Fell In Love With My Older Sister’s Friend - Chapter 99

The aunt didn’t press for details, just let out a thoughtful “Mm,” and gave the young man a meaningful look.

The young man obediently returned to the kitchen, leaving only Lin Qingyue and her alone in the shop. Silence descended instantly.

Lin Qingyue suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of grievance. Because of that familiar address, “Miss,” she couldn’t control herself, looked up, and a teardrop plopped right into her bowl of noodles.

A long sigh reached her ears. The aunt looked at her helplessly, and after a moment, gently raised her hand and pulled Lin Qingyue into a hug.

Lin Qingyue’s whole body trembled. Besides her mother, she had never been comforted by an older woman like this. The feeling was both strange and familiar, making her instinctively want to resist yet simultaneously yearn to lean in.

The aunt smelled faintly of fragrant baked goods a very real, lived in scent. As the aunt patted her back, Lin Qingyue’s wound ached, but she was completely oblivious.

She held her breath, but big tears continued to stream down her face, impossible to stop.

Finally, she buried her head in the aunt’s embrace and burst into loud sobs. Her tears fell in a torrent, soaking the apron the aunt wore, but the woman didn’t mind at all, patiently waiting for her to finish crying. With a gentle smile, she said, “Miss, who are you looking for? I might be able to help you search.”

Lin Qingyue sobbed, her peach blossom eyes reddened, making her look like the most vibrant flower in a peach blossom grove. She whispered, “…Looking for my mother.”

The aunt let out an “Oh,” her tone carrying a hint of blame: “Such a good girl, how could someone just leave her? How could a mother be like that?”

She had probably imagined a story of a mother abandoning her daughter for wealth and status.

Then she rushed to comfort Lin Qingyue: “Alas, if I had such a beautiful daughter, how could I ever bear to leave?”

Her soft, gentle, lilting voice caused a ripple in Lin Qingyue’s heart.

Lin Qingyue couldn’t help but laugh and cry, quietly explaining, “It’s not like that. My mother is very good to me. She… had no choice but to leave me behind.”

It was a chance she had waited over ten years for it was a blessing that her mother could run away on her own, let alone take an underage child with her.

She only hoped her mother was safe, healthy, and happy elsewhere whether she acknowledged her or not didn’t matter. Just as her mother hoped she could forget everything about the mountain village, forget all the gloom and darkness, Lin Qingyue only wanted to repay her mother to the best of her ability.

The money Lin Qingyue had saved over the years was enough to buy a house in the city center, which she had kept untouched, intending to leave it for her mother as penance for her own sins.

She didn’t voice any of this. Instead, she curved her lips and calmly recounted, “My mother is very beautiful and well-educated. She raised me little by little, protected me, and taught me so much. I’m finally grown up now; I can protect her too.”

Lin Qingyue looked up at the kind aunt before her and said earnestly, “My mother’s accent is the same as yours, which is why I came looking here.”

“It’s just… I was mistaken after all.” She smiled, shaking her head, her eyes rimmed with moisture, tears threatening to fall, making her look utterly pitiable.

Anyone would feel heartbroken looking at her.

The aunt pondered for a long time before saying, “Miss, have you considered trying to look in the Capital City?”

Lin Qingyue’s whole body shook: “The Capital City?”

The aunt nodded. “Everyone only knows that there’s a group of people in Weicheng with accents like mine, but actually, my ancestors came from the Capital City. I still go back every year to pay respects to the ancestors.”

Her gaze was gentle and compassionate: “Go to the Capital City and give it a try, Miss.”

“Okay, thank you, Auntie.” Lin Qingyue broke into a genuine smile, stunningly beautiful, like a rose slowly unfurling in the morning dew.

The woman in the red dress stood up but was called back.

The aunt stared at her intently and said solemnly, “Miss, if you really can’t find your mother, it’s okay. No matter where she is, she surely still misses you very, very much, but… she was forced by circumstances.”

A flash of sorrow in the aunt’s heart brought a pang to Lin Qingyue’s own. Although she knew this woman wasn’t her mother, her words were so earnest, it was as if the aunt had experienced the same thing.

