Chapter 81: Extra 3
The airport was bustling with people coming and going.
Ye Qizhen almost didn’t recognize Ye Qifan. It was Wen Yu who pulled her hand to remind her, “Is that your sister?”
“Sister…” Ye Qizhen finally reacted slowly and waved to Ye Qifan.
At first glance, it was really hard for Ye Qizhen to associate the beautiful woman not far away, wearing a crop top, looking flamboyant and cool, with Ye Qifan.
This is actually her sister?!
The change was too big.
Ye Qifan walked over unhurriedly and helped pull a suitcase. “Let’s go.”
No wonder Ye Qizhen didn’t recognize her at first glance. Ye Qifan’s contrast with her previous quiet and gentle appearance was too great. The former Ye Qifan would button up the first button of her shirt meticulously.
The summer sun was scorching.
After getting into the car, insulated from the nearly forty-degree high temperature, Ye Qizhen felt slightly more comfortable.
Actually, still a bit uncomfortable.
Her body was very weak. Having played in several cities for more than half a month, although happy, she was truly tired.
Wen Yu saw Ye Qizhen sitting up straight. Usually, she would wilt as soon as she got into a car, but she was spirited today, obviously forcing herself. She habitually extended her arm for Ye Qizhen to hug.
Ye Qizhen just quietly linked arms with Wen Yu, still sitting properly.
Wen Yu looked at her. “Lean on me.”
“No need.” Ye Qizhen said stubbornly. Usually, she would have clung to Wen Yu and hugged her long ago. Now, mainly because Ye Qifan was also there, she was very thin-skinned and embarrassed to be intimate with her girlfriend in front of her sister.
Seeing Ye Qizhen acting contrary to usual, Wen Yu saw through her thoughts and didn’t say anything.
The car drove at a constant speed across the viaduct, still a long way from the destination.
Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen from time to time, afraid someone was too uncomfortable but still enduring. At another intersection, she didn’t ask Ye Qizhen, but supported Ye Qizhen’s head, letting Ye Qizhen rest on her shoulder.
Ye Qizhen stared at Wen Yu helplessly, embarrassed.
Wen Yu brushed her bangs, seemingly deliberately, and stroked her cheek smoothly. “Take a nap.”
Red light. Ye Qifan stopped the car. Inadvertently glancing at the back seat through the rearview mirror, she suddenly smiled, looked at Ye Qizhen, and asked, “Uncomfortable?”
“No.” Ye Qizhen was even more embarrassed. Although she and Wen Yu usually got along like this, being seen by Ye Qifan made her feel exceptionally clingy.
Ye Qifan smiled and thoughtfully turned down the volume of the music in the car.
Leaning on Wen Yu’s shoulder was indeed much more comfortable. Ye Qizhen secretly tightened her hug on Wen Yu’s arm. Catching Wen Yu staring straight at her face, she whispered to Wen Yu, “Why keep looking at me?”
Wen Yu secretly scratched her palm; the more awkward she was, the more she looked. Ye Qizhen pinched her hand lightly and simply closed her eyes.
Dropped Wen Yu home first, then Ye Qizhen got back into the car, crawling into the passenger seat. An English song was playing in the car. She didn’t know the name, but felt it sounded good.
It was the taste of summer.
Very comfortable.
Along the way, Ye Qifan still didn’t talk much, but Ye Qizhen could see that her sister’s whole spirit was different. That was great.
Ye Qifan glanced sideways and suddenly asked Ye Qizhen, “What’s wrong?”
Ye Qizhen smiled. “Nothing.”
Ye Qifan knew what Ye Qizhen was surprised about. After showing her truest side, almost everyone around her had this reaction. She smiled faintly. “You’ll get used to it.”
Ye Qizhen smiled too. Getting used to it was good; many times, one shouldn’t force oneself to adapt to others.
The car continued forward. She leaned lazily against the seat, looking at the scenery outside the window, fingers tapping lightly to the beat of the music, humming a little tune in her heart.
After returning home, Ye Qizhen still wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Chen Yin about her and Wen Yu again.
The family tacitly accepted them being together, only lacking explicit acknowledgment. She wanted to try to fight for it; otherwise, Wen Yu always felt wronged by this matter.
