Chapter 15 He Must Have Forgotten Me
Half a year after arriving in Qingzhou, I heard that Lin Xi had passed the jinshi examination.
Instinctively I felt happy for him.
Then the sadness I couldn’t hide rushed in.
So much time had passed. He must have forgotten me by now.
“That man has definitely forgotten you.”
Chen Hu sat with his legs propped up, sourly adding fuel. “No word for so long. Who knows—he might already have a new sweetheart.”
Chen Hu was a yamen runner in the county town. Once, while on duty, he passed my tea stall. Thinking officials worked hard for our safety, I gave him a pot of tea.
Unexpectedly, he started coming regularly.
Every few days he would sit at the stall all day long.
I watched the way his eyes lingered.
One evening when I was closing up late, a thug from the outskirts tried to take advantage of me.
His filthy hand had already touched my face when Chen Hu appeared out of nowhere and drove him off.
After owing him such a favor, I couldn’t keep chasing him away.
So I told him plainly, “I have someone in my heart. I’m waiting for him.”
He replied, “Someone in your heart is not the same as someone in your bed. I can wait.”
We stayed in that stalemate for over a month.
Until the day I heard Lin Xi had become a jinshi.
Seeing my dejected expression, he asked, “This Eldest Young Master—is he the one you mentioned before, your sweetheart?”
I didn’t want to talk about Lin Xi. I turned away and pretended to be busy.
But he continued, “Since the Eldest Young Master passed the exam, his engagement to Miss Gao should be moving forward soon, right?”
My hand loosened. The teacup nearly fell.
Chen Hu caught it swiftly.
“A fickle man like that isn’t worth keeping.”