MTMIO Chapter 60

Chapter 60: A Glass’s Shura Field

When they returned to the banquet hall, Lu Huai’an had just been invited onto the stage by the emcee to give a speech. The draft was ghostwritten by his new young girlfriend, filled with paragraph after paragraph of parallel sentences praising motherly love, lavish but lacking in genuine emotion.

But it still moved the old mother sitting below the stage to tears.

Tao Xin, seated two places away, reached across Auntie Liu to hand Grandma a pack of tissues.

The Lu and Tao families had a good relationship, close neighbors being better than distant relatives. They always sat at the same table for such banquets, the seating arrangement having been fixed over numerous gatherings – Auntie Liu sat next to Grandma, her right-hand side was Lu You’s designated seat, and then, separated by Tao Xin, was Yue Yunxi’s seat.

It had been so long since the two families had sat together for a meal that this seating arrangement had almost been forgotten.

Now, presented again, it was as if a dusty piece of glass had been wiped clean, the intimate interactions between the young couple at the dinner table vividly resurfacing.

Yue Yunxi paused, unconsciously calling out softly, “Youyou…”

Her psychology was like that of a condemned prisoner walking towards the execution ground, every step filled with reluctance, so she thought, to delay for one second was one second gained.

“What’s wrong?” Lu You stopped, looking at her in confusion.

Actually, Lu You hadn’t heard her soft call.

The surroundings were too noisy, with chatter, children’s screams, the sound of bowls being knocked to the ground, parents scolding, and the clatter of ceramic dishes on the glass turntable… a chaotic din in her ears.

But Lu You had noticed that Yue Yunxi’s pace had slowed, falling behind her.

Yue Yunxi retracted her gaze from the two separated seats, slowly turning around.

Her brows and eyes were clearly relaxed, but even with the hall’s bright, sun-like lighting, her deep pupils showed no warmth.

Lu You thought of ink sprinkled with gold, a little light, yet utterly desolate.

Something seemed to scrape against her heart. After growing familiar, she had never seen Yue Yunxi like this.

Yue Yunxi’s gaze on her was erratic, the emotions hidden within unfathomable.

As if she were looking past her face, thinking about something else.

Not giving her more time to explore, Yue Yunxi quickly looked away, saying, “Nothing.”

Her voice was calm, without waves, as if there really was nothing.

Lu You thought, her acting was a bit better than Yun Zhu and Zhong Mi’s.

Just a bit.

Lu You narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping along the direction Yue Yunxi had been staring at, immediately noticing the two separated, unoccupied chairs.

As if creating two independent spaces, they stood quietly in the bustling atmosphere they couldn’t integrate into.

Awkwardly eye-catching.

Lu You looked at them, and inexplicably, a whimsical idea arose, so absurd that it was funny, and she actually laughed.

Yue Yunxi looked over at her, puzzled.

Sensing her gaze, Lu You looked back, her eyebrows raised, a bright and clever spirit mixed with playfulness, her cherry lips slightly parted, about to share it with her.

But first, she heard Yue Shao calling to them from the main table, “We’re just waiting for you two, hurry up and come sit down.”

Hearing this, the surrounding people’s gossipy hearts were piqued, and they turned their heads to look at Yue Shao, then followed the direction of Yue Shao’s gaze to look at the two of them.

Except for Tao Xin, who calmly sipped the water in her glass, as if she had known all along that Yue Shao would call them, knowing where they were, so she wasn’t surprised at all.

Interrupted in this way, Lu You could only temporarily set the topic aside, responding to Yue Shao and quickening her pace to walk over.

In the meantime, Grandma was invited onto the stage by the emcee to interact with her son.

No one paid attention here, so Yue Yunxi continued to move unhurriedly.

Lu You walked to the table, not sitting down directly, but moving to Auntie Liu’s side, bending down to discuss, “Auntie Liu, I want to sit next to Grandma today.”

Auntie Liu smiled and said, “Remember to watch her, don’t let her eat too much salty or sweet stuff.”

“Don’t worry.” Lu You leaned closer, her voice lower, “I also want to sit next to… Teacher Yue.”

Auntie Liu had mentioned during her job interview as a live-in nanny that her daughter had studied cello with Yue Yunxi for a while, and was able to study abroad thanks to Yue Yunxi’s support.

The words “Teacher Yue” were more than just a title to her; they also carried her respect and gratitude.

