Chapter 85

Yu Nianyi stared at the screen. The other side didn’t send anything else. She waited a few minutes, then set her phone somewhere she could still see it and raised her hand to keep painting.

Xi Yu didn’t message her again until eight o’clock that night.

[Xi Yu: I just went to the factory. I’m about to have dinner with the person in charge now.]

[Xi Yu: The flavors are richer, with a bit of spice. Maybe you’ll like it.]

By the time Yu Nianyi saw the messages, five minutes had already passed. She’d probably been so absorbed in her work that she hadn’t noticed them and had first thought it was some kind of promotional notification.

She quickly opened the chat box.

[Yu Nianyi: Okay. Sister Xi Yu, you’re working so hard [kiss]]

[Yu Nianyi: Will you be drinking at dinner?]

She stared at the screen. Less than two seconds later, the top of the chat showed that the other side was typing.

[Xi Yu: I will, but I’ll be careful.]

Yu Nianyi let her finger rest on Xi Yu’s avatar, then gently tapped it.

There was no reply after that. Yu Nianyi guessed Xi Yu was probably discussing business, so she turned off her screen and went back to painting.

The next day was the same, and somehow even busier than the two before it.

Xi Yu only asked around noon whether Yu Nianyi had eaten, as if she were especially worried about her meals.

Yu Nianyi said she was ordering takeout. Xi Yu didn’t say much else, only that if everything went smoothly, she should be back by noon the next day.

But that same evening, Yu Nianyi received a call from Sun Mengyao. Sun Mengyao said she and An Ning were already downstairs in Yu Nianyi’s residential complex.

Yu Nianyi gave her the building number, and it wasn’t long before the two of them came upstairs.

The script was the same as last time, and the scene and atmosphere were just as familiar.

Yu Nianyi somehow felt that while Xi Yu had been away these past few days, she’d been meeting these two older sisters more and more often.

Sun Mengyao and An Ning came into Yu Nianyi’s studio. At a glance, they saw the piece on the easel.

Sun Mengyao gave a light cough and casually looked around at the paintings displayed nearby.

“I didn’t expect you to have this many pieces.”

An Ning also nodded and walked straight over to look at Yu Nianyi’s new painting.

Yu Nianyi froze for a moment, subconsciously glancing at An Ning, then at Sun Mengyao standing a little farther away.

After all, this painting would be part of Sun Mengyao’s exhibition. As the gallery owner, and even one of the people reviewing the work, she really shouldn’t be staying here.

After looking for a while, An Ning patted Yu Nianyi on the shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not one of the reviewers. I just came to see your new work.”

Sun Mengyao, standing to the side and deliberately keeping her distance, nodded too, lowering her head to look at Yu Nianyi’s other paintings.

An Ning majored in traditional Chinese painting, but she seemed very interested in oils too. She studied Yu Nianyi’s paintings for a long time and offered her own unique insights, pointing out more than once what Yu Nianyi should pay attention to.

Yu Nianyi thanked her sincerely and immediately felt the gap between them.

They didn’t linger long. The three of them soon headed out.

“This time let me treat,” Yu Nianyi said in the car. “Last time it was always Sister Mengyao and Sister An Ning treating me, and you’ve helped me so much too.”

An Ning’s voice was warm. “No need to be so polite. We really do like you, and we like your work too.”

Sun Mengyao chimed in from the side. “You don’t need to feel pressured. What An Ning said is part of it, and another part is that if the exhibition gets a good response, you might still become an important collaborator for my gallery in the future. So of course I have to seize the chance to ‘bribe’ you now.”

Yu Nianyi’s eyes lit up; the corners of her mouth curved slightly as she said modestly, “Sister Mengyao thinks too highly of me.”

Sun Mengyao gave an amused sound and glanced at Yu Nianyi’s upturned lips in the rearview mirror. “Too highly? I don’t think so.”

An Ning quickly said to Sun Mengyao, “Don’t tease Nianyi anymore. There’ll be plenty of chances later.”

Sun Mengyao smiled and didn’t say anything else.

Yu Nianyi said, “No matter what, it’s helped me a lot, especially that painting.”

