Weakness Trap - Chapter 17

The deep blue faded in an instant.

Thick darkness fell from the heights, seeping downward the lower it went, the paler the ink like black became.

Yu Lingxue’s home was on the twenty-fifth floor. Gazing into the distance from here, Yu Qingluan could only see scattered lights.

Only by looking downward could one glimpse the starlight of the human world.

In a short while, the buildings would gradually light up.

The view would soon be bright again.

“What are you looking at?” Yu Lingxue embraced her from behind.

Gently, she nibbled on her earlobe.

Yu Qingluan’s hand was also caught from behind, pulled back.

Yu Qingluan simply hoisted her onto her back.

She showed her, without reservation, the scenery she had been watching.

“I see you.” Yu Lingxue caught a glimpse of Yu Qingluan’s reflection in the glass.

She lay steadily on Yu Qingluan’s back, reaching out to draw a smiling face on the fogged-up glass.

“It doesn’t look like me,” Yu Qingluan commented.

Yu Lingxue had an eye for beauty but little artistic talent.

Whether it was painting or embroidery, her final works always resembled those of a kindergarten child.

Only Yu Qingluan could find them cute. Even Yu Lingxue’s own mother couldn’t bring herself to praise them.

“But it’s cute,” Yu Lingxue insisted, finding it adorable herself.

She drew it precisely because she thought it was cute.

Big eyes, a small mouth such a bright, smiling face, very much like her darling little bird.

“Mhm,” Yu Qingluan couldn’t help but curve her eyes into a smile.

Her own smile bloomed on the glass, merging with the haphazardly drawn smiley face.

Their breaths gradually sealed Yu Lingxue’s drawing once more.

“Cough.” Yu Lingxue wanted to say something but suddenly furrowed her brows tightly.

Yu Qingluan immediately set her down, holding her close and patting her back to help her catch her breath.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Qingluan knew all too well how frail Yu Lingxue’s health was.

Especially with winter approaching.

Last winter, in just three months, Yu Lingxue had been to the hospital twelve times.

On average, once a week. Three of those twelve visits were due to coughing up blood.

The rest were for various colds and fevers.

She had stubbornly refused to be hospitalized. Later, she heard that her family had come and scolded her for it.

That was why, during that incident in the fire this autumn, she had succumbed to her family’s pressure and agreed to be hospitalized.

Yu Qingluan never asked Yu Lingxue why she insisted on avoiding the hospital.

But at the very least, she hoped Yu Lingxue would pay more attention to her own health.

“It’s nothing.” Yu Lingxue took a few deep breaths.

She hated her body.

How long had they even kissed? Was it enough to cause such a reaction?

Winter again.

Back in autumn, after their wild night together, she hadn’t even coughed up blood.

“Don’t push yourself. Do you have medicine? I’ll heat it for you.” Yu Qingluan helped Yu Lingxue sit on the sofa.

Yu Lingxue merely tugged at her sleeve.

“I’m fine,” she forced a weak smile at Yu Qingluan.

Yu Qingluan’s heart clenched sharply. She leaned down and pinched Yu Lingxue’s cheek.

“Sister.” Yu Qingluan rarely called her that.

It was the most common term of endearment among lesbians, but Yu Qingluan found it too cloying, preferring instead the clear, crisp sound of her lover’s name.

Yu Lingxue was clearly startled by the address, her eyes filled with confusion and an unconscious flicker of delight.

“Where’s the medicine?” Yu Qingluan fixed her gaze on her eyes.

Unable to withstand her intensity, Yu Lingxue confessed obediently.

“Second shelf of the fridge. It’s already prepared just heat it up.” Yu Lingxue turned her face away but stole a glance at Yu Qingluan’s eyes.

Yu Qingluan mimicked her, giving her cheek a gentle pinch. “I’ll go heat the medicine.”

Yu Lingxue reclined lazily on the sofa.

The room was so quiet.

