Mud beads

Around 5 p.m., the doorbell rang.

Yu Zhu had just smoothed the color on her lips when she heard a second sound. She went over to look through the peephole.

The person outside was wearing a navy blue baseball cap, a black mask covering most of their face, and black-rimmed glasses perched on their nose, leaving only their eyes visible. Their eyes were curved and full of smiles.

Yu Zhu opened the door.

Liang Dong stepped in, closed the door behind him, and scooped her up in his arms. Yu Zhu lost her footing, her skirt brushing against his calf, and she hurriedly grabbed his shoulder.

The door slammed against the doorstop behind her with a loud bang. Yu Zhu was enveloped by his heat, and through her mask, she could hear his muffled laughter, her chest heaving rapidly.

"Feed—"

He pressed the second half of his sentence against her neck. Liang Dong hugged her, buried his head and took a deep breath, the brim of his hat rubbing against her neck.

"I miss you so much," he said.

Yu Zhu hung in mid-air, her face slowly warming up. She patted his back: "Okay, put me down first."

Liang Dong responded, but then pulled his arm back slightly before putting her back on the ground.

They hadn't stood face to face like this in a long time; they always met through their phones. Liang Dong could be in a misty, rainy town in the south one day, and in a luxuriously decorated office building the next. His background and his attire were always changing. Now that he was actually back, blocking the entrance, Yu Zhu felt a sense of unfamiliarity, as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

She raised her hand, first removing his hat, then his mask. Finally, she slowly took off his black-rimmed glasses, like unwrapping a carefully wrapped gift.

Liang Dong's face was finally fully revealed.

His hair under the hat brim had been permed, no longer the straight, dark black it used to be. It hung loosely over his forehead, the ends slightly curled, and felt very soft to the touch. He had lost some weight, his jawline sharp enough to be almost aggressive, and his eyelashes were still long and thick, slightly bent and upturned by his glasses.

"What are you looking at?" Liang Dong laughed and leaned closer.

Yu Zhu turned her head away, her face slightly flushed: "I feel... like I don't recognize you anymore."

Liang Dong paused for a moment, then raised his hand to cup Yu Zhu's face and examined her closely: "You've changed too."

Yu Zhu raised her head and met Liang Dong's eyes.

"How beautiful she is," he exclaimed, then suddenly leaned down and kissed her lips.

Yu Zhu looked up to receive his affection, her heart pounding.

She had indeed dressed up today. She arrived at noon, mopped the floor, changed the sheets, showered and washed her hair, and even put on light makeup. She picked out a fitted, light-colored dress from the closet, the hem reaching her calves, with crisscrossing drawstrings at the back. The last time they met, she had just come from the mountains, covered in mud and water, her feet wrapped in bandages. After Liang Dong left, she looked in the mirror, and she didn't even want to look at herself anymore.

Liang Xia later told her that Liang Dong's short drama had been released. She clicked on it and watched less than five episodes before closing it. The girl who acted opposite him was strikingly beautiful, and Liang Dong's character in the drama was deeply in love with her. Watching him and that girl embrace in the rainy night, even though she knew it was all fake, she still felt her heart deflate like a punctured balloon, slowly sinking.

"You're not concentrating." Liang Dong released Yu Zhu, his long fingers gently stroking the bridge of her nose, a faint blush on her face. "What are you thinking about?"

Yu Zhu took his hand and led him to the living room: "I was wondering why Liang Xia hasn't come back."

"She's still in the crew." Liang Dong, being led by her, looked at the tie at the back of her skirt. "She thought the vacation was too short and that coming back would be too much trouble, so she stayed to help me pack."

Since Liang Dong joined the film crew, Liang Xia quit her job at the milk tea shop and became her younger brother's personal assistant, following him around everywhere. Yu Zhu knew that she didn't like a stable life, and this kind of busy life was perhaps more in line with her ideal life. Liang Xia called herself Yu Zhu and Liang Dong's "guardian of love." Although she couldn't see Yu Zhu often, she would send a few messages every day to keep in touch.

"You have no idea how controlling she is now. She even tells me which box I put my socks in." Liang Dong was pulled to the bathroom by Yu Zhu to wash his hands. As the water flowed over his hands, he obediently stretched them out. "Where's your sister? Didn't she say she was coming yesterday?"

Yu Zhu was a beat slow in squeezing the hand sanitizer, but quickly realized what she was doing and spread the foam evenly on Liang Dong's hands: "She...has work, she won't be back today."

Liang Dong's outstretched fingers contracted slightly, and through the slippery foam, he grasped Yu Zhu's hand: "Then—you don't need to go back tonight, right?"

Yu Zhu understood the implication in his words, and her ears, which had just cooled down, began to burn again. Without looking up, she turned on the tap and rinsed the soap off their hands: "Do you want me to go back?"

Liang Dong did not answer.

He turned off the tap, bent down, scooped up her legs, and carried her straight to the bedroom. Yu Zhu let out a soft cry, wrapped her arms around his neck, and patted his back with a smile. The bedroom door was flung open, the curtains were only half-drawn, and the last rays of the September sun lingered at the foot of the bed, casting a warm, decadent glow.

