After Escaping Marriage - Extra 31
Chapter 174: Extra 3 - Parallel World (End)
“Didn’t you say your back was sore when you woke up this morning?”
Cheng Zhanxi’s pretty face flushed red.
She opened her mouth but didn’t refute it. She walked over to the sofa, picked up Momo, and sat down. Her fingers combed through the cat’s fur, which Yu Qingtang had groomed until it was sleek and glossy, as she whispered to him, “Your mommy is getting naughtier and naughtier.”
And wasn’t she? Not long ago, one of Cheng Zhanxi’s paintings had won a major international award, standing out from over 300 participating artists. At the invitation of the organizers, she held her first-ever solo exhibition in Paris.
She was only twenty, an overnight sensation who had achieved fame at a young age. Her teacher, classmates, and friends all celebrated with her, and Yu Qingtang was no exception. In addition to a carefully prepared gift, Yu Qingtang also gave her two new cars—the very culprits that made it hard for her to get up that morning.
Cheng Zhanxi was an astonishingly fast learner, and under Yu Qingtang’s influence, she had improved even more. She was diligent about fitness. Yu Qingtang had gone with her to the gym a few times, but she couldn’t stick with it because she truly wasn’t interested; her brain felt none of the joy of exercise. She also went to Cindy’s rock climbing club, but her hobby there was taking pictures of Cheng Zhanxi from below.
Since Yu Qingtang didn’t like to exercise, Cheng Zhanxi took her traveling twice a year. When they had free time, they would go for walks nearby as a form of exercise. Exercise held no pleasure for Yu Qingtang, but she was happy to go on dates with Cheng Zhanxi. She got her scuba diving certification, and they held hands under the sea, watching colorful fish swim before them. Her eyes widened, and the world underwater seemed to glow.
Through her diving mask, Cheng Zhanxi saw that her eyes were glowing too, with the fleeting glint of tears.
Her year as an exchange student in Paris was the happiest time of her life so far.
Everything was so beautiful it felt like a dream. Yu Qingtang, even more than Cheng Zhanxi, feared this beautiful dream would shatter. But countless times, waking in the middle of the night, she would be warmed by her lover’s body heat. Cheng Zhanxi’s sleeping face was serene and lovely, and she would unconsciously press closer to hold her tight.
A year later, Yu Qingtang returned to China. She had few classes in her senior year, so she spent half her time abroad, completing her graduation project in the apartment she shared with Cheng Zhanxi. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she went to Paris to study for her master’s, alongside Cheng Zhanxi.
Although Teacher Tian would have preferred she stay in China, he knew that even masters like Xu Beihong had once studied at the Paris Academy of Fine Arts. He couldn’t have been happier to bless Yu Qingtang with such an opportunity. Among all his disciples, Yu Qingtang was the most talented and the most likely to surpass him. He looked forward to the day he would be proud to have been Yu Qingtang’s teacher.
Three years later, both Cheng Zhanxi and Yu Qingtang completed their studies. The ancients spoke of cultivating the self and managing the family, of the wedding night and success in examinations. After the two returned from the Venice Biennale, Yu Ci and Song Qingrou took the lead, with the support of their husbands, and officially put the wedding on the agenda.
In the year they graduated, a bill legalizing same-sex marriage happened to pass in their country. They could now rightfully have the status of each other’s wife.
Winter, 2016.
A rock climbing club in the capital.
A few young women stood below, their eyes sparkling as they watched an agile figure on the rock wall, letting out soft squeals at her fluid movements.
Cheng Zhanxi reached the top and rappelled down on the safety rope. As she unfastened her protective gear, a female staff member at the club reached out to take it, and Cheng Zhanxi thanked her.
The girl was in her early twenties, with fair skin and what could be called delicate features.
Cheng Zhanxi had only recently returned to the country and had been here twice. This girl had been the one to assist her both times.
The girl watched Cheng Zhanxi wipe the sweat from her neck with a towel. Her fair cheeks were flushed, making her look exceptionally radiant. Mustering her courage, she took her phone out of her pocket and asked Cheng Zhanxi with feigned composure, “Can I add you as a friend? Next time you come, you can just contact me directly, and I’ll make the arrangements for you.”
Cheng Zhanxi smiled at her and politely declined, “That’s not necessary, thank you.”
