Chapter 63: My Back Aches—In Short, Everything Aches. Part 2

“The virus lately is quite wicked! My girl has been taking leave to stay home these past two days. No fever, no sickness, no coughing—just those aching hips and legs. The doctor said she needs some anti-inflammatory meds. Boss Yue, if you find yourself unable to find any strength, remember to go get checked out!”

Yue Chengqi forced a smile.

She was indeed “sick,” but the “strain” had been brought by Su Ye, and only Su Ye could provide the cure. A doctor likely couldn’t help with this.

Still, she had to say, “Thanks, Auntie.”

“Eek! Just listen to your voice! You’ve got it bad! Put that pen down and get to the hospital. Oh, perfect timing! Doctor Zhang, why are you just standing there? Come over and take a look at this girl. I’ve got to deliver the next load. Happy New Year to you both in advance!”

Zhang Mingfang, who had been dragged over while carrying two bags of lamb, slowly let out a question mark. She looked up to see her little neighbor smiling awkwardly. Before she could speak, the “patient” fled into the shop like she was escaping a crime scene. Qi Sheng came out to move the goods and saw Zhang Mingfang standing at the door.

“Sister Mingfang, come in and sit. It’s so cold out.”

“What’s up with her?” Zhang Mingfang jerked her chin toward the direction Yue Chengqi had fled.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Sister Huan, but Lao Da said before she left this morning that Sister Huan would be very tired today and told me to do more work.”

Zhang Mingfang processed this for a moment and then burst into loud laughter. Carrying her bags, she strode into the shop, heading straight for Yue Chengqi without stopping.

“Hey, I thought you’d be the one doing the ‘moving.’ How can you be the one lying down?” Zhang Mingfang set her things down and pulled up a stool right in front of Yue Chengqi. “Look at you, usually keeping such a cold, stoic face. If you cut your hair short, you’d be the perfect handsome, neutral girl. How could you let that little sweetie take the lead?”

Yue Chengqi took a strategic sip of water.

“More importantly, I bet on you being the one in charge!”

Yue Chengqi was forced into a strategic cough as she choked on the water.

She looked up in shock, her eyes screaming: Bet? Lost?

Zhang Mingfang slapped the table. “Exactly! Oh man, don’t see Lin Wanjia today, otherwise she’s going to get to pick an extra destination for our trip. I don’t want to follow her around inspecting some new project!”

Yue Chengqi lowered her head to take another strategic sip before finally speaking: “Are you guys going on a trip?” She slowed her pace and deliberately raised her pitch; it sounded like she had a heavy nasal congestion, but it wasn’t too raspy.

“Yeah.” Zhang Mingfang rested her chin on her hand. “We’re leaving right after the New Year.”

“What about Youle?”

“Lin Qining is taking her back to Guangzhou. We’ll have our fun first, then probably head to Guangzhou too. After all, the kid should see her relatives. She’s gotta collect at least ten thousand in red envelopes, right?”

“Does Su Ye know?”

“She should know by now. Wanjia planned to tell her today because she has to go on another business trip tomorrow. It’s not a long one, just going to discuss some other project collaborations.”

Another business trip. Yue Chengqi tapped her cup.

She began to feel the same resentment Su Ye felt. Or rather, she had always felt it, but she had never expressed it so bluntly. Today, during this vulnerable time when her back ached, that tiny bit of resentment was released, secretly scratching at her heart.

Why were they all so busy? She was constantly on her feet in the shop, and Su Ye never stopped moving when she was away. They were running for the sake of the future, forced to ignore the present.

But she was becoming greedy. She wanted more of the now.

That evening, Su Ye was packing her luggage while grumbling incessantly. “Another business trip! Another one! Another one!!”

She was sick of Qining Group right now. The price of giving her the title of Northwest General Agent was that she had to tag along for every little thing. She knew this was a vital opportunity to build her reputation and face-recognition, but she had just established a relationship with her girlfriend. For straight couples, this would be the “honeymoon phase.”

What kind of swallows go into long-distance separation right after they build their nest!

