Excluding the carnations, they had arrived empty-handed. But now, on the way back, Bai Yu’s hands were so full she could barely manage. A mountain of bags, large and small, mostly filled with clothes Zhao Mingyue had bought for her.
“Mingyue, if we ever get another chance to go out, don’t buy this many clothes again.”
While waiting for the bus, Bai Yu couldn’t help but speak up.
“Huh?” Zhao Mingyue turned her head. She was also carrying a lot of things, mostly food.
She didn’t answer Bai Yu right away. Her eyes darted around playfully. “Hmm… whether we buy this much depends on how often we go shopping. If we go often, then we wouldn’t need to buy so much at once.”
People are inclined to compromise. For example, right now, if she directly said, “Little Sister Yu, let’s go shopping often from now on,” Bai Yu would definitely refuse. But if she implied that not going often meant buying in bulk, then Bai Yu could accept it.
“It’s dangerous.”
“But even if it’s dangerous, we still need to go out and buy things.”
“…”
“Silence means consent, right? I’ll take that as a yes. Oh, the bus is here.” With that, Zhao Mingyue giggled and pulled Bai Yu away, not even giving her a chance to argue.
No matter what Bai Yu said today, she had to be coaxed into going out more often. Otherwise, all these clothes she bought her would be a waste.
On the way here, she had been observing Bai Yu. After her “revival,” Bai Yu was noticeably more animated than before. Not that she talked more, but there was a change in her emotion. The old Bai Yu felt like a pool of stagnant water, but now, at least there were ripples.
Although this “revival” was brief and essentially an illusion, if it could make her a little happier, help her recapture a sliver of what life felt like, then it was completely worth it.
They got on the bus. Because it was crowded, Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu instinctively leaned close to each other, talking quietly. The space between bus seats wasn’t large to begin with, and with Zhao Mingyue holding so many things, half her body was pressed against Bai Yu’s.
Her lips were right next to Bai Yu’s ear, no more than five centimeters away. She chuckled softly, “Little Sister Yu, what do you think will happen with Lu Liangting after we left?”
“Will those girls force him to choose? This is like something straight out of a manga!”
“Ah, Brother Lu, pick me! See how sweet I am!”
“Just like that.”
Zhao Mingyue straightened up slightly, flashed a sweet smile, then leaned back in and continued whispering, “Speaking of which, that Lu Liangting is really quite outstanding. Rich family, handsome, good grades, gentle personality, and not a playboy. It’s normal for those girls to like him.”
Not just in Zhao Mingyue’s eyes—anyone familiar with Lu Liangting would think the same. This person was practically all merits, aside from occasionally not being the sharpest tool in the shed.
Even Bai Yu didn’t refute this. Just this morning, Lu Liangting had unhesitatingly started a fight with those thugs.
“However,” Bai Yu said, also tilting her head closer to Zhao Mingyue and lowering her voice, “I don’t think it will go as you say.”
“The girls will probably say, ‘Choose me. Don’t choose me, and I’ll kill you.'”
“Ah… surely not? You’re the only one who’d say something like that, Little Sister Yu,” Zhao Mingyue said, shocked.
“No. In some ways, those few people present just now were all old friends of mine. I know them well.”
“Your old friends… yikes.” Zhao Mingyue sucked in a breath of cold air. “Why are your friends so fond of clinging to him?”
“Probably, for all those merits you just mentioned.”
“Giggle giggle. Then Lu Liangting is way too pitiful.”
The bus was crowded but quiet. Only the faint murmur of Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu’s whispers could be heard.
Everyone’s gaze was drawn to this pair. In the bus cabin, the two sisters were truly a beautiful, eye-catching sight. They didn’t give off any coquettish or cheap vibe; people just felt a sense of youthful beauty.
Everyone silently assumed the two were probably biological sisters, or at least best friends.
As they chatted, Bai Yu and Zhao Mingyue seemed to notice something at the same time—especially the latter. Mid-sentence, Zhao Mingyue’s words suddenly slowed. She blinked, realizing something.
Her face was currently no more than five centimeters from Bai Yu’s. And now, she happened to be whispering into Bai Yu’s profile… Bai Yu could probably even feel her breath. And she… if she leaned forward just the tiniest bit, she could kiss Bai Yu’s cheek…
Noticing Zhao Mingyue had stopped talking, Bai Yu instinctively turned her head toward her.
