Chapter 40

9:00 PM (1)

The paper butterfly that Deng Yun had once folded was brought abroad by Xu Muzi.

She kept the paper butterfly in her small backpack containing sheet music. Whenever she practiced alone in the piano room, she would occasionally take it out and place it on the piano.

It could be considered a way to express some youthful sentiments.

However, as life became busy and anxious later on, she became too preoccupied to pay much attention to anything.

Every day was a rush; she wasn’t sure if she had carelessly left it on the piano and forgotten it or if it had accidentally fallen when she grabbed something else. By the time she noticed, the paper butterfly was already lost.

There had been a sense of regret.

But on this cold, rainy night, with the warm candlelight, Xu Muzi received a new paper butterfly.

In the common area, the game of Werewolf was in full swing. The player analyzing the situation was quite animated, but it was uncertain whether they were from the werewolf camp or the good people’s camp.

Their tone was quite excited as they passionately discussed the strategy…

In contrast, Xu Muzi and Deng Yun felt like they were in another world.

Even the sound of the wind had quieted down, leaving only the faint patter of rain. They tuned out the noise and discussed the paper butterfly amidst the sound of the rain.

Xu Muzi had not interacted much with the opposite sex privately, nor had she seen anyone skilled in origami.

Especially her father; when she was young, there were examples of origami animals in the art textbook, and the teacher assigned homework that required parents to assist their children.

Her father, lacking dexterity, struggled with the textbook for a long time, beads of sweat dripping onto the study desk, yet he still ended up making a mess.

Holding the candy paper butterfly, Xu Muzi felt as if she was cradling a relationship that had abruptly stopped but was now regained. She joyfully asked Deng Yun, “Did you learn how to fold this butterfly in art class at school?”

Deng Yun replied, “Actually, no.”

He learned to fold paper butterflies from his grandmother. When he lived with her back in his hometown, everyone would give carnations on Mother’s Day. He wanted to send a special gift to his mother, so his grandmother taught him how to fold a butterfly.

“Grandma was quite handy; she could even stitch a five-petal flower on torn fabric.”

“Do you know how to fold anything else?”

“Maybe a few other things, like small animals.”

“Can you fold a paper rose?”

“Why, are you not curious about your mysterious innkeeper?”

Only then did Xu Muzi lift her phone to show Deng Yun, telling him that she had to get up early to go back tomorrow.

Unknowingly, her sigh of regret was especially endearing, and she continued to grumble to herself, “There’s so little time left; let’s put aside the matters of strangers for now…”

No matter how you interpreted it, it conveyed the meaning of “you are still more important.”

Deng Yun smiled lightly, withdrawing his gaze from Xu Muzi’s pouting lips, his Adam’s apple moving slightly.

He still intended to address the main issue first.

It turned out that the residents down the mountain lived relatively leisurely compared to the fast-paced lifestyle of big cities, where there was a high demand for taxis, and cars were plentiful, making it easy to hail a ride whenever you went out.

Here, taking a taxi required prior arrangements with the driver; otherwise, it was tough to get lucky on short notice.

Deng Yun had been in a terrible mood when he came out this time; he hadn’t driven, and there were still some issues at the inn that he hadn’t resolved.

After standing up, he told Xu Muzi that he would go ask Xia Xia if there were any familiar taxi drivers at the inn.

Xu Muzi quickly grabbed his arm, saying, “Don’t go… I told Xia Xia before that I’m not familiar with you.”

Deng Yun teased, glancing at her hand gripping his arm, which she held firmly.

He joked, “When you say not familiar, is it like this?”

She let go of her hand and mumbled, “It was what I said before, but now it’s hard to explain.”

“Xia Xia saw you in my room, so she must think we’re not familiar.”

Xu Muzi didn’t have a habit of being physical with others, only with Deng Yun. She didn’t know when it started, but when she couldn’t win an argument with him, she would hit his back.

This time was no different.

Xu Muzi couldn’t win the argument, and instinctively raised her hand. When she saw the bandage wrapped around Deng Yun’s arm, she remembered that he was technically a patient now and lowered her hand.

However, Deng Yun was being mischievous. Before Xu Muzi left, he made her take her phone with her to save the driver’s number.

He whispered this reminder close to her ear.

Her heart raced at his closeness, and it made her feel even more flustered.

As she walked out, she felt the warmth of a few leaves from the duck palm tree brushing against her. In the dimly lit space, she walked several meters while her ear tingled as if electric.

Xu Muzi covered her burning ear as she passed by the sofa.

On the table surrounded by the Werewolf game players, there were only two half-burned thin candles flickering. The candlelight swayed, and the four wolves were signaling to their werewolf teammates with wide-open eyes in the night.

The good player, Xing Pengjie, who had his eyes closed, was grinning widely and boasting, saying that no matter which good person the werewolves targeted, the good team was sure to win this round.

The next moment, Xu Muzi heard the judge say, “Werewolves, please kill,” and then the werewolves, with their eyes open, all pointed their fingers at the grinning Xing Pengjie.

Xu Muzi: “……”

Worried about revealing a secret, Xu Muzi stifled her laughter and quickened her pace as she walked past the sofa to find Xia Xia for help.

As expected, Xia Xia had a solution. She picked up the landline phone and dialed two numbers, asking Xu Muzi for her departure time and phone number in between. Eventually, it was settled that a driver would pick her up at the foot of the mountain at five o’clock tomorrow morning.

