Princess Syndrome - Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Hair

Su Lingyue stood there for a full three minutes. The blood rushed to her head, the sudden surge making her dizzy for a few seconds. She took two steps back, her heel hitting the table, making a slight sound. She seemed deaf, unable to feel anything, unable to hear any sound. She was just gripping the hat in her hand, looking at the name once again.

"Lingyue?" Aunt Liu heard the sound and came in. Seeing that her face was pale, and something wasn't right, she quickly supported her. "What's wrong?"

The temperature of her touch burned Su Lingyue. She turned her head, staring blankly at Aunt Liu, seeming completely lost. She subconsciously wanted to leave, walking forward without saying a word. Her body swayed, hitting the shelf by the wall. Aunt Liu quickly grabbed her. "Lingyue?"

The sound rushed past her ears before slowly becoming clear.

Aunt Liu was still looking at her worriedly.

Su Lingyue wanted to open her mouth, but she was like a mute, opening her mouth but unable to make a sound. Aunt Liu was starting to sweat out of anxiety. She didn’t know what was wrong. She could only watch Su Lingyue, her eyes full of worry. Su Lingyue met her worried gaze, lost her senses for a few seconds, before calming down. The voice that came out was still trembling. "Aunt Liu."

Aunt Liu replied, "I'm here, I'm here, Aunt Liu's here."

Su Lingyue closed her eyes, calming her heart and breathing. She looked at Aunt Liu's still worried expression. "I'm fine." She tried to smile, but she couldn't. Aunt Liu's expression was worried. Su Lingyue said, "I just-- I was thinking about some things from the past."

Aunt Liu thought she was thinking about her mother. She comforted her, "The past is the past. If your mother saw how well you're living now, she would be very relieved too."

Su Lingyue forced a smile, her eyes blurry with tears. "Yeah."

Only then did Aunt Liu feel a bit relieved. She wanted to help Su Lingyue downstairs. Su Lingyue said, "I'm fine. Oh yeah, Aunt Liu, are my old letters still there?"

Letters?

What letters?

Aunt Liu was puzzled for a few seconds. "Those letters? Yes, they're all still there."

As she said this, she went to a drawer, opened it. Inside, neatly folded, were stacks of love letters. Su Lingyue’s eyes burned again. She went over. Aunt Liu joked, "I knew that when you grew up, you would want to look at them."

Su Lingyue laughed.

She went over, flipping through the letters, but she couldn’t find it. She flipped through another pile, and at the bottom, she found a letter that was stained with water. The paper had been dried out, and the envelope was even more brittle than normal paper.

The words were blurred and difficult to read. Su Lingyue thought about how she had thrown it away because the words were blurry, and it was Aunt Liu who had tidied it up.

She didn't have the courage to open it here, only looking through a small gap at the mottled words inside.

Su Lingyue said, "Aunt Liu, can I take this with me?"

"Of course, they were originally yours. You left without bringing anything. I was thinking that you might come back one day, so the things are all still here." Aunt Liu said, then she noticed that something was wrong and asked, "Is this...?"

Su Lingyue said, "It's nothing, I just want to take a look."

Although Aunt Liu noticed that something was off, Su Lingyue wasn't saying anything, so she didn't pry and just nodded. Su Lingyue put the thing in her bag, looked around, and as she was about to leave, reached out and hugged Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu was stunned.

The last time Su Lingyue had hugged her was many years ago, when she was being fired by Zhou Shiyu to return to her hometown. Su Lingyue had cried and made a fuss, and then after she had returned, Su Lingyue had hugged her.

That child had now grown taller than her.

Aunt Liu’s nose tingled.

Su Lingyue said, “Thank you, Aunt Liu.”

Aunt Liu said with a choked voice. "What are you saying, Aunt Liu hasn't taken care of you all these years."

Su Lingyue said, "You have, you've been taking care of me."

Taking good care of her overlooked joys for many years.

Su Lingyue hugged her for a moment, her phone vibrated. Su Lingyue looked at the message, Aunt Liu said, "Are you leaving?"

She clutched the phone. "Yeah, it's getting late. You should rest early too."

Aunt Liu said, "Then I'll see you out."

Su Lingyue nodded.

At the door, Su Lingyue said, "Aunt Liu, you said that you thought you'd seen her somewhere before. Where was it?"

"Where?" Aunt Liu thought for a while and looked at the stone lion at the door, making a soft "ah" sound. "It was here."

She said, "It was like I saw her at our front door, but also not..."

Aunt Liu mumbled to herself. She didn't remember very clearly. She only had an impression of Ji Zhiyi's features, that she was a very beautiful girl. When she had gone to look for Su Lingyue, she had said something like, "There's a very beautiful girl outside looking for you."

