MTMIO Chapter 18
by VolareChapter 18: The Most Intense Stroke of Color
Lu You didn’t speak, her expression slightly dazed.
A secret base that even Auntie Yue didn’t know about, such a private place, and now, Yue Yunxi was inviting her to see it.
What was Yue Yunxi’s initial intention in proposing this?
Was it simply because she was worried she had nowhere to go?
In the mountains, some unknown insects were chirping, and further away, there were human voices from the park, their content indistinct, rustling.
Noisy sounds flowed into the silent atmosphere between them.
The atmosphere was like paper soaked in water, becoming thin and transparent, about to break with a single poke.
Not daring to think any deeper, Lu You smiled and politely declined, “Maybe next time.”
Yue Yunxi’s right hand, gripping the steering wheel, tightened, then slowly relaxed. Afraid her eyes would betray her emotions, she lowered her head and raised her left hand, pretending to check her watch.
When she looked up again, her face was as usual, and she said calmly, “Then I’ll take you back to Lanwan. It’s getting late, don’t linger outside and worry Grandma.”
So, she was just worried about her wandering around alone.
Lu You softly agreed, “Okay.”
Sitting in the passenger seat, her hand, reaching for the seatbelt, suddenly paused. She belatedly realized that Yue Yunxi was going back to the secret base to stay tonight.
So, they weren’t going the same way this time.
Lu You swallowed, lowering her eyes to buckle the seatbelt.
She didn’t say she was causing trouble, nor did she say thank you.
–
Facts proved that exhaustion was the best sleeping pill. A night that should have been sleepless turned into falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
So, Lu You resumed taking jobs, tuning pianos during the day and going to Lost Deer at night, using busyness to numb her nerves.
The days passed quickly, so quickly that there was no time to grieve.
On the day the leg soreness from climbing the mountain completely disappeared, her childhood friend, Bo Mingyan, told her she had returned to Nanquan.
The two arranged to gather at Lost Deer.
That night, the customer who paid to sing was not only beautiful but also had a particularly lovely voice. Her wonderful singing voice attracted several tables of customers who were about to leave to order another round of drinks and snacks.
Lu You was in a good mood. She beckoned a server and instructed, “Go tell that customer on stage, thank her for her heartfelt performance. The bar is offering her a special cocktail, and ask if there’s anything she’d like to drink.”
While the customer was switching songs, the server went up to inquire and returned to tell Lu You, “She wants the ‘Major Heat’ from the Seasonal series.”
“Okay.” Lu You deftly mixed the drink, pouring it from the shaker into a martini glass, and leaned over to push it towards the server, “Take it to her.”
Watching the server walk towards the stage, she saw the customer on stage glance down, stop singing abruptly, and get off the stage immediately.
Lu You clicked her tongue, feeling it was a pity she hadn’t finished the song.
Following the direction the customer had taken off stage, she happened to catch sight of her childhood friend, Bo Mingyan, who was slightly turning her face, looking up at the stage.
It seemed like she had made eye contact with that customer.
The disco ball on the stage rotated, casting bright light between the two, clearly illuminating their eyebrows and eyes, before dimming again.
Seeing Bo Mingyan turn her head back, Lu You waved and called out, “Manman, over here!”
After Bo Mingyan brushed past the customer and came over, Lu You joked with a smile, “From my angle, seeing you make eye contact with the beauty on stage, it’s so atmospheric. Did you two hit it off?”
Bo Mingyan glanced at her.
With her cold and elegant looks and smoky green eyes, even such a light glance gave off a bone-chilling aura.
Lu You deliberately rubbed her arms, “I think if the air conditioner breaks in the future, we can just call you over.”
Bo Mingyan: “…”
Her gaze rested on Lu You’s slightly upturned left little finger, “Is your hand still not able to bend much?”
“Yeah.” Lu You lowered her hand, twisting the pinky ring, “But it’s okay, it doesn’t affect my life.”
To prove this point, she mixed two drinks, and the two of them chatted while sipping.