The only sounds she could hear were Yu Qingluan heating her medicine in the kitchen.

The spoon clinking against the porcelain bowl, the kettle steaming.

Scissors snipping open a sealed packet, water pouring into the bowl.

Even the faintest background noise sparked her imagination.

It was as if she were right there, watching Yu Qingluan at work.

How strange.

She had long regained her mobility and hadn’t needed to rely on sounds to envision scenes for quite some time.

Yet now, the unnoticed ambient noises she once overlooked became strikingly vivid.

Each one served as proof of that person’s presence.

Yu Lingxue slowly closed her eyes.

She really did seem a little tired.

If Yu Qingluan was here, perhaps she could allow herself a moment of rest, couldn’t she?

By the time Yu Qingluan emerged from the kitchen with the medicine, Yu Lingxue appeared to have already fallen asleep.

Yu Qingluan sighed softly and moved closer to her.

She had even prepared a small bowl of steamed egg custard, but who would have thought,

Maybe Yu Lingxue was just a bit worn out. After all, they had been rather energetic that afternoon.

Those with weaker constitutions tired more easily than others.

Just as Yu Qingluan reached out to carry Yu Lingxue to the bedroom, her eyes fluttered open.

“Hmm?” came a drowsy, muffled murmur.

“Sleep or take your medicine?” Yu Qingluan, charmed by her, brushed the tip of her nose against Yu Lingxue’s cheek.

She gently tucked away the stray strands of hair that had fallen across her lips.

Yu Lingxue wrapped her arms around Yu Qingluan’s neck. “I don’t want to sleep, and I don’t want the medicine.”

“Be good, little sister.” Yu Qingluan held her with one arm and picked up the medicine bowl with the other.

“It’s not too hot, but don’t drink it too quickly.”

Yu Lingxue tilted her head back. “No.”

“I’ll give you a reward after you finish.” Yu Qingluan used the same coaxing tone one would use with a child.

Surprisingly, it worked.

Yu Lingxue opened her eyes, glanced at Yu Qingluan’s posture, then relaxed again, opening her mouth to be fed.

And so, Yu Qingluan patiently fed her the medicine, sip by sip.

Chinese medicine was always bitter.

But Yu Lingxue was used to it didn’t bother her anymore.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Yu Qingluan’s glowing presence and thought:

If Yu Qingluan could always coax her like this while she took her medicine, maybe she wouldn’t dislike it so much.

What a pity.

Only Yu Qingluan resonated with her on this wavelength; only Yu Qingluan had this much patience.

“What’s my reward?” Baby Xue, having finished her medicine, now sought her treat from her “doting mother.”

Yu Qingluan brought out the steamed egg custard she had made.

Yu Lingxue took it and didn’t even wait for Yu Qingluan to feed her.

“Didn’t you make any for yourself?” Only after finishing did Yu Lingxue remember to ask.

“No, I’m not hungry.” Yu Qingluan had eaten quite a lot at lunch.

Out of awkwardness, out of frustration.

Even after all the activity that afternoon, she still felt fine.

“You should still have something for dinner. I’ll ask the housekeeper to bring something over.” Yu Lingxue spoke and then nestled into Yu Qingluan’s embrace.

“Alright.” Yu Qingluan had originally thought about cooking herself.

After dinner, the two freshened up and curled up together under the covers.

The life Yu Qingluan had dreamed of day and night last month had finally become reality.

She held Yu Lingxue tightly, unwilling to let go, their cheeks pressed close, fingers interlaced.

Their warm breaths misted in the air before dissipating.

Yu Lingxue suddenly spoke.

“Little Bird, where’s the gift you promised me?”

Yu Qingluan looked at her; in the darkness, her eyes sparkled like scattered diamonds.

“All you care about is the gift, isn’t it?” Yu Qingluan knew that wasn’t true, which was why she dared to tease.

“Not at all.” Yu Lingxue held her tighter.

“I’m not like this with anyone else.”

