging in their homes.
They might even praise it: misty rain curling through the air, truly enchanting.
In the small town, there was no real concept of a dock. Whichever family’s stone steps a boat moored beside became that family’s dock.
Ying Yun stood on the step closest to the water’s surface. As the distant boat drew nearer, the rising and falling water would occasionally lap up, dampening her shoes.
She craned her neck to look toward the bend. The bow of the boat was faintly visible. She waved the umbrella in her hand and called, “Grandpa!”
Several passengers sat scattered aboard the boat.
The old man was chatting happily; even from far away, his rich laughter could be heard. When he saw her, he called out from a distance, “A-Yun! Aiyo, why are you waiting here? Don’t let the mosquitoes bite you.”
Ying Yun touched her neck. It itched a little. She had already been bitten.
In this season, there were quite a few vicious mosquitoes by the water.
In the local dialect, Ying Yun had been “made of rotten flesh” since she was young. If she was bitten, it was impossible for it not to bleed a little, leaving behind a faint scar. It was not a pleasant feeling.
The boat drew closer, and the figures aboard gradually became clear.
Each of them was dressed in suits and leather shoes, or in dresses made of excellent fabric. They did not look like tourists at all; rather, they looked as though they had escaped from some banquet.
“Sir, thank you so much!” The speaker’s eyes and brows were smiling. Men and women alike spoke one after another, all appearing exceedingly well-bred.
For some reason, Ying Yun’s gaze fell on the man sitting at the very end of the boat.
No one knew where his gaze had landed. A spot of crimson was pinched between his fingers, and amid the smoke he exhaled and inhaled, a faint smile rested at the corner of his lips.
He was amid the noise and commotion, yet had not said a single word, making one unable to help but look at him.
Since childhood, she had stayed here, accompanying her grandparents as they dealt with all sorts of guests. Putting aside everything else, she knew best what sort of words to say to what sort of people.
She did not look for long, afraid that if she took even one more glance, others would think she had ulterior motives.
Ying Yun merely borrowed the corner of her eye and swept over him in haste.
Su Buqing was coaxed into beaming by this lively group of juniors and nodded repeatedly. “Ah, good, good. You’re all good children!”
“Heh—”
A scoff sounded, neither loud nor soft, and drifted clearly into Ying Yun’s ears.
It absolutely could not be considered a laugh from the heart, yet somehow, it added a trace of cool clarity to this humid summer in misty Jiangnan.
She silently withdrew her gaze and leaned against the wall, making space for the group to disembark.
Many years later, even though Ying Yun often stayed by Ye Jiahuai’s side, she would always remember this startling glimpse.
The slightly open collar, the careless smile, the reserved nobility in his deep-set eyes and brows—perhaps all of it had long since planted the foreshadowing for Ying Yun’s reckless devotion.
Beside her, the wind carried with it a somewhat choking smell of smoke, yet faintly mixed within it was an elegant, deep fragrance, lingering long and far at the tip of her nose.
For some reason, it disturbed her heart.
One person after another walked past her. Ying Yun tightened her grip on the umbrella handle, her slender fingertips faintly whitening. She exhaled and said softly, “It’s raining. Take an umbrella with you.”
It just so happened that the person walking past her was him.
Ying Yun met those amber pupils. Reflected in them was her face, flushed faintly red by the summer heat.
Summer rain did nothing at all to cool the air. It merely added a sticky, humid heat to the skin.
“Yo, Jiahuai, aren’t you going to take it? She’s been holding that umbrella in her hand for ages. It’s been delivered right to you, and you’re still not hurrying up?”
The man’s teasing voice came from above. It sounded neither light nor heavy, yet every word entered the ear, always making one feel that the meaning within was unclear.
Along with it came the group’s slightly grating laughter.
Ying Yun frowned faintly, pretending not to hear. But at this moment, her wrist was a little sore, making her unable to help regretting her own unnecessary words.
She was only in her early twenties. No matter how well she tried to conceal the regret on her face, a few hints still leaked from between her eyes and brows.
But now, there seemed to be no reason to take it back.
Su Buqing put down the bamboo pole used to punt the boat and said with kind intentions, “Your clothes are made of good material. Don’t let them get wet, or they’ll be hard to take care of later. Take the umbrella.”
As his words fell, the weight in Ying Yun’s hand lightened. Their knuckles avoided each other at just the right distance; not even an accidental brush occurred.
Yet Ying Yun kept feeling an itch in her palm. On that umbrella, it was as if some inexplicable thread had wound itself around it, binding the fates of the two of them together without anyone noticing.
His voice was somewhat hoarse. “Thank you.”
Ying Yun pretended to withdraw her outstretched hand naturally, as though she had merely done something extremely convenient.
She touched her neck. The bump from the earlier bite had already begun to itch faintly.
Ying Yun set her own umbrella down on the steps to the side, crouched, and helped nearby. “Grandpa, I’ll help you tie the rope.”
The footsteps behind her gradually receded. Just like that, the group of people went their separate way from her.
At the time, everyone thought it was nothing more than a chance encounter.
At a banquet several years later, Ying Yun nestled in Ye Jiahuai’s arms while a group of people clamored to play Truth or Dare.
No one knew which bold soul opened their mouth and asked Ye Jiahuai, “Brother Jiahuai, what did you feel the first time you saw Sister Ying Yun?”
Ye Jiahuai hooked a finger around the ends of her hair and smiled, but did not answer.
*
Twilight deepened, and a few peals of laughter drifted out from the old residence’s gate.
Halfway through dinner, Su Buqing slapped his thigh and sighed. “Aiya, I left my lunch box on the boat again. In this weather, if it stays overnight, I’m afraid it’ll start to stink.”
Ying Yun finished scraping up the few grains of rice left in her bowl and glanced out the window.
The hazy drizzle had not stopped. There was only the sound of frogs croaking and cicadas chirping, mixed with a few distant bursts of noise from tourists.
Xia Yun’s expression did not look good. Seeing that she was about to open her mouth and start scolding, Ying Yun hurriedly smiled and smoothed things over. “I’ve just finished eating anyway. Grandpa, don’t go out and slip again. I’ll get it for you.”
In this weather, the dampness was so severe that it made little difference whether one carried an umbrella or not.
From home to the boat, it was a ten-minute walk. Quite a few people greeted her along the way. “A-Yun, have you eaten?”
“I have.”
“Grandpa Su forgot to bring something again?”
“Yes.”
“A-Yun, come help my granddaughter look over her homework later.”
“Okay!”
The boat swayed on the water. Ying Yun crouched and leaned into the boat. Sure enough, the stainless-steel food container stood quietly in a corner of the cabin.
Her hand had just touched the cold handle when a sudden voice from behind startled her.
The hull rocked slightly. It took her some effort to steady herself on the swaying little boat before she hurriedly half-straightened and turned her head.
At some point, Ye Jiahuai had reached out to hold the black awning and was standing behind her.
The new novel is here! Happy ending! Of course, there will also be bittersweet parts in the middle—a sweet-and-sour story!
The female lead’s name is pronounced Yun.
Welcome to read!