After the wind and snow subsided, the dispute inside the house died down as well.
Su Mumu lay on her side, her knees tucked and her hands folded in front of her as she curled herself into a ball.
Her elegant hair was scattered in a messy tangle. A mixture of saliva and blood droplets leaked from her lips, and faint tear stains remained at the corners of her eyes.
Jiang Mengxin, meanwhile, was much calmer. She stood by the bed, her gaze cold as she stared at the gloomy sky. The faint glow of the dawn reflected off her expressionless face.
The room was silent. A strange tranquility persisted.
The seconds ticked away on the wall clock, sounding like a slowly approaching scythe, forcing one of them to be the first to break the frost between them.
Su Mumu didn’t want to speak anymore. She just wanted to cry right now.
But she couldn’t cry anymore… because a good person…
Suddenly, the phone on the nightstand rang. It was Su Mumu’s phone. It was a rare occurrence; after all, besides Jiang Mengxin, she didn’t have any other contacts.
‘Calling at a time like this… can you please not bother me…’
‘I just want to be alone…’
Su Mumu helplessly closed her eyes. She didn’t want to care about anything right now. Until Jiang Mengxin left the house, she didn’t want to do anything, respond to anything, or care about anything…
However —
A fair hand picked up the phone and pressed the answer button.
“Hello? Hello, Lao Deng.” Jiang Mengxin’s tone was as polite and elegant as ever.
To Su Mumu’s surprise, the phone was put on speaker.
The familiar voice of a middle-aged man came from the other end. “Eh? Is that Jiang Mengxin?”
“It’s me,” Jiang Mengxin said.
“Oh, that’s perfect then… Weren’t you two supposed to come to campus to turn in the task? It’s almost noon. Are you still coming?” Old Wu sounded listless.
“Well…” Jiang Mengxin glanced at Su Mumu, who looked utterly despondent on the bed.
“The investments took a huge dive yesterday. I haven’t eaten all day because I’ve been in a bad mood. If you aren’t coming, I’m heading out,” Old Wu’s voice sounded even more depressed.
Jiang Mengxin hesitated for a moment. “We’ll head over now.”
“Fine, get here as soon as possible,” Old Wu said before hanging up.
Jiang Mengxin set the phone down and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting quietly.
Su Mumu had heard every word of the conversation. Her voice was thick with tears, soft yet stubborn. “I’m not going.”
Jiang Mengxin pursed her lips. “You’re not going?”
Su Mumu’s long-suppressed anger suddenly exploded. “You treat me like a ball, squeezing me and taking me whenever you want!”
“Then what does Mumu take me for?”
Jiang Mengxin’s single sentence was like a bucket of cold water dousing all the flames. Su Mumu’s resentment vanished instantly.
‘The reason all of this happened is that I lied to Jiang Mengxin…’
Even now, she hadn’t confessed. It was impossible to know how much Jiang Mengxin had guessed… but she definitely felt terrible. Just as she had said herself, she hated betrayal the most.
‘But… I’m not happy either…’
“I’m sorry about what happened just now, Mumu,” Jiang Mengxin said softly.
“I shouldn’t have laid a hand on you, and I certainly shouldn’t have bullied you like that… I’m sorry.” Jiang Mengxin’s expression was sincere, and her tone was serious.
She had calmed down. She had returned to the elegant, sensible, and poised Jiang Mengxin of before.
“I know Mumu doesn’t like violence. I lost control of my emotions for a moment… I’ve reflected on it, and I won’t do it again,” Jiang Mengxin explained slowly, her voice trembling slightly at the end.
‘Why are you apologizing…’
‘Aren’t we in the middle of a fight?’
‘Why apologize… and say it so seriously? How am I supposed to stay angry at you?’
Su Mumu opened her weary eyes, her expression bleak. Her lips moved slightly. “Stupid Xin Xin.”
Her voice was incredibly quiet. In the room where the sound of wind and snow kept rushing in, it was almost inaudible.
