MTMIO Chapter 46
by VolareChapter 46 Yue Yunxi Is Seducing Her
Back at the small courtyard, Lu You, reminded by Yue Yunxi, changed into a thicker denim jacket, then started packing her luggage. She didn’t have much, a backpack and a small duffel bag would be enough.
Inside the duffel bag were the ceramic jar that Grandma had been longing for and the ceramic deer made by Yue Yunxi. Lu You wrapped them in layers of bubble wrap and wide tape, turning them into two balls, one large and one small.
Yue Yunxi couldn’t help much, so she went to the vending machine outside and bought two bottles of water, putting them on the table. When she saw the duffel bag, she glanced inside and asked, “Is that ceramic inside?”
“… Yeah.” Lu You loosened the zipper, then took the small ball out of the bag. “This is your little deer.”
Only after saying that did she realize the ambiguity in her words. Lu You’s action of handing over the bubble wrap ball suddenly became stiff. Yue Yunxi’s lowered gaze was still fixed on the ball, paused for a few seconds, then she silently lifted her eyelashes.
Lu You also raised her eyes slightly at this moment, and after a moment of eye contact, she lowered them again. She placed the ball in her hand on the table, “… It’s a ceramic little deer.”
“I know.”
Yue Yunxi’s voice contained a smile.
The smile was very faint, making the tone of the whole sentence particularly gentle. It wasn’t teasing her about her over-explanation, deepening the ambiguous atmosphere, but more like a kind of accommodating tolerance.
Lu You took the water Yue Yunxi bought, casually unscrewed the cap, trying to look calm and natural.
Perhaps seeing her embarrassment, Yue Yunxi asked, “What color is the finished product that came out of the kiln?”
“Forgot to take a picture.”
Lu You recalled the little deer placed on the shelf at that time.
A kneeling posture, small and exquisite, the glaze color was rich and harmonious, revealing an elegant aura.
“It’s especially beautiful, layers of cyan gradually changing to white, very lively.” Lu You thought of the deer and couldn’t help but sigh, “How can you do everything so well?”
While she, whose surname was Lu (Deer), couldn’t even sculpt a deer shape.
“It’s just practice makes perfect.” Yue Yunxi’s fingertip lightly touched the bubble wrap ball, recalling, “I used to often go to handmade shops for team building, and a few times it was making pottery. At the beginning of sculpting little deer, they all looked like chimeras.”
The implication was that every time she made pottery, she was sculpting little deer?
But it was also normal, after all, Yue Yunxi liked little deer so much.
A flash of inspiration appeared in her mind, Lu You’s hand holding the bottle froze again, the mouth of the bottle touched her lips and hovered for a moment, then was slowly moved away by her: “Can I ask you another question?”
Yue Yunxi raised her eyes to look at her, and said softly, “Of course, you can ask two.”
Lu You lowered her head, placed the bottle on the table, still holding it without letting go, and hesitantly asked, “Do you like little deer… because of me?”
“If you think it is, then it is. If you think it isn’t, then it isn’t.”
Lu You frowned very lightly, “What kind of answer is that?”
After a brief silence, she heard Yue Yunxi speak, “An answer that reduces your psychological pressure.”
Lu You’s hand caressing the bottle stopped, “… Isn’t that just indirectly telling me that it’s because of me? Where is the pressure relief?”
Yue Yunxi’s shoulders sank down, and she sighed to explain: “Maybe I’m too sensitive. I felt that you were very dissatisfied with the previous answer, and I was worried that you thought I was perfunctory. So at that moment, I felt that coaxing you was more important.”
“…”
Lu You’s ears burned.
A third of the water was gone from the bottle. She squeezed the empty part above it, and for no reason, she remembered what Yue Yunxi had told her last night, that she hadn’t liked her for long.
Lu You was half-believing, half-doubting this statement.
Believing that, based on their current interaction, Yue Yunxi was completely in control of the rhythm, with moderation and balance, not too slow, turning the two into unromantic friends, nor too fast, making people feel offended.
She was too good at it.
Plus, she had said that she couldn’t be friends with someone she had a crush on.
So Lu You pondered that if she had liked herself early on, she would have taken the initiative to attack.
She even couldn’t help but imagine that if Yue Yunxi had made a move earlier, Tao Xin probably wouldn’t have had a chance.
Doubting that, the recording in the doll, that sentence “I’ve already missed it once.”
Although Yue Yunxi accidentally let the doll record the sound, and it was unintentionally played out by her, it still felt like eavesdropping on someone else’s privacy.
Lu You didn’t dare to directly ask about this, so she asked indirectly, “When… did you start, start liking me?”
