Ming You still returned to the apartment on Friday evening. She had originally planned for Qi Xuexin to come over on Saturday for hot pot with lamb, but Qi Xuexin insisted on eating out.
In bed, Ming You hugged Yan Ningxi. “Tomorrow is payback too? Does Teacher Qi still owe us a big meal?”
Yan Ningxi shook her head. “It’s her birthday. Let’s do as she says.”
“Birthday?? How come you didn’t tell me it was Teacher Qi’s birthday? I didn’t prepare a gift!”
“We don’t exchange birthday gifts between us.” That was something they had agreed on back in university. “Anything worth giving or that we want to give, we can do anytime. It doesn’t have to be on holidays or birthdays— that just feels too deliberate.”
“Yan Ningxi!”
“What?”
“I suspect you’re taking a jab at me!”
The accused didn’t have time to defend herself before her armpits and waist were attacked from above and below by a certain Dog Cub.
Laughter and pleas for mercy echoed intermittently from the room.
Once things quieted down, Ming You asked about winter break again. “Has the high school holiday notice come out yet?”
“It has. From January 26 to February 24, right after Lantern Festival. Teachers return on the 25th for meetings, and students start on the 26th.” Without Ming You even asking, Yan Ningxi laid out her winter break plans. “I’ll go home for Spring Festival for about ten days. The rest of the two-plus weeks, minus the ends, I’ll stay in Huai’an. No more sneaking off to my place on your own. Spend the New Year properly with your family, got it?”
Ming You was content to have even half of Yan Ningxi’s holiday time. “Then you have to make time to video call me on New Year’s Eve, and say…” Ming You whispered word by word into her ear, “I. Miss. You.”
Yan Ningxi didn’t respond. Ming You tickled her again. “Promise or not?” As she tickled, she brushed against the softness on her chest and nearly lost control.
“No more bullying you. Let’s sleep. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Yan Ningxi would spend a long time in Huai’an, but not to keep Ming You company. She was deeply in debt. She had winter break work to do, or where would the money come from for Li Qin’s surgery? Where would the money come from to repay Qi Xuexin? Where would the money come from to support her father in old age?
She had considered some plans, but none were feasible for her as a full-time teacher.
It seemed her identity as a teacher was destined to conflict with any possible future she might have with Ming You. Yet “teacher” was her mother’s expectation for her.
“Ming You.”
“Hm? Can’t sleep?”
“What I said before about you applying back to the provincial TV station—it wasn’t a condition. It’s your life. You must have your own ideas and plans. Follow your own pace.”
“So you were thinking about me? Who was it just now who stubbornly said she wasn’t?” Ming You rubbed her face, her voice lazy with sleep. “Sister Yan, don’t worry about my stuff. Anyway, I definitely won’t let you down.”
…
On Saturday evening, Qi Xuexin booked the dinner at a high-end Western restaurant.
After Ming You and Yan Ningxi entered and gave the table number, a server led them over. More eye-catching than Qi Xuexin was the tall woman standing outside next to her, and the bouquet of “red roses” made from hundred-yuan bills on their table—boxed, no less.
“Teacher… Yan, Little Pomelo, come sit quick.” Qi Xuexin greeted them first, then introduced. “My girlfriend, photographer and bar owner—Wei Kejia.”
“Photography and the bar are both side gigs. My main job is being Teacher Qi’s girlfriend—newly appointed. Please give me your guidance, Teacher Yan and Student Ming.” Wei Kejia extended her hand and shook with Yan Ningxi and Ming You one by one.
After shaking hands and sitting, Ming You cut straight to it. “So the bar we ran into is your turf?”
“Not entirely. I just invested a little money. Mainly, it’s my friend running it. When I’m not busy, I drop by occasionally to handle PR and keep an eye on things.”
Compared to their first meeting when she hit on her at the bar, Wei Kejia’s hair had grown much longer, and the dark green was way more low-key than the original blue.
“Photography—what kind? Portraits or landscapes?”
“If we’re splitting it that way, portraits. It’s also a photography studio I run with a few friends.”
Qi Xuexin nudged Wei Kejia’s calf with her toe. “Alright already, making yourself sound so impressive.”
Wei Kejia immediately smiled at her. “They’re your friends. Of course I have to come clean.” Then she made a zipping motion over her mouth.
Showing off again!
Qi Xuexin spoke for her. “Height 171, weight 108. No need to know the three measurements. Twenty-seven this year—not quite. By birth month, she’s younger than both of us.” Us two, of course, meaning her and Yan Ningxi.
Yan Ningxi looked at Wei Kejia teasingly. “Teacher Qi likes to play. You better keep an eye on her.”
“When it comes to playing, I’m the expert. However she wants to play, on earth or in heaven, I can keep her entertained to the fullest.” On the surface, Wei Kejia’s words had no special meaning, but the Qi Xuexin next to her blushed and lightly kicked her.
