Curiosity

Wei Yin opened the door and caught sight of Xu Yaqing’s back as she quickly turned away not far away.

“Stop eavesdropping. Go inside and eat,” Wei Yin said.

Xu Yaqing rubbed her nose. She hadn’t actually heard much, but she’d more or less gotten the gist. Hua Yu was the kind of person who tied herself into a knot, then had that knot deep-fried over and over until it turned hard and unbreakable. Just looking at her could make a person frustrated. “Well, Hua Yu has always been like this. She keeps herself on a tight leash and is cold to other people. Sometimes it even feels like she doesn’t have any normal human desires. But on the other hand, once she cares about someone, her self-control gets really strong.”

Wei Yin said nothing and listened quietly.

Xu Yaqing used herself as an example. “Look at me. In those first few months after my family kicked me out, I went to her for help. She found me a place to rent and introduced me to work. I wanted to live in a nice apartment; she said the quality was bad and the formaldehyde level was too high. I wanted to go to a graffiti studio; she said it was too enclosed and had no prospects. She took care of everything for me. And just now, before you came, she handed me a bunch of background-check tasks, and now I have to go on a business trip and keep myself busy again.”

After saying that, Xu Yaqing nervously watched Wei Yin’s reaction.

She had blurred the focus a little. For Hua Yu, Xu Yaqing was family and also like a younger sister; it wasn’t only today that she had looked after her and had a say in front of her. But if that same pattern was applied to Wei Yin, then if Wei Yin was willing to accept it, it was mutual; if she wasn’t, then it was being forced on her.

Under Xu Yaqing’s hopeful, conflicted gaze, Wei Yin nodded as if nothing was unusual. Her tone was calm as she changed the subject. “Oh, you’re going on a business trip? Then I’ll go to the studio by myself and knead clay.”

Xu Yaqing took three seconds to react, then looked suspicious. “Huh?”

Wei Yin repeated, “I’m going to knead clay. Isn’t that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay,” Xu Yaqing said automatically. “Completely okay.”

Only after saying it did she belatedly realize that Wei Yin seemed to have skipped right over Hua Yu and was talking about something very important to her and very much to her taste.

Wei Yin had messaged her saying her twelve zodiac pieces had sold and that their collaboration could be put on the agenda. Xu Yaqing had assumed they’d have to wait at least until Hua Yu got better, but she hadn’t expected Wei Yin to go now.

Wei Yin waved. “I’m leaving.”

“Wait for me,” Xu Yaqing said, holding her lunch box and taking a step toward Wei Yin, then stopping to glance back at Hua Yu’s ward. “I’m going to the studio too.”

The background checks didn’t have to start today anyway. Compared with a random business trip, Xu Yaqing preferred staying curled up in her own studio.

Wei Yin gave her a sidelong look. “I’m taking the bus. You two eat first; I’ll wait for you at the studio.”

Xu Yaqing hesitated for a few seconds. “Fine, then wait for me!”

After returning to the ward, Xu Yaqing set up a small folding table and brought it in front of Hua Yu.

“Try it. I made it for you,” Xu Yaqing said. After setting it down, she didn’t wait for Hua Yu to move and picked up a bowl to start eating herself. “It smells amazing.”

Wei Yin had probably looked through recipe books; none of the dishes looked especially home-style.

“Except for this lamb and potato stew,” Xu Yaqing tasted each dish in turn and let out a heartfelt sigh, “I can’t recognize the others at all.”

She took another bite and added, “But it’s good. Anyway, way better than anything I cook.”

Hua Yu picked up her chopsticks in a daze. Before Xu Yaqing came in, she had been staring toward the door.

She was still digesting the conversation from earlier, but her mouth had already answered on instinct. “This is perilla pickled peaches and ginger; I’ve made it once before, so she probably learned it in secret. This is huai shan with black-bone chicken soup and five-grain red date dumplings. They’re good for replenishing qi and blood.”

Hearing that the dishes were nourishing, Xu Yaqing immediately scooped half a plate for herself.

Hua Yu’s movements were slow; only after a long while did she lower her head and look at her own bowl.

“Eat,” Xu Yaqing said. “Wei Yin made it for you. Even if you don’t have an appetite, at least eat a little. Otherwise I’m going to go to the studio later and complain to Wei Yin that you’re refusing her food.”

Hua Yu: …

“Stay out of our business.” Hua Yu’s expression cooled, but when her gaze landed on those dishes, her eyes softened almost imperceptibly. She tried to force down a mouthful.

The nausea made her uncomfortable, but because it was Wei Yin who had made it, she could at least swallow it.

She had lost quite a bit of weight over these past two days, and her already sharp, refined features looked even more defined.

Xu Yaqing watched her while eating and tried to comfort her. “I talked with Wei Yin just now. She was indifferent when I told her the nice things you said about her, so I’m guessing she’s not too angry.”

