The Female Rake and Her Blind Girl - Chapter 5

Huh? Caught in the act, was I? Su Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You’re not beautiful.”

The courage Lingmiao had just gathered vanished instantly. She made a move to retreat, but her wrist was caught. “Trying to run? You haven’t finished wiping the sweat yet. I’m working myself to the bone for you; surely wiping my brow isn’t too much to ask?”

Lingmiao was drowning in the sorrow of thinking Ayu found her unattractive. Devastated, she barely heard what was said next. A woman’s heart naturally seeks beauty, and “dressing for the one who pleases her” is a universal truth—it all proved how much appearance mattered. Had Ayu been staring at her all this time simply because she was ugly?

Seeing her take a casual joke so seriously, Su Yu marveled at how gullible the girl was. It was a miracle from the Heavens she hadn’t been kidnapped on her way to Xiushui City. Su Yu’s eyes sparkled with light, her smile bright. “You really should wait for me to finish my sentence before you run off.”

“Oh?” Lingmiao heard her clearly this time. She lowered her vacant eyes. “Go on.”

Su Yu leaned close to her ear, admiring her reddening earlobe. “I said, if you’re ‘not beautiful,’ then no one in this world would dare claim to be.”

The clouds parted; the path was clear once more. Xue Lingmiao stood there, her eyes crinkling with joy.

Su Yu thought she had never seen anyone so simple-hearted—one moment sorrowful, the next jubilant, all because of a single person. She released her and said composedly, “Alright, now you can run. I won’t stop you.”

“I’m not running anymore.” Knowing Ayu was pleased with her looks, the blind girl spoke with newfound confidence. “This is my room; where would I go?”

She gripped the handkerchief and wiped Su Yu’s temple, trailing all the way down to the side of her neck.

Soft, warm fingertips brushed against her skin with a feather-light touch. The sensation sent a ticklish jolt through Su Yu, making her shudder.

“Are you cold, Ayu?”

Su Yu shot her an exasperated look. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I.” Bound by the rule of not lying, Xue Lingmiao looked aggrieved. “I was teasing you. Weren’t you teasing me just now?”

Incredible. She even knows how to get revenge. Knowing she was in the wrong, Su Yu irritably snatched her “Little Koi” back. “Fine, fine, that’s enough. I’ll wipe it myself. Go to sleep if you’re tired, or stay here and keep me company if you aren’t.”

“I’m not sleepy. I’ll stay here with you.” Having lost her handkerchief, the girl was remarkably magnanimous. “If you like it, Ayu, it’s yours.” After all, she was her fiancée; no gift was too much.

As the top profligate of Xiushui City, Su Yu had seen more treasures than most people had seen grains of rice, but gold can’t buy what the heart truly desires and she truly liked this little koi.

She had already planned to embroider a matching camisole after accidentally seeing the girl’s earlier, and now she had the perfect reference. Whether it was a camisole, a handkerchief, or a sweat cloth, she could just copy the pattern.

“Thanks.”

Xue Lingmiao’s voice lilted with excitement. “It’s a small thing. If you like it, I have many more. Do you want them?”

Su Yu didn’t have the heart to “exploit” a blind girl further. She shook her head. “One is enough.” As she spoke, she felt her face flush with shame. When did I fall to the level of needing a little girl to coax me? How embarrassing!

She huffed inwardly, tucked the koi handkerchief into her robe, and walked back to resume her work.

Xue Lingmiao sat in her chair with a faint smile. The awkwardness of their first meeting only made this moment feel sweeter. Someone was tirelessly working just to ensure she wouldn’t trip over a doorsill when she woke up. Because of that, even the noisy clatter sounded like music to her ears.

She understood Ayu’s impatience. She had known about her since she was three; her father had read every letter Uncle Su sent aloud to her. Having heard them so often, she had even memorized the interesting parts.

She had “known” Ayu for a long time, while for Ayu, this was only Day One.

Yet, on this first day, this “notorious profligate” was patiently removing doorsills for her. Whether it was out of pity or their engagement, Lingmiao was deeply moved.

“Go to sleep if you’re tired.”

“I’m not. I want to stay with you, Ayu.”

Since she insisted, Su Yu didn’t argue. Fifteen minutes later, the doorsill was sanded smooth and flat. Su Yu let out a yawn. “Alright, go to bed. I’m going to sleep, too.”

“Mm.” The girl timidly opened her arms. Su Yu was puzzled. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing.” The self-conscious girl turned to walk away with her cane. As the night breeze caught the corner of her linen robe, Su Yu’s mind suddenly clicked. “Do you want a hug?”

The girl’s silhouette paused. She gave a faint, bashful “mm,” adding weakly, “A reward.” Truthfully, she wasn’t sure if it counted as a reward either.

With sweat sticking to her back, Su Yu was desperate for a bath. “No need for a reward. Get some sleep; it’s late.”

She closed the door and strode away.

“Mm, you sleep well too,” the girl whispered to the empty air, immediately regretting her boldness. Was I being unladylike? Will Ayu think I’m frivolous?

With these chaotic thoughts, she drifted into a dream where she saw Su Yu’s face. The face was hidden behind a misty rain, indistinct, but she woke up smiling—because in the dream, Ayu had praised her as the rarest, best girl in the world.

Though she had slept late, she woke up early. She dressed, took her cane, and headed out just as the first light of dawn touched the horizon.

She felt her way along the wall to find Su Yu’s door. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door swung inward. She swayed, a small gasp escaping her throat as she fell into a soft embrace.

