Yan Yu never expected that ever since she told Bai Yan’er to keep their boundary-crossing relationship a secret in order to soothe her somewhat paranoid personality, this younger sister, like a vine that had found a crevice, seized every chance to wrap around her.
Fortunately, Bai Yan’er’s outward demeanor had indeed become much more low-key.
At school, she no longer approached without any restraint like before, which saved Yan Yu a lot of trouble.
However, she soon understood what Bai Yan’er meant by “launching an attack” on her.
It was the kind of infiltration like boiling a frog in warm water.
Early in the morning, Ruo Xiaozhen pushed Yan Yu’s wheelchair to the bottom of the Multifunctional Teaching Building.
The morning sunlight spilled over the steps, stretching the shadows of the two into long, thin lines.
Ruo Xiaozhen bent down, tilted her head, and waved at Yan Yu.
“Yan Yu, goodbye! I’m going to class now. See you at lunch!”
“Okay.” Yan Yu replied with a smile as usual.
Ruo Xiaozhen skipped away, her curly hair bouncing behind her, and soon disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
Yan Yu withdrew her gaze, gripped the handrims of her wheelchair, and skillfully turned the wheels, slowly rolling up the accessible ramp into the teaching building.
At the end of the ramp was the elevator lobby.
She pressed the call button, and the metal doors slid open silently.
She wheeled into the elevator and reached out to press the button for the third floor.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand reached in through the gap, blocking them.
Yan Yu was startled and instinctively looked up.
A girl walked in.
She was of medium to tall height, wearing a black cotton dress that ended just above her knees, a light blue denim jacket over it, and white canvas shoes on her feet.
She wore a baseball cap pulled low, and a black mask on her face, leaving only her eyes visible.
This outfit… felt somewhat familiar.
Yan Yu’s gaze lingered on the other person for a second longer.
Just as she was about to look away, she heard a soft chuckle.
That voice.
As if a switch had been flipped, a name instantly surfaced in Yan Yu’s mind.
“Yan’er?”
“It’s me.”
Bai Yan’er reached up and took off the mask, revealing a cheerful face.
She then lifted the baseball cap off, and her long hair fell down, setting off her crescent-shaped eyes.
“Why are you dressed like this? I almost didn’t recognize you,” Yan Yu said.
“The sun’s a bit strong,” Bai Yan’er squinted, her tone airy.
“I don’t want to get a tan.”
Yan Yu glanced at her but didn’t press further.
The elevator doors closed again, and the car began to ascend slowly.
Bai Yan’er stood beside Yan Yu’s wheelchair, her gaze falling on Yan Yu’s profile, examining it carefully for a moment.
“Sister’s skin never gets tanned at all,” her tone carried a hint of envy.
“That’s so nice.”
Yan Yu turned her face away.
“My skin is too pale, it’s not pretty. Yours, Yan’er, with a bit of color, is just right.”
“Hmm—” Bai Yan’er drew out the syllable, as if seriously considering the words.
“But I just like Sister’s the way it is.”
As she spoke, she naturally moved behind the wheelchair and gripped the handles on the back.
“Sister, can we sit together in class later?”
Yan Yu could feel the warmth from Bai Yan’er’s proximity on her back.
She closed her eyes briefly and could only nod.
Bai Yan’er smiled in satisfaction, straightened up, and stood properly again.
“Lucky that I’m in the same class as Sister, and your roommate is from a different major, otherwise your whole day would be stolen by that girl called Ruo Xiaozhen.”
Yan Yu gave a wry smile.
“It’s not that exaggerated. What stealing or not…”
“It is.”
Bai Yan’er’s voice came from above, her tone firm.
Yan Yu opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but at that moment the elevator dinged and stopped.
The metal doors slid open to both sides, revealing the third floor corridor.
“Let’s go, Sister.”
Bai Yan’er pushed the wheelchair and steadily exited the elevator.
As usual, they sat in the last row of the Multifunctional Classroom.
Bai Yan’er first pushed the wheelchair next to the seat and locked it, then bent down, supporting Yan Yu’s arm with one hand and guarding her waist with the other, carefully transferring her from the wheelchair to the chair.
Once Yan Yu was settled, Bai Yan’er sat down next to her.
She deliberately chose a seat in the corner, so Yan Yu had a wall on one side and herself on the other.
The entire row of seats was empty, with no room for a third person to sit.
Yan Yu noticed this little gesture but said nothing.
The bell for class rang.
The teacher on the podium turned on the projector and began explaining the new lesson.
Yan Yu opened her notebook, held her pen, and carefully wrote down the key points.
The sunlight slanted through the window, casting a warm patch of light on the desk, where chalk dust floated slowly in the beam.
Everything was calm and orderly.
Until her phone suddenly vibrated.
Yan Yu was startled and glanced down at the screen.
It was a message from Ruo Xiaozhen.
‘What’s this? It’s still class time, why is she sending a message? That girl Ruo Xiaozhen, her class is with the famously strict Chen Laotai’s professional course, and she still manages to sneak time to chat with me.’
She hesitated for a moment, then, taking advantage of the teacher turning around to write on the blackboard, she quietly tapped open her phone screen.
Ruo Xiaozhen: Yan Yu, Yan Yu, do you know!!! Our school recently opened a new little cafeteria by the lake! It’s the small white building that’s been empty all this time! The food there is cheap and delicious! And they have my absolute favorite malatang!!! Let’s go there for lunch, okay?
You could feel the excitement behind the string of exclamation marks even through the screen.
Yan Yu couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.
She had only an average liking for malatang; that stuff was too oily and spicy, and her stomach might not be able to handle it.
But she didn’t want to dampen Ruo Xiaozhen’s spirits.
At worst, she could order a clear broth.
Yan Yu replied: Okay.
She added a cute sticker, an animated gif of a kitten nodding.
After sending the message, she was about to put her phone away when she suddenly felt a gaze from beside her fixed on her.
That gaze was warm and focused, like an invisible thread extending from the side, wrapping around the hand holding her phone.
Yan Yu slowly turned her head.
As expected.
Bai Yan’er was tilting her head, looking at her, her gaze slowly moving from the phone screen to her face.
Those beautiful eyes were slightly curved, like a cat watching its prey without being in a hurry to pounce.
“Sister,” her voice was very soft, so soft that only the two of them could hear, “who were you just chatting with?”
“With Ruo Xiaozhen…”
Yan Yu’s fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the phone.
“What were you chatting about? Can you tell me?”
Yan Yu suddenly felt a hand on her leg, gently touching her skin.
Then Bai Yan’er’s body slowly leaned in, staring at her without blinking.