Yue Chengqi held a hot water bottle, warming her lower back.

Su Ye asked, “What are you thinking about? Why are you leaning there and not saying anything again?”

Yue Chengqi was thinking about something she had overlooked: Zhang Mingfang’s private clinic. It was now mid-January 1999. After the New Year, it would be March. Zhang Mingfang’s clinic was supposed to open in November. If she was going on a trip and then to Guangzhou, would she have enough time?

But she didn’t dare tell Su Ye yet, because Lin Wanjia was conspicuously absent from that future memory. She feared Su Ye’s temper would flare up instantly. She could only shake her head and whisper, “My back hurts.”

Su Ye felt even guiltier. She walked over with her arms crossed, then placed her hands on Yue Chengqi’s waist. “Does it really hurt that much?”

“Then we won’t ‘eat’ while standing next time. The books didn’t say standing would make your back hurt. Let me rub it for you.”

She pressed Yue Chengqi down to lie prone. After warming her hands for a moment, she began to knead the muscles slowly.

Her hands were very hot. Except for that one severely injured leg which turned ice-cold whenever the weather cooled, Su Ye’s entire body was like a small furnace. These hands were scorching, and as they kneaded slowly and gently, the deep muscular ache eased significantly.

Yue Chengqi lowered her head and closed her eyes, relaxing a bit more. Her back felt much better.

The girl followed the advantage, tracing the muscle fibers, changing from kneading to light chopping motions with the side of her hand. She could see the other woman gradually relaxing, which naturally made her imagine how much her back must have been hurting. She said apologetically, “Next time, I’ll be the one standing. I’ll…”

“Su Ye.” Yue Chengqi interrupted her calmly, suppressing a shiver. “Shut up.” She didn’t want to hear it.

She didn’t want to discuss the “next time” positions, because such a discussion would inevitably lead to one conclusion…

Actually, even without a discussion, it would inevitably lead to that conclusion.

As Su Ye rubbed, the vibe shifted. Her hands slid up the curve of the waist, soon finding their way under the thin fabric. With a light flick, she undid the clasp and whispered, “Ah Huan, isn’t it uncomfortable to wear this while sleeping?”

Yet, she didn’t take it any further. She restrained herself, withdrawing her hand to continue rubbing the waist. It was just that Yue Chengqi knew her too well; she could hear the girl’s stifled frustration in her breathing. She reached back to press Su Ye’s hand, then turned over to look at her.

The girl was kneeling beside her, biting her lip pitifully. “Ah Huan… I want to.”

“I think I’m the one who’s being ‘wanted’ here…”

“No.” The girl pouted. “I actually arranged three days’ worth of stock in one go today… because it’s my turn.”

“But I have to leave for the provincial capital at eight tomorrow morning. We can’t stay up too late. If we only do it once, it definitely won’t be enough, but it’s my turn.”

It was finally her turn, and she had specifically adjusted her schedule just to avoid delaying the next day’s work. But now something else had cropped up—something she couldn’t adjust or refuse. It was a shame, a true shame.

She shifted from kneeling to sitting, hugging her knees and sulking all by herself.

Yue Chengqi sat up against the headboard. “How about… just once? I’ll be very, very gentle.” Although it might not be fully satisfying, it could at least save Su Ye from feeling so regretful.

Even though she didn’t quite understand why Su Ye was so focused on the “tally,” she was willing to satisfy her.

The girl’s gaze dropped even lower as she grumbled, “I can’t. I’m going away for ten days. You’re so cruel.”

She said it so earnestly, as if she had calculated every second. Yue Chengqi couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Clutching her waist, she leaned over Su Ye’s knees and laughed, pinching the girl’s cheeks to stop her from pouting.

But the girl looked so aggrieved, gesturing wildly with her fingers. “I worked so hard to adjust that stock! Three days’ worth! Do you know how much my brain hurts!”

Yue Chengqi pressed on her shoulders, making them lie down together. Looking down at her from above, she lightly brushed her lips against the girl’s. “Then… how about I let you lie there tonight?”

