“I am sleepy, and I don’t have any strength. Hurry up and help me.” The eldest young lady couldn’t help but act spoiled.
Zhu Qingjia took her by the arms, helped rinse her off, and used a bath towel to dry her body before finding her pajamas. By the time both of them were finally lying in bed, an hour had passed.
Gu Ruoling was so tired her eyelids were fighting to stay open, yet she didn’t forget to drape her leg over Zhu Qingjia and slip her hand under her pajama top. Even while sleeping, she insisted on firmly occupying her.
When Gu Ruoling woke up the next morning, Zhu Qingjia was exceptionally still lying beside her. She initially thought she hadn’t fully woken up, but after blinking her eyes, she found her still there, so she rolled over and hugged her.
Zhu Qingjia stroked her arm, her voice laced with laziness. “You’re awake.”
“Mhm. I feel like the weather is going to be great today.” Even though the curtains hadn’t been drawn, Gu Ruoling just felt that the weather would be wonderful.
In the past, when Zhu Qingjia didn’t go to campus, she wouldn’t lounge in bed either. She would go to the adjacent room or downstairs, and occasionally sit by the bedside.
This was the first time in recent memory that Zhu Qingjia had kissed her right as she woke up.
“A morning kiss.” Zhu Qingjia kissed her eyes.
“Why the eyes? Why not kiss my mouth?” The young lady wanted more.
Zhu Qingjia let out a soft chuckle and dropped a kiss onto her lips. “Kissing your eyes is to make you wake up faster, but you can’t seem to wake up at all.”
“Oh, please, I need sleep to help restore my stamina. If I sleep a bit more, I’ll be more energetic when I see you.” Gu Ruoling hugged her arm. “I really feel like I’ve been much better lately. Aside from being occasionally irritable, I don’t really get angry anymore.”
“Really?” Zhu Qingjia pinched the tip of her perky nose.
“Of course, even Aunt Zhang said my complexion has improved.”
Zhu Qingjia smiled. “What I’m asking is, do you really not get angry much? Last night, a certain cat picked up a throw pillow and beat me. Could it be that my memory is playing tricks on me?”
“Definitely. You said it yourself, it was a cat.” Gu Ruoling looped her arms around her waist, acting spoiled. “Stay in bed with me for a bit longer. Ten minutes, I’ll get up real soon.”
Zhu Qingjia lay beside her, finding it incredibly cute how she was clearly fighting sleep but refused to let her get up.
“Ruoling, little cat, it’s been fifteen minutes,” Zhu Qingjia called out softly.
Gu Ruoling wanted to open her eyes but couldn’t manage it, murmuring, “The little cat also needs to sleep for ten minutes.”
“Little liar.” Zhu Qingjia held her close and simply stopped calling her, letting her sleep her fill. “Lingbao sleeps for ten minutes, Lingling sleeps for ten minutes, A-Ling sleeps for ten minutes, Ruoruo sleeps for ten minutes, Little Gu sleeps for ten minutes.”
An hour later, Gu Ruoling finally woke up completely. She rubbed her bleary eyes, not forgetting to ask, “Have the ten minutes passed?”
Zhu Qingjia reached out to tickle her chin, asking with a smile, “Whose ten minutes are you asking about?”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t wake up, I’m going to start calculating ‘Baby’s’ ten minutes.”
“Baby… are you calling me?”
“Guess.” Zhu Qingjia got out of bed to change her clothes. She was perfectly open about it, grabbing her clothes and changing swiftly, undershirt, top, pants, all done quickly, but it still gave Gu Ruoling quite an eyeful.
By the time they headed downstairs, it was nearly 10:00 AM. Considering that lunch would be soon, Aunt Zhang had prepared some easily digestible light meals.
“The egg yolk looks so pretty today.” Gu Ruoling peeled the egg, bringing the yolk to Zhu Qingjia’s lips. “It looks like a little sun. Here, eat it.”