Lu You’s hand propping herself up on her knee curled up, on one hand, she was criticizing herself for taking advantage of the old woman, being scheming, on the other hand, in her excessive selfishness, she prayed that Auntie Liu wouldn’t ask too much, preferably just do as she wished.

Without saying a word, Auntie Liu stood up, picked up her used glass, walked past the empty seat next to her, and went straight to Tao Xin and Yue Shao, saying, “The egg yolk Crispy you made last time wasn’t fishy or greasy at all, the old lady loved it, how did you make it? Can you teach me?”

While pulling out a chair and plopping down on it.

Her words and actions were as smooth as flowing water, all in one go.

Grandma was invited onto the stage by the emcee to interact with her son.

Every expression, every tone of Lu Huai’an’s words, had a feeling of trying too hard.

Lu You slowly sat down in the chair, admiring Auntie Liu’s natural and impeccable performance, shaking her head with a “tsk” sound.

Look, they were both ordinary people acting, and the difference was immediately apparent.

Sensing that someone was looking at her, Lu You didn’t think much of it, and met their gaze.

It was Tao Xin.

Having not seen her for a while, a clear sense of unfamiliarity was invading Lu You’s impression of her.

It was said that popularity nourished people, and it was absolutely true. The worn brown crew-neck T-shirt wasn’t eye-catching, but upon closer inspection, one would be drawn to the accessories, unable to look away. The cloud hat was tilted, pressing down on one side of her permed long hair, and she wore glasses on her face, adding a touch of artistic flair.

Her wearing glasses and Yue Yunxi wearing glasses were two completely different styles.

The latter had a bit more of a teacher-like ascetic solemnity.

“Auntie Liu gave it to you.” Tao Xin held the glass that Auntie Liu had just given her, gesturing towards Lu You’s side.

She didn’t intend to put the glass on the table, clearly wanting Lu You to reach out and take it herself.

It was Grandma’s birthday banquet, and Lu You didn’t want to make the scene embarrassing by being deadlocked, so she was already prepared to reach out and take it, when suddenly she heard the sound of a chair leg scraping against the tile floor, which was unpleasant, stimulating her sensitive hearing, and immediately drawing away all her attention.

Along with it, the retro green velvet on Yue Yunxi’s body almost completely occupied her vision.

The skirt fluttering below was hidden under the tablecloth, its luster much dimmer, looking like dark green.

Lu You recalled that touch of green drifting through the deep alley.

Perhaps she had seen too much green, she couldn’t suddenly remember what the green skirt at the entrance of the alley looked like, even confusingly overlapping them.

She could only use logic to analyze that it shouldn’t be the same green, there was no reason for Yue Yunxi to walk into the alley.

She thought, fortunately she didn’t have a fever today, otherwise she would have mistaken Yue Yunxi for someone else again.

For a moment, a figure appeared in Lu You’s mind, like a rubbing on an old photo, the features blurred by the years, the only clear thing was the glasses she wore on the bridge of her nose.

Lu You couldn’t remember what style the glasses were, let alone what color the frames were.

She only remembered that the person wearing glasses was gentler and more intellectual than others.

Yue Yunxi took a seat from her side, placing her phone on the table between them with her left hand.

Lu You subconsciously glanced over, her chest fluttering.

The phone screen was still on, staying on the WeChat interface, the contact list clear at a glance, with only five chat windows hanging on it.

The group chat kept jumping with messages, but her avatar was always at the top.

Someone on stage said something that made the audience burst into laughter.

Mixed in the laughter was Tao Xin’s slightly suppressed low voice: “This is for Youyou!”

Lu You lifted her eyelashes, her brow slightly furrowing.

The glass, the lower half held by Tao Xin, the upper half encircled by Yue Yunxi’s hand, was firmly pressed on the table in front of Yue Yunxi.

This was… a glass’s Shura Field?

Lu You couldn’t find a way to rescue it, she was a little at a loss.

The vibrating phone in her coat pocket was like a beckoning lifeline, Lu You couldn’t care less about the poor glass, and reached into her pocket to take out her phone with her hand hanging by the table.

Unexpectedly, she discovered that the new message prompted by the system was from Yue Yunxi.

Yue Yunxi: [I don’t know why, but my pH is a little low.]

Yue Yunxi: [Will sitting down now delay you from admiring the beauty?]

Her heartbeat missed a beat without warning, Lu You felt like she had been struck by something, her hands slightly numb, her breathing lightening involuntarily, as if invaded by the sourness overflowing from the screen.

Could she make jealousy sound any more euphemistic?

