Out of all the shops in the current village, the clothing store was not abound in noise. Pei Yi praised the lord for the quietness that this place aura'd as she could shop in peace now. Pei Yi gracefully strolled down the 'woman's dresses' aisle with all the dresses arranged neatly on the side of the veteran's walkway, but recoiled by the sight she saw ahead of her.
'Are you stalking me or what?' Pei Yi thought disdain.
Jun Sheng didn't realize Pei Yi's presence until seconds later, which happened to be when Pei Yi approached her, expressing her thoughts.
''I came along to help you search for clothes. I bet your picks will either be took swishy or plain.''
"Thank you very much. But I am, actually, trained for this. I have lessons on attire." Just that she never gets to choose what she wears. Everyday she'd wake up to everything ready for her. The moment she gets out of bed she'd be surrounded and clothes already being changed. Not even a chance to express her own thoughts.
Eventually she saw that there was no point and just simply shut up.
Feeling slightly defeated, she sighed. But then when she looked up again she saw Jun Sheng with her eyebrow raised.
"shouldn't you be managing the two shops that you own?'' Pei Yi huffed.
''Pff- I have someone taking care of both places., however, if something should happen, then they know where I am… Anyways, here, I found something for you.'' Jun Sheng flattened out the thing that she had been holding in her hand.
Pei Yi looked at it with contempt, however she couldn't and appreciated Jun Sheng's taste.
It was some kind of a tight outfit. It had slightly baggy trousers and a cinched belt; after the waist part, the top part was loose, too. The entire attire's colour was a kind of light greeny blue, with silver at the waist. The sleeves aren't long and droopy either, just clutching to the arms.
"I'll take it." Jun Sheng looked up from sizing up the attire against her, surprised at her words.
"Not even going to try it on?"
"The size seems fine. With a face and body like mine, nothing could hide the shine!" She said as she took it and walked to the checkout.
Jun Sheng laughed, "okay, little rhymer."
Pei Yi responded with a little noise through her nose.
The girls strolled to the checkout and since it was nearly the time for then to check out the pond, they decided to stick with each other until then. Pei Yi patiently sat where she initially did and waited for Jun Sheng's inn to close when after some impatience, it finally reached 7:00pm, the time that the inn shuts down to new guests, and waitresses prepare night snacks for the people living upstairs.
"You can pick your timing alright." Jun Sheng said to Pei Yi. After receiving a look of confusion, she laughed: "It's the clearest day in the past couple of months, plus the fact that it's the million light's festival tonight."
"There's a festival tonight?" Now Pei Yi's actually getting excited.
The pond trip would have been just like any other that she and her 'friends' (the daughters of other ministers) went to during their picnics and social tea parties, poetry parties etc.
Jun Sheng nodded and led Pei Yi onto the streets. Now Pei Yi knew that the 'bustling' crowd that she saw in the day was nothing. Now, they were actually getting busy; each and every store had candles, lanterns lighting up. Pei Yi's eyes lit up as she saw a stall selling candy figures and ran to it, pulling Jun Sheng behind her. Nobody knows her here, she can laugh and smile and run all she wants. Realising this fact, the smile on her face grew wider, and more sincere.
Behind her, Jun Sheng looked down at their intertwined hands as they pushed through the crowded street. It was a rather strange feeling. She hasn't held hands with people very often.... Has she?
Jun Sheng thought, 'has Pei Yi done this to many people? Perhaps, it's very likely. The children of such families are always surrounded with so many... people. Always so praised and..fake.'
She never thought that she'd, and never wanted to, be involved with such people yet here she was. Meh. It's just a coincidence. A good thing about people like the one holding her hand is that they are never really free to go anywhere, meaning it would be hard for them to bother her.
Jun Sheng was so drawn into her own thoughts that she didn't realise what was happening around her, and the fact that Pei Yi had let go of her hand until something sweet touched her lips.
Jun Sheng instinctively opened her mouth.
Surprised, she looked up and saw Pei Yi sipping on a caramel drawn rabbit, staring at her.
"What were you thinking?" Pei Yi said out of curiosity. She'd called Jun Sheng's name a couple of times with no response, and only when she had to practically stuff the freshly drawn butterfly in her mouth did Jun Sheng snap back to reality.
Jun Sheng took hold of the stick that the butterfly sat on and took a bite out of its wings.
Pei Yi shrugged, "how does it taste?"
Way too sweet.
"It's nice." Jun Sheng remarked.
She turned her head to the stall that they were at. An old man was drawing patterns and animals out of caramelised sugar, which then could just be turned into arty treats.
Jun Sheng saw another nearby stall and walked there, "wait here, let's not get lost."
So Pei Yi stood there and waited, slightly clueless but all the same excited by the surrounding lights and displays. She was on her tiptoes trying to see a man blowing fire and someone making a show of swallowing swords when Jun Sheng returned. Her vision landed in darkness as something covered her face, then lit up again as Jun Sheng adjusted the mask to the right place.
"What is it?" Pei Yi wasn't offended at all by the sudden gesture. Just curious.
Jun Sheng whipped a hand mirror out from nowhere and lifted in front of Pei Yi.