MTMIO Chapter 39
by VolareThe nerves in her temples felt like piano keys that wouldn’t rebound when pressed down, a dull ache. Lu You paused at the doorway for a moment before opening the door and going inside.
Grandma was nestled on the sofa watching TV. Seeing the Bichon Frise dart to the door, she turned her head and noticed Lu You holding a square gift box. Casually, she asked, “What did you buy?”
“Huh?” Lu You responded a beat late. “Oh, it’s…from Sister Yunxi, handmade Venetian glass candies. She said she was short on time this trip, so she didn’t bring you a souvenir, but she’ll bring one next time.”
“Aiyah, whether she brings one or not isn’t important. I just like it when she comes and sits beside me, chatting with me.”
When Grandma said this, the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.
But within that shallow curve wasn’t a smile, but a sense of melancholy.
Like a curved sickle, scraping at Lu You’s heart.
When she was little, she would be sent to her grandparents’ house every summer and winter vacation. The clearest picture in her memory was Grandma fanning her with a palm-leaf fan under the shade of a tree in the summer, chasing away mosquitoes, and Grandpa scooping a watermelon from the well water, cutting it in half, sticking a spoon in it, and handing it to her; it was sitting on a long bench in the warm winter sun, swinging her legs, cracking melon seeds, and listening to the old folks chat about trivial family matters.
The first year after Grandpa passed away, Lu Huai’an’s career rebounded. He couldn’t stand people saying he only cared about his own success and didn’t care about the widowed mother at home, so he brought Grandma to the city. But the old woman couldn’t get used to it, complaining that there wasn’t even anyone to boast with in this place, so she went back.
Later, after her little finger was severed by her stepmother, the old woman packed her bags overnight and moved over.
Lu You sat down next to Grandma, hugging the old woman’s arm affectionately with guilt, leaning against her.
“It’s thanks to her frequent visits that I was able to be sent to the hospital so quickly that time.” Grandma clicked her tongue. “It’s also a coincidence, huh? Every time she comes, it’s at a different time than when you come home, except for the day you said you were coming back to live here. I liked that time the most, with one sitting on my left and one on my right…”
Lu You drifted off while listening.
So, Yue Yunxi always brought Grandma souvenirs, was it actually to have a chance to see her…?
Her fingers slowly clenched, gripping the gift box tightly.
The corners dug a subtle pain into her palm, making her head ache even more.
She was already fair-skinned, and now she looked sickly, the bright light of the ceiling lamp shining on her face, making her look even more pale.
Grandma glanced at her sideways, concerned, “Why is your complexion so bad?”
Lu You snapped back to reality, rubbing her temples: “Headache.”
She turned her head and called out to Auntie Liu, “Do we have any painkillers at home?”
“Yes, yes.” Auntie Liu put down her work and went to get the medicine cabinet, saying, “Teacher Yue sent over a list of frequently used medicines last week, and painkillers were on it. I’ve replenished everything according to the list.”
Lu You was pouring water into a cup with a kettle when she heard this, and paused.
Her gaze glanced over from the corner of her eye. Auntie Liu had just opened the medicine cabinet, and the long box placed at the top was a medicine she was all too familiar with.
During her trip to Xicheng, she squeezed a little and applied it on her ankles every day.
The painkiller was wrapped in a capsule and didn’t have much taste, but Lu You felt a Sorry taste in her mouth after swallowing the water.
As if it was seeping out from deep within.
Seeing that her complexion could be described as terrible, Grandma urged, “Go back to your room and sleep.”
Lu You took another sip of water, grumbling, “I haven’t washed up yet.”
“You’re sleeping alone, who’s going to dislike you.” Grandma muttered, “Don’t faint in the bathroom while washing up. Just wash up after you wake up. We can change the sheets and quilt cover tomorrow anyway.”
Lu You had no choice but to obey.
Back in the bedroom, she changed into pajamas, plugged in her phone to charge, and placed the glass candies with the other souvenirs Yue Yunxi had given her before.
The firefly glass bead necklace lying in the box was quietly flowing with brilliance under the desk lamp.
Lu You picked up the bead, stared at it for a while, and closed her fingers.
The round thing seemed to have sharp edges.
She slowly let go, gently placed the glass bead back in place, closed the lid, and turned off the drawer and the light.
Thus, all the light was gathered into the darkness.
