The car turned into the alley and stopped in front of the rental house.
It was an old residential building, the walls mottled with age and the stair railings rusted.
But the pot of lush pothos by the door was thriving—Ruo Xiaozhen had picked it up from the vegetable market a while back, saying it would “add some life.”
Yan Yu had just rolled down the car window when she heard a clatter of slippers from the stairwell.
A moment later, Ruo Xiaozhen’s fair face poked out from the unit door.
Her eyes lit up, and she hurried over in big strides.
“You’re back! You’re back!”
she said, bending down to help the driver get the wheelchair.
Her movements were quick and practiced.
“Thanks for the trouble, driver. I’ll take it from here.”
Once the wheelchair was set up, she carefully helped Yan Yu out of the car, already chattering away:
“Xiao Yu! How was it? That Jiang Muyun’s birthday banquet—no one gave you a hard time, right? That Su Qinghan didn’t do anything to you, did she?”
Yan Yu settled into the wheelchair and smoothed the blanket over her knees.
Her tone was calm.
“No, it was fine.”
“Are you sure no one bothered you? I told you not to go!”
Ruo Xiaozhen pushed her toward the stairwell, her voice laced with affectionate reproach.
“Going to places like that only gets you hurt, but you’re so stubborn, you wouldn’t listen. Ah, forget it, forget it—let’s not think about those awful people. Come on, I made you something good to eat!”
As she spoke, she pushed open the door to the first-floor rental.
A warm aroma of home-cooked food rushed out, mingling with steam that pushed back the night’s chill.
Yan Yu looked up and froze.
The table was covered with dishes.
Braised ribs, stir-fried vegetables, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, a steaming bowl of corn and rib soup, and a small plate of cold cucumber salad.
The table was full of them, each dish neatly arranged—it was clear a lot of effort had gone into it.
“Xiao Zhen, did you make all of this?”
“Of course!”
Ruo Xiaozhen put her hands on her hips, looking proud.
“I waited especially for you to come back and eat. So? Surprised? Shocked?”
Yan Yu looked at the dishes, and her nose tingled slightly.
She had eaten a little at the banquet, but at an occasion like that, how could she really eat freely? She had just picked at a few bites to keep up appearances.
Now, smelling this familiar home-cooked food, her stomach belatedly let out a soft rumble.
Her eyes curved into a smile.
“Thank you, Xiao Zhen.”
“What’s there to thank!”
Ruo Xiaozhen pushed her to the table and quickly ladled her a bowl of soup, chattering as she worked.
“We share the same room, so we’re family. Eat up, get some strength. I know what I make can’t compare to those fancy dishes you eat at Tiannan Star—”
She deliberately drew out her words, then patted her chest.
“But this is Xiao Zhen’s special recipe—you can’t buy it outside!”
Yan Yu watched her smug, self-praising expression and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Ruo Xiaozhen giggled along with her, stuffed a rib into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a satisfied hamster.
The two sat at the table, eating and chatting happily.
The rental was small.
Some parts of the walls had peeling paint, and the lightbulb was an old yellow one—nothing like the crystal chandeliers of the banquet hall.
But sitting here, watching Ruo Xiaozhen eat with greasy lips and chatter endlessly, Yan Yu felt a rare sense of peace and warmth.
The food was hot, and so were people’s hearts.
As she ate, the chill she had brought back from the banquet gradually dissipated, warmth spreading from her stomach inch by inch.
When she was about half full, Ruo Xiaozhen suddenly put down her chopsticks, as if remembering something.
“Oh, right, Yan Yu. Speaking of which, someone who said she was your sister added me on my contacts today.”
Yan Yu was lifting a piece of radish with her chopsticks.
Her hand paused midair.
“What?”
“It’s Bai Yan’er, that girl from your class.”
Ruo Xiaozhen bit into a large chicken leg and spoke with her mouth full.
“She must have found my avatar in the grade group and added me as a friend.”
A strange feeling crept over Yan Yu.
She slowly put down her chopsticks and asked, “What did you talk about?”
“Nothing much, just some small talk.”
Ruo Xiaozhen chewed on the chicken leg, completely oblivious.
“She somehow found out I’m rooming with you, asked me how you were doing, then said something like, ‘That’s so nice’—and added, ‘Thank you for taking care of my sister.’”
She smacked her lips, seemingly unconcerned, and added casually:
“Yan Yu, I’m really jealous that you have such an obedient and sensible sister.”
Yan Yu lowered her eyes, looking at the half piece of radish in her bowl.
She said nothing.
Obedient and sensible?
She turned those four words over in her mind, but something about them felt off.
Images immediately flooded into her mind from that afternoon in the classroom.
Bai Yan’er had, without any warning, leaned down in front of her and planted a light kiss on her cheek.
That scene barged into her thoughts like a small stone thrown into a once-calm lake.
Yan Yu’s heart suddenly felt restless for no reason.
She was sure she shouldn’t feel this way.
She picked up the glass on the table and chugged several mouthfuls of cold water.
The icy liquid slid down her throat, finally suppressing the restless emotion.
She put the glass down, her fingertips still wet, and clenched her hands around the cup.
Bai Yan’er contacting Ruo Xiaozhen was definitely not as simple as “wanting to take care of her sister.”
From what she knew of Bai Yan’er—though most of that “knowledge” was probably just what Bai Yan’er allowed her to see—every move this sister made had a deeper meaning.
That day, Bai Yan’er had suggested they live together.
After Yan Yu refused and said, “I already have a roommate,” a hint of disappointment had flickered across that delicate face.
Yan Yu remembered it clearly.
Was that disappointment real?
Or was it just another carefully designed expression?
She couldn’t be sure what Bai Yan’er was trying to do.
Sometimes, she even felt that this sister was like a piece that had completely broken away from the script, popping up from time to time to disrupt all her predictions, giving her an indescribable sense of unease.
But one thing she was certain of.
Bai Yan’er was absolutely not as simple as she appeared.
The somewhat naive, slightly coquettish gestures in front of her, as well as the deliberate aloofness of a Bai family heiress in front of others—
No matter which side, they were just masks Bai Yan’er had carefully designed.
And underneath those masks, what was her true goal, what did she want? Yan Yu still couldn’t figure it out.
The more she thought, the more her chest felt tight, as if stuffed with a damp ball of cotton.
After dinner, Ruo Xiaozhen quickly cleared the dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash.
The sound of running water and Ruo Xiaozhen’s humming drifted faintly from outside, adding a touch of domestic warmth to the small rental.
Yan Yu wheeled herself back to the bedroom alone.
The moment she closed the door, she felt every bone in her body ache with exhaustion.
It wasn’t physical fatigue—it was a weariness that seeped from the marrow.
She took a quick shower, changed into her pajamas, and crawled under the covers.
Her pillow smelled faintly of laundry detergent.
The blanket, which Ruo Xiaozhen had hung out to dry during the day, was fluffy and soft, carrying the scent of sunshine.
She lay there for a while, staring at the old ceiling light above, her mind still churning with all kinds of thoughts.
She didn’t know how long it took, but her eyelids eventually grew heavy.
She closed her eyes, and her breathing slowly became steady.
Outside the window, the night quietly spread.
From deep in the alley, a dog barked occasionally, only to be carried away by the wind.