Chapter 82

Over the next week, the sky stayed gray and overcast for most of it. Kyoto’s climate was damp, and the smog was thick; once the sun went down, the whole city seemed to sink into an inescapable gloom. The gray-white clouds hung in huge, murky masses overhead, pressing down heavily.

After that meal, Yu Min disappeared again, vanishing without a trace once more.

Lately, Lin Baixin had been checking her Moments feed quite often. Business had slowed to a crawl in the off-season, and with nothing else to do, she kept fiddling with her phone and had somehow turned into one of those people glued to it all day. In the past, she only looked when she had messages; now she held her phone for most of the day. Even online, there usually wasn’t much to see; most of it was boring beyond belief.

Lu Dagun was deeply affected by this. The little one had fallen in love with videos. A couple of days ago, Jiang Zhou posted a video of her cat watching cat cartoons. Lin Baixin hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but afterward she’d searched for the same cartoon and played it for Lu Dagun. Unexpectedly, Lu Dagun became obsessed. From then on, whenever she put on that cartoon, it would stay glued to the tablet, as if it really understood what it was watching. Sometimes, when it got especially excited, it would even reach out a paw and scratch at the screen.

Besides the cat, Jiang Zhou didn’t post anything else. Yu Min had never appeared on her account. Before, there had still been little clues that they were together, but now there was nothing at all.

Jiang Zhou had said she’d come to the shop in a couple of days to look at bags, but she never showed. Lin Baixin didn’t know whether that had just been polite talk or whether she’d changed her mind and wasn’t planning to come.

The more likely possibility was that the most important person wasn’t coming, so Jiang Zhou wasn’t coming either. If no one accompanied her, then she wouldn’t go out.

Lin Qi had been in Jincheng for quite a while this trip, and her return date to Kyoto was still uncertain. Luoshu’s bar was doing very well, and he planned to open a second branch there. Lin Qi would help him get everything settled before coming back.

Even if she wasn’t there in person, the video calls never stopped. Business at the Jincheng branch had also been average lately, so Lin Qi would occasionally start a video call, and no matter whether she had anything to say, she always wanted to chat with Lin Baixin.

“I ran into Uncle Zhao. I went to see him, and they’ve bought a place here. Did you know that?”

Lin Baixin certainly knew. Uncle Zhao had even asked her about buying the house before, but she didn’t say so; instead, she answered casually, “They bought it, then. That’s their business.”

What Lin Qi wanted to talk about wasn’t that.

“Guess what—do you know where they bought the place?” Lin Qi asked mysteriously, then recited an address. “It seems pretty close to Minmin’s place. Could they have chosen it together? Honestly, buying a house and still clustering around each other like that, picking a place so close.”

Actually, it wasn’t that close; it was more than three kilometers away. Several streets over. But for people who lived in Kyoto long-term, that distance counted as quite close.

“Oh right, did Jiang Zhou go to our shop?” Lin Qi was not in Kyoto, but she somehow knew this side of things extremely well. Lin Baixin had mentioned it to Gu Yue only briefly; no matter what, Jiang Zhou was still one of their big clients, so they should be prepared to receive her properly. It must have been Gu Yue who told her.

“She didn’t. She said she would, then never came.” Lin Baixin told the truth.

“I haven’t seen her in ages. I thought she wouldn’t come again,” Lin Qi said. “I even sent her the address of our branch over here last time. She told me to keep any good bags for her, but then she still didn’t come.”

“She’s probably busy with something. She started a clothing design studio.”

“That I know.”

They chatted on video in fits and starts for more than ten minutes. Then Lin Baixin glanced over and saw Lu Dagun playing on the tablet in the corner of the screen, and Lin Qi exclaimed, amused and amazed, “Your cat is practically turning into a spirit; it’s just like a person. If it got any smarter, it might start talking.”

After ending the call, Lin Baixin played with Lu Dagun for a while. She took a photo of the cat watching the tablet and was going to post it to Moments, but in the end she gave up and didn’t send it.

Instead, she opened Jiang Zhou’s Moments feed, liked the video post, then hesitated for a long while before belatedly typing a comment: - Impressive.

After thinking it over, she deleted it, and even canceled the like.

That was weird. It was awkward. Who would go digging through someone’s video from two days ago just to like it, making it look as if they were snooping?

Lin Baixin was careful. That wasn’t appropriate. She didn’t do improper things.

On Monday, which was the next day, Jiang Zhou actually came to the shop. Lin Baixin was receiving another client at the time, and Gu Yue handled Jiang Zhou first, so Lin Baixin didn’t notice her. After she saw off the earlier client, it was Jiang Zhou who took the initiative to step forward and greet her before Lin Baixin realized she was there.

