She Comes Into My Dreams Every Night - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Remember to Leave a Link

At nine in the morning, Su Huaiwang stood in the kitchen, wearing an apron, her hair tied in a low ponytail, contemplating a pile of ingredients in front of her.

The doorbell suddenly rang. She hastily pulled down her ponytail, ruffled her hair to make it look less messy, and amidst a flurry of footsteps, the two dogs raised their heads to look at her.

Su Huaiwang realized her reaction was a bit excessive, so she cleared her throat to cover her embarrassment and slowed her movements down a bit.

Opening the door, the person standing outside was not the familiar young woman, but a man in a work uniform.

The man wore a practiced, professional smile and handed over a piece of paper: “Hello, these are the items ordered by Ms. Tu Zhuozhuo. Please sign for them.”

Su Huaiwang walked around him and looked behind: a pile of brand-new packages.

Tu Zhuozhuo was still asleep. Su Huaiwang didn’t know what was inside, so she signed the paper in a daze and, with the help of the courier, moved all the items indoors.

The two dogs curiously sniffed around the items. Even Mimi, who was perpetually lazy, left her cat bed, crouched opposite the pile of new things, and licked her fur with squinted eyes.

The door closed again. Su Huaiwang watched the courier’s vehicle drive away through the window, then turned to look at the pile of items.

Having a dedicated person personally deliver them to the mountains must have cost a fortune. Despite her curiosity, she restrained herself; after all, she hadn’t bought them.

She turned around, tied her ponytail again, and went into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast for the two of them.

An hour later, Tu Zhuozhuo, wearing an oversized T-shirt, stumbled down from the second floor, looking like she hadn’t quite woken up yet.

She swayed up behind Su Huaiwang, resting her chin on her shoulder: “What are we eating?”

“Steamed buns and congee.” Su Huaiwang pushed her face away and checked the state of the congee in the rice cooker.

A few pieces of orange-red sweet potato were soaking in the sticky congee, looking sweetly delicious.

Tu Zhuozhuo yawned. Su Huaiwang called out: “Go wash up, it’s time to eat.”

“Alright, alright, even my mom isn’t as diligent as you.” Tu Zhuozhuo habitually quipped, but her body obediently moved toward the first-floor bathroom.

Before long, a fully awake Tu Zhuozhuo was sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast with Su Huaiwang.

She was slurping her congee when she heard Su Huaiwang ask:

“What did you buy?”

Following Su Huaiwang’s finger, she saw the pile of courier boxes.

She immediately put down her congee and scrambled over in her slippers: “Barbecue stuff! Didn’t I tell you? Wow, this delivery speed is much faster than overseas…”

Su Huaiwang’s expression was starting to crumble: “You’re seriously planning an outdoor barbecue?”

Tu Zhuozhuo replied while unpacking a box: “What else? I’m a woman of my word, okay?”

Su Huaiwang watched her pull the brand-new equipment out of the boxes one by one, her mouth twitching. In the end, she decided not to intervene.

She drank her sweet potato congee, turning her head away—out of sight, out of mind.

It could be said that as soon as Tu Zhuozhuo arrived, her previously empty house instantly felt much fuller.

Never mind what was inside the two large suitcases, or the clothes Tu Zhuozhuo casually tossed onto her sofa; the barbecue grill and canopy she had already set up took up a significant amount of space.

“How’s this!” Tu Zhuozhuo wiped the sweat from her head and proudly showed her creation to Su Huaiwang.

Sure enough, her years living abroad hadn’t been for nothing. Following the instructions, Tu Zhuozhuo quickly assembled the barbecue setup perfectly.

“Are you planning to barbecue in the yard?”

“Of course not. That’s so unromantic, it feels like an ‘old white man’ thing. We’re definitely going to barbecue by your reservoir! That’s romantic!”

“Then how do you plan to drag it over, set up like this?”

Tu Zhuozhuo fell silent. She looked at the bulky equipment, then at Su Huaiwang’s stern face, and quietly began to dismantle the canopy.

“Also, did you ask Lin Jue yet?”

“Oh, you mean the pretty lady?”

“Stop calling her ‘pretty lady’ all the time. It’s weird.”

“Even stating a fact is weird? You’re really getting hard to deal with.”

Tu Zhuozhuo habitually bantered with her for a moment, then stopped what she was doing and pretended to think: “Not yet. Why don’t we just go ask her directly in a bit?”

“Ask directly?” Su Huaiwang looked as if she had heard something unbelievable: “Didn’t you add her contact? Why not just send a message?”

Tu Zhuozhuo glanced at her: “Why do I feel like you’re more concerned about this than I am, the one who suggested it?”

Su Huaiwang’s face flushed, even her ears were pink. She argued: “I’m the one who has to live with her long-term, not you, okay?”

“Fine, I won’t embarrass you.” Tu Zhuozhuo gave her a thumbs-up and a brilliant smile: “Besides, I think the girl has a good personality. Why are you always so timid around her?”

Because I truly wronged her. Su Huaiwang only dared to complain about this in her heart; she would never dare say it to Tu Zhuozhuo.

“So much talk, and you still haven’t answered my question!”

“Oh, that. I locked my phone away.”

Su Huaiwang realized she was increasingly unable to understand her friend’s thought process. She needed to pause and sort out the information she had: “What did you say?”

“I said I locked my phone away.” Tu Zhuozhuo shrugged carelessly: “If I’m still playing on my phone in the mountains, how is that different from being in the city? I won’t be able to relax at all!” she said self-righteously.

Su Huaiwang finally understood why she had been the one to take the delivery today. It turned out Tu Zhuozhuo couldn’t receive courier notifications anymore.

