MTMIO Chapter 17
by VolareChapter 17: Just Follow Me
The same words, coming from Yue Yunxi’s mouth, seemed to be imbued with another layer of meaning.
Lu You’s breath felt like the wings of a bird that had already flown away, fluttering lightly as it suddenly rose.
Turning her head to look, it was precisely when the lights were just coming on, the faint yellow halo colliding with the lead-grey night, creating a play of light and shadow. Yue Yunxi stood on that dividing line.
Her brows and eyes were drawn even more richly, making her expression seem particularly indifferent and blank.
Like a translucent piece of white paper, its edges sharp, cutting those who looked upon it.
Tao Xin stammered, “No…”
No what? No, it isn’t? Or no, you can’t?
But the sentence was left unfinished.
The weather was hot and humid, without a trace of wind.
The cicadas, birds, and frogs around them chirped and croaked, rising and falling in waves.
Each sound pulled the silence of the moment into a sticky web, floating on people’s bodies, very uncomfortable.
Lu You wanted to leave again, but before she could take two steps, Tao Xin rushed forward and grabbed her wrist.
She struggled a little, but Tao Xin squeezed even tighter.
Yue Yunxi’s gaze fell on them, unable to find a suitable identity or position to stop them, and finally sighed, “Didn’t you say you were joining the group to record a show the day after tomorrow? Why did you run back again?”
“I came back to find Yoyo.” Tao Xin looked at Lu You.
Whether it was the dim light or a genuine lack of emotion, the expression on her face was as indifferent as the dissipating mist of early morning.
Lu You only showed such an attitude to strangers.
Tao Xin said in a low voice, “Let’s talk.”
The force on her wrist deepened with her words, clearly indicating that she wouldn’t let her go without talking.
The car that brought Tao Xin hadn’t left yet, and the driver, who seemed to be doing something else, accidentally pressed the horn.
A sudden, sharp sound.
Lu You didn’t want to be watched and made a spectacle of, so she replied, “Fine, let’s talk in your practice room.”
She lowered her eyes to look at her wrist, and pulled it outwards again, “Let go, it hurts.”
Hearing this, Yue Yunxi frowned.
Tao Xin released her hand and said softly, “I’m sorry.”
Lu You rubbed her wrist, but didn’t respond.
Crossing the courtyard, as she entered the house and closed the door, Lu You turned back to look. Yue Yunxi hadn’t followed, but she hadn’t left either.
After greeting Yue Shao, the two went upstairs one after the other.
The Tao family had two practice rooms, one in the attic, which was cold in winter and hot in summer, and not soundproofed, which was given to Yue Yunxi. Tao Xin’s room was on the second floor and had soundproof walls installed.
The practice room wasn’t big, and the arrangement was simple. There was a window wide enough for one person, with matcha green chenille curtains that were thick and light-blocking, maximizing the feeling of confinement in the space.
Not for the first time, Lu You walked familiarly to the window and pulled open the curtains.
Looking down from the window glass, Yue Yunxi was still downstairs, leaning against the car door in a posture that seemed both tired and lazy.
She was holding something in her hand, which was hard to see clearly, but it was long and slender.
However, Lu You quickly realized what it was.
It was a cigarette and a lighter.
The slender cigarette was held in her mouth, and a flame leaped from the slender lighter, the orange-yellow light dyeing her brows and eyes, and then extinguishing in the mottled yellow of the night.
Only a point of scarlet remained, at the position of her lips.
Lu You hadn’t expected Yue Yunxi to smoke too.
As if sensing something, Yue Yunxi suddenly looked up in this direction.
Strangely, even though there was a layer of smoke, Lu You could still feel Yue Yunxi’s gaze accurately catching her.
Lu You was startled, as if she had been caught doing something wrong, and suddenly turned her body to the side.
She didn’t turn her back completely, nor did she leave the window.
She just stood there holding the window frame in this posture, and in the corner of her eye, she could still vaguely see that spark of fire.
