MTMIO Chapter 24

Chapter 24 It Tasted a Bit Off

Lu You lowered her eyes, pouring water into the glass, while pricking up her ears to listen to the sounds in the living room.

The balcony door was opened, probably Auntie Liu going to collect the clothes. The toilet door clicked twice, it was Grandma opening the door to go in and lock it. Intermingled with Yue Yunxi’s footsteps, it was unknown when they stopped, probably having gone to the living room.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tao Xin’s hand, marked with a ferocious red line, squeezed the dog toy, probably realizing her loss of composure, she soon released it.

Tao Xin placed both the paper cup and the toy on the island counter, and asked with a trembling voice: “Um… what does that mean?”

“It means I heard you talking and responded out of politeness.”

Lu You put down the kettle, still not looking up, afraid that she would soften if she saw Tao Xin’s tearful appearance.

White steam rose from the kettle and hit her face, forming a warm, misty cloud on the surface.

It failed to soften her cold eyebrows and eyes, nor did it penetrate a bit of warmth into her cool voice.

“What I’m going to say next might be a little impolite, prepare yourself mentally.”

Tao Xin was confused, frowning slightly.

Separated by a door, Yue Yunxi’s eyelids, which had just drooped, lifted up again slightly, her gaze turning back to the corner of her eyes, projecting in through the glass.

Lu You half-closed her red and swollen left eye, adding some cold water to the cup. “The Tao Tao I know, although willful, vulgar, snobbish, and full of minor flaws, is not bad at heart, a real and lovable person. But just now, your question really confused me. I’m wondering, have you changed now? Or have you always been this kind of person?”

Tao Xin’s brow furrowed even tighter, “What kind of person?”

Listening to Lu You praise Tao Xin, Yue Yunxi had already retracted her gaze and prepared to leave, but hearing the latter part, she couldn’t help but look at Lu You again.

Across a distance and through the glass, Yue Yunxi still captured the moment she frowned, twisting with annoyance and disappointment, but after a few seconds, she slowly relaxed.

It was as if she was trying hard to peel herself away from the negative emotions stemming from Tao Xin, allowing herself to calmly state her thoughts as an outsider.

She replied to Tao Xin, “It makes me feel strange… and disgusted.”

But the force of the hurt was not reduced much at all.

Tao Xin’s face turned pale, and she swayed uncontrollably, taking half a step back.

She suddenly remembered when she was little, she had only accidentally hurt her younger brother, and was harshly pushed away by her father, glared at fiercely by her mother, and accused by her grandparents of being a born bad seed…

Various emotions squeezed in on her from all directions.

She shook her head: “I’m not, I—”

I was just blinded by jealousy.

I’m just very scared, scared of becoming redundant again.

So low and silent, stuck in her throat, hard to articulate.

She knew that these feelings of hers, and the things she had done to balance them, if spoken out, would be like a black spider lurking in a dark corner, spitting out sticky spider silk, complex and venomous.

It wouldn’t be understood.

But she still hoped, hoped that Lu You could open that window again and shine a ray of sunlight on her, asking her, what is that?

But the number of times she habitually denied it was too many, like the boy who cried wolf, when she wanted to tell the truth, no one cared anymore.

Lu You interrupted her: “The reason we broke up is that you unilaterally committed a violation of principle. I have no reason to punish innocent people for your personal problems.

Furthermore, whether it’s me or Sister Yunxi, we are all independent adults, and have the absolute right to choose who we befriend.

You have no right… and even less the qualification, to restrict or judge others on a moral level. Just restrain yourself.

Besides, there’s nothing between us at all.”

A string of words fell into the ears of two people.

Like different oil papers bearing the same rain, they were shaken with different weights.

Tao Xin opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn’t find a rebuttal.

The one who crossed the line first didn’t dare to argue.

After a moment of silence, Lu You probed tentatively: “Not everyone is like you, wanting to develop everyone around them into a romantic relationship.”

When she looked up to drink water, she cast a glance at Tao Xin.

Tao Xin’s pupils dilated slightly, staring at her in disbelief, only feeling that her eardrums were buzzing from the bombardment of words, and her brain went blank in a long ringing sound.

Seeing Tao Xin’s reaction, Lu You was truly certain that what Chu Xiao had told her was true.

Even though she had been vaccinated, even though she had known for a long time that it was almost certain, she still found it hard to bear the complexity that surged from the depths of her heart at this moment.

Like when she was young and loved collecting pretty jars, she was told that iron jars would rust and not last long, but she refused to believe it, wiping them every day, protecting them carefully, only to discover when she accidentally knocked one over one day that it was already covered in rust.

“Don’t use your vile mentality to speculate about other people’s pure relationships.”

“…Pure relationships.” Tao Xin repeated softly, as if hearing a very funny joke, and chuckled.

Lu You raised her eyes to look over.

She saw Tao Xin holding her hand to her lips, biting the tip of her thumb, tears welling up in her almond eyes, but the corners of her mouth were raised high, with a hint of mockery.

