Chapter 11: Dating

Putting away the sharpness she had shown when facing the enemy, Ming You walked toward Yan Ningxi with a smile as if nothing had happened. “Sister Yan, why didn’t you go in? You said you’d help me pick out a phone. Any recommendations?”

“A few months ago, I came to this store with Teacher He to buy a new phone and heard the staff introduce a few models. Of course, it still depends on your specific needs.”

The two entered the store, and a staff member followed right away. “Which of you two is buying a phone?”

Ming You browsed casually and stated her requirements. “The screen doesn’t need to be too big—something easy to operate with one hand is best—but it needs lots of storage, fast performance, and high pixel quality.”

Based on Ming You’s description, the staff quickly recommended two models. “These two fit what you just mentioned perfectly. One is the plus version from late last year, and the other is the latest model from the first half of this year.”

Ming You picked up a demo unit in each hand and swiped her thumbs across the screens a few times. “Sister Yan, which one did Teacher He buy?”

“Neither.”

Yan Ningxi pointed to a slightly larger-screen model on the display case next to Ming You. “Her requirements for phones aren’t as high as yours.”

“Oh.” After roughly testing the performance and feel of both phones, Ming You found little difference and asked the staff, “What colors are available? No need to mention out-of-stock ones. I want one ready to go.”

From the moment Yan Ningxi mentioned He Huan, Ming You lost all interest in buying a phone.

In the end, between emerald green and deep space gray, Ming You let Yan Ningxi choose, and she picked green. It was only because of how stunning she had looked in green on the wedding day that Yan Ningxi ranked it as the best match for Ming You.

The first photo on the new phone was a sneaky shot of Yan Ningxi’s profile half-body portrait in portrait mode, taken after Ming You fine-tuned the rear camera settings while Yan Ningxi wasn’t paying attention.

In the lens, Yan Ningxi was bathed in a layer of glow.

“Anything else you want to buy?”

Ming You shook her head. “Thanks for coming out with me, Sister Yan. Let’s head back to the hotel and rest this afternoon.”

After a few steps, she noticed Yan Ningxi hadn’t moved, so she turned back, looped her arm through hers, and resumed the relaxed demeanor from mealtime. “Sister Yan, I know what you’re thinking. As you saw, that woman just now is my dad’s second wife. In a relationship like this, you can’t say who’s good or bad. I can only say that beneath the surface of our hostility, she’s always the one who starts the fight. She makes snide remarks, so naturally, mine aren’t pleasant either.”

Yan Ningxi hadn’t expected Ming You to explain so much to her.

As she said, in their sharp verbal exchanges, neither she nor Chen Rui could claim innocence, and neither had the absolute moral high ground.

At Ming You’s age, if she didn’t stand firm, if she didn’t fight back, and just swallowed her anger, she would only end up suppressed and bullied by Chen Rui.

“Right or wrong has nothing to do with me. As long as you’re okay.”

Yan Ningxi’s words left Ming You puzzled. The first two sentences sounded detached and coldly aloof as always. But the last one inexplicably felt warm.

Ming You gripped her hand a bit tighter and leaned her head in closer. “Sister Yan, are you worried about me? Right?”

The girl adopted a coquettish tone, and Yan Ningxi found it hard to handle. She stepped forward, pulling her arm free to create some distance. “I need to prepare lesson plans this afternoon and evening, so I won’t come to the hotel to see you. If you’re still feeling unwell, you can contact me.”

“What about tomorrow? Can I invite Sister Yan to dinner tomorrow?” Ming You followed right behind, undeterred, and took hold of Yan Ningxi’s hand again.

Such clingy gestures had probably only happened when she was very young with family—there were no such memories in her growing-up years anyway. As far back as she could remember, Yan Ningxi was the second person she wanted to hold hands with, but the first one she actually did.

Ming You was so perceptive. If Yan Ningxi truly disliked or rejected her touch, she wouldn’t have gently removed her makeup for her at the start, checked her forehead with the back of her hand, leaned in to blow-dry her hair, or indulged her in holding her hand.

Just like now, the message transmitted through Yan Ningxi’s cool palm wasn’t cold rejection, but flustered uncertainty.

Even her ears were adorably red.

“Sister Yan?”

“I have something tomorrow.” The warm breath near her ear flustered Yan Ningxi’s heart. After saying that, she added, “We’ll talk later.”

…

Yan Ningxi’s words “As long as you’re okay” accompanied Ming You through a peaceful night.

From the moment she woke up in the morning, she pondered when would be the best time to follow up on that “We’ll talk later.” At nine or ten, she wanted to message asking if they could have lunch together, but worried she was being too pushy and it might backfire.

She held out until after twelve or one, stomach rumbling, before using her new phone to carefully edit a message: 【Sister Yan, when will you be done with your stuff today?】

She even attached a GIF of a little orange cat diving headfirst into a milk bowl.

Last night, after setting up the new phone, she had scoured for a bunch of emojis perfect for chatting with Yan Ningxi. It had taken quite some effort.

She never used emojis. To be precise, she rarely even used her own facial expressions.

【Yan Ningxi: Bringing you dinner.】

【Ming You: Great! Thanks, Sister Yan. [Happy]】

At five in the afternoon, after finishing her errands outside, Yan Ningxi picked up takeout from a restaurant she had eaten at a few times nearby and brought it to Ming You at the hotel.

This was supposed to be their last meeting, with a proper goodbye. At least, that’s what she thought.

“Miss Yan, wait!” As Yan Ningxi was about to enter the elevator, a front desk staffer jogged over. Having seen Yan Ningxi come and go for several days, the daytime attendant recognized her.

“This is a delivery for your friend. I was going to bring it up later when I had a moment. If it’s convenient for you…”

“Sure, hand it over.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

After confirming the label had Ming You’s name, Yan Ningxi took the two books into the elevator. The label listed the store name but not the specific titles.

