Chapter 43

Shu Chi spent five days in Puxi. Her hometown never stirred very deep feelings within her. When she went to the bus station, Eldest Sister came to see her off, handing her a bag of this year’s freshly made dried persimmons.

They had long since grown accustomed to separation. No matter how close sisters might be, they’d eventually have even closer family members of their own. Shu Chi said a quiet thank you, Eldest Sister.

Shu Hua let out a sigh, her gaze lingering on Shu Chi’s face for a long moment.

The woman in front of her still looked so indifferent, as if she didn’t possess an extra ounce of emotion.

From the time they were little, Shu Hua had always found the third sister the hardest to see through. She gave off a vibe of passive resignation, accepting whatever maltreatment came her way, yet she also possessed the courage to risk it all. A rather special kind of docility.

Eldest Sister said, “Come back again for the New Year, you hear?”

Shu Chi gave a noncommittal mm.

The woman was already used to Shu Chi’s wordless silence. She sighed and said to Shu Chi, “I can’t look after you while you’re out there. And I have no way of doing so either. Just… don’t always be by yourself.”

Even though they didn’t contact each other frequently, Shu Hua knew this younger sister of hers had basically never had friends since she was small.

At best, they were “acquaintances.” Fellow kids from the old neighborhood and relatives Shu Chi’s age had long since gotten married. Only the ones who’d left for the cities were still dragging their feet, refusing to tie the knot.

Shu Chi acted as if she had zero desires in that department. Even during New Year’s gatherings, sitting there eating with everyone, she wouldn’t say a word. It was like she had no interest in anything or anyone. When relatives would pressure her to look after the younger generation or help them out, Shu Chi’s flat refusals would leave everyone speechless.

She’d just say she had no authority, that she was just some hired laborer.

Shu Chi gave another mm of acknowledgment.

Eldest Sister nudged her, truly out of options. “Not a single kind word all year long. By the time your nieces are bringing their boyfriends home, this Little Aunt of theirs will still be alone.”

Shu Chi let out a small laugh. Thinking of Ding Ya made her heart feel soft and numb, and even her bland tone rippled. She emphasized once more: “I already told you, someone likes me.”

But she still refused to explain the specifics, scratching at Shu Hua’s heart with tantalizing curiosity. But Shu Hua also knew Shu Chi wouldn’t spill. She could only urge: “Now you’re just grinning like a fool again. Hurry up and go.”

Shu Chi rode the bus to the city, then transferred to a flight. By the time she arrived in Bramble City, it was already evening.

Her original outbound flight had been the earliest one. The one coming back wasn’t exactly in the middle of the night.

The weekend airport was still packed. After Shu Chi collected her luggage, she grabbed a cab directly to Ding Ya’s company.

The driver was a female cabbie who loved to chat. Upon learning Shu Chi’s destination, she asked, “You live over there? That’s a little far.”

Shu Chi nodded. “Going to pick up a friend.”

The female cabbie asked, “Boyfriend?”

Shu Chi: “Girlfriend.”

For a moment, the atmosphere went somewhat quiet. The driver gave a few chuckles. “That’s nice too.”

Shu Chi wasn’t a person who enjoyed chattering in the first place, but this cabbie seemed to have an endless stream of things to say.

She’d rattle off a string of comments; Shu Chi would reply with one sentence. Back and forth, it actually sustained them all the way to Shu Chi’s destination.

Shu Chi had asked Shen Mu to inquire about Ding Ya and knew she was working overtime today.

She found a flower shop on her phone maps within the business district where Ding Ya’s company was located. She pre-ordered a bouquet of the flowers Ding Ya liked. The moment the cab stopped, Shu Chi impatiently rushed out to go pick it up.

Ding Ya had just finished a small group meeting. Everyone was exhausted; nobody volunteered for overtime. But there was just too much work at year-end; even the higher-ups were working nonstop.

After her meeting with the boss, Ding Ya needed to pass on tasks to her team and didn’t even have time to eat.

