A Moment Too Late (GL) - Chapter 104

The warm touch on her forehead seemed to linger.

Her lips pressed softly, a comforting, tender kiss.

The bench was a bit cold. They sat very close to the lake, with tourists behind them obscured by dense greenery, giving a sense of concealed safety.

A faint streetlight, hidden among the trees, dimly lit up Nan Xue’s eyes, cold, clear, and strikingly black and white.

There was a warm feeling on her cheek.

Shu Yubai looked up, almost holding her breath for a moment.

Nan Xue’s fingertips gently wiped away her tears.

She bent down, slightly lowering her eyelashes, and with a delicate white finger, she took a packet of tissues from her small bag. Frowning slightly, she pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped Shu Yubai’s cheeks, very patiently.

After a moment, her tears were wiped away.

Nan Xue averted her gaze, stood up, and threw the tear-soaked tissue into a nearby trash can.

She turned back, her hair gently lifted by the night breeze, softly spreading out and then coming back together.

Shu Yubai lowered her head, her wet lashes blinking, looking somewhat pitiful. With a nasal tone, she said, “What did you mean just now?”

Nan Xue: “…”

She said nothing and sat down next to Shu Yubai, resting her chin on her hand. Tilting her head slightly, her dark eyes held a faint, almost invisible smile. “What do you think?”

Shu Yubai shook her head, her eyes red, still with a bit of a nasal sound. “I don’t know.”

Nan Xue looked at her, suddenly bending down and leaning closer. A faint, delicate scent of gardenias spread out as the girl pecked her lips briefly, then asked softly, “Do you understand now?”

Did Nan Xue just kiss her?!

Shu Yubai’s cheeks instantly turned red, a slight tingle spreading from that warm touch. She blinked in confusion, dazed, but her heart responded first, beating rapidly.

Her pale fingertips gently curled into her palm.

After a while, she could hardly believe it and tentatively asked, “Are we good now?”

Nan Xue lowered her head, not looking at her. After a while, she looked at the distant night scene and said softly, “I forgive you.”

Shu Yubai was stunned.

Really?

But what did “forgive” mean? Did it mean they could be together again?

Or was it just a literal forgiveness?

Seeing her indifferent reaction, Nan Xue glanced at her and then at the lake. “Do you still find me annoying?”

This was the second time she had asked this question.

Shu Yubai asked in confusion, “Why would I find you annoying?”

Nan Xue looked at her under the light. Her cheeks were slightly damp, her long, elegant lashes wet with tears, making her eyes look even deeper and more beautiful. But in her soft pupils, there was only confusion.

Could it really… not be her?

Nan Xue’s long lashes trembled slightly. “You posted something… recording our breakup.”

“And said you were so annoyed with me.”

Shu Yubai frowned, “I never post anything…”

She wasn’t exaggerating; Shu Yubai was always silent, a so-called “lurker,” never even leaving a comment on other people’s posts.

What post was Nan Xue talking about?

Shu Yubai frowned, “Did you misunderstand something?”

Nan Xue: “…”

Nan Xue looked down, her delicate white fingers tightening in her palm. “I thought… you didn’t like me anymore.”

Shu Yubai was stunned, then suddenly laughed.

She looked at Nan Xue for a moment and asked, “Is that why? Is that why you were angry?”

Nan Xue looked at her, “What else?”

Shu Yubai tentatively reached for her hand. Nan Xue’s hand, resting on the wooden bench, was grabbed and enclosed in Shu Yubai’s palm. Her fingers were slender and beautiful, a bit cold but soft.

Just holding her hand gave her a sense of long-lost satisfaction.

“Can I hug you?”

Shu Yubai lifted her long lashes, her eyes filled with emotion and longing.

“Okay.”

Nan Xue’s ears turned a little red.

Shu Yubai couldn’t help but hug her, burying herself in her shoulder, feeling so close, thinking how much she liked her.

But then she let go of Nan Xue, suddenly remembering something important.

Shu Yubai asked, “What about you?”

This question seemed out of the blue. Nan Xue looked at her, puzzled, “Me?”

Shu Yubai lowered her head and casually brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “How many relationships have you had?”

Only then did Nan Xue remember, belatedly, the time she pretended to be in a relationship to deceive Shu Yubai. She felt a bit panicked; would Shu Yubai be angry? Nan Xue was afraid she would find out she had been lying, so she awkwardly said, “I haven’t had any.”

