MTB - Chapter 24
Chapter 24: The Past, the Rain, and the Present
“So, is she your girlfriend?”
Ouyang Jun hesitated, then looked at Tang Yuelou’s expression and said apologetically, “Sorry, I don’t mean any harm.”
Tang Yuelou turned her head to look at Yun Yang. Just a moment ago, she had complained that the grass jelly was hot and had run back into the shop to buy another one. When Tang Yuelou looked over, their eyes met, and Yun Yang immediately turned away in a rather obvious attempt to hide something. Tang Yuelou knew what she was thinking and, for a moment, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“You could say that,” she said, retracting her gaze and nodding.
“That’s nice. She looks very young,” Ouyang Jun said. “Is she a student from around here?”
“Mhm.” Tang Yuelou returned a smile. “I heard from Ouyang Zhou that you’re engaged? Congratulations.”
Ouyang Jun froze, her fingers rubbing the ring on her ring finger, her feelings subtly complex.
“…Thank you.”
She had almost failed to recognize Tang Yuelou when she saw her today. She knew Tang Yuelou taught at the university near her law firm, but she never expected they would meet under such circumstances.
They had attended the same school, which ran from elementary through high school. Their homes weren’t far apart, and they had known each other since they were children. They went from being nodding acquaintances to the closest of lovers, then graduated, started a business together, and finally, went their separate ways. Those few years felt like a distant dream.
It must have been their first year of high school. Her father’s company was going through a rough patch, and during that time, she, like the rest of her family, was shrouded in a depressing shadow, gloomy day in and day out. Her friends found her boring and slowly drifted away. It was on one of those days, while she was eating lunch by the swings on the sports field, that she ran into Tang Yuelou.
She knew Tang Yuelou, knew she was the young lady of the Tang family. Her impression was of a quiet, reserved person who didn’t fit in. She was someone who should have been doted on, yet she always remained on the fringes of the crowd, lonely and indifferent.
She saw Tang Yuelou by the edge of a flowerbed, head down, writing something with a pen and paper. On some strange impulse, Ouyang Jun walked over.
“Are you drawing?” she asked curiously.
Tang Yuelou quietly turned to look at her and showed her the drawing paper.
“I’m drawing you.”
Time was like a speeding train, whistling past in the bleak autumn rain. Now, she could no longer tell if the feelings she’d had back then were love or just a dependent huddling together for warmth. Ouyang Jun felt it probably wasn’t love; otherwise, she wouldn’t have chosen to leave after seeing who Tang Yuelou truly was.
Ouyang Jun glanced at Yun Yang. From the first moment she saw the girl, she had a faint feeling—there was a strange quality about her, perhaps a natural sincerity and spirit, that was very much like the late Madam Tang.
She had been a tragic woman who had thrown everything away for the romance she yearned for, only to marry the wrong man. After giving birth to her daughter, she developed postpartum depression, which led to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She later committed suicide by slitting her wrists, leaving a cold corpse to mark Tang Yuelou’s childhood.
For a moment, Ouyang Jun’s feelings were subtly complex. It was only when she and Tang Yuelou had their falling out that she learned that, back then, she had been the same in Tang Yuelou’s eyes.
“Does she understand you?” Ouyang Jun asked.
Tang Yuelou didn’t particularly want to discuss this topic with her. She gave a polite nod. “I think she will.”
Ouyang Jun was taken aback, then forced a relaxed smile. “Wow. In that case, should I congratulate you in advance?”
“Thank you.” Tang Yuelou’s gaze drifted away again. It was the third time Yun Yang had avoided her eyes. She sighed helplessly. “Sorry, I have to go. The little one is a bit hard to coax.”
Outside the cafe was a small flowerbed where green shrubs clustered around a few rose bushes. When Tang Yuelou walked over, she saw Yun Yang standing in front of it, holding two cups of grass jelly in one hand and an umbrella over herself and the flowers with the other.
The rain was light, dripping through the gaps in the plane tree leaves and gathering into droplets that battered the petals, scattering them. Tang Yuelou found it amusing and stood by without a word, watching Yun Yang bend down, touch the rainwater on a petal with her fingertip, rub it, then wipe her hand dry and take a few photos with her phone.
As if sensing something, Yun Yang quietly glanced back in the direction where the two had been standing. Not seeing anyone, she looked around, and her eyes met Tang Yuelou’s. A hint of confusion appeared in her gaze.
Tang Yuelou was struck by her expression. She lowered her head and smiled, then walked over. “It’s cold out here. Why don’t you wait in the car?”
