An Shuchao spent all day lying in bed, almost growing moldy, and he hoped Bai Xue would come lie beside him, talk, and pass the time.
But ever since the incident of An Hao moving out, Bai Xue seemed to treat him indifferently.
Today, Bai Yanjiao returned, and she seemed in a good mood. Not wanting to dampen her spirits, An Shuchao acquiesced, "Go ahead, but come back early. If it’s too dark on the way, take a flashlight."
"Okay, I got it." Bai Xue agreed and tucked An Shuchao’s quilt before she left.
Before heading out, Bai Xue remembered the scented powder Bai Yanjiao had bought her. She went back to the other room, took the powder, and applied it in front of the mirror on the wardrobe slowly.
After applying several layers, the powder looked even, and looking at her noticeably whiter face in the mirror, Bai Xue smiled satisfactorily.
They say a fair complexion hides flaws, and it really wasn’t a lie.
Once Bai Xue had finished with the scented powder, she changed into a pink jacket and left the house.
Widow Zhang at the entrance to the village had bought a set of mahjong tiles and set up a mahjong table.
At night, once the work for the production team was done, the women would go to Widow Zhang’s to play mahjong.
Sometime later, the men started joining too.
Everyone knew Widow Zhang still had her charms despite her age, and generally, the women did not let the men in their homes go to Widow Zhang’s to play mahjong.
But there was no shortage of bachelors, lepers, and men who were the final word at home who visited Widow Zhang’s to play mahjong.
Playing mahjong was only for show; what they did more oftentimes was flirt and banter with Widow Zhang, merely indulging in the pleasure of conversation.
When Bai Xue arrived at Widow Zhang’s place, the mahjong game had already started, with two women and two men playing.
Widow Zhang was eating late, standing behind the others with her bowl, watching them play mahjong.
Coincidentally, Li Wangfu was also there, his eyes sneakily fixed on Widow Zhang’s voluptuous chest, occasionally uttering a lewd joke or two.
Bai Xue felt somewhat displeased as her arrival had not caught Li Wangfu’s attention at all.
What had he said to her before in the fields, while he was touching her body?
He said she was the only woman who had ever touched his heart.
Whether it was true or false, that word somehow intoxicated her.
Although at the time, she was with Li Wangfu just so she could earn more work points and exert less effort, after all their interactions and touches, she had developed a soft spot for the man.
"Cough cough... everyone’s here!" Bai Xue coughed softly into her fist, successfully drawing everyone’s attention.
"Oh, isn’t this Bai Xue?" Widow Zhang greeted her cheerfully, "Come on over."
There had been some friction between the two of them before, but both were people who cared about their reputations.
Since neither mentioned it, they both played dumb.
Moreover, Bai Xue was a keen mahjong player and wouldn’t miss going to Widow Zhang’s, so they decided to let bygones be bygones.
"I came to play a few rounds of mahjong, but since there are people already, I’ll be leaving." Bai Xue turned around to leave as soon as she spoke.
"Don’t go, come and sit down." Widow Zhang set her bowl aside and moved a stool for Xue to sit on.
Bai Xue didn’t decline.
Once both were seated, Widow Zhang pointed to Bai Xue’s face and remarked, "Why is your face so white? Did you use something? It looks quite beautiful."
Seeing that someone had noticed her face and complimented her, Bai Xue was quite pleased, "It’s from my daughter Yanjiao, it’s called... scented powder!"