Fell In Love With My Older Sister’s Friend - Chapter 35

Not far from the gate of the folk music hall, a girl of about sixteen or seventeen secretly raised her phone camera, quickly snapped a picture, and sent it over, saying urgently: “Zhizhi, is this her?”

In the voice call, Xu Luzhi’s calm voice came through: “The picture is blurry.”

“Oh, is it?”  Yingying looked down and saw that it was indeed blurry. She quickly withdrew the message, “My hand shook a little, doing it again.”

She raised her phone once more. This time, she aimed at the right angle, and with a click, she took a satisfactory photo and sent it over: “How about this one? Is it okay now?”

Xu Luzhi on the other end of the line went quiet.

Ying Yingying: “Hello? Hello? Why aren’t you talking? I’ve been staking out here for three days, is it her or not?”

Xu Luzhi tapped on the photo, and in an instant, the picture on the screen was enlarged to fill the entire display.

She automatically ignored the woman holding the pipa next to her, turning her attention instead to the guzheng on the other side.

The woman sitting before the guzheng was wearing a light green qipao, with her sleeves buttoned up securely. Her hands rested on the guzheng, playing a soft, delicate melody.

Her raven-black long hair was casually pinned up, and her face was covered by a white veil, making her true features unclear. Only a pair of peach blossom, flowing eyes betrayed a captivating radiance with every glance.

She didn’t look at anyone, just kept her eyes downcast, looking at the guzheng beneath her hands with an expression of extreme gentleness. It was unlike Lin Qingyue’s usual flirtatious demeanor. At this moment, Lin Qingyue was completely covered up, yet she appeared even more voluptuous and alluring, like a dream walking out of the misty rains of Jiangnan.

Xu Luzhi stared blankly for a long time. Although she had long anticipated that Lin Qingyue would be extremely beautiful, the beauty in the photo surpassed her imagination.

She felt a pang of jealousy toward Ying Yingying, who could admire Lin Qingyue up close and even listen to her play.

Ying Yingying’s phone had too good a pickup range. Xu Luzhi could only hear snippets of voices and intermittent music that didn’t form a coherent piece.

Xu Luzhi’s eyes darkened. Without hesitation, she cropped half of the image, saved it, and deleted the other half, then permanently deleted the cropped part from the recycle bin.

Then, she delicately reached out her index finger to stroke the screen, imagining Lin Qingyue’s cool cheek, and her heart ached.

“Hey, Zhizhi! Is it her or not?” Ying Yingying couldn’t stand it and asked for the tenth time.

“Yes, it’s her,” Xu Luzhi’s voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing something. “Stand further back, don’t get discovered.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? If anything, I’ll just go in and have a cup of tea,” Ying Yingying said carelessly, then became excited again. “This sister is really pretty, and she plays beautifully. I really want to go in.”

This place, called a folk music hall, actually had everything: tea rooms, card rooms, fully equipped. Strictly speaking, it was an ancient style, all in one entertainment center, both classical and fun, and quite popular with the people of Lincheng.

Ying Yingying used to find it boring and never had any interest in it, only detouring to come here out of consideration for her good sister since childhood.

But now, she genuinely felt that Xu Luzhi had excellent taste. Even with her face veiled, the aura surrounding the guzheng player was undeniable the kind that made people gasp with a single glance.

Look, the public’s eyes were sharp; many people were already stopping at the entrance, and some were even taking out their phones to record videos.

Ying Yingying thought she should record a video for Xu Luzhi too, as the folk music was genuinely pleasant to listen to and it would be a pity not to share it.

Just as she was about to raise her phone, she heard Xu Luzhi’s sweet and soft voice: “Close your eyes, you’re not allowed to look.”

Ying Yingying: “?”

Xu Luzhi’s voice was naturally clear, and now it was even sweeter, like honey, but what she said was completely self-assured: “Sister is mine, so you’re not allowed to look.”

Ying Yingying: “…”

Ying Yingying: “Come on, it’s not just me looking; lots of people are watching! Besides, I wanted to record a video for you. If you won’t let me look, fine.”

Right, a video! Xu Luzhi almost forgot about that. She calmed down, and a touch of eagerness involuntarily entered her tone: “Then record a piece.”

Ying Yingying bargained: “Treat me to a meal?”

Xu Luzhi didn’t hesitate: “Three meals.”

“Deal.” Ying Yingying beamed. Xu Luzhi was never easy to trick; it was a bargain for just one video.

She immediately raised her phone, chose a good angle: “Excuse me, big guy in front!”

Finally, having carefully selected a perfect vantage point, the duet reached a small climax in the piece. Ying Yingying held her phone steady, holding her breath, and recorded a clip of a few dozen seconds before sending the video over.

