SWG Chapter 76

Chapter 76

The snow was still falling, but it was much lighter, just some snowflakes fluttering randomly in the air, to the point where a single breath could stir up a mini-hurricane.

On the snow that already covered the back of their feet, two sets of footprints were particularly clear. They walked side by side, their steps in sync, as if they had undergone some special training, even the legs they extended were almost identical.

But they were eerily silent, letting the cold air dissipate much of the warmth, leaving only the biting frost brought by the strong wind, piercingly cold. Just walking a few steps made them shiver.

Xiao Wenyu glanced at the person beside her again – she looked even more like a pufferfish.

Her breathing had indeed turned into three in and one out, her cheeks were puffed up, and the corners of her eyes, unusually without glasses, were red, as if she were about to cry. Her face was also bruised, with half of it even swollen.

This wasn’t entirely from Xiao Wenyu’s doing; it was already swollen before she hit her.

How silly.

Xiao Wenyu slowed her pace, and the pufferfish beside her slowed down as well, tightening her grip on her arm, but still stubbornly refused to look at her.

Like a pufferfish about to explode with anger.

Xiao Wenyu was both annoyed and amused. She raised her hand and gently touched the swollen face, softening her voice, “Does it hurt a lot? I’m sorr…”

“You hit me,” the pufferfish retorted angrily, but didn’t avoid her hand, letting her touch it gently.

Xiao Wenyu took a breath and said again, “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes were bright, her gaze sincere. If it were any other time, or even just a few days ago, Ruan Shengyi might have used this opportunity to ease her temper, go along with it, and end the long period of arguments and cold war before discussing other matters in detail.

But she refused to do so today.

She had a temper too, and today she was determined to remain cold to the end.

The Ruan owner snorted and turned her head away, “Now you know I’ll feel pain, what were you doing just now? Not even asking, you just started hitting.”

“…Then I’ll apologize again.”

“What are you apologizing for? Apologizing for not hitting me, or apologizing for thinking I meddle too much, or apologizing for having to drag me into this against your conscience and morals? Oh, no, it wasn’t you who dragged me in, but I jumped in myself, otherwise this matter would forever be unresolved, and you wouldn’t even bring it up!”

A gust of cold wind swept over, and the snow became denser, covering both their hoods with a thin layer of frost with each breath.

But everything was quiet, leaving only the sound of the snow falling, like jade breaking and pearls scattering, with a hint of calming sound.

After a long time, long enough for Ruan Shengyi to exhale again, a hand landed on her shoulder, gently brushing away the thin layer of snow, and a warm voice said, “I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I really shouldn’t and can’t dwell on those so-called gains and losses, it’s too boring. Dwelling on what you put in is like putting emotions on a scale, with your efforts on the other side. This scale will never be balanced, either too much or too little, and either way will cause our psychological imbalance.”

“Besides, love is always feeling indebted, which isn’t shameful, so…”

She gently stroked Ruan Shengyi’s cheek through the outer layer of the hood, “I apologize, and you apologize too.”

The Ruan owner, as she wished, said, “In that regard, I apologize.”

Xiao Wenyu curved her eyebrows and smiled, but quickly reverted back, saying, “Other than that, I don’t apologize.”

Ruan Shengyi’s eyes widened, and she was about to speak, but the other person’s cold and sharp eyes instantly glared over, forcing her to swallow her words back, though she was very unwilling, and only managed a cold snort.

Xiao Wenyu chuckled: “I didn’t want to drag you into this not because of my morals or conscience. If it were for morals or conscience, I wouldn’t have approached you at all. I didn’t want to involve you just because I knew this matter was very complicated, and I wanted to protect you.”

“You’re so suave and mighty, you avenged me, great, I’m very happy, I praise you, but then what? Ruan Shengyi, have you thought about what happens next?”

“Do you know how much effort I put into getting this letter of understanding? Do you know how big of a favor I used up? For this favor, I painstakingly endured the Lin family’s mess for days. I could have used this favor for something more valuable.”

“I don’t need this favor, I don’t need this letter of understanding, I’m used to it, at worst, I’ll just spend a few days in detention! How do you know I don’t have a solution?”

Xiao Wenyu’s voice was even louder, “But I need it!”

The broken snow falling on her body trembled.

She looked away, unable to hide the slight redness at the corners of her eyes. She pursed her lips, sighed, and said, “I’m not blaming you for this matter. This isn’t a loss. You are priceless… Maybe you have your own ways and abilities, but a strong dragon can hardly suppress a local snake, let alone here, so far away from the capital… Have you thought about what would happen if something really happened? What about me? What about us…”

Xiao Wenyu bit her lower lip and sighed softly, “What will we do?”

Ruan Shengyi was almost moved by what she said.

But tonight, she wasn’t the only one stubbornly fixated. The other person raised her head, staring at her intently, and said, “So if you’re still so reckless next time, I’ll still hit you.”

The hand she raised halfway was thrown to the side forcefully. Ruan Shengyi’s eyes were frighteningly red, and she almost squeezed out a sentence from between her teeth, “Fine, you’re right, okay?”

She turned around and strode away.

Xiao Wenyu called out, “Can’t you just say there won’t be a next time?”

“I’ve accommodated you so many times, but this time I want to tell you that there will definitely be a next time. This is the only way I’ve survived since entering society at the age of eighteen. I won’t change it, and I can’t change it.”

