Chapter 16

Xi Yu was wearing a black cashmere shirt. The cuffs were neatly folded twice, revealing wrists with sharply defined bones. Black-and-gold buttons fastened the collar, which was left a little open at the neckline, and a gold LOGO embroidery shimmered faintly over her chest. The slightly fitted hem of the shirt was tucked neatly into the waistband of her black trousers, giving her an understated, luxurious air. Perhaps because the color was so subdued, it even carried a hint of restraint.

She hadn’t put her hair up today. Instead, it was tied into a neat low ponytail with only a black hair tie. With black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, she looked stern and severe.

“Xi Yu-jie always comes so early. We’re always the ones making you wait; I’m almost embarrassed.” Yu Nianyi stared at Xi Yu’s profile, letting her gaze travel from her calm brows and eyes all the way to her tightly pressed lips. The small light-brown mole on her lower lip stood out especially clearly, making her already pale mouth look even redder.

Xi Yu said, “No need to be so polite.”

“Have you had breakfast?”

Yu Nianyi blinked. “No.”

“There’s breakfast from Jinghe Restaurant by your feet. Take whatever you like.”

Yu Nianyi instinctively looked down and saw three somewhat familiar paper bags piled near her feet. They were large, heavy, and looked especially sturdy.

She reached out, lifted one bag onto her lap, and glanced inside. She took out the sandwich and a cup of hot soy milk from the top, and only then noticed the vegetable salad and sushi underneath.

Those looked like they had been prepared for Xi Yao.

Xi Yu glanced at Yu Nianyi, who was hugging her breakfast but not moving, then turned back to the road. “There’s more food in the bags. If you don’t like something, pick something else. Don’t stand on ceremony.”

Yu Nianyi curled her lips into a smile for a moment, then quickly put the bag back where it had been. She lifted the soy milk, took a sip with her lips pressed together, and said, “I won’t. I eat everything. I’m not picky.

“On the contrary, I should be the one thanking Xi Yu-jie for thinking of us and preparing breakfast so carefully.”

“It’s nothing. It just happened to be on the way.”

Xiangyang Street and Xi Yao’s apartment complex, Fanghua International, were separated by Jiangbei Academy. The straight-line distance wasn’t short, but they had to circle around two streets to reach Fanghua International’s main entrance.

The car heater was on. Warm air kept rising from her feet to the top of her head. Yu Nianyi’s coat wasn’t thin; it was fluffy, and before long, a bit of sweat had gathered around her neck.

She took off her coat and folded it herself, secretly watching Xi Yu’s expression. Loose tufts of fluff from the coat occasionally brushed Xi Yu’s arm as it rested on the steering wheel, and after the clothes’ tireless efforts, Xi Yu finally gave her a glance.

“Put it back on. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Yu Nianyi smiled, her eyes narrowing. She looked straight into Xi Yu’s seemingly indifferent eyes and said softly, with a teasing lilt, “This coat is too thick. If I wear it, I’ll only feel worse. Xi Yu-jie isn’t wearing anything but a shirt either, and I think mine is thicker than yours.”

Xi Yu’s gaze almost imperceptibly moved to the large expanse of exposed skin on Yu Nianyi’s shoulders and neck. Her lines were graceful and smooth; her skin was so pale it seemed to glow. Xi Yu looked away, her lips seeming to press together a little more tightly, and said nothing.

The car quickly reached the entrance and drove into Fanghua International, finally stopping in front of one of the buildings.

Xi Yu called Xi Yao and told her to come down.

The phone rang once, and Yu Nianyi looked down to see a message from Xi Yao.

[Xi Yao: You’re in my sister’s car?]

[Yu Nianyi: Yep. I even tried seducing Xi Yu-jie just now [naughty]]

[Xi Yao: Y-y-y-you really dared to do that!]

[Yu Nianyi: Why wouldn’t I dare? Brave people get their wives first.]

[Xi Yao: ……Then should I come down later?]

