Yan Nianyi gave two light coughs, attracting the attention of the woman beside her. Stroking the back of her phone with her fingertips, her fair face still retained a trace of blushing redness.
“Sister, do you know the date for the Xue family banquet?” Yan Nianyi asked eagerly.
“Mmm, mid-May. What is wrong? Are you going? The Yan family should be receiving an invitation,” Yueyi replied after a moment of thought.
“Are you going, Sister?” Yan Nianyi asked again.
“I will,” Yueyi nodded. “The Xue family shares a bit of friendship with the Yue family.”
“Then can I go with you? As your date?” Yan Nianyi tightened her grip on her phone. Staring unblinkingly at the woman in front of her, her palms were sweating from nervousness.
Yueyi paused for a moment, browsing the latest company news on her tablet. Dense lines of text filled the screen.
“Is there a difference?” Yueyi smiled.
Given the Yan family’s status, they would naturally receive an invitation. If Yan Nianyi wanted to go, she had no need to tag along with her.
“Yes, there is,” Yan Nianyi tilted her head. “The identity is different.”
“If you want to.” The tablet froze on a certain page. Yueyi’s light brown pupils reflected the text, and her brow furrowed imperceptibly. “I have things to take care of later, so I will send you home first, is that alright?”
“Ah? Okay,” Yan Nianyi let out an ah and passively nodded.
She got into the car uncomprehendingly. Her gaze swept over the constantly receding scenery as she pondered what Yueyi was going to do later.
Clutching her phone, she avoided Yueyi’s sight and opened a certain application.
The red dot on the screen displayed their current location. Later, based on the red dot, she would be able to figure out what Sister was going to do.
In a wonderful mood, Yan Nianyi turned off her phone and rested her head against the glass car window. From the reflection on the glass, she could see the woman’s unadorned beauty.
She observed Yueyi in this way without being discovered by her.
After about half an hour, the car stopped at the entrance of the Yan family villa.
“Goodbye, Sister,” Yan Nianyi said parting words to Yueyi.
“Goodbye,” Yueyi nodded, turning the steering wheel without hesitation.
Yan Nianyi stood in front of the gate of the Yan family villa, waiting a moment before pulling out her phone to check.
The red dot on the screen moved steadily in a single direction.
It was not Yueyi’s home, but rather the direction of the Yue Corporation.
Sister is going to the company. Yan Nianyi was puzzled.
According to the information given by the people arranged around Yueyi and what Yueyi herself had said, she was supposed to rest for a period of time in the future. Why was she going to the company again now?
Could something have been left at the company? Yan Nianyi guessed.
She turned around and entered the Yan family home, heading straight up to the second floor. She grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom to wash up.
The amusement park she visited today had too many people, and the smells were too chaotic. She hadn’t felt much while following by Yueyi’s side, but now that she was alone, that aura seemed to linger on her body, impossible to wash away.
Her mysophobia flared up, and she couldn’t stand it for even a single second.
After showering and blow-drying her hair, Yan Nianyi did a simple skincare routine, climbed onto her bed, and picked up her phone, which was currently charging.
The screen displayed two unread messages.
Since she had set notifications to hide specific content, she flicked her wrist, unlocked the screen with facial recognition, and opened the messages.
[President Yue bought the earliest flight to France.] The message showed it was sent twenty-five minutes ago.
[President Yue is about to arrive at the airport.] Five minutes ago, the other party sent another message.
Yan Nianyi’s heart skipped two beats.
[Why is Sister going to France?] Yan Nianyi.
[Miss Yan, this involves internal company matters. According to our previous cooperation terms, I cannot inform you.] The other party replied quickly.
[How much longer until the flight takes off?] Yan Nianyi pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth and typed quickly to inquire.
[Less than an hour.] The other party replied.
Less than an hour. From her house to the city airport, it was only a little over ten minutes by car. She crossed several fingers over the back of her phone.
If she went now, she would still make it in time, but that would seem far too deliberate.
Suppressing the urge to go, she typed out a question: [How many days?]
[Expected to take at least seven days.] The other party replied.
“Five days,” Yan Nianyi muttered aloud.
She wouldn’t be able to see Sister for five days.
Just as she was quietly sighing, a thought suddenly popped into her head.
She opened her calendar and looked at the date for May ninth.
Sister won’t be able to make it back in time. Yan Nianyi bit her lower lip, vigorously massaging her brow. Her eyes were clouded with sorrow and bitterness.
She closed the chat interface and opened the map application. The red dot on it hadn’t moved for a long time, and the displayed location was indeed the city airport.
What on earth had happened at the Yue Corporation to make Sister rush abroad during such an important period, unable to return before May ninth?
Biting her lip, she made a phone call.
During the days Yueyi was away, Yan Nianyi sent Yueyi a greeting every single day.
However, due to the time difference between the two and the fact that Yueyi was so busy she barely had time to reply to other messages, every message she sent only received two brief replies more than a dozen hours later.
Yan Nianyi stared at the messages on her screen, savoring them over and over with eyes full of tenderness.
On the morning of May ninth, Yan Nianyi woke up very early. Dressed in plain clothes and having removed all her jewelry and accessories, she drove to a flower shop.
Picking up the pre-ordered bouquet of white chrysanthemums, Yan Nianyi drove toward a cemetery located on the mountainside on the outskirts of the city.
May ninth was the death anniversary of Yueyi’s parents.
Yan Nianyi parked her car a thousand meters away from the cemetery. She got out, holding the bouquet of white chrysanthemums with dignified posture.
When she arrived at the cemetery gate, Yan Nianyi hesitated. It was not her first time coming here.