“You want to ask me when I started liking this kind of deer.” Yue Yunxi bent her knuckles and tapped the bubble wrap ball lightly, then raised her eyelashes, looked at her and asked, “Or, when did you start liking…”
Lu You unconsciously held her breath.
“Another little deer.” Yue Yunxi said meaningfully.
Lu You’s speech followed her heartbeat, she tilted her head back and gulped down cold water, trying to suppress her shyness and excitement, “Another one.”
“Can’t tell you yet.”
Hearing this, Lu You’s gaze shifted to the corner of her eye, and she saw Yue Yunxi stretching out her index finger, pressing on the ball, pushing it back and forth.
As if teasing the little deer inside through the layers of bubble wrap.
“…” Lu You glanced at the bubble wrap ball, “Then what about this kind of little deer? When did it start?”
“After liking another little deer.”
Nonsense! Lu You curled her lips and muttered, “There are no definite answers, and you’re still distinguishing them in such a detailed way.”
Yue Yunxi smiled helplessly: “Because I only remember the date I fell in love with the other one.”
Lu You complained inwardly, what’s the use of remembering, if you don’t tell me.
Putting down the water, she tightened the cap unhappily, suddenly thinking to ask: “I’m not satisfied with this answer either, why aren’t you coaxing me?”
“Because I know you will respect my wishes.” Yue Yunxi said softly.
Lu You raised her head, lifted her thin eyelids, and immediately met her gaze, then awkwardly drooped her head, slowly tidying up the skincare products on the dressing table, her peripheral vision landed on the ball, and she said unhappily: “Take your own ceramic deer yourself.”
Before she finished speaking, the ball was pushed back to her by Yue Yunxi. After she finished speaking, Yue Yunxi’s clear and gentle voice was wrapped in a faint smile: “I was just about to say, I’ll give this ceramic little deer to you as compensation.”
She understood what Yue Yunxi meant, but combined with that sentence, it did indeed produce other meanings.
Rarely having a chance to gain the upper hand, Lu You naturally wouldn’t let it go, and joked, “What compensation? I think you just don’t want to take it yourself.”
That’s what she said, but she still picked up the bubble wrap ball, gently placed it next to Grandma’s ceramic jar, and finally closed the zipper.
Yue Yunxi’s gaze was fixed on the resting zipper, and she asked with a smile, “Did you accept it, and you’ll take it yourself? Or did you politely decline, and you’ll help me take it?”
Lu You raised her eyebrows, refusing to give a clear answer: “What do you think?”
She picked up her bag and walked out.
The phone in her pocket vibrated, and she took it out to check.
Auntie Liu sent a voice message, and after clicking it open, Grandma’s voice came from inside: “YoYo, what do you want to eat tonight?”
Lu You grabbed the phone with one hand and sent a voice message back: “Grandma, I had a big breakfast, I can’t think of what to eat tonight, just let Auntie Liu make whatever…”
The ending sound suddenly stopped, because Yue Yunxi took the duffel bag from her hand.
Lu You was stunned for a moment before moving her thumb away from the screen.
The voice message was sent out with a “whoosh.”
Yue Yunxi raised her eyes to look at her, “I’ll help you take it.”
The voice melted in the wind, brushed past her ears, and was sensitively captured by her ears, containing the smile within.
As if laughing at guessing her true intention.
Or as if laughing at how she didn’t dare to admit it?
Lu You lowered her head and put the phone in her pocket, and raised that hand to tuck the strands of hair that had been messed up by the wind behind her ear.
It seemed that she could still feel the tight grip of the leather handle remaining on her knuckles, feel its lingering soft and cool touch, covered with a subtle weight.
ˉ
That afternoon, the two flew back to Nanquan City.
Lu You had taken the subway to the airport that day when she went to Xicheng, so Yue Yunxi suggested driving her back.
After reaching the parking lot and finding the car, they put the duffel bag and backpack in the back seat.
When Lu You walked towards the passenger seat, she thought and said, “Or, I’ll drive. It feels like you’re always the one driving.”
“Last time you picked me up from the airport, you drove.” Yue Yunxi’s voice was calm, without much emotion.
But the speaker was unintentional, the listener was mindful, and Lu You remembered the unpleasant exchange between the two in the car after driving back that day, and her mood suddenly became complicated and contradictory.
She didn’t think there was anything wrong with her refusal that day, but she still felt sad about it.
“This time I won’t say anything after driving back.”
Yue Yunxi was pulling the car door open for the driver’s seat, heard this, her hand holding the handle loosened its strength, she raised her eyes to look at her, and said very sincerely: “Actually, you handled it very well that day, I’m very happy that after discovering my feelings, you were able to respect my emotions and sincerely communicate with me.”
