Chapter Twelve: Silhouette Knife

  Name: Jiao

  Sex: Male

  Age: Looks like twenty-something

  Occupation: Barber Shop Owner

  Address: No. 25, Bomei Village, Nanshundun

  "In my opinion, this item doesn't suit you."

  "Huh?" The long-haired woman raised her face as if waking up from a dream, looking towards the source of the sound. She immediately took three steps back, as if startled, and then touched her chest with an expression of confusion and incomprehension, still in shock.

  "Why does it look so similar at first glance?" She furrowed her good-looking eyebrows, with a clear and elegant face, having the rare calm temperament of young girls these days, yet looking pale, making her look like a wisp of smoke in a white long dress, as if she would disappear in an instant, a delicate and beautiful woman.

  "Is the person below someone you know, sir?" The young shopkeeper narrowed his slender eyebrows and a faint smile played on his thin, pretty lips.

  "No, not at all, I must have been mistaken!" The woman replied, biting her lower lip, her eyebrows furrowed even tighter. How could she have mistaken those two people who were clearly not alike? That person had a clear and determined outline, with a pair of eyes that shone brightly; although they both had beautiful thin lips, he was much more resolute than the one in front of her. Her thoughts uncontrollably drifted to every time those two lips, which carried a faint coolness, covered her trembling lips, bringing an icy yet sweet sensation that made her feel like she was between hell and heaven. When that person held her in his arms, she felt so happy she almost suffocated! She absent-mindedly caressed her own lips, savoring the memory of the man's lips and breath that had lingered there, then thought of what he had said on that day with a resolute tone, devoid of emotion: "I won't divorce my wife. I'll give you two choices: either get rid of the child and continue being my mistress, or I can give you money, and we'll be even."

  Absolutely beautiful words, concise and to the point, just like his style of doing things. That man has been struggling in the business world for many years, and whether it's in terms of ability or handling affairs, he is brilliant to the point of being envied by men, and of course, also admired by women! She was once one of those who admired him, if he hadn't discovered her and launched an attack, perhaps until today she could have had a happy family instead of continuing on as a so-called mistress, and fallen so irrevocably. For him it's just a game, but for her it's an inescapable taboo!

  Before entering the scissors shop called "Double Snakes", she had never realized that a seed of hatred had been buried deep within her seemingly calm heart, to the point where she had terrible thoughts about owning and using those rows of cold metal scissors with different shapes. It was precisely because of this that she mistook the young shop owner for that person.

  They were indeed two completely different people! She looked again at the gentle and upright shop owner, who was wearing a light blue long shirt. He had a rather delicate appearance, which made him seem somewhat effeminate and pale for a man. The features on his handsome face were extremely soft and subtle, to the point of being... blurry! She was startled and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, but what she saw was still the same handsome face and soft features. Why did she think that his features seemed blurry and shifting just now, even thinking of Pu Songling's "Painted Skin" for a moment and getting scared? It was really laughable. Indeed, the impact of an abortion on a woman's body couldn't be erased in just two weeks. Yes, she had ultimately chosen that path of no return, all just to stay by his side.

  "If you want to keep him, try this pair of scissors." The young shopkeeper smiled faintly and with slender fingers, lightly swept through a row of scissors and picked out a small golden pair from among them.

  “Why...” She stared blankly at the scissors. Surprise and shock filled her chest, not because the shop owner had miraculously read her mind - although this would normally be an eerie and frightening thing, it wouldn't have made her think twice about it now; perhaps she had been prepared to face inexplicable things since she arrived at this strange market. But why did he accurately pick out those scissors? The ones that had caught her eye when she first entered the shop, lying on a wooden plate covered with red velvet, sparkling with an otherworldly charm, and which she hadn't dared to look at again after that one glance, as if something was telling her that maybe she shouldn't own those scissors.

  "This is called a silhouette knife, just like its name, it's a sharp and good pair of scissors. You can use it to cut off the shadow of someone you want to keep, and as long as their shadow is in your hands, they won't have any thoughts of leaving you." The young shop owner explained, playing with the golden scissors in her hand, and the golden parabola swayed in front of her eyes, like suddenly staring at a bright yellow light bulb in the dark and then closing her eyes. Some beautiful golden threads unfolded in front of her eyes, blooming one by one, finally overlapping into that person's shallow smile. In five years, she had hardly smiled like that, the last time was when she agreed to take the road ahead and released a smile that seemed like gratitude."

  "It's a good thing you chose that road ahead." He smiled, and at that moment his handsome face looked even more dazzling, "Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to spend the rest of my days!" He said, holding her in his arms, gently stroking her long hair.

  Deceitful! She said to herself in her heart, without him, she would just be living the same life, maybe, he would even find another girl like herself, foolishly giving up everything for him, willing to live in a luxurious house, abandoning her own ambitions and dreams, putting all her hopes on him. But that voice was so weak, not even she could hear it, or perhaps she deliberately ignored it.

