IP Chapter 87

Incurable Pain | Chapter 87

In the evening, after dinner at the old house, the two of them went to the ‘old place’ where they had only been once before.

That tree seemed to have grown for a hundred years on this hillside. Time couldn’t make it wither; it just added layer upon layer of simplicity, without diminishing its majesty.

However, Bai Xunyin and Yu Luoyin, in their ‘old age’ these years, were not as agile when it came to climbing trees.

Bai Xunyin looked up at the thick trunk above, blinked innocently, and murmured, “How about we just sit under the tree?”

Leaning against the spiraling roots and looking at the stars through the dappled leaves… wasn’t a bad idea either.

The two of them sat head to head in a corner under the tree.

But after sitting with his thin arm around Bai Xunyin’s shoulder for a while, Yu Luoyin started to get restless.

“I think I should take a picture of you.” 

The man half-squatted not far from her, aiming his flashlight-equipped phone at Bai Xunyin, speaking earnestly, “My desktop hasn’t been updated in years.”

Although he had changed several phones within seven years, the desktop had never changed.

It had always been a girl sitting on the trunk wearing a skirt.

Bai Xunyin half-covered her eyes with slender fingers, unable to suppress her laughter. 

“It’s so dark, what can you capture?”

“No problem.” 

Yu Luoyin smirked, “We have a flashlight.”

He snapped several shots and then sat back, showing off to Bai Xunyin.

“My girlfriend is so beautiful.” 

Yu Luoyin looked at the photo of Bai Xunyin sitting under the tree, the backdrop of the dark night adorned with countless stars, the flashlight illuminating the slightly squinted eyes of the girl—her fluffy black hair happened to cover half of her delicate face, while the other half, with ivory-white skin, and her tea-colored eyes were stunning, exquisite, and captivating.

Bai Xunyin glanced at it, unimpressed with his self-praise about his photography skills.

Instead, she was curious about something else. 

“Why did you want to take my picture now? Why not during the daytime?”

Yu Luoyin shrugged. 

“We haven’t come here during the day.”

“…Do we have to come here?” 

Bai Xunyin couldn’t understand his logic. 

“Is it necessary?”

“Yep.” 

Yu Luoyin smiled. 

“It has to be here.”

Bai Xunyin and the vast starry sky behind her created the most beautiful picture, indispensable.

Saying that, he opened the alb.u.m, ready to change to a new desktop that he hadn’t changed in seven years.

The girl’s clear eyes casually scanned through it but couldn’t help but pause.

There weren’t many photos in Yu Luoyin’s alb.u.m, but looking at them, she felt a sense of familiarity.

Bai Xunyin squinted and reached out to him. 

“Let me see.”

“Why?” 

Yu Luoyin chuckled and handed her the phone after changing the desktop, teasing her annoyingly, “Are you checking up on me again?”

Bai Xunyin didn’t say anything, took the phone and looked at the photos in Yu Luoyin’s alb.u.m.

As expected, most of them were of her.

And they were all taken without her knowledge.

Yu Luoyin was quite open about it and wasn’t afraid of Bai Xunyin finding out. He even sat beside her and leaned their heads together to enjoy the photos together.

“This…” 

Bai Xunyin clicked on the first photo in the alb.u.m, her eyes somewhat puzzled, murmuring, “When did you take this?”

The photo prominently displayed her high school ID picture, taken seven years ago with a smartphone that wasn’t as smart and had a high-definition camera as it is now, making it obviously old.

In the somewhat blurry photo, the girl was wearing a blue and white school uniform, her face pale and beautiful, her eyes so calm that they seemed almost empty, and the only thing with color on her whole face was her lips.

After so many years, seeing her green self from her first year of high school, Bai Xunyin truly felt as if she was in a different world.

She stared for a while and couldn’t help but smile. 

“You’ve kept this for so many years?”

“Yeah, I didn’t return your student ID back then just so I could secretly take photos of you.” 

Yu Luoyin said confidently, “It looks so good.”

“What’s good about it?” 

Bai Xunyin couldn’t help but cover her face, feeling a blush rising to her cheeks, “It looks like I have a lot on my mind.”

The girl was experiencing the most painful blow in her life during her first year of high school, and her cold temperament made her seem as if she were at odds with the whole world.

Green and sharp, not soft and beautiful.

“Who says that?” 

Yu Luoyin raised an eyebrow, “Don’t insult this photo. I’ve been fantasizing about it for years.”

Bai Xunyin was about to ask what he fantasized about, but then she remembered Yu Luoyin’s inappropriate thoughts—her cheeks instantly turned red, and she looked at him expressionlessly, stating, “You’re a pervert.”

Yu Luoyin just laughed, not minding at all, taking it as a compliment.

Bai Xunyin shook her head in exasperation and continued to scroll through the alb.u.m. Most of the photos were of her, the snow in the north, her figure on the school playground…

“Stalker.” 

Bai Xunyin laughed and teased him, until she saw the last photo.

It was their ‘official’ selfie.

Bai Xunyin stared at it for a long time and suddenly said, “One photo is missing.”

“Hmm?” Yu Luoyin didn’t understand. 

“What?”

“This one.”

The girl turned her head and kissed him on the lips without warning.

At the same time, the camera on the phone clicked, capturing this intimate moment under the starry sky.

What was missing was a photo of when I kissed you.

Yu Luoyin’s alb.u.m shouldn’t only have her, it should also have ‘them’.

