MTB - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Extra - This Is My Beloved

"Graduation ceremony?"

Yun Yang looked at her expressionlessly.

Ye Ziqiu hooked her arm around Yun Yang, pulling her into an embrace so they were both facing Tang Yuelou. "Exactly, what happened? A university graduation ceremony is a once-in-a-lifetime event. On such an important occasion, how could you go and make someone angry?"

"I..." Tang Yuelou felt wronged. She wanted to say "I didn't," but then she saw Yun Yang reluctantly raise one hand and make half a heart shape in Ye Ziqiu's direction.

Her frown paused halfway; she stunned for a moment, then understood.

It happened like this.

This afternoon was the college's graduation ceremony.

With the mindset of "the sooner it ends, the sooner we eat," after the proceedings, Yun Yang took photos with several teachers. Listening to their earnest exhortations, she humbly agreed while keeping an ear out for the commotion on the other side.

She saw a girl holding a graduation certificate standing beside Tang Yuelou, acting coy. She made half a heart with one hand and asked shyly, "Teacher Tang, can we make a heart together?"

Yun Yang shuddered upon hearing this: Make a heart?

Teacher Tang had always been easygoing with students, so she smiled and nodded. "Sure."

Sure?

"It was because of you that I chose to take the postgraduate entrance exam for Ancient Literature. You are the direction I'm striving toward!"

"Keep it up. Happy graduation."

Direction she's striving toward?

"Thank you! Thank you, Teacher Tang! Um, c-can we stand a little closer?"

Closer?!

Her peripheral vision could no longer contain Yun Yang's jealousy. She turned her head directly to look over there. Tang Yuelou maintained her boundaries politely and benevolently; the two half-hearts were more than twenty centimeters apart. But even so, she felt the graduation certificate in her hand turn into aged vinegar.

The aftertaste of this vinegar was strong enough; she savored it the whole way. Even at the drinking party, several glasses of whiskey couldn't suppress it.

It was childish and embarrassing to say, but she had also taken a photo with a female professor—although the dean was already nearing fifty—and the professor had her arm around her shoulder, a pose clearly much more intimate than Tang Yuelou's. But the thought that the photo might be treasured by that girl, used as wallpaper, printed out for an album, or even hung on a wall made her feel inexplicably blocked up inside.

Yun Yang knew that the auditorium was bustling with noise at the time, full of students waiting for photos. Tang Yuelou had probably turned herself into an emotionless photo-taking machine; her mental state was likely similar to a transparent card, and she might not even have realized what she was doing. But she remembered that group photo hanging on the studio wall, treasuring Tang Yuelou's smile at her age.

That part of life she was forever absent from, that sincere, youthful smile.

Of course, Yun Yang didn't voice her thoughts about the photo. She recounted the graduation ceremony incident, cutting out the beginning and end. Afterward, the private room was silent for two seconds.

Ye Ziqiu stared blankly for a long time, looked at everyone left and right in dismay, and then let her gaze fall on Yun Yang's face.

"May I ask, should I follow procedure, or just laugh directly?" she asked sincerely.

Yun Yang: "..."

Before anyone could answer, the friends laughed tacitly, led by Ye Ziqiu, laughing until they leaned back and forth. Yun Yang felt she was being pretentious herself. She smoothed her hair and said nothing, turning her head to check Tang Yuelou's expression, only to find Tang Yuelou looking at her.

This time it wasn't a drunken hallucination. Tang Yuelou's expression was subtle; she pursed her lips. "Yangyang..."

Before she could speak, Ye Ziqiu interrupted her. "Ms. Tang Yuelou, allow me to ask boldly, how old are you this year? Living younger and younger, reverting to childhood to play at puppy love? We adults don't understand this novel kind of play. Hey, Ningning, you're a bit younger than us, have you heard of it?"

Chen Ningning showed no mercy. "No."

Yun Yang: "..."

"Alright, working without a license today, I'll be an elementary school homeroom teacher and mediate for you two." Ye Ziqiu reached out to hook both sides, holding a wine glass in each hand. "Fill 'em up, fill 'em up. Little wives, quarreling at the head of the bed and making up at the end of the bed. Let's drink this wine, clear up past suspicions, broken mirrors reu—Ouch!"

