CH 97

Who could have drawn it?

So cute.

Cheng Suran looked at the rabbit lantern carefully and was about to put it back into the water when she suddenly noticed that there were words on the back, so she looked carefully—

Juste une photo de toi

"!"

These words…

She turned back to the front simple sketch and stared closely at those two letters.

Y…? Yu?

R…? Ran?

Cheng Suran suddenly raised her head, stood up holding the lantern, and looked around.

The tourists nearby were chatting and laughing, walking leisurely. It was too dark, and the street lights on the shore were limited, so it was impossible to fully see everyone's faces. She looked around and searched for the tallest one.

After searching around, the tall people were all men, and she didn't see an expected shadow.

Could it be Jiang Yu...

Is she also here?

Cheng Suran was confused and suddenly realized that she had overreacted, and felt a little annoyed.

So what?

It's none of her business.

She put the lantern back into the water and continued walking aimlessly.

The lake reflected the shadow of the gazebo lights, and the trees on the shore were covered with string lanterns. There was a lantern prayer activity tonight. Many people bought string lanterns and made wishes around the trees. She also joined in the fun and bought one.

There were many people under each tree. She walked all the way, and when she saw a lot of people, she lost interest. After walking, she finally found a tree with few people.

The tree stood by the lake, and there was only one person under the tree. Cheng Suran quickened her pace.

As she got closer, she saw a silhouette of a person looking familiar. Tall and thin, with long hair and shawls, wearing a silver-gray long-sleeved shirt, simple and casual jeans, with long straight legs.

Jiang Yu?

Even after many years, she can still recognize her at a glance.

Cheng Suran stopped in her tracks and was about to leave.

But just then, that person turned around.

Their gazes met.

"Ranran?"

Jiang Yu looked at her in surprise.

Cheng Suran was a little flustered, pretended to be calm, and showed a surprised expression: "Miss Jiang, what a coincidence."

The two stared at each other in silence.

A gust of cool wind blows over, carrying the moisture of the lake and the faint smell of green grass.

Jiang Yu smiled and her gaze fell on her hand, "Do you want to tie a string lantern?" She pointed to a tree beside her, "There are too many people around the shorter trees up ahead, this tree has fewer people, but it's taller. I can help you tie it."

"Thank you, no need," Cheng Suran replied softly, glancing at the tree, "I'll find a lower branch on my own."

"Okay."

Jiang Yu didn't say anything more.

She has already tied up her string lantern, she has nothing more to do at the moment and was about to leave, but she did not expect to meet Cheng Suran here. If she had moved a little slower, she might have been able to stay a little longer.

Should she go or not?

Cheng Suran walked past her and reached the tree, looking up to find a suitable branch.

This tree grows close to the water bank, and the slightly lower branches extend long above the lake, forming an irregular semi-arc shape. As long as you grab it and press it down a little, you can tie the string lantern to it.

She stepped on the weeds on the bank carefully, grabbed the tree trunk with one hand, stood on tiptoe, and reached for the long branch with the other hand.

Jiang Yu took back the strides she took.

Touching the rough bark with her fingertips, Cheng Suran stood on tiptoe again, successfully grabbed the branch, and was about to pull it down.

"Be careful..."

Jiang Yu looked at her worriedly. Before she could finish her sentence, she saw her hand slip against the tree trunk, as if she were losing her balance. Without hesitation, she reached out and pulled her.

However, her own footing gave way, and with an unstable center of gravity, she tumbled into the water.

—splash!

The lake's surface splashed with large waves of water.

Cheng Suran's arm throbbed from being pulled, and she took a few steps back, almost falling to the ground. She saw Jiang Yu unexpectedly falling into the water, and it startled her: "Jiang Yu!"

She rushed over to pull her out.

Jiang Yu got up from the water by herself.

"Cough cough... I'm... I'm fine... there are steps below." 

"??"

Below the surface of the water along the coast are artificial concrete steps, not too deep, just below Jiang Yu's thigh. When she fell, her butt hit the concrete steps heavily, and the splashed water covered her head and body, making her all drenched like a drowned rat.

