Chapter 69
—Did you see the lock I hung on the mountain?
Qiao Xiaoxiao really didn’t leave any room for Yang Feitang, giving her no chance to argue.
After a long silence, Yang Feitang looked up at Qiao Xiaoxiao. “I thought you had grown up and would think things through before making a decision.”
Qiao Xiaoxiao’s 18th year was clearly different from others’.
She had already matured early, and this time, she was much more composed.
Did she even know what the consequences would be if Chu Xinrou found out about this?
Qiao Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together and looked into Yang Feitang’s eyes. “Sister Yang, this decision wasn’t made when I turned eighteen. I thought this way when I was seventeen, I’m doing it now that I’m eighteen, and when I’m twenty-eight… I will never regret it.”
She said it with such certainty, leaving herself no way out.
Yang Feitang lowered her head and was silent for a long time. She slowly looked into Qiao Xiaoxiao’s eyes. “So, these past few years, every time your mood fluctuated, and I would laugh and say you were going through puberty, it was all because of this?”
Qiao Xiaoxiao nodded.
Yang Feitang’s lips were pressed into a white line, her voice almost inaudible. “Have you ever thought that you might lose her?”
Originally, Qiao Xiaoxiao’s gaze had been very firm, looking straight into Yang Feitang’s eyes. But this sentence was like a knife, cutting open the composure she had been forcing. Yang Feitang watched as her eyes gradually turned red, like spring water wrinkled by the wind, no longer able to hide the surging pain.
“I’ve thought about it…” Qiao Xiaoxiao finally lowered her head, her voice choked with a broken sob.
“You’re not afraid?”
“I’m afraid. I’m so afraid… I’m about to die.”
Every sleepless night, this thought would wrap around her throat like a poisonous snake. She would curl up in the dark, tormented by the imagined loss.
But that love had already grown into a thorny bush in her heart. By the time she realized it, the sharp thorns had already pierced her flesh.
—Spilled water cannot be gathered up.
She stood on the edge of the cliff and looked back. The path she had come from had long since been burned away by a wildfire.
…
This trip, perhaps only Chu Xinrou had relaxed.
When they returned to the city, Yang Feitang, who was usually chattering on the plane, had covered her head with her clothes and had not said a word.
Chu Xinrou looked at her and asked, “Did you really have a fight with CEO Xue?”
Yang Feitang didn’t answer, but she didn’t shake her head either.
She couldn’t accept Xiaoxiao’s feelings for Chu Xinrou so quickly, but she also couldn’t ignore Xiaoxiao’s red-rimmed eyes and that “I’m afraid.”
Qiao Xiaoxiao stared at Yang Feitang for a long time, then closed her eyes and rested her head on her sister’s shoulder.
She hadn’t wanted Sister Yang to know so soon.
But it was fate.
To her, Yang Feitang was a very, very important existence, truly like her own sister, taking care of her in every possible way. Qiao Xiaoxiao knew how good she was to her.
So, for such a big matter, she would definitely know in the future.
If she couldn’t even get past Yang Feitang, then it was even more out of the question with her sister…
Qiao Xiaoxiao had been on fire all day. She, who usually didn’t get pimples, had gotten a boil on her chin, which hurt when she touched it.
Chu Xinrou applied some aloe vera gel for her and couldn’t help but nag, “Why are you getting on fire even when you’re out playing? Is something on your mind? You two are really… one is silent, the other is silent. Don’t ask me to come out again in the future.”
…
When they arrived to pick them up, it was CEO Xue. She was worried. Because during the video call yesterday, Yang Feitang had been absent-minded. Although she was still smiling at her, her eyes were clearly saying—I’m not happy, I have something on my mind.
What could be on her mind?
The moment she saw Qiao Xiaoxiao today, Xue Youyou had guessed ninety percent of it.
Yang Feitang listlessly handed her the luggage and got into the car. Chu Xinrou smiled and nodded. “Sorry to trouble you.”
Xue Youyou returned the smile. She looked at Qiao Xiaoxiao. Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together. For some reason, although she was not familiar with Youyou, the moment she saw her, a trace of grievance actually rose in her.
Xue Youyou walked up to her, raised her hand, and patted her shoulder. “Take it slow. It will be fine.”
She was Yang Feitang’s pillow person.
She knew her too well.
She needed some time.
