BSS - Chapter 80
Chapter 80
"Okay," Xie Yao replied, satisfied. "My class isn't until after ten, so no rush. Spend some more time with her."
Deng Chuan didn't reply again. She was waiting for Xu Wei to finish her makeup so they could go out for breakfast. The luggage was already packed. Xu Wei was in the bathroom, concentrating on drawing her eyebrows. When Deng Chuan finished checking breakfast recommendations nearby and went in to see her, she was applying the final touches of lipstick in front of the mirror.
The lipstick color she chose today was a light coat of tomato red, which made her complexion look exceptionally good.
Seeing Deng Chuan come in, Xu Wei slowly washed her hands at the sink, packed away her cosmetics into her suitcase, put on her overcoat, and then gently tilted her chin at Deng Chuan. "Alright, let's go."
Deng Chuan took her hand, glanced around the room, and reminded her, "Check if you've got everything."
Xu Wei's gaze followed Deng Chuan's around the room. She pursed her lips, thought seriously for a moment, then looked up at Deng Chuan's chin. "Nope. Let's go."
Deng Chuan squeezed her hand, pushed the suitcase toward the door, and then closed it.
The lights in the corridor weren't very bright, casting a faint glow from a short distance away. Their footsteps on the carpet only produced a muffled echo. Medieval-style oil paintings hung on the walls. It was only when Deng Chuan got closer that she saw the wall sconce next to a painting, shaped like a hand-held oil lamp. The body of the lamp was it seemed to be bronze, with some faint patterns carved into it.
The lamp was lit, quiet as an oil lamp, and everything around it was silent. Deng Chuan glanced at Xu Wei beside her. Xu Wei was holding her hand, looking at the paintings on the wall with curiosity.
There was no one else in the corridor besides the two of them. Every door they passed was tightly shut. It was still too early, and the morning sun couldn't reach this hallway.
As she walked, Xu Wei toyed with the long hair by her ear and looked up to speak to Deng Chuan. "What delicious thing are we going to eat now?"
Deng Chuan smiled and teased her, "I'll take you to drink douzhi."
"I don't want it."
"Then how about we go have some tofu pudding?"
Xu Wei wore a small butterfly earring. When she looked over at Deng Chuan, her hair would gently fall with the movement, swaying next to the earring.
Deng Chuan lowered her head to talk to her. Seeing the glittering earring appearing and disappearing in her hair, she couldn't help but reach out and tuck her hair back for her.
Her fingers gently brushed past Xu Wei's earlobe, and she felt Xu Wei's gaze on her face, slightly warm.
Xu Wei let her, staring at Deng Chuan thoughtfully for a moment before asking in earnest, "Is it savory tofu pudding?"
Her tone was so serious that it made Deng Chuan pause. "It is." She reacted, thought for a moment, and then smiled again. "You southerners all eat sweet tofu pudding, right?"
Deng Chuan's tone carried a teasing smile, which made Xu Wei huff. "No e, I don't eat tofu pudding."
Deng Chuan let out a regretful "Ah." "What about a sweet fried pastry? Do you want to try it?"
Seeing that Xu Wei still didn't seem very interested, Deng Chuan turned her head and, in a rare moment of chattiness, began to persuade her. "This one is actually pretty good. To be honest, I don't really like Beijing breakfast either. It's just a local specialty, you know. I won't take you to the ones that aren't good. It's like the chaogan I had with my classmates last time. It was sticky and gooey with a really strong flavor… Although wasting food isn't good, I could only eat one bite of the whole bowl…"
"Mm," Xu Wei listened to her, nodding noncommittally. Deng Chuan then stopped and asked her, "Never mind, let's not have Beijing breakfast. Is there anything you want to eat?"
Xu Wei tilted her head and thought with great interest for a moment before making a final decision. "I want steamed dumplings. Let's go get steamed dumplings."
Although steamed dumplings were a world away from the emergency breakfast research Deng Chuan had done that morning, Deng Chuan still very happily agreed the moment Xu Wei's lips curved into a smile. "Okay!"
They stepped out of the hotel entrance onto a bustling main road. Cars sped past, kicking up dust and fallen leaves that had been swept to the roadside. Walking hand-in-hand along the street, the feeling of autumn in Beijing hung in the air, and they both understood that this breakfast would be the last bit of time they could spend together in Beijing. Xu Wei's flight was at ten in the morning, which was exactly when Deng Chuan had class.
