MTMIO Chapter 51
by VolareChapter 51: Very Good
Lu You lowered her eyes, her gaze fixed on the moon clay shaped like antlers that Yue Yunxi had pinned on her shoe.
Curved, with the tips lightly dabbed with crimson powder, like a shy kiss on the antlers.
The soft warmth that brushed against her ear was fleeting, making it hard to tell if it was an accidental touch, or… something intentional.
The sliding door glided along the floor track, slowly reaching its end, and Yue Yunxi retreated to her original position along with it.
Lu You’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she raised her eyes, her gaze landing directly on the other woman’s lips.
Cherry red in color.
The words “cherry bomb” flashed through her mind, and she felt the touched ear burning, as if it were on fire.
Noticing where her gaze had landed, Yue Yunxi opened her mouth slightly, as if trying to draw in more oxygen.
The silent atmosphere seemed compressed, overflowing with something indescribable, filling the space between them.
Lu You lowered her head again, and said in a muffled voice, “I… I’ll pay attention next time.”
Yue Yunxi didn’t immediately understand the meaning and implications behind her words. “Pay attention to what?”
“…”
Lu You looked at her, silent.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Yue Yunxi finally understood, her eyelids lifted, and something in her gaze melted like spring ice.
Lu You’s heart skipped a beat, and she turned to leave.
A soft laugh, wrapped in undisguised pleasure, rubbed against the air, carrying warmth and reaching her ears clearly.
Lu You felt her whole body heating up, and the doorknob she was holding instantly warmed in her palm.
After going outside, she subconsciously raised her hand to touch her ear.
The moment her fingertip made contact, the scene from just now was evoked, appearing in her mind, the soft, moist touch permeating from her memory.
To the right of the corridor, Grandma and Auntie Liu came out of the second bedroom, walking side by side towards this side. From a distance, they saw Lu You standing by the master bedroom door, holding her ear.
As they got closer, and saw her still in this pose, Grandma asked with concern, “What’s wrong with your ear?”
Lu You’s head and body seemed to have rusted, she froze for a moment, before slowly lowering her hand. “What?”
“Your ear! It’s bright red.” Grandma stared at her left ear.
The sound of footsteps behind her grew closer and closer, and just as Grandma finished speaking, Yue Yunxi stopped on the left ear side.
Lu You turned her head, raised her eyelids, and watched as Yue Yunxi’s gaze swept over her eyes, slightly averted, and dropped down a little.
“What’s going on?” Grandma asked.
Lu You brushed her hair over to cover her seemingly melting ear, then touched the tip of her nose, and made up a story: “A mosquito bit me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt the gaze fixed on her left ear shift away, and couldn’t help but glance sideways.
Yue Yunxi seemed to have just come back to her senses, raised her hand to her lips, and coughed lightly.
Lu You expressionlessly looked away.
“Hey, how did it bite you there?” Grandma said, finding it strange.
Two more soft coughs.
Lu You said sarcastically, “I don’t know, it must be a clueless mosquito.”
Grandma was amused.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yue Yunxi turned her head towards her, probably laughing openly.
Lu You restrained herself from turning to look at her, changing the subject. “Let’s go, let’s go eat, I’m so hungry.”
“You guys go down first, I’ll go back to the room to get something.” Yue Yunxi pushed open the door and went inside.
Grandma and Auntie Liu walked ahead, holding onto the handrail to go downstairs. Lu You followed slowly behind, looking back every few steps.
As she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Yue Yunxi come out of the room, and she stopped involuntarily.
Yue Yunxi took three steps in two, quickly reaching her side, and asked with a smile, “Were you waiting for me?”
“Would you believe me if I said no?”
Yue Yunxi followed her downstairs, saying clearly, “I don’t want to believe it.”
Instead of asking “Do you think I believe you?” and throwing the question back at her, or confidently answering “I don’t believe it,” she said “I don’t want to believe it,” and the difference in those words gave the listener a completely different feeling.
Like in a tug-of-war game, the other person didn’t pull too hard, nor did they let go directly, but sincerely stated their position, completely relinquishing the initiative.
Lu You paused, stopping momentarily.
