Chapter Twenty-Five: Joy on the Steel Rope

  Even Sī Tù Jué couldn't understand how his relationship with Yáo Qǐyún had managed to slip under the radar of their elders, despite being so passionate and all-consuming. They had even managed to deceive her sharp and perceptive mother. Although they had agreed not to make their relationship public before graduation, for Qǐyún, his ultimate dream was to be able to openly acknowledge their love when he was financially stable and in a position to take responsibility for it. He longed to hold Jué's hand and stand proudly in front of her uncle and aunt, seeing the relief and joy in their eyes. For now, however, he had to suppress his feelings and wait patiently for that day to arrive. From Jué's perspective, agreeing to keep their relationship a secret was not only out of consideration for Qǐyún's feelings but also to eliminate any uncertainty from her parents before their emotions had stabilized, allowing them to savor more sweet moments together.

  They were determined to "hide" it, but the young lovers' affection was almost palpable through every pore of their skin, how could they easily conceal it? So sometimes they themselves felt guilty and suspected that Xue Shaoping had already seen through them, only to have other plans in mind and not speak out, until later a series of facts proved that although many acquaintances around them had already tacitly understood, but the two most intimate people, their parents, were truly kept in the dark, don't know if it's a joke or not.

  If we really analyze it thoroughly, the reason why they were able to get away with it wasn't because of their exceptional disguising skills, but rather because of Shi Tu Jiu An and Xue Shao Ping's busy schedules. At that time, Jiu An Tang was first busy accepting OTC certification, then successively merged several small pharmaceutical factories in the surrounding area that were not doing well, Shi Tu Jiu An and Xue Shao Ping put all their energy into the company's business, and they didn't pay as much attention to their two children who were already grown up. Furthermore, Yao Qi Yun's performance over a long period of time had slowly dispelled Xue Shao Ping's worries, making her also believe that he had no ulterior motives towards her daughter, and there wouldn't be any ambiguous relationship between the two children. Additionally, with Shi Tu Yue having something to hold onto, and Yao's aunt who was naturally protective of her nephew occasionally covering for them in their daily lives, this situation came to be. Looking back, perhaps they themselves couldn't tell whether it was fortunate or unfortunate.

  But if you ask Yao Qiyun and Situ Xuan at that time, it would be a matter of seeking but not getting. Even without words, the faint smile on their lips and the joy in the corners of their eyes were enough to explain everything. Many times, they were sitting upright with their parents watching TV, talking about current events and family news, and in an instant, in the deserted corner, the two of them would be entwined together like hungry and thirsty people.

  He was cautious and steady, although this sudden sweetness disrupted the rhythm of his life, making him unable to follow the old routine. He couldn't forget a phrase his biological father said when he was young: "A person's happiness is like water in a cup, no matter how deep or shallow, it's predetermined. Drinking one mouthful means there's one less mouthful." He feared that if he was too eager and thirsty, he would accidentally drain the cup and exhaust his remaining good fortune prematurely. So, like a child holding a cup of water, he couldn't bear to drink it all at once, yet hoped to save some for later, and could only carefully sip it, constantly reminding himself not to be extravagant.

  Cai Tuo Ke didn't care about these things, compared to Yao Qi Yun, she was like a person who grew up with her back against the river, not needing to look back, and being confident that there would be an endless supply of clear water behind her. But what she wanted wasn't water, but rather a fiery passion. Except when in front of her parents, where she still had some reservations, at other times, she was so unrestrained, just like Yao Qi Yun's nemesis, the more he endured, the more she wanted him to go crazy.

  The two first tasted the forbidden fruit, only separated by a thin door from Xue Shaoping who was passing by. This was enough to make Yao Qiyun's soul unsettled, but since then, Situ Xuan seemed to be addicted to that secret and stimulating game mode. Every time, she refused to obey, choosing places like the deserted corridor on the top floor of the laboratory at night, or the cold and quiet bathroom in the mall, or even her small room on a Sunday afternoon while Yao Aunt was walking back and forth outside doing housework. Even before an important exam, the two were together at his desk making last-minute preparations, Yao Qiyun knew Situ Xuan was always competitive, never willing to lose to others in big or small exams, so he played the role of "questioner" responsibly, asking and answering smoothly. She spoke perfect answers, and somehow her breath was close to his ear...