Zhu Qingjia ate it in one bite, then took a few sips of milk.
“Do you still have homework to write today?” Gu Ruoling wanted to know what her plans were for the day.
“I do, but I won’t be writing all day.” Zhu Qingjia opened the to do list on her study application, casting a broad glance over the submission deadlines. Having formed an idea in her mind, she asked, “Do you want to go see a movie?”
“If there’s popcorn, I’ll go,” Gu Ruoling said, looking at her with a smile.
“I’ll buy it for you.” Zhu Qingjia selected an afternoon movie screening and purchased two tickets.
Zhu Qingjia bought her strawberry cream flavored popcorn and kumquat-lemon tea.
The two of them sat toward the back rows where there weren’t many people around. It wasn’t a newly released film, but it happened to have a screening time, the reviews looked decent, and since neither of them had seen it, they had chosen it.
To them, what movie they watched wasn’t important; what mattered was whom they were watching it with.
Perhaps because ticket sales weren’t high, only about twenty to thirty people sat scattered inside the massive theater hall. There were no noisy children, only adults quietly watching the screen.
The sweet, rich scent of popcorn drifted through the air, mingled with the tart bitterness of the lemon tea, but what set one’s heart racing even more was the enchanting fragrance coming from beside her.
The lights dimmed, the movie began, and in the darkness, the audience’s attention was captured by the opening sequence.
Zhu Qingjia went to grab another piece of popcorn after finishing one, only to brush against a hand. Neither turned their heads, yet their hands silently laced together, occasionally hooking a finger or lightly tickling a palm. These tiny gestures seemed far more alluring than the comedic plot unfolding on the screen.
Halfway through the movie, it was unclear who turned their head first, but their breaths drew closer, strands of hair intertwined, and warm lips pressed together.
Kissing with muffled voices, kissing in the dark, the distant laughter of the crowd and the music swelling from the screen only made it feel all the more thrilling. They feared being discovered, yet they were entirely unwilling to separate.
An occasional muffled groan was masked by the louder bursts of music. Though they ought to have felt guilty, their actions only grew bolder. If they lacked morals, then so be it, it wasn’t as if there would easily be a second time anyway.
By the time it ended, Gu Ruoling’s eyes held a watery sheen. She clutched her chest as she gasped for breath, feeling as though she had just run an 800 meters dash, her heart pounding erratically from the thrill.
Zhu Qingjia wasn’t doing much better either. Her face had been burning the entire time, her heart rate completely jumbled. They had clearly come to watch a movie, so how did they just start kissing?
They had missed the climax of the plot and could only watch the ending with a blank understanding, but the finale was a happy one, the moviegoers wouldn’t leave with any lingering regrets.
After the crowd dispersed, they headed to the restroom. Emerging from inside, Zhu Qingjia asked her, “Are you tired?”
Gu Ruoling shook her head, looking at her. “In the movie just now, the two female leads had a Happy Ending.”
“Mhm. Very complete and very happy, they will stay together for a lifetime.” Zhu Qingjia nodded, holding her hand as they walked forward.
“We will be too, right?” Gu Ruoling tightened her grip on her hand.
Zhu Qingjia offered a small smile. “If you want it to be, it will be.”
Gu Ruoling smiled back. “Then I want it, I’ll work hard to want it.”
“Then I’ll work hard to want it too, right along with you.”
Weekends always seemed to fly by faster than weekdays. Even though they had clearly spent a massive amount of time together, it felt as though it vanished in the blink of an eye. When they were stuck together, no amount of time felt like enough, yet once apart, even the shortest duration felt agonizingly long.
While Zhu Qingjia attended her classes, Gu Ruoling stayed in the studio painting. A flood of creative inspiration had bloomed within her, and she urgently wanted to bring it to life on the canvas.
When Zhu Qingjia saw Gu Ruoling’s new artwork, she was deeply struck with awe. Previously, she had assumed that Gu Ruoling painted simply because she liked it, occasionally using the brush to release her emotions.