“I told you, I’m going away for ten days! I don’t want to know what it feels like and then have to wait ten days for more. That’s too pitiful.” Su Ye hugged her shoulders, the corners of her eyes faintly reddening. “Am I too busy? Are you going to get tired of me?”

She hadn’t felt this way before. She used to think that Ah Huan would just wait for her while she was away. But after their relationship had actually progressed during this time, she felt more and more guilty—

How could they be so busy? Busy to the point where they could only romance each other at night. Their time lying together was so precious, yet they wanted to talk, they wanted to do things, and they wanted to just lean against each other in silence to enjoy a rare moment of peace.

She really wanted to split one minute into three parts; only then might she barely satisfy her own needs.

“It’s fine.” Yue Chengqi leaned down to nuzzle the soft skin of her cheek. “Now is the time to work hard. You have to handle everything perfectly now so that in the future, we can slow down and enjoy ourselves, right?”

“The future…” Su Ye murmured, hugging her tighter, feeling a sudden wave of sadness. “How much of a future do we have?”

To be honest, all of her anxiety stemmed from this question: How much longer is our future? How much longer can we lean against each other like this? Would there come a day when she returned from a business trip or finished work only to find the house empty, leaving her with a hollow home and no one to understand what had happened?

Indeed, if history returned to its proper track one day and Yue Huan vanished, would she take all traces of her existence with her? Would Su Ye be the only one left to remember everything?

Perhaps she wouldn’t even remember. Once history corrected itself, everyone might forget what happened during these three years.

She felt so sad.

She wanted to hold Yue Huan like this for a long, long time.

Yue Chengqi felt the pain in her words, but at a time like this, someone had to be strong. They couldn’t be miserable together, and they certainly couldn’t collapse together. She lowered her head, her nose brushing against Su Ye’s, whispering, “Quality is what matters, not time.”

She didn’t even believe her own words, and Su Ye didn’t either. The girl’s shoulders trembled in her embrace, her voice thick with tears. “But quality needs time to build up.”

“I really want to go out and play with you. I have so many things I want to do. I feel like we could do so much, but we have no time now.”

“Ah Huan, am I a really, really terrible partner?”

So terrible that they still hadn’t officially come out to their friends and family. Even if everyone already knew in their hearts, it wasn’t the same. She wanted to say with great pride that she had an exceptionally beautiful girlfriend.

The irony was that right now, they didn’t even have time to sit down and eat a meal together.

Yue Chengqi breathed a sigh of relief and leaned down to kiss her. “How could you be? The fact that you’re thinking about these things already makes you wonderful.”

“But I don’t have a solution.”

Su Ye pouted.

Balancing a career and a relationship was truly difficult. It was a tough topic for any couple, but especially so for them. They needed financial freedom to be truly free, yet before achieving that freedom, they had to sacrifice so much…

The girl remained dejected.

She was so terrible! So annoying!

“It doesn’t have to be solved right this second.” Yue Chengqi propped herself up and unfastened the buttons of her pajamas. “There are solutions to many things that you can’t even imagine. For example, if you arrange everything now, won’t we be able to go out and play together next year?”

“Can’t you just shrink? I want to put you in my pocket and take you with me.” Su Ye leaned back and sighed. When she looked up, she jerked in surprise. “Wait, wasn’t I supposed to be the one lying down tonight??”

Yue Chengqi’s lips curved slightly. “Didn’t you say it would be too cruel to let you experience it once and then make you wait ten days for more? How could I be such a heartless person?”

Su Ye looked at her hesitantly, her pupils trembling. “Then how…” do we lie down?

Soon, her question was answered. As she lay there, she watched the other woman slowly move over her. “Why don’t you try this? It shouldn’t be too different from when we were standing yesterday.”

Su Ye hesitated. “Doing it like this… won’t your back hurt even more?”

“It’s fine. I can rest properly for ten days. Don’t worry.”

Yue Chengqi pinched her cheek and then rubbed her earlobe. “Don’t be afraid. Tonight, I just want you to be happy.”

Her own accounts could be settled later. Tonight, making Su Ye happy and joyful was all that mattered.