MTMIO Chapter 10

Chapter 10: A Kind of Beauty Where Inhibition is Crushed

Lu You’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Then she heard Caroline exclaim in realization, “Ah~” and utter a word: “Giraffe! Right?”

Lu You curved her lips, laughing at that inexplicable startled jump just now.

Putting aside that a giraffe isn’t even a deer.

Even if she liked deer-like animals, so what?

Yun Zhu scratched her chin, as if pondering whether this answer was correct, and then said, “It’s the ‘deer’ in giraffe, and also the ‘deer’ in sika deer.”

“Oh~ It’s this ‘deer’!” Caroline was very excited, both for answering correctly and for this answer that she found magical, then she looked at Lu You with beaming eyes, “You’re as beautiful as your name, a forest fairy.”

Lu You smiled shyly and said, “Thank you.”

After a brief chat, Yun Zhu said goodbye, saying she had other matters to attend to, and left with Caroline and the mixed-race girl first.

Not long after, footsteps came from the entrance.

Looking over, Yue Yunxi was carrying a black handbag, and behind her was a matching cello case, walking towards them.

Her cello case also had a pendant attached to the side handle.

As the distance closed, Lu You gradually made out that it was a mini giraffe doll, made of plush material, sitting in a round and adorable pose.

Reaching Lu You’s side, Yue Yunxi said apologetically, “Sorry, something held me up.”

Lu You didn’t mind, “It’s okay, the orchestra’s principal Yun Zhu told me.”

The two walked towards the parking lot together. Yue Yunxi remembered Yun Zhu’s gossipy expression when she asked her to deliver a message earlier in the rehearsal hall.

At the time, she wanted to tell Yun Zhu not to talk nonsense, but she was interrupted by other things.

Yue Yunxi hesitated and asked, “Did she say anything else to you?”

Lu You smiled and said, “We just chatted casually, she said you really like giraffes.”

She didn’t think too much about it, and naturally didn’t observe Yue Yunxi, directly looking at the pendant, not noticing the slight furrow in Yue Yunxi’s brow after hearing her words.

“This pendant is so cute, where did you buy it?”

Yue Yunxi’s expression had already returned to normal: “I bought it a long time ago, I don’t really remember.”

Lu You lightly pursed her lips, feeling it was a pity, and looked at the pendant again, her eyes glancing over the cello case.

It was a completely different feeling from the cute pendant, pearly and dark, like framing a piece of starry night.

“When I was little, I thought you guys looked so cool carrying these cello cases, I really wanted to borrow one to carry.”

Yue Yunxi was silent for a few seconds before asking, “What did it feel like when you carried it later?”

Lu You “ummed” and honestly admitted with regret: “I haven’t carried one yet.”

Yue Yunxi frowned unconsciously, feeling a little surprised: “…You never let you carry it?”

Lu You shook her head.

It was as if the intermittent chirping of the cicadas on that tree dragged her thoughts back to the summer of her eleven year.

Stepping on dappled shadows of the trees, she suddenly heard faint sobbing mixed in with the noisy cicada song. Turning her head, she saw Tao Xin’s harmless face was full of tears.

During that time, the Tao family was in turmoil. The usually proud little princess carried a cello case that was almost bigger than her, as if her spine was bent.

“Lu Youyou, if my family goes bankrupt, will you…stop playing with me?”

Tao Xin’s almond eyes were tearful, looking at her with tears welling up. Lu You’s heart softened, and she said seriously, “No.”

“Will we always be good friends then?” When she asked this, Tao Xin cried so hard that a bubble came out of her nose.

They were both stunned at the same time, and laughed, bending over.

Crying and laughing was very exhausting, and the cello was heavy. Tao Xin straightened up with her holding onto her shoulders.

Seeing Tao Xin looking pitiful, Lu You reached out and said, “Let me help you carry it.”

Tao Xin clenched the strap, hesitated for a long time, and refused, saying that Tao’s father and Auntie Yue were considering stopping their cello lessons first, and she might not have many days left to carry the cello.

Lu You thought that the cello was to Tao Xin what the piano was to her.

That day, after returning home, she smashed her little piggy bank, put a pocket full of money, and went to Auntie Yue to discuss not stopping their cello lessons.

