Rose Lock - Chapter 35

Flower Manyi returned from the wharf, hailed a rickshaw. She hadn’t slept well last night and had been out again today, so her body was a little worn out. She leaned on one side with one hand and rubbed her temples.

Suddenly, the rickshaw braked sharply, and Flower Manyi almost fell off the carriage. Before she could see what happened, she heard the rickshaw puller cursing, “Where did this beggar come from? Get lost quickly! Don’t block my business!”

The beggar didn’t respond, just fell to the ground, terrified and scared. The rickshaw puller was impatient and kicked her, “Get away!”

Flower Manyi sat up again, only managing a quick glance at the beggar before the rickshaw puller grabbed the shaft and drove forward. Flower Manyi felt the beggar looked familiar and couldn’t help but turn back to look, but the distance grew, and she couldn’t see clearly. She only saw the beggar was disheveled and dirty, her clothes were ragged, but there were two bumps on her chest, making it easy to see she was a girl.

The rickshaw turned a corner and entered the bustling Zhengyuan Street. Steamed meat bun stalls were shouting their sales. Flower Manyi hesitated for a moment and told the puller to stop, “Master, just stop here.”

“Ah? But we haven’t reached Fenghai yet. The money…” The puller was a bit annoyed. Usually, if the journey was only halfway, the customer would only pay half the fare. He had just encountered a stingy man this morning who only paid half, which had infuriated him.

“Four copper coins, I won’t shortchange you.” Flower Manyi counted four copper coins from her handbag and gave them to the puller, whose face immediately lit up with joy.

Getting out of the rickshaw, Flower Manyi went to a bun shop and bought a few meat buns. Stepping down the stairs, she saw a stall selling candied hawthorns. After thinking for a moment, she bought a stick too.

Carrying the items, she walked back. If she remembered correctly, that girl was the one she had seen in the ruined temple back then. So much time had passed, and she wondered if the girl was still there. On second thought, she didn’t wish for the girl to still be staying in that ruined temple, as that kind of life was a lifelong disgrace for a young girl.

Turning into a small alley, Flower Manyi felt it was a bit eerie. It was approaching evening, and families were returning home to light fires and cook dinner.

She wondered if she should just go back. Just as she was about to turn, she saw half a shadow timidly poking out from the very end of the alley. She was startled, but upon closer inspection, she realized the figure was the beggar she had just seen.

The girl in front of her overlapped with the small figure she had seen in the ruined temple, who was violated by other beggars for a bun. Her heart inexplicably felt heavy. She also knew that the help she could offer this girl was very limited. Flower Manyi placed the things in her hand on the steps under the eaves and said gently, “There are a few meat buns inside, and a stick of candied hawthorns. Sister is giving them to you.”

As expected, the person not far away stirred but remained cautious. Flower Manyi was not in a hurry. She opened her handbag, took out all the small change, and placed it next to the buns. She glanced at the skinny, dull-eyed figure and turned to leave the alley.

Soon after Flower Manyi left, the small figure came out of the alley, quickly grabbed a meat bun, and started eating…

…

It was seven or eight o’clock in the evening when she returned to Fenghai. Flower Manyi entered through the main gate and coincidentally ran into Fang Yu, who was dressed glamorously. “Sister Fang, did Mother Gong return to Fenghai today?”

Fang Yu looked at Flower Manyi with complex eyes. This child somehow angered Mother Gong. This afternoon, she had accompanied Mother Gong in drinking three or four bottles of wine until the other woman was drunk and tired before she was let go.

Fortunately, her tolerance for alcohol had improved over the years, or she would have been drunk by Mother Gong.

“Mother Gong is in her room. She had some wine,” Fang Yu weighed her words carefully. “She might be drunk. Do you need something from her?”

“Here, Sister Fang, this is for you. This sachet was collected from a very distant place by Ian’s uncle. It has the effect of calming the nerves and settling the mind. Just hang it by your bed at night. You like osmanthus scent, and this one is just right.”

Fang Yu took it and examined the pattern. A cluster of white osmanthus flowers was intricately embroidered. She touched it with her fingers. The embroidery was really good. Such a piece of craftsmanship in Haicheng would cost almost a silver dollar.

“Manyi, you child, why spend this money.” Fang Yu said, but her heart was blooming with joy.

“It’s free. Ian said to give them to me, so I took a few back.” Flower Manyi explained while rummaging through her bag. “There are still quite a few. I’ll go deliver them to Xiaoxiao and the others.”

“Hey, that’s thoughtful of you. Well then, Manyi, I’ll go get busy.”

“Okay.”

Flower Manyi gave the remaining sachets to Xiaoxiao and Li Zhen. After giving them out, she still had one with a rose scent in her hand. Flower Manyi squeezed it, took a sniff, and arrived at Mother Gong’s door, feeling a bit hesitant.

— Flower Manyi, you are being delusional.

The woman’s contemptuous words from only a week ago still echoed in her ears, reminding her that she was just a small dancer, not qualified to yearn for love. Yet, she couldn’t help but masochistically want to stay here, to accompany her with such a twisted affection, thinking that when the woman got married someday, she would slowly put away that excessive emotion.

