Wanting to appear composed, I turned to face a nearby stall, focusing intently on the steamer. The stall owner finally spoke, “Madam, these are fresh meat buns. Would you like some?”
I waved him off. “No, I don’t like buns.”
Just then, An Jin called, “A Yao. You never eat buns?”
The stall owners, recognizing An Jin, became terrified. The husband apologized profusely.
An Jin gave me an ambiguous smile. I felt helpless.
An Jin cleared his throat. “Never mind. Boss, give us twenty buns.”
An Jin’s mood seemed unusually good. He bought twenty large meat buns and then distributed them to the small beggars squatting on the street. The beggars ran wildly around the street in joy.
I was puzzled by his kindness and tried to probe indirectly if he was about to be promoted, but he just smiled and remained silent. Finally, when I pestered him too much, he helplessly knocked me on the head and sighed, “Silly A Yao.”
Recently, he liked to call me silly, and every time he said so, my heart would become like a piece of dough in a pot – soft and pliable. This wasn’t good, not good at all.
The morning market on East Street was called the “Dim Sum Market.” After eating two spring pancakes and a bowl of soybean milk, I still felt unsatisfied and set my eyes on the locust leaf cold dish not far away. The shop was bustling with business, with a long queue already formed. An Jin was worn down by my persistence and had to queue up in his purple official robe, which stood out among the gray clothes and cloth skirts. The shop owner personally came out to invite him in, but he waved his hand, saying his wife had instructed him not to abuse his power.
I watched from nearby, laughing uncontrollably. I secretly plotted how to systematically cut off all the various romantic entanglements around him after we made up, feeling confident and spirited.
Just then, I inadvertently spotted a familiar person.
This familiar person was accompanied by a beautiful woman, who was holding a two-year-old girl in a red coat.
The family of three sat by the roadside eating wontons.
