MTMIO Chapter 43

Chapter 43: As If Surviving a Catastrophe

“How could you…” Lu You only managed to say half a sentence before losing her voice in the sudden embrace. The light trembling in the embrace stirred up a wave of sad emotions that almost drowned her.

Subconsciously, she raised her hand, hovering behind the other person’s back, her fingertips curling and uncurling, approaching little by little.

Just as her palm was about to touch her back, Yue Yunxi suddenly released her, holding her shoulders and pulling her back slightly.

Lu You then noticed that Yue Yunxi’s eyes were red.

That circle of crimson, filled with wetness, fell into her eyes and burned into her heart, searing out a crack.

Something was seeping in with a gentle yet astringent posture.

In her memory, she had never seen Yue Yunxi so out of control.

Yue Yunxi looked her up and down with nervous eyes, “I couldn’t find you in the nearby hospitals, and I wondered if you were still here… Thankfully… Are you hurt anywhere?”

Her voice was tight, each syllable trembling slightly.

Lu You finally realized why Yue Yunxi was here at this moment.

“I’m fine. I was in another store when the explosion happened here. I only felt the building shake a bit.”

“What about your head? Does it hurt?” Yue Yunxi reached out and brushed aside the stray hairs that stuck to her cheek, tucking them behind her ear. “And your ears, do you have tinnitus? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

Lu You shook her head, suddenly unable to speak, her mood a mix of emotions.

From Nanquan to here, it was nearly a four-hour journey. Judging from the time, Yue Yunxi probably rushed over here non-stop after learning about the explosion at the Big Bowl Fried Rice restaurant.

In that hour at the hospital, what kind of emotions did Yue Yunxi harbor as she searched for her figure among the patients disfigured in the explosion?

Lu You closed her eyes. Just imagining it made her feel like she couldn’t breathe.

After confirming again and again that she was okay, Yue Yunxi breathed a sigh of relief. Her tense shoulders slumped heavily, and she said without much strength, “It’s good that you’re okay.”

After a moment of pause, she repeated in a murmur, “It’s good that you’re okay.”

The phone suddenly rang. Lu You had been holding the phone for too long without speaking, so Chen Feifei hung up and called again.

Lu You raised her phone and answered.

Chen Feifei spoke first, “Why did you suddenly go silent? Are you really okay? I’ll fly over to find you tonight. I wanted to go find you this afternoon, but I was so anxious that I didn’t know what to do. I called Yun Zhu, but my mom heard it and fainted.”

“Ah… just stay home and take care of Auntie. I’m fine.” As Lu You spoke, Yue Yunxi tugged at her arm from the side. Immediately afterward, her waist was embraced, and she was pulled back two steps with a light but firm force, leaning into a warm embrace.

The tires of a street vendor’s cart rolled past in front of her, crushing the suddenly accelerated heartbeat.

Yue Yunxi quickly released her hand.

The sense of constriction disappeared, but the force and warmth still lingered on her arms and waist.

Lu You blinked lightly. It wasn’t until Chen Feifei’s voice entered her ears from the phone that she came back to her senses.

“No, I’m still not very reassured. Wait, I’ll check the plane tickets.”

“Hey, you really don’t have to.” Lu You’s eyes glanced to the corner of her eye, briefly scanning the side, and then quickly returned to their original position. She cleared her throat and said, “Yunxi… is here.”

Yue Yunxi suddenly turned her head.

The gaze that looked at her seemed to be dyed with the warm yellow light of the sunset, making it difficult not to notice. Lu You restrained herself from looking back.

Chen Feifei exclaimed on the other end of the phone, “Oh my god, the goddess is already there!”

“Yeah, you stay home and be good. I’ll go back tomorrow. I’m hanging up now.” Lu You put away her phone into her satchel, hooking the bag chain with her hand.

She hung up the phone in a hurry, but now she didn’t know what to say or what to do.

Awkward…

Yue Yunxi withdrew her gaze from her, and asked naturally, “Have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet.” Lu You smiled reluctantly. “I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“Then come with me to get something to eat.” Yue Yunxi said.

Lu You nodded, glanced lightly at the charred shop next to her, still a little scared in her heart, and suggested, “Should we go back to the small courtyard first and order some takeout or something?”

Yue Yunxi stared at her for two or three seconds, softening her tone: “Okay, up to you.”

The two walked side by side towards the direction of the guesthouse, the shadows cast on the ground were very close. Yue Yunxi unobtrusively shifted half a step, and the shadows of their hands seemed to be held together.

In the lowered line of sight, Lu You curled the knuckles of her left hand, as if she was about to move away from her side. Yue Yunxi only felt that it was as if she was pulling on her chest, where it was throbbing, and pulling it slightly astringent.

