She Comes Into My Dreams Every Night - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Waterfall

The little electric scooter stopped at Lin Jue’s door. Lin Jue glanced at the buzzing machine, then looked up at Su Huaiwang.

“Do you have an electric scooter?” Su Huaiwang asked her, curiously peering behind her.

Lin Jue’s villa was similar in style to hers, except she hadn’t carved out a small yard within the fence like Su Huaiwang had.

The garage’s roller door was tightly shut, covered in a layer of dust.

Lin Jue shook her head, and the situation was pretty much what Su Huaiwang had guessed.

Su Huaiwang patted the back seat: “I’ll take you. The place we’re going is quite far from here. Don’t worry, I ride very steadily.”

“Aren’t they coming?” Lin Jue pointed to the two dogs and one cat squatting behind the fence, watching them eagerly.

“Huh? No.”

If it were just Su Huaiwang alone, she would certainly bring her little animal companions, but with Lin Jue… she was afraid the small animals might run off and get lost unintentionally.

Once Lin Jue sat on the back seat, Su Huaiwang started the scooter, and the little electric machine sped off at a moderate pace.

As the wheels turned beneath them, Su Huaiwang said to Lin Jue: “Having an electric scooter is much more convenient in the countryside for things like going to town to buy things or pick up express deliveries. Driving a car is actually more troublesome. You could get one too, just park it outside.”

Su Huaiwang assumed there was a car in Lin Jue’s garage; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to get around in the remote countryside.

The seat of the electric scooter wasn’t very large. Lin Jue sat as far back as possible, looking down at the gap between them.

Su Huaiwang noticed her expression of slight confusion in the rear-view mirror, and a guess popped into her mind: “Is this your first time riding an electric scooter?”

Lin Jue’s amber eyes met hers in the mirror, and she nodded: “Mhm, I haven’t tried it before.”

Su Huaiwang didn’t doubt the truth of the statement. She hadn’t encountered electric scooters before moving to the countryside either, and it had taken her some effort to learn how to ride one back then.

“Then you can hold onto me. The mountain road is a bit bumpy,” she kindly reminded her.

Unexpectedly, Lin Jue’s voice rose sharply: “I can touch you?” It carried an incredulity and subtle excitement Su Huaiwang had never heard in her voice before.

“Huh? Huh? Yes, of course.”

Having received Su Huaiwang’s permission, Lin Jue gently rested both hands on her shoulders, as if afraid of hurting her. The cool temperature seeped through the thin fabric and into Su Huaiwang’s skin, making her shiver even in the summer sun.

“Your hands are so cold.”

“I have a cold constitution,” Lin Jue said matter-of-factly, her eyes fixed on the point where they touched.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the lush green leaves on the mountain, occasionally falling on the light-colored down on the ears of the person in front, making time stop at that moment.

Lin Jue didn’t like sunny weather, but now she desperately wished this road had no end.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very long road. Even though Su Huaiwang drove cautiously and not fast, the little electric scooter came to a stop twenty minutes later.

Spread out before them was a shimmering body of water, surrounded by low hills. Pebbles rolled under their feet until they disappeared into the deep green leaves.

“This is the nearby reservoir. You can come here if you’re interested,” Su Huaiwang said.

Su Huaiwang parked the electric scooter and rushed to Lin Jue’s side.

Lin Jue turned her head and saw her face was flushed red from the heat. Lin Jue handed her a tissue.

Su Huaiwang took the tissue, her nose easily recognizing the familiar scent—the same brand as the tissue Lin Jue had used to wipe her sweat in the kitchen last time.

She looked at Lin Jue. The girl’s face bore a tranquil and gentle smile, still as pale as cold jade, without a bead of sweat, completely unaffected by the summer heat.

“Is it very hot?” Lin Jue noticed her gaze and raised her hand to fan her.

The cool breeze hit her face, and Su Huaiwang squinted comfortably: “You’re so cool.” She touched Lin Jue’s arm.

“Mhm, cold constitution,” Lin Jue offered the same explanation.

“Alright, alright, let’s walk,” Su Huaiwang felt awkward letting her fan her continuously. After the redness on her face slightly subsided, she started walking.

The area near the reservoir was much cooler than other places. They specifically chose shaded paths, and soon Su Huaiwang felt refreshed.

“If we walk from here, over there, we can see a small stream. Following the stream all the way leads to the village at the foot of the mountain…” Su Huaiwang tried hard to recall this route, which had been her favorite last summer.

“Oh, right,” she suddenly remembered something and pulled out her phone: “The most important thing to note is that there’s no signal here, so be careful and stay safe.”

She showed her phone; a small cross on the signal bar indicated their current predicament.

“Do you come here often?” Lin Jue asked while secretly taking note of all the information on that phone screen.

“Yes, I quite like the scenery here.” Su Huaiwang put away her phone, casually plucked a leaf, and rubbed it between her fingers.

“Isn’t it unsafe?” Black lines spread out from under Lin Jue’s feet, swallowing the ominous figures stirring in the shadows at the bottom of the stream.

Su Huaiwang hadn’t brought the sachet she gave her. She listened carefully to Su Huaiwang, deep in thought.

“Well, it is a bit,” Su Huaiwang hesitated, then continued: “But nothing has happened so far. After all, I’m usually with my dogs, and I always carry something for self-defense.”

Su Huaiwang felt around her waist and pulled out a shiny small survival knife: “No matter what, having a weapon is always more reassuring.”

Even in such a desolate place, humans were more terrifying than animals. But at the same time, humans were creatures who bullied the weak and feared the strong. A weapon didn’t need to be highly practical, but it had to be intimidating.