In that gap, Yue Yunxi stepped firmly on the step she was on, and continued downstairs alongside her.
The quiet atmosphere in the gap between them was like an invisible bubble, being squeezed and deformed with each step, but never breaking, making her want to say something to pop it.
Lu You casually asked, “What did you go back to the room to get just now?”
As they reached the flat ground, Yue Yunxi held out her hand to her: “This.”
Lu You lowered her eyes to look.
In the very center of her delicate, pink palm lay a small, round aluminum tin, with white and green colors and red Thai writing.
It was an 8g tin of Thai herbal mosquito repellent.
Lu You’s eyes twitched uncontrollably, and she suddenly raised her long eyelashes, directly meeting Yue Yunxi’s peaceful, smiling eyes.
“Is it behaving itself now?” Yue Yunxi lowered her voice, asking softly and earnestly.
It was clearly a teasing remark, but coming from her mouth, it became a gentle cooperation.
Lu You: “…”
At this moment, Grandma and Auntie Liu were admiring the decorative paintings in the living room, waiting for the two younger ones to come over, but they hadn’t come down for a long time, so Grandma looked back.
She saw the two of them standing by the stairs like two wooden posts.
The green plants used as decoration in the room partially obscured their view, blocking most of their line of sight, making it difficult to see what the two were doing.
Grandma tugged at Auntie Liu’s sleeve and said, “Let’s go, let’s go see what those two are doing, they haven’t come down for ages.”
Hearing Grandma’s footsteps approaching, Lu You finally snapped out of her speechless state, and was about to leave.
Grandma took the lead and stopped in front of them, noticing the round tin in Yue Yunxi’s hand. “What’s this?”
“It’s herbal balm,” Yue Yunxi explained in a serious manner. “After being bitten by mosquitoes, you can put a little on to relieve the itching.”
“Oh, oh, I know this, we have it at home too, Yoyo bought it, but it’s in a glass bottle.” Grandma remembered something and said, “Eh?” Then she raised her eyes, and her gaze swept towards the left side of Lu You’s face. “Wasn’t your ear bitten by a mosquito? Did you put this on?”
It was very subtle, and Lu You’s first reaction was not to answer Grandma’s question, but to turn her head to Yue Yunxi for help.
Yue Yunxi was also looking at her, with a soft gaze that revealed a hint of innocence, as if she didn’t know what she meant.
Lu You pursed her lips, her gaze turned to Grandma, and her hand involuntarily raised up.
Just as her fingertip was about to touch the tip of her nose, and she was about to speak, she heard Yue Yunxi say, “She already put it on.”
Grandma nodded, pointed to the herbal balm in Yue Yunxi’s hand, and instructed Lu You, “If it itches, put some of this on, don’t always use your hands to rub and scratch, it’ll just make it red.”
Lu You absentmindedly responded.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yue Yunxi had already withdrawn her hand, not putting the herbal balm directly into her coat pocket, but instead playing with the round tin with her fingertips, tossing it lightly into the air, and then catching it steadily in her hand.
Lu You suddenly had a feeling—
She was like that round tin just now, the ups and downs of her mood completely controlled by the other person.
ˉ
Dinner was Cantonese cuisine, at a restaurant recommended by Yue Yunxi, located on the fourth floor of the largest shopping mall nearby.
It was just past peak hours, and there were quite a few people in the restaurant. Only the semi-open area had seats available, a small table for four next to a wooden half-window, with the mall’s corridor outside.
The menu was brought over, and from the pictures, the dishes were all about elegance and freshness.
After ordering, Lu You said goodbye to Grandma, and left the restaurant to go to the mall’s restroom.
The sinks and stalls were in two separate spaces, with a row of white porcelain sinks lined up, and a large mirror pasted on the white porcelain wall.
Lu You stood in front of the sink, facing the mirror, using one hand to tidy her loose long hair, and the other to reach into the knitted bag she was carrying across her body.
After a few seconds, she lowered her head, and opened the bag to search carefully.
After a while, her hand came out of the bag, empty.
She looked up, and through the mirror saw Yue Yunxi suddenly appearing behind her on the right, and Lu You jumped in fright.
Yue Yunxi looked at her gently, and said with a smile, “Did I scare you?”
