After Escaping Marriage - Extra 8
Chapter 151: Extra 3 - Parallel World
People were coming and going outside the girls' restroom, but the familiar face Yu Qingtang was looking for wasn't among them.
Yu Qingtang went back inside. "Cheng Zhanxi?"
Her gaze fixed on the stall door Cheng Zhanxi had entered earlier. She tilted her head, concentrating.
A weak, faint voice replied from inside the stall, "I'm in here."
Yu Qingtang stood in front of the stall door and asked, "Why aren't you done yet?"
Cheng Zhanxi stammered, "I... I..."
They had been taking too long. The warning bell for class rang, and the other people in the restroom left one by one. Yu Qingtang knocked on the door with her knuckle and said to the now-silent Cheng Zhanxi inside, "Did you forget to bring toilet paper?"
"No." Cheng Zhanxi mumbled something, but her voice was too muffled for Yu Qingtang to make out the words.
Yu Qingtang frowned. "There's no one else here. Why are you talking so quietly?"
Cheng Zhanxi didn't answer.
Just as Yu Qingtang was wondering if she should ask her to open the door, creak—the closed stall door opened a crack.
Yu Qingtang sucked in a breath. She didn't know why she did, but then she heard her own, slightly flustered voice say, "What are you doing? You can't just open the door like that!"
The door opened wider. Cheng Zhanxi even poked half her head out, looking left and right with a furtive air. "Come in."
Yu Qingtang: "No."
Cheng Zhanxi: "..." Holding up her pants with one hand, she grabbed Yu Qingtang's wrist with the other and pulled her inside without another word.
Yu Qingtang squeezed her eyes shut.
Cheng Zhanxi was speechless again.
What was she doing?
They had bathed together just last year, completely naked. What was she afraid of now?
Yu Qingtang: "P-put your pants on."
Cheng Zhanxi: "They've been on the whole time."
Yu Qingtang: Huh?
She dubiously opened her eyes, her gaze cautiously traveling down from Cheng Zhanxi's face, inch by inch.
Cheng Zhanxi stood awkwardly with her legs pressed together, urging, "Are you done yet? The toilet paper is about to soak through."
Yu Qingtang's gaze landed on her waistband, confirming she was fully and properly dressed. She asked in confusion, "What toilet paper?"
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Cheng Zhanxi's eyes. "It's the same as you. I got... that."
"What do you mean, 'the same as me'? I don't have it." Yu Qingtang couldn't resist retorting. She then clenched her fists to hide her nervousness. "It really came?"
Cheng Zhanxi hummed in affirmation. Her lips had an unusual pallor. "My stomach hurts."
This was Cheng Zhanxi's first period. Although she had learned about the relevant biology, the initial shock of seeing blood nearly made her cry. Her mind instantly conjured all sorts of incurable diseases. It was only after wiping her tears that Cheng Zhanxi remembered that, given her age and development, it was about time for this to happen. Yu Qingtang had gotten hers six months ago. At the time, Cheng Zhanxi had been so curious she'd almost pulled down Yu Qingtang's pants to see for herself. The consequence, of course, was that she failed, and Yu Qingtang ignored her for a full day and night.
Yu Qingtang said, "I'll go get you a sanitary pad."
Cheng Zhanxi nodded. Against her pale face, she looked almost frail.
Yu Qingtang reached out and gently stroked her cheek, then touched her own forehead to Cheng Zhanxi's. "I'll be right back," she said softly.
She left immediately. As Cheng Zhanxi heard the sound of running footsteps fade away, she felt a flicker of emotion, and a deeply hidden sweetness.
Yu Qingtang was always proper, methodical, and composed. She would never be in such a hurry if it weren't for her.
Who cares about some Nie Mengyu? In Yu Qingtang's heart, she definitely wasn't even one-tenth as important as her. No, one-hundredth. Or maybe one-thousandth, Cheng Zhanxi could reluctantly accept that.
Cheng Zhanxi used her free hand to touch the spot on her forehead where Yu Qingtang had touched her. Why was it a little hot? Could you get a fever from your period?
Was she about to faint? Under this psychological suggestion, Cheng Zhanxi immediately started to feel a little dizzy.
When Yu Qingtang pushed the door open, she was greeted by the sight of a half-dead Cheng Zhanxi leaning against the stall's wooden partition.
