The Gentle Breeze Reflects in My Eyes - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Gu Yitong felt in her heart that Xia Lusheng had become much more confident, a change she was delighted to see.

She shifted her body to look at Xia Lusheng’s cheek and responded seriously to her words: “I will never leave you behind, Lusheng.”

Due to the unexpected medical emergency the day before, their interest in watching the competition had dwindled. Combined with the fact that it was still the preliminary rounds with highly inconsistent performance levels, there wasn’t much for them to learn.

So, the next day, Gu Yitong and Xia Lusheng asked Teacher Zhao for a leave of absence. Instead of heading to the arena, they packed their small bags and headed toward the snack street.

Just as they stepped out of their room, they saw Li Lei returning to her room carrying a container of wontons.

Gu Yitong paused and called out to her: “Li Lei.”

Li Lei turned and saw the two of them, looking a bit nervous. “Sister Yitong, Lusheng… you, you didn’t go to the arena either?”

Gu Yitong frowned as she looked at her, her tone a bit sharp: “Did Teacher Zhao leave you here by yourself?”

Sensing the dissatisfaction in Gu Yitong’s voice, Li Lei grew even more anxious. She nodded. “Teacher Zhao took Yu Qi and the others to watch the competition.”

Zhao Yasu had actually left Li Lei alone in the hotel. Although Li Lei wasn’t a young child anymore, S City was an unfamiliar place and her health was poor. If an accident happened…

Glancing at the wontons in Li Lei’s hand, Gu Yitong said, “Don’t eat those. Lusheng and I are just about to head to the snack street. Come with us.”

Li Lei waved her hands hurriedly. “No, no, Sister Yitong, you and Lusheng go ahead. I—I’ll just stay in the hotel.”

Gu Yitong countered, “It’s more fun with more people. Come along. Do you need to grab anything? We’ll wait for you here.”

Li Lei wasn’t good at refusing people. After a moment of hesitation, she finally agreed: “Then, please wait a moment for me.”

With that, Li Lei ran back into her room.

Gu Yitong turned to Xia Lusheng behind her. Seeing the girl’s stiff, grumpy face, she reached out and poked her cheek.

Xia Lusheng gave a cold huff and dodged Gu Yitong’s hand, looking like she had no intention of speaking to her.

Gu Yitong knew she was in the wrong. Before coming here, she had promised Lusheng that it would just be the two of them, yet she had broken that promise on only the second day—and she had invited Li Lei without even consulting her first.

Gu Yitong tugged gently on Xia Lusheng’s sleeve. “Are you angry?”

Xia Lusheng pulled her sleeve away, turned her back to Gu Yitong, and ignored her.

Just then, Li Lei emerged from her room with her bag. “Sister Yitong, I’m ready.”

Under the cover of their positions, Gu Yitong ignored Xia Lusheng’s slight struggle and firmly took her hand. With a smile, she said to Li Lei, “Great, let’s go.”

Although Xia Lusheng was unhappy, she understood Gu Yitong’s reasoning. She knew what was important; she was simply directing a little temper at Gu Yitong rather than actually disliking Li Lei.

Gu Yitong had done her research before the trip. Furthermore, she had visited S City during a company survey back in 2013. Although things had changed, she still had a general layout in her mind.

The three of them arrived at the snack street, which sat adjacent to a commercial shopping district. Since it was still early and the lunch stalls hadn’t opened yet, Gu Yitong led them through a simple breakfast before they began browsing the shops.

S City was a tourist destination. Beyond the standard entertainment and clothing stores, the commercial street was lined with souvenir shops filled with a dazzling variety of items.

Since Xia Lusheng couldn’t see, she didn’t have much interest and simply followed Gu Yitong. Li Lei, however, was quite excited, glancing left and right while restraining herself from running off.

Gu Yitong felt that Li Lei lived a very repressed life; she held her personality back far too much.

“Sister Yitong, look! That’s amazing!” Li Lei called out excitedly, pointing toward a spot.

Gu Yitong looked where she was pointing.

Not far away, an old man with a white beard was sculpting clay figurines. The soft colored clay seemed to come to life in his hands. He layered strips and spheres of clay, his nimble fingers shaping them with precision. Before long, a vivid “Zhu Bajie” (the Pigsy character from Journey to the West) was displayed on his stand.

Seeing how much Li Lei liked it, Gu Yitong led them to the stall.

“Grandpa, how much for this Pigsy?” Before Gu Yitong could speak, Li Lei asked impatiently.

The old man, already starting a new sculpture, looked up at Li Lei and smiled. “Twenty.”

Gu Yitong paid the money and handed the figurine to Li Lei. Then she looked back at Xia Lusheng and asked, “Grandpa, can you make a doll based on a real person?”

“I can. Plenty of people like to have dolls made in their own likeness.”

Gu Yitong pulled Xia Lusheng in front of her and pointed. “Grandpa, please make a doll that looks like her.”

The old man readily agreed.

