“Would you like to tell your friends?” Yueyi asked as they walked out of the KTV.
Yan Nianyi had barely spent any time socializing with her friends, and leaving so early felt a bit impolite no matter how she looked at it.
Yan Nianyi nonchalantly pulled on Yueyi’s car door. Finding it still locked, she let go of the handle and said, “It is fine. We were planning to leave anyway.”
Fearing Yueyi might worry, she added, “Did you know one of our friends got hurt? They just got taken away by an ambulance, so it is not really a good time to keep hanging out here.” Her explanation sounded entirely reasonable.
“Make sure to visit them when you have time,” Yueyi instructed. “Do not go empty-handed. Bring some fruit or something similar.”
“Okay.” The car locks clicked open, and Yan Nianyi pulled open the passenger door and got in.
“I have things to do, heading out first,” Yan Nianyi sent a message to Shao Yihan.
“Understood,” Shao Yihan replied.
Yueyi looked straight ahead, her fingertips tapping a steady rhythm against the steering wheel. She had a small apartment near the company where she usually slept on workdays. The place was not very large, and she wondered if the person beside her would find it comfortable.
The company department gathering had naturally been held close to the office. Yueyi rubbed her mildly throbbing temples. Her well-tailored shirt hugged her slender frame, the cuffs casually unbuttoned and resting loosely around her wrists.
Yan Nianyi stared at her with deep eyes. From the moment she laid eyes on Yueyi, her entire attention had locked onto this single person. Her burning, heated fingers clenched into fists, the pale tips turning a faint pink from the sheer pressure. Her pupils reflected Yueyi’s focused, attentive expression while driving, exquisite and noble. The unintentional trace of laziness that slipped out struck straight into her heart.
Her burning, unmasked gaze raked over Yueyi from top to bottom, the emotion in her eyes growing increasingly intense.
Over the past eighteen years, Yan Nianyi had never imagined that one day, someone could attract her so deeply, blending into the very marrow of her bones.
Even her blood would boil and burn at a single glance from this person.
Yet, she had to restrain herself, using absolute logic to keep her constant, bubbling infatuation under control.
“Haa.” Yan Nianyi let out a silent breath, the surrounding environment suddenly dimming.
They had entered the underground parking garage.
She forcefully pulled back her gaze, masking away the emotions in her eyes bit by bit. Her silver-rimmed glasses became her best protection.
“I usually live in a small apartment around here. We can go up later and see if you are comfortable staying over,” Yueyi said, pulling out the car key. “If you are not used to it, I can send you home or to a nearby hotel.”
“I will be comfortable.” Yan Nianyi pushed her glass frames up. Her palms had broken out in a light sweat from gripping too tightly, leaving half a fingerprint on the lens that partially blocked her vision.
Taking off the glasses, she pulled a tissue from her small carry-on bag to wipe the lenses, a soft smile blooming across her face. “Wherever Older Sister lives, I will definitely be comfortable.”
Yueyi brushed aside a few stray strands of hair falling across her face, tucking them behind her ear. “Let us go.”
In her eyes, Yan Nianyi had always been gentle and well-behaved. Even though she was born into the century-old Yan family and showered with affection, she still naturally exuded a rare humility from her bones.
It was not a superficial kind of humility.
“Mm.” Yan Nianyi gently tugged at Yueyi’s shirt hem, successfully causing the person in front to turn her head back.
“What is wrong?” Yueyi slowed her pace.
“Older Sister, can you massage my hand?” Yan Nianyi held out her left hand, carefully observing Yueyi’s expression as her aggrieved voice took on a pitiful tone. “My hand accidentally got pressed against the table edge back at the KTV, and it still hurts so much.”
Older Sister knew she was afraid of pain.
“The back of your hand?” Touched by her pitiful appearance, Yueyi took her hand without a second thought, her thumbs rubbing back and forth across the back of her hand.
“Mm, yes.” Surrounded by warmth, Yan Nianyi let out a satisfied sigh.
The sound of high heels striking the ground played out a rhythmic melody. Yan Nianyi felt the thumb moving up and down across her hand.
Yueyi loosely wrapped four fingers around her palm, the bases of her fingers bearing light calluses. The slight friction slid like a ripple across Yan Nianyi’s nerves.
Yueyi’s small apartment was located on the eighth floor. They stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the eighth floor.
Raising a hand to hold Yan Nianyi’s arm under the bright light, the back of her hand showed a cool, pale shade where purplish-blue veins were clearly visible.
And now, they were covered by a faint pink flush, the color she had just rubbed into it. “Does it still hurt here?”
Yan Nianyi snapped back to reality, instinctively lowering her head to mask her momentary distraction. “It does not hurt anymore.”
“Good.” The warmth in her palm vanished the moment the words fell, without any hesitation or lingering attachment, just like Yueyi herself.
Yan Nianyi’s fingers twitched slightly, as if trying to grasp onto the dissipating heat and the woman’s lingering fragrance.
“Ding.” The red digital numbers on the panel locked in, and the elevator stopped.
Yueyi stepped out first, pausing slightly for Yan Nianyi before continuing forward.
The woman stood tall and straight, her pinned-up hair tumbling loose the moment she unlocked the smart lock with her passcode.
