I Miss You Even in the Daytime [Rebirth GL] - Chapter 23.1

Wait, didn’t Tao Ning say they were all art films?

Is this how artsy they are? Is this even “art”?!

No wonder Lu Baitian was so nervous just now; she must have seen this movie before.

Would she think I’m playing this kind of movie on purpose? Countless little voices seemed to be shouting in Xu Liming’s head, thoughts popping off like firecrackers.

On the surface, however, she maintained an air of indifference. Her hand reached for the remote, wanting to switch movies.

Yet the movie seemed determined to work against her. Just as she picked up the remote, the scene cut again. The two female leads stood amidst a landscape of surrounding mountains, chatting and laughing about something.

Xu Liming breathed a sigh of relief and surreptitiously put the remote back down.

The scene shifted once more. This time, the two were sitting side-by-side on the edge of a bed. The blonde woman leaned down and placed something into the other lead’s mouth.

Then, she leaned in for a kiss.

The screen was filled with the graceful silhouettes of women. The boldness and directness of Western cinema were laid bare on the screen, accompanied by an increasingly melodious soundtrack. Soon, unidentifiable sounds began to resonate.

Xu Liming couldn’t take it anymore. She abruptly shut off the projector. The surroundings plunged into darkness, leaving only the sound of their two breaths intertwining.

After listening for a while, those breaths seemed to linger together.

“They’ve been gone for so long and haven’t come back. I’ll turn on the light.” Xu Liming used the gap of standing up to let her burning face cool down. “Do you want some water?”

“Thank you,” Lu Baitian said softly.

For a moment, Xu Liming almost thought it was night. Her hand paused before turning on the light, and she turned back to pull open the curtains. The electric curtains parted bit by bit, and sunlight poured in once again.

Lu Baitian was still sitting there, knees pressed together, the flush beneath her eyes not yet faded.

Xu Liming returned with two bottles of mineral water. She unscrewed one and handed it to Lu Baitian. Noticing the reflection on the tip of the other girl’s nose, she spoke up: “The weather is getting hot now. Do you want to take off your shirt?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. It was clearly meant to be a caring remark, but following that movie, it took on an indescribable connotation.

Lu Baitian was startled, yet she didn’t refuse. She reached for her collar and began unbuttoning her shirt one by one.

It seemed she would listen to whatever Xu Liming said. Xu Liming looked away and sat back down to pick another film. This time, she didn’t dare click on anything she hadn’t seen before.

The screen lit up again. This time, it really was an art film.

Xu Liming breathed a sigh of relief.

The girl had already removed her shirt. She hugged her clothes hesitantly. Xu Liming reached out to take them and set them aside. “Don’t be nervous. Just relax.”

Lu Baitian was wearing a T-shirt underneath. The logo on the chest had washed into a mottled blur, but it gave off the fresh scent of laundry detergent.

Tao Ning and Sun Muya finally returned. Seeing them was like seeing a lifeline for Xu Liming; she bounced off the sofa and reached out to take the two large bags of snacks and the bag of grilled skewers they were carrying.

“Why did you buy so much?” Xu Liming asked in surprise.

“Buy more, just in case we get hungry at night and want a midnight snack.” Tao Ning skipped over to Lu Baitian’s side and looked down in surprise. “Baitian, do you have a fever?”

“Why is even your neck burning?” Tao Ning reached out to feel, but Lu Baitian scrambled away.

“No, no, no, no. I… I’m just a bit hot,” Lu Baitian explained hurriedly.

Fortunately, Tao Ning didn’t ask further and turned around to unpack the snacks.

They finished two movies. The second one lasted for several hours. The four of them watched from daylight to dusk, and then until the sky was pitch black and the night was silent. Only then did they see the dawn of the ending credits.

Tao Ning slumped onto the rug. “It was too long. My waist is aching. Xu Liming, I want milk tea. The shop downstairs from your place.”

“How did your topic jump to milk tea?” Sun Muya patted her head.

The milk tea shop downstairs didn’t do delivery—only dine-in. Xu Liming looked at the late hour. Since the other two weren’t familiar with the area, they might not be able to find the way.

She simply stood up and walked to the door. “Fine, I’ll go buy it. What flavors?”

“I want pearl milk tea!” Tao Ning raised her hand.

“Same for me,” Sun Muya added.

Xu Liming turned her gaze toward Lu Baitian. The other girl was hesitatingly standing up, looking worriedly out the window. It was already very dark outside—dark as a pool of thick ink.

It would be dangerous for Xu Liming to go alone.

So, she made up her mind and spoke in a low voice: “I’ll go with you, okay?”

…

The University Town was built in the suburbs. At night, it felt like an empty city. By ten o’clock, the night was deep and silent.

The wind had been baked by the sun all day, blowing warm against their faces. Xu Liming comfortably spread her arms. The wind puffed out her loose sweater like a butterfly flying against the breeze.

“Do you often do part-time tutoring?” Xu Liming’s voice was softened by the wind, drifting airily into Lu Baitian’s ear.

“It’s the first time,” Lu Baitian replied. “A senior recommended it. This family pays a high price.”

