Chapter 11

The softness under her palm made it very clear to Si Nanyu that Wen Qingyan’s figure wasn’t nearly as skinny as she looked.

Her concern had apparently been unnecessary.

And the misunderstanding was now thoroughly cemented. Si Nanyu’s face flushed scarlet as she stammered out an apology. “Teacher Wen, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. You just turned around so suddenly…”

“So if you put it that way, this is my fault?”

Wen Qingyan was so angry she actually laughed. The heat in her ears instantly cooled, and the arm she’d hidden behind her back crossed over her chest, her gaze turning appraising.

Looked at closely, it even carried a hint of frost.

Mortified, Si Nanyu’s eyes drifted, without her meaning them to, toward Wen Qingyan’s arm again as she kept trying to explain. “I really wasn’t… I just wanted to come help.”

“Then why did you reach out at all?”

“And what are you staring at now?”

Wen Qingyan’s chest rose and fell sharply, all because of Si Nanyu’s sophistry.

“I wasn’t…” Si Nanyu pulled her gaze away and hurried to explain.

But the explanation rang hollow.

She had taken advantage of Wen Qingyan, and there was no disputing that.

Si Nanyu bent at the waist and offered a solemn apology. “Teacher Wen, I’m sorry!”

She had no idea that the moment she bowed, Wen Qingyan’s eyes had reddened. The hand wrapped around her own arm quietly clenched, then loosened again as Si Nanyu straightened back up.

In some ways, Si Nanyu was utterly open and guileless.

But the more guileless she was, the angrier Wen Qingyan became.

Given the relationship they used to have, nothing Si Nanyu did would have mattered. It was how quickly Si Nanyu had withdrawn her hand that left Wen Qingyan’s feelings a tangled mess.

And now, even more so.

What… what was this supposed to be?

Wen Qingyan’s eyes stung. She turned her head away, refusing to look at Si Nanyu any longer, abandoned the unwashed bowl, and walked straight past her toward the bedroom.

She paid no mind to the footsteps trailing behind her.

Open the door, step inside, shut and lock it. Done in one smooth motion.

“Teacher Wen, please don’t be angry…” Si Nanyu’s muffled apology drifted through the door, but Wen Qingyan was past caring, tears already dampening her ears.

Her lips curled into a self-mocking smile.

Laughing at herself for being sentimental yet again, for daring to think Si Nanyu had changed and wanted…

To be close to her.

Wen Qingyan slept poorly, and Si Nanyu spent the whole night restless too.

She was woken in the early morning by Ribs. The dog was still wary of her, but clearly desperate to get out, and with Wen Qingyan not yet up, Si Nanyu was the only option left.

Sighing, Si Nanyu clipped on the leash and took Ribs out for a walk.

They didn’t go far. Once out of the residential complex, she stopped by the fresh market and a breakfast stall.

The grocery store here was tiny, but it covered the daily essentials. Si Nanyu picked up a few ingredients and headed back.

Since she’d gotten up so early, there was plenty of time to make breakfast.

Warm milk, along with ham, bread, and xiaolongbao. A generous spread.

She arranged everything on the table, washed up, and waited for Wen Qingyan to rise.

Just before seven-thirty, Wen Qingyan finally emerged from the bedroom, already washed and dressed. She lifted her eyes to Si Nanyu and said flatly, “I don’t drink milk.”

“I… I saw the black coffee in the cabinet, but… milk in the morning is n-nutritious.”

Si Nanyu stumbled through the words. Wen Qingyan’s hand paused on the coffee capsule, and she gave a soft laugh. “Oh, so you do know that?”

She had said those exact words to Si Nanyu thousands of times, yet Si Nanyu, devoted to her iced Americano, had never once listened.

Wen Qingyan had eventually given up saying it and let her do as she pleased.

Which was why she found it utterly laughable now.

She took a few sips of coffee, eyed the breakfast still steaming on the table, and urged the stunned Si Nanyu along. “You’ll be late for work.”

Whatever effort had gone into setting out breakfast now went into clearing it away.

Si Nanyu left in such a flustered scramble she nearly missed riding in Wen Qingyan’s car.

The car ride was silent as ever. Wen Qingyan didn’t want to talk, and Si Nanyu didn’t dare to.

Still, she kept sneaking glances at Wen Qingyan, all the way until they reached the subway station and Wen Qingyan parked. Eyes fixed straight ahead, she said, “Get out.”

“From now on, take the subway, or find some other way to work.”

The implication was crystal clear: Wen Qingyan would never be commuting with her again!

Si Nanyu’s face fell. She gave a small nod and got out.

Wen Qingyan was in a hurry; the moment the door shut, she drove off.

After that…

Things went exactly as Wen Qingyan had said they would. She refused the breakfast Si Nanyu prepared, ignored the WeChat messages asking what she wanted for dinner. The two of them lived under one roof and worked at the same school, yet they might as well have never crossed paths.

Si Nanyu’s mood sank lower and lower, all the way until Thursday.

She had no appetite at lunch, so she returned to the office early and basked in the sun on the second-floor balcony, her head a complete mess.

Then, not long before class, two figures appeared in the distance.

One was the smiling, baby-faced teacher she’d bumped into on Monday. Xu Jinghao, who shared her office.

The two of them had barely exchanged a word.

The other…

Was Wen Qingyan.

The two were chatting as they walked, and Wen Qingyan seemed to be in a rather good mood…

Until she looked up and spotted her, at which point her gaze went cold again.

Si Nanyu straightened up, craning her neck to watch Wen Qingyan, and as she watched, she noticed something shift in the other woman’s eyes.

They were too far apart for her to be sure exactly what it had become. All she knew was that it wasn’t as cold anymore.