She was used to being kicked by now, so Wei Kejia didn’t bat an eye.
From the first night, her thigh had been bruised by Qi Xuexin’s kicks, but only the first night was real. After that, they were just flirtatious fun between the two.
Qi Xuexin noticed Ming You staring at the uncovered cash rose bouquet and studying it, so she put the lid on.
She explained, “I saw someone doing that in a short video that day and joked about it with her. Who knew she’d actually copy it and make me this bouquet? She’s not usually this tacky—I’m clearing that up for her.”
“And one more thing I have to solemnly clarify myself.” Wei Kejia raised her right hand in a swearing gesture, her expression sincere. “Heaven and earth as my witness, when I hit on Student Ming back then, I absolutely had no ill intentions toward her. I was purely worried about a young girl’s safety and wanted to advise her to go home. Of the four glasses I brought, only one had alcohol—the other three were plain water.”
“So you’re saying I got lucky? I drank the only one with booze.” Qi Xuexin rolled her eyes at her. “When I got a glass of plain water, I really thought she was the cheapest of the cheap.”
“True, my two glasses were plain water too. I was wondering if my taste buds were off from drinking too much.”
Ming You and Qi Xuexin sat diagonally across from each other. She reached out to Qi Xuexin. “Teacher Qi, you have to give me a red envelope this time.”
“Why should I give you a red envelope? And it has to be? What kind of must?” Qi Xuexin raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t even ask your Sister Yan for a meeting red envelope for my Little… Wei. I paid with my flesh for that.” Little Dog Wei almost slipped out.
Yan Ningxi: …
Ming You: ???
Wei Kejia: !!!
“Ahem, ahem.” Ming You didn’t buy her accounting. “One thing at a time. Without me, would you and Boss Wei have tied the red thread of fate?”
“It was bound to happen sooner or later!” The two locked horns.
When the city gates catch fire, the fish in the moat suffer. Qi Xuexin poked Wei Kejia’s arm. “You say, wasn’t it bound to happen sooner or later?!”
Actually kicked again, Wei Kejia held Qi Xuexin’s hand and repeatedly said “yes.” “Tonight’s meal is on me. Thanks to Teacher Qi for seeing something in me, thanks to Teacher Yan for the support, thanks to Student Ming for creating this fateful encounter for me and Teacher Qi—and for all four of us. Everything is the best arrangement.”
She raised the red wine in front of her. “Cheers to our best arrangement.”
The four ordered food and chatted happily.
Wei Kejia even extended an olive branch to Ming You, inviting her to be a model—spokesperson—for their studio, to shoot sample photos for various portrait themes for promotion.
“The studio’s right in the business district. With me and five photographers, we do wedding photos, personal portraits, family photos, bestie shoots, graduation pics—we do it all.” Wei Kejia had taken a liking to her back at the bar. Hitting on her had been partly to make a connection too. “You’ve got the looks, the image, the vibe—you’re born to be a model.”
“You’re right to target her. Strike while she’s not famous yet and make full use of her image.” Qi Xuexin didn’t go straight at Ming You but lobbied Yan Ningxi instead. “Teacher Yan, with our relationship, will you help or not? Don’t look at me like that—it’s friendly kidnapping.”
“Whether I shoot or not is my business. Why make it hard on Sister Yan?” Ming You caught Qi Xuexin’s look and got it instantly. “For the sake of your sisterly bond with Sister Yan, I’ll… consider it.”
When Ming You met Qi Xuexin, it was Little Fox meets Big Fox. In terms of scheming, Ming You had eight hundred tricks—Qi Xuexin had eighteen hundred.
She and Yan Ningxi had met on the same day as Qi Xuexin and Wei Kejia. Wei Kejia had gotten the flesh and the title, while she had nothing yet. She was even thinking of picking Wei Kejia’s brain.
“Boss Wei, does it pay?”
“Remuneration guaranteed.”
“Easy then. Add me on friends.”
…
After meeting up, the two Dog Cubs each drove off in their cars, heading different directions into the same night.
“About the modeling thing, don’t force yourself. I’ll talk to Qi Xuexin…”
“Sister Yan,” Ming You interrupted her. “With you or with Teacher Qi, I never force it. I’m really happy—truly.”
To convince Yan Ningxi and ease her mind, she continued. “People change. Back when I wasn’t close to you, I said myself that I liked going solo, didn’t like making friends, and especially hated owing people favors. Teacher He probably said something similar to you about me.”
“But now things are different. Because of you, because of Teacher Qi, because of your tolerance, indulgence, and unconditional protection, I’ve gained a whole new understanding of love and human connections. Being with you all, I’ve come back to life under the sunlight. Eyes blinded by darkness have seen, in the smokes and fires of the world, all the people and emotions I used to deliberately ignore.”