They navigated to a dumpling shop near the hotel. Pushing aside the door curtain, a wave of heat, fragrance, and noise rushed out to meet them. The shop was quite full of people having breakfast. They found a table, and after ordering, Deng Chuan wiped the table clean for Xu Wei and poured two dipping saucers of soy sauce and chili oil, placing them in front of her.
After doing all this, Deng Chuan finally raised her hand to wipe the table in front of herself. Xu Wei took in this series of actions and couldn't help but think that, logically, Deng Chuan was younger than her. In this relationship, it should be Xu Wei taking care of her more. But Xu Wei knew that the reality was the complete opposite.
She remembered a joke Yang Jing had made and then looked at the serious expression on the kid's face as she wiped the table. A strange thought suddenly popped into her head.
The table they were sitting at was a bit greasy. Deng Chuan was scrubbing hard at the grease stains. For some reason, her arm felt a little weak, and the stains stubbornly clung to the tabletop. As Deng Chuan was engrossed in her task, she suddenly heard Xu Wei across from her ask out of the blue, "Deng Chuan, is this really your first time in a relationship?"
Deng Chuan immediately looked up, her eyes wide, and replied, baffled, "It is."
Xu Wei rested her chin on her hand and watched her leisurely. "Why do I get the feeling you're so… experienced?"
"…"
Deng Chuan froze, the paper she was using to wipe the table still in her hand. She didn't quite understand what Xu Wei meant. After a long pause, she decisively denied it.
"I'm not." She threw away the paper and, under Xu Wei's scrutinizing gaze, couldn't help but sit up straighter. "…Really, I'm not."
"I didn't say you were. I was just asking. Why are you so nervous?" Xu Wei said lightly, a smile playing on her lips. She then asked, "Could it be… you really have some romantic history you're hiding from me?"
"No." For some strange reason, Deng Chuan felt a little guilty under Xu Wei's teasing gaze. She composed herself and answered seriously, "Really, no."
"You're the only one I like," she said. "If other people like me, that has nothing to do with me. I only like you."
It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned other people, but as soon as she did, Xu Wei immediately thought of the confession she had overheard in the hallway. She reminded herself not to get jealous over a student, but her words were still quite sour. "Mm, I believe you. Other people liking you is their business. I'm not worried at all."
Hearing her words, Deng Chuan hesitated for a long moment before saying tentatively, "Um… maybe you should worry a little…"
She carefully watched Xu Wei's expression. "That way, you'll come to Beijing to see me more often."
Xu Wei shot her a glare and pretended to throw the wadded-up tissue she'd used to blot her lipstick at her. "In your dreams."
She had intended to tease the kid, but she ended up making herself angry instead. While secretly trying to calm herself down, Xu Wei couldn't help but feel a little jealous. "I'm not worried at all. You just take good care of yourself in Beijing and don't run off with someone else."
They were speaking softly, but the shop was small. Seeing that the people at the next table had caught the keywords and were looking over, Deng Chuan reached out and tucked a strand of Xu Wei's hair that had fallen onto the table. "I won't run off."
She gestured for Xu Wei to look around and lowered her voice. "Everyone here probably knows you're my wife now. Where could I possibly run off to?"
The steamed dumplings arrived just as Xu Wei's face turned red.
The steamer baskets were stacked high, and hot steam billowed between the two of them. Deng Chuan moved some dumplings into Xu Wei's bowl and deliberately raised her voice. "Wife, eat more."
She felt Xu Wei gently kick her under the table.
Taking the hint, Deng Chuan immediately and obediently shut up. Remembering Xu Wei's preferences, she placed the meat-filled dumplings in her bowl. "This one is corn and shrimp. These are all mixed together. If you don't eat the egg ones, give them to me."
Xu Wei nodded, took a bite of a dumpling on her chopsticks, and then, with a frown, moved the egg and zucchini-filled dumpling into Deng Chuan's bowl. "Here."
Xu Wei didn't have a big appetite, so Deng Chuan ate most of the three baskets of steamed dumplings. She also had a bowl of wontons, finishing even the soup, before pulling out a napkin to wipe her mouth. "I'm done."
Xu Wei had been resting her chin on her hand across from her, quietly watching her eat without saying a word. Hearing her, she glanced down at the watch on her wrist and stood up. "Okay, let's go then."
