Chapter 2

Yu Nianyi accepted the friend request almost immediately. Xi Yu’s avatar was just an ordinary landscape photo, and when she opened Moments, there wasn’t a single post or video with any personal details.

Just as Xi Yao had said—tidy and boring.

“About what happened just now, I want to apologize,” Xi Yu said. “There were too many cars and people on the way, and I got your clothes dirty.”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes widened slightly. Only then did she realize that the owner of the black car from earlier had been Xi Yu all along. She studied her again, and her gaze happened to meet those calm eyes.

Xi Yao was also a little surprised. She had insisted all along that the perpetually stiff and cool Xi Yu couldn’t possibly have added Yu Nianyi’s contact out of nowhere.

“If it’s convenient, you can tell me the brand of the clothes. I’ll buy you another one. Or I can contact a professional dry cleaner to handle it. If you have a shop you trust, I can also just transfer the money directly to you.” Xi Yu lifted a hand to adjust the bridge of her glasses. The warm yellow light made her cool, pale skin look almost translucent; those unruffled eyes were hidden in the shadows, which only made Yu Nianyi see her more clearly.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Xi Yu with interest.

Standing beside them, Xi Yao could tell from Yu Nianyi’s expression exactly what she was thinking. She stared at Yu Nianyi in disbelief a couple of times, then looked at the serious Xi Yu, and in the end held back whatever she had been about to say.

“Or do you have a better way to handle it?” Xi Yu asked lightly, lifting her gaze in reminder.

Yu Nianyi came back to herself, her eyes nearly curving into slits with amusement. She leaned closer to Xi Yu and smiled brightly. “If it’s not too much trouble for Sister Xi Yu, then just wait until you’re free and come with me to buy another one.”

“Okay.” As soon as the word fell, Xi Yu’s eyes drifted past Xi Yao’s somewhat dazed face behind her. “Wait outside.”

With that, she turned and left the private room without looking back.

Wherever she passed, there was a faint, elegant scent of green tea; it was soothing and refreshing.

Yu Nianyi’s smile widened as she watched that black figure disappear into the crowd.

“I feel like your sister came in especially to find me,” Yu Nianyi said with a hint of self-satisfaction. “I suspect she already noticed me outside earlier.”

Xi Yao sank back into the sofa behind her and let out a long sigh at Yu Nianyi’s suggestive tone. “So what if she did? She only came in to pay you back for your clothes.”

Yu Nianyi sat back down with a smile. Half-joking, she said, “Isn’t the way to break up with an ex to start a new relationship?”

The moment Xi Yao heard that, she straightened at once. A bad feeling was already rising in her chest, and she blurted out, “My sister isn’t someone you can handle. What would she even be interested in you for—your blinding yellow hair?”

Yu Nianyi rolled her eyes and said without thinking, “Get lost.”

Xi Yao said slowly, “My sister likes civilized people...”

Yu Nianyi: “...”

“...Please tuck in your arms and legs, then roll yourself out nicely.”

Xi Yao grinned and immediately picked up her chopsticks, eating heartily. Even as she ate, she shot back, “No idea which little dog was barking just now. I’m starving; I need to eat quickly. My sister is still waiting outside.”

Yu Nianyi shot a glare at the girl stuffing her face, then lowered her head and looked at her phone.

The two of them ate very quickly. Maybe because they knew Xi Yu was waiting outside, even Xi Yao, who usually ate slowly and thoroughly, sped up. In less than ten minutes, the full table of dishes had been cleared away.

Xi Yao picked up the bag from the sofa and, patting her round belly, hooked an arm over Yu Nianyi’s shoulder as they walked out of the private room.

The two of them were close enough in height that the difference wasn’t obvious at a glance, but there was still a five- or six-centimeter gap. With Xi Yao’s arm resting on her shoulder, Yu Nianyi really did look a little uncomfortable.

All the way to the door, Yu Nianyi supported Xi Yao with one shoulder higher than the other, and for once didn’t shove her away as ruthlessly as before.

Xi Yao yelped, her arm a little stiff, but that couldn’t stop her good mood. “Yu-jie, you’ve changed today? You’re actually being this nice?”

Yu Nianyi flashed her trademark smile again. As they walked, Xi Yu’s waiting figure came into view.

The tall woman in black stood at the entrance amid swirling snow and wind, not moving an inch as she looked over at them.

“You should thank your sister; thanks to her, I’m in a good mood.”

After a brief pause, Yu Nianyi’s teasing voice sounded again. “Maybe I’ll even become your sister-in-law someday.”

Xi Yao’s face darkened at once. “...” The arm draped over Yu Nianyi’s shoulder slipped away as if it had been burned.

At the cashier counter, Aunt Wang spotted Yu Nianyi and Xi Yao at a glance and greeted them with a smile. “Finished eating, you two pretty girls?”

Yu Nianyi answered with a laugh, “Of course. Just look at Xi Yao’s belly; she ate so much.”

As she spoke, she deliberately stepped aside to show off Xi Yao’s full figure.

Xi Yao let out a stiff little laugh, instantly smoothing over her earlier exasperation and putting on a pure, harmless expression. “It really was too delicious. I’m definitely coming again next time. By the way, Aunt Wang, how much was our table..."

