Chapter 6

The car pulled up smoothly at the entrance to the residential complex. Jiang Chen got out and hurried over to open the door. Watching Jiang Chen’s polished, impeccable service, Yu Nianyi still found it a little hard to get used to.

“Jiang Chen-jie, you really don’t have to go to so much trouble. Thank you.” Yu Nianyi took the shopping bag Jiang Chen handed her and said politely.

“It’s nothing. Please wait a moment.” Jiang Chen nodded, carefully walked around Yu Nianyi, then took a beautifully wrapped paper bag from the trunk and handed it over with both hands. “The weather is cold today; this is Four Gods Soup from Jinghe Restaurant. It’ll help ward off the chill and warm you up.”

Yu Nianyi looked at the box for a moment, then asked without hesitation, “Was this prepared by Xi Yu-jie too?”

“Yes.”

Yu Nianyi took the box. “All right. Xi Yu-jie went to a lot of trouble. I’ll drink every last bit of it. Please help me thank Xi Yu-jie.”

Jiang Chen nodded goodbye and watched Yu Nianyi walk into the complex.

After opening the door to her home, Yu Nianyi set everything she was carrying on the table, then hurried to the window to look down.

Jiang Chen was already gone; the black car was slowly making its way toward the street entrance.

Yu Nianyi took off her down jacket, changed into loungewear, and sat down at the dining table.

She took the black box out of the paper bag. It had a matte finish and a faint sandalwood scent; in the center was the calligraphic word “Jinghe.”

Yu Nianyi opened the latch and immediately saw a sealed porcelain bowl inside. The utensils were fixed magnetically to the inner wall of the box, and on the right were dry and wet wipes placed separately.

Yu Nianyi used a wet wipe to clean her hands, then peeled off the sealing film and took the bowl out.

Her phone suddenly rang nearby. Yu Nianyi glanced at it and answered.

“I heard you went shopping with my sister today? How was it? Wasn’t it pretty boring?” Xi Yao’s voice came through the speaker.

Yu Nianyi removed the spoon, her wrist turning slightly as the spoon stirred the soup. A faint steam rose from the bowl, carrying a hidden floral fragrance.

“Mhm.” Yu Nianyi scooped up a mouthful and put it in her mouth. After chewing twice and finding bird’s nest inside, she gave a hum of denial. “Quite the opposite.”

“Your sister is even more interesting than I expected. She’s thorough and thoughtful in everything she does, and she’s really considerate.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Of course,” Yu Nianyi said after swallowing the soup with a smile. “You spend so much time with your sister that you’re used to it already.”

“Tch.” Xi Yao quickly protested on the other end. “Get this straight; I just said yesterday that my sister only came back not long ago. She’s always on business trips and doesn’t come home, and even when she gets off work, she goes back to her own place. We basically never even see each other, okay!”

Yu Nianyi nodded, then scooped up another big spoonful and put it in her mouth. As she ate, she said, “So you don’t get to enjoy such meticulous care from your sister? I was actually pretty envious of you just now; now I feel better.”

There was a very obvious pause on the other end before Xi Yao suddenly asked, “What are you eating?”

“The Four Gods Soup your sister bought. She said it would keep me warm.” Yu Nianyi curved her lips. “Bought by Xi Yu-jie, you know... ”

“This soup is really good. Why didn’t I think tonic soup could taste this delicious before?”

“...”

“You can be smug if you want!” Xi Yao’s sour voice came through the phone. “Those are all basic moves for her. Besides, my sister is already that old; isn’t it normal for elders to take care of the younger ones? You don’t even get that?”

Yu Nianyi laughed. “Is that so? Then your sister must be very popular.”

“That I don’t know...”

Yu Nianyi got up and put the porcelain bowl into the sink, washing it as she spoke. “Tell me, what does your sister usually like to eat? Anything she can’t have?”

“What are you asking that for... you’re really getting into it, aren’t you?”

Yu Nianyi set the bowl on the counter and casually shook the water from her hands. “Yeah. I want to see her again.”

The other end clearly choked on that for a moment. After a long silence, Xi Yao finally said, “I can help you, but you have to help me with something too.”

“Go on.”

“Recently I met a pretty girl from Jiangbei University’s law program. She feels especially familiar to me. I found out she really likes painting, and she likes oil paintings too. Help me paint one.”