Shu Yubai pressed, “None at all?”

She instinctively glanced at Nan Xue’s phone, hesitated, then stopped. Nan Xue, seeing her expression, felt a bit anxious, thinking Shu Yubai probably wanted to ask about Qian Qian.

Nan Xue: “…”

She was stuck, wondering whether to tell the truth.

But Shu Yubai sighed softly, seeming to give up, and asked pointedly, “Nothing between you two, right?”

Nan Xue obediently nodded, “Sister, you have to believe me.”

Shu Yubai glanced at her expression.

Her heart, however, was more suspicious.

The night deepened. The twilight faded, and the lights along the lake flickered gently. The ripples on the lake, stirred by the wind, seemed to carry the stars across the sky, sparkling and flowing. Small, unnamed trees by the shore were in full bloom with white flowers, their sweet scent spreading with the breeze.

“What kind of flower is this?”

“It’s white and so small.”

“Is it a jujube flower?”

Nan Xue casually picked a branch and tucked it behind Shu Yubai’s ear. Her long, black hair, adorned with a small white flower, looked beautiful.

Shu Yubai shook her head, and the flower fell off.

She couldn’t help but laugh and looked at Nan Xue helplessly, “How old are you?”

Nan Xue didn’t reply and hugged her waist. Wherever Shu Yubai went, Nan Xue followed like a big, attached tail, being dragged along.

“What’s over there?” Nan Xue asked, breathing on her neck.

By the lakeshore, under a willow tree, stood an old lady with a bamboo pole in her hand. The pole was adorned with skewers of candied hawthorns. She wrapped herself tightly in a cotton coat, eyes watching the tourists passing by, waiting for someone to buy.

“Want some?” Shu Yubai asked, holding Nan Xue’s hand.

Nan Xue nodded, bending down and hugging her from behind. “Yes.”

Shu Yubai then said, “One skewer, please.”

The old lady picked a plump, bright red skewer and handed it over.

In early spring, the weather was still chilly. The candied hawthorns had a layer of glistening caramel on the outside, slightly cold, but the inside was soft, sweet, and sour, tasting wonderful.

The two shared the skewer as they walked home.

Soon, all that was left was the bamboo stick.

••••

At Nan Xue’s home.

In the evening, the setting sun cast the shape of the floor-to-ceiling window onto the cool marble floor, stretching out. In the first-floor hall, Aunt Zhang was cleaning the kitchen while Qian Qian sat on the sofa, with a small porcelain vase in front of her. She had taken a branch from a flowering tree outside and placed it in the vase.

It was a peach blossom, with pale pink petals.

The scent was sweet.

When Nan Xue came downstairs, Qian Qian patted a large package beside her and said, “Come look, I spent over a million on this.”

“Hmm?”

Nan Xue’s eyes showed a hint of confusion.

“It’s a painting, by my future… niece-in-law.”

Qian Qian had found the right term and was quite satisfied.

Nan Xue slowly grasped the relationship, understood, and walked over. She bent down slightly, holding a small knife to open the brown paper packaging, revealing the painting inside.

Elegant white roses.

They seemed to be wet with tears, their translucent petals carrying a faint sorrow.

The signature was a small red seal with the inscription “Yubai” in seal script.

Qian Qian showed Nan Xue the picture she had taken of the painting and said, “Do you like it? I saw it by chance and got it for you.”

“Thank you.”

Nan Xue bent slightly, wearing a velvet nightgown, hugged the painting, and stumbled upstairs to hang it in her room.

After hanging the painting, she came downstairs. Qian Qian was curled up on the sofa, flipping through a magazine. As she flipped through the pages, she said, “Her name is Shu Yubai, right?”

“Hmm?”

Hearing her name made Nan Xue’s face a bit warm.

“I brought it back from the auction.”

Qian Qian waved the magazine in her hand and gently laughed, “Your girlfriend is really pretty.”

She kept flipping through the pages, occasionally glancing at them.

On the cover was a woman wearing a long, sheer dress, with soft white skin and an oval face. Her long, black hair flowed down to her waist, her gaze soft, and her eyes holding a hint of shyness, sparkling like water.

Qian Qian couldn’t help but praise:

“So sweet.”

“So soft.”

“Great figure too.”

“A painter. Not bad.”

••••

Nan Xue said nothing, watching her warily.

