Chapter 226: The Diary
Li Jing acted as if nothing had happened, still maintaining a smile, though she knew it looked strained.
The words she had overheard in the courtyard had been too much of a shock, and even now, she hadn’t been able to calm down. Her niece seemed to have gone far beyond her expectations. It had only been a few years, but she was no longer the person she remembered.
“Auntie, you seem to have a lot on your mind. What’s wrong?”
“Zhiyun, Auntie wants to ask you a question.”
“What is it?”
“Have you been dating recently? No, do you have any thoughts of finding a boyfriend?”
“No. Why do you ask? Let me tell you first, I’m no longer interested in that block of wood, Li Muqing. Auntie, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Something is definitely strange.
Her niece used to be quite fond of that block of wood, Li Muqing. They were childhood friends, had known each other since they were little, and had a very good relationship. But since she had arrived, Li Muqing hadn’t appeared by her side once. This was out of character for her. In the past, when Li Jing came to visit, Ye Zhiyun would always deliberately bring Li Muqing over, saying it was to have a cup of tea with an elder, but any discerning person could see that her intentions were elsewhere.
Now, it was a different story. When she came back, she didn’t see Li Muqing, but instead, she saw Yu Linna, a girl she had never seen before.
Clearly, there was a problem here.
“Zhiyun, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?”
“…Auntie, what are you trying to ask me?”
Ye Zhiyun was no fool. With such an obvious question, she certainly wouldn’t think it was just small talk. If there wasn’t something going on, she wouldn’t believe it.
Li Jing really wanted to ask her directly, but she held back. She felt that if she did, it would surely be the worst possible outcome.
“I just want to show my concern for you. If you feel bored in America, I can take you back with me when I return to the country. I can talk to your mother for you.”
“Auntie…”
“Zhiyun, have something to eat. I brought this from home. You can’t get it here.”
Li Jing deliberately changed the subject, not wanting to get entangled in this any longer.
She naturally had her own plans.
But not now.
Ye Zhiyun knew something was up, but she wasn’t sure what her aunt was planning. She could only sit and wait. Li Jing, of course, chose to stay for a few days. She had a project to discuss in the United States. Since she had failed to buy the copyrights, her company’s startup plan had to be delayed for a while. She chose to find a new project to discuss in the United States, hoping to get some other income to alleviate the situation.
That night, Ye Zhiyun went to the courtyard as usual, telling the housekeeper and servants not to disturb her.
Li Jing casually drank hot tea in the living room. When Ye Zhiyun opened the door and went out, she quietly put down her teacup and followed. Although Ye Zhiyun had said not to disturb her in the courtyard, Li Jing clearly had no intention of doing so. She still followed secretly. She hid behind something and peeked for a few moments, surprised to find her niece on a video call with Shion-Sensei. Moreover, she was speaking so sweetly, and Ye Zhiyun was smiling the whole time. Although the distance was far, she could still see the blonde girl on the phone screen.
So, their relationship really isn’t ordinary.
Li Jing was unwilling to believe it, but the facts were right in front of her. She had to accept that it was all possible.
She quietly retreated from the courtyard, with no intention of staying any longer. The fact that her niece might be a lesbian was difficult for her to accept. She hoped what she saw was fake, but that was almost impossible.
Having accidentally stumbled upon her “confession” and then seeing their video call, she was fifty percent sure that Ye Zhiyun was gay.
During the time her niece was on the phone, Li Jing went to Ye Zhiyun’s room. It was certainly not right to enter someone’s room without their permission, but she didn’t care about that and went in anyway.
She wandered around the room for a while, and under the light, she saw the layout of the room. There was nothing special about it; it was much the same as the room Ye Zhiyun had in Shanghai. She circled a couple of times, pulled open a drawer, and found her diary. Ye Zhiyun’s diary had a combination lock; an ordinary person couldn’t open it. But Li Jing had watched Ye Zhiyun grow up. Her passwords were always one of a few things: either her own birthday, Li Muqing’s birthday, or the date she first bought stocks with a hundred thousand yuan. It was easy to guess her password.
Click. The moment the lock was undone, the diary opened. The secrets that Ye Zhiyun had hidden in her heart, buried deep inside, were now exposed before her eyes.
“October 9th, Sunny. That damn blonde, I will definitely not let you go. I will make this girl pay the price. How dare she try to steal Li Muqing? She will regret her actions.”
“November 1st, Cloudy. I found a house for the blonde? I even sent her to an interview? I’m a little strange. I should have a drink to calm down.”
“November 12th, Overcast. This girl, Yu Linna, is still not very reassuring. Sigh.”
