BSS - Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Yang Jing called again. Deng Chuan answered it.

At that moment, she and Xu Wei had just finished washing up, changed into loose pajamas, and were leaning against the headboard chatting. Teacher Xu was working remotely, using Deng Chuan's tablet to review a paper on a data analysis model she was responsible for part-time. Naturally, her phone also ended up in Deng Chuan's hands.

The Little Friend didn't look at it, just held it between two fingers, dangling and playing with it.

Xu Wei glanced up at her and told her to add her fingerprint while she was at it.

She and Deng Chuan now shared all their electronic devices. Although whether to look at each other's phones in a relationship was a personal choice, neither of them minded or had anything to hide. They didn't deliberately check up on each other, but openly looked at each other's phones.

When they went out, Xu Wei would also link her bank card to Deng Chuan's phone and had enabled the "intimate pay" feature. Whether Deng Chuan used it was her business. In Xu Wei's eyes, the Little Friend hadn't reached the point of true financial independence yet, so it was nothing for her, as an adult, to spend a little more.

The call connected, and Yang Jing on the other end said, "Hello? You answered so quickly? Are you back at the hotel?"

Deng Chuan said with a smile, "Sister Yang, are you off work?"

Yang Jing recognized Deng Chuan's voice, and her tone softened considerably. "Oh, it's Deng Chuan. I'm off work- I just got home and was about to get something to eat. How was your day?"

Xu Wei turned off the tablet, snuggled a little closer into Deng Chuan's embrace, and said lightly, "Thanks for your concern. We had a great time. It must be so hard for you, thinking of us this late."

Yang Jing said sarcastically, "So I'm interrupting you?"

"A little bit."

Yang Jing was silent for a moment, then spoke. "Fine, you two carry on. I'm all alone, so I'll just go back to eating my late-night snack."

Xu Wei, however, asked her another question. "You're alone?"

"Yeah," Yang Jing said. "Everything's wrapped up here."

"When are you coming back?"

"In a few days. I'm giving myself a vacation."

Deng Chuan listened to them talk from the side, silently nuzzling the back of Xu Wei's fair neck, her lips brushing against it intentionally or not.

Xu Wei gently squeezed her hand. "Got it." She was speaking to Yang Jing. "We'll have dinner together when you get back."

The two exchanged a few more proper sentences. Yang Jing seemed genuinely afraid of disturbing them and hurried to hang up, but not without reminding Deng Chuan, "Little Friend, remember to bring me back a gift."

"No problem!"

"I know, don't worry. You'll get yours."

Xu Wei, finding her annoying, took the phone from Deng Chuan's hand and pressed the end call button.

After hanging up, Xu Wei reached over Deng Chuan and turned off most of the lights in the room, leaving only a lamp in the hallway on. Her body sank into the warm, soft covers, now resting in Deng Chuan's arms. The motion of Xu Wei raising her arm made the two delicate collarbones at the neckline of her pajamas particularly prominent, like the world's most precious vessel, holding the warm fragrance of her body, a hauntingly beautiful wine.

Deng Chuan held her, her fingers brushing over a smooth shoulder. "Are you tired?"

Xu Wei wrapped her arms around her neck, her voice low. "My legs are sore."

The two of them had been walking all day. Their WeChat step count had set a new personal record, ranking them at the top among their friends. It was no wonder their legs were sore.

Deng Chuan wiggled her fingertips. "Want me to rub them for you?"

As she spoke, she started to reach under the covers. Xu Wei tensed up nervously, shrinking into her embrace. "Don't."

"This is good enough." She leaned against Deng Chuan's slender shoulder and sighed with contentment.

Deng Chuan stroked her hair, which was smooth and soft from being washed and blow-dried. She shifted her position, and the two of them lay down on the bed. Xu Wei buried her face in Deng Chuan's neck without a sound, seemingly truly exhausted.