From Lu You’s breakup to Bo Mingyan’s new job benefits, from complaining about the inconvenience of shared housing to renting a new place, they finally discussed Bo Mingyan’s housing needs in detail.
They didn’t break up until midnight.
Before leaving, Bo Mingyan suddenly remembered and said, “I forgot to bring that deer doll, I’ll bring it to you next time we meet.”
Lu You was stunned, surprised, “Didn’t you say not to buy it?”
Bo Mingyan said lightly, “I already bought it.”
The same level of persuasiveness as “Since I’m already here.”
Lu You had no choice but to say, “Okay then.”
“Did the one I gave you before break?” Bo Mingyan suddenly asked her.
“Can that even break?” Lu You asked in surprise, “How would it break?”
“There’s a recorder inside its belly. Press the left antler to record, and the right antler to play the recording.”
Lu You frowned, “I’ve squeezed it many times, and there’s no recording. It might be broken.”
Bo Mingyan said, “I didn’t record anything.”
“…” Lu You curved her lips and joked, “That’s your style.”
“I thought it was broken, so you wanted another one.”
“No, it’s not broken.”
Bo Mingyan “Mm”ed and got up, saying lightly, “Then let’s get a matching pair.”
Said without thinking, heard with intention.
Bo Mingyan just said it casually, talking about the deer doll, but Lu You’s movements of cleaning up the glasses froze slightly.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but had nothing to say, and ultimately just pursed her lips.
ˉ
When she got home that night, she took a fragrant bath and lay in bed, posting a “looking for a rental” message on her WeChat moments.
She swiped down casually, her fingertip pausing, stopping at a new post by Zhong Shuyun.
Yun: [Turns out the thenar eminence point is equivalent to four kinds of medicine [smirk]]
In the comment section, Zhong Mi asked: [Which four, Mommy?]
Yun: [It’s “Quick-Acting Heart-Saving Pill”, “Sleeping Pill”, “Fever Reducer” and “Throat Soother”]
Lu You stared at the screen, blinking her eyes very lightly.
The blurry face of Zhang Wenyin floated in her mind again, and her familiar yet unfamiliar voice escaped her lips –
“Does Mom massaging here make you feel better? This spot is called the thenar eminence point. Massaging it when you have a sore throat, cough, or fever will make you feel much better, isn’t it amazing~”
The memories that person left her were so few, so few that a single word or phrase related to her could evoke her longing.
Like the return to warmer weather in spring, the plum rain season in summer, long and humid.
The phone screen automatically went dark, and the image in her mind sank into the dark shadows along with the screen.
She pressed the screen again, switching out of WeChat moments.
In her customer list, a person with the nickname “Kiss Smoke” sent her a private message: [I have a secondary bedroom for rent in Azure Water Cloud Sky, rent is 1500]
Followed by photos of the room and a long list of requirements.
Lu You carefully read it, the requirements were strange, but very much suited Bo Mingyan’s situation.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was tailor-made for her.
After getting up the next day, Lu You booked two more apartments, confirmed free time with Bo Mingyan, and scheduled viewings with the landlords one by one.
When contacting Kiss Smoke, she suddenly noticed that the other person had changed their name to “Still Gotta Add Me”.
Interesting, Lu You curved her lips and smiled.
Then, seeing an unread notification hanging on the WeChat moments icon, she clicked it.
Chen Feifei commented on her “looking for a rental” post: [Why are you moving out again?]
Lu You replied: [Looking for a friend, by the way, I’m taking her to see the apartments this afternoon, remember to come to work]
Chen Feifei: [Go to what work, isn’t today a day off?!]
Lu You then remembered that the bar would close for a day off each month, she had been so busy these past few days that she had forgotten.
While she was distracted, Chen Feifei commented again: [But we have a resident singer auditioning at six this afternoon, remember to come and review them, I can’t decide alone.]
Lu You: [I’ll try to get back in time]
Outside, Grandma called her: “Yoyo, this TV doesn’t let us watch it, it says we need to log in for some membership…”
“Coming,” Lu You said as she walked out, “I’ll take care of it.”