Her throat felt a little itchy.
Lu You swallowed, fumbled for a cigarette in her bag, but remembering that Tao Xin disliked the smell of smoke, she paused with her hand on the cigarette box and lifted her eyelids.
Tao Xin, who had stopped in front of her, did indeed have a surprised expression, and asked with a slight surprise, “When did you start smoking?”
“A long time ago, I just never smoked in front of you.” Lu You didn’t take out a cigarette after all, but turned the pinky ring on her little finger. “What do you want to talk about?”
Tao Xin noticed that she had changed her pinky ring, and as if her eyes had been burned, she turned her gaze away, only to catch sight of a scarlet spark outside the window again. Her eyes widened, filled with pain. “You guys…”
It was a rare gloomy expression.
For a moment, Lu You felt like she was a stranger.
It was as if this nearly two-year relationship had been a lonely affair. The first conversation after the breakup, and the other party was concerned about someone else.
“If you have any questions about Yunxi-jie, go ask her, don’t ask me.”
Tao Xin seemed to be choked, her slightly parted cherry-pink lips moved but ultimately pressed tightly together, temporarily speechless.
They hadn’t been in contact for several days.
Actually, Tao Xin had been nervous at first.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t had quarrels before, but no matter how fierce they argued, neither of them would say words like “Let’s end it here” that represented a breakup.
Because both of them had experienced the scene of their parents arguing about divorce in front of them.
That day, after hanging up the phone, she sat blankly all night, involuntarily scanning through their chat history.
Having also experienced not having a mother’s company at a young age and being disliked by her father, Lu You had more empathy for her than anyone else.
Lu You understood that her capriciousness was to gain attention and avoid being ignored, understood that behind her glamour was a lack of confidence and anxiety, and understood her low sense of security.
Therefore, the dialogue box was mostly filled with Lu You’s sharing.
A cup of hot oatmeal in the morning, reminding her to eat breakfast; seeing small purple flowers hidden in the grass while shopping with Chen Feifei, telling her, “Look! Even the smallest flowers can have their beauty discovered”; telling her how much money the bar made, saying it was no problem to support her…
And her replies, in reverse order, changed from flat to eager.
Those intimate pasts were like CDs at the bottom of a trunk, discovered by her by chance, playing in front of her, stirring up all her emotions.
Making her remember that Lu You was also an extremely important person to her, someone she was also afraid of losing.
She carefully wrote an apology letter and stuffed it into an envelope with the music tickets.
Firmly believing that Lu You would forgive her as soon as she saw it.
Later, at the concert in Shui City, Lu You didn’t come. She asked Yue Shao to go and see, who told her that the letter was gone.
So she convinced herself that Lu You was just still angry.
Giving her enough time to cool down would be fine.
Later, she traveled to several cities, was so busy that she gradually forgot the hidden pain branded by the words “Let’s end it here.”
Until two days ago, after finishing recording a song, a group of people went out for supper. She heard a lot of gossip from people in the industry, and when she returned to the hotel and wanted to share it with Lu You, she sent a message, only to see that the red exclamation mark was still attached to the front.
She asked for her assistant’s account and, on a whim, peeked into Lu You’s Moments.
Seeing the post that Yue Yunxi had commented on, “Curious about what,” in that instant, she seemed to return to the days before her mother and younger brother died in a car accident.
The gazes of everyone in the family would always only stay on her younger brother.
She was like an outsider, or even more like a beggar.
Longing for them to give her a little love, even if it was just a glance.
But even when her parents were on the verge of divorce, they only wanted her younger brother.
Then, she thought of the time when she was doted on by both Yue Yunxi and Lu You.
Her sister always let her have her way and would tolerate her willfulness, and Yoyo always indulged her and would pay attention to her joys, angers, sorrows, and happiness.
That feeling was truly wonderful.
