Waterbound Love - Chapter 1

“Sisi likes you.” The tone was very calm, but Du Bai knew that Yunyun, who was in her arms, was very nervous. Maybe Yunyun herself didn’t even realize that when she was nervous and made mistakes, she would unconsciously clutch the corner of her clothes. At this moment, Du Bai found this woman incredibly adorable and couldn’t resist the urge to tease her.

“Yeah, she is quite pretty, but a bit rowdy. I still think the girl next to her is better; her name is Wei Jia, right?” Seeing someone so serious, Lian Yinyun suddenly felt very wronged. She bit her lip tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

Du Bai was immediately flustered. “Hey, baby, don’t cry, don’t cry. I haven’t even finished yet. No matter how beautiful they are, they’re someone else’s wife, which has nothing to do with me. My favorite is someone who keeps shooting me those sweet, electric glances,” she said.

Du Bai sounded very convincing, and Lian Yinyun’s tears turned into laughter. Du Bai thought to herself, no wonder Yunnan¹ is experiencing a drought-these women can open the floodgates at the drop of a hat. Luckily, we don’t have to pay for water, or I’d go bankrupt.

“Baby, you need to be punished,” Du Bai said seriously. After working so hard to cheer her up, she needed to claim her own share. She wasn’t willing to be harsh, but she could be gentle. She was sure she could handle this woman.

“You are mine. You bit this lip so hard just now, and it broke my heart. I need to comfort them.” With that, she planted a kiss on Lian Yinyun’s slightly flushed cheek.

The autumn leaves gently fluttered to the ground, and the sunset combined with the fallen leaves painted an air of melancholy. Occasionally, a playful breeze would bring about a lively dance. Everything looked so serene and beautiful, of course, if only Du Bai leaning against the tree didn’t have such an impatient expression; if only Sisi standing beside her didn’t look so arrogant.

After a long pause, Sisi, realizing that Du Bai wouldn’t speak first, broke the silence.

“Du Bai, I’m into you. You have to leave Lian Yinyun and be with me.” She finished her sentence, tilting her head up arrogantly. Du Bai could even see a dark mass inside her nostrils, a wave of disgust washing over her.

Furrowing her brows, Du Bai pondered how this woman had the audacity to be so brazen-was it just because of her oversized, flashy attire?

“Oh, you really think highly of yourself, but that’s a bit overboard for me to handle. You better keep all that admiration to yourself, instead of thinking you can just hand it over to me.”

Du Bai couldn’t care less who she was. There were two things she hated most in life: first, people showing off in front of her for no reason, commonly known as being pretentious; second, bad-mouthing Lian Yinyun, whom she cherished dearly. Suggesting that they break up was asking for trouble.

“Hey, how can you talk like that?” Sisi frowned. “In terms of family background, looks, and education, what does she have over me? You and I together are a perfect match. Her family? A single cough from me would have them scrambling for months,” Sisi said as she moved closer to Du Bai.

Looking at the red spaghetti strap top in front of her, Du Bai was speechless. Had this woman left home in a hurry?

People say she’s all bust and no brains, and she hates to hear it. Even her lines are such cliches-couldn’t she search online for some new ones? Even TV dramas don’t use these anymore. “Who knew you had tuberculosis? Go home and deal with your disease. If you dare touch Lian Yinyun, you’ll never stop coughing for the rest of your life.” With a stern face, Du Bai’s normally flirtatious eyes were cold under the sunlight’s reflection.

Leaning her tall, slender body against the tree to ease some weight off, Du Bai lit a cigarette and watched as Sisi shivered. Was she scared, angry, or just cold? At this point, Du Bai felt she was exceptionally calm, even having the mind to ponder such things.

Blowing a puff of smoke towards Sisi, Du Bai said, “Remember to stay away from me.” Watching Sisi shiver even more and stutter useless protests, Du Bai realized she was indeed thoroughly infuriated.

“Du Bai, don’t be so smug. Do you believe I’ll go to her house and spill all your secrets? I don’t think her mom will accept your relationship. When things get dire, it won’t be me who suffers.”

