Chapter 46
This wasn’t the first time she’d asked something like that. She’d asked once before; this was the second time.
Both times, Lin Baixin’s answer had been more or less the same, but Yu Min’s mood was like a roller coaster: once she soared with all her strength, and once she plunged out of control. This time, she was even greedier. She wanted not only permission to stay, but also those unrealistic hopes.
Not getting what she wanted was inevitable, and she knew it. So was disappointment and sadness; the outcome was no surprise at all.
Yu Min was only making herself miserable, chasing pain where there was none.
“How can friends stay together forever? That’s not realistic.”
Li Xue Ting, who had been quiet for a long while, sighed miserably over the phone. She sighed three times in one sentence; she still hadn’t gotten used to studying away from home on her own, and this semester she’d gone right back to counting the days on her fingers. It had only been a short while, and she was already wailing again, calling Yu Min every day on video.
“I think I finally get it now. You can’t have everything. Where in the world is there such a good deal?” Li Xue Ting sounded full of wisdom, rattling on as if she were reciting a hymn. “People move upward, so leaving our Siping County was inevitable for me. I could never have stayed there for the rest of my life. And I chose this major, didn’t go to Kyoto with you guys, and ended up far away from you, far away from my dear parents. In the future, seeing each other less and less will definitely be the norm. Separation—that’s my life lesson. I’ll be tangled up with it for the rest of my life, and there’s no escaping that fate.”
Yu Min didn’t feel too good hearing that. She found herself identifying with her own current situation and couldn’t help retorting, “It’s not that bad. You can come see us, and we can go see you too.”
“You’re coming to see me?” Li Xue Ting perked up at once, her thoughts jumping all over the place. “When?”
“I don’t know. I basically have classes every day now; wait until I have time.” Yu Min paused. “Maybe during the break.”
Li Xue Ting instantly wilted and went back to looking listless and aggrieved, staring at the screen with heavy resentment. “I thought you were coming, and I was happy for nothing. Figures. I knew it—there are three of you, and all three are studying medicine. One busier than the next. Who would have time to care about me, this ‘left-behind child’? I’m just like those kids with parents who don’t love them, pitifully waiting for you people, but you all have no heart and no time to deal with me. I can only wait all alone, and who knows when this will end.”
“...”
“I’m so pitiful.”
“...”
“Honestly, the more I say it, the sadder I get.” Li Xue Ting shook her head, her face nearly filling the whole camera. After complaining, she got down to business. “Do you miss me?”
Yu Min answered honestly, “Just okay.”
“What do you mean, just okay? Hurry up and say it—do you miss me or not?”
“A little.”
“That’s great!” Li Xue Ting looked like she was about to jump up, grinning brightly. “I’m coming over to your side this weekend. Come out and play then; don’t stand me up.”
She’d finally decided to take a spontaneous trip, and she’d already made plans with Zhao Shi Yu and her sister. The only one left was Yu Min. Yu Min had no classes this weekend and no other study plans, so she definitely had time to go out.
Yu Min agreed to meet Li Xue Ting at the gate of X University on Saturday morning, then turned to tell Lin Baixin and ask whether Lin Baixin needed her at home or had anything else planned. If not, she’d go out with her friends.
Lin Baixin didn’t need her for anything and had no special arrangements.
“Do you want me to drop you off? Pick you up at night?”
“No need. I’ll go by myself,” Yu Min said. “I’ll probably be back very late tonight, so don’t wait up for me.”
“Alright.” Lin Baixin was probably going to stay at the shop for most of the weekend unless something unexpected happened, and also meet a regular customer from the shop for afternoon tea. “I should be at the shop most of the time. If you need me to pick you up, call anytime.”
Yu Min agreed. “I’m going out on Sunday too.”
“Go ahead. Have fun. If nothing comes up, you can take your friend sightseeing,” Lin Baixin said.