Having just woken up and rushed out, Su Yu was startled half-awake by the figure falling toward her. She caught the girl’s waist, her heart skipping a beat from the shock. “How are you? Are you okay?”

She had spent half the night sanding those doorsills just to keep this delicate girl from falling; if she ended up collapsing right at Su Yu’s own door, it would be a total embarrassment.

“I’m, I’m fine.” Being held by her, the worries Lingmiao had before bed vanished instantly.

Su Yu released her. “Why aren’t you in your room? Why did you run over here?”

“I wanted to see you. I dreamed of you.”

Su Yu: “?”

This girl follows my rules a little too well.

“Wait here, I’ll go get a little trinket.” She darted back inside and returned with a string of jade beads, leading her back to the guest room. “Play with these beads for a bit. I’m going to the North Market to watch the pitch-pot finals. Don’t go out if you don’t have to.”

After leaving those instructions, she hurried away, returning a short while later with a fresh assortment of soup dumplings and various hot soups.

She busied herself setting the table, her speech hurried. “I don’t know your tastes, so I just bought whatever. Remember what I said—don’t wander around. I’ve got to go; the match is starting. I’m off!”

The one whose heart was set on play and who hadn’t even spared time for breakfast dashed off in high spirits. Back in the guest room, the door stood open as Xue Lingmiao sat at the table, clutching a porcelain spoon and lost in a daze.

Realizing that Ayu had remembered to buy her breakfast, she forced an appetite and took a few bites of each dish before she was full. The wind blew long and lonely. She comforted herself with the thought that in this vast world, one cannot expect to lock even the closest person to their side unless, of course, one does not crave their love.

At the North Market, amidst a sea of people, Su Yu sat on the third floor of the Jiaoyue Pavilion watching the events below. She had a sharp, predatory eye for the game, acting as a bellwether for the crowd—those who didn’t understand the intricacies of pitch-pot knew that as long as they followed her bets, they wouldn’t go wrong.

The “Four Young Masters” of the border city loved hanging around her. Firstly, because Su Yu knew how to have a good time, and secondly, because playing with her meant earning a fortune.

Surrounded like a star amongst moons, Su Yu nonchalantly snacked on peanuts. “Bring another two thousand taels. Bet on the short one to win.”

“The short one?” the Four Masters asked in unison. “Can he really pull it off?”

“Why couldn’t he? If I say he can, he certainly will.”

On the strength of that sentence alone, the Four Masters doubled their planned stake at the last second, betting four thousand taels on the short contestant’s victory.

Jiaoyue Pavilion was the largest pleasure house in the border city, possessed of an elegant style and a multitude of ways to play, making it a favorite of wealthy scions. The annual pitch-pot competition didn’t just decide skill levels on the first floor; it decided winners and losers on the third.

On the third floor, one bet on vision and won on instinct. Every year, people lost their entire family fortunes here.

Su Yu was a notorious player, yet she never personally competed in formal matches. To put it simply, she was a mysterious, top-tier gambler.

A waiter called out the names of the bettors in a sing-song voice. Also on the third floor, a man dressed in a gold robe turned red with rage. “Damn it! All the silver I brought out this morning has been swallowed by her!”

His companion rolled his eyes privately. “Are we still playing, then?”

“Playing what? We’re leaving!”

“Su Yu, see that? You’ve chased another one off in a huff.” A dandy fanning himself with a folding chair chuckled. “There are always fools who refuse to lose, who won’t believe in your talent. Look at that—that’s the price of trying to challenge you at Jiaoyue Pavilion.”

“I’m just placing my bets. Who am I offending?” Su Yu leaned lazily against her bamboo chair, squinting at the scene below before looking away in disappointment. “Boring. This year’s pitch-pot has too few tricks. Not exciting enough.”

“Hey! Are you leaving? Don’t. Stay and lead us through a few more rounds?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Hungry is good! Why don’t we set a table right here? We can eat and play at the same time.”

Looking at the table full of fine wine and delicacies, Su Yu suddenly thought of the blind girl she had left at home.

The pitch-pot finals were nowhere near as brilliant as she had expected; she was destined to leave unsatisfied. Her attention began to drift, wondering if she should use today’s winnings to buy a whole new set of furniture.

The corners of the tables had to be sanded round. It would be best to cover the floors with thick fur rugs. And she’d need to hire a cook. Sigh, that girl is nothing but trouble.

“Su Yu, Su Yu! It’s time to bet!”

“Oh.” She glanced downstairs, recalled a detail she’d noticed earlier, and said, “Bet on the one in white.”

Back at the Su residence, Xue Lingmiao gripped her bamboo cane, hiding behind a tree and straining her ears to listen for any movement outside.

The front gate opened, and Su Yu stepped inside carrying a fish basket. Seeing no one in the courtyard, she mentally praised the girl for being so well-behaved. Remembering she wasn’t living alone anymore, she mimicked the booming voice of Old Lady Su calling for a child: “Lingmiao! I’m back!”

It’s Ayu!

The sun was just right. The young girl, eyes covered in white silk and wearing a white dress, poked her head out from behind the large tree. She used her cane to follow the sound toward Su Yu.

“Here, a reward for you.” Su Yu deliberately took the girl’s hand and placed it into the water-filled fish basket. Feeling a wet, slippery texture, Xue Lingmiao had no idea what it was, but because it was “Ayu’s reward,” she was too scared to move.

“Don’t be afraid. Feel it again.”

The girl steadied her trembling hand just before she was scared to tears. She felt the tail of a fish, blinked, and exclaimed in surprise, “It’s a little koi!!”