Chapter 5

Yu Nianyi naturally understood that her little tricks in front of Xi Yu were pointless. Xi Yu hadn’t exposed her, not because she didn’t see through it, but because she simply couldn’t be bothered to clear things up. Besides, she didn’t think there was any need.

Still, how she handled it would determine how Yu Nianyi chose to make her next move.

Watching Xi Yu’s expression, Yu Nianyi walked beside her while carefully tugging at her sleeve. In a pleading tone, she said, “Sister Xi Yu, sorry. Sister Xiaoying probably misunderstood just now. You won’t mind, will you?”

Xi Yu gave a quiet hum. “No. Since there isn’t one here, let’s look somewhere else.”

Yu Nianyi curved her lips. Easing the tension was one reason; the other, of course, was a second chance at physical contact.

She slipped her arm through the gap beside Xi Yu’s hand, which was tucked in her pocket, and quietly closed her fingers around Xi Yu’s cuff.

Xi Yu’s clothes must have been custom-made; the sleeves were the perfect length to reveal a slender wrist with pronounced knuckles and fair skin. Even with her hand in her pocket, a small patch of wrist was still exposed.

As they walked side by side, Yu Nianyi kept her eyes ahead, but her fingertips lightly brushed that exposed skin again and again.

Xi Yu’s skin wasn’t warm; if anything, it held a faint chill. Just like the impression she gave as a person—distant and cool.

“Since Sister Xi Yu doesn’t often go shopping, what do you usually like to do?” Yu Nianyi asked, while her fingertips, as if by accident, traced the raised bone at Xi Yu’s wrist and then rested there as though she felt nothing at all. “Like watching movies, exercising, painting, and so on.”

Xi Yu glanced at Yu Nianyi’s hand resting against her. Beneath the silver-rimmed glasses, her dark eyes shifted slightly, then she looked away and replied in her usual flat tone, “Burning incense. Drinking tea.”

Yu Nianyi let out an “oh.” That did suit Xi Yu’s impression. She sniffed lightly, and her fingers, still perched on Xi Yu’s wrist, even went a step further and slipped toward the pocket. Whether because the pocket was too small or Xi Yu’s hand was too large, the movement only became more obvious and awkward. Yu Nianyi continued as if nothing was wrong. “The first time we met, I already smelled that scent on Sister Xi Yu. It’s very faint, but also kind of refreshing. Is that because you often burn incense?”

Xi Yu gave a hum, then suddenly stopped and stood still.

Yu Nianyi froze. Just as her hand had been getting bolder, it stopped at once too. She saw Xi Yu lift her chin slightly and look toward a shop on the upper left. “There should be what you’re looking for here.”

After saying that, she stepped into the store one pace ahead of Yu Nianyi.

Yu Nianyi’s arm remained suspended in the air. Smiling with interest, she watched Xi Yu’s back.

The popular styles people liked these days were all more or less the same. Yu Nianyi’s clothes were just ordinary pieces, the kind college girls wore on the street, so it took little effort to buy everything she needed.

After that, Xi Yu took her by elevator to a very high-end shop. The saleswomen there were all polished and elegant. When they saw Xi Yu and Yu Nianyi enter, they put on standard professional smiles.

“Hello, could you recommend a pair of leather shoes?” Xi Yu asked, turning slightly and directing her gaze at Yu Nianyi, who had just come in.

The saleswoman followed Xi Yu’s gaze with a smile and finally landed on Yu Nianyi’s khaki scrunch boots. “Of course. We have two pairs that would suit this lady very well, and the sizes are also a close match.”

Yu Nianyi walked in under everyone’s gaze and smiled at Xi Yu. “Sister Xi Yu is being so good to me; I’m almost embarrassed.”

“The shoes were dirty last night too,” Xi Yu said. “This is only right.”

Yu Nianyi gave a delighted “wow,” glanced around, and playfully said, “Then thank you in advance, Sister Xi Yu.”

Xi Yu nodded, then took out her phone from her coat pocket and stepped aside to start typing.

Yu Nianyi kept watching Xi Yu until the saleswoman’s voice drew her back. She looked down at the two brand-new, stylish loafers in front of her. The saleswoman beside her said gently, “These two styles are both selling very well. They’re also new this year. I think they suit you especially well.”

Yu Nianyi smiled and agreed, then tried on both pairs.