As if a window suddenly opened in a dark, damp house covered in mold, and then another door opened, letting in light and filling it with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers.
If possible, she couldn’t help but want the three of them to maintain such a balanced relationship forever.
But things went against her wishes.
She could feel that the window that allowed her to be bathed in sunlight and cleansed by moonlight was about to close.
It took her a long time to persuade her manager to allow her to come back.
On the way, she was uneasy and her thoughts were confused.
At times, she imagined Lu You and Yue Yunxi being together behind her back, like when her parents only took her younger brother to the amusement park when she was little, and her grandparents only gave her younger brother snacks.
But she didn’t want to be that extra person anymore.
At other times, she recalled the scenes of Lu You talking to her and her sister analyzing things for her whenever she was tangled over big or small matters.
She thought a lot, and even brewed up words to reveal her inner feelings.
But when she ran into Lu You getting out of Yue Yunxi’s car, morbid, jealous, eager… complex and heavy emotions once again uncontrollably engulfed her.
Tao Xin took a deep breath, “Did you see the letter I wrote?”
Lu You frowned slightly, “What letter?”
Tao Xin was stunned for a moment, and explained, “The one that was in the envelope with the tickets, placed in the mailbox.”
“I didn’t see the envelope. The mailbox wasn’t locked, so it must have been taken by playful children.”
Lu You didn’t ask her what was written in the letter.
Tao Xin’s expression changed several times, from annoyed frowns to disappointed desolation, and finally condensed a trace of expectation in her almond eyes.
“So you didn’t come to my concert because you didn’t have a ticket.”
It was more of a rhetorical question, as if deceiving herself.
“No.”
The silent atmosphere was probably a measuring instrument of the intensity of emotions. When it was so thin that they couldn’t even be friends, it would make people feel embarrassed.
Just as Lu You was about to leave, Tao Xin spoke again, “I’ve already deleted Chu Xiao. I swear, nothing really happened between us, it was just chatting.
I will pay special attention to my boundaries with other people in the future. I promise you, this kind of thing will absolutely, absolutely never happen again. Believe me, give me another chance.”
For a while, it was very popular online to describe sweet and pure looks as having a first love face, and Tao Xin was this type, naturally carrying a sense of innocence that would make people want to protect her.
When she cried so pathetically, it made people’s hearts soften, as if she could be forgiven for any mistake she made.
Lu You sighed silently.
“One last time.”
Tao Xin’s sobbing request revealed her embarrassment, and the tears that welled up made her seem humble, helpless, and pitiful.
Lu You unconsciously softened her tone, but still refused, “I’m sorry, I can’t give it to you.”
“…What’s the reason?”
“Because I don’t like you anymore.”
Lu You’s slow and steady tone was as calm as if she was lamenting the density of the night.
Those clear eyes, without warmth, revealed a decision.
Tao Xin looked at her, only feeling that the words that fell into her ears had become sharp ringing sounds, pulling her brain into a blank.
Even though the sentence was so clear and understandable, she seemed not to understand, “What do you mean… you don’t like me anymore?”
“Literal meaning.” Lu You paused for a moment, “You can understand it as, I no longer have the feelings of a lover for you, and I can’t maintain a friendship with you anymore either.”
Tao Xin’s body swayed slightly. She had thought of countless harsh words that Lu You might say.
As if reacting defensively, she had thought of everything except this sentence.
It was as if something was being peeled away from her heart little by little, and a subtle feeling flowed out with it.
It didn’t hurt much, but it was particularly uncomfortable.
“Just because I did one thing wrong, you’re going to abandon all these years of our relationship?”
Lu You raised her eyes and calmly looked at the person in front of her.
They had known each other since they were nine years old, and had been in love since they were twenty-four. They had been friends for fifteen years and lovers for two, sharing each other’s pain and sharing each other’s joy.
So far, Tao Xin was the most important person in her life besides her grandmother, even more so than her childhood friends.