Yueyi slipped a hair tie around her wrist, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. “Nianyi,” she called back softly, the warmth in her eyes melting completely into Yan Nianyi’s gaze. Bending down, she retrieved a pair of slippers from the shoe rack, her tone smooth and gentle. “These have not been worn by anyone else. Do you think these are okay?”
“They are fine.” Yan Nianyi lowered her eyelids. The pale blue design did not look like Yueyi’s usual style. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she asked sweetly, “Does Older Sister keep two pairs of slippers rotating even when living alone?”
Yueyi had just finished changing her shoes and looked up at the question. “My younger sister said she was coming over last time, so I bought them.”
“I see.” Receiving her answer, the joy in Yan Nianyi’s expression grew even more pronounced as she bent down to change her shoes.
Seeing Yueyi walk toward the living room, she quickly surveyed her surroundings.
Ah, no traces of anyone else living here.
“Nianyi.” Yueyi sat down on the leather sofa, propping her forehead with her elbow against the sofa armrest. The loud noise from the KTV earlier had left her head throbbing, and feeling the deeper ache now that she was resting, she asked, “Did you smoke today?”
It was a very faint scent of cigarette smoke. She had noticed it when they ran into each other in the KTV hallway, though she had been too focused on the blood on Yan Nianyi’s clothes to ask at the time. Sitting here now, everything that happened today began replaying in her mind, making her sense of smell much sharper.
“I might have accidentally brushed against it somewhere.” Yan Nianyi frowned imperceptibly.
Did Older Sister really smell it?
“I am going to take a shower first,” she volunteered, wanting to avoid leaving a smell on Older Sister. “But Older Sister, I did not bring a change of clothes.”
Yueyi blinked drowsily, supporting her heavy head. “I have clean pajamas here. You can make do with those.”
Pausing for a moment, she stood up and walked into the bedroom.
Pulling open the wardrobe, she found a set of new pajamas in the lower shelf compartment and continued searching through the drawer below.
When Yueyi emerged from the bedroom, Yan Nianyi was standing right where she left her. She had not sat down or wandered around, just quietly standing there, her silver-rimmed glasses reflecting the light and giving her a hazy, ethereal beauty.
Yueyi blinked hard, handed over the clothes, and chuckled softly. “Those glasses really suit you.”
“Really?” Yan Nianyi welcomed the compliment, hugging the clothes to her chest with a curved smile. Her already exquisite and striking face gained a cool, aloof aura framed by the silver-rimmed glasses, yet her beaming smile added a playful touch.
“It seems I really do look good in glasses,” Yan Nianyi reminisced. “Older Sister said a long time ago that she liked the way I looked wearing glasses.”
“Did I?” Yueyi asked in surprise.
“You did,” Yan Nianyi affirmed. Otherwise, why would her room back home have a whole cabinet full of various glasses?
“Older Sister, I am going to take a shower now.” Tilting her head, she slipped into the bathroom.
Yueyi wore a faint smile as she slumped back onto the sofa, closing her eyes to rest.
A sudden phone ring broke the silence and startled the person on the sofa. Yueyi glanced at the caller ID on the screen. It was her secretary.
“What is it?” The woman’s calm voice flowed out slowly and steadily.
“Director Yue, should I pick you up from your house tomorrow?” the secretary asked.
Yueyi shook her head. Usually, she relied on company cars and drivers, rarely driving herself. If she had not gone to pick up Yueling today, the secretary would have driven her to the gathering place and back home afterward.
“The apartment near the company,” Yueyi said casually.
“Understood, Director Yue.”
The call ended. Yueyi looked down at the lit screen and tapped open her chat box with Yueling. “Are you really sure you do not want Older Sister to take you out to play during the break?”
“No need, Senior Sister Zhou and I already agreed on tutoring,” Yueling replied.
“Older Sister.” Just as she put her phone down, Yan Nianyi emerged from the bathroom with damp hair, holding a black hair dryer. She stepped closer. “Older Sister, go wash up. Get some rest early after.”
She had originally wanted to ask Older Sister to dry her hair, but seeing the faint dark circles under the other woman’s eyes, she dismissed the thought.
“Okay.” Yueyi raised her gaze, gave a soft affirmation, and walked into the bathroom.
Yan Nianyi plugged in the hair dryer with one hand, testing the temperature with her palm to ensure it was safe before starting.
Feeling that her hair was mostly dry, she pulled out her phone and called back the number she had just hung up on earlier.
The melodious ringtone was almost drowned out by the noise of the hair dryer.
A moment later, the call connected. Yan Nianyi switched off the hair dryer with her other hand and unplugged it. “Hello.”
“When are you coming back?” the voice on the other end asked.
“Maybe tomorrow.” Yan Nianyi ran her fingers through her hair strands, leaning back against the sofa. “Or maybe the day after.”
“Where are you?” the voice asked again.
“Older Sister’s house,” Yan Nianyi chuckled softly.
“At Yueyi’s place?” The person on the other end choked for a second. “You ran straight over there the moment you got back?”
There was a hint of helplessness in his voice. “You are not even coming home on your first night back in the country?”
“Older Sister’s place is also home,” Yan Nianyi stated.
Yan Ping was completely left speechless. Changing the subject, he asked, “Was that kid from the Zhou family beaten up by you?”
“Mm.” Yan Nianyi raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because…” Yan Nianyi glanced toward the bathroom door. “I wanted to hit him. Can that count as a reason?”