Chapter 71

Xi Yu rolled onto her side and pressed the blanket down under her body. She glanced down with a cool, detached look before lifting her eyes to Yu Nianyi again. Her expression was faint, a little lazy. “No need. This is fine.”

Yu Nianyi stood where she was, watching Xi Yu spread the blanket out so casually, then hold it open with one hand as she looked at her. “There’s room.”

Yu Nianyi looked away, glanced at the closed bedroom door to the side, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally took a few small steps over.

The moment she lay down, Xi Yu pulled the blanket over her and tucked it up to her chin.

In the past, when the two of them slept together, Yu Nianyi had usually been the more active one. She liked clinging to Xi Yu and saying she liked her without the slightest patience. Sometimes after they were done and she had fallen asleep, when she woke again she would already be burrowed into Xi Yu’s arms or wrapped tightly around her.

A hand suddenly settled around her waist; the warmth of the palm seeped steadily through the fabric.

Before Yu Nianyi could react, Xi Yu used a little force and drew her into her arms. Her back pressed against something warm and soft, and Xi Yu’s scent washed over her at once. The summer pajamas were very thin; though there was no real contact, she could still clearly feel Xi Yu’s body, and that alluring curve from earlier in the night.

A shallow breath brushed against the side of her neck. Yu Nianyi’s face turned completely red; she instinctively shrank her neck in and lay stiffly straight, turning her head to the left.

Xi Yu had lowered her eyes slightly. Her lips were parted; those pale lips seemed to touch and not touch the skin at Yu Nianyi’s neck as the bridge of her nose pressed near her ear, then slowly slid downward, settling into the hollow of her throat.

Yu Nianyi pressed her lips together. The place Xi Yu had brushed so lightly seemed struck by fine threads of electricity, the sensation running along her sleeve and into her fingertips, leaving behind a dense, tingling itch.

Under the red blanket, her left hand was held firmly in Xi Yu’s; their skin pressed tightly together, their fingers rubbing lightly against each other.

Xi Yu said nothing, only lying quietly beside her.

Yu Lan’s loud voice still drifted in from outside, mixed with the sound of chopping vegetables. A cartoon had moved on to a new episode; from the sound of it, the plot was lively and interesting.

But inside the room, it was unusually quiet. Outside the window, firecrackers crackled off in scattered bursts, one after another at intervals, not loud enough to be truly annoying.

Yu Nianyi pressed her lips together and stared at the ceiling. In a deliberately smug tone, she said, “You rushed all the way here to see me. Does that mean Sister Xi Yu missed me a lot while you were abroad?”

The person beside her did not hurry to answer. The space around them quieted once again.

The breathing near her neck was extraordinarily steady; if she listened closely, she could even faintly hear the soft sound of it.

Yu Nianyi instinctively turned her eyes sideways and saw that Xi Yu had closed her eyes. Her eyelashes, not especially curled, hung quietly down; every few seconds, they would tremble faintly, looking oddly well-behaved. The faint shadow under her eyes that Yu Nianyi had noticed earlier was even more obvious under the overhead light now; paired with the tightly knit brow, she looked rather exhausted.

Yu Nianyi subconsciously turned her body and leaned closer to Xi Yu’s face to look, then tucked the blanket higher over her.

After a while, she switched off the overhead lamp; the room immediately sank into darkness.

Xi Yu was a little taller and longer-limbed than Yu Nianyi. Yu Nianyi had paid special attention to their height on a few occasions before. When they lay in bed, Xi Yu would be several centimeters taller.

Now that Xi Yu was lying with her head tilted against her neck and shoulder, she no longer looked like a dependable older sister; the calm, composed air she usually carried had vanished completely, and somehow she looked pitiable enough to make one’s heart soften.

Under the blanket, Yu Nianyi tightened her grip on Xi Yu’s hand. Her lips moved a few times, then she suddenly said, “Xi Yu.”

Xi Yu really did not respond; the surroundings were quiet beyond belief.

