Chapter 5

Since she had to handle Si Nanyu’s discharge paperwork, Wen Qingyan took the morning off. Her classes weren’t until the afternoon, and having skipped lunch, she grabbed the strawberry pie from her desk the moment class ended to fill her stomach.

She had barely taken two bites when Si Nanyu’s call came through.

Staring at the familiar number, Wen Qingyan froze for a moment.

Apart from people she wasn’t close to, everyone used WeChat calls these days, so it had been a long time since Si Nanyu had dialed her actual phone number.

Wen Qingyan set down the strawberry pie, cleared her throat, and picked up. “Hello? What is it?”

But her voice still carried a trace of exhaustion, so Si Nanyu deliberately lowered hers on the other end. “Wen… mm!” Unable to figure out how to address her, she faltered mid-word.

Wen Qingyan ignored it entirely and said coldly, “Just get to the point. I have class.”

“Mm… okay!”

“So, someone just called me saying something about a Wind-Forest Iron Cavalry. What is that?” Si Nanyu asked cautiously, and Wen Qingyan couldn’t help but frown, her voice turning even colder. “You bought a car again?”

“A car? So it’s a car… The name is pretty cool, though…” Si Nanyu mumbled under her breath. Wen Qingyan had no time for this and cut in immediately, “Is there anything else? If not, we’ll talk when I get home.”

“Oh, okay, okay, fine. You go ahead and stay busy.”

Si Nanyu answered meekly, and only after Wen Qingyan hung up did she open the app on her phone to look up “Wind-Forest Iron Cavalry.”

Her phone had a lot more functions now, and Si Nanyu needed some time to figure it out. Fortunately, most of the operations were just a little more complicated than before, and she soon found the Wind-Forest Iron Cavalry…

It looked exactly the way she liked. So cool!

As for the price, though… Si Nanyu’s eyes went wide the moment she saw it.

Her first thought was, Am I really that rich?

Then she downloaded the app from the search results, entered her phone number, and the ordering information popped right up.

Tank 300 – Wind-Forest Iron Cavalry – Avocado Green.

Si Nanyu had to admit, both the style and the color of this car were… were exactly her taste!

It was just that the price was a bit steep for her.

But she truly did love it. After mulling it over for more than an hour, during which the 4S Dealership called once more (she didn’t pick up), she finally made up her mind.

The only problem was that she had no idea how to go pick up the car. She hadn’t even gotten her license yet…

The phone was addictive. Si Nanyu scrolled around, downloaded Douyin, and started watching short videos.

She scrolled until she lost track of time, scrolled until the sky darkened…

Only when a beeping sound came from the doorway did Si Nanyu sit up from the sofa, quickly straighten her clothes, and hide her phone behind her back.

It was naturally Wen Qingyan who returned. Both hands occupied, a bag slung over her shoulder, takeout from the doorstep held in her left hand, and with her right hand… she was walking a milky-white dog.

She was a Labrador, affectionately pressed against Wen Qingyan’s leg, extremely well-behaved.

Just not so much toward Si Nanyu. The moment she saw her, she ducked behind Wen Qingyan.

That did nothing to dampen Si Nanyu’s interest. She blinked and stepped forward, wanting to take the takeout from Wen Qingyan’s hands and pet the dog while she was at it.

To her surprise, Wen Qingyan’s left hand dodged away, and the dog on her right dodged right along with it.

Si Nanyu’s hands froze in midair. The scene turned just a little awkward.

She stammered, unable to get a word out, and lowered her head in dejection, feeling deeply that something must be wrong with her.

The dog was so well-behaved, yet she was afraid of her and didn’t want to get close.

Watching this, Wen Qingyan only thought she was being dramatic. She passed over the takeout with a blank expression. “Bought it for you even though I knew you wouldn’t eat it.”

“Bought the dog even though I knew you wouldn’t feed her.”

The dog wasn’t fully grown yet. She looked tall, but a bit on the thin and frail side. Still, she was very clever, and she probably understood what Wen Qingyan was saying, because her tail wagged low twice, sounding a note of protest.

Then she trotted along behind Wen Qingyan, bouncing as she went.

She knew she was about to feed her, looking lively and adorable.

Wen Qingyan took out the chicken jerky while keeping an eye on Si Nanyu, watching her slowly open the takeout box, pull out a pair of chopsticks, and prepare to dig in…

“Were you not going to heat it up first?” she reminded quietly.

“Ah! Right, right, I was just looking…”

“Yu-Xiang Shredded Pork Rice Bowl.”

“It’s edible cold, but it’s better heated. With the weather being what it is…” Wen Qingyan found herself saying a few more words than usual in response to Si Nanyu, and halfway through, she noticed it herself, shutting her mouth and looking down to dig out the chicken jerky.

Once the rice bowl was heated, Si Nanyu sat at the dining table, glancing left and right, taking the occasional bite.

The one person and one dog, exasperated by her staring, both turned to look at her. The dog couldn’t speak, but her expression was confusion enough.

