Chapter 04:

4:00 AM (1)

Who would be willing to think about those annoying matters after finally escaping?

The small movements of their bodies unconsciously conveyed their inner dissatisfaction. Xu Muzi let her feet slide off the footrest of the chair, not expecting her knee to touch Deng Yun’s.

His body temperature was slightly higher than hers, warm and fleeting, brushing against her for just a moment.

The sensory threshold for skin at the knee should be high; it’s not that sensitive. Rationally, touching Deng Yun’s leg was no different from touching a glass that was still warm from the hot drink.

But in reality, there was still a difference.

The image of her relatives, who were always pestering her with gossip, suddenly faded from Xu Muzi’s mind.

She held her cup, silently finishing the last two sips, subtly avoiding his gaze across the table and trying to move her leg away.

Deng Yun was still sipping the white chrysanthemum tea, taking shallow sips, looking much like he did years ago while reading on her sofa, calm and collected.

Outside, the wind howled and the rain poured, and they fell into silence again.

Although Xu Muzi and Deng Yun had known each other for a long time, they were never really friends.

In fact, in this kind of relationship, sitting together didn’t leave them with much to talk about.

Most of the time, they were silent with each other, each drinking their own drink. But since they were acquainted, they would occasionally exchange a few trivial words.

For about ten minutes, they remained in this awkward state, their conversation feeling less natural than that of strangers meeting for the first time, until they talked about Xu Muzi’s return to the country—

“When did you come back?”

“Three days ago.”

To be precise, Xu Muzi’s international flight landed over three days ago at around eleven at night.

As she poured herself a third cup of hot drink, after refilling and answering, she caught a glimpse of Deng Yun’s fleeting smile as he turned his head.

Thinking about clearing things up, she understood without needing to think hard what he was smiling about.

Wasn’t he laughing at her for living abroad for so long that she had no patience to stay even two full days at home before feeling the need to escape?

Xu Muzi slammed the thermos down heavily on the tablecloth, thinking to herself, what right does Deng Yun have to laugh at me?

Can he really tolerate those elders?

Who was it in the past that pretended to love studying and maintained the persona of a busy, socially anxious scholar while secretly having more fun than anyone else behind their backs?

Who was it that smoked, drank, and climbed out of the second-floor window of a villa in the middle of the night, using the windowsill and the air conditioning unit to jump into the courtyard?

And who was it that used the same method to sneak into her bedroom…?

Xu Muzi had a barrage of sarcastic questions in her mind but kept silent on the surface.

Deng Yun glanced at her, calling her out: “Are you cursing me in your mind again?”

Of course, if I said I praised you, would you believe it?

I cursed, I cursed, I cursed. What can you do about it?

Xu Muzi fiddled with the small daisy pattern embroidered on the tablecloth, timidly denying, “No.”

“No one else is here, so it’s fine to curse out loud?”

Just as she said there was no one else around, a sound echoed from the elevator; a guest was coming down.

In the quiet space, it felt like a little mouse had scurried in, rustling around and making noises as it operated some kind of appliance.

A moment later, accompanied by approaching footsteps, the aroma of food wafted over.

Xu Muzi turned around, following the scent of the food, and saw a young man with messy hair like a bird’s nest, carrying a bottle of beer and a food tray as he walked over.

Upon seeing them, the young man with the bird’s nest hair seemed surprised, his gaze hesitating as it moved back and forth between them a few times, before he finally spoke: “Um… Am I disturbing you?”

This was directed at Deng Yun.

Xu Muzi had gotten used to it; just from his appearance, it seemed that she was the kind of person who could easily flip out and not give others any mercy.

Deng Yun, on the other hand, looked more approachable, silent yet exuding the air of a gentleman.

When Deng Yun said, “You’re not disturbing us,” the young man with the bird’s nest hair instantly relaxed.

He was probably an outgoing person, boldly squeezing into their small space, quickly asking Deng Yun if he could take a photo at their table.

“I won’t take too long; the lighting is good here, so I just need a quick shot.”

Xu Muzi moved aside to make room for him and sat next to Deng Yun.

The young man placed the food tray and beer on the table, took out his phone, and snapped several pictures of the table, even holding it up for them to see: “Hey bro, which one looks good?”

Since he wasn’t asking her directly, Xu Muzi didn’t lift her gaze, staring intently at the pizza on his tray.

The pizza in the tray was neglected, the meltable cheese gradually cooling down.

What a pity.

Looking back at the young man with the bird’s nest hair, he was quite serious about choosing the photos, as if he was going to post them on social media.

After selecting the photos, he reached the captioning stage but got stuck, scratching the back of his head and mumbling to himself: “What was that poem about four in the morning? Why can’t I remember it…”

She actually knew that line; it was from Yasunari Kawabata.

But…

Looking out the window, she noticed the lush vegetation in the area, including the “snake flower” Deng Yun mentioned, as well as many other unknown plants with flower buds.

But there were no crabapple blossoms, as the young man had said.

She recognized crabapple flowers, and not only were they absent here, but it also wasn’t their blooming season; they had already bloomed long before the transition from spring to summer.

The caption felt forced and didn’t quite fit.

Suddenly, Deng Yun leaned closer to her and said, “Why don’t you make your expression more obvious?”

“What? I’m not…”

What expression?

Did he mean that she looked like she was judging the young man with the bird’s nest hair?

Sometimes that was true; whenever she thought a little, her face turned expressionless, making her look dissatisfied with whatever was happening at the moment.

Throughout her life, Xu Muzi had been misunderstood quite a bit.

Everyone could misjudge her thoughts, but she thought that at least Deng Yun wouldn’t.

