Chapter 79: Yu Meimei, Can I Give You a Kiss?
Leaving without a single carnation in hand, Bai Yu was practically struggling to carry all the bags filled with clothes Zhao Mingyue had bought for her.
“Hey, Mingyue,” Bai Yu sighed as they waited for the bus. “If we have the chance to come out again, could you please not buy so many clothes next time?”
“Huh?” Zhao Mingyue turned around, her arms loaded with snacks.
She didn’t respond immediately, her eyes darting as she thought. “Well… whether I buy so much depends on whether we frequently go shopping. If we go often, then we won’t need so much, right?”
People are always looking for compromises. If she directly said, “Let’s go shopping often, Yu Meimei,” Bai Yu definitely wouldn’t agree. But if she hinted at buying a lot just this once, then it would be much more acceptable.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“But we need to risk it to buy stuff!”
“…”
“Okay, I’ll take that as a yes! Oh look, the bus is here!” Zhao Mingyue giggled as she pulled Bai Yu along, not even giving her a chance to speak.
Today, no matter what Bai Yu said, she had to take her out more often; otherwise, all those clothes would be a waste!
On their way, Mingyue had been observing Bai Yu. Ever since her “resurrection,” Bai Yu was noticeably more lively. It wasn’t that she was talking more, but there was an emotional shift. Previously, she felt like a stagnant pond, but now there were at least some ripples.
Even if this “resurrection” was brief and fundamentally fake, as long as it brought a bit of joy and some semblance of her former life back, it was entirely worth it.
Once on the bus, the crowded seats meant that Zhao Mingyue subconsciously leaned closer to Bai Yu while talking.
Zhao Mingyue pressed half her body against Bai Yu, her lips hovering just a few centimeters from Bai Yu’s ear as she asked with a playful smile, “So, Yu Meimei, what do you think will happen to Lu Liangting after we leave?”
“Do those girls make him choose? That only happens in comics!”
“Ah, Lu Ge would pick me! Just look at how sweet I am!”
“Just like this!”
Zhao Mingyue briefly straightened up, flashed a sweet smile, and then leaned back in to whisper, “But honestly, Lu Liangting is quite an impressive guy. He comes from a wealthy family, looks handsome, has great grades, and is warm-hearted, not a playboy. It’s totally normal for those girls to like him.”
And not just in Zhao Mingyue’s eyes; anyone who knew Lu Liangting would think the same. He really didn’t have many flaws apart from being a bit dim sometimes.
Even Bai Yu didn’t refute that. Just this morning, Lu Liangting had bravely fought off some punks without a second thought.
“However,” Bai Yu replied, leaning a bit closer to Zhao Mingyue, her voice dropping. “I don’t think it’ll be quite like you said.”
“Most likely, those girls will say something like, ‘Pick me, or I’ll k*ll you.’”
“Whoa, that shouldn’t be the case! Only you would say something like that, Yu Meimei!” Zhao Mingyue exclaimed, shocked.
“No, the people who were there just now… in a way, they’re my old friends. I know them.”
“Your old friends, huh? Yikes!” Zhao Mingyue gasped. “Why do all your friends like to stick around you?”
“Maybe it’s just because of the qualities you mentioned.”
“You’re right; poor Lu Liangting is doomed!”
The bus was crowded but surprisingly quiet, allowing Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu’s whispers to draw the attention of fellow passengers. The two girls became an eye-catching sight, radiating youthful beauty instead of any garishness.
As they chatted, Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu seemed to sense something simultaneously, especially Zhao Mingyue.
As she spoke, her words suddenly slowed down, and her eyes widened as she realized something.
Her face was now only a few centimeters from Bai Yu’s, and she was talking to the side of Bai Yu’s face. Bai Yu might even feel her breath!
And she… only needed to lean forward a tiny bit to kiss Bai Yu’s cheek, right?
Noticing Zhao Mingyue suddenly falter, Bai Yu instinctively turned to look at her.
In that moment, their eyes met.
The distance between them was still so close that they could feel each other’s warmth.
“I…” Zhao Mingyue’s cheeks flushed, her little hands instinctively clutching her skirt.
Time seemed to freeze. Whether it was a second or a full minute that passed was hard to tell.
She gripped her skirt tighter, wanting to say something but not knowing what. The overwhelming urge made her breath quicken, and her heart began to race.
Finally, Zhao Mingyue was the first to break eye contact.
She turned away, lowering her head, her expression a flurry of confusion.
Bai Yu noticed her face was visibly red and heard Zhao Mingyue mumble something very softly.
“Ugh, the sunglasses really can’t be trusted; how sneaky!”
Such a simple line revealed Zhao Mingyue’s innermost feelings at that moment.
Realizing what she had said, Bai Yu raised her hand to touch her face, almost having forgotten about her own forgotten sunglasses.
The atmosphere grew awkward. It wasn’t just the two of them; even the passengers on the bus sensed the weirdness. A few passengers coughed, their gazes mixed with confusion. Moments ago, they thought the two girls were sisters; no sister would react like this!
A boy sighed quietly, closing the friend request page he had opened.
Why did such perfect girls have to get all flustered with each other?
Maybe he was overthinking it; perhaps they just shared an innocent gaze!
Just as the young man was hoping for a revival of innocence, he noticed the girl in the blue and white dress was moving.
Seeing Zhao Mingyue silent, Bai Yu thought for a moment and rummaged through the small box she was carrying, pulling something out and holding it out before Zhao Mingyue.
“Ahem… um…”
With the thing revealed, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
Asking her to do something like this was still a tall order.
“Mingyue.”
“Huh?” Zhao Mingyue looked up, puzzled, glancing back and forth between Bai Yu and her hand.
