Chapter 54

The two of them went straight to Yu Nianyi’s piece. By then, four or five students had already gathered there, all tacitly looking up at it and occasionally exchanging a few words.

“I still like this one. The composition is really strong, and the atmosphere is so unique that you just can’t look away,” one girl murmured. “That kind of presence is amazing...”

Another girl smiled and patted her shoulder. “Me too, me too. It’s the atmosphere... I can’t quite put it into words. The person in the painting obviously has a very cold aura, but it still makes you feel like they’re gentle; almost even a little ambiguous...”

“...Being looked at from inside the painting gives me this weird heart-racing feeling. If the artist had been there in person, what kind of mood would they have been in while painting it?”

“...Yeah, that makes sense too... but I still think...”

Yu Nianyi stood nearby, listening with great interest. She bit her lip to hide a smile, then instinctively turned to look at Xi Yu and gave their linked hands a small shake. “See? You like me too, don’t you?”

Her voice wasn’t low, but the exhibition hall was so noisy that everyone’s conversations blurred together, along with the students’ occasional bursts of amazement.

Xi Yu looked into Yu Nianyi’s eyes. Seeing her brows and eyes curve upward, her gaze bright, she gave a very slight, very slow nod. “Yes.”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes widened a little; joy surged up from the bottom of her heart and refused to settle. She raised her free hand to cover her face, but it still felt hot, so in the end she let it drop again.

Xi Yu had kept watching her. She saw the surprised look on Yu Nianyi’s face, then her gaze fall to the blush spreading over her cheeks and down her neck.

Her eyes lingered on that vivid red until Yu Nianyi spoke, and only then did she come back to herself a beat late.

“There are so many people; it just feels really hot around here,” Yu Nianyi said, exhaling as she tightened her grip on Xi Yu’s hand and led her further inside. “There are still so many other works. Let’s take our time.”

Looking at an exhibition with two people was anything but boring. Yu Nianyi kept talking the whole way, introducing every piece in the class to Xi Yu, from her objective observations of the images to her personal opinions, all of it described in meticulous detail.

Xi Yu’s attention, meanwhile, stayed on Yu Nianyi. Now and then their eyes met, or Xi Yu needed to respond to something; then she would simply nod calmly or express agreement.

It wasn’t until they reached the very back that Yu Nianyi’s explanation clearly grew flatter, and her pace quickened as well.

Xi Yu looked up quietly. Yu Nianyi’s face appeared clearly in the painting; the angle was proper and restrained, but that didn’t stop the artist from bringing out her beauty to the fullest.

It was just that the person in the painting was clearly not as happy as the real Yu Nianyi standing here.

Maybe Xi Yu had stared for too long. Yu Nianyi watched her expression and hesitated. “This is the classmate I told you about last time at home, the one in my class. She said she wanted to paint me for this assignment. I didn’t think there was any reason to refuse, so I agreed.”

Xi Yu gave a soft mm and turned to look at Yu Nianyi. “I remember.”

Yu Nianyi nodded, but she really couldn’t read anything from Xi Yu’s expression. She pressed her lips together and didn’t want Xi Yu to overthink it. “It’s normal for people in class to model for each other. The teacher often organizes us to draw one another.”

She looked at Xi Yu carefully and gave her hand a small shake. “Sis... you’re not angry, right?”

Xi Yu’s calm gaze rested on Yu Nianyi’s face. “I’m not.”

Yu Nianyi didn’t want to make their relationship too explicit, so when she heard Xi Yu’s answer, she truly relaxed and led her to the other areas.

They stayed in the exhibition hall a while longer before going straight downstairs. By then, classes on the other floors had just ended, and streams of students were pouring out of the teaching building, most of them heading toward the school cafeteria.

Yu Nianyi pulled Xi Yu along the campus path at an unhurried pace and found the whole thing strangely surreal. It was as if the two of them really were a couple secretly dating at school, and Xi Yu had somehow become the kind of beautiful senior everyone couldn’t help but stare at.

“Xi Yu-jie, do you have anything else to do later?” Yu Nianyi asked softly.

Xi Yu turned her head. “No. Why?”

Yu Nianyi gave a thoughtful sound and looked toward the playground not far away. The sun was setting, and students were gradually gathering on the track to run laps; some were lying in twos and threes on the grass, while others held sketchbooks and art supplies, drawing casually.

“Then can we take a walk on the playground? We won’t do anything, just walk around,” Yu Nianyi said with a smile.

Xi Yu nodded. “Okay.”

Seeing Xi Yu carrying the flowers so steadily, Yu Nianyi still couldn’t help asking, “Xi Yu-jie has been carrying them for so long; should I take them?”

After thinking about it, she added, “Or we can just put the flowers on a bench. We’ll be able to see them anytime. And in school, they definitely won’t get lost.”

Xi Yu lowered her eyes to the flowers for a few seconds, then nodded. The two of them placed them by the entrance to the playground, in a spot where they could be seen at a glance.

There were quite a few students running; before the two of them had even taken many steps, several had already passed in front of them and headed farther out.

From time to time, laughter rose and fell across the grass. Not far away, a few students were practicing dance at the side, their phones playing current pop music clearly.

Yu Nianyi walked slowly beside Xi Yu, looking down at the long shadows the sunset cast of the two of them. “Walking around the playground like this now... Xi Yu-jie, do you ever miss your university days?”