She persuaded Yue Shao, waiting for Tao Xin to come back from summer camp, wanting to happily tell her the good news.

But Tao Xin told her first that she was tired of the cello and wanted to learn guitar by herself.

Looking back now, it doesn’t seem difficult to understand Tao Xin’s change of heart.

Yue Yunxi watched Lu You’s expression stagnate and become lost. She regretfully clenched the strap of the cello case.

She shouldn’t have brought up issues related to Tao Xin in front of Lu You, evoking unnecessary memories, and she shouldn’t have expressed her surprise so obviously, emphasizing things that made her unhappy.

Taking a deep breath, Yue Yunxi softly asked, “Do you want to try it now?”

Lu You smiled and asked, “Is it okay?”

“Of course.” Yue Yunxi stopped, took off the cello case strap, and gently placed it on the ground, “It will be a little heavy.”

Just looking at the cello case, you could feel it was very heavy, but Yue Yunxi used “a little” to describe it, and looked very relaxed when she put the cello case down.

Lu You didn’t know how heavy it was, “How heavy is ‘a little’?”

Yue Yunxi lifted the cello case by the handle, went behind her, and said, “About fifteen pounds.”

“You call that ‘a little’?” Lu You put the cello case on her back, and changed her tone, “Hmm? It’s okay to carry, huh.”

Her tone was like riding a roller coaster.

Behind her, where she couldn’t see, Yue Yunxi curved her lips, her gaze becoming even softer, “Want to take a picture in front?”

Lu You took a few steps forward and stopped in front of the glass wall of the grand theater, looking inside.

Her loose long hair was scattered, wearing a white loose short-sleeved shirt with English letters printed on it, the hem half-tucked into the waistband of her denim shorts, carrying the cello case on one shoulder.

The scene reflected by the glass wall was like a layer of desolate filter was applied, the green shadows of the sycamore trees swaying behind her, giving it a movie-like quality.

It was very atmospheric, but not the style she wanted.

Lu You turned to the side and looked again, regretting a little: “If I had known, I would have dressed a little more handsome today.”

Moving her eyes away from the glass wall, Lu You saw Yue Yunxi still standing in place, putting her phone back into her handbag, hearing the sound, she raised her face to look at her.

Yue Yunxi seriously evaluated: “It’s also very good like this now, natural and relaxed.”

She then added: “Of course, you can also try other styles next time.”

Lu You hooked the corners of her mouth, accepting her comfort, and jokingly said: “Okay, when I put on some makeup and change my style, I’ll ask you to borrow it to carry again.”

Yue Yunxi raised her eyebrows, walked towards her, and said: “The cello case is always here, tell me whenever you want to carry it, I can give it to you anytime.”

Her eyes swept over the handbag that Yue Yunxi was holding, Lu You guessed that it wasn’t light either, and said smoothly: “I really want to carry it now, I’ll give it back to you at the parking lot.”

Yue Yunxi didn’t refuse, just worried: “I’m afraid your shoulders will be sore tomorrow.”

Lu You carried the cello case forward, smiled and said: “Don’t underestimate me. Although I’m not as disciplined as you, Sister Yunxi, I also go to the gym regularly.”

Yue Yunxi asked: “Which gym?”

“One near Lost Deer.” Lu You felt a coolness on her arm, “Is it raining?”

As soon as she finished speaking, circular water stains spread out on the ground, and large raindrops kept falling.

Yue Yunxi took out the umbrella with the deer pattern from her bag and opened it above their heads.

In an instant, the rain became rough, dipped in the night, splashing on the ground that had just been dried in the daytime, layer by layer dyed into ink color.

But it didn’t splash on her body much. Lu You raised her head and looked at the umbrella leaning towards her, and silently moved closer to Yue Yunxi.

Squeezed under the same umbrella, the arms of the two would occasionally touch lightly while walking.

Remembering what she heard in the rehearsal hall, Lu You felt unnatural for a moment, and glanced at the side.

Yue Yunxi lowered her eyes, staring at the ground wet with rain, looking like she had no special reaction.

Slightly relieved, Lu You looked away, focusing on the road.

