Chapter 33: Secret

Lunch break.
Xiahou Ming sat in her seat for a long time, until almost everyone in the classroom had left, and then she finally stood up.
Pushing open the loose wooden door, the May afternoon breeze, bringing with it a dry warmth, blew in her face.
On the rooftop, the thin figure was already sitting in her usual place.
She didn’t look at the scenery or read the book, but just looked at the gray little town quietly.
Xiahou Ming walked up to her without saying a word.
She silently took the aluminum lunch box out of her schoolbag and gently placed it on the concrete guardrail next to her.
After doing all this, she stepped aside like a believer who had completed her mission, waiting for God’s judgment.
Time passed by every second.
Yu Yuhui seemed not to see the lunch box or her.
Just as Xiahou Ming’s heart sank to the bottom, and she was about to take back that ridiculous “sacrifice”—
Yu Yuhui finally moved.
She reached out and opened the lid of the lunch box.
The aroma of food, mixed with the aroma of braised tofu, filled the air.
Then, under Xiahou Ming’s gaze, which was so nervous that she almost stopped breathing, Yu Yuhui picked up the chopsticks, picked up a small piece of golden scrambled egg, and slowly brought it to her lips.
Xiahou Ming’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to those lips.
Yu Yuhui’s lips were very thin and pale in color, a bloodless, almost transparent pink.
At this moment, because they were stained with a faint oily sheen, they actually looked somewhat moist and plump.
She opened her mouth slightly and took the scrambled egg into it.
Xiahou Ming could clearly see that the tip of her tongue gently rolled upwards the moment the scrambled egg slid into her mouth, rolling the egg crumbs stuck on her lips back into her mouth.
Her movements were slow, quiet, even graceful.
She began to chew without making any sound.
Only her pale cheeks showed slight ups and downs as she chewed.
Xiahou Ming’s throat rolled slightly uncontrollably.
The memory of that night rushed back to her without warning.
An inexplicable heat slowly rose from deep in her abdomen.
She felt that something was wrong with her body.
It was a shameful wetness that she had only experienced that night, when she was exploring alone.
She couldn’t help but squeeze her legs together.
Yu Yuhui picked up another piece of green vegetable, and then a piece of braised tofu.
She ate silently and attentively, bite by bite.
This silent “judgment” was more tormenting to Xiahou Ming than any verbal criticism.
It also made her unable to look away.
Finally, when nearly half of the food in the lunch box was eaten, Yu Yuhui put down her chopsticks.
She picked up the handkerchief beside her, but instead of wiping her mouth directly, she extended her light-colored tongue tip, gently licked her lower lip, and rolled a little remaining sauce into her mouth.
After doing this, she gently pressed the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.
Then she raised her head and looked at Xiahou Ming.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on Xiahou Ming’s face, which was flushed red with shame and physiological reaction.
Xiahou Ming felt embarrassed by her eyes that seemed to see through everything, and subconsciously wanted to look away.
But Yu Yuhui suddenly laughed.
It was a gentle, clean smile, even with a hint of cunning.
Just like the smile of a prank that appeared on her face when they were drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola together in the arcade.
“Pervert.”
These two words, like a feather, gently brushed across Xiahou Ming’s eardrum, making her tremble all over, and the heat that had just risen became even more intense.
She suppressed her inner panic and asked the question she wanted to know most.
“You… why didn’t you come yesterday?”
“I don’t think… I have any obligation to report my itinerary to you, right?”
The cold words, like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguished all the heat that had just risen in Xiahou Ming.
“Don’t forget what our relationship is.”
“Um…”
“So, how did you find me yesterday?”
“Just… I went to places you might go, like Xinhua Bookstore… or something like that.”
“Wen Xuelan told you?”
“Yes… I asked her.” Xiahou Ming answered honestly, “Why did you go to her that day?”
“Because she’s a perfect fit,” Yu Yuhui said calmly. “A good chess piece doesn’t need to be powerful, it just needs to be obedient enough and able to move to the designated position.”
“But she… seems to treat you as a friend.”
Yu Yuhui chuckled when she heard this.
“That’s just wishful thinking on her part. But it’s pretty funny, isn’t it?”
She tilted her head and looked at Xiahou Ming as if she had suddenly thought of some interesting idea.
“In that case, how about you really be her friend?”
Xiahou Ming was stunned for a moment.
“Real friends,” Yu Yuhui added, setting the rules of this new game, “the kind that share snacks, go to the bathroom together, and walk hand in hand.”
“I want to see the results before the school anniversary.”
“But… Wen Xuelan doesn’t know me yet…”
“But you can refuse.”
Xiahou Ming suddenly raised her head and looked at her in disbelief.
“Because,” Yu Yuhui gently closed the lid of the lunch box, “our previous agreement has been invalidated.”
Xiahou Ming’s heart suddenly sank.
“When a secret has a fake and is publicly displayed,” Yu Yuhui looked at her with a lonely smile on her face, “it loses its value.”
“So, you don’t have to listen to me anymore.”
The old contract was torn up.
A false “freedom” was thrown in front of her like alms.
Yu Yuhui stood up and prepared to leave.
Xiahou Ming looked at her back and knew that if she didn’t catch her now, she might lose this person forever.
“So… what about a new secret?”
Yu Yuhui paused.
Xiahou Ming looked at her back, mustered up all her courage, and said word by word:
“A secret… deeper than that night, a secret that belongs only to the two of us.”
There was a long silence on the rooftop.
Xiahou Ming waited nervously for her answer.
Yu Yuhui didn’t look back.
She just walked slowly and silently along the edge of the rooftop.
She stopped beside the water tank on the rooftop, reached out her hand, and gently brushed away a withered yellow leaf on the tank.
Then, without saying anything, she continued walking down the rooftop.
Xiahou Ming was left alone, standing there.
Xiahou Ming walked to the lunch box and picked it up.
Nearly half of the food inside was eaten.
A small tooth mark was left on the edge of a piece of braised tofu.
She stared at the tooth mark and was silent for a long time.
Then, she picked up the chopsticks, picked up the bitten piece of dried tofu, and put it into her mouth.
She chewed slowly, crushing the traces belonging to another person thoroughly, mixing them with her own saliva, and swallowing them bit by bit.
It seemed that by doing this, the existence of that person could become a part of her own body.
She raised her head and looked thoughtfully at the huge iron water tank in the corner of the rooftop.