BSS - Chapter 131

Chapter 131

Deng Chuan had been staying at Su Mian's place for some time. Before Christmas arrived, Su Mian still had classes during the day, so when Deng Chuan woke up, she was always the only one left in the small room.

Su Mian would turn off the lights when she left, making the room as dark as night. Deng Chuan would lie in the darkness, eyes open, fumbling for the phone by her pillow just to figure out what time it was.

Of course, just because Deng Chuan was on break didn't mean she had nothing to do. After washing up and eating breakfast, she would sit down at the desk, stack Su Mian's hefty textbooks to one side, set up her tablet, and start studying. A short video call with Xu Wei in the middle of it all constituted her holiday life.

Su Mian usually came back in the afternoon. She would send Deng Chuan a WeChat message beforehand, saying she was downstairs. Deng Chuan would then change her clothes and go out. The hallway was dim, the neighbors were still noisy, and as she walked down the wooden staircase step by step, she had no idea what the weather would be like that day.

So, occasionally, she would walk right into a surprising little snow flurry.

Su Mian would drag Deng Chuan to the supermarket and for walks along the River Thames. There were often many artists playing instruments on the street corners. One day, they stopped and listened to a girl play the piano for a long time.

Compared to her own life in Oxford, Deng Chuan felt that Su Mian's life in London was more bustling, more vibrant. Led by Su Mian, and spurred on by some indescribable, burgeoning restlessness, Deng Chuan also began to try to break away from the pure, ivory-tower-like environment of her past. With her usual acuity and composure, she used the new inspiration her new environment gave her to rethink some of the questions she had been pondering for a long time.

She began to see more sides of life.

After Su Mian's break started, Christmas was fast approaching. One day, after playing games until the afternoon, they went out to the supermarket to restock on vegetables and provisions. A light snow was falling, and because the holiday was near, the streets were more crowded than usual.

The snowflakes drifted down, making the world in Deng Chuan's eyes seem exceptionally pure. The white snow fell into the collar of her stiffly starched coat, its chill seeping through the layer of cotton to her skin. It was cold, yet uniquely refreshing.

Deng Chuan gazed at London in the fine snow and let out a white puff of breath like a sigh. Feeling a bit dazed and a bit blissful, she thought, it might be wrong to attribute it to a certain change, but now, her favorite season was also winter.

On Christmas Day, they bought enough supplies in advance and stayed cooped up inside, making hotpot and brushing honey on chicken wings that Su Mian had brought from China. While Deng Chuan was video-chatting with Xu Wei, Su Mian crunched on lettuce, staring at the unceasing smile on Deng Chuan's lips with a look of both scorn and resignation.

Su Mian used this opportunity to sneakily eat many of the chicken wings. By the time Deng Chuan finished her call and came back, the plate was already empty.

The clock struck midnight, and Deng Chuan seemed to hear the sound of fireworks blooming in the distance. She soon realized it wasn't her imagination; Instagram was already flooded with photos of New Year's fireworks. A red-haired Spanish girl grinned brightly, showing her white teeth amidst a crowd.

For some reason, she hadn't felt it during Chinese holidays, but now, on this particularly lively night in England, Deng Chuan felt a strange pang of homesickness.

Xu Wei had said goodnight to her seven hours ago. Their emotions, along with time itself, were out of sync. Deng Chuan held her phone wistfully and sent her a message: I miss you.

After sending that short sentence, she lifted her head and glanced at the draped, light purple curtain, knowing that behind it was just a mottled wall.

Su Mian's room had no windows. She couldn't see the sky lit up by New Year's fireworks, nor could she see the moonlight. From this, Deng Chuan understood more profoundly what a cruel thing it was to not have a window. These facts, and the emotions that had accumulated over these days, surged in her heart, making her want to recite a couple of lines of poetry to Xu Wei.

This poetic mood lasted for a long time, but in the end, she didn't send anything else.

In the process of growing up, one slowly learns that there are too many words, too many emotions, that are very difficult to say out loud.

Deng Chuan stared blankly at the blinking cursor in the text box for a while, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her profile looked very solemn, so much so that even Su Mian noticed.

Before Su Mian could ask, Deng Chuan turned off her phone screen, reached up to switch off the light in the room, and wrapped herself in the blanket, lying down on one side of the bed. "Time to sleep!"

Her tone didn't sound like she was saying goodnight, but more like she was cheering someone on.

---

Once Christmas was over, New Year's Day arrived quickly. Deng Chuan finally had another holiday that was in sync with Xu Wei's. She was in an exceptionally good mood that day, which even Su Mian could feel.

Deng Chuan would be leaving London after New Year's. With this in mind, she went out with her camera slung around her neck and took many photos for Xu Wei on the street. She even recorded a short video. In the video, Deng Chuan had her hair in a ponytail, her eyes curving into crescents as she walked along a street in London on a sunny day just after a snowfall. People came and went on the road, and she held up the camera, talking to herself quite foolishly, trying her best to show Xu Wei the world through her eyes, from every angle, through the lens.

Xu Wei watched the video she sent over and over again. Her gaze uncontrollably fell on Deng Chuan's face. She understood Deng Chuan's intention; this was the world as seen from the Little Friend's perspective. The lens held the snow Xu Wei liked and the person she liked. The lens concealed the words they wanted to say to each other.

So Xu Wei also sent her a message: I miss you.

This was a sentence that had lingered in Xu Wei's life for a long time.

