MTMIO Chapter 31

“Didn’t you also skip the anti-inflammatory and blood circulation promoting medicine?” Yue Yunxi asked again, drying her half-damp hair.

Lu You’s movement of crawling towards the foot of the bed faltered again. “…Yes, I didn’t take them either.”

A very light sigh, wrapped in a faint helplessness.

It made the words that followed seem particularly spoiled.

“Sit properly, I’ll get it for you.” Yue Yunxi hung up the towel and went to the table to get the medicine and a water heater.

Lu You didn’t want to crawl around on the bed like a baby anymore. She adjusted her posture and sat down, frowning as she looked at her ankle.

The swelling started throbbing as if a switch had been flipped after Yue Yunxi asked about it.

She hadn’t felt much when she was drying her hair.

The circular shade hanging from the ceiling cast a soft white light, evenly spreading a thin layer on her leg.

The originally well-defined ankle bone was now a swollen bump, also flushed red.

It was quite ugly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yue Yunxi approaching, and Lu You quickly grabbed the bath towel next to her, twisted into a “swan” shape, and covered her foot.

Suddenly remembering something, she turned to glance at the head of the bed.

Half of the pillow under the quilt was exposed, the pillowcase a silver-gray color different from the hotel’s white bedding.

It was a three-in-one travel sheet set.

“The water’s a bit hot, wait for it to cool down before drinking.” Yue Yunxi stopped at the foot of the bed and unscrewed the lid of the water heater. “What are you looking at?”

“I just realized you put on a sheet,” Lu You turned her head back, took the cup and medicine. “Did you put the rose petals and ‘swan’ back on the bed on purpose after putting the sheet on?”

The white steam rising from the rim of the cup swirled around her, misting her dark eyes, like a tranquil lake surface blurred by the night.

In the hazy mist, her eyes seemed to sway back and forth, as if there were undercurrents surging.

Yue Yunxi looked at her, something floated to the surface of her eyes, then slowly sank, and she gently explained, “I thought it looked pretty, so I moved it back, thinking I’d show it to you.”

At the end of her sentence, her gaze swept over the lone “swan” and landed on the bath towel covering Lu You’s ankle.

Lu You followed her gaze and suddenly felt like she had done something wrong.

Her foot moved under the bath towel, causing a surge of soreness. She laughed awkwardly and said, “It’s pretty, and it’s more useful.”

“How is it useful? Is putting it on top supposed to relieve the pain?” Yue Yunxi bluntly exposed her.

Lu You: “.”

The more familiar they became, the more Lu You realized that when Yue Yunxi wasn’t gentle, she was quite… ruthless.

“My hoof is too ugly to look at,” Lu You said frankly.

It was so ugly that her mood was even more complicated than after showering. At least she had a good figure.

Yue Yunxi turned her gaze to her, curving her lips with helplessness and indulgence, her eyes swept over Lu You’s right foot hanging on the edge of the bed and said, “It’ll be fine after the swelling goes down, it will go back to how pretty it was before.”

The consolation was wrapped in extremely natural praise.

Lu You still felt embarrassed hearing it. She took a sip of water, burned herself, and frowned, moving the cup away.

Yue Yunxi sat down next to her, glanced at her sideways, shook her head, didn’t have the heart to say anything to her, and only said softly, “The water still needs to cool down a little longer, I’ll put the medicine on and bandage it up for you first.”

With that, she opened the plastic bag in her hand and took out the Voltaren tube of external ointment.

“I can do it myself.” Lu You leaned over and reached for it, but she had a cup in her hand.

“Hey, don’t spill the water.” Yue Yunxi glanced at her.

Lu You had no choice but to sit still holding the water heater, wondering, wouldn’t it prevent spills if she helped her hold the cup? And she could put the medicine on herself…

Obviously, Yue Yunxi didn’t have this awareness. She directly unscrewed the cap of the tube, squeezed some gel-like ointment onto her fingertip, glanced at the bulging bath towel, and then stared at her.

Her gaze was softened by the thin steam.

“Stretch out your leg, I’ll help you put it on.” Yue Yunxi’s gentle tone contained a hint of coaxing. “Be good, I won’t think it’s ugly.”

