SYLM Chapter 74
by VolareChapter 74 “Mommy also wants to ask, can Sister Chen Lu stay over tonight?”
Chapter 74 “Mommy also wants to ask, can Sister Chen Lu stay over tonight?”
Chen Lu is a kind person, Gu Wan Jun knows this better than anyone, so she used her daughter Duo Duo as a shield, and ultimately got her wish.
Chen Lu silently agreed to her request to be taken home.
Saying goodbye to the others, they walked out of the restaurant.
The air of the summer night seemed to be frozen, the stuffy heat made it hard to breathe, the sky was low, and the thick clouds were like a gray curtain, weighing heavily on the heart.
It seemed like it was going to rain.
As soon as they walked out of the restaurant door, taking advantage of the alcohol, Gu Wan Jun deliberately staggered, her high heels seemed to have stepped on something uneven, her body tilted slightly, and just as she was about to fall, Chen Lu almost subconsciously reached out to support her, her movements quick and natural, instantly closing the distance between the two.
A faint scent of perfume lingered at the tip of her nose, the scent of cedar mixed with citrus, a hint of warmth in the coolness, just like Chen Lu herself.
The fragrance struck her full force, Gu Wan Jun’s heart beat faster, taking advantage of the alcohol, she didn’t immediately steady herself, but let herself lean into Chen Lu’s arms, greedily enjoying this moment of closeness.
However, Chen Lu quickly let go of her hand, the girl took half a step back, distanced herself, and said in a cold and distant tone: “Where do you live?”
Gu Wan Jun’s heart sank, and the smile on her face faded a little. She gave the address, her voice a little low and hoarse: “Yunjiang City Century Garden.”
Chen Lu hailed a taxi.
The two sat side by side in the back seat. The space inside the car was small, and Gu Wan Jun’s heart was pounding. She could clearly feel the temperature coming from Chen Lu’s body. Taking advantage of the alcohol, she gently rested her head on Chen Lu’s shoulder.
“Gu Teacher.” Chen Lu’s voice was as cold as ice, and she obviously moved her body to the side, “Please respect yourself.”
Her head, which had gently leaned over, landed on empty space. Gu Wan Jun’s body stiffened, and her heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle. She didn’t look up, but whispered: “Lu Lu, I…”
“You’re drunk,” Chen Lu interrupted her, her tone with an unquestionable distance: “I’ll take you home and then leave.”
Gu Wan Jun didn’t seem to hear her. She continued to murmur to herself: “Lu Lu… How have you been these years?”
Hearing this, Chen Lu’s breathing paused slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. Her eyes, as distant as the crescent moon in the sky, didn’t even look at Gu Wan Jun, and her voice, as hard as ice, remained indifferent: “You’ve had too much to drink.”
“……”
Her peach blossom eyes were slightly red, and the whole world was blurred in tears. Looking at Chen Lu’s indifferent profile, Gu Wan Jun felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but was coldly interrupted by the girl: “Driver, please drive faster.”
The driver responded and sped up.
For a moment, the car was silent.
Her body leaned against the other side of the car door, the flickering lights flashed before her eyes. Secretly looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar face through the car window, uncontrollable tears silently streamed down Gu Wan Jun’s cheeks.
Memories surged, she remembered that rainy day five years ago, when Chen Lu questioned her with red eyes about what she meant.
At that time, she had said too many hurtful things.
“Chen Lu, you can’t be too selfish.”
“I’m thirty, I can’t wait any longer, I can’t let Duo Duo be without a father.”
“Putting aside the teacher-student relationship, Chen Lu, I have never loved you.”
“Why would I like a child like you who doesn’t understand anything?”
“Someone like you who has lacked love since childhood probably can’t distinguish your own feelings, right? Do you really like me? Can you really distinguish whether it’s love or dependence? It’s probably just teenage hormones acting up, you’re probably just sexually attracted to me, right?”
