Chapter 4

The sky was overcast, the sun hidden behind thick clouds, and the air above them was a hazy gray-white. Yesterday’s heavy snow still clung to the bare branches, and from the neighborhood entrance all the way to the street, people had shoveled out a fairly clean path.

Looking down it, one could see a white car parked there.

Yu Nianyi gathered the scarf tucked in her arms closer to her chest and walked toward it.

The white car was parked facing the neighborhood gate. It was a Volkswagen Touareg, its body so clean it gleamed, with only a layer of mud on the tires. Through the window, the silhouettes of two people inside were faintly visible.

Yu Nianyi stopped by the car door. Her gaze skimmed over the driver’s seat and the back seat, then she pulled open the rear door and spotted Xi Yu inside at a glance.

Yesterday it had been a black car; today it had changed again. Was this some part of the job? There was even a driver.

The driver was a girl who looked about her age, wearing glasses and a serious expression. When she saw Yu Nianyi settle in, she started the car.

Yu Nianyi was still quietly mulling things over. Smiling, she greeted Xi Yu and the girl in front. “Good afternoon, Xi Yu-jie, driver-jiejie.”

The girl in the driver’s seat answered warmly, then turned back to driving without taking her eyes off the road.

Xi Yu nodded at her and handed her a cup of fruit tea.

“Thank you, Xi Yu-jie.” Yu Nianyi accepted it happily, thinking that Xi Yu was so considerate. No wonder she had stopped neatly at the neighborhood gate instead of the farther spot Yu Nianyi had deliberately chosen last night. She rubbed the faint warmth seeping through the cup and glanced at Xi Yu from the corner of her eye without making it obvious.

Today Xi Yu wore a black-and-white checked coat with simple office trousers. Her legs were crossed, the tip of one shoe resting against the back of the driver’s seat; her hands occasionally folded over her lap, her posture impeccable.

Her hairstyle was the same as yesterday’s, but the black-rimmed glasses had been replaced with silver frames, giving her a cooler, more distant air.

“Xi Yao had something to do, so she didn’t come along,” Xi Yu said suddenly.

Yu Nianyi snapped back to attention. Caught off guard as their eyes met, she paused for a moment. She showed no trace of embarrassment at being caught sneaking a look and said, “I see... but Xi Yu-jie got here so early. Did I make you wait a long time?”

“No. I just got here.”

The car came to a smooth stop at a traffic light. A faint fragrance drifted through the cabin. Yu Nianyi glanced at Xi Yu’s profile as she looked out the window, then spoke again. “It’s so cold today; it’s supposed to drop to minus fifteen tonight. I noticed yesterday that Xi Yu-jie didn’t seem to be wearing much. If you catch a cold because you came out with me to buy clothes, I’d worry.”

Xi Yu turned back. Behind her glasses, those flat, unreadable eyes rested on Yu Nianyi for a long moment before she said lightly, “Xi Yao said your personality is very good, and that it’s pleasant to get along with you. That’s true.”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes flickered; her hand around the fruit tea tightened slightly. Then she smiled with her lips pressed together. “Does Xi Yu-jie think so too?”

The line of cars outside the window started moving again, one after another. Horns sounded from behind, over and over. Xi Yu looked toward the driver, who hurriedly lifted her foot from the brake, then carefully glanced in Xi Yu’s direction before looking back at the road.

Xi Yu looked away and at Yu Nianyi. “Of course. Thank you for your concern.”

“But I’m rarely outside, so it won’t be a problem.”

“That’s good.”

Yu Nianyi didn’t know whether Xi Yao had really said those things in front of Xi Yu, but since Xi Yu was willing to say this, it meant things were going well; they could keep building on it.

The ten-kilometer drive didn’t take long. Soon they were near Jiayang Plaza. Xi Yu told the driver to leave; from here on, walking would be more convenient than driving.

As soon as she got out of the car, Yu Nianyi felt the biting cold of Jiayang’s winter. It was only December, yet snow had already fallen again and again, and the wind was sharp enough to cut. Today was even colder than yesterday. The freezing air lifted the golden curls draped over Yu Nianyi’s shoulders; she pulled her down jacket tighter and instinctively shrank her neck.

At that moment, Xi Yu was looking down at her phone, apparently replying to work messages.

Xi Yu’s skin was very fair, and even in weather this cold, her nose and cheeks didn’t turn red; if anything, it made her look even colder and more detached.

The coat that had seemed just right in the car now looked a little thin. Under the relentless wind, the hem kept fluttering, and even her neatly pinned-up hair had come loose, with strands at her forehead blowing down and repeatedly brushing her lips.

She herself seemed not to notice, keeping her head down as she replied to messages, her expression faint.

Yu Nianyi took a step forward and moved to a place where she wouldn’t block Xi Yu’s view. Then she took out the yellow scarf she had been holding warm in her arms for a long time and gripped it in both hands.

A few minutes later, Xi Yu finally turned off her phone and slipped one hand into the side pocket of her coat. “Sorry, something came up at the last minute. It’s cold outside; let’s go in first.”

Yu Nianyi smiled and said, “Okay,” then leaned in front of Xi Yu. Xi Yu froze slightly; her calm expression stalled for a few seconds as her gaze fell on Yu Nianyi’s hand, which was drawing closer and closer.

