Familiar

Wei Yin had planned to go home today, but her message still hadn’t been answered. For now, she couldn’t think of any other way to get in touch with Hua Yu.

Xu Ya Qing was in the middle of asking her boss for leave.

“Oh, I already lost this month’s attendance bonus,” Xu Ya Qing said pleasantly, though her refusal to work early was unusually firm. “Our department isn’t just me. Everyone here is capable. If you push a little, the results come out.”

After a long, roundabout speech, she finally hung up, then cursed at her phone for a good while.

“What the hell. You pay me the same salary but make me do the hardest work, then turn around and say the more capable people should take on more? More my ass,” Xu Ya Qing muttered as she put her phone away. “I’m going to use up all the leave I’ve saved.”

Wei Yin was still staring blankly at her phone.

“What are you looking at? I’ve got good news for you—I won’t be going to work for a few days.” Xu Ya Qing leaned over eagerly.

Wei Yin looked utterly dead inside. “I want to go to work.”

Xu Ya Qing: ??

“I have a good boss,” Wei Yin said, head lowered, poking at Hua Yu’s profile picture now and then. She accidentally tapped it once. “...”

Wei Yin: ><

Xu Ya Qing swallowed back the urge to retort. Your boss and my boss are not the same.

She was the real capitalist boss, the kind who squeezed labor for profit. Hua Yu, on the other hand, was worlds apart—a charitable saint who kept throwing money in and was still willing to do it happily.

“Stop staring,” Xu Ya Qing said. “I’ll call her for you. You look like a husband waiting by the window.”

Wei Yin hurriedly grabbed her hand. “Don’t. Dr. Hua is busy... not waiting by the window.”

“Yes, yes, you’re the one waiting on the boss,” Xu Ya Qing said, pulling her hand free and dialing the number. “If she has time, she’ll answer. If she’s really busy, we’ll hang up.”

The phone rang for more than ten seconds before it connected.

“I’m Dr. Hua’s coworker,” Yang Cha’s voice came through the receiver. “She’s in an experiment right now.”

Wei Yin leaned closer. “We don’t have anything important. If Dr. Hua is busy, that’s fine.”

As soon as she said that, she wanted to hang up. Xu Ya Qing lifted a hand and blocked her. “Wait a second. About when will Hua Yu be done? Tell her to remember to call back.”

Yang Cha said, “Dr. Hua will be in the lab for the next three days. Unless it’s something at the hospital, just go directly to her. For everything else, let me handle the calls.”

Xu Ya Qing understood immediately. “So she’s going into seclusion again? Did she say how to arrange things for Wei Yin?”

Wei Yin shot Xu Ya Qing a dissatisfied look.

Why did Dr. Hua have to arrange her life just because she was busy with work? She wasn’t some little pet who couldn’t take care of herself.

Yang Cha thought for a moment. “She said that if you called, she’d trouble Xu Ya Qing to look after her for a few days.”

“Right, that’s me,” Xu Ya Qing said happily. “Got it, don’t worry. We’ll look for her after she’s done in seclusion.”

Xu Ya Qing had just taken leave and was already thinking about how to pry Wei Yin away from Hua Yu for a few more days. Now Hua Yu was secluding herself on her own; it was like someone had handed her a pillow the moment she got sleepy.

Wei Yin, however, was in low spirits. She sat back down and secretly wondered why Dr. Hua had suddenly gone into “seclusion.”

What did seclusion mean? Working overtime continuously? Not resting at all?

From Yang Cha’s tone, Hua Yu had decided this all of a sudden, without even having time to tell them herself.

Even though Hua Yu had always been busy and the province hospital’s differentiation department was a key department, when Wei Yin had been with her before, she had always managed to make time to spend with her. At the very least, she would keep in touch over WeChat. She had never disappeared like this.

Weird.

Xu Ya Qing, on the other hand, didn’t worry at all. She waved Wei Yin over. “We streamed today; followers went up by six thousand! And a lot of people messaged asking how to buy your sunflower.”

Wei Yin said expressionlessly, “Oh. Not for sale.”

The two of them had been pretty bored and unusually focused today. They streamed from morning until afternoon, and even ate lunch in front of the camera. Probably because the stream ran long enough, more people ended up watching, and the follower count rose quite a bit.

By the time the stream ended, Wei Yin had finished shaping the sunflower and painting it. Even before firing, it already looked exquisite and lovely. Most of the viewers still in the room at that point were people who liked the stream, so they would naturally like the sunflower too.

But this was for Hua Yu. She wasn’t giving it to anyone else.

Wei Yin casually leaned over to take a look, scrolled through the list, and picked one out. “Look, someone else wants to buy your painting.”

