Chapter 63

Xi Yu arrived much faster than Yu Nianyi had expected. Yu Nianyi had thought it would take at least an hour, but less than half an hour later, she was already there.

When Yu Nianyi heard footsteps and turned her head, Xu Ruoyan and Xi Yu were standing at the door.

Xu Ruoyan strode over first. She lowered her head to examine Yu Nianyi’s work carefully, then nodded again and again. “Very good. The shape is distinctive and delicate; I can already imagine what it’ll look like after glazing and firing.”

Yu Nianyi stood up and, with a rather smug air, moved to Xi Yu’s side.

From start to finish, Xi Yu kept the corners of her mouth lifted; a faint smile lingered on her face. “It looks even more beautiful than in the photos.”

“In a few more days, once all the glazing is done, it’ll basically be finished.” Yu Nianyi let out a breath, looking a little relieved.

Xu Ruoyan laughed. “It’s not easy. Nearly two months of work, and it’s finally done. You learn so quickly, and you’ve done every step well. How about coming to work here when you have time? Now that Nianyi’s here, I feel more at ease.”

She sighed. “The shop has been incredibly busy lately; during the holidays it got even worse. I still don’t have enough people working for me.”

Yu Nianyi agreed without hesitation. “Sure. I can come over these next few days anyway; I’d just be idling at home.”

Xu Ruoyan’s eyes lit up. She turned to look at Xi Yu, who had been silent the whole time beside Yu Nianyi. “What do you think? You can lend me Nianyi during work hours, right?”

Xi Yu had her hands in her pockets and was looking down at Yu Nianyi. “Will your body be okay? You should be resting.”

Yu Nianyi waved her hand and immediately grabbed Xi Yu’s arm, giving it a shake. “I’m bored anyway. There’s still no progress on the exhibition thing, so I might as well stay at Sister Ruoyan’s shop.”

Xi Yu didn’t say anything this time; she just nodded. After a while, she said, “Then I’ll come pick you up tonight.”

Yu Nianyi smiled brightly. “Okay.”

After saying goodbye to Xu Ruoyan, the two of them left together.

Yu Nianyi hadn’t been home for several days, so she figured Baby’s food was probably almost gone. In the end, she decided to go home first.

The two of them bought some vegetables and fresh meat from the little supermarket downstairs and brought everything upstairs together.

Baby was even more lively than usual. When it saw Yu Nianyi come back, it first pushed its round little body out to peek at her, its black eyes following her; then it slowly walked to the wheel, climbed in, and rolled around with huffing little motions for several minutes.

Only when it saw Yu Nianyi open the cage did it hurry down.

“Baby looks so excited today,” Yu Nianyi said, holding Baby up with both hands as she walked into the kitchen. Xi Yu was bending her head to cut meat. At the sound of her voice, she looked up; her eyes met Baby’s first, then after a few seconds, moved to Yu Nianyi’s face.

Yu Nianyi tilted her head and kissed Baby’s little head, unable to help saying, “Xi Yu-jie, look; isn’t it so cute? So fluffy.”

Xi Yu’s expression didn’t change. She looked at Yu Nianyi’s face. “Mm. Very cute.”

Yu Nianyi giggled and looked at Xi Yu, who was still lowering her head to cut meat.

Xi Yu was wearing the apron Yu Nianyi had worn last time. It wasn’t a particularly simple or elegant style; it was the sort commonly seen in ordinary restaurants. Yet somehow, on Xi Yu, it looked unexpectedly festive.

Yu Nianyi couldn’t help laughing again. She pressed herself against Xi Yu, resting her head directly on Xi Yu’s shoulder.

Baby’s body tilted too; it leaned against the edge of Xi Yu’s sleeve, then steadied itself and found a comfortable position in Yu Nianyi’s hands, sniffing left and right.

Xi Yu stilled and lowered her head to look at Yu Nianyi’s round little head. “Tired?”

Yu Nianyi looked lazy as she raised her head to meet Xi Yu’s gaze. “No. I was just thinking my bed is a little small; it might not be enough for the two of us to sleep in.”

Xi Yu looked at the slyness in Yu Nianyi’s eyes. After a pause, she said, “Then should I sleep on the sofa?”

Yu Nianyi pouted and straightened up instinctively. “Of course not. The two of us hugging each other is enough to sleep comfortably; how could I really make you sleep on the sofa?”

Xi Yu gave a soft “mm” and lowered her head to continue cutting the meat. “Then I should thank Nian Nian.”

Yu Nianyi stared at Xi Yu’s lowered head and faint smile, then suddenly went “ah.” She first ran out in a hurry to put Baby back in its cage, then rushed back and stood in front of Xi Yu.

Xi Yu looked at her flustered, energetic movements and instinctively reminded her, “Slow down.”

Yu Nianyi reached up herself, took an identical apron from the cabinet above, and tied it on. Then she squeezed in front of Xi Yu. “How can I let Sister keep doing all the work? What if you get exhausted?” As she spoke, she took out the vegetables on her own and began rinsing them under the tap.

Xi Yu made room for her without a word. Then she heard Yu Nianyi say, “Let me be the cook this time too. How about broccoli with shrimp? Stir-fried loofah with egg is good too. There are still some leftovers in the fridge; we can use them all this time.”