  "The price isn't expensive, just give me a part of your shadow and you can choose which part and size you want to give me." The tempting voice made an offer that seemed not too excessive.

  "Would it have any effect on him if I cut off his shadow? And what would happen if I gave a part of the shadow to you?"

  The young shop owner stopped fiddling with the scissors, leaned against the counter, and looked at the customer in front of him with a playful smile: "You're really meticulous, aren't you?"

  "Can't you answer that question?" she asked, although in her heart she selfishly wanted to have him all to herself, but ultimately it was impossible for her to do anything to hurt him, because he was the most important person to her who had given up everything to protect her.

  "There won't be any impact. However, it depends on which part of the shadow you give me. If it's a part of the brain, it might slightly affect his memory or judgment; if it's a hand or foot, there might be some motor disorders in those areas; if what you give me is just something the size of a fingernail, even if I take the heart, it won't have much impact on him, at most he'll occasionally feel a bit short of breath. You can rest assured that I won't play with the life of your most important person. After all, my Double Snake is just a storefront doing business, selling nothing but everyday items. As for human life, I'm probably the least extravagant person in the entire Bo Mei collection."

  Can she believe him? She was secretly thinking in her heart, and the conditions sounded really favorable to her. If what the shop owner said was true, could she really fulfill that deep-seated wish of hers, letting that person stay by her side forever?

  "Alright, I believe you." She finally made up her mind and saw the young shop owner smiling as he put the golden sharp object into his own hand.

  The night the man came over, she cut out his shadow along his outline and carefully stored it away. The next day, as agreed, she handed over to the shop owner a black shadow the size of a fingernail, which would absolutely not have any impact because it was just a strand of hair, she thought to herself. Seeing the shop owner shake his head with a hint of regret, repeatedly saying that he had lost out, the feeling of relief made her whole heart feel light and airy. Although she no longer worked there, at the time she was still the most promising employee in the entire marketing department, and if she were still working for the company today, she might have even been promoted by now. But she didn't regret it, giving up everything for him, she wouldn't regret it. On the day five years ago when her father kicked her out of the house, she had already come to a realization, so of course, she wouldn't be confused now.

  The man stayed overnight at her house every day from then on, never mentioning his wife again, and she also wisely stopped mentioning divorce. The two got along like a couple who had been married for many years, harmonious and sweet. Even the neighbors next door couldn't help but express their envy: "You're really lucky, your husband is so excellent and loves you so much, it's simply the blessing of your past life!"

  "That's right, before your husband was busy with work and didn't come back often, some people even said you were a kept woman, they're all just jealous of you, look at them now, not a word from any of them!"

  Every time this happens, she responds with a kind smile. Although the two people who said so used to mock her and never gave her a good look, she doesn't mind. Now her heart is full of happiness and joy, what others say or think about her is not important at all, it was before, now even more!

  That afternoon, a sudden rainstorm started without warning. He didn't bring an umbrella and got soaked on his way back. She knelt on the sofa to blow-dry his freshly washed hair, which emitted a faint fragrance. Her fingertips brushed through his black hair, filling the quiet room with warm silence, except for the humming sound of the hair dryer. Suddenly, her eyes caught something, as if she had been electrocuted, and her face turned pale. The hair dryer in her hand almost fell to the ground.

  "What's wrong, Fei?" he asked, holding her hand.

  Why had he never noticed before that his hands were so cold, almost devoid of any temperature?

  "No, nothing, I'm just a bit tired." She blinked her eyes, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and desperately inhaled the scent on him.

  "Let me cook today, you take a good rest." He patted her hand, gently laid her on the sofa, and went to the bedroom to fetch a quilt to cover her. "Wait for a moment, it'll be ready soon." He kissed her forehead and walked into the kitchen.

  As she watched his back disappear through the kitchen door, she finally couldn't help but let a string of crystal tears roll down from the corners of her eyes. She really hadn't been mistaken, on the left rear root of his hair was neatly missing a piece, just like the one she had cut off from the shadow at that time, exactly the same mark!

  He was floating in the store, swaying back and forth, his figure thin and light as a shadow, stretching or shrinking with the flickering candlelight. His black face had no features, like a standing shadow. He floated from one cabinet to another, picking out various black objects tied with red strings, which turned out to be all sorts of shadows when unfolded - some were hands, some were feet, and some were heads. With scissors, he carefully cut and pieced them together, his figure gradually becoming fuller and more three-dimensional with the snipping sound of the scissors, until it slowly took on a human shape, eventually transforming into the gentle and refined store owner from business hours.

  If you want something, come to Bomei Market, the largest market in the world, a market that sells the unthinkable. No matter what your requirements are, no matter what your needs are, they can all be met here, because this is Bomei Market, the last strange market at sunset!