Chi Nuan only carried a bunch of grapes. She freed her right hand to pet the Little Cat’s sleek fur. “So cute… Gu Ningzi, did you take it with you before?”
Gu Ningzi: “It was too rushed. Secretary Su took it to care for.”
Chi Nuan wondered who Secretary Su was when Gu Ningzi added, “The one you saw on the field trip day.”
The lady in the professional skirt standing by the car?
Chi Nuan followed Gu Ningzi into the living room, where a smoky-gray suitcase caught her eye.
Gu Ningzi hadn’t lied—she had truly just arrived home when she got Chi Nuan’s call, not even unpacking yet.
…
The Blue Cat was very clingy with Gu Ningzi, following her everywhere. With the two humans and one cat in the kitchen, Chi Nuan roughly sorted the ingredients and turned with an eviction order: “Out you go. I’m going to cook.”
Gu Ningzi shooed the Blue Cat out, then turned back to see Chi Nuan on tiptoe, reaching for pots from the upper cabinet. Her shirt hem rode up, revealing a slender waist.
Gu Ningzi stepped beside her, easily grabbed the pots, and asked, “What first?”
Chi Nuan had meant for her and the cat to leave together, but seeing her return, she laughed. “I can handle it alone. You go out too!”
Gu Ningzi: “…I can help.”
Sunset light filtered in from the window, bathing Chi Nuan in gold. She leaned against the hard counter, looking up at Gu Ningzi with a soft voice but firm attitude. “Gu Ningzi, just this once. Can you obediently wait to eat?”
She held up her index finger, emphasizing it was really just once.
Gu Ningzi: “…”
Gu Ningzi exited the kitchen. The Blue Cat she’d shut out earlier hadn’t left and let out a long “meow” at her, tail wagging.
Gu Ningzi looked down, meeting its round eyes.
…
The food took a while to finish. Chi Nuan cut the grapes one by one, washed them, put them in a fruit bowl, and brought it out for Gu Ningzi to pass the time.
Entering the living room, she didn’t see Gu Ningzi. Setting down the bowl, she saw the Blue Cat pouncing and biting at the floor-to-ceiling curtains. She picked it up and handed it a small toy.
“Don’t come.”
The curtains covered half the glass door. Behind it, Gu Ningzi said to the person on the phone, “I’ve told you clearly. Don’t come find me.”
…
After the call, Gu Ningzi detoured to the kitchen to check on Chi Nuan again. Chi Nuan, apron tied on, was slowly washing vegetables. Gu Ningzi’s gaze swept over the pots and pans, lingered for a bit, then she returned to the living room, dragged her suitcase to her room to unpack.
Secretary Su had been notified of her return today and instructed the Gu Family Home’s helpers to clean the entire place top to bottom—except for the bed in her room.
Gu Ningzi didn’t like others touching her bed.
She methodically changed the bedsheets and covers, folded them neatly for washing, opened the suitcase, and sorted its contents.
…
Dusk fell, dinner was ready, and the dishes came out of the pots.
They sat side by side for the meal. The three dishes looked appetizing, full of color and aroma. Chi Nuan watched nervously as Gu Ningzi sipped the tofu soup.
“Suits your taste? The soup and baby cabbage are pretty light.”
Gu Ningzi nodded. “It’s good.”
Validated, Chi Nuan urged her. “Then try the ribs.”
“Okay.”
Gu Ningzi’s mobile phone sat on the table, its screen lighting up now and then. She ate elegantly, either not noticing or not caring, ignoring them all.
Chi Nuan had never been one to snoop on people’s mobile phones, but it was close, and each glow caught her peripheral vision. After a few times, she inevitably glimpsed the content:
“A-Ning, don’t be mad, okay?”
“I can’t bear for you to leave. You’re finally back—I don’t want you gone.”
“A-Ning, don’t ignore me… I won’t come to Yuncheng to find you. I’ll listen to everything you say, alright?”
“A-Ning, A-Ning, A-Ning, talk to me…”
…
The sender was invariably “Spoon.”
“Spoon” was probably a nickname. Chi Nuan realized she didn’t know much about Gu Ningzi’s life before Yuncheng or her friends.
Gu Ningzi saw Chi Nuan slowly picking at her rice and looked at her puzzled. “Chi Nuan?”
Chi Nuan: “…Huh?”
Gu Ningzi: “Eat more veggies.”
Chi Nuan’s heart felt stuffy. This mood had started when she overheard Gu Ningzi’s phone call—vague at first, now swelling unmistakably, though she didn’t know what she was upset about.
The mobile phone between them rang with an incoming call.
Gu Ningzi glanced at the caller ID, said “Sorry” to Chi Nuan, took the mobile phone, stepped away from the table, and answered.
Whatever the other side said, Gu Ningzi replied, “You’re at my house?”
“…”
“Don’t mention him. I’m not going back, and you don’t come to Yuncheng.”
“…”
“Can we drop it? I’m hanging up.” Gu Ningzi ended the call. Unread messages jumped into view.
She didn’t even bother reading them fully, tossing the mobile phone onto the flower stand.
As she walked back, pushing her bangs aside, Gu Ningzi sat down, picked up her chopsticks, and said to Chi Nuan, “…My childhood friend. She saw I wasn’t replying and called from the home landline.”
So Spoon was her childhood friend?
Chi Nuan’s ear tips quietly reddened. She kept her head down and murmured, “Yeah, eat up.”
…
Gu Ningzi didn’t have a huge appetite usually, but that night she chewed slowly and unwittingly finished a full bowl.
After dinner, Chi Nuan played with the cat a bit and peeled grapes to eat. Gu Ningzi picked one and popped it in her mouth. After, she asked Chi Nuan, “Are the grapes sweet?”
Chi Nuan: “Yeah, sweet.”
Gu Ningzi: “Mine weren’t sweet.”
“How could that be? Mine are all sweet…” Chi Nuan naturally fed a freshly peeled grape to Gu Ningzi’s lips.
Grape juice dripped down her finger, and Gu Ningzi silently stared at Chi Nuan.
“…” Chi Nuan tried to pull back, but Gu Ningzi grabbed her wrist, not letting her retreat.
Leaning in, the tiny dimple appearing again, Gu Ningzi parted her lips and took the grape.
Her warm, soft lips brushed Chi Nuan’s fingertip.
“…” Chi Nuan’s mind blanked for an instant. When she recovered, Gu Ningzi was wiping the sticky juice from her fingers with a wet wipe.
Heat burned from Chi Nuan’s ears to her cheeks.
Gu Ningzi wiped carefully. Once done, Chi Nuan sighed in relief.
Gu Ningzi smiled. “They really are sweet.”
Chi Nuan’s heart rippled like a stone had been tossed in. “Do you, um, want more?”
Gu Ningzi: “No. I’ll take you somewhere.”
