Luzhou Moon - Chapter 47
"There's nothing to say." He lowered his eyes, using simple words to extinguish her hopes.
Yue Ruzheng lowered her head in disappointment. Tang Yanchu was silent for a while before saying, "I don't want to mention him at all. Let's not talk about him anymore."
"Won't you run into him when you go back to Seven Star Island?" Yue Ruzheng thought for a moment, then mustered her courage and said, "I'll go back with you, okay?"
Tang Yanchu was stunned. He stared at Yue Ruzheng, his earnest and clear gaze making her heart pound. She instinctively stood up, took a few steps, and said, "Not only him, you'll also encounter Lian Junxin..."
"Are you afraid she'll laugh at me?" Tang Yanchu stood up and walked over to her, saying, "Ruzheng, you don't need to worry. I'll just ignore her at most..."
Yue Ruzheng cautiously looked up at him and whispered, "Then you won't let me go back to Seven Star Island with you?"
Tang Yanchu lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said, "If you don't mind running into her and Lian Haichao..."
"I don't mind," Yue Ruzheng replied quickly before he could finish speaking.
He looked at her with some surprise, but Yue Ruzheng tried to calm herself down and smiled slightly at him.
Tang Yanchu's eyes, which had been filled with melancholy, slowly warmed. He took a step forward, leaned his shoulder against Yue Ruzheng, and said softly, "I know you're worried about me going back alone... Ruzheng, thank you."
That night, Yue Ruzheng lay alone in bed, gazing at the ink plum blossom painting on the wall by the flickering candlelight. She had so much to say, yet she couldn't express it. Her fingertips touched the pristine Xuan paper; a slight coolness seeped into her heart, lingering there.
Chapter Thirty-Three: A Heart Full of Sorrow and a Hundred Kinds of Feelings
A few days later, Tang Yanchu was about to go down the mountain to sell herbs. Yue Ruzheng noticed the heavy bamboo basket on his back and, not wanting him to carry it alone, wanted to accompany him. However, he refused and walked out of the courtyard alone. Yue Ruzheng was taken aback, then chased after him, saying, "Little Tang, why won't you let me go down the mountain with you?"
He lowered his eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "I don't want others to point fingers at you."
Yue Ruzheng pursed her lips and said, "It's okay." She hugged him gently again, "Does that mean you'll never go out with me again?"
A faint sadness still lingered on his handsome face. Tang Yanchu had rarely shown such an expression in recent times. Yue Ruzheng had thought he had let go of the past, but now she realized that the melancholy in Tang's heart was hard to dispel...
Despite her insistence, Tang Yanchu led her down the mountain.
Yue Ruzheng followed beside Tang Yanchu. Although the mountain path was rugged, birdsong and babbling brooks filled the air. She herself carried heavy burdens, but to hide them from Tang Yanchu and to ease his gloom, Yue Ruzheng deliberately sought out topics to talk about. A blooming flower, a passing breeze, a falling leaf—she could discuss anything with Tang Yanchu, even the most distant things. At first, Tang Yanchu remained silent, but gradually he began to respond with a few words, though his eyes still held a hint of sadness.
It was nearly noon when they arrived in the town. The streets were bustling with people. But as soon as Tang Yanchu entered the town, he reverted to his old ways. He simply walked with his head down, staring at the ground, saying nothing, and ignoring Yue Ruzheng.
Yue Ruzheng's heart sank again. She knew that even though Xiao Tang had lived here for ten years and the townspeople were no longer so curious about him, he still didn't want to face others. She put away her smile and silently followed behind him, watching him enter the pharmacy. Because of her previous argument with the shop assistant, she didn't go inside, but just stood at the door waiting for him.
Two people were dispensing medicine in the pharmacy, and the clerk was attending to customers. Tang Yanchu stood quietly to the side, waiting. An elderly man who had just finished buying his medicine glanced at him but didn't seem surprised, presumably having seen him before. A young man who came after him turned around and saw Tang Yanchu seemed startled. As he walked past him, he instinctively stepped aside, keeping a distance, and even glanced back a few times as he reached the door. Tang Yanchu simply stood silently, not looking at him, as if he were already used to it.
At this moment, the shop assistant walked over and greeted Tang Yanchu. Tang Yanchu turned around and asked the shop assistant to take down the bamboo basket from his back. They weighed the herbs together. The shop assistant spoke to Tang Yanchu in the Pingyang dialect, and Tang Yanchu responded in the same dialect. When Tang Yanchu was with Yue Ruzheng, although his speech had a southern accent, Yue Ruzheng could still understand him. But now, she could only stand blankly at the door, feeling lost and bewildered.
After collecting the herbs, the shopkeeper put the money in Tang Yanchu's pocket. He noticed Yue Ruzheng at the door, paused for a moment, and then looked at Tang Yanchu as if asking something. Tang Yanchu replied awkwardly. The shopkeeper suddenly laughed, nudged him in the chest with his elbow, and shouted something. Tang Yanchu forced a smile and then went outside.
