21 – vol.3 Cloud Top Cheese
Just after getting off the plane and waiting to collect her luggage, Xia Yilin called: “Suisui, have you arrived? I’m at the airport parking lot.”
Wen Ruosui stood waiting by the luggage carousel, pulling her carry-on suitcase, and said to her friend on the other end of the line: “I just got off the plane, waiting for my luggage now.”
“Alright, I’ll wait for you at the exit.”
Wen Ruosui carried her modest luggage and slowly walked out of the airport.
As soon as she stepped out of the exit at Beicheng Airport, she looked up and saw a young woman wearing large black diamond-studded sunglasses, with a head of brown wavy hair, sitting in a white Maserati.
Wen Ruosui smiled and walked toward her.
“Senior!”
The woman sitting there, with her flawless makeup and striking features, was Wen Ruosui’s high school senior, Xia Yilin.
Xia Yilin was two years older than her.
Both had attended Chongming High School in Beicheng. When Wen Ruosui was a freshman, Xia Yilin was a senior. Later, Xia Yilin was admitted to Pucheng University, and two years later, Wen Ruosui also went to Pucheng University, so they became senior and junior again.
However, Xia Yilin returned to Beicheng shortly after graduation, while Wen Ruosui stayed in Pucheng for two years because of her ex-boyfriend.
Seeing Wen Ruosui walk out, Xia Yilin pushed her black sunglasses up to her smooth forehead with her index finger.
She leaned out from the driver’s seat and gave Wen Ruosui a bright, confident smile:
“Suisui, you’re finally back.”
As she spoke, a pair of fair, slender arms reached out from the car window.
Xia Yilin was also wearing large colorful hoop earrings that swayed with her movements, yet didn’t look tacky at all.
“Do you have a lot of luggage? Do you need me to get out and help?” Xia Yilin said, already reaching to open the car door.
“No need, I don’t have much luggage,” Wen Ruosui quickly declined. “Senior, just open the trunk for me, I can load it myself.”
“Alright.” Xia Yilin leaned over and pressed the trunk button.
After Wen Ruosui loaded her luggage into the trunk, her senior had already thoughtfully opened the passenger door for her.
Once in the car and buckled up, Wen Ruosui said, “On such a hot day, you really didn’t have to come pick me up. I could have taken a taxi.”
“You’re my junior, of course I had to come. And we’ve been friends for so many years, no need for formalities between us.” As she spoke, Xia Yilin turned the steering wheel and slowly drove away from the airport exit.
“Then I still have to thank you, senior,” Wen Ruosui said playfully, pretending to be polite.
Xia Yilin gave her a helpless glance.
As the sports car slowly left the airport area, the scenery outside the window began to change. In the distance, the skyline of downtown’s high-rise buildings came into view, both familiar and unfamiliar.
While driving, Xia Yilin asked, “Suisui, are you staying for good this time?”
“Yes, I’m not leaving, I’ll stay here.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Wen Ruosui lifted her head, which had been lowered, and curved her lips into a smile. “Would I lie to you?”
Xia Yilin let out a long sigh.
She said to Wen Ruosui, “My dear girl, you’ve finally come to your senses.”
After a pause, Xia Yilin began her signature Xia-style rant: “You should have come back right after graduation. I hinted at it several times back then—that scumbag Yan Heng is unreliable. His face just screams ‘keeping one eye on the bowl and another on the pot.’ You two weren’t a good match; it was bound to end sooner or later.”Wen Ruosui said, “People can sometimes misjudge others.”
But Xia Yilin wouldn’t let it go: “That Yan Heng is such a scoundrel, daring to cheat. If I were in Pucheng, I would have punched him dozens of times already.”
Looking at her senior’s righteous indignation, anyone who didn’t know better would think she was the one who had been cheated on.
But Xia Yilin truly cared deeply for Wen Ruosui.
Back in high school and college, she had always looked out for Wen Ruosui, making sure she was the first to benefit from any good opportunities.
She genuinely treated Wen Ruosui well—so much so that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she regarded her as a younger sister.
Wen Ruosui understood this perfectly well.
“Senior, let’s just let bygones be bygones. Let’s not talk about that man anymore,” she said, rummaging through her handbag. “I picked out some perfume for you at the airport duty-free shop. See if you like it.”
While driving, Xia Yilin glanced over and saw Wen Ruosui’s slightly upturned face, her almond-shaped eyes clear and bright, her long eyelashes blinking twice in her direction.
Even as the older sister, she couldn’t help but curl her lips into a radiant smile:
“At least you still have a conscience, remembering an old lady like me.”
“It’s just a small token of appreciation,” Wen Ruosui blinked twice again, smiling brightly. “I’ll put it in the car’s little drawer here.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
As she glanced at Wen Ruosui, Xia Yilin seemed to notice something and asked while holding the steering wheel:
“Suisui, what’s that in your bag?”
Hearing this, Wen Ruosui was momentarily taken aback.
She then looked down and saw a corner of paper peeking out from her bag, with colorful brushstrokes and faint images of food.
Oh, so that’s what she meant.
A faint smile appeared in Wen Ruosui’s eyes as she said, “This is a drawing given to me by the girl sitting next to me on the plane.”
She then recounted what had happened during the flight.
Xia Yilin teased, “Just chatting casually and someone gives you a drawing. Suisui, your likable nature really hasn’t changed in over a decade.”
This wasn’t just empty praise.
In Xia Yilin’s eyes, Wen Ruosui was warm, friendly, and easy to be around. Everyone who interacted with her found her pleasant, which was why her cake shop had been able to thrive.
“By the way, I haven’t asked yet—what are you planning to do now that you’re back?”
Wen Ruosui slowly tucked the drawing back into her bag. She looked up at the road ahead, lost in thought, and said, “Probably starting a business and opening a shop, but this time I might focus on custom desserts.”
Xia Yilin listened, pondering for a moment.
She then commented, “Desserts are definitely your forte, Suisui. If you choose a location in the city center, you shouldn’t have to worry about customers.”
Almost immediately, she added decisively, “I’ll ask my husband when I get back to see if there are any suitable shops available. I’ll help you look for one.”
“Alright, thank you, Senior,” Wen Ruosui didn’t refuse.
She knew Xia Yilin’s personality—though she might seem tough, she was actually warm-hearted. Refusing her help would only make her unhappy.
Xia Yilin couldn’t help but sigh:
“What’s there to thank? You’re such a beautiful and talented woman, yet Yan Heng was so blind, cheating on you with a mediocre female superior.”
“If it weren’t for your clever move of exposing it through online public opinion, I really wouldn’t have been able to swallow my anger.”Wen Ruosui also sighed and said, “A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. I’ve already gotten my payback, so I’m not dwelling on that person anymore.”
“Let’s just look ahead. I’ll forget about this soon enough. After all, time can wash away a lot of things. I came back to start a new life anyway.”
Xia Yilin said, “I’m relieved to hear you think that way. Let’s get you back to that old house first, and we can take our time getting the shop up and running.”
“Sure.”