Therefore, the elements in this love were too complex, intertwined with friendship, family, and a vague love.
So that one wrong step led to a dead end.
“Some things, once done, are like broken mirrors, and can’t be restored to their original state.”
Lu You’s voice was low and soft, saying it to her, but also to herself.
“So we can’t even be friends anymore?” Tao Xin came closer, grasped Lu You’s arm, raised her face, and looked into her eyes, trying to extract the emotions she wanted from them.
Downstairs, Yue Yunxi also raised her head, her long eyelashes fluttering lightly.
Across the not-so-close distance, Yue Yunxi couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could only see the posture of the two suddenly getting closer.
Her red lips were slightly parted, and smoke swirled up, lightly covering her eyes, blurring her vision.
The cigarette burning in her fingers, in this hot summer night, seemed to intensify the humidity in the air, making the suffocating feeling heavier.
Her slender fingers trembled lightly, dropping a pinch of ash after the flame had died out.
The scattered appearance was like a dream falling into reality.
Yue Yunxi opened the car door, got in, and drove away from this road that couldn’t fit a third car.
The sound of the wheels rubbing against the road surface, transmitted upstairs, shattered a room of silence.
After looking for a long time, Lu You’s dark pupils were as deep as the night, without the reluctance she wanted. Tao Xin said with difficulty, “…Don’t you want me anymore?”
Lu You lowered her eyelashes, not letting her spy on more, “Let go.”
Tao Xin ignored her.
She intuitively felt that she couldn’t let go. Once she let go, she might never be able to hold on again.
Lu You frowned, raised her hand and pushed her away, not too hard.
Tao Xin seemed to feel that the window was being completely pushed shut.
And she was still incredulously trying to open it again.
“I won’t!” She hugged Lu You stubbornly, “If you’re not willing to answer me, it means you can’t bear to either!”
Lu You struggled fiercely.
Just when she was about to lose her grip, Tao Xin sobbed, “I swear! I’ll give you a guarantee, Lu Yoyo, don’t abandon me, can’t you not treat me like this…”
In the midst of contemplation, Tao Xin felt the rejection and resistance from Lu You gradually disappear.
But there was no expected embrace.
It was as if she was hugging a lifeless object without emotion, no longer able to satisfy any of her emotional needs.
After a moment, Lu You breathed out heavily, “Tao Tao, don’t make me hate you.”
It was as if an invisible slap had awakened her.
A feeling of embarrassment suddenly surged up.
Tao Xin slowly slid her hands down.
She realized that she had once again become that humble beggar without self-esteem, and suddenly turned her back.
Lu You closed her eyes, turned and left.
As she walked to the door, she paused, wanting to ask Tao Xin what she really thought of Yue Yunxi.
But the moment she turned her head, she saw Tao Xin slowly squatting down, her thin shoulders trembling, looking as if she would fall apart with a gust of wind.
Unable to ask any more questions, and no need to confirm.
She didn’t turn her head back, not bothering with Auntie Yue’s greetings, and walked faster and faster.
The dim light of the street lamps and the boundless night intertwined to form an old timeline.
There was when she was ten years old, and they had a cold war because of Huang Zhixu.
Walking past a hillside after school, dandelions were blown away by the wind, and Tao Xin awkwardly handed over the limited edition Huang Zhixu album that she had exchanged for a limited edition figure. “I really don’t understand what’s so good about it!”
There was when she was fourteen years old, and she locked herself in her room because she had broken her pinky finger. Tao Xin climbed up a ladder to bring her cake, and accidentally broke her arm when she was going down.
Crying loudly from the pain, she didn’t forget to say to her, who was poking her head out of the window, “Look, isn’t the weather nice.”
When she was sixteen years old, she wanted to bring a abandoned bichon puppy home, but she was afraid that Lu Huai’an would disagree, so she could only go to feed it every day, anxiously worrying that the puppy wouldn’t survive the cold winter.
