Last night, after opening up, Xia Yuan realized how sensitive Meng Xiyue was inside, always anxious about her.
She became even more certain that Meng Xiyue was deeply in love with her.
Xia Yuan went back to the old house, planning to bring over all her childhood photos so that Meng Xiyue could get to know her better.
Aunt Lin had been pondering over the term “girlfriend” that Xia Yuan mentioned last time. The more she thought about it, the more it didn’t seem right, especially Xia Yuan’s expression when she talked about her friend—her eyes were filled with joy and tenderness.
That was definitely not the look one gives a friend.
It was more like the look one gives a lover.
This thought made Aunt Lin’s heart race. Several times, she wanted to mention it to Xia Ke, but Xia Ke had a very good impression of Meng Xiyue. The saying “one takes on the color of one’s company” seemed to apply here. Xia Ke was quite supportive of Xia Yuan and Meng Xiyue living together, believing that Xia Yuan would naturally learn something from Meng Xiyue over time.
Even if she learned just a little, Xia Ke would be satisfied.
With no other choice, Aunt Lin kept it to herself, not even daring to tell her husband, and could only worry silently.
She thought about calling Xia Yuan to ask, but unexpectedly, Xia Yuan came back.
“Why didn’t you call before coming back? I haven’t cooked yet. Wait a bit, I’ll go make something now.”
Aunt Lin didn’t bother asking anything else, just focused on making a meal for Xia Yuan. It was only eleven o’clock, and Xia Ke usually didn’t come home for lunch. Aunt Lin usually cooked for Xia Yuan, and with Xia Yuan gone, she had been idle.
Aunt Lin was now just enjoying her retirement at the Xia family, cooking meals and not much else.
Xia Yuan went to her room, which was spotless, just as she had left it. Sitting on the carpet, she started looking for the photo albums.
She had over a dozen albums, from her childhood to the present, all well-preserved.
Xia Yuan flipped through them. The top one was from this year, filled with printed selfies.
As she reached the end, she saw a photo she had accidentally taken abroad, the first time she noticed.
In private, Meng Xiyue would secretly look at her with gentle eyes.
Xia Yuan’s fingers tapped on Meng Xiyue’s eyes in the photo, and she chuckled. Just pretending.
Thinking back, was Meng Xiyue hiding her feelings back then because Xia Yuan liked Li Ting at the time?
Thinking about this, Xia Yuan felt as if a thread had suddenly connected everything.
No wonder Meng Xiyue had always been colder to Li Ting than to others. It turned out that she had already seen Li Ting as a rival in love back then.
Now it seems that Li Ting losing the position of CEO at Tianyu was also Meng Xiyue’s way of dealing with her rival.
Xia Yuan hugged the photo with delight, unable to hold back a chuckle.
What was this? Why didn’t she tell her anything? If she hadn’t been so observant, she would never have found out.
From now on, she would have to like Meng Xiyue the most too.
Xia Yuan put the photo album in her big bag and had someone come to carry it downstairs. Aunt Lin had already prepared two dishes.
When she saw Xia Yuan coming down, she said, “Almost ready.”
Xia Yuan responded and sat at the dining table, unable to resist taking a picture of the two dishes and sending it to Meng Xiyue.
“This is my lunch.”
After a while, the message showed as read.
Xia Yuan saw the “typing” indicator at the top and eagerly awaited the reply.
Soon, a message came through.
“Next time, I’ll cook for you.”
Xia Yuan couldn’t help but smiled broadly. This was indeed Meng Xiyue’s standard response.
She replied:
“Deal.”
In the meantime, Aunt Lin had brought out the rest of the dishes. “There’s still soup simmering on the stove. Take it with you when you leave.”
“Thank you, Aunt Lin.”
Seeing Xia Yuan enjoying her meal made Aunt Lin happy, but she couldn’t help but think about something that had been on her mind. She sat across from Xia Yuan, hesitated for a moment, and then couldn’t help but ask, “Yuan’er, can Aunt Lin ask you something?”
Xia Yuan swallowed the food in her mouth. “What’s the matter?”
Aunt Lin steeled herself and got straight to the point. “Yuan’er, what’s your relationship with that Miss Meng?”
Xia Yuan put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and answered seriously, “She’s my lover.”
For some reason, Aunt Lin felt a sense of inevitability. Over the past few days, she had quietly done some research and learned that love between people of the same sex was difficult and not widely accepted. She felt uneasy. “Yuan’er, if people find out about this, then…”
Xia Yuan snorted, her lips curling with arrogant disdain. “If they dare to talk, I’ll tear them apart. My love life is none of their business.”