As expected, they were comfortable, and with the brand name attached on top of that, she really couldn’t find any fault. She carefully studied the two pairs of shoes on the floor, then thought back to the leather shoes she had bought for a few hundred yuan at a small clothing shop. After looking at them for a long time, she felt they seemed about the same, yet also somehow different.

“What is it?” Xi Yu walked over, blocking all the overhead light that had been falling on Yu Nianyi. “Uncomfortable?”

Yu Nianyi looked up at once and met the calm depths of Xi Yu’s eyes.

Xi Yu stood against the light, her yellow scarf still draped around her neck, only slightly looser now. It seemed to have shifted from something practical to something decorative.

The light fell on the yellow scarf, and Xi Yu was wrapped in it. Because she had lowered her head, the line of her slender chin was also partially hidden.

Yu Nianyi stared fixedly at Xi Yu’s face, and an inexplicable sense of private intimacy rose in her chest.

A scarf was far more intimate than a coat. It lay close to the owner’s cheek and touched the owner’s unguarded, thin, fragile neck. Xi Yu just happened not to be wearing a turtleneck today, so her entire neck was exposed.

Yu Nianyi looked at Xi Yu’s chin, half hidden and half revealed. Now even that chin had been touched.

“Hm?” Xi Yu stepped forward, braced one hand on the sofa beside Yu Nianyi, then crouched slightly and lifted her chin a little to look at Yu Nianyi’s face. “You don’t like them?”

Yu Nianyi quietly studied Xi Yu’s questioning expression. Her gaze drifted from Xi Yu’s calm brows and eyes to the corners of her lips, which somehow drew the eye even more now. Her eyes curved, and before she could stop herself, she blurted, staring at the mole by the corner of Xi Yu’s mouth, “What are you talking about?”

Xi Yu endured Yu Nianyi’s teasing gaze. The two looked at each other for a moment; in the end, Xi Yu stood up and said to the saleswoman beside her, “Wrap both pairs up.”

The saleswoman’s eyes lit up, and she immediately began packing them.

In less than three minutes, Xi Yu took the paper bag and walked with Yu Nianyi toward the elevator.

Yu Nianyi blinked and kept watching Xi Yu’s expression.

For their second meeting, she had teased her one after another; that was indeed a little too impatient.

But who would have thought that seeing Xi Yu a second time, she would turn out to be far more interesting than expected, making it impossible for Yu Nianyi to suppress the urge to flirt.

“Sister Xi Yu, this is a little too generous.” Yu Nianyi was still gauging Xi Yu’s expression as she spoke. “How about I treat you to a meal? I know a few pretty good restaurants. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.”

Xi Yu entered the elevator and, after waiting for Yu Nianyi to stand still, pressed the button for the first floor. “I still have some things to take care of later. It’s not very convenient.”

Ding.

The elevator doors opened, and Xi Yu strode out toward the entrance. “It’s snowing outside. I called a driver to take you back.”

Yu Nianyi followed behind her at an unhurried pace, watching Xi Yu take out her phone and make a call on her own.

“...Mm, wait at the entrance. Also...”

Had she overdone it?

Yu Nianyi frowned slightly, recalling her words and actions just now. Objectively speaking, she had only left behind the impression of someone overly familiar and fond of joking around.

Unless her gaze had lingered too long?

Yu Nianyi pursed her lips, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

When they reached the curtain at the mall entrance, Xi Yu stepped out first.

Watching Xi Yu’s movements, Yu Nianyi thought that this person really could not be teased. Even if she were straight, even if she didn’t like women, at the very least she should have stayed in character to the end; she didn’t even want to show the slightest softness at the last moment.

The curtain was suddenly pulled open, and wind and snow rushed in through the gap.

Yu Nianyi looked up and saw the face of a young woman she didn’t recognize.

Then the curtain on the other side was quickly lifted, revealing Xi Yu’s face; the driver from the afternoon was standing beside her holding an umbrella.

One hand held up the other side of the curtain, while the other reached toward Yu Nianyi. “The snow is heavy. The ground at the entrance is slippery.”

Yu Nianyi froze for a second. Her hand, which had been about to take Xi Yu’s, had to make a hard turn and settle on Xi Yu’s arm instead. She took a big step forward, almost throwing herself into Xi Yu. “What heavy snow? I couldn’t feel any of it inside.”