Later, Tao Xin gave her the dog, saying to Lu Huai’an, “That way, Uncle won’t have to worry about Yoyo living alone at home.”
Then she winked at her, her eyebrows and eyes lively.
When she was eighteen years old, at the blue hour of sunset, Tao Xin leaned her head against her, hooked her little finger that couldn’t bend well, and said, “Lu Yoyo, we have to always be this good, always, always, always.”
When she was twenty-two years old, she got lost while traveling abroad. In the noisy and unfamiliar streets, she suddenly heard the melody of Shiye, a familiar song, and she squeezed into the crowded crowd following the sound.
Tao Xin was standing in the center, covered in neon lights, holding a guitar, singing a song of Shiye.
She was stunned in place.
The song came to an end, and Tao Xin’s gaze fell on her through the crowded crowd, “Congratulations, you found me!”
Lu You’s footsteps gradually slowed down, and her eyes filled with mist.
It’s a pity, you lost me.
And I can no longer tell whether you are friendship or a missed love.
ˉ
Smoking a cigarette didn’t help her feel better. Worried that her grandmother would notice something amiss, Lu You didn’t go home. She walked out of the neighborhood and hailed a taxi, telling the driver to drive around randomly.
She lowered the car window, rested her arm on the frame, propping her head up, and felt the wind stirred up by the car’s speed brush her face.
Passing through a demolished neighborhood, with broken walls and ruins, like a mangy grey dog, lying in the dry summer night.
A scenery that would make people feel even more gloomy.
Remembering that the sunrise video she had recorded in the morning hadn’t been processed yet, Lu You closed the window, asked the driver to turn on the air conditioner, and lowered her head to turn on her phone.
After processing it, Lu You sent the video to Yue Yunxi.
In less than two minutes, Yue Yunxi sent her a video back.
In the dark grass, fireflies flickered, like fallen stars.
Lu You asked: 【The fireflies at Ningfu Temple?】
Yue Yunxi replied instantly: 【Yeah, there are a lot of them today.】
The car drove aimlessly for a while. Lu You raised her head and said to the driver in the front row, “Master, please drive to Ningfu Temple.”
The female driver responded, “Okay.”
The fireflies at Ningfu Temple were concentrated these days, attracting many viewers. The Luowu Park near the pedestrian street was crowded with people, and all the public benches were full.
The coffee shop next door was empty, probably because the prices were too expensive.
Yue Yunxi took the camera from the car, went in, ordered an iced Americano, and sat down at a seat by the floor-to-ceiling window.
She took out her phone and watched the sunrise video that Lu You had sent again.
Under the breathtaking background sound, the orange color of the sky seemed to spill out of the screen.
She seemed to smell that gust of wind again, ruffling her chestnut hair, containing the tide of the river.
With a slightly astringent citrus fragrance.
The person next to her, with her face slightly raised, the first ray of sunlight in the morning shining on her fair cheeks, making them soft and bright, her long, curled eyelashes trembling lightly because they were carrying joy.
Like a butterfly fluttering its wings, flying into her line of sight, causing a tsunami of throbbing in her heart.
They were in the same wind, appreciating different scenery.
She turned off the video, and her eyes froze on the dialogue box.
She thought, Lu You should be coming.
If they had reconciled, they would come as two people.
If they hadn’t, she would need to be healed by the scenery even more.
The glass reflected her face, contained in the shadow smeared by the night.
Her eyes gradually emptied.
In her mind, she saw the scene of Tao Xin approaching Lu You in the glass window at one moment, and then she saw Lu You smoking on the day of the concert at another.
Only half of that cigarette was smoked, and then it was always clipped between her fingers, the strands of smoke intertwined with that hand with distinct joints.
In the end, it was never favored again.
Like the mentality of a gambler, knowing that the odds of losing are greater than the odds of winning, they will still want to try again.
The guests on the benches outside the window changed in waves. Yue Yunxi stirred the long spoon in the cup absentmindedly.
