A Moment Too Late (GL) - Chapter 98

Qian Qian.

Supposedly, she is Nan Xue’s new girlfriend?

You Fu held a wine glass with her slender fingers, the clear red liquid swaying inside, and couldn’t help but glance at her again.

The warm-toned light cast a slight halo on the tip of her nose, illuminating her clear eyes.

The woman’s features bore a resemblance to Nan Xue’s—her skin was pale, almost devoid of color, but she was different. Nan Xue had a cooler tone, while she seemed like a cold, warm jade, warming up when held in one’s palm.

As You Fu looked at Qian Qian, Qian Qian was also looking at her.

While observing, You Fu thought: This person seems familiar.

Where had she seen her before?

You Fu had straight shoulders, very white, with curly hair resting on her collarbone, pitch black, with bright red lips. She exuded a casual, lazy demeanor, her eyes dark and deep, and a white diamond earring that made her look a bit cold.

The two stared at each other, their gazes seemingly intertwined like threads.

The next moment, Qian Qian’s eyes dropped, noticing the bite mark on You Fu’s index finger, a bit red, like a mosquito bite.

— She remembered.

The mark wasn’t from a mosquito bite; it was from her bite.

You Fu also recalled.

But in that moment, neither of them mentioned it, and they continued to exchange glances.

You Fu spoke first: “Do you have contact information?”

Her tone was casual, as if it didn’t matter whether she gave it or not.

They stared at each other.

It seemed they were in a silent competition.

“Yes.”

Qian Qian lowered her gaze and said, “Will you scan my QR code?”

“Sure.”

You Fu received Qian Qian’s contact information and added her on WeChat.

The night grew deeper, city lights sparkling endlessly, each household seemed to be enveloped in a mysterious dream. A gust of wind blew outside, carrying a faint whimpering sound, and cars sped by on the asphalt road, fading away amidst the countless lights.

The dinner party ended.

She stood at the door, gently draping her thin coat over her shoulders.

Memories from old times seemed like film strips, slowly flickering by.

The bite mark on her fingertip was from Qian Qian.

You Fu glanced at the bite mark on her finger.

It was a hard bite, drawing bl00d.

Qian Qian seemed soft and easily bullied when she was young, unlike You Fu, who was quite the opposite. At that time, You Fu was wealthy and attractive, a sort of “big sister” among children, and no one dared to provoke her.

Qian Qian was like a parasitic flower… playing alone in the corner, timid and unthreatening.

The two were inexplicably seated together for several years, with constant conflicts—mostly because You Fu would boss her around while Qian Qian endured silently.

One day, the conflict erupted.

Qian Qian bit her hard, drawing bl00d.

It was the first time “bad girl” You Fu was bitten, especially by a timid rabbit, and it was quite a blow to her pride. Her parents and teachers were so frightened that they sent her to the hospital that night.

A grudge was formed between them.

At the same time… You Fu started to see her in a new light.

She thought, even a rabbit will bite when cornered—it was true.

••••

In recent days, Shu Yubai still attended classes.

She walked slowly across the campus, holding her textbook and carrying her bag, enjoying the breeze.

On campus, students occasionally noticed the well-known “Teacher Shu.”

There are always a few teachers in a school who are famous—usually for their looks and competence.

Teacher Shu was gentle and reserved. In spring, when the weather was good, she liked to wear an apricot-colored long dress, with her long hair flowing, walking leisurely under the tree shade, like a fresh bloom on a branch.

In cold weather, she would wrap herself in a thick coat and jog into the warm classroom.

— Like a small bird hopping in the grass.

Unexpectedly… cute.

“Hey, isn’t that Teacher Shu?”

“Yes, she’s the youngest associate professor at our school.”

“She’s really beautiful.”

••••

Her visibility in the school was somewhat higher, but she had grown used to it. Apart from feeling a bit uncomfortable, it didn’t have much of an impact on her.

She still painted.