As they walked to the shop's entrance, Deng Chuan noticed several customers following their backs with their eyes. But when Xu Wei took the initiative to reach out and embrace her, she immediately put their gazes out of her mind and hugged Xu Wei back tightly.
Xu Wei pressed close to Deng Chuan's ear and whispered, "You fool, I'm leaving. You have to take good care of yourself while you're alone."
Deng Chuan answered in a muffled voice, "You too e."
She tightened her arms around Xu Wei's waist. "Let's hug a little longer."
Xu Wei patted her back. "Move to the side a bit… there are people…"
They held each other quietly for a while to the side of the bustling breakfast shop's entrance. Customers came and went, passing by them. Xu Wei's suitcase was still beside her, but she paid it no mind. Her entire focus was on embracing her young lover.
Xu Wei sensed the kid's intense emotions, which almost infected her as well. She held her, looked at the red rims of Deng Chuan's eyes, and wanted to kiss her, but only managed to lean in closer. "Don't cry."
Her voice was low. "I'll come see you whenever I have time. You have to miss me."
Deng Chuan looked at her, nodded forcefully, and called out, "Wife…"
This time, Xu Wei was no longer shy. She smiled gently, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, and ruffled the back of the kid's head. "Mm. Wife."
Their taxis merged into the flow of traffic, heading in opposite directions.
By the time Deng Chuan got back to school, the first class had just ended. She went back to her dorm to change out of yesterday's clothes, grabbed her books, and hurried to her classroom.
Because of all the rushing around, she arrived just as the bell rang. As luck would have it, this class was microeconomics.
As soon as Deng Chuan entered, she saw the professor standing at the podium. Before she could even offer an explanation, she saw the professor wave his hand, gesturing for her to find a seat.
Her roommates had already arrived and saved a spot for Deng Chuan. Once Deng Chuan was seated, the professor began the lecture. The four of them listened quietly for a while. Deng Chuan took a file folder out of her bag, filled in the last few details, and prepared to hand it to the department head after class.
The other three didn't pay attention to what she was writing. After a moment, Li Mingtang nudged Deng Chuan's arm and discreetly motioned for her to look at her phone.
They had already been chatting quite a bit in the group chat. Xie Yao asked Deng Chuan: Did your sister go back?
After parting with Xu Wei, Deng Chuan was feeling a bit down. She replied with a simple "Mm."
Xie Yao sent a face-palm-crying emoji: Your sister is so good, really just coming all this way to see you.
Seeing her message, Deng Chuan belatedly remembered why Xu Wei had come to Beijing. She suddenly realized that her nineteenth birthday hadn't passed yet; it was today.
With this realization, a crushing sense of fate suddenly washed over Deng Chuan. University, the government-funded exchange program, Xu Wei, meeting Xu Wei, the powerlessness and despair of parting with Xu Wei—everything seemed to have been arranged by some unseen force.
Ignoring the other messages in the group, Deng Chuan put down her phone and carefully placed the completed documents into a manila envelope. She slid it under her book and began to listen to the lecture. Her mind was a mess; she could only restore her focus through activities that required high concentration.
After class, Deng Chuan walked toward the department head's office with the file folder in hand. Looking out from the corridor, she could see P University's iconic weeping willows and clusters of green bamboo in the distance, still standing tall in the autumn wind.
She suddenly remembered this day one year ago. Back then, Su Mian had been riding her bike, rushing down a straight slope, the wind whistling past their ears, carrying their voices far, far away. But now, she had long since walked out of that gust of wind and was walking alone in the autumn breeze of Beijing.
She suddenly realized that, compared to her passionate eighteenth birthday, a solitary nineteenth birthday might not seem significant. From eighteen to nineteen, the first year of stepping into the adult world, the blessings of youth had faded, and it was still too early for any lighthearted talk or summaries about growth.
Yet Xu Wei had still come to Beijing. She had looked at her with deep eyes in the boundless night, just like the blessing she had given on her eighteenth birthday, wishing her all her dreams would come true and that she would have a bright future.
Deng Chuan walked in the autumn wind of Beijing. She could no longer not hear her companion's words whispered in her ear because of the wind's roar. She had clearly heard Xu Wei's wish, and for it, she would stake her usual, unceasing, year-round effort.
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