Yu Qingtang's heart lurched, and she rushed over to support her. "What's wrong?"
Cheng Zhanxi groggily lifted her eyes and shook her head. Seeing Yu Qingtang in front of her, the dizziness quickly subsided. She stood up straight and said, "It's nothing. I think I just got bored waiting."
Yu Qingtang resisted the urge to scold her. She shoved the pink-packaged sanitary pad into her hand. "It's not my time of the month, so I had to borrow one from a classmate. It took a little while."
Girls started their periods at different times, and many of the first-year middle schoolers hadn't gotten theirs yet. Yu Qingtang had to endure strange looks from nearly every girl as she asked them all before she finally managed to borrow one. Their gazes made it seem as if Yu Qingtang wasn't one of them, but belonged to the "fairy" category. How could a fairy possibly get her period?
Since class had already started, Yu Qingtang had asked by passing notes. The note was passed around to all the girls in the class, reaching peak levels of awkwardness. In the future, this might become her second label, after "fairy."
But there was no need to tell Cheng Zhanxi about all that embarrassment.
Just as Yu Qingtang was about to leave, Cheng Zhanxi called out to her.
Yu Qingtang turned back.
"I don't know how." The girl's voice lacked its usual energy; it was soft and delicate. Her peach-blossom eyes were downcast, the corners moist and glistening like a doe's, looking utterly pitiful.
Yu Qingtang secretly bit her lip. "Tear it open, stick it on. You can't do that?" she said calmly. Where had her usual cleverness gone?
Cheng Zhanxi said, "I don't know. Don't go."
Yu Qingtang's heart softened again and again. "Okay," she said. She turned around. "Call me when you're done."
Cheng Zhanxi said, "Turn around. Watch me do it. If I do something wrong, you can correct me right away."
Yu Qingtang said coolly, "I'd advise you not to push your luck."
Mumbling, "How am I pushing my luck?" Cheng Zhanxi tore open the package. She was indeed smart and quick-witted, not even asking a single question. After a moment, Yu Qingtang heard a "Done" from behind her.
Yu Qingtang turned back, her gaze still fixed above Cheng Zhanxi's waist.
Cheng Zhanxi was blunt and couldn't help but roast her. "You're acting like I'm some kind of exhibitionist."
Yu Qingtang: "..."
It's not that I'm afraid she's an exhibitionist, she thought, it's that I have my own guilty conscience.
Yu Qingtang didn't dwell on it. "Does your stomach still hurt?"
Cheng Zhanxi took a soft breath. "It hurts."
Yu Qingtang said, "I'll go ask the teacher for leave and take you home to rest."
Cheng Zhanxi had a shocked expression that screamed, "You'd actually skip class?" Yu Qingtang patted her on the head. "Close your gaping mouth."
Cheng Zhanxi instantly became obedient.
Yu Qingtang took her to the teacher's office, first asking for leave, then borrowing the office landline to call the family driver and ask him to pick them up. The driver would arrive in about twenty minutes. Yu Qingtang took Cheng Zhanxi to wait at the school gate. Cheng Zhanxi leaned limply on her shoulder and asked, "Why does this make my stomach hurt? Do you think I have some kind of illness?"
"It's normal. You're not sick."
"Did it hurt when you got yours?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't I ever hear you mention it?"
"I'm not as delicate as you."
"Oh yeah? And who was it that was tired as a dog after the 400-meter run last time?"
"...Shut up." A flash of embarrassed anger crossed Yu Qingtang's face.
Cheng Zhanxi laughed twice, then went back to acting like a sickly beauty, hugging Yu Qingtang's shoulder and whining about her stomachache.
Yu Qingtang rubbed her stomach through her clothes.
Cheng Zhanxi lifted the hem of her school uniform, wanting her to put her hand inside, but was shot down by a glare from Yu Qingtang.
A solid black sedan pulled up in front of them. The license plate was from the Wei family, but the driver wasn't Lao Liu; it was Yu Qingtang's father, Wei Tingyu. The moment Cheng Zhanxi saw Wei Tingyu, her posture, which had been slumped over like a crooked tree, snapped straight. She stood at attention like a javelin, her manners and attitude impeccable. "Uncle Wei."
Her maternal grandfather was a soldier and had trained her since she was little, so her military posture was quite good.
