Peerless Beauty – Chapter 114
by Little PandaSweetheart
Sending you a goodnight kiss!
In a city without central heating, one can only rely on air conditioning and a body full of righteous energy (meaning moral integrity) to keep warm.
As her frozen limbs gradually warmed up, Lu Yinxi sat obediently on the living room sofa, wrapped in Jian Qing’s scarf, wearing Jian Qing’s gloves, and holding a cup of warm water. She occasionally took small sips of the water.
Jian Qing brought out two bowls of hot noodles from the kitchen, glancing at Lu Yinxi.
Before anyone called her, Lu Yinxi caught the scent of the fried eggs and voluntarily walked over, washed her hands, and began to eat.
She ate rather quickly, but still maintained a somewhat elegant posture.
Jian Qing looked up at her and asked, “Didn’t have dinner?”
Lu Yinxi replied, “Just ate a few cherry tomatoes.”
In their circle, even those who had become as thin as mantis, still had to maintain the habit of dieting to avoid stretching their stomachs.
After a few bites, Lu Yinxi slowed down, chewing carefully and occasionally glancing up at Jian Qing sitting across from her.
Jian Qing kept her eyelids lowered, not looking at Lu Yinxi, but staring at the noodles in her bowl, lost in thought about something unknown.
Lu Yinxi’s gaze shifted, suddenly noticing a few new small cracks on the back of Jian Qing’s hand from the cold.
Her heart ached.
Why was it like before again?
Jian Qing was recklessly mistreating herself, not taking care of her body at all.
Yet, Lu Yinxi had no position to criticize her now. She stared at the small cuts on Jian Qing’s hand, gritting her teeth as she swallowed the noodles in her bowl.
Jian Qing never let kitchen trash stay overnight in her home. After the meal, Lu Yinxi rushed to wash the dishes and then hurried to take out the trash downstairs.
Jian Qing watched her thoughtfully, then gave her an elevator card and a door key.
Lu Yinxi accepted them without hesitation, tucking them away. While taking out the trash, she went to the supermarket at the entrance of the residential complex and bought two hand creams.
Returning home, she had no intention of voluntarily returning the key.
Jian Qing scratched her forehead and extended her right hand, about to ask for the key back when Lu Yinxi placed a hand cream in her palm.
“It’s a bit cold on the hands in winter. I bought one, and the store had a ‘buy one, get one free’ offer, so I got one for you too,” Lu Yinxi explained.
Jian Qing withdrew her right hand and extended her left hand, her intention clear: “Key.”
Lu Yinxi: β¦
Her attempt to change the subject failed. She slowly returned the key to Jian Qing.
Jian Qing took back the key, then looked down at the hand cream and said in a flat tone: “I don’t have a spare.”
There was only this one. If she wanted, she could go to a key shop to make a copy.
Even though they had known each other for less than two days.
“Oh⦔ Lu Yinxi responded with a lowered head. After a moment, she looked out the floor-to-ceiling window, her eyes brightening as she exclaimed, “Eh, it’s snowing again, and I didn’t bring an umbrella⦔
Her tone seemed regretful, yet her eyes were bright, as if extremely delighted.
Jian Qing glanced at the snow, then looked at Lu Yinxi.
Lu Yinxi said, “Sorry, I left your umbrella at a friend’s house. I’ll come back another day to return it to you.”
Another reason to visit was added.
Even the most oblivious person could sense her deliberate approach.
Jian Qing was silent for a moment, then cooperatively said, “You can still sleep in that guest room.”
Hearing this, Lu Yinxi’s eyes grew even brighter.
Feeling her heart beating “peng peng” from being looked at with such eyes, Jian Qing reached out her hand to block Lu Yinxi’s gaze.
In the past, when Jian Qing made this gesture, Lu Yinxi would lift her head and kiss Jian Qing’s palm.
Now, she reflexively lifted her head, looked for a moment, but instead of kissing, she slightly lowered her head and gently bumped her forehead against the cool palm.
Jian Qing withdrew her hand, lowering her gaze to look into Lu Yinxi’s eyes, her own eyes growing increasingly profound.
Lu Yinxi also looked at Jian Qing, her gaze surging with emotion, as if it had hooks that could stir one’s heart, feeling ripples.
The surrounding air was warming up, and the palm she touched seemed to be burning.
