Chapter 144: Rub Me
*word used was 揉 (róu) which can mean massage, rub, knead
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xi Mo didn’t understand why Ruan Yesheng seemed unhappy.
From logic, her answer shouldn't be wrong. She was very sure. Because now many such social cases really had reports, and also clear data.
But seeing Ruan Yesheng like this, she felt like she had filled the wrong answer on her best subject test. She felt uneasy.
Maybe it was because Ruan Yesheng always smiled at her. Now she isn't used to Ruan Yesheng showing her a cold face.
So she quickly stood up and said, "Don’t worry. It won’t be lost. I kept all the letters I got before, here. We will check one by one. Even if it takes more time, we will find it."
Ruan Yesheng looked up. Right away she saw Xi Mo’s small nervous look that couldn’t be hidden.
Xi Mo being nervous made her anger fade away at once and her heart felt sweet.
But on the surface she still pretended. She frowned a little and said, "What if we can’t find it?"
"Then I…" Xi Mo spoke, and in her heart she had no doubt. But the words got stuck when reaching her lips. She paused and then said, "I will pay you back."
"How will you pay me back?" Ruan Yesheng leaned her face on her hand and asked.
"However it should be payed back, then I'll pay back that way." Maybe because inside she already decided that if they didn't find them, then she must pay Ruan Yesheng. This time Xi Mo didn't avoid her and looked straight into Ruan Yesheng’s eyes.
Ruan Yesheng hid her smile under the hand holding her cheek. "I haven't even thought of how you should pay back, you know?"
Xi Mo said, "Then wait until you think of it. After that you tell me. No matter how long after, I'll keep my promise and pay you."
Ruan Yesheng couldn't hold back. She laughed lightly.
Sometimes Xi Mo’s stiff, serious way made her helpless, but also made her want to laugh.
But she just happened to like her serious way.
"What?" Xi Mo didn’t understand why Ruan Yesheng laughed. She asked, "Did you think of something?"
Was it that Ruan Yesheng already had an idea of how to make her pay back, but it was hard to do?
Ruan Yesheng sometimes held bad tricks. If she told her to do some very hard thing as pay back, it was also possible.
Thinking of this, Xi Mo didn’t feel pressure. Instead she felt no matter how hard, she would do it. Not getting those gifts and letters from Ruan Yesheng made her full of regret. No matter how much effort, she wanted to make up for the past.
"Nothing." Ruan Yesheng said, since she already laughed, she didn’t hide it. She switched hands to hold her chin, sat in ease, leaned soft waist, looked at Xi Mo and said, "Why are you so cute?"
Xi Mo: "…"
She was caught off guard when Ruan Yesheng looked serious before. Now she was caught off guard again when Ruan Yesheng called her cute. She stood there stiff and awkward. Her eyes kept drifting to the pile of envelopes on the table.
After teasing Xi Mo, Ruan Yesheng felt good. She decided not to push more and focused on finding the letters. She smiled at Xi Mo but said nothing else, then lowered her head to search.
Xi Mo also sat back down.
They kept digging through the envelopes. Time passed. Even with the dull and repeated task, Xi Mo didn’t feel tired at all. After finishing one storage box, she grabbed the next with full energy.
She didn’t know how long it had been when Ruan Yesheng’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw a voice message from Shen Qingbie.
From experience, Shen Qingbie usually just rambled nonsense. Ruan Yesheng was busy searching, so she didn’t plan to chat. But since she had just read Shen Qingbie’s long eight-page letter to Xi Mo, she felt touched. She also knew Shen Qingbie’s secret, while Shen Qingbie herself was still in the dark. That was interesting.
Ruan Yesheng put on her Bluetooth earphones and played the message.
Shen Qingbie sounded restless and bored, but also anxious. She said, “Ruanruan, I’m so annoyed.”
Ruan Yesheng typed back: “Why are you annoyed again?”
Shen Qingbie replied right away, as always. She was the fastest at answering messages: “What do you mean again? I only started being annoyed recently, okay?”