In that moment, their eyes met.
The distance between them was still so, so close. They could almost feel each other’s warmth.
“I…” Zhao Mingyue’s cheeks burned. Her small hands unconsciously clutched the hem of her skirt.
Time seemed to freeze. Perhaps a second passed. Perhaps a full minute.
Her grip on her skirt tightened. She had something welling up in her heart, an urge to say something but not knowing what exactly to say. That impulse was lodged in her chest, causing her breathing to become rapid and her heart to pound faster.
In the end, it was Zhao Mingyue who averted her gaze first.
She lowered her little head, looking back. Her eyes were a mess of disorder.
Bai Yu saw that her face was obviously red. She also heard Zhao Mingyue say something in a very, very tiny voice.
“Damn it… still wearing sunglasses… so unfair!!”
That simple sentence, right now, exposed Zhao Mingyue’s truest, innermost feelings.
It was only then that Bai Yu realized something. She reached up and touched the lady’s sunglasses on her face, which she had practically forgotten she was wearing.
The atmosphere was awkward. Not just for the two of them—even the passengers on the bus noticed. Someone coughed, their expression strange. They had just thought the two girls were sisters… no pair of sisters would have a moment like that occur between them, right?
A young man sighed silently, lowering his phone screen where he had already pulled up the “add friend” page. Two such perfect girls… why were they wasting potential on each other? Maybe he was just overthinking it. Maybe they just happened to glance at each other?
Just as the young man thought this, rekindling his hope, he saw the girl in the blue and white dress, the one sitting on the inside, make a move.
Seeing that Zhao Mingyue hadn’t spoken for a while, Bai Yu thought for a moment. Her little hand rummaged inside a small box she was carrying and took something out, closing it within her palm. She placed her hand in front of Zhao Mingyue.
“Ahem. Um…”
She took the things out, but when it came time to speak, she suddenly didn’t know what to say. As expected, doing this kind of thing was still hard for her.
“Mingyue.”
“Huh?” Hearing her name, Zhao Mingyue looked up, glancing questioningly at Bai Yu and then at her hand.
“Wha… what is it?”
“I… I have a few small candies in my hand. If you guess how many, they’re all yours.”
The moment Bai Yu said this, Zhao Mingyue was stunned. She truly couldn’t believe Bai Yu would say something like that. In her eyes, Bai Yu had always been a total stick-in-the-mud. Precisely because of this, Zhao Mingyue furrowed her brow and stared intently at Bai Yu’s hand, deep in thought. Bai Yu was finally showing a sliver of initiative—she had to seize this chance. Today, she absolutely had to guess the right number of candies.
She started analyzing from the beginning of their shopping trip, running through every single one of Bai Yu’s actions, hoping to deduce the answer from them. But after a short while, Zhao Mingyue gave up. She didn’t even know when Bai Yu had gotten the candies.
“Is there a hint?”
“No.”
“Fine.” Zhao Mingyue’s frown deepened. Since logic failed her, she’d resort to metaphysics.
“I guess… there are two!”
After her guess, she stared nervously at Bai Yu’s hand. She watched as Bai Yu turned her hand over and slowly opened her palm. There were indeed candies, but not the two she had guessed. There were four. The disappointment and discouragement in her heart was real. Knowing Bai Yu’s personality, if she said a wrong guess meant nothing, and you truly guessed wrong, she really wouldn’t give it to you. She wouldn’t waste any extra words on it.
Yet, just when she felt downcast, she heard Bai Yu’s voice.
“Congratulations. You guessed correctly.”
“G… guessed correctly?” Zhao Mingyue’s eyes widened.
“Mhm.” Bai Yu nodded and placed all four little candies into Zhao Mingyue’s palm. Then, looking at her shocked and bewildered expression, she spoke softly.
“It was two candies. The other two… are a gift from me.”
After that, Bai Yu said no more. She left Zhao Mingyue there, holding the four candies in bewilderment. A good while later, Zhao Mingyue unwrapped one candy and put it in her mouth. The rest she carefully tucked into her pocket. Savoring the light, simple sweetness, the smile that curved her lips just wouldn’t fade.
This candy… was the most delicious candy she had ever eaten in her entire life.
All the way until they got off the bus and returned home, Zhao Mingyue was still smiling. But many different thoughts had sprouted in her heart.