“I was busy over the weekend, and something came up at the last minute, so I was delayed by a day. I forgot to mention it to all of you. Boss Lin, please don’t take it to heart,” Jiang Zhou said sincerely. She’d also brought drinks with her, and with a smile she repeated the same opening Lin Qi had used. “I haven’t come to your place in a long time. Last time I even asked Seventh Sister to keep a bag for me, but afterward I forgot all about it. The studio’s been swamped from morning to night lately; it’s turned my brain to mush.”

Since she was here, she was an honored guest; Lin Baixin received her personally and didn’t neglect her at all.

Just as she had years ago, Jiang Zhou still picked things the moment she arrived; whatever she liked, she wanted it all. In no time at all, she’d selected more than a dozen bags.

“Your merchandise is still the best. No other shop can compare,” Jiang Zhou said with a smile. “Every time I come here, it feels comfortable. Boss Lin, you’re such an honest person; if I want a bag, you’re always willing to let it go. You’re much more straightforward than the counters.”

Lin Baixin replied evenly, “Miss Jiang, you’re too kind. We should be thanking you for coming so often and supporting our business.”

Jiang Zhou blinked and deliberately teased her. “In that case, can you give me a discount?”

Lin Baixin answered simply, “Yes.”

“Seventy percent off?”

“Okay.”

“I was joking. You took me seriously? Your prices are already low to begin with. If you gave me seventy percent off, what would be left for you to make? You’d practically be doing charity,” Jiang Zhou said, laughing and shaking her head. “Just give me a few accessories instead. I like little horses; can you throw in two more?”

Lin Baixin agreed. She said she could have as many as she wanted, and satisfied all of her requests.

When it came time to pay, not only did she give Jiang Zhou the horse charms, she also gave her the discount, charging her the actual seventy-percent price. Jiang Zhou felt so embarrassed that before the items were even wrapped, she picked out two more expensive bags; this time she didn’t want a discount and bought them from Gu Yue directly at the quoted price.

With such a big customer coming in, Lin Baixin, as the boss, personally carried Jiang Zhou’s bags and even drove her home. The address was the same as last time.

Jiang Zhou hadn’t driven over. Since the other party was willing to take her, she accepted without further protest and got into the passenger seat.

“Then I’ll trouble Boss Lin.”

By the time they dropped her off at her residential complex, it was already past four in the afternoon. This time they went down to the underground garage. There were too many bags, and Jiang Zhou couldn’t carry them all by herself, so Lin Baixin took care of everything to the end and carried most of them upstairs for her.

She lived on the sixth floor. At this hour the elevator was relatively empty, so the two of them rode up together. At the door, Jiang Zhou entered her fingerprint passcode and, without another word, brought Lin Baixin inside. Since she’d come all this way, she naturally had to invite Lin Baixin in to sit and have something to drink.

There was no one else in the house; the other person living here still hadn’t come back.

At the entrance, Lin Baixin was about to change her shoes before going in. Jiang Zhou tossed aside the paper bags in two quick motions and came to help her. Lin Baixin’s sharp eyes immediately took in the whole shoe cabinet. Most of the shoes were flats; there were a few pairs of high heels, all in fairly similar styles, and there weren’t any slippers set aside specifically for guests.

Jiang Zhou searched for a long time before finally finding a new pair that Lin Baixin could wear. The young lady was severely lacking in common sense, or perhaps for some other reason; she didn’t seem very familiar with the place, fumbling around for ages without knowing where anything was. She opened one cabinet after another and even pulled open the sideboard, rummaging through it.

“I don’t come back often, so I’ve forgotten a bit. Ugh, I hate looking for things the most; I just can’t remember where anything goes,” Jiang Zhou complained. “Boss Lin, try these. They should fit.”

After entering, the scene in the room matched the photos Jiang Zhou had sent.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Baixin scanned the whole living room but couldn’t find Jiang Zhou’s cat. Jiang Zhou, without thinking, blurted out, “Tuanzi? It’s at my friend’s plac—” The word seemed to catch in her throat. The sound of “place” changed halfway through, as if she’d bitten her tongue; she forcibly cut it off in the middle, then smoothly continued, “It’s with a friend of mine right now. It’s not here lately. I’ve got things to do, so I can’t look after it.”

The things in those photos really did come in pairs; everything was doubled.

“Sit wherever you like,” Jiang Zhou said, opening the fridge. “Boss Lin, what would you like to drink? Soda okay?”

Lin Baixin wasn’t picky.

So soda it was. They sat down. Neither of them was in a hurry; both were free. Jiang Zhou wanted to find a cup, but she probably wasn’t familiar with where things were stored, because she wandered around for ages and still couldn’t find one.

Lin Baixin couldn’t stand watching anymore and finally said, “Inside the sideboard, second shelf on the left.”

Jiang Zhou did as told; she opened the cabinet, and sure enough, it was there.

