Chapter 106: The Funerary Shop
Song Hemei leaned into his embrace, finding it amusing that he sounded like a child showing off his treasure.
"We're going to pay respects at the graves. Why make such a spectacle? No one knows us anyway. Even if they saw, what difference would it make?"
Yu Yeqing fell silent at that.
Either he found her unromantic, or he didn't know how to make her share in the joy this secret boasting gave him. He let out a soft sigh, tinged with a hint of dejection.
Song Hemei reached up, her hand covering his on the reins, and leaned her full weight against him in the saddle.
"But if you want, we can ride around a few more laps. Pass by places where people you know might see us."
A few loose strands of her hair brushed against Yu Yeqing's neck, drawing his gaze downward to the delicate, pale tip of her ear. Her words warmed his heart, and the heat surging in his chest spurred an impulse. He leaned in and kissed it gently.
Song Hemei stiffened, instinctively trying to pull away, but he already had her firmly encircled in his arms, leaving no room to escape. She shrugged, trying to dodge, and slapped him on the arm. "We're still outside! Don't fool around!"
"No one is watching us."
Whether deliberately or not, he whispered softly by her ear again: "And no one knows us anyway. Even if they saw, what difference would it make?"
Song Hemei choked on her words. Seeing that they were about to exit the alley and the streets were growing busier, she couldn't hit him again. Instead, she rubbed her ear and said, "I think you're getting more and more wicked."
Yu Yeqing laughed lowly, his chest vibrating against her. He pressed his jaw against the top of her head, unwilling to part from her even for a moment.
They rode all the way to the paper money shop. Song Hemei dismounted with him, but he wouldn't let her enter the shop, fearing it might bring her bad luck. He went in alone to buy the funeral offerings.
She stood by the door, looking inside. She had overlooked this—there really was someone here who knew him. The shopkeeper seemed surprised to see him and chatted and laughed while fetching the items. He mentioned something, then glanced at her standing outside and said something else to Yu Yeqing.
In a daze, she thought she caught words like "wife" and "congratulations." Yu Yeqing nodded in acknowledgment, and then looked over at her as well, his dark eyes brimming with tender affection.
Song Hemei had a vague feeling they were talking about the two of them.
So he had actually found someone to boast about this to. Too bad it was at a paper money shop.
She took a step back and looked up at the storefront. Under normal circumstances, she would never set foot in a place like this. Not only were her parents still alive, but even when preparing offerings for her grandparents, it was always done by the servants. The grooms would even take detours to avoid passing by shops like this—it was the kind of bad luck one was supposed to steer clear of.
But for Yu Yeqing, this was a familiar haunt.
"Orphaned" was such a simple word. She had even once thought that being orphaned was a good thing for a daughter-in-law—no need to serve in-laws, saving a lot of trouble. But now, looking at Yu Yeqing, she was reminded, for the first time in a long while, of the first time she had seen him when they were young.
He was young, thin, and frail. During the New Year holiday, he stood alone on the street, his fingers frozen stiff, waiting for someone—anyone—to ask a half-grown boy like him to write couplets... She didn't dare think about it. If she hadn't acted on a whim back then, could he and his little sister have made it through that winter?
From that age on, he had become a regular at the paper money shop, making offerings to his parents year after year. How much pain had he endured? How much more did he have to bear?
Perhaps this was the downside of caring about him—she could feel his pain and sorrow as if it were her own.
When Yu Yeqing came out, he saw her grim expression and immediately grew anxious. Holding the items, he kept his distance, asking carefully, "Did I keep you waiting too long?"
He glanced back inside, seeing the shopkeeper smiling at the two of them. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his grip on the items tightened. "You don't want me to tell him about us?"
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