“People who seal themselves off never grow up. Without opening your heart, even if your feet travel ten thousand miles, you don’t grow. Teacher Yan, is that insight specific enough?”
While Ming You spoke, Yan Ningxi watched her without looking away.
She had told the girl not to grow up too fast, but the girl’s growth outpaced her expectations by far.
The car stopped at a red light. The girl turned to look at her, the faint light in her eyes hazy and alluring, making Yan Ningxi reach out involuntarily to stroke her head.
“Mm, enough for an essay.”
…
Late January, university vacation started one day later than high school, and finals dragged on longer, already underway in waves. Ming You and Yan Ningxi had agreed to reunite after break, but Yan Ningxi got hit by a cold virus.
“You didn’t even tell me you were sick. You trying to make me fail my exams on purpose?” The moment Ming You got home, she pinned Yan Ningxi down for a kiss.
Yan Ningxi clenched her teeth at first, then bit Ming You’s tongue. “Colds are contagious.”
“Better if it spreads to me. If you’re willing, bite my tongue right off.” Ming You laid down the harsh words and kept kissing.
“…”
They half-heartedly made out for a bit before Yan Ningxi ordered her to take cold prevention medicine. “You only bully me, a real sick person, because you’re stronger.”
They’d kissed, she’d taken the medicine—the real business of coming back still needed handling.
Ming You stood at the kitchen door, knife in hand, ready to chop meat for mushroom and lean pork congee. “Now you know you’re a patient? Patients should act like it and accept the care properly. And whether you’re sick or not, I’ll ‘bully’ you. You’re the only one I have to bully.”
Curled on the sofa, Teacher Yan was wrapped in a thick blanket by Ming You, only her head poking out. “Twisting words.”
“Who am I to win an argument with Teacher Yan?”
The cold virus differed from Ming You’s previous fever-dominated one. Yan Ningxi’s symptoms were itchy sore throat, coughing, sneezing, runny nose.
The goddess teacher’s image was completely gone.
It was Sunday. Ming You had been at school that morning. She got up to find her dormmates gone and video called Yan Ningxi.
Because she was sick, Yan Ningxi slept in a bit longer. She grabbed her phone, saw it was Ming You, and picked up.
That’s how Ming You discovered she was sick.
She prepped the congee ingredients and got them in the pot. Ming You opened the fridge—only two apples, ones she’d bought last visit. On the coffee table, there was a box of oranges and a big nut gift pack.
She casually grumbled, “Why does the school never change its habit of giving teachers oranges and nuts every year? They’re so heavy… I’ll go to the supermarket downstairs to buy some vegetables and fruits. Tonight, I’ll stew some rock sugar snow pear soup for you following the recipe.”
Ming You hadn’t mentioned the oranges and nuts to He Huan, but she had eaten them for two winters.
“Ming You.” Yan Ningxi called out to her as she was about to change shoes. “Eat lunch first before going. Come accompany me to watch TV.”
“That works too.”
She walked over to the sofa and sat down, selecting a replay of a New Year’s Eve concert.
Yan Ningxi leaned against her, grabbed her hand, and placed it inside the blanket to warm it. “The holiday benefits from the school—how did they become a problem?”
“In such cold weather, who eats oranges? If we’re short on vitamins, we can just eat more vegetables and vitamin C tablets. Plus, they’re so heavy—how can the female teachers carry them? In the future, if the school sends these heavy things again, just leave them be. I’ve got the strength. Wait for me to come back and carry them for you. Don’t hurt your hand.”
This box of oranges wasn’t something Yan Ningxi had carried back herself.
Not only could she not eat that many on her own, she didn’t like sour things, and Ming You didn’t like cold ones either. She had planned to give them away to other teachers. Unexpectedly, Jiang Bin had come to pick up He Huan, and the two of them had conveniently escorted her home along the way. They even helped carry the oranges and nuts right to her doorstep.
“You can drink orange juice. When you head to the supermarket this afternoon, see if they have any small-capacity juicers.” She had originally planned to pick one out at the mall over the weekend, but once she fell ill, she lost all energy to go out.
Conservatively estimating, there were at least twenty oranges in the box.
Some teachers in the group chat had already tried them and said they were juicy and very sweet. No matter how sweet they were, though, she still found them sour. She couldn’t bear to just watch them rot.
“Before you’re better, no cold drinks at all. Tonight, it’s hot rock sugar snow pear soup only.”
“Then you have to make it tasty.” Yan Ningxi had never stewed it herself before, so she had no advice to offer. “Take the nuts to school and share them with your classmates. Finals are coming up—you should supplement your brain too.”
“Teacher Yan, let’s put off the brain-boosting for later. How about you mend my heart first?” Ming You flashed a mischievous grin as she grabbed Yan Ningxi’s hand and placed it over her own heart. “Listen—it’s all irregular now. Mending the heart is something best done sooner rather than later.”
