Will You Like Me?
Jun Yueyue and Fang Anyu had spent the whole day fooling around outside. Now, in the back seat, they were hugging, leaning against each other, and sleeping like the dead.
Fang Anyan looked at the two yellowish curly heads through the rear-view mirror. He felt an indescribable discomfort and kept wanting to tear them apart.
But when he saw Fang Anyu suddenly wake up, sit upright in a daze, then reach out and pull Jun Yueyue—who had already slid down from his shoulder—back into his arms before closing his eyes and leaning against her again, Fang Anyan stopped paying attention to them. He also stopped suddenly speeding up the car.
After all, as the saying went, one hand alone could not clap…
Fang Anyan looked ahead in frustration, his brows tightly furrowed. The entire car was especially quiet. There was only the whooshing sound of the vehicle moving and the rising and falling breaths from the back seat.
Jun Yu, who had been sitting in the passenger seat the whole time, originally wanted to find something to talk about. Unfortunately, Fang Anyan’s brows were furrowed the entire way, his expression cold. Jun Yu moved her lips several times, but everything she thought of sounded like meaningless chatter. In the end, she still did not speak, only forcing her eyelids open and quietly accompanying Fang Anyan.
After more than three hours, the car reached the next city. Fang Anyan drove to refuel. It was already around two in the morning. There was no one to take over driving, and he could not continue, so after filling the tank, he found a nearby hotel and planned for them to stay there for the night.
Jun Yueyue and Fang Anyu were woken up. Still half-asleep, they walked inside, yawning one after the other.
Fang Anyan parked the car, carried Jun Yu, and pushed her wheelchair through the entrance. Jun Yueyue had already taken the documents and booked the rooms. After handing the key to Fang Anyan, the four of them went up in the lift together.
The rooms were on the third floor, next to each other. She had booked the best suites—two of them.
After Jun Yueyue and Fang Anyu opened their room door and went in, Fang Anyan pushed Jun Yu to the door of their room. He took the key from his pocket and only then realised something was wrong.
He and Jun Yu had been given one room.
Fang Anyan awkwardly sent Jun Yu inside first, then went downstairs to book another room, only to be told there were no rooms left…
Jun Yueyue was sleepy, but that was secondary. Mainly, she was hungry. In the middle of the night, it was inconvenient to buy supper, so she simply opened the room’s fridge and glanced inside. She casually pulled out two cups of instant noodles, turned to Fang Anyu, who was looking around everywhere, and said, “Do you want to eat…” Forget it. He could not hear.
Jun Yueyue carried the noodles over to him, waved them in front of his eyes, then mimed pouring something into her mouth. After repeating it twice, Fang Anyu understood. He took the noodles from Jun Yueyue’s hand, looked at them, and nodded heavily.
He wanted to eat them! He had never eaten these before.
Jun Yueyue reached out to him for his little notebook, then swiftly wrote—
Go take a shower first. By the time you come out, they’ll be ready.
Fang Anyu was very obedient. He put down the little notebook and went to shower.
Jun Yueyue timed it. When Fang Anyu was almost finished washing, she poured the hot water into the noodles. This kind of thing always smelled especially fragrant, particularly when someone was hungry.
When Fang Anyu came out, Jun Yueyue placed the prepared noodles on the table and went to take a shower herself. While she was showering, Fang Anyu had only taken one bite of noodles when Fang Anyan arrived.
He knocked on the door. Fang Anyu could not hear him and continued slurping his noodles by himself.
Fang Anyan waited outside for several minutes, but no one opened the door. Thinking that both of them had fallen asleep, and since it was the middle of the night and he could not shout loudly or ask the hotel staff for a key, he could only carry the supper he had bought for Fang Anyu back to his own room. There, he faced an extremely awkward situation: staring at Jun Yu, both of them wide-eyed.
Usually, Jun Yu had someone specifically assigned to look after her. When they were out, naturally, Jun Yueyue should have been the one to help handle things. But now Jun Yueyue had shut the door, and no matter how he knocked, it would not open. She would not answer the phone either. Fang Anyan carried the supper into the room and saw Jun Yu still sitting in the living room. As soon as the two of them met eyes, an awkward atmosphere spread silently, and they both turned red like a pair of monkey bottoms.
“I’ll help you…” buy supper.
“It’s fine, I can shower by myself.”
After the two of them finished speaking, they looked at each other and turned from two monkey bottoms into two burning coals.
Unlike the two of them, who were awkward to the point of death, Jun Yueyue and Fang Anyu, separated from them by only one wall, were much more harmonious. When Jun Yueyue came out after washing, Fang Anyu had very sensibly prepared her portion of noodles too.
