She Comes Into My Dreams Every Night - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Music and Forgetting

The summer day was long, until past seven, when the sky still held deep and shallow streaks of twilight.

Lin Jue sat at her doorway, twisting a sausage in her hand, looking up in contemplation.

A wary, white village dog was constantly circling not far from her, its eyes darting between the sausage in her hand and the faintly emanating black mist behind her.

Lin Jue lowered her eyes and tried to show a kindly smile, extending the hand with the sausage: “Come, ‘zuo zuo zuo’.”

“Zuo zuo zuo” seemed like a signal engraved in her mind; she remembered it after only hearing Su Huaiwang use it once.

The white dog’s low tail lifted slightly, and it carefully took a half-step forward with one paw.

Just as the dog was about to overcome its fear and approach her, the sound of a driving car suddenly came from afar, startling the dog, which clamped its tail and ran away in a flash.

A battle-worn SUV, covered in mud splatters, stopped beside Lin Jue. Su Huaiwang stepped out of the car, full of apology: “Did I interrupt you?”

Lin Jue stood up and shook her head: “No, it wouldn’t have come near me anyway. I’ll try again later.”

Saying this, she walked towards Su Huaiwang: “Have you eaten?”

Su Huaiwang instinctively took a step back. Lin Jue also halted her steps, and the two maintained a social distance that was neither far nor near—an awkward distance.

Su Huaiwang turned her head, avoiding Lin Jue’s gaze.

“Yes, yes, I already ate on the way back. How about you?”

“Me too.”

Lin Jue’s voice showed no difference, still clear and pleasant, like a spring breeze.

However, Su Huaiwang couldn’t see the ghostly black mist spreading from her feet into the ground beneath her.

Lin Jue used the dark feathers of the heavy raven and the deepening twilight to conceal the look in her eyes. She hesitated, remaining where she was.

Since that day, Su Huaiwang had become noticeably reclusive. Lin Jue didn’t see her during the day, and the task of helping her relieve her desire at night was also gone.

It was impossible for Lin Jue not to be irritated. But no matter how irritated she was, she couldn’t show it in front of Su Huaiwang.

But what was the reason? Could it be that so-called “friend”…?

Tu Zhuozhuo had no idea she had become Su Huaiwang’s shield. In fact, Su Huaiwang simply had “wet dream after-effects.” Now, seeing Lin Jue, she felt an illusory tingling and pain all over her body, and that drastically reduced sense of morality, for some reason, was also rushing through her heart, making her feel complex and preventing her from looking Lin Jue in the eyes.

While the two were exchanging greetings here, Tu Zhuozhuo had already gotten out of the car on the other side.

The first thing she did after getting out was chug two big mouthfuls of water, and then she began to complain about her friend’s driving:

“Seriously! What kind of driving is that! Look how much you bounced me around! I almost threw up dinner!”

Su Huaiwang shot her a look without mercy, meaning the mountain road was so treacherous, she should try driving herself if she thought she could do better.

Lin Jue took in their interaction. She showed nothing on her face, but the black mist behind her grew a few shades more menacing under the cover of night.

After recovering, Tu Zhuozhuo looked up and saw a living person standing in front of Su Huaiwang. She asked curiously:

“Oh, someone’s here. Hello.” After a lighthearted greeting, she complained to Su Huaiwang: “It’s too dark in the mountains! Hurry up and turn on that big light by your door!”

Su Huaiwang couldn’t take it anymore: “Take off your sunglasses first! What’s wrong with wearing sunglasses at night!”

This was the first time Lin Jue had heard Su Huaiwang speak so loudly, and with a hint of disdain in her voice—a novel emotion she had never before extracted from Su Huaiwang.

She glanced at Su Huaiwang. Su Huaiwang belatedly realized this and her face instantly flushed.

It’s a good thing the sky is dark, Lin Jue can’t see it, she thought, letting out a small sigh of relief.

“Whoa! It really is!” Tu Zhuozhuo felt her face, and sure enough, she felt her big sunglasses. She pushed them up, still not backing down with her mouth: “What do you know? I call this ‘accessorizing’!”

As soon as she pushed up her sunglasses, she saw the person standing opposite her in the faint twilight. Even though the surrounding light had given her a layer of haze, it still couldn’t conceal the person’s delicate, three-dimensional features.

Tu Zhuozhuo’s eyes instantly lit up. She took a big step forward:

“Oh! You must be Su Huaiwang’s new neighbor! You’re really beautiful! I understand everything just by looking at your face! I’m Tu Zhuozhuo, we talked on the phone, remember?”

Lin Jue stood still, looking up at the tall woman who had suddenly moved closer. Her eyes widened slightly due to the posture, which led to another round of tsk tsk from the other woman:

“Look at those eyes, how can they be so big? Like a character model in a game. And this face…”

As Tu Zhuozhuo spoke, she reached out to touch her, but Su Huaiwang quickly stepped between them. Without thinking twice, she shielded Lin Jue and exclaimed urgently:

“Just talk, don’t touch! Why are you so familiar!”

Tu Zhuozhuo was stunned for a moment, then reacted, took a step back, and quietly “hmphed”: “So possessive.”

Su Huaiwang was anxious and didn’t pay attention to what she said. She turned around and instructed Lin Jue: “Be careful of her, she usually likes to be hands-on. Don’t indulge her just because she’s a woman. You must refuse if you’re uncomfortable!”

Lin Jue had been looking up at Tu Zhuozhuo, but now she was looking up at Su Huaiwang. Su Huaiwang immediately felt the same beauty shock that Tu Zhuozhuo had experienced.

Blood rushed to her head, and Su Huaiwang’s face was almost completely red. Only now did she realize how close they were; her lips were almost touching Lin Jue’s forehead.

