Chapter 43

Yang Shuyu’s visit was something Yu Nianyi hadn’t expected, especially not at such a tense and important time yesterday.

The two of them had essentially laid everything bare yesterday. Yang Shuyu didn’t say much after that; she only calmly packed up the keepsakes that belonged to her, along with the photos of the two of them. When she left, she didn’t take Baby with her.

She only said it wouldn’t be appropriate to keep it at her place, and just like that, she had officially dumped the cat on Yu Nianyi to raise.

That left Yu Nianyi in a somewhat awkward position. She had no idea what Xi Yu would think about last night’s events. She had just confessed her feelings in front of her, and then, the very next moment, another woman had shown up with familiar ease. It would be hard for anyone not to overthink that.

She kept opening Xi Yu’s chat window, wanting to explain something, but then felt there wasn’t really anything to explain. It had been a past relationship, but they had already broken up, and she didn’t like her anymore anyway. Bringing it up at a moment like this would only cause trouble.

Besides, what if Xi Yu hadn’t overthought it at all?

Yu Nianyi rolled around on the bed in frustration, then immediately overturned her own thought. Xi Yu was such a smart person; how could she possibly not tell what kind of atmosphere there had been last night?

She let out a long sigh, her brows knitted tight.

After lying still for a while, she picked up her phone again, opened Xi Yu’s chat window, and hovered her finger over the screen. She stared at it for several minutes before finally tapping Xi Yu’s avatar.

Buzz buzz——

"I tapped Xi Yu and kissed her again and again and again, and wanted to bite her too"

Yu Nianyi stared at the line of text beneath the screen, then suddenly opened the chat box.

Yu Nianyi: Xi Yu-jie, sorry, I didn’t have time to properly host you last night. I’ve recently learned several new dishes; if you’re free, you can come to my place——

Yu Nianyi clicked her tongue and hit delete, wiping the two lines away completely.

Yu Nianyi: Xi Yu-jie, I’ve already finished half of that painting. In a few more days it’ll be done. If you have time, you can come to my place and look at it. I want you to be the first to see it——

"Tsk."

Yu Nianyi rolled over again, her face even darker now, and deleted everything once more. Then she let out a heavy sigh and started typing yet again.

...

When she opened her eyes again, it was already dawn. Yu Nianyi jolted upright in bed. The sky was bright now; her bedroom window had been open all night, and the room was full of cold air. She sneezed before belatedly realizing the weight in her hand.

It turned out she had fallen asleep last night while typing, still holding her phone.

Yu Nianyi looked down and immediately noticed an extra green message bubble on the screen.

And a few scattered words.

【Yu Nianyi: Xi Yu-jie, that painting painting,,, I miss miss miss miss you,。@#！】

Yu Nianyi: “……”

For a moment, she went blank. When she came back to herself, she immediately long-pressed to try to retract it, only to see that the time limit had already passed.

Yu Nianyi took a deep breath and slowly swiped down with her finger touching the screen.

11:57 PM.

【Xi Yu: Mm, I know.】

【Xi Yu: If you have something you want to say, tell me next time we meet.】

You know what exactly……

She froze, rereading Xi Yu’s words several times before looking back at her own message.

When her gaze landed on the latter half, her ears turned red again after a few seconds.

Yu Nianyi let go of the phone; it fell onto the blanket with a soft thud.

“……”

Fortunately, nothing seemed to have happened. For the rest of the workweek, Yu Nianyi spent her time teaching herself to cook and paint. Xi Yu seemed to get busy again this week, and along the way she asked whether she might not be able to make it over, and whether that would affect the progress of the work.

Yu Nianyi replied very considerately that it wouldn’t; she was painting from photos every day and was completely engrossed in it. Of course, it would be even better to have the real person here.

At noon on Friday, Yu Nianyi was eating the meal she’d made herself when she received a message from Xi Yu.

【Xi Yu: Are you free tomorrow night?】

Yu Nianyi was so startled that she nearly dropped her phone. She quickly grabbed it and typed back.

【Yu Nianyi: Yes!】

【Yu Nianyi: What’s up?】

【Xi Yu: Let’s have dinner together tomorrow night.】

Yu Nianyi’s eyes widened, and the corners of her mouth immediately lifted.

【Xi Yu: Xi Yao and Luo Yiran will be there too.】

【Xi Yu: Also Sun Mengyao and An Ning, the ones you met before.】

Yu Nianyi looked at the names. She could understand Xi Yao and Luo Yiran, but why were the other two sisters she had only met once also going?

Her finger rested on the chat box. Without thinking too much, she replied that she could go.

No matter what it was, she had to make things clear to Xi Yu tomorrow.

-

The phone showed a message from Xi Yao saying the car had already arrived downstairs. Yu Nianyi stood at her door, gripped the stair railing, and hurried down. Quick, uneven footsteps echoed through the hallway. Once she reached the bottom, she gradually slowed and immediately spotted the car waiting by the roadside.

She exhaled and walked over, opening the front passenger door and getting in.

Xi Yu was sitting in the driver’s seat. Today, she wore something Yu Nianyi had never seen before: a light camel coat that looked bright and gentle, and beneath it, instead of her usual black and gray, a soft beige shirt and suit pants.

Yu Nianyi let her gaze linger on Xi Yu a little longer. Only when they met eyes did she hurriedly look away. “Xi Yu-jie, good evening.”

Xi Yu’s gaze, however, remained on her. After a moment, she said, “Mm.”

“Good evening.”

Xi Yao and Luo Yiran in the back also greeted Yu Nianyi, and the car finally pulled out.