Xu Wei had no way of telling Deng Chuan how she felt on the morning after Christmas when she woke up and saw the "I miss you" Deng Chuan had sent.

Xu Wei herself couldn't accurately describe her feelings at that moment: she held her blanket and sat stunned for a while, let out a soft sigh, and only then did she get up to wash and go to work.

This scene was also witnessed by no one else.

Xu Wei could only say the same words back to her. They had a reciprocal longing, a reciprocal expression, and a reciprocal sentiment. This reciprocity might not have been obvious at the beginning, but as Deng Chuan gradually grew up, these facts that were destined from the start slowly surfaced. It was in that dazed moment that Xu Wei realized this, and that was why she had sighed.

The Deng Chuan in the video had a face Xu Wei knew, a body she knew, an expression she knew, yet Xu Wei understood that something unfamiliar was changing her Deng Chuan. This was an inevitable part of growing up. At this thought, Xu Wei's heart once again sank into a soft helplessness, just as it had that day.

The video progress bar reached the end, then flashed back to the very first frame, where Deng Chuan reached out a beautiful hand and covered the lens.

Xu Wei exited the playback screen, sent that message of longing, and sighed softly again. It was the New Year's holiday, so she didn't have to go to work. She gathered the two cats that had squeezed next to her to sleep and gently tugged their ears.

After New Year's, Deng Chuan soon bid farewell to Su Mian, once again catching a ride with Lao Lin back to Oxford to start her spring semester.

Life returned to its proper course, and her studies proceeded step by step. A little over a month later, Chinese New Year arrived. Lao Lin had long been calling up friends to have a lively get-together at his place, and Deng Chuan certainly had no objection. The time in China was eight hours ahead of the UK, which allowed Deng Chuan to have a private New Year's Eve dinner with Xu Wei.

Xu Wei had gone home this year. Her family's custom was to start the New Year's Eve dinner at noon. Many relatives came, and of course, there were some unpleasant things. But this time was different from previous years; Xu Cheng had started to help block comments for her. Xu Wei noticed this, feeling an indescribable emotion in her heart. Her father, meanwhile, just watched on coldly.

Xu Wei didn't socialize. She left the table after eating and went home by herself.

Knowing Xu Wei was home, Deng Chuan missed her all day. The two of them arranged a time, showered early, and settled into their respective rooms for a video call.

When the video connected, the Little Friend was sitting at a deliberately tidied desk, eating a sandwich on a white porcelain plate. Bits of lettuce and salad dressing fell, which she caught with her hand.

Watching her eat, Xu Wei's heart, which had been hardened all day, gradually warmed. Her voice, without her realizing it, also softened. "Is that all you're eating for dinner? Is that enough?"

Deng Chuan nodded and held up two fingers at Xu Wei in a V-sign. "I'm having two." Then, with a big munch, she took another large bite.

Watching Deng Chuan eat was a very satisfying thing. Xu Wei rested her chin on her hand, watching the Little Friend in the video. As she watched, the corners of her mouth unknowingly curved up. Her eyelashes fluttered gently, and after a good while, she said softly, "Isn't it salty? Have a sip of water, don't choke."

Deng Chuan smiled while chewing her sandwich. She finished what was left in her hand in two or three bites, wiped her hands, and then, as if by magic, produced a wine glass, raising it towards Xu Wei. "Teacher Xu, Happy New Year's Eve."

Seeing this familiar gesture, Xu Wei couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Last New Year's Eve, Deng Chuan had also clinked her glass with a beer bottle.

Alcohol and clinking glasses had always been typical symbols of the adult world, but Deng Chuan had brought them into her and Xu Wei's world, a small tradition that belonged only to the two of them.

But this time it wasn't beer. For this moment, Deng Chuan had specially sought out a beautiful Burgundy glass. Her fingers were long and slender, and her palm was large enough to hold the glass beautifully as she raised it towards Xu Wei on the screen.

The glass reached the front of the camera and gently tapped the phone, making a pleasant, soft sound.

The liquid in the glass was visibly clear. Xu Wei's voice held a note of surprise. "What kind of wine are you drinking?"

Deng Chuan grinned foolishly. "Nothing… it's just plain water. Hey, it's about the sense of ceremony."

Xu Wei laughed too. She propped up her chin, smiling as she shook her head, her eyes holding a hint of an almost imperceptible, fond reprimand.

Xu Wei's gaze was like that of someone indulging a child. Under such a gaze, Deng Chuan became even more childish. After eating two sandwiches, she was indeed thirsty, so she elegantly raised the beautiful Burgundy glass and gulped down all the water inside.

Xu Wei watched her with a smile, also relaxing against her headboard. After a long day, her gaze was a little unfocused, landing lightly on Deng Chuan. She had just showered, and her blow-dried black hair rested fluffily on her shoulders, uncharacteristically messy. The deep black of her hair made her freshly washed skin appear exceptionally fair. It inevitably made Deng Chuan fall back into that poetic state of mind, thinking of some fragrant, classical verses about cloud-like hair against snowy cheeks.

The room suddenly became surprisingly quiet.

Deng Chuan was staring straight at her, and Xu Wei naturally noticed her gaze. The happiness of this very moment was accentuated by the mental exhaustion of the day. Xu Wei was in an incredibly good mood now, so she smiled, intending to tease this staring Little Friend, and raised an eyebrow at her.

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