After helping Grandma with the TV membership, she took out her phone again and saw a new message pop up on WeChat moments.
Thinking it was Chen Feifei replying, she clicked it.
It turned out to be Yue Yunxi giving her a “like”.
They hadn’t been in contact for two weeks, Lu You wondered what Yue Yunxi had been busy with lately, maybe she had gone abroad for another performance.
While lost in thought, Lu You unconsciously pressed the blue ID.
The interface switched to Yue Yunxi’s WeChat moments.
Lu You’s half-lowered eyelashes trembled slightly.
What met her eyes was a screenshot, and only that one screenshot – a notice from the Nanquan City Meteorological Observatory’s official Weibo, predicting that the city would exit the plum rain season this week.
ˉ
In the afternoon, Lu You took Bo Mingyan to see the apartments, and finally settled on the one from “Still Gotta Add Me”.
When Bo Mingyan added the landlord as a friend, Lu You suddenly thought of the temporary nickname change, and couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows.
How did it feel like even the username was tailor-made for Manman?
Bo Mingyan looked at her, “What’s wrong?”
Lu You shook her head, thinking, she was probably overthinking it, these two didn’t even know each other.
The two took the elevator downstairs, and Bo Mingyan asked, “Do you have any plans later? If not, I’ll treat you to dinner.”
Lu You smiled, “Maybe next time, I still have to go back and audition resident singers.”
“Okay, when you’re free, by the way, this is for you.” Bo Mingyan handed over the paper bag she had been carrying all the way.
Lu You took it and looked inside the open top, it was a small deer doll, and smiled: “Thanks.”
After that, the two parted ways, Bo Mingyan went home to pack her luggage, and Lu You returned to Lost Deer with the small deer doll.
The words “Closed for Rest” were hanging on the glass door. Looking inside from the outside, she could vaguely see two or three figures.
So many people came to audition?
Lu You curiously pushed the door open and went in, seeing that Li Can and Jian Yanzhi were sitting in the seat closest to the stage.
“Hey? Little Deer is back.” Li Can waved to her, “Feifei is auditioning upstairs.”
Lu You laughed, “Why are you guys here?”
Before she finished speaking, Chen Feifei led the singer who was auditioning downstairs, picking up the conversation: “These two suddenly said they wanted to visit this afternoon, so I brought them along. You really know how to pick a day, one day earlier or one day later would have been better, weekdays are more fun.”
Li Can shrugged: “That’s not our fault, we also received the notice temporarily.”
“What notice?” Lu You asked.
Li Can explained: “Yun Zhu said Yunxi won an award in an overseas competition and is treating us to a big meal, so we came to Lost Deer to meet up, and she also said she saw you guys talking about taking a day off today in your WeChat moments, so it’s perfect for us to get together, have a meal and share the joy, and by the way, welcome her back.”
Lu You was slightly surprised, almost blurting out: “She went abroad?”
“Yeah.” Li Can asked, “Didn’t she tell you?”
Lu You shook her head.
Li Can was surprised: “She didn’t even tell you.”
Such a tone, as if she should know. Lu You smiled silently, at the fact that she also had such a thought for a moment when she heard the news.
But why should she tell her?
The singer who was auditioning began to prepare to sing, and the group temporarily stopped talking.
During that time, Lu You received a call from the courier, went outside to pick up a package, and the singer wasn’t affected in the slightest, so she was hired immediately.
Lu You held the package, frowning at the information on the shipping label.
After seeing the singer out of the bar, Chen Feifei turned back and saw her with a solemn expression, and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes went down, glancing at the package, “Did the seller send the wrong item?”
“No, I didn’t buy anything.”
“Then who sent it to you?”
“I don’t know.”
The sender’s nickname and phone number were both unfamiliar.
Li Can said, “Open it and see?”
Jian Yanzhi suggested, “I think it’s safer to just return it, maybe it’s a business revenge.”
Lu You said, “It shouldn’t be.”
She never gives bad reviews.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Lu You grabbed a utility knife and opened the package, taking out a fluffy Bichon Frise doll from inside.