Lu You’s eyes rippled.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought that Yue Yunxi’s character would definitely understand her position and decision.
But she didn’t expect that hearing Yue Yunxi say these words with her own ears would have such a strong impact.
So strong that, for a moment, she felt that she was pretty awful for betraying the other party’s sincere intentions.
“I’ll still drive this time.” Yue Yunxi opened the car door, “If you drive, I can’t help but look at you, I’m afraid you can’t stand my admiring gaze.”
As if this was the essential reason, and not the influence of the last time still lingering.
The excessive frankness, and the tone that was so serious, made Lu You’s heart skip a beat.
Standing there for a few seconds, Lu You sat in the passenger seat, lowered her head and mechanically fastened her seat belt, using the dangling long hair to cover her hot cheeks, and pretended to ask naturally: “Didn’t you hold it back last time?”
She regretted it as soon as she said it.
It was clearly a topic that had been turned over, but she brought it back again.
Yue Yunxi set up the navigation, glanced at her sideways, “Yeah, it was very hard to hold back.”
“…”
The gaze falling on her face, with warmth, was difficult to ignore.
Lu You sat up straight, turned her face away and asked, “Won’t you look at me when you’re driving?”
Yue Yunxi retracted her gaze, calmed down and replied, “Safety first.”
While answering her, she warned herself.
Not long after the words fell, the car started and drove out of the parking lot.
Lu You turned her head to look at Yue Yunxi.
The sleeves of the beige sweater were rolled up to her forearms, Yue Yunxi had one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding it, her posture was casual and relaxed, and her dignified and elegant eyebrows were full of concentration.
Lu You turned her head, her gaze fell on the outside of the window, the light spots dripping between the leaves of the street trees, occasionally splashed on her face.
Warm, rippling in the smile drawn on the corners of her lips.
She couldn’t help but savor Yue Yunxi’s “Safety first” just now.
At first glance, it was a light and reasonable four words, but combined with the previous content, it had a deeper meaning—
Rather than satisfying my private desire to look at you, I care more about your personal safety.
The car drove into the main road, and Yue Yunxi tuned into the radio station she often listened to.
The female host was talking about the fact that the elderly in her family had their birthday last weekend, and she went to eat a buffet.
Yue Yunxi asked, “How old is Grandma?”
“Sixty-nine.”
“Then you have to hold a birthday banquet this year?”
“Yeah.”
“What day is Grandma’s birthday?”
“September 30th.”
As she spoke, Lu You yawned twice. The autumn sky was clear and the temperature was too suitable, making it easy for people to feel sleepy.
Yue Yunxi turned the volume down a bit: “If you’re sleepy, take a nap, I’ll call you when we get there.”
Lu You adjusted her sitting posture, and tried to suppress her sleepiness, “No, driving is very boring.”
Yue Yunxi laughed, without saying that she used to drive alone, and was already used to it.
She enjoyed this moment, being taken care of by Lu You.
Time seemed to speed up in the idle chat, and unconsciously, the gate of the Lanwan Residential Complex appeared in sight.
Not long after entering the complex, the car stopped steadily at the gate of the yard.
Lu You got out of the car, took the bag from the back seat and put it on her shoulder, picked up the duffel bag, then went around to the front.
The half-lowered car window in the driver’s seat was completely lowered at some point, Yue Yunxi put her forearm on the window sill, tilted her head against the window frame, and watched her approach step by step from the rearview mirror.
When Lu You stood still outside the window, Yue Yunxi turned her head.
Lu You glanced towards the gate of the Tao family’s yard and asked, “Are you going there, or back to your secret base?”
Yue Yunxi smiled and said, “Back to my own home.”
Lu You nodded and instructed, “Be careful on the road, send me a message when you get there.”
“Okay.”
Lu You took a few steps back, giving the car a wider path, waved to Yue Yunxi, but didn’t mean to leave.
The smile on Yue Yunxi’s lips deepened, and under her gaze, she restarted the car and left.
It wasn’t until the car drove out of sight that Lu You turned around, entered the password to open the gate and returned home.
After entering the door, she put the things in her bag away while chatting with Grandma about her experiences in Xicheng these days.
Sitting on the sofa, Lu You took a utility knife and began to unpack the bubble wrap.
Layers of bubble wrap were peeled open, revealing the ceramic jar inside. Grandma reached out and took it in front of her, looking at it from front to back and left to right, and smiled very contentedly, “It’s pretty good, I’ll go put it away.”
Lu You curled up on the sofa and rested for a while, and waited until Grandma came out of the room before sitting up straight to tidy up the bubble wrap scattered on the coffee table.