Yu Nianyi cleared the table, then neatly put the two pairs of shoes, along with the shopping bag, into the cabinet. Only after finishing all that did she pick up the phone from the table. “You’re in an art major too; you could paint it yourself.”

“Or use your money to hire an artist to paint one.”

“Tch. Why wouldn’t I use the resources I already have? If I’m going to give a gift, I’m going to give something professional and the best of its kind. Paint me a portrait; when her birthday comes, I’ll give it to her.”

“A portrait?” Yu Nianyi frowned. “You know I’m not good at that.”

“You may not be good at it, but you’re still better than me. Are you taking the job or not?”

Yu Nianyi hummed. “Fine. But about Xi Yu, you have to tell me everything.”

“Absolutely, I’ll tell you everything, Sister Yu!”

Yu Nianyi snorted. “Spit it out.”

“My sister rarely comes home for dinner, but her schedule is pretty regular; usually once a week, mostly on Saturdays or Sundays.” Xi Yao paused for a few seconds. When she didn’t hear anything from Yu Nianyi, she continued, “She usually likes light food; she can’t handle spicy at all, and she’s really into tea, incense, and health practices. She has a lot in common with my dad and mom, so they like handing over both the housework and the company to her. Though I don’t really like that stuff either...”

Yu Nianyi set the phone on the coffee table, crouched down, and lifted the sleepy baby from the cage. She turned and sat on the sofa, absentmindedly stroking Baby’s belly while her gaze fell on the lit-up phone screen.

“...She seems like she’s never brought a partner home before. She always says it’s not appropriate, not appropriate, and whenever she’s asked to meet up, she uses work as an excuse.” Xi Yao made a sound. “If you ask me, my sister is just making excuses. She’s actually never dated anyone.”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes flickered. She held Baby up to her lips and gently touched it. “Ha, interesting.”

“You sound pretty happy to hear she’s never dated anyone?”

“Have you ever thought that someone who’s never dated before might actually be harder to chase? And besides, your sister is not the same as those girls at school. Don’t try to use your usual student tricks on her.”

Yu Nianyi rubbed Baby’s little belly and replied absentmindedly, “Okay, okay. I won’t do pure love; I’ll do seduction. How’s that?”

“...”

The air went strangely still for half a minute before Xi Yao’s teasing voice rang out. “True. That’s basically all you’ve got left.”

Yu Nianyi rolled her eyes. “Do you still want me to paint for you or not?”

“Of course I do. I’ll send you the photo in a bit.”

“Fine. Then I’m hanging up. I still have to clean up and paint later.” Yu Nianyi put Baby back into the cage, then tidied up some fresh food and placed it inside.

“Mm. See you at school.”

Yu Nianyi ended the call, then ran back to her room and switched on the light.

At last, the blank canvas on the easel from last night had color.

Buildings made of concrete were faintly visible; beneath the heavy darkness of night, dim gold mingled with deep blue. The painting was quiet and still.

Yu Nianyi sat in the chair, her gaze resting on the lower part of the image.

By now, the overall palette of the painting had been decided, and the placement of each element was fairly balanced. Today, she needed to lay in the color of the road.

She tied up her long, wavy hair, found some pictures online with a snowy-night atmosphere, and continued working from them as reference.

Outside the window, the evening breeze was gentle, snowflakes drifted down in flurries, and everything fell into silence.

-

The next day was Sunday. Yu Nianyi slept until two in the afternoon before gradually waking up.

There was no renovation upstairs today, and the whole morning had been unusually quiet; that was still a stroke of luck.

She rolled over and picked up her phone from the counter. There were messages from Xi Yao and her mother.

Yu Nianyi opened them and looked through each one. Xi Yao specifically reminded her to finish the portrait as soon as possible, saying that girl’s birthday was on December 20, which meant there were only fifteen days left.

She replied “Okay,” then opened the message from her mother.

Children away at school always made their mothers worry; the only way to miss and keep watch over them was through the phone. Although Jiayang and Lincheng weren’t especially far apart, a high-speed train still took several hours. No matter how far apart they were, if you couldn’t see someone, you would still think of them.

Yu Nianyi opened the voice message and listened with her eyes still closed while lying in bed.

“Baby, is the weather in Jiayang really cold lately? I saw on the forecast that it keeps snowing, so you have to wear more clothes, okay? Don’t end up with a fever like when you were little!”

Ding; the phone automatically played the next one.

