BSS - Chapter 120

Chapter 120

Deng Chuan, in the end, still couldn't get Xu Wei to tell her what exactly she had done last night.

She put on her Bluetooth headphones, went to the kitchen to fry two eggs for herself, and drank a large glass of milk before declaring breakfast over.

Autumn had arrived. The view from the bay window was lovely. Because the apartment wasn't on a high floor, from Deng Chuan's perspective, the clear sky seemed especially high and distant, a blue so crisp it could be called brittle. The air carried the faint fragrance of mature plants. The wisteria wall below the apartment building was still lush, though most of the flowers had withered. The leafy shade hung on the cusp of its deepest green, just before it would begin to fade, flourishing with wild abandon.

Deng Chuan pushed open the window, and a gentle breeze drifted in, stirring the loose strands of hair by her ear.

In her headphones was Xu Wei's equally gentle voice: "You should be studying now. I'll stop talking to you for a bit."

"Okay," Deng Chuan answered softly.

The two fell into a comfortable silence. It was quiet in the headphones. Xu Wei must have been in her room; Deng Chuan heard her softly close the door, shutting Zhou Liu and Juzi out. At this thought, Deng Chuan smiled faintly, as if she could picture Xu Wei's usual expression, frowning as she flipped through a book.

The quiet environment allowed her concentration to gradually return. Deng Chuan settled her mind, opened a thick textbook, and began to read about abstruse financial econometrics.

Time passed without her noticing. At noon, Lao Lin came back from outside and brought Deng Chuan some sushi. Xu Wei happened to be taking a break for lunch as well. Deng Chuan saw her eating roast duck over rice through the video call, and the fish roe sushi in her hand suddenly seemed tasteless.

On the other end, Xu Wei's smile was exceptionally bright. Her red lips were moist and glossy, making the chopped pieces of roast duck look even more glistening and ruddy. She was deliberately trying to make Deng Chuan jealous, eating slowly in small bites. The two were teasing each other endlessly when Lao Lin passed by the dining area and saw Xu Wei on the screen.

"Hey!" he casually leaned in to say hello, startling Deng Chuan, who was in the middle of acting cute with Xu Wei.

Xu Wei didn't answer right away. Deng Chuan first wiped the smile from her face and quickly composed herself. "What are you doing?"

Lao Lin also felt his actions had been rash. He scratched his head and laughed sheepishly. "Just wanted to say hi to your friend."

He waved at Xu Wei. "Hello."

"Hello," Xu Wei replied, properly putting down her chopsticks and wiping her hands to greet him.

Facing Xu Wei, Lao Lin actually became a bit flustered. Xu Wei noticed his nervousness, smiled placidly, and initiated some small talk. "Deng Chuan hasn't been any trouble for you, has she?"

"No, no, sometimes I'm the one who has to ask her to take care of me." When Xu Wei adopted a serious expression, she was exceptionally beautiful. Lao Lin blushed a little, nervously wringing his hands. "Ah, we just look after each other."

Xu Wei smiled reservedly. "Is that so."

"Um… are you Deng Chuan's friend?"

Xu Wei paused for a moment, then said, "I suppose so."

"Haha, I haven't heard her mention you much…"

Xu Wei found this hard to respond to and could only smile at Lao Lin, a smile that made him blush to the roots of his neck. Still, he persisted in trying to say a few more words to her. "Since we're both Deng Chuan's friends, I guess that makes us friends too…"

"That's enough." Seeing that Lao Lin was going on and on, Deng Chuan pushed him away as he crowded closer. "Aren't you going to take a nap? Go on."

"Hey…" Lao Lin gave her a pleading look, then glanced at Xu Wei again. "Fine… you two can talk then." Facing Deng Chuan, he regained a bit of his senses. Figuring there was no rush, he straightened up and walked away, snatching a small seaweed roll from Deng Chuan's plate on his way out.

Watching Lao Lin close his door, Deng Chuan turned back and unconsciously wrinkled her nose. She didn't dare show any of her feelings to Xu Wei, nor did she want to say something like "don't smile at other people." That would be too selfish and too childish. Deng Chuan didn't want to put Xu Wei or herself in a situation where such words needed to be said.

But even with this awareness, the unhappiness in her heart was real and beyond her control. Deng Chuan suppressed the sour feeling welling up in her chest, only wrinkling her nose again and pretending to be nonchalant as she took a large bite of a tamago hand roll.

The nuisance was gone, but the little one had fallen silent. Xu Wei found it strange. She studied her carefully for a moment before realizing what she was being awkward about. The little one's self-control wasn't quite up to par yet, and Xu Wei had caught the flaw in her composure.

If it were just that, it would have been fine. But Xu Wei could also see that Deng Chuan was trying hard to restrain herself. Once her thoughts were laid bare, it brought about a sense of empathy. Xu Wei found this side of Deng Chuan pitiful and adorable. She shamelessly defected to the side of this poor, cute little one and coaxed her along, "What's wrong?"

Deng Chuan pretended nothing was wrong, so Xu Wei also acted nonchalantly, waving a piece of roast duck in her hand. "Weren't you fine just a moment ago?"

Deng Chuan puffed out her cheeks and replied sullenly, "It's nothing."

She didn't say anything, and Xu Wei didn't expose her. The two finished their meal as if nothing had happened. Deng Chuan went back to her room and played with Juzi and Zhou Liu through the screen for a while, then went back to her books. Xu Wei didn't disturb her, quietly doing her own thing.

At three in the afternoon London time, ten at night Beijing time, Deng Chuan left for the gym, and Xu Wei washed up to go to bed. The two said their goodbyes.

