SES Chapter 38 V2

The next morning, Mu Dai was woken by voices. For a second, she was confused—until she remembered she’d spent the night at Luo Ren’s place.

She opened the wardrobe. Luo Ren was gone. The air mattress was already packed away, and next to the wardrobe was a pair of her calfskin boots.

Not the pair she’d thrown away. Must’ve been brought from the bar that morning. She put them on, but somehow, she felt a pang of disappointment.

They’d spent the night in the same room, had mutual feelings… everything should’ve moved forward. So why did it suddenly feel like they were farther apart?

She walked downstairs, her boots clacking louder than usual.

Yi Wansan was there, sitting by the koi pond, helping Ping Ting braid thread bracelets.

How leisurely of him. Wasn’t the bar busy?

Mu Dai frowned and approached. Before she could say anything, Yi Wansan beat her to it. “Little boss lady, Luo Ren called and asked me to bring your boots.”

He added, “Uncle Zheng just went out grocery shopping. He asked me to keep Ping Ting company.”

Sound logic. She had no real reason to complain, so she just muttered an “Oh,” and glanced around. “Where’s Luo Ren?”

Yi Wansan shook his head. “Haven’t seen him.”

He was so focused on talking to Mu Dai that he completely neglected Ping Ting, who glared at Mu Dai in annoyance and tugged on his arm. “Little Knife Brother, hurry up!”

L-Little Knife Brother?

Mu Dai was stunned. “She calls you Little Knife Brother?”

Yi Wansan looked equally helpless. “Who knows? She just started calling me that a few days ago. Gave me a scare. But Uncle Zheng told me not to take it seriously. You know how it is… no reasoning with her.”

He lowered his voice at the end. Even knowing Ping Ting wouldn’t understand, he still tried not to hurt her feelings.

Why was he talking to that woman again?! Little Knife Brother was supposed to braid thread bracelets with her!

Ping Ting was furious. She tossed her string aside and stood up with a huff. The red ball of yarn on her knee rolled away, trailing a long red thread across the floor.

Mu Dai felt something stir inside her, but couldn’t quite name the emotion. As she reached the doorway, she turned to look back thoughtfully.

Yi Wansan was still trying to calm Ping Ting down, crouching to gather the yarn and wind it up again.

She didn’t see Luo Ren at all that day. Not even that night. More than once, she found herself glancing at the table he usually sat at.

Now occupied by a stocky man slurping coffee like a hippo—it was loud enough to hear across the room.

During a break, Mu Dai flipped through the customer comment book. Luo Ren’s handwriting was neat and strong.

—This server provided warm and attentive service. Highly commendable.

She wanted to laugh. But she couldn’t. All she felt was an aching melancholy.

What kind of man was Luo Ren? How did he have the patience to go along with her little games?

Uncle Zhang came over. “Luo Ren told me about what happened last night.”

Mu Dai responded with a quiet “Mm.”

“Were they… from her family?”

“Yeah.”

Uncle Zhang looked uneasy. “You… didn’t do anything, right?”

Mu Dai smiled bitterly, even to herself. “What could I possibly do, Uncle Zhang? I’m lucky they didn’t tear me apart. That’s enough for me.”

Uncle Zhang looked embarrassed. “What happened back then… that wasn’t your fault.”

Mu Dai’s laughter took on a sharp, frantic edge. “No, you’re wrong. You do think it was my fault. Auntie Hong thinks so too. Otherwise, why did we have to move away? Why was your first reaction, ‘You didn’t do anything, right?’ You’re afraid I’ll hit someone. You think I’m already guilty—and if I fought back, that’d make me even more guilty.”

She was worked up now, chest heaving. Uncle Zhang kept sighing awkwardly. Just then, Yi Wansan poked his head over, looking curious. “What are you guys talking about?”

Mu Dai’s nose stung. She untied her apron and tossed it on the bar. “I need some air.”

She needed air.

She’d needed it ever since that moment. Back in Xiaoshanghe, Luo Ren had once told her about the Five Ancient Punishments. One was called mo—tattooing a criminal mark across someone’s face, branding their sin in plain sight.

People say “what’s past is past,” but to her, the past never truly goes away.

Without realizing it, she’d walked to the alley behind Luo Ren’s apartment.

All the lights on the second floor were on. Ivy climbed halfway up the wall, wrapping around delicate carved wooden windows. She didn’t see Luo Ren, but Ping Ting passed by the window several times, back and forth, clearly busy with something.

Mu Dai suddenly remembered her irritated little voice: “Little Knife Brother.”

She couldn’t help but smile. She lingered a while longer, then turned to leave.

But just as she took her first step, her body jolted, and she whipped around in disbelief.

She finally understood what Ping Ting had been doing by the window.

She was stringing lines.

One… two… three red threads.