  There have been some thrilling moments, the most critical one being when the two were in Qiyun's room and things were getting intense, but they heard the sound of Sutu Ji'an and his wife returning home early. Xue Shaoping knew that Qiyun didn't have class that afternoon and was at home, so as soon as she entered the door, she called him out to try some fresh northern fruits sent by a client. The two people in the room hastily ended things and were shocked, but it was Sutu Yue's "escape route" set up in the window years ago that saved them. She seized the opportunity to slip out and wandered around outside for a while before pretending to return home alone. As soon as she entered the door, she saw them sitting on the sofa. Her mother scolded her for coming back too late, and her father turned his head and asked Qiyun, "I've noticed that Sutu Yue hasn't been home much lately, you two are in the same school, can you keep an eye on her? Has she been up to anything unusual?"

  "Sima Yi angrily retorted: 'Is reading books in the library considered a bad thing to do? In this whole world, only your family's Cloud Qiaobao is the most well-behaved.'"

  Yao Qiyun could only lean against the table, peeling fruit for her, to hide his own embarrassment. He replied to Mr. and Mrs. Situ, "She's fine." However, how could he pretend to forget that the most restless person the Situs wanted him to "keep an eye on" was precisely the one who had not long ago been in his arms.

  This matter was later laughed at by Situ Xin, and in the face of her unorthodox and provocative behavior, Yao Qiyun did not hesitate to warn her many times after the fact, but more often reminded himself, saying: "Don't do this again next time." She nodded, but next time, next next time, his awakening always only occurred after the fact.

  He truly felt the fear of a thief, but when she finally left and never came back, he chose to forgive his own recklessness at that time. The only truly carefree and happy moments in his life were just this period. What can't be done? Why can't it be done? He was infatuated with the thrill of walking on thin ice, swaying precariously in mid-air, even if that thrill was dangerous, at least she was by his side at that time.

  Not many people in the school knew about their relationship, only a small number of classmates from both sides found out about the family relationship behind them through occasional comings and goings. However, there were also many who held speculative and suspicious attitudes. Coincidentally, Situ Xuan was also a popular figure in the school, a hot topic among boys when they gathered together. Yao Qiyun often heard from others that a certain Ph.D. student from a neighboring school had a crush on her, or that a genius from a certain department boasted that he would definitely conquer her within a year with his grand words.

  What's even more bizarre is that in the lab, you can also hear unfamiliar girls whispering to each other about her "romantic affairs", saying that she secretly got into a middle-aged man's luxury car one day, no wonder she usually wears and uses expensive stuff, and just a few days ago someone saw her lingering around a famous nightclub at midnight.

  Yao Qiyun naturally knew that the middle-aged man who drove a good car was Mr. Situ, who happened to be on his way to pick up his daughter and take her home. He also knew that although Situ Yu was outgoing and loved making friends, enjoying lively gatherings, playing badminton, watching movies, singing KTV with a big crowd, she wasn't the type to get drunk at a PUB. Apart from family upbringing, it was largely because she had a very low tolerance for alcohol - just one bowl of egg drop soup could make her face turn bright red, let alone frequenting nightclubs as rumored.

  It was true that they were seen lingering around the nightclub that night, but the inside story was a bit complicated and hard to talk about. Yao Qiyun and Si Tuyue were inseparable in private, but no matter how bold they were, their motto of "safety first" couldn't be forgotten. So buying certain "necessities" became something that no one else could do for them. Although they went together, they still had thin faces, so the pharmacy they chose was naturally the farther from home and school the better. When they arrived at the entrance of the pharmacy, Si Tuyue refused to go in with him, so he could only wait alone not far away, and the place where he stopped was just near the nightclub that was rumored.

  This kind of rumor had reached Yao Qiyun's ears more than once or twice, but he was always low-key and never argued with strangers, no matter how absurd their words were. When it came to Situ Xue, he understood that some people would not let go of gossip even if they were far away from it. Although it felt strange to hear unfamiliar things about the person he knew best from others, all he could do was smile and let it go. As for acquaintances in school who asked about their relationship or tried to get details about Situ Xue's life from him, he would just laugh it off without saying much. He found it amusing that sometimes when he exchanged greetings with Tan Shaochen or chatted with a certain female classmate who came to "consult" him on problems, Situ Xue would find out and make a big fuss, leaving him dizzy and deafened. If he were to follow suit and be so particular, he feared that he would never have a moment's peace again.

