Chapter 71

“Have you got everything?” Su Wu asked Shen You’an at the entrance of the seaside villa.

Shen You’an checked her belongings. “The red strings are all here! I’ve got them!”

She didn’t actually have much to take. Since Su Wu had brought her here directly from Tian’ai, she didn’t have anything with her other than herself.

Su Wu glanced down at the six red strings, gave an “mhm,” and led her toward the car.

Shen You’an familiarly pulled open the passenger door, sat down, and buckled her seatbelt. After a moment, she remembered something very important.

“A-jie… do we need to coordinate our stories?”

Su Wu: “What?”

Shen You’an: “For when we see my sister and the others later…?”

Su Wu’s fingertips tapped twice on the steering wheel. “We should coordinate.”

Shen You’an: “Exactly! If they ask where I’ve been these past few days, what should I say?”

Su Wu: “I told them before that I was taking you to the lab.”

Shen You’an toyed with her seatbelt, thinking that the basement did indeed count as a lab—though a bit rough around the edges, it was small but complete. She ​unauthorized copy​and Su Wu had certainly conducted some “experiments” there.

Shen You’an raised her hand to touch her face. Fortunately, it wasn’t hot.

Su Wu: “What’s wrong? Is there a draft?” She started to roll up the window that Shen You’an had specifically opened.

Shen You’an: “No, no!” She rolled the window back down.

If she didn’t let some wind blow through to cool down the “temperature” in her brain, she was truly afraid that one look at Su Wu would trigger a flurry of messy, improper images. These images made her feel guilty; fearing Su Wu would probe further, Shen You’an pulled the topic back: “Then I’ll just say I was unconscious in the lab for a few days and didn’t know anything?”

Su Wu: “That works. As for other matters, you can decide for yourself.”

Shen You’an: “Other matters?”

Su Wu: “The thing with Si Qi. Whether or not you want to tell them. This whole situation is very bizarre. Before you woke up from your coma, they were already asking me if I knew what was going on.”

Shen You’an gave an “oh,” sounding a bit hesitant. “A-jie, I need to think about it.”

Su Wu: “No rush.”

The breeze along the coastal highway was gentle, plucking at strands of Su Wu’s hair. Shen You’an glanced at her sideways, feeling that moments like this were exceptionally precious.

Then, her gaze landed on Su Wu’s neck.

Shen You’an: “…………”

Aaaaaaaaaah!

Su Wu kept her eyes on the road but spared her a glance, puzzled. “What is it?”

Shen You’an’s expression was a mess. She gripped the seatbelt, her eyes not knowing where to look. “Um, your neck—”

Su Wu held the steering wheel with her left hand and touched the spot where Shen You’an’s gaze had fallen with her right. “What’s on it?”

Shen You’an thought, A-jie, didn’t you look in a mirror today?!

Su Wu took advantage of a gap while waiting for pedestrians to cross to stop the car. She reached up to flip down the sun visor, using the vanity mirror to check.

There was a patch of red on her neck. It couldn’t possibly be explained away as a mosquito bite.

Su Wu raised an eyebrow slightly.

Inside, Shen You’an was still screaming silently! For some reason, she felt the guilt of a student caught red-handed by a teacher, or a child discovered by her mother reading a novel under the covers after saying she was asleep.

Su Wu, the victim, acted as if nothing were wrong. She said nonchalantly, “You certainly bit hard.”

Shen You’an’s brain practically smoked. She was immensely grateful she wasn’t the one driving, or the guardrails on this road would have been in serious peril. She couldn’t deny it; she had been forceful. Her face flushed intensely, and her brain went momentarily haywire as she blurted out, “Sorry, I’ll be gentler next time.”

Su Wu: “Next time?”

Shen You’an: “…………”

She immediately waved her hands in a frantic explanation: “A-jie, I-I-I didn’t mean it like that! I didn’t mean anything else!”

Su Wu must not think she’s a girl with a mind full of dirty thoughts!! Her feelings for A-jie… weren’t just about that, at least, not entirely.

Su Wu: “I know. Don’t worry, I’m not overthinking it, and I won’t.”

Her tone was calm when she said this, like she was stating a fundamental, indisputable fact. Shen You’an’s panicked heart suddenly thumped. Hearing such an answer wasn’t exactly what she had hoped for.

Really not going to overthink it at all?

Shen You’an bit her lip. She wanted to say, A-jie, you can overthink it. But the tether called “reason” in her mind had never held her so clearly. The hidden scars on Su Wu’s body and the chaotic, patternless tattoos were constant reminders of how painful and unbearable gaining and then losing something would be for the person beside her. Si Qi’s frantic words in the illusion also roared in her ears.

Shen You’an’s sudden silence caused Su Wu’s sinking heart to continue its freefall. She focused intently on the road ahead, driving through every intersection according to the rules. Her hands held the steering wheel with calm restraint, but her darkened gaze betrayed the turmoil within.

Rustle, rustle.

Before Su Wu could react, a piece of candy wrapped in orange cellophane, its round, translucent head partially exposed, was brought to her lips.

Shen You’an: “Ah—”

Just like coaxing a child. Su Wu thought this, but her lips opened anyway. The sweet orange flavor ​bailiantales.com​spread through her mouth as the girl’s finger accidentally brushed against her soft lips. The perennial ice of bitterness in her heart felt as if it were being touched by warm sunlight.

