Yun Chun asked carefully once more. She watched Lu Qingxue quietly, waiting for her answer.
But all she received was a kiss on the forehead and the words, “It’s getting late. You should sleep first.” Then, under Yun Chun’s puzzled and disappointed gaze, Lu Qingxue vanished in an instant.
The light in Yun Chun’s eyes dimmed little by little, bit by bit, until it went out entirely.
Like a lamp flickering out inexplicably overhead.
Without repair, it wouldn’t shine again tonight. Or perhaps… not just tonight.
In the master bedroom on the second floor, Qian Shan reclined in the rocking chair, swaying it gently. The bells around her ankle jingled softly.
Spotting Lu Qingxue’s figure, Qian Shan smiled offhandedly. “Do you think you’ve won?”
Lu Qingxue hadn’t expected Qian Shan to be there. She pondered for a moment. “She said she likes me.”
Qian Shan arched a brow. “But you don’t look too happy about it.”
Lu Qingxue shot back, “I’ve won. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”
Qian Shan drawled lazily, “It’s not even been a full month yet.”
Lu Qingxue’s fingers curled tight, her brows knitting as she said in a low voice, “If she’s said she likes me, then it’s forever.”
Qian Shan looked as if she’d heard the funniest thing, chuckling at Lu Qingxue. But considering everything Lu Qingxue had done, the words didn’t seem out of place coming from her.
Pressing the edge of the rocking chair to still it, Qian Shan rose and walked toward Lu Qingxue. “Mm… Our bet was whether she liked you or not. Since she’s confessed to you, I’ve naturally lost.” She glanced up at Lu Qingxue. “So, what do you want?”
Lu Qingxue frowned, eyeing Qian Shan skeptically. She couldn’t believe Qian Shan would admit defeat so easily.
Sure enough, the next moment, Qian Shan grinned. “But whatever you want, we’ll talk about it in twenty-odd days. The bet’s term hasn’t ended yet. In the meantime, how about we make another wager? For the remaining twenty-some days.”
Rain pattered steadily outside the window. Lu Qingxue’s eyes flowed like rippling moonlight as she gazed coolly at Qian Shan. “Why should I bet with you?”
“Probably because…” Qian Shan smiled enigmatically, her words ghostlike, “I could erase you at any moment?”
Lu Qingxue’s hand at her side tapped twice against her leg.
With mock innocence, Qian Shan asked, “Imagine if that human wakes up tomorrow and you’re gone forever, without even a farewell. What do you think her mood would be?”
Lu Qingxue didn’t dare imagine it.
She had no choice in the matter.
After a few seconds, Lu Qingxue composed herself and asked calmly, “What are we betting on?”
Satisfied, Qian Shan smiled slowly. “I’ve said you two are fated but not meant to be. If your relationship stays smooth and unchanged over these remaining days, then I’ve lost.”
She added deliberately, “You said it yourself—once ‘like’ is spoken, it’s forever. So let’s see if you’re right.”
Seeing Lu Qingxue glance at her, Qian Shan continued, “But if a parting occurs between you, or any rift that harms your feelings, then I’ve won.”
Qian Shan’s eyes gleamed like silvery waves. “If you win, I’ll grant you two requests—within reason, of course. I can’t take on the Emperor for you.”
It was a half-joking remark, neither too big nor too small. Seeing no reaction on Lu Qingxue’s face, Qian Shan thought to herself that she really was a stubborn gourd before sobering her expression. In a cold voice, she said, “If you lose, it’s the same terms as before—serve me wholeheartedly. But this time, with one more condition.”
She told Lu Qingxue, “You’ll stay by my side forever.”
A flicker finally stirred in Lu Qingxue’s otherwise emotionless eyes. “Stay by your side for what?”
Qian Shan replied, “To keep me company.” Lu Qingxue might be a bit dull, but she was more entertaining than the other ghosts in the Underworld.
Lu Qingxue frowned. “Change it.”
Qian Shan: “No.”
Lu Qingxue: “I don’t want to see you every day.”
Qian Shan: “…”
She laughed in exasperation. “Lu Qingxue, you’ve got some nerve.”
Daring to complain about her at a time like this.
“I’m busy every day. You think I want you around just for laughs? You’ll have plenty to keep you occupied.”
Lu Qingxue fell silent for a few seconds before murmuring softly, “If I don’t have to see you every day, I can accept it.”
Qian Shan lifted her skirt hem and perched on the edge of the bed. “So, we’re betting, then?”
“Do I have the right to refuse?”
Just like that day, Lu Qingxue offered Qian Shan her first smile.
But it wasn’t a smile for Qian Shan—it was one born from thoughts of Yun Chun.
Lu Qingxue said, “She didn’t make me lose the last bet. I won’t lose this one either.”
“I trust her.”
~~~
After returning from Milan, Yun Chun was noticeably busier than before.
Still, she made time amid her work to gather with her old KTV crew for a meal, treating them to dinner. Once they learned she’d quit that job, they congratulated her on returning to her main career while tearfully lamenting her departure. The mood swung from joyful to sorrowful, with everyone clustered around Yun Chun, crying one moment and laughing the next.
Fortunately, Yun Chun kept things under control, preventing total chaos.
When the gathering ended, Yun Chun and Wenwen—both living in the Old City District—shared a cab home.
Deep autumn nights carried a chill bite. With the windows closed, the faint scent of the driver’s air freshener filled the enclosed space.
The atmosphere was serene.
Though Yun Chun had drunk with everyone at the table, unlike that previous banquet, tonight’s alcohol only left her pleasantly tipsy.