  Of course, no matter how he disguised himself in front of others, Situ Xuan was never evasive in front of Wu Jiang. In fact, soon after Situ Xuan and Yao Qiyun became more intimate, they appeared together in front of Wu Jiang. Although the parties involved didn't say anything, Wu Jiang somehow saw something from their conversation and eye contact, and couldn't help but smile slyly. Fortunately, at that time, under Wu Jiang's sincere efforts, his relationship with Qu Xiaowen, who had been keeping him at arm's length, also made subtle progress, so Wu Jiang didn't have the leisure to indulge his curiosity and dig deeper into Situ Xuan and Yao Qiyun's "illicit affair".

  At that time, Wu Jiang's taste, musical literacy and even his movie preferences had a qualitative "leap". Si Tu Jue discovered that he originally loved Chow Sing Chi the most, but now he bought VCDs of Russian niche films at home, closed the door and created cars. In the past, he would grab the comic book "City Hunter" with her, but now he reads Nietzsche and the original version of the sonnet collection.

  Situ Xuan gazed at Wu Jiang's purely logical head with ill intentions and asked, "You're looking very serious, but do you understand what you're seeing?"

  Wu Jiang smiled and replied: "This can only be understood intuitively, but cannot be explained in words."

  Situ Xuan saw this and could only sigh in front of Yao Qiyun: "That guy is like he's possessed, he's learned that pretentious energy to perfection."

  That's not all, what Sito Yan couldn't stand the most was that Wu Jiang would hold the microphone from start to finish and sing loudly during KTV sessions, singing songs that Qu Xiaoyan liked but others had never heard of. He would also drag Sito Yan along with him every time, making her evaluate his "deep emotional performance" as an audience member. Sito Yan was so annoyed that she couldn't take it anymore, and Wu Jiang seemed to think it wasn't enough, always humming those tunes in her ear on a daily basis. On the eve of her collapse, she ordered him to stop immediately, and he cooperated very well, changing his song to "Where is Spring? Where is Spring......" In the end, for everyone's safety, Sito Yan had no choice but to make up her mind to stay away from Wu Jiang for a while.

  Even if Yao Qiyun, who doesn't like socializing, can become familiar with the friends around her under the influence of Si Tu Jue, Wu Jiang seems to have found his spring in Qu Xiaowen, but Qu Xiaowen rarely joins his friend group. Not only does she never appear at various gatherings, but even when Wu Jiang is playing with them, she usually calls him away midway through a phone call.

  Situ Xue laughed and said that Wu Jiang didn't have any sense of shame when talking about romance, Wu Jiang just smiled and didn't refute her, but instead asked her to keep his relationship with Qu Xiaowen a secret. It wasn't until then that Situ Xue realized she was one of the few people who knew about their relationship. She and Yao Qiyun tried to cover up their relationship due to special family circumstances, but Wu Jiang's reason for keeping it a secret was something Situ Xue couldn't understand. According to Wu Jiang, the specific reason wasn't even his mother's fortune-telling that the girl would die young, but rather Qu Xiaowen's wish for him to keep it a secret, and he didn't ask why.

  Such a thing would only happen on Wu Jiang's body, and Situ Xuan could only respond with a speechless white eye.

  "I don't get it, are people these days only talking about illicit love affairs? Can this kind of thing even happen?" It was another beautiful weekend afternoon with no parents at home, and Situ Xue was lying on Yao Qiyun's bed, resting her head on his thigh, saying this with some confusion. She thought for a moment, then shook him excitedly, "Hey, what if there's really nothing between Qu Xiaowen and Wu Jiang, and that guy is just hallucinating, everything is just his own fantasy? Ah, he must be seriously ill, what to do?"

  Yao Qiyun, who had just been swept away by the passionate tide, leaned against the headboard, holding a professional book and reading it drowsily. She was suddenly disturbed and could only laugh: "You, don't always make wild guesses in unreliable places."

  "That's a reasonable inference, do you have evidence to refute it?" Situ Xuan flipped over and lay horizontally on him, propping up his chin to ask.

  Yao Qiyun adjusted her body to a comfortable angle, leaning against herself, and said in a low voice: "Then tell me, is Situ Xuan also someone I imagined?"

  Situ Xuan chuckled and said, "But considering Qu Xiaojuan's personality, it's not surprising that she doesn't like to hang out with us. She thinks herself is so noble, of course, she wouldn't associate with common people. What does she think is not common? Wu Jiang told me that he has been criticized by Qu Xiaojuan from head to toe as a collection of commonness, even his father's promotion to a high-ranking official was considered vulgar by Qu Xiaojuan. Haha, thinking of Wu Jiang's helpless expression makes me laugh, I wonder if her famous teacher Zou is considered common in her eyes?"