The night deepened. The streets outside were silent. Xu Wei's breathing gradually evened out, but Deng Chuan wasn't sleepy. She stared blankly out of boredom, looking at the room's decor and getting lost in the sound of Xu Wei's breathing.

It was exceptionally quiet all around. Deng Chuan happened to look up and saw a faint shadow of them reflected on the ceiling.

The lamp left on in the hallway allowed the shadow to exist.

Deng Chuan stretched out her palm, spreading her five fingers.

A hand also opened on the ceiling, its silhouette thin and huge, as if it could hold both of them on the bed in its palm.

The shadow was a frozen moment, and Deng Chuan's eyes preserved that moment forever.

Deng Chuan played by herself for a while, until a drowsy Xu Wei stirred, patted her on the waist, and murmured softly, "Stop messing around... go to sleep..."

Deng Chuan soothingly stroked her head, sensing her breathing gradually deepening again.

Finally, she too fell asleep without realizing it.

As Deng Chuan drifted off to sleep, the tranquil Harbin night after the heavy snow finally stretched out. All activity had ceased. The shadow on the ceiling still remained, and whether it was seen or not, its posture was like an eternity.

The snow piled on the roadside was frozen solid, allowing countless passersby to walk over it. The footprints gradually stacked up, becoming unrecognizable, until they quietly melted away in the morning light.

In the deepest, most beautiful tranquility, Deng Chuan had a few fragmented dreams. In them were swirling snow and people coming and going. The snow was covered in a mess of footprints. In the blizzard, she couldn't see people's faces, only the way the snowflakes fell. The snow in her dream fell endlessly, yet it wasn't irritating, just as Deng Chuan had been accustomed to for the past nineteen years. Her heart was incredibly calm, as if all she had to do was walk forward and wait for the snow to stop, and everything she wanted would appear.

Deng Chuan awoke in this tranquility. Xu Wei was already sitting halfway up in bed. Noticing her gaze, Xu Wei lowered her head, stroked the half of the Little Friend's face that was peeking out from the covers, and said with a gentle look, "Good morning."

"Good morning." Deng Chuan's voice was a little hoarse. Her eyes held a dazed look from just waking up. She collected herself for a moment before sitting up and checking the time on her phone.

It was six-thirty in the morning. Xu Wei got out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled the curtain slightly. The sky outside was still dark.

Deng Chuan breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down, closing her eyes sleepily. "It's so early... Let's sleep a little longer..."

Xu Wei's cool hand pinched her nose. "Don't you want to go to the morning market?"

"We can come back and sleep later, okay?" she coaxed Deng Chuan to get up in a soft voice. "Hurry and get up- if we're late, everything will be gone."

Deng Chuan closed her eyes and grabbed Xu Wei's hand, took two or three seconds to adjust, then opened her eyes. "Okay, okay, I'm awake."

Deng Chuan didn't get grumpy when she woke up, nor did she have trouble getting out of bed. She quickly adjusted, her gaze clear, and sat up. She just clingily reached out for a hug.

Xu Wei wrapped her arms around her neck. The Little Friend still carried the warmth of the bed. They hugged for a moment, then Xu Wei pressed her cheek against Deng Chuan's, pulled away, brought her clothes to the bedside, and turned to go into the bathroom.

By the time Deng Chuan was dressed, the sound of water from the bathroom hadn't stopped. She walked to the window, pulled the curtain open a little, and glanced at the dark sky outside.

The weather was too cold, so Xu Wei didn't even bother with makeup. Deng Chuan thought her bare face made her look very young, almost not like a teacher at all.

After washing up, the two of them did their skincare routine in front of the mirror together. Deng Chuan's skin was a bit sensitive, so Xu Wei strictly supervised the Little Friend as she went through a complete winter skincare regimen. After checking one more time that they had everything they needed to go out, they put on their coats and left the hotel.

