Chapter 30

Luo Yiran had booked a very famous restaurant on Victory Road. It specialized in spicy home-style dishes, which suited Luo Yiran and Xi Yao’s tastes perfectly.

Most importantly, the place was beautifully decorated. It was suitable for gatherings, birthday parties, and business entertaining alike; there were even themed private rooms that were perfect for photos.

Xi Yao had brought Yu Nianyi there very early. The two of them had gone around the room several times, and only after she was satisfied did Xi Yao happily place the crystal-blue roses she had bought on the sofa, right where they would be visible the moment someone walked in.

“Is this spot okay?” Xi Yao asked.

Yu Nianyi stood by the door. Beneath the glittering crystal chandelier, a cool light shimmered faintly, spilling over the crystal-blue roses and making them look clear and pure, dazzlingly beautiful.

“Okay. You chose the flowers well; they’re very pretty.”

“That’s right!” Xi Yao said. “When the cake arrives later, I’ll have someone put it in the fridge first. Remember to remind me halfway through; I’ll go pick it up.”

As she spoke, she also took the oil painting she had already gotten from Yu Nianyi and set it on a chair, studying it from every angle. The frame wasn’t very large, just quarter-sheet size, and it had only been finished with a layer of gloss oil, which made the colors especially vivid.

In the painting, Luo Yiran had long hair draped over her shoulders. Her features were bright and refined, and there was always a faint smile on her face, making her look especially calm and gentle.

“Really good,” Xi Yao couldn’t help laughing. “It was definitely the right call to have you paint it. It’s just too beautiful.”

Yu Nianyi curved her lips and said unapologetically, “I stayed up late to paint that. How are you planning to thank me?”

“Would it even matter if I thanked you?” Xi Yao said.

She turned around lazily, grinning without a care in the world. “My sister’s the one who needs to thank you.”

Yu Nianyi raised a brow and sat down directly on the chair by the door. She asked lightly, “You’re so capable; maybe you can even get Xi Yu to thank me.”

“Maybe...” Xi Yao set the painting beside the blue roses, then glanced down at her phone. Suddenly, she turned back, eyes bright as she looked at Yu Nianyi. “Hurry up and look at me! How do I look? Can I get away with this? Is there anything out of place? Will Luo Yiran be surprised when she sees me?”

Yu Nianyi played along and examined Xi Yao’s outfit very carefully. Under Xi Yao’s expectant gaze, she blurted out, “Based on my observations these past few days, she’d be amazed even if you wore a burlap sack.”

Xi Yao: “...”

She shot Yu Nianyi a glare, then turned and went out the door. “Luo Luo’s already here; I’m going downstairs to pick her up.”

Luo Yiran had brought quite a few friends with her; the room was packed, and every one of them was from Jiangbei University. Yu Nianyi didn’t know a single one of them, except for the one she did know, who stayed by Luo Yiran’s side and introduced her to her roommates one by one.

Seeing how Xi Yao’s mouth had been curved up all night, Yu Nianyi somehow felt a strange pang of melancholy, as if her own child were about to leave home and go off to find happiness.

Today’s main character was Luo Yiran. Everyone ate quickly, tidied up the room, and then began the gift-giving portion.

A double-layer birthday cake sat on the table, still in Luo Yiran’s favorite shades of blue. Next to it were the cool-toned roses and the crisp, carefully painted portrait. Luo Yiran sat in the middle for photos.

Xi Yao was the first to hand over her gift. The room fell tacitly silent, and everyone unconsciously stared at the girl they had only just met.

Leaning against the wall, Yu Nianyi watched as Xi Yao held out the ceramic cup she had made with both hands. Xi Yao’s voice was thick with a smile. “Happy birthday.”

“May you always be happy and healthy.”

Luo Yiran stared for a long time at the delicate, translucent cup in Xi Yao’s hands. Then her gaze slowly drifted up to Xi Yao’s face, and she curved her eyes with a smile. “Thank you.”

Xi Yao hadn’t chosen to confess in front of everyone; today was Luo Yiran’s birthday, not her stage.

Yu Nianyi wasn’t surprised. She followed the crowd and handed over her own gift, then took a seat near the door.

Luo Yiran’s friends were all very enthusiastic. Seeing Yu Nianyi sitting alone, they came over one after another to give her cake. Some unfamiliar girls even took advantage of a moment when Yu Nianyi wasn’t paying attention and smeared a handful of cream on her face.

“Come play with us!” the girl said with a grin, giving Yu Nianyi a quick look before rushing to the next person and smearing cream there too.

The crowd immediately descended into chaos, chasing each other around. Luckily, the private room was big enough to let them run wild.

Since Luo Yiran needed to take photos, no one went over to smear cream on her.

Yu Nianyi carried a chair over and sat beside Luo Yiran, watching the people on the floor make a scene.

“I heard your sister was the one who asked you to paint my portrait,” Luo Yiran said. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Xi Yao helped me too. She takes today very seriously.”

Luo Yiran hummed. “I know. So do I.”

Xi Yao came in from outside and spotted Luo Yiran at once. Smiling as she walked over, she handed her a long beige gift box.

Luo Yiran froze for a moment. “This is...?”

“From my sister,” Xi Yao said. “She asked me to wish you a happy birthday.”

Yu Nianyi didn’t say anything; she instinctively looked toward the doorway.

“She ordered delivery and still hasn’t finished dealing with work, so she didn’t come over.”

Yu Nianyi withdrew her gaze and sank back into the chair, staring at the noisy, laughing crowd.

