Ding Ya was draped in a wine-red wool coat, her hand held by someone else. At first glance, it was actually quite a charming sight.
Maybe it was because the glass windows of this workshop were polished too clean, or perhaps the person holding her hand was also beautiful.
Jing Yuqi hadn’t lied to Shu Chi. It really was the little girl from Jing Yuqi’s family, Xiaohu, who had called asking for fruit tea.
Kids these days are surfing the internet like pros, and some local recommendations were things she saw even faster than Jing Yuqi did.
Perhaps kids had their own channels. Jing Yuqi didn’t dwell on it; after all, she had been the same way as a child.
She’d originally sent a subordinate from her company to buy it, but they couldn’t find this Glass House and spent ages on the phone with Jing Yuqi.
She said she’d come herself, but then the subordinate found it and sent a photo from outside.
Coincidentally, the photo captured Ding Ya.
Jing Yuqi had assumed Shu Chi would already be soaking in the hot springs with Ding Ya in the suite. She never imagined that with such a heaven-sent opportunity, the two of them would actually end up separated.
Jing Yuqi, who had never found romance difficult, was getting a headache from frustration.
Shu Chi glanced at it twice, then was about to look away again. “You called me over just to see this, all for buying fruit tea?”
Jing Yuqi pulled her back. “Being alone in the suite just means playing on your phone. What’s wrong with coming out for a stroll?”
Shu Chi sighed, seemingly indifferent. “She’s with a friend. Why should I go over there?”
She had thought Ding Ya was just with Shen Mu, not another person as well.
Jing Yuqi really wanted to smack her but held back, sighing as she said, “Can’t you be a bit more perceptive?”
Shu Chi was utterly certain. She turned her face away, no longer looking at the people in the Glass House, and instead gazed at the lawn, murmuring, “Ding Ya likes men.”
Even if I do like women, I wouldn’t be Ding Ya’s standard for a partner.
She wouldn’t let that faint, ambiguous feeling grow, and had long since dismissed it as an illusion.
Shu Chi had barely finished speaking when Jing Yuqi gave her a hard yank.
Shu Chi almost toppled over.
From a distance, they both watched as the girl holding Ding Ya’s hand inside the Glass House bent down and kissed the back of Ding Ya’s hand.
“Wow,” Jing Yuqi exclaimed. “Is that a friend?”
Shu Chi remained stubborn, her reaction swift. “Didn’t you and Mu Ling kiss once too?”
Sometimes girls did things between them that ordinary people couldn’t quite understand. In a distant memory from middle school, girls in her class had even tongue-kissed during breaks.
They had ended up getting married the earliest, each to their own husbands, and were still best friends.
Shu Chi couldn’t really fathom it.
Jing Yuqi said, “That’s a friend kiss. You could do that too.”
Shu Chi hated English, and even more, she disliked the knowing, confident look and raised eyebrow Jing Yuqi wore, as if she’d already envisioned a future for her and Ding Ya.
She averted her face, an expression of pure refusal. “No.”
But Shu Chi’s gaze involuntarily strayed over there again. Jing Yuqi thought to herself: So self-righteous with your words. I bet if you got to kiss Ding Ya, you wouldn’t be saying no.
Why pretend? Your concern is written all over your face.
~~
When the soft touch landed on her palm, Ding Ya froze, a rare reaction for her.
She had sensed that vibe from this resident singer, but girls with a gender-neutral style weren’t uncommon. Back in university, there was a cool-dressing girl famous with her boyfriend, so Ding Ya hadn’t thought much of it.
Then Su Dinghun mentioned she’d strung beads for her ex-girlfriend.
Ding Ya thought to herself: Just as I suspected.
At this moment, she feigned a surprised look. The other girl’s slightly upturned, phoenix-like eyes squinted slightly, and she smiled. “I’m so frivolous.”
Ding Ya: “…”
How could someone describe themselves so bluntly?
Shen Mu covered her face. I have truly never witnessed a scene like this in my entire life.
What on earth is happening?
Is a girl like Ding Ya actually very popular with other women?
No, that can’t be right. In university, the ones chasing her were all men, and no girl ever asked for her WeChat.
Shen Mu’s mind was racing a mile a minute, but Su Dinghun grabbed Ding Ya’s hand. “What’s your name, Sister?”
Right, she hadn’t even asked her name first before kissing.
She really is frivolous.
But this person was so good-looking that the action held no sleaziness whatsoever, instead exuding an unexpected, fresh innocence.
Even her eyes seemed capable of looking dewy and adorable.
Shen Mu closed her eyes, thinking that if the Second Boss showed up right now, it would be spectacularly dramatic.
Ding Ya pulled her hand back. She didn’t have much of a reaction to confessions, but the other person was a woman after all, so Ding Ya wasn’t as curt.
“I just requested a song. It doesn’t mean anything else.”