Yu Nianyi paused, her gaze falling on the heavy breakfast bag by her feet.

[Yu Nianyi: Don’t. Xi Yu-jie bought breakfast; it’ll get cold. Come down now.]

[Xi Yao: OK]

Click—

Yu Nianyi came back to herself, locked her phone screen, and looked up just in time to see Xi Yu open the front passenger door and stand before her, a beige suit jacket draped over her arm.

Leaning back against the seat, Yu Nianyi studied her with a meaningful expression and asked with a smile, “What is it, Xi Yu-jie?”

Xi Yu held out the suit jacket, her gaze falling on the exposed skin on the left side of Yu Nianyi’s body. “There’s an extra coat in the car. Put it on.”

Yu Nianyi looked at the clothes in front of her and deliberately said nothing, lifting her eyes again to meet Xi Yu’s calm brows and eyes.

Xi Yu pushed the jacket forward a little. “Don’t worry. It’s new.”

Yu Nianyi blinked, holding back the curve of her lips. She straightened up and leaned toward Xi Yu, her voice carrying an inexplicable flirtation. “It doesn’t matter. Even if it were something Xi Yu-jie had worn, I’d still like it.”

Xi Yu looked into Yu Nianyi’s smiling eyes. Yu Nianyi sat crookedly in the seat, her gray sweater slipping off one shoulder because of her movement; her beautiful golden hair hung obediently against her neck, her expression lively and natural, her tone coaxing and intimate.

Xi Yu stared for a moment. Her tightly pressed lips moved, then slowly closed again.

Yu Nianyi reached out toward the jacket, following the hanging collar all the way up until her fingers touched something that seemed slightly warm. Then she simply covered it, pressing the jacket and Xi Yu’s fingers together in her palm. Her fingertips brushed against the skin of the jacket’s owner, carrying away a trace of itching sensation.

Xi Yu glanced at the smile growing more and more obvious on Yu Nianyi’s face; then she pulled her hand away and used her other hand to pick up the paper bag from the floor mat, opening the back door to put it on the back seat.

“Hey, good morning.” Xi Yao came out of the building, followed by a girl who was a little slim and tall.

Xi Yu glanced at the two of them, nodded once, then went straight around to the driver’s side, opened the door, and got in.

Xi Yao immediately spotted Yu Nianyi in the front passenger seat. Yu Nianyi lowered the window to greet them, and the girl replied politely.

The girl had a pair of beautiful, bright peach-blossom eyes. When she smiled at someone, she was like a crescent moon in the sky; she gave off an inexplicable sense of friendliness.

Yu Nianyi studied her for a moment and figured this must be Luo Yiran, the one Xi Yao had mentioned.

Luo Yiran opened the door and motioned for Xi Yao to get in first, then went around to the other side and climbed in after her.

“I’m hungry anyway,” Xi Yao said as she opened the bag herself, lowering her head to place all the food onto the center table. She picked out a few things and handed them to Luo Yiran beside her, then took out the sushi and a cup of hot latte. After tearing open the packaging, she and Luo Yiran ate bite for bite.

Through the rearview mirror, Yu Nianyi looked back and saw the two of them being all lovey-dovey, their eyes tangled together in unmistakable flirtation.

“…This is really good. Jie, you should eat too.” Luo Yiran’s voice was sweet and clear. Smiling, she fed a piece of sushi into Xi Yao’s mouth as if no one else were there.

Xi Yao puffed her cheeks out like a bun as she chewed, while still trying to hand her latte toward Luo Yiran.

Yu Nianyi twitched the corner of her mouth. Her gaze accidentally met Xi Yao’s, and Xi Yao gave her a smug little lift of the eyebrow, looking lively and triumphant.

Xi Yu, on the other hand, showed no expression at all. The two of them’ voices didn’t affect her in the slightest. The car drove out of the neighborhood and onto the main road.

The resort was more than 200 kilometers from the city; the drive would take more than two hours.

