Because I Like…
Fang Anyu nodded almost the instant he saw Jun Yueyue say “not divorce.”
Jun Yueyue had thought he would need a moment to react. Seeing him respond so quickly, she could not help freezing for a second.
She pressed the voice input on her phone and said, “I haven’t even told you the condition yet. You agreed way too quickly.”
When the message came through, Fang Anyu tapped it open, read it, and replied: What condition?
Jun Yueyue held down the phone and said, “Do you remember that I owe you something you want?”
Fang Anyu nodded, then shook his head again and typed: I can’t think of anything.
Jun Yueyue said, “I thought of it for you. We were originally going to divorce after we went back, but now I’ve run into a bit of trouble, so the divorce will be postponed for a while.”
Only after Fang Anyu finished reading this part did Jun Yueyue continue using voice input. “Once my trouble is solved, I’ll get a sum of money. Your family is short of money right now. When the time comes, I’ll give you half of the money I get. That’ll count as paying back the thing I owed you.”
Fang Anyu spent a little longer reading this message. Jun Yueyue waited patiently. When he lifted his head, she asked him, “Did you understand?”
Fang Anyu nodded, but he did not ask what money. He only asked: What trouble did you run into?
“It’s not some huge trouble. Anyway, we’ll divorce a little later. When the time comes, I’ll give you half the money, then we’ll divorce. Then we’ll be even.” After Jun Yueyue finished speaking, she thought it over and felt this was perfect. Since Fang Anyu could not think of what he wanted, she would just give him money directly.
She could have given him very little. After all, for something like sleeping together for one night, even if she refused to pay up, what could anyone do to her? She and Fang Anyu had done it while they were legally married.
The reason she promised him half was because she knew from the plot that the female lead’s family was very wealthy. If Old Master Jun really wanted to send her away, the amount he gave would definitely not be small. Giving half to Fang Anyu would not only pay for the previous “service fee,” but since the Fang family was making the two brothers cling to the Jun family like this purely because of money, giving money would help the Fang family too.
Of course, Jun Yueyue was not doing it to help the Fang family. What did the Fang family have to do with her? She only wanted to help Fang Anyu a little. When the time came, she would teach him how to deal with his family too, so he would not have to unwillingly marry someone else.
After all, he was so silly. No matter who he married, as long as the other person did not truly like him, he would easily be bullied, maybe even abused. And when he suffered grievances, he would not say anything. When Jun Yueyue thought of the time when she had just transmigrated over and he had been bullied by the original body until he had to sleep in the storage room on the balcony, was not even allowed to place the flowers he raised there, was not communicated with, and was cold-violenced, she felt that when she walked away from the main plot, she could conveniently pull him out too.
Actually, according to the original plot, Fang Anyu would not marry anyone else. He was the second male lead, so he only had to wait to be misunderstood with the female lead. But now, the plot seemed to differ from what Jun Yueyue had read before. Old Master Jun was even changing the head of the Jun family. Who knew how badly the plot would collapse later?
Speaking of which, was it okay for the plot to collapse this badly? Jun Yueyue was honestly a little worried.
She had tried her best to follow the plot. Logically, with an evil supporting female role like hers, as long as she messed everything up according to the plot, it should have been fine. No matter how she messed it up, as long as she failed the test, it should be fine. Later, she had even dragged Fang Anyu away, which counted as giving up. Who knew how she had somehow passed the test? And what kind of evil wind had blown through Old Master Jun’s head?
Jun Yueyue could not figure it out, so she simply stopped wasting brain cells on it. Since she had accidentally gone in the right direction, she would just find a way to make everything go crooked again.
She watched as Fang Anyu considered it solemnly, then typed a line: I’m fine with anything, but… can we not divorce?
Jun Yueyue admitted that when she saw those words, her heart trembled uncontrollably.
Fang Anyu was lying face-to-face with her. From his expression to his relaxed posture, and even the question he had asked, everything was sending her one signal. The name of that signal was: take whatever you want.
Previously, she had gone crazy for a moment and almost reached out toward Fang Anyu. At this moment, the tremor in Jun Yueyue’s heart was also real. After all, no matter how much life and death she had seen, when it came to love between men and women, this was still her first time. Even though reason had always occupied the high ground, Fang Anyu did not meet a single requirement within her standards for choosing a partner.
But Jun Yueyue still did not know that liking someone and choosing someone were two different things. The latter pushed toward a result that could, to some extent, be predicted. The former, however, had no logic or rules to follow.
As for feelings growing over time, it actually did not take that much time. After doing it once and then spending enough time together, that was basically enough.
Jun Yueyue fell silent, which was rare for her. Outside, the rain began to grow heavier, pattering against the window with no rhythm at all, just like Jun Yueyue’s heartbeat at this moment.
Fortunately, her rationality was still holding the high ground. She did not rashly smash open her shell. Instead, secretly and slowly, just like that night, she stretched a soft feeler out from within her shell, picked up her phone, looked at Fang Anyu, pressed the voice button, and asked word by word, “Why don’t you want to divorce?”
