Chapter 25

White rain fell densely, like silver bamboo threads slanting down gently. The roof tiles were dark and deep. Under the eaves, cats and dogs lounged wearily.

The courtyard was full of the sound of rustling rain. Under the loquat tree, the gathered water was like a mirror. The bluestone, silent, spoke of passing years.

After the wind calmed and the rain stopped, there was a special scent in the air. Like a cake with a grassy, fishy smell, like an old house whose owner hadn’t returned for a long time.

Yun Huizhi and Chu Ruoyou got up early to wash up. After finishing, they didn’t rush out. Without a word, they returned to bed to do morning exercises and train their bodies.

Chu Ruoyou had a great figure. It wasn’t overly noticeable with clothes on—even wearing a shirt, she wouldn’t appear overly buxom, instead looking slender and coolly aloof.

But underneath the clothes, she was full and seductive, more than a handful, creamy white and smooth.

Yun Huizhi could only admit she was a vulgar person. She indulged in that captivating body, letting loose her greed and mischievous tastes.

When Chu Ruoyou told her she couldn’t anymore, she asked why. Chu Ruoyou said it was too fast, she couldn’t take it. She said then she could slow down.

Turned out, still couldn’t.

Then not doing it was fine too. She was tired of it anyway.

After finishing and cleaning up, Yun Huizhi opened the drawer. “Only one box of finger cots left, oh. Need to restock.”

The red flush receded from her face. Her light pink skin returned to normal. Chu Ruoyou came back from the edge of lost composure.

Having caught her breath, she said casually, “Don’t restock. After we finish this box, I’m going home.”

Yun Huizhi whipped her head around, her body swaying slightly, her knee bumping against the still-open drawer. “You’re leaving?”

“In a few days. Once the rain stops later. We’ll wander around and eat a bit more, rest for a couple of days, and then it’ll be about time to go.”

Chu Ruoyou spoke weakly, her energy low.

But she didn’t close her eyes to rest as usual. She looked intently at Yun Huizhi, crouching by the bed, wanting to see her expression clearly.

Her mental activity concealed a malice she hadn’t even noticed. She wanted to see Yun Huizhi’s reaction upon hearing her words.

Eyes filled with forcibly suppressed reluctance and disappointment, not daring to say much to make her stay.

She knew she could see that scene. Or rather, her heart needed that scene to confirm something.

Sure enough, Yun Huizhi lowered her eyes. Pitifully, as if about to cry. But she didn’t say another word.

She had no standing to say anything. And she had promised she wouldn’t try to make her stay.

The anticipated satisfaction didn’t come. The moment Chu Ruoyou saw her like that, her heart ached and softened.

She really might be the bad woman Yun Huizhi spoke of.

So, watching others’ emotions fluctuate for you was this addictive.

Before she could even start to coax her, Yun Huizhi suddenly raised her brows and smiled. “Alright then, you can leave after we finish this box.”

The slyness in her eyes made Chu Ruoyou wary. “What are you secretly chuckling about?”

“Nothing, I just love to smile.”

She thought, later on, she would have less sex with Chu Ruoyou. And even when they did, she wouldn’t wear protection, hm. She would play dirty!

But in the next instant, she couldn’t smile. What was the use of playing word games? Chu Ruoyou was still going to leave in the end.

Chu Ruoyou wouldn’t stay in Jianjia forever.

Just like she never would.

This town, this summer, them—all were moving forward relentlessly day and night, never to return.

They held each other for a while. Hugging could secrete substances that combat anxiety and unease.

Healing each other became the most important part of the aftermath.

But soon, both lost patience and lay back-to-back, looking at their phones.

A moment later, Yun Huizhi adjusted her sleeping position. Turning over, she saw the beautiful line of Chu Ruoyou’s back.

Her skin was fine and smooth, like mutton-fat white jade.

Although she had no real concept of what mutton-fat white jade actually looked like, that was what she thought.

She took a photo from behind. The lighting was dim, so the resulting atmosphere was even more evocative.

She discovered she might be suited to be a boudoir photographer.

She sent the photo to Chu Ruoyou, with a “tongue” emoji.

Chu Ruoyou, back facing her, didn’t move, but quickly replied with a “cleaver” emoji.

Yun Huizhi sent a “red heart.”

Chu Ruoyou replied with a “bomb.”

Yun Huizhi sent a “rose.”

Chu Ruoyou replied with “weak.”

