Running away from the Love-Brain

The Colors of Love

Q: Chi Buyu! Why did you suddenly pick up the pen again to start writing in your diary?

A: Come on! This is the first day, how could I not write it down!

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May 13, the weather was half sunny, half rainy. Today, both of them looked quite disheveled; their phones were out of battery, makeup smudged, clothes soaked, and the flowers were on the verge of wilting.

Cui Muhuo thought it would be better for them to head home first.

"I think sometimes the weather in Chengdu is just awful," she said.

They wandered the unfamiliar streets for who knows how long that night. In any case, after leaving the old shopping mall, they walked aimlessly under the moonlight reflected in puddles, making their way to the neon-lit streets.

Cui Xijin found a still-open 7-11 and borrowed a charger from the clerk. There was only one charging cable, and since it seemed more people would be looking for Chi Shui, Cui Xijin decided to charge Chi Shui's phone first.

As Chi Shui's phone began to buzz and vibrate, Cui Xijin was wiping the leaves of the colorful taro plant. Halfway through, she heard the night clerk curiously ask, "How did you two end up like this?"

Cui Xijin looked down at herself; she did indeed look messy and unkempt, like a scarecrow pulled from the mud.

When she looked up again, she saw Chi Shui's reflection in the glass door of the convenience store.

Chi Shui had her elbows propped up on the counter, laughing about something she was thinking. After laughing, she quietly pointed to her back and spoke to the clerk in a voice meant for only them,

"We're out on a date~~"

The clerk played along, dramatically gasping, "You two are out on a date in such heavy rain? You're in such a good mood!"

Chi Shui beamed, as if proud of their particularly imperfect evening, "And it's our first date!"

Cui Xijin watched as Chi Shui's head nearly touched the clerk's as they chattered away. How could Chi Shui casually strike up a conversation with a stranger? And about something like this... Cui Xijin still found her utterly inexplicable.

Before Chi Shui could invite another person to spread the saying "We'll share joys and sorrows together," Cui Xijin inserted a row of straws into the bottles of yogurt drink and called out awkwardly from behind her,

"Chi Buyu."

Both Chi Buyu and the clerk turned to look, seeing Cui Xijin holding the row of yogurt drinks with the straws inserted neatly.

Cui Xijin had no idea what the clerk thought in that moment.

But she guessed that in Chi Buyu's eyes, almost disappearing with a twinkle, she must have said a lot of self-satisfied things—"Admit it, Cui Xijin, I know you love me so much." "It's only the first day, and you're already hopelessly in love." "Girl, you're doomed; you love me too much..."

In short, it was all a mess.

Cui Xijin picked up the heavy colorful taro again, thinking calmly that it was just a row of yogurt drinks; it didn't indicate that one loved the other more.

Just then, Chi Buyu bounced over like a floppy-eared rabbit, grabbing the row of yogurt drinks, humorously lifting the large leaves of the colorful taro plant to bring the first bottle's first sip to her lips.