  "That won't happen, if her temper was really as you said, someone who could make her surrender would never be able to make her complain in private." Yao Qiyun said: "Right, didn't you quite like Professor Zhou's class?"

  Xu Jue nodded, "That's right, he teaches clearly and logically, his words are substantial, and he's quite pleasant to listen to. Why wouldn't I like him? What I really can't stand is some of our old professors in the department who can't even speak Mandarin clearly, it's like they're mumbling on stage. However, Professor Zou Jin's classes have many students from other departments coming to audit, and if you arrive a bit late, you'll have to sit in the corner. And don't let his gentle demeanor fool you, when it comes to attendance, he's very strict, missing two roll calls means no final exam qualification, and every year there are many people who fail under him, we all say he's the number one killer of the Pharmacy Department."

  "Didn't you get a high score in microbiology last semester under him?"

  "That score wasn't easy to get, I almost turned into a panda when I was reviewing, it's too cruel, the key points he marked were almost not tested at all, if it weren't for people like me who insist on reading the whole book, it would be really hard to pass."

  "I heard that Qu Xiaowen was also one of the top students in your department when she was an undergraduate."

  "Hmm, if Professor Zou is still accepting master's students, I'll take the exam and become his student too, so we can spend more time together on campus. What do you think?"

  Yao Qiyun hadn't spoken yet, when another noise came from the tightly closed door, as if Yao Auntie's mop had bumped into something while cleaning. This afternoon, since Situ Xuan entered the room, these big and small noises had hardly stopped.

  Situ Xuan pointed to the door, made a ghostly face, and Yao Qiyun smiled knowingly. He looked at his watch, put down the book in his hand, and pulled her up from his body. "Let's go, it's boring to stay here, let's go out for a walk."

  "Really?" Situ Xuan's eyes sparkled with excitement. To know, usually Yao Qiyun rarely goes out for a stroll, and it was unprecedented that he would take the initiative to go out with her in broad daylight. She quickly tidied up her clothes and hair, and walked out with him in front of Aunt Yao.

  Situ Xuanren reached the door and still heard behind him, Yao Aunt saying to Qi Yun with some worry: "You guys are going out now? It's not early anymore. Her dad and mom said they would come back for dinner today."

  Yao Qiyun replied calmly, "I know." Then he left with Situ Xuan.

  They took the bus at the intersection, got off after more than a dozen stops and transferred. Away from the cars and roads near their home, they started holding hands. The bus heading to the west of the city was not particularly crowded, so Situ Xuan pulled Yao Qiyun to sit in the last row. As the bus drove further and further away from the bustling streets, the carriage became emptier and emptier, and the scenery outside the window became more and more unfamiliar, but Situ Xuan never asked him where he was taking her, her purpose was just to lean on his side without a purpose.

  She started secretly kissing his mouth corners when the sunset outside the window fell in another direction. At first, he lightly dodged and tightly grasped her hand, saying "Don't mess around." And when the evening glow at the horizon turned from orange to crimson, they shared a passionate kiss in the last row of the nearly empty bus, until the bus stopped at the terminal station, and the driver let out a faint cough, then Yao Qiyun hastily pulled Si Tuyue down the bus.

  That was a new district in the west of the city that had just been developed, and the straight and spacious streets under the deep autumn sunset were like an oil painting with a warm yellow tone. Xīu Yuè, who was born and raised in this city, also felt a bit novel, and only then did he say: "What are we doing here?"

  "I told you, let's go for a walk." Yao Qiyun's response was still in that tone.

  Situ Xuan kicked away a small stone on the blind path, raised his head and suddenly said, "Why don't I close my eyes and let you lead me to see where you'll take me?"

  She said and stopped her footsteps with her eyes tightly closed. Yao Qiyun lowered his head and waved his hand in front of her eyes, "Is it true or not, don't peek."

  "If you don't look, then just don't look."

  Situ Xuan immediately felt that he had taken her hand again, and for some reason, without the obstruction of sight, she felt a sense of security in his firm grip. Under Yao Qiyun's lead, they walked slowly past two intersections and finally stopped somewhere. Yao Qiyun asked Situ Xuan to wait for him for a moment, and then a few meters away, he had a low-voiced conversation with a stranger. Situ Xuan couldn't help but feel curious, and she secretly opened her eyes to take a peek. It was an unassuming, low-roofed house, with a dusty sign in the corner that read "Jade for sale, material processing". Yao Qiyun seemed to have handed over some money to someone in the store, who then handed him something indistinguishable.

