Chapter 77: But I Don’t Know How to Face Her. Part 1

So, she was asking about the boss.

Li Xiao let out a sigh of relief. She had almost thought this guest was about to write her some kind of negative review.

“The daughter of Auntie Wan from our village suddenly went into labor this afternoon. The ambulance has a hard time getting in here, so our boss and the Young Village Secretary drove her to the city themselves. She’s not here right now. If there’s anything else you want to know, I can certainly tell you everything I know!”

Yue Chengqi rested her chin on her hand and walked over to the decorative paintings on the wall. Her gaze wandered, taking another look around the small main hall of the guesthouse.

She had found information about this place online. The guesthouse looked well-off but not excessively wealthy; they hadn’t bought much advertising. Instead, they relied on word-of-mouth from past guests, eventually becoming a minor “Internet-famous” guesthouse in a “viral” village. It had even received official praise as an outstanding example of the rural revitalization industry.

She had come here because of a strange, inexplicable sense of familiarity in her heart. Now that she was seeing it, the decorations were clearly things she was seeing for the first time, yet that sense of familiarity hadn’t faded at all. It was as if this place were a second home.

How could I have such a feeling?

She tapped her chin and asked, “What is your boss’s name?”

Since a single helmet was enough to bribe the girl, Li Xiao spoke with great enthusiasm. “Our boss’s surname is Ye, and she’s a beautiful older sister! Oh, though she doesn’t let me call her ‘Sister.’ She says I’m the same age as her daughter, and calling her ‘Sister’ makes her feel guilty. But she looks so young! Calling her ‘Sister’ is perfectly fine.”

Yue Chengqi’s mind drifted for a moment. She glanced sideways at Li Xiao, then withdrew her gaze with a soft “Oh.” She didn’t pry further and changed the subject. “Then I’m going to go cook. Is there any meat? Are you hungry?”

“Eggs are free, but for pork, it’s an extra five yuan. After all, they’re pigs raised in the village—hehe, they’ve all passed inspection! The beef and mutton are bought fresh daily, but it’s late now, so there’s none left. However, if you’re cooking for me, I won’t charge you.”

Yue Chengqi laughed.

What a carefree girl with no principles! She was the kind of lively maiden that could only grow amidst these green mountains and emerald waters.

If she brought Su Ye here to recover in such a beautiful environment, would things get better?

In the end, she made a large bowl of egg-fried rice and used the few remaining vegetables to whip up a braised pot of cabbage, tofu, and pork. She took a bowl of each back to her room and left the rest for Li Xiao.

The young girl wouldn’t eat that much at night. She scooped out a portion for herself and put the rest into the rice cooker, setting it to medium heat to keep it warm for someone else.

By the time Yue Chengqi returned to her room, rain began to patter outside the window.

She looked at this early February rain with surprise, unsure for a moment whether it should be counted as spring rain or winter rain. She reclined in the small hanging chair by the window, one leg curled up and the other dangling. Holding her food, she watched the rain fall into the darkening dusk. She opened her phone camera, took a photo of her profile against the rainy window, and slowly enjoyed her dinner.

She did not yet know that a reunion was slowly brewing within this gentle wind and fine rain.

In the bustling big city, Su Ye had just finished a day’s work and was preparing to head home. She slumped into her office chair, rubbing her stomach which was throbbing with a dull ache and nausea. Unbeknownst to her, a cold sweat had broken out on her forehead.

She let out a slow breath. Just as she picked up her personal phone, the screen lit up.

The top message was from the most important person on her WeChat. Below that was a special follow notification from Weibo, which she had only recently figured out how to use—it was a video. There were also several trivial unread messages from the afternoon to the evening, seemingly condemning her for her excessive work habits, as she had worked straight from lunch until eleven at night.

The handover of the convenience stores and community shops in Lin Province was in its final stages. These past few days, they were discussing how the handover announcement should be worded and how to split the costs for compensation work. Lin Youle couldn’t handle this part yet; she was too young and lacked the prestige to command respect from others.

Su Ye rubbed her brow, which was aching from staring at video conferences all day. She took a sharp breath and waited a moment before clicking on Lin Wanjia’s message.

It was just one picture. But that one picture made her freeze completely.

