Chapter 49

Another Rainy Day (2)

Deng Yun smiled and admitted that the account was his.

Xu Muzi clearly heard a sudden, heavier breath through the headphones as he laughed, causing her heart to flutter for a moment.

His sudden admission left her somewhat confused: “But… how did you know my Weibo?”

“You showed it to me.”

Xu Muzi struggled to recall, unable to remember any circumstance in which she would voluntarily show her Weibo, which was filled with random thoughts, to anyone.

She felt conflicted: “When did that happen…?”

“Before, when you were drunk.”

Xu Muzi rarely drank outside; she only felt comfortable having a little in front of Deng Yun.

But after that time, she was aware of her own alcohol tolerance. It couldn’t have been from drinking too much yesterday, so was it when she had to go to the hospital due to respiratory alkalosis?

Sure enough, Deng Yun prompted, “The first time you drank…”

She knew it was that occasion!

Xu Muzi felt guilty and quickly interrupted, speaking rapidly, “Okay, okay, I got it!”

Deng Yun’s laughter filled her ears, and Xu Muzi sensitively threatened him not to laugh, then asked why he hadn’t changed his avatar or ID.

“I couldn’t be bothered.”

Deng Yun didn’t have a Weibo account before; he downloaded and registered it after seeing Xu Muzi’s Weibo.

As for the private messages…

He was just unwilling to give up. Even though he knew it was impossible and shouldn’t contact her, he still did.

The message about the inn had actually been sent a long time ago; it was from last year.

It was just that Xu Muzi only saw it this year.

She thought, how strange it was that a zombie account sent an advertisement?

Other accounts had a long list of followers. Regardless of the type of advertisements they were promoting, they had to post frequently to drive traffic.

How could this one be so quiet and clean, with absolutely no posts?

The follower list had only single-digit numbers; besides some official accounts, there was just her account.

After her family went bankrupt, she was busy and didn’t have the mood to log in much.

In the past, she had many updates every day, especially during the period of insomnia when she was at her lowest; it wasn’t uncommon for her to post ten or twenty in a row.

Since there were no familiar followers, many of her rants weren’t hidden and were visible to everyone.

Xu Muzi felt her account was embarrassing: “Have you seen all my posts?”

“Yeah.”

She persistently asked, “So many… you’ve seen them all?”

“About that.”

But Deng Yun didn’t mention her vulnerable outpourings or her seemingly hysterical words.

This person had no intention of revealing her weaknesses; he only asked her if, during the long journey, she wanted to hear about the inspiration behind the inn to pass the time, especially since she couldn’t sleep.

A thin streak of blue flashed between the dark clouds, and the wipers kept moving, clearing the raindrops from the windshield.

The sound of the rain was a bit noisy.

Xu Muzi turned up the volume on her headphones and gave a brief “hmm.”

These past couple of days, Deng Yun had slept even less than Xu Muzi. He was busy and in energy-saving mode, his voice carrying a lazy fatigue, reminiscent of the moments right after a sports game at dawn when one is about to fall asleep.

She stole a guilty glance at the figure in the driver’s seat and quietly lowered the volume a notch.

He said that when he first decided to run the inn, he didn’t have many ideas about it and didn’t know enough about such matters.

He had also discussed it with friends. They all knew that if you wanted to do something, you had to have your own thoughts; if you wanted to make money, you had to have your own uniqueness.

How to decorate and arrange the space were all tricky questions.

The blueprint initially existed because Deng Yun, while suffering from insomnia, had been smoking and browsing through Xu Muzi’s Weibo.

Deng Yun wasn’t good at running an inn.

But if he wanted to give her a gift that he could be proud of, he would indeed think it through carefully.

There were puddles on the road, and the rental car jolted a couple of times.

Xu Muzi raised her hand to grab the handle above the car window, trying to steady herself, and retrieved the phone that had slid from her lap to the seat: “What do you mean?”

“The inspiration for the inn all comes from your Weibo.”

Xu Muzi was utterly perplexed.