This weekend, the family rarely gathered for lunch. Ye Qizhen chewed rice silently, her gaze wandering, trying to find a suitable time to cut into the topic.
Chen Yin: “When does school start?”
Ye Qizhen answered properly, saying the tutor had tasks, so she had to go to school a few days early.
Chen Yin’s expression was tight, nodding slightly.
Ye Qizhen observed Chen Yin’s reaction, hesitating to speak. Just as she wanted to actively mention Wen Yu—
She heard Chen Yin say lightly, “What about that girl, what are her plans?”
Ye Qizhen paused. With a little thought, she could guess who Chen Yin was asking about. This was the first time the family inquired about their situation since coming out.
After asking this question, Chen Yin didn’t look up, continuing to pick up food and eat, putting on a completely unconcerned appearance.
Ye Qizhen deliberately played dumb and asked softly, “Which one?”
Chen Yin stiffened, but still hummed: “Your girlfriend.” After speaking, she picked up the water glass and took a sip.
Ye Qizhen smiled foolishly for a while, her voice brightening when she spoke again, carrying overflowing joy: “She already got a job offer at a design company, starting next month. She’s also in Nancheng, we aren’t far apart, still living together in the future.”
Hearing Ye Qizhen say a lot in one breath, Chen Yin just gave a simple “Mn.”
Ye Qizhen wanted to say more, but seeing Chen Yin’s lukewarm attitude, she hesitated again.
Anyway, the family supported them being together.
The air at the dining table quieted down again. Ye Qifan’s voice eased the slightly awkward atmosphere. She asked Ye Qizhen, “You took quite a few photos at graduation, right?”
Ye Qizhen instantly became enthusiastic. “Mn, Sister, do you want to see?”
Ye Qifan said slowly, “Show Mom. She was scrolling through your Moments the other day.”
Hearing this, Ye Qizhen looked at Chen Yin incredulously.
Chen Yin: “…”
Ye Qifan smiled without speaking. If she hadn’t caught Chen Yin scrolling through Ye Qizhen’s Moments that day and clicking on that wedding photo, she would really have thought she was determined not to care.
Ye Qizhen struck while the iron was hot and said to Chen Yin, “I’ll bring her back another day.”
Chen Yin tacitly agreed silently. The changes in Ye Qifan this year hit her directly… and also made her calm down to think a lot and look past a lot.
After a while, as if unable to save face, Chen Yin changed the subject. “Eat.”
***
Every time she returned to Beilin, Ye Qizhen inevitably got taken home by Wen Yu for dinner. Actually, it was more Wen Qiuxian’s idea; suddenly having an extra daughter, she was extremely willing.
Dinner time, the atmosphere at the Wen family dining table was quite good. Ye Qizhen was like a natural regulator between Wen Yu and Wen Qiuxian; with her there, the atmosphere would never be stiff.
Wen Qiuxian had a big temper and looked hard to get along with, but her temper wasn’t bad. She was typical of being amenable to coaxing but not coercion. Meeting a little girl who knew how to coax people, she liked her indescribably in her heart.
“Little Leaf, all your favorites.” Knowing Ye Qizhen loved to eat, Wen Qiuxian would prepare a big table of dishes every time, asking Ye Qizhen what she wanted to eat the night before.
“Auntie, so delicious, your skills are getting better and better.” Ye Qizhen couldn’t eat fast enough.
Wen Yu dismantled the stage daily: “Can’t you tell it’s takeout?”
“That’s also Auntie ordering specifically for me.” Ye Qizhen reacted quickly.
Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen smiling, looking completely “fawning” in front of Wen Qiuxian.
Hearing this, Wen Qiuxian was indeed happy. “Right right right, ordered specifically for you. Next time I’ll take you to eat at the restaurant.”
Full of joy, Ye Qizhen liked coming here very much; the atmosphere was much more relaxed than at the Ye house. Even the bickering between Wen Qiuxian and Wen Yu was particularly interesting.
After dinner, Wen Qiuxian didn’t even go out to play mahjong. Living for decades, she finally experienced what it felt like to have a caring little padded jacket.