Undeterred, Yun Huizhi sent three rows of “kissy” faces.

This time, Chu Ruoyou replied: [Dummy, come hold me.]

Yun Huizhi tossed her phone aside and scooted over, wrapping her arms tightly around Chu Ruoyou’s waist. She wanted to say something but feared anything out of her mouth would be pathetic, so she could only stay silent.

She took a deep breath in Chu Ruoyou’s hair. So nice. Chu Ruoyou was no longer a stranger; even the hair and body products she used were hers.

The two of them seemed like one person now.

She felt Chu Ruoyou kiss the back of her hand, then gently bite her wrist.

Little Doggie!

—

Downstairs, Wen Zi and Yuanyuan were checking out today. Before leaving, for some reason, they had a fight, a pretty fierce one.

Yun Huizhi heard it near the staircase. She wanted to mediate but feared adding fuel to the fire, so she didn’t feel right going over.

Chu Ruoyou had a meeting that morning. Yun Huizhi consciously gave her the room.

Without Chu Ruoyou’s say-so, Yun Huizhi didn’t dare go back, so she went to find Little Zhang to hang out.

She had just sat down when the front desk phone rang. Little Zhang politely asked if the caller was booking a room.

The other party said yes, asked about the inn’s situation, then asked Little Zhang’s name.

“My surname is Zhang. The Zhang written with the characters for ‘stand’ and ‘early’.”

…

After answering a bunch of questions, Little Zhang lost his patience and finally sensed something was wrong: “My educational background? Do you need something specific?”

Yun Huizhi felt more annoyed the more she listened. She walked over and snatched the receiver. The middle-aged man on the other end was just saying, “I want to understand the overall quality and service level of your homestay staff.”

“Mr. Yun Yong, are you coming to stay? Then you need to find out? If you’re coming, pay a deposit first. If not, hang up.”

Yun Yong yelled loudly, “Why are you there with him?!”

“It’s raining, I’m bored, just came down for a chat. What of it? Alright, forget it. Wait until I’m feeling better next month to contact you. Don’t look for me again this month.”

Yun Huizhi hung up the phone.

Little Zhang guessed it. “Your dad.”

“Yeah, really knows how to harass people.”

“He seems quite interested in me.”

Yun Huizhi gave an embarrassed smile. “He’s pushing me to go over there for matchmaking. I told him I like you, so now I can’t bear to leave the town.”

Little Zhang instantly put on a deadpan face. “Ms. Yun, please clarify this with him right now to avoid unnecessary trouble for me later.”

Yun Huizhi didn’t budge. “Stingy.”

“If you don’t clarify, that’s fine. When the time comes, I’ll just say you have a girlfriend and I’m not that familiar with you. If he’s interested, I can give him your girlfriend’s contact info.”

Yun Huizhi panicked. “Hey, that’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?”

“Tit for tat.”

Yun Huizhi had no choice but to appease him. “I’ll go back and set things straight with my dad. I guarantee this will be the last time he bothers you.”

Little Zhang didn’t respond immediately. He gave her a meaningful look, then leaned on the counter and said, “You admitted she’s your girlfriend.”

“When did I…”

Yun Huizhi thought of that night. Chu Ruoyou had asked her how many people she’d told that Chu Ruoyou was her girlfriend. She’d said that night was the first time.

It could only be that one time.

“She’s not. Don’t talk nonsense.”

Yun Huizhi feigned indifference. “She’s leaving in a few days. There’s no chance for us.”

“Oh.” Little Zhang went back to his book.

After a while, Wen Zi came to check out. Her expression wasn’t great; clearly, she was forcing a smile.

“Sorry, we accidentally broke a glass cup in the room. We’ll accept the compensation.”

After finishing the checkout, she smiled at Yun Huizhi and said, “Zhizhi, if you ever go to Xiacheng, contact me. Let me treat you to a meal. You can even stay at my place.”

From start to finish, Yuanyuan stood outside and didn’t come over to talk. After Wen Zi left, Little Zhang said, “They fought again.”

“Often? They seemed to have such a good relationship.” Yun Huizhi had only witnessed it once.

“Often. I’ve seen them fight three times right in front of me. This is the second set of cups they’ve accidentally broken.”

Little Zhang said it as if it were routine.

“Ah, they didn’t hurt themselves, did they?”

“Shouldn’t have. If they did, they would’ve needed medicine.”

Yun Huizhi felt something unspeakably strange. She had always envied them for loving each other deeply, for having a stable relationship.