“A pity the man is such a scumbag.” Remembering the man’s rude verbal abuse, Xu Liming let out a light scoff. “You… your personality is just too soft.”

Too easy to bully.

Lu Baitian followed quietly behind, not arguing.

The night was tranquil, but that tranquility was soon broken by a sharp scream. Just as the two were walking out of the milk tea shop, both were startled.

Almost like a flash of lightning, Lu Baitian stepped forward, trying to block Xu Liming behind her. She was shorter than Xu Liming; even with her arms spread, she couldn’t fully shield her.

But she stretched her arms out as hard as she could.

Xu Liming looked down at the top of Lu Baitian’s head, shocked by her protective stance. For a moment, she felt dazed.

A man reeking of alcohol rushed out of the darkness. His face was flushed red, and he was nervously waving something, shouting at them. Once her shock faded, Xu Liming could vaguely make out that he was calling for help.

“Baitian.” Xu Liming gently pressed Lu Baitian’s hand down and pulled her back a step. “Who are you? What happened?”

“Young ladies, do you know how to drive? My daughter is sick. She suddenly started having seizures…” The man’s footsteps were unsteady as he ran fully into the light.

When he saw Lu Baitian’s face clearly, his voice stopped abruptly.

“It’s you?” the man stammered. He looked back; a woman was carrying a little girl, stumbling toward them.

“What are you dawdling for! The ambulance is too far away, and we can’t catch a car! What are you going to do about our daughter!” The woman was crying so hard that tears and snot covered her face, and she used her free hand to repeatedly hit the man.

“Drinking, drinking, all you know is drinking! Would this have happened if you hadn’t been drinking! If anything happens to our daughter, I’m taking you down with me…”

The two, lost in their panic, were still arguing when Lu Baitian suddenly grabbed Xu Liming’s sleeve. “It’s Lulu!”

She was eager to step forward but was held back by Xu Liming around the waist. “Don’t go!”

The girl’s face was purple; Xu Liming didn’t know the situation, and it would be trouble if something went wrong by touching her recklessly. She asked in a low voice, “You know her?”

Lu Baitian still gripped Xu Liming’s sleeve tightly, tears falling pitter-patter. “It’s the little girl I mentioned… the one who gives me candy…”

She was worried about the girl but didn’t dare go over. She could only look up as if grasping a lifeline, her voice soft and muffled. “Xu Liming, what do we do…”

Lu Baitian really cried a lot of tears. They hung watery at the corners of her eyes and on her lips like morning dew; this thought flashed through Xu Liming’s mind.

She looked awkwardly at the hands gripping her sleeve. The wounds on them had healed a lot with the arrival of spring, but many rough scars remained.

There were tear stains on them, crystal clear.

Oh well. Xu Liming closed her eyes.

“Alright, stop arguing. Do you want the child to die?” Xu Liming strode over to the man’s side and snatched the car keys from his palm with a long reach. “Where is the car? Take me there.”

Because of the man’s previous attitude toward Baitian, Xu Liming had no patience for him.

The man was stunned but didn’t care about anything else. He hurriedly wiped his tears, picked up the child, and ran to the roadside. After stuffing the child and his wife into the back seat, he opened the door for Xu Liming.

He was clearly paralyzed with fear; his hands shook like a sieve, and he missed the handle several times.

“Just get in.” Xu Liming was getting anxious. She shoved the man into the back with one hand, then gestured for Lu Baitian to get in the car.

“Her face is purple; it might be her throat blocked by vomit,” Xu Liming turned and told the woman. “Dig the stuff out, and then let the child lie flat.”

The woman did so immediately. The girl gagged a few times and finally started breathing.

The car was an ordinary family SUV, structured a bit differently from the sports cars Xu Liming usually drove. But after a quick glance, she started the ignition.

The moment the display screen lit up, Xu Liming’s breath caught. A wash of blood-red appeared before her eyes, then spread out like ink. A giant rock pierced through the red, crushing her body…

Her hands began to tremble involuntarily.

“Liming!” Lu Baitian’s worried voice pulled her back from the memory. Xu Liming took a deep breath and regained her senses.

It’s okay, Xu Liming. That was just an accident. Don’t be afraid.

You are still alive and well. She muttered to herself.

“Hold on, Lulu, my baby…” The woman’s tragic crying came from behind. The scream was so piercing that Xu Liming got goosebumps.

Xu Liming bit herself hard until she was sure she had regained her clarity. Then, she stepped on the brake and shifted into reverse.

“Hold on tight,” she said flatly.

The hospital was thirteen kilometers away. Xu Liming drove there in just over ten minutes. When she stopped the car, the man and woman rushed into the hospital with the girl, ignoring everything else.

After reporting to Tao Ning and the others, Lu Baitian and Xu Liming followed them in.

After a chaotic flurry of activity, Lulu was finally pushed into the emergency room. The man collapsed onto the floor, finally having a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

He reached out to pull the woman close, sobbing. “Lulu will be fine. It’s all my fault. I’ll never drink again. If I touch alcohol again, just kill me…”

The woman said nothing, staring with a haggard face at the grayish-white door in front of her.