Xi Yu said, “Mm. I can make the other meat dishes.”

Yu Nianyi chuckled. “I’ve been craving the ribs you made last time, Xi Yu-jie. They were so fragrant I even dreamed about eating them again the last time I slept…”

Xi Yu’s movements paused. She glanced sideways at Yu Nianyi, her expression unreadable; it was hard to tell whether she believed her or not. “That good?”

Yu Nianyi nodded excitedly. “Yeah.” She glanced at Xi Yu and immediately started rattling on. “I still remember the scene. It was at Xi Yu-jie’s place; back then, you could still see the snow outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The smell of the meat filled the whole house, and Xi Yu-jie was especially gentle, wearing a really beautiful dress, and you’d call me ‘baby’ and ‘baby’...”

Her mouth kept going, but her eyes kept darting toward Xi Yu.

Xi Yu raised a brow slightly and said nothing, waiting for Yu Nianyi to finish.

Yu Nianyi coughed lightly; her eyes rolled around. For a moment, she couldn’t even make the rest up. “I also remember you were wearing a black sheer dress, the kind that was very short…”

As she spoke, Yu Nianyi was the first one to run out of words. She lifted her arm to cover the smile that was about to break through her face; carelessly, she met Xi Yu’s calm eyes again.

Yu Nianyi went “ah” and said in a spoiled tone, “Why doesn’t Xi Yu-jie believe me at all…”

Xi Yu gave a soft “mm” and nodded. “I believe you.”

“Everything Nian Nian says, I believe.”

The kitchen was quiet for half a minute, then Xi Yu’s voice sounded again. “Since Nian Nian likes it so much, why don’t we try it tonight? I remember you have a dress like that.”

Yu Nianyi let out a startled “ah,” her mind blanking for a few seconds. Then, almost instinctively, an image surfaced of Xi Yu wearing her black lace dress, and a smile rose uncontrollably on her face.

…

She had originally thought it would be Xi Yu wearing it, but in the end, Xi Yu still coaxed her into putting it on.

Xi Yu always had this kind of magic; at the most important moments, she could use ordinary, seemingly unremarkable words to coax someone into doing exactly what she wanted.

Yu Nianyi had been absolutely certain today that she was going to make Xi Yu wear that dress, preferably with her eyes half-lidded and a dazzling smile, preferably with a little coaxing and sweetness too.

But before she could hold out for long, Xi Yu broke her with a single sentence.

Xi Yu was sitting at the head of the bed, one hand casually braced on the edge. Her brows and eyes were calm and gentle, and from start to finish, she was looking at Yu Nianyi. “Last time I didn’t get a good look. This time, I want Nian Nian to wear it again.”

Yu Nianyi’s ears twitched; all her attention was tugged over to Xi Yu beside her.

Xi Yu was sitting next to her, one hand braced behind her waist, her profile casually resting against Yu Nianyi’s shoulder. Yu Nianyi could clearly smell Xi Yu’s faint, unique scent, along with her breath growing warmer...

Yu Nianyi covered her face with both hands and silently screamed to herself in the creative room for a while. Her mind was full of Xi Yu saying that sentence in her calm voice. The more she thought about it, the clearer last night’s Xi Yu became.

She slowly let out a breath, loosening her hands a little, and propped her chin up to stare at the dishes in front of her.

“What’s wrong? Is the food not to your taste?” Xu Ruoyan asked subconsciously when she saw Yu Nianyi spacing out.

Yu Nianyi came back to her senses and met Xu Ruoyan’s gaze. She waved her hand. “No, I just drifted off for a moment.”

Xu Ruoyan let out an “oh,” then studied the smile that Yu Nianyi still hadn’t managed to hide. She laughed. “Hang in there a little longer; Xi Yu will be here soon.”

Yu Nianyi giggled and took up the conversation. “I was only thinking for a little while.” She gave Xu Ruoyan a mock-serious salute. “I definitely won’t delay work this afternoon; don’t worry, boss.”

Xu Ruoyan was tickled into loud laughter and nodded along, looking pleased. “Good, good. I’ll buy you a milk tea later.”

Yu Nianyi shouted, “Thank you, boss!”

Xu Ruoyan picked up the food container and was just about to leave when the sound startled her into an “oh my.” “Boss Yu, you’re too polite. With that kind of energy, I should be learning from you…” As she spoke, she shook her head. “Dating really does make you different, huh…”

In the afternoon, the shop was extremely busy. Yu Nianyi was too occupied taking care of the customers to find time to chat with Xi Yu. By the time things finally calmed down, when she opened the chat window again, there wasn’t even a single message from Xi Yu.

She pouted. Although Xi Yu had warned her beforehand that she’d probably be very busy lately, there was no reason not to send her even one message.

Yu Nianyi huffed, her finger landing on Xi Yu’s avatar as she reflexively moved to tap it. But at the last second, she stopped herself and muttered, “No. I’m always the one sending messages. This time Xi Yu-jie should be the one to take the initiative…”

As she spoke, she exited the page a little sulkily. At that moment, a video call suddenly popped up on the screen. Yu Nianyi’s mood instantly lifted; when she looked more carefully, though, she saw the name Xi Yao.

She let out a sigh and slid to answer it.