BSS - Chapter 89
Chapter 89
It was just past noon, but the weather had turned gloomy. After Deng Chuan spoke, she secretly glanced at Xu Wei's reaction. Xu Wei's lips were a vibrant red, looking exceptionally vivid against the gray winter day. She was smiling faintly, her lips curved. Noticing Deng Chuan looking at her, she didn't speak, only offered a soft gaze in silent agreement.
This expression of Xu Wei's was not unfamiliar to Deng Chuan. Like a drop of water falling into a swelling sea, Deng Chuan suddenly had a hazy realization: in a way, it was precisely this supportive attitude of Xu Wei's, just like the countless times she had accompanied and indulged her in the past, that had shaped the person she was today.
Deng Chuan watched Xu Wei in silence.
No one can say for sure what kind of person someone will ultimately become. Changes in personality, shifts in social identity—they all seem to cast layer after layer of fog over a person's original self. Most people can only see them as they are in the present, finding it hard to realize that a strict mother was once an innocent girl, or that a steady middle-aged person was once a rebellious youth.
Looking at Xu Wei, Deng Chuan would also imagine what she was like before.
At the same time, she vaguely recognized that Xu Wei was someone exceptionally different to her.
She would later come to understand that under the harsh trials of society, everyone's original self becomes riddled with scars. But Xu Wei had played the most subtle role on her path of growth. She had collected Deng Chuan's most brilliant smiles, witnessed her innocence, her youthful spirit, her moments of triumph and her times of sorrow. She accepted her immature love, cherishing this young heart, and then calmly witnessed her growth, even though no one can truly remain unchanged.
A rose beaded with dew must be kept under a glass dome to preserve its youth, but Xu Wei didn't care.
This, perhaps, was also within the scope of love.
It was precisely this kind of Xu Wei who could shape the Deng Chuan of this moment.
Fortunately, the current Deng Chuan was already able to vaguely realize something. Although she was still young, and nothing in her life had settled yet, she could already distinguish what she was striving for, and what her most important, most precious treasure was.
That was enough.
The two of them walked out of the academic building together. Xu Wei started the car, turned on the heat, and told Deng Chuan to get in first. She tossed the materials and documents she was holding into the back seat and shut the driver's door with a thud.
Although the weather was gloomy and it looked like it was about to snow, both of them were in high spirits. Due to the students being on break, there was some traffic at the school gate. As Xu Wei slowly drove the car out of the school, she asked Deng Chuan, "What do you want to eat for lunch?"
Deng Chuan tilted her head to look at the traffic outside. It would probably take a while to get out, giving them enough time to agonize over their lunch decision. "Should we eat out, or...?"
Xu Wei said, "Either is fine."
Deng Chuan agonized for a while. The weather was cold, and she wanted hot pot, but she didn't want the hassle of going out. After the complicated emotional journey of the morning, she just wanted to give Xu Wei a proper hug.
So she said, "How about we go to the supermarket, buy groceries, and make hot pot at home?"
"Okay." Xu Wei turned the steering wheel, finally getting off the congested road in front of the school, and headed toward a shopping mall near her apartment complex. "It's good that you're here. We can buy some groceries to keep at home."
Deng Chuan looked at her with a smile. "So you don't buy groceries when I'm not here? Do fairies live on dew?"
Xu Wei reached out and patted her, causing Deng Chuan's pocket to rustle.
The pocket was stuffed with the candies Xu Wei had given her. When she got in the car, Deng Chuan had dumped them all in, making it bulge. She rummaged inside; foil-wrapped candies and chocolates slipped through her fingers. There was quite a variety.
She ate a piece of White Rabbit candy herself. Seeing Xu Wei sneaking glances at her while they waited at a red light, she unwrapped a mint and held it to her lips. "You have this one. It's not too sweet."
"Mm." Xu Wei lowered her head and took the candy from Deng Chuan's fingertips into her mouth. Chewing, she smiled with narrowed eyes. "Looks like it's going to snow."
A layer of grayish-white clouds swirled on the horizon, rising and falling. Deng Chuan looked outside. The cars and pedestrians on the road all seemed to be rushing home. "Then we can sleep in for a nice, long time."
Xu Wei smiled without speaking, drove into the supermarket's parking lot, reversed into a spot, turned the key, and smoothly unbuckled her seatbelt. She called for Deng Chuan to get out. "Let's go."
Deng Chuan caught up to her and reached out to take her hand.
Walking into the supermarket, they were greeted by a wave of warm air. It wasn't crowded inside. People were pushing their carts slowly, stopping and starting in front of the shelves. Deng Chuan held Xu Wei's hand with one hand and pushed the cart with the other, heading for the fresh food section. "Let's get some beef, and some shrimp... hmm... do you want tripe?"
Xu Wei followed her without objection. "Buy whatever you want to eat." She held up two boxes of fatty beef slices to compare them, finally tossing the one with the nicer packaging into the cart.
They bought beef, shrimp, fatty beef slices, and tripe, then moved on to the fruit and vegetable section next to it. Deng Chuan loved grocery shopping. She liked seeing the goods arranged neatly, a dazzling array that gave her a wonderful visual experience. Along with her own happiness, she could feel that Xu Wei was also happy. The way they held hands gradually shifted to having their fingers intertwined.
A fine mist sprayed down over the vegetables. Xu Wei picked up a box of bean sprouts and pretended to wipe her damp hand on Deng Chuan's coat. Deng Chuan tried to dodge, but she still managed to wipe it on her.
