Waiting For Her
Conflicted as she was, what needed to be done still had to be done. Sun Miao smiled at the person who had arrived, and the other party threw their things into the trash can. Father Su stood to the side without saying much, merely praising Sun Miao, “This is great, you even thought to bring a big trash can. This way, the diners have a place to throw their things.”
Shen Yiqiu glanced at him, the meaning in her eyes clear: If you don’t know how to talk, then don’t.
“It was delicious, we’ll come again next time.” Compared to Father Su, Shen Yiqiu’s attitude was much kinder, though her eyes couldn’t help but hold a hint of complexity; after all, this was her own daughter’s girlfriend. After saying this, she didn’t forget to add a reminder, “You should head back early in a bit. It’s already this late, be careful on the road. Drive slowly. A gentleman does not stand beneath a collapsing wall1, and if you come across a place with no streetlights, definitely don’t go there. If it really comes to it…”
She paused for a moment, then continued, “If it really comes to it, give your family member a call and have her meet you at the intersection or somewhere. Two people are much better than one.”
The person Shen Yiqiu was referring to, who should come and meet Sun Miao, was her own daughter. This was the reason for her pause.
On one hand, it was so late, Su Ruixi was surely asleep. She didn’t want Su Ruixi’s sleep to be disturbed; Su Ruixi was truly very busy. Although she had gotten a girlfriend recently and had heard she wasn’t working as desperately as before, as a king of involution, Su Ruixi definitely wouldn’t relax completely. When it was time to work hard, she was still very hardworking. Every moment of extra sleep counted, and it was better than coming out late at night to pick someone up.
On the other hand, a gentleman does not stand beneath a collapsing wall. Even though Su Ruixi was a strong woman and almost 30, in Shen Yiqiu’s eyes, she was still a young girl. She was worried about Sun Miao’s safety, but she was even more worried about Su Ruixi’s.
Yet, after her pause, she still instructed Sun Miao to have a “family member” come out to get her. As she said, two people were better than one, and she was also concerned for Sun Miao’s well-being. If Su Ruixi came out, it would just be at their own residential complex gate, so the safety factor was a bit higher. With her there to meet her, Sun Miao would be safer too.
Heaven knows how conflicted she felt saying this.
But Sun Miao, standing opposite her, broke into a smile. “There’s only one person in my family, my partner, and she’s already asleep at this hour. Let her sleep. The security around here is quite good, it’s fine. I’ll be heading back in a moment.”
Shen Yiqiu felt a mix of the five flavors2 in her heart. She was actually a little happy that Sun Miao was being so considerate of Su Ruixi. But the adjacent Father Su didn’t think so. He told Sun Miao instead, “What’s the big deal? It’s just a little less sleep at night. His own girlfriend is out running a stall this late before coming home, what’s wrong with him coming out to pick you up? Listen to me, young lady, one shouldn’t have a love brain, you should just have him pick you up.”
Hearing that, Shen Yiqiu was furious. What kind of talk was that? What did he mean, “what’s wrong with coming out to pick you up” and “you should just have her pick you up.” She couldn’t hold back and turned her head directly, “If you don’t know how to talk, then don’t say anything! She is also being considerate of her partner. The young couple has such a good relationship, does it need your meddling?”
Father Su, having been scolded for no reason, didn’t know how to react. Shen Yiqiu had already said her goodbyes to Sun Miao. “Then we won’t disturb you any longer. Get home early, and send a message in the group chat to let us know you’re safe. We’ll come again next time.”
After saying this, Shen Yiqiu pulled Father Su away.
The remaining customers were still eating, but when they heard Shen Yiqiu’s “get home early,” they also realized that it was a bit dangerous for a young woman like Sun Miao to be running a stall so late at night. Immediately, one by one, they began eating with great speed. Before long, they had thrown all their trash into the trash can and even added a few words of advice to Sun Miao.
“You must be careful on the road, remember to report that you’re safe in the group chat when you get home.”
“That’s right, Boss Sun, hurry home. We’re leaving now.”
In no time, the originally bustling street was empty. Sun Miao collected the trash, wiped the tables and chairs clean and put them away, and finally swept the ground before packing up her stall and riding her electric scooter home.
When she reached the entrance of her residential complex, Sun Miao saw Su Ruixi, draped in a jacket, walking out of the security office.
Sun Miao froze for a second, squeezed the brakes, and slowly came to a stop at the gate. She looked at Su Ruixi. “Susu-jie, what are you doing here?” Su Ruixi replied, “I guessed you’d be back soon, so I came over to wait for a bit.”
From the security office behind them, a guard poked his head out. “Little Boss Sun, don’t listen to Miss Su’s nonsense. She’s been waiting for quite a while. She was originally standing at the intersection, I saw her and had to persuade her to come inside. You two should hurry home.”
Hearing the guard’s words, Su Ruixi shot him an annoyed glance, but Sun Miao reached out and pulled her onto the scooter’s seat. The guard pressed the button for the gate, and Sun Miao waved at him. “Thanks a lot.”
“You’re welcome. You gave me food before, it’s what I should do.”
Back home, Sun Miao didn’t go to shower first. Instead, she pulled Su Ruixi upstairs. She said to Su Ruixi very seriously, “Susu-jie, don’t wait for me outside like that. It’s so late, it makes my heart ache to see you like that.”
She sat cross-legged on the floor, encircling Su Ruixi’s legs with her arms. She hugged her legs and rested her head on Su Ruixi’s lap, looking up at her with an extremely earnest expression. Besides the seriousness, Su Ruixi could also see the heartache in her eyes.
