MTMIO Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Yue Yunxi’s Heart Skipped a Beat

Yue Yunxi didn’t speak, her slightly heavy breathing silently tangling with the air, struggling to leave behind invisible traces.

Just as Lu You was wondering if Yue Yunxi had already forgotten, she saw her pick up her phone and her fingertips quickly tapping on the screen.

As her hand stopped, a clear, cool voice fell into her ears.

“Sent it to you.”

Yue Yunxi put down her phone and glanced sideways.

It felt like she was back in that night, her face burning, her heart hanging in suspense, anxiously awaiting the other’s reaction.

Lu You lowered her head, unlocked her phone, and opened WeChat to check.

Yue Yunxi: 【Don’t go back on your word this time, little Pinocchio.】

Pinocchio.

Lu You’s expression faltered slightly.

–“If you lie to Mommy again, Yoyo’s nose will grow long, just like Pinocchio’s.” She remembered Zhang Wenyin gently scratching her nose as she said those words.

However, the other’s features had blurred in her memory with the passage of time, only remembering the warm glow cast by the ceiling light on her face.

And so, in her mind, it was like a faded old photograph…

“What did you retract?” Yun Zhu asked.

Li Can also asked, “What charade are you two playing?”

Lu You came back to her senses, slightly parted her lips, but didn’t speak.

She suddenly realized that the words were too hot to handle.

It should have been a playful remark from a friendly older sister, but it felt like a lover’s flirtation.

On the sofa, Zhong Mi sighed longingly and said, “I’m so hungry, aren’t you guys hungry?”

Jian Yanzhi quietly replied, “A little.”

“Then let’s eat the snacks that Deer Granny asked your Deer sister to bring.” Chen Feifei reached out to open the snack bag on the coffee table.

The rustling sound of the plastic bag rubbing against itself transmitted, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, setting off a subtle atmosphere in this area of silence.

In Lu You’s eyes, this short sentence gradually gave rise to a strange but not abrupt ambiguity, like the hidden heat that was occasionally baked out during the times when the air conditioner stopped working.

Until Yue Yunxi explained in a faint voice, “It was a joke, but when I sent it, I felt that she wasn’t in a good mood at the time and it wasn’t appropriate to make that kind of joke, so I retracted it.”

Lu You breathed a sigh of relief.

She withdrew her gaze from her abruptly relaxed shoulder and neckline, and Yue Yunxi lowered her eyes and picked up a shot glass.

The glass, which had been sitting in the air-conditioned cold for the entire mahjong game, felt icy cold, as if it could penetrate to the depths.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Yue Yunxi downed the glass without even frowning.

Lemon juice without seeds, with a slight bitterness and astringency.

Yun Zhu held up two fingers: “There are two more cups.”

Lu You was worried that drinking too much would hurt her stomach: “I’ll just take care of my cup myself…”

Her voice trailed off lightly, because when she reached out, she touched Yue Yunxi’s knuckles.

A cool touch that was completely different from her warm body temperature.

As if she had been electrocuted, Lu You instinctively curled her fingertips.

Yue Yunxi’s eyelashes trembled, and she said in a low, hoarse voice, “If I said I’d take care of it, I’ll take care of it.”

She neatly finished the remaining two cups, and worried that she would lose control of her expression, she covered her face with her hands.

Lu You’s hand that was suspended in mid-air moved slightly, and she had no choice but to lower it, turn around, pick up the kettle on the stool next to her, and add water to Yue Yunxi’s cup.

During this time, Yun Zhu exclaimed, “This is the first time I’ve seen someone drink lemon juice with the air of drinking baijiu, you’re really fierce!”

Li Can applauded: “Good drinking!”

“How many lemons did you put in?” Yue Yunxi’s breathy voice squeezed out from between her fingers.

The two of them pursed their lips almost in unison.

She shouldn’t be laughing, but Lu You couldn’t help but hold back a smile as she said, “Drink some water to ease it.”

Yue Yunxi bent her hand, revealing her beautiful, clear eyes, and locked her accusatory gaze on her.

Lu You also pursed her lips like the two of them.

Noticing the layer of wet mist in Yue Yunxi’s eyes, Lu You’s heart stirred, and she got up and went to Chen Feifei’s side.

Yue Yunxi’s eyes followed her for a while, then dimmed and retreated into her palm.

Chen Feifei bit into a biscuit, looked up at Lu You and asked, “Are you done fighting?”