She had grown fond of painting flowers.

White flowers, from the plum blossoms of winter to the pear blossoms of spring.

“How’s this one?”

Shu Yubai spread out a recently finished painting on the studio’s large table for Shi Chu to see.

The background was a light cyan, with a slender vase on a wooden table. The vase held a bunch of white roses, a total of seven roses. The petals were soft and somewhat transparent, as if damp with tears, evoking a faint sadness.

“It’s beautiful, Teacher Shu. You’re amazing.”

Shi Chu complimented, noting that in the past, her paintings lacked such emotional impact.

“I’ll take it to auction.”

Shi Chu glanced again, the studio’s overhead light illuminating the details on the paper.

The texture of these white roses seems to have been painted with watercolor techniques, with the color spread out using a wet brush, slightly transparent but not completely so, with a subtle thickness. The handling is very delicate.

However, it is also evident that the painting skills are excellent.

“That’s good. Just not sure how much it will fetch at auction.”

Shu Yubai casually set down her brush and went to the sink to wash the paint off her arms. The water gently rinsed the paint away, leaving her arms clean and white, with a faint scent of paint in the air.

“Well… it should be much better than before.”

Shi Chu comforted her and suddenly remembered something, asking, “Aren’t you supposed to go see Nan Xue?”

Shu Yubai nodded.

In the mirror, her long hair was loose, and her oval face had a bit of green paint on it. She gently wiped it away with her pale fingertips, then washed it off under the faucet.

“Since that’s the case… why not ask her if she really has a girlfriend?”

Shi Chu leaned against the table with an enigmatic expression and said softly, “If she doesn’t, you might as well go for it.”

••••

At 3 p.m.

Shu Yubai, remembering Shi Chu’s words and feeling somewhat nervous, arrived an hour early to see Nan Xue.

She entered the house, and Aunt Zhang opened the door.

“Where’s Nan Xue?”

Shu Yubai asked while changing her shoes.

A floor-to-ceiling window in the living room was open. From afar, a lush green lawn could be seen with the swimming pool full of water, shimmering faintly in the cold light of the day.

From a distance, a pale, delicate figure moved in the water, appearing close and then far away, as lively as a mermaid.

Shu Yubai patiently sat on the sofa. Aunt Zhang brought a plate of fruit from the kitchen, a kiwi and apple salad, and placed it on the transparent small plate on the coffee table. She glanced outside and said, “The weather is nice today, with the temperature rising a few degrees. Xiao Nan is happy and swimming.”

Shu Yubai murmured in response and glanced outside.

The figure was dazzlingly white.

She quickly looked away.

Somehow, upon confirming that it was Nan Xue swimming, Shu Yubai felt her face flush slightly, unable to look out as naturally as before.

In the distance, Nan Xue stopped, standing in the pool, waving at Aunt Zhang. Aunt Zhang put down the bamboo skewers she was holding and walked outside to the pool to see her. “Xiao Nan, what’s wrong?”

Nan Xue seemed to say something to Aunt Zhang.

Aunt Zhang stood up, walked back to the living room, and told Shu Yubai, “Xiao Nan asked you to get her a towel and a nightgown.”

“Me?”

Shu Yubai’s expression went blank for a moment.

“Yes.”

Aunt Zhang smiled gently and nodded, “She said you would know which ones.”

Shu Yubai paused, wondering:

Why her? Is Nan Xue doing this on purpose?

Wouldn’t Aunt Zhang know about the towels and nightgowns?

Confused and puzzled, she went upstairs, found the nightgown she wore yesterday, and took a clean white towel from the wardrobe. Hesitantly, she headed downstairs.

Outside, on a sunny spring day, the light was bright. The water in the light blue pool rippled gently with the breeze, sparkling with white reflections. A girl swam in the water like a mermaid. After a moment, she emerged from the water, her wet black hair sticking to her pale neck and collarbone.

She reached up, pushing her hair back.

