Chapter 31

When Xin Geling closed the stall and returned home, she saw Auntie Fengzhu and Ms. Lin chatting.

After tidying up the stall cart, she took her repair bag and prepared to go out. Lin Huailan called after her, “Where are you going this late?”

Xin Geling said, “I’m going to fix something for someone.”

Lin Huailan asked, “Who? They’re asking you to go over in the middle of the night? Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

Xin Geling said vaguely, “Someone Grandma Chen knows.”

Hearing this, Lin Huailan stopped questioning her. “Go early and come back early.”

Having received permission, Xin Geling immediately went downstairs to the hardware store to buy waterproof sealant. After buying it, she went straight to the apartment on Pingkou South Street.

She knocked on the door, and before long, it opened from inside.

“I came to patch up your sink.” Xin Geling looked at Xie Zhitang, who had changed into a nightdress.

“Come in.” Xie Zhitang’s gaze remained on her. After inviting her inside, she closed the door and followed behind Xin Geling.

Xin Geling headed straight to the kitchen and took out her tools. First, she cleaned the sink, wiped it dry, then squeezed waterproof sealant along the edges and waited for it to dry.

She crouched down and tightened the connection between the sink and the drainage pipe. Unexpectedly, Xie Zhitang also crouched down to watch her work.

Xin Geling glanced at her and was about to continue tightening it, but she had not expected that one look to let her see the bruise on Xie Zhitang’s knee. “How did you bruise this?”

Hearing this, Xie Zhitang followed her gaze to her own knee and only then realized that when she crouched down, her skirt had exposed her knee.

She quickly tugged at it. “It’s nothing.”

Seeing that she was unwilling to say more, Xin Geling did not keep asking. After Xie Zhitang watched her tighten the pipe and prepare to pack up and leave, she hesitated, then said, “I accidentally fell today.”

Xin Geling picked up her tool bag and asked her, “Why didn’t you apply medicine?”

Xie Zhitang said, “I was going to, but it hurt too much.”

Xin Geling walked through the living room. “Just endure it for a bit. The sink can only be used after half an hour. I’m getting ready to go back. Rest early.”

Seeing that Xin Geling was about to leave, the moment her hand touched the doorknob, Xie Zhitang could not help speaking to keep her. “Sister, can you help me apply the medicine?”

As soon as those words came out, Xie Zhitang regretted it. This really did not sound like something she would say.

And yet she had still said it. What would Sister think of her? She was already an adult and had worked for years, yet she had said something so childish.

Xie Zhitang could only bite the bullet and turn slightly away, avoiding eye contact. She kept her tone gentle and serious as she said, “Today, I saw a video. A girl fell down, and her older sister coaxed her and applied medicine for her.”

“I don’t have an older sister, so I’m very envious of others.”

After Xie Zhitang finished explaining, she watched Xin Geling’s expression slowly shift from surprise to understanding, and secretly let out a breath of relief.

“No wonder you keep calling me Sister.” Xin Geling thought of how, during Xie Zhitang’s first prison visit back then, she had called her Sister. So this was the reason.

Because she had saved her and treated her well, Xie Zhitang wanted to recognize her as an older sister.

Xie Zhitang nodded.

“All right then.” Xin Geling decided to satisfy this request. As an older sister, she had to coax her younger sister a little. She walked to the living room and put down her tool bag. “Where’s the medicinal wine?”

Xie Zhitang took it out from the cabinet and handed it to her. “Here.”

Xin Geling accepted the bottle of Yunnan Baiyao tincture. After opening the cap, she saw only a piece of blue sponge blocking the mouth of the bottle, and a strong medicinal smell drifted out. “How do I use this?”

Xie Zhitang said, “Aim it at Read on BaiLianTalesthe bruise and press down hard. Once you press down, the sponge will release the medicine.”

Xin Geling crouched in front of her, aimed the blue sponge of the bottle at the bruise, and pressed once. She could feel that there was a pump inside the sponge.

Whether because she had pressed too hard or because the bruise hurt too much, Xie Zhitang shrank slightly to the side.

