SWG Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Things didn’t go as smoothly as Xiao Wenyu had imagined.

The first expression on Ruan Shengyi’s face upon hearing the request was hesitation, followed by sadness. She mumbled, “Or… how about we don’t? I can clean my room myself.”

Xiao Wenyu didn’t press her, simply gently squeezing her hand. “We have to look. We’re living in the same house, and it wouldn’t do if we didn’t know where each other lived, right?”

“…It’s just across the hall.” Her voice grew weaker.

Xiao Wenyu loosened her grip, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Are you going to let me see it or not?”

Feeling the warmth rapidly leaving her palm and the chill of the cold air rushing in, Ruan Shengyi sighed softly. “Okay, then you…”

Xiao Wenyu: “I won’t laugh, I promise I won’t laugh.”

Even if the walls were covered in pink bunnies, she definitely wouldn’t laugh!

She swore!

Ruan Shengyi’s lips twitched.

Her intention wasn’t to prevent her from laughing; she wanted to say, “Don’t be too upset after you see it.”

Chen Yuexin had seen it, and the result was that she ignored her for two days, and then gave her a serious lecture. She didn’t want Xiao Wenyu to lecture her like that dead woman, but she couldn’t bear to lose the warmth in her palm.

She secretly closed her hand again, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to the other room.

Her hand was suddenly gripped tightly.

In terms of size, this room was definitely no smaller than the master bedroom. This apartment, excluding the sixth floor, was over 130 square meters, costing 3,900 yuan per square meter, making it one of the more expensive apartments in this small city. So, the layout was quite unique. The room she had converted into a study was a small guest bedroom in the truest sense, while these two rooms were both master bedrooms of nearly equal size.

But Ruan Shengyi called her room the guest bedroom because no master bedroom would have such heavy curtains, capable of blocking out all light even during the day. The entire room was illuminated only by a dim yellow lamp on the bedside table, shining on the small toys that covered the entire bed.

The small toys formed a large circle, just enough to surround the space where one person would sleep.

Ruan Shengyi heard the breathing of the person beside her suddenly become heavier, and the hand she was holding trembled slightly. After a long, long while, she seemed to finally deflate, and released her hand.

She quickly said, “It’s not depressing, I like this layout. Look at my little attic.”

“Isn’t it obvious whether it’s depressing or not?” Xiao Wenyu said with a gloomy face, taking two steps forward on her own. She immediately felt as if she were shrouded in gloom, and even lifting her foot became much heavier.

Ruan Shengyi: “Then… you should open the curtains… just to let in some light.”

Xiao Wenyu was speechless. As she walked into the bedroom, she could naturally feel the person behind her wanting to hold her back but not daring to pull her, and she curled her lips slightly, her back to her.

Was she really that stupid? Was she really that ignorant of people’s hearts? Or was she just so distrustful of her?

The thought that this person harbored such distrust towards her made Xiao Wenyu’s heart sink for a moment, and then ache.

Her so-called “good deeds gone unrewarded” seemed not so painful in front of Ruan Shengyi’s unspeakable hardships.

She walked to the bedside, bent down slightly, and said softly, “Ruan Shengyi is really amazing.”

“She actually rose from the darkness like the sun, slowly, bit by bit, bringing light and warmth.”

The corners of Ruan Shengyi’s eyes turned red.

She watched as the person who was good at observing all things and excellent at understanding people’s hearts pulled out a very special one from a pile of small toys: a slightly broken, old, but very clean, ugly-cute rabbit. She held it gently in her arms and heard her say, “This is it, isn’t it? The beginning of everything.”

This rabbit was a hand-sewn rabbit, old-fashioned, a little broken, but very clean. It was made of a slightly rough flannel wrapped around cotton, a small pink rabbit sewn together, and the hand-sewn stitches were a bit messy, showing that the person sewing it wasn’t skilled in handcrafts.

Such a rabbit seemed so out of place among these exquisite little fellows, just like Ruan Shengyi, who was so special among so many people.

It was easy to be seen at a glance.