Lying down on the bed, she couldn’t brew any sleepiness no matter how much she tossed and turned.
Not knowing how many times she had tossed and turned, Lu You leaned sideways on the headboard, unplugged the data cable, picked up her phone, unlocked the screen, opened the message notification hanging above, and entered the WeChat group.
She scrolled up and down through the group chat history, seeing Yun Zhu teasing her and Yue Yunxi for secretly dating, saying that she didn’t even have time to look at the group, and Chen Feifei replied with a sentence of envy, shifting the topic.
She cut out of the group chat and saw a small red dot hanging on Chen Feifei’s silly profile picture. She clicked in and chatted a few words, not mentioning a single word about Yue Yunxi.
But Chen Feifei suddenly sent a message: [Actually, last time on the terrace, there was something I really wanted to say to you. If the goddess really likes you, I suggest you give it a try. The most effective way to heal a bad relationship is to cover it with a good one.]
Lu You looked at it for a while, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.
It seemed that all the words, when matched with an almost perfect Yue Yunxi, seemed so pale and powerless.
In the end, she only replied, “Sleepy, going to sleep first,” and cut it off directly.
Her gaze lingered slightly on the “Kiss Book” stills of “April Story” below, she flipped to Bo Mingyan’s WeChat, asking how the other party had been doing recently.
Full full: [Pretty good, it would be even better if the landlord I’m sharing with wasn’t my boss]
YoYo: [!]
YoYo: [Does it have any impact on your work?]
Full full: [It shouldn’t if I don’t tell her secret]
YoYo: [What secret?]
Full full: [The secret that she’s a crybaby in private]
Lu You found it quite interesting, and chatted for a while, until Bo Mingyan said she was going to wash up.
The excitement of gossip faded, just like playing a piece in F major, with loneliness and sadness faintly shaken out under the bright and cheerful melody.
She originally wanted to randomly pick someone from the list to chat with, but after swiping the list a few times, she couldn’t help but click on that person’s chat window.
The chat history stopped at the flight information the other party had sent yesterday.
Lu You had a moment of Trance, as if she had returned to two months ago, when Tao Xin had sent her a message flying to Shuicheng, and the next day their relationship had come to an end.
Her fingertips uncontrollably caressed the strands of Matsu Takako’s hair in the profile picture that were brushed up by the wind.
The interface switched to the personal name card.
Lu You then realized that Yue Yunxi had changed her WeChat name. The hazy waning moon had become a completely black new moon symbol.
She also updated a status, which was a photo of a firefly.
“What can heal me is not fireflies.” – The appearance of Yue Yunxi saying this phrase surfaced in her mind, her long eyelashes fluttered lightly, like the wings of a butterfly.
It was at this moment, that a delayed effect was stirred up towards her.
It’s not the fireflies, nor is it climbing the mountain, it’s the source that creates unhappiness, it’s her…
The painkiller seemed to have lost its effect, and her head started throbbing again, once by one.
Turning off the screen of her phone, Lu You turned her back and grabbed the little deer doll from beside her pillow and hugged it.
She buried her face in the doll’s arms, and when she thought of what Chen Feifei had just said, she suddenly recalled accidentally brushing up on the topic of “Why is it so difficult for people who have been hurt to fall in love again?”
One of the answers wrote such a passage: Sensitive people always have to bear double the pain, so every psychological game will concede defeat in advance.
She slowly curled up her body, as if in the night of midsummer, she was filled with a gust of late cold wind.
ˉ
Zhong Shuyun’s vacant Foreign floor was very close to Lanwan, only two streets away, located on the road that Lu You had to take to go to Lost Deer.
The glass cabinet in the living room on the first floor was filled with rows of trendy toys, figurines, and Legos; there was an old piano in the study, most of which had been renovated, and could still be played; another one was in the sunroom on the second floor, which had been retired for too long, and next to it was parked a Vespa Roman Holiday model; the changing room next door was full of women’s clothing, of all styles, with a row of evening dresses hanging in it…
Just like Yue Yunxi said, it was like a small exhibition hall.
Thinking of Yue Yunxi, Lu You couldn’t help but be distracted.
Zhong Shuyun reached out her hand and waved it in front of her, playfully saying with a shallow smile, “Stunned?”
Lu You smiled and said, “Yeah, it’s pretty amazing, everything hits my interests.”