The bizarre scene stimulated her optic nerve, and Lu You narrowed her left eye, which was sore from the cold.

Through the hazy mist of water, she saw Tao Xin tilt her head, facing the kitchen door, her mouth opening and closing, asking:

“Really pure? Sister?”

Lu You was stunned, her gaze turning sharply.

The lights in the room were not turned on, and the weather outside had changed. Different degrees of gray penetrated the window panes everywhere, pouring into the room, colliding and merging in the intersection of the living room and the kitchen to form the deepest shady area.

Yue Yunxi was standing in that dimness.

Not knowing how long she had been standing there.

She was looking down slightly, clutching her phone in her hand, the weak light of the screen illuminating half of her face, the corners of her lips pulled straight, pulling the coldness in her temperament to the extreme.

Her long but not narrow phoenix eyes were sunk in the shadows, and her cold gaze swept over Tao Xin, turning to Lu You.

At the moment of eye contact, Lu You’s eyelashes trembled involuntarily, and a line of tears that had filled her eyes slipped down.

Yue Yunxi blinked lightly and slowly, following closely behind.

Then the pair of amber pupils that had originally been as still as an ancient well, were like drops of water had fallen in, with subtle ripples gently spreading out.

The hand Lu You was grasping the cup handle moved, her fingertips touched the cup wall, and she recoiled from the heat.

Her heart jumped suddenly.

Realizing belatedly that Yue Yunxi might have heard their entire conversation, and also for Tao Xin’s rhetorical question and the unknown answer.

Yue Yunxi pushed open the kitchen door and went in, reaching out and handing the phone to Tao Xin, saying in a flat voice: “Your manager just called me, asking me to notify her when you’ve finished dealing with things.”

A simple sentence explained the reason for waiting outside, while glossing over Tao Xin’s question.

And the screen of the phone she was clutching showed “Sister Li” as the contact, already dialed to her manager.

Tao Xin stood rooted to the spot, staring straight at the phone, looking at Yue Yunxi’s face reflected in it.

Dignified, graceful, beautiful, cold, gentle… any positive adjective could be perfectly integrated on such a face.

But now, they were all contained in the black background of the screen.

Until a line of call time appeared below the contact number, Sister Li said “Hello” on the other end.

Like being pushed onto the rack, Tao Xin had no choice but to take the phone, and walked out while holding it to her ear.

“Eh? Tao Tao, when did you arrive?” Grandma’s smiling voice clearly came into the kitchen.

Inconvenient to talk on the phone, Tao Xin responded with a perfunctory “Mm” twice.

The smile on Grandma’s lips faded, and she leaned forward, craning her neck to look into the kitchen, seeing Yue Yunxi was still there, she shrank back her plump body, turned on her feet, and went back to the living room to sit in the leather sofa.

She and Auntie Liu chatted about something in a low voice, the content not clear, only the sound faintly transmitted.

Making the kitchen even quieter.

Especially when Yue Yunxi suddenly raised her hand, Lu You wiped the tear stains on her face, her attention unconsciously drawn over.

Seeing Yue Yunxi’s slender fingers lift the broken hair next to her cheek and tuck it behind her ear, revealing the moon earrings she had given her.

The luster emitted by the mother-of-pearl shone through the gloom, reflecting brightly in her eyes.

Lu You blinked her eyelashes, her gaze drooping down.

Then she unexpectedly landed on the familiar dried rose.

Her sister confronted her in the front, and her older sister wore the things she gave her in the back, and deadlocked with her.

Clearly, they were all gifts to return the favor, but they became obscure.

Making the quiet atmosphere a little subtle, like the cloud in the distant sky, gathering thicker and thicker, but not a drop of rain fell.

Time squeezed inside, and it seemed longer.

It seemed like a long time, but it was only a minute or two.

Yue Yunxi opened her mouth and said: “Sister Li said that she is facing an elimination round recently, and she is under a lot of pressure. She was almost hit by something two days ago, so her emotions are a bit erratic.”

So, some words don’t need to be taken to heart.

Lu You understood the implication, turned the pinky ring on her little finger, and said with a smile: “I know, Sister Yunxi doesn’t need to specifically explain her to me.”

The smile did not reach her eyes, and the four words “specifically explain her” were heavily emphasized, with a twist that she didn’t realize herself.

Yue Yunxi’s mood rose and fell, and then plummeted with her words, her voice softening: “Okay, I won’t help her.”

Every syllable was full of indulgence.

Perhaps, even the way she looked at her would be a broad indulgence like coaxing a child.

Lu You drooped her thin eyelids, twisted her ear bone, but did not look up to confirm.

Catching a glimpse of the dog toy that Tao Xin had placed on the island counter, she reached out and dragged it to Yue Yunxi’s side.

“Help me, return this to her.”

There was a brief pause in the middle, because she suddenly realized that this sentence, following the previous conversation, had a slightly different meaning.

