As autumn draws nearer, the days grow ever shorter.
The sky was dimming as Lu Weizhu and Bai Yun walked side by side.
“Yun-jie?”
Lu Weizhu tilted her head slightly, a bit nervous.
It seemed she and Bai Yun weren’t actually heading in the same direction.
“Ah, I’ll walk you home.”
Bai Yun stuffed her hands into her pockets.
After several awkward attempts last night, she didn’t dare try to hold Lu Weizhu’s hand again.
Even though she understood perfectly well what Bai Yun wanted, Lu Weizhu still nodded.
She didn’t want to break the fragile harmony between them.
Unable to hold Lu Weizhu’s hand, Bai Yun took out her phone and saw the same message Lu Weizhu had received.
Seeing the word “well-matched” in the headline, Bai Yun smiled knowingly.
Unlike Lu Weizhu, Bai Yun felt nothing but happiness when she saw that kind of post.
“Weizhu, look, someone posted about us online.”
She showed Lu Weizhu a photo of the two of them together.
Lu Weizhu absentmindedly responded with a hum, hearing the joy in Bai Yun’s voice. This only made Lu Weizhu more anxious. She couldn’t let Bai Yun fall for her, and even more so, she couldn’t let those two patrons see photos of her and Bai Yun together.
Seeing how distracted Lu Weizhu was, Bai Yun’s eyes dimmed.
A bit unwilling to give up, she scrolled through the comments.
“Ha ha, someone said we look good together.”
“Well, we are friends after all.”
In the next moment, Bai Yun’s little scheme was utterly crushed by Lu Weizhu.
Like a rooster defeated in battle, Bai Yun hung her head in dismay.
“Ugh.”
For the first time in her life, she felt that doing something could be this difficult.
“Weizhu, do you want to go for a walk tonight?”
Bai Yun quickly changed the subject.
“Probably not, I have some things to take care of tonight.”
Lu Weizhu turned down Bai Yun’s invitation. In truth, she had nothing to do at all—she was simply afraid to go out shopping with Bai Yun.
She was avoiding Bai Yun. A few days ago, it was Bai Yun who avoided her, and now it was her turn to avoid Bai Yun…
“Alright…”
Bai Yun’s voice was filled with disappointment, making Lu Weizhu feel a little guilty.
Bai Yun was always so good to her, and what about her? Timid and evasive, she couldn’t even reject her directly… Lu Weizhu berated herself.
“When you have time, let’s go for a walk together. See you tomorrow.”
Before she knew it, they had arrived at the bottom of her apartment building. Even if Bai Yun didn’t want to part, she still had to say goodbye to Lu Weizhu.
She waved her hand and said her farewell.
Would she see Lu Weizhu again tomorrow? Bai Yun didn’t know, but she wanted to.
She wanted to see her face, hear her voice, and make her her girlfriend.
“Sigh.”
Walking into the stairwell, Lu Weizhu let out a sigh and slowly climbed upstairs.
A crisp ringtone rang from her phone. Lu Weizhu hoped it was a reply from the blogger, but all she found was another nasty comment.
Quietly, Lu Weizhu deleted her own comment.
She gave Lu Weiyu a call.
“Weiyu, I might not make it to the hospital tonight. Can you order food for yourself and take care?”
There was a rustling sound on the other end, then a girl’s pleasant voice came through.
“Okay, no problem, sis.”
“Remember to order light dishes. It’s best if your main is porridge. If there’s no porridge, at least get some soup.”
“Got it, sis, you’re so naggy.”
A note of complaint came from the other end.
Of course, she didn’t really mean it—she was just teasing. “Heh”
…
Lu Weizhu laughed and shook her head, hanging up.
For a moment, talking with Lu Weiyu, she felt the comfort she’d been yearning for.
After returning to her rental apartment, Lu Weizhu noticed a small red dot on WeChat as she exited her contacts.
It was a message from Bai Lu.
“Hu—”
Taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself, Lu Weizhu’s mind was once again filled with that photo circulating online. She only hoped Bai Lu was messaging her about something else.
Unfortunately, her hope was dashed.
“What’s going on with this photo?”
Bai Lu sent the photo that Lu Weizhu had already seen countless times.
Bai Lu had just finished her birthday and was planning a vacation. While looking up travel guides, she happened to stumble upon a photo of her little lover online, getting close with someone else.
In a flash, Bai Lu’s temper flared.
Ever since she was a child, always by Ning Wan’s side, Bai Lu had picked up Ning Wan’s possessive streak as well.
She did feel guilty towards Lu Weizhu, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t get mad seeing her acting lovey-dovey with someone else.
“Uh, um, let me explain…”
Lu Weizhu sent the message, but all she got was a red exclamation mark in response. She froze.
“…Ah… Looks like I’m finished… Damn it, which heartless jerk took that candid shot?” Lu Weizhu gritted her teeth. Now, all she could do was pray that Bai Lu would be magnanimous and let it go.
Of course, that was impossible. After all, they never treated her as a real person.
The whole world felt grey. Lu Weizhu was a little dispirited.
She took off her scarf, washed her face, cleaned off her foundation, and cooked a pot of rice in the rice cooker, doing her best not to use her right hand.
After waiting anxiously for a while, she scooped a bowl of rice and sat down at the coffee table.
Things had come to this point—she might as well eat first.
She had no idea what fate awaited her. At least, if she was going to die, she wanted to die on a full stomach, right?
“Heh.”
She chuckled at herself, picked up her chopsticks, and began to nibble at her rice.
With her right hand useless, she couldn’t cook any dishes. Lu Weizhu anxiously ate plain white rice.
Halfway through the meal, footsteps sounded outside the apartment, and soon after, someone knocked on the door.
Lu Weizhu’s hand trembled, dropping a few grains of rice onto the coffee table. Not long after, her chopsticks also slipped to the side of the bowl.
“…She still came after all…”
With a bitter smile, Lu Weizhu stood up.
“Coming.”
She called out softly, and slowly made her way to the door.
Her steps were heavy, as if an abyss awaited her ahead.
Well… that was probably true. A distance of less than ten meters, but it took Lu Weizhu a whole minute to cross it.
She opened the door.
“…Bai… Mistress.”
Lu Weizhu closed her eyes.
Maybe there was no need to stubbornly cling to her pitiful dignity. Giving in would feel much better, right?
Lu Weizhu stepped aside.
Standing at the doorway was none other than Bai Lu.
She wore a khaki top, a black pleated skirt, and a red tie.
Without a word, Bai Lu walked in on her own.
It had only been a day since she’d left this place.
Glancing at the trembling Lu Weizhu, Bai Lu leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs.
Because of her lingering guilt towards Lu Weizhu, Bai Lu always felt a tightness in her chest. But after seeing that photo with an unknown woman, that feeling vanished, and she no longer had to hold onto her guilt.
“Let’s talk about the photo.”
Bai Lu crossed her legs and spoke with a stern tone.
Lu Weizhu slowly inched her way to the front of the sofa, her gaze involuntarily settling on Bai Lu’s hands. Staring at those slender, distinct fingers, her heart pounded.
Just seeing Bai Lu’s fingers twitch made Lu Weizhu’s right hand start to ache faintly. “Gulp.”
She swallowed.
“It’s just an ordinary friend…”
With nothing to hold on to, Lu Weizhu thought to herself, Bai Lu probably wasn’t going to be fooled that easily.