Chapter 513: Chapter 513 Gentleman’s Kiss_1
Yao Shujun.
Qin Sisi silently repeated this name in her heart, nodded, and said, "A beautiful name, with a beautiful meaning."
It is clear that Yao Shujun’s father was a cultured man.
Yao Shujun heaved a melancholic sigh, looked at Qin Sisi and asked, "Would you like to hear my story?"
"Sure!" Qin Sisi answered briskly. Since Yao Shujun was willing to share her story, she was more than willing to listen and perhaps understand Yao Shujun’s inner thoughts better.
Yao Shujun turned her head towards the window, all she could see outside was darkness, and her path home seemed unattainably far.
She gave a long sigh, "I am not from here. I am from the south, both of my parents were teachers in middle school, and I had a very happy childhood.
After graduating high school, given the prevailing trend for educated youth to go to the countryside, I was assigned here."
Since then, her happy days were over, and her youthful passion soon evaporated in the face of harsh reality.
"I studied and worked alongside my classmates, hoping to prove myself and return to the city quickly. But when the weather started to turn cold, the village head, under the pretext of preventing class enemies from causing damage, built a small wooden hut in the fields, and singled me out to sleep there at night, saying that I needed to guard the crops."
Time went on, all the crops were harvested, and the weather got colder, but the village head still did not let me return. Every time I gathered the courage to ask him about it, he would reply, ’Wait a bit longer, you need to shed your spoiled habits and become stronger.’"
One very cold, windy night, the village head suddenly came to my hut. He said he was worried about me in this cold weather, but then he started to touch me.
I fought back desperately, screaming loudly, but this only annoyed him. He said that it would only take a couple of words for him to tag me as a class enemy. He told me to think twice, not to resist him, lest I should suffer more. He left, saying he would return the next night."
The fair lady, a good match for a gentleman.
Her parents’ gentle nature made Yao Shujun sensitive and delicate. Ever since she was a young girl, she had daydreamed about her "gentleman." Would he look like the romantic Li Bai, drinking wine and writing poetry? Or would he be like the heroic warrior, Xin Qiji, leading an army with a sword?
No matter what he might be like, he certainly wouldn’t be a countryside brute like the village head; a man in his forties with dark skin, a scruffy beard, a peculiar smell, and illiterate.
But here in this village, this countryside brute was like a tyrant and no one dared to cross him. If he really labeled her as a class enemy, how would she continue to live?
Yao Shujun had witnessed what happened to class enemies- the constant criticism, physical abuse, and endless labor reforms, all the time with chamber pots hung around their neck...
Her parents were far away in her southern hometown and they were not doing particularly well. Even if they knew about her situation, they could not help her to leave immediately.
The cold winds howling outside the window mirrored the ruthlessness of the world, devouring her beautiful dreams and hopes.
The world was so big but there was no room for her.
So many people were around her yet none could protect her.
When would her "gentleman" appear?
Perhaps he would never show up.
Thinking that the village head would come again the next night gave Yao Shujun an increasing sense of terror. She could not bear the thought of her innocence being tainted by such a man.
Overwhelmed with cold and despair, Yao Shujun, at twenty years old, hung her favourite red scarf from the beam, ending her young life.
Qin Sisi let out a sigh. Compared to many other ghosts she had known, Yao Shujun’s tale was not the most tragic and twisted, nor the most infuriating. However, her calm narration imbued the story with a lingering sorrow and helplessness.
People often are particularly sensitive to the destruction of beauty.
And yet some people, especially those in power, seem to revel in destroying the beauty in others’ hearts.
Qin Sisi gently looked at Yao Shujun and whispered, "Do you want revenge?"
Yao Shujun was silent for a moment, and then shook her head, replying, "He didn’t actually harm me. This road was my choice. I just have some regrets and feel my life is incomplete."
Qin Sisi frowned, struggling to understand her words. She asked further, "Do you have any other wishes that you would like me to help fulfill?"
Yao Shujun bit her lip nervously and quietly said, "The fair lady, a good match for a gentleman, I have always longed for my gentleman to appear, but he never did."
Qin Sisi blinked. What does she mean by that? Was she asking her to find her a boyfriend?
Yao Shujun sighed and continued, "I know that now I’m just a wild ghost. Love is a luxury for beings like me. I won’t ask for more. I just want a kiss. A kiss from a handsome man."
Yao Shujun’s voice trembled, her fair face flushed with blush, her eyes fluttering into a stealthy glance at Ding Jiawang behind Qin Sisi.
Realization hit Qin Sisi. She looked back at Ding Jiawang, then back at Yao Shujun, questioned, "Just that?"
Yao Shujun blushed, nodded, and said, "Yes, just that. It’s enough. The man earlier was also handsome, I told the one before that if he kissed me, I would let him go. But he refused, and I knocked him out in my anger."
"....." Qin Sisi felt a pang of sympathy for Wu Menglei. Considering Yao Shujun was in her ghostly form, how could Wu Menglei possibly go through with it?
She pointed to Ding Jiawang and asked her, "Would he be ok for you?"
Qin Sisi already saw the answer in Yao Shujun’s eyes, but still wanted to confirm.
"Hmm." Yao Shujun answered softly, lowering her head even more, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red.
Qin Sisi turned to walk towards Ding Jiawang. He seemed quite popular indeed.
Jin Zhu, a gorgeous woman from the past, insisted on marrying him and even chose to stay with him as a dog. Now, the fair lady Yao Shujun wanted a kiss from him.
"Did you hear what she just said?" Qin Sisi asked Ding Jiawang softly.
Ding Jiawang, with a complicated expression on his face replied, "... I heard... You’re not suggesting that I..."
Qin Sisi nodded decisively, "You’re the only man here, only you meet the requirement."
However, Ding Jiawang was reluctant. Yao Shujun may be pretty, but she was still a ghost!
He had been haunted by a ghost once before, nearly costing him his life. The trauma still haunted him. To be asked to have intimate contact with another ghost now, made Ding Jiawang extremely apprehensive.