Lin Baixin had always been open-minded, unlike other parents who controlled every little thing when young people went out, even setting curfews. Even though she knew Yu Min didn’t lack spending money, half an hour later Lin Baixin still transferred 6,000 yuan to Yu Min’s blue payment app as weekend money.
But after receiving the transfer, Yu Min couldn’t feel happy at all. She didn’t want the money. She understood that Lin Baixin was treating her like a dependent child, the way some parents did; it was how an elder treated a younger one, not how people of the same generation should interact.
She transferred the 6,000 yuan back and refused to accept Lin Baixin’s concern as an elder’s. -No, I have money.
Lin Baixin replied on WeChat: -Take it. Count it as me treating you all to a meal.
Yu Min: -No.
No matter whether she wanted it or not, Lin Baixin transferred it again, with a note: Don’t send it back again. It’s a hassle to keep transferring it back and forth.
Looking at the message on her phone, Yu Min finally gave up on sending it back again. After more than half a day, during a break between classes, she transferred the money to Lin Baixin too, saying: -Then I’ll treat you and Sister Lin Qi and the others to milk tea. Keep it.
If there was give and take, then it was equal. Yu Min firmly believed that. Only when Lin Baixin accepted the money without hesitation did she feel a little better, a little less stifled.
At two in the afternoon, Lin Baixin sent a photo of the milk tea order arriving at the shop:
-The others all said thank you.
Yu Min replied: -You’re welcome.
Lin Baixin kept an iced Americano for herself and was in a hurry to head out to meet a client, so after a couple of messages, that was the end of it.
A little later, Lin Qi also sent a message, along with a photo of Gu Yue and the others holding up their milk tea, and another of Lin Baixin from behind with the iced Americano in hand:
-Your sister said the coffee is pretty good.
-She likes it more.
-Our little Minmin is so thoughtful. Touched~
-Crying emoji / jpg.
Yu Min saved the back-view photo first, then replied to Lin Qi: -Glad you like it.
Lin Qi joked: -I like the custard buns from that new place across the street. Can I ask you to treat us to those next time?
Yu Min: -Sure.
Lin Qi:
-Heart hands~
-I never thought I’d get to bask in your sister’s light.
Lin Qi was always irreverent, and even when she couldn’t see Yu Min, she still had to tease her a couple of times: -If it weren’t for your sister, would you still treat us this well?
Yu Min: -No.
Lin Qi: -How heartless.
Lin Qi: -Who could compare to your sister? You hopeless sister-con.
Yu Min: -I’m not.
Lin Qi: -Oh, so I’m not the one who got dumped then.
Yu Min: ...
On Friday night, Li Xue Ting arrived in Kyoto a day early, and Yu Min went to pick her up at the airport. After not seeing each other for more than a semester, Li Xue Ting had gotten much darker. Yu Min mistakenly thought she’d just gotten tanned from military training and hadn’t lightened up yet, but Li Xue Ting waved that off and started complaining as soon as they met.
“Military training is nothing. You have no idea—we still drill every day. Physical training nearly killed me. Luckily, I’m healthy and can hold up, or else I’d probably have been worn out and unable to leave school.”
Li Xue Ting was staying at a hotel near X University, and she wanted to drag Yu Min to stay with her too. Being alone was lonely and boring, and she hoped Yu Min would keep her company.
Yu Min hesitated for a long time, but in the end still didn’t agree. She tried to negotiate: “How about I video call you when I get back? Would that work?”
“Your Baixin-jie doesn’t let you stay out? You can’t come back home?” Li Xue Ting misunderstood completely and didn’t think for a second that Yu Min simply didn’t want to stay over.
Yu Min went along with it vaguely. “She’d worry if I didn’t go back.”
“What’s there to worry about? It’s not like we’re going somewhere far away. We’re so close. Forget it, it’s fine—you can go back. I can understand. My mom’s like that too. I didn’t even dare let my parents know I was coming this time, or they’d have nagged my ears off.” Li Xue Ting sympathized with her deeply and patted her shoulder. “Poor kid. You’re in college and still not free.”