Sometimes she would lie awake, sad in the middle of the night, thinking that this woman was good to Jiang Yin in addition to being good to herself, and was even better to Jiang Yin than to herself. She didn’t dare to guess their relationship; at least, until the woman admitted it herself, she could still deceive herself.

Knock, knock, knock

She finally knocked on the door. Flower Manyi lowered her gaze and waited for a few seconds before hearing an emotionless “Come in” from inside. She pushed the door open and entered.

Clutching the sachet, she reasoned that she was just delivering a sachet, which had no special meaning, and Mother Gong should not be able to tell.

“Mother Gong, Ian gave me a few sachets, saying they have the effect of calming and nourishing the mind. Sister Fang and Xiaoxiao all took one. This is yours.”

Flower Manyi walked to the sofa and held out the sachet. Mother Gong was sitting there, leaning slightly against the leather sofa, eyes closed in concentration.

After a long silence and seeing no response, Flower Manyi bit her lower lip, tightened her grip on the sachet, and walked to the side, “Then I’ll put it on the table.”

Placing the sachet on the table, Flower Manyi felt an indescribable sense of loss. She turned to leave, but at the door, she suddenly remembered what Sister Fang had said: that Mother Gong might be drunk. Her mind shifted slightly. She turned back, picked up a long shawl for warmth from the side, and walked back to the sofa, carefully covering the woman with it.

“Why are you back?”

Suddenly, a voice laced with heavy sarcasm sounded before her, making Flower Manyi’s hand tremble.

“Why didn’t you elope with your Ian?”

“Mother Gong?” Flower Manyi looked up at her. She expected to see a sneering, indifferent face, but the person in front of her still had her eyes closed, as if the two sentences were her pure imagination. “Mother Gong, are you drunk?”

As if to confirm her words, a scent of alcohol wafted into her nostrils. Flower Manyi had to believe what Fang Yu said. She covered the woman with the shawl, bent down, and with a somewhat complicated gaze, traced Mother Gong’s features. She slowly parted her lips, “I didn’t elope with Ian, and I don’t want to elope with her.”

The woman on the sofa made no sound, her breathing steady and even, as if she were asleep.

Flower Manyi felt a little frustrated, but she couldn’t bear to see her sitting on the sofa all night. “Mother Gong, let me help you to the bed. It’s more comfortable to sleep there.”

With that, she put her hands under the woman’s armpits, preparing to lift her up. Perhaps because of the improper posture, she didn’t manage to lift her up; instead, she was tripped by Mother Gong’s legs and fell into her embrace.

“I, I’m sorry…”

Flower Manyi was flustered and quickly apologized, struggling to get up, but the next moment she froze. Her waist was encircled by a pair of arms, and a head was buried in her chest.

The white hollowed-out shawl draped over her shoulder tilted slightly, and the tassels swayed.

“Mother Gong?”

She called out a few times, but there was still no response. Flower Manyi thought of the possibility, her hands trembling, and her chest felt hot, especially when her skin felt the warm breath Mother Gong exhaled. For a moment, she wanted to drown herself in her.

Her hands unconsciously tightened, loosely embracing the head resting on her chest.

Flower Manyi couldn’t help but recall the party last week. That night, this woman covered her eyes and ordered her to stick out her tongue. Her heart was beating incredibly fast then, thinking the woman was going to kiss her, but all she got was her tongue ruthlessly bitten until it broke, causing her pain for a whole week.

She clearly knew that this woman and herself were impossible, but there were always moments when she was confused and fell into the other’s eyes, just like now. This woman was holding her, in such an intimate posture, making her harbor a few wavering delusions.

After all, she was mindful of their difference in status. If she did anything outrageous tonight, tomorrow would probably be the day she, Flower Manyi, was kicked out of Fenghai. She should know what was more important, no matter how young she was.

She pushed the woman away, exerted a great deal of effort to help her onto the bed, covered her with a quilt, and then went to hang the sachet from the table at the head of the bed. Only then did she open the door, ready to leave.

Ding-a-ling

The telephone on the desk rang without warning. Flower Manyi was startled, quickly went over, picked up the receiver, and whispered, “Hello?”

“Is that Ah Yan?” Jiang Yin’s weak, willow-like voice sounded from the other end, soft, light as fine snow, instantly creating a good impression.

Flower Manyi gripped the receiver tightly. “I’m Flower Manyi.”

“Oh, it’s Manyi,” Jiang Yin didn’t react much to the different person answering. “Is Ah Yan busy?”

Flower Manyi hesitated for a long time before finally gathering the courage to say this extremely ambiguous and suggestive sentence, “She… is drunk.”

Jiang Yin seemed to have something to say, but ultimately didn’t say it, only giving two instructions, “Then… I won’t disturb her. Manyi, please take good care of her for me. Ah Yan speaks nonsense when she’s drunk, don’t take it to heart.”

“Okay.”

Flower Manyi hung up the phone, looked back at the woman sleeping soundly on the bed, lowered her gaze, and adjusted the white shawl on her shoulder. Her fingertip brushed over the lipstick mark that had rubbed onto her chest, mercilessly wiping it clean. She then turned and walked out.

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