At first, she didn’t even bother answering. She just stared forward and eyed the girl carefully as she read and handled her most prized possession.
Just take it, get your fill, and hand it back. Just take it, get your fill, and hand it back. Just take it, get your fill, and hand it—
“Can I buy this from you maybe? Scholars sell their scrolls sometimes, right?”
That was more than enough to snap the scholar from her thoughts. Chen Fang froze in place immediately, the first thing to leave her mouth was a loud protest, almost unnecessarily loud. Instantly she was on the defensive, soon shaking her head as she broke that calm silence she put herself in.
"A-Absolutely not! I refuse to part with that! I will sell you any other scroll in this bag if it means you will lose your interest in that one in a most hasty fashion!”
In truth, her father’s bamboo scroll would fetch a great sum of money—money that she had been aching for during the past few weeks out on the road. Had it been any other item, Chen Fang probably would have parted with it, but the emotional tether between her and her weapon was too great to sever for any sum of coin. When she realized that it was too late to take back her emotional outburst, she stood still and rigid, trying to calm herself down.
"I… I… I just…" she trailed off, biting down on her lower lip soon afterward.
…
The young girl stood there in shock, her body reclined with the scroll pulled closer to her as she was… nearly screamed at by this traveler. If there was any response she expected, this one would make it at the very bottom of the list. Xiao Qiao was quiet through out the outburst, continuing on an awkward silence afterward, too.
The guards that were continuing on with their day also stopped to take a look at them. This emotional outburst certainly tore up Xiao Qiao’s liking to the stranger. She slowly, very slowly, rolled up the scroll, and handed it back (gently, as if not to disturb the traveler) with the rest of her body still reclined away.
Should she… say something?
"Um,“ her voice wasn’t as loud as before, and her hands lifted up in an almost defensive pose after handing back the scroll. "Are you… okay?” She made a note to self to never ask another scholar for their scrolls unless she wanted to deal with that again. Who knew a piece of bamboo could mean so much to someone?
She didn’t know how to approach this, but at least she was trying, right? “Do you.. want to sit down?"