Chapter 65

A perfume she had never worn before.

A dinner for just the two of them.

Peonies that carried an unmistakable note of affection.

And no contact all afternoon.

Yu Nianyi rested her arm on the windowsill and cracked the window open a sliver. A gust of cold air rushed through the gap, tossing her blond hair into a messy tangle. The chill kept seeping into her skin, but she kept staring outside, and somehow her thoughts only grew clearer.

“Are you hot?” Xi Yu asked from beside her. “I can turn on the cold air. You’ll catch a chill if you keep this up.”

Yu Nianyi ignored her. After blowing on it for a while, she closed the window again, though her eyes were still fixed outside. “Then what about this afternoon?”

Xi Yu glanced at her, then back at the road. “This afternoon?”

Yu Nianyi pouted, not bothering to hide her unhappiness. She huffed. “I’ve been waiting for Xi Yu-jie’s messages. Even if you’re busy, you should at least make time to chat with me. I’ve been thinking about Xi Yu-jie the whole time, but you?”

She looked at Xi Yu. To her, Xi Yu was as calm as ever; her long hair hung neatly down her back, not a strand out of place.

“If you had time to have dinner with Chen Shuo, then surely you had time to talk to me too...”

The car fell silent for two seconds. Xi Yu loosened her grip on the steering wheel a little, and the car gradually slowed. Her lips pressed into a firmer line; her gaze drifted to the distance, as if she were thinking about something. After a while, she finally turned her head and met Yu Nianyi’s eyes. “Nian Nian, I... was waiting for your message.”

Yu Nianyi froze for a second. She watched as Xi Yu turned back around; a strand of her once-neat long hair slipped onto her shoulder and swayed with the motion.

“What do you mean, waiting for my message?”

“In the past, you’d always contact me. Today you didn’t, and I thought Xu Ruoyan was busy, so you might not have time.”

Yu Nianyi turned back to look at the familiar buildings outside. The car slowly entered the underground garage. She said, “I never said I was coming to Xi Yu-jie’s place.”

Xi Yu gave her a heavy sidelong look, parked the car smoothly in the space, and turned off the engine. The cabin instantly darkened.

“I made spare ribs today, the kind you like,” Xi Yu said softly.

Yu Nianyi folded her arms and turned her head back toward the window, refusing to speak.

Neither of them got out. There was a rustle beside her, as if Xi Yu were unfastening her seat belt.

Xi Yu’s scent drifted over, wrapped in that lingering jasmine fragrance. Yu Nianyi could clearly feel Xi Yu’s gaze on her, never once leaving.

After a while, Xi Yu’s voice came, very light and a little tired. “Nian Nian.”

Yu Nianyi’s lashes trembled; her body stiffened in the seat.

It was only two words, but somehow they sounded almost like Xi Yu was asking for mercy. In Yu Nianyi’s impression, Xi Yu should have been calm, steady, serious.

Her nose stung. Yu Nianyi frowned slightly, then jumped out of the car first. She gave Xi Yu a quick glance. “I’m going to eat a lot today; I’m not leaving you any!”

Xi Yu sat up straight and watched her go before getting out herself and taking the peonies from the back seat.

At the corner, Xi Yu placed the flowers on a shelf. Beside them were quite a few brand-new everyday items, utensils, and dolls; they looked unused, most likely left there casually by nearby residents for anyone in need to use for free.

Yu Nianyi moved closer to Xi Yu and lowered her head to hook her hand around the one hanging from the side of Xi Yu’s coat. Then she laced their fingers together.

Xi Yu’s eyes curved almost involuntarily, and she tightened her hold in response.

“If Xi Yu-jie misses me, just tell me anytime,” Yu Nianyi said, looking down at the pale ceramic tiles beneath her feet. “If you can say it to me, anything at all, I’ll be super, super happy. Like the things you saw on the road, the food you ate, what happened around you... so, so many things.”

Xi Yu lowered her eyes to Yu Nianyi’s pink-and-white cheek and nodded. “Okay. I understand.”

Back home, Xi Yu took off her coat, changed into loungewear, and went into the kitchen by herself.

Yu Nianyi ordered several dishes and said she wanted to eat them all. Xi Yu didn’t worry about whether Yu Nianyi could finish them; she only said she’d make everything.

Yu Nianyi watched TV in the living room for a while. Less than ten minutes later, she dashed back into the kitchen and moved in beside Xi Yu to help.

“Watching Xi Yu-jie work so hard makes me feel bad. I can’t even enjoy my meal properly,” Yu Nianyi sighed theatrically, resting her cheek against Xi Yu’s shoulder and unconsciously rubbing against her. “You’re tired from working outside too; the housework should be done together.”

Xi Yu’s lips curved. She looked down at Yu Nianyi’s face and said, “Thank you.”

Yu Nianyi paused in the middle of washing the vegetables and glared up at her. “So distant. You’re my girlfriend, my baby, my wife. Why are you still talking so formally? Someone who didn’t know better would think we were just some ordinary couple. Anyway, I don’t have a girlfriend who says thank you after sleeping together...”

Xi Yu lowered her head and took the vegetables from Yu Nianyi’s hands. Her posture went rigid. “...Okay, that’s enough.”

