Chapter 94: Don’t Be Afraid, Chu Chu.
Ever since Huai Xing had shared a photo of the sunset on her Moments last Saturday, Chu Wantang had developed a habit of taking pictures of the sunset.
Because on the first day after the plum rain season, Huai Xing had specially told her that the sunset was very beautiful, and also because they were looking at the same one, she wanted to record it. After all, in the past five years, there had been no such opportunity.
So in the past few workdays, she would come to the window at a fixed time to take a picture of the sunset, and she would also hide behind the curtains and watch Huai Xing go to the parking lot to get in the car and go home.
Most of the time, Huai Xing would get in the car with Lu Xianyue, and Uncle Tai would drive them back.
It wasn’t until Friday, when the weekend was released, that there was a big difference. She saw Wen Shiwei and Lu Zhenyue come to pick them up at the same time, and she saw Huai Xing smiling and getting into the driver’s seat, with Lu Zhenyue in the passenger seat.
She watched as the car, which was already very familiar to her, drove out of the parking lot and disappeared from her sight.
Were they going to shoot a restaurant exploration video? Like the video Lu Xianyue had updated last time, the scene of Huai Xing and Lu Zhenyue sitting side by side, although there were no specific faces, had also made the netizens in the comments section go crazy.
Thinking of this, Chu Wantang returned to her seat and picked up her pen again, and began to revise the team’s manuscript. Once a person was focused on one thing, it was not so easy to think too much.
But when she opened Huai Xing’s Moments at night, she had an answer to their gathering—it turned out that they had gone out to play together.
She then opened Lu Zhenyue’s Weibo. Lu Zhenyue’s post was a few minutes later than Huai Xing’s, but the pictures were no different, as if they had discussed it. But what Lu Xianyue had posted was clearly very different from the two of them.
She stared at these photos, her chest aching with stuffiness.
She knew very well that Huai Xing had set a safe boundary for her. They could be friends and be at peace. It was she who had been greedy, who had insisted on crossing it, who had been unwilling to accept that drunken peach-flavored kiss.
But what could she do? She couldn’t be ordinary friends with Huai Xing, and she also couldn’t let go.
She was a stubborn person by nature. Once she had decided, she had decided. The only accident in these years was that she had originally wanted to abandon Huai Xing but had changed her decision at the last minute because she was reluctant. Although changing her decision was of no use, her somewhat dark thoughts were still known by Huai Xing.
It wasn’t that Huai Xing had abandoned her, but that Huai Xing had run away.
In the past week, apart from seeing Huai Xing at meetings, she had deliberately avoided seeing her at other times, silently and alone licking her wounds, and repeatedly advising herself to put more effort into her design. The greatest role she could play for Huai Xing now was to do the best she could with the big show.
Huai Xing only believed in her work ability, and nothing else.
Then she would not let Huai Xing’s trust be in vain.
Therefore, even if she really wanted to chase after Huai Xing to Yunqi Yuan, she had to forcefully suppress this thought, return to the study to continue to face the computer and the design sketches, and stay up until she really needed to sleep before she was willing to go to sleep.
But on this Saturday night, outside the usually quiet study, the sound of the wind was suddenly roaring. The strong wind drilled in through the crack in the window, blowing away the fine curtains, blowing up a page of the design sketch on the table, and messing up the ends of her hair.
Chu Wantang came back to her senses from her work, and only then did she feel that the air was a little stuffy. She walked over and closed the window, and then looked at the weather forecast. The familiar lightning symbol made her press her lips together tightly. Then she tidied up everything in the study, returned to the master bedroom on the second floor, and skillfully put on her earplugs and eye mask, covering herself in the comforter, with only a small gap for her to breathe.
She didn’t know when the thunder would come. She could only make some preparations first. Every thunderstormy day without Huai Xing by her side, she had gotten through it like this.
An unknown amount of time had passed. In this environment, she had long since had no concept of it.
The scene she had seen on the day of Chu Lingyi’s death twelve years ago, and the scene of her returning home from a business trip five years ago to find it empty, flashed through her mind over and over again.
The bank card that had settled her and Huai Xing’s past had not only pierced her palm, but had also deeply cut her heart.
Fresh blood gushed out on every thunderstormy night.
“Mom… don’t go.”
“Huai Xing… don’t go.”
For the time being, she couldn’t hear or see anything. She held herself tightly, her eyes tightly closed, and her consciousness scattered again, entering a state of chaos.
The words she spoke to herself were very low and very light.