Zhong Shuyun raised her eyebrows, not looking surprised by this, but rather wanting to understand her interests in detail.
The question she asked was also like this, “How so?”
“When I was little, I was especially fascinated by pretty dresses. I was quite interested in figurines in junior high school. I played with Legos and figurines for a while in high school. And Vespa is my favorite among scooters.”
Before going downstairs to the piano room, she happened to pass by those display cabinets again, and Lu You looked around again and said, “I used to have a lot of them, but I sold them all.”
Zhong Shuyun lowered her long eyelashes halfway to hide her eyes, “Why did you sell them? Are you no longer interested?”
“On the one hand.” Lu You paused for a few seconds, and honestly said, “On the other hand, some are limited edition and retain their value, so selling them can get some money back.”
“It’s good to both satisfy your interest and use them as a money-making machine.”
“That’s how it is.”
“But…” Zhong Shuyun hesitated and asked, “Were you particularly short of money that you were willing to sell those limited editions?”
Lu You’s footsteps paused slightly, then she pursed her lips and smiled, without saying a word.
Before accidentally injuring her root of life, Lu Huai’an still tried to get a son, and didn’t care much about her, the daughter, so he would give her a sum of living expenses when he remembered, and nothing when he didn’t remember.
She went to ask for money, and was beaten a few times when Lu Huai’an was in a bad mood, and then she learned that the money “rewarded” to her had to be saved.
Later, when Lu Huai’an was in a good mood and gave more money, she would buy these things, and when she was short of money, she would list them for sale, until she had the ability to earn money herself.
She was also lucky that a regular customer would often take away the things she sold as soon as they were listed, with little trouble, without haggling, and with fast delivery.
That shallow smile made her look like a nameless flower that stubbornly grows in the narrow cracks of a rock.
Zhong Shuyun’s eyes rippled with a hint of unnoticeable heartache, and she didn’t pursue the question, only saying, “Is there anything you particularly like in here? Take it away first and bring it back.”
Lu You was flattered, and didn’t even notice the subtle word “first”. She quickly waved her hand and declined, saying, “Ah, no need, no need. I can buy them back myself if I want them, and besides, these are prepared for Mimi, right? It’ll be sad if other people take away the things she likes.”
“They aren’t prepared for her, she likes dolls and things like that.” Zhong Shuyun said as she opened the door to the piano room.
Assuming that these were Zhong Shuyun’s personal hobbies, Lu You smiled and said, “Then I really can’t take them.”
Opening the door, Zhong Shuyun stepped aside to let her pass, glanced at her, moved her lips, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end just smiled, patted her shoulder and said, “Okay, let’s have our lesson.”
Lu You nodded, sat down in front of the piano, took a deep breath, eliminated distractions, and carefully listened to Zhong Shuyun’s fingering instruction.
She had never thought that it would be easy to pick up the piano again, but she didn’t expect it to be more difficult than she imagined.
The old habits that formed muscle memory were always fighting with the new knowledge accepted by the brain. The whole process was like breaking up bones and reorganizing them, grinding away the little bit of arrogance that was left, carving a deep sense of frustration.
The more anxious she was, the worse she practiced.
It wasn’t until the end of August that Zhong Shuyun brought Old Lady Zhong from Xicheng to Nanquan.
The old woman followed along to the class, sharing the experience of learning new fingering at the beginning from time to time, and Lu You’s state slowly adjusted, and she gradually became able to skillfully use the new fingering to play a simplified version of Canon.
Zhong Shuyun clapped her hands and praised her a lot.
Lu You smiled embarrassedly and said, “It’s because Teacher Zhong teaches well, and Grandma Zhong has also helped me a lot.”
Zhong Shuyun waved her hand and said, “I’m not a qualified teacher, it’s good that Jiaojiao reminded me to pay attention to your state. I wouldn’t have thought of asking Zhong Nushi to be your psychological counselor. You girl, you’re too stubborn.”
Lu You was stunned.
During this time, Yue Yunxi did what she said, and really didn’t take the initiative to contact her again.
At first, Lu You thought she wouldn’t care too much. It was just returning to the kind of familiar yet unfamiliar relationship she had before.
But when she went to use her phone, she couldn’t help but look at the group chat to see if there was any content that belonged to her, couldn’t help but click into her Moments to see if there were any new updates.
The result was that there were none.
However, Yun Zhu posted photos of three meals a day in the group every day, starting the topic of what to eat today.