After Jun Yueyue asked, Fang Anyu read it and quickly began typing. He was not as cautious as Jun Yueyue, nor did he hesitate even for a moment. He directly typed: Because I like…
Just as Jun Yueyue caught sight of this, an especially loud thunderclap suddenly came from outside, as if a bomb had exploded right next to her ear.
She was startled and shivered, then looked outside. There was not the slightest trace of wind, only rain falling as if it had gone mad.
Her heart lifted sharply, not because of the thunder, but because of the message notification that immediately followed it. In truth, she had glimpsed half of what Fang Anyu had typed just now.
When she saw what he had written, even the hand holding her phone began to sweat. She sat up solemnly and tapped open the message: Because I like staying with you.
The hairs that had risen all over Jun Yueyue’s body instantly fell back down. Her little feeler slowly shrank back. She did not turn around to look at Fang Anyu’s face. Instead, she sat with her back to him, stared at those few words on her phone, and slowly hugged her knees.
Actually, Fang Anyu was very easy to trick. As long as she followed this thread and asked, *Why do you like staying with me? Is it because you like me that you don’t want to divorce?*
Jun Yueyue was certain that Fang Anyu would definitely answer yes.
But was that really true?
Did Fang Anyu even truly know what liking someone meant? He did not even know what being full meant…
Besides, Jun Yueyue had only transmigrated into this body a few days ago. She had also read some of how this body had treated Fang Anyu before in the book. Even if it had not yet reached the later abusive plot points, it had truly not been good.
Fang Anyu was not so stupid that he could not even tell who treated him well. Otherwise, he would not listen to Fang Anyan so much.
In this short span of only a few days, Jun Yueyue did not even dare believe that her own fondness for Fang Anyu was real. How could Fang Anyu possibly have forgotten all the harm the original body had done to him and fallen for her?
What exactly was liking someone? Jun Yueyue herself could not understand it, so why should she ask a little fool like Fang Anyu?
Thankfully, Fang Anyu’s answer did not make Jun Yueyue lose her head.
She hugged her knees and listened to the rushing rain outside. Like on the night before the mutation in her previous life, she curled herself up. After a period of silence, she finally withdrew completely back into her shell and hid herself tightly away.
Jun Yueyue released herself and lay back down on the bed. In that brief stretch of time, she had already returned to normal.
She did not answer Fang Anyu’s question. Instead, as before, she changed the subject.
Pressing down on her phone for voice input, she said, “Your reactions seem much faster now. Do you feel it yourself?”
Fang Anyu was not unhappy because Jun Yueyue had not answered his question. His thoughts were quite simple, and he did not think too far into the future. Anyway, she had said just now that they would not divorce for the time being. He could slowly ask again later.
As for Jun Yueyue asking whether his reactions had become faster, Fang Anyu had naturally noticed it too. He had been planning to become a little faster before telling Jun Yueyue. He had not expected her to notice first.
Fang Anyu lifted the corners of his mouth very slightly, then lowered his head and sent another message: Yes, much faster than before. It’s because you patiently talk to me. Thank you.
Jun Yueyue looked at Fang Anyu’s shallow, fleeting dimple and smiled too. Pressing the voice button, she said, “Actually, I’m not patient. But you’re quite special.”
What’s special about me?
Fang Anyu asked.
Jun Yueyue thought about it, then looked at Fang Anyu and said through voice input, “Probably that you’re especially silly.”
She had discovered another way to communicate quickly with Fang Anyu. She could send messages through WeChat, and she did not even need to use an input method to recognise her speech. She could just directly send Fang Anyu voice messages, and Fang Anyu could hold down the voice message and convert it to text.
As long as Jun Yueyue spoke a little slower and more clearly, and did not make it too long, it could basically recognise her words accurately. It was very convenient.
The two of them lay on the bed, each holding a phone, chatting face-to-face with great enthusiasm. As usual, it was all meaningless chatter.
Fang Anyu: You said you’d take me to eat from the little cart.
Jun Yueyue pressed the voice button. “It’s snacks from little carts. It’s raining outside. Those little carts usually close up when it rains.”
After sending one voice message, she paused briefly before saying again, “There’s nothing to eat today. Tomorrow.”
Fang Anyu slowly bit his lip. After a while, he typed again: But I’m not full.
“Oh, give me a break,” Jun Yueyue said. One hand typed while the other pressed against his stomach. “You don’t even know what being full means. For a normal person, that amount of food is about enough.”
Fang Anyu shook his head: I’m just not full.
Jun Yueyue lost her temperless battle against him and said helplessly, “Then what do you want to eat? Should we ask the kitchen to make something?”
Fang Anyu shook his head again: That’s impolite. Anyan said that when we’re at the Jun family, we can’t be impolite.
Jun Yueyue clicked her tongue. “Is Fang Anyan your mother? Why does he control everything?”
After Fang Anyu read it, he was silent for a while before typing back: Mother doesn’t care about me. Only Anyan cares about me.
After sending “only,” he added another sentence: Since we were little.
