Chapter 281: No Meat, No Bones
The village occasionally echoed with a few barks of dogs, as if the New Year spirit lingered still. However, there were already quite a few people in the fields and at the ends of the farmland.
Qin Xiangnuan and Qin Xiangyang had been on a train all day. First, they returned to the Siheyuan to rest. Qin Xiangyang was short on time; right after getting off the train, he had to report back to the military academy. The siblings each went their separate ways. Though there was a sense of farewell, it was fortunate they were not far apart. So, there wasn’t too much heartache.
Instead, this proximity only intensified the sorrow of separation.
She took out her keys, unlocked the door – no barks from Conghua, no laughter of children. Everything was as silent as when she first arrived, eerily quiet.
As soon as her foot entered the courtyard, several sparrows were startled into flight. The courtyard wasn’t very dirty - clearly, it had been swept not long ago. There wasn’t much dust on the outdoor table either, obviously wiped regularly. She walked over, ran her finger across the table’s surface, and as expected, there wasn’t a speck of dust.
The only one who could come here, the one who had the keys, was Jian Zhiqing.
She opened the door to her room. The bedding that she had rolled up when she left was still placed just as before. Although it had only been half a month, a fair amount of dust had accumulated, and it felt a bit damp—these needed washing.
She put down her bag, unrolled the bedding, stripped the duvet and sheets, replaced them with fresh ones, and completed a thorough cleaning inside and out. She soaked the removed linen in water; after finishing all these tasks, she felt so tired that her back and waist ached - it had been a long time since she last did such labor. Indeed, she had developed ailments of the affluent.
She had just gotten off the train and busied herself for most of the day, now so tired that all she wanted to do was sleep.
She pulled the quilt over her body. There was no odd smell as the bedding was newly changed, but the room felt a bit damp. If there was sun tomorrow, she would take the quilt out for a good sunbathing to fluff up the cotton inside.
She didn’t think much and fell asleep immediately, only waking up when it was almost dark.