Yu Yixian had planned everything out perfectly: she would watch two videos, recall the techniques she had learned, and then craft a beautiful, perfect batch of bingtanghulu (candied haws).
However, in practice, she crashed and burned repeatedly.
Either the sugar was cooked too long and turned into charcoal, or her hands shook while coating the fruit. After wasting an entire Saturday, she finally managed to produce a presentable batch of candied haws.
She had originally intended to challenge herself with the “milk skin” candied haw skewers that had been viral last year, but seeing her results, she decisively gave up.
Some things are better left to the professionals.
Yu Yixian waved her hands in defeat.
Looking at the colorful skewers of bingtanghulu before her, Yu Yixian instructed her domestic helpers to put them away and warned them strictly not to touch them.
“Miss, what about these… what should we do with them?” the butler asked, looking at the dozen or so skewers behind her, silent.
Yu Yixian was also silent. She usually quite enjoyed eating bingtanghulu, but after spending the whole day making them… she truly had no appetite.
“You all can divide them up among yourselves. Even if they look a bit rough, the fruit and sugar are high quality; they won’t taste bad.” Yu Yixian snapped one off and took a bite. The strawberry juice, enveloped in the crunchy sugar coating, melted in her mouth. It was simply delicious.
The butler distributed most of them, leaving only six skewers.
With her parents away, Yu Yixian thought about her friends, wondering whose family was home so she could send the rest over.
Just as she was thinking, her phone suddenly rang.
“Hello,” Yu Yixian drawled, leaning back on the sofa.
“Big Miss, save me!!”
Hospital.
Yu Yixian held a bouquet of flowers she had just bought downstairs in her left hand, and carried the remaining bingtanghulu in her right, arriving at Yang Yuan’s hospital room.
The door was open. Yang Yuan was leaning against the headboard, playing a game on her phone. The expression on her face was unpleasant, likely because her teammates were playing poorly.
Yu Yixian stood at the door and knocked.
“Ahem.”
“Who is it? Big Miss!”
When Yang Yuan looked up and saw Yu Yixian at the door, her face lit up with joy, and she immediately tossed her phone aside.
Yu Yixian raised an eyebrow and walked in with the flowers. “It’s been a few months, and you’ve really improved, haven’t you? Let me guess, our next meeting will have to be at the funeral parlor.”
Yang Yuan immediately put on a flattering smile and reached for the chair beside her to offer it to Yu Yixian. “Big Miss, please don’t tease me. I just wasn’t paying attention and broke my leg, that’s all.”
Yu Yixian let out a “heh,” and swatted Yang Yuan’s hand away.
“Enough, since your leg is broken, stay put properly. Don’t go and break your arm too.”
Yang Yuan rubbed her hand that had been slapped, looked at the flowers in Yu Yixian’s hands, and said happily, “You didn’t have to come, why buy flowers… wait, they look a bit familiar.”
Yu Yixian glanced at her, then glanced at the four or five identical bouquets displayed next to her.
Of course they were familiar—everyone bought them at the same shop downstairs.
“Don’t flowers all look the same? It’s normal that they look familiar. Stop looking at the flowers, tell me, how did you break your leg?” Yu Yixian placed the flowers on the other side. She had thoughtfully decided to let Yang Yuan discover the secret herself.
Yang Yuan shifted her pensive gaze away from the flowers, thinking she must have been mistaken. Hearing Yu Yixian ask how she broke her leg, she awkwardly scratched her head. “I was betting with that idiot Wei Da a couple of days ago, but I didn’t expect the mountain road to be slippery from the rain. I drifted right into a wall.”
The more Yang Yuan spoke, the guiltier she felt. She didn’t dare meet Yu Yixian’s eyes, burying her head lower and lower.
After hearing this, Yu Yixian was so angry she started laughing. She looked at Yang Yuan’s fluffy head and rolled her eyes so hard it hurt.
“How many times have I told you to stop going out street racing? I think you’re just too bored. Brother Yang should just send you to the countryside to farm!” Yu Yixian crossed her arms and said coldly.
Yang Yuan grabbed her head and wailed, “Why the countryside to farm? Shouldn’t I be sent abroad?”
Yu Yixian rolled her eyes. “Send you abroad? Dream on! Sending you abroad would be no different than using a meat bun to throw at a dog!”
“Stop scolding me, please! I know I was wrong.” Yang Yuan immediately surrendered, clasping her hands together and bowing repeatedly to Yu Yixian.
“I don’t think you know you’re wrong; I think you just don’t have a choice right now because your leg can’t move.” Yu Yixian didn’t buy it and slapped Yang Yuan’s hands away. “Stop with this useless act. Do Brother Yang and the others know about your broken leg?”
Yang Yuan nodded honestly.