“When did you come over?”
“Probably when you were looking in your bag.” Yue Yunxi went to the sink next to her, and applied a thick layer of lip balm to her red lips. “What are you looking for? You were so focused.”
“A hair tie.” Lu You tightened the drawstring of her crossbody bag, watching Yue Yunxi take out a tissue and remove all of her lipstick. “I remember putting one in my bag as a spare, but I don’t know if I remembered wrong, or if I accidentally dropped it.”
“Wait for me for a moment.” Yue Yunxi threw the used tissue into the trash can, and then took out a hair tie and a long, thin object from her bag. “Use this.”
Lu You took a closer look, and Yue Yunxi handed her that long, thin object.
It was the laurel hairpin she had made.
Lu You took the hairpin, and asked hesitantly, “You, you’ve been keeping this… on you?”
“No, I usually keep it in the house. Today, when I was getting the herbal balm, I saw it, so I put it in my bag.” Yue Yunxi held the hair tie, and turned her head to say regretfully, “Originally, I wanted you to help me do my hair.”
“Then why didn’t you give me the hair tie?”
“I was afraid you’d reject me.”
Lu You lowered her head, rubbed the hairpin a few times, and walked behind Yue Yunxi.
“What are you doing?” Yue Yunxi asked.
“You know the answer.”
Lu You gathered her hair, hearing a soft laugh, and turned her head slightly, seeing Yue Yunxi in the opposite mirror, her starry eyes half-lowered, her lips without makeup, pursed into a faint crimson color.
As if biting on solidified shyness.
She had a very light fragrance, like frozen orange pulp.
A cold sweetness within the coldness.
Lu You took a small, deep breath, and quickly helped Yue Yunxi do her hair, reaching out her hand and saying, “Give me the hair tie.”
The black hair tie was gently placed in her palm.
Lu You closed her hand, and hurriedly made a messy bun. “Going back… together?”
Yue Yunxi smiled and said, “Of course.”
The restroom was a distance from the restaurant, and the two walked together, neither of them speaking, and the silence seemed subtle in the noisy background of the mall.
Lu You couldn’t help but break the atmosphere, “You recommended this Cantonese restaurant, was it especially to cater to Grandma’s dietary needs, or is your own eating like this…”
She paused, carefully choosing her words, “Healthy.”
“Do you think it’s bland?” Yue Yunxi asked instead of answering.
Lu You glanced at her, “Do you have some kind of mind-reading magic?”
“If I did, that would be great.” Yue Yunxi said with a soft laugh, “I just understand your tastes a little bit after eating together a few times.”
“…”
Before entering, Yue Yunxi said to her, “Believe me, the food here is not bad.”
It was indeed not bad, the dishes were on the table, the portions were just right, and the saltiness was moderate.
Grandma ate very contentedly, and praised Yue Yunxi for her good recommendation.
“The reviews said they changed the chef, and the signature pigeon isn’t as good as before, and the oyster omelet isn’t as good either,” Yue Yunxi said. “In a couple of days, I’ll buy the ingredients and make it for you at home.”
“I’m in for a treat.” Grandma glanced at Lu You. “Look at Yunxi.”
Lu You had just picked up a chopstick of food and put it in her mouth, pretending to be silly and turning her head to look at Yue Yunxi, slowly swallowing the food while admiring her beauty, picking up her cup, taking a sip of water, and opening her mouth to comment. “Mm, beautiful.”
Yue Yunxi lightly raised that eyebrow on her side, then turned her face to meet her gaze, with something in her eyes rippling along with the slightly raised corner of her mouth.
As if she was pleased by her praise.
When people with such high looks have even their eyebrows and eyes dyed with a smile, it’s really a bit unfair.
Lu You lowered her eyebrows and eyes, and picked up her cup again, taking a sip of water to suppress her accelerating heartbeat.
“I’m not telling you to really look at people,” Grandma said amusingly. “I’m telling you to look at how she can also cook.”
“The way you say that, it’s like I can’t.”
“Then you make a meal for us to try later.”
Lu You “tsk”ed. “So that’s what you were waiting for. Well, I can’t.”
