Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 95
by Little PandaMy Wife (7)
This is how it can be done.
Hearing Zheng Zhiyu’s invitation, Xu Jiao inexplicably licked her lips.
It might have been because she had just eaten too much bread, causing her mouth to feel a bit dry. However, before she could reach for the water cup on the table, Zheng Zhiyu misunderstood her intent and kissed her again.
Xu Jiao didn’t know when she had turned around; now she was facing away from the metal table and directly facing Zheng Zhiyu, who had been standing behind her. She wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words, causing her confidence to wane until her lower back hit a piece of iron protruding from the table drawer. Her body jolted, and she sat up much straighter.
At the same time, the hand that was resting on Zheng Zhiyu’s shoulder withdrew and reached back to touch her own lower back. She vaguely uttered:
“Pain.”
Zheng Zhiyu’s shifting weight, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, left her a bit confused about the situation. Now, with the other party pressing down on her so unscrupulously, her waist was against the hard iron piece of the lock, suddenly jabbing into the soft flesh of her fragile waist, and the pain was very clear.
Even though she was merely stating facts, with her current condition and gentle tone, it sounded like she was showing weakness. Zheng Zhiyu felt her heart melt, as if just a kiss could swallow this little girl beneath her hand.
She paused her actions, raised her hand to help Xu Jiao rub her waist, feeling a mix of frustration at her for deliberately ruining the mood, and a bit of amused heartache, she softly said:
“Baby, you’re too weak like this.”
“Make me feel inviting you to attack me is like making things difficult for you.”
Xu Jiao: “…”
She did not wish to engage in any verbal debate on this matter, so she calmly turned her face away to push Zheng Zhiyu’s hand off her waist. The place where she was hit only hurt, but perhaps because it was close to the tendons and bones, now being rubbed, the pain was mixed with an itch, both painful and itchy, which she found hard to endure.
Zheng Zhiyu thought she was habitually resisting her approach and didn’t pay much attention, just patiently pushed her hand away until Xu Jiao suddenly said:
“The dormitory is too dirty.”
These iron bunk beds and this iron table were not very clean everywhere. Since the dormitory didn’t have a balcony, clothes were all hung on iron rods extending outside the window. However, because of the lush greenery in the forest, clothes dried on the iron railings always picked up some unknown small bugs, often being hung out to dry and brought back with countless dry black spots.
The scene could make a person extremely disgusted.
Gradually, the girls stopped hanging clothes outside and settled for the next best thing, hanging clothes at the entrance, on a rack for suitcases above the door. If the person hanging the clothes wasn’t careful, other roommates coming in would be greeted by clothes brushing against their faces, as if walking into a dye house.
The most unforgettable is when the dormitory occasionally announced inspections in advance, yet someone always failed to notice the announcement and carelessly left for class. If there was a male teacher in the inspection team, the scene of colorful underwear brushing against his face upon entry would be…
Extremely unforgettable.
Xu Jiao’s thoughts wandered for a moment, her gaze shifting from the array of textbooks and daily necessities on the iron table before her, then casually glancing at Qian Ai’s upper bunk, which looked like a pile of garbage. A long string of red appeared in her mind.
This world is not like the last world with its strong physique. Xu Jiao is now just an ordinary person, so naturally, her habits have become more particular.
Zheng Zhiyu did not immediately react, instinctively responding with a: “Hm?”
Xu Jiao didn’t continue to explain, simply pushed her hand away and casually said: “Okay, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
It still hurt, but she didn’t want Zheng Zhiyu to keep pressing down, otherwise, the strange feeling in her body would only grow stronger.
Zheng Zhiyu looked at her half-believing, half-doubting, as if wanting to discern the truth of her words, but Xu Jiao didn’t give her the chance. She suddenly stood up from the chair and casually said:
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
The dormitory door made a long “creak” sound, then was suddenly closed by the wind.
Until the red was no longer in sight, Xu Jiao stood in the corridor, temporarily stopping her steps. She raised her hand, using the end of her palm to press her forehead, and lightly exhaled.