She looked up, pretending to be bored, glancing at Grandma, who was stepping down from the stage, but didn’t dare to look to the side, afraid that she couldn’t handle meeting Yue Yunxi’s eyes at this moment.

Also afraid of continuing to witness a glass’s Shura Field.

But her ears were out of control, involuntarily capturing the sounds from that side.

She heard Yue Yunxi say to Tao Xin: “I know this is Youyou’s glass, so you should let go, I’ll put it in front of her.”

Still that gentle and calm tone, Lu You was familiar with it, and Tao Xin was also familiar with it, but neither of them was immune to it because of their familiarity.

Especially when used in such meaningful words.

Lu You restrained herself, not looking at the two people’s deadlocked scene, and lowered her head, typing a line of words on her phone and sending it, thinking about it, and editing another line.

Just as she was about to press send, she suddenly heard someone say: “Hello, please make way, here’s a dish, be careful not to get burned.”

Perhaps seeing that Grandma’s seat was empty, the waiter served the dish from here, but unexpectedly, the gap between the seats was still narrow.

Lu You subconsciously leaned towards Yue Yunxi’s side, and at the same time, her fingertip pressed send on her phone.

The suddenly approaching breath, the all-too-familiar, orange-flavored fragrance, like the sunrise waiting on the deck, the gold leaf Burning the water, the slight breeze brushing past her nose.

Yue Yunxi’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, falling down, suddenly releasing her hand holding the glass, ending this meaningless stalemate.

At the same time, Lu You’s gaze involuntarily turned to the corner of her eye, just catching sight of this scene, her eye twitching uncontrollably.

A certain mood that could be called loss rose like the tide, unable to be suppressed, as if to drown her.

The next second, she heard Yue Yunxi’s voice, very close to her ear.

Whether it was because she was too close, deliberately softening her tone, or habitually making her tone gentler when treating strangers.

The timbre was like the wind, brushing past her ears.

“Please bring me another clean glass, thank you.”

“Okay, please wait a moment.”

Lu You sat up straight, but her thoughts didn’t come back.

So, Yue Yunxi wasn’t not going to get her a glass, nor was she not fighting with Tao Xin.

She just changed her approach.

A heart, tossed high, then falling steadily, her emotions rising and falling like the tide,Worry about gains and losses, all affected by this person.

This feeling was very subtle.

Like stepping into a swamp, knowing it’s not good, but involuntarily sinking deeper.

After all, being older, when she really started using methods, the younger sister couldn’t catch the moves at all.

Whether it was the younger sister in name, or the younger sister in age.

Lu You didn’t know what expression Tao Xin had after being tricked by Yue Yunxi like this, nor did she know where she had placed the glass that had gone through the Shura Field.

She didn’t pay attention, not even a glance.

In front of her was a new glass brought by the waiter, filled with her favorite orange soda by Yue Yunxi.

The orange color on the surface of the glass swayed under the light, jumping with countless joyous little bubbles.

The signal here was indeed not very good.

The message she sent was only received at this time.

The phone in the middle lit up, Yue Yunxi didn’t pick it up, just entered the unlock password under her nose.

5, 4, 0, 8.

Lu You: “…”

Suddenly, she found it funny, the corners of her lips rising, she glanced at Yue Yunxi, leaning her head over, shortening the distance.

Yue Yunxi understood her intention in seconds, leaning her ear over.

Lu You said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: “This lock screen password is really suitable for you.”

“You know again?” Yue Yunxi raised her eyebrow on her side.

As if it pricked the tip of her heart, stinging her so she couldn’t laugh.

She really didn’t know.

Yue Yunxi’s porcelain-like hand was still tapping the screen, switching to WeChat, opening the chat box.

The content she typed out word by word was hanging on it.

[Maybe I’ve let go, I don’t feel anything anymore when I see her, especially calm, so, I didn’t reward the clothes, nor the person]

[Also, the beauty is by my side]

It was so blatantly displayed within the sight of the two of them.

Lu You drooped her head, the lower the lower, she wished she could mutate into an ostrich and bury her head in the ground.

No, when she typed these two lines, she felt that the explanation was very sincere.

Why does it look slightly greasy now?

Yue Yunxi chuckled softly, a breath of air dyed with a joyful base.

Lu You raised her head, originally wanting to glare at her, her gaze inadvertently swept across the phone screen, suddenly pausing, and then falling back to the top of the chat box.

Three words were displayed in the center, Yue Yunxi’s note for her –

Coward.

Lu You: “…”