The words were squeezed out from the bottom of her throat. Half of her face was twisted around, and the scarlet at the corners of her eyes was like the red light in the depths of a nightmare, shocking Xiao Wenyu for a moment.

Ruan Shengyi simply turned around, opened her arms, and took two steps back mockingly, “You see? The person you’re trying so hard to appease is just a reckless madwoman. Her genes are half crazy and half foolish, her bones are filled with madness and violence. You see it clearly now, you want to leave her, I won’t stop you.”

But before she could take two steps, the other person chased after her and threw herself into her arms, hugging her tightly, “Then what about this? Can this calm her down, make her happy, and suppress the half of madness in her?”

The broken snow that came with her almost all poured into Ruan Shengyi’s neck, lowering her body temperature, as well as the temperature of her emotions, bringing back even just a little bit of sobriety, enough to remind her that the person in front of her was far more fragile than she was.

She slowly wrapped her arms around her, stiffly and lightly brushing the snow off Xiao Wenyu’s body. Her somewhat dazed eyes flickered, and she said in a low voice, “What are you doing?”

“If you really can’t change it, then I’ll be with you.”

“If you fight again, I won’t let you kiss me for a day. If you go to the police station, I won’t let you touch me for a day. If that’s not enough, I’ll find another way. It’s almost been 25 years, the policies around the desert won’t be relaxed any further, and besides, there’s no such thing as an unchangeable bad habit. It can definitely be changed.”

Xiao Wenyu spoke seriously. She had seriously thought about it and was serious about doing it, so she didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate, and even hugged her a little tighter, looking up to meet Ruan Shengyi’s eyes, forcing Ruan Shengyi to listen to her.

There’s no such thing as ‘can’t be changed’ in this world. Either the punishment method isn’t right, or the rewards aren’t generous enough. She had learned from her family since childhood how to manage bad students. Her Ruan owner was just a little impulsive, which was incomparable to those bad students. If those people could be changed, why couldn’t Ruan Shengyi be changed?

She didn’t want to break her lover’s edge; she just hoped that this person wouldn’t show her edge in this kind of situation, acting so recklessly as if she were still all alone.

Xiao Wenyu swallowed and continued seriously, “I just hope that the next time you raise your fist, you’ll think about it. You have a home, you have a teacher who protects you, you have elders who love you very much, you have employees who follow you wholeheartedly…”

She took Ruan Shengyi’s hand and gently pressed it against the bulge that could still be felt through the cotton clothes, “You also have me and Anqi.”

If the edge didn’t bring danger, she wouldn’t have any intention of stopping her, but it couldn’t be done. She couldn’t bear to see this person in front of her suffer any more mishaps. She couldn’t bear to let her go; she would never let her go.

Those eyes were firm and resolute, and the worry and sincerity within them dissolved much of the anger in Ruan Shengyi’s heart. But the source of her anger tonight didn’t come from the future, but from the past.

From the days of coldness, from the fact that she had actually hit her in front of Lin Simu.

But after hearing these words, she inexplicably couldn’t get angry anymore.

Ruan Shengyi turned her head away, released the restrictive hug, and took two steps back after making sure the other person was standing firmly, “I haven’t forgiven you yet, this condition is a little early.”

Xiao Wenyu laughed, “You should be angry for a little longer. Let’s go home… Ruan Ruan.”

Ruan Shengyi pursed her lips, forcibly suppressing the urge to curl them up, and said coldly, “Okay, then, let’s go home.”

“Okay…”

The person who was still angry naturally saw the other person stretch out her hand as she stepped forward, meaning that she wanted to hold hands with her. She secretly stretched out a hand as well, but her fingertips slipped before they could meet, and her voice broke off in mid-air, followed by—

A low, hoarse cry of pain.

Xiao Wenyu supported her stomach and slowly squatted down.

This almost scared Ruan Shengyi to death. Regardless of her grand words about continuing to be cold, she stumbled and scrambled over, supporting Xiao Wenyu, and hurriedly asked about her specific condition.

Then, she was gently pushed down onto the snow by the person who had succeeded in her plan, leaving only a pair of eyes trembling in terror.

Xiao Wenyu took the opportunity to sit on her waist, pressing down on the person’s shoulders, and said smugly, “How is it, are you scared?”

Ruan Shengyi looked at her in shock, and after exhaling a breath, she completely collapsed, breathing heavily, but still with a bit of relief.

Xiao Wenyu pinched her, “Say something! Don’t be a mute at this time!”

Ruan Shengyi supported her, “Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine, she’s strong, and I put on a lot of heat packs, you can feel them.”

She straightened her waist and grabbed the other person’s hand to feel them.

Ruan Shengyi slowed her breath, supporting her waist, and said slightly angrily, “That’s different! How can you joke about my little tomato?”

Xiao Wenyu was amused by her anger, “What’s with the tomato? Can you change the nickname every week?”

She called her little lemon before. So she’s using online references to compare sizes!

Ruan Shengyi: “I’m an adult, I definitely have a backup plan before I do that, do you have a backup plan for joking about her?”

“I do, my backup plan is you.”

The woman’s face instantly turned half red, and she turned her head away, muttering, “How did you suddenly change so much.”

…