Yet it was her first time coming completely alone.
She stood at the entrance of the cemetery, bowed deeply, and whispered, “Excuse me for intruding.”
Yan Nianyi straightened up, looking straight ahead, and walked forward along the path connecting the cemetery grounds.
About ten minutes later, she stopped in front of one of the gravestones.
Bending down to carefully place the bouquet of chrysanthemums before the tombstone, she bowed deeply once more.
“Uncle, Auntie, I’ve come to see you.” Yan Nianyi spoke in a low voice, afraid of disturbing the people inside.
She stood in silence, not knowing what else to say.
According to the customs of the city’s locals, unless one was a close family member, one should not linger for too long.
With a respectful expression, Yan Nianyi stood resolutely before the tombstone.
“Uncle, Auntie, I’m leaving. I’ll come see you again next time.”
I hope I can spend more time keeping you company next time, Yan Nianyi silently thought to herself.
From start to finish, she only spoke two sentences, and her stay lasted no more than two or three minutes.
Humbly turning around, Yan Nianyi walked out of the cemetery.
Along the way, she brushed past a female student who hadn’t yet had time to change out of her school uniform.
Her peripheral vision caught the name of the school badge on the girl’s uniform: Yuelan High School.
She turned slightly sideways, her gaze lingering on the girl’s retreating figure. Two seconds later, she calmly withdrew her gaze and left.
Back in her car, Yan Nianyi sat in the driver’s seat, her elbows propped on the steering wheel, her lowered gaze fixed unblinkingly on the car logo in the center of the wheel.
Her free hand pulled out her phone and opened the map application. The red dot still indicated a location abroad.
She switched to the chat application and opened her conversation with Yueyi, greeted by the message she had sent earlier that morning.
[What is Sister doing?] Yan Nianyi.
There was still no reply from the other end.
Blinking, Yan Nianyi started the vehicle and drove away from the area.
When she returned to the Yan family home, she ran into Yan Pin, who had also just arrived home.
The man’s car was parked at the entrance of the villa, and he was looking at her with a face full of confusion.
“Brother,” Yan Nianyi got out of the car, tossed her keys to the approaching valet, and nodded at the man as a greeting.
“Where did you go?” Yan Pin raised an eyebrow.
“Visiting an elder.” With her expression completely normal, Yan Nianyi walked past the man and entered the villa.
Uncomprehending, Yan Pin asked the butler beside him, “Why does she look so sad?”
“Miss Yan might be in a bad mood,” the butler guessed.
“Could it be she went to find Yueyi and the other person ignored her?” Yan Pin’s expression turned a bit unsightly. Walking as he spoke, he muttered, “I still have no idea what Nianyi even likes about Yueyi. They’re both women, how is it even possible to be together?”
Yan Pin’s voice carried a sense of helplessness. In his impression, his younger sister seemed to have started clinging to Yueyi in every possible way from the very first moment she met her.
“It couldn’t possibly be love at first sight, could it?” Yan Pin rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
The butler following behind him stepped forward and pushed open the villa door.
Yan Nianyi was standing in the center of the living room. Ever since just now, the red dot on the map had started moving, and its speed was not slow at all.
It didn’t look like someone sitting in a car.
“What are you looking at? So focused?” As soon as Yan Pin entered, he spotted the standing woman. He stepped closer and leaned over, wanting to see what Yan Nianyi was looking at.
She easily dodged out of the way.
“You’re not allowed to infringe on other people’s privacy. Do I need to teach you such basic manners?” Unflustered, Yan Nianyi turned off her phone screen, dropped her arm, and let out a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “Brother.”
Yan Pin rolled his eyes. “You have the nerve to lecture me? You have so many things about Yueyi in your room, does she even know?”
Yan Nianyi raised her head to meet his gaze, speaking with absolute confidence: “She doesn’t.”
“She doesn’t.” Yan Pin replied.
Too lazy to talk to him, Yan Nianyi walked over to the sofa and sat down.
“Sis, tell your brother honestly, did you go find Yueyi today and get ignored by her, which is why you’re unhappy?” After all, they were full brother and sister; how could he bear to watch his own sister be sad?
“Hmm?” Yan Nianyi put down her phone. “Am I unhappy?”
“It’s obvious. Normally, you at least wear a fake smile on your face. Look at you now, there’s not a shred of a smile,” Yan Pin analyzed matter-of-factly. “Besides, you just came back from outside, so you must have gone to find Yueyi.”
Yan Nianyi’s mouth twitched, and she pulled a corner of her lips upward. “A fake smile?”
“That’s more like it.” Yan Pin bent down, grinning, and waved his hand in front of her eyes. “Look at your smile right now, how fake it is, not sincere at all.”
“Get lost, don’t dangle in front of me.” Annoyed, Yan Nianyi glared at the person in front of her.
“Tsk tsk tsk, you actually told me to get lost, so sad. I’m your real brother, you know! Would you ever talk to President Yue like that?” Yan Pin stepped back with a punchable expression on his face.
“No.” Yan Nianyi flatly denied it. Before heading up to the second floor, she dropped a light sentence, “Sister wouldn’t be as annoying as you.”
Left in place, Yan Pin could only sigh helplessly. What kind of soul-stealing soup did she feed you?
Standing on the second floor, Yan Nianyi looked down condescendingly at the man in the living room and walked into her bedroom.
That night, Yan Nianyi was writing something on a piece of paper stored in a special cabinet when her phone chimed.
After finishing her last sentence and putting the paper away properly, she picked up her phone to check.
It was a message from Yueyi.
[Just saw the message. Been busy.] Yueyi.