Xu Muzi thanked her repeatedly.

Xia Xia, smiling, picked up a plate of fruit and invited Xu Muzi to try some fresh tomatoes grown by local farmers.

The tomatoes were not large, but even in the light of the emergency lamp, their bright and tempting colors were apparent.

Xu Muzi took a bite, and the taste was sweet, more fragrant than those bought at the supermarket.

Xia Xia held the tomatoes and went to share them with other guests.

“Sorry everyone, you were supposed to enjoy various berries. But the weather has been poor, so you probably didn’t harvest much. These tomatoes are grown by an old man living at the foot of the mountain, so please feel free to eat more…”

The tomatoes here were truly delicious. Xu Muzi took a few steps outside and turned back to grab another one from Xia Xia.

She intended to bring it to the “unfamiliar” Deng Yun.

Returning to Deng Yun’s side, she placed the tomato on the table, saying, “The taxi is all sorted! Try this tomato; it’s grown by a local farmer, and it tastes great.”

Deng Yun replied, “I’ve tried it; I know the farmer you’re talking about.”

Xu Muzi thought it was because Deng Yun had come earlier than she had, so he knew more about the place.

Still holding the half-eaten tomato, she glanced at the window, covered in glistening raindrops, and asked, “The weather must have been nice when you arrived, right?”

“Yeah, it didn’t rain.”

Earlier, Xia Xia mentioned that the soil here was fertile, and many fruits and vegetables grown here had excellent flavors.

Not just tomatoes, but also sweet apricots and melons. On good weather days, there was a high chance of encountering someone selling produce on a shoulder pole.

What a wonderful place.

No wonder Deng Yun’s friend Cheng Zhikun chose to buy a house here for his elderly family members to retire.

Xu Muzi imagined the sequence of events as follows:

Deng Yun wanted to come out, and as his friend, Cheng Zhikun recommended this inn to him.

After all, Cheng Zhikun was very familiar with this place and could come to the inn to enjoy meals for free.

How nice.

How enviable.

Xu Muzi gazed longingly at the rain outside, the sky dark, and the snake vine was no longer visible.

She said, “I’d like to come back to stay a few more days whenever I have the chance, hopefully during nice weather. What about you? Do you want to come back?”

“I’ll come with you.”

Xu Muzi was quite happy.

Previously, she felt it was surreal, like a dream. But hearing that Deng Yun’s family had moved back from the south, and knowing he would accompany her back to the inn, made her feel much more at ease.

Xu Muzi always felt particularly relaxed around Deng Yun. She sniffed the tomato in her hand and casually mentioned that she had always thought he had a similar fresh tomato vine scent about him.

“It’s not just you; your old bedroom also had it on the bed, and it smelled nice.”

After saying this, she took a big bite of the tomato.

The tomato was incredibly fresh, juicy, and once bitten, she couldn’t pull it away from her mouth right away, trying to prevent the juice from dripping onto her clothes.

Xu Muzi chewed while pursing her lips, wanting to ask Deng Yun if he really didn’t want to try such delicious tomatoes; how could he resist?

When she looked up, however, she met his calm gaze.

Suddenly, she felt that after saying those words and still sucking on the tomato, it seemed a bit…

Luckily, she had said “on the bed” and hadn’t mentioned “under the blanket.”

In her fluster, she gulped down the few bites of tomato she hadn’t properly chewed yet, choking herself, and stood beside the table and chairs, suppressing a cough.

Deng Yun gently patted Xu Muzi’s back, pulled out a tissue, bent slightly to meet her gaze, and helped her wipe the corner of her lips.

With him so close, the tomato vine scent in the air became more pronounced, distracting her and making her heart race as memories flooded back to waking up in Deng Yun’s bed.

Xu Muzi and Deng Yun locked eyes.

Their gazes intertwined and lingered, their breaths growing increasingly erratic.

She felt a bit confused about what her feelings were and how to approach romance.

All she wanted was to do something, just like that winter in her freshman year when she sat in Deng Yun’s car, unable to hold back.

Deng Yun crumpled the tissue he used to wipe Xu Muzi’s mouth and tossed it into the trash bin, then gently held her face, tilting his head closer.

Their disordered breaths were almost touching when suddenly, the common area erupted into a commotion.

It seemed that there was a conclusion to the Werewolf game, and several players from the good team were joking and complaining, while the werewolves celebrated with high-fives.

The judge was also saying something, laughing; perhaps they had witnessed a player’s blunder from a god-like perspective during the game.

It was unclear who got so excited that they slammed the sofa, even Xia Xia’s voice trying to stop them joined in.

The noise was deafening, almost threatening to lift the roof off.

This was starting to affect the atmosphere.

Xu Muzi couldn’t help but open one eye and saw the slight curve at the corner of Deng Yun’s lips, so she opened both eyes wide.

Deng Yun had also stopped his actions, pinching Xu Muzi’s cheek and glancing momentarily toward the dense shadow of the duck palm tree.

The noise level over there was somewhat suppressed by Xia Xia, but they could still hear the joke about Xing Pengjie being awarded the title of the worst player in this round.

Their foreheads touched, and there was laughter in their eyes.

Deng Yun gently kissed Xu Muzi’s lips and asked, “It’s too noisy. Do you want to change places?”