“Ya Ning-jie.”
Lou Yixuan glanced back toward the door but didn’t get up, just smiled sweetly. “Teacher Lin’s here to see me. You’ve met her.”
“Yeah, I’ve met her. Twice, even.”
Xu Yaning’s smile didn’t fade as she walked further in. “Last time, something came up and you all left early. I didn’t host you properly—hope Teacher Lin didn’t hold it against me. I’ve been waiting for you to come back to the tavern, but none of you showed.”
“You’re too kind, Boss Xu.” Lin Huayan had already turned around to face her. “We see each other plenty during the workweek, but weekends are hit or miss for getting together. It’s been ages since we last made plans.”
These two women, both seasoned and unflappable, kept their inner turmoil hidden. On the surface, it was all cool detachment and polite smiles.
Neither was superior; they were just tools of the trade in social graces.
The silver-gray stacked thermal containers and the four glass boxes lined up on the table were too conspicuous. Xu Yaning’s heart sank—damn, did I show up at the worst possible time?
She shot Lou Yixuan a glare. “Teacher Lin’s here, and you didn’t tell me sooner?”
She was terrible at playing third wheel.
More like a big vat of jealousy, really—churning with the vinegar Lin Huayan had poured out.
“…” If I’d told you earlier, you wouldn’t have come—and where’s the fun in that? “I figured you were driving. Gotta stay focused on the road. Safety first.”
“Oh, right. Thanks for thinking of me. You know, safety first.”
“…” Lou Yixuan fiddled with her fingers. “Ya Ning-jie, there won’t be a next time. If I ever go back to one of those places crawling with snakes, rats, bugs, and ants again, I’ll gear up like it’s a war zone.”
“Don’t talk to me about that stuff. I can’t stand it.” Xu Yaning shuddered. Soft-bodied critters and mystery bugs were her worst nightmare.
“Oh.”
“Oh? You’re fearless, sure, but doesn’t anyone keep you in check?”
“…” Scold me if you must, Ya Ning-jie, but why are you eyeing Teacher Lin like that?
“Teacher Lin, since you’ve come to visit her at the hospital, you must know how she got hurt, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Here’s an idea: introduce her to a biology teacher sometime. Give her a rundown on poisonous plants and wildflowers—and those creepy crawlies she mentioned. Keep her from forgetting and zoning out while painting in the wild, ignoring everything else.”
“…” Lin Huayan didn’t reply right away because she was genuinely considering Xu Yaning’s suggestion. “That’s a good idea. I mean, Boss Xu’s suggestion is spot on.”
Lou Yixuan: “…”
Xu Yaning arched a brow at Lou Yixuan. “Right? Safety first.”
“Yes, safety first.” Lou Yixuan forced a smile, suddenly feeling like a lone little lamb who’d stumbled into what she thought was a safe shelter from the storm—only to realize it was a wolf’s den, where surrender was inevitable.
Two wolves. She never imagined she’d one day see both Lin Huayan and Xu Yaning as “wolves” in her mind.
And those two wolves were smiling at each other.
What the hell was so funny?
Worse, they were hitting it off right in front of her, the patient.
Lou Yixuan seethed inwardly but played it off with a laugh. “Ya Ning-jie, are you here to bring me food or make new friends? If you two hit it off, why not grab coffee at some quiet café and chat properly?”
Her peacemaking defused their smiles.
Xu Yaning clutched the takeout bag from Youjian Little Tavern, unsure whether to set it down or not.
She knew she shouldn’t linger as a third wheel, but she couldn’t read the room—what were these two really thinking? If she just up and left on her own, she might trap Lou Yixuan in an awkward spot.
After all, Lou Yixuan’s feelings came first, whether as her big sister or her friend.
“Just set the lunch down here, Boss Xu.”
Lin Huayan stacked the glass boxes to clear more space. “The food you’ve made should whet the appetite.”
Lou Yixuan: “…”
Xu Yaning: “…”
They exchanged looks—one shaking her head, the other grimacing.
Xu Yaning’s own romantic history was a mess, so she wasn’t cut out to play love guru.
“You’re in for a treat.”
After setting the bag down, she patted Lou Yixuan’s shoulder by the bed, teasing, “So much food—bound to be something that opens your appetite. I was worried you’d have no stomach for it again today, so I skimped on portions for two dishes. Hope you don’t run short.”