Lin Qingyue walked out of the shop in a daze, only realizing once outside that perhaps the psychology of mothers everywhere is universal; they could understand without needing much explanation.

How can the meager efforts of a blade of grass repay the warm sunshine of spring? (A famous Chinese poem line about filial piety)

So, she would go to the Capital City.

Lin Qingyue glanced at the safety buckle hanging at her waist, refusing to admit she wanted to see Xu Luzhi.

She told herself she was only following a lead to find her mother; she wouldn’t meet Xu Luzhi.

She had said they broke up, so that meant they broke up. How could she go and bother her girl again? With her current lonely state, how could she be worthy of Xu Luzhi’s passion and tenderness?

The next available flight to the Capital City took off, and Lin Qingyue dragged her suitcase, becoming a speck in the vastness of the Capital City airport. She had been here before, but when she was younger and more impetuous, she felt the entire country was small. Now, however, she felt even an airport was huge. So huge that when she looked up and around, she was still utterly alone. People rushed by; some spared her a few glances, some approached to flirt, but there seemed to be a barrier between everyone. No one cared about a stranger’s fate.

She first went to the booked hotel, put down her suitcase, and stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the towering buildings and the endless stream of traffic. The scene was eerily familiar.

Right, when she first came to Lincheng, she had also stayed in a hotel  empty, with no direction. But back then, there was a well-behaved and clever young girl who went out of her way to get close to her, to cheer her up, making her feel that life wasn’t so dull and tasteless. She allowed her heart, little by little, to move into someone else.

Lin Qingyue finally couldn’t bear it, pulling the curtains shut as if to escape. In the darkness of the room, she lay on the bed and pulled the covers over herself. She tossed and turned, but all she saw were images of Xu Luzhi: Xu Luzhi hugging her, Xu Luzhi leaning down to kiss her, and the softness of Xu Luzhi’s lips, which left her weak every time.

How could she forget?

Though it felt somewhat despicable, Lin Qingyue easily convinced herself to go to Capital University to see Xu Luzhi. Just a walk around the campus. If they ran into each other, it was fate if not… then there was even less reason to disturb her. She just wanted to see from afar if Xu Luzhi was doing well.

Lin Qingyue told herself this. It wasn’t until she stepped onto the campus that she suddenly regretted it. She had forgotten to put on makeup or dress up coming over looking travel worn like this, she must look terrible. She instinctively wanted to go back to the hotel to put on some makeup, but hesitated, telling herself she only needed to see Xu Luzhi from a distance and leave, avoiding a direct encounter. That way, Xu Luzhi wouldn’t see her looking like this.

It’s strange. Lin Qingyue, who has always been confidently assertive, why is she so anxious and lost now, even starting to worry about looking old or unattractive?

Lin Qingyue kept looking into the small mirror. She couldn’t apply foundation because of the wound on her face, so she could only put on some lipstick to add a little color to her complexion.

The woman in the mirror was still beautiful, but to her own eyes, she seemed flawed everywhere she looked, filled with panic, afraid of not being beautiful enough. What if Xu Luzhi, who loved her face so much, stops loving her if she’s not as attractive anymore?

Lin Qingyue thought this inexplicably. Although she knew Xu Luzhi wasn’t that kind of person, she was still anxious, every step she took feeling light and airy, as if she were treading on cotton, feeling nothing.

A woman beautifies herself for the one who admires her it was truly the case.

Capital University’s campus was absurdly large. It was rumored that walking around the entire campus took half a day and required twenty thousand steps; students even took campus shuttles from their dorms to classes.

Fortunately, Lin Qingyue, afraid of irritating the wound on her back, changed into flat shoes, which allowed her to walk a bit more. However, this meant she would be shorter than Xu Luzhi.

It was class time, and the campus was quiet, with only a few people passing by occasionally, 99% of whom were male.

Lin Qingyue was stunningly beautiful and glamorous, and her recent injury added a touch of fragile, broken beauty, making people feel more compelled to approach her and spontaneously generate a desire to protect her.

