Chapter 35

Because of that incident, the two of them only grew more awkward over the following week. That hard-to-explain, hard-to-name feeling of discomfort and tension lingered between them, shadowing every moment and standing like a wall in the way.

Yu Min was a little too reactive; her behavior had been far too obvious.

She’d been so rattled at the time that it took her two days to come back to her senses. The way she’d handled it really shouldn’t have gone that way. At the very least, she shouldn’t have faced it so anxiously and flustered, making everything so tense. But what was done was done; things had already come this far, and regretting it now was too late.

Yu Min silently berated herself and kept replaying the whole thing in her head. She hadn’t even been wearing long pants then; the parts that needed covering had been covered. Compared with pants, the hem had just been a little shorter. In truth, Lin Baixin probably hadn’t seen anything she shouldn’t have.

No, that wasn’t quite right either. She hadn’t worn anything under her top, but the collar had been buttoned neatly all the way up; nothing had slipped out, so that could be ignored.

As she mulled it over, she shook her head and hurriedly tried to toss those thoughts aside, afraid she’d go off track again if she kept dwelling on them. Yu Min quickly straightened out her thoughts, rubbed at her face, and pinched her cheeks hard.

These past few days, Lin Baixin had gone back to her usual routine: leaving for the shop in the morning and coming home at night. Lin Qi had indeed been out of town that week and wasn’t in Kyoto; the shop needed someone, and all the work had fallen on Lin Baixin alone.

Yu Min had known all of this for a long time, but because of that incident, Lin Baixin leaving early and coming back late inevitably made her think of it.

If only she’d stayed calm back then. She’d made it so neither of them could save face. Sigh.

In the evening, after taking a detour to stop by the shop, Yu Min used the excuse that she’d come out shopping with classmates and just happened to pass nearby, so she’d dropped in to take a look.

With New Year’s approaching, the shop had changed its decor. The whole place was full of festive color; compared with usual, there were more eye-catching red bags in the display cases.

The holidays were peak season, and limited-edition items like this sold best. By the time Yu Min arrived, Lin Baixin, who usually didn’t bother much with sales, was also out front helping customers. When the staff saw her come in, they greeted her one after another. Yu Min knew her place and didn’t disturb anyone; she found an empty corner by herself and sat down to wait.

After Lin Baixin finished helping a customer and came over, their interaction in front of others seemed fairly normal; it wasn’t nearly as awkward as it was elsewhere.

There was still a long time before closing, and later there would be more customers coming in to look at bags, so she couldn’t leave for the moment.

“Don’t wait for me. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to go,” Lin Baixin reminded her.

Yu Min said, “Mm, okay.”

She hadn’t come specifically to wait for Lin Baixin to get off work anyway; she’d just been bored and wandered over. She’d sit for a bit and then head back, without affecting the shop’s business.

“What about your classmates? Didn’t they come with you?”

“They went home. They couldn’t come.”

Lin Baixin took her at her word.

“Where did you go today?”

Yu Min casually gave her a place name with all the solemnity of a real answer, even daring to name a street near Lin Baixin’s university, as if it were all true. She didn’t blink, didn’t blush, and didn’t look the least bit guilty.

“We went to eat luzhu there in the morning. It was pretty good.”

“That place is still open?” Lin Baixin remembered the shop. “Who did you go with?”

“Classmates.” Yu Min was vague. “Just those few, from our class.”

“Your monitor and the others?”

“No, not them. People you’ve never met.”

Maybe because she was trying to make conversation, Lin Baixin asked a few more questions. She could tell Yu Min didn’t really want to say much, and her brows nearly knit together out of habit, but hearing that they weren’t people she knew, she relaxed again.

A customer with a reservation arrived early, and before they could talk much longer, a staff member came looking for Lin Baixin. She had to go. Before leaving, she said, “When you’re ready to head back, tell me. I’ll have them give you a ride home on the way.”

