Drifting on a String - Chapter 42
Chapter 42
The girl, on her first trip, was more excited than Tao Jin had imagined.
Chen Piaopiao repeatedly checked what to pack in her suitcase and what she was missing, organizing everything by category. Tao Jin soothed her, telling her not to worry; if she forgot anything, they could buy it there. Chen Piaopiao stood up with her hands on her hips, scanned the room, then squatted down again, muttering, "Did I pack my yellow dress…"
So cute, Tao Jin thought, leaning against the doorframe as she watched her.
She squatted down beside her and went through the outfits Chen Piaopiao was planning to bring one by one. "The dresses all have great silhouettes."
"Exactly."
"What about the jeans?"
"I've blacklisted them."
"Why?" Tao Jin asked, curious. "Did the jeans misbehave?"
"Yes. I've gained some weight recently, and they failed to keep up with their master's measurements," Chen Piaopiao sighed. "They squeezed my stomach so tight it got itchy."
Tao Jin couldn't help but smile. The faint parentheses framing her lips curved just like her eyes, resembling a pair of crescent moons.
Chen Piaopiao took out her phone, snapped a picture of her, and saved it to admire. "Beautiful."
So beautiful.
So beautiful it was starting to get to her.
That is, she felt a little blissful.
She didn't know if all beautiful things possessed a cruel streak, but happiness often made one feel fragile. It was like a child seeing a firefly; the moment you cupped it in a glass jar, you had a premonition that you might never see one again.
You might not know that you'll move into a high-rise when you're older, but as you gaze at the twinkling specks of light, the thought that forms in your heart is simply that you might not see them again.
Le Chu's words suddenly came to her mind—I don't expect forever.
But Chen Piaopiao had been full of expectation then, because Tao Jin's gaze had told her that she was, too.
She really liked this girlfriend of hers, squatting in front of the suitcase and chattering away as she fussed over their itinerary. She looked so full of hope for life.
Chen Piaopiao didn't dare make any more noise, afraid of waking the judge who oversaw her life. She reined in her smile and closed the suitcase.
Snap.
Tao Jin closed the trunk and, leaning on the car door, said to the other roommates, "Get in. Lao Hai, you follow me. Drive slowly."
"Let's go."
They had rented two cars, both the cheapest models available, which didn't even have backup sensors. But that's how student trips were; even when pinching pennies at every turn, it already felt like a luxury.
Tao Jin saw Lao Hai's car pull up behind them in the rearview mirror, glanced at the navigation, and started driving toward Nanli.
So beautiful, Chen Piaopiao repeated in her mind. The way she held the steering wheel was beautiful. The way she lowered her fingers to test the air from the vent was beautiful. The way she used the turn signal was beautiful. The way she glanced at the rearview mirror was beautiful. The way she rolled down the window and extended her wrist to take the card was beautiful, too.
Chen Piaopiao suddenly felt so unsophisticated, getting excited just from watching someone drive, as if she were watching something much more suggestive.
As she held a bag of snacks, asking Tao Jin if she wanted to eat this or that, her chest swelled with a feeling. It was strange—she suddenly felt like an adult. The feeling was even stronger than in moments of dizzying passion.
Tao Jin gestured for her to open a can of Red Bull to help her wake up. Chen Piaopiao obliged, opening it and holding it to Tao Jin's lips for a sip before placing it in the round cup holder to her left.
Tao Jin smiled. "Thanks."
It was sweet. She took another sip.
Chen Piaopiao asked her, "What's this thing in the middle called?"
She was often a passenger in cars but had never thought to ask what the thing was called. Tao Jin glanced over. "The center console."
"Oh." Chen Piaopiao committed it to memory. The center console… When she bought a car after graduation, she'd pick one with a beautiful console. Drinks would look so nice sitting there. If Tao Jin drove her to and from work, or on dates, she could take pictures of different drink pairings. That's how a sophisticated woman documents her life.
Why was she thinking so far ahead? Perhaps she was just bored in the car.
