love on the turquoise land

Chapter 20

notes: i changed Bird Tea to her hanzi's name. Bird Tea sounds so... awkward lol

***

In the middle of the night, Que Cha felt the mattress beside her slightly bulge.

Jiang Baichuan had gotten up.

Que Cha remained still, feeling annoyed—she had quarreled with Jiang Baichuan before sleep, swearing not to give him a good mood for the next few days. But her ears couldn't help but perk up, catching every sound of Jiang Baichuan: he dragged a chair to the desk, turned on the computer, put on headphones, and the light and shadow in the room changed as he started watching videos.

Que Cha clenched her teeth in frustration, thinking how she, a beautiful woman in her prime, was by the side of an old man who didn't appreciate her. He had promised to accompany her for a fun time in Xi'an, but instead, he was absent-minded every day, only thinking about trivial matters.

What a dog of a man! Did he really think she couldn't find someone else? She wasn't tied down and had plenty of strong men around her. She could easily replace him with someone like Lao Dao, strong and enduring, or Shan Qiang, not as good-looking but young, or Xing Shen...

Thinking of Xing Shen, she suddenly lost focus.

***

Que Cha first saw Xing Shen at Ban Ya.

It was raining that day, and Hua Sao took her to the newly cleaned small building. She hadn't expected much from the village's accommodations, so she was pleasantly surprised after seeing it. After all, being in the village and still having clean windows was quite satisfactory.

She opened the window to see the rural scenery. The rain wasn't heavy. When it rained lightly near the mountain, it often became misty, making it difficult to see clearly.

Even Ban Ya, right under her nose, appeared hazy and indistinct.

A man passed by downstairs holding an umbrella. That was Xing Shen.

At first, Que Cha didn't pay much attention to him, just feeling that the scene was like a traditional Chinese ink painting, where the people and scenery complemented each other beautifully. Then Hua Sao approached and told her that was Xing Shen, such a remarkable figure, but unfortunately, he was blind.

Blind? Que Cha stared at Xing Shen.

A blind man, she thought, how does he move around without assistance? She hadn't seen him using a cane or guide dog, yet he walked with a grace and elegance better than most people, even exuding a sense of tranquility and detachment, as if he had walked out of a painting.

***

Que Cha grumpily turned over. Over the past few days, she had been complaining about the dilapidation and desolation of Ban Ya, saying it would make people sick, and she had argued with Jiang Baichuan for a long time until he finally took her back to the glamorous world as she wished. But now, she realized Ban Ya wasn't all bad. At least, she had seen Xing Shen there, hadn't she?

***

Jiang Baichuan was completely unaware of Bird Tea's thoughts. For the past few days, his mind had been completely occupied by the three people secretly held captive in Ban Ya. He opened a folder filled with numerous small videos, all of which he had requested: every interaction and conversation with these three individuals had to be recorded. He moved the mouse over videos labeled with different dates and names until he finally selected one.