Seeing Sisi’s smug face pretending to be calm, Du Bai wanted to slap her. So you want to play games with me, huh? Show you some kindness, and you think I’m a pushover?

“So you’ve grown up, threatening people now? If you want to continue in this circle, you better behave. You know what I’m capable of. Don’t forget, even if I ruin you, your dad would still have to apologize to my family.” With that, she stubbed out her cigarette and walked away.

Those who knew Du Bai understood that when she called herself “master,” you better get as far away as possible, or you’d be begging for time to write a will. Sisi was terrified by that fierceness. She stood there, open-mouthed, unable to speak, and then shouted defiantly at Du Bai’s retreating figure.

These scenes were observed by calm eyes, where a fleeting ambition flickered.

To survive smoothly in this world, don’t be overconfident. When you think you’ve grasped someone’s weakness and believe everything is safe, don’t forget to clear the area around that weakness.

“Hey, you came back without a word, so I could pick you up.” Du Bai patted Shen Yan’s shoulder and sat down in the empty seat next to her.

Their grandfathers were old comrades, and the two of them had grown up together in the same compound, sharing secrets and a bond as close as wearing the same pants.

“This is for you,” Shen Yan glanced at Du Bai and tossed a box to her.

Du Bai shook it by her ear. “What’s inside, being so mysterious?” Opening it, she saw a bracelet of vivid green jade, emitting a gentle glow under the dim bar lights. Even Du Bai, an amateur, could tell it was a fine piece.

“Quite a gesture you have there, giving out Colorful Yunnan jade bracelets,” Du Bai said, moving it around in the light. “Too bad I don’t have much use for it.” She then put it back in the box, intending to return it.

Shen Yan pushed her hand away with one hand, stopping her, “No, it’s for your wife. She’s done a great job keeping you in line all this time. Consider it a token of appreciation from the leader.”

When Du Bai brought up Lian Yinyun, a sweet smile spread across her lips, yet she couldn’t help but maintain her pride. “The way you say it, it sounds like you’re having an affair with my wife.”

She then asked the bartender for a glass of X.O. vsop. Du Bai couldn’t understand why, after all these years, Lian still had a preference for Tequila. It was bizarre-his oddity wasn’t just a fleeting phase, but it seemed like it would last for many more years, a true spectacle.

The reason these two had such polarized opinions about Tequila stemmed from their childhood. They had watched “Born on the Fourth of July,” where in Mexico, each glass of Tequila comes with a worm soaked in it. The drinker is supposed to swallow the liquor and then spew out the worm fiercely. After watching it, Du Bai turned pale and shivered, while Shen Yan delivered the coup de grâce with a smack of her lips and a cool comment that left Du Bai wanting to either vomit blood herself or make Shen Yan do so.

“I’d rather steal you than your wife,” Shen Yan said with a wry smile. “Stealing you would just make my mom cry, cause a scene, and threaten to hang herself, followed by daily doses of political indoctrination and historical reviews. Meanwhile, your mom would be grateful to the heavens, praying and burning incense.” She finished with a bitter laugh. “If I stole your wife, you’d probably chop me to pieces without even bothering to collect my body.”

Du Bai knew she was recalling that time. If Shen Ai… she wondered if Shen Yan would still tread so cautiously in life. Du Bai didn’t burst her bubble, instead, she continued to joke, “Oh, so you want to switch to my side now? If you ensure my safety, I’ll give you a chance.” Du Bai and Shen Yan had been friends for many years, always mixing humor with seriousness without taking it to heart. Whether this was Du Bai’s fortune or Shen Yan’s tragedy was hard to say.

“Who would dare to mess with you? I have to look at you with respect, undistracted, not averting my eyes, bowing and bending the knee,” Shen Yan said, and with a bitter smile, she downed her Tequila.

“Warmth, don’t pretend you don’t know, your wife is famously fierce,” Du Bai commented after sipping her X.O.

“We split up. Once we get off the plane, it’s back to our own homes, back to our own mothers,” she added nonchalantly.