Yu Nianyi shifted her feet. The next moment, she brushed against a somewhat unfamiliar ankle, warm to the touch. She lowered her eyes to look at Xi Yu, who still had her eyes closed and showed no reaction at all as she slept.

Yu Nianyi turned over. The hand at her waist slipped to her back; she lifted a foot and gently rubbed against the ankle that peeked out slightly beneath Xi Yu’s blanket, then leaned up a little and pressed a kiss to Xi Yu’s forehead, opening her arms to hold her even tighter.

When she woke again, the room was still pitch-dark, while outside there was laughter and chatter, lively and bustling.

Yu Nianyi closed her eyes, and only after she had adjusted to the light in the room did she belatedly realize Xi Yu was already gone. She hurriedly sat up and opened the bedroom door; what met her eyes was Xi Yu’s back as she bent over to set down a plate.

Xi Yu turned back and looked at her with pinpoint accuracy. “Awake? I was just about to come get you…”

Yu Lan followed behind with dishes in her hands. She glanced at Yu Nianyi with a smile. “You slept a lot today. I bet you’ll be up late again tonight.”

“Come on, sit down and eat,” Yu Lan said, drawing Xi Yu to sit in the middle. She gave Yu Nianyi a look, and Yu Nianyi naturally sat to Xi Yu’s left; there happened to be a pair of chopsticks placed in front of her.

Zhang Ning was sitting off to the side, smiling at Yu Nianyi’s dazed expression. “Still not fully awake? Why do you look like your soul hasn’t come back yet? What kind of sweet dream were you having?”

Yu Nianyi hadn’t dreamed at all; from the moment she closed her eyes to the moment she opened them, she had slept soundly the entire time. The only thing on her mind, both before and after sleep, was Xi Yu.

The last episode of the cartoon finished playing on the TV. The children chattered for a while, then sat down one after another at the dining table. They’d been a little loud and energetic these past few days, but today, perhaps because an unfamiliar older sister had come, they were all somewhat quiet; they kept staring at Xi Yu without stopping, their eyes practically sparkling.

“All the dishes are ready.” Yu Lan sat down on her stool, waved a hand, and said with a smile, “Let’s eat.”

As soon as the children heard the cue, they stopped staring at Xi Yu. The first pair of chopsticks landed accurately on the fried dishes, and they began eating with their mouths full.

Yu Nianyi picked up her chopsticks and reached far out first to bring over the furthest halal fish, placing it into Xi Yu’s bowl.

Xi Yu paused with her chopsticks and looked at Yu Nianyi. “Thank you.”

Yu Nianyi laughed, then turned and picked up another stir-fried meat dish, placing it into Xi Yu’s bowl; then she picked up a vegetable dish and put that into Xi Yu’s bowl; then another, and another... As if afraid Xi Yu wouldn’t be able to reach anything, she sampled almost every dish on the table. She was especially attentive to the plating, even setting aside a separate plate for Xi Yu and circling around it like she was arranging flowers. In the end, she satisfied herself with a nod and drew her hands back.

Xi Yu looked at the fish and meat in her bowl, then at the colorful arrangement of meat and vegetables on the plate.

Zhang Ning looked at Xi Yu, then at the painstakingly attentive Yu Nianyi, and finally nodded meaningfully.

Yu Lan was stunned for a few seconds. She looked at her own daughter for a long while, then at Xi Yu; at last, she pressed her lips together and smiled.

“Sister, I want to eat that…” the little girl beside them poked Yu Nianyi’s arm and spoke up.

Yu Nianyi made a sound of acknowledgment, then nodded and said okay, putting the food into the little girl’s bowl.

The other children nearby looked at Yu Nianyi with jealous expressions. Yu Nianyi blinked, then made sure no one was left out and served them all too.

“Xi Yu, how does it taste?” Yu Lan suddenly asked with a smile. “These are all specialty dishes from our Lincheng. You can’t get them outside! Are they to your liking?”

