As December approached, the weather was getting a bit chilly, and the wind was quite strong at night. Just then, a gust of wind swept across Xu Chacha's face, almost making her lose her balance.
A light scent of gardenias wafted by on the breeze. Xu Chacha sniffed and asked in confusion, "Are there gardenias growing near our school?"
Jiang Shu was getting a straw when she casually remarked, "Gardenias are such difficult flowers to grow, why would they be planted here?"
“That’s true.” Xu Chacha stood up, took Jiang Shu’s hand, and walked back. As she stood up, her eyes casually swept over the broken street lamp and saw someone standing there.
The woman wore a long coat with a strong British style, her straight legs were clad in a pair of high boots, and she was tall and slender, casting a long shadow on the ground. She was so thin that she looked like a skeleton.
No, Xu Chacha silently added in her mind, it should be a beautiful skull.
Although I couldn't see the person's face clearly, judging from her posture and demeanor, she had this subconscious thought.
"Come on, what are you looking at?" Jiang Shu pulled her along.
"Oh." Xu Chacha followed her.
But as she walked, Xu Chacha finally realized something was wrong.
She remembered that Wen Mubai had asked her for her address that night, and the familiar scent of gardenias she had just smelled.
It's amazing that I didn't recognize the fragrance I made myself right away.
Thinking of this, Xu Chacha was so nervous that she almost stopped breathing. She shook off Jiang Shu's hand and walked in the direction she had just come from. The closer she got, the louder her heartbeat became.
"Auntie...?"
Chapter 39 Staying for one night
Xu Chacha felt that her expression must look incredibly silly, but she couldn't care less.
"Come here." The familiar voice pierced through the thick night, making Xu Chacha feel even more unreal.
She quickened her pace, almost running, but stopped just before she got close to the person.
Previously, Wen Mubai would always send her a message in advance whenever he returned to China, and then she would wait for him at the airport. That way, she would be mentally prepared and wouldn't lose her composure.
But now, with the person she's been longing for suddenly appearing in front of her, she feels a sense of helplessness, unsure of what to do. She doesn't dare to make any overly intimate moves, but casually saying "Hi, long time no see" is also inappropriate.
She looked at the suitcase next to Wen Mubai, which was clearly different in size from before, almost half her height. Combined with the strange way she appeared this time, she had a vaguely excited guess in her heart.
"What are you standing there for?" Wen Mubai spoke again, his voice clearer than it had been on the phone, soft and tinged with a faint smile, possessing a unique kind of sexiness.
Xu Chacha looked at her slightly outstretched arms and, as was her habit when she was a child, ran over and jumped up to hug her.
“Alive, Auntie.”
She wrapped her arms around Wen Mubai's neck, buried her head in the crook of his neck, and took a deep breath. The scent of gardenia, which she loved, mixed with some of Wen Mubai's shower gel, became her unique body fragrance.
"Otherwise what?" Wen Mubai patted her back. "You're so old and still not mature enough."
"Who told you to stand there silently and blend into the lamppost? If I hadn't recognized you, you wouldn't have called me?" Xu Chacha complained softly. When she looked up, she saw Jiang Shu not far away, who was staring at them with a very indescribable expression.
The look in her eyes seemed even more surprised than when she transformed into an old woman and reminded them to pay attention to health.
Xu Chacha looked down at her posture and began to understand why Jiang Shu was looking at her like that.
She used to jump onto Wen Mubai's lap for a running start before leaping, but now it seems...
Xu Chacha silently took her leg off Wen Mubai's waist. If she still used that position, it would feel like a giant octopus stuck to a tree trunk, and because it was too heavy, it would keep sliding down.
"Roommate?" Wen Mubai also saw Jiang Shu standing in front of him waiting for someone.
"Yes, it's Jiang Shu. I just told you, I came to buy milk tea with her." Xu Chacha straightened up.
Jiang Shu stood there, unsure whether she should leave first or stay and continue to enjoy the warmth of family ties (?).
When Xu Chacha called out "Auntie" just now, she guessed who the tall woman with outstanding temperament was. To be honest, she really wanted to meet her in person.
So, she didn't want to leave!
Unexpectedly, while she was struggling with her decision, Wen Mubai led Xu Chacha towards her. Only when they got closer and came into the light could Jiang Shu see her face clearly.
She has deep-set eyebrows and eyes, a high nose, and delicate features that give her a noble air. Her skin is frighteningly white at night, like a vampire on TV. In any case, she is definitely more beautiful in person than in photos.
This was the first time she had ever seen such a stunningly beautiful woman. No wonder that even though she had only been at Q University for less than a year, posts about her could still quickly become trending on the school forum.
"Jiang Shu, right? Hello." Wen Mubai extended his hand to her.
"Ah! Yes, yes, hello senior!" Jiang Shu excitedly reached out and shook her hands together.
Jiang Shu was usually the calmest and most composed one in the dormitory. Xu Chacha was seeing her like this for the first time and was filled with questions.
Could Jiang Shu also be a fan of Wen Mu?
Thinking about it, she glanced at Wen Mubai again, who was unknowingly flirting with her.
You're really something.
"Goddess, you're so tall!" Jiang Shu stood next to her and had to look up slightly.
She herself is over 1.7 meters tall, which is not short. She usually thinks she is quite tall when she sees other girls on the street. Moreover, Xu Chacha, who is 1.75 meters tall and is wearing high heels, looks about the same height as Wen Mubai.
"Just three centimeters." Xu Chacha held up her finger. "Wait until I grow three times and surpass you."
Xu Chacha was initially quite happy after growing up like crazy in junior high school, but who knew that even with all that haphazard growth, she still couldn't surpass Wen Mubai, whose height was already fixed.