But in the end, Lu You only tightened her right hand holding the bag chain.

Then, Yue Yunxi felt that a group of deer were happily jumping in that place in her chest, because of this intentional or unintentional indulgence.

In this season, the temperature would drop sharply as soon as the sun set, but Lu You felt that the remaining afterglow was still having a warming effect when it shone on her body.

She couldn’t keep her eyes fixed on the shadows anymore. She raised her eyes and looked at the guesthouse, whose eaves were vaguely visible at the end of the road.

She only extended the room until 4 p.m. before leaving in the morning. She didn’t know if her belongings had been cleared out of the small courtyard by the guesthouse owner.

“You just said, small courtyard?” Yue Yunxi suddenly remembered to ask, “Is it the small courtyard you stayed in last time?”

“…Yeah.” Lu You came back to her senses.

At that moment, Lu You even thought that if Yue Yunxi asked why she still booked that room, she would use the excuse of being a light sleeper.

As a result, Yue Yunxi didn’t ask this.

It was as if she had already discerned the most real reason, and didn’t expose it in order to save her face.

“Planning to stay one more night?”

Lu You said “Yeah” and said, “I’ll take a flight back tomorrow.”

Originally, she wanted to take the high-speed train to another city nearby to wander around and ease the chaotic mood after meeting Yue Yunxi the past two days.

She didn’t expect to witness the scene of an explosion. Now, she wasn’t even in the mood to wander around casually.

Even if she booked a plane ticket at this moment, went to the airport, and waited for the flight, it would be late at night when she got to Nanquan.

Thinking of this, Lu You was about to ask Yue Yunxi when she was going back to Nanquan.

Yue Yunxi spoke first: “Then… would you mind taking me in for one night?”

Lu You answered without thinking: “Of course not.”

Yue Yunxi silently curved her lips.

Lu You happened to see it, and adjusted her hair uncomfortably.

When people are embarrassed, they want to find something to do to cover it up. She took out her phone from her bag, opened the takeout app, and said, “See what you want to eat?”

“Look at the road properly, be careful not to sprain your ankle again.” Yue Yunxi glanced at her, imposing without anger.

“…Oh.” Lu You had to put her phone back, thinking, you already have this aura, and you still don’t want people to call you sister.

“Hungry?” Yue Yunxi asked.

Lu You responded absentmindedly, and after gathering her messy thoughts, she added, “Not hungry, but the impact of the explosion at noon was a bit big. I want to drink some wine to ease it. I saw that the guesthouse owner sells Italian sparkling wine. It should be pretty good. I can’t drink on an empty stomach, so I want to see if there’s anything to eat.”

“What flavor of sparkling wine?”

“Iced orange, white peach, and lychee.”

“Want to pair it with dessert or Western food?”

“Dessert.”

“Pure sweet or sweet and sour?”

“Sweet and sour.” Lu You paused. “Actually, savory is also okay.”

Yue Yunxi chuckled softly, almost dotingly: “Okay. Got it.”

Lu You rubbed her ears, realizing that she didn’t even need to open her phone to search aimlessly. She was actually guided by Yue Yunxi’s words to determine what she wanted to eat.

After the basic direction was determined, she just happened to walk to the guesthouse. Lu You went to the front desk to inquire and learned that her belongings were still well kept in the small courtyard, and she renewed the lease for another night. She also asked how to buy sparkling wine.

While she was communicating with the front desk, Yue Yunxi ordered takeout and handed over her ID card to register.

Walking to the entrance of the small courtyard with Yue Yunxi, the moment she pushed open the wooden door of the small courtyard, Lu You vaguely felt that time was still stuck more than a month ago.

Like when she went shopping and dragged her tired body back to this small courtyard.

As a result, she didn’t even ask Yue Yunxi which room to stay in. Holding the chilled sparkling wine, she went straight to the east wing.

She opened the door lock with a “click,” and her heart skipped a beat. She realized belatedly that today was different from the past.

Slowly turning around, she looked back.

The gray-blue color after sunset spread over the green-gray wall, framed in the square courtyard, like a blurred and cool-toned canvas, with a pomegranate tree painted in the center with rich ink and colors. On the curved and extended branches, there was still that pomegranate hanging.

It had reached the season of maturity, plump and round, mostly red, with only a little bit of the bottom still showing green and yellow.

Yue Yunxi was standing under the green shade, looking up slightly at the pomegranate fruit.

Suddenly aware of her gaze, she turned her head and looked over.

The gazes collided lightly across the distance.

Lu You’s eyelashes trembled involuntarily, and she suddenly looked away and entered the house.

After a while, she took a step back, grabbed the door frame with her hand, stuck her head out from behind the half-closed door, cleared her throat, and asked, “Which room are you sleeping in tonight?”