She sighed and held her forehead: “Fine, fine. Then I’ll send a message to Lin Jue on your behalf…”

Tu Zhuozhuo stopped her and laughed: “Why go to all that trouble? Since she’s so close, why not just go over? Isn’t that what people did before phones?”

Su Huaiwang nervously swallowed: “Wouldn’t that be a little presumptuous…”

Su Huaiwang completely forgot that Lin Jue had visited her on the second day of their acquaintance.

Tu Zhuozhuo, however, sensed something was off: “Wait a minute, have you never been to her house?”

Su Huaiwang nodded blankly.

“But she comes to your house often?”

Su Huaiwang hesitated: “Not often, just occasionally…”

“An ‘occasional’ visitor you’re comfortable letting walk into your bedroom to answer your phone while you’re cooking?”

Su Huaiwang was speechless: “Okay, maybe a few times…”

“A few times is the point! Friendships are about reciprocity. You invite her to your house, but you never go check out hers? That’s just wrong, no matter how you look at it!” Tu Zhuozhuo was always eloquent when arguing her dubious points.

Su Huaiwang was clearly persuaded: “But she hasn’t invited me…”

Tu Zhuozhuo interrupted her: “The girl is shy! So you need to be proactive! Otherwise, she’ll think you don’t want to be friends with her!”

While Tu Zhuozhuo was still passionately building her case, Su Huaiwang felt utterly possessed, nodding her head inexplicably.

And that is why, at three in the afternoon, she and Tu Zhuozhuo were standing at Lin Jue’s door.

She looked up. The villa had the same style as hers, and Lin Jue hadn’t made many changes either.

The afternoon sun made her head feel a bit dizzy. An unfamiliar timidity welled up, beating a clear retreat drum in her heart.

Tu Zhuozhuo, on the other hand, was excited and happy. Carrying a gift she had bought earlier, she raised her hand to knock, then seemed to remember something and took a step back:

“You do it.”

Su Huaiwang was astonished, pointing to herself:

“Me?!”

“Yes, you,” Tu Zhuozhuo shrugged: “You’re closer to her, so who else would do it?”

It was true. Su Huaiwang pursed her lips and took a step forward.

The drumbeats of retreat grew more urgent, accelerating her breathing and heartbeat. Tu Zhuozhuo was waiting behind her, unaware of how nervous she was right now.

She took a deep breath and raised her hand.

Before her fingers could press the doorbell, the door in front of her opened as if by telepathy.

Lin Jue’s refreshing face instantly appeared before the two of them, like a cooling rain that drove away some of the summer heat.

She looked at Su Huaiwang, her eyes curving into a smile: “What’s wrong?”

Su Huaiwang instinctively held her breath.

Tu Zhuozhuo, behind her, shouted cheerfully: “Hey! Hello there!”

Lin Jue looked up. As her gaze swept past Tu Zhuozhuo, the smile on her face faded slightly.

“Come in first,” she said, with a hint of warmth.

Tu Zhuozhuo’s hand, holding the bag, secretly extended one finger and poked Su Huaiwang’s lower back.

Su Huaiwang was always sensitive in the lower back. The poke made her whole body shiver.

Turning her face slightly, Tu Zhuozhuo winked at her, meaning: See? I told you so! It’s true!

Su Huaiwang sighed. The stiff feeling from the scare was mostly gone, which helped her avoid walking with hands and feet moving together as she followed Lin Jue.

Seated on Lin Jue’s sofa, while Lin Jue went to fetch tea for them, Su Huaiwang curiously surveyed the interior decoration of her house.

Overall, it was similar to Su Huaiwang’s house, but simpler and much emptier. There were no pet toys, no piano, no decorative items that Tu Zhuozhuo had bought on a whim. Instead, there were some ornaments Su Huaiwang didn’t understand.

Su Huaiwang lowered her head. For some reason, the simple yet strange ornaments gave her a feeling very similar to the black string she was currently wearing on her wrist.

The black string was cool against her wrist. Su Huaiwang had only intended to try it on, but unexpectedly, she liked it more and more and couldn’t bear to take it off, so she just kept wearing it.

Tu Zhuozhuo noticed her gesture, leaned closer, and looked: “Ooh, that’s nice. Why are you suddenly wearing a wristband?”

Based on her artistic aesthetic, she instantly approved of the simple-looking string. She wanted to reach out and touch it, but Su Huaiwang dodged her.

Tu Zhuozhuo looked up at her in confusion.

Su Huaiwang fanned herself with her hand, looking rather unnatural: “I just liked how it looked, so I wore it.”

Tu Zhuozhuo didn’t dwell on it. She just glanced around the living room and said casually: “The style looks quite similar to that braided string. Don’t tell me…”

Su Huaiwang’s heart immediately jumped.

“Don’t tell me you bought it from the same store? Send me the link, okay? I really like this style.”

Tu Zhuozhuo scratched her head, her eyes remarkably clear.

Su Huaiwang finally let out the breath she was holding: “It closed down. The store closed down.”

“Ah, really?” Tu Zhuozhuo was a little disappointed, but didn’t suspect anything.

The porcelain teaware was placed on the coffee table. Lin Jue moved without a sound, startling both of them. Tu Zhuozhuo was so startled she moved further away from Su Huaiwang.

Seeing this, Lin Jue raised an eyebrow and smiled, then sat down on the single sofa next to them:

“Did you come to see me for something today?”

Although she addressed both of them, her eyes were locked on Su Huaiwang.

Su Huaiwang met those amber eyes. For some reason, a painful, tingling sensation flashed across her body, as if a memory had been brought up.

Her body shivered, like a convergence of cold currents and summer heat, bringing a swaying, heavy rain.