An Ning gave a soft laugh. “We’re happy if it helped you.”

In the end, they still listened to Sun Mengyao. Yu Nianyi just had to go along and eat; she didn’t need to worry about anything else.

After the three of them finished dinner, Sun Mengyao and An Ning even took Yu Nianyi back to their place to sit for a while. They even had a little to drink, then sent her home by car again.

Once Yu Nianyi got back, she washed up thoroughly. Whatever slight haze of alcohol there had been was completely gone.

Then she tied up her hair, sat down at her chair, and kept painting.

Some of the things An Ning had said left Yu Nianyi with a lot to think about. Only then did she realize, a little late, that some parts of the painting weren’t quite satisfying.

After meticulously refining the areas An Ning had pointed out, she looked up again and saw that it was already three in the morning.

When she opened her phone, there were two messages from Xi Yu.

[Xi Yu: I’m eating.]

A little later, [Xi Yu: It’s pretty late today. Are you asleep?]

[Xi Yu: Good night.]

The last message had been sent an hour ago. Yu Nianyi let out a long breath, glanced at the time, and after thinking it over, decided to wait until tomorrow morning to reply.

After all, it was already this late, and Xi Yu still had work to deal with.

She hadn’t expected to wake up already at noon.

Yu Nianyi jolted when she saw the time, then looked out at the bright midday sun. She picked up her phone again, and Xi Yu had just sent another message.

[Xi Yu: I’m short on time at noon today. I should get there around eight this evening.]

Yu Nianyi let out a breath of relief and replied that she understood, telling her she’d wait for her.

At last, when Xi Yu came back, Yu Nianyi hurriedly took a shower, then carefully blow-dried her hair until it was smooth and slowly combed it straight.

She sat in front of the mirror, looking left and right, then couldn’t help lifting her feet a little and humming twice.

Heh.

Finally, it wasn’t just through a video call on her phone. This time, they could really meet face-to-face.

She had to get there before Xi Yu, and she had to wear something eye-catching. She had to stand a little farther forward; she had to buy a beautiful bouquet of flowers; then they could hug and cling to each other for a while, and go eat together.

Yu Nianyi’s grin was practically stretching to her ears. Thinking about it, she laughed out loud again. Then she turned her head and suddenly saw Baby, newly awake, in its cage.

She rushed over at once, pulled Baby out, and kissed it hard once. Baby’s fluffy little face was squashed flat by the kiss; now it was tilting its head at her, looking absurdly funny.

Yu Nianyi laughed twice more, stroked Baby’s fur, and put it back. Then she sat back down in front of the mirror and started putting on makeup.

She hadn’t worn much makeup these past few days, so this time she deliberately spent extra time on it, making every part of it look extremely delicate. It took a full hour before she finally finished.

Looking at herself in the mirror, lightly made up, Yu Nianyi smiled smugly and checked herself over several times from top to bottom before nodding in satisfaction.

Her hair was already half dry. Yu Nianyi took off the drying cap, quickly blow-dried the rest, and began smoothing out every curl.

Her stomach started growling at that moment. After all, she’d slept until noon and hadn’t had time to eat.

She waited patiently until her hair was fully curled and it was almost four in the afternoon before she finally finished getting ready.

Yu Nianyi picked up her phone and opened the chat box, asking Xi Yu where she wanted to go for dinner.

After sending it, she walked to the wardrobe and started choosing the pretty clothes she would wear.

Halfway through, thinking she’d be seeing Xi Yu soon, she couldn’t help letting out another little “hehe,” then pulled her expression back into place and pretended to be composed.

Yu Nianyi picked a slim-fitting mint-green sweater and wore a pair of beige suit trousers. After dressing, she ran back to the mirror and looked herself over from left to right.

Buzz buzz.

Yu Nianyi strode over and picked up her phone, unlocking the screen.

[Xi Yu: Anywhere is fine. What do you want to eat?]

Yu Nianyi’s eyes curved; the smile on her face was impossible to hide.

[Yu Nianyi: I don’t know either. Anywhere is fine for me too. As long as I’m with Sister Xi Yu, everything tastes delicious.]