“It’s not cold. And look, isn’t it a little cute?” Yun Yang pointed to the rose sheltered under her umbrella.
“Mhm, very cute.”
“I’m talking about the flower. You haven’t even looked at it, and you’re already calling it cute?”
“I’m talking about you.”
Yun Yang looked up, only to find that Tang Yuelou hadn’t followed her finger to look at the flower. Instead, she was staring intently into her eyes, her gaze as soft as water, carrying a smile as gentle and calm as the autumn rain.
Of course, she didn’t know what the two had talked about in those twenty minutes, and she understood that their meeting and conversation had been perfectly ordinary, that there was no chance of old flames rekindling. But in that moment, she was in a daze, wondering, did Tang Yuelou once look at someone else with that same gaze?
“Yangyang?” Seeing her lost in thought, Tang Yuelou prompted, “If we don’t go now, we’ll be late.”
Yun Yang snapped back to reality and slid under Tang Yuelou’s umbrella, humming sourly, “Had a good chat?”
“Mhm,” Tang Yuelou said, taking the folded umbrella from her and leading her by the hand toward the car. “She works at a law firm nearby. We just ran into each other by chance and chatted for a bit.”
“Oh.” Yun Yang nodded, then frowned. “So what did you talk about? Why did she keep looking at me?”
Tang Yuelou thought for a moment, then answered casually, without a shred of sincerity, “Maybe she thought you were better looking?”
Yun Yang was speechless.
“Well, thank you very much,” she said earnestly. “Next time you see her, please pass on a message. Just say that Yun Yang doesn’t know her personally, but she thinks her taste is excellent.”
Tang Yuelou couldn’t hold it in and turned her head, laughing.
“You want me to see her again?”
“What do you mean?” Yun Yang had just settled into the passenger seat. Hearing this, she joked, “What, if I tell you not to see her, you really won’t see her ever again?”
“Would I…?” Tang Yuelou rubbed her chin, a lingering smile on her lips as she lowered her voice. “Why don’t you try and see?”
Yun Yang’s heart stirred. Looking into her eyes, she felt an inexplicable flutter of panic.
It felt as if two people who had agreed to just have fun had suddenly reached a point where one of them had developed real feelings—but from start to finish, she could never figure out what Tang Yuelou was thinking. They were crossing a line, their relationship real in substance but not in name, a tacit understanding between them. They were constantly guessing at each other’s thoughts, trying to hide the stirring in their own hearts.
Or perhaps, Yun Yang just didn’t want to admit that she was the one who had fallen.
She blinked slowly, lowering her lashes.
“Alright,” Yun Yang said, tilting her head slightly and raising an eyebrow. “Then you’re not allowed to see her again. Not just Ouyang Jun—you’re not allowed to see any of your exes.”
Tang Yuelou paused, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Baby, you’ve enriched my entire relationship history with a single sentence.”
Yun Yang was a bit dazed, not even having time to question the term of endearment. It took her two seconds to understand what Tang Yuelou meant. After processing it, she still found it hard to believe. “For real?”
“Wait, I get it,” she said, pressing a hand to her forehead as she racked her brain for a reasonable explanation. “Don’t tell me your relationship with Ouyang Jun was the only confirmed one? If that’s the only kind that counts…”
Tang Yuelou said, “Yangyang, you’re making me sound like a scumbag.”
Yun Yang retorted, “Aren’t you?”
Tang Yuelou was speechless.
Seeing her chagrined expression, Yun Yang’s mood instantly brightened.
“You’d better tell me you’re joking,” Tang Yuelou said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
A chill ran down Yun Yang’s back.
“I’m not joking. I want to confirm something,” she said, leaning a little closer and resting a hand on Tang Yuelou’s arm.
“What?”
“I want to know, if we’re counting that way,” Yun Yang said, moving her hand to Tang Yuelou’s shoulder and lowering her voice, “when does Teacher Tang plan on starting her second relationship?”
She caught the momentary tension in Tang Yuelou’s body. Then, Tang Yuelou’s gaze traveled up Yun Yang’s arm and landed on her lips.
“That question,” Tang Yuelou said, turning to face her and raising a hand to caress her lips, her meaning clear, “is one you’ll have to ask it. Ask when it hopes to begin.”
Raindrops slid down the car window, blurring the light and shadows inside. Yun Yang’s gaze dropped, and she chuckled. “Teacher, you’ve smudged my lipstick.”
Tang Yuelou hummed in a low voice. “I’ll help you reapply it later.”
Yun Yang nodded, then grabbed her by the collar and kissed her.
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