The corridor’s cool breeze gently floated past her body, and she felt a slight chill. Only then did she realize her body temperature had risen earlier, although there was no summer heat in the dormitory.
The reason for this warmth became clear.
She licked her lower lip again, turned to glance at the door, and secretly reminded herself not to be swayed by Zheng Zhiyu’s sometimes considerate, sometimes rogue demeanor. The emotions in her eyes were like a light rain falling on the surface of a lake—initially just small ripples, but quickly able to calm down—
But she didn’t know, once the calm was broken, it would only become more chaotic afterward.
Xu Jiao, somewhat absent-mindedly, headed toward the bathroom at the end of the corridor, while sorting out her mood. Clearly, it was she who told Zheng Zhiyu not to mention the matters of the previous God’s Miracle Continent, but now, the person affected by the previous world is herself.
Those absurd, originally should not have happened entanglements seem not to just stay in that already disappeared saintess’s body.
But stayed in her soul.
Countless entanglements always left some traces here, whether it’s the panting beside her ear or the feeling of dripping sweat, all left imprints on her without a trace. Usually, they don’t show, but when their souls meet again, the bursting sparks are all the grand intention of reunion.
She was earnestly introspecting her own heart and did not notice that the road to the bathroom was unusually long. After entering the empty bathroom…
On the ground at the entrance, a yellow sign had appeared at some point.
It read “Bathroom under repair, please move to other floors.”
“Drip.”
“Drip.”
Xu Jiao looked at the tightly closed doors in front of her, too lazy to reach out and push them. Seeing the second-to-last room’s door open, she immediately pushed it open and walked in. Beside her ear was the sound of water from somewhere, dripping like a leak, as if she could hear the water flow in and out of the pipes clearly.
She didn’t mind this common sound, just took out a pack of tissues she had in her pocket. The sound of the adhesive opening being torn was particularly loud in this semi-closed space. Just as Xu Jiao pulled out one, she heard a quite pleasant voice from the next door:
“Is there a student here?”
Xu Jiao used a tissue and was just about to put on her pants and stand up when she heard the sound and casually replied, “What is it?”
“Can you pass me a tissue? I forgot to bring one,” the female voice continued.
Xu Jiao responded with an “hm.”
The bathroom stalls have openings at the bottom, which are interconnected, making it convenient to pass tissues to each other. She was quite generous and didn’t just pull out one or two sheets to pass over, but instead, she put the whole remaining pack over, then got up and pushed the door open to leave.
Building No. 18’s bad bathroom also has a stingy one-time flush mode, which is timed and not controlled by the students themselves. Fortunately, the flushing frequency is quite frequent, but when the water stops, it causes inconvenience for the dormitories nearby.
Xu Jiao gave the tissue, and as she pushed open the door to walk out, she was suddenly called again: “Hey, classmate, wait.”
Xu Jiao turned her head to look—
She thought the other person still had something to say.
However, at the moment she turned her head, she suddenly remembered the direction she had just passed the tissue to, which was the last stall of the bathroom. But according to the original owner’s memory, that…
Seems like a storage room.
Inside, it was piled with brooms, mops, and water buckets. Even if the bathroom was crowded enough for a queue, no girl would go to the last stall because there was simply no room for another person.
She stood still in her original place, quietly amidst the background of dripping water for several seconds, then responded: “Anything else?”
The voice then replied: “My door seems to have some problem, can you come and help me open it?”
During the conversation, Xu Jiao once again confirmed the voice came from the last stall.
She calmly answered: “Oh?”
“But these bathroom doors can only be locked from the inside, so I’m afraid I can’t be of much help from outside.”
While speaking, Xu Jiao was using the corner of her eye to observe if there were any handy tools by her side. Although physical attacks on things that exceed scientific common sense may not be effective, having a weapon in hand can certainly provide a greater sense of security.
She saw a…
Crowbar.
And next to it, a pile of tools wrapped with electric wire, including a drill and a screwdriver.
These should be items left behind by workers during the previous bathroom renovation.
Xu Jiao slowly took two steps toward the crowbar, and at the same time, a sound came from the last stall again: “Come here, how will you know if you can help if you don’t come over?”