It really came true what Wen Mubai told her when she was little: "It must have been quite a struggle for you to grow up to look like your aunt."
Xu Chacha: That darn three centimeters! Screw you, it's a bit too much!
"Okay, I'll wait." Wen Mubai looked up and patted the top of her head, the force was light but full of affection.
Jiang Shu looked at Wen Mubai and then at Xu Chacha, her eyes shining. Although she felt guilty, she suddenly really wanted to ship this couple.
They couldn't just stand and chat forever, but it wasn't appropriate to bring Wen Mubai back to the dorm so late, so the three of them found a 24-hour convenience store nearby and sat down.
"Auntie, are you staying for a while this time?" Xu Chacha had wanted to ask earlier, but she had been holding back.
“I’m not leaving this time.” Wen Mubai sat down and unbuttoned her coat, revealing a loose black sleeveless top underneath. As she leaned forward, the necklace that adorned her collarbone dangled down.
Xu Chacha felt a little embarrassed to stare at her face, so she stared at the necklace instead. "Really?"
She tried very hard to suppress the trembling in her voice, but the excitement in her tone was impossible to hide.
Wen Mubai is going back to China? He's not leaving again?
"Yes, I want to do my own thing and plan to open a studio," Wen Mubai said slowly. "The work at HN has been handed over, and any problems can be handled via email."
"Are you really not leaving?"
Xu Chacha remembered that the book seemed to mention that Wen Mubai would create his own clothing brand later on, but that would be overseas. She didn't know why he changed his mind, so she foolishly kept repeating to confirm.
"I'm not leaving, really." Wen Mubai looked at her and smiled. "Would I lie to you?"
"Too."
As Wen Mubai was speaking, he suddenly noticed the new bracelet on Xu Chacha's wrist, reached out and grabbed her slender white wrist, "You have a boyfriend?"
"Ah, no." Xu Chacha was puzzled by her jumping thoughts.
“This bracelet is a couple’s set.” Wen Mubai flipped the bracelet over so the side with the letters was up. “Your name.”
"Name?" Xu Chacha squinted to look, and sure enough, she saw a small "xcc" there, which she had never noticed before.
"It wasn't Lao Wu who gave it to you, was it? Didn't you refuse?" Jiang Shu asked suspiciously.
"And who is Lao Wu?" Wen Mubai rested his chin on his hand, not putting on airs, but the aura he exuded made Xu Chacha feel like she was being interrogated by someone in a superior position.
"Nobody, I don't know anyone."
Wen Mubai turned her gaze to Jiang Shu, who understood her meaning and immediately told her everything.
"Old Wu is a guy in our club who likes Cha Cha. He even kept her there to confess his feelings after the dinner just ended, but she probably rejected him," Jiang Shu added. "Don't worry, Xu Cha Cha is the least likely woman in our dorm to be easily wooed. She's incredibly hard to date and seems very aloof."
"Oh." Wen Mubai nodded thoughtfully, drawing out the last syllable, and looked at Xu Chacha with a hint of teasing, "Our Chacha, you have quite a few suitors?"
"What kind of luck did I have?" Xu Chacha retorted, unconvinced. "Speaking of which, you weren't much better than me, like that guy last time—"
Xu Chacha stopped herself mid-sentence. She was so stupid. If she didn't mention the buzz-cut senior, Wen Mubai would never know. What if she brought it up and Wen Mubai got curious and asked who it was?
"What was it last time?" Wen Mubai raised his chin. "Tell me."
"It's nothing." Xu Chacha obediently shut her mouth and lowered her head, pretending not to know.
"So, if you don't have any romantic feelings for the person who gave you the bracelet, it's best not to accept gifts with special meaning."
"Senior Jiang Miao, she probably bought it because she thought it looked nice."
After all, Jiang Miao was clearly a straight woman and had had boyfriends before, so Xu Chacha didn't think of her advances in any other way.
But Wen Mubai was different. From those few photos, she could tell that Jiang Miao's feelings for Xu Chacha were unusual, but the person in question was completely oblivious.
Wen Mubai sighed, suddenly realizing that Xu Chacha, now grown up, might be even harder to raise than when she was a child.
"Yeah, probably." Jiang Shu was still there, so Wen Mubai didn't want to say his own thoughts directly. He smiled and changed the subject. "Shouldn't you take the milk tea back to your roommates first? They're waiting."
“Oh right!” Jiang Shu said. She felt like she had forgotten something, but she just couldn’t remember it.
I took out my phone and saw that there were already 99+ messages in the group chat. When I opened it, all the messages were Zhu Zhu's emojis.
Hungry for food.jpg
Princess in tears.jpg
Happiness is gone.jpg
Zhu Zhu: Shushu, I'm going to sleep if you don't come back soon qaq
"Jiang Shu, you go back first. I'll see my aunt off." Xu Chacha stood up and made room for Jiang Shu.
"Okay, bye-bye." She bowed to Wen Mubai again. "See you next time, goddess!"
Xu Chacha: "Heh, how come I didn't know she was your little fangirl?"
"It's just politeness," Wen Mubai said nonchalantly.
"It's very late now, have you booked a place to stay?"
Wen Mubai used to stay in her own apartment when she came back, but her apartment is quite far from Q University, taking one or two hours to drive there. Xu Chacha thought that she had something to do at Q University so late and would book a hotel nearby.
"No, I'll call a car to go back later."
“It’s so late, why don’t you book a hotel?” Xu Chacha said. “You always nag me about how unsafe it is to take a taxi at night, but you’re doing the same thing yourself.”