Zhao Lin, unable to bear it any longer, dragged her away.

---

No matter what, Ye Ziqiu and the others were nearly ten years older than Yun Yang. With a shred of conscience, they wouldn't use their forced drinking tactics on Yun Yang, so all that alcohol went into Tang Yuelou's stomach, cup after cup, until a faint flush spread across the side of her neck.

She casually brushed aside her hair, revealing a pearl earring adorning one earlobe. It was a birthday gift Yun Yang had saved three months of internship wages to buy—of course, she kept public and private matters separate and didn't fleece Teacher Tang. After completing her credits, she resigned from the store and was now interning at a magazine agency.

Seeming to sense Yun Yang's gaze, she toyed with that lustrous pearl, intentionally or unintentionally sliding her hand from her earlobe slowly to her jaw, tucking the long hair resting on her shoulder behind her back.

Her hand drew Yun Yang's gaze, and also drew that touch of crimson. It wasn't until she pinched the pearl with neither light nor heavy force that Yun Yang's ears buzzed.

Alcohol wrapped around certain indescribable images surged into her brain, as if what was being caressed wasn't a pearl, but something else. She swallowed involuntarily, her face exploding with red, and lowered her head in a futile attempt to cover it up, adding some ice cubes to her glass.

"Stop." Tang Yuelou reached out to block the top of her glass. "How much have you had?"

"Just two glasses." Yun Yang held her hand. "Sister Ziqiu and the others couldn't bear to make me drink."

Tang Yuelou nodded. "Still angry?"

"...Why would I be angry? You make it sound like I'm so petty."

"Then, do you want it?"

This was said too naturally. Yun Yang choked, suspecting she had heard wrong. "Baby, do we really have to discuss such... such an improper topic in this setting?"

Tang Yuelou paused, looked down and laughed for a long time, then said helplessly, "I meant, a group photo, do you want one?"

Yun Yang: "..."

Teacher Tang had a meticulous mind; sure enough, she had seen through it long ago.

She shook her head and said, "No need."

Actually, she had figured it out the moment the thought popped up this afternoon. Life is an endless flowing river; every drop of water that joins it is an experience—clear, turbid, unforgettable, fleeting—outlining a person's soul, filling their flesh and blood. The past might be forgotten, just as a river might not remember where every drop came from, but it also cannot remove it.

Being obsessed with this is meaningless.

...Besides, who doesn't have a past?

"You're right here beside me, what do I need a photo for?"

She held Tang Yuelou's hand, suddenly losing the desire to drink. Instead, she played with Tang Yuelou's fingers, pinching the knuckles, then the fingertips. Watching the pale fingers turn slightly white then red, she suddenly felt a bit mischievous. She leaned into Tang Yuelou's ear and asked, "Guess what I was thinking just now?"

"Hmm..." Tang Yuelou thought for a moment. "You want me to kiss you."

Yun Yang shook her head. "Wrong."

"Hmm?" Tang Yuelou turned her head slightly.

"I want to..." She licked her lips, pressing against the shell of Tang Yuelou's ear, and whispered, "Go outside with you right now."

The hand held in her palm curled unconsciously. Tang Yuelou seemed to smile. Her hand came around from behind, patting Yun Yang's waist lightly, scolding her without any real bite, "Don't cause trouble."

Yun Yang lifted her chin. "Are you coming or not?"

How could she refuse?

They slipped out of the private room, harboring ulterior motives. Walking down the spacious, bright corridor came with its own added thrill. Half-holding hands, half-embracing, they headed toward the restrooms at the end of the hall. However, halfway there, the door of the adjacent private room opened, and two girls walked out—Yun Yang gasped. In her desperation, she pulled Tang Yuelou and ducked into the stairwell of the emergency exit.

...How can I see classmates even here?

"Wha..."

Yun Yang pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh—"

Tang Yuelou didn't understand, but she cooperated by lowering her voice. "What is it?"

"My classmates." Yun Yang paused. Seeing that Tang Yuelou showed no intention of hiding even after hearing this, she asked, "If we go public like this, will it affect you?"

She had consumed plenty of gossip about male teachers at school dating students, and those teachers didn't end up well—although Tang Yuelou's character wasn't comparable to those men, what if some students didn't think that way?