Yu Min watched her walk away. Only then did the back she’d been holding rigidly the whole time finally loosen a little, no longer quite so tense.

In the end, she went back to the neighborhood with the shop manager, Gu Yue. Sister Gu Yue was all smiles; once in the car, she chatted with Yu Min about all sorts of random things, mainly exam scores and the like. There wasn’t much a working adult and a student could talk about; the gap between them was too wide, and in truth, there were only so many topics they shared.

That night, Lin Baixin didn’t get home until ten. By then, Yu Min had already lain down and was getting ready to sleep. The instant she heard the door open, she almost got out of bed, but after sitting up halfway, she still paused. After a moment’s hesitation, she lay back down and didn’t go out.

Footsteps drew closer. The bedroom door was half open, and it was already too late to close it. Yu Min quickly pulled the blanket up, turned her back, and lay on her side facing the window, pretending to be asleep.

To get back to the master bedroom, Lin Baixin had to pass here. With her back turned, Yu Min couldn’t see what was happening outside; she could only listen.

When Lin Baixin passed by, she didn’t stop for long at all. She only paused for two or three seconds, likely just to check whether the person in the room was asleep. After confirming that Yu Min did seem to be asleep, she walked on.

Not long after, the sound of a door closing came from outside. All the lights were turned off, including the one in Yu Min’s room; Lin Baixin had switched it off for her. To avoid disturbing her, after returning to the master bedroom she even closed that door too, so the light wouldn’t affect her peaceful sleep.

Yu Min tugged the blanket higher over her chest and only turned over after a very long while, facing back toward the doorway.

She didn’t know why she’d hidden in the first place. It wasn’t as if she’d done anything wrong, or as if she were someone shameful to be seen. Yu Min tossed and turned, sometimes staring at the ceiling, sometimes burying half her face under the blanket, letting out a long sigh.

The next day, Lin Baixin unexpectedly didn’t go out early. She stayed home, still there even after eight.

Yu Min thought she might have something to do, maybe that she was waiting to go collect merchandise, so she wasn’t in a hurry. She dawdled through washing up; only after she was fully dressed and came out did she hear the other woman say, “Morning. Happy birthday.”

Yu Min had actually forgotten it was her birthday. She’d spent all day tangled up in her own thoughts and had completely put it out of her mind. Stunned for a moment, she only then realized it really was her birthday. Last time, Lin Qi had celebrated early for her, which had made her forget the actual day.

The reason Lin Baixin had stayed was to give her the present in person. This year it wasn’t something practical; it was a Cartier bracelet. Lin Baixin had chosen it especially. The style was better suited to young people, simple and clean, just the kind Yu Min liked.

“I booked a restaurant for tonight. I’ll come back at five to pick you up, and we’ll go there,” Lin Baixin explained. Now she really had to go to the shop. If she didn’t leave soon, she’d be late.

Yu Min took the gift and replied, “Mm, okay.”

Then she added, “Thank you.”

Lin Baixin picked up her bag and walked to the door. Just after opening it, she remembered there was still something she hadn’t said. She turned back and said it plainly: “Also, what happened last time—let’s leave it in the past. From today on, don’t think about it anymore. Tomorrow, it’ll be over and done with. Okay?”

She could tell Yu Min had been wrestling with it these past few days, so she brought it up again and apologized once more.

Yu Min clutched the gift awkwardly and looked into her eyes. After a while, she finally answered, “Okay.”

This time she wasn’t red all over. By the time Lin Baixin’s car had driven far away, Yu Min finally opened the gift. She wore the bracelet that very day, then started rummaging through her wardrobe and cosmetics to get ready for dinner that evening.

Tonight, it would just be her and Lin Baixin; no one else.

Li Xue Ting was a lifesaver. While Yu Min was flustered and scrambling around, she showed up just in time. She had originally called over video to send birthday wishes, and when Yu Min needed guidance, she stepped in without hesitation.