Jun Yueyue held a fork in her left hand and ate noodles while holding a pen in her right hand to talk with Fang Anyu.
Your brother probably came by just now. There are more than twenty missed calls on my phone.
I… couldn’t hear. Did he need something?
Jun Yueyue looked at Fang Anyu’s lips, which had turned red from the spice, and mischievously wrote—
He said you’re not allowed to eat instant noodles. If you do, I absolutely have to tell him.
After Fang Anyu read it, his expression immediately changed. Not only had he eaten them, he had even eaten an extra cup while Jun Yueyue was showering.
So he looked at Jun Yueyue with a somewhat pleading expression and wrote—
Please don’t tell my brother.
Jun Yueyue took it and glanced at it. She ate a big mouthful of noodles, narrowed her eyes, and wrote—
What if I insist on telling him? What can you do?
Fang Anyu stared at the little notebook for a long while without making a sound. His fingers on the table twisted together again and again, and he nearly crushed the pen in his hand. His face looked as if it was saying, “I’m finished.”
Jun Yueyue clicked her tongue, took the little notebook back, snatched the pen, and tempted him by writing—
If you want me not to tell him, that’s fine too. But you’ll have to pay a price.
She pushed the little notebook over to Fang Anyu. Fang Anyu replied—
What price?
Jun Yueyue put down her bowl. She somehow felt that Fang Anyu’s reactions had become much faster these past two days.
She took the pen and wrote again—
Of course, it won’t be that simple. You know lying isn’t good, so the price is a little high.
After a while, Fang Anyu pushed the little notebook back to her. He had not written anything, only drawn a circle around his previous question—
What price?
Jun Yueyue wiped her mouth with a tissue and wrote—
Go wait on the bed first.
Fang Anyu pressed down on the little notebook and looked at it for a while. When he raised his head again, his expression was somewhat strange. He looked at Jun Yueyue, then hesitantly wrote—
But there are no little raincoats here.
Jun Yueyue had slept well in the car, so she could not fall asleep for the time being. That was why she had casually started teasing Fang Anyu. What price? It was only that her neck was sore from sleeping in the car, and she wanted him to massage it for her.
She was leaning against the table and drinking water. Seeing Fang Anyu take so much effort to write a few words and hand them over, Jun Yueyue had been thinking that perhaps his reaction speed had improved. It turned out to be an illusion.
She took the notebook and looked. A mouthful of water went in through her mouth and came out through her nose. She nearly choked to death.
While coughing, she fiercely poked Fang Anyu’s head twice, then went into the bathroom.
His mind was full of improper thoughts. It did not match his pure-looking appearance at all!
Jun Yueyue ran to the bathroom to wash up again. After she finally recovered, her throat was unbearably uncomfortable, but she could not help laughing at herself in the mirror again.
Little raincoats. At first glance, she had not even understood. She had instinctively looked outside, thinking that it was not raining outside, so what did he need a raincoat for?
It was only when she saw the tips of Fang Anyu’s ears turn bright red that she understood what he meant by “little raincoats.” Damn, he was deaf and mute yet already this secretly sultry. If he were a normal person, wouldn’t that be terrifying?
Jun Yueyue opened the door and came out. Fang Anyu was already lying on the bed, neatly positioned against one side. Only his head was showing, with the quilt pulled up to his neck. His curls were scattered over his forehead and the pillow. They were a little long now, but they looked unexpectedly soft.
So obedient.
That was Jun Yueyue’s deepest impression of Fang Anyu. He was like a child. He was afraid of everyone, listened to everyone, and was so obedient that it made people want to bully him.
Jun Yueyue could not help standing beside the bed and rubbing his hair. It was just as she had imagined—fine, soft, and warm.
“You don’t even brush your teeth before sleeping…” Jun Yueyue muttered. But she did not actually intend to drag him up and force him to brush his teeth. He had brushed while showering earlier anyway, and after eating the noodles, he had rinsed his mouth. That was enough. It was almost dawn; there was no need to make things too troublesome.
She was too lazy to walk around to the other side of the bed. She released Fang Anyu’s hair, lifted the quilt, and prepared to step over him. But as soon as she lifted the quilt, her leg was halfway raised when she froze for a full three seconds. Then she quickly threw the quilt back down, lowered her half-raised foot, spun halfway in place, hugged her head, looked up at the light, and shouted in a suppressed voice, “Heavens!”
Fang Anyu was in a state like a peeled egg. Not only had the marks from the past two days not faded, but the bruised and purplish areas seemed even worse. It was extremely… how should one put it? The kind of sight that made both one’s hands and heart itch.