Hua Yu looked worn out and gave a faint smile at that. “Why did she suddenly want to develop a side business? Does she not have enough money?”

Xu Yaqing asked, “Do you even know how much money is in the card you gave her for daily expenses?”

“There’s twenty thousand in it. I planned to transfer more in after a while,” Hua Yu said.

“No text alert for balance changes?”

“No.”

Xu Yaqing was speechless. Hua Yu had no idea Wei Yin hadn’t used that card at all, did she?

“Look at this screenshot.” Xu Yaqing sent her Wei Yin’s chat history and the twelve zodiac pieces she had kneaded. “She can make money from her own hobby now.”

Hua Yu studied it carefully for a while and felt happy for Wei Yin. “That’s good.”

Xu Yaqing shot her a troubled look.

These two people were hopeless at dating. They had none of the kind of prying curiosity they should have had, yet they had an endless amount of the sort of “I’m doing this for your own good” behavior they shouldn’t have.

Hua Yu said, “Keep her company. You two are about the same age and can play together.”

Xu Yaqing let out a teasing snort. “Why does that sound like I’m accompanying my boss’s lover to eat, drink, and have fun? I don’t need you to tell me that.”

Hua Yu didn’t speak again. Her vacation time was running out. Even though Liu Cong and Yang Cha were subtly and not-so-subtly trying to get her to work less and stop worrying, the department head and her supervisors still hoped she’d get better soon and return to her work schedule.

She didn’t have that much time to spend with Wei Yin.

Letting her do things she liked and see more of the world was a good thing.

In a few days, once both of them had calmed down, it wouldn’t be too late to talk about what came next.

—

Wei Yin walked to the bank nearest the hospital, where the teller greeted her warmly.

“I want to open a savings account,” Wei Yin said. “Thank you.”

She had only ever had one card before, and it couldn’t hold money. She owed 400,000 yuan, and now she was only 80,000 yuan away from paying it all off.

Once the debt was cleared, she could start saving her own money.

Wei Yin’s plans for life were very clear. Making money and saving money came first; after that, the priority was living well.

She wanted to try earning a little from her craft. It didn’t matter how much; she would put it all into this new card and, once the amount was enough, deposit it into a fixed-term account.

Retirement money, lying-flat money; all of it had to be accumulated little by little.

When she arrived at the entrance of the Yayu studio, Wei Yin copied Xu Yaqing and pulled up the rolling shutter.

There was much less dust inside than there had been the first time. Since the two of them had cleaned it last time, the place had a little more life to it and looked like a proper studio.

Wei Yin first went to the back warehouse and turned on the electric kiln, confirming that all the equipment was working normally. Then she mixed the clay, took out a sheet of paper, and began sketching and writing.

Inspiration was like that; sometimes it came flooding in, sometimes it dripped out like toothpaste, but no matter what, it was an abstract thing that vanished in an instant and had to be recorded quickly.

Wei Yin opened her notebook, which contained a collection of inspirations from childhood to the present. She flipped through it while waiting for new ideas to spark.

Time passed in a flash. Wei Yin was so absorbed that before she knew it, two hours had gone by.

The sound of a car stopping came from outside; Xu Yaqing came in carrying a bag of things.

“Come help,” Xu Yaqing called. “We’re changing the livestream equipment.”

Wei Yin helped carry the things, feeling like there was nowhere to put her feet.

With her particularly sharp eye, she could tell from the smell that these things were expensive.

“Of course the audio mic has to be the best. We don’t talk much, so good equipment helps increase audience interaction.”

Wei Yin didn’t understand any of the technical side. She just followed the principle that professionals should handle professional matters and nodded while helping from the side.

Before long, a small professional livestream booth had taken shape.

“The last livestream we did was edited into clips. Our follower count has been steadily rising, and now it’s already doubled.”

Wei Yin blinked in confusion. “What? Clip who?”

“Clips means taking part of a livestream recording and turning it into a video,” Xu Yaqing explained. “It’s a way to promote a streamer. Sometimes just one clipped video can bring tens of thousands of viewers into the stream.”

Wei Yin really didn’t understand it, but she nodded anyway and said softly, “Then we should properly thank those people.”

Xu Yaqing snorted with laughter.

Wei Yin glared at her.

“Fine, fine. Thank them.”

The livestream started, and under the good lighting the two of them looked even more attractive.

In the traffic-driven age, looks were king.

Even a slightly pretty small streamer could attract plenty of people to click in, let alone them; besides their looks, they also had real talent.

To draw traffic, Xu Yaqing put up a sign in front of the camera that read, “If I can’t finish this painting in ten minutes and make it look good, come beat me.” Then she started copying from a photo.

Wei Yin silently mixed clay and shaped ceramics in the lower-left corner.

