Chapter 126

Tang Yaoyao, lying on the sofa, hung up the video call with her younger brother, sat up, stretched lazily, tidied up the trash bags in the living room and kitchen, and got ready to go downstairs to throw out the garbage.

Her home was on the tenth floor, with five households on each floor. One of the apartments had been vacant, but starting this afternoon, there had been quite a bit of noise coming from next door, as if a new tenant had moved in.

After throwing out the garbage and coming back, she saw the door to the neighboring apartment half open. Curious, she peeked inside, and by coincidence, made eye contact with the resident inside.

When she saw the person’s face clearly, Tang Yaoyao’s face lit up with surprise. She asked, “You’re… Jiang Ruyue!? How did you end up moving here?”

Jiang Ruyue also looked a bit surprised at her, then both pairs of fox-like eyes curved into smiles as she said, “What a coincidence! You live here too?”

“Yes, yes, what a coincidence.” Tang Yaoyao was quite happy too. She’d just met this friend yesterday, and today she’d moved in next door. It felt like fate. Smiling, she said, “Then we’ll be neighbors from now on. Have you eaten yet?”

“I’ve already eaten, thank you.” Jiang Ruyue smiled and asked, “Would you like to come in and sit for a while, have a cup of tea?”

Since she was at home, Tang Yaoyao didn’t think much of it. She happened to be a bit bored at home anyway, so she smiled and nodded, accepting her invitation.

After leading Tang Yaoyao to sit on the sofa, Jiang Ruyue stepped into the kitchen.

“I don’t usually have guests here, and since I just moved in, I don’t have any good tea.” Jiang Ruyue brewed some tea and brought it over, joking, “Don’t mind it, okay?”

“How could I? You’re too polite.” Tang Yaoyao quickly waved her hand, smiling as she spoke, and looked around at the decor in Jiang Ruyue’s home. Most of the furniture was in simple, warm colors, giving a cozy feeling, but for some reason, Tang Yaoyao felt there was a slight sense of discord.

After looking for a while, Tang Yaoyao’s gaze landed on a wall. There were no decorations on it, just some floral wall stickers, which made it seem a bit abrupt.

As if sensing her thoughts, Jiang Ruyue looked at the wall and sighed slightly, saying, “This wall was originally for hanging photos and such, but I don’t really have anything to hang. It wouldn’t do to just put up photos of myself, right?”

Tang Yaoyao suddenly understood and nodded. No wonder she felt something was off. At home, the walls were also hung with photos of her and her younger brother. Hearing this, Tang Yaoyao asked curiously, “What about your family?”

“I grew up in a welfare home and was later adopted by foster parents.” Jiang Ruyue sighed slightly and said, “Unfortunately, they passed away early too, and I didn’t even get the chance to repay them.”

Hearing the faint sadness in her tone, Tang Yaoyao felt a sense of empathy. How similar was this to her and Jin’s experience?

Her peach blossom eyes dimmed a little, and she said softly, “Sorry for making you recall sad memories.”

“It’s fine, it’s all in the past. People have to look forward.” Jiang Ruyue seemed to take it lightly, picked up her tea and took a sip, then began to talk about her past in a calm tone: “At least I got through all of that. After all, I still had my husband. He was like me, a child adopted by parents from the orphanage, two years younger than me.”

Not noticing Tang Yaoyao’s suddenly widened eyes, Jiang Ruyue’s expression inevitably showed a trace of grief as she said softly, “But later, my husband also passed away due to illness. He’d always been in poor health.”

“After that happened, I really couldn’t stay in that home any longer. It wasn’t fear, mainly I couldn’t stand the loneliness of being alone, so I moved out.”

After saying this, she smiled self-deprecatingly and said, “If I weren’t a psychologist, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to bear it either, and would have gone with them.”

“So I’m quite worried I might not be able to hold it together. That’s why this wall is empty-to avoid seeing things that would trigger my direct or indirect memories… what people call ‘seeing things and thinking of people.'”