After getting out of the car, according to her old habit, Yang Feitang should have gone to Chu Xinrou’s house for a free meal. But today, she said, “I’m tired,” and went home without looking back.
It wasn’t until that night, after Chu Xinrou had eaten, that she was still wondering, “What’s wrong with Feitang?”
A person who was usually so cheerful had suddenly become so gloomy. It really made her unaccustomed.
Qiao Xiaoxiao lowered her head and said slowly, “Maybe I did something wrong and made her unhappy.”
In the past, the two of them would often have small arguments and small frictions. Chu Xinrou was used to it. But this time, it was clearly not.
She walked to Qiao Xiaoxiao’s side and hugged her. “It’s okay. I’ll ask Feitang in a few days. You said you were going to Guangzhou for an inspection in a few days. Have you packed everything? It’s very hot there. Remember to wear sunscreen, okay?”
Qiao Xiaoxiao nodded. She hugged Chu Xinrou back, smelling the familiar jasmine scent on her, and called out softly, “Jiejie.”
“Hm?”
Chu Xinrou could feel the stirrings in her heart but didn’t know why. Qiao Xiaoxiao hugged her tightly. “Jiejie… if one day, I do something wrong, and you find out, will you leave me?”
Chu Xinrou’s heart trembled. She leaned back and looked into Qiao Xiaoxiao’s eyes. “Wrong? Did you break the law?”
Qiao Xiaoxiao: …
Chu Xinrou grabbed her arm. “Did you?”
Qiao Xiaoxiao shook her head helplessly. She saw Chu Xinrou let out a sigh of relief, then raised her hand and stroked her cheek. “Other mistakes… I think I might be angry, but I won’t leave.”
She couldn’t bear to.
…
Xiaoxiao was going to Guangzhou this time for a not-so-short period. She had brought Yuan Lu with her and had entrusted Qingxin entirely to Wang Ning.
After Wang Ning found out, she lowered her head and was silent for a long time. When she looked up again, her eyes were a little red. “Xiaoxiao, do you really still trust me?”
She had been through such a thing before.
If it were someone else, not to mention trusting her, they wouldn’t even use her.
Qiao Xiaoxiao looked into Wang Ning’s eyes and smiled. “Sister Ning, I’ve bought some American ginseng for Grandma. It’s in the pantry. Remember to bring it back for her. This New Year, we’ll go back to see her together.”
No answer, but it was better than any answer.
Wang Ning nodded vigorously and looked into her eyes. “Don’t worry.”
Qiao Xiaoxiao was going to Guangzhou this time mainly because a big client had taken a liking to her personal ability and wanted to see if she was interested in taking a look at the hotel industry.
According to her old habit, Qiao Xiaoxiao was reluctant to leave her sister and would have compressed her itinerary.
But this time, she didn’t.
She was gone for a whole month.
Before she left, she had cleaned the house until it was spotless, and had even gone to buy Yang Feitang’s favorite almond cookies and had left them at the music room. Only then did she leave.
Before she left, she was holding her luggage with one hand and had looked back for a long time. Only Chu Xinrou was waving at her. In the past, Yang Feitang would have stood on her tiptoes and had waved her hand like a pinwheel, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Come back early to cook!”
Qiao Xiaoxiao slowly lowered her head.
Her mood was low.
And Yang Feitang’s mood was not good either. Usually, she would complain about wanting to lose weight but would never see any results. In just a few days, she had lost five pounds, and her face had become palm-sized.
She was absolutely secretive about this matter, not even telling her pillow person.
Xue Youyou was both pained and angry. “If you’re unhappy about something, just say it.”
Yang Feitang kept her mouth shut. After a long while, she asked, “Has Xiaoxiao left?”
With a cold snort, Xue Youyou mercilessly exposed her. “Didn’t you secretly peek through the window this morning? You even secretly put the almond cookies in the bedside table. I saw it all.”
Yang Feitang: …
Xue Youyou adjusted her watch. She looked at Yang Feitang. “Just admit it. You miss her.”
Yang Feitang craned her neck. “I don’t miss her at all. Whoever misses her is a dog!”
…
Qiao Xiaoxiao was not at home.
In the afternoon, Yang Feitang went to Chu Xinrou’s house.
Chu Xinrou was painting. It was just that the colors of the painting were not bright. A light gray color was covering a colorful mass.
