Transmigrated as the Cannon Fodder Spouse of the Disabled Beauty - Chapter 35

Backyard.

The water had just been changed. The swimming pool of the Song family villa was crystal blue and transparent. A slender figure moved like a fish circling the bottom of the pool, her posture elegant and graceful, resembling a high-end commercial shot under a filter.

Splash—

The figure broke through the surface, stirring up ripples of sparkling water.

By the poolside, sitting under a sunshade, Song Yunran heard the sound of water but did not look up, calmly flipping her book to the next page.

Before long, the sound of water weakened, and the entire backyard fell into a peaceful tranquility. Song Yunran remained immersed in her reading.

When the sound of breaking water appeared just a meter away, she finally raised her head.

The dripping “mermaid” was wearing a black swimsuit; her waist was slender and soft, and her whole body seemed to glow white under the sunlight. She leaned against a giant blue water ball, staring intently at Song Yunran not far away.

“What is it?” Song Yunran flipped another page before finally speaking.

The person on the water ball did not answer her. Ever since that night three days ago when a fever caused fish scales to appear, little Xu Luo had become reluctant to speak upon waking up, as if her language skills had regressed.

She just stared at people stared deathly still.

Song Yunran tried to interpret the little one’s gaze.

“Hungry?”

No.

“Don’t want to play anymore?”

No.

“Want to go to the bathroom?”

No.

After several wrong guesses in a row, the little one grew irritable. Still leaning on the water ball, she turned herself around, her two long legs splashing the water surface rhythmically.

Song Yunran couldn’t dodge in time and was splashed all over her face and body. Water droplets slid down from her hair and eyelashes, dripping onto the pages of her book and blurring the ink.

The “fish” throwing a tantrum was clearly doing it on purpose; after splashing the water, she even twisted her head back to look at her.

Song Yunran: “…”

Maintaining her drenched image for several seconds, Song Yunran said nothing. She closed the wrinkled, soaked book and drove her electric wheelchair away.

Seeing her turn and leave without a word, the look in Xu Luo’s eyes which had been full of mischief.

instantly changed to panic and distress. She immediately pushed away her beloved blue water ball, climbed onto the shore, and chased after her.

She ran a short distance, circling to the front of Song Yunran.

Fearing she would hit her, Song Yunran looked down and pressed the button to stop the wheelchair. The next second, her vision dimmed as the person who had circled in front of her grabbed her shoulders, sat on her lap, and began licking the water off her face.

It was an act of contrition.

Song Yunran was stunned.

In her moment of distraction, that soft tongue had already moved from her cheek to the corner of her mouth. Snapping back to reality, Song Yunran tilted her head with a light laugh, letting the lick miss its mark, and patted the other’s back.

“Stop licking, I’m not angry.”

The “fish” who felt she had caused trouble didn’t believe her, stubbornly insisting on licking her clean in her own way. She was so persistent that Song Yunran had to use her hand to hold back the approaching head: “Luo Luo, I’m really not angry.”

She sighed, “I just want to go change my clothes.”

She was already wet from the splash, and now, being rubbed against by this soaking wet person on her lap, she was completely drenched. Her clothes were sticking to her body, making her very uncomfortable. She tugged at the clothes clinging to her skin.

Seeing her movement, the person on her lap tilted her head in thought for a moment and seemed to believe her. Then, she reached out to unbutton the wet clothes to help take them off.

Song Yunran: “…”

She caught the hand that was so eagerly trying to help and laughed softly: “If Luo Luo wants to help, can we do it inside the house?”

She truly had no habit of undressing or changing in public, nor could she get used to it.

Xu Luo seemed to understand and withdrew her hand.

Just then, Grandma Fu walked into the yard, bringing a clean bath towel. She had seen Song Yunran get soaked from upstairs, so she specifically brought it. Song Yunran did not refuse the care and took the towel to wrap around herself. Just as she wrapped it, Xu Luo also ducked under the towel. Thus, one bath towel wrapped two people, pressed close to one another.

Song Yunran didn’t push her away, using the towel to dry both of them.

Grandma Fu watched them, her gaze eventually shifting to Xu Luo. She saw the childish smile on the girl’s face, which was clearly different from a normal adult. She had seen this smile many times over the past three days. Grandma Fu had many doubts in her heart, but because of Song Yunran’s “don’t ask,” she had said nothing. She was used to following Song Yunran’s every word, but her worry for this child of the Xu family grew day by day, nearly reaching the limit of what she could bear. She didn’t know how much longer she could remain silent.

“Grandma—”

Song Yunran suddenly spoke, “Regarding the resignation you mentioned earlier, I’ve thought about it and want to understand a few things.”

