Overgrown Grasslands

26. Chapter 26

Zhu Yun watched a bit of TV, but went upstairs after getting bored. Her mother reminded her that they had to stay up to usher in the new year.

“Usher in the new year?” As if Zhu Yun was in the mood to do that. She made an excuse, “I’m kind of tired.”

“Nonsense.” Her mother glanced at her. “What time is it, and you’re already tired? You usually study through the night.” Zhu Yun sat on the sofa uncomfortably.

At 11pm, her mother had already become drowsy. Her father nudged her mother and told her to go on to sleep. She yawned and headed up the stairs, but not before urging Zhu Yun, “Make sure to usher in the year. At 12, go to the prayer room and make your wishes.”

Zhu Yun really sat on the sofa until 12am. When the TV host started counting down the last few seconds until the new year, Zhu Yun got up. Their prayer room was on the third floor, converted from a storage room. Her grandmother believed in Buddha, and her mother.. occasionally believed.

When she walked into the dark room, she was overcome with the scent of sandalwood.?(t/n: It’s used to make incense)

Zhu Yun sat down on some padding and checked the time. 12am, perfect. In accordance with her mother’s request, Zhu Yun kowtowed thrice, in preparation to ask for her blessings.

Just then, the cross necklace she wore fell out from her collar

Zhu Yun stared ahead blankly. She’d nearly forgotten.. In truth, she often forgot about it, that she wore this necklace. It was an old necklace, one she’d had for many years. The design was nothing special, and it was made with the cheapest metal. In fact, the metal had already dulled.

Zhu Yun had already forgotten what the owner of the necklace looked like. Whenever she recalled that time, her mind simply conjured up a blurred figure. That girl had been arrogant, like a peacock.

She tucked the necklace back inside her shirt. Then she remembered that she seemed to have forgotten to make her wish.

Oh well.

Midnight was peak time for firecrackers. Zhu Yun walked out of the prayer room and cleared her throat towards downstairs. Her father’s voice came from his bedrom, “We’re heading to sleep. You should get to sleep soon too!”

Zhu Yun replied loudly, “Okay!”

Night had finally come.

Zhu Yun returned to her room and locked the door. Outside, the sounds of firecrackers echoed, and fireworks filled the sky. After sitting in a daze on her bed awhile, she went to the bathroom to shower. By the time she dried her hair and tidied things up, it was already 1am.

She tossed her towel to the ground and walked over to her closet. After going through her clothes, she pulled out her new white dress. Zhu Yun changed her clothes and then stood in front of the mirror. She applied a light layer of foundation and added a touch of lip gloss. She blinked a few times at the mirror, and then she sat down on her bed, quietly waiting.

When you were waiting for something, patience became difficult.

The sounds outside were clearly thundering, and yet she still seemed able to hear her heart beating. She clasped her hands together, lightly, sweatily.

How irritating.. She pressed her lips together. Seriously fucking irritating.

Time ticked by, one minute, one second at a time. The sounds outside started to calm, with only occasional echos from afar, reminding everyone that this unordinary night had yet to end.

2 o’clock. Zhu Yun stood up and grabbed her bag, carefully leaving her room. Her steps were light as a spirit walking. The house was quiet. Her parents were both pretty heavy sleepers; they hadn’t even been effected by the firecrackers. She walked down the stairs and pulled out a pair of high heels from the shoe cabinet, but she didn’t wear them immediately.

She tiptoed to the door and slipped out. The chill of the stone steps made every pore on her body close up tight. She didn’t dare let out a breath.

After standing still for two minutes, ensuring that her parents hadn’t woken up, Zhu Yun finally put on her heels. She turned and looked at the snowfall against the moon. Then she took a deep breath, jumped off the steps, and headed out.

The streets had already emptied out, with only firecracker remnants left behind. They were soft, and walking on them felt like walking on snow.

Zhu Yun’s dress did leave her a bit cold in midwinter, but though she had an extra jacket in her backpack, she didn’t want to put it on.

She recalled the day she and Li Xun had visited the art institute. And then her steps quickened. Faster and faster, until she was sprinting. Her hair and dress fluttered wantonly around her, seeming to echo her heart’s beat.

The midnight bell had already been rung, and hers was the only ship still sailing this night.

There were only two streets between Zhu Yun’s house and Lihua Street. There were various small hotels and restaurants there, many of them open 24 hours a day. She knew precisely where Lihua Hotel was, so she ran over. There, saw a group of guys playing cards in the hall.

She immediately spotted that shining, golden head. Now that their project was on a break, he finally didn’t look like he was suffering. He knew how to smile.

A certain golden haired guy was about reveal his winning hand, when his smooth move was interrupted by a shout—”Li Xun!”

