Chapter 41

After spending more than ten minutes alone to calm down, Yu Min’s bad mood had eased. Her burst of anger had come and gone just as quickly. By the time Lin Bai Xin came looking for her, Yu Min was back to normal. She had always had a quick temper, but a short while ago she’d explained that she was only fooling around with Lin Qi and that Lin Qi was the one lying. She hadn’t really been angry at all.

“Don’t believe Sister Lin Qi. She just likes to mess with people,” Yu Min said, already pressing the emotion on her face back down until it was hidden. She looked perfectly normal.

Lin Bai Xin didn’t think much of it and went along with her. “Then just ignore her. She’s always been like that.”

“I know. I didn’t pay her any mind.” Yu Min sounded casual. “Are you done with work?”

“Not yet,” Lin Bai Xin replied. “I just took a break and came to check on you.”

Hearing that, Yu Min lifted her head and looked at Lin Bai Xin, letting out a soft “ah.” She had come to see her. Lin Bai Xin had been swamped today; she’d come in early that morning and stayed busy until noon without even having time to eat. And yet she’d still made a point of coming to find her. Yu Min’s eyelids twitched, and the tight, stifled feeling in her chest vanished at once, leaving her much lighter than before.

“Unhappy?” Lin Bai Xin asked directly.

Yu Min denied it. “No. I’m not.”

“It doesn’t really look that way. You’ve seemed off all day,” Lin Bai Xin said, still watching her. “Want to talk to me later?”

Yu Min didn’t want to talk. Knowing she couldn’t hide it from the other woman, she made it clear that she didn’t want to say anything.

“It’s nothing serious. I can handle it myself.”

“I’m just worried.”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing.”

Lin Bai Xin had always been reasonable about this sort of thing. “Then tell me when you feel like talking.”

Yu Min agreed. “Okay.”

What worries could a girl her age really have? Most likely it was just family trouble, school trouble, or problems with people around her. Lin Bai Xin rubbed the top of her head and felt reassured. Later, when she had time, she took Yu Min into her office to watch dramas, keeping her away from Lin Qi so Lin Qi wouldn’t come over and be annoying again.

Yu Min was an honest child through and through. She felt it was wrong to take her anger out on Lin Qi; Lin Qi wasn’t a bad person, and she hadn’t actually said anything too harsh anyway. At the very least, it hadn’t been directed at her. So in the afternoon, Yu Min bought a cup of coffee and handed it to Lin Qi as an apology for the morning.

Lin Qi had thick skin and hadn’t taken it to heart at all. When she accepted the coffee Yu Min bought, she looked completely baffled, especially after noticing that the coffee was only for her and Lin Bai Xin didn’t have one. Lin Qi looked as if she’d won the lottery, and she kept asking, “Minmin, did you give this to the wrong person? This cup is for me, not Lin Bai Xin?”

“For you,” Yu Min said firmly, though she held back the apology and didn’t say a single word of it.

As if she were holding some priceless treasure, Lin Qi was overjoyed. She even deliberately went to circle in front of Lin Bai Xin and show off her coffee.

“Look at this. Your little sister bought me coffee. Tsk, tsk—only I got one. None of you did.” Lin Qi narrowed her eyes, smug to the extreme, her tail practically in the sky. “Oh, I just had one not long ago. I wasn’t planning to drink one this afternoon, or I won’t be able to sleep tonight. But since Minmin is being so thoughtful, it’d be rude if I didn’t drink it. That would be so ungrateful. Um—why don’t you split half a cup with me? I’ll be generous for once. Don’t go around saying I never think of you, okay?”

Lin Bai Xin couldn’t stand her acting like a clown and threw a pillow at her, but missed. Lin Qi laughed anyway, clearly delighted by Lin Bai Xin’s reaction.

A little later, when Lin Bai Xin had time, she deliberately asked Yu Min, “Where’s my coffee?”

Yu Min blinked. “What?”

“You didn’t buy me one,” Lin Bai Xin said bluntly. “Lin Qi has one, but I don’t.”

Lin Bai Xin had already had coffee that morning; Yu Min had even made her hand-brewed coffee. Too much of it wasn’t good for the body, so Yu Min hadn’t bought her one.

