Chapter 42

Only then did Yu Nianyi step up to Xi Yu. She lifted her phone slightly, framing both of their faces. The screen was a little too close, so Xi Yu’s full face couldn’t be seen clearly—only her white coat, her hair falling neatly down her back, and the glasses on the bridge of her nose, which still couldn’t hide the calm elegance of her features.

Yu Lan let out an exclamation and sat up straighter, stretching her neck to look in. “What a pretty girl. Just looking at her makes you like her.”

Xi Yu gave a slight nod. “Hello, Auntie. I’m Xi Yu.”

Yu Lan immediately broke into a smile, her voice rising. “Hello, hello. You’re so beautiful, and you seem much steadier than our Nian Nian. I don’t know why, but the first time I saw you, I just felt so close to you…”

Yu Nianyi’s lips twitched, though she had to admit Yu Lan had a point.

Then Xi Yu suddenly spoke. “Thank you, Auntie. Yu…” She paused. Yu Nianyi turned her face slightly, only to hear her continue, “Nian Nian is also very thoughtful and lively. She’s very easy to get along with.”

Both mother and daughter froze. Yu Nianyi stayed silent for a long while; all she could hear was Xi Yu saying “Nian Nian” in her ears.

Nian Nian had been Yu Lan’s nickname for her since she was little. In front of family, Yu Lan always called her baby this and baby that; only in front of outsiders, or in the shop, did she call her Nian Nian. That had been Yu Nianyi’s own insistence when she was younger, after she decided the old nickname was too childish.

Yu Lan recovered first and laughed. “Thank you for noticing so carefully, and for even seeing Nian Nian’s hidden little strengths.”

Other customers’ voices came through the receiver, asking to settle the bill. Yu Lan answered them, then set the phone on the table; the screen now showed the shop’s ceiling and a small strip of a customer’s forehead.

“Then I won’t keep you any longer. Things are getting busy here. We’ll talk later.”

Yu Nianyi gave an mm-hm, lowering her arm and about to hang up when Yu Lan suddenly picked up the phone again and leaned toward the screen. “Nian Nian, be good. Don’t keep sulking and making people coax you all the time, understand?”

Yu Nianyi flushed and said indignantly, “I don’t.”

Her daughter was the one who practically wanted to cling to Xi Yu every day, trying every possible way to coax her into being happy; how could she possibly be the one causing trouble?

“Alright, alright, I won’t say any more. This is so…” Yu Lan’s voice was swallowed by the noisy commotion, and with a beep, the call cut off abruptly.

Yu Nianyi clearly still hadn’t recovered from Xi Yu’s earlier way of addressing her. Her heart felt light, almost unreal.

The nickname Nian Nian was mostly used by neighborhood elders. Even her exes had never once called her that. Hearing Xi Yu say it now, however, made it feel strangely different, as if there were another layer of secret intimacy between them, with a faint, tingling hint of flirtation.

She kept sneaking glances at Xi Yu’s expression, poured her a cup of white tea, made with water at a full boil and plenty of leaves, and set it in front of her before pulling Xi Yu down to sit.

“So Xi Yu-jie cares about me this much in private. How should I thank you for praising me in front of my mom?” Yu Nianyi dragged a chair over to sit in front of Xi Yu, resting her arm on the table and propping her chin in her hand as she tilted her head to look at her.

Xi Yu lowered her eyes and simply said, “It’s the truth. Your excellence doesn’t need me to say much; the people around you naturally understand.”

Yu Nianyi blinked. Her lips curved into a huge smile, and Xi Yu’s words made her heart go soft; delight flooded her whole body.

Looking at Xi Yu so close by, she felt an almost irresistible urge to hug her. With a soft sigh, she slumped onto the table. From that angle, she could only stare straight at Xi Yu; Yu Nianyi’s line of sight rose upward, taking in the slightly sharp line of her chin, then her pale pink lips, and the clear little mole there.

“Xi Yu-jie.”

“Mm.”

“Do you know I like you?”

The air went still at once. The living room fell silent; the faint fragrance of the dishes drifted through the air, teasing at the appetite.

Xi Yu didn’t move. Her lips pressed together tightly; her face was slightly turned, one hand resting carelessly on the dining table, her fingers tapping lightly, sometimes slowly, sometimes a little faster.

After a long moment, Xi Yu nodded. Her brows and eyes were calm as she looked over. “I know.”

Yu Nianyi braced her arm on the table and sat up a little straighter. Her beautiful eyes narrowed with a smile. “So that’s how it is. I thought Xi Yu-jie wanted to keep pretending you didn’t know anything.”

“After all, you accept my invitations every time and are so indulgent with me. And today you even came to look for me on your own; it’d be hard not to overthink it.”

Xi Yu glanced at the white package on the table. “Xi Yao asked me to bring this to you. She said you like the pastries from this shop.”

Yu Nianyi froze, a little slow to catch up with how quickly the topic had changed. By rights, shouldn’t they have kept talking about what Xi Yu thought of her, and how things would develop after that?

She made a soft oh, not paying much attention to the box of pastries.

What pastries? Wasn’t the most important thing their relationship right now?

“It was the season-limited special from the resort last time; she had someone buy some. The taste is pretty good,” Xi Yu continued.

Yu Nianyi: “……”

Then she smiled and said, “Then I should thank her. She still remembers what I like, and what I don’t.”