The pre-class bell rang quickly. Si Nanyu had music class with Class Six first period that afternoon, so she could only tear her reluctant gaze away from Wen Qingyan.

On the way, she worked up her courage once more and sent Wen Qingyan a WeChat message.

“Teacher Wen, how about spicy crab for dinner tonight?”

This was a message she sent every single day. Wen Qingyan ignored them all, so she didn’t hold out much hope today either. She locked her phone after sending it and headed into Class Eight for her lesson.

After a full week of classes, Si Nanyu had grown comfortable at the job. Music appreciation still took up half the period, during which she checked her phone three or four times.

Only after confirming, again and again, that Wen Qingyan hadn’t replied did she focus on the class.

Walking back to the office after class, she kept glancing at her phone. Then, just as she was about to step inside, she spotted the teacher who’d been chatting so pleasantly with Wen Qingyan at lunch, standing out on the second-floor balcony with…

A girl who looked strangely familiar.

The girl was tall, with a high ponytail, her bangs hanging over her eyes and blurring her features.

But something about her felt inexplicably familiar.

Back at her desk, Si Nanyu found herself distracted, turning over why the girl had looked so familiar. Before she could get far, her phone rang out.

Two unread messages sat in her thread with Wen Qingyan.

One was a curt “Mm,” sent while she’d been teaching.

The other had just come in, a good seven or eight minutes after class had ended.

Wen Qingyan’s message carried a trace of emotion: “Are you making it or not?”

!!!!!

Si Nanyu shot bolt upright at her desk, so abruptly that it startled Yang Miao. “Nanyu, what’s wrong with you?”

Si Nanyu managed an awkward smile and said evenly, “N-nothing.”

Inside, she was screaming, ready to punch herself. How… how had she missed Wen Qingyan’s message?!!!!!

AHHHHH!!!!!

Her fingers flew across the screen in reply: “Yes yes yes! I’ll go straight to the market after work!”

Delighted with herself, Si Nanyu sent the message and settled in to wait out the workday!

The moment the bell rang, she bolted for the market.

Spicy crab, of course. On top of that, she bought vegetables and beef.

Then she pedaled home on the mountain bike that had been gathering dust in the underground garage.

She’d discovered the bike on a shopping app. The order dated back half a year; she’d gone down to look one early morning and found it practically brand new, just a bit dirty.

It took a good half hour to clean up, but once it was rideable, she’d started cycling to and from work every day.

Eco-friendly, energy-saving, and good exercise.

Besides, home wasn’t far from school. She only had to get up fifteen minutes earlier.

She was coasting leisurely along when she ran into someone from property management. Si Nanyu had been trying hard these past few days to familiarize herself with everything, including the older sister standing before her, a few years her senior.

The woman was brisk, warm, and polite, always greeting her first. After a few exchanges, Si Nanyu had begun greeting her back. “Busy day, Sister Liu?”

Sister Liu’s eyes crinkled at the sight of her, and she complained affectionately, “You could say that. The tenant upstairs says she lost her scallions and wants me to help find them…”

Lost her scallions?

Si Nanyu’s smile froze for an instant before she answered vaguely, “You property folks really do have it rough.”

“Ha! Just busy for nothing, mostly.”

“Oh, right, Miss Si, don’t forget your property fees. They’re due at the end of this month.”

“Yes, yes, of course… I’ll pay as soon as I get a chance!” Si Nanyu nodded quickly, sidling past to head upstairs. But before she could slip away, Sister Liu seized her hand and asked, with a knowing air, “Miss Si, are you single?”

“Ah, I… I…” Si Nanyu’s brain stalled for a moment, but seeing Sister Liu’s face drawing ever closer, she dodged back and blurted, “I’m not! I have a girlfriend.”

“Oh? Really~” Sister Liu looked thoroughly unconvinced. Si Nanyu ignored her skepticism and nodded like a pecking chick. “Yes, I have a girlfriend.” After a pause, she added, “She’s very pretty.”

“Very pretty? How pretty?”

“Is she prettier than that beauty behind you?” Sister Liu fired off her questions one after another, until Si Nanyu grew a little annoyed. Out of reflex, she glanced back, then turned forward again, answering without thinking. “Yes…”

Then she whipped her head around again. That “beauty” was none other than the very “girlfriend” Si Nanyu had been thinking of.

Her beloved Teacher Wen.

An apricot knit shirt, a jacket draped over one arm, something held in her other hand…

And looking not one bit approachable, adjusting her glasses with a gaze that wanted to kill: Wen Qingyan!

Wen Qingyan was usually rather plain and understated, but what truly floored Si Nanyu was that the property staff apparently had no idea who she was.

Wen Qingyan swept past with an air of acknowledging no one, and Si Nanyu didn’t dare linger. She squeezed into the elevator right behind her.

Si Nanyu still wasn’t entirely sure what she’d done wrong, but Wen Qingyan’s expression was clearly wrong, and she didn’t dare speak too loudly. She only shrank back a little and called out, “Teacher Wen…”

“Take this.”

“What…?”

“Your durian pastry.”

Wen Qingyan shoved the bag into her hands without waiting to see if Si Nanyu could hold onto it.

Then, with a note of disgust, she added, “You are not to eat it at home.”

“And one more thing…” Wen Qingyan’s voice paused, and only after stepping out of the elevator did she continue flatly, “Get rid of that cheap perfume smell on you!”

Si Nanyu’s nose wasn’t all that sensitive. Or rather, it was only truly sensitive to the white tea fragrance that clung to Wen Qingyan. She lifted her arm, sniffed, and frowned. “Is there a smell?”

When she looked up again, Wen Qingyan was inches away, one eyebrow arched. “Si Nanyu, are you really trying to seduce a married woman now?”