Hearing her soft breaths, Yu Qingluan wrapped her arms more securely around her back.

The vest was as warm as sitting by a fire. Yu Lingxue’s eyelashes fluttered slightly before she pressed her face against Yu Qingluan’s.

“I have a gift for you too. You can take it when you wake up tomorrow.”

Her eyelashes tickled Yu Qingluan, making her chuckle softly. “Alright. Goodnight, my Lingxue.”

She truly believed it.

She loved her.

The next day, Yu Qingluan took the gift and brought the one she had prepared for Yu Lingxue.

Yu Lingxue’s reaction was exactly as Yu Qingluan had expected.

She clung to her, coquettish and overjoyed, her hair practically wagging like a tail.

Then, they sealed the moment with a kiss.

Stepping into the warmth and softness of the bed.

For the next half month, their days and nights were just like that.

Except on weekends, when Yu Qingluan had to go home to spend time with her mother, and the two couldn’t stay overnight together.

Yu Lingxue would send her messages, and Yu Qingluan would reply whenever she had a moment.

It felt like she was truly in love.

While embroidering clothes for the New Year, Yu Qingluan couldn’t help but let a smile curl at the corners of her lips.

Yu Shuhua watched her quietly from the side.

Saying nothing.

When Yu Qingluan realized she was losing her composure, she would pretend nothing had happened, pursing her lips.

But the light in her eyes was impossible to conceal.

Until Yu Lingxue became busy again.

She made a call to Yu Qingluan.

“Little Bird, I’m going to be a bit busy from now on and won’t be able to see you every day.” Yu Lingxue was waiting for someone outside Chu City Airport.

“Ah, take care of yourself,” Yu Qingluan mulled over Yu Lingxue’s words.

She couldn’t possibly keep Yu Lingxue by her side all the time.

“Don’t overwork yourself, and”

“I’ll let you know when I have time,” Yu Lingxue cut her off.

Yu Qingluan could only chuckle softly.

After hanging up, Yu Lingxue spotted her relatives and nodded in greeting.

“Lingxue, sister.” A little girl around five years old was being held in their arms. Upon seeing Yu Lingxue, the girl stretched her arms out toward her.

It seemed she wanted to leap down and run into Yu Lingxue’s embrace.

But she couldn’t walk on her own and had to be carried.

“Jian Xi.” By blood, she was Yu Lingxue’s cousin.

But Yu Lingxue had practically watched Yu Jian Xi grow up, and their bond was as strong as that of biological sisters.

Like Yu Lingxue, her cousin was born prematurely and fragile.

Back then, even the most experienced doctors in the Yu family were mobilized.

Even Yu Lingxue, then in high school, had gone to see her.

It had taken immense effort to save Yu Jian Xi.

Her situation was exactly like Yu Lingxue’s had been.

Except Yu Lingxue’s condition had been slightly more critical. Jian Xi’s was just a tad better.

As they grew older, their situations reversed.

Now, Yu Lingxue could at least move independently, though she was still frail and prone to illness.

Yu Jian Xi, however, couldn’t even manage the simplest act of walking.

This time, it was only because Li Ran had heard about Jian Xi’s condition and offered to examine her that Yu Lingxue asked her aunt to bring Jian Xi to Chu City.

“You have to listen to your sister, understand?” Her mother was earnestly instructing her.

Jian Xi, still young-minded, listened one moment and did as she pleased the next.

She wasn’t paying serious attention.

“Auntie, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”

Otherwise, Yu Lingxue wouldn’t have chosen Li Ran as her mentor in the first place.

Looking at her sister was like looking at herself.

Or perhaps like looking at one of her patients.

To her, Jian Xi was someone she needed to care for and take responsibility for.

If only Li Ran could truly alleviate Jian Xi’s weakness and pain.

Over there, her aunt was still earnestly reminding her daughter.

Yu Lingxue’s mother placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I heard you asked to break off the engagement with Wen Ying?”