Apart from the first clap of thunder that the earplugs could not completely block, no one would respond to her.
The strong wind was rampaging, and the trees on both sides of the road were twisted. A few trash cans were overturned on the ground, and the residents of the residential buildings had all closed their windows, refusing the uninvited visit of the downpour in advance.
There was not much traffic at night. A white car coming from the suburbs was like an unsheathed sword, speeding on the road.
Huai Xing held the steering wheel and stepped on the gas. She looked at the dark sky in front of her, her jaw tense, her brows tightly furrowed, and her expression was a rare hint of anxiety.
When they were still ten kilometers away from Chengshan Mansion, lightning first cut through the sky, and the first clap of thunder arrived.
But before the downpour came, Huai Xing would not slow down. Eight kilometers, six kilometers… the navigation showed that the destination was getting closer and closer, and the streets she could see also became familiar.
In the end, there were only four kilometers left. The downpour no longer waited and poured down without a care.
The windshield wipers drew an afterimage on the windshield, and the car lights cut through the rainy night. Her vision was limited, and Huai Xing unconsciously tightened her throat, and she had no choice but to slow down.
Finally, more than ten minutes later, she drove into the familiar underground garage and got out of the car impatiently.
The thunder was still continuing, and the underground garage was also trembling. At this time, everyone had gone home as early as possible, and no one was using the elevator.
Huai Xing stood in the car and, after pressing the up button, she looked at the constantly changing numbers, her brows faintly pressed down, and she thought of what Chu Wantang had said.
-“If no one gets in or out, it’s fifteen seconds to the eighth floor and twenty-one seconds to the eleventh.”
Twenty-one seconds, one second more than going back to her home in Jingcheng.
No, it wasn’t home. It was Chu Wantang’s home. They were no longer family or sisters. Now they were just ordinary friends.
A “ding” broke the dullness of the 11th floor elevator entrance. Huai Xing lightened her breathing, lifted her leg out of the car.
The elevator doors closed behind her. She stayed at the elevator entrance, looking at the closed door on the right, and her footsteps hesitated for a moment. In fact, if she went back to her own home now and waited for the downpour to pass before returning to Yunqi Yuan, there would be no problem, right? What did Chu Wantang’s fear of thunder have to do with her?
But the memories of the past were playing tricks on her heart. She took a deep breath and still resignedly walked over.
No matter what, Chu Wantang had come to Haicheng alone, and she was her only friend here. It was nothing for her to show a little concern.
She walked to the door, entered the password, entered the door, and changed her shoes, all in one go.
As she walked in, the sensor lights on the floor lit up one by one, notifying the owner of the room.
But where was the owner of the room? In the bedroom? It seemed that was the only possibility.
Huai Xing turned on the floor lamp in the corner and stood in the empty living room. By the dim yellow light, her gaze fell on the staircase on the second floor. Memories came flooding back, and she resisted going into Chu Wantang’s master bedroom, even though nothing had happened between them in the master bedroom here.
The sound of the rain was incessant, and the rain curtain outside the window was thick. Huai Xing’s figure was slanted by the light.
Her knuckles tapped the back of her phone. She raised her hand and unlocked her phone first. The message she had sent to Chu Wantang still had no reply. Her brows furrowed again. She put one hand on her hip, pulled up her contacts, and called Chu Wantang. Her gaze fell on the soft blanket in the room, and she thought of the scene of them kissing here last week, waiting for the person on the other end to answer.
In the master bedroom, Chu Wantang’s phone, which was under her pillow, vibrated. Her tense nerves relaxed at this moment, and then tightened again.
She took off one earplug, heard the violin piece she had missed, and then took off the moist eye mask. She took out her phone from under her pillow. She looked at the caller ID with half-closed eyes and confirmed that it was a call from Huai Xing.
What was Huai Xing calling for at this time? Because she was afraid of thunder? But she had specially checked the weather forecast for the suburbs where Yunqi Yuan was located in the study, and there was no relevant sign on it.
It was best if there wasn’t, lest Huai Xing would be scared. Although Huai Xing no longer needed her by her side, and there was someone else to accompany her.
She stared at the screen, her senses gathered in front of her. She took a deep breath, and when she felt that her tone could be a little more natural, she answered the call. She said, “Hello.”
Huai Xing was having a good time in Yunqi Yuan. She also had her pride and self-respect, and she didn’t want Huai Xing to discover this fragile side of her.
…And she was even more afraid that Huai Xing would find out and not care.