Xi Yu steadied her by reflex, then signaled the woman beside her who had been holding the curtain to cover her with an umbrella. Only after that umbrella was fully opened did the umbrella above Xi Yu’s head pull back.

Yu Nianyi then noticed that at some point, two women holding umbrellas had appeared beside them.

The one beside Xi Yu was the glasses-wearing driver who had brought them over earlier.

Jiayang’s winters darkened very quickly. Even the plaza that had been crowded just moments ago was now quiet and cold. Those without umbrellas hurried toward the parking lot, passing by in a rush.

“I’ve had Jiang Chen drive you back. You can rest assured,” Xi Yu said as they walked.

Hearing Xi Yu’s tone, which left no room for refusal, Yu Nianyi stopped trying to linger. She nodded and agreed, then followed the three women toward the parked cars.

The closer they got, the more she noticed that beside the Volkswagen Touareg that had been sent over in the afternoon, there was also a black car parked there. It was very long; even before she got close, she could faintly feel that it was worth a fortune.

Jiang Chen opened the back door of the black car and said to Yu Nianyi, “Please get in. I’ll make sure you get home safely.”

Yu Nianyi stood there for a moment. In the end, she looked toward Xi Yu standing in front of the white car; Xi Yu was still there, watching them.

“Goodbye,” Xi Yu said.

Yu Nianyi glanced at the yellow scarf around Xi Yu’s neck, then curved her lips into a smile. “See you next time, Sister Xi Yu.”

After saying that, she turned slightly and got in.

Only after sitting fully inside the car did Yu Nianyi realize that this Maybach was the same one Xi Yu had driven last night when she took Xi Yao and her home. It had been too late last night to notice, but looking carefully today, she only now belatedly realized how luxurious the interior was.

Yu Nianyi clicked her tongue inwardly. People really were different from one another.

After getting in, Jiang Chen didn’t say a word. She drove steadily, perfectly fulfilling the role of a proper chauffeur.

Yu Nianyi leaned back against the seat and quietly studied Jiang Chen.

Maybe because she often spent time with Xi Yu, she gave off a similar vibe. Cool, steady, and silent.

There were still more than ten kilometers to Yangguang Road; she had plenty of time to pry a little information about Xi Yu out of Jiang Chen.

“Thank you, Sister Jiang Chen, for helping me with the curtain and the umbrella just now,” Yu Nianyi said to Jiang Chen in the driver’s seat. “If not for you, I would have gotten soaked.”

Jiang Chen’s expression did not change. “It was nothing. It was Vice President Xi’s instruction; it’s also part of my job.”

Yu Nianyi let out an “oh” and smiled. “Sister Xi Yu really is a gentle and thoughtful person... but I still have to thank you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Chen glanced at her through the rearview mirror and said nothing.

Yu Nianyi continued, “Sister Jiang Chen looks so young too. Young, capable, and very steady in character. You’re exactly the type of person I like.”

“Thank you.”

“No need, Sister Jiang Chen, you’re too polite.” Yu Nianyi waved a hand with a smile. “Are you friends with Sister Xi Yu? You seem very in sync; you look like you have a really good relationship.”

“It’s an employer-employee relationship. We’ve just worked together for a long time.”

“Oh, I see. So Sister Xi Yu started working very early?”

“...As far as I know, it’s her third year.”

“Then what does Sister Xi Yu usually do to relax besides work?”

“...”

“Sorry, that’s Vice President Xi’s private matter. I’m not in a position to reveal it.”

“It’s fine; I crossed the line. I should be the one apologizing.” Yu Nianyi looked at Jiang Chen’s back, knowing she wouldn’t be able to get anything out of her. In the end, she would still have to let Xi Yao act as her spy.

“Miss Yu, there’s fruit tea and food that Vice President Xi prepared for you on the tray,” Jiang Chen suddenly said after a moment of silence in the car.

Yu Nianyi looked down and saw, on her left, a cup of scalding fruit tea, a minimalist white box, and a line of flowing English letters on the cup. In the recessed compartment beside it were a prepared light meal and dessert.

Yu Nianyi rested her chin on one hand and quietly looked at the full spread before her. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and an expression she couldn’t quite name surfaced in them. This was far more interesting than she had expected.

Every detail had been taken care of; every detail was thoughtful. Xi Yu really knew how to surprise people.