Now that Lin Bai Xin was asking right in front of her, Yu Min froze. She couldn’t conjure a cup of coffee out of thin air, so she could only stare at Lin Bai Xin blankly, at a loss.

“I... I’ll buy you one tomorrow,” Yu Min said after a moment, her excuse embarrassingly flimsy. “They sold out today. There was only one left of that flavor, and I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”

Having gotten what she wanted, Lin Bai Xin didn’t press further. She knew when to stop and said gently, “I don’t want hers. Get a different one.”

“Then what kind do you want?”

“An Americano.”

“Mm, okay.”

Tomorrow was Monday; Yu Min couldn’t personally buy it and deliver it to the person in question the way she had today. Lin Bai Xin had only said it casually, but Yu Min took it seriously. The next day at noon, she really did bring coffee over; not by delivery, but in person.

Lin Bai Xin was at the shop then. When Yu Min suddenly showed up, the employees were all surprised; they assumed she must have had something urgent to do to come rushing over in the middle of the school day. When they saw her holding a cup of coffee, even Lin Bai Xin was stunned, having never expected her to actually do it.

Yu Min had to leave immediately after delivering the coffee or she’d miss her afternoon class. She’d taken a taxi, and after handing it over, she barely had time to say a few words before she had to run.

Lin Bai Xin called after her. “Wait.”

Yu Min was anxious; she’d rushed too hard and couldn’t even catch her breath properly. She looked a mess, checking the time as she turned back, afraid she’d be late for class. After glancing back once, she was already ready to run again, hurrying off to catch another taxi.

“Stand there. Don’t move,” Lin Bai Xin said again. Seeing that she really couldn’t be stopped, she had no choice but to call her by both her surname and given name. “Don’t move; wait there.”

“I’m running out of time. I have class this afternoon,” Yu Min explained.

“I know.” Lin Bai Xin looked completely helpless as she took out her car keys and gave them a shake. “Don’t take a taxi. I’ll drive you back.”

A cup of coffee had turned into a whole back-and-forth, creating extra trouble for both of them. Luckily, neither of them minded the inconvenience. Lin Bai Xin, especially, even stopped by a restaurant on the way and picked up a boxed meal. Knowing Yu Min had definitely come on an empty stomach, she brought her food to eat on the way.

“I’m not hungry. I just ate some snacks,” Yu Min said, taking the boxed meal.

Lin Bai Xin started the car and leaned in slightly to fasten Yu Min’s seat belt for her. “Even if you’re not hungry, eat it.”

Yu Min sat up straight, pressed tightly against the seat. Lin Bai Xin’s hand brushed the side of her waist; it wasn’t deliberate, just a fleeting touch. Yet Yu Min immediately went stiff, and at the same time, her body seemed to go weak again, beyond her control.

Driving was more convenient than taking a taxi, and faster too. There wasn’t much traffic at noon, so a press of the accelerator got them to school quickly.

Yu Min still ate the boxed meal. She had actually been hungry; she’d been hungry on the way to buy coffee. Halfway there, her stomach had even growled twice. She’d pressed a hand to her lower abdomen, mortified that her lie had been exposed.

She couldn’t bring herself to say things like “Don’t bring it next time.” When Lin Bai Xin parked at the back entrance, she unbuckled Yu Min’s seat belt again. In theory, that should have been the end of it, but this time Lin Bai Xin even sent her all the way to the building where her classroom was and watched her go upstairs.

Yu Min only started running once she was upstairs; if she didn’t run, she really would be late. She made it into the classroom just as the bell was about to ring. Only after sitting down and opening her bag did she realize her books had been left in the car. Fortunately, the class monitor was sitting beside her and lent her his notes to look at together.

Lin Bai Xin hadn’t left; more accurately, she had come back. After the first lesson ended, the book Yu Min had forgotten was brought in by Lin Bai Xin and placed neatly on her desk.

She had been so flustered and rushed that she’d even forgotten her book. Yu Min slapped her forehead. The class monitor studied Lin Bai Xin’s back and quietly said to Yu Min, “I thought I was seeing things just now; turns out that really is your sister. She waited out there for so long.”