Tang Yaoyao was stunned for quite a while before she finished processing all the information in her words. Her mood became extremely complicated. On one hand, someone had gone through the same thing as her and Jin, which gave her a sense of comfort and recognition. On the other hand, Jiang Ruyue’s extremely tragic experience made Tang Yaoyao feel sorry for her.

But most of all, she felt admiration for Jiang Ruyue. Whether it was her courage to talk about her feelings for her foster brother with outsiders, or her ability to face life with a smile after so many blows, Tang Yaoyao deeply admired this woman.

Because of all this, Tang Yaoyao’s fondness for her grew exponentially.

Jiang Ruyue wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and smiled, saying, “Oh, look at me, once I start talking about this, I can’t stop. Sorry to make you laugh.”

“No, no, I really admire you.” Tang Yaoyao quickly waved her hand, speaking sincerely.

After hearing about her experiences, the two became even closer, soon addressing each other as sisters. They chatted for a long time before Tang Yaoyao realized it was already past ten o’clock. She stood up, smiling, and said, “Then I’ll head back first. If you need anything since you’re new here, just call me anytime.”

“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll walk you out.” Jiang Ruyue smiled gently and saw Tang Yaoyao to the door.

Watching her return to her own home, Jiang Ruyue finally closed her door. As she turned around, the smile on her face quickly disappeared. She sighed with a bit of a headache. She could tell that Tang Yaoyao already trusted her a lot, but still hadn’t fully opened up to her, hadn’t told her about her and Tang Huaijin.

Jiang Ruyue walked to the bathroom, washed off the makeup that made her look a bit older, revealing a bare face that was seventy or eighty percent similar to Bai Yuerou. Her seductive fox-like eyes narrowed slightly as she pondered something.

……

Meanwhile, at the milk tea shop the two often visited, Xia Xinya was lazily leaning back in her seat, holding a cup of milk tea and absentmindedly scrolling through videos.

Compared to her, Bai Yuerou’s posture was much more ladylike. She sat upright in the chair opposite, also looking at her phone and typing.

Today was Xia Xinya’s first day having Bai Yuerou all to herself. She’d really taken Tang Huaijin’s words to heart, so as soon as school ended, she dragged Rou out for milk tea.

Usually, the two of them could chat and laugh over milk tea for an entire afternoon, but this time, for some reason, Xia Xinya was distracted, constantly switching screens and glancing at WeChat, wanting to know what that rascal was doing, but not knowing how to ask.

After hesitating for a long time, she still hadn’t figured out how to ask. Looking a bit dejected, she put down her phone, looked at Bai Yuerou sitting across from her, and said sweetly, “Rou, what are you doing?”

Bai Yuerou looked up, smiled gently, and said softly, “Chatting with Jin. What’s up, Xinya?”

“Oh, nothing.” Hearing this, Xia Xinya subconsciously glanced at her own phone on the table and muttered, “What does that rascal want with you again?”

“Nothing, Jin just arrived at the hotel and messaged me to let me know.” Bai Yuerou said with a smile. Feeling her phone vibrate again, she lowered her head to check her messages.

Seeing her like this, Xia Xinya knew it must be that rascal messaging her again. As soon as he got to the hotel, he started chatting with Rou. Tang Huaijin must really like Rou…

Thinking of this, she felt a little sad and, for some reason, didn’t want Bai Yuerou to keep chatting with him. She clung to Bai Yuerou’s arm and complained coquettishly, “Hey, we’re out having fun together, but you keep looking at your phone. It’s so boring. Don’t chat with him anymore, let’s go shopping, okay?”

Bai Yuerou smiled helplessly and said softly, “Aren’t I hanging out with you? Jin is my boyfriend, after all. I can’t just ignore his messages.”

But she also felt that it wasn’t good to be glued to her phone when out with a friend. Seeing the persistent Xia Xinya, she said playfully, “Alright, I’ll just let Jin know first.”

After she finished messaging and put her phone away, Xia Xinya finally breathed a sigh of relief, showing a happy smile as she dragged Bai Yuerou off to go shopping.

Watching the smile on her best friend’s face, Bai Yuerou sighed silently. She still couldn’t quite figure out Xia Xinya’s feelings.