Sitting on the sofa, Ye Qizhen flipped through photos on her phone to show Wen Qiuxian. “This is our school library.”
“Yo, quite impressive.”
“When Auntie goes to Nancheng to play, I can take you around.”
“Really?”
“Mn.”
…
Wen Yu sat on the sofa on the other side, listening to the two chatting with relish, boredly changing channels with the remote, occasionally giving Ye Qizhen a look.
Unknowingly, it got late.
Wen Yu leaned on Ye Qizhen, rubbing her shoulder against her. “Not going back tonight, right?”
Ye Qizhen exchanged a look with Wen Yu, not wanting to go back either, but embarrassed to be too thick-skinned in front of Wen Qiuxian.
“Don’t go back, just stay here.” Wen Qiuxian spoke up, saying it readily. Completely not treating Ye Qizhen as an outsider.
Ye Qizhen stayed as she wished. She naturally slept in Wen Yu’s room. Probably because she was in such a good mood, as soon as she reached the bedroom, she bear-hugged Wen Yu and said smugly, “Auntie seems to like me coming over.”
Wen Qiuxian indeed liked Ye Qizhen; even a blind person could see it. Wen Yu was amused by Ye Qizhen’s little expression. “She even said before she wanted to adopt you as a goddaughter.”
“Ah? When?”
“When traveling the year before last.”
Ye Qizhen looked at Wen Yu and suddenly said seriously, “Then you have to call me Big Sister.”
They were the same age, her birthday in March, Wen Yu’s in November, older by more than half a year.
What is going on in that brain? The bed was right behind. Wen Yu unceremoniously pushed Ye Qizhen onto the bed, occupying absolute advantage and pressing on her.
“Mn…” Ye Qizhen was pinned down firmly, looking completely bullied, losing face.
“What did you say?” Wen Yu asked back.
“I’m older than you, shouldn’t you call me Big Sister?” Ye Qizhen still said childishly.
Wen Yu was noncommittal, lifting the hem of Ye Qizhen’s clothes directly, her palm probing in, wantonly.
Ye Qizhen pushed against her body, shoulders trembling with laughter. “Don’t do that.”
Wen Yu intensified her efforts.
Ye Qizhen inexplicably became competitive. She used her killer move, pressing her lips to kiss Wen Yu, and taking advantage of Wen Yu’s relaxation, flipped over to pin Wen Yu underneath her.
Wen Yu wasn’t overpowered, but willingly yielded. “Usually so quiet outside, only know how to bully me?”
Ye Qizhen stared into her eyes. “No way.”
“No?” Wen Yu’s voice faded, too close, unable to resist kissing her.
“Mn…” Ye Qizhen responded absentmindedly to Wen Yu’s kiss, wanting to say the door wasn’t locked yet, but Wen Yu entangled her and kissed passionately.
Just then, synchronized with two or three perfunctory knocks, the door was pushed open suddenly.
What you worry about most happens.
When Wen Qiuxian pushed open the door, Ye Qizhen hurriedly released Wen Yu’s lips, but she was still pressing on Wen Yu, too late to move away, and Wen Yu was still holding her waist.
The two maintained an extremely awkward posture in front of the parent. What they were doing was simply self-evident.
Ye Qizhen’s face flushed red, partly from Wen Yu’s kisses, but mostly because they were caught. Especially after exchanging a guilty look with Wen Qiuxian.
No wonder they rushed into the room. Wen Qiuxian stood at the door, silent for a second or two. She had seen all kinds of storms and waves; not that she felt embarrassed stumbling upon this—young people, all like this.
It was just that seeing Ye Qizhen usually looking obedient and well-behaved, now…
Quite surprising.
The air suddenly went quiet.
In front of Wen Qiuxian, Ye Qizhen didn’t even know how she moved off Wen Yu.
Wen Qiuxian crossed her arms, leaned against the door frame, and asked with a calm smile, “Want fruit?”
“No thanks.” Ye Qizhen’s head was numb. Looking at Wen Yu again, she acted as if nothing happened.
As expected of biological mother and daughter.
Wen Qiuxian glanced indifferently, continuing to pop out three words with a calm face: “Lock the door.”
Ye Qizhen: “…”