“I’ll wait for you at the door.” Jiang Mengxin stood up. “It’s cold outside, wear something warm.”
Saying this, she ignored whether Su Mumu responded and slowly walked out of the room. She stood under the banyan tree.
The snow happened to be falling on the branches, so she didn’t have to worry about her hair being turned white by the frost.
The door was left wide open. The cold wind kept pouring into the room.
Su Mumu stood up numbly. Like a walking corpse, she took a coat and a scarf from the closet, then changed into her fleece-lined shoes.
Afterward, she stumbled into the bathroom and kept splashing water on her face, washing away the tears and bloodstains.
‘Su Mumu, you look terrible.’
‘So pale.’
‘Ah… your eyes look like a salted fish, completely dead.’
***
Xianzong was nearing the end of the school day. There weren’t many people on the road. A thin layer of snow covered the path. Su Mumu walked a bit behind, their shoulders intentionally kept out of alignment.
The intimacy they once shared had been stretched thin. Su Mumu was the one who proactively kept the distance. She still couldn’t get past the obstacle in her heart.
Near the campus entrance, there was a small three-wheeled carriage where an old man was selling hot milk.
“Oh, young ladies, would you like to buy some fresh milk to drink?”
Jiang Mengxin stopped and looked back slightly at Su Mumu.
But Su Mumu acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing. She preoccupied herself with the little cat in her arms, her footsteps never faltering as she walked through the campus gates.
The distance between them grew again.
“Never mind, we won’t buy any,” Jiang Mengxin declined.
“Eh? You’re not buying? The couple’s set is discounted for two people…”
The old man’s voice grew distant behind them. Jiang Mengxin slowly followed behind Su Mumu.
The office was on the second floor.
Old Wu was radiating an aura of decadence, lying listlessly on his desk and sleeping.
It wasn’t until he heard the light sound of footsteps that he rose with very little interest, adjusted his collar, and forced himself to look alert.
“You’re here… Su Mumu? Why are you alone?”
Su Mumu was the first to enter the office. She replied softly, “She’s behind me.”
“She?” Old Wu blinked. “Jiang Mengxin? You didn’t come together?”
“We came together,” Su Mumu said.
“Then why…?” Old Wu was confused but quickly sighed. “Forget it, just find a chair and sit down. Don’t just stand there.”
“Okay,” Su Mumu nodded.
A moment later, the second guest arrived. Jiang Mengxin gave a faint smile. “Hello, Lao Deng.”
Toward this student from the elite class, Old Wu showed a bit more respect. “You’re here?”
Jiang Mengxin nodded. “Yes.”
“Find a chair and sit, don’t just stand…” Before Old Wu could finish his sentence, Jiang Mengxin had already taken a seat.
However, the space between them… it was as if an entire galaxy sat between them. Actually, it was worse; Old Wu was sandwiched right in the middle of that galaxy.
Startled, Old Wu looked left and then right. He said helplessly, “What are you two doing? You’re framing me in the middle like door gods.”
“We aren’t,” Jiang Mengxin said.
Su Mumu chose to remain silent, continuing to play with Tangyuan in her arms.
No matter how slow Old Wu’s reactions were, he realized something was wrong. “Did you two have a fight?”
The atmosphere was strange.
This time, Jiang Mengxin didn’t respond either. She looked up, admiring the scenery outside the window as if nothing were wrong. Su Mumu remained closed off in her own little world.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” Old Wu’s lip twitched.
After a long pause, Jiang Mengxin seemed to snap out of it. “I can hear you.”
Su Mumu also looked up. Her expression was faint, showing no emotion. “I can hear you.”
“No! What’s wrong with you two? Did you really fight?” Old Wu asked again.
However, after he spoke, the only response was an endless silence.
Jiang Mengxin went back to admiring the scenery. Su Mumu went back to petting the cat.
Old Wu’s lip twitched violently, moving like a perpetual motion machine that refused to stop.