Had she ever posted anything that could inspire Deng Yun to run an inn? Was she really that profound?

She clearly remembered that the content of those posts wasn’t impressive; it was either a string of “ah,” or a string of “embarrassing” and “Xu Muzi is an idiot,” or just her ramblings during sleepless nights…

It was all completely unhelpful.

She felt that Deng Yun was just trying to flatter her.

She mumbled, “I don’t remember posting anything like that.”

“Go take a look.”

“Then… are you going to hang up the call?”

Deng Yun asked if the power bank and phone battery were sufficient.

Xu Muzi checked and estimated she could charge her phone over two times; it should be enough to last until she got home.

“It’s enough.”

He said, “Don’t hang up, just keep it on.”

The fields stretched out on both sides of the road.

The rain blurred the view outside, and amidst the dim, gloomy background, the green crops flashed past in Xu Muzi’s peripheral vision.

She felt a sense of comfort in her heart.

When Deng Yun made decisions, he always considered her first. Just like earlier, when he was deciding whether to hang up the call, his consideration was whether her phone battery was sufficient, not anything else.

The reluctance and discomfort of parting were somewhat comforted.

“Then… should I start looking now?”

“Go ahead.”

“What about you? What are you going to do?”

“Coding, waiting for you to finish.”

Xu Muzi found Deng Yun’s follower list and easily spotted her own account ID. It was her English name, Shirley.

The avatar was a very ordinary photo of sheet music and piano keys. When she clicked in, the first thing she saw was her last post from two years ago.

It was probably something unfortunate that had happened; she couldn’t quite remember now.

There was only one sentence: “There will be times when the wind will break the waves.”

Deng Yun had liked this post with his account.

She had thousands of posts and didn’t know where to start, so she asked him, “Which year do you think the inspiration came from?”

“Every year.”

“That’s too many; I won’t finish even when I get home…”

“Try looking at the earlier ones.”

She was still confused: “Oh.”

Xu Muzi decided to check chronologically, starting with the year she registered for Weibo.

She wasn’t a trendy girl and hadn’t browsed forums or discussion boards; she didn’t play games either. She had first used this social media platform many years after it became popular.

Her initial exposure was probably when she was in high school.

Xu Muzi scrolled through the year options and casually mentioned to Deng Yun that she had probably downloaded it out of curiosity after overhearing a few classmates in her IELTS class discussing it.

Deng Yun responded with a meaningful “ah” on the phone.

Xu Muzi didn’t quite catch on: “What do you mean by ‘ah’?”

“The reason you downloaded Weibo was because of a boy you had a crush on, right?”

It seemed… that was indeed the case…

“That’s all in the past; we’re just friends now.”

“Friends? That’s great.”

It felt like if Deng Yun were there, he would give her a thumbs-up.

Xu Muzi hugged her canvas bag filled with tomatoes and smiled, deliberately sniffing the air: “I can already smell jealousy.”

After chatting a bit more, Xu Muzi continued to look.

She started from the very beginning of her registered account and was shocked to see that her first post was like this—

Shirley: Hello everyone, I am the future pianist Xu Muzi.

Her mind buzzed for a moment.

This was… so embarrassing!

She even suspected that Deng Yun had intentionally tricked her, wanting to see her awkwardness by saying that.

Forcing herself to endure the embarrassment and amusement, she gradually became engrossed.

It was like a person who had left home encountering familiar paths and houses on their way back.

Usually, she wouldn’t think of them, but suddenly seeing them evoked a sense of nostalgic familiarity.

Back then, she was still inexperienced with the app.

Her posts were mostly complaints about how difficult Liszt’s pieces were to practice, along with photos of cats and dogs she encountered.

Xu Muzi clicked on the photos: “I really love small animals.”

Deng Yun was evidently very clear about the content of her posts and didn’t need to think twice to effortlessly respond to her: “That Labrador you often photograph is called Biscuit.”

“You know it?”

“I know its owner. It’s very friendly and loves to socialize.”