Aunt Wang accepted their sweet talk with a grin and let out a surprised sound. “Oh? Little Xi’s sister already paid for it. Didn’t you know?”

Xi Yao’s hand, just about to take out her phone, paused, then quickly put it away again. She said goodbye to Aunt Wang. “All right then, Yu Nianyi and I are leaving first. See you next time.”

Yu Nianyi also smiled and greeted Aunt Wang before the two of them stepped out the door.

Xi Yu had already been waiting outside. The black wool coat she wore was now covered in tiny white snowflakes, and faint streaks of moisture mottled the black-rimmed glasses on her nose, making her expression hard to read.

“Let’s go. The car’s at the alley entrance,” Xi Yu said.

By then Xi Yao had already put away that boneless look from before. She wasn’t smiling flippantly either; she grabbed Yu Nianyi’s arm and pulled her toward the alley entrance.

Xi Yu handed each of them an umbrella and spoke in the same flat tone as before. “The snow’s getting heavier. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes lit up. Smiling sweetly, she thanked Xi Yu, and the two of them each opened an umbrella to block the increasingly heavy snow.

Yu Nianyi deliberately walked a little slower, letting Xi Yao go on ahead alone; her own pace was only slow, never quick.

But after walking for a long time, nearly reaching the end of the alley entrance, she still hadn’t seen Xi Yu catch up.

Yu Nianyi found it amusing. She had already slowed down, yet Xi Yu was slower still, as if she were avoiding something.

They soon reached the alley entrance. Up ahead, a beep sounded, and Xi Yao slipped into the back seat.

Xi Yu walked over to Yu Nianyi’s side and said, “Get in. I’ll give you a ride back to school on the way.”

Yu Nianyi turned her head to look at Xi Yu’s somewhat serious profile. The black-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose, and those pale lips only moved for a few seconds before settling again, with not the slightest curve to them.

“Thank you, Sister Xi Yu,” Yu Nianyi said, her eyes smiling as she spoke sweetly to her.

The heater in the car was turned up very high, almost cutting off all the chill outside. A faint scent of tea drifted through the air.

Yu Nianyi had met plenty of girls; she had even dated a few. Each one carried some lingering, distinctive perfume, but Xi Yu didn’t smell like that at all. It didn’t seem like perfume; maybe it was something else.

It was the kind of scent that grew addictive the more you breathed it in.

Yu Nianyi looked into the rearview mirror in front. From this angle, she could just make out half of Xi Yu’s black frames, and even her brows and eyes were clearly visible.

Xi Yu’s eyes and outer corners were both rather sharp, her double eyelids very narrow. When she turned her head to look at the rearview mirror outside the car, the fold of her eyelid sank into her skin, making her whole gaze seem even keener.

“By the way, Sister Xi Yu, I don’t live at school. My home is in the neighborhood across from the school.” Yu Nianyi said, staring at the eyes in the rearview mirror.

Those eyes finally looked back; they met Yu Nianyi’s for only a second before turning forward again. “Mm. All right.”

Yu Nianyi watched Xi Yu’s calm brows and eyes with amusement, thinking that she really was different from Xi Yao. So quiet and serious.

Xi Yao didn’t say a word in the car. To anyone else, she seemed to be resting; only Yu Nianyi knew she was pretending to sleep.

Xi Yao had told Yu Nianyi plenty about her sister. Ever since the first day they met in college, she had complained to her about how much weight her sister’s words carried at home, how even their parents seemed to favor her more, always comparing Xi Yao to Xi Yu and saying she wasn’t steady enough.

Looking at her, though, it really did seem to be true.

Guangming Road was only about four kilometers from Jiangbei Academy; before her butt had even warmed the seat, they had already reached the school gate.

It wasn’t too late yet, and the school entrance was crowded with people going in and out, especially noisy.

Xi Yu turned on her blinker and angled the car across the road.

Yu Nianyi sat up straight and watched as Xi Yu skillfully eased through the traffic before quickly driving over to the opposite side.

There was much less traffic over there, mostly students coming to buy art supplies or eat.

Only then did the person in the driver’s seat spare Yu Nianyi a glance. Yu Nianyi leaned back calmly in the rear seat; every time Xi Yu looked over, she would meet her gaze with a grin and add a coy little look for good measure.

Xi Yao at the side didn’t even want to look, pretending to be watching the bare tree outside the window.

“Still not there?” Xi Yu finally asked just as the car was about to turn out of the street.

They had actually passed it already. Yu Nianyi just wanted to see how long it would take Xi Yu to ask her on her own.

“We’re here, we’re here,” Yu Nianyi said, gathering her hair to reveal her fair, slender neck. She smiled. “Right here.”

Xi Yu gave a soft hum and stopped the car smoothly by the roadside.

Yu Nianyi stepped out of the car, then waved her phone at Xi Yu in the driver’s seat. “Thanks for bringing me back, Sister Xi Yu. Don’t forget to check your phone.”

Xi Yu glanced back, then nodded. “You’re welcome.”

“Take care.”

Xi Yao in the back seat closed her eyes again and casually waved at Yu Nianyi.

The car quickly drove out of the street entrance and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

Yu Nianyi turned and walked into the neighborhood gate, lowering her head as she tapped open Yang Shuyu’s avatar. Then the first voice message began playing.