Yang Feitang was eating almond cookies and asked, “Are you painting the smog and gloom of Guangzhou?”
Chu Xinrou turned to look at her in surprise. It was clear that she had hit the nail on the head.
Yang Feitang said in a strange tone, “Oh, you’ve only been gone for a day, and you already miss her so much. If she doesn’t come back for a long time, how much will you miss her?”
Chu Xinrou said seriously, “Xiaoxiao said she will never leave me.”
Yang Feitang: …
Wait… this silly big sister, she’s already said that. Don’t you understand what’s going on?
Yang Feitang was not feeling well in her heart and twistedly wanted to bully someone. “Hehe, in the future, she’ll find an old woman to come back with her, happy and blissful. Where will she have time to spend with you?”
Chu Xinrou immediately retorted, “I see that CEO Xue is also very happy and blissful after finding you, this old woman. Why do you still come here all the time? Yang Feitang, Xiaoxiao just mopped the floor before she left. If you dare to drop any more crumbs, I’ll beat you up!”
Yang Feitang: …
Time is a wonderful thing.
She really can slowly heal and smooth things over.
At the beginning, the stubborn Yang Feitang, on the first day of Qiao Xiaoxiao’s departure, had asked Chu Xinrou while washing vegetables, “You’re really not thinking of getting married?”
Chu Xinrou couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Yang Feitang, did you eat rat poison these past few days? How long are you going to be so sarcastic?”
Yang Feitang snorted coldly. “If you don’t get married, won’t I have to take care of you forever?”
“No need. I have Xiaoxiao.”
“Oh, all you talk about is Xiaoxiao. Didn’t she say she’s not getting married or having children either? Then you two can just live together.”
Chu Xinrou was in the living room, holding a teacup and looking at the height Qiao Xiaoxiao had measured when she had left. Seeing that she hadn’t grown any taller, she let out a sigh of relief. “That’s very good too.”
To live with Xiaoxiao like this for the rest of her life is also very good, isn’t it?
Yang Feitang was terrified. She said with a forced composure, “Then you two are really wasting your good looks and good figures. You’re going to be old spinsters for the rest of your lives.”
Chu Xinrou’s eyes were filled with a hint of contempt. “When did you become so love-brained? What’s wrong with being an old spinster? I’ve already thought about it.”
Yang Feitang pouted. “I was just asking.”
Chu Xinrou’s fingertips gently stroked the rim of the teacup, her gaze suddenly becoming distant. “I’ve told Xiaoxiao that when Qingxin is stable and on the right track, she will probably have graduated from university by then. In the spring, we’ll go to Jiangnan.”
“We’ll find a courtyard with white walls and black tiles, with a few crabapple trees in front of the door. I’ll set up my easel and paint the falling flowers, and she’ll brew new tea under the porch—when the rain stops, we’ll walk on the bluestone slabs to listen to the pingtan.”
She paused, a faint smile on her lips. “In the summer, of course, we’ll hide in Northern Europe. She always says she wants to paint the endless polar day. We’ll rent a boat by the sea in Tromsø and go night fishing, and chase after polar bears in Svalbard to take pictures—”
Yang Feitang suddenly smiled. “And then be chased by the bears?”
Chu Xinrou glared at her and continued, “When the maple leaves turn red in the autumn, we’ll go back to Kyoto. We’ll live in a machiya by the Arashiyama bamboo forest. In the morning, we’ll go to Tofuku-ji to see the red leaves covering the Tsutenkyo Bridge, and in the evening, we’ll sit by the Kamo River and drink hot sake…” her voice gradually lowered. “In the winter, we’ll go to Iceland.”
“We’ll listen to Christmas carols in a small church in Reykjavik and watch the Northern Lights while soaking in the Blue Lagoon.”
Yang Feitang saw the endless gentleness and longing in Chu Xinrou’s eyes. “We’ll leave two strings of footprints in the snow.”
She wanted to go to many places with Qiao Xiaoxiao.
“If Xiaoxiao doesn’t want to go abroad, or if she doesn’t have that much time, then we’ll hold hands and slowly walk through the mountains and rivers of this land.”
Yang Feitang walked to the side of the sofa and rested her head on Chu Xinrou’s shoulder.
Chu Xinrou’s body stiffened slightly.
In the past, when they were still young, they had also snuggled together like this, chatting and watching the sunset.