Qian Qian was only teasing her and couldn’t help but emphasize, “What are you thinking? I’m straight!”

“Looking at a beautiful girl a few more times is normal…”

“Purely personal aesthetics.”

Nan Xue said nothing, walked over, took the magazine from her hand, and hid it in her own bedroom.

••••

“Hello…”

“Hmm? Nan Xue?”

In the evening, Shu Yubai was washing dishes in the kitchen while holding the phone.

“Sister, can you come pick me up?”

The person on the other end said.

The voice sounded like crushed ice, but it was slightly intoxicated, soaked in alcohol.

Shu Yubai rinsed the foam off her hands and understood. Nan Xue had just attended a banquet, was forced to drink, got drunk, and felt very dizzy.

She thought of Shu Yubai and called her.

“Alright.”

Shu Yubai smiled.

She hung up the phone and went downstairs to get the car.

She drove to the hotel.

Around ten o’clock, the night was deep, and there were almost no people on the roadside at this hour. Most of the crowd was gathered in the commercial street area. In the silence, Shu Yubai drove to the hotel entrance.

The dim light of the lobby fell as she opened the car door, got out, closed the door with a thud, and leaned quietly against the car, waiting for Nan Xue.

She wore a light tea-colored long dress, high heels, had long hair draped over her shoulders, red lips, and snow-white skin, making her very noticeable in the night.

In the night, Nan Xue hadn’t come out yet.

A wall lamp lit up in front of the hotel. Shu Yubai stood there, the cold spring night wind blowing. She wrapped her hands together and looked down at the time.

When she opened her phone, three messages popped up on the screen.

Shi Chu: [You two got back together?]

Shi Chu: [So fast!]

Shi Chu: [Congratulations!]

Shu Yubai hesitated for a moment and then thought of the woman she saw with Nan Xue before, feeling a bit jealous for no reason. She replied: – [Not yet.]

[There’s still a little… problem.]

After that, she turned off her phone. In the distance, Nan Xue walked out of the revolving glass door.

“Sister.”

Nan Xue saw her from afar.

Her eyes lit up.

Shu Yubai walked over and gently hugged her waist.

Nan Xue was wearing an off-shoulder evening dress, the black skirt glimmering with tiny sparkling lights. Her skin was as white as snow in the night, and her red lips in the darkness looked like ripe berries, exuding an enticing sweetness.

As she held her, Nan Xue naturally leaned against her.

Softly resting on her.

“Sister…”

She murmured vaguely into Shu Yubai’s ear.

“Yes.”

Shu Yubai responded, dragging her into the car and placing her in the passenger seat.

When the car door closed, silence enveloped them.

There was a faint cool fragrance in the air.

It came from Nan Xue.

She had a light scent of perfume on her, a mix of white tea, cardamom, and jasmine, very light and pleasant. Amidst this faint fragrance was a hint of red wine, slightly intoxicating and lingering.

Shu Yubai’s gaze lingered on her delicate lips for a moment before she restrained herself and looked away.

A small light turned on inside the car, and Shu Yubai casually played a soft English song, perfect for the tranquil night.

With a slightly drunk girl beside her.

The car slowly backed out, and she checked the rearview mirror before driving onto the road.

On the roadside, a red light appeared.

Shu Yubai glanced at Nan Xue in the passenger seat. She had her eyes closed and was sleeping peacefully. Shu Yubai was about to reach out and touch her chin but stopped abruptly.

The next moment, the screen lit up.

Nan Xue’s phone rang.

“Who is it?”

Shu Yubai glanced at it.

Nan Xue opened her eyes drowsily, looked at the phone, then at Shu Yubai, and obediently handed it to her.

A familiar name appeared on the screen, Qian Qian.

Seeing Qian Qian’s call, Shu Yubai hesitated for a moment. She initially intended to hang up but then changed her mind and answered it.

“Hello.”

Shu Yubai’s voice was soft.

“Who is this?”

The person on the other end asked.

“Her girlfriend.”

Shu Yubai smiled lightly and hung up.

She returned the phone to Nan Xue, meeting her gaze.

Her eyes were clear and sharp, with a hint of a smile, shy, with a touch of blush on her snow-white earlobes.

Shu Yubai looked at her, leaned in closer in the car, held her, and kissed her deeply, saying, “Am I right?”

“Hmm?”

The woman’s voice had a slight nasal tone, very gentle.