The ride was very quiet. Occasionally, Yu Nianyi could hear Xi Yao and Luo Yiran whispering to each other, but today she was uncharacteristically silent, saying little as she kept looking out the window.

Xi Yao and Luo Yiran exchanged a glance, faintly feeling that something in the car was off.

A notification chimed on Yu Nianyi’s phone. She picked it up and saw a message from Xi Yao.

【Xi Yao: What’s wrong with you today? Why are you so stiff?】

【Xi Yao: Did something happen with my sister?】

Yu Nianyi replied without changing expression, not planning to tell Xi Yao about her confession yet.

【Yu Nianyi: Nothing.】

The restaurant was still a long way from Xiangyang Community. The car drove for quite some time before arriving at their destination.

Sun Mengyao and An Ning were already waiting in the private room. When they saw the four of them come in, they stood up in unison. Sun Mengyao was the first to smile.

“It really isn’t easy to have a meal with President Xi. We actually had to wait this long.”

The complaint in her tone was completely unhidden, though Xi Yu only smiled faintly, as if she didn’t mind at all. “Teacher An can decide how to make it up to you; it’s up to you all.”

When they first entered, the manager had personally led them in and politely mentioned along the way that the two guests had only just arrived before the four of them did. Even if they had waited, it probably hadn’t been more than five minutes.

“That’s more like it. Sister, what do you want to eat? Order whatever you like; our President Xi is treating.” Sun Mengyao’s eyes were full of calculation as she leaned toward An Ning and said loudly.

Xi Yu glanced around and seemed somewhat helpless at Sun Mengyao’s exaggerated tone. “That’s enough.”

Sun Mengyao curved her lips, apparently not satisfied yet, and kept calling her President Xi this and President Xi that.

An Ning smiled and frowned slightly, looking at Sun Mengyao with a particularly familiar warmth before turning to Xi Yu. “Thank you.”

Xi Yu nodded, then looked past them at Yu Nianyi and Xi Yao. She walked to the seat at the head of the table, then reached out a hand toward Yu Nianyi.

Yu Nianyi froze. Everyone’s eyes in the room shot toward her at once; someone shoved at her back, and she stumbled forward before Xi Yu steadied her.

“Sit here.” Xi Yu took Yu Nianyi’s hand and arranged her in the first seat on the left.

Xi Yao, who had just pushed her, acted as if nothing had happened and sat down right beside Yu Nianyi.

Sun Mengyao and An Ning exchanged a look, both showing knowing smiles, and sat directly to Xi Yu’s right.

“This place is known for its specialty dishes, all Jiayang-style. I ordered some in advance, so make sure to try them,” Xi Yu said.

An Ning and Sun Mengyao were already looking down at the menu. “It is pretty good. Sister and I ordered a few more. Any of you younger girls have anything you want? Don’t hold back. Today, we have to make President Xi put in some effort.”

As she spoke, her eyes accurately landed on the three people beside Xi Yu.

Yu Nianyi could clearly feel Sun Mengyao’s searching gaze. Looking at the situation now, a thought faintly began to surface in her mind.

Xi Yao, on the other hand, wasn’t restrained at all. She turned her head and started looking through the menu with Luo Yiran.

“I’ve long heard Xi Yu has a younger sister; this must be the little one, right?” Sun Mengyao looked at Xi Yao and said.

Xi Yao looked up. Her usual roguish manner softened a little, becoming quite proper. “Yes. I’ve always heard my sister mention you, and today I finally get to meet you.”

Sun Mengyao gave a soft oh and glanced at Xi Yu. “What does she say about me?”

Xi Yao said, “That you’re already the most famous gallery owner in Jiayang despite still being young, that you’ve studied many works of art, and that you’re even a very impressive senior at school.”

Yu Nianyi turned to look at Xi Yao as she spoke so smoothly, and for some reason felt like she’d been stabbed in the back.

Sun Mengyao didn’t care about her image at all; she turned and burst out laughing, saying while laughing that she hadn’t expected Xi Yu to admire her so much in private.

Xi Yu didn’t say anything. She only took off her coat and hung it on the rack behind her.

“I’ve seen your work through Xi Yu; it’s not bad,” An Ning said with a smile. “Keep working hard.”

Xi Yao’s eyes lit up; she nodded in thanks.

“Then this one……” Sun Mengyao’s voice paused as she looked at Luo Yiran, who had been silent the whole time.

Luo Yiran gave them both a slight nod, then said to Xi Yao, “My girlfriend. She’s a psychology major at Jiangbei University, and she also really likes Teacher An Ning’s work.”

A clear smile appeared on An Ning’s face. She said warmly, “Thank you, little sister. If you have any questions about the work, feel free to ask me anytime.”

Luo Yiran said, “Thank you.”

After a few seconds of silence in the private room, Sun Mengyao and An Ning both looked over at Yu Nianyi. Sun Mengyao said, “This little sister should be Nianyi, right?”

As she spoke, she looked toward Xi Yu.

Xi Yu took a sip of tea and gave a hum.

Yu Nianyi nodded, looking very polite and respectful as she greeted Sun Mengyao and An Ning one by one. “Hello.”

Sun Mengyao pressed her lips together in a smile and propped her chin on her hand while examining Yu Nianyi. “Hello. We’ve met before.”

“Yes.”

“Seeing you again today, you somehow look strangely familiar.”

“Last time, when the teacher organized a gallery visit, we came to your place.”

“No wonder.” Sun Mengyao smiled, her voice soft and winding. “That painting in Xi Yu’s house—you painted it, didn’t you?”