My younger sister’s matchmaking has not been going smoothly, which is inevitably discouraging. I took her to the Matchmaker’s Temple to draw a fortune stick, which indicated that the fate is near, but the marriage is still far, and she needs to wait patiently. Frustrated, she pulled Xiao Huang off Yuan Xiang’s head and plucked a few of his hairs.
Not long after, it was the eighth day of the ninth month, my birthday. An Jin took me to Cui Lake, where mandarin ducks nestled together, and the green waves and willows intoxicated the flowing light. I paddled a light boat, with An Jin sitting across from me. An Jin gazed at me deeply, seeming to want to say something but hesitating.
The small boat spun in the middle of the lake. As I paddled, I nervously glanced at An Jin’s face. “Do you have something to tell me?”
An Jin helplessly pointed at the oar in my hand: “A Yao, let me paddle. With the way you’re rowing, we’d take three months to reach the shore.”
I was speechless and had to return the wooden oar to him.
“A Yao,” An Jin paddled with both hands, a smile at the corner of his mouth. “Do you remember what you told me? We’ll have two children in the future, one son and one daughter.”
“Of course I remember.”
He pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke: “I want to leave for a while to do something. While I’m gone, our family might encounter some troubles.” He paused, seemingly seeking my opinion.
I stared at him and asked, “You will come back, right?”
He smiled brightly. “I will definitely come back. So you must take care of yourself and your family, no matter what happens. When I return, we’ll have two children and live happily ever after.”
I thought for a moment and said seriously, “Then you must come back soon. If you’re late, I’ll marry the young master from the Lin family across the street.”
An Jin’s face darkened, his previous gentle mood instantly vanishing.
“Then the sugar cake seller’s young master.”
“He’s a lecherous man, unreliable.” He frowned and unconsciously threw his hand.
I was stunned. “Zhuo Yi, you’ve thrown our oar.”