Even the interns were on pins and needles, not daring to leave.

By the time it was past eight and some people had already left, others began clocking out one after another.

Ding Ya hadn’t even glanced at her phone. Shen Mu’s messages had been flashing on her computer screen for a while before she finally typed in reply: Overtime.

Shen Mu asked: Overtime till what time?

Ding Ya shot back: You planning to treat me to a late-night snack?

Then this person went silent again.

The digital clock on her desk ticked past nine. Only then did Ding Ya realize she hadn’t eaten dinner. She dug out a small sweet roll from her drawer to tide her stomach over, checked over the final spreadsheet, hit submit on the email, then shut off her computer.

Shen Mu hadn’t replied to her at all.

Ding Ya tapped into her social feed, only to discover this jerk wasn’t even in Bramble City. She’d already flown off to Sanya to go surfing.

When Ding Ya left, quite a few people were still in the department. She said her goodbyes, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed down the elevator.

After tapping through the company’s access gates, Ding Ya had barely walked a few steps before she spotted the person standing off to the side.

It wasn’t that Shu Chi stood out conspicuously but that there were barely any people around at this hour.

A very tall woman holding a bouquet of flowers, wearing a black face mask.

A long coat falling down to her calves didn’t make Shu Chi look bulky at all. Her hair was tied back, a few stray strands falling loose.

The other woman’s single-lidded eyes held a sharp, imposing presence. Combined with her height and the aura created by her fashion choices, it would make anyone curious.

Besides, that bouquet of flowers was eye-catching too.

Ding Ya stopped walking. She just stood outside the revolving door, staring at this woman who hadn’t been gone that long.

Shu Chi initially hadn’t noticed her. Beside her was a suitcase. The paper boarding pass from her flight flapped lightly in the outdoor wind, giving her a rather travel-worn vibe.

This area was both a business hub and a workplace district. The lights of the office towers still blazed bright. The greenery at their base was still lush even in winter.

Nestled among the streetlights and the thickets of trees, a coffee shop still emanated the rich scent of coffee into the air.

Shu Chi was spacing out.

Ding Ya didn’t call out to her either. Her bag was held loosely in her hand; the phone she’d pulled out while heading downstairs was also gripped carelessly.

Although the overtime was due to unfinished work—a result of prior overtime—Ding Ya was still more or less irritated by it.

Now, all her irritation was swept clean away. Ding Ya felt as if she were admiring a painting.

If only the frame could be removed from this painting.

The intimate distance they’d shared that day still intoxicated Ding Ya. The silence and restraint she’d maintained over this period had only intensified this urgency.

She desperately wanted to sleep with Shu Chi. Heavy and hard. It was also completely different from the feeling she’d gotten as a kid, sneakily reading Ding Shuqing’s manga.

Ding Ya had once scoffed at the sweet kisses in the teen romance novels her deskmate recommended. Let alone… the detailed descriptions of acts far more intimate than that.

It had been summer. The ceiling fan spun furiously overhead. During break, classmates bought popsicles. Biting into her Little Snowman ice cream, Ding Ya complained about the nonsensical plot points as she ate.

How could it be possible? Is love really that great? Watching all the people sneaking around dating… it just looks like that. Not even as fun as when I achieve total victory at Chinese checkers.

But the moment she truly got close to Shu Chi, being embraced, being kissed, their hair tangling… Only then did she know that some of those written descriptions were still far too lacking.

The breadth of heaven and earth seemed so far away. That person, she was my whole heaven and earth.

No matter how many layers of extravagant, gorgeous words you stacked up, they couldn’t compare to the snapshot moment when you’re seen by the eyes of the one you like.

Human emotions change in the blink of an eye. She had betrayed her original goal. Ostensibly, this relationship was controlled in the palm of her hand. In reality, the offense had reversed. She was pulled toward Shu Chi, plunging into an abyss like an elevator in free fall. There was no way to salvage it in time.

It was very cold outside. Another gust of chilly wind blew, and Shu Chi glanced inward.

