MTMIO Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Butterflies Dancing in Her Stomach

Throwing the deer plushie back into the box, Lu You yanked up the side of the box and closed it. She struggled to press it shut and pull the zipper, getting angrier the more she tried.

Why did she say she was escaping? What was she escaping from?

A mute gourd couldn’t squeeze out a single effective explanation, and yet she said she was escaping!

Why was she so sure she needed to change her environment? Why did she pack her luggage in advance?

And packed it so full! She only moved things around slightly, and the zipper wouldn’t close!

Why did she go to Chen Feifei to help adjust her mood?

Who was whose best friend, anyway!

Why did she presume to understand her and arbitrarily control her life!

The zipper finally clicked into the lock. Lu You stood the suitcase upright, transitioning from panting to deep breaths. Then, she squatted down powerlessly, resting her forehead on the suitcase.

She let out a long sigh.

Her annoyance was like white charcoal burning in a brazier, crackling and popping.

And the recognition of facts and bias was like a handful of lukewarm water.

Just because Yue Yunxi was doing all this while still positioning herself as her considerate and thoughtful girlfriend.

They hadn’t developed to the point they were at now.

She knew this very well, and understood it clearly.

It was because Yue Yunxi, as her lover, was attentive enough that she understood her so well.

It was love that was scattered in every detail.

Like nutrients in the soil.

The concentration was so pure that it burned the roots and stems until they rotted.

And burned it so deeply into her heart.

—

Chen Feifei’s hometown was in the neighboring Tong City, located in a rural village in the suburbs, which could not be reached directly by high-speed rail.

First a bus, then a public bus, and it was around five in the afternoon when she finally arrived at the entrance of the village.

Chen Feifei was already waiting at the drop-off point, sitting on a semi-old scooter.

Lu You handed her the suitcase and turned to support herself on a tree trunk, vomiting. She had no appetite before leaving, and she hadn’t eaten much of the noodles Auntie Liu had cooked, so she had already digested it.

There was nothing to throw up. Her stomach cramped painfully for a long time before she recovered.

Chen Feifei handed her a bottle of water. “Carsick? Are you okay?”

“…Mm.”

“Tsk, it’s closer to drive on the highway, I don’t know what you were thinking, insisting on taking the high-speed rail.” Chen Feifei picked up her suitcase and wedged it horizontally on the scooter. “Damn, it’s so heavy, what did you pack in here?”

“…I don’t know, I didn’t pack it.” Lu You took another two sips of water.

Chen Feifei sat in the front, told her to get on the scooter, and teased, “Oh~ the goddess packed it for you, huh.”

“Yue Yunxi and I…” Lu You paused, hesitating how to define their current relationship.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Feifei winked playfully. “Are the tricks I taught you especially useful? Did you finally switch roles, and the pillow princess was willing to be a top for love, letting you enjoy it too?”

Lu You was just about to lift her leg to get on the scooter. The large movement pulled at the root of her thigh, and the faint soreness became particularly clear with Chen Feifei’s teasing.

She didn’t quite manage to get on.

“…”

Chen Feifei glanced at her. “Damn, really? Come on, tell me all about it.”

“Tell you what? I’m really impressed, you’re spouting nonsense in the middle of the road.”

“There’s no one here.” Chen Feifei shrugged. Not to mention people, there were very few cars, only passing by occasionally. She became even more outrageous. “May I ask, how’s the goddess’s technique? How does it feel to be a bottom? Is it good?”

“…Is that a ‘may I ask’?”

It was very presumptuous, okay!

Chen Feifei looked very innocent and relented. “Then you can answer the last one.”

“…”

The Chinese language is profound and subtle.

Lu You ground her back molars and squeezed out one word. “Good.”

Chen Feifei giggled. “Oh yo~”

“And then we had a conflict.” Lu You sat on the back seat and said, “It was a pretty bad fight, and now… I don’t even know how to describe it, what kind of relationship it should be considered.”

Chen Feifei stopped giggling. “That serious?” She asked in surprise, “What did you fight about?”

Then she suddenly realized, “No wonder the goddess asked me to invite you to come play. So you’re unhappy because of the conflict?”

“There’s also something else…”

She couldn’t tell if it was a stomachache or a lower abdominal pain. Maybe it was both. Her entire stomach and abdomen were uncomfortable, probably because of the stomach cramps just now. Lu You put on her helmet. “It’s a long story. First, take me to your house to get something to eat. I’m hungry and cold right now.”

“Okay.” Chen Feifei also put on her helmet. “You’re in for a treat today. This great chef personally cooked a genuine free-range chicken for you. The kids next door are crying with envy! I haven’t stir-fried the vegetables yet, so help me out for a bit, and wash the dishes together after we eat, don’t think I’m going to treat you like a guest~”

“Okay~”

Lu You smiled, but that little curve froze on the corner of her mouth after the sound faded.

Because she involuntarily recalled some scenes, as if a clip was automatically playing, one segment connecting to the next, appearing uncontrollably.

