Mute Beauty

Chapter 4: Listening

Yu Ting finally understood the sense of familiarity Ran Ling brought her.

The dim, flickering side profile in the tavern, the awkwardness when faced with enthusiastic interruptions, the card scented with white jasmine, and the wind chime and floral dress taken away when leaving the tavern.

Her side profile, her handwriting, her WeChat ID.

It was her all along.

And that card?

Recalling it now, Yu Ting felt a brief moment of regret. She had casually tossed the card into some corner of the bar counter, leaving it untraceable. Back then, Ran Ling was just a fleeting episode Yu Ting had carelessly forgotten, unaware that it carried such significance and that it mattered so much to this woman—who now crouched in front of Yu Ting, waiting until she had read the message before putting her phone away.

As their eyes met, the seriousness in the woman's expression revealed a hint of persistence and sadness, as if this truly meant a great deal to her.

Yu Ting felt a slight twinge of guilt over her own indifference.

This was the first time she had communicated with someone who had a "defect," and it was also the first time in years that she had spoken to "Sister Ling." She couldn't quite grasp the woman's heart at that moment. Perhaps Ran Ling was overly sincere, or perhaps...

Yu Ting looked at the woman's intense gaze.

The surprise in Yu Ting's expression softened, and she spoke with a bit of surprise and delight, "It's you?"

"No wonder I thought you seemed so familiar when we bumped into each other upstairs just now," she hinted that she hadn't completely forgotten her, but she also didn't intend to explain why she hadn't added her on WeChat. Yu Ting was good at brushing off troublesome matters, and she casually pulled out her phone and leaned in.

The scent of cool perfume mixed with the faint floral aroma from her earlier cigarette lingered around Yu Ting. As Ran Ling watched Yu Ting's pale, slender hand reach across in front of her, she felt herself being quietly enveloped. Her fingers involuntarily curled.

Her reaction was all too clear under Yu Ting's gaze. Yu Ting gently tapped Ran Ling's WeChat profile.

The QR code appeared on the screen, and before Ran Ling could fully process it, there was a "ding"—she had been added.

Her eyes trembled slightly, and she heard Yu Ting's amused voice from above, "Can I add you now?"

Ran Ling's phone buzzed with the notification of a friend request.

Holding her phone tightly, Ran Ling looked up at the woman's face, which was now much closer, gentle yet subtly intimidating. The one who had taken the initiative to "question" Yu Ting now found herself flustered, perhaps nervous, perhaps embarrassed... she didn't know how to react, feeling lost.

"Ah Ting!"

A voice calling for Yu Ting came from inside the house. Ran Ling snapped back to reality, her earlier confusion turning into panic. She hurriedly stood up to leave, but after only a few steps, she bumped into Elder Yu and Ran Long, who were coming out of the house. She nodded to them as a greeting.

Elder Yu smiled warmly and called her "Little Ling."

Before entering the house, Ran Ling couldn't resist turning back for one last glance at Yu Ting.

Yu Ting was watching her too.

Once she was gone, the figures before Yu Ting were replaced by the gaunt, sunken-cheeked Elder Yu, her future father-in-law, and the greasy, overweight Uncle Ran Long.