Hedgehog's Belly - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It is like those untouchable traumas that, perhaps through the shifting of years, eventually become a massive ulcer.

Young Yan Qingzhu, what is it that can stir the turbulence within your heart? What is it that grants you a lingering attachment to this mundane world?

And in your eyes, what kind of world is depicted?

Luo Mu gazed at her own reflection in the other’s eyes. She was certain that the person before her was not firm at all. She was filled with excessive hesitation and avoidance, fearful that everything would come to naught. Luo Mu knew that specific tremor of the pupils all too well.

“Are you… sure you aren’t going to get off me?” Luo Mu was tired from laughing. Staring at her wrist pinned by Yan Qingzhu, she leaned her head back against the sofa and said helplessly, “Otherwise, how will you explain this if your sister sees?”

Yan Qingzhu naturally realized the impropriety and sat back on the sofa. She covered her face with her hands, suppressing a laugh: “You aren’t quite what I imagined.”

Luo Mu giggled: “You’ve said that before.”

“Some of the things you say are always unexpected,” Yan Qingzhu watched her, her gaze mellow and deep. “I can never guess what your next sentence will be.”

“If you knew what I was going to say, there’d be no point in me saying it,” Luo Mu teased.

Yan Qingzhu nodded, remarking pensively, “True. If the sky fell, that mouth of yours would hold it up.”

Luo Mu caught the faint scent of Pu’er from her cup and glanced at the exquisite packaging of the tea cake. She estimated it wouldn’t go for less than five or six figures. Yet, observing the other’s clumsy brewing technique, it didn’t seem she had any deep interest in the craft. After pondering for a long while, she slowly asked, “You probably don’t drink tea very often, do you?”

“Yeah, the tea sets and leaves were all gifts from my mom’s friends and relatives. Usually, I find them too much trouble to maintain.” Yan Qingzhu didn’t find the question strange. “But I thought you would like it.”

“Why did you think I’d like it?” Luo Mu stared into her eyes. The other was so firm and certain that it actually made Luo Mu confused.

Yan Qingzhu: “I feel like you’d be very into health and wellness.”

Luo Mu: “Why would you think that?”

“Because you look so young,” Yan Qingzhu answered with a straight face, before leaning over the coffee table and cracking herself up.

“…Is that your standard of judgment?” Luo Mu froze for a few seconds, unable to find the logic in those words.

She had heard plenty of jokes, but she didn’t feel this was one. Instead, feeling like a fool being toyed with, she pinched Yan Qingzhu’s arm and wouldn’t let go.

Yan Qingzhu only stopped laughing when the pinching started to hurt.

“Hahahaha, okay, okay. I’ll tell the truth.”

After collecting herself, she slowly looked up at Luo Mu, the smile still lingering on her lips.

“I originally thought you were a ‘bird-clinging-to-a-man’ type of girl—the kind who easily triggers a protective instinct, the type boys this age like.”

Yan Qingzhu poured boiling water into the lidded bowl. “I thought the innocence and clarity in your eyes couldn’t be hidden, but now I see that’s not the case.”

“I can feel that every word you say to me has been carefully polished. I’m not sure if that’s just your habit.”

Yan Qingzhu covered the bowl with the lid, tilting it to let the excess tea overflow, and said calmly, “But I understand that you are sober enough; you’re likely a thorough realist. Sometimes, I feel like you are like a pot of tea.”

“Like a pot of tea—strong permeability, yet the more one tastes, the more fragrant it becomes.”

Yan Qingzhu poured the brewed tea into Luo Mu’s cup. Her warm, murmuring tone made Luo Mu’s shoulders tremble slightly. Luo Mu’s pupils flickered, but she stared straight at Yan Qingzhu with a sharp, piercing gaze.

“Yan Qingzhu, don’t try to figure me out.”

Yan Qingzhu, don’t misunderstand me.

Don’t try to say nice things about me.

Her voice was ethereal, without subtle changes or inflection. It sounded as if it came from a void, from a sunless abyss—a sound of endless misery and desolation.

