The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie
Chapter 310: 310: Lu Sheng and Qing Rang's relationship is perfect, their love is so sweet it's overwhelming (second update)

Chapter 310: 310: Lu Sheng and Qing Rang’s relationship is perfect, their love is so sweet it’s overwhelming (second update)

Yao Bixi: “…” Feeling a bit angry, she shouted, “Put on your coat before you go out!”

It was only around ten degrees outside, and it grew even colder after dark.

Lu Sheng had been waiting at the entrance to Zhou Qingrang’s house for five hours, from when the sun was high in the sky until the moon was half full. He didn’t return until nine o’clock at night.

She squatted at his doorway, her legs numb from crouching.

“Lu Sheng.”

He walked over from a distance, leaning on a cane, under a sky adorned with stars and the moon. His shadow on the ground looked uneven.

She stood up, leaning on the wall, wearing a light aqua dress that was wrinkled from her clutching it. Speaking with a trembling voice, she said, “If you don’t come back soon, I’m going to freeze to death.”

It was early spring, and the outdoor temperature at night was very low, with strong winds. Her dress offered no protection from the cold, and her body had become numb.

Zhou Qingrang took off his overcoat and draped it over her: “Why didn’t you call me?” He didn’t know how long she had been waiting; even the little moons on her fingernails were turning blue from the cold.

Lu Sheng shivered, rubbing her hands: “I wanted to see you. What if you rejected me if I called?”

So, she had come to his house and waited foolishly.

“It’s cold outside. Let’s go inside,” he said, unlocking the door for her to enter first.

She hobbled into the yard, her steps unsteady due to the numbness in her legs. He followed behind her, extending his hand slightly, then frowning and retracting it.

He was unsteady himself; how could he support her?

It was a two-story detached house, an old one, very close to the TV station. If Zhou Qingrang went off work too late, he would stay here.

The yard wasn’t big, but it was home to several trees whose names Lu Sheng didn’t know, along with numerous plants and flowers, and under the tallest tree was an old wooden swing.

Lu Sheng didn’t go inside the house. She put on his overcoat, which reached down to her ankles: “May I sit on that swing?”

“Mhm.”

Looking up, there were stars everywhere, and the wind was cold. The barking of dogs outside was noisy.

She liked this kind of evening, this kind of yard, the trees and the swing in the yard—she couldn’t quite explain the feeling, but somehow, it seemed to go well with Zhou Qingrang.

She sat on the wooden swing and gave it a couple of pushes, her fingers feeling the inscribed letters on the armrest.

“Who is Zhao Lu?”

The light from the yard barely reached under the tree, making it dim. She could make out the name even though the writing was a careless scrawl, not Zhou Qingrang’s handwriting.

Zhou Qingrang’s handwriting was among the best at the TV station.

Lu Sheng asked softly, “Your ex-girlfriend?”

She knew little about his past.

Zhou Qingrang shook his head: “No, she’s the daughter of the previous owner. The swing was left by them.”

That was a relief, it wasn’t about an ex-girlfriend.

“Zhou Qingrang,” she suddenly asked, jumping to another thought, “Do you like daughters?”

He didn’t know how to respond or what she was getting at. He set his cane aside and stood in front of her, his shadow cast long and straight on the ground.

She swayed on the swing, her hands hidden within the long sleeves: “When I was little, a fortune-teller read my fortune. He said that although I wouldn’t have any sons, I would have two daughters.”

After saying this, she asked him again: “Do you like daughters?”

Zhou Qingrang steadied the moving swing, slowly crouching down to be at eye level with her: “Lu Sheng—”

She pointed her toes to the ground and suddenly leaned forward; he was slightly taken aback and caught the faint scent of oranges from her.

She had changed her perfume, searching for a long time before finding one with the scent of oranges.

“Can you forget what my mom said? Just remember what I said instead.”

The moonlight was tender, as was the wind, and the lights in the yard were dim, highlighting only the brightness in the girl’s eyes. Her speech deliberately slowed, as if she was telling an ancient and enduring story.

“I will always like you, but you’re not with me. There’s nothing I can do except work hard and avoid relationships. Then as I age, my family will pressure me to marry, introducing me to all kinds of men. To appease them, I’ll go on these arranged dates, then give the cold shoulder, dragging it out until it fizzles, and that’s how I’ll end up at thirty-five.”

She was talking about her latter half of life, the latter half she imagined.