Xin Geling held her calf. “If it hurts, say so. I’ll be gentler.”

Xie Zhitang braced both hands on the edge of the sofa and stared down at the woman before her from above.

Sister’s nose bridge somehow became alluring.

The fleeting image of a kiss flashed through her mind, and the sensation of a nose tip brushing her cheek seemed right before her eyes.

Xie Zhitang suppressed all these thoughts and said softly, “I’m probably just not used to it.”

Xin Geling did not know what she was thinking. She only gave an “mm” and continued pressing the bottle [stolen content]until the bruise was covered with a layer of brown medicinal liquid.

She let go, closed the cap of the Yunnan Baiyao tincture, set it on the table, and picked up her tool bag again.

“All done. I’m going back.”

“Thank you, Sister.” Xie Zhitang lowered the hem of her skirt and lifted her head to look at her. “Don’t forget your hat and jacket.”

Xin Geling said, “I almost forgot.”

Xie Zhitang smiled. “I’ll get them for you.”

Xin Geling accepted the hat and jacket Xie Zhitang handed over. Before leaving, she said, “Rest early.”

Xie Zhitang half-supported herself against the doorframe and watched her leave. “See you tomorrow.”

The next day, after Xin Geling and Xie Zhitang finished their morning run, Xin Geling Read on BaiLianTales went to the farmers’ market to buy stock.

She had just returned home and handed the things to Auntie Fengzhu when someone called her and asked whether she repaired appliances.

Xin Geling was curious how the other person had gotten her number, only for them to say it was from Chen Qing.

Grandma Chen—

Xin Geling felt helpless inside and could only say, “I can repair them.”

After briefly asking about the problem, Xin Geling took the corresponding tools and went to the person’s home to repair a washing machine.

Half an hour later, after finally finishing and coming back, Xin Geling received another call asking her to go to another home to fix a stove counter. They said one of the tiles on their stove counter had cracked, with a piece missing, and it looked very ugly.

So Xin Geling could only take a trowel and cement over and replace the tile on the stove counter with a brand-new one for the elderly person.

Over the course of the morning and afternoon, Xin Geling took five or six house calls for repairs.

Perhaps because she let the other party decide how much to pay, more and more people came looking for her.

Too much time was being wasted, so Xin Geling simply put up a sign for herself saying she repaired household appliances. Centered around Linzhang Street, she would service appliances within one to two kilometers. Any farther, and she would not go.

When someone called her to repair appliances, she would first inspect the issue and quote a price. Only if they agreed would she repair it. If they did not agree, she would leave.

Although this blocked some people who wanted to get her labor for free, there were still quite a few people who came to her, perhaps because her prices were lower than those of ordinary repairmen.

At four in the afternoon, she prepared to set up the stall. Someone still called her, but she could only say that she had something to do that night and could not go over.

Even so, the other person still did not give up and instead chose to make an appointment for her to come repair it tomorrow.

Seeing that the person was so persistent, Xin Geling could only agree to go over the next morning.

Not long after she set up the stall, Xie Zhitang came over again to help.

There were more people in front of the stall cart. Xin Geling bent down to take fresh skewers, and in a glance, she saw that Xie Zhitang was wearing a coffee-colored striped shirt today with coffee-colored trousers. A thin belt outlined her waist, and with different large earrings and lipstick, she looked extremely stylish and minimalist.

But what Xin Geling noticed more was that the button at her collar had once again not been buttoned, so she had no choice but to remind her to button it.

Xie Zhitang nodded and did as told.

After a while, as Xin Geling was turning the skewers, from the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed Xie Zhitang raise her hand. Perhaps the women’s watch on her fine, fair wrist had attracted Xin Geling’s attention in that instant, making her gaze linger for a few more seconds.

And it was precisely because of those extra few seconds that she personally saw Xie Zhitang undo the button from earlier.

Revealing a faintly visible shadow.

Xin Geling’s expression immediately darkened. Even without looking toward the front of the stall cart, she could sense those men’s gazes landing on Xie Zhitang.

