The dishes tasted fresh and savory. Song Zhi had always been exceptionally skilled at providing emotional value, and she could praise a single dish to the high heavens with all kinds of elaborate modifiers.
Xu You listened to her speak quietly, chiming in with a few words every now and then.
“But your place is a bit too empty, isn’t it?” Song Zhi offered an objective critique. “In a house this big, you’ve only put a few pieces of furniture. Doesn’t it feel a bit too spacious?”
Xu You gave a soft hum of agreement. “Living alone is indeed a bit lonely.”
“Then you could get a dog!”
Song Zhi didn’t notice her brief silence and thought she just wasn’t convinced. “I’m serious. Having a pet helps a lot. When you’re bored, you can play with it to pass the time.”
She pondered seriously for a few seconds. “But based on your personality, I think you’d probably prefer cats. They’re quieter.”
Xu You asked, “What about you?”
“Huh?”
“Do you prefer dogs or cats?”
Song Zhi’s eyes lit up. “Definitely puppies! Especially stray mixes, they are incredibly cute! Mainly because dogs are more enthusiastic, while cats are too aloof. That just makes me feel defeated.”
Recalling a sad memory from the past, she made a face like a crying cat meme. “Back in university, I used to feed the campus cats all the time. But unless I had a cat treat in my hand, they would never come near me or deign to let me stroke them. The rest of the time, they rarely let me get close.”
“Plus, back when I was in school, the campus cats and dogs were collectively referred to as our ‘upperclassmen.’ They lived such carefree lives on campus. When they were hungry, a whole crowd of people would feed them, and when they were tired, they’d just drop down and sleep. There was this one time a cat kept causing trouble in the postgraduate exam study lounge, walking back and forth across people’s desks and keeping them from reviewing. Later, a security guard caught it and locked it up in another teaching block. They even printed out an official notice with a photo of the cat. Beneath the photo, it said. ‘This cat has repeatedly entered the postgraduate self-study lounge and refused to change its ways despite multiple warnings, disrupting students’ studies. It is now confined here to reflect on its misdeeds. Please do not open the door!'”
Hearing this, Xu You seemingly couldn’t hold it in any longer and suddenly burst into laughter.
“Your university life sounds like a lot of fun.”
Her voice was calm, but it carried an unmistakable trace of envy.
Song Zhi suddenly remembered that Xu You had been forced to drop out right after high school. She was supposed to have a much more brilliant life. No matter how well she usually concealed it, it couldn’t cover up the deepest regret in her heart.
Song Zhi hated herself for bringing up all that nonsense just now and immediately changed her tune. “It wasn’t actually that interesting. University is really tedious. There’s endless homework and annoying group projects every day. If you get assigned to the kind of group members who refuse to do anything and just want a free ride, you’re doomed. It means you’ll end up doing the entire project by yourself! And in the month leading up to final exams, you have to stay up late studying every single day. It’s exhausting.”
Especially for a poor student from an underprivileged background like her, who had to balance part time work with studies. She never had the chance to participate in activities or experience a vibrant college life, she was just so tired every day that she would crash the moment her head hit the pillow.
Once she opened this floodgate, Song Zhi couldn’t help but complain, “Besides, most of the classes are pretty useless, and the professors are very casual about teaching. Most of them just read directly off the PPT slides. On top of that, there are so many trivial matters, mostly things that don’t help you at all but you’re forced to do anyway. The time you can freely control is incredibly scarce. A lot of people keep themselves busy for four years only to have no idea what they actually accomplished in the end.”
She paused, feeling as though she had complained a bit too much. “Actually, this is just my subjective view. If you ask me, I think university just gives you four years of time to figure out how you want to walk your future path, and then use those four years to make mistakes and learn.”
“Then have you figured it out?”
“What?”
Xu You asked, “Have you figured out how you want to walk your future path?”
Song Zhi propped her chin in her palm, sinking into thought.
“Actually, I did. Before, I thought about working hard and earning a lot of money, but I felt really lost. It wasn’t until later, when I happened to visit an orphanage. Do you know? The director there is amazing. When she was young, she dared to use all her assets to found that orphanage, and she willingly dedicated her entire life to helping those children and raising them.”
“Since then, I started to contemplate what the meaning of life is… wait, the topic suddenly got so deep. This doesn’t fit my style at all.”
Song Zhi said boastfully, “Ah, it can’t be helped. Maybe it’s because I’m just naturally the type of person who possesses a lot of inner depth.”