Yue Yunxi looked at her and asked softly, “Which room do you want me to sleep in?”

Lu You’s eyes fell from her gentle eyes to the steps in front of the door. She gathered her hands and rubbed the door frame with her fingers, pursing her lips without saying a word.

Logically, she should let Yue Yunxi sleep in that room.

She shouldn’t even ask such a question.

“Will you be scared sleeping alone tonight?” Yue Yunxi’s voice became even softer.

Lu You shrank back behind the door, staring at the ground, afraid to close her eyes.

Because as soon as she closed her eyes, the stretchers that had passed in front of her at noon would float into her mind. The people lying on them, some were charred all over, their bodies were covered in blood and flesh, and there was no good piece of meat; some had lost their hands and feet, or half of their faces; and some were even directly covered with white cloths…

Footsteps approached step by step. Lu You turned her head along the sound, moved her lips, but still couldn’t say anything.

Yue Yunxi stopped beside her, leaned against the door frame, touched her head, and sighed softly, “If you can’t say it, then don’t say it. I can take the initiative.”

After a slight pause, she asked, “I want to sleep with you, can I?”

How can you be so gentle…

Lu You’s nose suddenly turned sour, and she lowered her head as if she nodded heavily.

The phone ring broke the brief silence. After Yue Yunxi answered the phone, she went out to pick up the takeout.

Lu You had also recovered, hooked her neck and looked into the plastic bag, “What did you buy?”

“Two servings of mousse, green mango strips, fruit salad, and some savory snacks.” Yue Yunxi opened the bag to make it easier for her to see more clearly. “Do you want to take it to the rooftop to eat?”

Lu You nodded: “Okay.”

“Then wait for me in the room for a while.”

“Okay.”

After that, Lu You saw Yue Yunxi run up and down three times.

The first time, she took the food up; the second time, she went back to the house to find the projector, night light, and mosquito repellent lamp and took them up; the third time, she took her up.

The guesthouse owner had redecorated the rooftop on the second floor, set up an open-air movie screen, supported a canopy, and hung a string of colored lights. Camping seats were placed under the canopy.

The mosquito repellent lamp emitting blue light was placed under the table. On the table were wine, disposable cups, and the desserts and fruits they had discussed eating before, as well as a night light.

The orange light floated into Lu You’s vision with the evening breeze. The charred smell and bloody smell that she always felt were still lingering in the air were finally covered by a sweet aroma.

“Thank you… Thank you for coming to find me today, thank you for setting up these things for me…”

Lu You’s voice gradually lowered, and she stopped. She was pressed down onto the camping chair, and she sensitively noticed that the force pressing on her shoulder was slightly increased, and then it was released.

She turned her head.

Yue Yunxi looked at her with her eyes lowered, her gaze deep, and her voice was still gentle, “Don’t always be so polite with me, okay.”

Lu You was stunned, and suddenly remembered the sentence “Don’t call me Sister Yunxi” in the middle of the light blue letter paper. A faint sense of guilt welled up in her emotions. “I’m sorry… but I’m really grateful to you…”

“No need to apologize, I know you are really grateful, but I’m just a little afraid that you will give me a good person card.” Yue Yunxi sat down on the other camping chair.

Lu You picked up the wine bottle that had been opened and poured out two glasses of wine, pushing one to Yue Yunxi, “But you are really good. When you appeared, I was so moved that I wanted to cry.”

“But Yoyo, what I want is not your gratitude.”

Lu You was slightly startled, vaguely feeling that Yue Yunxi was very different today, but she couldn’t tell where it was different.

It seemed that… the gentleness had an edge.

“Let’s not talk about this.” Yue Yunxi adjusted the projector and asked, “Is there anything you want to watch?”

Lu You thought for a while and said, “Can we watch the movie that is your profile picture?”

Yue Yunxi’s hand paused.

Realizing that this was a bit cruel for Yue Yunxi, Lu You changed her mind and said, “Never mind, you choose.”

Yue Yunxi responded with “Okay” but still indulgently found the film “April Story” for her to play.

In fact, this kind of small and fresh crush movie was never what Lu You liked to watch, but at the moment when she was asked what she wanted to watch, for some reason, her mind was only filled with Yue Yunxi’s profile picture.

The next hour and seven minutes flowed through this essay-like movie.

The small bubbles wrapped in rich fruit fragrance in the cup splashed in the heroine’s melodious voice and soothing bgm.

A whole bottle of wine, except for the first glass given to Yue Yunxi and a little left in the cup now, had entered Lu You’s stomach.

When the film played to the end credits part, Yue Yunxi pressed the pause button, glanced over the empty wine bottle, and asked with concern, “How is it?”