Cheng Suran was still in shock, and quickly stepped forward to support her: "Did you get hurt?"

"There's a gazebo over there, I'll help you go there."

Jiang Yu clutched her chest and kept coughing, and her butt felt a dull pain. Cheng Suran helped her to the gazebo, sat down, hurriedly took out a tissue from her bag, wiped her face, and handed her two more.

"Quick, wipe yourself."

"Thank you," Jiang Yu said with slightly labored breath, gently moving her hand aside and drying her face.

Cheng Suran's hand froze for a moment before slowly retracting.

Her clothes, thoroughly soaked, clung heavily to her body, and water droplets still clung to the tips of her hair. Jiang Yu appeared quite disheveled now. For her, this seemed like a good opportunity to use the sense of guilt to draw their relationship closer.

But she didn't want to do that.

"Cough...give me your string lantern..."

“?"

Without waiting for Cheng Suran to speak, Jiang Yu took away the same string lantern from her hand, got up and walked under the tree, tiptoed slightly, and tied it to a slightly higher branch.

She shivered as the cold wind blew on her drenched body.

Cheng Suran stared at her in a daze, her back turned. Suddenly, she realized just how thin she was. 

She had never been this skinny before.

Her muscles and lines seemed to have vanished, leaving only a fragile skeleton. 

"Alright."

Jiang Yu returned to the gazebo and sat down.

Cheng Suran was about to say something when the phone rang suddenly.

It was Wen Ruoxian's call.

"Hello? Ruoxian."

Jiang Yu froze.

"Almost there? Oh, I'm in the park, by the lake... Mm, sure, I'll come pick you up." Cheng Suran looked in the direction of the park gate, responded a few times, and hung up the phone.

She turned to look at Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu also raised her gaze to meet hers.

"I..." Cheng Suran's lips moved, "I have to go pick someone up now. If you're okay, please go back and change your clothes as soon as possible. Don't catch a cold." Her voice paused, and she seemed to remember something, a hint of guilt in her eyes. "Thank you."

Then she turned and left.

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=4738582

This translation is originally posted on

love4baihe.blogspot.com

please read it there. and check out other stories too

Jiang Yu looked at her receding back, her body that was soaked in cold water shivered.

Another gust of cold wind blew over, chilling deep into her bone marrow. She hugged her arms tightly.

A huge full moon hangs high in the night sky.

The moonlight is reflected on the surface of the lake, the lights are flickering in the distance, and there are many tourists.

Jiang Yu stared at the moon in the water.

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and everyone in the company is on holiday. Some have gone back home, others are traveling, and even the aunt nanny has returned to her hometown. During the day, she stayed in the empty house, spending the day finishing up the remaining model.

The glue could only piece the model together in a rough shape, and she could tell it was indeed a model—crooked, twisted, and unsightly. It was barely presentable.

Yet, it was everything she had.

When she came out to relax this night, she put a rabbit lantern by the Yuhu Lake and tied a wishing string lantern on the tree. She remembered the Mid-Autumn Festival night spent with Cheng Suran many years ago. They guessed lantern riddles and looked at the moon together...

The moment she saw Cheng Suran, she thought she was hallucinating from missing her too much, and then realized that Ranran was also alone.

They might still spend the holidays together.

This joy didn't last long, Wen Ruoxian shattered her fantasy - and left her behind. Definitely, without hesitation.

She is like an abandoned dog.

When she was young, no one wanted her, her father asked her to go to her mother, and her mother asked her to go to her paternal grandparents. They didn’t want her. Her grandma thought she was cumbersome. A group of adults threw her around like a toy.

Later, she didn't trust anyone anymore, and she had no one to rely on except herself. In her world, only herself was the most important.

You gain yourself, you lose yourself.

After all, she is fit to live alone.

Her heart throbbed uncontrollably, as if a piece was missing, the cold wind poured in, her body felt cold and so as her heart, and the chill was piercing.