He paused for a few seconds, and then turned around. His victory expression turned into a dumbstruck one. Li Xun stared at her blankly, and then let out a stunned, “Shit..”

The image of Li Xun’s turned head, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a hand ready to reveal his card.. It was really amusing. Zhu Yun couldn’t help laughing. And he laughed too.

“What are you throwing out? Are you still playing or not?” the next player rushed.

Li Xun tossed aside the card in his hand and said, “Sorry, I can’t keep playing.”

“Why not?”

Li Xun shrugged and replied helplessly, “I have a visitor.” He placed his winnings in the middle of the table and said, “It’s not much, but buy yourselves a box of cigarettes.” He’d won the most games at the table, so when he redistributed the money, the other guys happily wished him a happy new year.

While re-shuffling the cards, the guys looked past Li Xun, a mischeivous look in their eyes. One of them narrowed his eyes at Li Xun and said, “Quit dillydallying and get back to your room.”

Li Xun got up from the table, amidst the other guys’ laughter, and complacently walked over to Zhu Yun. A wicked gleam crossed her eyes, and as they walked, she asked quietly, “If I turn around and leave right now, would that make you look bad?”

“Yes.” He lowered his head, a smile on his face, and said, “Princess, are you leaving?”

Zhu Yun pursed her lips and said, “Depends on your performance.”

“I’ll be sure to make you satisfied.”

Zhu Yun raised a brow.

Li Xun asked, “Are you still leaving?”

“....” Quietly, she said, “I guess I won’t leave yet.”

Li Xun bent down and whispered into her ear irreverently, “Your Highness.” Zhu Yun stopped herself from laughing, and the two headed upstairs.

Halfway up the stairs, she heard laughter ringing from below. Her face felt a bit hot.

New Year’s celebrations were really nice.

Lihua Hotel was small, so the corridors were narrow and all the rooms were all singles. Li Xun pulled out his key to open the door, and Zhu Yun waited quietly behind him. She looked at him, in the narrow space, under the dim lighting. He was nearly as tall as the door frame.

After opening the door, Li Xun turned to the side and said, “Princess, please enter.”

Zhu Yun walked inside and took a look around the room. “It’s messy.”

He laughed and tossed the key onto the desk. “Let me wash my face.” Li Xun was looking particularly magnanimous that day.

Zhu Yun looked around for a spot to sit down. The room was indeed messy. Hadn’t he just arrived today? How could someone turn their room into such a mess in just one day? He didn’t have a suitcase with him, just a black sports duffel. It was partly unzipped, Li Xun’s clothes piled inside.

Li Xun walked out from the bathroom and said, “Why are you standing? Have a seat.”

“Where am I supposed to sit?’

Li Xun rubbed his hands as he looked around. Finally, he motioned to a spot with his chin. “Over there.”

The bed. The single bed. Against the wall.

Forget it. Zhu Yun walked over to the chair covered in clothes and cleared it off. Li Xun took the bed.

The chair was tall. Zhu Yun very much enjoyed the overlooking view she had. “It’s too messy in here,” she said.

“Mmh.”

“Like a pigsty.”

“Mmh.”

She’d attacked ruthlessly, only to have him lazily agree. That didn’t seem quite right. His seriousness was too out of the ordinary. Whether or not he truly agreed with Zhu Yun’s words, Li Xun didn’t make any retorts, and simply listened to her speak.

Maybe he hadn’t even really been listening?

He yawned and then reached for a cigarette. While Zhu Yun’s thoughts were battling with each other, Li Xun tapped the back of his hand with the cigarette and raised his eyes.

“Stand up.”

“Hm?”

“Stand up and let me see.”

Zhu Yun knew more or less what he was thinking. She got up slowly. This seemed to be the first time she’d ever looked down on him like this.

He lit his cigarette and used the dim light to inspect her. Zhu Yun didn’t dare look him in the eyes, so she stared out the window, on the street that she’d come from. As she looked on at the bare tree branches, her thoughts ran wild.

Did he like the dress? Of course he did. Otherwise, why would he tell her to stand up? She thanked her mother for having such elegant taste. Hallelujah.

“You don’t have to work so hard to suck in your stomach. There’s not much meat there anyway.”

“....” Could he ruin the moment any more?

She knew that there was no way he could have been so serious, letting her gain the upper hand. Disheartened, Zhu Yun couldn’t help rolling her eyes. Just then, she saw Li Xun lower his head. He tried to hide a laugh, but he couldn’t. That touch of gentleness in his lips, in the foggy air, made it impossible for one’s heart to not be shaken.

Zhu Yun’s heart pounded in her chest. She looked left and right, hoping to change the topic. After spotting a plastic bowl beside his laptop, she stared and asked, “You had that for dinner?”