Yu Min had been fully focused on class and hadn’t known Lin Bai Xin had been waiting outside the whole time. She followed the direction Lin Bai Xin had gone, but the other woman had already left the classroom and was no longer visible.

Even though she was no longer tired, her chest still gave a little jump, as if something had filled it, swelling gently inside. This time it didn’t feel sour; instead, it felt bright and light, a small, quiet satisfaction.

Yu Min stared at the classroom door and flipped open her book, rubbing the paper with her fingertips until the bell rang. Only then did she reluctantly pull her gaze away.

“Stop looking. Class is starting,” the class monitor whispered, waving a hand in front of her face.

As soon as school ended that evening, Yu Min rushed to the school gate and headed home. Just as she’d thought, when she got back, Lin Bai Xin was already there.

Yu Min had known Lin Bai Xin would get home first; she didn’t know why she was so sure, but she just did. When she walked in, Lin Bai Xin was sitting on the sofa, and Lu Dagun was curled up like a little dough roll at Lin Bai Xin’s feet. Both woman and cat were waiting for Yu Min.

Lu Dagun was the name Zhao Shiyu and the others had given the kitten. Originally they’d wanted Yu Min to name it, but she hadn’t been able to think of one yet. She’d sent a photo of the kitten to the group chat, and Zhao Shiyu, with her famously filthy mouth, said the little golden chinchilla looked like a rice-flour and bean-filling dough roll. Li Xue Ting and the others had agreed, and that was how the kitten ended up with that name.

Lu Dagun adapted amazingly well; on the day they brought it home, it was already bold enough to wander all over the house. It wasn’t afraid of strangers, didn’t make much noise, and loved clinging to people. It had an almost perfect personality for a pet.

Yu Min went over to hold the cat, tossed aside her backpack, and after cuddling it for a while, sat down beside Lin Bai Xin and didn’t get up again.

Lu Dagun was round-headed and round-bodied, adorable and lovable. Once its owner petted it, it contentedly lifted its chin and purred.

Yu Min asked, puzzled, “Why does it always meow like this? It does it every time I pick it up.”

Lin Bai Xin said, “That’s just how it is.”

“How strange,” Yu Min said. Lu Dagun rubbed against her hand, then started licking its fur, and even licked her a couple of times. Yu Min was ticklish, so she quickly set the little thing down and pulled her arm away.

When she lifted her hand, Lu Dagun even stretched its head toward her, thinking she was about to pet it again. But she didn’t. The kitten’s little brain didn’t work very hard; with its round eyes fixed on Yu Min, it stopped licking itself, scooted closer, climbed up, flopped down with a soft thud, then turned its head toward Yu Min and pointed its rear at Lin Bai Xin.

The space between them was just right for Lu Dagun to sprawl out its whole plump body.

Lin Bai Xin reached out and stroked Lu Dagun once, making sure the little one’s expectations weren’t left hanging. Very quickly, Lu Dagun started purring again, and the sound was surprisingly loud, almost like snoring.

“You didn’t go to work this afternoon?” Yu Min asked, turning her head to guess.

Lin Bai Xin said, “I didn’t go. There are enough people at the shop; I can skip one day.”

Yu Min nodded, then asked bluntly, “Because of me?”

Since she’d already asked, Lin Bai Xin admitted it. “Mm. Because of you.”

“So you were waiting for me to come back?”

“Mm. Waiting for you.”

Yu Min kicked off her slippers and drew her legs up onto the sofa, then said, “I thought I was wrong.” Knowing full well why the other woman had waited for her, Yu Min thought it over and only then told the truth completely. “I’m not angry anymore. I’m fine.”

Lin Bai Xin, just like before, asked, “You were in a bad mood yesterday because of me?”

“Not exactly.”

“Tell me.”

Yu Min didn’t know how to say it. Her back pressed hard against the sofa as she sat in silence for a long time, then finally laid out all her tangled, winding feelings without leaving anything out.

“I don’t want you and that person... Song Chu... to be too close. I don’t like it.”