But just now, she really had only been teasing Fang Anyu for fun. She told him to wait on the bed, but she had not told him to wait on the bed like this!
Could there not be a single non-coloured thought in his brain?!
After Jun Yueyue let out that cry, she lowered her head to look at Fang Anyu. But when she met Fang Anyu’s clear eyes, bright like zombie crystal cores, she could not connect him with someone whose head was full of explicit thoughts no matter how hard she tried… He had merely misunderstood.
So just how big of a psychological shadow had that night left on him for him to think it was about that matter whenever she teased him even slightly?
“You…” Jun Yueyue was about to say something when she saw the little notebook by his pillow. She bent down and reached for it, only for her neck to be hooked.
Jun Yueyue froze. Fang Anyu held a small plastic packet between his index and middle fingers and very seriously showed it to her. Then he felt under the pillow and pulled out a long connected strip of them…
Dying from exhaustion.
The first phrase that popped into Jun Yueyue’s mind when she saw the long strip Fang Anyu had pulled out was exactly that.
Fang Anyu probably still did not realise that if all those little raincoats were used tonight, he would definitely be carried out tomorrow morning.
He placed the packaged condoms by the pillow and handed the little notebook to Jun Yueyue. On it was what he had already written earlier—
I found little raincoats at the head of the bed. Come on. Please don’t tell Anyan that I ate instant noodles.
There were two more words at the end. Jun Yueyue looked closely. They were “be gentle,” but for some reason, Fang Anyu had crossed them out.
This wicked transaction.
Jun Yueyue held the little notebook and watched as Fang Anyu sat up. After hugging her, he began tearing open the packaging to put on the condom. Immediately, smoke practically rose from Jun Yueyue’s forehead. She pressed him down and shook her head like a rattle-drum.
Fang Anyu paused. Jun Yueyue quickly wrote—
Put your underwear on! We’re not doing it! How can you have so little self-respect?!
Fang Anyu took the little notebook and looked at it for a while, then looked at Jun Yueyue in confusion. Jun Yueyue pulled the quilt over and wrapped him up in it. With an indescribable expression, she bumped her forehead against his.
Fool!
She snatched the little notebook back and continued writing—
Hurry up and put them on! That’s not what I meant! My neck is just sore, and I wanted you to massage it for me. What kind of nonsense are you thinking about all day?!
Only then did Fang Anyu slowly put his clothes back on. He half-knelt behind Jun Yueyue and massaged her shoulders.
As he massaged her, Jun Yueyue ended up lying on the bed. Fang Anyu straddled her lower back loosely and continued kneading. At first, his strength was a little light, but after Jun Yueyue patted him twice, he adjusted the pressure. It was especially comfortable.
Still, while enjoying it, Jun Yueyue could not help laughing. How could there be such a little fool in this world? If one said he was stupid, he clearly understood everything. But if one said he was not stupid, he really was stupid…
Actually, to say she had not been tempted at all just now would be a lie. Jun Yueyue had never had a man before. Fang Anyu was the first. Although on the night she had transmigrated, she had taken drugs and the feeling had not been completely clear, it had indeed been a rather wonderful night.
But since she had decided to divorce, even if Jun Yueyue’s heart itched, she would not coax Fang Anyu into doing that kind of thing with her again.
She took the little notebook and wrote—
I won’t tell your brother that you ate instant noodles. You don’t need to be so afraid of him either. You’re his older brother. He should be afraid of you.
She reached back and handed the little notebook to Fang Anyu. Fang Anyu looked at it for a while, then pressed the notebook against her back, wrote two words, and handed it to Jun Yueyue.
Thank you.
“Thank my ass,” Jun Yueyue turned her head to look at him and clicked her tongue while muttering to herself. “I’ve never seen anyone so easy to bully. You’re so tall and big, but if someone like you were in the apocalypse, you wouldn’t survive a day.”
Jun Yueyue did not intend for Fang Anyu to hear what she said. She was only saying it casually. If she wrote it down, she would have to explain to Fang Anyu what the apocalypse was. Too troublesome.
Fang Anyu watched her mouth open and close. Knowing she was speaking, he took the little notebook, wrote, and handed it to Jun Yueyue—
What are you saying?
Jun Yueyue took the pen and wrote—
I was asking you: have you thought about what you want?
Fang Anyu was still kneading Jun Yueyue’s shoulders with moderate pressure. He looked at the words against her hand. A moment later, he shook his head.
He did not know what he wanted. No one had ever asked him before, and Fang Anyu had never thought about it either.
In fact, from any angle, Fang Anyu should have been considered someone who lacked nothing. In terms of daily life and material things, his family had provided him with the very best.