Jiang Yu shuddered and opened her bag, it was soaked inside, and her phone and documents were also wet. She took out her phone, wiped it with the remaining tissue Cheng Suran gave her, and unlocked it.

Fortunately, it was not broken.

WeChat messages were piling up as ellipses; many people were wishing her a happy holiday and sending her red envelopes.

Tian Lin rambled on like an old aunt, sending dozens of messages, from afternoon until evening, all urging her to go out for a walk. Pei Chutong sent seven big red envelopes in a row, two short videos, and an unanswered voice call. Bai Lu excitedly sent her a voice message, saying that fashion week was wrapping up, and she'd be returning to the country after finishing up the photo shoots in the next couple of days.

She replied one by one, accepted the red envelopes, and then sent them back, her cold body finally felt a little bit of warmth.

Unknowingly, it was getting colder. Her hands bore purple blood spots under the lamplight. After replying to the messages, Jiang Yu put away her phone, glanced in the direction Cheng Suran had gone, and then stood up and left.

….

The timing was just right, as soon as Wen Ruoxian got off the taxi, Cheng Suran saw her and trotted over.

“Ruoxian!”

"Why did you come back early? Isn't today the Mid-Autumn Festival? Does your family have any objections?"

Wen Ruoxian's expression was gentle, her smile still faint as she said, "I had lunch at home and stayed there for a couple of days. I got bored, so I wanted to come back." Her gaze slightly evaded under the dim light.

"Did you come back to keep me company?" Cheng Suran didn't notice at all; she made a joke and playfully looped her arm around Wen Ruoxian's.

"Will you be burdened when I say so?"

"No."

"Then I did."

"Hahaha…"

Wen Ruoxian looked at her and smiled, her two small pear dimples seemed to be filled with glistening water, her mood suddenly became clear, and she breathed a sigh of relief: "Ranran, do you still want to light up a lantern*? Let's light another one up?"

*they're talking about the floating lanterns, the ones you light up, some still use real flames but nowadays they use led lights and let it float on the lake with your wishes. While the string lanterns are the ones you hang or carry while strolling and the other one is the flying one

"I do" Cheng Suran hesitated, "I haven't lit one myself, the one I showed you was someone else's lantern."

She hadn't had the chance to light a lantern before meeting Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu...

Before her eyes flashed the woman sitting there in a state of embarrassment, soaked all over, her chest twitched abruptly, feeling a little uneasy.

Jiang Yu fell into the water to save her, and it seemed not good for her to leave her there.

But—

"Alright, let's put one each." Wen Ruoxian walked with her on her arm.

Cheng Suran came back to her senses and hurriedly followed the pace.

The lakeside was bustling with activity as more people gathered. Numerous lanterns adorned the water's surface, creating a dense and vibrant display of light. Cheng Suran thought of the rabbit lantern and wondered where it had floated off to.

She had bought a rabbit lantern herself too.

"Ruoxian, what wish did you write down?"

"It won't work if you say it."

"Oh."

Cheng Suran pretended to be upset and lowered her head to fiddle with her own lantern.

"Okay, okay," Wen Ruoxian softly coaxed her, and handed the note over, "I'll show you."

—I hope Ranran will always be happy.

A very simple wish.

Her handwriting is elegant and powerful, and her pen is sharp.

Cheng Suran was startled, and asked with a smile: "Why don't you make a wish for yourself?"

"This is my wish." Wen Ruoxian looked at her deeply, her eyes were scorched by the flames.

Cheng Suran narrowed her eyes: "Then I'll make a wish for you too, just one..." She tilted her head and thought for a while, then smiled slyly, "I wish Miss Wen Ruoxian get out of her singlehood as soon as possible! Hahahaha."

Wen Ruoxian was stunned.

"I wonder what kind of person would be worthy of our Ruoxian," Cheng Suran mused, sticking a note to her phone. She quickly wrote down her wish, muttering to herself as she did.

Wen Ruoxian lowered her gaze, not responding.

Two lanterns swayed and floated along the current of the water.

