Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Liu Shuhan lay on her bed, lost in thought, when her phone beside her vibrated lightly. She picked it up and saw a new private message on Weibo. She only had one fan on Weibo, so she knew immediately who it was.
A Stone: [Are you there?]
A Stone was a stranger who had been blocked by Liu Shuhan several times. After adding her, they had chatted a few times, but it was all just small talk without any substantial content. Liu Shuhan's Weibo ID was "A Log," and the stranger had changed their name to "A Stone." Liu Shuhan didn't know whether A Stone was male or female, so she assumed it was a beautiful woman, at least allowing herself to fantasize a bit.
A Log: [You're not asleep yet?]
It was almost five in the morning, and there was someone else awake like her.
A Stone: [Aren't you awake too?]
A Log: [The long night drags on, and I can't sleep.]
A Stone: [(sneaky smile) Why didn't you post any beautiful photos today?]
Mentioning Cheng Qiuyi made Liu Shuhan's face scrunch up in displeasure. She rolled around on the bed with a frown and typed out a quick response.
[Beautiful Sister has a heavy taste; I need to take my time.]
A Stone: [What happened? She didn't confess to you, did she?]
Liu Shuhan's hand shook as she lost grip of her phone, which then clattered onto her face. She quickly sat up from the bed and asked:
[You know about this too?]
Is this stone some kind of divine rock? How could they guess so accurately?
A Stone: [Just a wild guess; didn't expect it to be so accurate.]
A Log: [...]
A Stone: [Look at you, so lost and dejected. Did you refuse?]
Liu Shuhan was stunned. [Sister, are you a fortune teller?]
A Stone: [Why did you refuse? Is it because you think I'm not good-looking?]
[Of course not!] Liu Shuhan typed a long message but then deleted it all. [Our situation is too complicated; you wouldn't understand.]
It took a long time for A Stone to reply, so long that Liu Shuhan thought she had fallen asleep.
[Do you like her?]
Liu Shuhan certainly liked her. She liked Cheng Qiuyi to the core, but this little girl’s feelings seemed too trivial to share with others. Liu Shuhan didn’t respond to A Stone's question; instead, she turned off her phone and stared blankly at the dark ceiling.
Liu Shuhan had known for a long time that she was gay, it was innate. Her family was happy and loving, without the external factors mentioned in books; she could only feel desire for women. Liu Shuhan realized this in middle school, and she could accept it calmly after getting to know Cheng Qiuyi.
For a long time, Liu Shuhan struggled with self-loathing, thinking of herself as a pervert. She was afraid to interact with any friends, fearing they would see through her.
After meeting Cheng Qiuyi, Liu Shuhan felt that liking someone of the same sex wasn’t something to be afraid of. Cheng Qiuyi was so wonderful; it was only natural to fall for such a girl. The joy should have been overwhelming, and thinking of her was sweet—how could there be fear?
Cheng Qiuyi was so great; she deserved a life that could be exposed to the sunlight.
In Cheng Qiuyi's bedroom, there was a large floor-to-ceiling window, and she was sitting cross-legged on the windowsill.
She held her phone in hand, waiting for a response from the wooden figure in her private message box, but the screen that had been the only light in the darkness finally dimmed.
Cheng Qiuyi had her hair casually tied back and held a cigarette in her mouth, unlit.
The year Cheng Tianhong brought his mistress home was when Cheng Qiuyi developed a smoking habit.
That year, she played wildly, smoking, drinking, gambling, and racing cars. She experienced almost all the so-called rebellious youth, even though her youth was nearing its end. That year, she cut off contact with all her previous friends, including Liu Shuhan. It was not for any other reason; Cheng Qiuyi found herself unappealing at that time.
Falling in love with Liu Shuhan was an unexpected turn in Cheng Qiuyi's life. Love is something that cannot be reasoned; when you love, you simply love.