Looking at the photo of the Labrador sitting at the doorstep, nonchalantly sticking out its tongue, she expressed her confusion: “Is that so?”

On Deng Yun’s side, the sound of typing on the keyboard was crisp. He said that the Labrador often squatted outside the door, and when he passed by, it would wag its tail and seek him out for a head pat.

Xu Muzi had never experienced such treatment and felt a bit jealous, lamenting that she indeed had no affinity for small animals.

“Because of the medicated oil.”

“What?”

Deng Yun explained that it didn’t dislike her; it just didn’t like the smell of the medicated oil that contained mint or safflower on her.

Xu Muzi suddenly realized.

She practiced piano for long periods and often applied some medicated oil on her joints and shoulders to relieve pain.

No wonder after her shower yesterday, the three little cats had unusually been so close to her.

Feeling a moment of happiness, her tone became somewhat expectant: “Then next time I go to the inn, if I don’t apply the medicated oil, I can play with the kittens.”

At that moment, Deng Yun suddenly asked, “When’s the next time?”

Xu Muzi teased, “I’ll tell you when you come back.”

They continued their phone conversation, occasionally exchanging a few words.

Most of the time, both were silent, each engrossed in their own activities.

As Xu Muzi scrolled through her posts, she reached the third and fourth months after registering her account, noticing an increasing number of entries. She began to recall the version of herself from a few years ago that she had almost forgotten.

Back then, she was quite sentimental and full of inner drama—

Shirley: I went with my teacher to participate in a competition, yay!

Shirley: The competition is over, but unfortunately, I got second place, sigh.

Shirley: My teacher took me to see an art exhibition.

The post right after this contained a nine-grid photo set from the exhibition.

Now, looking back, Xu Muzi was surprised to find that out of the nine photos she posted, six were oil paintings by Claude Monet.

There were very famous works of water lilies, as well as paintings of gardens, the Japanese bridge, and poplar trees…

Noticing that Xu Muzi had been quiet for a while, Deng Yun stopped typing.

He asked her what she was looking at.

She answered with curiosity, “How amazing! I didn’t realize I used to like Monet!”

Xu Muzi didn’t know much about art; she went to the exhibition back then simply for the novelty and to take a look.

She might have exclaimed, “So elegant!” or “Such an artistic atmosphere,” but she didn’t really understand those painters and their works—she was a complete novice.

Looking back now, her taste in art hadn’t changed.

She didn’t comprehend Monet’s play of light and shadow, but subconsciously, she still favored Monet’s colors—gentle hues with a soft, misty quality that looked very comforting.

She also liked the lush gardens depicted in Monet’s paintings.

Staring at the enlarged photos, Xu Muzi suddenly had a realization.

Just over an hour ago, hadn’t she been in a mountain filled with lush trees and blooming flowers?

The dense path outside the inn, the blue wooden fence outside the berry orchard, and the vast array of flowers planted at the base of the walls…

Even the bright colors of the flowers in Deng Yun’s photo of the piano room were strikingly similar to Monet’s paintings.

Xu Muzi exclaimed, “It’s Monet!”

Realizing she was in a rental car, she hurriedly looked up, met the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror, waved apologetically, and lowered her voice: “You saw the photos I posted from the exhibition, right?”

“I did, and I referenced them.”

Deng Yun’s mention of inspiration was too vague, a jumble of ideas.

But as Xu Muzi followed the threads, she gradually began to piece things together.

It turned out there were indeed many clues—

Shirley: I went to the suburbs today to see my former piano teacher. The teacher grows fruits and vegetables in her yard, and the view outside her piano room is truly beautiful.

Shirley: When I retire, I want to live in the mountains like my teacher.

When did she fantasize about a mountain lifestyle?

Shirley: I went back to my grandma’s house with my parents for the New Year.

Shirley: My parents seem to dislike my grandma’s house; they secretly threw away many of my grandma’s things, including the paper bags and flyers she collected.