Xiao Wenyu gently stroked the rabbit’s ears, her fingers inching over it, searching for the damage on the rabbit’s body. She said softly, “I’ll fix these tears. Call me ‘older sister,’ and I’ll help you fix it.”

A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her waist. The woman’s movements were hesitant, but she still slowly tightened her arms.

Ruan Shengyi was taller, so she bent her body so that she could bury her head in Xiao Wenyu’s long hair draped over her shoulder, and mumbled, “Older sister.”

The warm breath spread across Xiao Wenyu’s neck, stirring up a layer of fine goosebumps, and gently struck the bell in her heart, startling a fawn that bounded wildly in her heart.

Xiao Wenyu’s breath trembled for a moment. She pressed one hand on the person’s hand and teased, “So obedient, little sister?”

Ruan Shengyi raised her hand and slapped her on the side of her waist, and mumbled, “Don’t go too far.”

“You’re being fierce to your older sister? Tsk, tsk, tsk, is this the attitude of someone asking for help?”

“…Do you want to know the origin of this little rabbit?”

“No matter what the origin is, it can’t escape a sincere ‘older sister,’ oh.”

Ruan Shengyi couldn’t tell whether her actions were to cover up her shyness and blushing, or whether she was using these actions to hear Xiao Wenyu’s thumping heartbeat, pushing her away but instead blushing even more.

She released her embrace, turned her head, and coughed softly, saying, “I was fourteen years old that year, and my mom… she had a dream one day, and she dreamed that I was holding a pink rabbit, with two black buttons for eyes and a round yellow button for the nose, and she insisted on sewing one for me.”

Her voice grew lower and lower, and she couldn’t help but recall that winter.

It was at that time that Ruan Qing was diagnosed with that fatal disease. She didn’t know how she had achieved balance, but the length of time she was conscious gradually increased. One morning that winter, she insisted that her An’an had a pink rabbit doll, and then tried to snatch her clothes to sew it.

At that time, she only had that one fleece coat. The people in the family who managed them, mother and daughter, were also annoyed. They had only sent that one winter coat that year, and took the old clothes back to give to the children in the family to wear. If it hadn’t been for the neighbor’s aunt giving her a cotton-padded jacket, she would have had a hard time getting through that winter.

But as time passed, this rabbit became the only comfort Ruan Qing had left for her in many sleepless nights.

Her hand was suddenly gently grasped, and Xiao Wenyu’s soft voice whispered in her ear, “Then I’ll sew a little skirt for her, a pink one.”

“After all, I haven’t seen Ruan Shengyi wear such delicate colors.”

Ruan Shengyi looked at the eyes that didn’t have excessive probing desires, and for the first time felt that she could actually say a little more.

Chen Yuexin knew a lot because she was only twenty years old at that time. If she didn’t say more, Chen Yuexin wouldn’t have been willing to keep her, let alone teach her those survival skills. Later, the people who appeared in her life, like Xie Yu, only had a bit of understanding of her past; they knew nothing of the deeper things.

But looking at Xiao Wenyu, she suddenly felt that she could say more, and Xiao Wenyu should also say more.

She opened her mouth, but her hand was gently squeezed. Xiao Wenyu curled her eyes and said, “Call me ‘older sister,’ and I’ll help you, good little sister?”

Ruan Shengyi: …

It had to be said that Xiao Wenyu really knew how to lead her out of the emotional swamp. Just this one sentence pulled her out, leaving only disgust in her heart.

Why did this person always want to be an older sister?

Being an older sister requires a lot of effort.

Of course, Xiao, realized this profound truth a month later after experiencing the so-called cost firsthand.

As for now…

Ruan Shengyi softened her voice, “Older sister.”

“Mm, good.” Xiao Wenyu stroked the back of her hand. “Is there anything to eat in the fridge?”

“You’ve been working hard these past few days. Today, older sister will make something delicious for good little sister. You rest for a bit.”

Ruan Shengyi smiled and said, “Then I won’t stand on ceremony. Are we going to look around town this afternoon?”

Xiao Wenyu hummed softly, turned around, and left the dark little bedroom, gently closing the door. The smile that had been hanging on her face for a long time loosened a bit.

