BSS - Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Xu Wei brought the bouquet of roses from the depths of summer back home. She held them in her hand the entire way, making no effort to hide them. A smile hung on her lips, and joy cast a soft glow on her face, making her good mood obvious to anyone.
The eye-catching flowers and the eye-catching person inevitably drew attention along the way, but Xu Wei didn't care. When passersby smiled kindly at them, she would even return a nod.
It wasn't until they got off the plane and arrived in the area where she worked and lived that she let go of Deng Chuan's interlocked fingers.
Deng Chuan watched her expression from the corner of her eye, afraid she would be disheartened by this, saddened by the fact that their relationship couldn't yet be made public. She didn't realize her own worried expression was already written all over her face.
A weight settled on her arm. Xu Wei linked her arm through hers and leaned in to speak by her ear, the smile on her lips particularly evident. "Don't worry. Right now, aside from you, I have no other concerns. I'm not afraid of anything. And I'm certainly not sad."
Deng Chuan said in a low voice, "I'm not afraid either."
Xu Wei didn't speak, just smiled and glanced at her.
It was a glance of pure happiness, unmixed with any complex meaning. Xu Wei rarely smiled so openly-this was a happiness she had brought her. A piece of Deng Chuan's heart sank into that feeling, as if she had gained some confidence and courage from that gaze, allowing her to continue with her fanciful words. "I'm an adult, and you're an adult. We can both be responsible for our own actions. No one has the right to stop us."
Xu Wei played along, responding, "That's true... but what if someone really does try to stop us?"
"Then we'll take Zhou Liu and go somewhere no one knows us. I can learn to cook, so you won't have to eat takeout all the time. On weekends, we'll take Zhou Liu for walks in the park, and on the way back, I'll buy you flowers from the shop at the entrance of the complex... Whether people stare at us or not, I'm still going to give them to you."
"Alright," Xu Wei said. "Then I'll go ask Zhou Liu for his opinion on your behalf. Even though he's a little cat, his opinion is very important too."
Deng Chuan nodded vigorously.
Zhou Liu had been boarded at a pet shop for the past week. The shop sent videos to Xu Wei at a set time every day, and the surveillance footage showed he was eating and sleeping well. But having never been separated from her since he was a kitten, the moment he saw Xu Wei today, he immediately leaped into her arms, claws clinging to her clothes, purring loudly from his throat, posturing as if he would never be separated from her again.
Deng Chuan, holding the pet carrier, saw his clingy behavior and didn't have the heart to make him go inside. She gestured for Xu Wei to get into the passenger seat.
Xu Wei held him patiently the whole time, letting Zhou Liu's claws snag her shirt, softly explaining to him where she had gone, why he had to be boarded at the pet shop, and praising his adaptability, saying that after staying in a strange place for a few days, not only had he not lost weight, he had even gotten a little chubbier.
Driving alongside, Deng Chuan listened to Xu Wei the entire way and thought that even if Xu Wei were to become a kindergarten teacher, she would definitely be up to the task.
August was coming to an end. Deng Chuan was about to start university.
P University had long since assigned dormitory buildings by department and arranged for new students to select their rooms in advance on the campus app, so they could move in directly when the semester began.
With the start of the semester approaching, Deng Chuan's family finally realized the time for their daughter to leave home was near, and they began to pay extra attention to her.
Tang Lijuan even said she wanted to go with her to drop her off, but Deng Chuan managed to talk her out of it after much persuasion.
At the high school, the third-year students had already started remedial classes. Fortunately, Xu Wei would be teaching the second-years next year, so she still had a few days of vacation left. But as the start of the school year drew closer, the number of school notices increased day by day, to a point Xu Wei could no longer ignore.
They both realized that their days of being able to see each other after a ten-minute drive, eating together, cuddling on the sofa to watch movies, and teasing Zhou Liu while they chatted were numbered.
Deng Chuan had lunch with Tang Lijuan and then sat on the sofa chatting with her. Tang Lijuan had a rare moment of leisure and was sorting through the things Deng Chuan needed to take to university, anxiously reminding her that once she was at school, she had to eat on time, and at the very least, she absolutely could not skip breakfast.
After the busy and intense third year of high school, Deng Chuan's stomach had developed some minor problems. As a doctor, Tang Lijuan knew better than anyone how young people could use being busy or lazy as an excuse to ruin their own health.
While stuffing things into her suitcase, Deng Chuan said, "Okay, I know."
Tang Lijuan paused what she was doing, leaned reluctantly against her daughter, and reached out to touch her face. "Baby, when you get to Beijing, will you miss Mom?"
It was phrased as a question, but it was really a statement. Deng Chuan knew in her heart that even though they hadn't parted yet, Tang Lijuan was already missing her.
She coaxed her in a soft voice, "Of course, I'll miss you guys no matter where I go."
"You'll definitely be busy with school. Mom will try not to bother you usually, but you have to call us, okay?"
"Okay," Deng Chuan replied, drawing out the word. "I will."
Tang Lijuan still felt very sad. On her rare day off, she didn't even play mahjong on her phone. She carefully studied Deng Chuan's face and sighed inwardly: This is clearly the daughter I watched grow up, but in the blink of an eye, she's grown so much that even I find her a little unfamiliar.
