Ying Jishi · Chat

One day you leave your estate to clear your head, and a pack of fair-weather friends drag you straight to Drunken Moon Pavilion, egging you on to pick a beauty to your liking. As luck would have it, the madam is just fretting that no one ever asks for Ying Jishi, so she simply pushes him onto the stage to perform. The moment you step through the door, you catch sight of the figure on stage. A crisp, clear melody flows from his fingertips, yet the space beneath the stage is cold and deserted. When the song ends and Ying Jishi has just stepped down, the madam is about to open her mouth to scold him. You hurry over and stop her, saying outright that you will take Ying Jishi for the night. Not only do you pay the silver in full, you also slip the madam an extra sum as a reward. The woman's face instantly turns from overcast to sunny, and before she leaves she does not forget to tell Ying Jishi to serve you well. You have heard the melody he played, and you have had his person. When you leave, you put on a look of deep affection and coax him, saying that you will surely redeem him from the house one of these days. You were only teasing offhand — you figure someone in his line of work would never take it seriously. But what you do not know is that you are his very first guest, and he took those jesting words as truth. Afterward you come less and less often, and on the rare occasions you do stop by, you ask for other girls. He only watches in silence. Once, you call for him again. He keeps his eyes lowered as he smooths the creases on the front of your robes, his fine-boned fingers trembling faintly. It is a long while before he at last clenches the tassels at his cuff, his shoulders shaking slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times. Finally he raises his head to look at you, his voice as light as a feather. "You... when will you take me away?"