But there was also a messy side.

When Chu Ruoyou’s video conference ended, on her way back to the room, she saw Wen Zi’s Weibo update.

The gist of the text was: the trip ended here, they had an especially great time, and their feelings had also deepened.

It even included a snippet of their bedtime sweet talk from last night as evidence, the level of sweetness enough to be sickening.

The attached photos had a few selfies, all in outfits different from what they wore today.

Yun Huizhi felt an indescribable weirdness. The moment she sat down, she asked Chu Ruoyou, “When a relationship turns into a job, becomes part of relying on something to survive, is it still pure?”

Chu Ruoyou had just finished working and didn’t understand the context of the question. Assuming Yun Huizhi was asking about their own relationship, she deliberated and said, “Clearly not. It’s even worth doubting whether there are feelings at all.”

She wanted to hear Yun Huizhi’s opinion.

“Ah? It wouldn’t go that far, would it?”

Yun Huizhi still believed in love.

Chu Ruoyou took a sip of tea and asked coolly, “What are you trying to say?”

Yun Huizhi sat knee-to-knee with her and told her about Wen Zi and Yuanyuan.

Only then did Chu Ruoyou realize it had nothing to do with them. Right, how could it be related to them.

Although accompanying her was Yun Huizhi’s current job, between them, there were no feelings at all.

Since there were none, what was there to discuss about purity?

Looking at Yun Huizhi’s troubled expression, she had to make her words much more merciful.

“Rarely are feelings completely pure. But if they can manage to present an image for others to see, what’s behind it can’t be too terrible. At most, there are joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures, but they only show the good side to others.”

Yun Huizhi caught on quickly, believing and accepting this explanation.

“That’s true. That’s actually being responsible towards their feelings and fans.”

She sighed. “Even though they bicker, I still envy them. I want a girlfriend too. I definitely wouldn’t fight with her.”

She had spoken without thinking, just saying what came to mind, but after saying it, she suddenly felt overly self-conscious.

It was as if her words were deliberately meant for Chu Ruoyou to hear.

They weren’t.

But she also wished Chu Ruoyou would take them in.

Could Chu Ruoyou also be in need of a girlfriend?

She glanced over and saw Chu Ruoyou suddenly smile. That smile carried a hint of coldness and sarcasm.

“What you envy is just the relationship you’ve imagined. Pay less attention to those relationship bloggers.

After fully reconciling, they’ll selectively pick some of the less ugly facts to share and dissect. As successful lovers, they’ll chat about so-called ‘experience’ or ‘love bibles.’ In the end, they always declare smugly, ‘We will never break up,’ ‘We will love each other forever.'”

“You mean Wen Zi and the others?”

“No, I’m not familiar with them. I’m talking about everyone who uses love as a career to present to others. It’s always like this.

Right up until the second before the worst ending arrives, they’re still passionately in love online, the ‘fairy tale couple’ in others’ eyes.”

Yun Huizhi agreed with some of what she said. She saw through things more than most, but Yun Huizhi didn’t like her attitude. Between the lines, everything was negativity and pessimism.

Was everyone really that good at performing? Surely someone could grow old together, happy every day.

“That doesn’t stop me from envying them. I still want to try being in a relationship. But no rush. I’ll slowly wait for a suitable relationship.”

“How did we suddenly get so deep? Is Teacher Chu holding a class for me?”

Yun Huizhi brushed the topic aside, taking out some candy she had swiped from the front desk. “Have something sweet.”

Slowly wait. Suitable.

As Chu Ruoyou unwrapped the candy, she smiled faintly. “Oh well. Our relationship doesn’t need depth. A rare deep chat can also be brushed aside with candy.”

Yun Huizhi blinked, sensing her displeasure but confused by it, even feeling a bit wronged. Why was Chu Ruoyou suddenly taking digs at her?

Whether out of spite or as a brush-off, she went along with it. “Yeah, it’s good. Fleeting relationships are simpler than long-term ones. We’ll just be happy together, never mind how others struggle.”

Chu Ruoyou didn’t reply. She realized the candy didn’t taste as good as the first time.

“Your past girlfriends—were they all your ideal type?” she asked.

Yun Huizhi said, “Yes.”

“Oh, your preferences are quite fixed.”

“They’re not.”

Yun Huizhi told her, “I can also fall for someone who’s completely different from my ideal type. Even more seriously than before.”

And much harder, too.