“You didn’t even come home during the National Day holiday last time. It’s been so long; all you care about is your little girlfriend, and you don’t even think about your mother... This winter break, don’t go out playing. Come back early for me!”

Yu Nianyi smiled silently. Just as she was about to prop herself up to reply, she heard her mother’s slightly complaining voice.

“Why aren’t you replying? Are you still not up? It’s already noon and you’re still sleeping? Did you not eat breakfast..."

She quickly turned off the voice message; with her toes, she could guess what came next. With a hopeless expression, Yu Nianyi tapped the phone back on. “I know. I’m wearing a lot, so you can rest assured. But I already broke up with Yang Shuyu, so don’t bring her up. It’s easy to give people the wrong idea.”

“I’ll go back early this year when I’m on break. I’ll buy you delicious food when I get home.”

Not even half a minute after she sent it, the other side replied again.

“How did you break up? That little girl was gentle and spoke so softly; she seemed pretty nice. Did you keep playing around and neglect her... You don’t need to bring me anything. If you want to eat something, buy it yourself; don’t drag me into it!”

“Oh, just don’t worry about it.” Yu Nianyi turned off the phone and got up to wash up.

Yang Shuyu was the third person Yu Nianyi had brought home. The first was a part-time waitress at her family’s restaurant after the college entrance exams, an older university student working to support herself. Unfortunately, that relationship ended when Yu Nianyi got into school in Jiayang.

The second was a fellow townsman she met by chance during military training, also from Lincheng, and by coincidence, also gay. Such a coincidental meeting ended up becoming a coincidental relationship too; it lasted less than half a year before they still broke up.

Yang Shuyu was the third. The two had known each other since freshman year. It wasn’t until sophomore year that Yu Nianyi received Yang Shuyu’s confession. At the time, she was lonely and alone, so she agreed directly. But in the second year, during her junior year, they still parted ways.

That was already considered one of her longer relationships. As for the flings that came before, there was even less to say.

Yu Nianyi couldn’t really explain that feeling. Every one of them had once moved her, but only for a while. After spending some time together, that feeling gradually faded.

Between the two of them, what slowly took over was the other person’s suspicion, sensitivity, and neediness. Yu Nianyi thought those things were restraints, ropes tying up her actions. Love was supposed to be happy; it shouldn’t be that heavy.

Xi Yao said she was a scumbag, said she had never truly given her heart; she was just dating, not really dating someone.

Yu Nianyi neither agreed nor disagreed.

She took out her phone and looked at the messages again. Her mother still hadn’t replied, probably busy video chatting with relatives.

From last night until now, Xi Yu still hadn’t sent anything.

Yu Nianyi pursed her lips and opened Xi Yu’s chat window, staring at it for a long time. Her eyes were practically going to bore through the screen, but there was still nothing.

“Is she really that confident in Jiang Chen, or just not worried about me...” Yu Nianyi muttered.

She tapped into the chat box, checked the time; 12:30. Xi Yu shouldn’t be busy with work. So she quickly typed a line and sent it.

【Xi Yu-jie, good afternoon.】

【Thank you for having someone send me back last night. I really liked the dessert and the Four Gods Soup.】

Half an hour after the message was sent, there was still no movement.

Yu Nianyi got dressed and went downstairs to the restaurant to eat a little. Seated in the crowded air-conditioned room, she ate while staring at the other side for any sign of a reply, but Xi Yu still didn’t answer.

At three in the afternoon, the phone was still silent.

She lay on the sofa and pinched Baby’s fluffy face, stroking it as she muttered to herself, “Could it be she thought what I said was a statement?”

“Even if it was a statement, based on her style, shouldn’t she at least have replied coolly with something like ‘You’re welcome’ or ‘It was nothing’?” Yu Nianyi rolled over and lay half-prone on the sofa bed, with Baby tucked protectively in her arms, small hands currently holding up a nibble of corn.

Yu Nianyi smoothed down her hair, which had gotten messy, and sat up straight. Deciding not to keep thinking like some lovesick fool, she put Baby back in the cage and went back to painting.

Eleven at night.

Ding-ling——

Yu Nianyi shot up like a carp and grabbed her phone. The black screen lit up, and a message flashed across it.

【Xi Yu: You’re welcome.】

Yu Nianyi drew in a sharp breath and flopped back onto the bed, pretending to be dead.