“By the way, I watched the news at noon, reporting that there was an explosion in the ancient street area of Xicheng.”
Lu You paused her hand, and said “um.”
“Oh, things in the world are unpredictable.” Grandma looked at Lu You, and said thankfully, “It’s good that you’re okay.”
Worried that Grandma would panic and be afraid after knowing that she was almost in trouble, Lu You didn’t say much, and only responded, “Yeah.”
Then, she changed the subject and said: “Your birthday is at the end of the month, has your good big son cared about you these two days?”
Grandma was amused by her description, and felt that after all, they were father and daughter, and it was not good to call him that. When she sat next to her, she glared at her, “What my good big son, isn’t he also your father?”
Lu You turned the pinky ring on her left little finger, and didn’t say a word.
Grandma’s gaze swept over the scar showing under her pinky ring, and sighed imperceptibly, “I called you last night to talk about the birthday banquet, I think it doesn’t need to be too big, just have a meal with the family.”
Lu You chuckled, and took the small ball out to unpack, and said mockingly: “You can do it, but he can’t. He’s so concerned about face, he thinks he’s a boss with a reputation, how can he mess around with his old mother’s birthday? If he wants to do it, let him do it, anyway, he’s the one who worries about it, so don’t you bother.”
“I can’t control him even if I want to.” Grandma smiled and shook her head, and saw Lu You take a ceramic deer out of the unpacked bubble wrap, “Oh? Isn’t this the one made by Yunxi?”
“Yeah.” Lu You smiled and said, “She gave it to me.”
The touch of the porcelain was moist, and the glaze was elegant. Lu You held the ceramic deer in her palm, and was shocked that she liked it more and more.
“Does Yunxi know that you and Tao Tao broke up?” Grandma asked.
Lu You’s heart skipped a beat, and she replied, “She knows.”
Grandma was thoughtful, opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end she just sighed, and said to herself: “Forget it, young people have their own way of handling things, I won’t worry about it.”
Although Grandma said that, Lu You was still flustered, and didn’t stay in the living room for long, making an excuse to put things away, and went upstairs to her room.
Closing the door, she walked to the computer desk and opened the drawer. Her gaze fell on the box containing the souvenir gifts inside.
Her hand touched the box lid, but suddenly paused.
She suddenly didn’t want to let this beautiful ceramic deer lie in the dark box.
Pushing the drawer back, Lu You went to the dressing table instead, and gently placed the ceramic deer on the shelf next to the vanity mirror, took out her phone, and took a picture of it.
Just at this time, the phone suddenly vibrated twice.
Two message prompts hung above the screen, Lu You sat on the chair in front of the dressing table, and clicked on WeChat.
Yue Yunxi: [Got home.]
Below was a photo.
It was a bird’s-eye view of the small courtyard from upstairs. The ground lights illuminated the bluestone path, and at the end was a thatched cottage with lights on. A small platform extended from the glass door, surrounded by a fish pond piled up with volcanic rock and pebbles. Several clumps of lotus leaves, resting water lilies, and a few koi carp floated on the water, painted into Monet’s paintings by the orange-yellow light.
YoYo: [Is this your own small yard]
Yue Yunxi: [Yeah, how is it?]
YoYo: [So beautiful!]
Yue Yunxi sent another photo, taking a picture of the inside of the thatched cottage.
A small island platform with a sink was directly opposite the door, with a refrigerator standing behind it, and a coffee machine on the table. On the right was a bookshelf with a whole wall of books, neatly lined with rows of books. On the left was a soft sofa that looked very comfortable, and Yue Yunxi’s cello stood next to the armrest.
The retro-style decoration, the warm brown base, staying inside, it seemed that time would be adjusted to 0.5x speed.
YoYo: [I can’t imagine how pleasant it would be to read and practice the piano here]
Yue Yunxi: [Come and experience it and you’ll know.]
A blatant invitation.
Lu You was stunned, holding the phone and not typing in the input box for a long time, accidentally sweeping across the vanity mirror, and saw her own face inside, between her eyebrows, almost unable to hide her throbbing expression, just short of writing the words “want to go” on her face.
She inexplicably felt that Yue Yunxi was seducing her, and specifically sent photos, not even a video! It was so atmospheric from a static perspective, it was really difficult to refuse.
After a while, Lu You replied to Yue Yunxi reservedly: [Wait for the opportunity]
It was also reminding herself that no matter how much she wanted to go, she had to take it slow, after all, it was a secret base that even Yue Yunxi’s mother didn’t know about, it was too private.
It was better to wait a little longer.
She thought she was thinking very comprehensively, and her reply was also very decent, but she never thought that this “opportunity” would break the plan and come earlier in the change.