After walking just a few steps, a boy shyly came forward to ask if she needed help with directions.

Lin Qingyue frowned, thought for a moment, and asked him, “Computer…”

The boy automatically understood: “Ah, you’re looking for the Computer Science Department, right? That big building is just up ahead; that’s where all their classes and labs are.”

He eagerly asked, “I have an electric scooter, would you like a lift?”

Lin Qingyue shook her head and smiled faintly, “Thank you.”

Her peach blossom eyes naturally held affection but also carried an inexplicable air of distant aloofness a beauty to be admired from afar, not to be casually approached which left the group of engineering straight men staring.

With the high ratio of male students at Capital University, seeing a girl on campus was rare enough, let alone one with such breathtaking beauty this alone would be a story they could brag about for half a lifetime.

Lin Qingyue walked slowly, step by step, toward the Computer Science building. The closer she got, the more flustered she became.

So many days had passed, such a great distance between them would Xu Luzhi forget her? She was the one who initiated the breakup wouldn’t it be terrible of her to show up now? Would Xu Luzhi be angry with her and ignore her?

Lin Qingyue didn’t know, but she desperately wanted to catch a glimpse of Xu Luzhi. After much hesitation, she finally reached the front of the building.

She heard voices turning the corner and instinctively ducked behind the staircase, using the wall as cover. After she had done it, she laughed at herself what was she so nervous about? She could just walk in openly. Why was she sneaking around?

But the next second, Lin Qingyue couldn’t laugh anymore.

A clear, pleasant female voice approached: “Senior, is there something else you needed?”

“We’ve discussed everything about the experiment report, so that’s all. Junior, I have something personal I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Okay, there’s no one here. Go ahead, Senior.” Xu Luzhi walked forward with Zhao Ru, stopping under a sweet osmanthus tree at the corner, signaling that she could speak.

Zhao Ru paused for a moment, looking at the pure and bright face before her, suddenly unsure how to begin.

She had known Xu Luzhi for several years. Her junior was beautiful, intelligent, and exceptionally gifted. To keep up with her, Zhao Ru had pushed herself to get into Capital University for graduate school, allowing them to spend day and night together in the lab again.

Her junior was finally eighteen, and Zhao Ru had planned the entire process for her confession for a long time. But when it came to the crucial moment, Zhao Ru inexplicably retreated. The Xu Luzhi before her was approachable yet noble and reserved, seeming otherworldly. Although Zhao Ru herself was renowned for her talent and beauty, in front of her junior, she invariably felt timid.

Could she really succeed? Xu Luzhi hadn’t been without women around her, but in the two months at Capital University, she hadn’t seen Xu Luzhi get particularly close to anyone, and she hadn’t managed to pry any information out of her through subtle inquiries. She dared to hope that perhaps her junior had never truly been with that woman, or maybe they had broken up. Or, even if they were still together, with years of long distance ahead, she still had a chance to seize the opportunity. In short, Zhao Ru had waited a long time, and she couldn’t wait any longer.

A decision had to be made.

Xu Luzhi remained standing there, patiently waiting for her to speak. After a long silence, Xu Luzhi looked down and smiled, her voice clean and pure: “Senior, what is it you wanted to say?”

The object of her affection wasn’t nervous at all, which made Zhao Ru nervous instead. After much fumbling, she took a deep breath, looked into the girl’s bright, perceptive eyes, and said solemnly, “Xu Luzhi, we’ve known each other for several years. I’ve watched you grow up, from Lincheng University to Capital University. We’ve always been in the same lab, spending day and night together… You are excellent, so excellent that I’ve been trying my best to keep up with your pace, afraid of being left behind by you.”

What should have been a confession sounded like a challenge. Zhao Ru regretted her clumsy speech: “In short, I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with you, Xu Luzhi.”

Xu Luzhi just blinked, asking innocently, “What do you mean, Senior?”

She was playing dumb, which was infuriating Zhao Ru. Zhao Ru took another deep breath and nearly shouted, “Xu Luzhi, I like you!”