Lu You pursed her lips, looked up, glanced at Yue Yunxi quickly, and muttered, “The way you’re talking, it’s like you’re coaxing a kindergarten kid.”

“Aren’t you a kid?” Yue Yunxi’s voice lowered.

Her tone of voice had an indescribable charm that made people want to argue.

“I’m not.” Lu You moved her foot out of the bath towel and stretched her leg out next to her.

“Then what are you?” Yue Yunxi slightly raised her eyelashes, her eyes falling on the hand gripping the cup tightly. “Don’t you think of me as your older sister anymore?”

Lu You pursed her lips. “…I do.”

“…Oh.” Yue Yunxi’s voice faded a little. “Then that’s fine.”

Lu You didn’t say anything else.

In retrospect, whether she refuted or admitted it, it would confine both of them to a “sisterly” relationship.

Unless she said directly that she didn’t regard the other person as her older sister.

Lu You lifted her thin eyelids and watched Yue Yunxi hold her Achilles tendon with her hand and lift her “pig’s trotter” onto her lap.

The scene before her and the cool, soft touch merged together, making her instep tense and she couldn’t help but shrink back.

Yue Yunxi was about to apply the ointment when she saw this, paused slightly, and asked, “Did I hurt you?”

She lightened her grip, but didn’t let go.

Lu You unconsciously swallowed, shook her head, and said, “It’s okay, just put it on.”

The sooner it’s put on, the sooner it’s over.

Yue Yunxi lowered her gaze, frowning slightly. “It seems even more swollen than before.”

“Emmm, it swelled up after being steamed.”

A very soft giggle was picked up by her sensitive ears. Lu You raised her hand and rubbed her ear, listening to Yue Yunxi’s teasing, which slipped in through the gaps of her fingers.

“Like a steamed bun.”

Lu You raised an eyebrow. “You just said you didn’t think it was ugly.”

The cold ointment was applied to her ankle, and her soft fingertips gently rubbed it in circles.

Yue Yunxi’s voice seemed to carry a damp feeling, winding around her ears.

“I don’t think it’s ugly, I think it’s quite cute.”

Lu You couldn’t help but curl her toes, which were pinkish white, as if they were blushing.

She picked up the water heater and took another sip, the slightly hot water entering her throat and stirring up a little warmth.

Her brain seemed to be rusty, and after a moment of hesitation, she realized that the water temperature was okay. She took the medicine from the bag and saw Yue Yunxi squeezing some more ointment onto her hand.

“The internet says to apply a thick layer, I’ll give you another layer.” Yue Yunxi said.

Lu You swallowed the pills and mumbled, “Okay.”

“Were you going to throw away the laurel hairpin I gave you?” Yue Yunxi suddenly asked.

Lu You swallowed the water and said, “…It was too ugly. I was just watching Grandma make them and thought I’d try it too. I tried it, and then I died. Hiss——”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Yue Yunxi retracted the hand that had poked her sore spot, her eyes shifted, and she gave her a look.

It was completely different from her usual gaze.

It was a hard to describe feeling, like the misty rain of Jiangnan, a little cool, but mostly damp.

She could still faintly feel the astringent taste of the pills lingering in her mouth. Lu You slowly sipped the water, only feeling the heat intensify.

Seeing that Yue Yunxi was screwing the cap back on the tube, she moved her foot down. She had only moved a little when her calf was grabbed.

“What are you running for? It’s not bandaged yet.” Yue Yunxi took the bandage out of the bag, opened her phone, and searched for the figure-eight bandage method to wrap it around her.

Lu You craned her neck, staring curiously at the screen.

Halfway through wrapping, the phone placed on the bedding suddenly vibrated, and Yue Shao’s caller ID popped up on the screen.

Yue Yunxi freed a hand to answer and directly turned on the speakerphone. “Hello? Mom.”

A voice came from the other end, the content was not very clear.

After a few seconds, Yue Shao opened her mouth and said, “Tao Xin is back. Come home for dinner tomorrow.”

Only then did Lu You recognize that the high-pitched female voice in the background was Tao Xin’s.