She slowly zoomed in on the photo, looking at it repeatedly. Suddenly remembering something, she switched apps and opened Weibo. She searched for Yue Chengqi’s profile, not even realizing her finger had accidentally slipped and liked a post. She scrolled through the homepage until she saw the IP location check-in. Only then did she let out a breath that was half-smile, half-relief.

Wonderful. Fantastic. They’ve met. That’s good.

She suddenly felt like crying, as if the reunion were happening right before her eyes, as if both of them were by her side right now. She slowly scrolled through the feed. The latest post was a video—a video of the girl eating slowly to the sound of the pattering rain. It wasn’t long, only about ten seconds, mundane and quiet.

In the horizontal video, only half of the girl’s face was visible. The guesthouse environment occupied more of the frame, along with a view of the sky sinking into the misty twilight and the water streaks sliding down the windowpane.

This was Yue Chengqi’s personal Weibo, an alt-account she had registered with a new phone number. Only occasionally would a stranger stumble upon it due to the algorithm and leave a few comments, but because her updates were inconsistent, she had never been able to grow it into a real account.

Among people in her real life… only Su Ye likely knew about this account.

Su Ye knew clearly that she was indeed the only one who knew, and probably the only one who would watch it over and over. She was the one who, while claiming she wanted to give Yue Chengqi her freedom, was simultaneously lured by her, greedily absorbing the energy she needed from this account every day. It was this energy that sustained her broken body as she deluded herself into sticking to the plan of not contacting Yue Huan.

Isn’t it enough just to be able to see her?

Fortunately, Yue Chengqi probably didn’t know she was watching. This was better; it allowed them both to maintain a certain distance and slowly wean themselves off each other.

Su Ye leaned back into her office chair, letting the video play out loud like white noise. She set it to a single-loop and turned the phone over, closing her eyes to slowly enjoy this moment of comfort and peace.

However, for those who keep a reunion tucked away in their hearts, their souls have perhaps never truly been separated. One might even say they were never apart; they simply needed time.

Only time can heal the wounds that time itself has brought.

*

The next morning, Yue Chengqi managed to get a rare, stable night of sleep amidst the pattering rain of the Ba Mountains. When she opened her eyes, the rain that had dripped all night seemed to have stopped for a while; parts of the courtyard ground were dry, though new water marks were already appearing.

It was starting to rain again.

She hadn’t checked the weather forecast before traveling, but she wasn’t in a hurry to go out. She leaned against the headboard for a while before getting up. After tidying herself up, she prepared to make some breakfast.

This was the beauty of a guesthouse: you could cook whatever you wanted.

She fried two eggs, toasted half a steamed bun, and quickly sautéed a few green leaves. She put them together to create a Chinese-style breakfast burger. Carrying a cup of warm water, she sat under the eaves, just a hand’s reach away from the curtain of rain.

If the wind shifted or picked up even a little, she would be drenched. Every breath was filled with cold air that surged through her nasal passages into her body, causing her restless, sweltering frame to calm down along with the chilly breeze.

But she was no longer in a hurry.

Time had given her such a wondrous experience, forging her character. It had naturally endowed this young woman, who looked only to be in her twenties, with an exceptionally steady heart. It also allowed her, after all these years, to slowly understand the choice Lin Wanjia had made back then.

They both needed to leave civilization for a while to find peace, to let their hearts rest, and to discover what it was they truly wanted to do.

Lin Wanjia perhaps needed to be away from people even more than she did. After all, her past was more painful, and the scars left in her heart were deeper. She needed to escape it all to gain a moment of serenity.

But as she sat here, she really missed that gentle older sister. Perhaps if that sister were here, the problems between her and Su Ye could be solved… right?

Yue Chengqi finished the last bite of her breakfast and let out a long sigh, staring blankly at the rain.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from behind her. Li Xiao saw her sitting outside and approached her. “Sister, do you know how to call a ride-hailing car to come here? I can pay lots and lots of money!”

Yue Chengqi asked, “What’s wrong?”

“My mother went to the fields to check on things today and fell off the ridge!” Li Xiao was on the verge of tears. “Boss Ye isn’t here, the guesthouse car isn’t here, and our family car is broken. I…”

Yue Chengqi’s breath hitched as she jumped to her feet. “Can’t the ambulance get in? A ride-hailing car would be even slower.”