“Mmh.”

“You had malatang (hot, spicy soup) for New Year’s?”

“I can’t do that?”

“You—” Before she could finish speaking, her cellphone vibrated, giving her quite the fright. She pulled it out; it was the alarm she’d set when she left. Because she was afraid that it might get too late, she set her phone to remind her every half hour. That was already the second vibration.

“When are you heading home?” Li Xun asked.

Zhu Yun looked up. “..Before 4:30 should be fine.” It was already past 3, which meant there wasn’t much time left. This night was truly passing quickly.

While she was caught up in her thoughts, a paper object flew at her. She subconsciously grabbed it in her arms. “What’s this?”

Li Xun took off his shoes and moved further onto the bed, his back to the wall. He yawned. “A tribute.”

Ah, payment?

“It’s very thin.” Zhu Yun pinched the envelope. Without holding back her disdain, she said, “Didn’t you say you were going to make sure I was satisfied?” Li Xun raised a brow but didn’t speak.

Zhu Yun opened the red envelope and poured its contents out. A card. Oh.

“This is your pay card.”

Li Xun stretched his arm over, and Zhu Yun pushed the ashtray towards him. When he was done, he said, “I’ve already deposited the money from the Languan project.”

Zhu Yun asked, “What’s the PIN?”

“Six 8s.” How unoriginal..?(t/n: 8 is considered a lucky number)

Zhu Yun put away the card and then pulled her chair over to Li Xun. She said, “Tell me about what happened with Languan. What did you tell them? Did they like what we made?”

Li Xun gave a cold look. “How old are you that you still need bedtime stories?”

She kicked the bed. With a helpless expression, Li Xun said, “Talking about those kinds of things in this kind of situation really isn’t my style.”

Zhu Yun looked at him, silent. Three seconds later, Li Xun said, “Fine..”

He started going over the past few days’ events, and Zhu Yun realized that she really liked listening to Li Xun talk. It wasn’t only that his voice sounded nice, but it also revealed a light, yet indestructable directional sense.

Zhu Yun asked, “Were you scared when you went to the company?”

Li Xun replied, “Why would I be scared?”

“You were by yourself..”

Li Xun scratched his cheek. “Let me see..”

?

“The first time I saw a programming book at someone’s house was nearly ten years ago.” Li Xun spoke in his easy, carefree manner. “I buried myself in studies for ten years, so how could I be scared off by a small program for a food company?” He looked at Zhu Yun a bit teasingly. “Generally, people feel scared because they feel guilty, for example, a certain princess taking an exam.”

Zhu Yun, “....”

Can we not mention that.

Zhu Yun asked Li Xun for more details. Hearing him mocking the grand Languan Company, Zhu Yun couldn’t help laughing. He paused for a few seconds and Zhu Yun smiled at him. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

Li Xun lowered his eyes and slightly leaned to his side, against the pillows. Without much attention, he said, “I broke up with Cui Xiangjun.”

“Who?”

“Cui Xiangjun.”

The name didn’t spark anything in Zhu Yun’s memory. “Who?”

Li Xun’s face had darknened. In no good mood, he shouted, “Juliet!”

“....”

So her name was Cui Xiangjun. Your girlfriend’s name even sounds like a Qinhuai prostitute.?(t/n: Briefly, see?in the history section, Li Xiangjun of Beauties of the Qinhuai River)

Zhu Yun nodded.

Li Xun asked, “Do you have anything to say?”

Zhu Yun replied, “Since you don’t seem too distraught over it, I won’t bother comforting you.”

Li Xun snorted. He licked his lips and the sleep in his eyes became more apparent. Zhu Yun looked away.

But looking away didn’t matter. Her face was still burning. Quietly, she said, “I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

Inside the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. She pushed aside the stray strands of hair that were in her face. After wetting her hands in cold water, she shook them off and pat her face to cool down.

The night was intoxicating.

Zhu Yun didn’t know how long she’d been rubbing her face in the bathroom. But when she walked out, she discovered that Li Xun had already fallen asleep. She tiptoed over to check if he might be faking it, but he wasn’t. He’d tried. He’d washed his face and smoked, but he was unable to keep away the exhaustion.

Zhu Yun crouched down and looked at him without reserve. His face was thin, and he had double eyelids. When he was awake, the sharp lines made him look arrogant, but when he was sleeping, he looked like a good little boy.

Li Xun’s hands rested on the bed, long and pretty. Zhu Yun extended a finger, wanting to touch between his thumb and forefinger. She tried a few times to get the right angle, but then Li Xun stirred and Zhu Yun immediately pulled her hand back.

Her phone vibrated again..

Zhu Yun smiled at the dreaming Li Xun. Forget it. The future ahead was long.