“Boss Lin, how did you know that?” Jiang Zhou asked in surprise. “You’ve never even been here before; do you have x-ray vision?”

“I guessed,” Lin Baixin said.

“You guessed so accurately. That’s amazing.”

“Mm.”

She would leave after sitting for a while. Lin Baixin wouldn’t stay here too long, and Jiang Zhou didn’t try to keep her. Instead, she sent her downstairs. Before Lin Baixin got into the car, Jiang Zhou was still the same as always, telling her to let her know if any good bags came in; she wanted them all. Then she said, “Boss Lin, you know how it is. Some bags are impossible to get. If they’re gone, they’re probably really gone; there’s no guarantee you’ll find another one. If you sell them to someone else, then I’m the one who loses out.”

At a time like this, the proper response would be to promise to keep one for her, the way one did with all customers. But Lin Baixin didn’t say that. She looked at Jiang Zhou, the words stuck in her throat, unable to come out.

.

The hospital was, in theory, supposed to get off work at six-thirty today, but Yu Min didn’t get home until eight. When she came in, the coffee table area had been left in a mess; Jiang Zhou only cared about unpacking the bags and didn’t bother cleaning up. Aside from the bags, everything else had just been tossed aside casually, extremely careless.

Hearing the door open, Jiang Zhou looked up. Before Yu Min could say anything, she said first, “I went to Boss Lin’s place.”

Yu Min set down her bag, hung it up by the door, changed her shoes, and didn’t have much of a reaction.

Jiang Zhou asked, “Do you want to go next time?”

“No.”

“I asked Boss Lin to keep me a bag.”

“Mm.”

At least she was somewhat respectful of the other person. Jiang Zhou would still act first and report later; at least she made sure Yu Min knew, openly testing her attitude.

“If you don’t want me to go, then I won’t next time.”

Yu Min’s attitude was neutral.

“Go if you want to go.”

“I’m afraid you’ll be mad.”

“It’s not that serious.”

“Really?” Jiang Zhou tilted her head. “I don’t believe you. You’re so petty.”

“……”

“Does it look good?” Jiang Zhou shook the leather bag in her hand. She was very fond of today’s haul. “How does this go with my new dress? Doesn’t it match pretty well?”

Yu Min couldn’t remember which new dress she meant. The weather had turned warmer lately, and Jiang Zhou had bought a lot of new dresses; the closet was almost too full to hold them.

“The white one. The one you went shopping with me to buy last time. You even said it didn’t look good,” Jiang Zhou reminded her.

“It’s okay. Average,” Yu Min said.

“Then which bag do you think goes better with it? Help me pick. I’ve got business tomorrow; emergency rescue.”

“The gray one.”

“No, it doesn’t match.”

“……”

After working all day, physically and mentally exhausted, Yu Min didn’t have the energy to argue. She sat down and started scrolling through her phone, planning to order takeout, but after failing to find anything she wanted, she threw the phone aside, got up, and was about to take a shower. She wouldn’t eat; she’d shower and go to sleep.

Jiang Zhou was extremely good at reading the room; she was practically the worm in Yu Min’s stomach, and volunteered eagerly, “Go wash up. I’ll make you something to eat. I just learned how to cook noodles recently; they’re really good.”

Yu Min refused, “No need.”

“Why?”

“I’d still like to live a little longer.”

“If you don’t eat and just go hungry like this, do you think you’re immortal? Can you survive on wind?”

“Yeah. If I don’t eat, wind is enough.”

Jiang Zhou couldn’t quite process that for a while. Only after some time did she realize she was being looked down on; her cooking was so awful that Yu Min simply wouldn’t eat it.

She shouted that she was going to settle accounts with Yu Min, furious that she’d been given no face at all. It was hurtful. How could she do that!

By the time Yu Min came out of the shower, the takeout Jiang Zhou had ordered had already arrived. If she wouldn’t eat what Jiang Zhou made, takeout should be fine, right?

This time Yu Min wasn’t picky. She opened the packaging and ate.

Jiang Zhou sat across from her, honestly explaining what she’d done when she called Lin Baixin over, going into all the details. After a while, seeing that Yu Min’s expression didn’t look great, she probed again: “You really aren’t mad at me?”

Yu Min said, “No.”

“It doesn’t really look like it. We should make this clear now; I’m afraid you’ll settle accounts with me later.”

“I won’t.”

“Was I too pushy?”

This time Yu Min didn’t deny it. She picked up a chopstickful of greens; with her eyes lowered and her expression unreadable, she said softly after a long moment, “Don’t do that again. I don’t like it.”

Jiang Zhou froze. She didn’t keep acting shameless or make a fuss. She looked at her again and again, realizing she was serious; it took her a while before she finally spoke.

“Okay. I won’t next time. I won’t interfere.”