'What is it doing here? '
Meixiu asks herself, her eyes looking directly toward the stone in her hand. Xiaowen scoffs and is about to grab the stone from the taller woman's hand when Xiaohui beats her to it.
"I feel like I've seen this before."
She said, her eyebrows furrowing as if thinking where and when she saw the said stone.
Lijuan's ears perked up at what Xiaohui said. If that is the cause, that only means the stranger who helped her lived here.
So that only means one person.
Her eyes went towards the taller woman, who was looking closely at the stone, before shaking her head.
"You might have been imagining things."
Meixiu said, smiling a little as Xiaohui nodded, agreeing with what she said. Lijuan went towards the area where the three were, grabbing the stone from Xiaohui's palm.
"Actually, this is mine."
She said, smiling a little as she looked at Meixiu's expression. Only then did she see how, for a split second, her eyes widened.
Xiaohui's eyes widen; she glances towards the writing on the stone, and her mind travels back down to where her wife is looking for something.
She glances towards Meixiu, who's standing beside her mother.
"The stone looks like the one you were looking for last time."
She said so, causing Lijuan to be interested. Her mind suddenly has a bunch of questions to ask her best friend.
"Huh? Really? When was it?"
Xiaohui stops for a moment, thinking of the last time she tried looking for the stone.
Her mouth circled upon learning.
"I believe it was after we saw you at the hospital."
-
Meixiu sighs as soon as she opens her eyes. She quickly stands up and opens her phone, seeing that it's only 4 in the morning.
She couldn't believe that the stone she's been looking for for quite a while now was in Lijuan's hands all along.
She should have known it.
She quickly went towards their bedroom, seeing as the best friends slept peacefully on the bed. Meixiu hovers over Xiaohui's side of the bed and observes the smaller woman.
Her heart beats faster in the process before she quickly shakes her head and grabs a pair of clothes to shower in.
She quickly went out to take a take a shower. She stayed in the bathroom for a while, thinking of what she should cook for them before finally finishing her business.
She walked out with only a towel wrapped around her waist and a used sports bra when she flinched upon seeing a person standing in front of the bathroom door.
"Oh, Lijuan, you're going to use the bathroom?"
Lijuan stares at her for a while, causing Meixiu to awkwardly stand in front of the bathroom entrance, waiting for the smaller woman to answer her question.
But her eyes widen as Lijuan pushes her towards the bathroom again, locking the door in the process.
"L-Lijuan, what are you doing?"
She asks, her body trying to give a safe distance between them, but because of how small the bathroom is, she is only able to give at least 2 feet of space.
Lijuan looks at Meixiu; her eyes look like she's judging the woman. She took a step forward, causing Meixiu to back away from the non-existent space behind her.
"Tell me honestly; you're the one who saved me that time, right?"
She asks, causing Meixiu to gulp in the process. The taller woman smiles at her and shakes her head, holding Lijuan's shoulder before she turns the woman behind.
"Lijuan, I don't have the ability to save you that night."
"Meixiu-"
"Come on, you can go back to bed. I'm sorry for waking you up earlier when I went to grab a pair of clothes, but I need to buy ingredients for breakfast."
Meixiu said, her hand successfully opening the bathroom door, but they both stopped seeing someone standing in front of the door, rubbing their eyes.
"Lijuan? Meixiu? What are you two doing inside the bathroom alone?"
-
Good thing, Meixiu found an excuse when Xiaohui saw the two of them going out of the bathroom together. Of course, she can see that Xiaohui seems to be contemplating whether to believe her or not, but in the end, she still does.
After all, she came cleanly towards her.
Another thing is that Meixiu could see the burning gaze coming from the young lady of the Cui clan. It was like something was bugging the woman, but at the same time, she was focused on pushing the matter further.
Like when Meixiu went back from the market to cook, she volunteered to help her in the kitchen, but good thing Xiaowen woke up and flattered her by making her sit down on the couch the entire cooking process.
That was the only time Meixiu felt genuine gratitude towards her mother-in-law.
And now that they are done, Meixiu was cleaning the table when Lijuan tried to help her.
"Let me help you."
"I can manage it, Lijuan; thank you for the offer."
Meixiu said that her right hand grabbed the porcelain plates while the other carried the glasses they use for their morning coffee.
She went towards the kitchen, sighing, and was about to go back to get the jug, but she flinched when Lijuan was behind her, handing her the jug.
"Sorry, did I scare you?"
Lijuan put down the jug on the counter, walked closer towards Meixiu, and held the woman's arms to stop her from going away.
"I-uhh, it's alright."
Meixiu said, smiling awkwardly and trying to pull herself away from Lijuan.
She doesn't understand what's happening. Does Lijuan want to thank her?
If she does, she'd rather stay anonymous and live humbly as well as peacefully. But the expression in Lijuan's eyes says otherwise.
Lijuan's intention suddenly changed that night. Her mind doesn't care whether her family will disown her; she just wants to learn who saved her that night and potentially marry the stranger.
That became her plan when she felt the care from the person.
And if it really is Meixiu, she'll do everything to push the woman to fall in love with her.
Even if that means she's wrecking a married couple,.
"Lijuan? Aren't you going to work?"
The mentioned woman removed her hands around Meixiu, looking behind her to see Xiaohui standing in the kitchen entrance.
Meixiu smiles widely before she wipes her hands on her clothes, walking towards Xiaohui and grabbing the papers from her wife's hands.
"Let me help you put this in the car."
Xiaohui nodded and smiled, her eyes following Meixiu's figure out of their house before looking towards Lijuan and seeing how the woman's gaze was far away.
Her eyebrows furrowed in the process.
"Is there anything I need to know?"
She breaks the silence, causing Lijuan to shake her head and give her a half-smile. The slightly taller woman, Lijuan, went towards her.
"Come on, we'll both get late."
Lijuan said, walking past Xiaohui before grabbing the doorknob. She looked back at her friend and gave her a meaningful stare before completely walking out of the house.
"What does she mean by that?"
Xiaohui questioned, her mind trying to comprehend what Lijuan meant with those gazes she sent.
She shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to overthink further, as she needed to save some mind before meeting Wenqian.
She went out and almost collided with Meixiu, who seemed to be hurrying to come back inside the house.
"Oh, there you are; I've put it on the passenger seat."
"Thank you."
Xiaohui's eyes widen when Meixiu pecks her lips.