“Slick tongue.” The old lady scolded her, then turned to look at Yue Yunxi. “Do you usually cook for yourself at home?”
“Basically, yes, sometimes I get lazy.” Yue Yunxi said, “I don’t know how to cook many dishes, does Grandma have any specialties that she can teach me?”
Touching on something she was good at, Auntie Liu also joined the conversation.
Lu You didn’t participate in the discussion, eating and listening, silently learning from them.
The customers who had entered the restaurant before them left the table, and a group of people passed by, one of the girls saying, “Did you guys watch the new episode of ‘Sing to You’? I’ve become a fan of Tao Xin because of it, ‘Food of the Wild’ is so good!”
“Me too, me too! She’s really talented, she wrote the lyrics and music, and it’s said to be written for her girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend! Damn, I like her even more.”
“Didn’t they say she had a bad temper and was ostracized by everyone?”
“It’s been reversed, it’s actually that those people were jealous of her achievements and bullying her!”
The sound of the discussion faded as the distance grew.
The words “Food of the Wild” and “girlfriend” were familiar, but a thick sense of unfamiliarity spread through them.
Lu You was a little dazed, propping her head with her left hand, and tilting her head to look out the window at the group of people who had already left the store and were passing by.
Her gaze shifted, and she realized that among the long posters hanging from the high atrium of the mall, there was a mechanical watch brand endorsed by Tao Xin.
The bottom was printed with Tao Xin’s photo.
“Yoyo.”
Lu You turned her head to look at Grandma: “Mm?”
“That matter with the fanatic fan today, find a chance to talk to Tao Xin about it? No matter what, that person is her fan, and running over to do these things is all because of her. Let her restrain her fans.”
Lu You pursed her lips, and didn’t say anything.
Even the person being stalked can’t control the crazy behavior of private fans, so there’s no need to establish contact with Tao Xin again for this matter. But it was difficult to say this directly, it would only make Grandma more worried.
Lu You was wondering how to fool her, when she heard Yue Yunxi say, “I’ll talk to her later.”
It would be better for Yue Yunxi to come forward in this matter than for Lu You, who had already broken up with Tao Xin, to talk about it.
Grandma didn’t reject the suggestion, but said embarrassedly, “You’re really troubling you.”
Yue Yunxi said with a smile, “It’s no trouble, it’s all small matters.”
The restaurant was running an anniversary event, and gave a dessert of red bean soup after the meal. Lu You scooped a spoonful, delicate and sweet, filling her heart.
Perhaps troubling Yue Yunxi reminded Grandma of the matter of staying here, and the old lady suddenly asked Yue Yunxi, “Why don’t you tell your mother that you bought a house here?”
Lu You wanted to interrupt to let Grandma skip this topic, but she didn’t know what to say or how to say it, and in a hurry, she choked on her yogurt, and immediately coughed like a storm.
“Oh,” Grandma quickly handed her a tissue, and poured her a glass of water and pushed it over. “What’s the rush, no one’s fighting over it with you.”
Lu You coughed so hard she couldn’t speak, and waved her hand in response.
Yue Yunxi reached her hand to her back, not staying for too long, only patting her two or three times.
It was as natural as if she couldn’t bear to see her coughing so badly, so she was just patting her to help her breathe.
“How is it?” Grandma pushed the glass of water in front of her again. “Drink some water.”
“Better.” Lu You recovered, thinking that although she had almost coughed to death on the spot, at least she had diverted the topic.
The next second, as if the interlude of her choking on the yogurt had never happened, Grandma looked at Yue Yunxi and continued, “She was even sad before, saying that she didn’t even know where her daughter lived, she’s a pretty bad mother.”
“…”
Lu You supported her forehead and closed her eyes.
Yue Yunxi glanced at her, the pursed red lips curving upwards, before explaining in a gentle tone, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell her. It’s just that every time I tell her something, she promises to keep it a secret, but Tao Xin pesters her to ask for two days, and she tells Tao Xin everything. If Tao Xin knew about this place, she would definitely run over here from time to time.”
Grandma said with a smile, “Sisters always like to stick to their older sisters.”
Yue Yunxi smiled silently.
——”She doesn’t love me, and she doesn’t love you, she only loves that Jiaojiao.”
