Chapter 66

Xi Huanian’s expression was unusually stern, his brows drawing together slightly as if he were deeply displeased with Xi Yu’s actions.

“The Chen family has always been on good terms with us. We’ve all been on this road together for so many years, and your mother and Qiu Xia are university friends. Don’t you think you’ve been far too thoughtless? If Aunt Qiu Xia found out, it would really break her heart.”

Xi Yu parted her lips slightly, about to speak.

Then Zhao Xiaolan’s gentle voice came through the phone again. “Even though your uncle and Aunt Qiu Xia are both abroad right now, if you keep making this bigger, people are bound to misunderstand. Since we’re still talking, tell your father and me plainly what exactly you’re thinking.”

The living room fell completely silent. Xi Yu looked at the two people on the screen, waited a moment, and then said, “Over the past few months, I did choose some good suppliers. But since you’ve already looked into it, you naturally know they’re just a few minor components. They haven’t affected the Chen family’s position in any core area.”

“The company will still be handed over to me in the end. Big things or small, I need to handle them myself.”

Xi Huanian studied Xi Yu’s unchanged expression. The tension in his brows eased a little, and he said nothing.

Zhao Xiaolan gave a soft hum, the smile on her face never fading. Then she patted Xi Huanian’s arm and laughed. “I told you the child knows her limits. How could she possibly do anything rash or childish? And you, too—why did you start questioning her without saying a word? So annoying.”

Xi Huanian glanced at Zhao Xiaolan, then straightened up, bent down, and picked up the teacup on the table for a sip.

“How was your talk with Chen Shuo this afternoon?” Zhao Xiaolan suddenly changed the subject. “You two haven’t properly gotten together in a while. This morning, Chen Shuo even took the initiative to ask me how you’d been lately. It’s obvious he misses you a lot.”

Yu Nianyi stiffened. She unconsciously pressed her lips together and looked up at Xi Yu’s profile.

Xi Yu sat up straight and let go of Yu Nianyi’s hand. She didn’t answer Zhao Xiaolan right away; instead, she turned to Yu Nianyi. “I’m going out for a bit. Eat first.”

Yu Nianyi froze as she watched Xi Yu stand and walk toward the inner bedroom.

Zhao Xiaolan’s surprised voice continued from the phone. “Oh my, that little girl is still there? I thought she’d already left... You really are something, making her delay dinner at this hour. Next time, you have to take good care of her...”

Xi Yu gave no reply. Then came the sound of a door opening and closing; with a soft click, the living room fell silent again.

Yu Nianyi looked away and glanced at the food on the table, which had already gone cold. Her hand moved on its own to pick up the chopsticks beside her. She casually picked up a piece of meat, looked at it for a moment, then put it back and set the chopsticks down.

She didn’t eat the rest of the meal. Her eyes drifted to the tightly shut bedroom door in the distance. The soundproofing was excellent, and not a single voice could be heard from inside.

Her feet felt as heavy as lead. Her gaze settled heavily on the door, yet she didn’t take a single step forward.

It seemed like only a few minutes had passed. It also seemed like a very long time.

Yu Nianyi looked away, pushed herself up from the table, and braced a hand against it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the leftovers and put them all into the refrigerator, then lowered her head and washed the bowls and chopsticks.

The person in the room still hadn’t come out; it seemed they would be talking for a long time yet.

After tidying up, Yu Nianyi walked to the entryway, put on her coat, opened the door, and left.

-

Xi Yu’s home was still quite far from Xiangyang Community. She happened to hit traffic on the way, and it took her a full hour to get home.

During that time, there were no message notifications on her phone.

Yu Nianyi opened the door, tossed her clothes aside, and flopped onto the sofa.

Baby in the cage realized its owner was home and got so excited that it climbed up to the bars itself, stretching its head out to look at Yu Nianyi.

Yu Nianyi bent down and opened the cage, taking Baby into her arms and stroking it gently.

The living room was truly quiet; only the occasional sound of cars passing outside and the sparse noise from the street vendors downstairs could be heard. School was on break, so there were far fewer stalls than usual.

Yu Nianyi put Baby back, checked the food in the cage again, and cleaned the litter. Then she unlocked her phone, deliberately avoiding that scenic photo, tapped on Yu Lan’s profile picture, and made a video call.

It connected almost immediately.

Yu Lan appeared on the screen, cooking. She was wearing the apron Yu Nianyi remembered, and right then she was working the spatula around with a clatter of crackling sounds.

“Our Niannian finally remembered her mom. Why are you only calling now?” Yu Lan complained.

Yu Nianyi lounged on the sofa, her feet lifting a little as she smiled first. “I’ve been busy lately~”

“Oh, what have you been so busy with?” Yu Lan sighed. “I know you. School should’ve been out ages ago. If you still aren’t coming back now, there must be something keeping you there.”

Seeing that Yu Nianyi still didn’t answer, Yu Lan went on, “There are less than ten days left until New Year. Hurry back. Mom already closed the little restaurant and has been waiting for you! There are still so many things to buy for the holiday goods. Come back and help me.”

Yu Nianyi gave a hum, and Xi Yu’s face unconsciously surfaced in her mind.

“Don’t just ‘mm-hm.’ We haven’t seen each other in months, and you don’t even miss me? Hurry up and buy a ticket back,” Yu Lan said loudly.

Yu Nianyi immediately laughed. Seeing Yu Lan throw a fit, she instinctively gave in. “Okay, okay, I’ll come back.”