Wen Qingyan just asked her outright. “Is there something you want?”

Si Nanyu broke into a smile and pointed at the dog by Wen Qingyan’s feet. “I… I want to know what she‘s… called?”

“Ribs.”

“Wh… what?”

“Ribs. Didn’t you hear me?”

“I heard you!”

Wen Qingyan didn’t say anything more. She lowered her head, gave all the chicken jerky in her hand to Ribs, dusted off her palms, picked up her backpack, and went back to the bedroom to grab a change of clothes for a shower.

Ribs devoured the chicken jerky with great relish, and Si Nanyu was starving too. Having asked what she wanted to ask, and with Wen Qingyan back in the bedroom, she lowered her head and dug into her food as well.

The more she ate…

The more she craved the taste of ribs.

She loved ribs. Loved sweet and sour ribs, braised pork ribs, garlic spare ribs…

So this dog’s name was most likely something she herself had chosen!

“Ribs!”

When she finished the rice bowl, Si Nanyu called out to the dog.

Ribs hadn’t finished her jerky yet. She shot her a glance and went right back to eating…

Treating her as if she didn’t exist at all. Her fairly large body even shrank a little closer to the floor.

Si Nanyu could only console herself. Ribs is busy with the jerky. Once she finishes, she‘ll definitely… pay attention to me!

But by the time Ribs had polished off the chicken jerky, and Si Nanyu had cleaned up the takeout boxes, the dog still hadn’t come over.

Si Nanyu left of her own accord, and Ribs glanced at her again, then swished her tail off to find Wen Qingyan.

Labradors were supposed to be one of the most people-friendly breeds. What on earth was wrong with this one…

Because when Wen Qingyan came out toweling her hair, Ribs’s eyes actually lit up, and she looked ready to pounce on her.

“Ribs. No.” Wen Qingyan warned in a low voice, and Ribs could only sit down beside her feet, sullen and unwilling…

With Wen Qingyan out of the bathroom, Si Nanyu was at a loss all over again. Her gaze drifted from Ribs down to the floor by Wen Qingyan’s feet, then slowly traveled upward.

They were at home, and she had just showered, so naturally Wen Qingyan wasn’t still in her shirt and slacks. She had changed into a lotus-pink slip nightgown, modest and proper, loose and comfortable.

Only her collarbone showed clearly, and her half-length, loosely curled hair was still damp, a few strands falling against it.

As if she didn’t notice at all, she handed the nightgown in her hand to Si Nanyu. “Go shower.”

“…Okay.” Si Nanyu answered, cheeks flushing, and picked up her own nightgown to look at it.

She had thought Wen Qingyan’s nightgown was very pretty, and it looked so comfortable, so she’d assumed hers would be something similar. But…

The one Wen Qingyan handed her had shoulder straps thinner than the ones on Wen Qingyan’s by half, an extremely short hem trimmed with lace… and the neckline was… very low.

OMG. Kind of revealing.

Si Nanyu knew perfectly well what she was working with up front. She refused to believe that at twenty-eight she had grown much from her eighteen-year-old self.

She looked down and confirmed it…

Bigger by just a tiny bit. A B cup at absolute best.

So what was the point of a low-cut nightgown???

Shameless!!

“What are you doing? Go take your shower.” Wen Qingyan watched her blush one moment and mutter something under her breath the next. Frowning in mild impatience, she said, “Go shower.”

“Okay, okay, okay… I’m going.” Si Nanyu answered on reflex, hugging the nightgown and running off with her head down. She had barely taken a few steps when Wen Qingyan’s voice rang out again. “Come back. Why are you going to the kitchen?”

Si Nanyu looked up, saw the range hood right in front of her face, then turned around and gazed innocently at Wen Qingyan.

Wen Qingyan sighed and pointed across the hall. “Over there. The bathroom.”

Since Wen Qingyan had just showered, there was still some steam lingering in the bathroom and the temperature was far from low. Si Nanyu stripped off her clothes in a few quick moves and started washing.

A night in the hospital had left her feeling grimy all over, so she took her time with the shower. When she finished, she picked up the nightgown and hesitated…

In the end, blushing, she put it on.

When she came out, Wen Qingyan was idly watching a drama on TV. Ribs had already gone back to her little bed to sleep; hearing the movement, she cracked one eye open for a glance at her, then closed it again and kept sleeping.

Wen Qingyan, though, actually turned to look at her.

But she didn’t give her a chance to speak. She switched off the TV and said, “We’re picking up the car tomorrow. Get to bed early…”

“You’re sleeping over there.”

She pointed to the room diagonally across from the master bedroom she was about to enter, said it in a flat tone, and started walking toward the master bedroom.

Just then, Si Nanyu’s timid voice drifted over. “Wen…”

She turned and saw Si Nanyu clutching the front of her nightgown, asking with a face full of bashfulness, “We’re… not sleeping together?”

“No. We’re sleeping separately now.”