She deliberately emphasized the words like and don’t like. Xi Yao seemed to enjoy using old matters to tease her; she knew perfectly well that Yu Nianyi liked Xi Yu, but didn’t like the pastries Chen Shuo had specially sent over.

Xi Yu picked up her cup and took a sip of tea. By then, the water in the cup had turned a clear amber color; it was lovely, and the familiar sweetness kept drifting up.

The atmosphere grew a little stiff. Yu Nianyi kept watching Xi Yu’s expression, nervous to the point of feeling wrung out. After all, she had already laid her cards on the table in front of Xi Yu; Xi Yu’s reaction would affect how things went between them after this.

The person involved, however, looked utterly unhurried. Even after being confessed to on the spot, she showed no extra reaction. Yu Nianyi’s heart inexplicably began to pound. After hesitating for a long time, she finally said, “So Xi Yu-jie, what do you think, I—”

Before she could finish, a somewhat urgent knocking sounded from the entryway; the sound was light, the rhythm uneven.

Yu Nianyi broke off sharply and looked toward the door.

Her brows drew together. She quickly stood and strode to the entryway; only after she saw who was outside did the tightness in her face ease, and she subconsciously glanced back at Xi Yu.

Xi Yu turned her eyes slightly, and their gazes met.

They only looked at each other for a few seconds before Yu Nianyi turned back and opened the door. Standing outside was Yang Shuyu, leaning sideways against the doorframe.

Her long hair fell over her shoulders; her features were clear and beautiful, though her eyes carried a faint haze. As the door opened, her body swayed a little. She instinctively steadied herself on the frame before lifting her eyes to Yu Nianyi.

Yu Nianyi felt awkward. She stood at the door for a long time before asking, “Why are you here? Is something wrong?”

Yang Shuyu exhaled lightly. Even from a distance, Yu Nianyi could still smell the sharp mix of smoke and alcohol on her.

“I… had a dream yesterday. I dreamed about you and Baby. I just… haven’t seen it in a long time, so I came to have a look.”

As she spoke, she stepped forward. Through the gap in the doorway, her gaze fell on the cage inside the room.

Yu Nianyi took a few steps back. After hesitating for a few seconds, she still stepped aside and let Yang Shuyu in first.

Xi Yu, who had been sitting, stood up and looked quietly at Yang Shuyu, who was walking a little unsteadily.

Yang Shuyu’s previously hazy eyes cleared at once. Her gaze landed sharply on Xi Yu’s face; her eyes flickered, and the corners of her mouth lifted with a faint smile. “So there’s a guest. Sorry; did I interrupt you?”

Yu Nianyi walked over to Xi Yu’s side, glanced at her calm profile, and said, “You don’t look very well. Are you okay?”

Yang Shuyu casually hung the scarf around her neck on the rack in the entryway, as if she were back in her own home. She held the edge of the sofa and slowly sat down, one hand pressed to her forehead as she swayed lightly before looking toward Baby in the cage. Baby had just woken up and was looking around for something.

“I’m fine. Just a little headache. I dreamed about Baby yesterday… that something happened to it, so I got a little panicked and came over…”

Yang Shuyu sighed, opened the cage herself, and stroked Baby. Only then did she turn to look at the two of them standing on the floor. “If I disturbed you, I’m sorry.”

Yu Nianyi was completely embarrassed at this point. She stood there for quite a while, at a loss for what to do.

Continuing the conversation from earlier was wrong; entertaining Yang Shuyu and leaving Xi Yu aside was wrong too; introducing the two of them to each other was even more impossible.

“I’ve already delivered the things. I’m leaving first.” Xi Yu glanced at Yang Shuyu and suddenly said.

Yu Nianyi let out an ah. Watching Xi Yu head for the entryway, she didn’t stop her, only said, “Take care on the way, Xi Yu-jie.”

“Mm.”

The door slammed shut with a thud before Yu Nianyi let out a breath and looked toward the person on the sofa.

Yang Shuyu bent down to put Baby back in the cage. Then she lifted her eyes and looked straight at Yu Nianyi. The haze from just now was gone; her eyes were startlingly clear now, and her eye sockets were red. “Really? You mean that seriously?”

Yu Nianyi didn’t move closer. Leaning against the dining table, she felt annoyed and her head was a mess. She was still thinking about what Xi Yu would make of the scene she’d just witnessed, while at the same time feeling a bit sorry for Yang Shuyu; after all, Baby had originally been bought with Yang Shuyu’s money, and it had been her suggestion to take care of it.

She nodded and forced down the chaos in her head before saying, “I made myself very clear. When I said break up, I meant break up. There’s no chance of getting back together.”

“If I hurt you, I’m sorry too, but I really don’t like you anymore.”

Yang Shuyu bit her lip and covered the eyes that were about to spill tears, then asked casually, “Then what about this one?”

“This girl looks like she’s already working. She seems very different from the type you used to date; do you really like her?”

Yu Nianyi folded her arms and looked at Yang Shuyu quietly, her lips pressed tight and her brows furrowing with them.

“If you just want to cut off ties with me, there’s no need to do this. Just say it plainly. You don’t have to… you don’t have to… do this.”

Now Yu Nianyi was a little unhappy, and she cut Yang Shuyu off. “I don’t have that kind of thought right now; I’m serious.”

She looked away, then continued, “Take all those photos and souvenirs you mentioned at the beginning too. I don’t want Xi Yu-jie to see them and misunderstand.”

“I’m about to graduate soon. I hope we can part on good terms.”