Shirley: I actually think my grandma’s house is quite nice; many old things from my childhood are still there, crammed into a not-so-big house, as if time has paused—it’s very cozy.

Shirley: I loved the candy jar at my grandma’s house when I was little, like a treasure chest, always full of various candies.

Shirley: I found a few kinds of candy I liked, so happy, happy, happy!

Shirley: The White Rabbit milk candy seems to be expired…

Shirley: I found my childhood toys, so happy.

Shirley: I’m really nostalgic, hahahaha!

Shirley: I love old things that look vintage.

Shirley: Grandma used the shrimp oil to cook ribs, and now she’s allergic again, crying.

This post also included a picture of her skin with a rash.

Seeing this, Xu Muzi felt speechless about herself.

She thought her incessant ramblings might soon surpass what was dubbed the “inn’s biggest chatterbox” by last night’s guests, Xing Pengjie.

Shirley: My cousin brought a comic book that seems very interesting; I want to read it!

Shirley: Never mind, today I’ll practice piano for ten hours. Keep it up!

Shirley: The auntie comes every day to trim the flowers in the piano room and change the water; flowers and clear vases are a perfect match.

Shirley: When I stop practicing, I can see the flowers blooming, and the clear water in the glass vase wraps around the flower stems—so beautiful.

Shirley: If only there were a deserted island where I could escape everything.

Shirley: The white noise of the spring water combined with calming aromatherapy seems like it could relieve insomnia and nerve pain.

Shirley: I tried it, but it didn’t work, sigh.

Shirley: I want a paradise that belongs solely to me.

Shirley: Preferably in a pleasant environment, where I can meet friendly strangers, without having to hear others debate my talent, whether I can become a pianist…

Shirley: I hope my piano can accompany me until I’m ninety-nine!

Shirley: If I can live to ninety-nine, that is.

Shirley: beef! beef! beef! I super love beef!

Shirley: I envy girls who are always smiling like little suns; I’m not as articulate as them. I want to be friends with girls like that.

Shirley: I saw a beautiful music clock in the shop at Megalos; it looks like an antique.

Shirley: It’s said that it chimes music on the hour; I missed my flight, which is a bit disappointing.
—-
Xu Muzi slowly scrolled through these posts, often encountering several consecutive entries consisting solely of the single character “ah,” with one “ah” stretching into dozens of excited lines.

At that moment, Deng Yun suddenly asked, “When’s the next time?”

Xu Muzi, playing coy, replied, “I’ll tell you when you get back.”

They continued talking on the phone, occasionally exchanging a sentence.

Most of the time, both remained silent, each engaged in their own activities.

Scrolling through the posts from the third and fourth months of her registered account, Xu Muzi noticed that the content was becoming more and more abundant. She began to recall her almost forgotten self from a few years ago.

Back then, she was indeed sentimental and full of inner drama—

Shirley: I went with my teacher to participate in a competition, yay!

Shirley: The competition ended, but unfortunately, I got second place, sigh.

Shirley: The teacher took me to see an art exhibition.

In the post below this one, there was a nine-square grid of photos from the art exhibition.

Now looking back at it, Xu Muzi was surprised to find that out of the nine photos she posted, six were oil paintings by Claude Monet.

There were famous water lily paintings, as well as scenes of gardens, the Japanese bridge, and poplar trees…

Perhaps noticing that Xu Muzi hadn’t said anything for a while, the sound of Deng Yun typing on the keyboard stopped.

He asked her what she was looking at.

With a sense of curiosity, she answered, “It’s so amazing; I actually liked Monet?”

Xu Muzi didn’t understand much about art. When she went to the exhibition with her teacher back then, it was simply for the novelty, just looking around casually.

She might have exclaimed “so elegant” or “such an artistic atmosphere,” but she didn’t truly understand those artists and their works—she was completely an outsider.

Now, it seemed her taste hadn’t changed.

Even if she didn’t understand Monet’s play of light and shadow, upon seeing it, she subconsciously preferred his colors. They were soft and had a misty, gentle feeling, which looked very comforting.