“What? I was afraid you’d make too much and I’d waste it. Ya Ning-jie cooking herself—how could I…?”
Lou Yixuan’s voice trailed off. “Or get beaten and scolded by someone…”
“She wouldn’t dare.”
As the two traded veiled jabs, the third quietly mourned: “I’ve been here a bit already, and I need to head back to school for lunch. I won’t stay long.”
Xu Yaning and Lou Yixuan both paled at that.
Lou Yixuan sighed in relief; Xu Yaning sighed inwardly: Guess I’m the designated vinegar vat after all.
The sourness hung thick in the air.
“Ya Ning-jie, walk Teacher Lin out for me?”
Lou Yixuan tugged Xu Yaning’s arm, then turned to Lin Huayan with a gentle voice. “Teacher Lin, thanks so much for making time to visit me today amid your busy schedule. Thanks for the care package and fruit. See you at school next week.”
Their gazes met in the fresh breeze of late spring edging into summer, like dandelion seeds light as feathers, scattered to some distant unknown.
They had no spring.
Huai’an’s springs never included them.
Lin Huayan lingered on the look a moment longer, then smiled faintly. “Mm. See you next week.”
Once more, she had lost her sprite. Lost her… spring.
Xu Yaning dutifully escorted Lin Huayan to the elevators and watched her step in. “Take care, Teacher Lin. Until next time.”
“Bye.”
The doors closed on Lin Huayan’s farewell.
Xu Yaning took a deep breath, turned back toward the room—and had no idea the descending elevator had stopped three floors down, its passenger stepping out.
After washing her hands in the bathroom, Xu Yaning left the room door ajar. “Eat first. Door’s open.”
“Mm, open for some air.”
Lou Yixuan settled into the sofa chair Lin Huayan had used, pulling the wall-side thermal bucket closer and cradling it in both hands.
Xu Yaning chuckled. “When she was here, you wouldn’t even glance at it. Didn’t even try to keep her around politely—instead, you rushed me to walk her out. Now she’s gone, and you’re hugging that bucket like it’s treasure. Appetite back? Dying for thermal bucket?”
Lou Yixuan rested her chin on the lid, embarrassed. “Ya Ning-jie, you’ve turned into Ling Xuan. I’m the patient here—you’re all ganging up to tease me. You’re awful.”
“Oh? What’d she tease you about? Teacher Lin wasn’t here last night.”
“She said my leg’s swollen like a pig’s trotter.”
At “pig’s trotter,” Xu Yaning burst out laughing and sat in the facing chair.
She poked the thermal bucket. “Think your Teacher Lin brewed pig trotter soup? Eat what ails you.”
“…”
Lou Yixuan’s mouth fell open. It was possible—Lin Huayan had actually stewed pig trotters once before!
Lin Huayan had said her mom bought them, and she’d added kelp, soybeans, and winter melon. Lou Yixuan, who’d never tried them, devoured a ton that meal.
“No way. Really?”
Xu Yaning grinned wider at her reaction. “Open it up—let me smell if there’s vinegar in the soup. Nice and sour.”
“…”
Lou Yixuan knew exactly what she was getting at. Lin Huayan’s parting shot—”The food you’ve made should whet the appetite”—had carried a whiff of jealousy too.
“Alright, no more teasing. Eat what she made you first.”
Xu Yaning slid her own portion to the wall side. “Check if there’s utensils under the lid.”
The thermal bucket screamed high-end, and Lin Huayan was too meticulous to forget them.
Lou Yixuan opened it layer by layer: tomato-braised beef brisket, stir-fried pork with green beans, broccoli, steamed dumplings. No rice, no pig trotter soup.
“Guess I was wrong.”
Xu Yaning noted. “These meat dishes are perfect with rice. Want me to grab some?”
“No need.”
Lou Yixuan shook her head. “She knows I barely touch rice. When there’s plenty of meat, I skip it. Dumplings count as a staple anyway.”
“Oh. Right, she knows.”
Every drawn-out “oh” from Xu Yaning pierced Lou Yixuan’s heart.
It tickled, right at the tip.
