Chapter 41

There were plenty of art supply stores around campus; there was one by almost every entrance, which made things very convenient.

Yu Nianyi usually went to the one near Xiangyang Community. Going out of her way was too much trouble, and she could buy all the basic supplies there.

The shop was small. The moment she stepped inside, she spotted what she needed. She casually picked up two bottles of turpentine and set them in front of the register, lowering her head to pay.

"Hello."

A somewhat familiar voice made Yu Nianyi look up. Song An Ning was standing alone at the shop entrance, a lesson plan in her hand.

"Hi, you’re here to buy something too?"

"No. I came to look for you."

Yu Nianyi took a plastic bag and walked out of the store. Song An Ning fell in beside her.

"Look for me? What’s up?"

Song An Ning didn’t bother hiding where she was looking; she said directly, "Isn’t finals coming up soon? Once exams are over, we’ll be on break for real."

Yu Nianyi nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"My friends said they want to go somewhere out of town together. It’s the perfect time to use that college-student discount, and Beicheng has been really popular lately. Want to come with us?"

Yu Nianyi didn’t answer. She switched the bag to her other hand, and the distance between them widened a little.

Song An Ning deliberately moved closer anyway. "A lot of the older and younger girls in the group are going too. It’ll definitely be livelier with more people. You can bring your friend too, so she won’t be lonely."

The group Song An Ning mentioned was the lesbian chat group she had taken the initiative to create back in their first year, gathering the girls around her. Some were students, some were working professionals. After three years, the group had grown to more than a hundred people.

Song An Ning and Yu Nianyi had pretty similar personalities; they were both the type who loved making friends. In the beginning, the two of them had even been among the most active people in the group.

But time passed, and the group went through another wave of members; even so, it was still lively.

"No need," Yu Nianyi said. "I’m in a hurry to go home."

As they walked, Song An Ning kept looking at her, as if she still didn’t want to give up. "Break starts even earlier this year than last year. It should be fine if you go home a few days later, right? You don’t need to worry about safety either; they’re all girls from school..."

Yu Nianyi shook her head. "I can’t help it. My family strongly insisted. They’re already upset that I didn’t go back to keep them company during National Day."

Song An Ning paused; her eyes flickered. She followed Yu Nianyi across the street before saying, "What a shame. If you put it that way, we won’t see each other again after exams. We won’t meet until next year."

Yu Nianyi hummed in agreement, ignoring the familiarity in Song An Ning’s tone. "It’s fine. School starts again pretty soon."

"But it feels so far away." Song An Ning smiled, then changed the subject. "Do you have anything to do later? Want to eat together?"

"I do." Yu Nianyi waved a hand and said with a laugh, "Teacher Zhang assigned us more work lately, so I’m rushing to finish it."

"I heard," Song An Ning said. "I’m looking forward to your work."

"Thanks."

-

On Tuesday night, Yu Nianyi had just finished up at Xu Ruoyan’s place when Xi Yao called her over to her home for dinner.

As soon as she got to the door, she saw Xi Yao wearing an apron printed with little dogs, bouncing out excitedly, while from the kitchen came the clatter of cooking and the sound of food being stir-fried.

"You’re here? Come in, come in, hurry up. You’re lucky today; you get to eat food cooked by Luo Luo and me," Xi Yao said with a smile.

Yu Nianyi blinked in surprise. "Miss Xi, aren’t you usually someone who can’t live without takeout? When did you learn to cook?"

Xi Yao laughed and scolded her, "Don’t think I can’t tell what you’re implying. You’re just jealous I have a wife and you don’t..."

Yu Nianyi was utterly speechless and couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Luo Yiran poked her head out from the kitchen and brought the dishes out in one go. "Long time no see."

Yu Nianyi nodded and looked at the spread on the table.

There were some seafood skewers and duck necks in takeout containers, along with a few steaming dishes on plates; they looked and smelled delicious.

"Amazing. I didn’t expect you to know how to cook too," Yu Nianyi praised Luo Yiran.

Xi Yao lifted her chin, looking very smug. "Of course. This is my wife."

Luo Yiran turned her head to look at Xi Yao’s proud expression; the smile on her lips grew wider. She lowered her head and pressed her forehead to Xi Yao’s, intimate and affectionate.

Yu Nianyi closed her eyes; she felt like she was about to go blind.

"When are you ever going to be as capable as Luo Yiran?" Yu Nianyi said helplessly, deliberately needling her.

Xi Yao didn’t care at all. She sat down beside Luo Yiran and said, "We’re about the same. Don’t talk about me; even you and my sister aren’t Luo Luo’s match."

Yu Nianyi was a little surprised. Hearing Xi Yu’s name, she subconsciously smiled. "So Xi Yu can’t cook either?"

Xi Yao hummed. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I forgot... people have asked before, but I don’t know whether she agreed or not."

Yu Nianyi let out an "oh" and only then belatedly realized that when Xi Yu had agreed so readily to be her model, it was probably because this wasn’t the first time someone had asked.