“Really?!” Xu Ya Qing got excited. “Let me see.”

While Xu Ya Qing was distracted, Wei Yin opened Yang Cha’s WeChat and thought it over before sending a sticker.

[in]: peek.jpg

[in]: When did Dr. Hua go into seclusion?

Yang Cha was probably looking at her phone; she replied very quickly.

[Foreign tea]: At lunchtime.

Wei Yin didn’t know what had happened before lunch. Thinking back on the livestream, Hua Yu had sent her fireworks, and right after that, she had said she wanted to give Hua Yu the sunflower. After that, there had been no movement.

Could Hua Yu hate her sunflower that much?

At that thought, Wei Yin immediately denied her own idea.

Because that reason was not only baffling, it also made it sound as though she was very important.

Yang Cha soon sent another message.

[Foreign tea]: Dr. Hua’s clinical trial has been approved and is now being prepared. It’s a field she’s been researching for a long time.

So that was it.

Wei Yin thought about it and asked Yang Cha to take care of Hua Yu, reminding her to get enough rest.

[Foreign tea]: Don’t worry. Dr. Hua knows what she’s doing. It’ll only be for these next two or three days, and then it’ll be her turn for rotation leave.

Rotation leave?

Then Dr. Hua would be home all day?

Wei Yin was extremely easy to appease; joy immediately spread across her face. She turned to Xu Ya Qing and said, “Dinner’s on me tonight.”

“Sure,” Xu Ya Qing said readily. “You pay, I’ll spend. We made a few hundred from the stream today; let’s go eat something good.”

“No need.” Wei Yin patted her pocket. “I have money.”

Xu Ya Qing seemed to think of something and lightly coughed, then deliberately teased, “How much money could you have, little nanny? Just keep yours for yourself.”

“I can afford one meal,” Wei Yin said, wrinkling her nose. “I can’t keep letting you pay for me. I’m still staying at your place.”

“By the way, do nannies make money?” Xu Ya Qing asked with a curious expression. “Tell me about your work experience over the years.”

Xu Ya Qing was naturally curious, and Wei Yin was fairly soft-tempered. There was nothing much to hide, so she talked through the employers she remembered most clearly over the years.

“Single ladies are easier to take care of,” Wei Yin said shyly. “And they’re generous too. Men aren’t.”

Xu Ya Qing nodded. “Then you’ve been living so frugally; you must have saved a lot of money, right?”

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener felt a pang. Wei Yin sighed. “No. I can’t save any. At most, I leave enough in my card for next month’s living expenses.”

“What did you spend your money on?” Xu Ya Qing asked.

Wei Yin didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “Anyway, enough to treat you to dinner.”

Xu Ya Qing understood. Wei Yin’s finances were in terrible shape. Although she earned money every month, she couldn’t save any. As for where it all went, she didn’t get an answer. She’d ask again if there was a chance; if there wasn’t, forget it and let Hua Yu worry about it.

In the end, Xu Ya Qing still didn’t let Wei Yin pay.

In her words, the stream had brought in a few hundred yuan; if she didn’t spend it, it would go to waste. She even pointed at Wei Yin and said that if there was a bargain and you didn’t take it, you were an idiot.

Wei Yin, scolded as a little turtle, got annoyed and stopped talking about paying. She even picked a rather expensive restaurant.

On the way there, Xu Ya Qing brought up money again.

“A lot of people in private messages said they want to buy your sunflowers. Why don’t you consider changing careers? How about livestream selling?” Xu Ya Qing suggested. “You can livestream yourself making ceramics, then sell your own products.”

Wei Yin sat in the passenger seat, looking out at the scenery. She smiled. “I’m just an amateur. Wouldn’t selling things be cheating people?”

“You’re still an amateur?” Xu Ya Qing thought about it more and more and felt it was feasible. “You can make more than ten little things in a day. Even if each one sells for a hundred yuan, that’s more than a thousand a day. Several ten-thousand a month. Isn’t that faster money than being a nanny? And you wouldn’t have to swallow your anger.”

“Who would spend over a hundred yuan on a ceramic ornament?” Wei Yin looked at her as if Xu Ya Qing were being silly. “Besides, these things are already mass-produced in factories. Unless they’re especially exquisite, they’re all 9.9 yuan, shipping included.”

Xu Ya Qing slapped the steering wheel. “Then make them more exquisite!”

Wei Yin had nothing to say to that. “I spent an entire day making the sunflower.”

That was true. Handicrafts either needed high craftsmanship to command a high price, or they had to be impossible to mass-produce and therefore had to be made by hand to sell for more. Wei Yin could only take the former route, the boutique route.