Xi Yu nodded, swallowed what was in her mouth, and only then said, “Nianyi has mentioned Auntie’s cooking to me before. Tasting it in person now, it really is impressive.”

She paused, then added, “And everything Nianyi picked for me, I like very much.”

Yu Nianyi turned her head to look at Xi Yu. Xi Yu sat upright and proper, her hair neatly pinned up, her brows and eyes calm.

Yu Lan immediately burst out laughing. “If you like it, eat more! Auntie can make even more dishes tomorrow, and you should try those too!”

Xi Yu didn’t answer right away. After a pause, she said, “Okay. Thank you, Auntie. Sorry to trouble you.”

Yu Lan waved her hand. “What trouble? You’re being too polite!”

At the dining table, Yu Lan never had a spare moment; either she was attending to Xi Yu or urging the children to eat. The meal was eaten with great enthusiasm, and nearly every plate was cleaned.

Yu Lan and Zhang Ning had done the cooking, so after the meal it was Yu Nianyi’s turn to wash the dishes.

Xi Yu had originally wanted to help, but was firmly forbidden from doing so; she could only lean casually against the cabinet and wait in silence.

“How did Sister Xi Yu rest?” Yu Nianyi asked as she lowered her head and worked up a lather.

Behind her, Xi Yu hummed softly. “Thanks to getting some sleep, I feel much more relaxed.”

“That’s good,” Yu Nianyi said, scrubbing the grease from a plate. “Actually, just before I fell asleep, I was still talking to Sister Xi Yu. Then I waited a long time and didn’t hear you answer. When I looked down, you’d already fallen asleep. You looked really tired.”

Xi Yu walked over from behind to stand beside her, then lowered her eyes and asked softly, “What were you saying then?”

Yu Nianyi picked up another plate and scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed. She thought about it in silence, then for a moment couldn’t quite remember. She smiled at Xi Yu. “I forgot too. Sleepiness is contagious. I was actually a little sleepy myself then.”

Xi Yu withdrew her gaze slightly and said nothing.

“I thought going abroad meant going to have fun, but why does it feel like Sister Xi Yu was still working and going to the office? You still look so tired,” Yu Nianyi said casually as she rinsed the bowls and plates clean.

Xi Yu hummed. After a pause, she said, “There are some things that have to be done; once they’re handled, they won’t affect me anymore.”

Yu Nianyi gave an “oh,” then switched off the kitchen light and led Xi Yu into the living room. By then the children had already washed up and gone to bed. Yu Lan and Zhang Ning were in the bedroom, and the TV was still on, but no one was watching.

“Sister Xi Yu, is there any movie you want to watch?” Yu Nianyi pulled Xi Yu down to sit beside her, not letting go of her hand. Taking advantage of the lack of people around, she pinched it again and again, then giggled. “I’m not sleepy yet. We can watch something together.”

A slight curve appeared at the corner of Xi Yu’s lips. “Okay.”

Channel after channel was switched through. Yu Nianyi flipped back and forth until she chose a foreign film with an artistic-looking poster.

At first, the plot and pacing of the movie were still clear enough to follow. But later, as it played into the second half, Yu Nianyi gradually began to feel sleepy.

Maybe it was the warmth of the familiar person beside her, or Xi Yu’s unique scent, or perhaps the familiar warmth of their hands touching one another, but for some reason all of it made Yu Nianyi completely relax.

She stared at the figures moving on the screen, but her mind was nowhere near them.

No one knew how long had passed before Yu Nianyi heard Xi Yu say, “Before I came to Lincheng, I booked a hotel.”

Yu Nianyi nodded and let out the softest sigh. She lay half on Xi Yu’s body, unconsciously beginning to fiddle with Xi Yu’s fingers.

“I’ll leave after you’ve rested,” Xi Yu said.

Yu Nianyi withdrew her gaze from the screen and turned to look at Xi Yu’s face, the one she had been longing to see day and night. “I want to sleep with you.”