Spiritually, his family had also tried all kinds of things many times. But in the end, the only things Fang Anyu could persist with, the only things that did not make him struggle painfully, were watching television and reading books.
Apart from being unable to hear or speak, he was very willing to immerse himself in books and all kinds of strange and unusual news on television. Looking at him that way, he seemed no different from a normal person.
As time went on, both his family and Fang Anyu himself grew accustomed to this way of interacting and living. No one thought to take him to try anything else that was new.
Because when he was still young, among many, many attempts, what those attempts brought him in the end was more pain than happiness. When he was in his teens, his reactions had been even slower than now, and his memory had also been poor.
Moreover, every time his younger brother and mother accompanied him to try something new, it required a huge amount of time. Fang Anyu knew his own condition. He could not provide any help to his family at all, so he tried as much as possible to make himself less troublesome.
But Jun Yueyue was different. The month they had spent together before had given Fang Anyu enough fear of the original owner, so after Jun Yueyue transmigrated over, no matter what she wanted to do to Fang Anyu, Fang Anyu could only accept it.
Whether it was the madness of that night or asking him to follow her to the mall, he had no thought of refusing. He knew this marriage was a compromise, so he had been compromising in his own way all along.
However, Jun Yueyue and the original owner did not give Fang Anyu the same feeling. Fang Anyu did not know why someone who had treated him so badly before had suddenly changed.
But without a doubt, he liked this change.
Although that previous night had made him a little afraid, tonight, he had been willing.
Jun Yueyue did not know Fang Anyu’s thoughts. Seeing him shake his head, she helplessly wrote again—
Then you need to think carefully. Before we divorce, I’ll give you whatever you want.
Jun Yueyue handed the little notebook to Fang Anyu to read. Fang Anyu slowly stopped moving, kneeling while seated on her. He froze briefly, but did not take the notebook. Instead, he continued massaging her.
Jun Yueyue patted his hand and shook her head, indicating that it was enough. Then she lay on the pillow, patted the pillow beside her, and pulled Fang Anyu down to lie beside her.
She swiftly wrote a few sentences in the little notebook and showed them to Fang Anyu.
When I tease you, you don’t have to take it seriously. Since I’ve already decided to divorce, I won’t do that with you again.
With their heads touching, Fang Anyu looked at the notebook in Jun Yueyue’s hand, took the pen, and wrote—
Then why did you do it with me that night?
Jun Yueyue choked on the question. A moment later, she wrote—
Because that night, you looked especially tempting. I couldn’t control myself. It was a mistake. Just forget it.
Fang Anyu continued asking—
Why should I forget? Am I not tempting tonight?
Jun Yueyue looked at it and let out a laugh like a squawking chicken. Still, she answered seriously—
Because after the divorce, you’ll have a new wife, and you’ll have a better experience with her.
Fang Anyu looked at it for a while, but shook his head and wrote—
There won’t be another. Mother promised me there would only be this once.
Using him to do this kind of thing would happen only this once.
So stubborn.
Jun Yueyue wrote—
There will be. You’ll meet a girl you like. It won’t be for a business marriage. It’ll be like in books and on television, where you get married because you like each other.
This time, Fang Anyu reacted for a very long time. So long that Jun Yueyue’s eyes were already half-closed and she was about to fall asleep. Only then did he write something and show it to Jun Yueyue.
But would someone like me be liked by anyone?
Jun Yueyue looked at it with narrowed eyes and smiled. She really was especially patient. Even though she was so sleepy she could barely stay awake, she still held the notebook and wrote in a daze—
Yes. Being deaf and mute doesn’t matter. So what if your reactions are a little slow? You’re good-looking, and your family has money. Lots of girls will like you.
The two of them were under the covers, their breathing especially close, their heads touching. Fang Anyu took the notebook from Jun Yueyue’s hand and thought for a very long time before writing. After he finished, he handed the notebook to Jun Yueyue, but Jun Yueyue did not reach out to take it.
She had already fallen asleep.
Fang Anyu paused for a while and did not wake Jun Yueyue up again. He took the notebook back and placed it beside the pillow. Then he dimmed the bedside lamp, closed his eyes, and before long, also fell asleep.
At four in the morning, all was silent. Inside the room, there were only the gentle breaths of two people. The dim bedside lamp shone on the little notebook beside the pillow. Written on it was a confession that no one saw—
I’ve seen many girls at banquets. They smiled at me, but they never tried to communicate with me. I think they don’t like me… I like you a little. If you keep being like this—if you don’t shut my flowers away, don’t make me sleep on the balcony, take me out to play, and buy me food—I think I’ll like you even more. What about you? Will you like me?
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