The fruit and vegetable section was more crowded than other areas, and the aisles between the stalls were narrow, barely wide enough for two shopping carts to pass side by side.
As a shopping cart squeezed past, Deng Chuan let go of Xu Wei's hand, put an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her toward the inside of the aisle.
Xu Wei let her hold her, reaching out to grab a pre-packaged vegetable platter specifically for hot pot, just the right amount for two people.
They browsed nearby for a bit, Deng Chuan's hand still resting affectionately on Xu Wei's shoulder, not pulling it back. Deng Chuan had graduated half a year ago, so they weren't likely to run into anyone they knew. Both of them relaxed a little, their interactions visibly intimate.
Xu Wei usually ate a lot of fruit. Deng Chuan watched her pick out apples for a while. Xu Wei's aesthetic fussiness was particularly pronounced at this moment. Watching her serious profile, Deng Chuan couldn't help but tease her, "I think they say the ugly fruits are sweeter."
Xu Wei immediately refuted it. "I don't believe that."
She carefully placed a perfectly shaped apple into the bag. "The ugly ones might taste good, but the good-looking ones definitely taste good."
Leaning on her shoulder, Deng Chuan laughed out loud.
After finally finishing with the apples, Xu Wei turned to look at the oranges nearby. But today's oranges didn't seem very appealing and failed to meet Teacher Xu's standards.
The two continued to wander aimlessly, having bought most of what they needed. Xu Wei deliberately pulled Deng Chuan's hand to touch the spikes of a durian, saying, "Give it a squeeze, see if it's ripe."
In reality, neither of them ate durian, but Deng Chuan cooperatively endured the gaze of the nearby weighing staff and squeezed the poor durian's spikes, commenting with great seriousness, "Not ripe yet."
The next second, as Deng Chuan pulled her hand back, a woman behind them eagerly grabbed the poor, prodded durian and put it in her cart, not forgetting to say, "The bottom of this durian is already split open. It's been ripe for a while."
After saying her piece, she pushed her cart and left, leaving Xu Wei to look at Deng Chuan's slightly aggrieved face. She smiled and reached out to stroke the kid's face, comforting her with equal seriousness, "It's okay, it's okay. Now we know."
They spent quite a bit of time in the supermarket. It didn't feel long while they were inside, but when they checked out, got in the car, and looked at the time, it was already past one in the afternoon.
Xu Wei herself wasn't very hungry, but she was worried about Deng Chuan, even though the kid said she wasn't hungry. And so, Deng Chuan had the honor of experiencing what Yang Jing called Xu Wei's "fast car."
Xu Wei covered the fifteen-minute return trip in just under ten minutes. Her own expression was calm, though she would occasionally mutter something under her breath when another car was uncooperative during an overtake. Her foot kept pressing the accelerator, making Deng Chuan hold her breath the entire way until they turned into the parking lot and she could finally relax.
Xu Wei carried her books and materials, while Deng Chuan carried the large and small bags from the supermarket. The moment she pressed her fingerprint and the lock turned, Deng Chuan heard the sound of Zhou Liu running behind the door.
She laughed, using her leg to block the charging Zhou Liu, and held the bags up so he wouldn't scratch them. "Hey, hey, let me come in first, okay?"
The excited Zhou Liu only calmed down after meeting Xu Wei's gaze. He followed Deng Chuan inside, step for step, constantly getting under her feet.
The human and cat walked awkwardly until Deng Chuan accidentally stepped on his tail.
Xu Wei was in the kitchen washing the pot for the hot pot when she suddenly heard Zhou Liu yowl, followed by Deng Chuan's incessant apologies. The kid was gently and ceaselessly coaxing him, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, let me see, does it still hurt? I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to. How about a kiss? You won't be mad after a kiss..."
Zhou Liu was already a drama queen, so now he whined and whimpered, letting Deng Chuan kiss him again and again before finally rolling over, getting up, and strolling into the kitchen to see what Xu Wei was doing.
Deng Chuan followed him, sorted the vegetables and meat that needed washing, and came closer to do what she had been wanting to do the whole time. She pressed against Xu Wei's back, hugging her from behind, and kissed her cheek. "You've worked hard."
Xu Wei turned her head to dodge but failed. She flicked some water droplets from her wet hand onto her shoulder. "Your mouth is full of cat fur, don't kiss me..."
Deng Chuan didn't listen to her. "I'm going to."
After being kissed several times, Xu Wei noticed Zhou Liu on the floor, staring at them. A belated sense of flustered annoyance washed over her. "What did you come in here for?"
Leaning on her shoulder, Deng Chuan said with a smile, "I came to help you."
Xu Wei pointed to the washed vegetables beside them. "Then take these outside."
The kid nodded readily, but before moving, she leaned in again and murmured, "One more kiss."
Before Xu Wei could react, Deng Chuan planted a firm kiss on her lips, then contentedly carried the washed vegetables out of the kitchen.
In the kitchen, a sink full of bean sprouts and a few potatoes were soaking. Xu Wei idly swirled them with her hand. The water was warm, just like her mood at that moment.
Outside, Deng Chuan was lecturing the incorrigible Zhou Liu about not getting on the table. Today's lesson seemed to be ineffective as well; for every word Deng Chuan said, Zhou Liu would meow back.
The water in the sink drained down the open drain. Xu Wei placed the washed bean sprouts onto a plate, preparing to go out. Listening to the commotion outside, the feeling on her lips still seemed to linger. Xu Wei lowered her eyes and smiled unconsciously.
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