[The other side is typing…]

Buzz buzz.

[Xi Yu: [A little dog smiling sweetly with its belly exposed][animated image]]

Yu Nianyi smiled until her eyes curved shut, muttering to herself, “What is this?”

It was an emoji of a puppy smiling, rolling onto its back, and exposing its belly.

Yu Nianyi looked at it again and again, then Xi Yu sent another message.

[Xi Yu: I’m about to set off.]

Yu Nianyi glanced at the time. Four forty-five.

[Yu Nianyi: Okay. See you in a bit.]

[Xi Yu: See you in a bit.]

Even though Xi Yu said anywhere was fine, Yu Nianyi still went online and looked up restaurants with good reviews. Wangjie Restaurant and Jinghe Restaurant were places the two of them had eaten at more often, and this time she wanted something different.

After searching for almost an hour, Yu Nianyi picked out three decent places and saved them all before heading out to take a taxi.

Her destination was a flower shop about a kilometer from the airport. Yu Nianyi went there early and started by choosing flowers.

The shop was heavy with floral fragrance, rich and fresh. Yu Nianyi’s gaze moved over everything one by one; suddenly catching a scent that felt somewhat familiar, she said instinctively, “There’s jasmine too.”

The clerk beside her very perceptively picked up the thread. “Yes. If you like the light sweetness of jasmine, then this jasmine and white rose bouquet would be your best choice. It’s elegant and gentle, and it’s very suitable for a partner or a friend.”

Yu Nianyi looked down, then nodded. “Please help me wrap this bouquet up.”

“Of course.”

By the time she finished buying the flowers, it was already seven-thirty in the evening. Her stomach was growling again, and only then did Yu Nianyi belatedly realize she was hungry. She hurriedly called a car and went to the airport entrance. By then, the airport was already crowded and bustling.

She carefully avoided the passing crowd and finally found a supermarket, where she went in to buy some bread and water. She still had to leave room for dinner later, so she didn’t buy much.

After finding the place Xi Yu had told her about, she walked over to a chair not far away and sat down.

At that moment, her phone rang. It was Xi Yao calling.

“What are you doing?”

Yu Nianyi took a bite of bread, chewing mechanically while her eyes still kept drifting toward the arrivals exit. “Waiting for Sister Xi Yu at the airport.”

“My sister’s back?” Xi Yao clearly sounded happy too. “I didn’t even know. So she told you first.”

Yu Nianyi nodded and kept gnawing on the bread.

“It seems really crowded over there. What are you eating?” Xi Yao asked.

“Bread.”

“Why are you eating that?”

“I haven’t eaten all day, so I’m just filling my stomach for now.”

“What have you been so busy with that you still haven’t eaten all day?” Xi Yao exclaimed.

“I woke up at noon today, and after getting ready in the afternoon, I came out.”

“Oh, I get it. You were so happy knowing my sister was coming back that you couldn’t wait, right?”

Yu Nianyi curved her lips and answered with a smile, “Yeah.”

“Yeah, huh,” Xi Yao echoed. Then she said, “I was originally planning to take you to a restaurant Luo Luo and I recently found. Looks like that’s not happening now.”

“You and your wife should go enjoy something good!”

Yu Nianyi giggled, then raised her eyebrows and said, “You’re jealous because I have a wife.”

Xi Yao clicked her tongue twice, not sounding jealous at all. “I have one too. I have one too.”

Yu Nianyi seemed to think of something, and in a good mood said, “Come to think of it, does that make me your sister-in-law?”

There was a very obvious choking sound from Xi Yao’s end, as if she hadn’t reacted in time to Yu Nianyi still remembering that.

Yu Nianyi watched the crowd coming and going at the arrivals exit as she spoke. “Why did you suddenly stop talking? Is it because you’re just naturally not a talkative person?”

“……”

“Hello, Nianyi,” Luo Yiran answered the phone. “My sister has something to handle, so she asked me to talk to you.”

Yu Nianyi smiled proudly and was just about to speak when she suddenly caught sight of a tall, slender woman in a brown coat among the crowd.