Sensing her unease, Yan Qingzhu stopped speaking.

No one wants to be dissected to their face, to be judged on whether or not they are superficial.

It is like those untouchable traumas that, through the twists of time, eventually become a massive, chronic malady.

Deeply rooted and impossible to cure.

Yan Qingzhu understood this as well.

Yan Qingzhu wasn’t stupid. She stood up, stretched, and casually shifted her gaze to the fresh vegetables on the dining table: “I’m making lunch. Is there anything you don’t eat?”

“No.” Seeing her change the subject, Luo Mu let out a light sigh. “Isn’t your sister coming back for lunch?”

“She’s at cram school; she should be back soon.” Yan Qingzhu carried the grocery bag into the kitchen, poking her head out to address her: “Feel free to look around.”

Luo Mu gave a word of agreement, looking at the red briar roses on the coffee table and thinking that this person’s life was indeed full of style.

She never denied Yan Qingzhu’s innate romantic charisma—the clear features, the tall stature, and even her way of speaking made her stand out. Following her gaze, she spotted a photo frame on the shelf next to the TV. Luo Mu froze.

The Yan Qingzhu in the photo was different from what she had imagined. That rebellious girl had put down her usual arrogance; wearing a champagne-colored gown, she displayed a feminine tenderness and maturity. That confidence and poise radiating from her bones made Luo Mu feel it was something she could never imitate in a lifetime.

Unlike the photo on her phone, her makeup this time wasn’t heavy, yet it served to enhance her aura. A little girl leaned her head against her shoulder; her chubby face and clear eyes bore a resemblance to Yan Qingzhu.

Luo Mu could guess who the woman behind Yan Qingzhu was—the mother who loved orange-scented shampoo. She looked exactly as gentle as the photo suggested.

But in this photo, the role of the father was missing.

Luo Mu recalled that she had never mentioned her father and understood the reason.

Not everyone wants to use soothing and consolation to diminish life’s various hardships.

One has to admit that some people’s growth is a matter of pure luck.

“Want some Japanese Tofu Pot?” Yan Qingzhu poked her head out of the kitchen, a pink piglet apron around her neck. The sharp contrast was jarring and hilarious to Luo Mu.

Seeing that she didn’t speak but only nodded, Luo Mu waited for her to return to the kitchen before laughing instinctively, covering her mouth so as not to be too loud. It was rare to see such a humorous side of that person; it was an extraordinary memory.

Luo Mu always felt she was someone of cold temperament, that trivial matters couldn’t catch her eye. There was no flattery to please the world—just the clarity of a cool rainy season. But then she would be touched by the “fire and smoke” of life; she would get flustered, feel embarrassed, tell unfunny jokes, and her occasional clumsiness showed she wasn’t that perfect.

Luo Mu felt proud of Yan Qingzhu from the bottom of her heart. Anyone would be proud of her.

“Just one more dish to stir-fry!” Yan Qingzhu poked her head out a second time, shouting cheerfully.

“I’m telling you, don’t cook too much. It’s a waste.” Luo Mu naturally felt bad refusing. She walked over to the glass sliding door of the kitchen to watch this idiot entertain herself.

“Oh, Miss Luo is so domestic, worrying my family won’t finish the food.” Yan Qingzhu quirked her left eyebrow and pulled Luo Mu into the kitchen: “Then I’ll trouble Sister Luo to help me flip the greens.”

Luo Mu turned down the high heat, spatula in hand, looking disgusted: “This fire is way too high.”

Yan Qingzhu was wiping oil off the stovetop. She took a quick glance and burst out laughing: “My dear sister has never been in a kitchen, has she?”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t worry about leftovers. If we can’t finish, I’ll just cook it for my sister tomorrow,” Yan Qingzhu rinsed the rag. “I’ll make her eat it until it’s gone.”

“Your sister must have done something great in her past life to end up with you.” Luo Mu gave a half-smile as she flipped the vegetables. “And I wonder what kind of fate I earned in my past life.”

“Why do you say that?” Yan Qingzhu leaned against the counter, taking ceramic bowls from the cupboard. “Isn’t it good to experience life at my house?”

