IP Chapter 73
Incurable Pain | Chapter 73
I can’t stand it to think my life is going so fast and I’m not really living it
– Ernest Hemingway, “The Sun Also Rises”
Only when I’m with the right person, does the feeling of “being alive” become even more real.
Rarely escaping the exploitation of the teacher, Yu Luoyin got off work on time, bought a fish, and went home.
Lately, he had been learning to cook, dabbling in various cuisines. Perhaps the saying that smart people learn quickly applied to him. Originally, the young master who had never touched cooking now handled it skillfully, both cutting and frying with ease.
Yu Luoyin discovered that Bai Xunyin really enjoyed the steamed sea bass he made. That night, he tried cooking it, and the petite girl ate a few more bites than usual.
Although she remained composed at the time, he had already silently noted—she loved fish, especially sea bass.
So, after work, he went to the market like a family cook and picked out a fresh live fish.
When he returned home, he became unusually gentle.
On weekends, Bai Xunyin didn’t go to work and occasionally liked to take a nap to catch up on sleep.
But not today.
When Yu Luoyin walked in, he saw the woman in thin pajamas curled up on the sofa, seemingly watching TV, but her gaze seemed empty. Hearing the sound, she looked up, her eyes bright and clear.
“Why are the corners of your eyes a little red?”
Yu Luoyin walked over, leaning down to gently wipe the soft corners of her eyes with his fingertips, his clear voice teasing, “Were you bullied by me last night?”
Being mischievous again.
Bai Xunyin looked at him, not wanting to show weakness, “Who’s bullying whom?”
She had left her share of marks on him too, more tooth marks than a cat.
“Alright.”
Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but smile, unable to hold back, his gaze indulgent.
“You’re bullying me.”
He shook the bag in his hand, “Fish for dinner tonight?”
“Yeah.” Bai Xunyin nodded.
“Anything is fine.”
Yu Luoyin noticed that Bai Xunyin seemed unusually obedient today, like a Garfield cat lying on his knees, allowing herself to be petted.
This made him happy, too. He reached out, his slender fingers lifting her chin, and covered her soft lips with his for a while.
Then, feeling satisfied, he let go of her and went to the kitchen to prepare the fish.
But Bai Xunyin wasn’t entirely satisfied.
The girl’s soft tongue licked her lips lightly, watching Yu Luoyin’s slender figure with narrowed eyes. The next moment, she stood up and walked over.
Standing behind the man, she hugged his slender waist, rarely acting spoiled, sticking close to him.
This kind of surprise was as rare for Yu Luoyin as “the sun rising from the west”.
He smiled and held the girl’s soft hand, “What’s wrong?”
Today, Bai Xunyin seemed unusually enthusiastic.
“Nothing.”
But the girl denied it, instead rubbing against Yu Luoyin, leaning up to kiss his Adam’s apple, her cold voice fitting snugly into some seductive implication.
“I want something else to eat.”
For today, the meal seemed a bit too ordinary.
Her hint wasn’t lost on Yu Luoyin. A dark shade passed through his black eyes.
“So, does Yinyin like the kitchen?”
He couldn’t help but laugh, exerting force to lift the girl’s slender waist, lifting her up.
When Bai Xunyin felt the coolness of the kitchen counter, she was already bitten by him on the corner of her lips.
Mumbling, she asked, “How about here? Do you like it?”
She lowered her eyes.
Very much.
The kitchen was a chaotic place, but it was a place where they could bond.
But Yu Luoyin’s antics were far from over, but unfortunately, she forgot this lesson.
Bai Xunyin couldn’t take it anymore. She deliberately used her “tricks” to provoke him.
“Hiss…”
Yu Luoyin frowned, and the already smooth lines in his eyes became even sharper. He lowered his head to fiercely kiss her, his tone not lacking in fierceness.
“Am I spoiling you too much?”
Teasing was one thing, but just now, she had dared to use that move.
Didn’t she know that men couldn’t be provoked in bed?
“Yeah.”
Bai Xunyin, on the contrary, justified herself, biting his shoulder with a muffled laugh.
“You have to spoil me forever.”
This was a kind of command.