But after all, so many years had passed, it was normal that she couldn't remember clearly.

Su Lingyue understood everything.

She said, "Don't think about it, Aunt Liu, then I'll go now."

Only then did Aunt Liu snap back, looking at her. "Be careful on the road."

Su Lingyue said "yeah" and Aunt Liu watched her get into the car.

The car wasn't turned on. Ji Zhiyi tilted her head to look at her, noticing her red eyes. She guessed she had been reminiscing about her mother with Aunt Liu, so she reached out and put her hand on Su Lingyue's hand, holding it.

Su Lingyue turned her head, her throat moving, but she didn't say anything. After a long while, she called out, "Ji Zhiyi."

Ji Zhiyi tilted her head. "Yeah?"

Su Lingyue met her clear eyes. The streetlights outside reflected off the glass. Su Lingyue said, "I was inside just now, and I thought of a lot of things."

Ji Zhiyi asked her, "What things?"

Su Lingyue was silent for a moment. "A lot of stupid things I did in the past."

Ji Zhiyi said, “It’s normal when you’re young.”

“What about you?” Su Lingyue turned her head and looked at her. “Have you ever done anything stupid?”

Ji Zhiyi thought for a moment, and shook her head.

Su Lingyue turned her head to look out the window. Her heart ached. She flicked away the tears at the corner of her eyes and opened the window. The wind blew in from the window. Su Lingyue turned her head back, and snatched the hat off Ji Zhiyi's head, putting it on her own head.

Then, she closed herself off.

Ji Zhiyi called her. "Lingyue?"

Su Lingyue turned her head and this time pulled down her mask, just about to put it on herself, when Ji Zhiyi said, "There's a new one."

Su Lingyue, her voice catching, “I just want this one.”

Ji Zhiyi said, “I’ve already used it.”

Su Lingyue's voice was a little louder. "I don't care."

Ji Zhiyi realized that something was wrong with her and asked her, "What's wrong?"

As soon as she said those words, Su Lingyue sobbed. She put on the mask and hat, facing the window.

It was nothing, she just didn't want to cry in front of Ji Zhiyi and look so ugly.

Hearing her cry, Ji Zhiyi stopped the car on the side of the road. Su Lingyue turned her head, her eyes teary and swollen, full of water. She choked, "Why did you stop the car?"

When she cried like that, how could she drive safely. Helpless, Ji Zhiyi said, “Why are you crying?”

"I!" Su Lingyue couldn't help but feel annoyed when she thought about the love letters. She cried even louder. "I just want to cry."

Ji Zhiyi was speechless.

Su Lingyue said, crying, "I miss my mom."

Ji Zhiyi unbuckled her seatbelt and wanted to hug Su Lingyue. Su Lingyue twisted her body away and grabbed a tissue, wiping her face haphazardly. "You drive, I want to go home."

She changed her mind every second.

Ji Zhiyi looked at her for a few seconds before looking away. She asked as she was driving. "Did you see Auntie's picture?"

Su Lingyue said softly, "Yeah."

Ji Zhiyi asked, “Did you see anything else?”

Su Lingyue said, "A lot."

Ji Zhiyi didn't understand. "Huh?"

Su Lingyue said, "Lots and lots."

This answer was so strange. Ji Zhiyi turned her head to look at her. Su Lingyue’s head was pressed against the window, the hair under the hat tossed by the wind. Ji Zhiyi felt like after going back home, she was completely different.

Before getting out of the car, Su Lingyue took off the hat and put it in the car, taking the mask with her. Ji Zhiyi watched her as she walked. Su Lingyue smacked her head, "Groceries."

Ji Zhiyi was speechless.

Clearly, she had also forgotten.

The two of them brought the groceries and fruit home. After going inside, Su Lingyue was quiet and seemed down. Ji Zhiyi guessed that she was still thinking about the old house, so after running the water for her, she said, "Do you want to take a bath?"

Su Lingyue just stared blankly at her, snapping back to reality after a while. "Oh."

Saying this, she went into the bathroom.

Ji Zhiyi saw that she wasn't in a good mood, so she cut up some fruit and thought that Su Lingyue could eat it when she came out. Su Lingyue didn't take a long bath, and she came out quickly. Ji Zhiyi said, "Come eat some fruit."

Su Lingyue walked over and saw that Ji Zhiyi was getting ready to take a bath, looking for her pajamas. "Where's that school uniform from before?"

Ji Zhiyi was puzzled. "Huh?"

Su Lingyue said, "Is it still there?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "It's in the closet."