The moment the video was sent, the screen displayed that the other party had ended the call with you.

yingyingchunhua: [?]

Zhizhibeijingda: [Later.]

Xu Luzhi had hung up on  Yingying almost instinctively.

She found another, more expensive pair of earphones, plugged them in, took a light breath, let her long eyelashes droop, paused, and then tapped to open the short video.

If she had the means, Xu Luzhi would rather bathe, burn incense, fast for three days, and then quietly sit there to listen to her sister play the guzheng.

Since she didn’t have that opportunity, she could only make do with listening through earphones.

The music flowed like trickling water. The video was filmed very clearly. The woman’s fingertips flew up and down, the zheng strings plucked casually by the tortoiseshell picks, combining into a smooth and melodious tune, like high mountains and flowing water, something that made one forget the vulgarity of the world just by seeing it.

Even with the veil, one could vaguely make out that Lin Qingyue’s lips were curved in a smile. Unlike the aloof composure of typical performers, Lin Qingyue appeared relaxed and natural, yet also open and generous.

Watching her play, Xu Luzhi suddenly felt that the guzheng was not such a lofty instrument; it could be played so beautifully, so seductively, and yet the emotion in the music was something even a music lover like her could appreciate to some extent.

She stared mesmerized at Lin Qingyue, watching her slender, snow white knuckles, the veil fluttering in the breeze, her arms covered by the long sleeves, and the sliver of her white neck revealed.

These were all things Xu Luzhi was very familiar with. Even if she couldn’t touch her lips for the moment, she had seen them enough to easily sketch their shape in her mind.

But now, they had become so unattainable so close, yet separated by a door, a threshold too high to ever cross.

Xu Luzhi gently bit her lower lip, and a trace of helplessness appeared in her round eyes.

Sister, I miss you so much, do you know?

How can I get close to you?

The short video ended quickly, but in the last few seconds, Xu Luzhi keenly detected the sound of another instrument joining in different from the ding-ding-dong-dong of the guzheng, it carried a note of sorrowful longing.

A corner of the woman’s half face appeared in the video. Hanfu with wide sleeves, a captivating and charming appearance, her fair hands plucking the pipa.

Xu Luzhi’s breath hitched, and she gave a bitter smile.

She had seen this person before, standing outside that hotel room door, hearing her travel thousands of miles from Weicheng to Lincheng for Lin Qingyue, hearing that they were from the same folk music troupe, and that they had collaborated for a long time.

She had angrily left after hearing Lin Qingyue casually say, “I got together with Xu Luwei,” but perhaps… was she still in Lincheng?

Actually, Xu Luzhi could guess that Meng Fan probably hadn’t left, and if she hadn’t left, she would surely come to this biggest folk music hall.

Just as Lin Qingyue surely would. They could then smoothly collaborate again, not even needing to rehearse, because they were already too familiar with each other.

The short video finished playing. The music in the latter half was indeed seamless and passionate, flawless in both technique and emotion.

Should she say they had great chemistry?

Xu Luzhi took a deep breath and smiled self-mockingly.

With Lin Qingyue’s personality, she naturally wouldn’t give up a good job opportunity just because of one suitor, and besides, those things meant nothing to her; she even chose to play around.

She also wouldn’t back down because of a suitor, otherwise, with the world so big, where would Lin Qingyue find a place to stay?

Xu Luzhi found it a bit funny and a bit of a headache.

Her sister was indeed very popular, and she herself was disobedient and kept running around.

She had caused another small to medium sized trouble.

However, having a job meant her sister could stay in Lincheng more legitimately.

Xu Luzhi saved the video and called Ying Yingying back.

Ying Yingying answered instantly: “Zhizhi, you’re being too disloyal to your friend for the sake of romance!”

Xu Luzhi sidestepped the issue: “Are there many people there?”

Ying Yingying looked up: “It’s okay, quite a few people stopped to listen for a while, saying they’ve never seen such a beautiful sight.”

Xu Luzhi frowned, feeling a bit unhappy, but she couldn’t say anything.

It was a good thing her sister had a job, even if it meant being admired by strangers in public, but… only she had glimpsed the true face beneath the veil.

Xu Luzhi hummed, “It’s fine, let’s hang up.”

Ying Yingying didn’t forget to remind her: “Three meals.”

Xu Luzhi naturally wouldn’t go back on her word; seeing Lin Qingyue from afar was much more important than the meals.

She lay in bed, replaying the photos and video, curling up, an unusual flush appearing on her small face.

She couldn’t suppress her longing for Lin Qingyue. What should she do?

Xu Luwei found Aunt Lin as soon as she returned from the company, discreetly inquiring about Xu Luzhi’s recent condition.