Xia Lusheng sat properly on a nearby stool. The old man glanced up at her occasionally, then looked back down to manipulate the clay.

Li Lei looked at the Pigsy in her hand and then at Xia Lusheng. She looked a bit envious, clearly wanting a doll made of herself as well, but she was too shy to speak up.

Gu Yitong noticed Li Lei’s thoughts, but her own bias made her pretend not to notice. There was no helping it—she favored Lusheng.

Along the way, Lusheng had remained silent. Although Li Lei was introverted, she would at least talk to Gu Yitong and point out interesting things, like the clay sculptures. In contrast, Lusheng remained silent during their conversations, only responding when spoken to directly.

By comparison, Lusheng seemed like she was just there to make up the numbers, as if the outing had nothing to do with her.

Getting a portrait doll for Lusheng was a sudden idea, but it clearly worked. Lusheng’s stiff face relaxed, and a smile appeared.

Gu Yitong understood her. By only having the old man make a doll for Lusheng, the girl would be happy—not because the doll itself was so important, but because it made her feel that in Gu Yitong’s heart, she held a special privilege over others.

If she had ordered one for Li Lei as well, Lusheng wouldn’t be nearly as joyful as she was now. She had brought Li Lei along out of safety concerns, not because she actually wanted a “crowd.” It wasn’t that she disliked Li Lei, but human hearts are naturally biased, and her priority was Lusheng’s happiness.

Soon, the old man handed the finished figurine to Gu Yitong and chuckled. “This young lady is so pretty, even the clay doll comes out looking beautiful.”

Gu Yitong looked at Xia Lusheng with a gentle, smiling gaze. Her girl was, of course, beautiful.

After paying, Gu Yitong pressed the doll into Xia Lusheng’s hand and led her further down the street.

After walking for a while, Xia Lusheng finally couldn’t hold it in. She tugged at Gu Yitong, leaned into her shoulder, and whispered expectantly: “Does it really look good?”

Gu Yitong couldn’t hide her smile. “It really does.”

Xia Lusheng’s brow smoothed out, and she beamed.

It was the first time Li Lei had seen Xia Lusheng smile. She was stunned for a moment before saying, “Sister Yitong is so good to you, Lusheng.”

As they reached the end of the commercial street, Gu Yitong suddenly stopped. She looked up at the sign of a shop: Qingfeng Photography.

A thought struck Gu Yitong—she remembered Xia Lusheng’s previous request to take a photo together.

“Lusheng, Li Lei, let’s go take some photos.”

Li Lei was startled. “Take photos?”

Xia Lusheng didn’t react immediately either. It wasn’t until the three of them had changed into the studio’s outfits and were standing before a blue backdrop that she finally realized what was happening.

Was she… fulfilling my request?

After a series of solo shots, Gu Yitong pulled Xia Lusheng to the backdrop and said to the photographer, “Could you please take a few of us together?”

The photographer gave an “OK” sign and began directing their poses. The click-clack of the camera echoed through the studio.

Gu Yitong wrapped one arm around Xia Lusheng’s waist and rested the other on her shoulder, turning her head to look at her. Xia Lusheng bowed her head slightly, making her look like a shy girl avoiding the gaze of the person in front of her.

After the shoot, they went downstairs. Xia Lusheng sat nearby while Gu Yitong and Li Lei picked out the photos on a computer.

Looking at Xia Lusheng through the lens, Gu Yitong marveled at how her beauty could make one’s heart soften. As she browsed, she couldn’t help but look at the well-behaved girl sitting nearby. If only Lusheng could see her own beauty, how wonderful that would be.

After selecting the photos, Gu Yitong left her address and phone number, arranging for the studio to mail the prints to A City.

By the time they left the studio, they realized it was already afternoon. Gu Yitong suddenly felt a wave of hunger. She asked the other two, “We’ve been at the photo studio since this morning. Are you hungry?”

As if her words had awakened their appetites, the response was the audible “grumble” of two stomachs.

Xia Lusheng and Li Lei both froze, instinctively touching their bellies, unsure if the sound had come from them.

Seeing their reactions, Gu Yitong couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “What are you touching? It’s both of your stomachs growling.”

Hearing her laugh, Xia Lusheng and Li Lei couldn’t help but join in.

They returned to the snack street, which was now fully packed with vendors. The drifting aromas made them even hungrier. Instead of a sit-down meal, they picked up bits and pieces from different stalls, leisurely eating their way from one end to the other.

By the end of the day, Li Lei had become much more comfortable around them. Watching Gu Yitong queue up for ice cream ahead of them, Li Lei took Xia Lusheng’s hand and said, “Lusheng, Sister Yitong is such a wonderful person.”

Xia Lusheng felt very awkward being held by Li Lei. She tried to pull her hand away several times, but Li Lei only gripped tighter, arguing that this was a “mission” assigned by Sister Yitong that she had to look after Lusheng while Yitong was in line.

Hearing her call her “Sister Yitong” so affectionately, Xia Lusheng couldn’t help but huff softly: “She’s my sister.”