Ruan Yesheng: “Yes. That’s what I mean, recently.”
Before, when Shen Qingbie complained to her about being annoyed, she never knew why she was annoyed, but after a few words it would always turn to Yu An. At that time Ruan Yesheng hadn’t seen the clue, but now after reading those confessions in Shen Qingbie’s letter, she suddenly understood.
The root of Shen Qingbie’s annoyance was indeed Yu An.
Shen Qingbie sighed. “I don’t even know what's been going on lately. I feel so irritable, so annoyed, sometimes I don’t even have the mood to work. If A’Yu knew I was distracted while working, she would surely get mad again.”
Sure enough, she mentioned Yu An again.
Ruan Yesheng purposely replied. “Is it Yu An who made you irritable?”
“I got irritable myself. It should have nothing to do with A’Yu. A’Yu isn’t even by my side, how could she make me irritable?” Shen Qingbie said in grievance. “That’s right, A’Yu can’t see my working state now, how could she know I’m distracted? I can’t even make her mad.”
Lately she could rarely make A’Yu angry.
If the person isn’t there, how to make her angry.
Ruan Yesheng sighed in her heart.
It seems Shen Qingbie was hoping A’Yu would make her angry, and also hoping she would make A’Yu angry. No wonder she’s a clear stream in the chatter world, she even looks forward to getting angry.
Seeing Ruan Yesheng didn’t reply, Shen Qingbie complained sourly, “A’Yu came to see me a few days ago, but didn’t stay long. She left soon, and went to busy herself with that Lin Shunfeng. That pretty boy is now quite valued by the company, and A’Yu has to take care of him. It makes me mad, mad, mad.”
This time Shen Qingbie didn’t use the excuse “my friend is mad.” She didn’t even notice, she just whined and expressed her anger at that pretty boy directly.
But what use is anger, A’Yu still wouldn’t stay with her.
Shen Qingbie’s anger was like being trapped in a jar, A’Yu couldn’t see it, she could only hide inside, turning into a pufferfish full of air.
“Lin Shunfeng looks promising. Your company leaders didn’t make a mistake. If Lin Shunfeng becomes a hit later, A’Yu as his manager will obviously have huge benefits, the bonuses will be more. This is good for A’Yu, why are you mad?” Ruan Yesheng knew the reason for Shen Qingbie’s anger, she typed with a smile to test.
Shen Qingbie only knew she was mad, she couldn’t feel the deeper meaning. She said, “I am popular too. A’Yu takes care of me, bonuses are more. I can even give my shares in the company to her. Does that pretty boy have that? Not to mention, waiting for the pretty boy to become famous will take time, but I am already very popular now. What I see is what I get. That pretty boy still needs promises. Why does she want that pretty boy, not me?”
Shen Qingbie always had a pure and open understanding of herself.
This circle is full of smooth talks. They hide words like this, who dares to say they are popular. But Shen Qingbie is different.
Shen Qingbie thinks she is good-looking.
She also thinks she is popular.
It’s a fact, why should she hide it.
“I’m not her, what use is it for you to tell me why she doesn’t want you?” Ruan Yesheng looked at the time, trying not to laugh, typed, “You have to ask her yourself. I’m busy now, so I can't chat for long. I’ll reply when I have time.”
“Aren’t you at home in Shanghai resting? How are you still busy?”
“I’m busy looking for something.”
Shen Qingbie asked curiously, “What thing? You look so urgent.”
“Very important thing.” Ruan Yesheng replied, “I have to keep looking.”
Shen Qingbie, though talkative, knew when not to disturb, quickly said okay, and didn’t send more messages.
Xi Mo, while looking for envelopes, glanced at Ruan Yesheng smiling while sending messages, seeming very in tune with someone. She thought it must be the “Shanghai Sisters Who Love Each Other” chatting happily, and quietly clicked to see, but there wasn’t much new.
“Looking for so long, do you want to rest?” Ruan Yesheng put down the phone, saw Xi Mo stop, and asked.
“I don’t need to.” Xi Mo said, “You rest.”