“Aunt Lin, you don’t need to worry. Meng Xiyue and I are doing great. In fact, she proposed to me not long ago, and I already accepted.” Saying this, Xia Yuan shyly took a sip of water.
Aunt Lin was shocked. Years ago, when Xia Yuan was running around with Li Ting, she had felt that Li Ting was no good, but she couldn’t stop Xia Yuan from liking him. Now that Xia Yuan was finally done with Li Ting, she had found a girlfriend instead. Aunt Lin had spent several days preparing herself mentally for this.
And now, Xia Yuan had dropped a bombshell—they were already planning to get married.
Aunt Lin’s hands trembled as she took a sip of water. The shock was too much. She instinctively thought of Xia Ke, who had been praising Meng Xiyue just yesterday. “Yuan’er, does your brother know?”
Xia Yuan blinked and exclaimed, “I forgot to tell him! Aunt Lin, don’t worry. My brother loves me so much; he’ll definitely be happy for me.”
Aunt Lin took another sip of water. She couldn’t stop worrying. Xia Ke would probably be very troubled.
Forget it, she decided to leave the young people’s matters alone.
When Xia Yuan was about to leave, Aunt Lin handed her a hefty thermos. “Take this and share it with Miss Meng. It’s cold, and it’ll keep you warm.”
Xia Yuan hugged it and said sweetly, “Thank you, Aunt Lin.”
As Xia Yuan’s car disappeared from sight, for the first time, Aunt Lin felt a sense of melancholy, realizing that the child had truly grown up.
Xia Yuan took the thermos and went to find Meng Xiyue, who was still in a meeting.
Seeing the time, Xia Yuan realized she was almost late for her shopping date with Ji Shi. She handed the thermos to the secretary. “Give this to Meng Xiyue later and remind her to drink it.”
The secretary, holding the heavy thermos, assured her, “Miss Xia, don’t worry. I’ll remind the president to drink it.”
Only then did Xia Yuan leave with peace of mind.
As soon as Xia Yuan left, the secretary placed the thermos on the table. The other secretaries, who had been pretending to work, quickly gathered around to look at it but didn’t dare to open it.
“What a touching display of friendship, coming all the way here to deliver some nourishing soup.”
“In this cold weather, being able to drink a hot soup feels like a blessing. Why don’t I have a friend like Miss Xia?”
“Ah, forget the soup. If I had a friend as beautiful as Miss Xia, the soup wouldn’t matter. Just one look at her would recharge me instantly.”
“By the way, did you notice how flawless Miss Xia’s skin is up close? Not a single blemish. What kind of skincare products does she use…”
The conversation started to drift off-topic.
When Meng Xiyue finished her meeting and came out, the distracted secretary quickly handed the thermos to the CEO’s office. “President, this is the nourishing soup from Miss Xia. She specifically asked that you drink it.”
Meng Xiyue’s gaze fell on the blue thermos, her eyes softening in a way that felt like sinking into a cloud. The secretary was stunned by her beauty.
“Thank you, I understand.”
The secretary left in a daze, feeling an inexplicable excitement.
…
Xia Yuan and Ji Shi were shopping in a large mall. Over the past two years, Ji Shi had made a name for herself in the design world and had saved up a bit. Xia Yuan had never been short on money, so they bought whatever they liked without looking at the price.
When they reached the third floor and were picking out clothes, Ji Shi spotted a coat she liked. Just as she was about to ask the accompanying store clerk to take it down for a closer look, a delicate voice interrupted.
“Miss Wang, I had my eye on this coat last time. Please buy it for me.”
Ji Shi looked up and saw two women walking towards her.
One was wearing a trench coat, exuding a lazy aura, her eyes listless, lashes lowered, and her face pale, giving off a vibe of world-weariness and decadence.
The other was dressed in a form-fitting dress that accentuated her curvy figure, with meticulously applied makeup. The delicate voice belonged to her.
As they spoke, the two women had already walked up to Ji Shi. The delicate woman ignored Ji Shi and rudely instructed the store clerk, “I’ll take this coat.”
Ji Shi smiled good-naturedly. “I’m sorry, miss, but I picked this coat first.”
The delicate woman finally glanced at Ji Shi, looking her up and down, from her face to her clothes, and quickly concluded that Ji Shi’s outfit wasn’t from any famous brand.
With disdain, she said, “Can you even afford it?” The coat was nearly a hundred thousand yuan. She had wanted it for a long time but couldn’t bring herself to buy it. Now that she had finally convinced her sugar daddy to take her shopping, she wasn’t going to let it slip away.