The next second, Yue Yunxi’s eyes turned to the corner of her eye, lightly skimming her profile, her long eyelashes blinking slowly and gently, the lights standing by the roadside suddenly lit up.

On the wet ground, fireworks that would make people throb were blooming.

ˉ

Entering the parking lot, Yue Yunxi looked towards the car shed, where there were not many cars parked, making it easy to notice the scooter squeezed between the sports bike and the cruiser.

Yue Yunxi looked away, and asked casually, “How did you get here?”

“I rode my scooter here.” Lu You smiled, “Sure enough, you can’t stay up late, people become stupid. When I went out, I only cared about the good weather, and didn’t think about how the weather in the plum rain season changes quickly.”

Looking through the hazy rain curtain, she looked at the sky in the distance. The thick and heavy ink-colored clouds seemed to be about to collapse at any moment.

She didn’t know if the rain would stop after dinner.

Yue Yunxi took a deep and slow breath, suppressing the thumping in her heart:

“Leave your car here today, take my car.”

Her steady and calm tone gave people a feeling that there was no room for argument.

Lu You hesitated a little.

But she felt that politely refusing in such bad weather would only add to the trouble, “Then I’ll trouble you, Sister Yunxi.”

“It’s on the way, no trouble.” Yue Yunxi raised her hand and pressed the car key, a black Mercedes a few steps away flashed its lights.

Lu You followed and said, “If you’re going back to Lanwan Garden, I won’t be polite to hitch a ride. I thought you’d go back to your secret base.”

“Secret base?” Yue Yunxi held an umbrella in one hand and opened the back door in the other, naturally holding it against the edge of the door frame, “Put the cello in the back seat.”

Lu You bent down, carefully putting the cello in the back seat, and said:

“Once when I was walking the dog with Grandma in the community, I met Auntie Yue. The two of them were talking about you buying a house. Auntie Yue said that every time she asked you where you bought it, you kept it a secret.”

She paused, and then spoke again, with a hint of teasing in her smile, “Isn’t that a secret base?”

When she stood up, Lu You caught a faint chuckle. She wanted to turn her head to look, but she didn’t pay attention for a moment, and her head hit the door frame.

The shallow curve on Yue Yunxi’s lips immediately straightened: “Careful.”

It wasn’t the intense, dull pain of directly hitting a hard object, but more like her head was cushioned by something soft. Lu You subconsciously touched her head, took half a step back, raised her eyes and looked towards the top of the door frame, focusing on Yue Yunxi’s hand that hadn’t been retracted yet.

Realizing that Yue Yunxi had protected her head with her hand, Lu You’s heart tightened.

Yue Yunxi asked with a tense voice, “Is your head okay?”

“It’s okay, is your hand okay?” Lu You nervously reached out to pull Yue Yunxi’s hand, wanting to check carefully.

She was very clear about the force of the impact just now.

Feeling the cool touch brought by Lu You’s fingertips, Yue Yunxi seemed to be electrocuted, suddenly curling up her knuckles, “It’s okay, get in the car.”

Lu You’s gaze closely followed Yue Yunxi’s hand, watching her close the back door and go to open the front passenger door, but she couldn’t see the condition of the back of her hand.

The light was too dark.

Not wanting to waste time in the rain, Lu You obediently got into the car first.

Anxiously waiting for Yue Yunxi to get in the car too, she quickly confirmed again, “Is your hand really okay? Can you let me see?”

She had always been a serious person, especially someone who had “been rained on”, she would never be relieved without seeing it with her own eyes.

Yue Yunxi turned on the air conditioner, remained silent for a moment, raised her hand and pressed the dome light, turned around, and stretched out the hand hidden on the other side in front of her.

Her fingertips were not as slender as other girls because of playing the piano, but overall, it was still a hand lover’s dream.

Her fingers were long, her joints were distinct, and her cold white skin made the blue veins and the red marks rubbed by the door frame even clearer.

There were still traces of unwashed rainwater on it, giving it a beauty of crushed restraint.

But Lu You was in no mood to appreciate it at this time, the most important thing for instrumentalists was their hands.

“It will go away in a while.” Yue Yunxi took back her hand, seeing that her brow was still furrowed, she sighed silently, her eyes lightly sliding down, landing on her pinky ring.