The other girl’s hands, now with nowhere to settle, telegraphed her disappointment. That messy hair of hers brimmed with vibrant life; the lawn outside looked more disciplined than her locks.
Ding Ya found it hard to be harsh, so she said, “My name is Ding Ya. Ya, like the character for bean sprout.”
Su Dinghun nodded eagerly. “What an adorable name. I like it.”
She added, “I don’t act like this when other people request songs, you know. It’s just a song request, after all.”
She was practically saying, “You could request me.”
Shen Mu looked at this person’s delicate jawline and her chaotic jumble of trendy rings. Are all recent graduates this wild?
Or is it just artistic types who are so unrestrained? The girl was nothing like the Second Boss.
And that suggestive tone… Shen Mu even tried to imagine if that suggestive tone came from Shu Chi. Ah, what a sin.
Amitabha.
Ding Ya smiled at her, completely unmoved by the beauty. “Anyway, thank you for restringing my beads. I paid for the song, and it truly means nothing else.”
Su Dinghun nodded like a pecking bird, her curly hair bobbing. She cupped her face, gazing at Ding Ya. “Sister, can I add you on WeChat?”
Just then, Jing Yuqi arrived carrying a bag of fruit tea. She feigned a surprised greeting. “Hey! Little Ding, you’re here too, what a coincidence.”
Shen Mu shot up so fast she nearly knocked her stool over, instinctively bowing a perfect ninety degrees. “Hello, Sister Qi!”
Ding Ya knew Shen Mu idolized Jing Yuqi, but hadn’t expected such sheer fawning, as if she were about to shout “Big Sis!”
Jing Yuqi took a few seconds to place who this was, then returned the greeting.
Shen Mu practically fainted.
Ding Ya smiled at Jing Yuqi, then looked past her to Shu Chi. “Why are you here?”
If her tone had been routine before, now her voice alone was enough to betray a clear difference in treatment.
The resident singer with the parted golden bangs looked at the newcomers, finding both women strikingly eye-catching.
The lively one was like a blooming rose, while the one behind her was overly quiet, yet possessed a fierce expression that gave off an aura not to be trifled with.
Shu Chi’s expression was bland. The familiarity she shared with Jing Yuqi, like old friends, was something Ding Ya easily fixated on.
Even though she knew it was impossible, she still subconsciously measured the distance between those two, thinking: They’re way more familiar than Shen Mu and I are.
Shu Chi noticed Ding Ya’s gaze but didn’t grasp the hidden emotion within it. She said, “I came with her to buy something for Xiaohu.”
She added, “You’ve met Xiaohu before. The kid who went to the supermarket with me.”
Ding Ya replied with an “Mm.”
Her left hand was still resting on the table, and Shu Chi couldn’t help but glance at it.
Lately, whenever she’d seen Ding Ya, she’d been wearing a string of beads. She knew where Ding Ya had bought it, since Ding Ya told her everything.
To attract romance.
But the string looked a bit odd. The knot was too large, as if it had been broken and retied.
Then Shu Chi saw the back of her hand. There was an un-wiped lip print on it.
The lips of that brightly smiling young woman were moist, as if coated in a light tangerine lipstick, stamped perfectly onto Ding Ya’s snowy skin.
It was glaringly conspicuous.
Like a seal of ownership.
A feeling like ants crawling over her heart suddenly seized Shu Chi. She pursed her lips and was about to look up when she found Ding Ya already watching her.
But in the next second, Ding Ya looked away and made a feeble attempt to wipe the lip print from the back of her hand, letting out an “Mm.” “I know.”
Jing Yuqi smoothly pulled Shu Chi down to sit.
When Shen Mu met her goddess, she became a dizzy mess, her brain apparently unable to function properly. She was shunted to the opposite side of the table, sitting next to Su Dinghun, with Jing Yuqi to her right.
Shu Chi had no choice but to sit beside Ding Ya.
Jing Yuqi heard Shu Chi and Ding Ya mention Xiaohu and asked with a laugh, “You’ve even met my daughter?”
And Xiaohu hadn’t mentioned it either. Jing Yuqi didn’t need to think hard to guess who had told her to keep quiet.
Shu Chi, under the glare, remained expressionless, offering a dry explanation. “We ran into each other before.”
Jing Yuqi let out an “Oh” and, noticing Shen Mu beside her staring and giggling foolishly, simply gave her a pack of the fruit tea and started chatting with her.
Su Dinghun looked at the woman across from her, who was neither old nor young. Her aura, though, was quite unique.
She naturally asked Ding Ya, “Sister Yaya, who’s this? Your friend?”
Ding Ya hadn’t wiped off the lip print. She placed her hand horizontally on the table, arranged deliberately so Shu Chi couldn’t miss it. “A colleague.”