“I just rested a bit, and chatted with a friend for a while.” Ruan Yesheng said while flipping envelopes.
Xi Mo noticed that when Ruan Yesheng chatted just now, her face had that genuine smile, she must have been happy, but she only chatted for a short while, with a kind of hurry. So she said, “If you feel relaxed chatting with friends, you can chat longer, don’t worry too much here.”
Ruan Yesheng blinked, “I feel more relaxed looking for letters with you like this.”
Xi Mo: “…”
She didn’t know what to say, could only hum vaguely, lowering her eyes to the envelopes.
Ruan Yesheng smiled softly.
The two of them searched until five thirty in the evening, changing one mailbox after another, but didn’t find a single envelope from Ruan Yesheng.
Xi Mo was a bit disappointed, walked to the next room where gifts were kept, thinking Zhou Wenxu would bring her good news, but it was also like drawing water with a bamboo basket, all in vain.
Zhou Wenxu said with shame, “Xi Mo, sorry, we searched all afternoon, but we still haven’t found Miss Ruan’s gift.”
Several of them searched together, their efficiency was actually high, and they had looked through more than half the gifts, but still no trace of Ruan Yesheng’s gift box.
Xi Mo frowned and pondered.
She felt it was strange.
Ruan Yesheng sent several gifts, and Zhou Wenxu and the others had already looked through most of them. By probability, it shouldn’t be like this, there should be at least one to find, why was there nothing.
Zhou Wenxu said, “It’s dinner time now. You and Miss Ruan go eat dinner. After dinner, we’ll come back to search the rest. It should all be in the remaining ones. Anyway, not many gifts are left. You and Miss Ruan just rest tonight, no need to come here.”
Zhou Wenxu and the others didn’t rest at noon, worked all afternoon without a break. Although Zhou Wenxu didn’t show it, willing to help Xi Mo find gifts, Xi Mo could still see the long fatigue on them, so she said, “You don’t need to come, search tomorrow.”
“Aren’t you anxious to find it?” Zhou Wenxu was puzzled.
Xi Mo: “…”
“Who told you I’m anxious?” Xi Mo glanced at him: “I’m not anxious. You come search tomorrow.”
“Are you really not anxious?” Zhou Wenxu asked again.
Xi Mo said coldly, “Do you believe that I’ll fire you.”
Zhou Wenxu shook his head, “I don’t believe it.”
Xi Mo: “…”
She really can't with Zhou Wenxu.
“No overtime tonight, let’s wrap up.” Xi Mo finally said.
Since Xi Mo made it clear, Zhou Wenxu didn’t insist, and with a few other guards and helpers tidied up a bit, then left.
Xi Mo also came out from the building with Ruan Yesheng, heading to Xi Mo’s main building. Winter gets dark early, outside the sky was dim, the cold rain hadn’t stopped, the two walked under an umbrella, in the rain mist blurred by courtyard lights.
“No more searching tonight.” Xi Mo said while walking, “I’m tired, we’ll continue tomorrow morning.”
Actually she didn’t feel tired at all, she just didn’t want Ruan Yesheng to work hard.
If she continued searching, Ruan Yesheng would definitely come with her. One big reason Xi Mo told Zhou Wenxu not to come tonight was because of Ruan Yesheng. If Zhou Wenxu brought people to search at night, Ruan Yesheng wouldn’t rest either, so they would all have to stop.
Xi Mo said she was tired, Ruan Yesheng quickly moved closer, their umbrellas almost touching. Ruan Yesheng said, “Do you want a rub tonight?”
“Rub…rub what?” Xi Mo paused.
Ruan Yesheng laughed, “Of course shoulders, what else could it be?”
Xi Mo: “…”
Ruan Yesheng said, “You said you’re tired. Massaging shoulders can help relax your neck and shoulder muscles.”
“…Okay.” Xi Mo lowered her head, looking at the wet ground.
Ruan Yesheng didn’t say more, only looked at Xi Mo’s profile in the hazy rain mist, the courtyard lights gave their outlines a soft glow.