“Let’s end this early, please don’t leave marks on my neck, I’m going to video chat with my boyfriend on the way back, it’ll be hard to explain if they see it.”
“……”
The words she had once said were like sharp, double-edged swords, not only piercing Chen Lu’s trust and dependence on her, but also completely severing their relationship and fate, leaving them bloodied and heartbroken.
She deserved to accept such punishment.
Distant thunder rumbled faintly, like the low roar of a beast trapped in a drum, sometimes near, sometimes far, carrying a kind of inescapable oppression.
Gu Wan Jun’s heart also sank with the thunder.
When they were almost home, Gu Wan Jun’s phone vibrated. She unlocked it and saw a voice message from Duo Duo:
“Mommy, where are you? The nanny’s child is sick, and she has to go home.”
Hearing the voice message, most of Gu Wan Jun’s intoxication dissipated. Concerned about her daughter, she subconsciously straightened up, while sending a voice message instructing Duo Duo to stay at home and wait for her, not to open the door to strangers, and hurriedly wiped the tears from her face, asking the driver to drive faster.
Ten minutes later, at the entrance of Yunjiang Century Garden.
Unfamiliar vehicles were not allowed to enter the community, so Gu Wan Jun could only get out of the car at the entrance.
Thunder rumbled, dark clouds covered the sky, and raindrops the size of beans were already pattering down. Looking at the dark community, Gu Wan Jun turned to look at Chen Lu, her voice trembling slightly:
“I… I’m a little afraid of the dark, can you take me upstairs?”
“……”
Should she go?
Ten minutes ago, Chen Lu would have refused one hundred percent.
But now……
Chen Lu actually hesitated.
She hadn’t intentionally eavesdropped on that voice message, it was just that Gu Wan Jun had played the sound on speaker in the car, and it was hard for her not to hear it.
The child named Duo Duo seemed to be home alone.
The pattering raindrops that were getting heavier and heavier hit the car window, giving Chen Lu no time to think.
Three minutes later, the two walked into the elevator one after the other.
The air in the elevator seemed to be frozen, oppressively making it hard to breathe. Gu Wan Jun stood behind Chen Lu, her eyes never leaving her back.
16th floor. 1602.
When they arrived at the door, Gu Wan Jun unlocked the door with her fingerprint. After the door opened, she turned to look at Chen Lu, her voice with a hint of cautious plea: “Come in and sit for a while.”
“No, I’m leaving.”
“I… I’ll make you some hangover soup.”
“……”
Chen Lu glanced at Gu Wan Jun, looking suspicious, as if asking “who was the one who said they were drunk earlier?”
Realizing that she had said the wrong thing, Gu Wan Jun’s face flushed slightly, but in order to keep Chen Lu, she didn’t plan to give up: “Or… you can make it for me…”
“……”
With this ability to adapt to the situation, she didn’t seem like someone who was drunk and about to throw up.
Overstepping the line again and again, Chen Lu pursed her lips into a line and turned to leave.
However, at this moment, there was a sudden noise in the room, followed by a cute little dumpling running out of the kitchen with “pat pat” sounds. Compared to the gentle and elegant Gu Wan Jun in her memory, that endearing little face with a clever look was more like it was carved from the same mold as Gu Wan Jun.
The little girl was wearing a small apron, her dark, soft hair was plastered wetly to her forehead, and she was holding a rag covered in bubbles, seemingly washing dishes.
When she saw Gu Wan Jun, the little girl’s eyes lit up and she called out in a childish voice: “Mommy! You’re back!”
Gu Wan Jun’s heart warmed, she squatted down and hugged Duo Duo, and said softly: “Duo Duo, I’m sorry, Mommy is late, what’s wrong, why are you all wet?”
As Gu Wan Jun said, the little girl was almost completely soaked, but her rosy cheeks were full of pride and expectation, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at Gu Wan Jun:
“Duo Duo was afraid that Mommy would be too tired when she came back, so she wanted to wash the dishes.”