A sudden clap of thunder sounded outside the window, making her just-loosened fist clench again. She closed her eyes tightly, and the next second, she heard Huai Xing ask, “Are you still working overtime, Director Chu?”
“Mm,” Chu Wantang said, evening her breathing. “This month is almost half over. There are only two months left before the big show. We have to rush the progress.”
But she was too nervous, so nervous that she didn’t even notice that there was also a similar thunder on the other end of the phone.
Huai Xing resignedly stepped onto the stairs, her footsteps overlapping with her breathing. The floor lamp in the corner watched as her figure grew taller and further away.
“No wonder,” Huai Xing said. “I sent you a message but you didn’t reply.”
Chu Wantang’s apologetic voice: “I was too focused. I didn’t notice.” She asked, “Did something happen?”
“No.”
The marble stairs were not high and a little cold and hard. The faint sound of her footsteps was drowned out by the sound of the rain, and her speaking voice was also hidden.
It took almost no time for her to stand in front of the master bedroom door, staring at the door in front of her. As her lips parted and closed, she asked again, “Are you really working overtime, Chu Wantang?”
“Mm, I am.”
“Where?”
“In the study…”
Huai Xing raised her hand and placed it on the doorknob, turning it gently.
With a “click,” the door opened, and a clap of thunder sounded at the same time. By the dim light, she saw a small hill huddled in the cotton comforter on the bed.
“Are you sure?” Huai Xing said softly, walking towards the bed.
Chu Wantang held her phone and did not speak. The thunder just now had made her heart race, and she didn’t know how to answer this question.
Huai Xing seemed to be confirming something.
“Why aren’t you talking?” Huai Xing said, standing by the bed. The further she went in, the less light there was. Perhaps only darkness could give people a sense of security.
Chu Wantang said in a low voice, “I’m not sure…”
“…” Huai Xing turned on the small night light on the side table and saw the speaker on the desk at a glance, and the dark yellow envelope bouquet in a transparent bag.
She knelt down, blinked, and said in a warm voice, “Don’t stay under the covers.”
As she spoke, she reached out her other hand, pinched the corner of the comforter, and slowly lifted it.
The soft light seeped in bit by bit. Chu Wantang had been extremely surprised to hear what Huai Xing had just said. Now, the bright light shone on her thin eyelids. She sensed all this and slowly opened her eyes. In the receiver in her ear and in the scene in front of her, Huai Xing’s voice sounded at the same time.
“Aren’t you hot?” Huai Xing asked in front of her, her features helpless.
The woman on the bed was covered in either cold sweat or sweat from being under the covers. Her forehead, nose, chin, and neck were all covered in a layer of it. Her cheeks were also flushed with an abnormal red, and her eyes were also wet, like a small animal that had gotten lost in a forest rainy season.
At this moment, she was pressing her lips together tightly and looking at her, without any extra reaction.
Huai Xing hung up the phone and placed it on the side table. She looked at her like this, casually took a tissue, and wiped the sweat from her forehead bit by bit.
The sensation on her face was not something she had only had in her fantasies. Chu Wantang fluttered her long lashes, clearly realizing this. She slowly let go of the already black-screened phone, and also let go of her clenched fist, and instead held the wrist of Huai Xing, who was wiping her sweat, feeling Huai Xing’s real, beating pulse.
They had reunited several times, and she had no way to hold Huai Xing’s hand, but this was enough for her.
Huai Xing felt her action and did not move, letting the tissue just cover her eyes.
The force on her wrist was very light, but the temperature was so hot. In the blink of an eye, she saw that there was a clear patch of water on the light green pillow.
The lower half of her face that was not covered was still exquisite. The tip of her nose was a little red, her thin lips were slightly parted, and the collar of her nightgown was a little wrinkled from being covered. A few strands of her hair were stuck to her slender neck, and they were also soaked with sweat.
On the night of the housewarming dinner, Chu Wantang was in a mess.
Tonight, she was still in a mess.
The tears were silent, and everything was silent.
Huai Xing’s gaze moved to the desk again. At this moment, a flash of lightning suddenly came in and exploded in the room. Her body leaned forward, no longer letting Chu Wantang be. She broke free from the held wrist and her other hand went to cover Chu Wantang’s ears.
Chu Wantang had also done this to her before.
The tissue that was covering her eyes fell to the side. Chu Wantang looked at Huai Xing in the blurry light and shadow, and also vaguely heard Huai Xing say to her—
“Don’t be afraid, Chu Chu.”