She didn't want Tang Yuelou to suffer from gossip, even if Tang Yuelou herself said she didn't care.

Tang Yuelou didn't hesitate. "No."

Yun Yang: "Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"...Do you dare say that again?"

The atmosphere solidified for a moment.

"You don't have to be so sharp sometimes." Tang Yuelou shook her head helplessly, smoothing a lock of long hair hanging over Yun Yang's chest. "I mean, there is an impact, but it doesn't matter. If you want to go public, you don't need to worry about anything else."

Saying so, she grabbed the door handle. "Go out?"

Yun Yang grabbed her wrist. "Wait a moment."

As far as she knew, of Tang Yuelou's current assets, company dividends made up half, and the inheritance left by her mother made up the other half—in fact, even just this smaller half of inheritance was enough for Tang Yuelou to live an idle, carefree life without worrying about food or clothing.

As for the teaching job at the university... the School of Literature sounded like a place of romance, but this was Z University. "Romance" belonged only to university students before finals week. Young teachers were caught in the intense "up or out" rat race. Classes and writing papers took up the vast majority of her time, not to mention that the meager monthly salary she earned wasn't enough to buy a coat; the effort and return were completely disproportionate.

To enjoy it to this extent... although she had never explicitly stated it, Yun Yang understood that she truly liked this job.

Because of this, Yun Yang didn't want to have any negative impact on her work. After all, there were few things Tang Yuelou truly liked.

"Let's go out." Tang Yuelou propped her arm on the door panel and said softly, "Not going public means you have to keep hiding it from your classmates. It's very hard. I just want you to be happy."

Since the rumor incident, they had agreed not to disclose their relationship to anyone at school before Yun Yang graduated. This wasn't difficult for Tang Yuelou; she didn't need to hide it from Ye Ziqiu's group, and at school, she rarely discussed her private life. But for Yun Yang, it was somewhat difficult.

Friends only knew that Yun Yang had a stable partner, had turned over a new leaf, and had thoroughly returned to a healthy lifestyle. But no one had ever seen that "Miss Partner" appear in social settings among classmates. Over time, some people even subtly asked Yun Yang if her girlfriend was "unpresentable."

Yun Yang wanted to rush up and set the record straight. Unpresentable? Her girlfriend was so excellent and loved her to death—unpresentable? What a joke!

So she spent the rest of her university days stifled like this. To maintain Tang Yuelou's professional ethics, she never took Tang Yuelou's classes again, covered up and stalled when friends asked about her girlfriend, demanded Guan Yan keep the secret, and played dumb with innocent eyes when suspected... and so on, no need to go into detail.

Now, having endured until now, with only half a month left until she left school, she absolutely couldn't fall short at the last hurdle.

"Shall we go out?"

Yun Yang raised an eyebrow. "Indulging me like this?"

"Indulging you?" Tang Yuelou couldn't help laughing. "Haven't I always been managing you?"

"That's because I let you manage me. I let you manage me because I know you have boundaries. You indulge me, of course, because you know I also have boundaries and am a good person." Yun Yang made the final decision. "We won't go public for now."

She firmed up her answer, took Tang Yuelou's hand off the doorknob, and held it in her own. Fingers interlaced, two rings shared each other's warmth, nestling together.

She paused, then continued, "There's less than half a month until I leave school. I'm not doing my grad studies here. By then, I won't be a student here, and we..."

"Okay."

Tang Yuelou didn't seem to know if she had listened to her words, carelessly rubbing her earlobe with her thumb until a flush spread over the pale skin.

She seemed a bit drunk. Yun Yang rarely saw her zone out and couldn't help feeling it was novel. She reached out and pinched her face. "Did you hear what I said?"

Sure enough, she was a bit drunk; Tang Yuelou actually let her pinch her face without any reaction, only giving a soft "Mhm."

"When I was playing cards with Sister Ziqiu and the others, how much did you drink behind my back?" Yun Yang took the opportunity to force a confession. "Tell the truth."

"Only a few glasses."