“Yeah, did you see any candy or anything?” Lu You rummaged through the open snack bag for a while, then suddenly stopped her hand.

At the very bottom, pressed down, was the phone pouch that Grandma had knitted by hand in her spare time.

She took them out one by one.

There were six in total.

She didn’t know Zhong Mi was coming, so Grandma had carefully prepared one extra.

Lu You held the woven bag, feeling that the soft wool in her hand was woven into her heart, warming it up.

Chen Feifei took a few milk candies and placed them in front of her, asking, “These woven bags are so pretty, did you buy them?”

“No, they were crocheted by Grandma, they should be a greeting gift for you.”

Lu You placed the bags one by one on the coffee table, called Yun Zhu and Li Can over to pick one, and then took two milk candies and walked to the mahjong table.

Seeing that Yue Yunxi was still in the same position, she asked with concern, “Yunxi-jie, are you feeling better?”

Yue Yunxi “mmm”ed: “Not really, I’m about to oxidize.”

The stifled voice in her palm was very captivating.

Lu You couldn’t help but twitch her ears, and her voice softened unconsciously: “Give me a hand.”

Yue Yunxi obediently stretched out one hand, while the other hand supported her face, watching in her drooping gaze as Lu You placed two Wangzai milk candies in her palm.

Yue Yunxi retracted her hand and slowly clenched the two candies tightly, the candy wrapper scraping against her soft palm.

It was a little itchy.

“My grandma also loves to crochet these things.” Li Can walked over with her bag, “Hey, Lu You, does your grandma know how to crochet clothes?”

“This cardigan I’m wearing was crocheted by her.”

While Lu You turned her head to talk to Li Can, Yue Yunxi lowered her hand from the table and put the candies in her pocket.

Li Can dragged a chair and sat next to Lu You to admire the cardigan up close: “I was wondering where you bought this dress before. I must have your grandma and my grandma communicate well sometime, and it’s best if she teaches her, and when she learns, she can crochet one for me too~”

Lu You smiled and replied, “If there’s a chance, definitely.”

“How about we go to Xicheng to play next time we get together, and you bring your grandma and my grandma? The two old people can meet and communicate, and they can also play with the young people.” Yue Yunxi suggested, following the topic.

Before Lu You could express her opinion, she heard a “pa” sound.

Li Can clapped her hands and said, “I think it’s a good idea!”

She was a carefree person, and immediately stared at Lu You with shining eyes and said, “Set a time?”

Lu You said that she had to wait for Grandma’s follow-up visit before deciding, and first added Li Can as a friend to discuss contacting her when the time came.

–

Before going to bed, Yun Zhu arranged the rooms, and Zhong Mi pestered her to share a room with Lu You, so Yun Zhu arranged for the two of them to stay in the room near the stairs.

Lying in bed, Lu You and Zhong Mi chatted about her life experiences in the thirteen-year-old age group.

Zhong Mi listened with great interest.

After hearing that her junior high school deskmate had a twin sister, Zhong Mi suddenly asked, “If, I mean if, you had a younger sister, would you want one?”

Lu You decisively said, “No.”

She thought that this was not a question of whether she wanted one or not at all.

A few years ago, Lu Huai’an had an accident and injured his vital parts, so he would not be able to give her any younger sisters or brothers in this life.

Unless…

Lu You stopped her wandering thoughts in time.

The lights were not on in the room, and Zhong Mi’s expression could not be seen in the darkness, but Lu You felt that her emotions seemed to be low in the silent atmosphere, and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Zhong Mi tentatively opened her mouth: “Then, what about someone like me?”

“Someone like you, huh.” Lu You pretended to think, paused for a moment and said with a smile, “You can consider it.”

Zhong Mi was immediately happy, giggling, and when she chatted with her again, her voice was full of laughter that she couldn’t hide.

They chatted until after two o’clock before Zhong Mi fell asleep from sleepiness and started snoring.

Lu You, who was already suffering from insomnia and was also not used to the bed, had no sleepiness at all, and was afraid of waking up Zhong Mi by tossing and turning, so she got up.

When she went up to the second-floor recreation area, she was surprised to find the lights on, and Yue Yunxi was sitting on the sofa, wearing a pair of thin-rimmed glasses on her high, straight nose, adding a bit of refined and intelligent charm, and was looking at the computer resting on her knees.