When the coffee was about to run out, she noticed a white car stopping at the narrow intersection.
Across the long distance, in the dim light, Yue Yunxi still recognized the slender figure getting out of the car at a glance.
Hurrying out of the coffee shop, walking closer and closer, slower and slower.
She took a deep and slow breath, suppressing the intense churning undercurrent in her heart.
After confirming the fare, Lu You turned off the phone screen and walked straight towards the path.
Suddenly, she heard a voice: “Yoyo.”
Lu You turned around and saw Yue Yunxi, somewhat surprised: “Yunxi-jie hasn’t left yet?”
“I originally wanted to see if there were any fireflies, so I didn’t bring a camera.” Yue Yunxi raised the hand holding the camera slightly, “So I wanted to take the camera and take pictures again.”
Lu You nodded.
It was a reasonable explanation, but she always had a sense of unreality.
She had clearly asked the driver to drive around for another lap before coming over, but it just so happened that Yue Yunxi had just finished watching the fireflies at this time and came to get the camera.
However, the other person was Yue Yunxi. Worried that she was thinking wrong, Lu You stopped her divergent thinking in time.
She didn’t say anything more, and Yue Yunxi didn’t disturb the quiet atmosphere she needed at the moment either.
The two walked side by side on the path, until they saw the yellow-green lights flickering, flowing in the moist fragrance of plants.
Lu You stopped on the side of the road, lowered her eyes and looked, and felt her nose uncontrollably turn sour.
She asked in a low voice, “Yunxi-jie, how do you relieve yourself when you’re unhappy?”
She didn’t like to show her vulnerable side, and she didn’t like to let her bad emotions affect others.
But it felt like a piece had been dug out of her heart, empty, chilly, and aching.
Relying only on the light of the fireflies, she couldn’t warm or fill that place.
“I’m sorry, it’s a bit of a mood killer, but I…”
She clearly wasn’t crying, but her voice was like the grass blades in this forest, which were heavy with dew, covered in dampness, and soaked the tone of her voice.
Yue Yunxi clenched her hands, not daring to look at her again.
Afraid that if she looked, she would be unable to hold back from crying.
Afraid that if she looked, she would be even more sad, sad that from the past to the present, the person who occupied her vision and affected her mood was someone else.
After a brief silence, Yue Yunxi heard her suppressed deep breath. She looked sideways, but only saw her head hanging down, her long hair falling from her shoulders and blocking the sides of her cheeks.
The ground that the fireflies had passed over was stained with a little dark color.
Lu You was about to raise her hand to wipe away the tears that were sliding from her eyes, when she suddenly felt her right wrist being circled by a cool touch with a gentle force.
The force of the pull also seemed to be there or not, and Lu You’s body involuntarily turned in her direction.
In her blurry vision, she looked at the hand that was holding her wrist bone, and was stunned for a moment, and asked, “Where are we going?”
Sweat oozed from her palm, and once she said the place, she should let go.
Yue Yunxi, stepping on her noisy heartbeat, led her all the way forward, without looking back, “Just follow me.”
Lu You’s tear-soaked long eyelashes rose, and her eyes fell on Yue Yunxi’s waist-length hair.
For a moment, her heart seemed to sway with it.
She didn’t ask any more questions, nor did she look back at those flickering fireflies.
She let Yue Yunxi lead her back to the park, turning to the mountain climbing steps.
Yue Yunxi let go of her hand, curled up her knuckles beside her, took out her mobile phone with her other hand, turned on the flashlight, and instructed: “Be careful of the slippery ground.”
The wet feeling in her palm became obvious after she let go. Lu You twisted it slightly, “Mmm” sounded.
There were no lights in the mountains, so she could only use the light of the mobile phone. The stone steps were narrow and the slope was steep, and all her attention was focused on her feet.
