Mud beads

The phone was still lit up.

Before Yu Zhu could figure it out, Liang Xia's phone rang. The ringing was so loud in the small room that it made the pen refill on the table roll slightly and touch the edge of a book.

She answered the phone, her voice still tinged with confusion: "Feed."

It was quite noisy on Liang Xia's end; you could hear the ice cubes sloshing around in the shaker: "Yu Zhu, you're something else, prioritizing your girlfriend over your friend!"

Yu Zhu was stunned: "What?"

"Still pretending." Liang Xia clicked her tongue, her tone full of excitement at catching him red-handed. "You didn't tell me you were dating Boss Ji? The video of you two being all lovey-dovey has 20,000 likes."

Yu Zhu's fingers suddenly tightened.

Someone rode by on an electric scooter outside the window, the tires splashing through the puddles below. She sat at the table, her wet hair clinging to the back of her neck, water droplets seeping into the collar of her pajamas, a chill creeping up her back.

She asked, "What video?"

"Didn't you know?" Liang Xia said casually, revealing an irrepressible gossip spirit, "The video of you on a date with Boss Ji has been filmed and posted online. Go and search for the location."

Yu Zhu did not speak.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Liang Xia's excitement subsided slightly: "Feeding? Did you hear that?"

Yu Zhu held up her phone, her gaze fixed on the WeChat page, the veins under her temples throbbing rapidly.

For more than four years, Echizen Toru has not sent her a single word.

Until today, when the video of Ji Yong and her together went viral, he suddenly appeared.

Is it a coincidence?

But if it's just a coincidence that you're short of money—what does that mean?

Yu Zhu's fingertips were pressed against the phone case, her mind blank.

Liang Xia was still calling her on the other end of the phone: "Hello, Yu Zhu? Are you listening?"

Yu Zhu put the phone back to her ear: "I understand."

"Take a look," Liang Xia said. "There are quite a few comments. I haven't read them carefully. If you don't want them to be posted, contact the blogger right away."

Yu Zhu said softly, "Okay, I'll hang up now."

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

The only sound in the room was the hum of the lamp. The bulb glowed yellow, illuminating the open pages of the book, on which lay her copied notes. Pencil dust smudged on the side of her palm, a dark patch; she rubbed it with her thumb, but it was still dirty.

But Echizen Toru's words made her feel even dirtier.

Perhaps there's no need to deceive himself—he must have seen the video before contacting her. He believes she approached Ji Yong for money. In his mind, she has no self-respect and no bottom line.

Yu Zhu tapped the chat box with her finger.

An input field pops up, and the keyboard takes up almost half of the screen.

Her fingers moved rapidly: "Ji Yong and I aren't what you think. He just celebrated my birthday; we have nothing more to do with each other. I didn't accept anything from him, and I've already made that clear to him—"

As the sentences she typed became longer and longer, her typing speed slowed down, and eventually she stopped typing altogether.

Why?

Why did she defend him so fiercely every time someone slandered him, yet he didn't hesitate to assume such malice about her? Why, after ignoring her for over four years, did he suddenly appear and interrogate her like this? Why, after trying so hard to live a good life, did he ultimately drag her back into the mud with just a few words?

Yu Zhu deleted all those lines of text.

The cursor starts jumping again.

Toru Koshima, I am a human being, not your dog. I owe you something, and I will repay it. I have self-respect too; I cannot be dismissed simply by paying money. Please respect me.

After typing the last word, Yu Zhu's hands were shaking uncontrollably, and her body was trembling involuntarily due to the release of adrenaline.

She used to address him with a touch of admiration and hope. Now, his name on the screen is nothing but mockery.

Looking at the unreleased self-affirmation, she suddenly felt powerless.

What's the point of sending it to Echizen Toru?

A man like him only believes what he wants to believe. If he thinks she's short of money, then she is. If he thinks she can be manipulated, then she can only be manipulated. If he thinks she'll stand still and wait, then he assumes she'll never leave.

Perhaps even for him, explaining is a way of reaching out. She reaches out, waiting for the other person to believe her, forgive her, and finally put her back in her place—just like she is now.

Yu Zhu pressed the delete key.

One by one, the words disappeared, leaving only a blank input box.

She opened Echizen Toru's profile page.

His profile picture was still that old photo. The sky was just before dawn, the sea was a gray-blue, and his figure was dark and blurry. She had secretly looked at it many times before, each time afraid that she would accidentally like it and that he would discover her secret feelings.

Looking at it now, it just seems ridiculous.

She clicked on the details page in the upper right corner.

set up.

Add to blacklist.

confirm.

After finishing this, she placed her phone face down on the table and picked up the pen from the table again.

Is it the pen tip pressing against the book, or the deconstruction of the Wu Liang Shrine's pictorial stones?

Architectural space, image layout, graphic programming. These things are static, unchanged for hundreds or thousands of years, a static that gives one peace of mind.

She was halfway through memorizing when the words in front of her blurred.

Yu Zhu stopped, lowered her head, and bit her lip to suppress the moisture.

Keep writing.

ㅤ ㅤ

In the spacious Singapore apartment, only a floor lamp by the bedside was lit. The city outside the window stretched low, with car headlights forming lines along the grid-like streetscape, red and white, their sounds blocked out by the glass.

Tetsuya Echizen stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in his pajamas, looking down at his phone screen.

The WeChat call I just made didn't go through.

The page quickly returned, neatly and efficiently blocking him from entering.

He glanced down for two seconds, then chuckled.

The sound was very soft, coming from the nasal cavity, and had little temperature.

really interesting.

Behind him, the woman on the bed turned over.

"Honey, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Cheng Fu leaned against the pillow, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, her voice hoarse from just waking up. Even when she was still half-asleep, she was still beautiful—small face, delicate features, appearing gentle when silent, and quickly regaining her clarity once her eyes opened.

Echizen didn't say anything, turned around and walked to the large bed behind him, casually tossing his phone onto the pillow.

The mattress sank in, and the white comforter became wrinkled.

Cheng Fu reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, her voice close to his, sweet and soft: "It's the middle of the night, and you still have things to do? Your flight is early tomorrow morning."

Koshima Tetsuya remained expressionless, his gaze drifting lightly to the ceiling: "Have you ever owned a dog?"

Cheng Fu was taken aback by this sudden question. She quickly smiled and said, "I had pets when I was little. I've only kept cats since I grew up, they're so easy to care for."

Echizen's gaze remained unmoved, his tone calm: "Can it be tamed?"

Cheng Fu loosened her arm from Yue Jianche's neck. She propped herself up slightly and squinted her eyes.

She knew he wasn't really asking about the dog, but she never did anything presumptuous.

"I don't remember. Anyway, I don't want a disobedient dog."

Echizen turned his head to look at her, raised his eyebrows, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

Cheng Fu moved closer to him, her fingers resting on his wrist. Her nails were short, well-defined, and painted a clean nude color.

"Go to sleep, you have an early flight tomorrow morning." She leaned closer, her fingers tracing the man's arm beside her. "Or would you like to do something else?"

Echizen didn't speak, only casually brushing away the hands on his body. He picked up his phone again from beside the pillow; the screen's light illuminated a small patch of skin on his face, revealing its cold, jade-like texture in the darkness.

Cheng Fu didn't come any closer. He gently said "Goodnight" and turned over to lie back down, his back undulating lightly under the thin blanket.

The bedroom fell silent again.

Just before she was about to fall asleep, Toru Echizen's phone suddenly vibrated violently.

When Echizen answered the phone, he fell into an even deeper silence before he could even speak.