Lu You paused and said in a low voice, “Yunxi-jie?”

Yue Yunxi didn’t react.

When she got closer, Lu You could see clearly that she had white wireless earphones in one of her exposed ears.

So when she got closer, Lu You called her again.

This time, Yue Yunxi heard her, took off her earphones, and turned her head back instinctively, and her breath hitched.

Lu You was leaning on the back of the sofa, looking at the sheet music on the computer screen.

At such a close distance, she could faintly see the tiny fluff on her soft cheeks.

A little closer, just a little, and she would kiss her cheek.

“What piece of music is this sheet music for?” Lu You asked.

Yue Yunxi closed her eyes and lowered her head, silently pulling away: “Offenbach’s Jacqueline’s Tears.”

After a pause, she asked, “Can’t sleep?”

“Yeah.”

Lu You glanced at the air-conditioning quilt that was folded but not spread out on the sofa: “Why are you sleeping on the sofa? Are you also not used to the bed?”

“No, there are only three rooms on the yacht.” Yue Yunxi explained, “Yun Zhu made a request to win the mahjong game, so she asked me to sleep on the sofa for her.”

Lu You nodded and said, “Then you can go to my room to sleep, I can’t sleep anyway.”

“Even if you can’t sleep, you have to lie down and rest.”

Lu You sat down on the sofa: “It’s the same if I lie here.”

Seeing Yue Yunxi hesitating, she added, “Hurry up, I still have to rely on you to drive back to Nanquan tomorrow, I definitely won’t be able to drive like this.”

After a moment of stalemate, Yue Yunxi obediently went to the room.

Slowly lying on the bed, she was enveloped by the faint fragrance left on the quilt. Looking at the lead-grey night and the blurred moon outside the porthole, it was like a picture printed on stone.

Listening to the breathing nearby, the distant waves of the river rolling and hitting the hull, and the long whistle in the distance, the space was pulled into a dull and ethereal state.

The five senses seemed to be covered in a thin, hazy mist, revealing a sense of unreality.

On the other bed, Zhong Mi turned over, smacked her lips, and mumbled a dream.

Like a stone thrown into a calm deep pool.

Yue Yunxi’s heart skipped a beat, and at the same time, she truly felt the ripples of that sway.

She couldn’t bear to sleep deeply in a scent that didn’t belong to her.

–

At a little after five o’clock, the grey-blue color before sunrise spread into the cabin.

Lu You twisted her neck, which was a little stiff from playing games, and turned her head to see Yue Yunxi coming up from the stairs.

“Didn’t sleep or just woke up?” Yue Yunxi asked.

Lu You smiled sheepishly.

Yue Yunxi understood and didn’t say anything to her, but only asked, “Are you sleepy?”

Lu You shook her head.

“Then do you want to go see the sunrise together?”

Lu You’s eyes lit up, and she immediately got up from the sofa and followed her to the top terrace.

The outside was filled with a thin mist, and the air was filled with the dampness of the river water.

“Will there be a sun?”

Lu You was a little worried, the weather during the plum rain season was really too changeable.

“Yes, there will be.” Yue Yunxi said, “The weather forecast shows that today is a good day.”

The light mist was brushed away by the river wind in the passing time.

The red sun that emerged from the clouds suddenly dyed into her eyes, and Lu You stood up from the sofa with a whoosh: “It’s coming out!”

The raised strands of hair swayed in front of Yue Yunxi, and at the moment of falling, she caught a glimpse of the clouds dyed by the orange-yellow sun.

Like a glass of orange juice had been spilled, flowing from the sky to the river surface.

The fine waves were floating.

It seemed as if she could really smell the rich citrus fragrance, lingering in her chest, surging in the commotion.

Lu You took out her phone, opened the camera, switched to video mode, and pressed the button.

After recording the video, she put away her phone, leaned against the railing sideways, faced Yue Yunxi, who was standing next to her at some point, and smiled: “Thank you, Yunxi-jie, for inviting me to watch the sunrise, seeing such beautiful scenery, my mood is also beautiful.”

Yue Yunxi’s eyes rippled into the floating light surging on the river surface, and her mind was constantly sketching the scene of the person beside her being covered in golden sunlight just now.

Yes, such beautiful scenery, it lit up her eyes and occupied her entire heart.

“It’s good as long as you’re happy.” Yue Yunxi grabbed the railing, restraining the emotions in her voice, “… I forgot to bring my phone out, can you send me a copy of the video you took?”