She reached out to touch Yun Yang's lips, her fingertip stopping at the corner of the mouth, the posture somewhat ambiguous. Opening her mouth slightly would allow the tip of her tongue to touch Tang Yuelou's finger. Yun Yang turned her head to dodge, but Tang Yuelou cupped her jaw with her hand, her thumb pressed against her lips, her breath like a passing feather. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

"Yes..." Yun Yang's face heated up. She responded honestly but refused rationally. "But let's talk about it when we get home."

"Mhm."

Tang Yuelou responded in a low voice, then pinched her chin and lowered her head to kiss her.

Except in some more private settings, she rarely ignored Yun Yang's opinion so unreasonably like this. The smoky, woody scent of whiskey had long dissipated, leaving only a trace of fruity floral sweetness gathered between their entangled lips and teeth by the dominant kiss.

Yun Yang didn't have time to cooperate and could only passively endure. Footsteps approached in the corridor separated by a single door. She couldn't help but get distracted and nervous, clutching Tang Yuelou's cuff tightly, barely managing to lower her head and separate a bit. "Someone... cameras! Nng..."

Tang Yuelou didn't let go; instead, she tightened her arms around her waist, taking two steps back to lean against the door.

Their positions switched; her hand propped up against the door panel behind Tang Yuelou.

"Eh? Is the bathroom door locked?"

"My god, you've really drunk yourself stupid. This is the stair-well."

"...What stair~well~... This sign, isn't it a person? There are people in bathrooms; where there are people, there are bathrooms. This is a bathroom!"

"...The emergency exit sign also has a person on it. Forget it, you won't understand right now anyway. Sober up, sister. Come, come, walk this way. Damn, you're so heavy..."

Her body leaned forward involuntarily, the door panel shaking slightly backward. She searched blindly for support, from the wrinkled shirt at Tang Yuelou's waist to the door panel, and finally landed on the light switch.

"Click." The hallway lights went out.

The voices faded away. Yun Yang tilted her head back unbearably, only to have the back of her head held and pressed down until the faint sounds of kissing filled this tiny space once again.

Yun Yang buried her face in the hollow of Tang Yuelou's neck, adjusting her messy breathing. Tang Yuelou stroked her neck idly. When their breathing gradually steadied, she asked softly, "Stay a while longer, or go out?"

"Let's go out." Yun Yang realized her voice was a bit hoarse, so she cleared her throat. "We've been out for a while. Sister Ziqiu and the others..."

"Ignore them." This sounded lazy, carrying a hint of petty grievance. "If you're uncomfortable, we can also go home now."

"Then, hold me a little longer."

"Okay."

"Teacher Tang," Yun Yang's voice was muffled against her neck, "you really drank too much."

Tang Yuelou teased her intentionally. "Why do you say that?"

"You're usually not so..."

Fierce.

Unreasonable.

"I'm not."

"Drunks usually don't admit they're drunk." Yun Yang held up two fingers and waved them in front of her. "What number is this?"

Tang Yuelou answered solemnly without even looking, "6."

Yun Yang swatted her as she withdrew her hand. "Just admit it generously if you're drunk. If you're bad at it, practice more. Get away."

Tang Yuelou smiled and circled her in her arms.

"I'm just... very happy."

"Happy about what?"

"You care about me."

"...Tang Yuelou, you're making me doubt myself. Am I usually such a cold and heartless person?"

"It's different." Tang Yuelou shook her head with a light laugh and kissed the shell of her ear. "It's different."

It tickled. Yun Yang rubbed against her unconsciously, her face feeling hot.

"You're my girlfriend... Isn't it right for me to care about you?"

Why was she being awkward today... Kissed into a daze, she had actually just forgotten.

---

"Celebrate our successful listing. Cheers!"

After several small gatherings, Yun Yang discovered that this group always liked to make Tang Yuelou drink. At this celebration banquet for Dianqing's listing, she used a trick she had practiced when drinking before to swap the alcohol in Tang Yuelou's glass for a soft drink. The two exchanged a tacit look. Tang Yuelou picked up the glass as if nothing had happened, and Yun Yang sat properly, pretending to be calm. Unexpectedly, when she turned her head, she met Ye Ziqiu's gaze.

...Fine, busted.

Surprisingly, Ye Ziqiu didn't insist on the drinking. She smiled meaningfully at Yun Yang and pulled a camera out of her bag like a magic trick. "I was thinking, should we take a group photo or something?"