The more she climbed, the more tired she became, feeling that her body was so hot that she was only missing a handful of cumin to be completely cooked.
Lu You suggested taking a rest, and only stopped to gasp for breath before asking: “Do you, every time, when you’re unhappy, come to climb mountains?”
“Basically.” Yue Yunxi’s breath was much steadier than hers, “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” Lu You slowed down, “Just tired.”
So tired that she didn’t have the extra energy to think about unhappy things.
Yue Yunxi silently curved her lips, “We’re almost at the top of the mountain.”
Lu You felt that it was hard to even speak, stopped to hold her knees and catch her breath for a while, and looked up, only seeing black shadows of trees.
“Really?”
“About one hundred and twenty steps more.”
“…”
Her petrified appearance was really too cute.
Yue Yunxi chuckled lightly.
Lu You took a deep breath, gritted her teeth and took a step, “Let’s go.”
Counting silently to one hundred and twenty in her mind, they really arrived at the top of the mountain. On the wide platform, there were several small stalls selling cold drinks. Lu You looked around and stopped at a stall owner with no left hand.
Walking to the stall of that big sister, Lu You straightened her hair, bent down to look at the price list on the small table, and asked Yue Yunxi, “What do you want to drink? Iced or room temperature?”
Yue Yunxi’s eyes rippled, just about to open her mouth to answer.
“She always drinks room temperature mineral water.” The big sister who was selling water snatched the answer and handed a bottle of mineral water to Yue Yunxi, familiarly saying, “I haven’t seen you for a while. What are you unhappy about today?”
Lu You was stunned for a moment.
Yue Yunxi curved her lips: “Today I’m accompanying someone who’s unhappy. Do you have vanilla ice cream?”
“Yes, wait, I’ll get it for you.” The big sister turned around and opened the small ice cabinet behind her, rummaged inside for a while, and took out a small box of Baxy, “How many do you want?”
Yue Yunxi replied: “One is enough.”
The big sister took out a small square bag of glutinous rice cakes, and her eyes drifted from Yue Yunxi to Lu You, and handed it over with a smile: “What does the girl want to drink?”
Lu You gathered her thoughts, slowly took the glutinous rice cakes and replied: “I’ll buy it after I finish eating.”
“Okay!” The big sister pointed to the left side and said, “There are chairs over there to sit and rest for a while.”
Lu You looked in the direction the big sister was pointing, and there were several long wooden benches placed haphazardly in the open space for people to rest.
Turning her head back, she saw that Yue Yunxi had put her phone in her pocket and had already paid.
The price of ice cream on the mountain was twice as expensive as in the city. Lu You thought for a while and transferred the money to Yue Yunxi.
Sitting down on the bench, Yue Yunxi received the message, paused for a moment, and called her: “Yoyo.”
She spoke softly, as if wrapped in a sigh.
Lu You was unpacking the small spoon, “Mmm?”
“Don’t be so polite with me.”
Lu You paused, and explained: “I’m just a little embarrassed.”
Yue Yunxi glanced at her: “It’s all small money.”
Feeling that Yue Yunxi seemed to be a little unhappy, Lu You replied: “Okay, I won’t be polite next time.”
Yue Yunxi’s eyebrows and eyes relaxed.
Lu You took a spoonful of ice cream, the sweet coolness melting in her mouth, as if dissolving most of the heat in her body and the boredom in her heart.
The night wind blew, bringing the freshness of the forest. With each breath, fresh air poured into her lungs.
She squinted comfortably, thinking of asking: “Do you often come to climb mountains when you’re unhappy?”
Yue Yunxi gave a low “Mmm” sound.
“Why are you unhappy?” Lu You turned her head, her fingers tightening on the spoon handle.
Because Yue Yunxi also turned to look at her.
Their eyes collided slightly.
Yue Yunxi’s expression did not change, but Lu You inexplicably felt a jump in her heart. On a whim, she thought of the conversation at the pool table last time.