The little dog’s eyes were watery, and it was sticking out its tongue.
Jian Yanzhi “Hmm”ed: “So cute.”
Li Can asked with a smile, “This must be a gift from someone, right?”
Lu You didn’t say anything, already guessing who the sender was.
Just as she was about to put it back in the box, the wind chimes on the door jingled crisply, followed by an excited voice: “Sister!”
Before Lu You could react, she saw Zhong Mi rush over like a gust of wind, clearly wanting a hug.
Afraid Zhong Mi would move too fast and be hurt by the toy and package in front of her, Lu You had no choice but to separate her hands.
Zhong Mi plunged into her arms: “Long time no see, I missed you so much!”
When she said “missed,” Lu You looked up, just as Yue Yunxi and Yun Zhu entered the store one after another, heading straight towards her.
So, her gaze directly collided with Yue Yunxi’s eyes.
Amber pupils, warm and shallow color, but this glance was so deep, like a soft swamp on the surface, not knowing when she would be dragged deep into it.
Lu You’s heart skipped a beat for no reason, and she hurriedly shifted her gaze, her hand unintentionally pressing on the Bichon Frise doll’s stomach.
Tao Xin’s voice came from inside: “Lu Youyou, we’ll always be together, always, always always.”
Yue Yunxi’s gaze lightly swept over the Bichon Frise doll, then fell back on her stunned face.
In an instant, Lu You felt like she had become the bullseye of everyone’s gaze.
The atmosphere was quiet as if it had solidified, a little suffocating.
Until Zhong Mi looked up and asked her, “Who is this?”
Lu You pursed her lips.
She couldn’t find a suitable identity to define Tao Xin now.
Just as she was hesitating how to answer, Yue Yunxi’s clear voice suddenly rang out: “Who it is doesn’t matter, what matters is what to eat later?”
A calm tone, but too calm, therefore revealing a hint of coolness.
Lu You glanced at Yue Yunxi.
Was it because they hadn’t been in contact for two weeks?
How did it feel like the coldness Yue Yunxi had towards unfamiliar people had intensified…
“Right, right, right! Let’s eat braised pot!” Chen Feifei suggested.
Zhong Mi released her, turned around and raised her hand, saying: “I want to eat hot pot!”
The group started discussing noisily, and the topic was completely diverted.
Lu You didn’t participate in the discussion, listlessly putting the Bichon Frise doll back in the box, and took out her phone to open the SF Express app to place an order.
“What are you busy with?” Yue Yunxi suddenly asked her.
Lu You was honest: “Placing a SF Express order, to send this back.”
Yue Yunxi asked again, “Is there anything you want to eat?”
Lu You was entering the address, casually saying, “I’m fine with anything.”
After a very brief silence, Yue Yunxi sighed softly: “There’s no such thing as anything.”
She had returned to the familiar, gentle feeling.
Lu You stopped what she was doing, pretending to be thinking seriously, and smiled, “Then hot pot.”
“Hot pot, right!” Chen Feifei counted on her fingers, “That’s a tie then, no, aren’t there seven of us?”
Jian Yanzhi quickly pointed out: “Teacher Yue hasn’t spoken yet.”
Yun Zhu asked Yue Yunxi: “What do you want to eat?”
Yue Yunxi said, “Then hot pot.”
As if copying and pasting her tone.
Lu You paused, and pressed the submit button.
The group discussed which restaurant to go to and prepared to leave.
Lu You glanced at her phone, the app showed the courier was on their way, said hello: “You guys go ahead first, I have something to take care of.”
Yue Yunxi moved her lips, paused, and then responded, “Okay.”
The others were also mindful of social boundaries, didn’t ask too much, and crowded around Yue Yunxi, who was offering to treat, and went out the door.
Lu You sat in the store for five or six minutes, without waiting for the courier, but a rainstorm came first.
She went to the storage room, looking into the basket where spare umbrellas were kept.
It was empty.
She sighed, used her phone to take a picture of the empty basket and sent it to the Lost Deer work group: [Remember to return the umbrellas you borrowed @all members]
Before long, the courier came to pick up the package.