But after the pause, it was even more subtle.

It seemed as if she was vying for favor.

Lu You peered at Yue Yunxi.

Yue Yunxi lowered her eyes and took the puppy toy, as if it was equipped with a sensor, and also lifted her eyelids to sweep over her, a soft light rippling in her eyes.

Not knowing whether it was because of the tremor of the eye contact.

Or also discovering this, a few faint smiles floated up.

Lu You picked up the water glass, tactically drinking water.

Yue Yunxi paused, “I’m leaving.”

Lu You nodded, hummed a sound with a heavy nasal voice, and leaned against the island counter without moving, with no intention of seeing her off.

Yue Yunxi already had a turning tendency, but her figure suddenly paused, “Any kind of emotion is just an embellishment of life, not the whole. The plum rain season is over, rest well, and take care of yourself.”

Lu You’s hand, which was preparing to put down the glass, stopped, hovering in the air.

A shallow bottom of water was gently swaying in the glass.

She thought that Yue Yunxi might have misunderstood that her current physical discomfort was also affected by Tao Xin, so she had this persuasion and guidance.

The real reason was hard to say.

And the words were not made clear, so she didn’t need to make any more explanations.

Lu You didn’t say much, and nodded again, saying okay.

Only then did Yue Yunxi turn around and truly leave.

Lu You poured hot water into the glass again, and saw Yue Yunxi turn out of the kitchen through the curling hot air.

Her left ear twitched, hearing Yue Yunxi say goodbye to Grandma, and gently remind her to take her medicine at night.

Putting down the kettle, Lu You tapped the table with her fingertips,Swipe ing the water droplets splashed on it into a winding path, listening to the sound of footsteps moving to the entrance.

She picked up the water glass and slowly walked out of the kitchen.

Yue Yunxi had already left.

But the door was not completely closed, leaving a gap as wide as half a person.

Seeing her come out of the kitchen, Grandma turned her head to look outside twice, and then turned her gaze back to her, leaning closer, and lowering her voice as if whispering: “Does Tao Tao want to get back together with you?”

Lu You lightly “ah’ed” a sound.

She wasn’t sure what Tao Xin’s intentions were.

Clearly liking Sister Yunxi now, not going after her, what was she wasting time on with her?

Or was it because she knew that Sister Yunxi had someone she liked, and it was impossible to change her mind, so she weighed the pros and cons and couldn’t bear to give up the relationship she had ruined?

With a cold and the social interaction that had just been experienced, Lu You only felt dizzy and swollen, unable to understand, and didn’t want to understand.

“If there are misunderstandings, clarify them. If it’s not a big problem, then forget it. Take a step back from each other and talk it over. It’s been so many years, and back then you said so resolutely that we were serious and would be together well.”

Lu You was amused by Grandma’s last imitation of a childish tone, “There are no misunderstandings. I was very serious when we were together, and I’m serious now that we’re apart. I won’t get back together with her. You’re my grandma, you have to stand on my side.”

“Okay~ Grandma will definitely stand on your side! If you don’t like it, then don’t talk about it.”

Lu You’s eyebrows and eyes curved, and she put her arm around the old lady’s neck with one hand, her face pressed against hers, saying: “Grandma is the best, I’ll arrange to take you out to play right away~”

“Be careful, don’t spill the water.”

“It’s okay, I won’t spill it.” Lu You affectionately rubbed against Grandma again before letting go, casting a glance at the open crack in the door, “Why isn’t the door closed?”

Grandma said: “I’ll close it after they leave.”

Haven’t left yet?

Lu You was stunned, holding the cup and moved two steps sideways, looking out through the crack in the door.

At this time, Tao Xin had just finished her call with her manager and was clutching Yue Yunxi’s phone, not taking the initiative to hand it over to her.

Yue Yunxi stretched out her hand from the pocket of her beige suit pants, waiting quietly.

Lu You saw Tao Xin move her lips, taking out the question that Yue Yunxi had deliberately ignored and asking it again.

“Are you really just friends?”

After a long while, Yue Yunxi opened her mouth.

Her voice was too low, and Auntie Liu happened to be asking at the same time how many dishes to cook for dinner.

Lu You only caught a “mù” sound, and didn’t hear the rest.

She could also feel that there was an indescribable atmosphere flowing between the two of them.

This kind of atmosphere reminded Lu You of the first time the three of them went out to play together.

When she wanted to talk to one of them, she turned her head and saw the two of them whispering in each other’s ears.

She intuitively felt that there was some secret between them that she didn’t know.

Lu You brought the cup to her lips, staring at the gap between Yue Yunxi and Tao Xin, which was less than half a person wide, and took a sip of water.

She thought, after all, they were sisters who had lived under the same roof for many years, their relationship was deep, and it was common for them to have secrets that excluded her.

But perhaps the water was hot, or perhaps her nose was blocked from the cold, and her throat was also aching.

This water, when swallowed, tasted a bit off.