Hearing the knock, Ming You thought it was room service. Still playing a mobile game, she opened the door.

“Your delivery.”

“Thanks…” Ming You responded reflexively, then looked up sharply and quickly closed the screen. “Sister Yan, you’re here! I thought you’d be busy late.”

She took the package from Yan Ningxi’s hand and casually set it on the entryway cabinet. “Professional-teacher-recommended must-read literature. Didn’t have time to go to the bookstore these past few days, so I ordered online.”

“Mm. During break time, balancing work and rest isn’t bad.” Yan Ningxi subtly alluded to her gaming, then set the food on the table. “Sichuan-style stir-fries to whet the appetite.”

After two days of bland vegetarian food, Ming You was craving spice, and her tone lightened. “Sister Yan, you’re the best.”

Afterward, Ming You ate quietly while Yan Ningxi sat nearby drinking tea, scrolling through messages on her phone, and annotating the script for the class rep’s play.

Once finished, Ming You threw away the trash herself.

Still at the entryway, Yan Ningxi stood and walked over. “I won’t come tomorrow.” She then asked, “Did you get tickets back to Hengyuan?”

“I did, tomorrow night.” Ming You stood in the doorway, face-to-face with Yan Ningxi.

Behind her, voices of other guests laughing and playing drifted over—a man and a woman, sounding like a young couple. They walked past Ming You, chatting and laughing. With a “beep,” they opened the next door.

The girl asked, “Over 300 a night—hope the soundproofing isn’t too bad.”

The guy replied, “Online reviews say it’s fine. We’ll find out tonight by listening.”

With the door closing, their voices were cut off inside the room. The sounds stopped, but it was hard not to imagine.

Yan Ningxi broke the silence. “Anything else you want to say?”

Realizing she was blocking the doorway, Ming You stepped aside. “Goodbye, Sister Yan.”

That phrase had become a habit these past few days.

Yan Ningxi didn’t say goodbye like her. Instead, she said, “Take care of yourself.”

Watching Yan Ningxi disappear around the corner, Ming You returned to the room and opened the package. One book was the one she had spotted while browsing a bookstore with Jiang Lai but couldn’t let her see, so she ordered it online. The other was something from the recommendations that she added on impulse.

One was Love Psychology, the other 100 Things to Do with a Lover.

Over these years, she had learned many things from He Huan, and He Huan had taught her many things. But romance—she had never taught it, and Ming You had never learned it.

She snapped a photo and posted to Space: 【I don’t know, so I have to learn.】

…

What Yan Ningxi considered their final meeting unilaterally didn’t exist for Ming You.

So on the seventh day of the long holiday, Ming You bought a bunch of stuff and went to find Yan Ningxi. Afraid of rejection, she didn’t contact her first. When she arrived and found Yan Ningxi wasn’t home, she sat on a bench outside the complex to wait.

As autumn set in, the summer heat faded. The sunset broke through thick clouds and descended slowly, like a beautiful girl half-veiled, blooming dazzling light amid the high-rises.

The afterglow spilled over the world as the person she had waited so long for emerged gracefully from the halo.

Spotting Yan Ningxi getting out of a car from afar, Ming You held flowers in one hand and a supermarket bag in the other. She flashed a bright, captivating smile and called out sweetly, “Sister Yan.”

“You haven’t gone back to school yet?” Ming You’s appearances always caught Yan Ningxi off guard.

Unexpected.

Yet not entirely.

“Late train, still early.” Ming You tilted her head to look at the car that hadn’t driven off yet. The windows were tinted for privacy; she couldn’t see inside. But since Yan Ningxi had come from the passenger seat, it probably wasn’t a ride-share—and it was a BMW to boot. “A friend dropped you off?”

“Mm.” She had no need to tell her who was in the car.

Ming You watched the car drive away. “You met for lunch, right? Perfect, so I can treat you to dinner.”

Just like that, she was “arranged” for. Refusal words reached Yan Ningxi’s lips, but she ultimately didn’t voice them.

After spending these past few days together, she had gotten some sense of the girl’s temperament. Sensitive, proud, willful, very opinionated—and most crucially: she responded to a soft approach, not a hard one.

To “talk properly” and “part on good terms” with her, she could only take a roundabout, go-with-the-flow method. Otherwise, she might not be her “match.”

…

Once inside, after setting things down, Ming You fiddled with the fresh flowers. There weren’t many—just sunflowers and sea holly. “Sister Yan, got a vase?”

Yan Ningxi had noticed the flowers outside the complex; they weren’t fancy packaged red roses or anything, so she hadn’t paid much mind. “Check the glass cabinet by the TV. There’s a ceramic bottle you can use.”

Yan Ningxi sorted the groceries Ming You bought—fridge stuff to the fridge, tonight’s ingredients to the kitchen—so she left finding the vase to Ming You.

After locating the ceramic bottle, Ming You rummaged in the not-so-private coffee table drawer for scissors and started trimming the flower stems and leaves.

She went to the kitchen to rinse the bottle and stems. “Having flowers at home makes it feel more alive. Looking at beautiful things lifts the mood.”

“I don’t do plants.” Everyone had innate talents and skills they could learn later. Flower care was probably one of those things Yan Ningxi was bad at both innately and otherwise.

“No worries, I’ll take care of it. These can last about five days. Don’t think it’s wasteful—fresh flowers are meant to be enjoyed.”

Ming You spoke like an experienced plant handler, but she had no clue about flowers or plants; she was just parroting what she’d read.

Books and the internet all said pursuing a woman required fresh flowers as an essential “weapon.” Vulgar, but effective.

She snapped a photo and posted to Space: 【Starting today, flower care.】