By the latter half of the night, there was hardly any cake left, and everyone had had their fun. They all began packing up their things, saying their goodbyes and heading back to campus.

When Yu Nianyi returned from the bathroom, she saw people leaving one after another. By the time she reached the door, only Xi Yao and Luo Yiran were left in the room.

Luo Yiran was leaning on the table, her head tilted slightly to one side, her face very close to Xi Yao’s.

Xi Yao’s face was completely blocked by Luo Yiran. From a distance, it looked almost like they were kissing.

Yu Nianyi stopped in her tracks, then decisively turned around and went down the stairs toward the entrance.

At ten-thirty at night, the lobby was still crowded and bustling with people coming and going.

Yu Nianyi squeezed out through the corridor just in time to see Luo Yiran’s female roommates chatting and laughing at the door.

“You’re out too?” one of the girls said with a smile when she spotted Yu Nianyi. “Heading back to school?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then be careful. Our car’s here already, so we’re heading off first.”

“Mm, thanks.”

Yu Nianyi stood on the steps and watched the three girls cluster together as they walked toward the street.

Tomorrow was the weekend. There were quite a few office workers and students on the road, and almost all of them looked cheerful, as if they were already looking forward to the coming break.

Several groups of pedestrians entered the restaurant behind Yu Nianyi in succession; the crisp, bright “Welcome” from inside the shop was carried out by the opening and closing of the door and warmed Yu Nianyi all over.

Yu Nianyi looked idly at the people on the street, one hand in her coat pocket as she rubbed her phone screen.

Her phone suddenly vibrated once. A message notification.

Her hand paused, then she quickly pulled it out.

The screen lit up: [Xi Yao: Where are you?]

Yu Nianyi didn’t reply; she immediately called Xi Yao.

“We came out and didn’t see you. You didn’t go back already, did you?”

“No.”

“Good. Then where are you?”

“Downstairs by the restaurant. Just come down directly.”

“...Mm, we’re not coming down.” Xi Yao gave a sly little laugh over the phone, then suddenly said, “Didn’t I just say my sister should thank you?”

Yu Nianyi blinked, gripping her phone tightly, and Xi Yao’s laughter followed right after.

At some point, a black car had pulled up by the roadside and slowly stopped directly opposite the restaurant. Someone got out and stood there.

Yu Nianyi looked over as if guided by some unseen force, and saw Xi Yu standing on the steps across the road, quietly looking at her.

From this height, looking through the crowd, Yu Nianyi could clearly make out Xi Yu’s eyes and brows and her refined nose. Her pale lips were pressed together, and her ivory chin was repeatedly obscured by the passing crowd.

Xi Yu stood straight for a few seconds, then walked slowly toward Yu Nianyi.

“...Don’t rush to thank me yet. I told my sister you were drunk out of your mind and unconscious. When she gets there, you’d better act the part and don’t give yourself away... otherwise I couldn’t have invited this big shot at all...”

Yu Nianyi stared at Xi Yu’s face growing ever clearer, at the dark, quiet eyes behind her glasses, at her calm gray-pink lips, at her serious, unruffled expression.

Her heart turned soft and numb all at once; a strange itch spread through her.

Xi Yu stopped on the steps below Yu Nianyi, lifted her chin slightly, and let her gaze skim subtly over Yu Nianyi’s figure before settling on her face. “Xi Yao said you’re drunk.”

The call hadn’t ended. Less than two seconds later, a sharp beeping tone came from the phone.

Yu Nianyi stared at Xi Yu without blinking, stepped down one stair, and stood face to face with her. “Did Sister Xi Yu come to pick me up?”

The light-colored down jacket she was wearing brushed tightly against Xi Yu’s black coat, making a faint rustling sound.

Yu Nianyi stood one step higher than Xi Yu, looking straight down into her eyes.

“Mm.”

“Where’s Xi Yao?”

“Don’t know. She might have left already.”

“Then she left only you behind?”

“Yeah. She stayed behind to wait for Sister Xi Yu.” Yu Nianyi stepped down from the stair and smiled sideways at Xi Yu.

Xi Yu only met her eyes for a few seconds before her gaze slowly dropped to the corner of Yu Nianyi’s lips. “You ate cake?”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes were smiling, her brows arching with them. “Yeah. Xi Yao bought a huge cake. A lot of people were smearing cream on each other’s faces; there was plenty on everyone.”

“Someone got you?”

Yu Nianyi froze. Thinking of that girl just now, she subconsciously nodded and smiled. “Yeah, everyone was having a blast. It was really lively. What a pity Sister Xi Yu didn’t come; otherwise you would’ve—”

Before she could finish, she suddenly felt the corner of her lips touched by a finger.

A faint warmth brushed past her cool lips and pressed, very real, against the side of her face.

Yu Nianyi’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at Xi Yu in front of her, who had just raised a hand.

Xi Yu’s finger bent slightly; only a centimeter or so of air remained between them, and on the knuckle of her index finger was sweet white cream with a soft, fragrant scent.

Yu Nianyi drew in a breath and stared at the thing she had completely forgotten, now right in front of her nose.

Xi Yu withdrew her hand and took a tissue from her coat pocket with her left hand, handing it to Yu Nianyi at an unhurried pace.

The itch on her lips was dense and persistent; Xi Yu’s fingertip still seemed to linger there. In her mind, that instant when Xi Yu wiped the corner of her mouth kept replaying over and over.

The sweet scent of cream seemed to linger on her lips again. Yu Nianyi pressed her lips together, and her mind had already started thinking about many other unhealthy things.