Yun Yang paused, looking at Tang Yuelou a beat late. The latter was holding the soda she had "swapped in" and drinking it unhurriedly.

As if sensing her gaze, Tang Yuelou turned her head, her eyes smiling with gentle peace.

That day, she really had guessed everything.

Tang Yuelou knew what she cared about, knew what she was struggling with, and what she had figured out—she was saying that the future was still long. That wall in the old studio with two photos hanging on it was still empty; they had plenty of time to fill the wall. Their lives were also long; there was enough time to completely hand over the possessiveness belonging to "love" to the other person.

Yun Yang was dazed for a moment.

"Of course," Zhao Lin chimed in with a smile. "How many years has it been since we took a photo?"

Ouyang Zhou stood up immediately. "Come, come, everyone fix your appearance. How do we arrange ourselves? Rock, paper, scissors, winner stands in the center?"

"Center position? Look, is anyone paying attention to you? Just stand however. Whatever's convenient."

It was a founders' photo. As an outsider, Yun Yang consciously stepped out to take the camera. "Give me the camera. I'll take it for you."

Ye Ziqiu pulled her back in. "Oh, let the waiter take it. You come too. Come, come, stand here."

"It's your group photo. What am I?"

Ye Ziqiu didn't think twice. "Auxiliary staff."

Yun Yang: "Can auxiliary staff be in the photo?"

Ye Ziqiu pondered briefly. "Then a shareholder's family member."

Zhao Lin: "In short, the Boss Lady?"

Ye Ziqiu frowned and hissed, not wanting to dwell on titles. "Doesn't matter. You're already one of us anyway. Come to the company after graduation; not putting in effort won't do."

Yun Yang laughed and cracked a joke along with her words. "That's great then. Save the General Manager position for me."

"Good lord, you have quite the appetite." Ye Ziqiu elbowed Tang Yuelou. "She's stealing my job. What do you say?"

Tang Yuelou nodded with a smile. "I agree."

"Great, great. Fair competition is out the window. She hasn't even arrived yet, and you're already practicing favoritism?"

"Alright, then wait until I join the company and lead us to become bigger and stronger before taking a photo with you guys. I haven't done anything yet; being 'Boss Lady' is too embarrassing."

Yun Yang declined again. Seeing this, Ye Ziqiu had to give up and raised the camera to adjust the angle and settings.

"Three, two, one, cheese—Three, two, one, cheese—Okay, one more. Tang Yuelou, get closer, you're almost out of the frame... Eh? What are you doing? You...!"

Through the lens, she saw Tang Yuelou walking towards her. The image belonging to her magnified, and magnified again—Yun Yang dazedly saw Ye Ziqiu raise her phone towards them, dazedly looked up from the camera screen, and had a vague premonition. "What are you doing?"

Tang Yuelou smiled and raised her hand to make half a heart shape at her. "Can we make a heart?"

"You..."

These words were very familiar. Tang Yuelou still held up that half-heart, taking in all her helplessness and emotion—just like that night when she held up the ring under the light, waiting for her response.

Even though they had been together for so long, Yun Yang's eyes still stung. She quickly lowered her head and muttered softly, "What are you doing..."

She made half a heart before remembering she should use the hand holding the camera, so she switched hands in a flurry, not even noticing the snickering from across from her—Ye Ziqiu had already pressed the shutter.

"Can you get a little closer?" Tang Yuelou asked again.

"...Oh."

So childish... both of them. Yun Yang felt her face heat up again, leaning her body closer to hers, her hand closer too.

---

That night, Guan Yan refreshed her Moments and discovered that Student Yun Yang, who had been silent since the graduation trip in June, had actually updated her status.

The post had two photos. The first was comical; the two people in the photo had formed two half-hearts opening to the right with strange tacit understanding. One protagonist looked doting yet helpless, while the other held a camera, looking clearly out of the loop.

The second was very loving. They looked at each other smiling, with only each other in their eyes. There was no twenty-centimeter dividing line, nor any strange tacit understanding. Two hands were pressed tightly together, forming a complete, seamless heart.

The caption was also Yun Yang's style, simple and direct.

[Let me reintroduce her. This is my beloved, Tang Yuelou.]

The End

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