But this woman, now both spoiled and unreasonable, was extremely rare, and it made him extremely pleased.
Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but laugh, his eyes a little red as he picked her up again and walked towards the bedroom. As the door closed, only one sentence could be heard—
“Of course, spoil you for a lifetime.”
As long as he had this opportunity, it was good enough.
Afternoon antics were enough, so the steamed sea bass naturally became dinner.
Neither of them were talkative during meals, and the table was quiet, only the sound of utensils clinking.
Yet, it was strangely harmonious and soft.
Perhaps it was because of the quiet little night light on the dining table, filtering both figures and dishes with a layer of warmth.
The rule that the person who cooks doesn’t have to do the dishes didn’t apply here, because Yu Luoyin could handle all the housework alone, naturally including cooking and washing dishes.
Before, Bai Xunyin had never thought about the tedious issue of “housework”, until today, when she reflected on whether she was a bit lazy and excessive.
Shouldn’t she… share some of the burden?
After all, life was meant to be shared by two people,
Not a one-person show.
Bai Xunyin walked over to help Yu Luoyin wipe the plates, drying off the dripping water on them just like she usually did.
“Oh, look who’s grown up today,” Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but tease when he saw her, “Aren’t you usually the one who hates touching these dishes and utensils?”
Bai Xunyin didn’t say anything, silently working.
But Yu Luoyin couldn’t resist teasing her, still trying to provoke her, “Why are you so obedient today?”
Obediently letting him tease her, doing everything without resistance, even helping with household chores.
Yu Luoyin felt like he might have some cheap tendencies, feeling a bit ‘surprised and honored’.
Bai Xunyin glanced at him with a slight dissatisfaction, “Why do you talk so much nonsense?”
Then she thought with a steely straight face—
Yu Luoyin is more obedient in bed.
Yu Luoyin approached everything in reverse compared to others.
Lots of dirty talk under the bed, but surprisingly cooperative in bed, making her feel quite comfortable being taken care of.
Yu Luoyin didn’t know about the various thoughts running through the girl’s mind; his lazy gaze fell on her.
The kitchen ceiling light seemed to outline a faint golden border on Bai Xunyin’s milk-white nightgown-clad body, her hair cascading down, revealing a slender calf, the way she held the plates resembling a European oil painting.
It was irresistible, making one want to marry her, to start a family.
Yu Luoyin’s Adam’s apple rolled imperceptibly, then he forcibly moved his increasingly scorching gaze away, continuing to wash the dishes.
But after a pause, he still felt somewhat unwilling.
Casually, he said, “My cousin’s engagement is next week…”
Bai Xunyin didn’t quite catch what he said, “Hmm?”
…
“Yinyin,” Yu Luoyin took a deep breath, as if determined, turning to look at her, firmly asking, “My cousin is getting engaged next week, can you accompany me?”
This was a very formal invitation, a request for Bai Xunyin to step closer to his family, with significant implications, hence his difficulty in asking.
Because Yu Luoyin wasn’t sure if Bai Xunyin would be willing.
And… he was almost too afraid to confirm.
After saying this, he continued to turn away and tidy up, trying to disguise his words vaguely, wishing he hadn’t said, “If you’re busy, forget it.”
Yu Luoyin didn’t want to make her feel embarrassed.
But what he didn’t expect was that Bai Xunyin wasn’t troubled at all.
After hearing him, she simply responded with a calm “Oh” and then nodded, “It’s okay, I have the time.”
Was this her way of agreeing?
Yu Luoyin stared at Bai Xunyin in bewilderment.
“What are you looking at?”
He rarely acted silly, and Bai Xunyin suppressed a laugh, handing him the cleaned plate, “Put it away.”
She really should treat him better. Just this tiny bit of kindness, and he was pleasantly surprised.
Bai Xunyin suddenly had the illusion that Yu Luoyin was quite adorable.
The next day, it was the weekend, and as usual, Yu Luoyin had to go back to the hospital to work overtime. Bai Xunyin lazily slept in until late morning before calling Ah Mo, who rarely had to work overtime, to go out shopping.
Since she had decided to attend Yu Luoyin’s brother’s engagement banquet, she couldn’t avoid buying some things.