It was already nearly ten-thirty at night, and Yu Min still hadn’t received a single message from Lin Baixin. Taking a taxi back, she flipped through WeChat, then through her texts and missed calls.
Contrary to what Li Xue Ting said, the reality was that Lin Baixin didn’t control Yu Min at all.
Looking at her phone screen, Yu Min unconsciously bit her lower lip. Maybe she had some kind of masochistic tendency; deep down, she actually hoped Lin Baixin would keep an eye on her, wouldn’t let her run around everywhere, wouldn’t let her come home late, and would call her over and over until her phone almost burst. She wanted her to be possessive.
She wasn’t afraid of being restrained. She wanted that even more; she wanted Lin Baixin’s attention, wanted the other woman’s concern at every moment.
When she got home, Lin Baixin was already waiting in the living room. Seeing Yu Min return, Lin Baixin stroked the furry head of Lu Dagun and said only, “You’re back.”
Yu Min walked over. Lu Dagun wriggled out of Lin Baixin’s hand and immediately padded over to greet her.
They chatted casually for a while. Yu Min asked whether work had gone smoothly today and what she herself had done tonight. When answering Lin Baixin’s questions in between, she was quiet and didn’t really... rather, she didn’t want to open her mouth and talk.
After a moment of silence, she looked down at the cat and said softly, “You didn’t call me today.”
Lin Baixin didn’t remember promising to call her today. She turned slightly, thought for a moment, then replied, “I was a bit busy today. Sorry.”
“You weren’t worried about me?” Yu Min said dully, her voice very low.
Lin Baixin didn’t answer that head-on. Instead, she asked again in a gentle voice, “Did something happen?”
Yu Min went silent again. After half a minute, she said, “No, I was just mentioning it.”
Even though Lin Baixin could tell something was off, she didn’t press further. She was still the same as ever; if Yu Min didn’t want to say, then she wouldn’t dig.
Early the next morning, Yu Min went to the hotel to find Li Xue Ting. She was irritated and didn’t want to stay at home.
At the latest, Lin Baixin had to go to the shop by eight, so staying there was no use anyway.
Li Xue Ting was already done with her makeup and waiting. The four of them took a taxi to Niujie to buy buns and ate there, then planned to bring back two portions for Zhao Shi Yu and Wen Yun.
“Hey, did Auntie Lin scold you yesterday?” Li Xue Ting blurted out. “Did she give you trouble? You said you’d video call me after you went back, but you never did. I didn’t dare call you either, afraid I’d get you in trouble.”
Getting her in trouble would have been fine... Yu Min took a sip of soy milk and defended herself, “Baixin-jie isn’t my mom.”
“Same difference. She’s so responsible and attentive toward you—if not a mom, then what is she?” Li Xue Ting teased with a grin. “Besides, moms are the best thing in the world. Your Baixin-jie is beautiful and kind; if she were your mom, you’d be the lucky one.”
Yu Min couldn’t stand hearing that. She hurriedly covered Li Xue Ting’s mouth and forbade her from spouting nonsense.
By the time they reached X University, it was already ten-thirty. The four of them had agreed to eat Japanese food at a trendy internet-famous restaurant, and that place happened to be near Lin Baixin’s shop.
The Japanese restaurant had a nice atmosphere; they’d booked seats in the main hall. Halfway through, Zhao Shi Yu was bouncing around restlessly and only went to the bathroom when she was desperate. Yu Min happened to want to go too, so she went with Zhao Shi Yu.
Passing by a private room, Zhao Shi Yu’s eyes sharpened; she seemed to spot something. After they came out of the bathroom, Zhao Shi Yu pulled Yu Min aside and said quietly, “I just saw someone who looks a lot like your sister.”
Not looks like her; it was Lin Baixin.
She and Song Chu were both at this Japanese restaurant; the two people in that private room just now were them.