The voice was a bit elusive, and it was unclear whether it realized that Xu Jiao had already seen through the truth. Regardless, as long as Xu Jiao was willing to respond, the voice continued weaving its narrative step by step.
Xu Jiao bent down and picked up the crowbar, weighing it in her hand, and slowly replied: “You come out.”
The female voice was silent for two seconds.
It seemed unclear how this conversation and scene developed from a friendly classmate interaction to something resembling elementary school kids provoking each other.
Xu Jiao noticed she was not speaking anymore, and a hint of boredom flashed in her eyes, so she said, “If you don’t come out, I’ll leave.”
The presence inside the bathroom seemed truly afraid she would leave and there would be no other fool willing to come in to their doom, immediately and faintly said to her: “Then why don’t you turn around and look?”
Xu Jiao gripped the crowbar in her hand tighter.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
It seemed like something was blowing cold wind at her back.
Without blinking an eye, she suddenly, with lightning speed, swung the crowbar in her hand backward, then quickly took two steps forward before turning to look back.
As she turned back, it was unbelievable—
Xu Jiao’s eyes visibly showed some disdain as she noticed the bloodstain on the end of the crowbar in her hand. Her tone remained slow and drawn out, as if not scared at all:
“This classmate… there’s nothing wrong with looking this special, but coming out to scare people is your fault.”
She tried not to let her gaze focus on the spot where the face was unrecognizable, entirely a bloody and indistinct mess.
The opponent’s skin and flesh moved, without any clear expression, but a strong malicious intent seemed almost ready to pounce toward Xu Jiao’s face.
She had just taken two steps toward Xu Jiao’s position when Xu Jiao suddenly shouted: “Stop.”
The figure actually did stop.
Xu Jiao patiently returned the earlier words to it: “Do you want to turn around and look?”
The bloody figure: “…?”
It seemed to not understand how such a horror-filled sentence could emerge from a human’s mouth, and its face visibly showed hesitation. After a few seconds, it really did turn around to look.
Taking advantage of this moment, Xu Jiao quickly stepped forward and struck down with the crowbar in her hand toward the straw-like head!
There was a “thud” sound.
The head slowly turned back around.
Xu Jiao raised an eyebrow, her expression even more surprised than its: “Did that really hit?”
The backhand swing just now missed its direction, rather than penetrating through.
Enraged by Xu Jiao’s words, the room’s temperature suddenly dropped significantly, and the figure pounced toward Xu Jiao, only to see her slightly open her eyes and point again behind it:
“Do you… want to look behind you again?”
It let out a sharp roar, as if cursing Xu Jiao, thinking the same trick would still work on it!
Before it could pounce on Xu Jiao, a pale hand suddenly appeared on its shoulder, pressing it completely in place. A piece of deep red, blood-like fabric was on the wrist, and a strong ghostly aura accompanied by a faint voice came from behind:
“Are you sure you don’t want to turn around and see how you died?”
The room temperature kept dropping, and Xu Jiao didn’t even realize that the moment she saw Zheng Zhiyu appear, she was released from her tense state, even instinctively rubbing the hair on her arms raised by the chill.
She hadn’t planned to watch how the filthy thing in the bathroom would meet its end, but as she took a step toward Zheng Zhiyu, she saw the mass of shadow-like blackness twist in the pale, slender hand, and then it astonishingly resumed its original shape.
Zheng Zhiyu seemed to have changed her mind.
Her eyes carried a hint of a smile, but due to the overwhelming yin energy, even this slight smile appeared ghostly and eerie. Staring at the disfigured face for a long time, Zheng Zhiyu slowly said:
“You’d better not deceive me.”
The thing that was especially bold when scaring Xu Jiao now trembled in Zheng Zhiyu’s palm, opened its mouth, and finally spoke again in human words: “I don’t dare… everything I said is true…”
That voice was exactly the one Xu Jiao heard earlier when she lent the tissues, soft and pleasant.
In life, it should have been considered delicate, but it is unknown what it encountered to end up in this state after death.