“I thank you,” Luo Mu paused, hesitated to speak, and finally sighed. “What kind of host invites a guest over for the first time just to flip the greens?”

“Otherwise, I could invite Miss Luo Mu to help me ‘flip over’ instead.”

Yan Qingzhu raised her hands above her head, spun around a few times in place, then changed direction and spun around Luo Mu.

Luo Mu gave her a shove. “Fine, fine—get lost, will you?”

While waiting for Yan Qingzhu to serve the food, Luo Mu sat at the dining chair, watching blankly as the final dish was brought out.

Yan Qingzhu: “Here it is—the greens flipped specifically by Sister Luo Mu.”

“Have you thought about it yet?” Luo Mu distributed the bowls and chopsticks, handing a bowl of rice to Yan Qingzhu.

“Thought about what?” Yan Qingzhu looked confused, then understood. “Oh, the Foreign Language Festival. Yeah, I can do it.”

“I mean, when can I see Jiang Yan?” Luo Mu only started eating once the other sat down.

“What, so smitten with her already?” Yan Qingzhu picked up Luo Mu’s ceramic bowl and scooped a large spoonful of Japanese Tofu into it. “So Muzi-jie likes that type, huh?”

“Don’t you like beautiful girls?” Luo Mu smiled as she observed her, trying to bait some information.

“I do,” Yan Qingzhu was exceptionally calm, without a hint of shyness. “But you know, Jiang Yan has a bit of a princess complex. When she throws a tantrum, it’s honestly quite noisy.”

The corners of Luo Mu’s mouth lifted. “I thought since you’re so boisterous, you’d get along well with a girl like Little Jiang.”

“I can get along, but I can’t guarantee we’d get along well.” Yan Qingzhu stuffed a piece of tofu into her mouth, then realized something was off as she chewed on the sentence: “Wait, who’s boisterous?”

Luo Mu rested her face on her hand, her brows slightly arched, pretending not to care: “I wouldn’t know who.”

There was a hint of comfort in Yan Qingzhu’s eyes, yet she feigned offense. “Is Sister Muzi throwing shade at me?”

“Just eat your food and stop being so dramatic.” Luo Mu picked up an empty bowl to scoop some soup. “Nüwa would need that mouth of yours to mend the sky.”

She placed the filled bowl in front of Yan Qingzhu.

The two finally quieted down for a while. Luo Mu realized the food this person made was very different—every dish leaned toward the sweet side. Luo Mu lowered her eyes slightly, using her spoon to stir the sauce into her rice, mixing it evenly.

“I added a bit more oyster sauce and sugar. It might be different from what you’ve had before.”

She knew what Luo Mu was going to ask.

Yan Qingzhu took a sip of soup: “I didn’t used to like adding much sugar, but my sister likes it. After doing it so much, it just became second nature.”

Luo Mu’s eyes were full of a smile as she teased, “How does the Universe’s Super Invincible Thunderbolt War God know how to do everything?”

“What else can I do? Do you want a big loser and a little loser sleeping on the streets together?” Yan Qingzhu laughed along with her, being blunt and honest.

“Did you teach yourself this dish?” Luo Mu truly had to admit that this person was becoming her weakness in terms of humor. Suppressing her smile, she casually brought up another topic.

She had intended to start a different thread to avoid losing her composure, but the person across from her froze.

In an instant, the air turned silent.

The person went quiet.

After a brief few seconds, Yan Qingzhu showed a smile that looked like embarrassment: “No.”

No.

Luo Mu gazed at her. She was waiting for her to say more, but the other didn’t.

She said nothing.

Luo Mu lowered her eyelashes, then followed up: “I actually really want to learn it. I wonder if Student Yan would be willing to teach me?”

Yan Qingzhu smiled faintly: “It would be my absolute honor.”

Luo Mu’s brow relaxed slightly. She knew that if she kept questioning something someone was unwilling to mention, it would be like some unknown force was compelling this person to say things full of irony and self-harm.

She naturally didn’t want that.

She couldn’t bear it.