—”When they hadn’t yet confirmed their relationship, Yue Yunxi was cooking.

She opened the kitchen door and went in, asking Yue Yunxi, “Do you need any help? Chef Yue?”

Yue Yunxi handed her an onion and told her to cut it.

She cut it until her eyes were full of tears, pretending to sob and singing, “If you are willing to peel away my heart layer by layer, you will be saddened, you will shed tears, as long as you can hear and see my wholeheartedness…”

After cutting the onion, she put down the knife. Before her sobbing singing had finished, Yue Yunxi was behind her, very close.

So close that she could feel the curve of her back pressed against her.

Yue Yunxi reached from behind her to the front, took the onion, and tilted her head to say in her ear, “Perhaps, this song is more suitable for me to sing.”

Caught off guard by the close proximity, she hadn’t even noticed the sound of footsteps. Surprised, she turned her head, and the moment their noses touched, her mind was filled with the next line of the lyrics—ambiguous air.

“Then sing it.”

“No, my spokesperson has already sung it for me.”

“Who’s your spokesperson? You haven’t even paid the endorsement fee.”

“Is a dinner enough?”

“Barely…”

—”After dinner, Auntie Liu received a video call from her daughter abroad.

She cleaned up the table and carried the plates into the kitchen. Not long after, Yue Yunxi brought the rest of the plates over.

She was responsible for washing the dishes, and Yue Yunxi was responsible for wiping them clean of water stains.

The water washed away the bubbles of the dish soap, and she asked, “Why didn’t you buy a dishwasher?”

Yue Yunxi replied, “I never thought there would be so many people eating together in this house.”

She was stunned for a moment and didn’t pay attention. She hadn’t emptied the water from the plate and handed it directly to Yue Yunxi.

Splashing Yue Yunxi’s front with dampness.

“…I understand, I’ll buy one tomorrow.”

“Actually… washing dishes together is quite interesting.” she said.”

—”They had just done it once, and Yue Yunxi wanted to do it again. She said, “If I say I’m hungry, will it make me seem very incapable?”

Yue Yunxi kissed her lips, then kissed between her two moist, sticky fingers, and chuckled softly, “Of course not, then I’ll feed the top first, then feed them.”

Her face burned. Covering her face, she heard her stomach rumble in the lingering scent. All that was left to be done to her was to sprinkle some cumin on her to be fully cooked.

Until she heard Yue Yunxi leave the room, she didn’t care about being shy and immediately followed.

Afraid of disturbing Grandma, the two tiptoed into the kitchen under the moonlight, took a pot and bowls, and went to the study to cook instant noodles.

The boiling water in the pot rolled with bubbles, and a rich aroma permeated the rising steam.

She rested her chin on Yue Yunxi’s shoulder, looking at the pot and saying, “I don’t know why, when I look at these bubbles, I think of those transparent candies, but they don’t look alike at all, and they don’t smell sweet.”

Yue Yunxi understood her very well and said with a smile, “It’s because your heart is very sweet.”

And now, in her memories, they were winding out cracks one by one.

All turned into glass candy.

Still sweet, but the memory was painful when chewed.

“Oh, right, there’s a banquet to eat in a few days, the next-door neighbor is holding a wedding banquet, and they sent the invitation this afternoon. I’ll check the specific time later.”

Chen Feifei intentionally wanted to comfort her, chatting about this and that, saying whatever came to mind.

It was hard to say if it was useful, but at least it could distract her.

But Lu You still spaced out at a certain moment, listening to the sound of the wind whistling in her ears, and thinking of Yue Yunxi again.

Wondering if she also had someone to comfort her.

So after getting off the scooter and saying hello to Auntie Chen, Lu You took out her phone and sent a message to Yun Zhu, telling her to keep Yue Yunxi company these days when she was free.

Chen Feifei hooked her arm and glanced at it subconsciously. She noticed the avatar with bamboo leaves and gilded gold on the screen. Her expression paused, but she quickly withdrew her gaze, pretending that she hadn’t noticed anything.

Yun Zhu asked: [Where are you?]

Lu You didn’t think much about it and replied directly: [At Feifei’s hometown]

Walking into the small kitchen, Yun Zhu quoted her first message and replied: [OK]

Switching out of the window, Lu You glanced at the pinned contact.

[Full Moon] had become [New Moon].

—”I saw you changed your WeChat nickname… the ratio of shadows and highlights on that moon symbol has changed. Does it represent a change in your mood?”

—”It also represents a state of emotion.”

—”Will you love all of me?”

A completely black, complete moon.

Lu You paused.

A speck of ink on the screen permeated into her vision, staining her heart, like a black hole, dragging her emotions and thoughts into it.

Until Chen Feifei asked her, “What’s wrong?”

Lu You came back to her senses, put away her phone, and shook her head.

She helped Chen Feifei, sitting in front of the stove, adding firewood to the fire, and briefly chatted about what happened yesterday.

Chen Feifei’s response was like the firelight in the stove.