Su Dinghun let out another “Oh.” “So you’re having a team-building event.”
Ding Ya nodded.
Su Dinghun pulled out her phone. “Add me on WeChat, please don’t refuse. Did you request my song because I sang well tonight? I can sing for you anytime.”
Her voice was indeed pleasant. Before Ding Ya’s request, her songs had covered a wide range, even passionate tunes delivered movingly.
Ding Ya discreetly glanced at Shu Chi beside her, then, as if delighted, took out her own phone. “Alright, scan my code.”
Jing Yuqi thought: It’s over. Good-looking, a nice voice, and a smooth talker who can cheer people up. Does Shu Chi really think there’s nothing to worry about just because it’s a girl?
Her thoughts alone could drown Shu Chi, but outwardly, she asked with seeming surprise, “Is this little sister the one you… requested, Ding Ya?”
That phrasing sounded even stranger. Even Shu Chi seemed to want to speak but stopped.
Shen Mu immediately explained: “No, no, it was a song request at the bar. This little sister is the resident singer, she sings really well.”
Jing Yuqi let out another “Oh.” “Yes, her voice is lovely. But how did you end up out here having tea?”
Shen Mu recounted what had happened. When she mentioned Ding Ya’s ex, she gritted her teeth. “What a jerk.”
It was Shu Chi who seemed more concerned, asking Ding Ya, “Are you okay?”
Ding Ya shook her head.
Su Dinghun had already picked up on the something between Ding Ya and Shu Chi.
She said, “When I got there, that guy had just shoved Sister Yaya onto a booth seat. But I hit him, and security came and took him away.”
Su Dinghun was looking at Shu Chi as she said this, but in the end, she smiled and angled for a compliment from Ding Ya: “Wasn’t I super timely?”
Ding Ya seldom encountered this type of personality. She found Su Dinghun a bit scattered.
She hadn’t seemed like this on stage—there, she was rather mysterious, with a hint of deliberate performance.
But it was enough for Ding Ya to understand Su Dinghun’s interest.
Still, Ding Ya didn’t think her own charm was that overwhelming. Besides, her actual target was right in front of her. She simply replied, “Mm.” “Thank you.”
After hearing the story, Shu Chi’s brows furrowed. She recalled the time Ding Ya had clung to her arm while walking ahead, also because of an ex-boyfriend.
She even worried that Ding Ya had been hurt while dating him. She reached out. “Let me see your hand.”
The hand Ding Ya’s ex had grabbed was her right one, which Shu Chi hadn’t seen before. Now, Ding Ya refused to lift it. “It’s really fine.”
Su Dinghun glanced at the woman with the slightly fierce face. She’d been a resident singer in many places. Piqued by Ding Ya’s song request, she’d also noticed the other had a goal. Smiling, she joined the fun. “I already checked.”
Jing Yuqi thought to herself: Smooth move.
Shen Mu just stared at Jing Yuqi, listening to the high-stakes drama unfolding within the lesbian group at the table. She concluded that not dating meant absolutely no drama.
Pure admiration, just chasing a star. Seeing her idol now was pure happiness.
Su Dinghun got her wish and added Ding Ya on WeChat. She seemed to have other things to attend to; her phone had been ringing for a while. She said a crisp goodbye to Ding Ya.
“I’ll message you on WeChat, Sister Yaya. I gotta go now.”
Jing Yuqi watched her retreating figure and remarked, “She’s got a great vibe. Is she a model?”
Tall, and with presence.
Ding Ya glanced at Su Dinghun’s WeChat Moments. It was a post from just over half an hour ago, right when Ding Ya had first walked out of the bar.
In the dim light, a beam caught her palm, in which lay a single pink Peach Blossom bead.
The caption read: Love has arrived.
She didn’t have a privacy screen protector on her phone, making it impossible for Shu Chi not to see.
Yet Ding Ya acted as if nothing had happened and stood up, nudging Shu Chi. “Let’s head back too.”
Shen Mu was very reluctant. “But I haven’t gotten to chat with Sister Qi enough…”
The obsession of a die-hard fan couldn’t be denied. Jing Yuqi waved her hand dismissively. “You two go ahead and sleep. I’ll chat with Little Shen a bit longer.”
As they walked out of the Glass House, Ding Ya pulled her coat tighter. She felt chilly and sighed, “I can finally go back and soak in the hot springs.”
Shu Chi said, “I haven’t soaked yet.”
Ding Ya blinked. “Hm? Weren’t you alone in the suite? Why didn’t you soak earlier?”
She laughed, making a blatant joke. “Were you waiting to soak with me?”
Shu Chi was a block of aged, stubborn wood. Ding Ya found her incredibly hard to split open—likely even hollow inside—and could only be worn down over time.
She never expected that Shu Chi wouldn’t fall silent but would instead reply with a very straightforward—
“Okay.”
