Chapter 68

Su Yue’s adult shop in Lincheng had opened two branches. Neither storefront was especially small, and orders came in all day long.

Building on the original shop, Su Yue had also set up several display models outside. They were all pure white, making the place look more like an art gallery than a store.

“Aren’t you in the art world too? I think mine counts as sexual art,” Su Yue said breezily. She was sprawled on a beanbag, eyes half-lidded as she looked at Yu Nianyi.

Yu Nianyi nodded and stood in front of one of the display models, craning her neck to study it for a long while.

“As adults, everyone has desires. People should have faced them head-on a long time ago. It’s just like eating and sleeping; as long as you know the basics and how to protect yourself, it’s perfectly normal.” Su Yue pushed herself up from the beanbag and walked over to Yu Nianyi. “I opened this shop especially for women, so it suits women’s bodies better.”

Yu Nianyi stared at the white model in front of her. It had a transparent sheath over it and looked very professional. She didn’t even blink as she said, “This looks amazing. If I were a customer, I’d probably be drawn in too.”

Su Yue crossed her arms, clearly pleased with herself. “Of course. I have a lot of regulars here.”

“Oh?” Yu Nianyi smiled brightly. “So Boss Su already has plenty of fans.”

“Mm.” Su Yue put on a mysteriously self-important expression, then waved it off casually. “Just average. A few hundred, that’s all.”

Yu Nianyi widened her eyes in cooperation. “Impressive.”

Su Yue curved her lips into a smile. “And there are quite a few new items lately; I kept them all for you.”

Yu Nianyi laughed, then pretended to be serious as she patted Su Yue on the shoulder. “You really are my best sister.”

Su Yue nodded. “I’ll give you a discount. Twenty percent off.”

Yu Nianyi snatched her hand back. “That’s too formal.”

Su Yue smiled like she’d gotten away with something and motioned for Yu Nianyi to follow her.

Just as they passed the entrance, someone happened to walk in.

She wasn’t very tall, had straight bangs, and wore a plain black down jacket. Her hair was glossy black and her skin very fair. When her eyes met Yu Nianyi’s, she gave an unconscious nod in greeting.

Yu Nianyi smiled back. Su Yue greeted her first with a cheerful hello, then added familiarly, “You’re here, Huaihuai. I already packed your things up; they’re on the counter inside.”

The woman nodded slightly. Her words were few. “Thank you. Sorry to trouble you.”

Yu Nianyi looked away and let Su Yue lead her into the inner room. There was no door, so the space was only semi-enclosed.

Several large white paper bags sat neatly packed on the table. Only one black box had been set apart on the tabletop, drawing the eye.

“So many?” Yu Nianyi froze for a moment and couldn’t help asking.

Su Yue said, “Not much. I bought one of everything in the shop for you so you wouldn’t say I forgot about you.”

Yu Nianyi blinked, deeply moved, and gave Su Yue a hug. “You’re such a good person.”

“This one,” Su Yue said, pointing at the black box on the table, “is the newest item I brought in this year, and it’s had the best response. A lot of my female customers, including the one just now, are very satisfied with it. I think you’ll like it too.”

Yu Nianyi lowered her head and picked up the black box. Proper instructions and a detailed introduction were printed on it.

“Just follow the steps,” Su Yue said. “You should all understand.”

“This can satisfy both sides—body and mind,” she added.

Yu Nianyi was skeptical. “That good?”

Su Yue raised an eyebrow. “Of course. You’ll know once you use it.”

She walked out of the inner room and almost ran straight into the woman from before. Smiling, she waved at her. “Take care on the way.”

The words had barely left her mouth when a slightly taller woman with long hair and an elegant bearing rushed in through the door. She had a slim build and strode straight toward Huaihuai. “We said we’d come in together. Why did you go ahead of me?”

Huaihuai’s face turned red, and her tone softened inexplicably. “I was just picking something up. It didn’t take long.”

The woman huffed, then suddenly lifted her head to glance at Su Yue. Raising a hand, she said with a smile, “See you, Su Yue.”

Su Yue raised a hand. “See you, Xingluo.”

Yu Nianyi watched the two of them leave. Beside her, Su Yue said, “Those two are a couple. They’re ridiculously close.”

Yu Nianyi nodded, then heard Su Yue add, “Take everything home and use it. Write me some feedback too.”

Yu Nianyi: “……”

-

Small cities always felt a little livelier. Or maybe it was simply that she’d been homesick for months; looking at the bustling crowd and the steady flow of people all around her, everything somehow felt warm and familiar.

“This year your cousin’s getting married, so when we go visiting for New Year’s, we’ll have to treat everyone to a meal,” Yu Lan said, walking ahead of Yu Nianyi and casually grabbing a few bags while picking through a pile of brightly colored candies. “It’s going to be busier than in previous years, so we need to buy a lot of things. Seafood, fish, all of that—buy more so there’ll be plenty when people come over.”

Yu Nianyi followed behind her, pushing the cart through the crowded supermarket aisle. She hummed in acknowledgment. “Sure. I’ll show you my cooking skills later.”

Yu Lan set the bag of candy on the weighing machine. A staff member tapped numbers into the keypad beside them, and she turned back around, full of energy. “Good. Before, asking you to cook a meal was like hoping to win the lottery. Now it’s different.”