A tiny spark of heat gradually grew, making one’s heart tremble.
Jian Qing’s gaze slid down to her bright red lips, staring for a few seconds before her voice softened: “Wellβ¦ good night⦔
Lu Yinxi’s lips curved into a smile: “Good nightβ¦ Here’s a goodnight kiss for you!”
With that, she stood on her tiptoes and quickly planted a kiss on Jian Qing’s cheek, then like a puff of smoke, ran back to the guest room.
Once in the bedroom, she rolled herself up in the quilt like a a large flatbread, touching her lips as she rolled from the head to the foot of the bed, giggling uncontrollably.
Hugs, kisses⦠they had done much more intimate things, yet she still felt her heart palpitate from this brief, courteous goodnight kiss.
Jian Qing stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, her hand touching the cheek that had been kissed, faintly remembering the soft sensation.
She looked towards the guest room, her ears twitching twice, a smile blossoming on her lips.
“Good morning, Dr. Jian.”
“Morning.”
“Good morning, Teacher Jian.”
“Morning.”
In the morning, as soon as Jian Qing sat down in her department, her junior colleague from the team reached out to her, asking for something.
“Shijie (an honorific term for a senior female colleague), can I borrow your hand cream?”
“Have you ever returned it?” He always said ‘borrow’.
Jian Qing fished out a brand new hand cream from her white coat pocket, hesitated for a second, then tossed it back into the pocket. She opened a drawer and threw the old one to her junior colleague.
He caught it and chuckled, heihe: “I’ll buy you a new one when I get my paycheck.”
Jian Qing didn’t respond. She turned on her computer to check on the patients admitted last night.
On her first day back to clinical work, she had already bought herself hand cream.
Before, she hardly had any concept of hand care, just like her junior colleague, occasionally using a colleague’s cream, but never deliberately taking care of her hands.
When did this idea start?
A doctor colleague who had just finished the night shift came out wearing a face mask: “Getting older, can’t handle the ‘ao’ (meaning to stay up late or endure hardship) anymore, just can’t handle it.”
A nurse colleague handed her a bag of pan-fried dumplings: “If I ever change careers, it’ll definitely be because I can’t handle night shifts anymore.”
Nurses’ night work is even more demanding than doctors’. Among nurses who change careers, nine times out of ten it’s because they can’t endure night shifts.
A doctor who had just rotated from surgery was eating breakfast, shaking his head: “I’m very satisfied with life in oncology. Regular off-duty hours, and night-time sit-ups aren’t as frequent.”
The head nurse came in, hands on hips, saying: “We should throw you all into the ER for a month or two of rotation. You’ll appreciate our department when you come back!” Then, pointing at the doctor with the face mask, “Xiaoqian, even you’re using face masks now?”
“Can’t help it. When a woman gets older, she naturally understands the need for skincare. I’m not like Dr. Jian, with her naturally beautiful and hard to neglect self.”
Hearing this, Jian Qing’s gaze paused.
When you get older, you start wanting to take care of yourself?
“Oh, come on, you’re only 26. I’m 27, and have I said anything?” the on-duty nurse teased.
Dr. Qian, wearing the face mask, wailed: “It’s different! You’re already married, and your husband brings you breakfast. I’m not married yet. If I get ugly from staying up late, I won’t be able to find a partner⦔
The head nurse tapped her on the head: “Alright, alright, stop wailing. I’ll set you up on a blind date one of these days!”
There was an academic event hosted by their department in the evening, which meant overtime. Jian Qing worried that Lu Yinxi might wait for her at the community entrance like last night, foolishly. She picked up her phone, wanting to send her a message.
But she didn’t know how to start.
She also didn’t know if Lu Yinxi would show up tonight.
After pondering for a moment, Jian Qing took a photo of the academic conference schedule on her desk and posted a status update visible only to Lu Yinxi.
γAcademic conference, 6 PM ~ 10 PM.γ
Lu Yinxi, scrolling through her feed at a coffee shop, let out a soft sigh when she saw this update.
When would she be less busy?
So busy that there’s no time to ask her out.
Actually, judging from her personality, experiences, and the feeling she gave, there was a 90% probability that she was the same person.
Especially that feeling – it didn’t require much thought or deduction. Merely based on the lingering sense of tacit understanding and compatibility from their past time together, she could sense that the person before her was the one in her heart.
But she still wanted to confirm it once more.