But the piece before her eyes was more than enough to prove her raw talent.
Brilliant, rich, and bursting with vitality, the sea of flowers depicted upon it looked entirely real.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Is it pretty?” Gu Ruoling eagerly awaited her critique.
“It’s my first time seeing you use such a realistic style, I’m a bit unaccustomed to it.” Zhu Qingjia teased half-jokingly, “I thought you leaned toward the abstract school.”
“Keep talking and I won’t give it to you anymore!” The young lady said, making a move to push her away from the painting.
“Giving it to me? Then I won’t say another word. It’s truly gorgeous, I will treasure it dearly.” Zhu Qingjia immediately pulled her into her arms to coax her. “Thank you for your hard work, I love it.”
“Then I’ll have someone frame it properly, and then we can hang it up in your room.” Gu Ruoling wrapped her arms around her, resting her chin against Zhu Qingjia’s chest to look up at her.
“Alright, then I want to hang it on the wall directly facing the bed, that way I can see it constantly.”
“You like it that much?” Gu Ruoling held her waist. “I’ll give you many more in the future. What will we do if there’s no room left on the walls?”
Zhu Qingjia gave it some serious thought. “Then we’ll hang them on the ceiling. Either way, I must see it every single day.”
Gu Ruoling was immensely pleased by this, her features lively and stunning, her words laced with laughter. “Then I’ll find someone to help you out.”
In the evening after dinner, the two of them leaned against each other to watch a drama. Gu Ruoling swallowed the cherry that Zhu Qingjia fed her. On screen, the female lead was currently hysterical, engaging in a massive row with her significant other, shouting at the top of her lungs. “In truth, I felt nothing but disgust the very first time I laid eyes on you! It was only because my family forced me that I agreed to marry! Looking at it now, a marriage devoid of affection has no reason to exist!”
Gu Ruoling knit her brows, turning her gaze toward Zhu Qingjia, who was absorbed in the plot. Her face was expressionless, but she was entirely immersed.
Gu Ruoling nudged her with her body.
“What’s wrong?” Zhu Qingjia shifted her focus onto her. “Do you need to spit out a pit?” As she spoke, she opened her palm and placed it beneath her lips.
“No, I already spat it out.” The young lady pressed her hand down, and after weighing her words for a moment, she asked, “Was your first impression of me very bad?”
“Why bring this up all of a sudden?” Zhu Qingjia searched her memory. The scene back then couldn’t possibly be evaluated using standard terms like good, fair, or bad.
“I’m asking you, so just tell me. Did you really detest me back then?” After having kissed, shared intimacy, and connected their hearts, the young lady was realizing in hindsight that she had left behind a terrible first impression. This didn’t align with her image at all. What if they had a disagreement in the future and brought up old scores like the characters in the television drama? That would be a heavy blow to her pride.
Seeing that she was determined to ask, Zhu Qingjia sat up straight as well. She cleared her throat and recounted based on her memory, “The first time I saw you, I really didn’t think about much else. My mind was entirely filled with the word ‘breathtaking’.” Saying this, she actually blushed a little, her voice dropping lower, “You were just too beautiful.”
An unexpected answer that was completely outside of Gu Ruoling’s predictions. She touched her own face, a hint of haughty pride surfacing. “Quite honest. But you can’t just look at outward appearances either.”
“Back then, you wouldn’t even look at me properly. I could only look at your appearance.” Zhu Qingjia felt entirely wronged.
“Ah, did I do that?” Gu Ruoling blanked for a moment, then knit her brows. “I don’t have any impression of that at all.”
“It doesn’t matter, I don’t have much of an impression either. I only remember that you were very beautiful. Back then, I even snuck quite a few glances at you, but you didn’t look at me even once.”
Listening to Zhu Qingjia’s earnest tone, the eldest young lady tried her best to think back, but she truly couldn’t recall a single thing. Their very first meeting, as it turned out, existed only within Zhu Qingjia’s perspective.