In the plot, Jun Yueyue remembered that even when the male lead misunderstood the female lead and his older brother as having something going on, he had never said anything harsh to his brother. Jun Yueyue herself had lost trust in familial affection and even had a stress response of rejection toward it. But she was not other people, and this place was not the apocalypse. She should not judge someone else’s family ties.
After all, Fang Anyan’s concern for Fang Anyu was indeed real. And they did not need to undergo the test of the apocalypse either.
When Jun Yueyue had first mutated, she often thought that if the apocalypse had never come, if they had never met the person who forced them to choose, then perhaps their whole family would have died in the mouths of zombies, or perhaps they would have died of hunger. But at least they would have been together. She probably would not have been abandoned.
Jun Yueyue shook her head, throwing those obscure memories away. Then she said into her phone, “Then I’ll take you out to eat. It won’t be from a little cart, but we’ll eat something more hygienic and delicious than that.”
Fang Anyu’s eyes instantly lit up. The effect was immediate. Jun Yueyue could not help bursting into laughter.
But it was still raining outside. In the study, Old Master Jun was still gently comforting Jun Yu. Fang Anyan was still anxiously waiting in his room for the final result. Yet Jun Yueyue took Fang Anyu with her, asked a servant for an umbrella, and the two of them held one umbrella together, opened the living room door, and ran into the pouring rain.
The drivers and guards were all at the security booth, ready at any time. The umbrella Jun Yueyue and Fang Anyu held was quite large, so their bodies did not really get wet. But the two of them had run through the rain. The accumulated water in the courtyard splashed high when stepped on, soaking more than half of their trousers.
After getting into the car and putting away the umbrella, the driver asked where they wanted to go. Jun Yueyue’s shoes were soaked through. She lifted the hem of her trousers and twisted it, and water actually wrung out of them…
How were they supposed to go anywhere like this?
Jun Yueyue turned her head to look at Fang Anyu. His trousers were even wetter than hers. He had stepped into a puddle just now, and one trouser leg was still dripping water. But he did not care at all. His face was full of excitement as he looked outside.
Jun Yueyue was not actually a soft-hearted person. It was also true that she was not a patient person. But when facing Fang Anyu, she really could not help compromising.
Fang Anyu was too clean. To put it in a clichéd way, he was like a white lotus emerging unstained from the mud…
“Find a restaurant,” Jun Yueyue told the driver. “Find somewhere a bit nicer, preferably with a hotel.” They would need to change clothes.
The driver started the car and moved his lips. He wanted to say that this was only a small town. There were no restaurants with hotels attached. Only near the bus station was there a buffet restaurant that counted as slightly more upscale, and there was accommodation upstairs.
But he did not say too much. The eldest miss of the Jun family caused some kind of trouble every year she came back. Among those who stayed by Old Master Jun’s side all year round, who did not know the temperaments of the two young misses?
She insisted on going out in this heavy rain. The driver was afraid that if he said there were no restaurants with hotels in this small town, the eldest miss might ask him to drive straight to Qiuhai City. That would really be lively.
So in the end, the driver said nothing. He simply started the car and drove toward the bus station.
Jun Yueyue and Fang Anyu sat in the back seat and used up an entire packet of tissues, barely managing to absorb enough water from their trousers so that they would not drip constantly.
But their shoes were still wet. Jun Yueyue’s shoes were high heels, so they were not too bad. After water got inside, she just wiped them with tissue and they dried. But Fang Anyu was wearing canvas shoes.
As long as he moved, water could be squeezed out from the surface of his shoes. Fang Anyu even found it quite fun and kept squishing them again and again…
The sound made people’s skin crawl. Jun Yueyue scratched the glass twice with her fingers, then stepped on his foot.
His shoes were white, but now they were already so dirty that it hardly mattered if she stepped on them. Fang Anyu stopped and lowered his head to look at Jun Yueyue’s high heels. After a moment, he suddenly pulled his foot out and quickly stepped on Jun Yueyue’s foot.
Then the two of them started playing in the back seat. Who knew what was so interesting about stepping on each other’s feet? In Jun Yueyue’s memory, she had only played this kind of game with her deskmate in primary school, and both of them had ended up getting angry while playing.
But after playing with Fang Anyu for a while, neither of them got angry because the other stepped too hard. The back seat was so lively that the driver could not help glancing back through the rear-view mirror.
Both of them had curly hair. The colour of their hair was also the same, and even the colours of their clothes were similar. Who knew whether they had been dampened by the rain outside or had sweated from messing around, but their hair had picked up moisture and become strand-like. Because the two of them were leaning extremely close together, their foreheads almost touching as they smiled and poked at something on the phone, their curls had tangled together. An indescribable lingering atmosphere filled the entire car.
Who knew what was so funny on that small phone screen? Jun Yueyue suddenly laughed out loud and turned her head to look at Fang Anyu.
Fang Anyu happened to turn his head to look at her too. The two of them had already been cheek-to-cheek. As they turned their heads at the same time, their lips, both curved upward in the same way, just happened to brush lightly against each other.
Both of them stopped breathing at the same time.
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