Liang Dong put her on the bed and leaned down to kiss her.

This kiss lacked the urgency of a long-awaited reunion. Instead, it was slow and lingering. The fresh scent of soap on him was gone, replaced by a light fragrance of citrus and lemongrass. When he kissed her collarbone, her face was pressed against his burning neck, and she caught a whiff of aftershave.

Yu Zhu loosened her grip on his collar, slowly moving her hand around his broad shoulders to touch the short stubble on the back of his neck. Liang Dong trembled slightly at her touch, like a cat whose tail had been touched.

He looked up and kissed her face again, reaching her ear, then returning to her lips. The setting sun moved from the foot of the bed to the man's lean lower back. Liang Dong's shirt had been taken off sometime earlier and was tossed at the foot of the bed. Yu Zhu's skirt sash had also come undone, the fabric bunched up at her waist.

Liang Dong leaned over her, his hand moving towards the belt buckle.

"Wait," Yu Zhu gasped, pressing him down.

He stopped immediately and looked down at her.

Yu Zhu didn't dare look into his dazed eyes, and lowered her gaze, saying, "There's nothing at home..."

Liang Dong paused for two seconds, then sat up straight: "I... should I go buy it now?"

Yu Zhu couldn't help but laugh: "Go if you want to."

Liang Dong rolled off the bed, grabbed his T-shirt, pulled it over his head, and gave her a solemn salute.

"Clothes." Yu Zhu propped herself up on the bed, blushing as she called out to him, "Get your clothes ready."

Liang Dong glanced down, hastily pulled his clothes down a bit, grabbed his hat and mask, and ran. The door opened and closed again, and the footsteps quickly disappeared into the corridor.

Yu Zhu lay back on the bed, pressing her hands to her chest, trying to stop her heartbeat that felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

Moth

When Liang Dong returned, the bedroom door was open, and Yu Zhu's voice could be heard from inside.

"I've made it very clear, I won't take a single penny."

Liang Dong stopped in the living room.

"If this is all you want to talk about, then there's no need for us to meet again."

The person on the phone spoke for a long time. Yu Zhu didn't interrupt, waiting for them to finish before speaking again: "Whatever."

The phone hangs up.

Liang Dong stood at the bedroom door, clutching a plastic bag, and gently knocked.

Yu Zhu put down her phone, reached out and brushed the long hair that was hanging down her cheek behind her head, her tightly furrowed brows relaxing and then furrowing again.

Liang Dong stood at the door, not immediately coming in: "Yue Jianche?"

Yu Zhu paused for a moment, then forced a smile: "My sister."

Upon hearing the answer, Liang Dong's shoulders relaxed slightly. Yu Zhu's face was still flushed, but the previous intimacy had completely dissipated. He walked to the bedside, took the small box out of the plastic bag, opened the bottom drawer of the bedside table, and tossed it inside.

Liang Dong sat back on the bed, unfolded the thin air-conditioning blanket and draped it over Yu Zhu, wrapping her and the blanket in his arms. Yu Zhu leaned against him, her head against his chest, her heartbeat gradually slowing down.

After a while, Liang Dong's voice came softly from behind her: "May I know?"

Yu Zhu's hands were tucked under the blanket, and she didn't move.

"My brother wants to buy a house, and my family wants me to contribute money as well." She gave a wry smile. "My parents asked my sister and me to each contribute 100,000 yuan, and sent her to persuade me."

"If you need it, you can get it from me—"

Yu Zhu immediately shook her head: "My situation is different from yours and Liang Xia's."

Liang Dong hummed in agreement, reached out and ruffled her hair, and waited quietly.

The sun was setting through the gap in the curtains, and the glass of the building across the street reflected the last rays of sunlight into the room, casting a layer of red that was about to darken.

Yu Zhu was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I haven't had anything to do with my family for a long time."

She looked up at Liang Dong, bit her lip, and said, "When I was thirteen, my parents received 100,000 yuan from the Yue family."

Liang Dong's hand stopped in her hair.

Yu Zhu started with Yu Pandi. She talked about the piece of paper with her new name on it, the first time she sat in the Yue family's car, Aunt Wang, and school, but she didn't talk about Yue Jianche.

Finally, she lowered her head and said, "I liked him when I was thirteen."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Dong's arm visibly stiffened.

Yu Zhu knew he had heard her, took a breath, and continued. Yue Jianche knew she liked him, and he also knew what she was afraid of. When he was happy, he would treat her very well; when he was unhappy, he would take out what she cared about most and fiddle with it. She used to think that was intimacy. Later, she moved out and blocked him, and he started appearing again.

These words were once buried deep within her, like an iceberg beneath the surface, hidden and solid. Now, speaking of them feels like recounting someone else's past; the pain and joy have faded.

Liang Dong remained silent. His breath brushed against her temples, the intervals growing longer. The back of his arms, which were wrapped around her, would occasionally tense up, then quickly relax.

Yu Zhu stared at his well-defined hands for a while, then threw off the covers, turned to look at him, and said solemnly, "I don't like him anymore."