The knife Su Huaiwang was holding at the moment was quite intimidating.

As she was putting the knife away, something suddenly came to Su Huaiwang’s mind.

She felt unsafe even with a dog accompanying her, and yet Lin Jue was alone, and she had just recommended this place to her?

Su Huaiwang turned to look at Lin Jue, who was half a head shorter than herself, feeling increasingly worried about Lin Jue’s safety.

She chose her words carefully: “If you want to go out, it would be better to call me to come with you if possible.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“It’s just that a woman living alone in the countryside certainly needs someone to worry about,” Su Huaiwang said tactfully.

When she first moved here, Tu Zhizhuo had almost demanded updates from her every few hours, terrified that something might happen to her.

Lin Jue smiled: “Thank you, I will remember that.”

“I suddenly remembered, we haven’t exchanged contact information yet,” Su Huaiwang held her phone, feeling a bit nervous.

It was the first time she had actively asked someone for their contact details. Lin Jue had said she didn’t know how to socialize, so she tried her best to be proactive.

“…Contact information?” Lin Jue lowered her eyelashes, and a sense of apprehension arose in Su Huaiwang’s heart.

Fortunately, Lin Jue quickly raised her head, the smile still on her face: “I didn’t bring my phone. Can you give me yours first? I’ll add you when I get back.”

Su Huaiwang breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a little surprised: “You didn’t bring your phone?” She had thought phones were like external organs for modern people, something they couldn’t be without for a second.

“I don’t use it very often,” Lin Jue simply said.

Su Huaiwang immediately understood what she meant.

Her parents had restricted her. She felt more and more that Lin Jue’s upbringing was likely similar to her own.

“Then I’ll write it down for you.”

Su Huaiwang rummaged around her person, pulling out a memo pad and a pen. After some scribbling, she handed the piece of paper to Lin Jue.

Lin Jue carefully put away the paper, handling it as if it were a precious treasure.

They had been walking for quite a while without realizing it. The sound of water grew closer—the sound of water droplets falling on rough stones.

They had been tracing the stream upwards, and now they had finally arrived at their destination.

Su Huaiwang climbed a small slope, turned to reach out and pull Lin Jue up, only to see Lin Jue already standing perfectly in front of her, her white clothes without a single speck of dirt.

Walking two more steps forward, a waterfall suddenly revealed itself to the two of them.

This wasn’t a magnificent, enormous waterfall like those in tourist areas. It was just a thin, delicate stream of water that dropped from a short cliff, then gently shattered into a mist on the brown, shiny rocks below.

Though not torrential, its virtue lay in its tranquility—an undeveloped natural sight.

Water droplets splashed onto Su Huaiwang, a cool, moist sensation. She turned to Lin Jue and introduced it: “This is a small waterfall, and the government uses it for electricity generation, which is why our electricity bills are so cheap here.”

Lin Jue nodded, her attention, however, was on Su Huaiwang’s lower back, which had been dampened by the waterfall.

She was wearing a simple white T-shirt, and when wet, it inevitably revealed some of the skin’s color. With Lin Jue’s eyesight, seeing that bit of color was not difficult.

“Be careful,” she tugged on Su Huaiwang’s sleeve: “Your clothes are wet, you’ll catch a cold.”

“Ah? Oh, thanks.”

Su Huaiwang turned around and only then noticed her lower back was almost completely soaked. She didn’t pay much attention to it, after all, it was summer.

She took a few steps forward, avoiding the range of the waterfall, shook the damp fabric clinging to her body, and then placed her warm hand against the cool skin of her lower back, trying to warm it up.

Lin Jue watched in silence on the side. The words offering help were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say them.

She clenched her hands, a slight heat generating in her palms.

Her body could be as cold as a corpse or as hot as the sun.

But Su Huaiwang didn’t like her touch.

She lowered her head in disappointment, and the hand tightly clenched behind her back also relaxed.

If it weren’t in reality, but in a dream, Su Huaiwang would allow her to touch her.

Just as she was thinking this, her body was tugged.

“You got splashed too. Come over here a little.”

The force Su Huaiwang used was very light, just enough for Lin Jue to willingly follow her lead.

“Eh?” She unconsciously pressed against the other’s arm: “So hot.”

The soft palm rolled over it again.

“Are you very hot?”

Su Huaiwang looked at Lin Jue with some confusion. The other person showed no external signs—no sweating, and her skin was still so pale—so why was her arm so hot?

Lin Jue pursed her lips: “A little.” Then, she asked about Su Huaiwang: “How about you? Are you hot?”

“I’m a little hot too.” Su Huaiwang let go of Lin Jue’s arm. The feeling of mutual dependence disappeared, leaving Lin Jue feeling lost.

“Then let’s head back. It’s getting late anyway.”

Su Huaiwang started walking forward, and Lin Jue fell behind her again.

She reached the small slope, extended her hand to Lin Jue, and smiled shyly:

“This slope is a bit steep. Can you pull me up?”

Lin Jue couldn’t have been happier.

The moment their palms met, a long-absent feeling of fulfillment flooded her once-dull brain.

She looked at Su Huaiwang, who was already reaching out to help her descend the slope, and her stiff heart beat little by little.

Many images of Su Huaiwang’s face overlapped in her mind: anxious, angry, resolute, painful, and… one of difficulty and pleasure.

She wanted to give this person so much. She hoped to bring this person so much. What should she do to make Su Huaiwang as happy in reality as she was in the dream?