Chapter 17

Yu Nianyi naturally knew who Chen Shuo was. From their very first meeting at the restaurant entrance, she had already etched his face into her memory.

Pretending not to know him had been nothing more than an excuse for her slight rudeness just now; if Xi Yu didn’t know about it, that was one thing, but if she did and still let her get away with it, then she clearly didn’t mind.

“So it was him...” Yu Nianyi smiled in apparent embarrassment and carefully glanced toward Xi Yu. “Sorry, Xi Yu-jie. If I’d known he was your friend, I would’ve—”

“It’s fine.” Xi Yu cut her off. “He’s just someone my family has known since we were young; nothing more.”

“Then...” Yu Nianyi paused mid-sentence, then instinctively went on.

Xi Yu said, “He won’t mind. Don’t put pressure on yourself.”

Yu Nianyi blinked, the corners of her mouth lifting without her meaning to as sudden understanding dawned on her face.

Her gaze swept across the rearview mirror and happened to catch Xi Yao squeezing into view, giving her a thumbs-up.

Yu Nianyi gave no response and calmly looked away.

In the back seat, Luo Yiran watched the little exchange between Xi Yao and Yu Nianyi, then glanced at Xi Yu in the driver’s seat for a while; a vague thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

She didn’t ask further, but leaned a little closer to Xi Yao and laced their fingers together.

The car drove on for another ten-odd minutes before finally stopping on Chaoyang Avenue.

After standing still for more than ten seconds, another dark green Aston Martin slowly pulled up behind them, honked once, and followed along at the rear.

Xi Yu started the car again and drove back onto the avenue.

Neither Xi Yao nor Luo Yiran said much in the car. Maybe it was because they were sitting in Xi Yu’s car, and there was still a certain unease; even Xi Yao, who was usually carefree and irreverent, had grown restrained.

Xi Yu stayed fully focused on driving the entire way and didn’t chat with the three people in the car, continuing in the role of driver all the way.

Yu Nianyi, meanwhile, fixed all her attention on Xi Yu. She watched Xi Yu’s expressionless, composed profile; the occasional movement of her long fingers on the steering wheel; her straight, upright posture. Those few things alone were enough to ease Yu Nianyi’s boredom. In fact, she found it rather interesting and wished the trip were longer, with a little more time to linger in the car.

Xi Yu’s driving was excellent; the car rode smoothly the whole way, and perhaps because she was accommodating the sleeping Xi Yao, even her braking was carefully controlled.

Xi Yu cut the engine and got out.

Luo Yiran, who had been looking down at her phone inside the car, looked up and saw the somewhat quiet parking lot around them. She instinctively leaned toward Xi Yao and gently shook her, wanting to wake her.

Yu Nianyi hurriedly pulled on her own coat and got out as well, striding toward Xi Yu.

Xi Yu was wearing a long black down jacket; the hem fell to mid-calf, fluttering slightly in the biting wind and revealing the neat, sharp lines of her black suit pants underneath.

She stood turned slightly to the side, seemingly on the phone with someone. The phone covered half her profile; her long, pale fingers covered the entire device. Against the black phone, her skin looked even colder, almost bloodless.

Just looking at the small patch of skin exposed made Yu Nianyi feel, inexplicably, that it would be icy to the touch.

Yu Nianyi slowed her steps and, before she realized it, pulled out her phone and pressed the shutter toward Xi Yu.

Xi Yu turned her head slightly. Behind the black-rimmed glasses, her eyes met Yu Nianyi’s with quiet calm.

Yu Nianyi couldn’t see her expression; the phone blocked most of it. She could only see the black-and-white clarity of her eyes as they blinked once, meeting her stare without the slightest avoidance: direct and open.

Cold wind flooded into Yu Nianyi’s sheep-fleece coat, which she still hadn’t fastened properly. It slipped down her neck and into the shoulders she had deliberately left bare beneath the coat, and goosebumps rose all over her body. Her skin tightened at once; Yu Nianyi felt as if half her body had gone numb.