Aunt Lin had always been both affectionate and respectful toward the young lady and answered properly: “Zhizhi was very good today, she stayed home and didn’t go out. She even helped me wash vegetables.”

Xu Luwei nodded and then asked: “Did she mention anyone?”

Aunt Lin thought for a moment and shook her head: “No, it just seems she had a phone call with Yingying.”

Xu Luwei got the information she wanted, relaxed, and went upstairs to her room.

On her phone lay a message from Lin Qingyue, saying she had found a job and would be moving, thanking her for the hospitality.

Xu Luwei carefully considered her words and replied: “Zhizhi and I will come help you move.”

After sending it, she took a screenshot and sent it to Xu Luzhi, then lay down on the sofa full of soft cushions, her eyes unfocused, thinking about something.

Xu Luzhi was a smart child; she knew how to restrain herself to get what she wanted.

And thanks to the teachings of her parents, they both knew from childhood that crying and fussing would achieve nothing. To get something, one had to work hard to prove it to others.

Zhizhi was patient and smart, but could she bear the consequences of such an outcome?

Xu Luwei sighed softly. Sometimes she felt she worried too much, but there were things her sister wouldn’t tell their parents. As her older sister, even if they were often apart, even if it led to resentment, she had to do her part.

If Xu Luzhi was mature enough to bear the consequences, she wouldn’t interfere.

The path of being a lesbian was already hard to walk, let alone when the object of affection was Lin Qingyue.

Xu Luzhi keenly noticed that Xu Luwei was home.

She had just finished showering and changing her clothes, sitting obediently in front of the computer, reading the thick programming book borrowed from Zhao Ru.

The large, thick black notebook she had been chewing on it for nearly a month and had only gotten halfway through, intermittently.

Xu Luzhi kept her ears perked up. Even though the villa was well-insulated and she couldn’t hear much, she still waited patiently for Xu Luwei to come and ask her something.

However, she never waited, but instead received a fresh screenshot on her phone.

Xu Luzhi was a little unsure about Xu Luwei’s intention.

Logically, if she didn’t want her to meet Lin Qingyue, why would she proactively suggest taking her to help Lin Qingyue move?

Xu Luzhi instinctively wanted to knock on Lin Qingyue’s door to ask, but after thinking about it, she sat back down.

Since her sister hadn’t said much, it meant she wouldn’t say anything even if asked.

She would naturally find out her sister’s intention when they went there.

She was very patient she could wait for a long, long time, as long as she had this opportunity.

Xu Luzhi patiently waited for the morning of the day after tomorrow. When it was time to sleep at night, however, she found herself completely unable to sleep.

Even hugging her soft big bear felt too hard.

She wanted a warm bear, soft and full.

She wanted to hug Lin Qingyue.

She missed her so, so much.

Xu Luzhi had never felt time pass so slowly. On the day they agreed to help Lin Qingyue move, she woke up at dawn, two hours earlier than her alarm clock.

Xu Luzhi raised her hand, and the curtains automatically opened. Outside the floor to ceiling window was the pale white of the sky before sunrise. Even in midsummer, the sun hadn’t yet shone upon Lincheng.

She stared blankly at the light for a while, couldn’t find the hotel where Lin Qingyue was staying from the window, and waved to close the window again.

She lay quietly for two hours, unable to sleep, not knowing what to do, or even what posture to adopt when facing Lin Qingyue.

She had looked forward to it so much yesterday, and now that she was about to see her soon, she felt timid the closer she got.

She thought blankly that if they were a couple, the temporary separation would be like a reunion, and that period of unfamiliarity would surely be compensated for with the warmth of their bodies.

Even after some time, just touching the other person’s body temperature could easily awaken the memories in her mind.

But she and Lin Qingyue couldn’t do that, especially with Xu Luwei around.

She could only act like a well-behaved, sensible child, not saying an extra word, not crossing the boundaries, always having to remember that this was her sister’s friend.

Not hers.

Even if she wanted to say something, it would have to be indirect, suggestive, and even deliberately mask her true intentions so that the other person wouldn’t notice.

Xu Luzhi hugged the big bear and finally sighed resignedly.

This path was much harder than she had imagined.

But the taste of Lin Qingyue, once experienced, was intoxicating and unforgettable, making her feel that even if it meant her body shattered to pieces, dying before Lin Qingyue would be worth it.

Thinking of the gentle smile beneath her peach blossom eyes, Xu Luzhi suddenly felt that nothing was tiring anymore.

Even if it took a long, long time to get a little closer, to absorb a little bit of the warmth from her, it all seemed worth it.

Because she liked her so, so much, everything she did was worth it.