Chapter 38: Are Stupidity and Innocence Airborne? Part 1

In truth, it wasn’t.

Yue Chengqi told herself inwardly that her startled scream hadn’t been because she stepped on a toad—even though a toad had indeed appeared. That cry had escaped her because she suddenly realized the sandbags she had casually tossed behind the house looked exactly like the ones in her memory.

In her memories, those sandbags had endured years of wind and rain, eventually hardening into solid blocks. Their outer urea-weave bags had corroded until only fragments remained; they were less like sandbags and more like two jagged stones.

By some cruel twist of fate, those two “stones” were now sitting precisely where she had dropped her new sandbags. Because that spot had a structural gap, she had no intention of moving them again once the hole was plugged.

What a coincidence.

Her plan to change the past had failed once more. The result of that failure fell perfectly into the place where it was always meant to be.

Then there was Su Ye’s casual remark about getting revenge one day, wanting Yue Chengqi to experience what it felt like to hold a mountain of things while stuck in a wheelchair. It felt as though another loop had just closed.

Is this a restriction from the Heavens, or…

Is everything simply meant to be, including my presence here?

Now wasn’t the time to discuss such heavy philosophy with Su Ye. The girl was trapped by her leg injury and needed a distraction. Talking about toads was far better than discussing the weight of destiny.

And so—

Hearing the nonsensical answer, Su Ye tilted her head. “What?”

Yue Chengqi gestured anxiously. “The toad! Don’t you know? When I was a kid, the adults always said toad skin is poisonous, you can’t—”

“Shut up.” Su Ye raised a hand to cover Yue Chengqi’s mouth, turning her face away with zero mercy to stifle the rambling. “I shouldn’t have even asked.”

Yue Chengqi broke free from the hand and grinned. “I’m genuinely terrified of those things! It’s just like how some people are scared of mice. It’s normal.”

She shifted closer, clutching the quilt. “What about you, Ah Ye? What are you afraid of?”

“Show some respect!” Su Ye glared at her with rabbit-like eyes. “Why aren’t you calling me ‘Auntie’ anymore?”

“Oh, are you chickening out? You’re too scared to say what you fear? It’s okay, I understand, I—”

Yue Chengqi saw the dangerous glint flickering in Su Ye’s eyes and swallowed her mocking comfort. She hid half her face behind the quilt and whispered, “I won’t ask. I won’t ask.”

“I’m afraid of thunder,” Su Ye said flatly. “And if there’s lightning, it’s even worse.”

She hesitated for a moment before finally opening up.

“The day I ran away from the welfare center—the orphanage—it was a day of torrential rain. It was summer, and the Shajin River was flooding. I couldn’t even stay under the bridge, so I hid under a massive tree.”

Su Ye looked at Yue Chengqi. “You know, right? Back in ’93, a tree in An City was split in half by lightning.”

Yue Chengqi knew of the tree, but she hadn’t known it had such a connection to the person sitting before her. She asked tremulously, “Was it… you?”

Su Ye rolled her eyes at her. “I would have been four years old, sister!”

Even so, that tree had split cleanly right in front of the young girl. Before she could react, the mud and water kicked up by the falling giant had drenched her. A few drops had even landed in her eyes, which were wide with terror.

That was her first and only time witnessing the raw power of nature so closely. Once was enough.

Yue Chengqi remained silent for a while. She reached down and gently took Su Ye’s hand, her thumb rubbing against the palm. She said softly, “It’s okay now. I’m here. Don’t be afraid.”

“Hold me.”

Yue Chengqi did as she was told. She sat at the head of the bed, cradling Su Ye. The girl leaned into her embrace, her tears finally stopping, though her voice remained muffled. “I’m scared of thunder. I’m so scared. Don’t leave me when it thunders, okay? Even if you really have to go, just don’t do it while it’s thundering, alright?”

Is this a true outpouring of emotion? For me?

Yue Chengqi couldn’t help but sink into this warmth, her heart growing increasingly greedy.

She wanted to hold the girl even tighter—this girl who had been spooked by the roaring thunder. She wanted to watch her cry and then slowly stop, her eyes reddening until she looked more like a rabbit than ever.

But she couldn’t.

After so many days of trying, the ultimate result was always the same: things couldn’t be changed. They would arrive at that predetermined ending through strange twists of fate, even if the process was uncontrollable. If she crossed that line, and Su Ye’s romantic fate still belonged to that mysterious person… she didn’t know what kind of chaos that would trigger.

