Upon hearing this, Yang Ying was reminded of the past. She was ten years old, and Zhang Yu was seven. They had gone up the mountain to pick peaches together, but she twisted her ankle and cried loudly in pain. Zhang Yu wanted to carry her home, but she couldn't get any strength in her leg and couldn't climb up. Just like before, Zhang Yu carried her on his back. As a child, Zhang Yu was thin and weak; after walking ten miles home, he couldn't get up.
The past flashed before her eyes, and Yang Ying felt a pang of sadness. She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, let's go..."
"Why are you apologizing?" Zhang Yu asked, puzzled. He picked up his large travel bag from the ground and asked, "Where do you live? How do I get there?"
"It's not far. After you cross that street, turn left, then turn right," Yang Ying said, her voice slightly choked.
Zhang Yu nodded and started walking in the direction Yang Ying pointed.
Carrying her on his back and carrying the enormous travel bag, walking was inevitably a little awkward. Yang Ying noticed and said, "Let me help you carry your travel bag."
"Forget it, you can't carry it," Zhang Yu said directly. "It weighs over fifty pounds, I can only manage."
Hearing how heavy it was, Yang Ying felt even more embarrassed. She wrapped her arms around Zhang Yu's neck, her heart filled with mixed emotions, a feeling she couldn't quite describe.
Arriving at the place Yang Ying had mentioned, it was a somewhat old and new neighborhood. Entering the house, it wasn't as grand as Zhang Yu had imagined; it was just a small one-bedroom apartment, smaller than even his own house. Even the decoration was rather ordinary.
Although Zhang Yu was a country bumpkin visiting the city, it didn't mean he was clueless. Yang Ying had driven back a Passat for the New Year, quite new, and he'd heard it cost at least two hundred thousand yuan. Besides, Yang Ying had said she married a rich man. What? Rich people live in such small houses? Didn't everyone say city people live in high-rises? Most importantly, where was he going to sleep?
Carrying Yang Ying into the bedroom and laying her on the bed, Zhang Yu asked, "Auntie, where's my uncle?"
Seeing Zhang Yu's question, Yang Ying sighed and said, "At this point, I won't lie to you. I've been in Zhenhai City for a few years now, but I work as a real estate agent. My monthly salary is barely enough to make ends meet. Everyone says Zhenhai City is paved with gold, but I'm not lucky enough to have that. Seeing other women wearing gold and silver and using expensive cosmetics, who wouldn't be envious? Once, while selling a house, I met a wealthy old man. He was sixty years old, and he actually pursued me. For his money, I gritted my teeth and married him."
"I thought I'd live a life of plenty, but unexpectedly, he died of a stroke less than six months after our marriage. That old bastard was really cunning. Before we got married, he had a prenuptial agreement and even made a will, leaving all his inheritance to his son. A few days ago, I had a lawsuit, and I got nothing except the real estate agency he'd opened for me. Luckily, I was careful; the contract was in my name. Now I'm not nearly as glamorous as I was during the New Year. I haven't even dared to tell my family about marrying that old man or his death..."
After saying this, Yang Ying gave a bitter laugh, even shedding tears of sorrow. Thinking about how hard her life had been, working tirelessly as a real estate agent, barely making any money, and finally indulging in vanity, she ended up losing everything. If she remarried, it would be her second marriage.
Seeing Yang Ying's tears, Zhang Yu quickly said, "Auntie, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked..."
"It's nothing, these things can't be kept secret forever, but it's good that you know, don't tell your family..." Yang Ying instructed.
"Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped," Zhang Yu said earnestly.
"That's good... By the way, I forgot to buy safflower oil on the way back, there's a pharmacy downstairs. Could you go buy me a bottle?" Yang Ying said.
"No need, I brought some liniment, it works better than safflower oil..."
Zhang Yu said, opening his oversized travel bag.
First, he pulled out a large bag of apples, then a large bag of chestnuts and a large bag of mushrooms, chuckling as he said, "These are all from our own farm. My mom said you never seem to get much to eat in the big city, so she told me to bring these for you to try..." As he spoke, he even pulled out a Taoist robe, a peach wood sword, cinnabar, talismans, a compass, and other such items, along with a crumpled envelope. He finally managed to find a bottle of liniment for bruises.
"What kind of random stuff is this?" Yang Ying frowned as she looked at the things Zhang Yu had pulled out. No wonder the bag weighed fifty pounds.
"When I was little, I was an apprentice at Old Wang's coffin shop, right? Last year, he suddenly said he was going to become an official, and he left these things to me. Oh, right…" Zhang Yu said with a grin, picking up the crumpled envelope. It was sealed tightly, and there seemed to be a hard object inside. There was no writing on the envelope. He continued, "This letter was given to me by my master before he left. He said if I ever had the chance to come to Zhenhai City, I should go to Wudang Taoist Temple and give this letter to my uncle. But the address… my mom tore it up while washing clothes… You've been in Zhenhai City for so long, do you even know where Wudang Taoist Temple is?"
Yang Ying frowned, annoyed, and said, "Can't you be a little more sensible? Zhenhai City is huge! I haven't even figured it out yet. Where is that lousy Taoist temple? You can look for it later, but I advise you to save your breath… My foot hurts right now. Is your medicinal wine any good? Let me try it."
After saying this, Yang Ying propped herself up on her arms and sat up.
"Don't worry about this, it'll definitely work..." Zhang Yu then opened the bottle of liniment, rubbed some on his hands, sat down at the foot of the bed, grabbed Yang Ying's foot, and began to apply it to her ankle.
Yang Ying trembled slightly when Zhang Yu grabbed her ankle. To be honest, her feet had never been touched by a man before. But then she thought, Zhang Yu wasn't exactly a stranger; they'd grown up together. He was just applying liniment to her, what could be wrong with that?
Yang Ying's feet were truly beautiful, snow-white as jade, long and delicate, with slender yet full ankles, long and narrow feet, slightly high arches, beautiful curves, supple and boneless, and evenly spaced toes, like ten slender scallions. Through the delicate, translucent skin of her white instep, tiny blood vessels could be faintly seen deep beneath the skin.
Her thighs were full and rounded, the skin of her thighs fair and smooth. Her slender calves were shapely and firm, gleaming with an alluring sheen. Her small feet were curled upwards, allowing Zhang Yu to massage them.
Yang Ying's ankles were quite swollen and painful. The rubbing with the medicinal wine immediately sent a burning sensation through her. This sensation was initially uncomfortable, but the pain in her ankle disappeared, and the burning feeling gradually subsided, becoming surprisingly comfortable.
However, seeing Zhang Yu's hands massaging her feet with such earnestness, Yang Ying couldn't help but feel embarrassed. After all, she wasn't a child anymore. Suddenly, Yang Ying noticed something on Zhang Yu's wrist. It was a red string, with a silver bell tied to it.
"He...he still wears..." Upon seeing the silver bell, Yang Ying's heart skipped a beat, and memories of the past flooded back.
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