For several days in a row, the two of them kept up this arrangement of not disturbing each other. They livestreamed every other day, and the rest of the time they spent doing their own things.

The things Wei Yin made came out batch after batch and were liked by many people.

“Today I’m kneading the cat family: white Ragdoll, Devon, Siamese, orange tabby, cow cat; I’m saving my favorite calico for tomorrow’s stream.”

A lot of people in the livestream wanted to buy them.

【Honestly, ceramics are better suited to large pieces. Fine detail usually shows up in the patterns, but just from shaping a clay blank you can already see the cat’s expression… experts are everywhere among regular people.】

【And there are four poses: standing, sitting, lying down, and walking!】

【I love kittens the most; streamer, look at me, look at me】

【Where’s my cart? Where did my big yellow cart go?】

【Where’s the link?】

Wei Yin smiled shyly. “I’m not selling them here.”

Fortunately, Xu Yaqing was very trademark-conscious and, from the very beginning when the studio was established, had registered accounts under their real names across all platforms, including the seafood market site.

A lot of people found their seafood market account through the Yayu sign, and the items sold out very quickly; as soon as they were listed, they were snatched up.

After a few days, they had already earned enough to cover half a month’s salary.

And gradually, Wei Yin had even gained her own fans.

【Yin-baby, will you livestream tomorrow?】

Wei Yin looked at the screen and answered seriously, “I have something to do tomorrow, so I won’t livestream. Please check the fan group for the next livestream time.”

Xu Yaqing was going on a business trip tomorrow to handle several background-check tasks Hua Yu had assigned her.

“You’ve been holed up with me for several days too,” Xu Yaqing said from the warehouse doorway. “Are you really not thinking of going to visit her in the hospital?”

Wei Yin put everything away, picked up her bag, and replied gently, “Didn’t she already start going back to work?”

The implication was clear: since she’s already better, don’t keep bringing her up.

Xu Yaqing opened the car door and waited for Wei Yin to get in. “I really don’t understand you. If you’re angry at her, why are you still making her three meals a day? And if you’re not angry, then every meal gets delivered by me, and you won’t even see her once.”

Xu Yaqing felt like a piece of fried chicken cutlet sandwiched between two slices of bread; one moment she was telling one slice of bread, you’re so hard, you don’t look tasty at all, and the next she was telling the other, you’ve split open.

Wei Yin was the slice that kept splitting open for no reason; Xu Yaqing dutifully played the glue between them, yet the effect was minimal.

“Tell me the truth. Are you still angry at her?”

Wei Yin’s mood had been very stable these past few days; or rather, Xu Yaqing had hardly seen her looking unhappy at all.

Wei Yin said softly, “Not really. I just feel very happy.”

“Happy because you’re in a cold war with Hua Yu?”

Wei Yin shook her head, surprised. “Why would you think that? I just feel like I’m earning my own keep now. I can do the things I want every day, and so many people like me. I’m very content.”

“What about Dr. Hua?”

Wei Yin’s expression remained calm. “She’s probably busy with her own career too.”

Xu Yaqing sighed. “Sigh.”

It was impossible to reason with her, so she gave up.

Halfway through the drive, Wei Yin asked casually, “What background-check project are you doing?”

Xu Yaqing didn’t hide it from her. “A few medical research devices. The research direction and the technology are there; they just haven’t been put into production yet.”

“Does Hua Yu want to do these projects?” Wei Yin asked.

Xu Yaqing didn’t answer right away; she glanced at her, and only after a while did she speak. “No. It’s something our friend is making.”

“A friend you both know?” Wei Yin asked. “But you’re only doing it because of Hua Yu, or rather, because Hua Yu asked you to.”

Xu Yaqing continued to nod. “Yeah.”

Wei Yin nodded. “I know now.”

“Knew what?” Xu Yaqing asked.

“It’s Yu Tiantian, right?” Wei Yin’s tone remained normal. “Hua Yu rarely takes an interest in other people. And this person is a friend of yours both. She gives important matters to people she trusts.”

Xu Yaqing was a little stunned. She hadn’t expected Wei Yin to be this sharp, cutting straight to the core.

All she could do was smile and nod. “You two really do understand each other pretty well.”

So that was an admission.

Wei Yin didn’t ask about the details anymore; she still had a sense of restraint.

But… Yu Tiantian. That name had come up again and again.

Wei Yin narrowed her eyes and let her gaze drift to the window.

Yu Tiantian was hiding something. Wei Yin had a strong feeling that whatever it was would have a huge impact on her and Hua Yu.

How curious.

What exactly had happened between her and Yu Tiantian?

TL Note:

Yayu (鸦语) = literally “crow talk”; the studio name is a pun on crows/ravens.

huai shan (淮山) is a type of Chinese yam.

lying-flat money (躺平钱) = savings meant to let someone “lie flat,” i.e. live comfortably while doing less and not stressing about work.