Swallowing the ice cream in her mouth, she asked: “Is it for that person you like?”
Yue Yunxi’s expression remained the same as she withdrew her gaze, lifted the mineral water bottle with one hand, raised her chin slightly, silently took a few sips of water, and cast her gaze to the distant crescent moon with a soft glow, “This is my secret.”
A strange answer. If it was, she could admit it directly, and if it wasn’t, she could say that it wasn’t entirely the reason.
Lu You smiled and said: “Sorry, I was being presumptuous.”
Yue Yunxi slowly twisted the bottle cap back on, and said faintly: “It’s okay.”
After sitting on the bench for a while, Yue Yunxi carried the camera bag that was placed on her lap and suggested: “Go to the observation deck and take a look?”
“Okay.”
From the observation deck, you can overlook most of Nanquan City.
Yue Yunxi went to take pictures. Lu You placed her hands on the railing, and scooped at the ice cream mindlessly, looking at the distant city lights.
Hearing a shout from the left rear: “Ah—!”
Turning around and looking up, seven or eight college students were standing in a row, like a WiFi signal.
“I want to pass the exam — !!”
A companion joked: “What’s the use of reporting Laozi’s name, you report your own name!”
“I’ll go to your Yade.”
Causing people around to pay attention frequently, and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Do you want to release some stress too?” Yue Yunxi didn’t know when she had returned.
Lu You hesitated and didn’t say anything, absentmindedly scooped a spoonful of ice cream, raised her hand into the air, paused, and belatedly realized that a strand of messy hair was near her lips, and was about to use the hand holding the Baxy box to push it away.
Yue Yunxi’s hand stretched out first, without touching her at all, her fingertips carefully hooking the strand of long hair and gently bringing it back.
Lu You slowly held the spoon in her mouth, the ice cream slowly melting, melting a memory that was sealed deep inside.
It was the summer vacation after graduating from elementary school, and good friends had been admitted to different junior high schools, so Tao Xin organized a gathering to play at the arcade in the mall.
Yue Shao reluctantly let Yue Yunxi follow.
As soon as they entered the door, they saw a dance machine, with two big sisters dancing the bunny dance.
At that time, the four-person bunny dance was very popular, so Lu You suggested that everyone dance together, and asked Yue Yunxi to help record it.
But Tao Xin refused, feeling that it was too stupid to dance in public.
Two other little friends who had already agreed changed their minds as well.
Lu You took the game coins that Yue Yunxi had given her and said: Then I’ll go dance by myself.
Tao Xin was thinking about catching dolls, didn’t care much about her, and pulled the other two away.
Standing in front of the dance machine, she couldn’t help but follow along and dance a few times, and was quickly noticed by the two big sisters who were dancing.
One big sister invited her to join them.
Another looked behind her and said: “Do you want to come together too?”
Lu You followed her gaze and turned around, only to find that the person standing behind her was Yue Yunxi.
Their eyes met.
The emotions in Yue Yunxi’s amber pupils were very faint.
Lu You guessed that she probably didn’t want to dance in front of people either, so she touched her nose and said to the big sister: “I can’t, so I won’t dance.”
The big sisters didn’t force her either, and put in coins and danced another dance.
Yue Yunxi took two steps forward, stopped beside her, looked at her for a moment, and asked her, “Don’t you want to dance very much? Why did you say you can’t?”
Lu You glanced at her a few times and said softly: “Because you have to dance with four people, but I don’t feel like you really want to dance.”
Yue Yunxi didn’t say anything more.
Waiting for the dance of the two big sisters to end, Yue Yunxi went straight forward and talked to them a few words.
The arcade was too noisy, and Lu You only vaguely heard the key words “bunny dance”, “sequence number”, “game coins”.
After a while, Yue Yunxi walked back to her, “Go put in coins, dance the bunny dance.”
After a pause, she added, “Don’t tell Tao Tao and the others.”
Lu You’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
She didn’