  Before he turned around, Situ Xin hurriedly closed his eyes again. When he walked over to her side, she asked with full of expectation: "What were you doing just now?"

  Yao Qiyun replied quickly: "Nothing."

  "What are we going to do now?" She had to keep asking.

  "Go back."

  He really just pulled her along as if nothing had happened, and they walked back a few steps. Xīng Tuò was not having it this time, he let go of his hand, opened his eyes and said: "You're cheating me, I clearly saw you just trading something with that person."

  "Also said not to peek." Yao Qiyun smiled, "Oh, you're talking about the deal just now, I sold you and exchanged some things."

  "Xīng Tuò also dragged out his voice and said: 'Oh, so that's how it is.' As she spoke, she suddenly became agitated and pounced on the hand behind him. 'At least I have the right to see what I can get in exchange for selling myself, don't I?'"

  He dodged, but still let her get it easily. Situ Xuan quickly opened the simple packaging, and inside was a jade bangle.

  Situ Xue's maternal grandfather loved collecting, and his favorite was jade. The "Xue" in her name was also given by him, referring to a half-ring-shaped jade with a flaw. In his words, having a daughter is like having jade, but too much of it can be a bad thing, good jade is fragile, so taking a "Xue" is a kind of compensation, just like poor families in the past giving their children humble names for good fortune, hoping she would have a smooth life. Under such family influence, Situ Xue still had some discerning eye for jade. But with just one glance, she could tell that the material of the jade bangle was not only subpar, but almost like the lowest quality suet jade.

  She suppressed the astonishment in her heart, picked up the bangle and examined it against the fading light of the sky, "Since I exchanged for it, it must be a treasure that can topple cities and countries, I want to take a closer look."

  Yao Qiyun heard this and burst out laughing, "Situ Xuan, oh Situ Xuan, you really do think highly of yourself."

  As they spoke, Situ Xuan had managed to put on the cuff with some effort, and shook his wrist, saying: "It's barely suitable."

  Yao Qiyun suddenly grasped her hand with the bangles and laughed in surprise, "You're not very polite, just putting them on like that?"

  "Of course." Situ Jin snatched back his hand, tilted his head and asked, "Could it be that you want to use the bangle I got from selling myself for some other purpose? You wouldn't be thinking of using it as a family heirloom for the future Madame Yao, would you?"

  Yao Qiyun said with a smile that was not quite a smile: "Maybe I really had such an intention, you're so clever, why don't you hurry up and return it to me?"

  "But it seems like this stone was taken from me in the first place."

  "How did you know?"

  "Yao Qiyun, can you find a more rotten jade than this?"

  "It was obviously something you threw away yourself. I picked it up, so naturally it's mine now."

  He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, looking at her speechless appearance. Situ Xuan paused for a moment, lowered his head and stroked the bracelet as if resigned to his fate, but this bracelet was really too small, putting it on only required gritting his teeth, wanting to take it off was far from that simple.

  Yao Qiyun looked at her hand and saw that it had already turned red from the force, so she hastily said: "Situ Xuan, be gentler."

  Situ Xuan pitifully held out her wrist with the bangle on it in front of him, "What to do, Yao Qiyun? I accidentally put on your family's Madame Yao's bangle and now can't take it off. If your family loses its heirloom, that won't do... unless you cut off my hand?"

  Yao Qiyun turned her head to look elsewhere, after a while, she waved her hand with a suppressed smile and said: "Forget it, since you can't pick it off... then... I'll give it to you."

  "Are you serious?" Situ Xin bit her lip, and pulled him back, for some reason, he didn't feel at ease turning his head to look at the distant place that had nothing.

  But this time she didn't give up so easily, chasing him around in a circle, standing in front of him, staring at his face that was lit up bright red by the last rays of the sun.

  "Is what you're saying true, Yao Qiyun?" she asked again.

  He lowered his head and said nothing, after a while, he slowly nodded his head.

  He never said, Situ Xuan, I love you.

  Although Ah Yue didn't mind in her heart, she had complained several times with her mouth.

  "Say you love me." She always dragged his hand down, with a bit of arrogance and recklessness, saying: "Yao Qiyun, quickly say you love me."

  He tried many times, those simple three words reached the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't say them out loud. Sweet nothings were easy to say to people who didn't matter, but in front of her, in front of the person he truly cared about, that sentence became incredibly difficult, and even language itself seemed weak and powerless.

  But it doesn't matter now, she has his best promise firmly on her hand.