However, she was too young back then and did not understand emotions. Or rather, with Cheng Tianhong's example before her, she scoffed at love. A relationship bound by a piece of paper was so fragile; how could she expect her love with Liu Shuhan, which existed outside the law, to be any different?
Cheng Qiuyi was afraid. Her blood carried Cheng Tianhong's lineage, and she feared that she would end up like Cheng Tianhong—gaining something only to abandon it later. Liu Shuhan was a good girl; rather than let her get hurt, Cheng Qiuyi preferred to bury her feelings deep within.
So, Cheng Qiuyi escaped abroad. Time and distance were the best remedies; they could dilute her hatred for Cheng Tianhong and naturally lessen her love for Liu Shuhan.
But it didn't work. The hatred for Cheng Tianhong remained, while her love for Liu Shuhan grew like a tender sprout breaking through the soil into a towering tree in her heart.
Cheng Qiuyi wanted to be with Liu Shuhan, to be together for a lifetime. Thus, she worked hard to rid herself of the dependence on that reckless lifestyle and strived to become someone capable of supporting Liu Shuhan's world.
[Do you like her?]
Heaven knows how much courage it took Cheng Qiuyi to send those words out, yet the other end remained silent.
Cheng Qiuyi looked out the window as her fingers danced around. The lighter in her hand traced beautiful arcs. It had been a long time since she last smoked, but at that moment, she particularly missed the thrill of nicotine rubbing against her lungs.
The flame flickered several times before Cheng Qiuyi finally pinched the cigarette between two fingers and placed it along with the lighter on the windowsill. There was no need to indulge in something she had already quit.
Liu Shuhan, even if you want to be a timid turtle, you can only hide beside me for this lifetime.
Liu Shuhan was indeed a timid turtle—a very fast one at that. By seven in the morning, when Cheng Qiuyi knocked on her door, Liu Shuhan had already tidied up the room and slipped away without Cheng Qiuyi noticing when.
“……” Cheng Qiuyi stared at the empty room as if she might break the doorknob in frustration.
Liu Shuhan, just wait.
Liu Shuhan was buying buns at a breakfast stall. It was the middle of summer, yet she inexplicably shivered.
"Boss, I'll take two Red Bean Buns!" Liu Shuhan shook her shoulders to dispel the strange unease and spoke to the stall owner.
It wasn't that Liu Shuhan wanted to avoid anything; she simply didn't know how to face Cheng Qiuyi. Just thinking about the bizarre atmosphere from last night made her heart race, so she had no choice but to escape.
Let it be, things will work themselves out. Liu Shuhan thought as she bit into her bun. She didn't have many skills, but she had one advantage: she was carefree. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been secretly in love with Cheng Qiuyi for so many years while acting as if nothing was wrong.
Despite her romantic setbacks, she still had to go to work. Liu Shuhan hopped on her little electric scooter and hit the road again.
There weren't many packages for the courier today. By four in the afternoon, Liu Shuhan had delivered almost all of them. The reason it was "almost" was that at that moment, she still had one package left, addressed to Cheng Muto.
Liu Shuhan hesitated, holding the package while lingering downstairs at Cheng Qiuyi's building for quite a while. Finally, she stomped her foot and turned her scooter around. She sent a text message to Cheng Qiuyi at the entrance of the community: "Dear customer, HT Logistics courier has placed your package at the security desk. Please collect it in a timely manner. For refusals, please call 187xxxxxxxx."
In less than a minute, Cheng Qiuyi's call came through.
"Liu Shuhan, if you don't deliver the package to me personally within two minutes, I will file a complaint against you." Cheng Qiuyi's voice on the phone sounded particularly cold.
Liu Shuhan could almost imagine the expression on Cheng Qiuyi's face when she said that. Without another word, she turned around and drove back to her building.
No joke—getting complained about would mean a deduction from her wages. Reputation wasn't worth more than actual cash.
Comment 0 Comment Count