When she turned her head, she finally noticed Ding Ya standing across from her. The other woman had no idea how long she’d been standing there, just watching her and smiling.

Hands that had been stiff from the cold wind outside felt as if they’d been instantly warmed back up.

It hadn’t even been that many days. So why did it feel like such a long, long time?

Through the glass, even the longing felt as if it had turned into the wind itself.

Shu Chi subconsciously started walking inside. The moment she lifted her foot, Ding Ya came running over in short, quick steps.

She’d changed her bag again. A fluffy fleece handbag, dangling a knitted strawberry charm.

Her double bun was tied quite high; the fluffy white pom-poms on top swayed like swaying pearls.

In a flash, they were close at hand.

Ding Ya didn’t throw herself at her, though. She stood half a meter away and asked, surprise tinged with delight: “Why are you here?”

Her gaze clearly landed on the flowers Shu Chi was holding, yet she asked knowingly: “Are you waiting for someone here? Who are those flowers for?”

Before Shu Chi could even speak, Ding Ya didn’t let her: “You said you had business… was it a business trip?”

She didn’t bring up that night between them.

Shu Chi still felt incredibly guilty, however.

Her own views were completely different from Jing Yuqi’s. Jing Yuqi had encountered the person who would burn through all her love too early. And she’d had a child.

Even though that person had long since vanished without a trace, she still refused to tell her parents who he was. Back when Shu Chi and Jing Yuqi supported each other building a business, she’d heard her friend’s drunken ramblings. She’d heard her being denounced by others as a disgrace, knocked up before marriage. But Jing Yuqi seemed to never view that romance as a bitter consequence. She was also very open and honest with Xiaohu, telling her you are the sweetest fruit.

It was just that… over these years, Jing Yuqi hadn’t been stingy with little flings and casual flirtations, but she had never once granted a single drop of her heart’s blood—that fiery, fervent devotion—to any of her many admirers. Like a flame that burned ice-cold.

No matter how many whirlwind relationships, there was still a flavor of reminiscing about the past.

Shu Chi’s own feelings hadn’t burned to that intensity. Even filtered through an online connection that mixed truth and falsehood, her contributions were the leniency and care given because of the “online relationship” title.

Still a far cry from true [partners].

More like playing house.

But it still held monumental significance for Shu Chi. And it didn’t hinder her from treasuring that gratitude.

As if that person were a peerless divine doctor who had healed her heart’s scar.

Shu Chi had put it down. But she still felt that gratitude. And she also began following the desires of her own heart, chasing after the person she wanted to have.

She shook her head and said, “Went back to my hometown.”

She handed the flowers to Ding Ya. Then, after Ding Ya took them, she said: “Wanted to see you. For you.”

She hadn’t taken off her mask. Her hair was a bit messy from the wind and she hadn’t yet tidied it.

Those eyes had gone from dull and lifeless to lit. As if Ding Ya had dotted the eyes of a clay Bodhisattva statue with radiant pupils, and then pasted gold leaf upon it all over again. Shu Chi glowed. For her.

Ding Ya hugged the bouquet and was just about to say thank you, when she heard Shu Chi ask —

“Can I kiss you?”

Ding Ya lifted her eyes in surprise, but Shu Chi had already roughly yanked down her own mask. Refusing any explanations, she grabbed Ding Ya’s shoulder and pressed her lips against Ding Ya’s.

A brief touch, then immediate separation. Not deep at all. Yet Ding Ya tasted lime—a specific flavor of mouthwash.

Shu Chi pulled her mask back on. With one hand, she tugged her suitcase; with the other, she took Ding Ya’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

Ding Ya was completely out of it. As if she’d been struck by lightning, she dumbly let Shu Chi lead her outside, waiting with Shu Chi for a cab.

The young woman stood there blankly, hugging her bouquet. Her entire hand was completely enveloped by Shu Chi’s. Shu Chi’s hand was a bit cold—probably chilled by the wind earlier—but after holding it for a moment, it warmed up.