“If by then you still don’t have your own family, she will go looking for you again.” She felt a bit cold, wrapped her coat tighter, sniffed, and continued, “By then you’ll be forty-nine years old, maybe in poor health, and then you’ll reject me again, or,”

Or…

She paused for a long time, “Or, you might no longer be alive, and then, I will go to adopt two daughters, one surnamed Lu and one surnamed Zhou.”

Destined to have no sons, to have two daughters.

That was what the fortune-teller had told her, a very famous one, who was said to be very accurate. So in her thoroughly contemplated fantasy, there were two daughters, and after another round of deep thought, she believed one should carry the surname Zhou.

“I hope I don’t live too long, just until my daughters are grown up. Then, I will go to Xufang Town to find you.” She said, “I don’t know why, but I always feel like you will end up being buried in Xufang Town.”

As soon as she stopped speaking, he spoke up, frowning, the usually cool and quiet person suddenly became anxious, “You can’t do this.”

She couldn’t spend her future on him.

Lu Sheng suddenly leaned forward, and the swing creaked. He thought she was going to fall and reached out to hold her waist. A few seconds later, he immediately retracted his hand and even said ‘excuse me’.

Such a gentleman, it was almost absurd.

She laughed, “Not like this? Then let’s consider another way.” She continued, “You’re with me when you’re forty-nine. By then you’d be old and surely wouldn’t have daughter with me. You would be struggling to stay alive and planning for me, and when you were about to give in, you’d tell me, ‘Shengsheng, don’t suffer alone. Find someone else and live a good life in the latter half.’ I’d promise you with my words, and once you closed your eyes, I’d go adopt two daughters, one surnamed Lu and one surnamed Zhou.”

In any case, she was supposed to have two daughters, and one of them must be surnamed Zhou.

She had thought about all of this over and over again. Since falling for him, she had contemplated the future, the good and the bad, all in her mind.

Just like she told her mother, it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment passion, she had considered fifty years into the future. Zhou Qingrang was fourteen years older than her, so thinking up to seventy-three was about right.

Having finished, she asked Zhou Qingrang, “Is this scenario acceptable?”

Zhou Qingrang shook his head, his brows furrowing ever tighter.

“Then there’s only one last scenario left. We’re together, have two daughters, one surnamed Lu and another Zhou, and, if we’re lucky, you’ll leave after my hair turns white. If we’re unlucky,”

He wouldn’t be able to accompany her to the end; she would have to walk the rest of the path alone.

“I’d move to Xufang Town, and once the daughters were grown, I’d show them the news broadcasts you’ve done, telling them, ‘This is your father, a news anchor with a very nice voice.'”

All of her visions of the future involved him.

“Zhou Qingrang,” she finally asked, “which latter half of my life would you wish for me?”

He said, “Can’t it be without me?”

“No.”

From the moment she met him, the decision was in his hands; she couldn’t determine whether her life would be of grief or joy.

Zhou Qingrang fell silent.

No matter how much he tried to hide it, the turmoil in his eyes wouldn’t calm down, and while crouching, the joint of the prosthetic hurt painfully, just like his heart, as if something red-hot was branded onto it.

He had never met anyone like her before, someone who came crashing into him with such disregard, breaking all his defenses to smithereens.

“You like me too, right?”

His eyelashes trembled then he quickly turned his face away.

Zhou Qingrang, you’ve given yourself away.

She was a clever girl and she had always understood him, “Someone like you, if you didn’t like me, wouldn’t let me stay in Xufang Town, wouldn’t hug me at the train station, wouldn’t let me into your home, and wouldn’t be crouching in front of me, enduring the pain as you listen to me talking about a future involving you.” She reached out and held his face, making him look at her, eye to eye, “Zhou Qingrang, from the moment you crouched down, I knew it. You must really like me.”

The one who likes you will never let you look up at him; he will bend down, endure the pain and stoop in front of you.

“Yeah, I like you very much.” He wasn’t hiding anymore; the light in his eyes churned violently, shattering into pieces, each reflecting her, “From the moment you lent me the umbrella, I liked you. That’s why I always asked when you would come to get it.”

How could he not like her, such a wonderful girl.

What had he done to deserve her affection?

He reached out, the palm that was used to holding a cane had a thin callus, rough, touching her face, “Lu Sheng, may I kiss you?”

She nodded, her tear-filled eyes finally bent into a smile.

His lips were cold, cautiously pressing against hers, “I’ll try to live until your hair turns white.”