Her daughter’s well-behaved appearance made Gu Wan Jun even more touched. She gently rubbed Duo Duo’s little head and said softly:
“Duo Duo is so good, but next time wait for Mommy to come back before washing, okay? You’re still young, don’t get your clothes wet, you’ll catch a cold.”
Duo Duo nodded, her milky little face full of seriousness: “Okay! Duo Duo knows, Mommy.”
Gu Wan Jun stood up, wanting to go to the bedroom to find some clothes for Duo Duo to change into, but her slightly nervous gaze unconsciously drifted towards the door.
Chen Lu was still standing there, her figure tall and straight, with a hint of detachment and indifference between her brows and eyes.
She seemed ready to turn around and leave at any moment.
Gu Wan Jun’s throat tightened, she was afraid that Chen Lu would leave, but she didn’t know what to say to make her stay.
As for Chen Lu.
Her gaze moved downwards, when it landed on the little girl’s wet clothes, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly, and Chen Lu subconsciously took a step into the room, then closed the door behind her, blocking the cold wind from outside.
Seeing this, a flash of surprise appeared in Gu Wan Jun’s eyes. She felt a little relieved and quickly walked into the bedroom.
Only Chen Lu and Duo Duo were left in the living room.
Duo Duo stood there, twisting the hem of her clothes, her big, flickering eyes staring at Chen Lu, looking like she wanted to talk but didn’t dare to open her mouth, making people couldn’t help but feel soft.
The little girl’s eyebrows and eyes were very similar to Gu Wan Jun’s, especially those eyes that seemed to be born to love, clear and bright, with a bit of innocence and curiosity.
Her gaze fell on Duo Duo’s bare little feet, and her just-relaxed brows furrowed again. Chen Lu sighed, her tone cold, but with a hint of concern that was hard to detect:
“Why aren’t you wearing shoes? The floor is cold.”
Hearing Chen Lu take the initiative to speak, the little dumpling’s face instantly blossomed with a smile, revealing a row of neat little white teeth. She stepped on the floor and ran over with “pat pat” sounds, looking up at Chen Lu, and said in a milky voice:
“Mommy kept her word, she really brought Sister Chen Lu back!”
“……”
Chen Lu was slightly stunned, and looked down at the innocent little girl in front of her. Something in her heart was deeply touched. She opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say, and could only lightly “um” once.
She didn’t want to think about why Duo Duo could recognize her at a glance;
She didn’t want to think about why the little girl, whom she had never met before, was so happy to see her for the first time;
She didn’t want to think about why the little girl would say that Mommy kept her word, and why her Mommy would bring a stranger like her home……
What did all this have to do with her?
The thing people should avoid most is dwelling on the past.
On the other side, concerned about the two in the living room, Gu Wan Jun, who had found clean clothes, quickly walked out of the bedroom. When she saw Chen Lu squatting down to help Duo Duo put on slippers in the living room, Gu Wan Jun blinked her eyes, feeling both bitter and warm in her heart.
Her two most important girls in her life, how wonderful it would be if time could stay in this moment forever.
Wearing wet clothes for a long time could cause a cold. After arriving in the living room, Gu Wan Jun squatted down and helped Duo Duo change into clean clothes, her movements gentle and meticulous. Duo Duo stood obediently, letting Mommy fuss over her, but her big, flickering eyes kept staring at Chen Lu, as if afraid that she would suddenly disappear.
Seeing that Duo Duo had changed her clothes, Chen Lu glanced out the window. The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Turning her head to look at Gu Wan Jun, her delicate and beautiful face returned to that aloof look that kept people at a distance: “I’m leaving.”
“Wait a moment.” Gu Wan Jun’s throat tightened, and her voice had a more obvious nervousness: “Your clothes got quite wet on that stretch of road just now, and it’s still raining outside, you’ll catch a cold if you go out like this.”
