Chapter 120: Why Are You Laughing? Hand Over the Money

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In the room next door, Lin Jingyue finished washing up, curled up in the warm bed, and kept her eyes half closed until, after a long while, a gentle smile finally broke through.
She had slept all through the night and slept on until morning without waking.

It was a clear winter day, a rare piece of good weather.

Lin checked the bedside clock. It was nearly ten. She had slept for almost twelve hours, rubbed her forehead, and gave a helpless little smile.

“Good morning, Aunt Song. Where are your brothers?” Lin said as she came out. In the living room there was only Song Qinglan, reading the newspaper. She put down the paper and greeted her.
“Go freshen up, then after breakfast I’ll take you to buy some clothes.”

“I already have plenty of clothes,” Lin said.

“A young woman should never say there are too many clothes,” Song Qinglan replied, shaking her head. “Take the chance while you’re young to dress yourself well. We can afford it. By the way, are you short on cash? I can give you some.”

She said it and hurried off to the room in a flurry.

Lin Jingyue gave in with a tired laugh and went to wash. No sooner had she brushed her teeth than Song Qinglan came back with a thick stack of notes and stuffed it into her bag.
“When you don’t have money, tell your aunt, don’t be shy. Jiang Xun may be your boyfriend, but you’re not married yet. We do not need to spend his money. We have our own footing, we have our own money.”

“Okay,” Lin said.

The bundle was roughly two hundred yuan.

Lin knew they were not short of money. Their salaries were both high: Han Jianmin had 138.6 yuan, Song Qinglan had sixty-six, and there were various subsidies besides.
The Han household had never split, and Old Han often slipped them some money.

For breakfast they had pumpkin–millet porridge and small buns; Song even made a steamed egg custard especially for Lin.
She truly was being treated like a child.

After they ate, they left.

“Ah, Aunt Song, is this your relative? The girl is such a pretty one,” Song Qinglan heard from many familiar people around the courtyard compound.
Everyone looked at Lin with obvious curiosity.
“This is my Jingyue,” Song laughed. “Jingyue, this is your aunt, so you should call her that.”
Lin, as willing as ever, did as told.

There were quite a few acquaintances along the way, and Lin’s smile stiffened from sheer discomfort.
“Large crowds are always like this.” Song Qinglan looked at her and almost laughed when she saw Lin trying to breathe easier.
“Later, I’ll go to Kyoto... Well, let’s put that off for later.” She did not want to bring it up again.
Lin did not ask.

“We’ll go straight to the department store,” said Song.
The department store in Anshi city was decent, with no shortage of things.

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The two browsed slowly.

Had Lin not been holding her back, Song would have bought quite a lot.

Near the year’s end, the department store was packed.
Watching people bumping and pressing in every direction, Lin no longer wanted to enter. She had grown afraid of crowds.

Seeing her hesitate, Song thought Lin was afraid of spending too much and, without asking, pulled her right into the throng.
Lin took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pushed forward.

“Hey, who stepped on my foot?” someone shouted from the crowd.
No one paid it any mind. Lin and Song kept moving, heads down. She couldn’t even say who stepped on whom—they themselves got stepped on a few times.

The clothing section gathered even more young women and daughters-in-law.
“Jingyue, this red one suits you—you’re fair-skinned, wear it…”
“And this blue plaid, this gray one, that cashmere sweater looks good too. Oh, this is the one I nearly grabbed first…”

Seeing the confusion, Lin’s mouth twisted sharply.

At the end, she walked out with only a few garments in her arms, walking with awkward bravado while others watched her with envious eyes.
Song Qinglan, at one point, bought two wool overcoats, one padded jacket, and a pair of leather shoes.
It was still because Lin kept pulling her along.

“Aunt, let’s go home,” Lin said. She made it clear she’d bought enough and dragged her out.
Only back in the courtyard did she finally breathe out in relief.
It was not that she disliked shopping. It was mainly that... it was too crowded.

“By the way, Aunt, I need to go out for a while. A classmate asked me to dinner,” Lin said after taking a sip of water.
Her appointment with Wei Lanyin was for two o’clock; it was nearly time.
“Alright. Don’t stay out too late. Come back early for dinner,” Song said, not stopping her.

That phrase had not reached her ears in a long while; Lin stood there stunned for a heartbeat.
“All right, I know. I’ll come back early.”

“One more thing, Jingyue,” Song said again. “Be careful when you meet Hu Cuixi’s people. I have already got rid of all the Hu family’s work. If they see you, they may take it out on you.”
“Gone already?”
“Yes. Right now only Hu Cuixi and Lin Jianan are left cleaning toilets. Whatever little money they earn gets snatched up by the Hu family. Lin Jianan has always hated to be beneath anyone—proud and hard to please. Letting him linger on is worse than killing him.”

Song gave a cold laugh.
“Understood.”

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After a couple more warnings, Song finally let her leave.

At the state-run restaurant not far from the government compound, Wei Lanyin had already been waiting.
She looked even better dressed than the day before.

A cashmere shirt underneath, a cardigan sweater, a gray-blue wool coat on top, black pants, black leather shoes, and a bright red cashmere scarf.
She looked exquisitely presentable.
She checked the plum-blossom brand watch on her wrist: it was exactly two o’clock. She frowned slightly, then looked up and saw a graceful figure coming toward her.

A ponytail, a short cotton jacket, a waist slightly drawn in but not showing her shape, making her even more elegant; black trousers, ankle boots, scarf, and gloves.
The outfit was simple, but the aura was not ordinary—lively, clear, luminous. Her skin was fair, and her eyes were clean and bright, easily catching everyone’s gaze.
People passing by froze for a moment when she came smiling toward them.
“What a beautiful girl.”

“You are late,” Wei Lanyin rolled her eyes.
No different from when they were in school.

“You came early—I’m not the late one.” Lin pointed to her watch.
“You’re always so exact to the minute, you absolute…” Wei stopped herself with a laugh.

“Don’t mind these little details. You did invite me to dinner, so today I’ll choose what to order,” Lin said. She had never known how to be reserved.

“Go easy, please...” For some reason, when Wei saw her expression, a bad feeling flashed through her.
“Don’t worry,” Lin said, thumping her chest.

They went inside the restaurant. When their turn came, Lin pointed at the little blackboard near the counter:
“Potatoes stewed with beef brisket, braised ribs, steamed chicken, sweet-and-sour pork strips...”
Wei’s lips twitched in a long, wordless glance.

“Take everything except the potatoes with beef brisket and the sweet-and-sour cabbage. Also one steamed cured-meat dish and tomato-and-egg soup, and just two portions of rice.” Lin panted out.
The waiter behind the counter gave her a massive eye roll and a hard glance, then quickly calculated the bill and the receipts.

“Ha…ha…” Wei could not hold back her laughter.
“Pay now,” Lin said, still with a mischievous glint. “What are you laughing at?”

By the way, this is a complete mess for me. My throat has been sore since last night, and I’ve been dull and drowsy all day. I still haven’t figured out if it’s a cold or just a mask. I’m at a loss—I really can’t keep this up.