The cold air of the air conditioner quickly filled the car, the silver color of the pinky ring was soaked again cold and hard, pressing on the tail of a “red fish” that should have been agile and free.

Yue Yunxi’s throat rolled, as if she was going all out, “If you really feel guilty, how about you come to support me during my formal performance?”

Lu You maintained this posture, lowering her head, her eyes falling into the void, her left hand propping up on the leather seat curling up little by little, flush with her unbending little finger.

In the past, when she worked in a piano store, tuning brand pianos, she had heard of concerts.

It was just that none of them touched her soul as much as today. She didn’t know if it was because Zhong Shuyun’s skills were too superb, or simply because the song “Pull three” resonated with her emotionally.

As a result, she couldn’t confirm whether she still had the courage to listen to a complete piece of music.

After a moment, Lu You raised her face and replied, “Okay, I will definitely come.”

Yue Yunxi’s shoulders slowly relaxed, and she changed the topic: “Have you thought about when to pick up the car? I’ll check the time and drive you here then.”

Not wanting to trouble Yue Yunxi again, Lu You politely declined and said, “I don’t think our schedules will match.”

Yue Yunxi heard the implication, and didn’t force it, instead asking, “What time did you go to sleep?”

Lu You: “A little after eight.”

“Were you so curious that you couldn’t sleep?” Yue Yunxi lowered her head, slowly twirling the pearl waist chain on her suit with her fingers, her fingertips gently kneading the lustrous pearls, feeling as if there were also pearls grinding her shyness and expectations slowly rolling through her throat.

Speaking of this, Lu You couldn’t help but bring a bit of resentful tone in her voice: “Yeah.”

Originally, she couldn’t sleep because of the withdrawal reaction from being dumped, but later her mind was full of thoughts, like what inappropriate words Yue Yunxi, such a cautious and steady person, had withdrawn.

And why couldn’t she say it now?

She was choked up last night and didn’t pursue it, but now that she mentioned it again, she couldn’t help but ask, “Can’t you tell me now either?”

Yue Yunxi was putting the suit jacket she took off into her handbag, hearing this, she paused slightly and replied, “Not yet.”

“When will it be okay then?”

Lu You asked casually, not expecting an answer, and pulled the seat belt while speaking.

She couldn’t find the insertion hole no matter what. She turned her body halfway, wanting to find it with her eyes.

Just then, Yue Yunxi also turned her body to put the handbag in the back.

At the moment when the distance suddenly closed, her red lips parted slightly: “Later…”

The clear and cold fragrance rushed into her nose, like a melting snow stream sweeping over her body. Lu You was stunned, her whole body seemed to be frozen.

Yue Yunxi also smelled the fragrance in her hair, her breathing imperceptibly paused, she quickly composed herself, “What’s wrong?”

“Didn’t find the insertion hole.” Lu You lowered her eyes and looked towards the side of the seat.

Her mind was unsettled, and the long hair slipping from her shoulder was also blocking her view. Lu You still couldn’t see the location of the insertion hole.

She heard Yue Yunxi’s low voice in her ear: “Here.”

As far as she could see, Yue Yunxi’s hand reached out to her, leaning against her hand, and clenched the end of the seat belt.

Soft coolness and warmth touched, Lu You let go of her hand.

Yue Yunxi paused for a moment, pulled the seat belt diagonally downwards, and pressed it into the insertion hole.

“Done.”

“Thank you.”

Lu You sat upright, tidying up the clothes twisted on her body.

Suddenly, she noticed the temporary parking number plate placed on the center console, with a sika deer holding chocolate, and a phone number pasted on the chocolate bar.

It was a very unique design.

Moving her gaze to the left, it focused on the air vent, with a wooden deer aromatherapy clipped on it, emitting a faint fragrance, like a frozen green tangerine, with a slight bitter taste in the clear fragrance.

Lu You couldn’t help but sigh: “Sister Yunxi really likes deer.”

She felt like she liked them even more than she, who has the surname “Lu” (deer).

Yue Yunxi stopped fastening her seat belt.

Lu You turned to look at her: “Why do you like deer?”