Su Lingyue nodded, and went to the closet to get the school uniform, replacing Ji Zhiyi's pajamas. Ji Zhiyi came out of the bathroom and called out, "Lingyue?"

She called out, but no one answered her.

Ji Zhiyi pursed her lips.

She looked at the school uniform in front of her, she had no choice but to put it on. She didn't know what was wrong with Su Lingyue. She walked out of the bathroom, just as she wanted to ask Su Lingyue, she noticed that the living room lights were off. Su Lingyue was sitting on the sofa, waving at her. "Ji Zhiyi, come here."

Su Lingyue was also wearing the school uniform, with her hair in a ponytail, tilting her head slightly. The light from the TV was on her face, showing a blurry outline. Ji Zhiyi walked over, holding a dry towel. The fruit plate was on the coffee table. Su Lingyue had eaten half of it and left the rest for Ji Zhiyi. She asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Su Lingyue patted the spot next to her. Ji Zhiyi sat down beside her. Su Lingyue’s hair was half-dry, and the scent of her hair products wafted through the air. Su Lingyue said, "When we were in school, we spent half the time we were supposed to be watching a movie just walking around outside. When we watched that movie, all my friends ran out. I wasn't paying attention to it. Thinking back now..." She turned her head to look at Ji Zhiyi. "Was that you?"

Ji Zhiyi was stunned.

She looked at Su Lingyue. "You remembered?"

So it was.

Su Lingyue said, "No."

She couldn't remember that part of her memory. She had already forgotten all about it. But because Ji Zhiyi wanted to watch that movie last time, and had sat next to her, Su Lingyue had tested her. She hadn't thought she had actually found something out.

Ji Zhiyi’s voice lowered. "Lingyue."

She thought about the car ride, Su Lingyue's abnormality. So, she knew. She had thought it was because Su Lingyue had been thinking about her mother. Ji Zhiyi moved closer to her. Su Lingyue turned her head. Ji Zhiyi was wearing the school uniform, her hair falling behind her shoulders. Su Lingyue used the leather cord on her wrist to tie up Ji Zhiyi's hair, then she took out the hat from her bag and put it on Ji Zhiyi's head, using her hand to cover her nose down, similar to a mask.

The glimpse of that stubborn girl from her memory.

Was showing itself.

Ji Zhiyi opened her mouth. "Ling..."

Su Lingyue covered her mouth. Ji Zhiyi stopped. Su Lingyue released her hand, then kissed her lips. Ji Zhiyi now felt like nothing she said was right. She could feel it.

Su Lingyue was angry.

The fiery kiss swept across Ji Zhiyi’s lips and tongue. Su Lingyue pressed on her shoulders and Ji Zhiyi leaned back, hitting the remote control. The movie that had paused on the TV started to play. Ji Zhiyi wanted to grab Su Lingyue’s shoulders to calm her down, but Su Lingyue grabbed her arm and pinned it to her side. Su Lingyue wrapped her arms around Ji Zhiyi, half-lying on her. Ji Zhiyi heard the sounds from the TV and asked, "Do you want to go to the room?"

Su Lingyue looked at her, her eyes glittering because of her anger, her tone stiff. “No.”

After she said that, her lips that had just been kissing Ji Zhiyi’s tongue were soft, licking her lips and tongue, her tongue slightly numb, her lips swollen. Su Lingyue wrapped her arms around Ji Zhiyi and pressed down on her neck, going further down, gently kneading the soft fabric. The sofa slowly reclined.

Ji Zhiyi lay down, her head falling to the edge of the sofa, her hair falling from the sofa to the floor, her hair swaying as her head moved.

She turned her head, the hat on her head moving slightly because of her movements. Su Lingyue, seeing this, stopped all of her actions. She straddled her, and put the hat back on her head properly, her eyes full of seriousness.

The hat was bigger than when she used to wear it, perhaps because she had adjusted it. Ji Zhiyi could only press down on the brim of the hat by looking up. With this action, her neck was slightly arched. Su Lingyue sucked on her, leaving one red mark after another. Ji Zhiyi was trembling from the bites. She couldn’t help but want to lift her head to change positions, but if she lifted her head, the hat would definitely fall. She asked Su Lingyue, "Can I take it off?"

Su Lingyue’s tone was overbearing. “No.”

Saying this, she buried her head in the space between her neck and her chest, her tongue tracing the lines of Ji Zhiyi’s skin, noticing her body stiffening, her muscles tensing. Su Lingyue pulled open the school uniform. Her tongue flicked over the soft curve. Ji Zhiyi trembled lightly. Su Lingyue looked up at her. "It can't fall down either."

Her tone was firm. "If you drop it once, I’ll do it once."

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