Xu You was amused by her. “Indeed.”
“From the very first moment I saw you, I felt you had a lot of depth.”
“Naturally,” Song Zhi replied smoothly. But she reacted quickly after that. “Are you making fun of me?”
The very first moment Xu You saw her, wasn’t that the first time she saw the original owner of this body?
How could she possibly have thought she had inner depth then? She would have only thought she was completely unhinged!
What she didn’t know, however, was that Xu You really wasn’t lying to her.
That time at the hospital, the moment Xu You laid eyes on her, she had detected a difference.
The young mistress, who in the past had always been arrogant, looking down her nose at her every single time, possessing a low IQ and only capable of throwing powerless tantrums, had actually managed to clearly and logically help her fire back at her foolish younger brother.
The most important thing, in fact, was her eyes. Back then, Song Zhi’s gaze was clear, and the aura around her was vibrant and real, like a sun.
Aside from her appearance, she seemed like an entirely different person.
Song Zhi had always believed she was hiding it perfectly. At this moment, she didn’t forget to patch things up for herself: “I am no longer who I used to be.”
She held up a hand in a dramatic gesture. “Elder Sister, there is no need to bring up the past again!”
Xu You raised an eyebrow slightly but didn’t say anything.
Song Zhi poked at the rice in her bowl, hesitated for a moment, and asked, “…Xu You.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think I’m really awful?”
The moment she asked this, Xu You lifted her eyelids to look at her. “Why do you ask that?”
“I mean, look at me. I don’t have a high educational background, I don’t really have any life skills, and I used to have a bad temper. Don’t you think I’m really awful?”
“You have a university diploma, a stable job, and a happy family.” Xu You paused, then said, “Does that count as awful?”
Song Zhi felt a bit walking on air from her praise, and the long-standing insecurity in her heart dissipated slightly.
Xu You said, “Have some confidence in yourself, Song Zhi.”
Song Zhi mumbled, “You’re too outstanding. I feel like I can’t compare to you no matter what.”
“A dull, uninteresting invalid like me, you actually think I’m very good?”
Xu You’s voice carried a trace of self-deprecation.
For someone like her who only thought about revenge, had no other hobbies, and didn’t even know how to hold a conversation, Song Zhi actually thought she was outstanding?
“Don’t talk about yourself like that.”
Song Zhi lowered her voice. “Anyway, I just think you’re really good.”
In that split second, she even had an even more wicked thought, thankfully she had met Xu You at this time. If it had been a few years later, when Xu You’s illness was cured, with her ethereal looks and high intelligence, the suitors around her would only be numerous. How would there be a place for her then?
Perhaps at that time, Xu You would never spare her another glance.
After finishing the meal, Song Zhi proactively expressed that she would wash the dishes. Xu You placed the dishcloth into her hand.
“I’ll wash. You just need to dry.”
Song Zhi let out an “oh” and obediently stayed by her side.
Watching Xu You’s long, elegant, and strong hands wash the bowls and chopsticks, and seeing her hand over the clean, snow-white plates, Song Zhi took them and wiped them dry gently.
“This place is quite close to your company,” Xu You spoke up.
Song Zhi agreed completely. “Yeah! It only takes five minutes. It takes me twenty minutes to get from my house to the company.”
These words played right into Xu You’s hands. She said, “Then you can come live here.”
“Huh?” Song Zhi shook her head. “No way. The housing prices here are too expensive, I can’t afford it. I’m just a poor little girl.”
Xu You: ?
For the rest of the time, Xu You lowered her head and washed the dishes quietly without saying another word.
“So comfortable!”
Song Zhi collapsed onto the sofa. “Finally, I can lie down for a bit. I was exhausted to death at the company today.”
Xu You cut a plate of fruit and placed it on the table in front of her. Song Zhi looked over, it was entirely filled with the fruits she loved to eat.
“Heavens, I’m way too happy.”
Song Zhi lamented.
In fact, this was exactly the kind of life she had long yearned for having someone to accompany her after work, someone to chat with her, and someone to remember her preferences. It was very simple, but she was fully satisfied with just this.
Xu You had achieved all of it.
Song Zhi couldn’t help but begin to ponder. It seemed like just remaining friends with Xu You forever wouldn’t be so bad either?
“You can continue to be this happy in the future,” Xu You said.
“Huh?”
