BSS - Chapter 157
Chapter 157
They sat in the car for a while before getting out to wander around a nearby mall.
It was the Lunar New Year, so the mall was bustling. Down in the basement supermarket, even the vegetable section was decorated with bright red ornaments. Garlic was braided to look like firecrackers, and the sweet scent of gold-foil-wrapped chocolate filled the air.
There were many young people like them just browsing, all dressed stylishly. In twos and threes, they pushed small shopping carts, picking things from the shelves, unhurried and relaxed.
With nothing else to do, Deng Chuan grabbed a cart herself and led Xu Wei forward, hand in hand.
Thinking about it carefully, moments when they could leisurely stroll through a mall like this were rare. First, they hadn't had much time together before. Then, in Beijing, the mall was several subway stops away from home, making online shopping more convenient. As for back home, they rarely went to the mall for fear of running into acquaintances and causing complications.
With this in mind, looking at their current leisurely time, Deng Chuan's feelings were inevitably a bit complex.
But then she had another thought. Recalling her past with Xu Wei, there were objectively many regrets, but Deng Chuan still felt that their old days were unique, no matter what. It was because of those past regrets and beautiful moments that they could have the stable life they had now.
While steering the cart to avoid people in front of them, Deng Chuan shared these thoughts with Xu Wei.
Xu Wei linked her arm with Deng Chuan's, resting her head slightly on her shoulder and smiling. "You've grown up."
Only grown-ups get sentimental.
As she spoke, Xu Wei's eyelashes lowered slightly. The bright supermarket lights floated above them, making her gentle expression seem exceptionally profound and pure.
Deng Chuan raised a hand, wrapped it around her waist, and guided her aside to let someone pass.
Xu Wei was wearing a black woolen coat with a belt that cinched her waist, making her figure exceptionally slender. The coat reached her ankles, giving her a solemn elegance reminiscent of a medieval crinoline. Deng Chuan gently caressed her waist with her palm, turned her face, and said, "I'd rather not grow up."
Xu Wei tilted her head to look at her. The kid's expression was serious, not like she was joking. "Why?"
But Deng Chuan pursed her lips and smiled, a sweet look in her eyes.
She didn't speak, but Xu Wei could guess some of it. She turned her face away slightly, her eyes lowered, unable to suppress a smile. Deng Chuan always had this ability to make childish or willful words sound touching. No, even without words, she was touching. In a way, Deng Chuan really hadn't grown up, Xu Wei thought. The charm in her soul was always that of a youth.
It took a while for Deng Chuan to pull back the corners of her slightly upturned lips and seriously answer Xu Wei's original question: "I'm afraid I'll forget. I want to always feel the way I did back then."
Just then, the cart led them to the end of an aisle. Seeing no one around, Xu Wei stopped and crooked a finger at Deng Chuan, signaling for her to lean down.
While saying, "There are security cameras here..." Deng Chuan obediently bent down.
Xu Wei's voice was soft and slow. "Let me help you feel it again..."
As she spoke, she hooked her arm around Deng Chuan's neck and kissed her on the lips.
The kiss, of course, didn't last long. When they came out from around the corner, Deng Chuan's hand was still around Xu Wei's waist. Both of them looked nonchalant, except that Xu Wei was linking arms with Deng Chuan, her head lowered, and the color of her lipstick was a little faded.
They didn't run into any acquaintances, and there were no unexpected incidents. Everything was peaceful. Because relatives were visiting their home, they browsed the dazzlingly stocked shelves and bought some snacks, candied fruits, and nuts that children would like.
The snow had stopped by the time they left the mall. A thin layer of snow covered the ground, and a few scuffs could reveal the dark asphalt underneath.
Deng Chuan drove the car onto the road. Xu Wei rested her chin on her hand, gazing out the window and chatting idly with her. Living with parents was always inconvenient. They planned to return to Beijing after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Xu Wei's classes started in March, but her advisor had already given her a reading list, and she also had a few unfinished projects on hand.
The guests had already left when they got home. Lao Deng and Tang Lijuan were going out to visit relatives, leaving the two of them at home instead.
Deng Chuan had never liked visiting relatives since she was a child. Now that she was grown, Lao Deng and Tang Lijuan still treated her like a kid.
Kids had privileges: the privilege of not having to visit relatives, the privilege of being willful, the privilege of being tolerated and shaped.
And her kid had received a lot of love and had grown up well.
As Xu Wei thought this, she watched Deng Chuan in the kitchen, reheating the leftover meat dishes from lunch for her and stir-frying a plate of greens before announcing that dinner was ready.
After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, they returned to Beijing from home. This time, Zhou Liu and Juzi came with them. Xu Wei had been preparing for a while, submitting vaccination records, applying, and making the necessary preparations for Zhou Liu and Juzi to travel by air. She padded their carriers with diapers, afraid they might vomit or become incontinent.
Finally, everyone landed safely in Beijing.
Because they had cats, the taxi driver who picked them up from the airport curiously asked them about the specific process of pet air travel.
It was already afternoon when they got home. Deng Chuan put down the carriers and let Zhou Liu and Juzi out to familiarize themselves with the new environment.
After a few hours of flying and a sudden change of home, Zhou Liu seemed to have trouble adjusting, huddling motionlessly in Deng Chuan's arms. Juzi, on the other hand, was carefree, following Deng Chuan around. Before long, he started eating and using the litter box, energetically doing parkour around the house.