Hearing this, Grandma Fu hid the worry in her eyes and replied, “What does Miss want to know?”

Song Yunran asked, “What are your plans after you resign? Do you plan to live in your house in the suburbs? Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to live out there?”

Grandma Fu’s health had collapsed; she relied on medication to sustain herself. Living in the suburbs seemed inconvenient no matter how you looked at it.

But Grandma Fu did not intend to return to the suburbs: “I’m not going home.” She said, “I plan to sell the house in the suburbs.”

This was an unexpected decision, but Song Yunran did not look surprised. She simply looked up at the elderly woman.

Grandma Fu touched the prayer beads on her wrist. The string had broken a few days ago, but she had re-strung them exactly as they were, and now they were back on her wrist.

“I…” the old woman said, “I am old and don’t have many years left. So, I plan to use my remaining days to travel around and see the great rivers and mountains of our country.” She smiled, her expression kind. “The older one gets, the less satisfied they are with this tiny little world before them. One always wants to see the scenery they missed when they were young.”

“Traveling?” Song Yunran asked.

Grandma Fu nodded.

“That’s good,” Song Yunran said, as if she hadn’t seen through the other’s lie.

Yes, a lie.

Grandma Fu was lying. She did intend to leave A City, but not to see the scenery it was to continue a journey from ten years ago. Ten years ago, during those long days before she stopped, she had moved from one city to another, all to find one person and fulfill a promise to meet. She would continue this journey to find her only friend.

“If I see beautiful scenery, I will take photos for Miss,” Grandma Fu said.

Song Yunran said thank you.

Xu Luo, who had been hiding in the towel with only her head sticking out quietly listening to the two talk, suddenly pursed her lips and burst into a loud wail. Tears fell one after another onto Song Yunran’s hand, feeling scorching hot.

Grandma Fu and Song Yunran both looked at her at the same time.

“Why are you crying?” Realizing what was happening, Song Yunran wiped away her tears. The tears fell on her fingers, wet.

The “Mermaid Tears” from the Mo family auction flashed through her mind for a second, but she quickly suppressed the image.

“Don’t cry,” Song Yunran comforted her gently.

Xu Luo just cried until she was hiccupping, as if something sad had been triggered. Song Yunran couldn’t coax her out of it and sighed, simply pulling her into her arms and gently patting her back.

Xu Luo cried until she fell asleep. Song Yunran never pushed her away from beginning to end. Grandma Fu whispered a reminder for her to go upstairs and change so she wouldn’t catch a cold.

Song Yunran acknowledged this and called for Auntie Li to help carry Xu Luo upstairs to sleep. Only then did she go to change her clothes.

Back in her bedroom, taking off her wet clothes, she looked at her thin legs, her brow furrowed deeply. If it weren’t for these legs of hers, she wouldn’t have needed Auntie Li’s help; she could have carried Xu Luo back to the room herself…

Xu Luo currently had the heart of a child; when she woke up, she forgot why she had been crying. When Song Yunran went into the art studio to paint, she stole some brushes and pigments to look for paper in the study. Unable to find paper, she used the floor of the study as her canvas, waving her brush and creating a “masterpiece” with great flair.

When Song Yunran found her, the “Great Artist Xu” was just adding the final stroke to her abstract work. Hearing the noise, she turned her head triumphantly, grandly displaying her work.

The smile habitually worn on Song Yunran’s face stiffened for a split second.

Xu Luo threw down the brush and hopped over to her, smiling like a bright sunflower, waiting for praise.

Song Yunran… Song Yunran took a deep breath and somehow maintained her smile.

“Luo Luo…” Song Yunran hesitated for a moment before squeezing out a word, “Is quite… busy.”

The busy “Great Artist” puffed out her chest with pride.

Song Yunran: “…”

Unable to find the heart to say anything harsh, she sighed and asked Grandma Fu to help contact a housekeeping company for cleaning.

Grandma Fu understood the situation and called a frequently used housekeeping company. They sent a middle-aged female employee. Since the study contained many important documents that needed cleaning, Song Yunran asked Grandma Fu to keep an eye on things.

In the past, when they called for housekeeping, Grandma Fu would always supervise. She was familiar with the job. To avoid making the cleaner feel awkward while supervising, she would occasionally strike up a conversation and chat.

While they were chatting about domestic matters, the housekeeper accidentally knocked over a folder on the bookshelf. The folder fell, and documents scattered all over the floor. The worker was startled and hurried to apologize, bending over to pick them up while saying sorry. Grandma Fu hadn’t expected this and hurried over to help gather them.

She stepped forward two steps and bent down. As her fingertips touched a document on the ground, she glanced at it unintentionally, and her whole body felt like it had been struck by lightning.