The Cheng Zhanxi of today was no longer the nineteen or twenty-year-old she once was. She knew the appropriate distance to maintain in relationships and could discern a person’s intentions from subtle cues. She liked making friends, but not friends who wanted something from her.
Sometimes, growth is a painful, instantaneous event. Other times, it is slow, but it still leads down the path to maturity.
Cheng Zhanxi left the club and deliberately took a detour to buy a cake from a shop Yu Qingtang loved.
While waiting for the cake, she turned around. The clean, clear glass window reflected her long, curly hair cascading over her shoulders. A lake-blue scarf hung around her neck, and one hand was tucked into her pocket. Her posture was casual, exuding a certain charm and languor.
Cheng Zhanxi took the cake and stepped out of the shop to the staff’s call of “Take care.”
The wind chime on the door tinkled. Cheng Zhanxi pulled her vibrating phone from her pocket. As soon as she saw the caller ID, the surrounding chill dissipated.
“I’m on my way home, about half an hour.”
Yu Qingtang laughed on the other end. “I haven’t even said anything. How did you know what I was going to ask?”
While walking, Cheng Zhanxi used the hand holding the cake to unlock her car. She ducked into the white Panamera parked by the roadside and smiled. “Not only do I know what you want to ask, I also know you miss me.”
“Alright, you guessed right again.” Yu Qingtang had just gotten home and was hanging her coat and scarf by the door. She complained to her naturally, “The meeting today was so boring. There wasn’t a single person even a tenth as good-looking as you.”
“The teachers at the association are at least in their forties or fifties. Give them a break.”
Yu Qingtang burst out laughing.
Cheng Zhanxi said, “I’m about to drive. See you at home.”
Yu Qingtang said, “Come on, run those wheels over my face.”
Cheng Zhanxi chuckled, then a smile touched her lips. “You just wait.”
This wasn’t the first or second time Yu Qingtang had enjoyed some verbal sparring. She never tired of it, and their nightlife was very fulfilling.
Cheng Zhanxi returned home with the cake and was greeted at the door with a kiss.
Cheng Zhanxi placed the cake in the entryway and carried Yu Qingtang to the sofa.
…
A long while later.
Cheng Zhanxi pinched Yu Qingtang’s chin and asked the woman nestled in her arms, “Are you full?”
Yu Qingtang said, “I’m hungry.”
Cheng Zhanxi made a move to reach out, and Yu Qingtang quickly explained, “My stomach is hungry. I want to eat dinner.”
Cheng Zhanxi cut her a slice of cake to tide her over and went to the kitchen to cook.
After resting for a bit to regain her strength, Yu Qingtang got up and pulled open the living room curtains. Fine pellets of snow were drifting down. She held out her hand to catch them.
In the kitchen.
Cheng Zhanxi had her back to the doorway. A figure tiptoed closer and suddenly slipped a hand inside the collar of her shirt. The cold made Cheng Zhanxi jump.
She turned to see the culprit looking at her and laughing heartily.
“Yu Qingtang!”
The snow fell through to the next day, blanketing the ground in a thick layer.
Cheng Zhanxi dragged Yu Qingtang downstairs for a snowball fight to get her revenge for yesterday!
Yu Qingtang, lacking stamina, was soon lying in the snow, panting. Cheng Zhanxi lay down beside her, brushed away the snow between them, and turned her head to look at her long eyelashes, which fluttered against the brilliantly blue sky.
Yu Qingtang took her hand, feeling the engagement ring on Cheng Zhanxi’s finger through her glove.
In the autumn of 2017, they were married.
After the wedding, Cheng Zhanxi moved into the villa on the mountain to live with Yu Qingtang. They both preferred quiet when they painted, and they were rarely disturbed here.
For a painting titled Sunrise, she had been going to the summit of Xiaoqi Peak to paint before dawn for a month straight. Today was the final day of work on the oil painting.
A pale gold spread through the clouds, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. The golden sun emerged from the top of the cloud-wreathed peak, shining brilliantly.
On the easel before Cheng Zhanxi was a multicolored canvas. She continuously layered more colors upon it, blocks of color piling on blocks of color, lines intersecting with lines. It seemed as if she were painting at random, yet the result was perfectly natural, ever-changing and unpredictable.
The golden sun moved high into the eastern sky. Cheng Zhanxi placed her oil brush into the turpentine.