Yu Nianyi looked again and saw Xi Yu staring fixedly at the vegetables on the cutting board. Her fair profile had already flushed a faint pink.

Yu Nianyi grinned. “It’s the truth~”

Xi Yu’s spare ribs turned out delicious. Yu Nianyi ate so happily her toes kept bouncing, her face full of satisfaction.

Xi Yu sat off to the side, watching Yu Nianyi eat and keeping a pair of serving chopsticks ready to pick food for her.

Yu Nianyi ate in silence for a while, staring at the dishes on the table. She looked, then ate a little more.

As she ate, she couldn’t help thinking of Xi Yu’s outfit from earlier, when Xi Yu had come to pick her up: such a beautiful, composed, mature Xi Yu.

And yet that person had been eating with Chen Shuo. Yu Nianyi knew perfectly well that Chen Shuo liked Xi Yu, and there was no way Xi Yu didn’t know it too.

Even if it was for work and unavoidable, even if it was unavoidable... Yu Nianyi was still jealous.

She swallowed the food in her mouth. Xi Yu placed another piece of rib into her bowl and said, “Eat slowly.”

Originally, Yu Nianyi had wanted to ask her point by point. But after seeing Xi Yu’s expression in the car, how could she bring herself to ask?

She’d only make herself look childish and immature.

Yu Nianyi poked at the rice in her bowl, then put another rib into her mouth and chewed and chewed.

A glass of peach juice was handed to her. Yu Nianyi set down her bowl and took it, drinking several gulps at once.

Xi Yu looked quietly at her face. “What are you thinking about?”

Yu Nianyi let out an “ah” and met Xi Yu’s calm eyes before lowering her head to set the juice down.

“Nothing. It’s just too delicious. I was thinking about how to stuff everything Xi Yu-jie makes into my stomach,” Yu Nianyi said with an exaggerated lift of her brows.

The tension in Xi Yu’s brow eased a little, and she smiled without a sound.

“That’s good enough.”

Right after she said that, the phone rang. Both of them looked over instinctively; it was a video call from Zhao Xiaolan.

Yu Nianyi instinctively glanced at Xi Yu. Xi Yu didn’t move away; she simply reached out, picked up the phone, and answered.

Zhao Xiaolan’s dignified, fair face appeared on the screen. She smiled at them. “Have you eaten?”

Yu Nianyi immediately put down her utensils, suddenly feeling like she could neither eat nor not eat, and could only sit there awkwardly.

After all, Auntie still didn’t know about their relationship, and Xi Yu definitely hadn’t mentioned it either.

Xi Yu made a soft sound of assent, then turned to look at Yu Nianyi. “Why did you stop eating? Are you full?”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes went wide. She looked toward the screen at once. Hearing the voice, Zhao Xiaolan really did make a sound of surprise and turned her face in Yu Nianyi’s direction, though because of the angle she still couldn’t see much.

“Is there someone else at home?” Zhao Xiaolan asked.

Yu Nianyi took a deep breath, adjusted her hair, and scooted closer to Xi Yu. Her face then appeared on the screen. “Hello, Auntie. My name is Yu Nianyi.”

Zhao Xiaolan froze for a moment, then looked at Xi Yu. In the next second, she smiled warmly. “Hello. What a bright child. Why have I never heard Xi Yu mention you..."

Yu Nianyi smiled. Just as she was about to think of an explanation, Xi Yu beside her said, “She’s Xi Yao’s friend, and one of the invited artists for Sun Mengyao’s exhibition next year. The artwork in the house was made by her.”

Zhao Xiaolan gave an “oh,” then nodded with clear approval. “So talented at such a young age. That means her professional ability must be very strong. Looks like our Xi Yu really likes your work.”

Yu Nianyi let out two awkward laughs and straightened her back, forcing out a smile. “Thank you, Auntie. I still need to keep working hard.”

Zhao Xiaolan said, “No need to be so polite. Have Xi Yu bring you over sometime so we can sit down and get to know each other.”

Xi Yu nodded. “I will.”

“The perfume from noon,” Xi Yu suddenly said.

“Hm?” Zhao Xiaolan blinked. “What about the perfume? I specially picked that scent for you. Don’t you like it?”

Yu Nianyi perked up at once, all her attention drawn over.

Xi Yu paused, then said, “The scent is nice.”

Seeing Xi Yu’s affirmation, Zhao Xiaolan looked surprised for a few seconds, then seemed to understand something and smiled. “So you like it! Then the scent really must be good. I’ll have someone buy some more later and send it over to you.”

Xi Yu nodded. “Okay.”

As they were talking, Xi Huanian’s figure appeared on the screen. The phone instantly shifted, and Zhao Xiaolan’s voice came through it. “Your dad has something about work he wants to ask you.”

Yu Nianyi took the chance to sit back down. She was just about to get up and leave, but Xi Yu grabbed her hand and pulled her back, seating her steadily in place.

She turned her head just in time to see Xi Yu sitting upright, her right hand holding the phone up, her left hand naturally clasping Yu Nianyi’s.

“What have you been up to lately? Why are you going around making acquaintances on your own?” Xi Huanian let out a cold snort. “Old Jiang told me a lot about you. Your business trip some time ago was also to get in touch with Huatai Company. Explain it to me.”