Their eyes briefly met in the air, but Chen Lu didn’t answer Gu Wan Jun, instead, she softened her voice and said goodbye in a low voice to the little dumpling behind Gu Wan Jun.
Seeing that Chen Lu was still leaving, Gu Wan Jun’s heart tightened, and she subconsciously reached out to grab her, but the other party gently brushed her fingers off Chen Lu’s sleeve.
Her heart sank to the bottom. Gu Wan Jun knew that she had long lost the weight in Chen Lu’s heart that she had five years ago. If the girl really wanted to leave, what could she rely on to keep her here?
Just at this critical moment, the “thoughtful little padded jacket” Duo Duo suddenly stretched out her small hand and tightly hugged Chen Lu’s leg, who was turning to leave. She looked up with her rosy cheeks and pleaded in a milky voice:
“Mommy, can Sister Chen Lu stay and sleep with us tonight?”
Gu Wan Jun was stunned, and a complex emotion welled up in her heart. She looked up at Chen Lu, her peach blossom eyes full of tenderness and expectation, and followed her daughter’s words, softly saying:
“Mommy also wants to ask, can Sister Chen Lu stay over tonight?”
“……”
Children’s minds are pure, they don’t know anything, why are adults also “playing dumb”?
Chen Lu frowned in displeasure at Gu Wan Jun’s behavior of “climbing up the pole” along with her daughter’s words, and her cold tone didn’t leave any room for negotiation:
“I said, I’ll take you home and then leave.”
“But your clothes are wet, you’ll catch a cold.”
“Does it matter to you what happens to me?”
“……”
Gu Wan Jun’s throat was hoarse, and she couldn’t say anything anymore.
Seeing that her Mommy, who could usually say so many, many nice things, suddenly fell silent, Duo Duo, who was wholeheartedly trying to keep Sister Chen Lu, was so anxious that her milky little face was full of grievances. The little hands holding Chen Lu’s leg were unrelenting, and she wouldn’t let go no matter what:
“It’s raining heavily outside, and there’s thunder too, Mommy said you can’t go out when it’s thundering, Sister Chen Lu is not good.”
“……”
Her leg was tightly encircled, with quite a bit of strength. Chen Lu looked down at Duo Duo, her tone softening slightly: “It’s okay, I can take a taxi home, it’ll be there soon.”
Duo Duo was so anxious that she hummed and tugged, her little hands tightly grabbing the corner of Chen Lu’s clothes, her voice with a bit of coquettishness:
“No, no, I finally got to see Sister Chen Lu, I want to hear Sister Chen Lu tell stories, please, Sister Chen Lu, just stay!”
“It’s not convenient this time, next time, okay?”
“Why next time, why can’t it be this time, does Sister Chen Lu hate Duo Duo?”
“……”
“Duo Duo especially likes Sister Chen Lu, sometimes she even dreams that Sister Chen Lu comes to play at home. If Sister Chen Lu stays, Duo Duo promises to be good, Duo Duo can also give her little rabbit doll to Sister Chen Lu to play with, Sister Chen Lu, just stay, okay?”
“……”
Her milky little face deflated, like a little dumpling that had leaked its filling, and she looked like she was about to cry, which was endearing.
Chen Lu didn’t know how to answer, and she didn’t know how Gu Wan Jun had taught such a small child to become the second “Gu Wan Jun.”
Thunder rumbled outside the window, and raindrops hit the window with a dense sound.
Inside the house, one big and one small, two similar pairs of beautiful eyes looked at Chen Lu, their eyes full of expectation and plea.
Chen Lu stood in place, silent for a moment, and finally sighed. She didn’t look at Gu Wan Jun, but leaned down and gently rubbed Duo Duo’s little head, her tone with a bit of helpless tenderness: “Little one, you’ve really scared me, I’ll stay, okay.”