Xu Jiao wasn’t interested in exploring matters unrelated to people; she was merely curious about what Zheng Zhiyu heard that made her change her mind. Now, seeing Zheng Zhiyu converse with that thing, she couldn’t help but get slightly closer, wanting to know the specific content.
Perhaps because of inexplicably receiving the tablet, Xu Jiao has developed a great interest in these supernatural events, wanting to learn more, also to investigate the reasons behind these strange happenings around her.
Unfortunately, Zheng Zhiyu seemed to have already finished her conversation with that thing. Seeing Xu Jiao come over, she immediately pressed the figure into a wisp of blackness with her palm and casually tucked it into her sleeve, leaving no trace behind.
She raised an eyebrow at Xu Jiao, wanting to smile but giving up halfway, and said in a somewhat doting, helpless tone:
“I take my eyes off you for a moment, and you let other dirty things cling to you again.”
“Why is your charm so great?”
Xu Jiao realized she was teasing her constitution, gave her a glance, casually placed the crowbar back in its original spot, then patted her palms and walked toward the outside.
As she walked to the doorway, she finally noticed the maintenance sign that she hadn’t seen before.
Zheng Zhiyu followed behind her, also slowly walking out. Just by looking at her walking, there was no difference from normal people, but except for Xu Jiao, no one else could see her.
Seeing Xu Jiao turn on the faucet and seriously wash her hands, Zheng Zhiyu leaned over proactively and asked, “Do you want to know what I just said to it?”
Xu Jiao glanced over.
She was clearly interested, yet she didn’t speak proactively, holding a posture as if saying, “If you insist on telling, I can reluctantly listen.”
Zheng Zhiyu was not deceived by her appearance, and simply hooked her chin, with a gentle teasing tone in her voice: “Call me sister, and I will tell you.”
Xu Jiao: “…”
She calmly turned her gaze back to her hands, seriously finished washing her hands, and turned around to return to the dormitory.
Zheng Zhiyu watched her back, her eyes full of gentle amusement.
Xu Jiao did not expect that Zheng Zhiyu really wouldn’t tell her about the matter in the bathroom and just let it go. After waking up from a twenty-minute nap, the red-clothed figure that originally circled around her had actually disappeared.
And she did not appear again the whole afternoon.
Xu Jiao finished her classes on her own, answered “present” for two of her roommates during roll call, and then walked with the other students toward the cafeteria. At the vegetarian dish window, in front of the expanse of green through the transparent glass, she turned around, feeling her own complexion turning green as well.
But she really had no better way to earn money in a short time, so she could only endure these terrible vegetarian days, comforting herself by experiencing a dieter’s life.
Unenthusiastically, she ordered cabbage cooked with tofu and a stir-fried winter melon, and unexpectedly discovered a small meatball inside.
In the cafeteria, Xu Jiao picked a spot and sat down. Looking at that single meatball, she ate a bite of winter melon and tofu with rice, then finally extended her chopsticks toward the meatball.
The round meatball was brought to her lips, allowing the aroma of the meat to waft through the broth covering it, as if she could smell the fragrance inside.
She put it in her mouth in one bite, slowly biting down with her teeth—
After that.
The rare anticipation on Xu Jiao’s face was extinguished.
She expressionlessly moved her jaw, chewing and swallowing the meatball that was full of flour and had no meat flavor.
In all her life, Xu Jiao had never eaten such a terrible meatball.
It didn’t even deserve to be called a meatball; it was simply an insult to pork.
She forgot how she finally finished this meal, but anyway, Xu Jiao maintained a state of no desire or demand during her evening class, even marking the exam key points in her book absentmindedly.
She was considering whether to change the family she tutored for on the weekend.
Because this place only pays forty yuan per hour, which is really far below the market price.
Also, should she get a part-time job at the KFC or McDonald’s near the school? Or perhaps ask other classmates if the school has any part-time jobs that pay one hundred per day, whether it’s going to the TV station to listen to a health program as an audience member or being an etiquette host at some event, she feels she can do it all.
Anyway, she just can’t continue eating vegetarian like this.