Before Liang Dong could speak, she lowered her eyelashes and stammered, "Would you mind?"

"meeting."

Yu Zhu raised her eyes.

"I mind that I met you too late, and I mind that he knows so many things I don't." Liang Dong looked at her for a while, then lowered his head and touched her face with the tip of his nose. "I don't care who Yu Zhu liked when she was thirteen, I only care who Yu Zhu likes now."

Yu Zhu's eyes slowly welled up with tears. She reached out and gently touched Liang Dong's chin.

"I like you."

"I know." Liang Dong buried his face in her neck. "Then do you regret coming out with him?"

Yu Zhu did not answer immediately.

She thought for a long time, until the last trace of red on the sheet had completely disappeared, before slowly saying, "I don't regret it."

"Without him, I might already be married and have children in the mountains. If I were unlucky, I might still be taking care of Yu Zhaozu's children and serving my sister-in-law during her postpartum period." She smiled faintly. "Of course, if I hadn't left those mountains, I probably wouldn't find these things so unacceptable—often, people just drift through life together without really understanding what's going on."

Liang Dong gently traced her eyebrow with his thumb without saying a word.

Yu Zhu asked, "And you?"

"What?"

"Are you happy being a celebrity?"

"What kind of celebrity am I?" Liang Dong laughed, then fell silent.

The sun outside the window disappeared, and the light in the room dimmed. Liang Dong's face also sank into the twilight, only his eyes remained fixed on her.

"You should be happy," he said. "Being able to make money is good enough. If Liang Xia is happy, then you're happy, and I'm happy too."

Yu Zhu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What if you had to choose again?"

"I want to repeat a year of high school," Liang Dong answered quickly, as if he had thought about this question a thousand times before. "I'll repeat a year, get into Chang'an University, and become your junior. After graduation, we can become teachers together and live in any small city."

After saying that, he looked at her and asked, "Would you like this kind of life?"

Yu Zhu smiled, reached out and hugged Liang Dong's neck, pressing her face against his chest: "It sounds like a fairy tale."

I think so too.

"But it's good now too." Yu Zhu closed her eyes, listening to his slow, steady heartbeat. "I already feel very happy."

Liang Dong's eyes crinkled slightly. He pulled her back into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, and remained motionless for a long time.

Moth

After dark, the kitchen light came on first. The steam from the beef and spices quickly filled the cramped space. Liang Dong poured the reddish-brown broth into the noodles, rinsed off the peppercorns and star anise, and finally sliced ​​the braised beef delivered by takeout, arranging it neatly on top of the noodles.

Yu Zhu leaned against the stove, looking at him: "You can even make beef noodles?"

"I worked part-time in the cafeteria during high school and learned from one of the chefs there." Liang Dong tasted the soup with a spoon and added a little salt. "The chef said I had talent. At that time, I even thought about quitting school and becoming an apprentice in a restaurant."

Yu Zhu hugged him from behind.

Liang Dong, holding the soup spoon, smiled: "Stay away, be careful not to burn yourself."

Yu Zhu wouldn't let go. Her face was pressed against his back, watching the soup boil in the pot and listening to the roar of the range hood. Liang Dong's free hand went to his waist and covered the back of her hand.

Liang Dong's phone rang when he was only halfway through eating his noodles.

He saw the name on the screen, took his phone, and walked to the window: "Sister Lin."

A few words were spoken on the other end of the phone. He listened with his head down, his brows slowly furrowing. Yu Zhu sat at the dining table, her chopsticks still resting on the rim of her bowl. She couldn't hear what the other person was saying, but she saw Liang Dong try to speak several times, only to swallow his words back each time.

"Okay," he said finally, "I'll pack up and head over."

After hanging up the phone, Liang Dong stood there without returning immediately.

"What's wrong?" Yu Zhu put down her chopsticks.

"One of the investors' executives has come to Chang'an." He put his phone in his pants pocket. "He has a dinner party and asked me to come and keep him company."

The two bowls of noodles were still steaming. Liang Dong's bowl was only half-eaten, with his chopsticks lying horizontally, pressing down on a piece of green vegetable.

"Go ahead," Yu Zhu smiled. "I'm fine."

Liang Dong stared at Yu Zhu for a while to make sure she wasn't unhappy before walking back and bending down to kiss her forehead.

He changed his clothes quickly, and told her not to wait before leaving. Yu Zhu pressed down his collar and pinched his earlobe with her fingers: "Drink less, and come back early."

The door lock clicked shut, and the room suddenly felt empty. Yu Zhu covered Liang Dong's portion of noodles with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.

At 9:30, the phone on the bedside table lit up.

Spicy Rabbit Head: It's not over yet, baby, you go to sleep first.

Yu Zhu selected a sad emoji, thought about it, deleted it, and replied: Okay.

The air-conditioning blanket still carried the faint scent of citrus from Liang Dong. Someone walked by in the corridor, their footsteps passing the doorway and then moving away. Yu Zhu opened her eyes and listened for a while, then closed them again.

Inside the refrigerator, the beef broth had cooled completely, and a layer of white oil had formed on the surface.