Song Zhi didn’t seem to hear her words clearly, yet the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.
She spoke up, “Elder Sister, what did you say? I don’t think I heard you very clearly.”
Xu You’s hand resting on her knee curled up slightly.
She completely abandoned the notion of speaking implicitly.
She might as well be direct.
“Do you want to move in and live with me?”
“…Huh?”
Xu You had been very apprehensive before asking this question, and Song Zhi’s response made her heart sink even further.
However, when she lifted her head, she found Song Zhi lying on the sofa, her chin resting gently on the small cushion in her arms, her eyes sparkling. “Is Elder Sister thinking that the house is too empty, so you want to add me to make it livelier?”
Xu You: “Yes.”
Song Zhi blinked. “But Elder Sister, it wouldn’t be right for us to live together like this without any official status, would it?”
Her underlying meaning was simply too obvious.
Xu You watched her play along quietly and nodded approvingly. “It seems so.”
Song Zhi scrambled up in one smooth motion, sat right next to Xu You, and wrapped her arms around Xu You’s wrist. Leaning her head close to Xu You’s face, she asked softly, “Then what kind of status does Elder Sister plan to let me move in with? Is it still as a good friend?”
She deliberately dragged out those three words: good friend.
Why, Elder Sister? What exactly does our relationship count as right now?
You clearly know my feelings toward you, yet you still say such misleading things to me, silently indulging my approach. Why on earth is that?
Song Zhi understood that a person as smart as Xu You couldn’t possibly not know.
Therefore, she didn’t spell it out either; she just feigned confusion.
Xu You turned her head to look at her, her expression composed.
The distance between the two of them was so close that Song Zhi could clearly see the eyelashes on Xu You’s eyes, as well as her own reflection inside those eyes that were usually so detached.
Song Zhi swallowed her saliva. On the contrary, she felt a bit too embarrassed to look at Xu You now.
The distance was truly too close. Pulling back her smile, she let go of the hand wrapping around Xu You and wanted to retreat, but someone caught her by the waist and pulled her into a embrace.
“Didn’t you want an official status?” Xu You’s voice was very low. “Why do you want to run away again, hmm?”
Song Zhi had always been all talk and no action with zero actual experience. Normally, she couldn’t wait to cling to Xu You every single second, but now that the moment had truly arrived, she actually chickened out a bit.
After all, the current Xu You seemed a bit too different from her usual self.
The current Xu You’s words and actions appeared calm and no different from usual on the surface, yet her eyes held a possessiveness that made one’s heart tremble.
Furthermore, the distance between the two of them right now was truly too close, so close that she could feel Xu You’s warm body temperature through the layers of clothing fabric, and her nose was also filled with the woody, cold fragrance drifting from Xu You’s body.
Song Zhi stammered, “I-I didn’t want to run.”
“Then what kind of status do you want?” Xu You said. “Elder Sister will give it all to you.”
This was the first time Xu You had referred to herself as “Elder Sister.” Her vocal tone leaned on the colder side, and these two words caused the rhythm of Song Zhi’s heartbeat to instantly lose its order again.
Perhaps because her silence lasted too long, a faint layer of gloom stained Xu You’s brow.
She pinched Song Zhi’s chin, the force wasn’t heavy, forcing Song Zhi to lift her head and look her straight in the eye.
“Why aren’t you speaking anymore?”
Xu You asked, the strength in her hand increasing slightly, her tone carrying an undercurrent of danger. “Do you regret it?”
This posture was truly too dangerous. Song Zhi’s face flushed a bit red. How did she feel like Xu You was somewhat different from what she had imagined?
She thought that after she said those words, it should have been Xu You blushing, and then she would take the opportunity to press forward.
In this current situation, what was up with this posture?
“Song Zhi,” Xu You said. “Look at me.”
Only now did Song Zhi muster the courage to meet Xu You’s gaze. Her face carried a flush, and her eyes looked at Xu You filled with moisture as she spoke in a weak voice, “I don’t regret it. I’ve always been Elder Sister’s good friend.”
As she spoke, she acted as though she was someone who followed the rules perfectly, her tone completely innocent. “Didn’t I make a promise with Elder Sister? To be Elder Sister’s good friend for a lifetime.”
Xu You: ?
Her expression went a bit blank.
Song Zhi finally burst into laughter, pretending not to understand as she asked, “Could it be that Elder Sister wants to develop another kind of relationship with me?”