During their most frequent interactions, she had complained to him about her having a cold expression.

Had Deng Yun forgotten?

Turning her head, Xu Muzi realized he wasn’t being serious; he was joking.

The young man with the bird’s nest hair finished posting on social media and took his pizza away, yawning and saying he was going back to sleep.

Only Xu Muzi and Deng Yun remained downstairs.

They were sitting close, and Xu Muzi couldn’t help but want to reach out. Just as her hand was about to touch his arm, her stomach growled loudly.

She really was hungry.

Yesterday, the dinner at home was filled with delicious dishes, almost all made to her taste, and knowing her allergies, they avoided all seafood.

The black pepper beef ribs were right in front of her; every time she tried to take a bite, relatives would throw questions at her about blind dates and relationships.

“Muzi, this guy is quite impressive, right?”

“He’s okay.”

“Wow, you’re introducing Muzi to another boyfriend? Muzi, how many times have you met him?”

“Once.”

“I heard that guy plays an instrument too. How’s your relationship developing?”

After three attempts to bring the enticing beef rib to her mouth, Xu Muzi couldn’t succeed.

She finally said, “It’s already over.”

It was like a drop of water falling into hot oil, splashing everywhere.

Her statement “it’s already over” successfully opened the floodgates for conversation at the dining table, with some surprised, some persuading, and some probing for reasons.

Xu Muzi’s mother shook her head helplessly and said, “The guy told me that Muzi spends all her time practicing the piano…”

In those conversations surrounding her, even when she finally tasted the beef rib, the joy of tasting was lost; she swallowed it whole without savoring it.

Xu Muzi dared to say that besides her, no one at the table genuinely anticipated the beef ribs. What they looked forward to being her relationship issues.

In that situation, after just a few bites, Xu Muzi put down her chopsticks and went back to her room to book a stay at the inn.

The inn included breakfast with the accommodation. Breakfast started at seven-thirty, and since it was only a little past four, waiting almost three hours while starving felt like an eternity.

Deng Yun raised his hand and tapped on the table in front of Xu Muzi, standing up: “Follow me.”

He led her to the dining area, smoothly opening the refrigerator door.

Suddenly, she recalled the past when Deng Yun had sat on her bedroom windowsill, grinning and asking if she wanted to go with him.

This guy could do anything; he could sneak her, a living person, out of her house—was there anything he was afraid of?

Xu Muzi hurriedly grabbed his arm to stop him: “What are you doing?”

Deng Yun raised an eyebrow: “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Have you lost your mind? This is stealing…” she said, her stomach growling.

Deng Yun started to laugh, crossing his arms, leaning lazily against the wall beside the refrigerator: “Haven’t you seen the comic guide?”

She had seen it but hadn’t paid serious attention.

Xu Muzi hesitated: “So, the stuff in the fridge is really okay to eat?”

“Yep.”

“…No need to pay?”

“Or you could go back and grab the comic to take another look?”

Inside the refrigerator, there were pizzas stored in airtight containers, labeled with two different flavors using sticky notes.

Beef and tuna shrimp.

The pizza the young man with the bird’s nest hair had just eaten was tuna shrimp, which she couldn’t eat, so even though she was hungry, she hadn’t asked about the food source.

Deng Yun directly took the beef one, switched the container, and put it in the oven to heat.

A single serving.

She asked, “Aren’t you eating?”

“Not hungry.”

Since he wasn’t hungry, Xu Muzi enjoyed the pizza by herself after it was done baking, too lazy to change locations, and simply stood in the dining area to eat.

Deng Yun didn’t leave either; he leaned against the side, watching Xu Muzi.

Outside, the rain continued to pour, accompanied by flashes of lightning and distant thunder.

The thunder was so loud that it startled Xu Muzi, causing the piece of pizza she had in her mouth to “thud” back onto the plate.

She was very familiar with the dimness at a little past four; she used to wake up at this time for piano practice.

If it weren’t for the rain, the sky would be a clear indigo color right now.

Her stomach was full, yet she still felt wide awake.

In a casual moment, their interaction became natural. Xu Muzi turned to Deng Yun and asked if he knew where the movie room in the inn was.

She planned to go watch a movie to pass the time, washing her plate before following Deng Yun out of the dining area.

Having studied abroad for so long, she had developed some frugal habits; she forgot that this was the only light source on the floor and casually turned off the lights when leaving the dining room.

In the dimness of wind and rain, the first floor plunged into darkness.

Her eyes hadn’t adjusted enough, so she couldn’t see anything clearly, only noticing the tall figure next to her. After the light disappeared, he halted his steps.

Xu Muzi felt that her casual action was a bit foolish; afraid Deng Yun would laugh at her, she didn’t admit it and stepped out of the dining area first, preparing to fumble for her phone to provide some light.

Just then, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, briefly illuminating the decor in the corridor, cutting through the darkness.

Not just the decor, it also lit up a shadow wearing a flowing white dress.

Then came the thunder, rumbling and creating a terrifying atmosphere.

Xu Muzi wasn’t afraid of thunder and lightning, but she was afraid of ghosts.

The scene before her scared her so much that she completely lost her composure; without caring about how she looked, she turned and lunged towards Deng Yun.

She crashed into him with great force, as if she had learned the technique to walk through walls.

Deng Yun steadied himself and instinctively raised his arm to pull her into his embrace.

Xu Muzi wasn’t calm in his arms; she urged him to back away: “Ghost, Deng Yun, there’s a ghost here!”

Knowing well that the danger she perceived was just an illusion, Deng Yun still cooperatively patted her back and protected Xu Muzi behind him: “Don’t be afraid; that’s Xiaxia.”