Lu You asked, “Do you want the original or the finished product after I process it?”

“The finished product.”

“OK, then I’ll send it to you after I’m done.”

–

Considering that she had to drive in the afternoon, Yue Yunxi went back to catch up on sleep. Lu You played with Zhong Mi, who had woken up, for a while, and the more they played, the more excited she became, and she had no sleepiness at all.

After lunch, the yacht docked back at the pier, and Lu You followed Yue Yunxi into the car.

The speed of the return journey was slower than when they came, pressed to the minimum limit.

The car behind them flashed its hazard lights, and Yue Yunxi glanced at the right rearview mirror, her eyes passing over Lu You’s face.

The sunlight fell into the car through the glass window, and she sat in the sunlight, squinting her eyes from the sun.

The atmosphere in the car, where Huang Zhixu’s songs were playing, was so relaxing that even if they didn’t speak, it wouldn’t be awkward.

Lu You leaned her head against the car window and unconsciously dozed off.

Yue Yunxi occasionally glanced over, then looked at the road ahead, stretching to the horizon, far away and out of sight.

She really hoped that it would never end.

Her head tilted forward, and Lu You opened her eyes in a daze. Looking out the window, the car was already on the highway.

Noticing that she was awake, Yue Yunxi said considerately, “Continue sleeping if you’re sleepy.”

Lu You adjusted her posture and shook her head: “I’m not sleeping, let’s chat.”

Yue Yunxi curved her lips.

She crushed the silent liking and hid it in nonsense.

The car drove into the tunnel, Huang Zhixu’s songs were all played, and it automatically switched to songs by other singers.

Hearing the familiar melody at the beginning, Lu You was stunned.

It was Shiye.

Just as she was about to reach out and skip the song, Yue Yunxi pressed the next song faster than her.

Lu You was like a deflated balloon, withering in her seat.

After a while, she sat up a little straighter and turned her head to look out the window.

The car was about to drive out of the tunnel, and the twilight in the sky was like raised yellow sand, gradually settling in the obscure turbid current.

The half-bright and half-dark light and shadow flowed into the car frame by frame.

Yue Yunxi, in a quick glance, carefully explored the emotions that could be glimpsed on her face.

Like a cold inkstone falling into a clear pool, dissolving into a mass of ink.

Withdrawing her gaze, Yue Yunxi rubbed the steering wheel with her fingertips, twisting the regret in her heart.

At the same time, Lu You took a deep breath and casually started a topic: “Are there any songs with the sheet music you were looking at this morning?”

“No. I’ll find them for you next time and let you listen to them.”

“Okay.”

The two of them chatted again.

Each with their own thoughts, they both pretended that nothing had happened.

Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of her house.

Lu You unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car, with a curved smile she said: “Thank you, Yunxi-jie, I’ve really been happy these past two days.”

As soon as the car door closed, a light hit them, and a car stopped opposite Yue Yunxi’s car.

Yue Yunxi glanced sideways and her heart suddenly jumped.

The back door of that car was pushed open, and Tao Xin got out of the car, her sweet voice echoing with the cicada’s chirping: “Lu You.”

Yue Yunxi saw Lu You turn towards that side.

The cicadas Bird shrilled, dragging her heart up.

Seeing Lu You standing next to the passenger seat door, Tao Xin’s gaze slid into the car along the door, watching Yue Yunxi, who was in the driver’s seat, push open the car door and get out of the car.

Turning back to Lu You, her slightly surprised expression gradually became complicated and indescribable.

There was anger, unhappiness, as well as helplessness and grievance from being hurt, as well as the panic of fear and nervousness.

What kind of expression is that?

Lu You frowned.

The cicadas that had been screaming stopped calling, and Tao Xin opened her mouth to question: “How did you two get together?”

Was she jealous that her White Moonlight older sister was getting too close to her, the ex-girlfriend, or was she afraid that she would reveal something to Yue Yunxi?

Lu You was too lazy to analyze it, gave a cold laugh, and was about to lift her foot and leave.

A bird perched on some tree suddenly flew up, and a flock of them flew across the sky.

In the undercurrent stirred by the wings, Yue Yunxi’s ethereal voice was low, deep, and gentle.

Like the sound of a bell breaking through the fog in the depths of a valley forest, shaking people’s hearts.

“Can’t we be together?”