"Chen Ming asked me last Sunday what my sister had been doing lately. If you put it that way, she must have been at your place," Xi Yao said suddenly.

"Did Chen Shuo look for Xi Yu?" Yu Nianyi asked.

Xi Yao picked up the drink in front of her and took a sip, then moved over to Luo Yiran’s side and took the one in front of her as well. Only after that did she say, "I don’t know. I didn’t ask."

"I haven’t gone back to my parents’ place lately either, so I don’t know what my sister’s situation is."

Yu Nianyi sighed and fell silent.

Luo Yiran glanced at her and asked softly, "When are the school art exhibitions usually held? I’d like to go see your work too."

Yu Nianyi pulled her thoughts back and said almost instinctively, "The paintings from a few days ago have already been taken down. If you want to see them again, it’ll be two weeks from now."

Luo Yiran nodded.

Xi Yao said, "That’ll be your department, then, right?"

Yu Nianyi: "Yes."

As if remembering something, Yu Nianyi said again, "How should I pay Sister Xi Yu for the modeling fee? I’ve been thinking about it these past few days and haven’t had a chance to ask."

Xi Yao swallowed the food in her mouth before saying, "My sister doesn’t lack money. That tiny bit isn’t worth worrying about. Maybe you should give her a gift or something, though it seems like she doesn’t really lack anything either..."

Hearing that, Luo Yiran subconsciously said, "I think you should ask her yourself. Don’t decide on your own first. No matter what it is, being sincere and asking directly is better."

Yu Nianyi nodded and thanked Luo Yiran.

-

During the middle of the week, Yu Nianyi stayed home the whole time. She slept until she woke naturally, then painted for a while. In her free time, she even looked up cooking tutorials online and tried making dishes herself.

Ever since she found out that Xi Yu couldn’t cook, she had become even more motivated, as if she had to master every skill under the sun if she wanted to win Xi Yu over sooner. Every day she looked up all kinds of light, simple dishes and even tasted the test batches herself.

Looking at the messy seasoning boxes and pots on the stove, Yu Nianyi had a headache. She almost regretted not learning some cooking skills from her mother back home. She already had a ready-made cook at home and still insisted on learning from the internet.

If Yu Lan found out, she’d probably lecture her for five minutes straight. Something like, "I knew you’d need this someday when you were living alone in a rented apartment. Maybe you’ll even have to cook for your girlfriend. Otherwise, what are you going to use to win her heart? You wouldn’t listen to me before, and now you’re finally being sensible..." And on and on.

Yu Nianyi sighed and slowly tidied up the tabletop herself.

Just after she finished cleaning, Yu Lan called her on video. Yu Nianyi quickly picked up her phone and unlocked the screen.

Yu Lan’s face was very close to the camera; at a glance, she noticed the pink apron on Yu Nianyi. Yu Nianyi had been forced to pack that apron when she went away to school, and the shop had quite a few in that style.

"Baby, why are you suddenly wearing an apron? Are you in the kitchen? Making food?"

Yu Lan’s voice was sharp and bright, the kind of booming voice she had developed from running a restaurant for more than ten years. Even with the noisy background of the shop, it was still crystal clear.

Yu Nianyi nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. She turned the camera around and pointed it at the few dishes on the table. "Yeah. I have to learn to cook for myself sooner or later."

Yu Lan cried out, "Not bad at all. As expected of my daughter. You look fine, but I don’t know how it tastes?"

"Well, well, the sun must be rising in the west. Our baby can actually cook now..."

Yu Lan kept exclaiming into the phone, amazed. Yu Nianyi’s face burned a little, and she hurriedly said, "Alright, I’ll make it for you when I go home. Break starts early this year; let your daughter show off her cooking skills for you."

"Now that’s more like it..."

As they were talking, there was another knock at the door. Three steady knocks, then silence.

Yu Nianyi glanced toward the door, her heart skipping a beat; she faintly felt that the person outside was Xi Yu.

She hurried to the entryway and looked through the peephole. The next second, her eyes lit up, and she pulled the door open. "Xi Yu, good evening."

Xi Yu was standing at the door, holding a flat white box in her hand. She first looked over Yu Nianyi’s outfit, then stepped inside. "Good evening. Cooking?"

Yu Nianyi nodded and smiled almost reflexively, pointing at the dishes on the table. "Mm-hm. I just finished. Have you eaten yet, Xi Yu? Want to have some together?"

Xi Yu followed her gaze. There was one meat dish and two vegetable dishes; the portions weren’t much, just enough for two adults at most.

"...Baby, who came to the house? Why does Mom hear a voice that sounds kind of familiar?"

Yu Nianyi held up her phone, turning the camera toward herself, then asked Xi Yu, "My mom is video-calling me. Would you mind being on camera, Xi Yu?"

Xi Yu shook her head and set the box down on the dining table. "I don’t mind."

TL Note:

National Day (国庆) is China’s Oct. 1 national holiday, often a week-long break.