Lin Jue looked at her for a moment, then broke into a brilliant smile: “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome… ” Su Huaiwang sagged like a suddenly deflated balloon, moving aside dispiritedly.

Lin Jue reached out and quietly tapped the back of Su Huaiwang’s hand twice. Su Huaiwang was startled, snapping out of her inexplicable state of loss.

“Hello,” Lin Jue walked up to Tu Zhuozhuo, smiling as she greeted her: “I am Lin Jue.”

It was a simple greeting, not writing her name on the person’s hand as she did when she met Su Huaiwang. Su Huaiwang pursed her lips, feeling inexplicably pleased.

“Tu Zhuozhuo, the ‘Tu’ from ‘spring breeze warming into Tu Su,’ ‘Zhi’ from ‘to know,’ and ‘Zhuo’ with the fire radical.” Tu Zhuozhuo introduced herself openly, extending her hand enthusiastically, wanting to shake hands with her.

Lin Jue looked down at the extended hand for a moment, then finally offered her own.

A purely polite handshake, very brief, perhaps not even a second. Su Huaiwang hadn’t even reacted before Lin Jue withdrew her hand. Tu Zhuozhuo only felt a cold breeze slide across her palm.

She retracted her hand in disbelief, looked at Lin Jue with equal disbelief, and opened and closed her mouth, finally blurting out: “Are you interested in Sport Stacking…”

Before she could finish, Su Huaiwang rushed over and covered her mouth. The tall Tu Zhuozhuo squeaked under Su Huaiwang’s hand, physically silenced.

While firmly covering her mouth, Su Huaiwang bid Lin Jue farewell with soft, apologetic words: “It’s getting late. She and I will head back now. Good night.”

“Wait, wait!” Tu Zhuozhuo finally escaped Su Huaiwang’s restraint: “Let’s exchange WeChat first, pretty lady?”

Saying this, she pulled out her big red phone and looked at Lin Jue with expectant eyes.

Su Huaiwang covered her face on the side, feeling like her friend had completely embarrassed her.

Lin Jue looked at Su Huaiwang, then at Tu Zhuozhuo, and extended her hand: “I didn’t bring my phone.”

Tu Zhuozhuo scratched her head, a bit confused that someone wouldn’t carry a phone these days, but still handed her phone over.

Lin Jue sent a friend request to her own account before returning the phone.

Tu Zhuozhuo accepted the phone with both hands, looking at the friend request screen with undisguised joy.

She casually waved her hand, her tone and expression already carrying a sense of intimacy: “Then we’re off! Bye-bye!”

Lin Jue also smiled and waved goodbye to her, at least outwardly showing no abnormality.

Tu Zhuozhuo slung her arm over Su Huaiwang’s shoulder, and after walking a short distance, she sighed: “She sounds so cold, but she’s actually a nice person!”

Su Huaiwang gave her a resentful look but said nothing.

“What’s with the pouting? Did I come in and ruin your little romance?” Tu Zhuozhuo smirked, reaching out to tickle Su Huaiwang’s chin.

Su Huaiwang sighed: “No, no, I don’t mind. I don’t mind, alright.”

Tu Zhuozhuo pretended not to understand her underlying meaning, lifted her chin haughtily, and “hmphed”: “As long as you know it. Now, hurry up and help me inside to rest! I’m exhausted from sitting on that plane all day!”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Su Huaiwang smiled helplessly and took out the key to open the door.

She truly couldn’t do anything about Tu Zhuozhuo. After so many years of friendship, how could she not know her friend’s personality? Straightforward, bold, and able to quickly form a good relationship with anyone.

With a click, the door opened. Tu Zhuozhuo walked in swaggering as if it were her own home, and immediately turned on all the lights. The entire ground floor instantly became brightly lit.

The light shone on the piano that hadn’t been used for a long time. The moment Tu Zhuozhuo saw the piano, she was like a person who had been hungry for a long time seeing food. She completely forgot about her luggage and rushed straight to the piano.

Su Huaiwang closed the door and stood in the dim area where light and shadow met, her long hair scattered, her expression dark and unclear.

She looked at the piano, at Tu Zhuozhuo who was already completely engrossed in playing, and a dark emotion gradually crept out in her heart.

Optimism, cheerfulness, and courageously moving forward are the necessary qualities to become an excellent person; determination, confidence, and pouring everything into it are the necessary qualities to achieve a goal.

Tu Zhuozhuo possessed all of these, everything in the world, everything she loved, and everyone who loved her.

Because she was a completely whole person.

And she, Su Huaiwang.

Pain, accompanied by a long-lost jealousy, appeared at the root of her tongue. Su Huaiwang’s expression changed continuously.

If she could be like Tu Zhuozhuo…

“Xiao Wang!”

Tu Zhuozhuo’s excited voice interrupted Su Huaiwang’s random thoughts:

“Hurry! Play with me, please!”

She scampered over, grabbed Su Huaiwang’s wrist, and pulled her towards the piano.

The expression on Su Huaiwang’s face broke, leaving only a hint of helplessness and a half-smile.

The two sat on the long bench and pressed the keys. Before the music began, thoughts that shouldn’t have been there continued to appear in her mind.

If she could be like Tu Zhuozhuo, would she be able to try to develop a deeper relationship with Lin Jue? If so, maybe Lin Jue could come to like her.

The sound of the keys had already started. The technique, flowing like water and burning like fire, drove out those unacknowledged, hidden thoughts.

Su Huaiwang was carried away by Tu Zhuozhuo, immersed in the world of music. She didn’t notice that outside the house, someone was standing, listening to their piano music for a long time.