The boutique route took a lot of energy and time; if she spent days making one piece and still couldn’t sell it, wouldn’t that be too much of a loss?

Xu Ya Qing couldn’t think of a way to reduce the risk for the moment, so she shut up.

Besides, Wei Yin had Hua Yu watching over her now, so there was no way Hua Yu would let her live badly.

The two of them went to a private Su-style restaurant. The environment was quiet and elegant, with all kinds of potted plants lined up along the hallway, lush and dripping green. The lighting was bright, and there was soft instrumental music in the background. As soon as they went in, they smelled a faint floral fragrance.

“I always see recommendations for this place,” Xu Ya Qing praised Wei Yin’s taste. “We really thought of the same thing.”

Wei Yin said, “I just picked it randomly. It had the highest average price within ten li.”

Xu Ya Qing: ...Don’t provoke a woman.

Cherry pork and squirrel-shaped mandarin fish were must-orders. The two of them also ordered plenty of desserts: date paste layered cake, fermented rice glutinous rice balls, and green rice balls. For the main dishes, they added chestnut chicken, Su-style braised meat, and Cangshu mutton.

Wei Yin swallowed. “It’d be nice if Dr. Hua were here too.”

“Don’t think about her. The hospital cafeteria isn’t bad either,” Xu Ya Qing said. She hadn’t eaten home-style food in a long time; remembering that the aunt at home also made Suzhou and Wuxi dishes, she immediately felt nostalgic. “When we have time, I’ll take you to my house for a meal. The aunt at home cooks especially well.”

Wei Yin bit her chopsticks and smiled. “Okay.”

“The aunt at Hua Yu’s house cooks well too,” Xu Ya Qing said, suddenly feeling even hungrier. “Especially the medicinal dishes Auntie makes. They’re the most nourishing food I’ve ever eaten, and the best-tasting medicine I’ve ever had.”

Wei Yin hadn’t tried them, so she wasn’t as greedy as Xu Ya Qing. “Is that Dr. Hua’s mother?”

Xu Ya Qing nodded. “Yes. We’ll get Hua Yu to take us there sometime.”

Wei Yin was embarrassed. “I’ll pass...”

Xu Ya Qing raised a hand. “Stop.”

The two of them sat in a window seat at the corner of the first floor, hidden and quiet. They chatted and ate, not noticing a group of people arriving at the entrance.

They were all girls, speaking in high, bright voices; their laughter and chatter carried very well.

One of them was laughing as she walked this way. Just as she reached the stairs, she suddenly stopped.

“Xu Ya Qing?”

Xu Ya Qing looked up. Oh, it was an old acquaintance.

“Li Leran,” Xu Ya Qing said after swallowing her food, then gave her a nod. “Having dinner?”

Li Leran didn’t go upstairs either; she turned and walked over toward Xu Ya Qing.

Enemies were bound to meet on a narrow road. She looked Xu Ya Qing up and down. “I heard your family cut off your card. You still have money to eat outside?”

Xu Ya Qing was speechless. She lowered her head to look at the table, then looked back up at Li Leran. “Fatty, not everyone is like you. If your family doesn’t wire you money, you starve to death.”

Li Leran hated being called fatty the most. She immediately exploded. “You stinking painter!”

Then she noticed there was someone else sitting across from Xu Ya Qing and sneered. “So that’s what it is. You don’t have money in your own pocket, so you’re getting someone else to treat you. Mooching off others, huh.”

Xu Ya Qing looked at her red hair and already had a headache. She covered her eyes with both hands and said in a muffled voice, “Hurry up and leave, elementary-school brat. You insult people and you’re still this childish. I don’t want to get dumb with you.”

“Pfft.”

Wei Yin couldn’t help laughing out loud.

The essence of cursing someone was not to defend yourself.

If someone said you had no money, you shouldn’t insist you did; you should hit back at their sore spot instead.

Li Leran blew up at the slightest provocation and stormed forward a few more steps, looking as if she might lift a cup and splash water all over Xu Ya Qing’s face at any second.

“Hey, take it easy. I don’t have a past with you; don’t go splashing me like a shrew splashing a scumbag or a homewrecker,” Xu Ya Qing said, holding out a hand. “If you don’t leave now, I’m calling the waiter.”

Li Leran was so angry her fingers were shaking. She turned her body, then caught sight of Wei Yin. “You, you... you?”

Her expression shifted into uncertainty. After staring for a while, she asked, “Who are you?”

Wei Yin pointed at herself, the smile at the corners of her mouth still not gone. “Me? I’m the one treating.”

“Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” Li Leran said suddenly. “You look a little... familiar.”