After setting off the lights, Cheng Suran took Wen Ruoxian to watch the lantern riddles, bought another string lantern, and followed the original path to find the tree. There were more people in the park now, and from a distance, she saw three or four people surrounded by the tree just now, and several long string lanterns were already hanging from the branches.

A mother with a stroller sits in the gazebo.

Jiang Yu's shadow had long since disappeared.

Cheng Suran stood on the side of the stone road, looking around, surrounded by strange faces.

"Ranran, I'm done." Wen Ruoxian patted her on the shoulder.

"Look."

Cheng Suran turned her head when she heard the sound, and the two long string lanterns were close together, entwined and fluttering in the wind, she nodded absent-mindedly.

Jiang Yu should have gone home...

With an assistant and a nanny, she should be fine.

She doesn't need to worry about her either.

—bang!

There was a loud bang, and the sky suddenly lit up.

Cheng Suran was startled, raised her head, and the sky above her head was filled with gorgeous fireworks, she immediately put her thoughts behind her, and shook the arms of the person beside her: "Ruoxian, there's a fireworks display!"

"Mm." Wen Ruoxian replied with a faint smile.

Cheng Suran furrowed her brows slightly and led her to a less crowded corner. "Ruoxian, are you feeling down? You seem a bit somber tonight."

"Do I?"

"We've known each other for so long, can I really not tell?"

"..."

"If it's inconvenient, forget it."

The smile on Wen Ruoxian's lips faded, and a look of sadness suddenly appeared in her eyes, and she sighed: "It's not an inconvenience, it's just that I had a little conflict with my family, so I came back early. They... urged me to find someone."

Cheng Suran remembered her joke just now, and covered her mouth: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have joked with you just now..."

"Huh?" Wen Ruoxian raised her eyebrows and smiled, "I don't mind voluntarily leaving my singlehood but being forced to leave is a different thing."

She lied.

It was not her family who urged her to find a partner, but she came out to her family.

Wen Ruoxian's family ran a business, making them relatively well-off. Being the only child, she grew up in comfort and freedom, developing a gentle and composed nature. She approached everything with humility and patience, believing that what truly belonged to her would always be hers.

Her parents never asked her to abide by the rules, and never urged her to get married and have children. She has always been very open-minded, but she never thought that her "open-minded" parents could not accept her sexual orientation.

She quarreled with her parents and returned to Jiangcheng in a hurry.

It's better to come out to your family early, to avoid coming out for someone in the future and burdening them with psychological pressure and double stress. This way, she took responsibility for her own choices and wouldn't blame anyone else.

The so-called "someone" is standing right in front of her now.

She couldn't say anything.

"Do you have to get married?" Cheng Suran pouted.

"That's not true." Wen Ruoxian shook her head, "It's just that it will be annoying if you talk too much. Actually..." She stopped and looked at Cheng Suran.

"Mm?"

"I have someone I like."

"Who is it?" Cheng Suran's face lit up with excitement as if seeking gossip.

Wen Ruoxian gazed at her, her throat bobbing, and her hand hidden at her side clenched tightly. Suddenly, she averted her gaze stiffly. "She's* not here. And... she doesn't like me."

*The text used 她 which means 'she' but 他 for 'he' and 它  for 'it' are all read as 'ta' so when spoken it would not give away the gender of the subject they're talking about.

"Ah, that's a pity," Cheng Suran frowned.

Wen Ruoxian was silent.

There were several loud bangs not far away.

A series of flames rose into the night sky, exploding fireworks of various shapes, and the night was dyed as bright as day, and the surrounding people all exclaimed in unison.

"Ranran..." Wen Ruoxian turned around, but still couldn't help asking her, "Do you have someone you like?"

"!?"

Jiang Yu's face flashed before Cheng Suran's eyes.

Why Jiang Yu?

Memories from five years ago surged, every frown and smile of that person, every word and sentence, spun fast like a revolving lantern, and she couldn't drive them away.

Cheng Suran became a little flustered and smiled under guise: "No. Making money is the most important thing now."

"Makes sense."

Wen Ruoxian nodded in agreement, but the light in her eyes dimmed.