Later, when they grew up and were busy with their respective careers, the days they spent together became fewer. Especially after Yang Feitang had Xue Youyou, they hadn’t been so close for a long time.
“I understand. For the rest of your life, you’ll have that little brat.”
Chu Xinrou leaned her head against hers and said with a smile, “And you too.”
…
That night.
When CEO Xue came home, before she had even opened the door, she had heard a series of piano music and Yang Feitang’s heroic singing.
—Life is short, just a few autumns
Don’t stop until you’re drunk
My beauty in the east
The Yellow River in the west
Come, have a drink
Don’t stop until you’re drunk
Don’t worry about your sorrows and troubles…
Xue Youyou, who was changing her shoes in the entryway, smiled. She knew that her little troublemaker had figured things out.
Sure enough.
Yang Feitang, who had made up her mind, couldn’t hold it in that night. She asked Xue Youyou mysteriously, “Do you know who Xiaoxiao likes?”
Xue Youyou was playing with a lock of her hair, resting her head on her chest and listening to her heartbeat. “Isn’t it a mysterious old woman?”
Yang Feitang nodded vigorously and announced solemnly, “You wouldn’t have thought, right? That old woman is Xinrou!”
Xue Youyou smiled. She really wanted to know how wonderful Chu’s expression would be if she knew that Yang Feitang had said that about her.
“Hey, why are you not surprised at all?”
Yang Feitang looked down at the person in her arms. Xue Youyou quickly pretended to be serious and asked, “Is that so? Ah—it’s actually Chu Xinrou?”
“Yes, surprising, right? I didn’t expect it at first either… well, it’s not that I didn’t expect it, but that I didn’t dare to think about it deeply. This brat is really amazing. She’s even scheming against her own family.”
“Then can you accept it?”
“No, I can’t. If I could have accepted it right away, would I have lost so many pounds? Who would have thought that the person I’ve always treated as a younger sister would actually want to get with my best friend.”
Xue Youyou reached out and pinched Yang Feitang’s cheek. “Sister Yang, your words are too crude.”
“The words are crude, but the logic is not. Isn’t this the essence of love?” Yang Feitang grabbed her hand and smiled charmingly at Xue Youyou. “Back then, when you fell for me, wasn’t it because—”
Xue Youyou covered her mouth. “Alright, look at you, so capable. Then tell me, why did you agree again?”
“Ah…” Yang Feitang sighed helplessly. “It’s not that I agreed again. I just found that Xinrou… she’s different towards Xiaoxiao. Perhaps it’s not love yet… but it’s already… ah, it’s just that she doesn’t know it herself.”
Since that was the case.
Why would she go against them?
She knew Qiao Xiaoxiao, and she knew Chu Xinrou even better.
She knew that when Xiaoxiao had first realized her feelings, she must have been very panicked and uneasy. For so long, the thought that Chu Xinrou might get angry and leave must have made her unable to sleep or eat well.
At that time, if she had been by her side and had hugged the brat, maybe it wouldn’t have been like this.
And Xinrou…
When she found out everything in the future, she would definitely be very helpless and flustered.
Yang Feitang had one arm. “I am the Sailor Moon of love and justice, Yang Feitang. I have decided to save the little brat!”
Xue Youyou smiled. She rested her head in Yang Feitang’s embrace and said happily, “Yes, I knew our Sister Yang was so understanding and considerate. With you here, Xiaoxiao will definitely succeed.”
She’s on her way, but whether she’ll succeed is still uncertain.
But once Sister Yang had set her mind to it, things would develop much faster.
When Qiao Xiaoxiao finally returned from Guangzhou, as dark as a coal ball, Yang Feitang and Chu Xinrou were at the door to welcome her.
Chu Xinrou was the same as always, with a gentle smile. Yang Feitang, on the other hand, was waving her little hand. “Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome.”
Seeing Sister Yang like this.
Qiao Xiaoxiao’s tears were about to fall. She perfunctorily hugged Chu Xinrou and walked straight to Yang Feitang, hugging her tightly.
Chu Xinrou: ???
Yang Feitang hugged the brat back, gently patting her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, “You’ve worked hard, brat.”
“You must have been wronged and sad a lot, right?”
Qiao Xiaoxiao’s tears were about to fall. Yang Feitang hugged her tightly. “Don’t worry, I’ll always be with you, with you both.”