She also liked the lush gardens in Monet’s paintings.

Staring at the enlarged photos, Xu Muzi suddenly had a realization.

Just over an hour ago, wasn’t she still in the lush green mountains full of blooming flowers?

The dense path outside the inn, the blue wooden fence outside the berry orchard, and the large areas of various flowers planted at the base of the walls…

Even the colors of the fresh flowers in Deng Yun’s photo of the music room were so similar to Monet’s paintings.

Xu Muzi exclaimed, “It’s Monet!”

Realizing she was still in the rented car, she hurriedly looked up at the driver in the rearview mirror, waved her hand apologetically, and lowered her voice, “You saw the photos from the art exhibition I posted, didn’t you?”

“I did, and I took some inspiration from them.”

Deng Yun’s mention of inspiration was too vague and unfocused.

But as Xu Muzi followed the clues, she gradually began to see a way forward.

It turned out there really were many clues—

Shirley: I went to the suburbs to see my former piano teacher today. The teacher grows fruits and vegetables in her yard, and the scenery outside the music room is beautiful.

Shirley: When I retire, I want to live in the mountains like my teacher.

When did she ever fantasize about living in the mountains?

Shirley: I went back to my grandmother’s house for New Year with my mom and dad.

Shirley: My parents don’t seem to like my grandmother’s house; they secretly threw away a lot of her things, along with the paper bags and flyers she had saved.

Shirley: Actually, I think my grandmother’s house is quite nice; many of the old things I used to see when I was young are still there, all crammed into a not-so-big house, as if time had paused, and it feels very warm.

Shirley: I loved the candy jar at my grandmother’s house when I was a child; it was like a treasure chest, always full of various candies to eat.

Shirley: I found a few kinds of my favorite candies, so happy, so happy!

Shirley: The White Rabbit milk candy seems to be expired…

Shirley: I found my childhood toys, so happy.

Shirley: I really love nostalgia, hahahahaha!

Shirley: I like things that look vintage.

Shirley: My grandmother used the oil from frying shrimp to make ribs, and now she’s allergic, crying.

This post also included a photo of her skin with a rash.

Seeing this, Xu Muzi felt speechless.

She thought her own level of chattiness was almost surpassing that of Xing Pengjie, who had been dubbed the “most talkative guesthouse owner” by guests last night.

Shirley: My cousin brought some comic books that seem interesting; I want to read, read, read!

Shirley: Forget it; I’ll practice the piano for ten hours today, fighting!

Shirley: Auntie trims and changes the water for the flowers in the music room every day; fresh flowers and clear vases are truly a perfect match.

Shirley: When I stop practicing, I can see the flowers blooming, and the clear water in the glass vase envelops the flower branches, so beautiful.

Shirley: It would be great if there were an uninhabited island where I could escape everything.

Shirley: The white noise from the spring combined with soothing essential oils seems like it could relieve insomnia and nerve pain.

Shirley: I tried it, but it didn’t work, sigh.

Shirley: I want a paradise that belongs only to me.

Shirley: Preferably in a pleasant environment where I can meet friendly strangers, without having to hear others talk about whether my talent is good or if I can become a pianist in the future…

Shirley: I hope my piano can accompany me until I’m ninety-nine!

Shirley: If I can live to be ninety-nine.

Shirley: beef! beef! beef! I super love beef!

Shirley: I envy girls who always smile like little suns; unlike me, I’m so tongue-tied, and I want to be friends with girls like that.

Shirley: I saw a beautiful music box in the shop in Mogalos; it looks like an antique.

Shirley: It’s said to play music on the hour, but I missed it while rushing for my flight, which is a bit regrettable.
—-
Xu Muzi slowly scrolled through these posts, often coming across a series of “ah” arranged in a single line, with “ah” spanning several excited lines.

She herself became a bit impatient while scrolling, like picking sesame seeds out of mung beans

She couldn’t imagine how Deng Yun noticed such a small proportion of these contents among the chaotic and noisy posts.