Hearing Chen Lu agree to stay, Duo Duo cheered immediately, her face full of excitement, and she smiled so much that her eyes were almost invisible: “That’s great! Sister Chen Lu is going to tell us stories!”
“……”
The child’s joyful cheers spread throughout the living room. Looking at Chen Lu’s beautiful hair whorl as she squatted down, Gu Wan Jun’s eyes were filled with gratitude and happiness.
She knew that Chen Lu had only agreed to stay because of Duo Duo’s request, and that such dreamlike time was like something she had stolen, and she was already satisfied.
The rain outside the window continued to fall, but the atmosphere inside the house gradually warmed up.
A certain detached apartment.
“Tang Ying! This is the emergency you were talking about!?”
Looking at the lively and kicking hairy crabs in the basket, Fu Yi Wen, who had been urging the taxi driver “please drive faster” all the way, rolled her eyes to the sky!
In the living room, Tang Ying closed the lesson preparation notes in her hand and casually put them on the corner of the table. She leaned back on the sofa, her slender index finger gently touching her forehead, drawing circles on her skin, her tone lazy and casual:
“What’s wrong? Aren’t the hairy crabs big enough? I specially asked someone to deliver them.”
“No, did you call me over just for this?”
“Can’t I?”
Tang Ying looked up at Fu Yi Wen, her tone as if it was a matter of course: “Didn’t you say before that letting me eat well is the top priority? Other people’s cooking is bad, who am I supposed to ask if not you?”
“……”
No, is this the time to use those words?!
Fu Yi Wen was choked, so angry that she stomped her feet: “You! You’re clearly doing it on purpose!”
“What on purpose?”
“You clearly knew that Chen Lu and I were going to a class reunion tonight, so you deliberately called me away, so that Gu Wan Jun could get a chance to talk to Chen Lu alone!”
“Isn’t the reason you dragged Chen Lu to the class reunion to let them two talk things out?”
“…How did you know that I was the one who dragged Lu Lu there!?”
“If you didn’t drag her, would she have gone?”
“……”
Her danfeng eyes, with a slightly upturned tail, revealed a sharp and shrewd energy, as if she could see through people’s hearts at a glance.
A father in business, a mother in politics, Tang Ying perfectly inherited the advantages of her parents, possessing both the sensitivity and decisiveness of a businessman, and the calmness and insight of a politician. Fu Yi Wen often pondered in her heart, a beautiful woman like Tang Ying, who was born with a deep understanding of people’s hearts and was good at weighing things, was simply wasting her talent if she didn’t go into the business world or the political arena.
This talent created the current Tang Ying, making her not only possess a beautiful appearance, but the ambition and wisdom beneath the appearance were her most charming qualities.
Ultimately, people are all attracted to the strong.
Fu Yi Wen was no exception.
But people are contradictory.
Fu Yi Wen was fascinated by and admired Tang Ying’s ability and wisdom, but she hated Tang Ying’s calculations being used on her, and she was even more afraid that Tang Ying only had calculations for her.
She stayed by Tang Ying’s side not just to be a pawn.
Fu Yi Wen was holding her breath in her heart about Tang Ying suddenly calling her back from the party table. The lines of her face, which had thinned down, were distinct. Her heroic brows and eyes looked particularly sharp at the moment, and even had a bit of ferocity. She turned around angrily, stomping on the floor with a dong-dong sound, openly declaring her dissatisfaction.
This was very Fu Yi Wen.
“Where are you going?”
A clear voice came from behind, Tang Ying’s tone was light and fluttery, with a hint of casual teasing.
Fu Yi Wen didn’t turn her head, and said unhappily: “Back to the restaurant to prepare the dishes!”
Tang Ying raised her eyebrows, and the corner of her mouth curled into a faint smile. She said slowly: “Isn’t the restaurant short of staff? Does the store manager have to go back to prepare the dishes personally?”