After going back, Ruan Yesheng made dinner. After the two finished eating and cleaned up, they sat on the sofa in the living room to rest. The TV was on, Ruan Yesheng sat next to Xi Mo, helping massage Xi Mo’s shoulders.
Ruan Yesheng’s hands were skillful, the massage was almost bone-deep tingling.
Xi Mo kept a straight face, staring at the TV screen, but her mind couldn’t move away from the heat on her shoulders.
As she massaged, Ruan Yesheng smiled and patted Xi Mo’s shoulder lightly, “Why is it that the more I massage, the stiffer your muscles get? Relax a bit. I’ll get tired like this, I can’t even keep massaging.”
When Xi Mo heard Ruan Yesheng say tired, she sat up straight, “...No need to massage.”
“I haven't massage that long, and you say there's no need?” Ruan Yesheng said.
“...Mm.” Xi Mo adjusted her sitting posture, “Let me massage you instead.”
“You even know how to massage shoulders?” Ruan Yesheng was surprised.
“Is that strange?” Xi Mo said, “Before, when I sat playing piano for long, my shoulders and neck would get tired. I always massaged myself. I don’t like others touching my shoulders like this, it feels awkward.”
Ruan Yesheng was stunned.
The next moment she felt the sweetness, her eyes full of surprise, “Then just now you let me massage you?”
Xi Mo: “…”
“…I was tired earlier. If I massaged myself again it would be more tiring. You happened to be beside me, so I let you do it.” She kept a straight face, “Nothing is absolute. Sometimes when it’s special, it can be treated special.”
Ruan Yesheng smiled with curved eyes, “Then I’m pretty lucky, bumping into a special treatment once.”
Xi Mo asked back, “You helped me massage my shoulders. That’s hard work. You’re the one who's tired. What’s lucky about that?”
Ruan Yesheng relaxed on the sofa, hugging a pillow in her arms, saying, “I just love massaging shoulders. Of course it’s lucky to do what I love to do.”
“You love massaging shoulders?” Xi Mo frowned, “Then before, did you often massage other people’s shoulders?”
“Yeah.” Ruan Yesheng kneaded the pillow over and over, “Often. The other person really liked it.”
Xi Mo: “…”
…The other person really liked it.
She only felt very unhappy, but she couldn’t stop Ruan Yesheng from massaging others. After all, if Ruan Yesheng was willing to massage someone, it meant they were close. She had no right to interfere.
But that didn’t stop Xi Mo from wanting to know more. She asked, “…That other person, who is it?”
Ruan Yesheng stayed silent.
“Have I seen them?” Xi Mo asked again.
“Yes.”
“Who?” Xi Mo chased with some anxiety this time.
“My mom.” Ruan Yesheng laughed.
Xi Mo: “…”
Inside, she strangely let out a breath of relief.
“I only massaged my parents’ shoulders.” Ruan Yesheng’s eyes dimmed a little, but it passed quickly. Warmth filled her gaze again. She said, “Weren’t you going to massage my shoulders? Why not come over?”
Xi Mo sat up straighter, leaning closer to Ruan Yesheng, saying, “Turn your body a bit to the side.”
Ruan Yesheng hugged the pillow and did as told.
Xi Mo placed both hands on her shoulders.
The living room was warm. Outside, Ruan Yesheng only wore a loose sweater. To massage her shoulders, Xi Mo’s hands had to go inside.
Xi Mo hesitated for a moment, then slowly slid her hands under Ruan Yesheng’s sweater. Her fingers touched the thin fabric underneath, clearly feeling the warmth of Ruan Yesheng’s skin passing through that layer.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
“You’re so good at rubbing medicated oil.” Ruan Yesheng looked at her with hope, smiling, “You must be good at rubbing me too, right?”
Xi Mo: “…”
Ruan Yesheng corrected herself, “I mean, massaging my shoulders.”
Author's Note:
Mm-mm, you’re good at rubbing, you’re also good at eating, aren’t you looking forward to it~
Everyone please give more ratings and comments~ muah~
