Forty-Seven Degrees Part 2

The old town was quite close to the hotel—far enough that walking would be a bit of a trek—but figuring there wouldn’t be parking available nearby, the two of them decided to walk instead. Although they had a group chat, Shi Yun still checked with Chu Yue separately to see if she wanted to join them.

She declined, stating she was too tired to move.

Shi Yun stepped outside the hotel, entered the location of the old town into her phone, and activated the navigation. Wei Congying watched as she traced circles around the cursor, turning her phone left and right before she finally determined the direction.

Finally, he spoke up, “To the right.”

His words matched the navigation’s words to a tee.

Shi Yun raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “How do you know?”

With a playful smirk, Wei Congying replied, “Don’t you admire people who have the maps in their heads?”

Just as he finished speaking, Shi Yun spotted a road sign right behind him.

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Mbl pwxxla hynyvksd oyp kd qwzz pokdt, xyjkdt kv vbl rlyj vswakpv plypsd.

Rdelle, vbl dyhktyvksd oyp wddlnlppyau. Mblu nswze pkxrzu qszzso vbl nasoe vs alynb vblka elpvkdyvksd.

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Tl rlljle kdpkel, vblal olal yzps y qlo nspxlvkn rasewnvp.

Ls osdela vbl pkgl sq bla pxyzz cyt eked’v nsaalzyvl okvb kv’p olktbv. Tl rzyuqwzzu pbshle vbl alxykdkdt okrlp cynj kdvs bla cyt yde vlyple, “Ebu eked’v usw fwpv cakdt vbl obszl pwkvnypl okvb usw?”

“Then hand it over, and I’ll carry it myself,” she retorted.

Shi Yun made to take it from him, but he held firm, zipping it up and adjusting the shoulder strap instead. The old street wasn’t long, and they wandered for over half an hour before darkness enveloped them.

They eventually stumbled upon a suitable place to dine on the outer perimeter of the old street.

As soon as they stepped inside, a spicy aroma filled the air. The two menus they received were greasy.

After placing their order, Wei Congying removed her bag, unzipped it, and pulled out a cigarette case and lighter. “Are you going to manage me? If you don’t, I’ll step outside for a smoke.”

Shi Yun wiped the table with a wet towel, deliberately ignoring him. Once she finished, she glanced around for a trash can. Looking up through the glass door, she spotted him outside, popping a cigarette from the case. He tapped the end of the cigarette on the box, one hand shielding it, and a small flame flickered to life.

It took him about five minutes or so to finish the cigarette, and when he came back, he was not alone. There was a young couple, and the man was carrying the woman’s bag just like Wei Congying had done before.

There were no empty seats left in the store, so they wanted to share a table.

Restaurant seating was scarce near tourist attractions, so it was normal to share tables.

Shi Yun did not refuse, and Wei Congying didn’t care.

They chatted briefly before the food was served. The woman said she was from Kashgar and had been here for five days. She would take a plane to the next city the day after tomorrow.

They told Shi Yun and Wei Congying about some of the famous attractions nearby, such as the famous mountain nearby and the sunrise that was a must see. They enthusiastically shared the photos they had taken with their phones.

Their photography skills were a bit poor, but they could see that the scenery was very beautiful.

Shi Yun leaned over to look at the photos on the phone, but Wei Congying showed no interest at all and sat leaning back in his chair in a somewhat lazy manner.

At this time, a white-haired old woman selling handicrafts came over, carrying a bamboo basket on her arm. In the basket were some cheap-looking red bracelets. The red bracelets were held by an extremely chapped hand with swollen joints.

A small brown walnut pendant was hung on the red rope.

There was a child following behind the old woman, with a cloth rope tied around the child’s wrist, and the other end of the rope was tied around the old woman’s wrist. She told them in unstandard Mandarin mixed with the local dialect that her child’s tuition was still a little short, and asked if they were willing to buy the red rope.

“…We have taken these to the temple as offerings. They can keep you safe and are different from the ones you can usually buy…”

Seeing an old woman with a hunched back and slightly trembling hands, and a shy child behind her who wore tattered clothes,  anyone would feel soft-hearted.

They were all ready to buy one.

But when they took out their phone to pay with WeChat, the old lady informed them she didn’t have WeChat or Alipay and could only accept cash.

Fortunately, Shi Yun had the habit of carrying some cash with her, so she asked Wei Congying to hand her the bag. There were a lot of things in the bag, so she took them out one by one and placed them on the table. She took out a card holder from the bottom of the bag, took out a hundred-yuan bill from behind a bank card, and handed it to the old lady after straightening the folded bill.

The old man handed them the red rope, raised the hem of her shirt, and took out a plastic bag from the cloth bag around her waist. The bag was full of change.

Shi Yun waved his hand: “No need for change.”

After some excuses and being treated as a Bodhisattva, the old woman left.

The old woman gave them four red ropes. The young couple from Kashi City next to them wanted to transfer money to Shi Yun, but Shi Yun did not accept.

She asked Wei Congying to stretch out his hand. He smiled and stretched out his arm. On one hand was an expensive watch, and on the other was a cheap red bracelet. After tying it for him, Shi Yun fiddled with the small walnut on the pendant and said, “Done.”

Wei Congying took the other red rope from her hand and put it on for her.

He didn’t believe in peace charms, but it was good enough if she wanted it.

After a while, the boss came up with the dish with a toothpick in his mouth. After putting the plate down, he glanced at Shi Yun with a smile, which seemed to have some unclear meaning.

The local food was very spicy, so spicy that Shi Yun didn’t even need to reapply her lipstick. The iced Sprite soothed the spicy taste in her mouth. She burped slightly because of the Sprite, and her stomach felt like it was burning slightly, but it didn’t hurt.

Wei Congying stood up to pay the bill. The young couple next to them had also finished their meal. The woman fixed her makeup and put the cosmetics in her bag. She explained there was a place where river lanterns were being released not far from them and asked Shi Yun and Wei Congying if they wanted to go with them.

River lanterns?

Probably the kind for making wishes.

Shi Yun was about to agree, but Wei Congying put his arm around her waist and answered, “No, we’ve had enough shopping and are ready to go back.”

After saying that, he didn’t say goodbye to the two people. He hugged Shi Yun and turned around to return the way they came.

“You’re tired from shopping?” Shi Yun looked up at him. He usually had good stamina and even she wasn’t tired yet. But he was the one who wanted to go back.

It may also be that men were born with weaker genes than women when it came to shopping.

Wei Congying pulled the corner of his mouth in disdain: “That woman wanted to seduce me.”

Shi Yun suspected that she was actually a passerby. The young couple didn’t talk much to Wei Congying. Shi Yun didn’t feel that there was anything wrong when she was sitting next to the girl, and besides, she had a boyfriend.

“Narcissistic much?” Shi Yun didn’t believe it. “Could she be a scumbag? Could there be a psychological connection between you scumbag men and women?”