Yu Nianyi opened the scarf, stood on tiptoe, passed one end around Xi Yu’s side profile, then took it back with her left hand and wrapped it firmly once around her neck.

Ignoring Xi Yu’s somewhat scrutinizing look, she carefully tucked the strands of hair blown up along Xi Yu’s cheek into the scarf. Her eyes skimmed over Xi Yu’s tightly pressed pale lips before she noticed a tiny light-brown mole on the lower lip.

At a normal social distance, it would have been very hard to spot.

Yu Nianyi stared at it for a moment, then deliberately looked away and said to Xi Yu, “It’s too cold and windy out here; this should keep you warmer. Don’t worry, I haven’t worn this scarf before. It’s brand new.”

Xi Yu gave a quiet hum and lowered her gaze to the yellow scarf at her neck. “Thank you.”

Yu Nianyi walked back to Xi Yu’s side, and the two of them headed shoulder to shoulder toward Jiayang Mall. It was a day off, and the plaza outside the mall was crowded with adults and children out for fun. Even with the cold weather, the foot traffic was still heavy.

“Does Xi Yu-jie come here often?” Yu Nianyi asked as they walked. “Xi Yao and I come here to shop for clothes and watch movies when we have time. There’s a wide variety of things here; the experience is pretty good.”

“Not often.” Xi Yu swept her gaze over the crowd around them. When they reached the mall entrance, she lifted the windscreen curtain with one hand and turned slightly aside, indicating for Yu Nianyi to go in first.

Yu Nianyi blinked, and seeing how careful Xi Yu was, she felt pleasantly surprised.

Since they had met, Xi Yu had been calm, but the things she did were unexpectedly comfortable.

Maybe this was the charm of an older woman?

Yu Nianyi narrowed her eyes slightly and studied Xi Yu’s composed side profile. “Thank you, Xi Yu-jie. You’re so thoughtful.”

“You’re welcome.”

“For a second just now, I was almost touched.”

According to Xi Yao, she had already come out to her family after her coming-of-age ceremony. Although it had caused a huge uproar at the time, her parents seemed to have no real way of dealing with this second daughter and eventually chose to turn a blind eye and compromise.

As the older sister of a lesbian, Xi Yu could not possibly not understand the somewhat ambiguous, suggestive meaning behind those words.

Xi Yu’s steps paused slightly as she looked at Yu Nianyi, who was smiling with unusual warmth.

Xi Yu seemed very good at staring at people in silence, and she never showed any expression at all, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

Yu Nianyi clicked her tongue inwardly, thinking this tactic didn’t seem to work very well on Xi Yu.

She met Xi Yu’s gaze without the slightest embarrassment and launched into her usual routine: “Xi Yu-jie is so attentive and gentle. You must have a lot of little admirers around you, right?”

“No. They’re just coworkers.” Xi Yu withdrew her gaze and answered casually.

Yu Nianyi nodded, pretending to think it over. “Looks like Xi Yu-jie is very busy. Even so, you still took the time to come out and personally accompany me to buy clothes; that makes me really happy.”

With that, she turned and walked straight toward the escalator without looking back.

Xi Yu followed behind her, offering no response to anything she had just said.

After going down to the women’s clothing floor, Yu Nianyi led Xi Yu straight to the clothing store in the far corner. When the owner saw Yu Nianyi arrive, she immediately broke into a broad smile and greeted her warmly.

“Sister Xiaoying, do you still have the pair of tights I bought from you last time?” Yu Nianyi greeted the owner, Xiaoying, and casually walked into the store, looking over the new styles that had come in.

Li Xiaoying gave an oh, her eyes darting back and forth between Yu Nianyi and Xi Yu. She affectionately hooked an arm around Yu Nianyi’s shoulder and led her forward, then turned her head to look at Xi Yu following behind them. “Xiao Yu, was that pair really that comfortable? You brought another beauty today to buy another set? Thanks so much for supporting my business! Who’s wearing it? Is it her?”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes were full of laughter as she sidestepped the question. “Absolutely. That pair was both comfortable and really flattering on the legs; I love it!”

At this hour there weren’t many other customers in the shop, so Li Xiaoying’s loud voice naturally reached Xi Yu’s ears word for word. Xi Yu herself didn’t react; she just stood there quietly, seeming to really be there only to pay.

Seeing that Yu Nianyi didn’t deny it, Li Xiaoying simply walked up to Xi Yu on her own, sizing her up from top to bottom and left to right. Xi Yu stood where she was and let her look. Li Xiaoying clicked her tongue. “Xiao Yu, your friend is pretty tall. If she wants to wear that, she’d need the same size as you. Too bad that size is already sold out; there’s only the smaller one left now. She probably can’t fit it!”

Watching Li Xiaoying enthusiastically recommend the product while Xi Yu showed no sign of objecting, Yu Nianyi covered her mouth and, for once, held back a laugh.

Xi Yu folded her arms and looked toward the door.

Seeing that she had teased her enough and that the awkward atmosphere seemed to have eased a little, Yu Nianyi walked over and patted Li Xiaoying on the shoulder. “Sister Xiaoying, since there isn’t a suitable size, let’s forget it. I’ll come find you again another time!”

Li Xiaoying let out a protest. The words she had just been about to use to keep pitching the product caught in her throat, and in the end she could only watch Yu Nianyi pull Xi Yu away.