LATEST UPDATES

Bite Your Fingertips - Chapter 64.2

Published at 24th of June 2022 06:29:01 AM


Chapter 64.2

If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again




64rth -【Kiss】

Editor: Sammy

Proofreader: Bubbles

compensation chapter: 

ko-fi chapters left: 3

Chu Yu didn’t fall asleep for most of the night, and woke up before dawn.

Worried about getting sleepy, Chu Yu opened the window and thrust his face into the morning wind. It was so cold that it chilled his heart and filled him with energy in an instant.

After washing his face, he found a long coat from the closet and was about to wear it when Lu Shi stopped him.

In the end, he very aggrievedly wrapped himself in a long down jacket.

The long down jacket was from Lu Shi, black and one size larger. Chu Yu himself would never allow these down jackets to appear in his wardrobe at all!

Standing in front of the mirror, Chu Yu turned around and sighed. “Lu Shi, do I really have to wear this? Down jackets are so ugly!”

Lu Shi zipped up his black backpack, hung it on one shoulder, and looped his hand around Chu Yu’s shoulder. “You look good in it.”

Hearing this sentence, Chu Yu felt very happy. He tensed up in order to not smile too happily, and said reluctantly, “Well alright, I’ll unwillingly wear it.”

They first took the high-speed train to the adjacent city, then got on the bus at the long-distance bus station, and headed to a place called Dongxi Town.

The passengers in the car were all drowsy. Occasionally, someone would chat in a dialect that Chu Yu didn’t quite understand.

Outside the bus’ window were continuous mountains and fields. Because it was winter, everything was bleak and withered.

Lu Shi held Chu Yu’s hand, leisurely rubbing and fiddling with it. From the round bone that protruded from his wrist, he slowly slid to the knuckle of the middle finger, kneading and pinching the fingertip, then proceeded to stroke the plump of the ring finger.

A bit itchy.

But in an unfamiliar environment, it was reassuring intimacy.

The dazzling winter sunlight shone in, making Chu Yu slightly squint his eyes.

Wei Guanglei once mentioned that Lu Shi would temporarily leave several times and only return after a few days.

And every time he came back, his mood would be very grim, as if he wanted to vent his suppressed anger.

He thought about whether Lu Shi had been like this on several long trips in the past; sitting alone on an unfamiliar bus, watching the monotonous scenery outside the window while uneasily and gradually nearing a part of the truth from that year.

No one to chat with, no one to share with, only by his lonesome.

Chu Yu closed his eyes, tilted his head, and leaned on Lu Shi’s shoulder.

He decided that in the future, he would accompany Lu Shi every time.

Dongxi Town was remote and small. Lu Shi located a tiny restaurant according to the address sent. The red anti-slip rug on the doorway was covered with oil stains. The floor mat with “Welcome” written on it was also dirty and the original color couldn’t be seen.

As they pushed the door open, the shop owner enthusiastically asked, “What would you like to eat?”

After looking at the menu, Lu Shi ordered braised pork rice and egg vegetable soup.1

Chu Yu didn’t say much and just sat down with Lu Shi.

When the owner came to issue the bill after they finished their meal, Lu Shi questioned, “Excuse me, is your name Zhao Zhifang?”

The proprietress was a chef and there were oil marks on her hands. She looked about 50 years old, deep wrinkles at the end of her eyes. Because winter was cold and dry, she had frostbite on her ears.

She asked, “I am she, what is it?”

“I have something to ask you about the Lu family.”

Zhao Zhifang didn’t speak.

Lu Shi fished out his black wallet, took out the entire thousand yuan in cash from it, and placed it on the table.

“Can you talk about the Lu family?”

Zhao Zhifang stared at the money, her attitude softened a lot. “Is that all?”

Lu Shi flashed his empty wallet. “That’s all.”

Zhao Zhifang wiped her hands on her apron, and first took a few steps to close the door. When she came back, she grabbed a pale green plastic stool and sat down. “What do you want to ask?”

Lu Shi stated calmly, “Just talk about it as you please for now.”

Zhao Zhifang wasn’t sure what Lu Shi was going to ask, so she could only think of what to say.

“I was introduced to the Lu family as a housekeeper. There were several housekeepers in the family, with those in charge of cooking and house chores clearly separated. When a household keeper suddenly left, the nimble me was introduced by an acquaintance as a temporary substitute…”

“The family was good-natured, polite to me, and never scolded anyone. But in that family, the relationship between the father and son wasn’t good! I’ve heard the father and son quarrel, and vases and such being smashed on the ground. The fight was especially fierce. When I went to clean up the aftermath, I was cut several times.”

Lu Shi held a teacup in his hand, the tea already gone cold. He ignored it and instead asked, “What were they arguing about?”

A smile appeared on Zhao Zhifang’s face. “This, I remember! It was just like a scene from TV. The Lu family’s son fell in love with a girl whose parents died early on, and came from a poor place. The son was completely obsessed and insisted on marrying this girl! The father of the family disagreed, and after arguing here and there, they still hadn’t come to a conclusion!”