“Tinna, mix us a drink with Rum and Gin. We plan to get plastered on your turf tonight,” Du Bai declared. Tinna, like Shen Yan and Du Bai, grew up in the same neighborhood and opened the Somn theme bar together for the convenience of hanging out.

“People mooching off food is one thing, but you two drinking for free and still being so righteous about it is downright detestable. And you even dare to drink so brazenly?” Tinna said sharply, yet her hands expertly began mixing the drinks.

Shen Yan always knew this about Du Bai: if you don’t say anything, she absolutely won’t ask. But sometimes, Shen Yan wished she would ask, just to give her a chance to clarify things.

“Tinna, I know you’ve got a bottle of Extra stashed away. Actually, I quite like X.O.,” Shen Yan hinted.

Tinna raised an eyebrow, “Oh really, this kid knows too much. Eyeing up my stash, are you? You really have a death wish.” She was about to respond when she received a call and hurried out.

“You got lucky,” Tinna shrugged.

Watching Shen Yan pouring drinks, she shook her head, “You’ve got it rough, buddy.”

The car seemed intent on pushing its limits, relentlessly shifting and accelerating. The tightly pursed lips of the driver declared her current agitation, an unspoken command for all red lights and roadblocks to get out of her way. Du Bai was only aware that Yunyun was crying. She must have been scared and helpless, and damned if she wasn’t there by her side.

Spotting Lian Yinyun by the roadside, Du Bai got out of the car, rushed over, and fiercely pulled her into a tight embrace. “There, there, baby, I’m here now, everything’s going to be alright, no more tears. It hurts my heart to see you like this.” Suppressing the tremble in her voice, Du Bai buried her head in the nape of Lian Yinyun’s neck, rubbing her soft, fine hair and inhaling the faint fragrance.

It seemed like Lian Yinyun, exhausted from crying, intermittently sobbed in Du Bai’s arms.

Looking at her precious one finally relaxing in her embrace, Du Bai softly asked, “Baby, what made you cry so hard?” This question inadvertently stirred up the grievances and anger that Lian Yinyun had been suppressing, causing her to break free from Du Bai’s embrace and start crying again. “Are you happy now? I’ve been thrown out of my house.”

Du Bai’s eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown, confused by the sudden outburst, “Baby, what are you talking about? I don’t quite understand.”

“You don’t understand? Well, that’s just great,” Lian Yinyun wiped her tears away. “You were the one who pursued me initially. I accepted being with you without any formal status, but let me tell you, Du Bai, being with you has been really tough, and you can’t just bully me like this. You can’t push everything onto me. You can’t be so irresponsible.”

Hearing Yunyun’s cries made Du Bai’s face turn pale. So, her own indifference didn’t mean that the other didn’t care. Did she really make Yunyun feel so burdened despite her careful affection?

Lian Yinyun couldn’t know what Du Bai was thinking. Seeing Du Bai silent, she assumed Du Bai was fed up, and her heart sank. Weighing her options, she decided to take a final stand, “Do you despise me so much that you won’t even explain yourself?” The tears she had stopped came flooding back. “Fine, Du Bai, I guess I misjudged you. Please don’t come looking for me anymore. I’ll handle my own issues without dragging you into them.” With that, she turned and ran.

She ran, but Lian Yinyun wasn’t confident in her heart whether Du Bai would come after her. Distracted in that moment, she heard Du Bai screaming-a sound filled with an unprecedented fear. The surrounding lights were so blinding that she couldn’t open her eyes, her mind went blank, and she didn’t know where she was. She felt a great force pushing her, and turning back, she saw Du Bai amid a pool of blood, the sinister red crawling over her pristine clothing, like flowers blooming from the life that seemed about to slip away. The world seemed to freeze around Lian Yinyun, and silence engulfed her ears.

Footnote:

1. Yunnan(云南):Yunnan is a province in China, located in the southwestern part of the country. It is known for its diverse geographical features and rich ethnic minority cultures. Additionally, Yunnan is famous for producing gemstones and jade.