Lu You put the small deer doll that Bo Mingyan gave her into her crossbody bag, locked the door of the store, dusted off her hands, and turned around.
The edge of the rain awning dropped a heavy curtain of rain, pouring onto the ground, converging into winding streams.
It wouldn’t stop raining for a while.
Just as she was about to go out in the rain to the supermarket across the street to buy an umbrella, her phone in her pocket vibrated a few times.
She took it out and looked at the screen, seeing three unread WeChat messages.
Chen Feifei @ her after a row of “okays” in the group, saying: [Wait a moment]
Then there was a 4-second voice message, opened, with at least four or five people talking, she could only hear the last sentence clearly: “I’m coming to pick you up.”
There was also a message from Tao Xin’s assistant, saying that Tao Xin was almost hit by a falling iron frame on the stage today, and was very scared.
Lu You’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly typed, wanting to ask her how she was now, then, her gaze stopped on the words “almost,” and her fingertip, hovering above the screen, pressed the delete button.
Clearing the input box, she didn’t reply to anything.
Messages could be pretended not to be seen.
But the waves that were stirred up in her heart couldn’t be pretended not to be felt.
Lu You’s slender fingers opened the cigarette case, took out a cigarette from it, and suddenly intuitively felt a gaze fall on her.
Her gaze turned to the corner of her eye and glanced over.
She vaguely saw a figure, graceful and slender, holding a black umbrella, wearing an avocado green suspender dress, walking hastily in the rain.
The iridescent neon halo was dyed into it, like a mottled oil painting.
And that person was the most intense stroke of color in the painting.
Lu You turned sideways.
The slender cigarette was held between her lips.
The umbrella was raised slightly.
Her gaze and Yue Yunxi’s gaze met across the rain and fog.
The passersby coming and going, holding umbrellas of different colors, intermingled with the lively neon lights.
And these instantly turned into iridescent phantoms in her field of vision.
Entwined into ropes, connecting both ends, pulling them closer.
The rain was too heavy. Yue Yunxi walked under the rain awning, closed the umbrella, her gaze not knowing whether it was falling on her lips, or on the slender cigarette held between her lips, and softly asked, “Did you wait long?”
Probably because she had come over quickly, she was slightly out of breath, her chest rising and falling.
Lu You’s gaze swept past, quickly lowering her eyelashes, taking the cigarette from her lips and saying: “No, I haven’t even lit my cigarette yet.”
“I remember you said that you only want to smoke when you’re feeling agitated.”
“That’s right, but, it’s because of other things…” Lu You awkwardly changed the subject while rummaging in her bag for a lighter, “How did Sister Yunxi come to pick me up?”
But she couldn’t find the lighter anywhere. She lowered her head, and just as she was about to check her work pants pocket again, she heard Yue Yunxi ask: “Who do you hope it would be?”
The word “hope” made the entire question a little ambiguous.
Lu You paused, replying, “I thought it would be Feifei.”
There was no lighter in her pocket either. She looked up, and Yue Yunxi raised her left hand, her fair and slender fingers holding a slender silver lighter.
“No wonder I saw you look a little disappointed when you saw me coming over just now.”
As she spoke, Yue Yunxi’s thumb pressed the lighter’s slanted lid.
The grinding wheel rubbed lightly, and a flame leaped into her eyes.
Lu You was stunned, raising her eyes to meet her gaze.
In the amber pupils, there was the same calm and gentle expression as always, as if she was just joking.
“No, it’s not disappointment.” Lu You lowered her head, lightly biting the cigarette, moving closer to the flame.
Yue Yunxi lowered her eyes, watching the warm firelight envelop Lu You’s slightly lowered brows and eyes, reflecting in her vision, searing into the depths of her heart.
A little bit of scarlet ate away at the cigarette butt, those unspeakable emotions, as if they were also burned and curled up, along with the “click” of the lighter closing its lid.
A small piece of lead-gray mood fluttered up.
Raindrops struck the umbrella surface, in harmony with her rapidly beating heart, she heard herself ask:
“What is that?”