Chapter 24

Yu Nianyi curved her lips, a little dissatisfied with Xi Yu’s answer. It was too vague, no different from her usual greetings.

Xi Yu left quickly. She gave Yu Nianyi a brief, even glance, then strode to the car and drove out of the alley.

When Yu Nianyi got home, everything was just as it had been when she left. The food she’d left for Baby was nearly gone, and the litter box had collected quite a bit.

Yu Nianyi put the scarf away untouched in the wardrobe, finished tidying up, and immediately let Baby out. Baby was still a little drowsy. When it saw Yu Nianyi’s face, its black-bean eyes stared for a few seconds before turning to the other things around it.

Baby really was adorable. It happened to be noon, and golden sunlight poured in through the window, making its fur look soft and fluffy. From the side, one could even see its neatly curled eyelashes; it was cuter and prettier than any plush toy.

Yu Nianyi liked it so much that she held Baby and fussed over it for a long while before finally cleaning out the cage.

It was nearly one in the afternoon by the time Yu Nianyi walked back to her studio and looked over her painting.

Since she had nothing else scheduled for the afternoon, she might as well finish the piece a little more completely.

She sat down straight in her chair, opened her phone, and found the photo of Xi Yu she’d taken yesterday without any trouble at all.

Xi Yu stood right in the center of the photo, one hand in her pocket, the other holding up her phone. Her face was turned toward the camera, her expression calm. The bleak, towering snow mountains behind her seemed to have become nothing more than a backdrop; that streak of black stood quietly in place, as if it kept people a thousand miles away, yet still drew the eye.

Yu Nianyi let two fingers fall onto the person on the screen, brushing across that face, then gently enlarged it until Xi Yu’s features filled the entire screen. Only then did she slowly withdraw her hand, amusement spreading through her eyes.

It felt as if the moment Xi Yu had leaned in to speak last night had just happened. In the air, that hard-to-ignore presence seemed to appear once more.

Yu Nianyi tightened her grip on the phone and looked at the person on the screen, brazenly licking her lips.

Ding-ling—

Two crisp chimes sounded from the entryway. Yu Nianyi snapped back to her senses and instinctively stood up.

“...Hello, delivery..."

Yu Nianyi frowned. She was sure she hadn’t ordered takeout, but she still walked to the entryway and looked through the peephole.

The deliveryman outside, dressed in bright yellow, looked anxious. He was holding an unusually large delivery bag and muttering at the door. When no one answered, he rang the bell again.

Ding-ling, ding-ling.

“...This is 503, right? Why isn’t anyone answering?”

At that moment, her phone rang. Yu Nianyi picked it up and saw Xi Yu’s name. Surprise flashed across her eyes; she quickly answered.

“I ordered lunch from Jinghe Restaurant for you—just some safe choices. It should be arriving soon.”

Yu Nianyi raised her brows. Looking again at the big bag in the deliveryman’s arms, she immediately understood and opened the door at once.

The deliveryman, who had been about to press the bell a third time, was startled. His hand froze in midair, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

Yu Nianyi held the phone in her left hand and hurriedly took the bag from him with her right, smiling. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Thank you.”

The deliveryman blinked dazedly and nodded. “It’s fine, it’s fine. This is your delivery.”

Yu Nianyi thanked him again and again, and only after quite a while did she finally close the door. She set the takeout on the table, then said into the phone, “Thank you, Xi Yu-jie. I was just wondering how a delivery could show up when I hadn’t ordered anything, and with such a huge box too. It was pretty strange..."

Xi Yu gave a soft “Mm” on the other end. “It’s good to stay alert. I was busy just now; I should have told you earlier.”

Yu Nianyi waved it off and sat down in the dining chair, a smile tugging at her lips. “Xi Yu-jie is so busy and still remembers me. I’m really happy..."

Leaning back in the chair, she smiled like spring blossoms were blooming all over her face. Then she added, “How do you know I was thinking about you just now too? We really are in sync.”

There was no response from Xi Yu. Yu Nianyi took the phone away and glanced at it sideways; it was still a voice call.

“I left in a hurry. Since Xi Yao invited you over, I should have treated you properly.”

Xi Yu’s voice was clear and flat, with not the slightest fluctuation.

Yu Nianyi curved her lips and gave a soft “Mm.” Then she asked directly, “If it were someone else instead of me, would you do the same?”

“..."

“Mm.”

Yu Nianyi propped an arm on the table and laid her face down on it completely, pouting without speaking.

“I have something to do. Rest first.”

Yu Nianyi slowly looked at the phone screen. It showed her chat with Xi Yu, with the five-minute-and-six-second voice call now ended at the very bottom.

Still resting her face on her arm, she stared at Xi Yu’s avatar for a long time. In the end, a little displeased, she curled a finger and tapped it.

The phone vibrated twice, displaying: “I tapped Xi Yu.”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes widened instantly. She was suddenly alert.

She tapped her own avatar, and the screen immediately popped up with: “I tapped you, and held you tightly in my arms.”

She hurriedly sat up and stared at that little line of text on the screen.

When Yu Nianyi had first been with Yang Shuyu, she had loved doing this sort of thing. Back then, these new features had just come out, and young couples all liked making little hidden replies like this. That line had been what she sent Yang Shuyu.