After a long time fussing over it, they at least managed to make her look presentable. The outfit was fine enough, but Yu Min’s makeup skills were not great. Li Xue Ting couldn’t fly over and do it herself, so she simply told her not to bother. She already had a good base; makeup would only make a mess. It was better not to wear any.

Yu Min wasn’t confident and doubted that would really work.

Li Xue Ting patted her chest and guaranteed it. “Relax. If you don’t trust other people, don’t you trust me? Who am I? We’ve been best friends for years. Would I lie to you? Come on, have some confidence in yourself, okay? Go look in the mirror and open your eyes wide. Even without makeup, you’re still a beauty. No, a super-duper beauty. Got it? You’re a big, big beauty. I learned makeup to make up for my natural shortcomings; you’re different. Even if you just splash plain water on your face, you’ll still look good.”

It was all a little too exaggerated. Flustered by the praise, Yu Min fiddled with her hair and started worrying about that instead.

“Should I do something with my hair? Would that make it look a little better?”

“Absolutely not. Leave it as it is. If you mess it up, it’ll be even harder to fix. You look great right now,” Li Xue Ting instructed. Only then did she get to the point, smiling slyly with a wicked little gleam of satisfaction, eyebrows waggling at the camera. “By the way, who are you going on this date with? Are you already officially together, or is it still in the flirting stage?”

Yu Min argued, “Neither. It’s not a date.”

“Liar. I don’t believe you. If it’s not a date, why are you getting yourself all dressed up? You’re definitely going to see your crush.”

“Don’t—”

“It is!”

“...”

Li Xue Ting nearly pressed her face against the screen, burning with curiosity. “Who is it? Tell me. Don’t hide it from me. I’m telling you, I already guessed it. You’ve been off ever since the exams ended, right? Is it someone from our high school? Do I know them?”

Yu Min refused to admit it. No matter what she was asked, she denied everything. Only when she could hide it no longer did she confess that she was going to have dinner with Lin Baixin.

But Li Xue Ting refused to believe it to her dying breath. “Don’t try to brush me off. I already know you and your Bai Xin jie get along well; who can compare with how you feel about her? But using her to fool me is wrong. What kind of relationship do we have? I’m not going around shouting it from the rooftops, and you’re still hiding it from me too? That hurts my feelings.”

Yu Min said, “It really is her.”

Convinced Yu Min was lying, Li Xue Ting wouldn’t believe her no matter what. Anyone could see she had feelings for someone; otherwise, there was no reason she’d go to this length.

If she didn’t believe it, then fine. Yu Min didn’t explain any further. After the video call ended, she still found her lipstick and put some on, applying it lightly. Since she hadn’t done any makeup, a heavy application would look very out of place; a thin layer made her complexion look better.

The restaurant Lin Baixin had booked was a French restaurant, with a very nice atmosphere. There was no cake today, but Lin Baixin showed up with a bouquet of baby’s breath, a gift of flowers for Yu Min.

It was warm inside the restaurant, but outside it was freezing. They still had to call a car and were standing by the roadside waiting. The wind on the street was strong, and the chill seeped straight down from her chin into her clothes.

Yu Min was afraid of the cold and couldn’t help moving closer to Lin Baixin. At first she followed just behind her, but before long she couldn’t stand the frost and leaned in even more, almost pressing her forehead against Lin Baixin’s back.

Lin Baixin laughed helplessly, but there was nothing she could do about her. Maybe she wanted to tease her a little. When she felt Yu Min come close again, Lin Baixin subtly leaned her upper body back. The movement was very small. Yu Min, completely unaware, didn’t stop in time and suddenly bumped into her.

Rubbing her forehead, Yu Min immediately went quiet and stopped backing away.

Lin Baixin turned around as if by accident and asked, “You okay?” As she spoke, she also touched Yu Min’s forehead, the warm back of her hand resting there.

Yu Min, for no reason at all, acted spoiled and said in a muffled voice, “No. It hurts..."

Author’s Note:

It’s the weekend again. Good evening, everyone.