Otherwise, thinking about Jian Qing desperately searching and hopelessly waiting in that virtual world would make her five viscera and six bowels twist into a knot, leaving her heartbroken and in unbearable pain.
Lu Yinxi’s desires weren’t extravagant, and she didn’t like looking back.
Even if Jian Qing couldn’t remember her, as long as this Jian Qing was the same person as that Jian Qing, she would be content.
After experiencing so many ups and downs, to meet again in the vast sea of people, she felt lucky enough.
After all, what’s happened has happened. To blame heaven and earth wouldn’t help.
If problems arise, solve them.
Isn’t life just a stack of problems one after another?
Even if this trouble is resolved, it doesn’t guarantee that the future will be smooth sailing.
Perhaps those experiences in the hospital made her realize that having a healthy body already puts one ahead of many people in this world.
All she asked for was the safety and health of her family and loved ones.
As long as they’re both healthy, with so many days ahead in the future, she could make Jian Qing fall in love with her again. They could slowly solve this difficult puzzle of life together.
Lu Yinxi sat in a private room at the coffee shop, took out paper and pen, and began to sketch, stroke by stroke, the scene of their first meeting.
Jian Qing’s birthday is November 21st.
On that birthday in the virtual world, she was busy outside, fighting a public opinion battle. Jian Qing had locked herself in her room, carving wood day after day, and didn’t celebrate that birthday.
She wanted to draw down everything that happened in that world, as a belated birthday gift for Jian Qing.
During her vacation, Lu Yinxi stayed at home for a few days, then remained in Shanghai, looking for opportunities to get close to Jian Qing.
Jian Qing, still puzzled about inexplicably writing down the name “Lu Yinxi,” allowed Lu Yinxi’s approach.
Until Lu Yinxi showed up with a few pieces of wood and a set of tools, asking her to carve a wooden sculpture.
“You can carve anything, a little deer, a kitten, a puppy, whatever you like,” Lu Yinxi said.
Jian Qing gave the wood a sidelong glance and said coldly, “I don’t know how.”
This random request seemed a bit unreasonable, and Lu Yinxi also felt it was inappropriate, but she really wanted to test Jian Qing.
“How about we learn together how to carve wood? It’ll be like we’ve signed up for the same hobby class,” she suggested.
“But this isn’t my hobby,” Jian Qing refused directly.
Lu Yinxi was so anxious she was about to scratch her ears and cheeks in frustration): “It will become your future hobby!”
In the last half month of the virtual world, Jian Qing had been carving wood every day, sculpting small animals, boats, and human figures. She had even set a goal to carve herself, Lu Yinxi, Ruan Qing, and Ruan Xi – a family of four.
“We’ll talk about it when I develop an interest in the future,” Jian Qing accepted the wood but didn’t start carving immediately.
Lu Yinxi looked at her, feeling a bit disappointed, but didn’t say anything.
In the following days, Lu Yinxi’s vacation ended, and she resumed her busy work, flying back to Beijing, temporarily putting Jian Qing aside.
Without Lu Yinxi’s disturbance, Jian Qing felt somewhat unaccustomed.
She grabbed the wood and tools Lu Yinxi had brought, staring at them for a while.
Was it just because she didn’t carve a small animal?
She didn’t know how, so she couldn’t make random promises.
Why such a big temper, ignoring her for several daysβ¦
After being neglected for many days, Jian Qing picked up the curved knife, found a beginner’s tutorial video for small wood carvings online, and quietly started carving the wood.
As she carved, she found it came naturally to her.
After watching the video once, she could almost completely carve a small item.
She thought, perhaps, this was due to innate talent.
A leaf, a small rabbit, a little gourd, a small deerβ¦
As these little trinkets gradually took shape, Jian Qing colored them. She wanted to take photos to show Lu Yinxi but felt a bit too proud to do so.
She posted another status update visible only to Lu Yinxi, pretending it was just a casual share.
γSelf-taught.γ
γ[Leaf image], [Rabbit image], [Small deer image]γ
Lu Yinxi came across this update and looked at it over and over again.
While feeling gratified, she let out a cold laugh.
Self-taught?
“He.”
What she had “self-taught” was far more than these. Her techniques for comforting people, her kissing skills, and even their intimacy in the bedroomβ¦ Weren’t all of these practiced bit by bit with her guidance?
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