Every time the two of them had a small disagreement, it could be resolved this way.

She lowered her head and quickly hit retract, then went back to the settings page. After fiddling with the screen for a long while, she returned to Xi Yu’s chat interface and kept tapping her own avatar.

Buzz buzz.

A line appeared again at the bottom of the chat: “I tapped Xi Yu, kissed you once, then again, then again, and I still want to bite you.”

Yu Nianyi stared at the long line of text on the screen. Only after slowly letting out a breath did she finally feel a little better.

-

The phone screen was still lit. Xi Yu didn’t move, only lowered her eyes and stared quietly at the small, especially abrupt line of text in the chat interface.

Before long, the other side showed that it had been withdrawn.

Xi Yu crossed her hands over her legs and lowered her lashes; her thick lashes trembled very slowly. She didn’t take her eyes off the screen. The phone’s glow gradually dimmed.

The car continued moving at a slow pace. The dark curtains blocked out the noon sun outside, leaving the interior dim and especially quiet.

Jiang Chen sat in the driver’s seat. Seeing there was no sound, she finally spoke softly. “General Manager Chen has already headed to the main residence of President Xi and President Zhao. By now, he’s probably already arrived.”

Xi Yu gave a quiet hum, crossed her legs, and lifted a hand to lightly press between her brows. “Uncle Chen is even less patient than I expected.”

“How much longer do we have?”

Jiang Chen said, “Half an hour.”

Xi Yu said, “All right. No rush; let him say his piece first.”

The phone on the fold-out table suddenly lit up, and a short line of text popped up at the bottom of the interface.

Xi Yu’s gaze fell on it. The phone lay there quietly until the screen dimmed again; only then did she pick it up and swipe to open it.

The instant she saw the words clearly, Xi Yu’s eyes stilled for several seconds. Her gaze settled firmly at the bottom of the screen, showing no sign of joy or anger.

Suddenly, the car braked hard. There was a burst of noise outside, followed by passersby speaking.

A thin sheen of cold sweat flashed across Jiang Chen’s forehead. She looked at Xi Yu in the back seat and hurriedly said, “Sorry, President Xi. Someone suddenly rushed out at the intersection.”

“Are you all right?”

Xi Yu didn’t respond. Her eyes were still fixed on the phone, as if deep in thought.

Jiang Chen unconsciously tightened her grip on the steering wheel and drove on again.

She occasionally glanced at Xi Yu through the rearview mirror, and happened to see Xi Yu gripping her phone tightly, her arm resting on the table, her head turned to look at the window... the black curtain.

Jiang Chen: “...”

She silently drew her gaze back and thoughtfully pressed the curtain button. The curtain swished open, revealing the glaring view outside.

Xi Yu narrowed her eyes and came back to herself, staring at Jiang Chen in the driver’s seat.

Jiang Chen only felt a chill down her back. She let out a soft breath and, after holding Xi Yu’s gaze for three seconds, pressed the switch again; the curtain closed once more.

Xi Yu looked away and idly tapped the edge of the phone against the tableboard with her fingertips. Clear, crisp sounds rang out in the car, quick and slow in turn.

“How much longer?”

Jiang Chen coughed lightly, not daring to look back again. “Twenty minutes.”

“If you’re in a hurry, I can go faster.”

“No need. There’s no rush.”

Jiang Chen nodded silently and said nothing more. The car continued forward at a slow speed.

At the main residence.

“Big brother, sister-in-law, I really did come today because I missed you two. Since the two of you have been staying home and slowly handing things over to the young lady to handle, I’ve only grown more nostalgic for the times we used to spend together.” Chen An sighed; the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes had deepened even more. He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and continued, “The young lady has worked her way up from the grassroots to where she is now, and she’s done a great many things for us. There isn’t a single old hand at the factory who doesn’t give her a thumbs-up.”

“But there’s one matter in particular I just can’t keep to myself. I’ve been thinking about it all day and all night; I can’t sleep because of it every night!”

Chen An sat in the sturdy, oversized rosewood chair, rubbing his hands back and forth as he sighed and looked at the man and woman beside him.

Xi Huanian raised his brows and waved a hand at Chen An, then exchanged a look with Zhao Xiaolan beside him.

“This ‘wire-controlled steering’ the young lady keeps talking about lately— we’ve studied it for a long time, and we really think the risk is too great! The current steering system is already very good. If we change it to pure electronic signals, then we won’t even have the last bit of physical connection left. That would be a huge matter! How could that possibly work?”

“The reputation our Xiaohua Group has built up over all these years would truly be ruined!”

Seeing the extremely serious expressions on Xi Huanian and Zhao Xiaolan’s faces, he swallowed and continued, “I’m also thinking about the company. Which of the old hands at the factory didn’t come up alongside you? Their experience is absolutely real; they’ve never made a mistake. If you ask me, this is the most stable, most conservative approach, and it’s always been what Xiaohua has relied on!”

Xi Huanian didn’t speak. He glanced at the phone on the sofa, as if thinking about something.

Zhao Xiaolan wore a faint smile, but the eyes behind her glasses were exceptionally sharp. She waited until Chen An set his teacup down on the table before speaking gently. “I understand what you mean. You’re all the people closest to Huanian and me. It’s fine; when Xi Yu comes back, everything will be clear.”