Chu Yu listened quietly, thinking to himself that according to this statement, Lu Shi’s father liked Jiang Yueman very much at the time, but his family didn’t agree?

“Then?”

Zhao Zhifang grabbed a handful of melon seeds with her hand, and continued while nibbling. “As far as I heard, there were several quarrels, and once the quarrel was so bad, the son of the family ran away and didn’t come home for a long time, there was also no news of him.”

“I listened to the gossip in the kitchen, and they said that the man had a decisive plan and had already gone through the marriage formalities outside.”

“Not long after, the son returned, saying his wife was pregnant. We all believed that they’d probably let the matter go because of the pregnancy, otherwise, would the child not be allowed to recognize its ancestors? Unexpectedly, the old man was very stubborn! A lot of things were smashed once again, but nothing really worked out in the end.”

“The old man also threatened that he’d cut off his son’s money, saying he was a man, so he should support his wife and child by himself.”

Zhao Zhifang narrated with excitement. She took a sip of tea, and continued cracking melon seeds. The melon seed peels fell to the ground not long after.

“I watched quietly. The son didn’t come home, but the old man was the same as ever without his child; quite the rigid heart he had. If it were me, and my son was so mad at me, I definitely wouldn’t be able to eat! After that… I can’t remember what happened after that, anyway, let’s move on from the quarrels. In the end, in a little over half a year, the son came back, alone, without his wife. As soon as he entered the door, he knelt down to his father, saying that he shouldn’t have, that he was wrong.”

Zhao Zhifang clicked her tongue and sighed. “I’ve also heard the son say before that the girl he liked didn’t even know the scale of the Lu family’s business, nor did she know that he was from the Lu family, in short, it wasn’t for his money! So, ah, really, it’s a pity. That girl was kept in the dark from beginning to end, ignorant of everything. She was pregnant at the time too. I don’t know what happened next.”

After slapping her apron clean of the melon seed peels, Zhao Zhifang spoke, “It didn’t take long before I switched to another family as a housekeeper, so I don’t know what happened after I left. Do you want to hear anything else? I can tell you everything I can recall.”

After she finished speaking, she stared at the stack of money in Lu Shi’s hand.

“No need.”

Lu Shi handed over the money. “Treat it as if this money was picked up from the ground.”

The perceptive Zhao Zhifang counted the money twice with a ‘huahua’. After counting, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened. “Alright, I hope you had a good meal!”

Exiting the store, the blowing cold wind made people shiver. The sun outside had long been covered by clouds, resulting in a dim sky.

Chu Yu followed behind Lu Shi as they walked down the narrow street.

There were few people coming and going on the street, and many storefronts had already closed their shutters. A few of the colorful neon lights were lit, reflecting against the dirty, rusted steel frame behind them.

Lu Shi bought mint candy at a snack kiosk by the road, tore the wrapping paper, and put it in his mouth.

The two walked along the road.

Chu Yu wanted to speak several times, but didn’t know what to say. Finally, in silence, they walked through the desolate streets to the long-distance bus station and bought tickets for the last bus.

The bus home was driving on the road with no lights in the passenger’s compartment. Only the street lamps standing on both sides of the road shed orange light.

Noise sounded beside the ears as the cold wind blew against the glass.

Chu Yu turned his face sideways and observed Lu Shi.

Light and shadow alternated on his face. In between the flicker of bright and dark, what was in his eyes couldn’t be seen clearly, whether it was anger, sadness, or nothing at all.

Chu Yu stretched out his hand, gently hooked Lu Shi’s fingers, and finally intertwined them.

Lu Shi’s hands were cold, like they’d been dipped in snow.

Chu Yu slightly tightened his grip.

The people around had their eyes closed as they dozed off. It was silent.

As if on this moving vehicle, only the two of them snuggled together.

In that shaking space, Chu Yu’s thinking swayed into disorder. He thought a lot, but it seemed like he couldn’t think of anything at all.

He turned his head again and looked at Lu Shi.

Without rhyme or reason, Chu Yu suddenly approached, leaned in, and quickly kissed Lu Shi’s lips.

Like a dragonfly that lightly grazed the water.

Inside the narrow space enclosed by the seats, the two fit very closely.

Chu Yu was so nervous that his palms were hot.

He felt that Lu Shi’s lips were cold. Those lips obviously appeared thin and frigid, but they were unexpectedly soft.

The orange light of the streetlamp cast in again and drifted over the two of them.

Chu Yu avoided Lu Shi’s eyes, lowered his eyelashes, clasped his hands, then leaned over once more and kissed him on the lips.

The author has something to say: Here’s a mint-flavored heart~

I wrote more today, so it’s a little later than the expected update time~ You’ve waited a long time la~

staff shenanigans

 




Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!


COMMENTS