Ji Shi didn’t really care about clothing brands; as long as it was comfortable, it was fine. However, being looked down upon with disdainful eyes, no matter how good-tempered she was, she felt annoyed. She smiled and said, “I just decided to buy it.” She handed her card to the store clerk, “Please wrap it up for me.”
The coquettish woman stomped her foot and shook her distracted patron, “Miss Wang, she’s bullying me.”
Wang Yueyue snapped out of her daze and met a pair of clear, gentle eyes, though her face wore a fake smile. This contrast made Wang Yueyue pay more attention. She raised her eyebrows slightly and glanced at her companion for the day, “Be good, go pick something else, I’ll pay.”
The coquettish woman had nothing more to say, glaring at Ji Shi. She knew the patron had taken a liking to her, but she didn’t mind. She happily went to pick out clothes, knowing Wang Yueyue was always generous with her lovers.
Once she left, Wang Yueyue casually said, “Interested in becoming friends?”
From their earlier conversation, Ji Shi could easily guess their relationship.
She politely declined, “Sorry.”
Wang Yueyue shrugged, not insisting, “Alright then.”
Ji Shi was about to leave to find Xia Yuan when she came over, “Ji Shi, come look at this outfit, do you think it suits Meng Xiyue?”
Ji Shi tilted her head. As a jewelry designer who had met Meng Xiyue once, she could easily pick out suitable jewelry for her elegant demeanor. The same went for clothes; she had her own insights.
She glanced at the outfit Xia Yuan had chosen and smiled, “It’s very suitable.”
Xia Yuan handed it to the store clerk, “Wrap it up.” Then she noticed Wang Yueyue beside Ji Shi and exclaimed, “Wang Yueyue.”
Wang Yueyue, with her hands in her pockets, lazily replied, “Miss Xia, just noticed me?”
Xia Yuan snorted, her gaze falling on the woman not far away, “Your taste is getting worse.”
Wang Yueyue raised an eyebrow, indifferent, “As long as it suits my taste.”
Xia Yuan knew Wang Yueyue was bisexual. She had come to terms with it quickly because she had such an example around her.
Ji Shi was surprised to find out they knew each other, but then she remembered she had been abroad for two years and wasn’t surprised anymore. She smiled and extended her hand, “Hello, I’m Ji Shi, a friend of Yuan’er.”
Wang Yueyue looked at the sincere smile on the other’s face, no longer the fake smile from before, and extended her hand, “Hello, Wang Yueyue, a friend of Yuan’er.”
They shook hands briefly.
Wang Yueyue suggested, “How about we find a place to sit?”
Xia Yuan refused, “I still need to buy clothes for Meng Xiyue.” She was immersed in the joy of shopping for Meng Xiyue.
Wang Yueyue felt a pang of jealousy and looked at Ji Shi, “Can I add you on WeChat this time?”
Ji Shi nodded.
The delicate woman also picked out her clothes. Wang Yueyue told them she was going to the checkout and then left. Before leaving, she unintentionally glanced at Ji Shi, who was discussing something with Xia Yuan.
Pretty and pure.
Interesting personality.
…
The two, caught up in a frenzy of shopping, realized several hours had passed by the time they came to their senses.
As they stepped out of the mall, a layer of snow had already covered the ground, and large snowflakes were still falling. The cold wind made them shiver.
Ji Shi suggested, “Let’s find a place to eat first.”
Xia Yuan nodded and found a hotpot restaurant nearby. As soon as they sat down, Ji Shi noticed Xia Yuan taking out her phone, her fingers tapping on the screen, clearly sending a message.
Ji Shi took a sip of hot water and casually asked, “Who are you messaging?”
“Meng Xiyue,” Xia Yuan put down her phone, propped her chin on her hands, and blinked at Ji Shi with a tone full of pride and showing-off, “Reporting my whereabouts to my girlfriend.”
So she wouldn’t get jealous and silently keep it to herself.
Ji Shi: “…”
She felt full even before eating.
*
When Xia Yuan got home, Meng Xiyue was already back, reading a book in the living room.
“I’m back.”
Meng Xiyue put down the book and warmed Xia Yuan’s cold hands with her own. Her eyes, framed by long lashes, exuded warmth and affection, “It’s snowing. Wear more layers when you go out tomorrow.”
Xia Yuan was practically clinging to Meng Xiyue. The other person was warm and comfortable to hold. She responded, “Mm-hmm.”