Yu Nianyi had originally thought that the man Xi Yao had mentioned before would be going with Xi Yu as well, but after driving for more than ten minutes, there was still no sign of him.

The two people in the back finally quieted down. After Xi Yao finished eating, she closed her eyes to catch up on sleep; Luo Yiran beside her looked down at her phone, very quiet.

A burst of ringtone broke the silence in the car. Yu Nianyi lifted her chin and first looked toward Xi Yu. In the back seat, Luo Yiran glanced up, then lowered her head again.

The sound rang for a long time before Xi Yu said in a low voice, “Help me answer it, thanks.”

Yu Nianyi hurriedly took Xi Yu’s phone from the compartment. The screen lit up for an instant, showing the words Chen Shuo.

She couldn’t help frowning; the smile that had just been on her face vanished in an instant, and she looked as though she didn’t really want to answer.

This was her “enemy.” If she’d known earlier, she should have pretended to be asleep and acted like she hadn’t heard it.

The ringtone went on for a full ten seconds. Feeling Xi Yu’s gaze fall on her again, Yu Nianyi finally pressed answer with clear reluctance.

“Hello? Xiaoyu, have you set off?” A very familiar man’s voice came from the receiver.

Yu Nianyi instinctively tightened her grip on the phone. Her brows furrowed, and she pursed her lips unconsciously, staring at Chen Shuo’s name on the screen. In her head, Chen Shuo’s overly intimate tone and address kept echoing over and over, making her even more annoyed.

Xiaoyu?

Why was he calling her that so intimately?

“Sorry, there isn’t anyone named Xiaoyu here. You must have dialed the wrong number,” Yu Nianyi said through gritted teeth.

Xi Yu slightly turned her head, her gaze flicking across Yu Nianyi’s furrowed brows and puffed lips. She paused for a few seconds, then withdrew her eyes.

“…Who is this?”

Yu Nianyi raised her eyebrows and leaned back against the seat. “And you are?”

“I’m Chen Shuo. I’m looking for Xi Yu; please return the phone to her as soon as possible.”

Yu Nianyi let out an exaggerated little “Ah,” then pretended to be surprised. “Oh, so you were looking for Xi Yu-jie? Now I understand. But Xi Yu-jie isn’t available right now; you can just tell me directly.”

“Xiaoyu is beside you?”

“I don’t know about Xiaoyu. If you mean Xi Yu-jie, then yes, she’s right here.” Yu Nianyi watched Xi Yu’s reaction as she asked, “So are you looking for Xiaoyu or Xi Yu-jie?”

Xi Yu sat upright in her seat, not looking at the phone once, her expression unchanged as she looked straight ahead at the road.

“…"

No one on the other end said anything else. The area around them stayed quiet for two minutes; just as Yu Nianyi was about to ask again and hang up, Chen Shuo’s voice rang out once more.

“I just wanted to tell Xi Yu that we’re waiting for her on Chaoyang Avenue; tell her to be careful on the road.”

Yu Nianyi narrowed her eyes with a smile. “Thanks. I’ll pass that on to Xi Yu-jie exactly as you said it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xi Yu beside her gave a nod. Yu Nianyi ended the call and put the phone back where it belonged.

“Xi Yu-jie? Who was that just now?” Yu Nianyi asked casually.

Xi Yu said, “You’ve met him.”

Yu Nianyi tilted her head, looking puzzled. “I’ve met him?”

“Tsk.” In the back seat, Xi Yao had no idea when she’d woken up. Hearing Yu Nianyi’s words, her face fell, and she looked utterly at a loss for what to say.

Luo Yiran noticed Xi Yao’s expression and softly asked her what was wrong.

Xi Yao said, “Nothing. I just ate too much and feel a little sick.”

Luo Yiran said, “Drink some warm water…”

Yu Nianyi ignored the view of Xi Yao behind her as if she couldn’t stand what she was seeing, and waited patiently for Xi Yu’s answer.

“It was the one at the restaurant entrance that night; the one you happened to run into.”