There was snow on the road, making it a bit slippery. The two walked carefully. They had decided to go to the nearby morning market on the spur of the moment last night. Xu Wei, in high spirits, linked her arm through Deng Chuan's. They stayed close together, encountering many elderly men and women who had finished their morning exercises along the way.

In stark contrast to the deserted streets, the morning market was bustling with people. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, conversations, and price quotes filled the air, so lively it seemed to drive away the cold.

Large blocks of frozen tofu, big piles of frozen fish, and whole frozen geese, all frozen solid, were casually displayed for sale on the roadside. Fried cakes sizzled in hot oil, a long line formed at the shredded potato pancake stall, steam rose from the lamb soup, and next to it was a bun shop with a curtained doorway.

Xu Wei took off her gloves and put them in Deng Chuan's pocket. Amidst all sorts of aromas, she openly held Deng Chuan's hand and walked forward. They bought a few fried cakes and a bowl of millet porridge, finally sitting down in the lamb soup shop to eat their proper breakfast.

The lamb soup was sprinkled with chili oil, mixing the unique texture and savory flavor of the offal. The aroma was enticing. The fried cakes were crispy, sweet, and chewy, and the millet porridge was eaten with small pickles. Xu Wei had a rare good appetite, drinking more than half her portion and eating a few bites of the fried cakes.

It was much warmer inside than outside. Deng Chuan took off her hat and started to sweat a little, which made her eyes look exceptionally dark and bright. Xu Wei brushed back her damp bangs and used a tissue to wipe the sweat from her neck.

Many people were having lamb soup for breakfast, and the room was filled with noisy chatter. Deng Chuan first finished Xu Wei's leftovers, then unhurriedly took a sip of her soup, which was fragrant and rich. Neither of them was in a hurry, nor did they feel annoyed by the noise inside. Instead, they felt a faint sense of peace.

This was the most authentic, lively world of mortals, and also the final destination of all romantic stories.

Xu Wei rested her chin on her hand and watched Deng Chuan eat; it was one of her pleasures. Deng Chuan added another spoonful of chili to her bowl. Her lips were rosy red, and the fingers holding the spoon were fair and slender. Sweat trickled down from her temples, but it didn't look greasy. Instead, her whole face looked as fresh as if it had been washed with water, and even her collar was neat. Xu Wei suddenly felt that she seemed detached from the noisy surroundings, that the old electrical wires and greasy tables and chairs were out of place with her. Yet, Deng Chuan was also sitting right across from her, using those beautiful hands to eat the last few bites of her breakfast, her eyes lowered as she chewed her food seriously. Her cheeks moved up and down like a little hamster eating. After swallowing, she would obediently smile at her.

Xu Wei's heart melted at her smile. She lowered her eyes to hide it and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Sometimes, Yang Jing would ask her how she and Deng Chuan always maintained their sense of novelty and affection for each other. As they grew more familiar, the initial attraction should have weakened. Yang Jing was troubled by the fact that love's final destination was the trivialities of life, all sorts of mundane people and things that wore away the initial flutter of the heart.

Many people often only realize at the very end that he/she was just such a mundane person after all.

Xu Wei would advise her that there was no such thing as a forever-romantic love. Life was down-to-earth. Instead of obsessing over preserving novelty, finding someone whose rhythm matched your own was the most crucial thing.

She said, "I don't ask for eternal romance. I just need her to be someone I can always trust."

Yang Jing thought she had a point.

But at this very moment, Xu Wei, with her eyes lowered, clearly felt her heart flutter. This feeling was no different from the one she'd had at the very beginning. Deng Chuan seemed to be a gift from heaven, a compensation for all the darkness and ugliness of her past. She was bright, vibrant, and always managed to surprise and delight Xu Wei, just as she had shattered her life of no expectations and made her soft again. Now, Deng Chuan was inadvertently declaring to Xu Wei that there was no need to worry about their love becoming mundane. She would make her fall in love with her again and again, their affection ebbing and flowing, stacking layer upon layer.

They would be in love forever.

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