Her pale, almost transparent face was revealed.

Nan Xue’s hair was completely soaked, black and shiny, with droplets rolling down and hitting her collarbone. Her skin was white and tender, sparkling in the sunlight.

Shu Yubai stood next to her, crouching down, holding the towel. Her shadow covered half of the sunlight, and her long hair was blown by the wind, creating a thin gray silhouette that swayed.

Shu Yubai’s cheeks were slightly warm, and she was somewhat hesitant to look at Nan Xue. She lowered her gaze, her eyes strictly in place, and said, “There’s a breeze. Hurry and dry off so you don’t catch a cold.”

Her voice was very soft, but her gaze was a bit dazed, and her ears were red.

Nan Xue’s dark eyes were fixed on her.

After a moment, her lips gently curved.

For a while, in the pool, Nan Xue’s slim, white, and beautiful fingers gripped the railing, water droplets covering the back of her hand. She exerted some force and settled half of her body on the edge of the pool.

“Don’t worry, it’s in 10 degrees today.”

Nan Xue said, draping the towel over her shoulders.

“Would you like to swim for a bit?”

Nan Xue casually asked, her tone seeming natural. The glistening water droplets rolled off her hair and slid down her delicate, white swan-like neck, past her collarbone, and into the soft cleavage of her chest.

Shu Yubai hooked her fingertip on the towel, cleared her throat, and said, “I’m here for a class—dry off, and we’ll head upstairs later.”

“Okay.”

Nan Xue stood up from the pool, her clear eyes turning to her and said, “Could you help me dry off?”

Shu Yubai froze.

It took her a while to regain her composure.

Drying off? Would that mean… Her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Nan Xue’s white, soft skin, causing Shu Yubai’s ears to grow warm and a faint blush to appear on her cheeks.

But Nan Xue had already removed the towel from her shoulders and handed it to Shu Yubai. Seeing that Shu Yubai hadn’t moved, she explained, “I twisted my arm earlier and can’t reach my back.”

“Okay…”

Shu Yubai took the towel, dried the smooth, white skin on Nan Xue’s back, and handed it back, saying, “That’s good.”

Afterward, she paused.

She turned, lowered her head, and blinked her long eyelashes:

“I’ll go upstairs and wait for you.”

Nan Xue, drying the water from her calves, said gently, “Just wait here. There’s a chair; sit for a while.”

By the poolside was a small round table with a long white sunshade. On the table was a phone. Shu Yubai sat down and instinctively glanced at the screen, which was dark but suddenly lit up with a new message: Qian Qian: [I’m coming over for dinner tonight.]

Qian Qian: [Ask Aunt Zhang to make some of my favorite food, you know what I like.]

Qian Qian: [Heart]

Shu Yubai’s fingertips curled up, and for a moment, she suddenly felt quite embarrassed.

Nan Xue glanced at her, seemingly noticing something, and raised an eyebrow slightly. She was bending down, wiping water off her ankles, her slender waist forming a white, firm curve, with the slight protrusion of her spine.

Shu Yubai took a quick look at her, thinking, had she seen Nan Xue like this before?

How far had they gone?

Did Nan Xue like her?

Shu Yubai’s fingertips went pale.

Nan Xue paused, her actions stopping.

She lowered her eyelashes and slowly draped the towel over her shoulders.

Shu Yubai suddenly felt downcast. Nan Xue noticed, her gaze shifting between Shu Yubai and the phone on the table, resting on the lit-up screen.

“Did you see it?”

Nan Xue asked.

Shu Yubai lowered her head, silent for a while before gently asking:

“Who is Qian Qian?”

She still held out some hope: perhaps she had misunderstood…

Nan Xue looked at her, a glint of water in her clear eyes. After a moment, she said, “She is closer than a friend but more distant than a lover.”

The answer was quite ambiguous.

But Shu Yubai immediately lifted her gaze.

—Does this mean they are not together yet?