The usual work usually starts on the eighth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. Bai Xunyin rarely came back to accompany her family over the years. This time, she and Yu Luoyin planned to stay in the ancient town until the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

During this time, except for a trip back to the hospital, which required him to drive, the rest of the time was leisurely.

Yu Luoyin returned to Linlan on the morning of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year and didn’t come back until evening. Bai Xunyin was still sleeping in the inner room, and she felt like she was being kissed awake while half asleep.

It felt like there was a moist touch brushing her lips, like a kitten licking her gently.

She drowsily opened her eyes and saw Yu Luoyin’s face close by.

His sharp eyebrows and eyes were as black as ink, yet they sparkled with starlight, as if they were fully satisfied.

“Back already?” 

Bai Xunyin yawned, her voice soft and tender after waking up, “Aren’t you tired?”

Even with faster driving, it would still take about an hour to get back.

“A bit.” 

Yu Luoyin whispered, lying down and pulling the girl’s soft body into his arms. His long and narrow phoenix eyes closed, and his clear voice seemed to carry a hint of softness.

He coaxed again, “Stay with me for a while.”

Bai Xunyin had only slept for two hours and didn’t really intend to continue sleeping, but she still let him hold her in his arms obediently, extremely docile.

She wasn’t good with words, but she was willing to pamper him.

It was already five in the afternoon now. Bai Xunyin hoped Yu Luoyin would sleep straight through until the next morning.

After all, they still had to get up early on the fifth day.

Bai Xunyin gently turned to the side, her small hand resting on Yu Luoyin’s thin waist, and then leaned over to gently kiss his nose.

In the tranquil and gentle atmosphere, it seemed really easy to feel sleepy.

After a while, Ji Huiying prepared dinner and came to call them. Knocking softly on the door and getting no response, she peeked in through a small crack and saw the two young people sleeping soundly in each other’s arms.

The woman was slightly surprised, raised an eyebrow in understanding, smiled knowingly, and then closed the door.

They say, love was intoxicating. 

It seemed they wouldn’t need to eat this dinner.

After sleeping for more than ten hours, they woke up early the next morning.

In the early morning, Yu Luoyin chatted with his elderly grandmother in the living room, making her smile, so she prepared a bowl of ‘special’ rice wine dumplings for him.

After breakfast, Ji Huiying took the two young people to attend a wedding.

—It was said to be the cousin from Bai Xunyin’s uncle’s family whom they rarely interacted with.

The girl’s makeup was very simple, wearing a dark purple qipao. The satin fabric had delicate dark patterns, and a white fur shawl draped over her shoulders, looking like a lady from the Republic of China era.

As usual, Yu Luoyin was still wearing a suit. When the two stood together, the phrase ‘match made in heaven’ couldn’t help but come to mind, leaving many wedding guests stunned.

Actually, Bai Xunyin deliberately dressed low-key today. Facing the gazes that swept over her, she couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable.

She was actually afraid of standing out.

The reason was simple, because she had some interaction with this cousin when she was young.

When Bai Xunyin returned to the ancient town as a child and went out to play with her cousin, many boys would hang around them. The little girl hated it and went home first. Since then, her cousin had a bit of a grudge against her.

Later, they didn’t have much contact.

It wasn’t until Bai Xunyin was in junior high school that she learned why her cousin suddenly stopped playing with her. 

It was because her cousin had said emphatically, “Whenever you’re around, you steal the spotlight, and no one pays attention to me. So I don’t want to stand next to you.”

…

Regardless of the age of the girl, she cared immensely about her appearance.

So now, just thinking about this cousin, Bai Xunyin’s mind involuntarily recalled the words ‘stealing the spotlight’, and she just wanted to keep a low profile as much as possible.

So she pulled Yu Luoyin to sit at the most secluded table, watching this bustling scene from afar.

It must be said that weddings are both troublesome and tedious, and they are extremely exhausting—but they are still a dream for most girls.

In the end, all the trouble couldn’t outweigh the brilliance exchanged after exchanging vows and rings on stage, right?

Watching, Bai Xunyin couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. 

“When Ah Mo gets married, she will definitely cry uncontrollably.”

…

Why couldn’t she think about herself?

Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but smile wryly.

After a while, he asked, “Do you want a wedding like this?”

Lively, bustling, with all relatives and friends rejoicing… Perhaps all weddings were like this?

Bai Xunyin pondered for a moment, smiled and shook her head, “No, I don’t want it.”

If one day she and Yu Luoyin were to get married, she definitely didn’t want it to be so ‘lively’. In fact, when it came to marriage, just the two of them would be fine.

“Then what kind of wedding do you want?” 

There was a hint of a smile on the man’s lips, but his black eyes suppressed a hint of uneasiness, pretending to be calm and teasing, “I’ll give you one, how about it?”

As long as Bai Xunyin nodded, he could make it happen.

In the vast and deafening venue, only Yu Luoyin himself could hear the drumming of his heart.

Then he saw Bai Xunyin seem to hesitate for a moment, then slowly turned her head.

In the girl’s seemingly calm appearance but actually nervous mood, she smiled gently after a while.

“Sure.” 

The corners of Bai Xunyin’s upturned eyes were not as cold as usual, as if they were adorned with a few peach blossoms. 

She looked at Yu Luoyin, seemingly obedient and innocent, “You give it to me.”

—She knew he wanted to propose.

—And she agreed.