Lu You remembered what Chu Xiao had said.
To this day, she still couldn’t confirm the truth of those words, but since she had been instilled with this knowledge, she did feel that Tao Xin’s feelings for Yue Yunxi had exceeded those of ordinary sisters.
How much did Yue Yunxi know about this?
Staring at Yue Yunxi for a while, she couldn’t discern any extra emotions from her calm and ordinary eyebrows and eyes, and Lu You slowly breathed out, turning her head to look out the window.
The posters hanging down from the atrium above were so straight, but from her perspective, the photos printed on the posters seemed a bit distorted.
“Her identity is relatively special, and if she always runs over here and gets photographed, it would be more troublesome.” Yue Yunxi and Grandma’s conversation was still continuing.
Having experienced today’s events, Grandma deeply understood, nodded in agreement. “It’s quite troublesome… Have you told your mother about these things?”
Yue Yunxi shook her head.
“You can talk to her properly about these things, let her understand your thoughts, and she definitely won’t tell Tao Xin,” Grandma said hesitantly. “Be understanding of each other.”
Yue Yunxi said obediently, “Okay, I understand, I’ll chat with her properly next time.”
“Your mother, she’s actually not easy either.”
Grandma seemed to have thought of something, her eyes shifted slightly, stopping on Lu You, her gaze unfocused, as if she was looking through her, thinking of someone else.
Yue Yunxi followed Grandma to look at Lu You, her gaze paused slightly, and then followed the latter’s gaze to look out the window.
Her gaze caught the person in the poster, touched it, and then quickly retracted, falling heavily into the cup in front of her.
Yue Yunxi picked up the teacup, and shook it in her hand, shaking the water so much that ripples spread out, and asked softly, “Are you full?”
Lu You and Grandma both regained their senses one after the other, and responded.
Yue Yunxi suggested, “Do you want to go to the supermarket downstairs and take a look? See if there’s anything you want to add, and take a walk to digest.”
Everyone happily agreed.
Getting up from their seats, Grandma pulled Auntie Liu to go to the mall’s restroom. Lu You went to the front desk to pay the bill, and went with Yue Yunxi to the railing outside the store to wait for Grandma and Auntie Liu.
Across the way on the third floor was the mechanical watch store endorsed by Tao Xin, the store being even bigger than the one in Mingda Shopping Mall. The posters of the brand’s three endorsers each occupied one wall. Tao Xin’s was in the center, the pose being a hand stroking her hair back from the front, showcasing the watch on her wrist.
“Are you interested in that brand of watch?” Yue Yunxi suddenly asked.
Lu You turned her face.
“Another brand is better.” Yue Yunxi raised her hand, and tucked a strand of long hair on the side of her face behind her ear.
Lu You’s eyes were drawn to the watch on Yue Yunxi’s wrist.
The stainless steel band, showing its steady temperament, the day and night display area on the watch face was just a crescent moon.
Very suitable for its owner.
Lu You asked with a smile, “The brand of the one you’re wearing?”
Yue Yunxi put her hand on the railing between the two of them, with her hand just a fist’s distance away, as if showing her the watch on her wrist, and replied even more openly, “Mm, interested?”
Lu You curled her hand, and didn’t answer.
Two minutes ago, when she was looking at the poster and spacing out, she had a fleeting thought of the brand of watch that Tao Xin had given her.
But she always felt that watches were cumbersome, and only wore it two or three times before putting it back in the box.
Later, Tao Xin lost her own watch, so she took hers to use, and bought a pocket watch to give her.
The pocket watch was used even less than the wristwatch, because she would often forget to put it in her pocket.
Without the habit of wearing watches, she naturally wasn’t very interested in them.
But glancing out of the corner of her eye, looking at the cold material of the watch band circling Yue Yunxi’s slender wrist, she couldn’t say the words “not very interested” at all.
Lu You couldn’t even tell if they were talking about watches at this moment, or something else.
Yue Yunxi’s softened voice had a bewitching taste. “I’ll take you to the store to take a look when I have the chance. Maybe if you look at it a few more times, and learn more about it, you’ll start to like it.”
The hidden meaning suddenly became even stronger.