Xi Yu looked around, then withdrew her gaze and looked at Yu Nianyi. “Yes. It’s very relaxing here.”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes lit up. “So Xi Yu-jie had a very happy time in college too? Which university was it?”

Xi Yu paused, her steps slowing; Yu Nianyi unconsciously slowed as well.

“I never really thought about it carefully. Maybe it was happy,” she said. “Shanghai Industrial University.”

“Was it busy?”

“Mm. Sort of.”

Yu Nianyi nodded. “A long time ago, I heard Xi Yao say that Xi Yu-jie has always been working in Shenzhen, and only came back to Jiayang recently.”

Xi Yu said, “That’s right, but after graduating from college I went to the UK. I studied there for a few years before coming back to work at home.”

Yu Nianyi went, “Wow.” She really had never heard Xi Yao mention that.

Xi Yu looked at Yu Nianyi’s focused expression, thought for a moment, then said, “It was all planned for the family’s future development; the major, the school, and the direction were all arranged in advance.”

Yu Nianyi sighed almost instinctively and looked up at her. “Wouldn’t that be boring?”

Hearing that, Xi Yu looked straight into Yu Nianyi’s eyes.

Yu Nianyi hurriedly waved a hand. “Xi Yu-jie, don’t overthink it. I just mean, hearing it like that makes it sound like you’ve always been busy, like everything has been for other people and for the family. It sounds a little..."

She didn’t continue. Instead, she smiled, smoothing over the moment. “Maybe I’m just used to being carefree. I’m only a student who’s single-mindedly focused on painting, so maybe I’m being a bit one-sided.”

Xi Yu answered with an mm. “It isn’t boring. These are all things that should be done. And if you keep going, you can discover the enjoyment in them.”

Then she added, “Everyone’s thoughts and feelings are different; I understand what you mean.”

Yu Nianyi finally let out a breath of relief. The two of them were almost back to the entrance of the playground.

“It would be great if Xi Yu-jie and I were at the same school,” Yu Nianyi suddenly said.

Xi Yu looked puzzled. “How so?”

She sighed, looking a little troubled. “Then I could have met Xi Yu-jie earlier, seen what university was like earlier, pursued you earlier, and started dating earlier.”

“That way, we could be together for a very, very long time.”

Xi Yu froze and stared fixedly at Yu Nianyi’s face.

As if thinking of something, Yu Nianyi went on, “But if we had really met back then, would Xi Yu-jie still have liked me? University is so big; maybe we wouldn’t even have crossed paths...”

Yu Nianyi fell silent, thinking it over. A picture gradually took shape in her mind, but before she could make sense of it, she felt her hand slowly being lifted and pressed against something warm and soft.

She looked up instinctively and saw Xi Yu’s dark eyes under the shadows. Xi Yu brought her hand to her lips and kissed it lightly. “Focus on the present; I’m right here.”

Yu Nianyi’s face went completely red. The image of Xi Yu that had been forming in her mind gradually merged with the Xi Yu before her now. Xi Yu’s eyes were full of a gentle light as she looked straight at her.

By the time they came out of the playground, the sky had already gone completely dark. On a whim, Yu Nianyi wanted to take Xi Yu to eat in the cafeteria.

The dining hall’s peak hour had already passed; there were only a few scattered people at the tables, so it was quiet.

After asking Xi Yu what she wanted to eat, Xi Yu just said a simple student set meal would be fine. Yu Nianyi nodded and ran to the window to order two portions.

The food came quickly. While they were eating, someone walked up to them and slightly blocked the overhead light.

Yu Nianyi looked up instinctively and saw Song An Ning looking down at her.

“What a coincidence. I ran into you here.”

Yu Nianyi gave a perfunctory laugh and glanced at Xi Yu, just in time to see her also looking up at Song An Ning.

“What a coincidence.”

Song An Ning noticed Xi Yu’s gaze. After the two of them looked at each other, she said, “I saw your painting in the exhibition hall today. It was gorgeous. I’d originally wanted to run into you, but I never did.”

Yu Nianyi paused in the middle of eating and replied briefly, “Thanks.”

“If I’m not mistaken, this should be that sister, right?” Song An Ning said.

Xi Yu met her eyes and merely nodded.

Song An Ning quietly studied the atmosphere between the two of them, then said to Yu Nianyi, “Nianyi-jie, about going out with friends that I told you before... are you really not going to think about it again?”

“So many girls in the group have been asking me, but you haven’t replied, so I had no choice but to ask you myself...”

Yu Nianyi’s body stiffened, and she subconsciously looked at Xi Yu.

Xi Yu had already set down her bowl and chopsticks. She was only slowly wiping her lips, but her eyes were fixed straight on Yu Nianyi.

Yu Nianyi quickly looked away and lifted her eyes toward Song An Ning, who was smiling brightly. The other girl seemed to be doing it on purpose; once she caught Yu Nianyi’s gaze, she even gave her a teasing look.

Yu Nianyi lowered her voice, the smile not reaching her eyes. “I remember I already turned it down.”

“Huh? Did you?” Song An Ning made an oh sound. “I forgot. Alright then, I won’t disturb you two. If you want to go, you can contact me anytime.”

Yu Nianyi watched Song An Ning’s light, easy steps as she walked away, and for a moment she couldn’t quite react. When she came back to herself, Xi Yu had already finished tidying up and stood up.