The surroundings were quite empty. Ding Ya felt her lips burning hot. She pressed them together tightly, unable to stop herself from glancing sideways at Shu Chi.

Shu Chi stared fixedly at the opposite side of the road, at the evergreens, at the traffic lights, at the passing cars.

She absolutely refused to look at her.

She was even trembling slightly.

Her hand was too.

Ding Ya let out a pfft of laughter.

Only then did Shu Chi glance down at her.

Ding Ya asked: “Home? Back to your home, or mine?”

Shu Chi didn’t hesitate: “Your home. I’ll take you home.”

Ding Ya glanced at the bouquet in her arms. “This bouquet. I’ve received it before.”

Shu Chi just gave an mm. “It’s mine. Are you going to cut it open and give it out to your colleagues again?”

Ding Ya tried to shake off her hand but couldn’t get free at all.

She finally realized this time that… previously when she’d grabbed Shu Chi and Shu Chi hadn’t struggled, it had purely been because this woman already had ulterior motives in her heart.

It was just… the difference between a person who’d decided to be open about them and one who hadn’t was massive. In this moment, the mere sensation of skin touching skin was enough to make hearts pound like war drums.

And this was far from the first time they’d held hands.

Ding Ya feigned distress, her voice even sweeter by a few degrees as she said: “But this bouquet is way too big. I don’t have a vase at home. I’m the type of person who can never keep a plant alive.”

Shu Chi, having just kissed someone, didn’t dare look too much. She replied quietly: “My place has a vase.”

Ding Ya continued: “I prefer dried flowers.”

Shu Chi: “I can help you dry them.”

Ding Ya let out a laugh. “Who even are you?”

The woman standing beside her radiated such security. Her voice mingled with the winter wind and drifted into Ding Ya’s ears. “Who do you hope I am for you?”

Seriously. An honest person turned crafty.

Ding Ya smiled internally. She also had a vague sense of her opponent leveling up.

She even began to anticipate it. Shu Chi drying her out until all the moisture was gone, then pressing her flat inside a book, flipping through her pages daily.

Unfortunately, before Ding Ya had the chance to answer, their ride arrived.

Ding Ya switched the subject. “Why did you go away for so long?”

Shu Chi: “My second sister wanted a divorce. I went to support her.”

From the things she’d read on Shu Chi’s message board, Ding Ya could have mostly guessed that much. But she hadn’t expected the other woman to say it this openly. Even though they’d gone to the hot springs together a few days back, Shu Chi hadn’t seemed able to tell her fully then after all.

Ding Ya: “How did you support her?”

Shu Chi paused, then pulled a sealed package of dried persimmons from her coat pocket and handed it to Ding Ya. “Homemade. Very sweet.”

Ding Ya tore it open and popped one in her mouth. Then she heard Shu Chi answer: “Stood on her side. Gave her money so she can open a shop after the divorce.”

Brutally blunt…

Ding Ya thought about the hardships this woman must have endured starting a business from scratch. And the silhouette of her back in that noodle shop all those years ago.

It hadn’t been easy, had it?

And from her tone, her relationship with her family didn’t seem all that great either. Could it be she was being taken advantage of? A total doormat?

Ding Ya hesitated, unsure whether to voice her concerns, but Shu Chi seemed to know what she wanted to ask anyway. “It’s fine. She can do it.”

Complete and unconditional trust.

Ding Ya was suddenly reminded of Ding Shuqing. Though her brother was extremely unreliable at times, he was also very indulgent with her.

But Shu Chi… she was the little sister in the family, wasn’t she?

She really had total “big sister” energy, even as the little sister herself.

“Is it good?”

Outside the car window, the city’s night scenery flew past. Shu Chi carefully observed Ding Ya’s face by these fleeting flashes of light.

Ding Ya hadn’t eaten this sort of thing in a long time. She nodded. “Very sweet.”

She hadn’t expected Shu Chi to respond with a very natural oh, then say something so unexpectedly sappy —

“Just like you.”