Her eyes widened slightly. She slowly lowered her phone, her fingers unconsciously tightening before she slipped it into her side pocket.

Xi Yu ended the call and walked over.

“What are you taking pictures of?”

Yu Nianyi curved her lips and moved a little closer to Xi Yu. “I was taking pictures of Xi Yu-jie, as reference material for my painting.”

“Is that okay?”

Xi Yu let her hand fall to her side and looked at Yu Nianyi’s bright, smiling face. After a moment, she nodded. “Mm.”

Yu Nianyi’s smile deepened. Without the slightest hesitation, she reached out with both hands to hook Xi Yu’s arm; then her right hand darted toward the hand she had been eyeing for a long time and caught it at once. “Xi Yu-jie, you’re so nice! If it weren’t for you, I think that painting of mine would be really hard to finish.”

Xi Yu lowered her eyes and looked at the hand that had been held tightly for a long time, saying nothing.

Noticing Xi Yu’s gaze, Yu Nianyi rolled her eyes and gave her a sweet smile. “It’s really cold here, isn’t it? Your hand feels so cold. I’ll warm it up for you.”

As she spoke, she casually stuffed their joined hands into her own pocket and said shamelessly, “Don’t mention it.”

While talking, Yu Nianyi began rubbing the skin in her palm like some sort of pervert, her fingers sliding along the curved knuckles and into the uneven spaces between them. Under the thick clothing, of course she could touch however she wanted; her reason was proper and more than sufficient. She was only thanking Xi Yu for all the trouble she’d taken along the way.

They’d known each other this long; if there were still no physical contact, that would be hard to justify.

She was here to flirt and hook someone, not to smile and make friends.

The sudden unfamiliar warmth on her hand pressed in without explanation, groping blindly in all directions and even brazenly slipping between her fingers.

Xi Yu pressed her lips into a straight line. Looking at Yu Nianyi’s lively, charming smile, the movement of pulling back slowed a little; in the end, the words of refusal never left her mouth.

Bang.

Chen Shuo was walking over from afar, with a young girl following behind him.

Under the silver-white blanket of snow, there were only a few scattered figures around, and the cold wind was bleak and sharp.

Yu Nianyi shrank her neck; a tickle rose at the tip of her nose. She hurriedly turned aside and sneezed, feeling even colder than before.

“Button up your coat; it’s cold up in the mountains.” Xi Yu glanced sideways at her.

Yu Nianyi nodded, though she was still reluctant to let go of Xi Yu’s hand. After a long, slow delay, she finally reached for her coat.

The moment her skin was exposed to the outside, she was hit by a wave of biting cold, as if tiny needles were pricking her over and over.

She sighed. “So cold.”

Even so, she still slowly buttoned herself up. For some reason, her fingers seemed clumsy in the cold; no matter what she did, she couldn’t get the buttons aligned, and it took her a great deal of effort.

Xi Yu took a large step forward and stood in front of Yu Nianyi, naturally gathering the hem of her coat. She lowered her head, lifted the button on the garment, and slipped it through.

Yu Nianyi froze, looking at Xi Yu standing in front of her. Xi Yu’s eyes were lowered, and the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose just happened to hide the expression in her eyes. Her face was calm; her fingers brushed lightly over the coat collar as she fastened each button one by one.

“The wind is strong here,” Xi Yu said.

Yu Nianyi looked down at Xi Yu’s unhurried movements and was stunned for a long moment. The cold wind seemed to have been shut out entirely; her body gradually warmed. She couldn’t help marveling inwardly and was left speechless for quite a while.

Before, one might have said Xi Yu was merely making up for staining her clothes, which was why she had done all those things. But what about this overly meticulous care now?

Yu Nianyi tightened the hand in her pocket. Her expression froze for a moment before she quickly smiled and thanked Xi Yu.

“Thank you, Xi Yu-jie. You’re so thoughtful.”

All that talk of being serious, dull, stern, and cold was a lie.

“Xiaoyu, who is this?” Chen Shuo walked up to the two of them, his gaze landing on Yu Nianyi behind Xi Yu. He studied her for a moment, as if thinking of something, and his brows instinctively furrowed.