Xie Zhitang was still completely unaware, holding the menu notebook and fanning her face for a bit of cool air as she asked, “What would you like?”

The male customer stared straight at her. “Give me three skewers of each item!”

Xie Zhitang held the pen and wrote on the menu. “Will three skewers be enough?”

When the male customer heard this, his pride stirred, and he immediately changed his words. “Then ten skewers of each!”

Only then was Xie Zhitang somewhat satisfied. “Can you finish that much?”

The male customer said, “Don’t worry. Of course I can finish it!”

Xie Zhitang skillfully tapped on the calculator. “Ten skewers of each item makes two hundred and fifty yuan. Scan the code.”

The male customer cheerfully took out his phone and scanned to pay. Only after Xie Zhitang heard the transfer notification did she give him a look that said he was straightforward enough.

Xie Zhitang asked another customer, “And you?”

The customer said, “I want five skewers…”

After Xie Zhitang recorded the orders from the first three customers, she tore the pages off and used smiling-face magnetic clips to stick them to the top of the stall cart.

This was a small trick she had just learned today. There were too many people and too many orders. Writing them all in one notebook made things easily confusing, and both of them needed to be able to see the orders.

So she had brought over some smiling-face magnets from the office and stuck each order up there, making it convenient for Sister to check the corresponding orders.

Xie Zhitang tore off the last order and stuck it up. She glanced toward the woman beside her and suddenly met her gaze.

The other woman’s eyes had suddenly become distant and cold, even carrying a faint trace of anger.

Xie Zhitang did not understand why. “Sister, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Xin Geling’s reply [Read on BaiLianTales]to her remained cold. Then she turned and continued grilling her barbecue.

But this attitude made Xie Zhitang uneasy. She glanced down at her collar. It was not really that revealing; it was only a little lower than a normal opening.

Xie Zhitang comforted herself that perhaps she was overthinking it. Sister was just quiet and not talkative.

She continued taking orders.

Only after the orders in hand had all been handled and Xie Zhitang saw that there were temporarily no customers in front of the stall cart did she want to calculate how many portions had been sold just now and how much revenue there had been.

But before she could press the calculator, the person beside her suddenly took off her gloves and directly reached toward her chest to button her shirt for her.

Xie Zhitang froze where she stood, looking at Xin Geling’s eyes in shock. “Sister.”

Xin Geling said, “After we close the stall tonight, you don’t need to come help me anymore.”

She knew!

For a moment, Xie Zhitang’s mind froze. Only this realization remained in her head. Immediately after, panic flashed through her eyes. She tried hard to remain calm. “Sister, listen to me…”

“There’s nothing to say.” Xin Geling’s tone allowed no argument. She continued putting on her gloves, placing skewers on the grill and turning them.

Xie Zhitang held the menu, wanting to speak but stopping herself. She wanted to explain, but at that exact moment, someone came over to order again, and she had no choice but to take the order.

This stretch of work kept them busy until after eight at night. When the ingredients were sold out, Xin Geling told her not to accept any more orders.

Xie Zhitang could only gently persuade the last customer to leave. “Sorry, we’ve sold out of ingredients.”

The female customer said, “All right.”

After the customer left, Xie Zhitang put down the menu and moved closer, intending to help Xin Geling pack up the boxes holding the ingredients.

However, not only did Xin Geling not let her help, she even avoided her hand. Xie Zhitang’s hand stiffened in midair, then withdrew awkwardly.

“I really was careless just now. Truly. I didn’t mean anything else, Sister.” She brought out the attitude she used at work, trying to use a serious yet helpless tone to blur over the real reason and soothe the other woman.

But Xin Geling did not fall for this. She trusted what she had seen. After putting away the last stool, placing it into the storage space, and closing the storage cabinet door, she stood at one side and pushed the stall cart.

“Whether it was careless or not, there’s no need for you to come help me anymore.”

Xie Zhitang stood in place, staring blankly as she watched Xin Geling push the cart away.

Xin Geling: Angry.