Perhaps… she had never truly understood Bai Yu. Or rather, had never completely understood her. When they played that little game earlier, Bai Yu genuinely wore that serious, earnest expression, just like usual. If it weren’t for that… she wouldn’t have taken the guessing so seriously. And in the end… she really, truly hadn’t expected this.
It was true, after all. Everyone had another side to them. Bai Yu was no exception.
She didn’t like to talk. She killed people—seemed to have killed a great many, in fact. Cold personality, ruthless methods. But today, wasn’t what she displayed the complete opposite?
The difference was… this side of her typically wasn’t exposed. And if it was, it was only exposed around someone who was special to her.
After dinner, Bai Yu and Zhao Mingyue sat facing each other.
Bai Yu was back to her usual self. She had taken off her sunglasses, her face betraying not a shred of emotion.
“Mingyue, tell me about your past.”
“My past…” Zhao Mingyue held the rabbit doll in both hands, slightly dazed. “Bai Yu, I’m sorry… I lied to you.”
“When I said this afternoon that I knew absolutely nothing about the village, that was a lie. I actually do know some things. I was thinking at the time that this was my issue, and it was dangerous. I didn’t want you to investigate or get involved, so…” Precisely because she knew part of the secret, she understood the danger behind it. And since she knew the danger, she naturally didn’t want Bai Yu going there. But after covering it up, it all clumsily spilled out anyway.
“You only have a shallow understanding of this matter, glimpsing just a fragment. Coupled with the fact that you’ve experienced it before, been hurt by it, and know how terrifying that thing is, you’d naturally have that train of thought. That’s perfectly normal.” Bai Yu didn’t mind. She could understand Zhao Mingyue’s reasoning.
In fact, at the time, she hadn’t revealed much either. She had only said two things: that her parents disappeared because of something in the village, and that she’d recently had nightmares.
And this whole thing only came up because she had taken the initiative to ask Zhao Mingyue, and then Zhao Mingyue revealed it. After Zhao Mingyue told her, she directly exposed the lie. Zhao Mingyue’s mind wasn’t stable at that moment, so it all came pouring out.
Zhao Mingyue’s fear of this thing was also quite understandable. It was an unknown danger, something she had personally experienced, and then later learned a tiny bit about through some channels. This would only make her even more afraid. Caution and carefulness were necessary. Being utterly terrified of the enemy was completely wrong.
If this thing was truly so powerful, why hadn’t it been able to find Zhao Mingyue’s whereabouts for all these years?
“The village I lived in when I was very young was called Pingshan Village. It was very remote, located at the foot of Pingshan Mountain, about thirty kilometers from where my parents’ graves are. The village I pointed at before… that’s the one I moved to later. That village is an offshoot of Pingshan Village.”
“And the things that happened to me… they didn’t start in the later village. They started in Pingshan Village.”
“I don’t know the specifics of what happened at the time. All I know is that when I was very small, around eight years old, I was chosen by the Village Chief to hold a certain position among the sacrifices.”
“There were supposed to be two other sacrifices like me. Later, for some reason, those two people died. My sister told me that the Village Chief and the others gathered together, discussed it, and decided to place all three positions onto me alone.”
“My sister said at the time… being a sacrifice was horrible. One would have their eyes gouged out, another their tongue cut off, another their eardrums shattered.”
“She used that to scare me, to make me run away. For a long time afterward, I thought it was all a lie, just a made-up story my sister used to convince me to leave.”
“I… before, I didn’t really believe in ghosts and monsters. I knew a lot of strange things had happened around me, but I’d never seen one with my own eyes.”
“Hmm… now that I think about it, the village I was in was indeed very strange. Bai Yu, do you know? The people there… they were immortal.”
“Immortal?” Bai Yu frowned.
“Yes. The villagers there had a method to turn dead people’s bodies into wax corpses. To stop me from going out at night, my sister told me these wax corpses would come alive at night!”
“I never saw it with my own eyes. But… at night, I could often hear footsteps outside. Many, many footsteps, messy and heavy.”
“I genuinely didn’t think much of it at the time. After I left, I didn’t take it to heart either.”
“It was only recently, after I had that dream, that I realized the problem.”
“All those footsteps… so many people gathered together… by all logic, it should have been a lively, bustling scene with people chatting. Even if they were trying not to disturb anyone at night, it shouldn’t have been so quiet that aside from the footsteps… there wasn’t a single other sound?”