Seeing Chen Shuo’s expression, Yu Nianyi quickly moved to Xi Yu’s side and put on a standard polite smile. “Hello. I didn’t get a chance to make a proper introduction before. I’m Xi Yao’s friend, Yu Nianyi. I was the one who answered the phone just now; I didn’t realize it was you. I’m really so—”

Before the apology could be finished, the world in front of her suddenly went dark; Xi Yu had stepped in front of her.

“Chen Shuo, call me by my name directly. What they said doesn’t represent what I meant; you should understand that.”

Chen Shuo said nothing. He looked at Xi Yu’s face for a while before curling his lips into a smile.

“Hello, Xi Yu-jie.” The girl behind Chen Shuo stepped into the middle of the group and, in a very familiar way, took hold of Xi Yu’s sleeve and gave it a gentle shake. “Do you still remember me? It’s been so many years since we last saw each other!”

Xi Yu nodded. “Hello. You’ve grown taller.”

Chen Ming laughed. “Thank you, Xi Yu-jie. Don’t mind my brother; he’s just like that. He gets along well with everyone. As soon as he came back, he kept saying how outstanding you are, how strong your work ability is, and that the two of you have so much in common. My ears are practically callused from hearing it.”

“I was thinking Xi Yu-jie must be even more impressive than before; now that I see you today, it really is true.”

Yu Nianyi stared for a long moment at Chen Ming’s familiar gesture and couldn’t help privately grumbling about the way she addressed Xi Yu.

Xi Yu-jie.

How did she make it sound even warmer than Yu Nianyi did?

Chen Ming looked about seventeen or eighteen. She wore her hair in a neat ponytail and a bright light-blue down jacket. Paired with her easy, carefree smile, she was genuinely eye-catching.

“Mm, thank you.” Xi Yu’s voice remained cool. “Have fun today.”

Chen Ming laughed for a while before saying, “Of course. I’m definitely going to have a great time!”

Then her gaze met Yu Nianyi’s, and she praised her, “Hello, my name is Chen Ming. Your hair color is beautiful; I really like it!”

Yu Nianyi set aside her thoughts and returned the compliment. “Thank you. You’re very pretty too.”

Xi Yu glanced sideways at Yu Nianyi, then took the lead and walked toward Xi Yao.

Chen Ming smiled playfully and hurried after Chen Shuo in the other direction.

Xi Yao looked half-asleep, most of her body hanging on Luo Yiran as she squinted her eyes into thin slits, muttering something unwillingly under her breath.

Seeing everyone walk toward them, Luo Yiran quickly supported Xi Yao’s waist and leaned close to her ear to whisper something.

The moment before, she had still been all boneless and limp; then suddenly she stood straight up, eyes wide.

“Pack up your things; we’re going to the hotel first,” Xi Yu said.

Xi Yao let out a quiet sigh and followed behind Xi Yu with no energy at all.

“I’m so sleepy. I was supposed to sleep until the afternoon, but now I still have to come here.” Xi Yao exhaled and said, “I didn’t even sleep well last night.”

Yu Nianyi raised her eyebrows and took a closer look at Luo Yiran.

Luo Yiran blinked and quickly waved her hands. “Wait, I know what you’re thinking, but it really was just sleeping.”

Xi Yao laughed for a long time, looping her arm around Luo Yiran’s with obvious affection. “Yeah, really just sleeping.”

Yu Nianyi nodded repeatedly. She knew the two of them were still in the ambiguous stage, but by Xi Yao’s habits, she would absolutely wait until after they had confirmed their relationship before doing anything. So she believed every word the two of them said without question.

Chen Shuo and Chen Ming walked at the very edge of the group, occasionally exchanging a few words with Xi Yu; they were nothing more than polite, painless pleasantries. Xi Yu answered at first, but later simply stopped speaking.

Chen Shuo no longer pressed the matter; and with Chen Ming’s lively personality in the mix, the atmosphere wasn’t too stiff.