Not hearing the last word “it” clearly, thinking that she was asking about the movie, Lu You seriously commented, “It’s pretty good, there are no ups and downs in the plot, the picture is beautiful, the screen is full of youthful atmosphere, a gentle and beautiful feeling, like…”

Like the feeling you give me.

She turned to face the opposite side, her voice tailing off to almost no volume.

Yue Yunxi looked at her, a faint arc spreading across her lips: “I wanted to ask, after drinking so much wine, do you feel any better?”

In a slightly tipsy state, Lu You’s reaction was a little slow.

Seeing that she didn’t answer, Yue Yunxi continued to ask, “Do you still feel uncomfortable in your heart?”

Lu You slowly nodded, sullenly: “Do you think they ended up together in the end?”

Not expecting that she was unhappy about this at this time, Yue Yunxi was stunned, and then softly replied, “Open ending, if you hope they are together, then they are together in the end.”

Lu You pondered for a moment and said, “…I hope so, I only accept HE.”

After a moment of silence, Yue Yunxi looked at her and asked, “What about our ending? Which kind can you accept?”

“Huh?” Lu You couldn’t react.

It wasn’t “I haven’t thought about it” nor silent, but such a ignorant response.

Yue Yunxi frowned slightly: “Are you drunk?”

Lu You immediately shook her head: “No.”

Just slightly tipsy, just a slow reaction, not drunk. Different definitions, so she didn’t touch her nose.

Yue Yunxi moved her gaze away from her face, picked up the cup in front of her, and shook the fruit wine that was only left in the cup.

The icy coldness of the ice had faded away in more than an hour of stillness, and was warmed by her palm to a higher temperature.

Lu You’s eyes swayed with the wine in her cup, followed by her ears catching a breathy sound, like a low sigh, or like she was laughing at her, unable to distinguish the emotions in it.

After the breathy sound, Yue Yunxi said in a low voice: “Then it’s not considered taking advantage of someone’s vulnerability.”

Lu You blinked her eyes twice: “What taking advantage of someone’s vulnerability?”

Yue Yunxi lifted her thin eyelids, looking directly at her, unlike any previous eye contact, the surface of that gaze seemed to be covered with a thick layer of night, revealing a calm coolness, but inside it was as hot as if it had been baked by a lamp.

“I don’t want to wait any longer, Yoyo.”

What Lu You first received was the literal meaning of the surface.

Uncontrollably, her breath stagnated.

“On the way to find you today, all the way, I was praying that nothing would happen to you. At that time, I was thinking, if you are fine, if you appear in front of me unscathed, I don’t want to wait any longer.

So now, either you directly reject me, tell me that there is no possibility for us, and from then on, I will disappear from your world.”

Lu You’s heartbeat also lost its rhythm, undulating with every syllable she uttered.

“Or, give me a chance to develop into a lover with you. I won’t force you to be with me when you are not ready. We can take it slow, but at least… at least I can enter your life again.” Yue Yunxi paused and took a deep breath, “If you don’t explicitly reject me until the end credits are played, I will take it as you agree.”

After the voice fell, Yue Yunxi pressed the play button, lowered her eyes and did not look at her again, turning her head to look at the screen.

The melodious and gentle tune echoed in the sky above the rooftop again, walking through time at an extremely slow pace.

Lu You swallowed her throat.

She only felt that the air was as if it was being pulled by the notes, stretched so thin, like a film covering her mouth and nose, and breathing became difficult.

The blood all over her body was boiling. She was as if she was being roasted on fire, but her brain was as if she had swallowed a whole box of mint candies, becoming more and more awake, her consciousness so clear that she had completely digested Yue Yunxi’s words just now, understood what she meant, and understood what she was facing.

Lu You turned her eyes to the screen.

There was no progress bar showing the film. The names of the cast and crew kept rolling upwards. How much time was left? One minute, or dozens of seconds?

No matter which one, it was enough for her to say the words of rejection.

Lu You opened her mouth.

The music of the end credits stopped before she could speak.

Her heart was as if it had jumped into mid-air and suddenly suspended, slowly falling down again at the moment when her eyes crossed the screen and looked at the hazy moonlight.

Yue Yunxi’s gaze was glued to her slightly opened red lips. Her eyelashes trembled, and finally, she couldn’t bear to ask, “Do you want to reject me?”

Waiting for a response was like experiencing the torture from the second hand, even more tormenting than just now.

Lu You’s lips moved.

Clearly, she had already gone this far with a desperate determination, and had gotten the desired result.

Was she still afraid that she would regret it, giving her room to go back on her word?

The tipsy heat seemed to be crowded into her eye sockets, Lu You closed her eyes for a moment, and replied with a hoarse throat, “No, I don’t want to reject you.”

Yue Yunxi slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

Her cooled heart was burning again, as if surviving a catastrophe.