She didn’t sigh, nor did she pause. She calmly walked to the refrigerator, and when she raised her eyes, she saw a person who hadn’t taken care of herself properly for several days, looking particularly haggard in the reflection of the refrigerator.

Ruan Shengyi was able to slowly speak out those deeply buried fears. Could she? The things she had mentioned to Ruan Shengyi seemed to only be superficial. What about the deeper things? The deep-seated pain brought about by her previous marriage, the mess left by Lin Simu, was still vivid in her mind…

Xiao Wenyu gently stroked the terrible face in the reflection and asked herself:

Are you really ready to take another step forward?

Do you really dare to take another step forward?

Have you really thought about dragging that little sun into the mess of your life?

She bit her lower lip and sighed.

But for now, since things have come to this, let’s eat first.

She was quite good at cooking.

She entered the kitchen, and the person leaning against the door frame behind her straightened up and slowly closed the door.

Xiao Wenyu quickly prepared the dishes, made two simple dishes, and cooked two bowls of noodles, calling out to Ruan Shengyi to eat.

No one paid attention to her.

She kept the dishes warm in the pot, untied her apron, walked to Ruan Shengyi’s bedroom door, and knocked gently.

Still no one.

Anxiety immediately spread. Xiao Wenyu apologized and pushed open the door, only to see that the person was curled up tightly in the nest she had built for herself, her knees drawn up, her arms around her chest, holding the somewhat broken rabbit, her brows tightly furrowed.

Was she asleep?

Xiao Wenyu turned on the small lamp, watching the dim yellow light illuminate the only light in the dark bedroom, but it couldn’t warm Ruan Shengyi’s skin. Her eyebrows were tightly squeezed together, as if she were storing all the darkness in the world.

She must have been extremely tired to fall asleep so quickly, but did she also have nightmares in her sleep when she was extremely tired?

She gently pressed on the furrowed eyebrows, trying to smooth them out, but it seemed to awaken the sleeping person, eliciting a muttered murmur: “Don’t… Mom… can you stay awake for a little longer and keep me company, okay…”

What?

Xiao Wenyu’s heart sank slightly. The finger pressing on her brow lightened a little, afraid of startling her nightmare, and called her softly, “Ruan Shengyi, wake up, you’re having a nightmare.”

“Ruan Shengyi?”

“…Ruan Ruan?” The last time that seemed to ignite emotions was this word, so Xiao Wenyu tried to call her again.

Sure enough, the woman suddenly hugged her. Even though she was delirious and still in a nightmare, her strength was surprisingly great. She hugged Xiao Wenyu tightly and mumbled, “Mom… don’t go…”

Xiao Wenyu’s nose turned sour, and she gently patted her, saying, “It’s older sister, not Mom.”

“Call me Xiao older sister, come on~”

The other person’s consciousness was gradually awakening. Hearing this, she suddenly froze in place.

Xiao Wenyu chuckled softly. “I won’t laugh at you; the food’s getting cold.”

But the hanger on her body seemed to be competing with the little fellow in her belly to see who was more shameless. She hugged her, her head about to bury itself, and mumbled, “You didn’t hear anything.”

“…Okay, okay, then get up, Ruan Shengyi~”

“…You, go with me to dye my hair later.”

Another child’s request. How had she not noticed that this fellow was so childish before?

Xiao Wenyu helplessly agreed to her request, and only then did this person release her arms like a rascal, propping herself up slowly, and then looking up and yawning. Only then did a pair of foggy, newly awakened eyes look innocently at Xiao Wenyu.

If Xiao Wenyu had turned her head to look at her earlier, or pinched her chin to prevent her from looking up and yawning, she would have seen a pair of clear and very clear eyes, without a trace of drowsiness.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t expected it and hadn’t caught up.

She got up and gently patted the person’s shoulder, and laughed: “How tired are you to be able to sleep so deeply in less than an hour?”

“Come out quickly, eat dinner and then sleep; it’s not good for your stomach.”

Ruan Shengyi looked at her back, blinked, dispersed the fog in her eyes, and said in a deep voice, “Okay.”