Lu You didn’t know if this was Yue Yunxi’s arrangement.
She rarely participated in the topic of what to eat, because she was very busy and didn’t have time to chat at all.
Of course, she also didn’t have time to post on Moments.
So, sometimes she would have inexplicable thoughts, wondering if Yue Yunxi would also enter her homepage like her, trying to peek into her recent situation through her Moments.
She didn’t know if Yue Yunxi’s liking for her had faded with the passage of time.
It turned out, it hadn’t.
It turned out that there were many ways to learn about her current situation without entering her homepage.
“How has Jiaojiao been lately?” Old Lady Zhong said with a hint of resentment like a child, “I haven’t received a phone call from her this month.”
“She’s busy with competitions, practicing to the point of almost being possessed.” Zhong Shuyun shook her head, “When I see her playing the piano, I think of what Stark said about Jacqueline.”
“What did he say?” Old Lady Zhong asked.
Lu You’s heart suddenly jumped fiercely, and almost in sync with Zhong Shuyun’s voice, she recalled that sentence.
“Playing like this, she definitely won’t live long.”
Old Lady Zhong slapped Zhong Shuyun unhappily, telling her to spit out the unlucky words.
“Bah, bah, bah, is that okay? But it’s really not good for her to practice the piano like that. I told her, but she doesn’t listen. I don’t know what she’s arguing with herself about this time.” Zhong Shuyun sighed for a while, and suddenly remembered something, turned her head towards Lu You, “Hey, Little Lu.”
Lu You suddenly came back to her senses and turned her face, “Hmm?”
“It just so happens that I’m going to start the first leg of my tour later, so I’ll give you a holiday. You find Yun Zhu and them, and ask Jiaojiao to go out and play. Don’t let her always stay at home practicing the piano.”
Lu You nodded, lost in thought.
She practiced the piano absentmindedly until the end of the lesson.
After leaving the Xiaoyang Building, riding the Vespa for a distance, Lu You stopped the car by the side of the road, took out her phone and sent a message to Chen Feifei: [Didn’t you say last time that you would have Yun Zhu treat us to a meal? Can you…help me poke her in the group and ask?]
Chen Feifei replied quickly: [I would have forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned it!]
Immediately afterwards, Chen Feifei ran to the Big Dipper group and @Yun Zhu: [Miss Yun, when are you going to arrange for us to experience the high-end restaurant you promised!]
Yun Zhu: [When do you want to go?]
Chen Feifei ran back and forth, asking Lu You, and then replied in the group: [The best time is now, tomorrow?]
Yun Zhu: [@everyone, do you have time tomorrow?]
Zhong Mi: [Yes, yes, yes! Eating delicious food! I must have time!]
Li Can: [Dinner is okay]
Jian Yan Zhi: [+1]
Lu You: [+1]
Yun Zhu @ed Yue Yunxi separately.
Lu You gripped her phone, unconsciously holding her breath and waiting.
Yue Yunxi: [I won’t go.]
As if afraid that people would think too much, she added another message after only two or three seconds: [Preparing for the competition, a little busy.]
It was difficult to describe the feeling at this moment, like being strangled by these two sentences in her heart.
Lu You’s brain was blank for several seconds, and then she laughed.
She was clear about the composition of this laugh.
She was angry.
After calming down, she privately messaged Yun Zhu and said: [Teacher Zhong is worried that her state of practicing the piano has not been good recently, so she asked me to find you to ask her to go out and stroll]
A new message popped up in the group, and she clicked in to take a look.
Yun Zhu: [@YueYunxi Teacher Zhong is worried about you, let us take you out to eat good things]
Yue Yunxi didn’t reply.
Yun Zhu: [@YueYunxi Little Lu is also worried about you, let me be sure to bring you out]
Lu You: “…”
Look, that’s how rumors spread.
YoYo: [。]
Li Can: [?]
Zhong Mi: [?]
Jian Yan Zhi: [?]
While the people in the group were lining up with question marks, Yun Zhu sent a private message: [Okay, she agreed to go [wise]]
Lu You subconsciously retreated back to the group.
She saw that below the string of four question marks, there was an additional period.
Sender, Yue Yunxi.
Echoing the period she sent at the beginning.
She had stayed by the side of the road for too long, and a mosquito bit her on the finger joints of the hand gripping her phone.
Itchy.