“Blushing? But Ling Xuan says she’s never seen you turn red.”
Xu Yaning tilted Lou Yixuan’s chin up. “Bury your head any lower, and it’ll end up in the food.”
Sigh.
With a sigh, she pulled out her phone.
“Eat properly—focus. I’ll tell the group I made it and you’re in good spirits with a great appetite today.”
True to her word, Xu Yaning messaged the family group for Lu Lingxuan and the others, then switched to news feeds, ignoring Lou Yixuan.
Lou Yixuan ate quietly.
Not two minutes later, Xu Yaning caught a sniffle—like stifled sobs.
She looked up. “Yixuan? You…”
The call broke her. Lou Yixuan chewed beef through tears. “I know I’m picky, and she knows it. She says not to be, to eat balanced for nutrition—but every time, she makes exactly what I like. Never once forced me to eat stuff I hate. Not before, not now.”
“Ya Ning-jie, I’m so sad. She’s crazy about me, can’t bear to let me go—but she says nothing, holds it all in, keeps pushing me away. I don’t know why…”
No tissues on the table; Xu Yaning yanked a pack from her bag, pulled out sheets, and offered them.
Lou Yixuan just cried, ignoring the tissues by her hand.
“She’s a math teacher—STEM all the way. Why’s she better at putting on a front and holding back than lit majors, philosophers, artists?”
Putting on a front? Holding back?
Quirky word choices, sparked by that “stoic” Teacher Lin.
Xu Yaning pocketed the tissues silently, letting Lou Yixuan vent. “Did you ask her?”
“I did.”
“She said I’m the youthful dream she chased back in the day. That she’s got no shine left for me to admire. Told me to move on, find someone better who matches me.”
“I don’t want to push her again, don’t dare push too hard. I’m scared she’ll crack, that I’ll drive her to depression.”
Lou Yixuan tilted her head back.
Tears veered into her hair, trickling into her ears.
She yanked off her earbuds with her left hand, clutching them tight, staring at the blank ceiling with deadened grief.
“You don’t know. None of you do. I’m scared to death.”
Death isn’t scary. I don’t fear my own. I just fear if her dead end is one I forced her into.
“But Yixuan, she came to see you today.”
Xu Yaning, the elder in matters of the heart, understood the older woman’s burdens. “For her, that might be the greatest courage and sincerity she could muster.”
“She came, but so what? A meaningful meeting is when both want it.”
Lin Huayan and her…
Eight years ago or now, they’d never been in sync.
Lin Huayan came, but what difference did it make? It just made her cry again—while Lin Huayan breezed back to school like nothing happened.
Concern? More like coming to rile me up, make me bawl.
Infuriating.
Lin Huayan was infuriating.
“You flew back from Australia without hesitation just to see her. Yixuan, remember what you told us last summer when you returned? You said you just wanted to check on her, see if she was okay.”
Xu Yaning offered tissues again. “Less than a year later—why the change?”
“Why? Yeah, why.”
Lou Yixuan murmured, head drooping as she set down her spoon and grabbed the tissues. “Probably the same reason she used to avoid me.”
She wiped her tear- and snot-streaked face.
Another breakdown.
Whenever Lin Huayan was involved, she lost all composure.
“I always thought I knew my limits, that I was doing things that wouldn’t trouble her. But truth is, every meeting with me just makes her uncomfortable, puts her in a bind.”
So she didn’t want to see Lin Huayan anymore.
Because the mere thought of Lin Huayan feeling troubled or uncomfortable made her feel deeply uneasy as well.
And a “meeting” where both sides felt uncomfortable simply shouldn’t exist.
As Lou Yixuan’s emotions eased a little, she blinked her big eyes brimming with curiosity, seeking affirmation. “Ya Ning-jie, you like Ling Xuan so much that you’re willing to come to Huai’an to find her. You even overcame worldly pressures and your own psychological burdens to accept her proposal. There must be a factor where being with her just feels really comfortable, right?”
The topic suddenly shifted to herself, and a flicker of shyness flashed in Xu Yaning’s eyes before she quickly adopted the posture of an understanding big sister.
“You want to hear my thoughts?”
“Yes.” Lou Yixuan nodded obediently. “Ya Ning-jie, please tell me. I’m really at my wits’ end.”