“Mm, that’s settled then. Mom already bought your ticket; I think tomorrow at five in the afternoon works best.”

Yu Nianyi asked subconsciously, “That soon?”

Yu Lan paused, then glared at Yu Nianyi. “Soon? What’s soon about it? You don’t need to bring anything—just come home!”

Yu Nianyi smiled and nodded in agreement.

When she came out after washing up, there was a missed call from Xi Yu on her phone.

10:45 p.m.

Yu Nianyi sat down at the edge of the bed, opened their chat, and stared at the screen showing only that one missed call. She couldn’t help but let out a soft snort.

She sat there for a while, then opened the keyboard and replied.

[Yu Nianyi: What’s up?]

The moment she sent it, her phone vibrated twice.

[Xi Yu: Why did you leave all of a sudden? Did something come up?]

Yu Nianyi simply lay down under the covers, holding the phone in one hand. She didn’t type again until the screen went dark.

The other side seemed very patient, very calm, as if they were only discussing something ordinary, as if Xi Yu were genuinely just asking why she had left early.

Yu Nianyi let out a sigh. Something felt blocked in her chest, unable to rise or fall, and it was just plain uncomfortable.

She frowned and lit up the screen again.

[Yu Nianyi: I suddenly remembered Baby hadn’t been fed yet. It didn’t have food at night, and it throws a fit. Since I saw that Xi Yu-jie had things to talk about, I left first.]

……

[Xi Yu: Okay.]

Buzz.

[Xi Yu: Just now, my parents talked to me for a bit about Xi Yao. They miss her very much.]

[Xi Yu: We talked for quite a while. I was worried you’d wait too long, so I came out in the middle, but I didn’t see you.]

Yu Nianyi blinked, then suddenly thought of something and told Xi Yu what Xi Yao had said to her that afternoon. She had been thinking only about Xi Yu and had almost forgotten about it.

[Xi Yu: Okay, I’ll tell them.]

After a while, another message came in.

[Xi Yu: Are you still going to Xu Ruoyan’s place tomorrow?]

Yu Nianyi propped her head up and glanced at the screen, then let it droop again. After hesitating for a bit, she still replied.

[Yu Nianyi: Yes, but Xi Yu-jie doesn’t need to come pick me up in the evening anymore. My mom already booked a ticket; tomorrow at 5 p.m.]

After the message was sent, the other side didn’t reply right away.

Yu Nianyi lay back on the bed. The drowsiness she had felt a moment ago vanished instantly. She pressed her lips together, and Xi Yu’s image surfaced in her mind again.

At this hour, Xi Yu might be showering; she might be making tea, or perhaps in a video conference.

No one knew how long had passed before the screen lit up all at once.

[Xi Yu: Mm, I’ll see you off tomorrow afternoon.]

Yu Nianyi stared at those words for a while, then lay back down and closed her eyes.

She didn’t know how long it took before she finally fell into a deep sleep.

She slept badly all night, as if she’d sunk into a very deep dream.

The scene from a long time ago, when she had seen Xi Yu and Chen Shuo eating together, surfaced clearly before her again. The two sat facing each other, chatting happily.

Yu Nianyi stood very far away, yet she could still clearly see their faces and expressions.

Xi Yu sat elegant and composed; the expensive-looking clothes draped casually to her feet, and her high heels hovered in the air, drawing a cold, hard line.

The pink peonies Chen Shuo had given her glowed pale white under the lights, and the air was heavy with floral fragrance.

Yu Nianyi could only stand there, watching helplessly as Xi Yu took the bouquet and naturally placed it into the car.

She bit hard into her lip, anxiety burning through her. Sourness kept rising from the bottom of her heart, yet she could do nothing at all.

……

Yu Nianyi opened her eyes and stared at the white beam above her head. She frowned and lay there a little longer before sitting up.

As usual, she picked up her phone. On the screen was Xi Yu’s latest message.

11 p.m. [Xi Yu: Rest early. Close the windows.]

Yu Nianyi glanced at it, then turned off the screen and got up to wash up.

Before leaving, Yu Nianyi first had to take Baby to the pet shop she was already familiar with. Since she would be away from Jiayang for New Year, she needed someone else to look after it.

After dropping Baby off, she took a taxi to Xu Ruoyan’s shop.

There were a lot of people in the shop that morning; the main hall and the small courtyard studio in back were both full of customers.

The moment Yu Nianyi stepped through the door, she was assigned to the studio. Ten people sat in a row inside, all doing the same steps Yu Nianyi had done long ago.

Thanks to her practice in the club and Xu Ruoyan’s guidance, Yu Nianyi was very familiar with the basic steps, the movements, and the effect of each stage, so teaching others wasn’t too strenuous. But there were too many people, and she hardly got a break all day.

When it was time for her to leave, Yu Nianyi told Xu Ruoyan in advance. Xu Ruoyan happened to be on break and said it was truly a pity, then reminded her to be careful on the way back.

4:30 p.m.

Yu Nianyi stepped outside and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

At the entrance stood Xi Yu, who seemed to have already been waiting for a long time. Xi Yu was wearing a somewhat formal gray-black suit; only a small portion of a beige silk shirt showed beneath it, and a black overcoat hung on the outside, falling straight and still in the air.

She wasn’t wearing her hair down like she had these past few days. Just like their first meeting, she had her hair neatly tied back and wore glasses; she carried herself with effortless composure.

TL Note:

holiday goods = supplies and groceries bought for the Lunar New Year.