Yue Ruzheng was confused and asked Tang Yanchu what the shop assistant had said earlier. Tang Yanchu simply replied, "Nothing, it has nothing to do with you. He was just telling me the price of the herbs."
Yue Ruzheng felt that he was not telling the truth, and was displeased. She said, "I'm tired from walking and want to rest for a while."
Tang Yanchu was slightly taken aback, raised her eyebrows, and said, "Then you wait here for me, I'll go buy some rice."
Yue Ruzheng had expected him to comfort her, but instead he simply walked away. She stood dejectedly on the street, staring blankly at the passersby. Diagonally opposite the pharmacy was the shop where Yue Ruzheng had bought her pastries. It was already noon, and the enticing aroma of freshly baked pastries wafted from the shop's entrance, drawing passersby to stop and admire them.
Yue Ruzheng felt a pang of guilt thinking about the pastries she had intended to give to Tang Yanchu, which had all been soaked and ruined by the rain, and how she had forced Tang Yanchu to eat them. She stood up and walked toward the shop. Just then, she saw Tang Yanchu walking toward her from the street corner.
Yue Ruzheng beckoned to him and said, "Xiao Tang, come here."
Tang Yanchu walked closer, looked at the shop, and asked, "Do you want to eat there?"
Yue Ruzheng said with a smile, "The one I gave you last time was bought here, but it got soaked and spoiled; you couldn't taste any flavor at all. It won't be like that this time."
A hint of disappointment flashed across Tang Yanchu's eyes. He took a step back and whispered, "Ruzheng, this is the best shop in town, and it's very expensive. I've already bought rice, and I don't have enough money."
Yue Ruzheng paused for a moment, then said nonchalantly, "It's alright, I have money with me, I'll treat you to more!" With that, she took out some loose silver and ordered all the pastries she wanted, asking the shopkeeper to wrap them up. But as soon as she turned around, she saw Tang Yanchu already carrying a bamboo basket and walking away alone.
Yue Ruzheng couldn't understand why he had suddenly become so incomprehensible. Carrying the pastries, she quickly caught up with him, anxiously saying, "What are you doing? Can't I treat you to some?"
Tang Yanchu simply kept her head down and walked quickly without saying a word.
"Tang Yanchu!" She paused, then grabbed his sleeve.
She used to do this often, sometimes when she was angry, sometimes when she was playfully fighting, and sometimes when she was being affectionate, and he never reacted. But this time, he suddenly turned around abruptly, his face pale, and with a forceful tug, pulled his sleeve back from her grasp. Then, he quickened his pace and ran away without looking back.
Yue Ruzheng stood frozen in the street, stared at by passersby. She felt ashamed and furious. She didn't chase after Tang Yanchu, but walked aimlessly along the street. When she got tired, she found a shady spot under a tree and ate some pastries in silence.
These pastries, which should have been delicious, now tasted unpalatable.
Yue Ruzheng sat in the shade of the tree for a long time before reluctantly walking back. All the way there, she thought about what expression she should make and what she should say when she saw Tang Yanchu, so as to express her displeasure without truly angering him. Unexpectedly, when she pushed open the bamboo fence, the courtyard was empty, and the house was equally quiet.
Tang Yanchu didn't come back either.
Yue Ruzheng sat in the courtyard, somewhat dejected, looking at the unfinished pastries she was carrying. After waiting for a while, he still hadn't returned. She went inside, put the pastries on the table, and listlessly went back to her room to lie down.
As darkness fell, her initial sadness and grievance turned into unease and then into fear. Just as she was about to get up and go out to look for him, she heard footsteps. She secretly sat up and glanced out the window, only to see Tang Yanchu's back. She breathed a sigh of relief and then lay back down on the bed.
But she waited for a long time, and Tang Yanchu did not come into the room. Frustrated, she sat up again and slowly walked to the window.
As dusk fell, Tang Yanchu sat in a corner of the courtyard. A pile of bamboo strips lay on the ground in front of him; it was unclear where he had gotten them. He sat there, several smooth bamboo strips pressed under his feet, his toes moving up and down, weaving the strips together in a crisscross pattern. After finishing a few strips, he picked up another and, following the same method, gradually accumulated more and more.
Yue Ruzheng had never seen him do this before, and watched him silently. He was turned to her side, so he should be able to see her. But he never looked up; he just pursed his lower lip, lowered his eyes, and continued weaving bamboo strips.
Yue Ruzheng looked at his slightly trembling sleeves, and thinking of the scene in the market at noon, she walked out of the room somewhat dejectedly. Holding some pastries, she walked up to him and said, "Tang Yanchu, have you had dinner?"
Without looking up, he continued working, and said in a muffled voice, "I've already eaten."
"What did you eat?" she pressed, unwilling to give up.
He paused in his tracks, then said, "Since I've already eaten, you don't need to save any for me."