A trace of a smile flashed in Su Wu’s eyes. She used her tongue to push the candy to the side and said indistinctly, “When did you put fruit drops in here? Why didn’t I know?”

Shen You’an pulled open the glove box. The leather-lined compartment was filled with an assortment of snacks—spicy strips, chocolate, crackers… The colorful fruit drops lay in a small tin.

Shen You’an smoothed out the wrinkles in the candy wrapper against her palm, folded it into a neat little square, and tucked it into her pocket.

“I tossed them in after school last week. You were busy on the phone, A-jie, so you didn’t notice.”

Su Wu: “I’ve noticed now.”

Shen You’an looked expectant. “How is it? Does it taste good?”

Su Wu: “Very sweet.”

Shen You’an giggled and unwrapped a candy for herself—the same orange flavor as Su Wu’s. As her tongue curled around the hard candy, what flashed through her mind wasn’t a plump orange, but something else.

“Cough, cough!”

She choked on her own saliva. Once she recovered, she simply bit the candy into pieces.

Su Wu: “Did it make you angry?”

Shen You’an: “No!”

What had been stirred up wasn’t anger, but something else. You never know until you compare. It turned out candy was such a hard thing, and it wasn’t as sweet as she remembered.

Something softer and sweeter—

Shen You’an stole a quick glance at the woman beside her and then quickly looked away.

She didn’t look at her openly again until Su Wu drove into the city and parked in a mall basement. Shen You’an was puzzled. “A-jie, what are we doing here?”

Su Wu tilted her head, exposing her neck. The red marks were incredibly obvious. She didn’t speak; the look in her eyes simply said: What do you think?

They went straight to the first floor, crossed the small plaza, and walked toward a small building made entirely of transparent glass.

Scarves hung nearby. Su Wu stood before the rack, appearing deep in thought.

A shop assistant who had been observing them for a while stepped forward proactively. “Hello, ladies. Are you looking for a scarf? We have our classic styles and our latest arrivals here; feel free to take a look.”

Su Wu nodded, and Shen You’an said thank you.

Su Wu turned her head and asked, “Which one do you think suits me?”

Shen You’an couldn’t choose. She felt A-jie looked good in anything. She simply picked up one in each hand to compare them against Su Wu.

The assistant’s eyes moved between the two before she recommended enthusiastically: “Actually, you might want to look over here.” She hurriedly took two packaged Read on BaiLianTalesscarves from the shelf. “How about these? This year’s latest limited edition.”

Shen You’an’s eyes lit up. “This one’s good! A-jie, it matches your coat perfectly.”

Su Wu: “We’ll take this one then.”

Assistant: “It comes in two colors. Which one would you like?”

Su Wu: “Both.”

The assistant’s smile remained bright. “Certainly! Is there anything else you need?”

Su Wu thought for a moment and began to look around.

Shen You’an followed beside her and asked, “A-jie, are you buying clothes?”

Su Wu: “Picking out new clothes for you.”

Shen You’an: “Eh—?!”

Shen You’an: “I don’t need any! I wear my school uniform every day, and I still have so many new clothes at home I haven’t worn yet!”

Su Wu: “Christmas is coming soon. We should buy some.”

When Su Wu put it that way, Shen You’an couldn’t refuse. By the Read on BaiLianTalestime they reached the checkout, Shen You’an was carrying five or six bags. She realized Su Wu really enjoyed dressing her up; Su Wu bought her clothes, and even the perfume she wore to school every day was chosen by Su Wu.

Shen You’an suspected that if she weren’t so shy and hadn’t firmly refused, Su Wu would have taken over everything, even preparing all her undergarments.

Compared to Shen You’an’s haul, the two scarves Su Wu bought seemed quite tiny.

The assistant returned the card to Su Wu with both hands and then took a small gift bag from under the counter. “Ms. Su, thank you for your patronage and support over the years. With Christmas approaching, this is a special gift our boutique has prepared for you and your girlfriend! We hope it accompanies you through many memorable days.”

Shen You’an: “…?!”

She instinctively looked at Su Wu, who remained as calm as ever, seemingly unaware of the categorical error in the sentence, as she took the small gift bag.

Shen You’an’s eyes went from dots to wide circles!

Once in the car, Su Wu opened the bag and unwrapped the exquisite packaging. Inside was a pure white vintage CCD camera and a velvet box containing a pair of green-and-pink phone charms.

She handed the small CCD camera to Shen You’an. “You like taking photos.”

Shen You’an held it in her palm, toying with it. Su Wu then handed her one of the phone charms.

Shen You’an froze for a second.

Su Wu: “Are you bothered by what she just said? It’s just a little Christmas cheer—a free gift. No point in turning it down, don’t you think?”

So that was it. Her racing heart felt a bit embarrassing now.

Shen You’an took the small charm; the green silk bow felt very soft, and the shell pearl beside it was lustrous. She said softly, “A-jie, I’m not bothered.”

Su Wu’s movement as she threaded the charm through the hole in her phone case paused slightly. She said, “Mhm. I’m not bothered either.”

Shen You’an’s heart, which had been on the verge of going still because of Su Wu’s earlier words, started thumping again. Watching Su Wu struggle to thread the charm after several failed attempts, she reached out and opened her palm.

“A-jie, let me help you.”