Lu You pondered for a moment, and finally reacted, “Why did you think I was interested in that brand of watch just now?”
The topic was too abrupt, and Yue Yunxi was stunned for a moment before answering, “You were looking at it for a long time.”
Her tone was calm, not revealing any emotion, but Lu You inexplicably had the feeling that the other person was very aggrieved, and almost blurted out an explanation: “I was actually spacing out just now, thinking about what to buy at the supermarket.”
Yue Yunxi looked at her, and a shallow arc slowly spread across her lips, asking, “Have you thought about what to buy yet?”
“I’ve thought about it.” Lu You changed the subject slyly, “But, I forgot because I was interrupted.”
Yue Yunxi chuckled, “My fault.”
Her almost doting cooperation made Lu You’s already small sense of propriety disappear, and she stubbornly developed a “take an inch, want a mile” mentality, “Your apology doesn’t seem very sincere.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Grandma’s voice came from behind her.
“There were a bunch of people gathered near the restroom, and the two of us thought they were all in line, and stood there for a long time before we realized someone was arguing.”
A little closer, Grandma waved her hand and said, “Let’s go, let’s go to the supermarket.”
Lu You was about to go over, when she heard Yue Yunxi’s lowered voice in her ear.
“I’ll compensate you later.”
Whether it was because her ears were too sensitive, or because Yue Yunxi deliberately made her words too ambiguous with a breathy voice, a slight itchiness permeated from the inside out.
Along with the panic of being afraid that Grandma would see such intimate behavior, the temperature of the skin behind her ears was very high.
After leaving those words, Yue Yunxi walked to the front to lead the way for Grandma, casually asking, “What were they arguing about?”
Grandma originally wanted to ask what little secrets they were talking about, but hearing this, her thoughts were instantly diverted, and she replied, “A little boy went into the women’s restroom to peek through the cracks, and a little girl said something to him, so the little boy’s mother grabbed her and started arguing.”
Yue Yunxi was more skilled at naturally diverting the topic.
Lu You rubbed her ear and walked behind, silently breathing a sigh of relief.
“That mother was so fierce, the little girl was scared to tears,” Auntie Liu said.
Lu You suddenly remembered the gossip she had heard when she was eating noodles in Moon Village in West City not long ago——
“I still remember her slandering my son for going into the women’s restroom to peek.”
Yue Yunxi had also experienced something similar when she was little.
Lu You raised her eyes.
In front, Yue Yunxi was walking next to Grandma with a slight slant, and the expression revealed on half of her face was very calm. Lu You couldn’t catch any special emotions from her.
Maybe as she got older, Yue Yunxi didn’t care about that past anymore.
But not caring didn’t mean that the hurt hadn’t existed.
Lu You thought with regret and annoyance that she should have retorted to that aunt a few more times back then.
“I just heard the people in line say that the kid’s dad was smoking outside, and his mom brought his son in because she was worried,” Auntie Liu said.
“Some people are just decorations when they’re dads.” Thinking that her own son was also just as bad, Grandma turned her head to look at Lu You, and called out to Yue Yunxi, “Did you bring that herbal balm?”
“I brought it.”
“Put some more on Yoyo’s ear.” Grandma pointed to Lu You. “She’s scratching her ear again.”
Hearing Grandma mention herself, Lu You withdrew her scattered thoughts, lowered her hand holding her ear, and looked blank, not understanding the situation.
Until Yue Yunxi walked in front of her, handed over the herbal balm, and asked in a gentle voice, suppressing her laughter, “Why is it itchy again now, were you bitten again? Why does it always bite your ear?”
Hidden in the feigned concern was a tease that only she could understand.
Lu You: “…”
She had almost forgotten about this rotten joke.
Snatching the herbal balm from Yue Yunxi’s hand, Lu You stroked the lid of the tin with her fingertip, the residual warmth remaining on it, pursed her lips and smiled:
“Maybe, it only dares to bite my ear.”
Yue Yunxi was stunned, her gaze lingered on her fingertip for a few seconds, and as she lifted her eyelashes, the corner of her mouth turned up, and she chuckled.
She didn’t say anything, but Lu You imagined two words.
Very good.