But Deng Yun’s mention of inspiration wasn’t misleading.

Every detail in the guesthouse had traces to follow.

Clearly looking at her old posts, Xu Muzi found her eyes becoming moist.

A tear dropped onto her phone screen, which she hurriedly wiped away.

She once had regrets about movies.

For that reason, she posted several updates saying her classmates were all planning to watch a newly released movie. During the breaks, she heard discussions and felt the movie was quite interesting. But she had to go to piano class and practice at home after class, so she couldn’t go.

At that time, she must have found it hard to let go, forcing herself to be optimistic and drawing some big dreams for herself—

Shirley: When I achieve success, I want to watch movies all day in a cinema.

Shirley: No, I want to watch movies for a whole week!

In Deng Yun’s guesthouse, there happened to be a screening room.

She had posted a photo of a white, unknown flower while abroad.

The caption was a complaint.

Shirley: Why can’t we hang name tags on all the flowers and plants?

But now, in Deng Yun’s guesthouse, every plant had a small metallic name tag.
—-
No wonder when he sent her an advertisement through his account, she casually clicked to look at the photos and felt the guesthouse’s style was particularly appealing, always lingering in her heart.

No wonder she liked the vintage copper doorbell hanging outside the guesthouse so much.

No wonder sitting at the dining table behind the duckwood felt like visiting a relative’s house, so warm and welcoming.

Someone had pondered her preferences and turned her casual complaints and sentiments into tangible things.

Her chest felt filled with warm currents.

But…

Xu Muzi turned to look out the window; the rented car was climbing over mountains and about to exit the highway into the city.

She was already very far from the guesthouse.

Fortunately, the sound of keyboard tapping in her headphones had never stopped, and she softly called out, “Deng Yun?”

“I’m here; don’t cry.”

She wouldn’t tell the truth and only replied, “I finished looking.”

The highway exit was crowded with traffic, and the red taillights flickered softly.

The voice in her headphones felt like intimate whispers.

Deng Yun said:

The service industry isn’t easy, and he doesn’t have much experience in pleasing others.

Fortunately, he’s still quite thoughtful when it comes to things that can make her happy.

He figured she would come eventually, and the guesthouse would grow slowly like that.

Xu Muzi listened, sniffling.

Deng Yun probably heard it.

He always had ways to tease her, saying, “See, it’s not wrong to trust you; the guesthouse is doing well. If there are any important matters with the software development side next time, ask them to treat you to a meal; think of it as worshiping Guan Gong.”

Xu Muzi thought about the cinematic image of Guan Gong: “You’re Guan Gong; I’m not that dark.”

“Guan Gong isn’t dark; he’s reddish-brown.”

“Well, I don’t look like that!”

In the distance, there were a few green road signs indicating the kilometers to the city center.

Deng Yun wasn’t by her side, but Xu Muzi felt as if their souls were close, intimate and joyful.

She also felt a bit like crying.

After a few minutes, the rented car entered the city, and the journey that had lasted several hours seemed to have passed just like that.

It was almost eleven o’clock.

Her phone was still plugged into the power bank, maintaining the call, while she scrolled through it, feeling the phone heat up, yet she still didn’t want to hang up.

It was a rainy weekend, and the city was congested.

The rented car moved slowly, and Xu Muzi’s mother called, while Deng Yun had to leave the room to help Xia Xia, so the call didn’t continue.

Xu Muzi’s mother knew Xu Muzi was returning home early and asked her where the car had reached, also asking if she wanted to go out for hotpot.

In this chilly weather, eating fresh beef slices in boiling hot water would be so delicious.

But she felt a bit distracted and said she wouldn’t go out.

Xu Muzi’s mother seemed to be in a good mood, humming a song: “Then let’s not eat hotpot; let’s eat at home. Mom will make you vermicelli meatball soup.”

After hanging up the phone, Xu Muzi still couldn’t calm down.

