Tang San Was Just There to Carry the Luggage

Morning in Heaven Dou City began with the cries of street vendors.

"Buns! Freshly steamed meat buns!"

"Candied hawthorns! Big, sweet candied hawthorns..."

"Have you ever had cola? Get me some good stuff!"

"Come take a look! Finest silk!"

When those voices woke Tang San, dawn had only just broken. He opened his eyes and saw Yi Yun still sleeping soundly in bed, his hair spread across the pillow, looking like a child in his sleep.

Tang San climbed out of bed quietly, dressed, folded his quilt, then stood by the window for a while, looking out at the streets of Heaven Dou City.

The street was already bustling. Vendors pushed carts and carried shoulder poles, pouring in from every direction to claim the best spots for their stalls.

Some people bargained, some called out their wares, and others chatted and laughed. The whole street was like a giant beehive, buzzing away, so lively it made him itch to join in.

"Want to go out for a stroll?" Yi Yun's voice came from behind him.

Tang San turned and saw that Yi Yun had already sat up in bed, his hair a mess and his eyes half closed, like a cat that had just woken up.

"When did you wake up?"

"Just now, while you were spacing out by the window." Yi Yun yawned. "Go if you want. It's not far."

Tang San hesitated. "Then I'll go get Xiao Wu and the others."

"No need. They're already up." Yi Yun pointed next door. "Listen."

Tang San pricked up his ears and faintly heard Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing talking and laughing next door, along with Ning Rongrong's chatter.

Three women made a whole play, and this one had started its performance first thing in the morning.

"What are they talking about?" Tang San asked.

"Discussing what to wear today," Yi Yun said. "They've been at it for an hour."

The corner of Tang San's mouth twitched.

An hour, discussing what to wear? He never took longer than half an incense stick to get dressed.

"That's women for you." Yi Yun patted Tang San's shoulder. "You'll get used to it."

When Tang San left the room, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong happened to be coming out of theirs as well.

Xiao Wu wore a pink dress, her hair tied in a scorpion braid with two pink bows at the end. She looked like a peach blossom on the move.

Zhu Zhuqing wore a pale purple dress, its hem just reaching her knees and revealing a stretch of fair calves. Her hair fell over her shoulders, loosely tied into a bow at the back with a silver ribbon.

Ning Rongrong wore a pale yellow dress with tiny flowers embroidered along the skirt and a jeweled hair clip that sparkled in the morning light.

Standing together, the three girls looked like three different flowers.

Tang San took one look and turned his gaze away, because they were too beautiful-beautiful enough to make his heart race. But he couldn't let his heart race, because of these three girls, one was Yi Yun's girlfriend, one was Yi Yun's girlfriend, and one was Yi Yun's disciple.

He couldn't touch a single one of them, nor did he dare.

"Tang San, you're wearing that?" Xiao Wu looked over his clothes: a short gray tunic, black trousers, and cloth shoes. No matter how she looked at him, he resembled a farmer.

"What's wrong with me?" Tang San looked down at his clothes.

"Too rustic!" Ning Rongrong kept shaking her head. "Handsome Master said we should pay attention to our appearance. Why don't you care about yours at all?"

"I'm here to carry luggage, not enter a beauty contest."

"You should still dress nicely to carry luggage!"

Tang San didn't want to argue about it. He felt that as long as clothes were wearable, whether they looked good didn't matter. But when Yi Yun walked out of the room, Tang San suddenly felt that clothes might really be rather important.

Yi Yun wore a white robe that day, with a silver belt around his waist and his hair secured at the back with a white jade hairpin. He looked fresh and immaculate, like a jade tree standing in the breeze. All three girls drew in a sharp breath at once.

"Handsome Master, you're so handsome!" Ning Rongrong rushed over first and caught Yi Yun's sleeve.

"Brother Yun, you look really good today." Xiao Wu blushed.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but her eyes shone more brightly than usual as she looked at Yi Yun.

Tang San silently looked at his short gray tunic and black trousers, then at Yi Yun's white robes and jade hairpin, and silently sighed.

Sometimes, the gap between one person and another was even greater than the gap between a person and a dog.

"Let's go shopping." Yi Yun waved a hand and led the way with the three girls.

Tang San followed behind, like a dutiful attendant.

No, he wasn't an attendant. He was there to carry luggage.

Heaven Dou City's streets were three times as wide as Nuoding City's, with ten times as many shops and a hundred times the bustle.

It was Xiao Wu's first visit to Heaven Dou City, and everything seemed new to her. She wanted candied hawthorns, sugar figurines, and dough figurines too.

When she couldn't hold any more, she stuffed them into Tang San's hands.

Tang San held three sticks of candied hawthorns in his left hand and two sugar figurines in his right, with a dough figurine slung over his arm. He looked exactly like a walking trinket stall.

"Tang San, can you carry all that?" Xiao Wu turned back to ask.

"Yes," Tang San said expressionlessly.

"Good! I want to buy that too!"

Xiao Wu ran toward a stall selling hair accessories, and Tang San followed silently behind.

He was already used to it. Xiao Wu did the buying, and he did the carrying.

Xiao Wu got to be happy, and he got to be tired.

That was his life.

Zhu Zhuqing wasn't as fond of shopping as Xiao Wu, but something caught her eye: a silver necklace with a little cat pendant, exquisitely crafted and lifelike.

"Like it?" Yi Yun came over and stood behind her.

Zhu Zhuqing nodded without turning around.

"We'll take it," Yi Yun told the stallholder.

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes reddened a little, because she hadn't expected Yi Yun to notice what she liked.

"Brother Yun."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Of course."

Zhu Zhuqing leaned closer to Yi Yun, her shoulder touching his arm, and didn't move away.

Xiao Wu ran back from the hair accessory stall, holding two hair clips, one pink and one purple. "Brother Yun, which one looks good?"

"Pink suits you."

"What about the purple one?"

"The purple one's for Zhu Zhuqing."

Xiao Wu handed the purple hair clip to Zhu Zhuqing. "Sister Zhu Zhuqing, this is from Brother Yun."

Zhu Zhuqing took the clip, fastened it in her hair, and looked up at Yi Yun. "Does it look good?"

"It does."

Zhu Zhuqing smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. Xiao Wu smiled too. She found that liking Yi Yun together with Zhu Zhuqing didn't seem quite so upsetting after all.

At least she had someone to share with, someone to talk things over with, and someone to blush with.

Ning Rongrong hadn't bought anything.

She stood in front of a jewelry stall, staring at a pair of white jade bangles for a long time.

"Like them?" Yi Yun came over.

"Yes."

"We'll take them."

Ning Rongrong shook her head. "I don't want them."

"Why?"

"Because I want to wait for Handsome Master to give them to me."

Yi Yun paused, then smiled. "Then I'll give them to you now."

"No." Ning Rongrong said seriously, "Giving them to me now doesn't count. You have to wait until my birthday."