“November 29th, Overcast. No matter how bad life is, you have to persevere and live. Because being alive is the best proof. Once you’re dead, nothing will be left. For the first time, I hope so much that Nana can live, can live well. I want to protect her.”
“December 18th, Sunny. The weather is great. I like being with Nana.”
“January 7th, Sunny. Today’s dinner was delicious. I want to keep eating it forever.”
“March 8th, Rain. The days without her are getting lonelier. I want to go back to a few months ago.”
“May 1st. Sunny. A mere wild man dares to touch Nana. I’ll make him pay!”
“August 2nd, Dark Clouds. I like Nana. It’s the kind of like that’s love. I must not be normal. I’m crazy, I’m definitely crazy. But, I still want to be with her. I hope so much that Nana can accept me, but I’m so afraid she’ll reject me.”
The diary recorded her emotional journey. Although it was intermittent, and she didn’t necessarily write every day, one could see Ye Zhiyun’s mental progression from the diary. Li Jing closed the diary. She still couldn’t believe it was real.
With the diary, she was now 100% sure. Her niece was gay.
How ridiculous. How could something so ridiculous happen in this world, and happen right next to her?
Ye Zhiyun liked Yu Linna. No wonder she was so good to her. No wonder she was so special to her. And no wonder she insisted on calling her every night.
It was all because of love. If it wasn’t for love, how could she have persisted for so long?
…
Far away in China, Yu Linna was on a video call with Zhiyun when her heart suddenly skipped a beat. For some reason, a sharp pain, as if something was drifting away.
“Nana?” Ye Zhiyun’s voice came from the video, puzzled.
Yu Linna looked down and found that she was still fine. Ye Zhiyun on the other side of the video was also fine. But she just had a bad feeling, as if something was disappearing.
“It’s nothing. I just feel a little… unwell.”
“Unwell? That won’t do! Go rest quickly!”
“It’s not that I’m particularly unwell. I just want to… talk to you a little more. I want to see you more. I feel like if I don’t do it now, I won’t have the chance.”
Yu Linna even felt that her words were ridiculous. With information so advanced these days, how could there be a situation where they had no chance to communicate? Besides, they were going to the same university in the future. They would have plenty of opportunities to meet. How could they rarely see each other?
What was she worried about?
Was she being too sensitive?
People always said that girls were sentimental and liked to overthink things. She had been a girl for almost twenty years, and although she still couldn’t fully understand this sentence, she was gradually beginning to understand the meaning behind it.
“What are you thinking about? How could we not have a chance to meet? Nana, did you take the wrong medicine?”
“I hope so too, that I’m just being too sensitive. Zhiyun, just talk with me a little more now. Don’t hang up so early. I want to hear your voice.”
“Mm, I’d be more than happy to.”
Ye Zhiyun was overjoyed. For her, to be able to talk with her all the time, she couldn’t be happier.
She wouldn’t let go of any opportunity to get closer to her, and it was her who had initiated it. She had no reason to refuse. Although doing so meant she couldn’t end the call even after her brother came back, she wanted to talk with her. They were separated by an ocean, the distance was too great, and they couldn’t meet in person. Besides a phone, they had no other way to contact each other. If they couldn’t get in touch, one of them would surely be driven mad by the heavens.
That night, they talked a lot, wanting to keep the call going. Ye Zhiyun didn’t want to stop at all. She kept talking to her, kept video calling her. She didn’t want the beautiful time to end. Their call had already exceeded three hours, but she still had no intention of stopping, until Yu Linna said she had to work. Only then did Ye Zhiyun reluctantly prepare to end the call.
“Nana, see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
The two of them smiled and pressed the end button. After the red button was pressed, the screen disappeared, and they could no longer see each other’s faces. The most familiar face, the most familiar smile, was gone…
Emptiness washed over her again. Ye Zhiyun leaned back in her chair, staring blankly.
It feels like it shouldn’t be like this. It seems to have ended too quickly.
She adjusted her mood, stretched, and folded the chair to go back to the living room. She had talked enough today. They could continue tomorrow. Today was a good day, and tomorrow would be even better.
“Finished?”
Li Jing had been sitting in the living room waiting for her for a long time. She was still drinking tea, but the tea leaves had been changed several times.
“Auntie… what’s wrong with you?”
Li Jing didn’t speak. She silently took out the locked diary that Ye Zhiyun had placed in the drawer.
“!!!!”
Ye Zhiyun’s face turned deathly pale.
“Auntie! You read my diary!!”
Inside were her most important secrets, secrets she couldn’t tell anyone.
That was the most untouchable place in her heart!
“Zhiyun, I was wrong. But, you were too.”
Li Jing had no intention of defending herself. Who was right and who was wrong was not important, because that wasn’t why she was here.
“Can you explain this?”
More drama time