Her gaze fell on the attached photo on the document. In the old photo, a young girl seemed to reach across time and space, looking at her with those deer-like eyes.

You Mei.

Her friend.

She picked up those documents with trembling hands.

Separated by only a wall, Song Yunran was washing the “Great Artist’s” hands in the bedroom washroom. The artist’s hands were fair and slender, covered in pigments; as the water rinsed them, the pigments turned into murky liquid and flowed into the sink.

Song Yunran washed them meticulously until the hands were clean and neat again.

“Luo Luo.”

Song Yunran held the restored white hands and gently dried them with a towel.

“How does Luo Luo view ‘knowing’ versus ‘not knowing’?”

“Does ‘not knowing’ make you feel happier?”

Song Yunran folded the used towel and placed it on the sink counter, then stared at herself in the mirror.

She had a feeling that as a human, she did not wish to see everything in this world too clearly. In some matters, appropriate concealment made her feel safer and happier.

She held a set of documents regarding a woman named You Mei. She had held these documents for a long time. She knew another person was looking for them, but she had never thought of making them public because, in her view, this “knowing” was a tragedy. Although she wasn’t exactly a virtuous person, she had no interest in creating unnecessary misfortune.

But in that one moment, she suddenly realized that this was only her personal opinion.

Did Grandma Fu want to know?

Would Grandma Fu find out?

Song Yunran did not dislike the old woman. So, she placed the truth in a conspicuous place and left it to fate.

45 years ago, in a hospital.

“What is your name?” “How old are you?” “Are you a local?”

The girl with a severe heart condition had just taken her medicine. Her whole face was scrunched up from the bitterness. To distract herself, she opened up a conversation, throwing one question after another toward her roommate behind the curtain.

It was always quiet behind the curtain. Just like yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. The girl had grown somewhat used to it.

She shifted her gaze away from the curtain. The next second, her peripheral vision caught the vase on the windowsill. The flowers in the vase had withered; the person who used to replace them with fresh bouquets had left.

How long had her friend been gone? Was it ten days? Had her friend found her family?

The girl’s heart felt like it had been pricked. In that instant, she was overwhelmed by loneliness. The light in her eyes dimmed.

“I was discharged today and got a haircut. I cut it really short; I feel so ugly,” the girl said to the air, as if talking to an old friend, though her tone lacked its initial vitality.

She touched her short hair.

The haircut was for convenience. Out of 365 days a year, she spent 300 of them being ill. Long hair was a burden for her frail self. To make it easier to clean, she cut it short. Anyway, the person who said her hair was pretty was already gone.

A nurse came in and told her to go out for a check-up. The girl hid the loneliness that no one saw and walked out of the ward with a smile.

Returning to the ward an hour later, the girl masked her exhaustion and smiled to thank the nurse who brought her back. Once the nurse left, she retracted her smile.

She was very good at smiling.

Born with a severe illness, her parents had not given up on her, laboring and rushing about to treat her. Others, seeing her condition, were more sympathetic and took care of her feelings, helping wherever they could. She had nothing, so she could only repay them with a smile. Therefore, she was better at smiling than anyone else.

Occasionally, she felt a little tired of smiling. Like now, having received her check-up results, even though she was prepared to accept anything, returning to the ward and being surrounded by silence made it impossible not to want to hug her blanket and cry.

She didn’t want to be alone. She wanted to be comforted. She wanted companionship.

The inner longing was magnified infinitely in the silence, and thus, the loneliness was also magnified infinitely.

A piece of pink letter paper, emitting a faint fragrance, appeared in her peripheral vision. it lay on the cabinet by the hospital bed, with no indication of where it came from or when it arrived.

You look good with short hair, too.

The letter said.

The girl’s heart jolted with shock. she looked up toward the curtain. the white curtain blocked her view, and there was still no response from behind it. But the feeling of loneliness suddenly dissipated a great deal.

Clutching that letter, the girl’s lips slowly curled upward. She whispered a small “thank you.”

The girl went to the window, holding the letter in one hand and pushing the window open with the other. Outside, a gentle breeze brushed her face, and bright sunlight spilled onto the tall Yulan tree ahead, passing through the swaying branches in the wind and falling onto the ground like flowing crushed gold from the sky.

Time flowed rapidly. 45 years later, the old woman stood by the window of an old villa, holding a stack of documents in one hand and pushing the window open with the other. A boom of thunder sounded, and heavy rain poured down.

She glanced out the window. The world was dark and gloomy. That bright afternoon 45 years ago the sunlight, the sound of cicadas, that simple praise from behind the curtain had been buried in the years at some unknown point. She had missed it, and thus never had the chance to lift that curtain to see her friend.

She clutched her chest. Inside her chest, her heart was mourning.

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