Sometimes it continued to bite the wood, crackling and popping for a while; sometimes a little bit of scarlet was hidden in the charred wood, hesitant to speak; sometimes it was jumping, suddenly lit up, and quickly went out again.

For example, after learning about the “aesthetics” of her going from top to bottom.

“No, are you serious? You actually yielded to her on this kind of thing?! You… I… I don’t even know what to say to you, are you so unconcerned about your thing?”

“It’s not like children playing house. Didn’t she not care when she gave it to me with the intention of breaking up?”

“Is my goddess furious?”

“Yes, your goddess is furious.”

Chen Feifei moved the vinegar to the side and said, “Let’s be objective, standing from Teacher Yue’s perspective, it’s quite infuriating. If I were her, I would directly make you unable to get out of bed, making you cry until you pay me back.”

Lu You poked the charcoal fire with the iron tongs. “No, Chen Feifei, whose best friend are you anyway?”

“Putting that aside, it’s all Teacher Yue’s problem!” Chen Feifei quickly corrected her attitude. “Don’t worry, if you two break up, I’ll give you part of hers.”

“Give it to me to be a spy.” Lu You suddenly realized, “Hey? Why don’t you call her goddess anymore?”

“Call her my ass.” Chen Feifei stir-fried the vinegar-stirred cabbage and said, “If I keep calling her that, I’ll be pickled by the vinegar in the air, and I won’t even know to put vinegar in the dish.”

Lu You “tsk”ed and said, “I’m not jealous.”

Her movement of poking the charcoal fire paused. She looked up and looked at the sky outside the window, which had already been dyed black by the ink.

The window was too low to see the moon, only a street lamp that looked very much like the moon.

“Do you know how to make vinegar-soaked eggs?” she asked unconsciously.

“What?” Chen Feifei didn’t hear clearly. “Not enough fire!”

Lu You lowered her head, her gaze returning to the stove, and said softly, “It’s nothing.”

Even if she knew how to make them, it wouldn’t be the vinegar-soaked eggs she wanted.

In the evening, they ate the braised chicken that made the kids next door cry with envy.

The kid next door wasn’t so little anymore. She had just turned eighteen last month. Her parents were divorced, and she lived alone. She usually lived at school and went to Nanquan to see Chen Feifei with her living expenses during holidays.

She came to freeload a meal and washed the dishes very sensibly.

Chen Feifei flipped out the sky cards that she often played with the old people when she was little. Adding Auntie Chen, the four of them sat around the dining table in the small kitchen, playing cards.

The thin and long playing cards had patterns on them that looked a lot like mahjong.

—”If you lose, I’ll pay for it all.”

Lu You was distracted for a moment while holding the cards.

She lost from beginning to end that night.

All to herself.

After the card game ended, when she was getting ready to sleep after washing up, Lu You realized that her period had come.

Chen Feifei rummaged through the cabinets in the bedroom but couldn’t find a single sanitary pad. She asked the girl next door, but she didn’t have any either, as they were all in the dormitory.

It was the back of beyond. There were no supermarkets, let alone deliveries.

Chen Feifei knocked on the door and said to Lu You in the bathroom, “I’ll knock on the other houses and ask to borrow some.”

“Ah? Wait, I have some in my suitcase.” Lu You remembered and said.

After a while, Chen Feifei knocked on the door and stuffed a pad to her: “What you have is not a suitcase but a treasure box. Does your stomach hurt?”

“…It hurts.” Lu You came out of the bathroom, covering her lower abdomen, her face pale, leaning weakly against the door frame.

It hurt like hell, even more than before.

“Take some medicine.” Chen Feifei handed her Eve and water. “Go lie down on the bed after you take it. I’ll go fill a hot water bottle and heat up a salt pack.”

Hearing the second half of the sentence, Lu You was stunned for a moment as she put the medicine into her mouth.

Chen Feifei stuffed her phone into her hand. “I’m going to fill the hot water bottle. You go back to your room, and help me charge my phone. The charger is on the bedside table.”

Lu You lowered her head. Chen Feifei’s phone screen was still lit.

It was on the chat window with Yue Yunxi.

Chen Feifei: [SOS! YoYo said you packed her suitcase. Do you know where she put her sanitary pads?]

Yue Yunxi: [Next to the lingerie on the right, in the pink bag.]

Yue Yunxi: [She doesn’t have much flow on the first day, so 270mm pads should be enough. But her stomach and back will hurt. There are hot water bottles and coarse salt packs under the sanitary pad bag. Please fill the hot water bottle with hot water and wrap it in clothes to warm her waist. Heat the coarse salt pack for two minutes and apply it to her stomach. If the pain is unbearable, there are two zippered pockets side by side on top of the suitcase. There is Eve in the left pocket.]

The medicine melted on her tongue, and the water washed it down, leaving a bitter taste, like the powder shaken off by fluttering butterfly wings.

Butterflies in one’s stomach.

And butterflies were dancing in her stomach.

The effect of her leaving Yue Yunxi was gradually reflecting in her life without Yue Yunxi.