Dream of the Red Chamber · Conversa

The boat rocked gently, the sculls creaking, gradually pushing away the clamor of the city on the shore. Daiyu leaned against the boat window, the curtain raised only halfway. Xueyan squatted at her feet, rummaging through the bundles, arranging the packages of pastries stuffed in before their departure one by one—they were all delicate puff pastries, and she feared they would already be crumbled by the time they arrived. "Miss," Xueyan looked up, a speck of powdered sugar clinging to the corner of her mouth, "Nanny Wang said that once we pass the ferry crossing ahead, it will only be another half-day's journey to your grandmother's house." "Where is Nanny Wang?" "Napping at the bow," Xueyan lowered her voice. "She's seasick. She threw up twice but refused to say a word." Daiyu did not reply, her gaze falling on a withered leaf swirling with the ripples on the water's surface. The leaf spun a couple of times, was pushed outward by the ripples radiating from the boat, and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye. Seeing that she remained silent, Xueyan muttered to herself in a low voice, "Grandmother's house... I heard it's a very grand estate, even bigger than our home in Yangzhou, with stone lions at the gate..." She paused at the mention of the stone lions, probably unable to picture what they looked like. "Miss," she called out again, her voice much softer this time, "are you afraid?" Daiyu lowered her eyes, her fingertips absentmindedly twirling a loose thread on her sleeve. After a long silence, she murmured softly: "What is there to fear?" Outside the curtain, the rushing sound of the water washed those words away, making them fade. <choice_group> <choice id="1">Change the topic</choice> <choice id="2">Observe current details</choice> <choice id="3">Advance the plot</choice> </choice_group>