Rose Lock - Chapter 14

Waiting for a response for a long time, Hua Manyi couldn’t help but raise her head. But as soon as she looked up, she saw the woman in front of the bed staring fixedly at her. The bandage on her foot was already tied, and Mother Gong was sitting on a chair, crossing her legs, with milky-white smoke curling upwards from the end of her cigarette.

Her gaze lowered slightly, containing a hint of sharpness within its laziness.

It was as if she had asked a question she shouldn’t have asked.

Gong Yan frowned, her voice indifferent, “Hua Manyi, don’t ask such a stupid question.”

Hua Manyi was stung by the words, like a deflated ball, no longer having the courage to ask another question. She knew asking that question was tantamount to prying into the woman’s privacy, but she still couldn’t help holding onto a sliver of hope, fantasizing that she might be special.

But from the outcome, it seemed that Hua Manyi thought too highly of herself.

“…Understood,” she replied sulkily, turning her head away. “Then do I not need to report to you where Hua Manyi goes from now on?”

“Are you dissatisfied with what I said?”

“How could I dare.”

As soon as the words fell, her chin was seized. Hua Manyi felt a force pulling her face back. The hand was not rough, but rather slender, with not much flesh, skinny and bony, yet surprisingly strong, like a witch prowling at night in the West.

“Hua Manyi, listen, you sold yourself to me, you are my Gong Yan’s person. I tell you to go west, you absolutely must not go east. This is the second time I’ve said this. If there’s a third time, don’t blame me, Gong Yan, for being impolite. Where you go, leaving Fenghai, and who you see, you must report everything to me.

Yes, you can earn money for me now, but I, Gong Yan, brought you out not just for a day or two of business. I hope you understand that the unattainable is always the best. Don’t let me find out one day that this body of yours has been spoiled by someone. When that happens, you should pack your bags and leave without me needing to tell you!”

The sharp words echoed in her ears, and Hua Manyi was unable to calm down for a long time, until the person by the bed was replaced by someone else applying medicine to her ankle. The cold medicinal wine smeared on it pulled her consciousness back.

A few more people had entered the room at some point. Sister Fang and Xiaoxiao came over to offer condolences.

“Do you feel any pain in the bone?” Dr. Ma checked her swollen ankle.

Hua Manyi shook her head listlessly.

Dr. Ma was a young Western doctor, wearing a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck. He stood up and wrote a few medicinal names in a notebook, saying to Gong Yan, who was standing beside him, “Then it should only be a soft tissue injury, the bone is not cracked. Apply these medicines daily, and it should heal in about half a month.”

Gong Yan took the prescription and nodded. “Xiaoxiao, please see Dr. Ma out for me.”

Xiaoxiao agreed.

“Manyi, are you alright?” Fang Yu sat next to her and tucked her in. Sometimes, things like falling and spraining an ankle in the middle of the night just happen. Every room was soundproof, so she couldn’t call for help. If she had caught a chill it would have been fine, but lying on the floor all night, the cold would have been the least of her worries; the fear was losing her body temperature entirely.

Hua Manyi’s gaze passed over Fang Yu’s arm, landing on the woman who was reading the prescription not far away. Fearing being discovered, she quickly retracted her gaze. “I’m fine, Sister Fang, I just sprained my ankle.”

“Don’t try to reassure me, Manyi. Mother Gong told me everything—you had to brace yourself to get up, call someone, and open the door.” Sister Fang touched her cold hand, her eyes full of even more concern. “Sigh, why are your hands so cold?”

Hua Manyi was a little listless. “I’m naturally cold.”

“I’ll have someone make you some pork bone soup tomorrow morning to nourish your body.”

“Thank you, Sister Fang.”

After Fang Yu left, only she remained in the room. Mother Gong must have gone back too. Hua Manyi, preoccupied, drifted into a light sleep for a while.

It wasn’t long before dawn. Mother Gong spread the word that she had sprained her ankle and wouldn’t be able to perform on stage for half a month. Soon, in just one afternoon, she received all sorts of letters. The letters were nothing more than inquiries, telling her to rest well, along with compliments and expressions of admiration.

Among the hundred or so letters, she was drawn to a very unique one. This letter was special because the envelope was rare. When she was 15, she was obsessed with collecting envelopes. Others laughed, saying that collecting envelopes was not as good as collecting stamps, which at least appreciate in value.

But at that time, she was not very interested in stamps. She collected envelopes from all sizes of shops and foreign firms in Haicheng, big and small, round and square, all kinds.

Those envelopes, stained with a faint scent of ink, how pleasant they smelled.

Although this hobby didn’t improve her grades much.

Memories flooded back, her gaze falling upon the envelope in front of her. The design on it was a Western building outlined with a simple pen, with distinct edges and iron walls. Most importantly, the letter inside was written in a foreign language!

The beautiful and elegant foreign script, neat and clean, she could even imagine how a pen, with rich ink, would slowly and deliberately glide across the paper, writing down one pleasing word after another.

And without a single spelling mistake.

Hua Manyi’s impression of this letter greatly improved, but… she couldn’t quite understand what was written on it.

I hate it! jpg.

Hua Manyi lay in bed, unable to go anywhere, staring at the letter until she almost drilled a hole in it. Finally, due to her poor foreign language knowledge, she reluctantly set the letter aside, picked up the comic book Xiaoxiao had bought for her, and munched on sunflower seeds, reading with great interest.

The next day, Xiaoxiao brought her dozens more envelopes in a box. Judging by the quantity, it was significantly less. It seemed the perseverance of these men was only so-so; not many could stick with it.

“Xiaoxiao, just put them there. I’ll read them after I finish the comic book. Thank you for your hard work.” Hua Manyi picked up a bunch of grapes, biting into one with her red lips. It was sweet and refreshing.

“Alright, then I’ll head out, Sister Manyi.”

Hua Manyi waved her hand and continued reading the comic book. Perhaps she moved too much, and the comic book plop fell off the bed. Hua Manyi had no choice but to lean out to pick it up, coincidentally bumping into the iron box full of envelopes on the bedside table. With a clang, dozens of letters spilled onto the carpet.

“…” The heavens must be looking down on her.

Hua Manyi was about to call Xiaoxiao to come in and clean up, but the next second, a letter came into view. It still had the same style of architecture, but the setting had changed, looking like a church for worship, with a few simple line drawings of people’s side profiles next to it. The little figure was wearing a round, wide-brimmed hat with a bow on it.

She thought she used to have a similar one when she was still at home. The wind blew the figure’s skirt, the slender waist sketched out with just a few strokes, lifelike.

This letter was from the same person as the previous one.

Hua Manyi picked it up from the bedside, then took out the previous letter from the bedside table drawer. Comparing the two, the handwriting was indeed the same, elegant foreign script, and the same signature.

However, this time, the letter had a fragrant kiss on the signature line.

By her judgment, this letter was written by a lady, and a cultured, well-educated, beautiful foreign lady at that.

But, she still couldn’t understand the foreign script on it.

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