Proper etiquette had to be observed, and although Bai Xunyin lacked experience, she understood the principles.
After making plans with Ah Mo, she remembered that Liu Yufu, who had been contacting her frequently these days, always wanted to have a meal with her. So, she decided to invite her along as well.
She didn’t know what gift to give to the engaged couple, so it was a good opportunity to ask.
Liu Yufu and Ah Mo were also high school classmates, old acquaintances, so when the three met, they found each other dressed casually and comfortably, giving off a feeling of coordinated ‘youthfulness’, as if they were back in high school.
“Oh, I see, I’ve found that you academic achievers resist aging.”
Ah Mo, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans like Bai Xunyin, couldn’t help but exclaim when she saw Liu Yufu, “Is there some secret to eternal youth in the books? Come clean.”
“Come on, Ning Shumo.”
Liu Yufu couldn’t help but laugh, “Why are you still so wild?”
“Come on, who’s wild…”
As they bickered along the way, the atmosphere was anything but quiet, especially with Ah Mo around, it was basically goodbye to tranquility.
Passing by the furniture store in the square, Liu Yufu grabbed Bai Xunyin and suggested, “Let’s go in and have a look.”
“Hmm?”
Bai Xunyin, who lacked a romantic sense of life, had a basic understanding of furniture that mostly stopped at ‘large items’, so she was a bit puzzled, “Furniture as a gift? Can you give big items like that at an engagement banquet?”
“…What furniture? Can you give big items like that at an engagement banquet?”
Liu Yufu couldn’t help but chuckle at the misunderstanding, sighing, “The trendy wedding gift nowadays are cups, like a set of tall glasses, maybe the furniture store has them.”
She was more knowledgeable in social etiquette than Bai Xunyin in this regard.
“Oh, right, I’ve heard of that, but let’s forget the furniture store.”
Ah Mo recalled the articles she had seen online, pointing to the high-end stores in the mall, “I remember Veraang has a set of very famous wedding cups.”
Liu Yufu suddenly realized, “Yes, I’ve heard of that too.”
But whether it was cups or some luxurious brand like Veraang, Bai Xunyin was a bit puzzled.
She just thought those exorbitantly expensive cups looked strangely beautiful.
After a brief moment of contemplation, she took out her card to purchase a set.
“Huh?”
Ah Mo keenly noticed something wrong with this card, wondering, “Did you change cards?”
“No.”
Bai Xunyin entered her password, without even lifting her head, she said, “It’s Yu Luoyin’s.”
“Damn.”
Ah Mo grabbed her arm excitedly, “Did he hand over his salary card to you?”
Was the relationship progressing this quickly?!
Hearing this, Liu Yufu also listened with great interest.
“Of course not, there’s still less money in his salary card than mine.”
Bai Xunyin shook her head, “This is his savings card.”
It seemed to contain all the profits from his stock trading, which he insisted on ‘gifting’ to her.
“Yu Luoyin is indeed sweet to his girlfriend.”
Liu Yufu couldn’t help but indulge in fantasies about Yu Luoyin’s character, with a dreamy expression, “Is he still as handsome as he was in high school? No, he must be even more handsome now, right?”
“What’s with the handsome talk, you romantic.”
Ah Mo teased her, then turned to ask Bai Xunyin, “Why did you suddenly decide to use Yu Luoyin’s card today?”
She knew Bai Xunyin never liked spending other people’s money, even if they were very close.
“I had no choice, he begged me to.”
Bai Xunyin said helplessly, “He said using his card would make him feel secure.”
There was no way around it, if she promised to spoil Yu Luoyin, she had to give him a sense of security.
Both Ah Mo and Liu Yufu were stunned to hear that a boyfriend would rely on his girlfriend to use her card for a sense of security.
They pondered for a moment, feeling like they had been shown up.
This was a whole new level of showing affection.
Tsk tsk, damn those providers of dog food.
Sleepyblue’s corner:
This chapter was especially touching for me, and this line made me shed a few tears in particular:
“It was irresistible, making one want to marry her, to start a family.”
I don’t know exactly why, but it hit some kind of spot for me :’)