Time passed minute by minute. The smell of disinfectant constantly stimulated their senses. The cold lights of the hospital corridor dropped the temperature by several degrees. Occasionally, crying relatives ran past, and hospital beds were wheeled to and fro.

After an unknown amount of time, the ward door opened. The man, with legs numb from sitting, rushed to the door, unable to even speak.

“The child is fine,” a nurse said as she walked out. “The preliminary diagnosis is a febrile convulsion. Her symptoms have stabilized now.”

“We’ll need further tests to confirm. One family member come with me to pay the fees; others can go in to visit,” the nurse said as she left. The woman followed immediately, gesturing for the man to go in and see the child.

Xu Liming clearly felt the person beside her relax her tense body.

The man rushed into the ward. Lu Baitian followed and peeked through the door. Seeing that the little girl’s purple complexion had returned to normal, she was completely relieved and turned back to look at Xu Liming.

“Let’s go ba—”

Her words were cut off by a child’s voice. A conscious Lulu had seen Lu Baitian through the glass and reached out her round, lotus-root-like arms toward her.

She said softly, “Sister Baitian.”

Lu Baitian was stopped by her call. She hesitated for a moment before walking into the ward.

Xu Liming remained on the bench. She leaned against the iron backrest, a chill seeping into her body. Her gaze drifted through the gap in the door, watching Lu Baitian.

The girl knelt by the bed, her fingers tucked into the smaller girl’s hand. Both had shy smiles on their faces.

“Why didn’t Sister come today?” Lulu’s round eyes grew wider. “I waited for Sister all day.”

“Sister…” Lu Baitian glanced at the embarrassed man by the bed, a gentle curve appearing on her lips. “Sister had something to do. I won’t be able to come teach you in the future.”

“But I like Sister Baitian. Everyone else is so mean, not as good as Sister Baitian.” Lulu pursed her dry lips, refusing to let go of Lu Baitian’s finger.

Lu Baitian was very patient. “Lulu, be good.”

Lu Baitian was different in front of children than she usually was; even the curve at the corners of her eyes held an indescribable tenderness. The lights before Xu Liming’s eyes suddenly felt a bit dim.

“Okay,” Lulu let go. “I’ll be good. Here, this is for you.”

She suddenly reached into her pocket, fumbled for a long time, and pulled out several colorful candies, solemnly placing them in Lu Baitian’s hand.

“Eating sweets makes me happy,” she said with a smile.

“Sister Baitian must be happy too!”

Lu Baitian walked out of the ward after saying goodbye to the girl. The man behind her followed sheepishly, his hands unsure where to go. Half of his alcoholic haze had cleared.

“Um, young lady…” He rubbed his hands awkwardly.

“Earlier today, I had just been insulted by a client, and I had to go drink with them to talk business tonight. I was truly at my wit’s end, so I used you as a punching bag.”

“I didn’t expect you to be the one to help my daughter in the end. I really don’t know how to repay you.” As the man spoke, he started crying again and gave himself a hard slap on the face.

“I’m just a piece of trash,” he sobbed. “I’m sorry.”

Lu Baitian was startled by his slap. “Don’t do that.”

The man shook his head. He pulled his wallet out of his bag and took out the cash, trying to stuff it into Lu Baitian’s hands. Lu Baitian hurriedly put her hands behind her back and stepped away repeatedly. “I don’t want it!”

” I just care about Lulu. Lulu is a good child. I don’t want your money.” Lu Baitian was backed into a corner by him and looked at Xu Liming as if for help.

Finally, Xu Liming spoke up, her voice faint and cold.

“Didn’t you hear? She doesn’t want it,” Xu Liming said. “You are a piece of trash. It wasn’t easy for you with the client, but was it easy for her to beg the security guard outside for half an hour?”

“She helped your daughter because she is kind. After all, not everyone is like you, skilled at transferring received malice onto those weaker than themselves.”

“Be a good role model for your daughter.”

The man’s hand froze in mid-air. He turned red at Xu Liming’s words and lowered his hand in shame.

“Baitian, come here,” Xu Liming said. She reached out to Lu Baitian, her long fingers gleaming under the fluorescent lights.

Lu Baitian looked at those hands, her heart beating faster. She stepped forward quickly but didn’t dare hand over her own.

Her hands weren’t pretty; they weren’t worthy of such a beautiful pair of hands.

“Lu Baitian.” Xu Liming spoke again. This time, Lu Baitian noticed something wrong with her and ignored everything else, grabbing her regardless.

Xu Liming’s hands were as cold as if they had just walked through the depths of winter.

Lu Baitian’s voice immediately carried a hint of crying. She wrapped her hot hands around Xu Liming’s, trying to warm the chill on them.

“Xu Liming, what’s wrong? Xu Liming?” She turned to shout. “I’ll go call a doctor!”

But those hands pulled her back instead, causing her to stumble and sit down.

“I’m fine.” Xu Liming shook her head. She was trembling, cold sweat unknowingly soaking her body, as if she had just narrowly escaped that car accident.