With nothing better to do, she secretly searched for cars with nice interiors. She looked at the prices, bounced her knee, and closed the browser.
She hadn't decided what kind of car she'd buy in the future, but Tao Jin couldn't keep driving a car like this. It smelled of motor oil, with the lingering scent of smoke in the seat cracks polluting her natural cedarwood fragrance. The steering wheel was rough; she worried it would chafe Tao Jin's fair, delicate hands. The car felt floaty with the slightest acceleration, and the bumps on uneven roads made you feel like you were about to fall apart. The built-in navigation was useless, too, forcing Tao Jin to use her own phone.
Work hard, Chen Piaopiao.
Lost in thought, she grew sleepy and reclined her seat to take a nap. Tao Jin turned down the music, glanced at her, and smiled with gentle warmth.
It was a pity Chen Piaopiao didn't see that smile; she might have remembered it for a lifetime.
Chen Piaopiao rested amidst the intermittent music and the faint bumps of the road, curled into a small ball like a young animal returning to its den. Her features were serene, her usual feistiness tamed by the rhythm of her breathing. Her skin was so fair she looked as if she might melt in the sunlight.
Tao Jin's lips parted slightly, and for some reason, she sighed. When you carry someone in your heart, and they're sleeping peacefully beside you, it turns out you really do feel the urge to sigh.
Because she was a heavy, precious weight, swaying back and forth like a pendulum of time suspended deep in your heart.
Before long, Chen Piaopiao woke up. "How much longer?" she asked, her eyes bleary with sleep.
Her eyelashes seemed dewy as she blinked, and her voice was thick with sleep.
"An hour and a half," Tao Jin said. "Do you need the restroom? There's a service area about ten kilometers ahead."
"Yeah," Chen Piaopiao said softly, slumping in her seat. Her eyes moved sluggishly until they focused on something, and her brow furrowed. "Is there a fly in the car?"
Her voice was quiet and raspy, as if drifting out of a dream. "Mm," Tao Jin replied, her heart nearly melting. She instinctively lowered her own voice to a soothing tone. "I'm not sure when it flew in."
"Then why didn't you get rid of it?" Chen Piaopiao asked, rubbing her head against the headrest and looking at Tao Jin listlessly.
"You were sleeping. We're on the highway, and if I opened the window, the wind would be too loud. It would have woken you." And it wouldn't be very safe while driving.
Tao Jin explained patiently.
"That's not okay," Chen Piaopiao said, shaking her head. "But I was sleeping, you know."
Huh? What's the problem? Tao Jin thought, raising an eyebrow at her.
"When I'm sleeping soundly, my mouth falls open. With it bumping all over the place in here, weren't you afraid I'd swallow it whole?" Chen Piaopiao protested in a raspy voice, her gaze even softer and sweeter than her tone.
Tao Jin froze, blinking at Chen Piaopiao. A moment later, she broke into a smile.
She laughed to herself for a good while before looking ahead and saying softly, "Chen Piaopiao, are you pouting?"
Throwing a little tantrum after waking up wasn't unusual, but it was a rare sight on Chen Piaopiao.
Chen Piaopiao bit her lip, straightened her seatback, and pressed the button to open the window a crack. "I'm getting rid of the fly."
The buzzing disappeared. Satisfied, she mumbled toward the whistling crack in the window, "Why did you use my full name?"
"Because…"
Because just then, seeing her like that, Tao Jin had suddenly wanted to call her… baby.
The thought was so sappy it even made her cringe. Tao Jin pressed her lips together and said nothing more.
Chen Piaopiao sensed a certain cloying sweetness in the air, more delectable than the yogurt she had just been drinking. She squinted, the reflexive tears in her eyes quickly dried by the wind. Slowly, she closed the window and buried her head in a plastic bag, rummaging for something to eat.
"Let's skip the service area. I can hold it. Let's just get there as fast as we can."
Amidst the rustling of the bag, she said quietly, "I want to hug you."
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