Wei Tingyu affectionately ruffled her hair, then turned his gentle gaze to Yu Qingtang, his concern evident. "Are you not feeling well? Dad will take you to the hospital."
Yu Qingtang explained, "It's Xixi who's not feeling well. I'm taking her home to rest."
Wei Tingyu breathed a partial sigh of relief, but the other half was held in concern for Cheng Zhanxi. "What's wrong with Xixi?"
Yu Qingtang glanced at him, her voice unconsciously taking on a hint of a coquettish pout. "Dad, don't ask. It's a girl thing."
Wei Tingyu had always trusted her, so he didn't press the issue and told the two girls to get in the car.
Cheng Zhanxi, however, shot a surprised look at Yu Qingtang.
She can talk in that tone? She wanted to hear Yu Qingtang act cute with her, too.
In the back seat of the smoothly moving car, Cheng Zhanxi poked Yu Qingtang's waist. Yu Qingtang, who was still rubbing her stomach, lifted her eyelids to look at her.
They were very close. Cheng Zhanxi looked into her dark, clear pupils, which were like a stream flowing over stones in the moonlight. She was momentarily dazed and forgot what she wanted to say, murmuring instead, "Your eyes are so beautiful."
Yu Qingtang gave her half an eye-roll.
Cheng Zhanxi finally remembered her original intention. She poked Yu Qingtang's side again and asked in a low voice, "Can you act cute with me, too?"
Yu Qingtang completed the eye-roll.
Cheng Zhanxi pouted. "I act cute with you all the time, but you've never done it once. Isn't that unfair?"
She was talking to herself and didn't expect a response. But unexpectedly, a dozen seconds later, Yu Qingtang's cool voice sounded by her ear: "What do you want?"
Cheng Zhanxi turned to look at her, her eyes shining astonishingly bright.
Wei Tingyu was driving in the front, occasionally glancing at the two kids in the back through the rearview mirror, a smile playing on his lips.
Stopping at a red light, Wei Tingyu habitually looked up at the rearview mirror, only to see his own daughter nestled in Cheng Zhanxi's arms like a delicate bird. Cheng Zhanxi was gently stroking her hair with one hand, her eyes closed in enjoyment, looking as content as if she had obtained the most precious treasure in the world.
Wei Tingyu: "???"
Wei Tingyu: "!!!"
The car behind them honked, urging him on. With his mind a complete blank, Wei Tingyu released the brake, moved his foot to the accelerator, and slowly drove through the green intersection.
In the back seat.
Yu Qingtang sat up from Cheng Zhanxi's embrace, her expression impassive. "Is that enough?"
Cheng Zhanxi wanted to say it would have been even better if she'd been more expressive and not so stone-faced, but one shouldn't push their luck. What Yu Qingtang did today was already a breakthrough from zero. She nodded repeatedly, her face breaking into a wide smile. "Yes." After a pause, she asked, "Can we do this again next time?"
"In your dreams." Yu Qingtang turned her head to hide the faint smile on her lips and scoffed softly, "How old are you? You still smell like milk."
Cheng Zhanxi sniffed herself. "I do? I don't smell it. Hmm, maybe it's because I drink milk every day."
Because her mom said drinking milk helps you grow taller. But Cheng Zhanxi didn't dare say that part. Yu Qingtang's height was her sore spot; mentioning it would earn her at least an hour of the silent treatment.
In truth, Cheng Zhanxi thought her height was perfect—not too tall, not too short, just right for a convenient and comfortable hug.
Yu Qingtang was savoring the milky scent she had just smelled in Cheng Zhanxi's arms when a pair of arms suddenly reached out from behind and wrapped around her waist.
Yu Qingtang said, "What are you doing?"
Cheng Zhanxi's nose was against the nape of her neck, nuzzling her like a puppy. "I want to smell what you smell like."
The girl's nose was slightly cool, but her breath was warm and carried that same sweet, milky scent.
Yu Qingtang froze, not daring to move. "What do I smell like?"
"I don't know, but it's a smell I like."
"..."
"Huh? Why is your face red?"
"You... let go of me."
Hearing his daughter's voice from the back—trying to sound stern but coming out soft and utterly non-threatening—Wei Tingyu, in the driver's seat, felt his whole world crumble.
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