Wenwen, however, was thoroughly drunk. Leaning on Yun Chun’s shoulder, she rambled drunkenly about her first impressions of Yun Chun, how it felt to spend time with her, and recent happenings—like spotting Yun Chun’s photo on the hot search trends. The jarring shift from seeing her daily to her suddenly seeming like an unattainable star, the heartache of knowing Yun Chun had quit for a better life (which she supported, yet couldn’t help mourning). Yun Chun tried comforting her at first, but something felt off as it went on.
Dressed in a deep blue denim jacket, Yun Chun felt her shoulder grow damp from Wenwen’s tears. She pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket. As she did, Wenwen’s voice came softly: “Sister Yun…”
Yun Chun murmured an acknowledgment and offered the tissue. Wenwen waved it off, instead rubbing her face against Yun Chun’s clothes.
Yun Chun: “…”
She gripped the tissue tighter and stayed silent.
Fine. It was already soaked—two more smears wouldn’t matter.
Once Wenwen wiped her tears and lifted her head from Yun Chun’s shoulder, in the dim cab light, she pouted. “Can we still be friends?”
Yun Chun replied, “Why not? I’m just changing jobs, not changing who I am.”
Wenwen: “But I feel like the gap between us will keep growing. You…”
Yun Chun finished for her: “I’ll pretend I don’t know you all?”
Wenwen sighed wistfully: “…Yeah.”
“Others might, but I never will,” Yun Chun said.
These people were the ones she’d met before her rebirth from the flames—she could never forget them.
“Not a single one of you. If you ever need my help, come find me anytime, okay?”
Yun Chun paused after speaking. Her tone now… it sounded just like Lu Qingxue’s.
That all-encompassing gentleness.
Had she picked it up from spending so much time with Lu Qingxue?
It turned out that being around gentle people for long enough made you gentle too.
The cab pulled to the curb. Yun Chun patted Wenwen’s shoulder. “Time to get out.”
The stop was still a ways from Wenwen’s building, and a dark alley lay ahead. Worried about her safety, Yun Chun offered to walk her home.
Over the eight-minute trek, Yun Chun supported the staggering Wenwen, who swayed left and right in her drunkenness. A gust of cold wind sobered her a touch, though she still clung to Yun Chun, savoring the last contact.
At the destination, Yun Chun let go to say goodbye, but as she turned, Wenwen tugged her clothes from behind.
The gesture inexplicably reminded Yun Chun of Lu Qingxue.
That day, she’d done the same—clutching Lu Qingxue’s clothes, begging her not to leave.
Yun Chun steadied her thoughts and turned back. “What’s wrong?”
Wenwen just stared at her, silent.
They stood by the bushes below the building, autumn having withered the leaves. Yet the woman before her had embodied spring for Wenwen from the very first day they’d met.
Nothing seemed to faze her. Everything appeared under her control.
How could someone be so… captivating?
And her smile made “spring” feel all the more vivid.
Buoyed by the alcohol, Wenwen voiced the secret she’d bottled up for a year on the job: “Sister Yun, you say we’ll keep in touch, but I know seeing you after today might be hard. There’s something I never got the chance—or courage—to tell you…”
Yun Chun gazed at her in stunned silence as Wenwen confessed, “Sister Yun, I like you.”
Yun Chun had suspected as much in the cab, but hearing it outright still surprised her.
Wenwen released her grip and tilted her head back, exhaling into the cold night sky. “Feels so much better saying it out loud.”
As the warm breath dissipated, Wenwen curved her lips in a smile at Yun Chun. “Sister Yun, don’t mind me. I just wanted to tell you. I never expected us to be together—I don’t even know if you like girls. They say you don’t seem straight, but I was still too scared to say it. And I know I’m not good enough for you. I wouldn’t dare hope.”
They might work together, but Yun Chun always felt like she belonged to another world—one Wenwen couldn’t enter or reach.
“You’re good enough for anyone,” Yun Chun replied after a pause.
Wenwen blinked in surprise, then grinned. “Sister Yun, that’s exactly what I like about you.”
She had never looked down on Wenwen and had taken care of her in the smallest details.
Once she had shared her innermost thoughts, Wenwen suddenly relaxed.
She asked Yun Chun, “Sister Yun, can you tell me what kind of person you like?”
If possible, I want to change myself into the kind of person you like.
What kind?
Yun Chun half-lidded her eyes and blurted out, “Lu Qingxue.”
Wenwen didn’t react for a moment. “What?”
Yun Chun mimicked Wenwen by tilting her head slightly and breathed a puff of air toward the starless night sky.
She watched the breath dissipate, as if it rose into the heavens and turned into clouds. A smile tugged at the corner of Yun Chun’s mouth. “I like people’s names.”
Saying it aloud really felt good.
Yun Chun nodded and told Wenwen, “I don’t know what kind of person I like, but everything about her—I like it all.”
The very word “like” was something she had learned from Lu Qingxue.
Otherwise, Yun Chun might have thought Wenwen was just joking when she said she liked her.
Wenwen’s eyes reddened. So… Yun Chun did have someone she liked. It was a good thing Wenwen had never dared to hope they could be together. In that case… there was no need for her to change.
“That’s good, then.”
Wenwen sniffed. “Does she know you like her?”
Yun Chun smiled. “She knows.”
On a rainy night, I told her “I like you,” just like you did.
In you, I saw myself from that day.
Wenwen pursed her lips. “Then you two…”
“Are you together?”