Taking advantage of the rented car entering a relatively smooth stretch of road, she logged into her account and found some posts set to only be visible to herself.

Xu Muzi had posted photos of fridge magnets and a pair of ointments.

One was a gift she received in Mogalos, and the other was one she got when her wisdom teeth became inflamed.

The fridge magnets and the two ointments were all given by Deng Yun.

It was probably from this time that Deng Yun’s presence in Xu Muzi’s life gradually increased.

She wanted to tell him that, long, long ago, his presence had already been in her posts.

There was also a post that Xu Muzi wanted to show Deng Yun early in the morning.

The post, after they lost contact, was still a photo of the unknown white flower taken abroad.

The petals had special color patches, resembling peacock tail feathers.

She couldn’t remember much about the others, but she clearly remembered how she felt when she took that flower’s picture.

Clearly thinking of someone in her heart and regretting the sudden termination of a feeling, her caption was very simple.

She didn’t “ah” back and forth as she used to; she just calmly said—

“I still don’t know the name of this flower.”

Xu Muzi took screenshots of these two posts and saved them.

At that moment, the driver spoke up, “We’re almost there; which building in the West District do you live in?”

The rented house was in an old residential area near the school in the city, without an underground parking lot, causing many private cars to be parked on the roadside below the building, leading to congestion in the community’s pathways.

Xu Muzi said it wasn’t convenient to turn around inside, and it was hard to navigate, so she didn’t let the driver take her in and got out at the entrance of the community.

As for showing each other their Weibo accounts, they both had similar thoughts.

Compared to his feelings, hers seemed somewhat lacking, a bit like “a small witch meets a big witch.”

But in love, there are no wins or losses.

There’s only whether one cares or not.

Before getting out of the car, Xu Muzi sent the screenshots to Deng Yun and then scanned the code to pay the fare.

The rain here was not as heavy as in the mountains; it drizzled lightly, so she didn’t even need to open her umbrella.

Xu Muzi dragged her heavy suitcase as she walked into the community.

Just as she reached downstairs, she received a call from Deng Yun.

He was probably in the public area downstairs in the guesthouse; she could hear the familiar lively sounds around her:

The lazy song “K.” by Cigarettes After Sex.

It was the same song as her alarm clock in the morning, currently singing, “Holding you until you fall asleep…”

A male voice was energetically shouting, breaking the tranquility brought by the music, announcing that he checked the real-time weather and it would rain much less in the afternoon, calling on others to go out and pick mushrooms together.

Deng Yun must have moved away with his phone; the sliding sound of the door cut off the lively atmosphere.

Xu Muzi breathed in the humid air, feeling a strange illusion, as if just a few more steps could bring her back into that lively sound.

With a sense of nostalgia, she asked, “Was that Xing Pengjie’s voice just now?”

“Yeah, he was so excited that he sprayed some rice while shouting and is currently being educated by others.”

The sliding door went “whoosh.”

Deng Yun must have brought the phone back inside; indeed, she heard several familiar voices complaining about Xing Pengjie, telling him not to talk with his mouth full or waste food.

Xu Muzi laughed a couple of times in response.

Deng Yun asked, “Are you home yet?”

“I just got downstairs; are you monitoring me?”

It turned out Xia Xia had just talked to the driver on the phone.

Deng Yun said, “I heard that today’s passengers were in a bad mood, a bit melancholic, crying one moment and laughing the next, so I called to comfort the boss lady.”

“I didn’t cry; my eyes were just itchy.”

She guessed her parents were at home, so Xu Muzi didn’t rush upstairs.

She hid under the eaves at the entrance to the stairway to avoid the rain, sitting on her suitcase and suppressing her sleepy yawns.

“Deng Yun, did you see the screenshots I sent?”

“I saw them.”

Xu Muzi was initially a bit worried that the screenshots were too vague and that Deng Yun might not understand her feelings when she posted them.

But when she asked him what he was doing, whether he was again tapping out code she couldn’t understand, he answered like this—

He said, “I can’t focus, I miss you a lot.”