She liked her. Therefore, she absolutely could not cross that line.

She must not.

But for now—

“I won’t leave,” Yue Chengqi said. “I only have you here.”

Her voice was very faint, nearly drowned out by the clatter of rain on the roof tiles. But the person in her arms heard it, and silently gripped the bedsheets tighter.

Su Ye thought to herself: Am I not the same? Only a handful of people could truly be called friends. Trapped in this deluge, she finally felt the weight of her loneliness.

In this way, they were identical.

As the thunder boomed, they were like two helpless lotus flowers huddling together—each other’s only support. Without it, they would be mere duckweed adrift in the current.

After leaning against each other for a while, Su Ye sat up against the headboard, while Yue Chengqi curled her legs up at the foot of the bed.

Su Ye smiled. “Tell me a bit about the future. I still can’t help myself.”

“I feel like listening to things that defy the heavens during a storm is like a challenge to God. Hahaha. Just thinking about it gives me a secret thrill.”

Yue Chengqi laughed helplessly. “In the future… you will be incredibly, incredibly powerful…”

—Returning to 1998.

Su Ye had listened to this little story with her chin in her hands. Her eyes, which had just lost their teary sheen, were now filled with light. “I’m… that amazing in the future? How do you know so clearly?”

Yue Chengqi: “I was that intern. I heard most of it while sitting at the door.”

“Who is Hao Siwei?”

“A manager in the company. YOLO is one too—Sister YOLO is the manager over in Ye City.” Yue Chengqi realized too late that the young girl wouldn’t understand English terms yet. Sure enough, Su Ye’s eyes were full of confusion. She added, “Manager means ‘jingli.’ YOLO is an English name.”

“Oh, I was still trying to spell it out. I thought the name sounded weird. What’s her Chinese name?”

Yue Chengqi: “Youle. As in ‘possessing much happiness.'”

Su Ye: “Wow, what a great name! Her mother must really love her!”

“Sister YOLO is from Guangzhou. I’ve never met her mother, I’ve only heard things. She was brilliant in school—skipped grades and everything. By twenty-one, she had a Master’s in Management from a top-tier foreign university. Then you scouted her.”

“Whoa, from Guangzhou to An City? That must take so many days… oh wait, she’s in Ye City…” The girl let out a tiny gasp, clutching her quilt to hide half her face. Only her sparkling eyes remained visible, like she had discovered a world-class treasure. She whispered, “Does that mean my business reached all the way to Ye City?”

Yue Chengqi laughed even harder. “It did. Do you want to hear more about the future?”

This time, Su Ye actually shook her head. “No more. The future sounds so fun; I want to explore it myself! I want to conquer it! But… what kind of business am I in? How did I make it thiiiis big?”

Curiosity was practically radiating from her eyes.

Yue Chengqi hesitated. Should she tell her?

She wanted to, because a long time ago, Su Ye had told her that the first time she encountered the concept of a “Supermarket,” she had been genuinely shocked.

Back then, everyone was doing their own thing. For a small vendor, the commercial chain ended at the wholesaler. It was a simple link: Wholesaler—Retailer. No one thought about looking at the people behind the wholesaler, or bypassing the wholesaler to source goods directly. That was too much trouble, and in the beginning, it was a thankless task that invited jealousy.

But the concept of a Supermarket required a direct connection between the place of origin and the place of sale. No more layers of subcontracting. The supermarket took the goods directly and displayed them; customers selected what they wanted and paid. No heavy sales pitches, no forced guidance. It was a world away from the stall model.

Yue Chengqi remembered when they discussed this. She had just finished her college applications and decided to major in Management. Su Ye had invited her to an amusement park and told her many practical concepts and definitions while they sat in a café.

When they reached the subject of supermarkets, Su Ye had tucked her long hair back, her lightly permed curls falling casually over her shoulders. She propped her cheek on one hand, her other resting habitually on her crossed legs. She had said softly: “In truth, no one has truly realized the concept of a physical supermarket yet. The internet is just one step toward that concept. Since you’re going to study management, think on it more. Don’t just listen to people online saying this is useless or that’s a dead end. Ultimately, liberal arts majors depend on your own intuition and reflection.”

She had switched her legs and tapped the table. “For example, how to realize the concept of a supermarket… that is the university assignment I’m leaving for you. Don’t let me down.”