“That’s something, at least you know to tell the family,” Yu Yixian thought to herself, glad Yang Yuan hadn’t tried to hide it.
“I couldn’t hide it. I saw my second sister’s secretary at the hospital.” Yang Yuan wore a mournful face, her tone filled only with frustration at not having been able to cover it up.
Yu Yixian: …
Ha.
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Hurry up, why did you have me come over?”
Yu Yixian sat in the chair, not wanting to deal with Yang Yuan. She really didn’t know what this girl was trying to do day after day. She had been so cute and well-behaved when she was little; now that she was grown, the rebellious phase had arrived.
She, Qiao Xin, Yang Yuan, and several others had grown up together, from kindergarten all the way to high school. It was only when they got to college that everyone went their separate ways—some went abroad, some kept drifting along.
The Yang family had three children. The eldest and the second eldest were fraternal twins, cultivated since childhood to be heirs. Yu Yixian had a significant age gap with them and didn’t see them often.
Yang Yuan’s birth was a bit of a surprise, and since the elders favored her brother and sister, they didn’t pay much attention to Yang Yuan.
As a result, Yang Yuan had followed Yu Yixian around when she was little. Later, when it was time for college, Yang Yuan’s grades were average. She didn’t get into the same university as Yu Yixian and just picked a random school to drift through.
Once in college, the rebellion hit. She somehow got hooked on street racing and had several accidents. Yu Yixian had tried to persuade her at first, but Yang Yuan would agree properly to her face, only to go racing again the moment she turned away. After a long time, Yu Yixian stopped bothering to care.
“That… can you talk to my second sister and tell her not to let that idiot Wei Da take care of me? Can you?” Yang Yuan tentatively grabbed the hem of Yu Yixian’s coat and voiced her request.
Yu Yixian squinted at her. “Reason?”
“Seeing that idiot makes me angry, which isn’t good for my recovery!” Yang Yuan spoke without a second thought.
Yu Yixian wasn’t very familiar with the Wei Da that Yang Yuan spoke of. He was someone she only got to know after Yang Yuan started college. Although he was in their social circle, he didn’t hang out with them very often.
However, if her second sister had ordered Wei Da to take care of Yang Yuan, there must be a reason for it. Yu Yixian glanced at Yang Yuan’s unwilling expression, but instead of refusing directly, she asked a question she was more curious about.
“What kind of bet did you make with him?”
Yang Yuan’s face immediately flushed red. She began to stammer, her overly clear and foolish eyes darting left and right, clearly making up a lie.
“Let me say it.”
A person suddenly appeared at the door, giving both Yu Yixian and Yang Yuan a fright. Yu Yixian coughed lightly to cover up being startled, while Yang Yuan erupted in curses.
“What are you doing here! Get out, get lost! I want to vomit just looking at your face! Ugh!”
Wei Da was wearing a tracksuit and carrying a thermos. He looked pleasant and relaxed. He didn’t seem bothered by Yang Yuan’s insults, instead pushing his glasses up and looking at Yu Yixian.
“Hello, Miss Yu. I didn’t know you would be coming, so I didn’t bring your dinner. My apologies.” After speaking, he lifted the thermos he was holding.
Yu Yixian nodded nonchalantly. “It doesn’t matter. I’m only staying for a moment, then I’ll be leaving. You two can eat yours.”
“Don’t go! I don’t want to stay in the same space as him. Here, you can have my food.” Yang Yuan really didn’t want Yu Yixian to leave and grabbed her arm.
Yu Yixian looked at Yang Yuan with disdain, then turned to Wei Da. “Thank you for taking care of her. So, what bet did you two make?”
Yang Yuan was shocked, glaring at Wei Da and shouting, “You’re not allowed to tell! You can’t tell!”
Wei Da chuckled, and amidst Yang Yuan’s screaming and covering her face, he spoke slowly, “It’s nothing. I just wasn’t paying attention, which caused Yuan-Yuan to get hurt.”
“Stop calling me Yuan-Yuan, is it not disgusting?”
Yu Yixian raised an eyebrow. Oh? Helping to hide the truth, bringing food, and staying sweet even after being cursed at.
She knew this routine well!
However… Yu Yixian glanced at the disgusted Yang Yuan, smiled, and didn’t press further.
“Young Master Wei, I’ll be going now.”
“Senior?” Yu Yixian heard a familiar voice. She tilted her head and happened to make eye contact with Ling Yun, who was standing behind Wei Da.
“Senior, why are you here? Are you feeling unwell?”
Although Yu Yixian wanted to “accidentally” run into her senior, she didn’t want to do it at a hospital! Could it be that her senior was sick? She immediately ran over, filled with worry.
Yang Yuan: …Where did that “cutesy” act come from?
No, wait. Is this the tone her Big Miss is actually capable of making?!