“What’s up?”
“I have a few candies in my hand. If you guess it right, you can have them all.”
Bai Yu’s words stunned Zhao Mingyue. She truly couldn’t believe Bai Yu, who usually felt like an old stickler, would say something like that.
So, Zhao Mingyue frowned as she stared at Bai Yu’s hand, deep in thought.
Bai Yu had finally loosened up a bit; she needed to seize this opportunity. She had to guess the candies today!
From the moment they started shopping, she began analyzing Bai Yu’s every move, hoping to deduce the answer.
After a while, Zhao Mingyue gave up. She didn’t even know when Bai Yu had gotten the candies.
“Got any hints?”
“Nope.”
“Alright then.” Zhao Mingyue furrowed her brow deeper. Since she couldn’t think of it, she decided to channel her inner mystic.
“I guess… there are two candies!”
With that, she anxiously stared at Bai Yu’s hand. Bai Yu then turned her hand over and slowly opened her palm.
There were indeed candies inside, but it wasn’t the two she had guessed; there were four.
It would be false to say she wasn’t disappointed. Knowing Bai Yu, if she guessed wrong, Bai Yu wouldn’t give her any. She wouldn’t even waste time talking about it!
However, just as disappointment settled in, she heard Bai Yu’s voice.
“Congrats, you guessed right.”
“C-congrats??” Zhao Mingyue’s eyes widened.
“Yep.” Bai Yu nodded and placed all four candies in Zhao Mingyue’s palm, watching her astonished and confused expression before softly adding, “It’s two candies; the other two are my gift to you.”
With that, Bai Yu fell silent, leaving Zhao Mingyue holding the four candies, not knowing what to do.
After a while, she unwrapped one candy and popped it in her mouth, carefully stowing the rest away in her pocket. As the sweet taste washed over her, a smile spread across her face that she couldn’t contain.
That candy was the best she had ever tasted in her life.
·
·
Even after they got off the bus and made their way home, Zhao Mingyue was still smiling.
But now, her mind was filled with different thoughts.
Maybe she had never really understood Bai Yu, or rather, never fully grasped her essence.
During that little game earlier, Bai Yu maintained a serious expression just like always. If not for that, she wouldn’t have taken the game so seriously.
But she truly hadn’t expected this.
Indeed, everyone has another side to them, and Bai Yu is no exception.
She wasn’t one to talk, and had a lethal edge, as if she had taken many lives. Her demeanor was cold, but today she presented the complete opposite.
The difference was, this side of her rarely surfaced. Even if it did, it was only revealed to someone extraordinarily significant to her.
After dinner, Bai Yu and Zhao Mingyue sat face to face.
Bai Yu was the same as before, having taken off her sunglasses, her face devoid of any emotional shifts.
“Mingyue, tell me about your past.”
“My past?” Zhao Mingyue cradled the rabbit plush toy, somewhat lost in thought. “Bai Yu, I’m sorry I lied to you.”
“When I told you I knew nothing about the village, that was a lie. I actually knew a bit. I just thought… it’s my business and quite dangerous. I didn’t want you to investigate, so…”
It was precisely because she knew a part of the secret that she understood the underlying dangers.
Since she knew the risks, she naturally didn’t want Bai Yu to get involved.
Ultimately, after being slightly evasive, she clumsily exposed everything.
“You know less about this than you think. You only caught a glimpse, and since you’ve been through it and gotten hurt, you realize it’s frightening. Your reaction is completely normal.” Bai Yu replied indifferently, understanding Zhao Mingyue’s mindset.
In fact, she hadn’t revealed much of anything. She’d only mentioned two things: her parents had vanished due to the village’s secrets and that she had been having nightmares recently.
That had been Zhao Mingyue’s cue to share; she wouldn’t have said it otherwise.
When she opened up, her nerves got the better of her, and she spilled everything.
Zhao Mingyue’s fear was explained perfectly. It was an unknown danger she had personally experienced, and finding out some surface-level truths had naturally amplified her dread.
Caution and care were necessary, but fearing the enemy was absolutely misguided.
If this thing were really that strong, how come it had never found Zhao Mingyue’s whereabouts all these years?
“When I was little, I lived in a village called Ping Shan Village nestled at the foot of a remote mountain, about thirty kilometers from my parents’ graves. The village I mentioned earlier is a branch of Ping Shan Village.
“The incidents that happened to me didn’t start in the latter village but began in Ping Shan Village.”
“I’m not clear on the specifics; I only know that at around eight years old, I was chosen by the village chief to be part of the sacrificial offerings.”
“There were two others intended for this too, but for some reason, they died. My sister told me that the chief decided to put all three roles on me.”
“My sister said being a sacrifice was dreadful; one would have their eyes gouged out, another would lose their tongue, and the last one would be deafened.”
“She said this to scare me into running away, and for a long time, I thought she was just making up stories to get me to move.”
“I never really believed in ghosts and monsters. I knew many strange things happened around me, but I’d never seen anything myself.”
“Hmm… now that I think about it, the village I lived in was indeed bizarre. Bai Yu, did you know? The people there are immortal.”
“Immortal?” Bai Yu furrowed her brow.
“Yeah, the villagers had a method to turn the corpses of the deceased into wax figures. My sister told me to stay inside at night, warning that these wax figures would come to life!”
“I never saw it with my own eyes, but I often heard footsteps outside at night—heavy and chaotic.”
“I didn’t think much of it at the time, and I didn’t take it seriously when I left later.”
“It was only after that dream I had recently that I realized something might be off.”
“With so many footsteps, so many people gathering together, there should be some lively chatter, right? Even if they wanted to keep it down at night, it couldn’t be only footsteps and nothing else.”