After patiently and carefully cleaning everything up, she straightened up in front of the canvas and raised a hand toward the housekeeper not far away. She was about to call her over when her gaze fixed on something, and a smile touched her lips.
Yu Qingtang walked out from under a tree, a smile on her face, and untied Cheng Zhanxi’s apron for her.
Cheng Zhanxi held her arms out, letting her bustle around her. “When did you get here?”
“A little while ago. I saw you were busy, so I didn’t disturb you.”
“You finished your painting?”
“Mhm, a little faster than you.”
“Tsk, Teacher Yu is getting a little cocky.”
“Likewise. I can’t compare to Teacher Cheng’s Blizzard, which sold for five million.”
“Hahaha.”
The two of them bickered early in the morning, feeling refreshed and invigorated.
The painting was handed over to the housekeeper to be taken back. Cheng Zhanxi swung a leg over the silver-white heavy motorcycle parked nearby. Yu Qingtang sat behind her, her arms wrapped around her waist. After a swift, wind-whipping ride, they returned to the villa halfway up the mountain.
“I’m planning to go back to Sicheng to see my grandparents. Do you want to come with me?” Yu Qingtang asked.
Yu Qingtang’s maternal grandfather had recently had a fall. Yu Ci had stayed in Sicheng for a while, and Yu Qingtang had gone with her. After being discharged from the hospital, her grandfather’s health was not what it used to be. When the elderly reach a certain age, their time seems to visibly diminish. Yu Qingtang’s visits to her maternal grandparents’ home had noticeably increased.
Cheng Zhanxi said, “When?”
“Next week.”
“Okay, I have time. I’ll go with you.”
Before heading to Sicheng, they attended a wedding. It was between Miss Gu of Tianrui and the young lady of the Lin family—a good match between two prominent families, a story for the ages. It was just that Miss Lin wore such heavy makeup that it was impossible to see what she really looked like underneath.
Miss Gu, however, was quite beautiful. During the toasts, Yu Qingtang stared at the Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist for a while, seemingly struck by a new inspiration.
After the wedding, the two set off for Sicheng.
They weren’t in a hurry, so they chose to take the train, booking two sleeper berths to enjoy the scenery along the way.
The middle berth was occupied by a mother and daughter. During the day, they sat on the lower berth. The girl never spoke. Cheng Zhanxi and Yu Qingtang exchanged a look, realizing the little girl before them was deaf-mute.
Yu Qingtang had learned some sign language while sketching outdoors and “chatted” with the little girl for a while. Before getting off the train, she gave the girl drawings that she and Cheng Zhanxi had made.
One was an ink wash painting, the other a richly colored oil painting. The styles were completely different, yet they coexisted in harmony.
In the bottom right corner of the paintings was written: For Qingqing.
Qingqing was the little girl’s name.
The little girl carefully placed the two drawings into her schoolbag.
The weather did not cooperate. Just as they left the station, a downpour began. They hadn’t brought an umbrella, so they had to find a nearby convenience store to take shelter.
Yu Qingtang’s long hair and trench coat were soaked. Cheng Zhanxi stood in the convenience store, dragging their suitcase, and went to the counter to buy a pack of tissues. When she turned back, she found Yu Qingtang staring out at the curtain of rain, lost in thought.
Cheng Zhanxi opened the tissues and wiped the rainwater from her neck, curiously following her gaze. “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.” Yu Qingtang came back to her senses. She looked at Cheng Zhanxi’s face, but another image surfaced in her mind for no reason.
A polite inquiry, a cold rejection, a boundless silence.
The rain kept falling.
Cheng Zhanxi had finished drying them both off and was standing beside Yu Qingtang, holding one of her hands.
A figure slowly emerged from the misty rain.
A black, knee-length trench coat, a pair of straight, slender legs, a back that was tall and lean.
Cheng Zhanxi blinked, trying to see more clearly, but her heart suddenly stirred.
The rain kept falling, but the sound of it became distant and faint.
“Do you believe that parallel universes exist?” Cheng Zhanxi heard her own voice rise above the soft patter of the rain.
“I believe.”
“Do you believe that we would still meet and fall in love in another universe?”
Yu Qingtang continued to gaze at the curtain of rain outside. Without turning back, she tightened her grip on Cheng Zhanxi’s hand, their fingers intertwining. A faint smile graced her lips.
“I believe.”
In thousands upon thousands of universes, no matter how many different beginnings, they would always be together.
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