Fu Yi Wen turned around sharply, rolled her eyes, and said with a full of gunpowder smell in her tone: “It’s none of your business!”
Tang Ying looked at her, her eyes with a bit of mockery.
That chubby little girl, who used to be round and cute, had now grown into a graceful woman, with a few more heroic spirit in her eyes, but also lost some of her former cuteness.
Tang Ying chuckled, her tone with a bit of confidence: “Don’t worry, even if your restaurant closes down, I can afford to support you.”
Hearing this, Fu Yi Wen immediately flew into a rage, and her voice raised by eight degrees: “…Can you speak!?”
Tang Ying tilted her head, and smiled a little bit owed: “Then should I call now and ask them to recruit a few more assistant chefs for you?”
“Tang Ying!” Fu Yi Wen stomped her feet in anger, turned around and walked away without looking back.
Looking at that figure who seemed to be really angry, Tang Ying crossed her arms, her tone suddenly softened, even with a bit of innocence:
“I just finished preparing the lesson, and I haven’t had dinner yet.”
“……”
The anger that was about to burn to the top of her head was extinguished by Tang Ying’s simple sentence.
Fu Yi Wen bit her lip. Although she was still a little unhappy, she finally softened her heart. Someone with a stern face picked up the basket of hairy crabs at the door, and walked towards the kitchen while asking unhappily: “Where’s the apron?”
Knowing that she had been coaxed well, Tang Ying raised her eyebrows, sat back on the sofa, crossed her legs, and replied lazily: “How would I know, aren’t you the one who puts away everything in the house?”
“……”
Fu Yi Wen was speechless for a moment. She wanted to find an excuse for herself to step down, but Tang Ying blocked her back with such a sentence.
Although she was retorted, the anger in Fu Yi Wen’s heart inexplicably dissipated when she heard Tang Ying use the words “in the house”.
What to do, even if she knew that Tang Ying was good at manipulating people’s hearts, she still fell for it.
Ten seconds later, the kitchen door closed with a “bang”, as if venting someone’s remaining, cowardly dissatisfaction.
Hearing the sound, Tang Ying laughed and couldn’t help shaking her head. She picked up the lesson preparation notes again, ready to continue working.
However, a few minutes later, after flipping through two pages of the notes, the mind that was originally prepared to prepare the lesson did not know where it had flown.
Tang Ying stared at the paper, but her eyes were erratic. After a while, she frowned slightly irritably, and simply threw the notebook on the table and got up to walk towards the kitchen.
In the kitchen, someone who was feeling sullen was lowering her head and focusing on handling the hairy crabs in her hand. Her movements were clean and neat, but there was still a bit of undispersed anger between her brows and eyes.
Tang Ying leaned on the door frame, quietly looking at her, a trace of indescribable emotion flashed in her eyes.
Their eyes met, and Fu Yi Wen said unhappily: “Aren’t you unable to stand the smell of oil fumes, why, is the leader coming to inspect the work?”
Tang Ying raised her eyebrows, her tone indifferent: “Yeah, I’m checking to see if you’re slacking off.”
After speaking, she added: “Need any help?”
Fu Yi Wen’s movements stopped, and she raised her head to look at Tang Ying, her tone still stiff: “No, just don’t cause trouble.”
Tang Ying rolled her eyes, her tone owed: “I didn’t say I was going to help you, I just asked.”
Fu Yi Wen: “……”
Seeming to be used to this way of speaking, she was too lazy to pay attention to Tang Ying anymore, and continued to busy herself with her head down. Soon, only the sound of Fu Yi Wen busying herself with cooking was left in the kitchen.
With no one to quarrel with, Tang Ying’s thoughts gradually drifted away.
Looking at Fu Yi Wen’s busy back, she suddenly realized that she had been living such a life for almost five years.
Has it been five years already, why doesn’t she feel very real?
What if… she meant what if.
What if this kind of life could continue forever, it seemed not bad.