Xu Wei was unpacking while Deng Chuan, holding Zhou Liu, assembled a cat tree for them on one side of the bedroom. Piecing it together took them into the evening. The bedroom lights came on, and Xu Wei took a shower, then came out to discuss dinner with Deng Chuan.
The bright light from the bedroom shone down, making the scene seem timeless.
Before Deng Chuan's semester started, they lived this peacefully.
During this time, Deng Chuan occasionally went out for gatherings with her classmates from Beijing. Xu Wei didn't stop her. Whenever the kid found a good restaurant, a worthwhile art exhibition, or a performance, she would bring Xu Wei along the next time.
Xu Wei was reading the books on the list her advisor had given her. Seriously studying again and absorbing the knowledge was an extremely enjoyable process for her. She often shared excerpts that she found touching or interesting with Deng Chuan, mostly problem-solving ideas using new methods. Although the kid didn't understand, she would still listen attentively until Xu Wei finished. For Xu Wei, this was actually a process of input and output, just like when she used to teach Deng Chuan years ago.
Thanks to her talent, diligence, or Deng Chuan's listening, Xu Wei didn't feel that the material was obscure or frustrating as she reabsorbed the knowledge. On the contrary, she was in her element, and her overall state was excellent.
After Deng Chuan's semester started, because she was taking fourth-year courses, her schedule became very full with group projects, individual assignments, and preparations for her graduation thesis. She rarely stayed the night at Xu Wei's place anymore. Xu Wei often went to the university to accompany her, and then Deng Chuan would walk her to the subway station.
After March, Xu Wei's semester officially began. She moved into a single dorm room at the university, along with Zhou Liu and Juzi. Deng Chuan went to help her move. Her roommates saw her heading out and asked where she was going, and then the other three insisted on coming along.
Xu Wei had packed all her luggage. When she got downstairs and saw Deng Chuan's roommates who had come to help, she was slightly taken aback, then smiled and thanked them.
The atmosphere during the move was quite cheerful, except that Li Mingtang would blush whenever she met Xu Wei's gaze. At dinner, which Xu Wei treated them to, she was incredibly well-behaved, barely daring to speak. This extended to her conversations with Deng Chuan, which were also awkward. It wasn't until Deng Chuan went to stay at Xu Wei's place that night that Li Mingtang finally calmed down, clamoring that people with weak hearts shouldn't get close to beautiful women.
Especially when this beautiful woman was one half of the CP you shipped.
Zhou Zhi said she was hopeless.
Li Mingtang retorted righteously, "Being hopeless in front of a beautiful woman, can you call that hopeless? At most, it's a strategic retreat."
Of course, her retreat was not successful.
They had no class on the third morning, so the three of them went to the library together. As soon as they entered, they saw Deng Chuan and Xu Wei sitting by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor. They were tilting their heads and smiling, seeming to whisper something to each other. Then Xu Wei reached out and pinched Deng Chuan's cheek.
Li Mingtang gripped Zhou Zhi's elbow tightly. "I'm dead! Someone save me!"
Mindful that they were in the library, Zhou Zhi didn't stop walking and dragged her up to the third floor.
At noon, on their way downstairs for lunch, Li Mingtang was still chattering away to Zhou Zhi. Suddenly, at a turn in the staircase, she glanced down and abruptly fell silent, like a quail with its neck wrung.
Light streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Xu Wei was standing right in their path at the bottom of the stairs, holding Deng Chuan's shoulder bag. The restroom was just around the corner from the stairs; she was most likely waiting for someone.
Hearing the movement on the stairs, she looked up, recognized the three of them, and her eyes curved into a smile.
Zhou Zhi greeted her, "Hello, Sister."
Xu Wei also said, "Hi, aren't you going to lunch?"
Her voice was gentle. After coming to P University, she rarely had the distant air she'd had as a teacher.
Zhou Zhi said, "We're going now," while pulling on Li Mingtang, who seemed rooted to the spot.
The older sister's smile was too captivating. Li Mingtang didn't dare look at her, but she still wanted to be on the front lines to get her dose of sweetness, so she dawdled until Deng Chuan actually came out.
The restroom didn't have a hand dryer. Deng Chuan came out with wet hands and tried to take the bag from Xu Wei, but Xu Wei shot her a look and handed her a tissue instead.
Deng Chuan dried her hands while talking to them. "Why are you all standing here? Is the cafeteria crowded?"
Li Mingtang reminded herself to relax; only by acting normally could she witness their daily sweet moments. She said nonchalantly, "Waiting for you to come out. Wanted to see you."
She was used to joking around with Deng Chuan, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed Xu Wei give her an impassive glance.
Xu Wei's gaze interrupted Li Mingtang's train of thought. She boldly met Xu Wei's eyes, but couldn't hold the gaze and looked away. Glancing down, her sharp eyes spotted a hickey hidden under the collar of Xu Wei's white shirt.
The mark was very dark.
Her face immediately turned red from excitement.
Xu Wei didn't quite understand why this young woman was speaking ambiguously to Deng Chuan one moment and blushing at her the next, but she still felt a sense of crisis and adjusted her collar. "...We'll get going then. See you this afternoon."
She handed the bag over, took Deng Chuan's outstretched hand, and said goodbye to the three young women rooted to the spot.
Watching the two of them walk away with their fingers intertwined, Zhou Zhi spoke to Li Mingtang in annoyance, "Alright? Satisfied? Can we go now?"
Li Mingtang acted as if she hadn't heard her. "Zhou Zhi."
"Hm?"
"For our library seats tomorrow, can we reserve them on the first floor?"
"..."
Comments
Post a Comment