dmims 081 In Other Words
081 In Other Words
"Lu Mingfei, do you know why I'm with Caesar?"
Lu Mingfei thought for a moment and said, "Because you two are a perfect match."
"Because I don't quite understand how to like someone, I just find someone who's a good match for me." Nuonuo kicked at the cold water, the glistening droplets dancing on her toes. "I used to read romance novels and never understood why the heroines cried their hearts out, constantly asking, 'Do you love me? Have you changed your mind?' Actually, these things can be very simple. If that person likes you, they'll naturally come and hug you and tell you; if they don't like you anymore, crying won't help, right?"
"Yes, so Caesar would be a good fit for you," Lu Mingfei said.
"Yeah, it suits her quite well." Nono found the word a bit jarring. "So you're saying, if someone is good at everything, then why—"
"Why? Why?"
Nono looked down at her feet in the water, her toes curling up and drawing a small circle on the surface.
"Lu Mingfei, do you remember what happened in Hakone?"
"Remember."
"The first time I saw you was at the Regent Hotel before I went to Hakone. Before that, I overheard you talking to Guderian on the phone."
"Um."
"After that phone call, I pulled up your file, but I didn't find anything. When I interviewed you at the hotel, I used profiling on you before you left."
"Why did it take you so long to tell me?"
"You didn't ask either," Nono smiled. "When I saw you that day, my heart skipped a beat."
Why?
Nono pulled her feet out of the water, hugged her knees, and looked up at the sky.
"On the day my mother died, I had my first clairvoyance. My mother was lying in bed, and a shadow came over and took her soul away. Although I was very young at the time, I not only saw the shadow, but I also saw the person's face very clearly."
"From then on, I could tell a lot about people at a glance. I could tell what kind of person someone was just by how they walked, how they held a cup, and where their eyes were."
"I saw you that day, and that's when I decided to take you to Hakone so you could do what you want."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me. Once this kind of busywork starts, it's hard to stop. You'll owe me a lot of meals in the future."
Lu Mingfei laughed. "What about Caesar?"
"Caesar is another matter."
"Last week was my birthday, and he only found out it was my birthday by checking my college application information. He threw me a big and lively party that day, hired a band, made a cake taller than me, and spelled my name on a chocolate wall. Lots of people were there, and everyone wished me a happy birthday."
"It's quite lively," Lu Mingfei remarked.
"It was quite lively," Nono said. "That morning, I went to your dorm and knocked on the door, but you weren't there."
……
"Finger told me you went out with Zero in the middle of the night and haven't come back for three days." Nono turned to look at him. "At the time, I thought, 'Wow, this rock has finally come to his senses.' But then I heard that the two of you went to the Three Gorges to slay a dragon. Taking a girl with you to slay a dragon... that's pretty romantic."
Lu Mingfei looked at her, wanting to say that it was a special case and that he would make it up to her next birthday.
"Hey, go pick a star for me." Nono suddenly poked Lu Mingfei.
"You really want me to pluck the stars from the sky?"
"The stars I'm talking about are those big fireflies," Nono pointed ahead, "Look, they're flying up."
Fireflies flew up the waterfall from the foot of the mountain, while the mountaintop was shrouded in mist, making it look like stars passing through a cloud.
Lu Mingfei approached cautiously, but the fireflies nearby were still scared away. He could only hold his breath like a thief, wait for the right moment, and suddenly reach out.
With a "snap," the two palms came together.
"Gotcha."
"Come here quickly, let me see!"
Lu Mingfei sat back down, about to ask if there were any empty bottles or anything, but Nuonuo had already reached out and pulled his hands in front of her.
Her fingers slid into the gaps between his closed palms, her fingertips slowly probing along the base of his fingers, gradually loosening his hand. The back of her hand pressed against Lu Mingfei's palm, their ten fingers intertwined and tightening, the two of them cradling the light together.
The firefly was large; you could see its tail glowing and breathing through your fingers. Nono leaned closer to look, and its breath fell onto his fingers.
"It's so beautiful!" Nono's eyes lit up, and she whispered.
Happy birthday, Nono.
"Thank you, the timing is perfect."
She loosened her grip, her fingers slipping from between his. The firefly circled between them once, then flew away.
Lu Mingfei was somewhat surprised. He had expected Nuonuo to point at him and say things like, "Why didn't you do this sooner?" or "It's too late."
"Lu Mingfei, you're a hopeless case, you know that?"
"what?"
Nono suddenly stood up, her earring dangling. "I watched for ages on the dance floor, and Zero was like that. What happened to you?"
"What's it like to be like Zero...?"
"She was looking up at you the whole time she was dancing, and you were so distracted! She even glanced back at you as she left the stage, did you chase after her? And you were dancing with other women of dubious origin!"
"She just—"
"What do you mean, 'just'?! Your senior sister is going to teach you a lesson."
"If someone makes you cookies, you should express your gratitude; if someone brings you food, you should remember it; if someone is kind to you, you should reciprocate. You can't just accept it without doing anything; are you treating it like a piggy bank?"
"I'm trying, I'm trying my best."
"If you really want to be good to a girl, you have to take notice of her first. You have to remember what color clothes she wears, what earrings she wears, how she styles her hair, and which foot she steps with first when she walks."
"This is way too complicated!"
"Lu Mingfei, you can't pursue girls like this," Nuonuo said. "A girl like Ling doesn't say anything, but she understands everything. If she smiles at you, it's like she's smiled a hundred times. If she says one more word to you, it's like she's said a hundred more words."
"But she always explains things very clearly."
"When a girl gives a signal, you have to catch it. If you don't do anything, how will she know what you mean?" Nono crossed her arms. "Are you really that clueless, or are you just pretending?"
"She took the initiative."
"What are you pretending to be, you blockhead!" Nono suddenly snapped.
"sorry."
"What are you apologizing to me for?"
Lu Mingfei lowered his head, and there was a moment of silence between them.
Nono looked at him and sighed.
"Understood?"
"Understood."
"Let's go."
The Bugatti's engine started, and the music continued playing.
In other words, please be sincere with me.
In other words, I love you~
"It's so noisy!" Nono slammed the player down. "Turn it on faster!"
"what?"
"Why are you driving a Bugatti Veyron if you're not going to drive it fast?" Nono rolled the window all the way down. "Drive faster."
Lu Mingfei stepped on the gas, and the winding mountain road twisted and turned one bend after another. The car cut along the inside of the bend, and the shadows of the trees on the roadside were stretched into a continuous black curtain.
Nono leaned out of the car window and cheered. The night wind blew her hair up like a burning flag.
"Lu Mingfei! Faster! Faster!"
As the Bugatti Veyron sped around the bend, a gust of wind swept across, and her hair obscured her face.
The earrings swayed in the wind, the sapphires reflecting the moonlight.
Moonlight leaped from the gemstone, illuminating my face, and slowly slid down.