Su Ruixi reached out, cupped Sun Miao’s face with both hands, and leaned down, getting closer to her. “But when Miaomiao isn’t by my side, I can’t sleep either. And when I think about you being out so late at night, not knowing when you’ll be back, I get very worried.”
Su Ruixi’s voice was soft, landing in the bottom of Sun Miao’s heart and causing ripples to spread across the lake of her heart.
“It’s all that system’s fault, insisting that Miaomiao run a stall at night.”
In the end, Su Ruixi put the blame on the system. She truly thought so; if it weren’t for that stupid system, Sun Miao wouldn’t have to be rushing about so late at night. To the system, Su Ruixi’s words filled its head with question marks, but to Sun Miao, they made her heart burn with fervent warmth.
Sun Miao also said, “Mhm, it’s all the system’s fault.”
The two of them directed their blame at the system. After they mutually told their innermost feelings, Sun Miao finally went to the bathroom to shower, while the system screamed in her mind.
【Beauty leads people astray! Host, you’ve changed! You weren’t like this before, Host!】
Actually, Sun Miao didn’t mind running a stall at night, nor did she think two in the morning was a particularly dangerous time. Before she transmigrated, when she ran a breakfast shop, getting up at 2 or 3 AM to go to the store was the norm. The roads were deserted without a soul in sight, and the entire street was utterly silent, but she never felt scared. Not to mention now, at two o’clock, she wasn’t rushing to work but rushing home to sleep—the two feelings were polar opposites.
So, at first, Sun Miao didn’t think there was anything wrong with running a stall at night.
But at this very moment, she truly resented the system a little. As Sun Miao washed her hair, she complained to the system, “But Susu-jie isn’t wrong. Running a stall at night is bad. If it weren’t for the night stall, Susu-jie wouldn’t have run to the complex gate in the middle of the night because she was worried about me. Even though the security here is good, you can’t be afraid of ten thousand, but you have to be afraid of the one in case3. That auntie just now also said ‘a gentleman does not stand beneath a collapsing wall.’ It’s too dangerous for Susu-jie to do that.”
Rinsing the foam from her head, Sun Miao argued based on reason and strength with the system.
The late-night streets that she herself didn’t feel were very dangerous, she was still worried that something might happen to Su Ruixi. For Su Ruixi, it was the same; she worried about her in the exact same way.
It had been a long time since Sun Miao had felt such concern. Back when she was in the orphanage, she almost never had the chance to go out at night, and the director and the staff there wouldn’t worry about them being unable to sleep and running around in the middle of the night. After leaving the orphanage, there was no one to ask about the cold and the warmth. The only time someone had cared for her, leaving a light on, was when she worked a part-time job late into the night. Her housemate, with whom she rented, discovered she hadn’t returned, and her phone had died from the overtime, making it impossible to reach her.
Her housemate was concerned, even afraid that she had gotten into an accident. But after Sun Miao told her the situation, she was relieved. In the following days, she would no longer leave a light on for her, let alone wait for her.
After all, they were just housemates.
But Sun Miao knew that Su Ruixi was different. She was her partner. For every day she was out hustling, not coming home until two or three in the morning, Su Ruixi would be staring at the door, painstakingly counting the hours, wondering when she would be back, and worrying if her journey home was safe.
When she saw Su Ruixi rushing out of the security office, she had been stunned and felt a bit awkward, but deep down, her heart was filled with warmth. Sun Miao couldn’t help but think: Ah, so there is someone who cares about me, who waits for me… this is so nice.
This was her partner, and also her family. From now on, no matter where she went, there would be such a person, always connected to her.
Sun Miao had always felt she was like duckweed4, a kite with a broken string flying in the sky. At this moment, that broken string was once again held in someone’s hand.
Some people longed to be the wind. Sun Miao had seen it—the backpacker with the gradient blue-and-pink water bottle from when she was selling zongzi. She was like a wisp of desert wind, scattering across the vast land. But Sun Miao didn’t long for that. All along, she had wanted a home.
“System, remember to block yourself in a bit, okay?”
Sun Miao finished blow-drying her hair and prepared to leave the bathroom. The system couldn’t help but say: 【I know, you’re definitely going to do naughty things with Su Ruixi again.】
“Of course not.” It was already so late, was she a beast, to still drag Su Ruixi into tiring activities? It was just that her heart was now a puddle of softness, and she only wanted to hold Su Ruixi tightly and sleep peacefully. She wanted a world for two5 with Su Ruixi, and she didn’t even want the system to be a part of it.
The system was quite obedient. It dutifully disconnected and informed her that it would only reconnect after 9 AM the next morning. Only then did Sun Miao open the door and walk toward the bed.
The main light in the bedroom was already off; only the bedside lamp on Sun Miao’s side was still lit. Su Ruixi was lying on her side, the blanket rising slightly. It was unclear if she was asleep. Sun Miao walked over and got into bed as lightly as she could.
Su Ruixi stirred. Sun Miao looked toward her and saw her eyes fluttering open drowsily. “Susu-jie, did I wake you up again?” Before leaving the bathroom, Sun Miao had checked the time. It was already almost three-thirty. If she dallied any longer, the sky might start to brighten.
Su Ruixi had clearly been asleep just now; she had woken her up again.
She let out a yawn but shook her head. “No, I wasn’t really asleep anyway.” She opened her arms toward Sun Miao. “Miaomiao, come here.”
The author has something to say:
System: Huh? It’s my fault again?
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