One Life, One Incarnation, Beautiful Bones

38

Chapter 12.2 - To Have Ever Been Free From Worry? (2)

The seventh month of the lunar calendar was Ghost Month[1].

Because of the specialness of this month, the Zhou family had a nighttime curfew restricting people from entering and leaving the premises, so it was not appropriate for Zhousheng Chen to travel back and forth between Zhenjiang and Shanghai during the late night hours. Shi Yi, therefore, requested a month of vacation time and went to stay at the old manor house in Zhenjiang. Mei Lin's approval came not without sighing, as she teased Shi Yi that she might as well simply go and live the life of a rich, young mistress of the household and not bother staying in Shanghai anymore. After all, the big city with its glitzy glamour, revelry, and people bedecked in extravagance was not suitable for her young scientist.

She laughed, not saying anything in response.

Although the last several weekends, she had gone back with him, eating and staying together, she still had the sense that her existence there was like air.

Perhaps their family truly placed much value on recognized statuses. Even Xiao Ren, who had a very good relationship with her, would only politely address her as "Miss Shi Yi" in the presence of other people. The only fortunate piece was, his mother had been out of the country during this period.

The mobile reception there was poor, so she could only go online at night or use the landline telephone to call her family and friends.

During the day, when she grew tired from reading or writing and Zhousheng Chen was not present, she would simply sit and stare blankly outside.

The books on the table were all very hard to come by.

They were all out of print books that were stored in the library tower's collection, most written in traditional Chinese characters in vertical columns from top to bottom[2], and some were even handwritten copies. She felt a slight aversion toward the library tower, so he would accompany her to select some books to bring back, and when she was finished, they would then go exchange them for others.

Roughly ten days later, some young people arrived at the manor, and then the atmosphere became somewhat more amiable.

That afternoon, Zhou Wenxing and Mei Xing were to to arrive together. At the time, Zhousheng Chen and Shi Yi were strolling leisurely down the stone steps of the mountain. Thick layers of green leaves blocked out a large portion of the sun's rays, and there was water nearby and a breeze so it did not feel hot.

When she grew tired from walking, she would sit down.

There were very small fish inside the brook. Not many, but there happened to be a group gathered there at the bend in the stream.

Above the surface of the water, several dragonflies hovered back and forth.

She watched them, allowing her mind to empty as she sat on a large stone, viewing this as a time to rest. Zhousheng Chen was standing beside her, and after a brief moment of silence, he glanced at his watch. "Wenxing and Mei Xing should be here."

When he said "should be here," that meant they would definitely be making an appearance within two minutes.

People who had an acute sense of time and punctuality would naturally restrain others around them to this standard as well, including her, who had developed a habit of being punctual now.

Sure enough, they very soon saw a black sedan making its way up the winding mountain road, and before long, it came to a stop on the side of the road not far from them. The vehicle door opened and Mei Xing stepped out first from within, followed by Wenxing. The two of them passed under the towering trees and halted their steps on the other side of the brook. Tilting her head to the side, Wenxing called out with a giggle, "Eldest Sister-in-Law."