Yue Yunxi’s hand paused, her eyelashes lifted slightly, and she glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “I’m… traveling.”

“Huh? You didn’t tell me,” Yue Shao asked. “Where are you traveling? With who? When are you coming back?”

Lu You listened, remembering a time when she went to the Tao’s house to play. That day, Yue Yunxi had just received an acceptance letter from a music school abroad. Yue Shao was also like this, rattling off several questions in a row.

It was obvious that Yue Shao didn’t want Yue Yunxi to go abroad.

Perhaps because she was a single mother, Yue Shao was overly dependent on Yue Yunxi.

But at that time, she was young and didn’t understand social graces. She only knew that Yue Shao’s reluctance would delay Yue Yunxi’s future development. Relying on her childish innocence, she spoke very frankly.

She didn’t know if it was because of her words or because of something else, but Yue Shao finally compromised.

“With Yun Zhu and them. After it’s over, I’m flying directly to Venice for a performance. I’ll be back next month,” Yue Yunxi paused. “I came to Xi City.”

The moment the words fell, Lu You caught Yue Shao’s breathing becoming heavier.

The other end of the phone fell silent.

Over here, the bandage was finished. Lu You moved her leg away, twisted the lid of the water heater shut, put on her slippers, and got up to go to the bathroom. Her hand was gently pulled.

She turned around and found Yue Yunxi holding the tube of medicine in her hand.

Yue Yunxi’s gaze drifted down and stopped at her hip.

Lu You followed her line of sight, raised her eyebrows, realized that she meant to put the medicine on her butt, and quickly turned her body and reached for the tube of medicine.

It was difficult to maintain balance in a one-legged stance. Her lifted leg instinctively knelt in the space between the other person’s legs for support. Yue Yunxi also subconsciously avoided her because she suddenly reached over.

One leaned forward, one leaned back.

The water heater slipped from her hand and rolled into the soft bedding.

Slightly damp long hair spread across the back of her hand like soft silk.

Yue Yunxi supported herself on the bedding, propping up her upper body, not falling completely. Lu You pressed her hands on either side of her head, also supporting herself, not pressing down.

There was a little distance between the two of them.

But it was still too close.

So close that she could see the faint mole below the corner of Yue Yunxi’s right eye, so close that she could hear the slow breathing entangling in an ambiguous atmosphere, gradually becoming thicker in the compressed air.

“What’s so good about Xi City, running off to that place, don’t meet people over there.” On the phone, Yue Shao muttered unhappily.

Lu You suddenly came back to her senses and quickly straightened up.

Yue Yunxi also sat up, tidied her long curly hair, paused, and said, “Near the scenic spots, far away from there, don’t worry.”

Lu You took the tube of medicine from her hand, pointed at herself, then pointed at the bathroom, and limped over.

The toilet and bathroom were separated, not using transparent glass, which was the only remaining sense of shame of the designer.

Before entering, Lu You heard Tao Xin’s voice from the phone: “Is YoYo there too?”

The door stopped halfway.

Looking out through the half-person-wide gap, Yue Yunxi was standing in front of the table, putting down the medicine and water heater with one hand, and clutching the phone with the other.

She didn’t turn off the speakerphone, as if she sensed something, or perhaps just wanted to see her reaction, and suddenly turned towards the bathroom.

At that moment of eye contact.

Lu You was inexplicably startled and closed the door.

She couldn’t hear how Yue Yunxi replied to Tao Xin outside.

When she finished applying the medicine, washed her hands, and opened the door to go out, Yue Yunxi was leaning against the dressing table, throwing the used wet wipes into the trash can, and picking up the hair dryer hanging next to the vanity mirror to dry her half-damp hair.

Through the vanity mirror, the two’s gazes lightly collided.

“Did you put the medicine on?” Yue Yunxi asked.

Lu You nodded.

Yue Yunxi lowered her eyes to look at the tube of medicine in her hand.

It was flattened.

“How much did you put on?” Yue Yunxi asked with concern. “Is it serious?”

Lu You lowered her head to look and said, “No, it’s not serious. I accidentally put on too much.”

Yue Yunxi moved her lips. “Or, tomorrow I…”

“I’ll put it on myself, I’ll be careful tomorrow.” Lu You interrupted.

