After arranging the flowers in Lu Weizhu’s hair, Bai Yun clapped her hands.
“Mm, now it looks even prettier.”
She hugged the rest of the pink lilies, reluctant to let go.
“Ah… Ah?”
At a loss, Lu Weizhu tried to take the flowers off her head, but halfway through, afraid Bai Yun would dislike her, she stopped suddenly.
“Mhm~ Thank you for the gift, Weizhu. I really like it.”
Hugging the bouquet, Bai Yun put the basket she used for eggs to hold the flowers instead, then placed the flower basket on the counter, as if showing it off.
“Hah… As long as Sister Yun likes it…”
Failing to achieve her goal, Lu Weizhu’s voice grew smaller.
She fell back into silence.
“Boss, two iced Americanos, one latte, and three blueberry mousses.”
Three new customers entered the café.
“Alright.”
Bai Yun was in a good mood, and for once she responded right away, swiftly getting to work.
Lu Weizhu still sat in the corner of the café, looking dispirited.
The morning passed quickly, and the café, which rarely had many customers, gradually welcomed several waves of people. Bai Yun kept busy all the way until lunchtime. After seeing the last customer out, Bai Yun and Lu Weizhu returned to the kitchen.
“Weizhu, what do you want to eat? I’ll order delivery.”
Bai Yun hadn’t expected Lu Weizhu to come today, so she hadn’t prepared any food.
“I’m fine with anything. I’ll leave it up to you, Sister Yun.”
Most of the time, Lu Weizhu preferred to go along with others’ opinions.
In the end, Bai Yun ordered a soup, sweet and sour ribs, and two servings of shredded pork with potatoes.
Perhaps considering the injury on Lu Weizhu’s right hand, she chose lighter dishes.
“Lunch is ready.”
Handing a pair of chopsticks to Lu Weizhu, Bai Yun began to eat.
Lu Weizhu sat across from Bai Yun, and watching her eat with gusto made Lu Weizhu’s appetite stir, so she started eating as well.
“Whew, by the way, have you decided yet? When Xiao Weiyu is discharged, what do you plan to do, Weizhu?”
Swallowing a mouthful of shredded pork, Bai Yun chatted with Lu Weizhu as she ate.
“I still don’t know.”
Lu Weizhu shook her head.
“You dropped out right after starting high school, didn’t you?”
Bai Yun recalled what she’d heard from Lu Weiyu.
Lu Weizhu had started supporting her family at a very young age.
Technically, the city didn’t allow the hiring of child labor, but Bai Yun couldn’t imagine just how harsh Lu Weizhu’s jobs had been before she came of age. Lu Weizhu’s chewing slowed and she fell silent.
After a long while, she swallowed her rice and gave a soft hum.
This was a deep pain in her heart.
“I’m not well-educated, please don’t look down on me.”
When it came to her educational background, Lu Weizhu naturally felt inferior.
Although she grew up in this city, because of her dropout record, she was often seen as a country bumpkin and looked down on.
She basically never mentioned her education.
In truth, if she’d had a choice, who wouldn’t want to attend school in peace?
Her parents died when she was in middle school. Their inheritance lasted for a while, but by the time she was in high school, it was used up, and she and Lu Weiyu—one of them had to work to support the family.
As the elder sister, Lu Weizhu took on the responsibility as a matter of course.
“I’d never look down on you.”
Bai Yun shook her head. From the very first time she met Lu Weizhu, Bai Yun had seen that the girl’s situation was dire.
“Weizhu, have you ever thought about studying on your own and taking the university entrance exams? Once Weiyu gets better, you should start living your own life too, right?”
Bai Yun picked up a piece of rib and placed it in Lu Weizhu’s bowl.
“…Mm.” Lu Weizhu responded absentmindedly.
In truth, more than returning to school, she often wished she could just disappear for good.
Of course, she could never say such things in front of Bai Yun, or she’d get a lecture for sure.
Lu Weizhu lowered her head and focused on eating.
Bai Yun made casual conversation here and there, and Lu Weizhu’s replies were nothing more than “Mm”, “Okay”, or “Sure”.
Sensing Lu Weizhu’s lack of enthusiasm, Bai Yun didn’t pursue the topic.
After finishing lunch together, Bai Yun started her afternoon work, while Lu Weizhu still sat in a corner of the café, quietly watching Bai Yun bustle about.
She suddenly realized that, no matter where she was, she always seemed this bored.
Lu Weizhu took out her phone. The calendar showed that it was already late August—autumn would be here soon.
Now that she thought about it, when was her own birthday? Lu Weizhu couldn’t quite remember.
She recited her ID number silently, and finally recalled her birthday.
“Three months left.”
“Yawn~”
Yawning, Lu Weizhu tried to find something to do.
She started scrolling through today’s headlines and videos.
Skimming through all sorts of articles, Lu Weizhu swiped at her screen.
Unintentionally, she found a post from a few hours ago with over a hundred thousand views. Her finger froze on the screen. It wasn’t the numbers that caught her eye, but the main subject of the post.
M
In the photo, the main characters were her and Bai Yun. The title was nothing special, but the content was the real point.
“Uhh…”
Below the pictures were people speculating about her and Bai Yun’s relationship. The comment section even had people writing little stories, painting Lu Weizhu as a delicate wife who’d cry if she was cornered against a wall, even describing things like gasping, begging through tears, and so on.
“What even is all this…”
A vein throbbed on her forehead. Was she really that fragile?
More importantly, Lu Weizhu couldn’t accept that photos of her with Bai Yun, standing close, had been posted online.
If Bai Lu or Ning Wan saw this… she’d be in for it again.
Lu Weizhu pressed her lips together. Even though the view count wasn’t huge, she still felt uneasy.
“Is it really okay to take photos without someone’s permission?”
In the comment section, Lu Weizhu asked a soul-searching question.
At the same time, she opened the author’s direct messages.
“Hello, I’m one of the people in the photos. I really don’t want to appear online—could you please delete the pictures?”
After typing out a long message, Lu Weizhu lost interest in browsing headlines.
Feeling irritated, she slumped over the table and locked her phone.
After lying there for a bit, her phone kept buzzing. Lu Weizhu picked it up again.
Because of her comment, many people started to attack her with words, calling her meddlesome. Some even outright called her stupid and cursed her family.
M
Reading the flood of malicious comments, Lu Weizhu felt even worse.
She couldn’t understand—why were these people so full of resentment?
“Sigh.”
With a heavy sigh, Lu Weizhu reported each hateful comment one by one. Then she lazily sprawled across the table, quietly waiting for the post author to reply.
She waited until five in the afternoon, when it was time for the café to close.
Not wanting to linger a moment longer, Bai Yun quickly cleaned up the unused supplies and changed into her usual clothes.
“Weizhu, let’s go. The café’s closed.”
Calling out to Lu Weizhu, the two of them left the café together.
Bai Yun had no intention of going home right away. She followed beside Lu Weizhu, hoping to take a relaxing stroll with her like they had the night before.