Tang Lijuan had to work a night shift, so after Deng Chuan finished packing in the afternoon, she lay down on her bed and fell asleep without realizing it. When she woke up, the house was empty. The curtains were drawn, and the room was dim and drowsy.
Xu Wei had gone to the school for a meeting that afternoon. Deng Chuan washed her face, sat in the living room, and stared blankly at the empty house for a while before standing up, changing her clothes, and heading out.
She had left in a hurry and forgotten her car keys, so she could only walk to the subway station. It was the evening rush hour. Squeezed into the airtight crowd, Deng Chuan could feel the cold air from the air conditioner pouring down her collar, but sweat still trickled uncontrollably down her back.
She moved her neck. With her lips pressed together, her face looked a bit fierce. Her gaze was unfocused. In the subway car, a few students in No. 1 High School uniforms kept stealing glances at her. They probably recognized her but didn't dare to come over and say hello.
Deng Chuan got off at the stop near Xu Wei's home and, as usual, bought flowers at the shop at the entrance of the complex. She came so often that the young employees who arranged the flowers all recognized her. When they saw her enter, they greeted her, telling her that the oriental lilies were beautiful today and the champagne roses were nice too, asking what kind of flowers she wanted.
Deng Chuan thought for a moment and bought a large bouquet of pristine white oriental lilies. Trailing their fragrance, she went up to Xu Wei's door.
She rang the doorbell, but no one answered.
She had left in such a rush that she had forgotten to contact Xu Wei. Now, facing the closed door, she suddenly realized that Xu Wei wasn't home.
There were couplets pasted on Xu Wei's door, possibly left by the previous tenant or put up by the landlord. The couplets read: The fifth watch divides two years, may every year be satisfactory; one night connects two ages, may every year be auspicious.
The horizontal scroll was missing-it had either been torn off or was never put up.
Deng Chuan stared at the curled red edge of the couplet by the door and gave Xu Wei a call.
On the other end of the line, Xu Wei said, "I'm almost there. Wait for me at the door for a minute." Just as she finished speaking, the sound of a car door locking could be heard.
The light in the hallway dimmed and finally went out. Deng Chuan leaned against the door without moving, silently watching the bright red floor numbers on the elevator display in the dimness. The numbers jumped unhurriedly, paused, stopped at different floors, then continued their work... With each jump, Xu Wei drew closer to her, as if the gears of fate were turning, everything pointing toward that one certain outcome.
She calmly watched as the number displayed her floor, followed by a "ding" to announce its arrival.
Light spilled from the slowly opening doors, and the motion-sensor light in the hallway lit up accordingly. Xu Wei stepped out of the elevator, carrying something in her hand.
Her hair was tied back, revealing a clear forehead and ears. Her face looked exceptionally pale in the light. Seeing Deng Chuan, Xu Wei held up what she was carrying. "You must be hungry. I bought some sushi at the convenience store. Have some to tide you over."
Deng Chuan watched her intently as she walked up to her and reached out to unlock the door. "I forgot to register your fingerprint." She looked at her with a gentle apology. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Deng Chuan stood up straight, looking at her dark hair loosely tied at the back of her head, cascading onto her neck with a particularly fragile beauty. "I forgot too."
They wouldn't forget this time. After registering the fingerprint, they went inside. There was no sunset glow today; outside the window was a blue-gray evening, resembling the colors of dawn before sunrise. The residential complex was filled with bright little windows, the aroma of dinner wafting from one small square after another. In a daze, Deng Chuan had the illusion that they had been living together for a very long time.
Xu Wei placed the sushi she bought from the convenience store on the table, told Deng Chuan to eat first, and went into her room to change into comfortable clothes.
Deng Chuan walked over and opened the boxes of sushi on the table. It was a standard assorted sushi combo from a convenience store: seaweed wrapped around rice, topped with corn salad, seaweed, crab roe with pork floss, and a box of simple kimbap.
Xu Wei came out after changing and saw Deng Chuan sitting on the sofa playing on her phone. The food on the table was already unpacked and arranged. She walked over and patted her leg. "If you're hungry, go ahead and eat. You don't have to wait for me."
Deng Chuan leaned over, contentedly sniffing the fragrance that emanated more clearly from her now that she was in comfortable clothes. "It's better to wait for you."
Hearing this, Xu Wei couldn't help but smile. She sat down next to Deng Chuan, unwrapped a pair of chopsticks, and handed them to her.
As long as the two of them were together, what they ate didn't matter. Even a piece of sushi from a convenience store, mixed with corn kernels and mayonnaise, looked as cute as a little duck when picked up.
Xu Wei didn't seem very hungry. She stopped eating after a few pieces and rested her chin on her hand, quietly watching Deng Chuan eat.
Zhou Liu sauntered out of the room at an unhurried pace, circled the table once, wanted to jump up to have a look, but didn't dare.
Its hind legs tensed, but it still didn't dare to jump.
Soon, Xu Wei noticed its eager gaze.
The person and the cat stared at each other for a moment. Zhou Liu tucked his tail, turned around, and walked to a corner. A short while later, the crunching sound of him chewing on cat food could be heard.
Xu Wei retracted her gaze with satisfaction, only to see Deng Chuan looking at her, having clearly witnessed everything that had just happened.
She was still chewing on sushi, her cheeks puffed out.
Both of them saw the same emotion in each other's eyes.
So cute.
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