Ling Yun glanced at Wei Da, who was pretending to be innocent, and ignored his wink. She turned to Yu Yixian and explained earnestly, “I’m fine. Young Master Wei was coming to the hospital, and since my mother has been hospitalized recently, I just came along with him.”
Young Master Wei?
Yu Yixian glanced at Wei Da without a trace, lost in thought. However, her focus remained on the second half of Ling Yun’s sentence.
“Is your mother okay?”
No wonder her senior had been so busy lately, having to attend classes, complete her internship, and take care of her sick mother!
“She’s fine. The doctor said she’s recovering very well. Have you eaten yet?” Ling Yun asked softly.
“Not yet. How about you, Senior? Why don’t we go for hot pot? The one I recommended to you last time,” Yu Yixian immediately tested the waters, wanting to spend time with her senior since they had run into each other.
Ling Yun nodded. “Okay.”
Yu Yixian was instantly overjoyed. She grabbed Ling Yun and was about to leave, but suddenly remembered something and ran back.
“Yuan-Yuan, there are candied haws here. Remember to eat them,” Yu Yixian ran back to the room, took one of the skewers she had brought from the paper bag, and reminded Yang Yuan again.
Then she turned and ran out again.
Yu Yixian had arrived quietly, but she left like a whirlwind. Yang Yuan didn’t want to look at Wei Da, but remembering what “Big Miss” said about the candied haws, she took one out of the paper bag.
“So ugly. Was Big Miss scammed?”
…
Leaving the hospital, Yu Yixian handed the skewer to Ling Yun with an embarrassed look.
“I didn’t know I would run into you, Senior. I made these myself. They’re a bit ugly, but the taste isn’t bad. I actually made one that was super beautiful, intending to give it to you tomorrow, but since I ran into you today, I wanted you to try it.”
Ling Yun stared at the candied haws in front of her, stunned, and murmured, “You recognized me?”
Yu Yixian said “Ah,” and looked at Ling Yun with confusion. “What?”
Ling Yun shook her head. “Nothing.” She accepted the skewer, her heart feeling both sweet and bitter.
“Hurry and try it! This strawberry has a lot of juice; it’s delicious.” Yu Yixian took two quick steps, stood face-to-face with Ling Yun, and waited with her hands behind her back, watching with anticipation.
Ling Yun hadn’t wanted to eat it—this was something Yu Yixian had made for her—but looking at Yu Yixian’s expectant eyes, she couldn’t bear to let that expectation go to waste.
Crunch.
The thin, crispy sugar coating, combined with the strawberry’s juice, burst open in Ling Yun’s mouth, just like the feeling in her heart at this very moment.
“It’s delicious.” Ling Yun swallowed the strawberry and looked intently into Yu Yixian’s eyes.
Yu Yixian felt a weight lift off her heart and gave Ling Yun a brilliant smile. “I’m glad you like it! Tomorrow, I’m going to show you the one that turned out most beautiful!”
“Why did you want to give me candied haws?” Ling Yun asked, a hidden trace of expectation rising in her heart.
“I saw that your profile picture was a candied haw, so I thought you might like to eat them, and tried making a few.”
Actually, she had made over a dozen. Yu Yixian didn’t plan on mentioning that.
“…Thank you. Do… do you want some?”
Ling Yun looked at Yu Yixian’s brilliant smile, and her heart began to race. Thinking that these candied haws were made specifically for her, the suppressed emotions in her heart felt like a volcano about to erupt, scaring her into quickly changing the subject.
Yu Yixian looked at Ling Yun in surprise. “Ah, okay.”
This… this practically counts as an indirect kiss, right?! This is sharing the same skewer! The senior must have feelings for her too, right? Right?!
Ling Yun snapped back to reality, realized what she had just asked, and instantly didn’t know how to move her hands. She stood there stiffly, but her eyes remained locked on Yu Yixian.
In an instant, Ling Yun felt half the air around them had been sucked away, and time itself had frozen. She could only see Yu Yixian’s movements: the slightly parted lips, where a tender, pink tongue was faintly visible. The sound was amplified infinitely; she felt she could hear the sound of the sugar shell cracking. Pink strawberry juice stained the corner of Yu Yixian’s lips, and she subconsciously reached out, rubbing her thumb against Yu Yixian’s lips. Her consciousness told her to let go, but her body wouldn’t obey.
Meanwhile, Yu Yixian quietly looked at Ling Yun, not stopping her, and even indulging her. Her lips were parted slightly, damp, as she tried to moisten Ling Yun’s dry finger.
It wasn’t until a car horn broke the pause between them that Yu Yixian turned away and coughed lightly, chewing with her cheeks puffed out. Ling Yun lowered her hand, her eyes still glued to Yu Yixian.