In the mirror, Yue Yunxi lowered her head. “I mean, should I buy you another tube tomorrow?”

Her voice vaguely contained a bit of a smile.

“…Oh.” Lu You touched the back of her burning ear, put down the tube of medicine, pulled out the little deer doll Bo Mingyan had given her from her bag, hugged it in her arms, and climbed onto the bed.

“Are you going to sleep?” Yue Yunxi asked.

“I’ll play on my phone for a while, you can dry your hair.” Lu You paused. “By the way…”

Yue Yunxi looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

“What did you say to Tao Xin just now?”

“Bad signal.”

Lu You silently hooked her lips.

Lying in bed, she opened her phone, a little uneasy, wandering through several apps.

Browsing through her friends’ circle, she unexpectedly came across Chu Xiao’s post.

She hadn’t deleted this person after being told about Tao Xin’s affair that day.

Chu Xiao posted a selfie, her big wavy hair straightened, cut into a princess cut, her eyeliner flicked upwards, like a cat, with a completely different style than before.

Looking at it that way, she didn’t look like Yue Yunxi at all.

The caption read: 【This time the persona is a spoiled cat-like idiot, the target is unhappy ［tongue out］】

It seemed like she had started a new relationship.

Lu You gave this post a like.

She accidentally refreshed the page. When she swiped down again, she found that Chu Xiao’s post had disappeared.

Without thinking much about it, her attention was drawn by the sudden stop of the hair dryer. She craned her neck to watch Yue Yunxi put away the hair dryer.

Before the other person turned around, she fell back onto the pillow, turned off the screen, hugged the little deer doll, huddled on the edge of the bed, and closed her eyes.

Yue Yunxi turned around and saw her looking asleep, so she lightened her movements.

When sight was useless, hearing and touch became very sensitive. Lu You could hear Yue Yunxi’s footsteps approaching, although they were very light.

The quilt was lifted, her calf was grasped, Lu You’s eyelashes fluttered, feeling her leg being gently lifted, then gently placed on a cushion.

The swelling in her ankle instantly lessened a lot.

Lu You hugged the doll in her arms tighter.

After that, Yue Yunxi turned off the light.

She opened her eyes.

In the darkness, it was no different from having her eyes closed.

Her ears were unconsciously catching Yue Yunxi’s movements.

Whether she was sitting back or climbing onto the bed, the quilt was lifted, her legs rubbed against the bedding and sheets…

Rustling sounds plucked at her eardrums.

For a long time, after a distance, she heard Yue Yunxi say to her with a breath, “Good night, Yoyo.”

So light.

It was almost covered up by the croaking of frogs and cicadas coming in from outside, but she still heard it clearly.

Like a needle falling into water, it didn’t stir up any waves, but it pierced the surface of the water and sank down.

After that, even though her body was very tired, Lu You just couldn’t sleep.

She vaguely recognized that it wasn’t just because she wasn’t used to the bed.

The sound of the car horn dragged on loneliness, driving through the wilderness in her heart. The citrus mixed with wood fragrance and a hint of mint lingered at the tip of her nose, from her and Yue Yunxi’s shower gel and shampoo.

Two different but somewhat similar scents, even when mixed together, had a distinction that was hard to ignore.

Between familiarity and strangeness, there was a special feeling.

Enveloping her.

From the window, she could see the ink-wash night and the halo of moonlight.

She smelled the fragrance surrounding her body, looked at the window glass, and painted the fuzzy halo of the moon with her gaze.

And one person’s width away, Yue Yunxi slowly blinked her eyes, her gaze tracing her blurred outline through the thick night.

It wasn’t until the sky turned fish-belly white that Lu You gradually got used to that special scent and barely felt a little sleepy.

She gradually relaxed, turned over, and lay flat on her back, hugging the doll with one hand.

Just as she was drowsily about to close her eyes, a warm heat came from her side, hugging her other empty arm, sandwiched in the middle of the softness.

She was stunned for a moment, her eyebrows twitching slightly.

Then she felt something hot and soft stick to her ear.

Leaving a burning kiss.