Remembering she had a dinner gathering that evening, Deng Chuan packed a set of clean clothes into her shoulder bag and headed out.

At seven in the evening, Lao Lin drove to the gym to pick her up.

They picked up the rest of their group along the way and arrived at a small, nearby bar they often frequented.

It was still early, so the bar was mostly empty. A few lights were on here and there. A waiter in a white shirt and black bow tie was arranging chairs and wiping glasses. In the middle, a small stage was cleared, where a few trendily dressed foreigners were tuning a keyboard and sound equipment.

When Deng Chuan got to their spot, she saw beer bottles already lined up neatly on the table. They hadn't even eaten, yet it looked like they were planning to drink their fill. Sensing trouble, Deng Chuan tried to head for a corner, but a girl from her school grabbed her arm.

This girl had dyed red hair. She was Spanish, with deep-set eyes and a high-bridged nose. She grinned, showing a mouth full of white teeth as she spoke, telling Deng Chuan not to hide.

Fine, fine. Everyone was looking over, and Deng Chuan noticed their gazes had become excited. She obediently let herself be pulled into a seat and started making small talk about this and that.

Gradually, the bar filled with customers. This place specialized in slow rock, so there wasn't a particularly high-energy atmosphere. Everyone was chatting happily in low voices, and a soothing English song echoed around them, the lead singer's languid accent quite charming.

After her workout, Deng Chuan had bought and eaten a chocolate bar from a vending machine downstairs, so she wasn't drinking on an empty stomach. She didn't have a strong desire to drink and wasn't used to Western-style bar snacks, so she just had a few bites of salad. Her spirits weren't very high either. She sat with her friends, listlessly drinking half her bottle of beer and occasionally saying a few words.

The lighting was dim. Later, another group of people arrived. Their area was actually quite crowded, but everyone maintained a relaxed attitude, doing as they pleased and keeping the pace within a comfortable range for all.

Deng Chuan drank by herself and chatted with the friends she knew well, paying no mind to the gazes that drifted her way, intentionally or not. Besides, the booth was dimly lit; she probably couldn't have recognized anyone anyway.

But it wasn't so in the eyes of others.

As one of the uninvited guests at the gathering, Gu Ninglu hadn't expected to run into Deng Chuan today.

It had been a long time since she and Deng Chuan had been in contact. If she didn't initiate contact with Deng Chuan, Deng Chuan wouldn't initiate contact with her. After a while, Miss Gu got annoyed and just let them lie dormant in each other's contact lists. Deng Chuan rarely posted on her Moments and didn't really "like" her posts either. Their only interaction had been that time she went to Qinghai Lake.

After that, Deng Chuan never spoke to her again. Gu Ninglu would occasionally think of her and scroll through her Moments. The latest post was still that photo of the woman.

Gu Ninglu gritted her teeth in anger over this, but couldn't help thinking, Who knows what will happen between you two in the future? You never know, right?

Who knew?

Isn't this fate, arriving just now? Gu Ninglu thought.

It was a gathering organized by a friend. Not long after sitting down out of boredom, Gu Ninglu discovered who was sitting diagonally across from her. She hadn't quite believed it at first and had to ask a classmate she knew to confirm that Deng Chuan was really in Oxford now.

So, while she had been away for over half a year, so many things she was delighted to see had happened back home. The little junior from back then had also visibly matured quite a bit.

Captivated by this maturity, Gu Ninglu stared at her for a long time.

After more than half a year, Deng Chuan's hair had grown longer and was tied low at the back of her head. She had apparently just come from the gym, and a headband, not very noticeable in the dim light, was tied around her forehead. The eyes beneath the headband were still as beautiful and serene as ever. Gu Ninglu had once greatly enjoyed the way Deng Chuan looked at her. She had never lacked for attention in her life, but only Deng Chuan could make her feel like she was being truly seen.

But not anymore. Deng Chuan might have glanced her way, but she definitely hadn't noticed her among so many people.

This realization made Gu Ninglu feel deeply frustrated. But in front of Deng Chuan, her usual pride seemed to vanish. It was clearly Deng Chuan who had given their relationship the cold shoulder, but right now, this long period of no contact had instead become a thin mist between them. Gu Ninglu stared at Deng Chuan without blinking, thinking, Whether it's trying to scoop the moon from the water or view flowers in a fog, it's become a reality now, hasn't it?

She felt a peculiar sense of pleasure.

The person across from her was wearing simple black pants and a white T-shirt, with a loose, colorful plaid shirt thrown over it. The only accessory on her entire body was a plain ring on her hand. She was still good-looking, just too quiet. She silently held her beer bottle, tilting her head back for a sip from time to time. While everyone else drank, chatted, and played games, she wasn't very active, only smiling occasionally. The shifting light and shadows on her profile made this silence very attractive.

Quite a few people in the bar were looking at Deng Chuan, but Gu Ninglu's gaze was particularly obvious. Her group of rich friends, who had been traveling with her all the way from France, had never seen her like this. The booth was full of young people who were all fun-loving, so they took note and waited for Gu Ninglu to make the first move so they could help her out.

Gu Ninglu stared at Deng Chuan's profile for most of the night, barely drinking any of her alcohol. So when everyone was finally tipsy enough to start playing games, she was still quite sober.

A stack of colorful cards was thrown onto the table, and someone asked, "Werewolf, or…?"

Gu Ninglu didn't have the patience for Werewolf. After being silent the entire evening, she finally sat up straight, deftly opened a new bottle of beer, and drained it in one go. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, she spoke: "Spin the bottle. Truth or Dare."

As the words left her mouth, she stared straight into Deng Chuan's eyes, confirming that she had finally been recognized.

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