Yu Nianyi’s mouth twitched awkwardly. Then she curved her lips and instinctively played dumb. “Don’t you have me? Master Chef Yu?”

At that, Yu Lan smiled and put the candy bag into the cart before moving on. “Yesterday I discussed it with your uncle, your aunt, and your auntie. We’re eating at our place this year; it’ll be lively.”

Yu Nianyi raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Yu Lan looked over the various cooked meats and deli foods lined up in front of them one by one, then said, “Even though your dad and I divorced years ago, your aunt’s side really does miss you. They’ll be coming by this year.”

As if remembering something, Yu Lan suddenly stopped walking. She turned and looked fixedly at Yu Nianyi, who also came to a stop.

“The friend you said sent you something a few days ago—was it really that girl from the video that day?” Yu Lan asked.

Yu Nianyi let out an “ah.” She glanced around, taking note of the people nearby. Yu Lan walked beside her.

“Yes,” Yu Nianyi said. Just mentioning Xi Yu’s name made the corners of her mouth lift unconsciously. She nodded. “Mm, we’re dating.”

Yu Lan didn’t seem surprised at all. Her hand rested on the cart as well. “I took a look yesterday. The things that girl sent were very nice, and all of them were expensive. You can tell she put thought into it.”

Yu Nianyi’s smile widened again. “Of course.”

Yu Lan shot her a look, then after a pause said, “Since you’re dating, then date properly. Mom only hopes you can be healthy and happy, and spend your life with someone who truly loves you.”

“Our family isn’t one to make a fuss over things,” Yu Lan said softly. “Find a time and invite that girl over for a meal. I can’t promise much else, but I can still manage some Lincheng specialty dishes.”

Yu Nianyi’s nose stung. She let out an “aiya,” then reached up to sling an arm around Yu Lan’s shoulders and patted her gently. “Thanks to you, I’m already very happy now.”

“And,” Yu Nianyi pressed her lips together, thinking of the awkward mood between them before they left. For a moment she didn’t know how to explain it. After hesitating a few seconds, she said, “Sister Xi Yu is going abroad with her parents for New Year this year, so there probably won’t be a chance.”

“Abroad?” Yu Lan said slowly. Neither of them spoke for a while. After a bit, Yu Lan said again, “I knew from the first glance that she was a child from a well-off family..."

The two of them linked arms and continued toward the seafood section, falling silent again.

People brushed past them one after another, and the noisy chatter filled the entire hall. After a while, Yu Lan suddenly said, “You two haven’t been together for very long, have you?”

Yu Nianyi nodded, her gaze resting casually on the fish swimming back and forth in a tank not far away. “Mm... I guess it really hasn’t been long. Why?”

Yu Lan smiled, looking at Yu Nianyi’s face. “Nothing. If there’s no chance this year, then we’ll see next time.”

Yu Nianyi hummed. Her eyes still hadn’t left the fish darting back and forth in the tank.

Every time she thought of Xi Yu, the first thing that rose in her heart was pure affection and fullness; the smile always came to her lips first. But right behind it came a strangely stifled sense of frustration.

That knot in her chest had been there all along in Jiayang. If she didn’t bring up Xi Yu, she could temporarily pretend not to think about it. But the moment she did, she would feel unbearably restless.

With past partners, Yu Nianyi would always ask everything clearly, one thing at a time. If they could talk it through, they would keep seeing each other; if they couldn’t, then like her previous exes, they would fall into a cold war and break up.

Yu Nianyi pulled her gaze back and hurriedly swept over the packed crowd around her, not knowing where to look.

She never wanted things with Xi Yu to become that kind of relationship.

“...Nian Nian.”

“Nian Nian.” Yu Lan called again, staring at Yu Nianyi.

Yu Nianyi gave an “ah” and finally let her eyes settle on Yu Lan’s face.

Yu Lan sighed and complained, “What are you thinking about so absent-mindedly? I’ve been calling you and you didn’t even hear me.”

Yu Nianyi smiled and pushed the cart to keep up with Yu Lan’s pace. “Nothing. Let’s buy two more fish this year and let me practice at home first...”

Yu Lan laughed. “You still need to practice? So formal about it..."

...

During New Year’s, there was always so much to do. Not only did the house need cleaning, but the sizable restaurant Yu Lan had taken over was cleaned from top to bottom as well.

Su Yue came over after finishing her own work and helped out too; she also mooched quite a few meals at their place.

When people got busy, they tended not to care about other things. Even Xi Yu’s few short greetings, Yu Nianyi seemed able to accept; or perhaps she was simply too busy to be much affected.

New Zealand was five hours behind them. Whenever Yu Nianyi finally rested, it was already nine or ten at night here, and when she looked at the time, it no longer felt right to bother Xi Yu.

She should give the other person some space; she should also give herself some space to digest and adjust her emotions.

In the end, the relationship didn’t turn out as lively as a couple’s as she had imagined; it was more like clocking in for class, maybe even better than that.

Even a single message or two could still make her heart swell with delight.

Xi Yu’s message came in at 7:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. At that moment, Yu Nianyi was still in the kitchen, busy wrapping dumplings. The instant she saw the screen light up, she stopped at once and gave up on the dumplings. She casually wiped her hands and sat off to the side with her phone in her arms.

Yu Lan exclaimed and glanced at her, then went back to video-calling relatives.

[Xi Yu: Happy New Year, Nian Nian.]