That night, Xu Jiao dreamed of a bowl of beef handmade knife-shaved noodles, with soup floating with oil and sprinkled with green onion and cilantro, steaming hot, light yellow noodles lying in the soup, topped with slices of shaved beef.
She picked up the chopsticks, just lifted the noodles to smell them, and was about to put them in her mouth—
“Ding ling ling…”
The merciless phone ringtone rang.
Xu Jiao opened her eyes with a sullen face.
Her face suddenly felt a slight pain.
Zheng Zhiyu, who had been somewhere unknown last night, had now returned and was sitting by her bedside, raising a hand to pinch her cheek: “What did you dream about? Why does your complexion look so bad?”
Xu Jiao didn’t mention the beef noodles she didn’t get to eat, but her stomach growled for some reason.
Zheng Zhiyu, as if she knew something, moved aside a bit, revealing a fast-food box on the table, and said to her: “Hungry? Get up and eat breakfast then.”
Xu Jiao then realized that the meat fragrance she was smelling was emanating from the food box on the table.
Zheng Zhiyu, following her gaze, looked over and casually said, “I didn’t know what you like to eat, but I saw there was someone selling rice noodle rolls at the school gate, so I bought some.”
Xu Jiao didn’t ask how she bought it, but simply raised her hand to open the box, revealing rice noodle rolls mixed with minced meat, very plentiful minced meat!
Her eyes instinctively brightened for a moment.
Immediately afterward, to hide her craving, Xu Jiao quickly took her washing cup and went out. Five minutes later, she returned, her eyes focused only on the rice noodle rolls.
Zheng Zhiyu sat beside her, supporting her chin with one hand, her red clothes spread out dazzlingly at her side.
Watching Xu Jiao eat breakfast quite boldly, she seemed to guess something, quietly waited for a moment, and after seeing Xu Jiao’s breakfast was finished, she slowly asked:
“I found out about an interesting job, are you interested?”
Xu Jiao turned her head and asked the first question: “Can it earn money?”
Zheng Zhiyu paused for a moment and slowly replied: “It can also earn money.”
Xu Jiao: “Does it earn a lot?”
Zheng Zhiyu: “…Depends on the situation, maybe several thousand yuan for something simple, more for something pricier—”
Xu Jiao: “Okay, when do we start?”
This time, Zheng Zhiyu was truly surprised by her swift and decisive speed, and after a good while, she asked: “You… don’t want to understand what it is first?”
Xu Jiao shook her head and plainly said: “I need money; as long as it’s not illegal or criminal work, I’m fine with it.”
Hearing her say this, Zheng Zhiyu’s eyes suddenly shifted to the side.
Xu Jiao sensed something was wrong and asked: “Could it really be…”
Zheng Zhiyu slowly shook her head: “No.”
After pausing for a moment, she added: “I just didn’t expect you purely wanted to earn money.”
Xu Jiao was confused for a second.
Zheng Zhiyu said no more, beckoning her to come over, and then said: “Open your mouth.”
Xu Jiao: “?”
She didn’t comply, so Zheng Zhiyu took the initiative, pinching her cheeks to make her open her lips, then tossed something inside, the kind that instantly melts with no extra taste.
Then she touched her cheek: “You have to attend class, right? Aren’t you going out yet?”
Xu Jiao: “…”
She looked deeply at Zheng Zhiyu, hesitated for a moment, and earnestly said: “Thank you for treating me to breakfast.”
Zheng Zhiyu lightly hummed: “I said don’t thank me.”
“If you thank so easily, how will I feel comfortable accepting other rewards in the future?”
After all.
She introduced this job to Xu Jiao more for personal desire indeed.
To…
Make her beloved person a bit stronger.
This way, she can endure her.
Thinking of some beautiful future scenes, Zheng Zhiyu slowly squinted her eyes, as if she were smiling.
Btw the phrase “she didn’t know how alluring she looked at that moment” is such a 🍇ist thing to say. It’s like an excuse to her excessive actions every time. Low key similar to saying “she wore that, she was asking for it”. Pretty disgusting if u ask me