Shortly after Ning Che hung up the phone, Chen Ji’s customer service called. The representative reminded her that less than twelve hours remained on her reservation window, advising her to secure a suitable dining time as soon as possible.
“Hello. I’m not entirely sure about my schedule yet. Is it possible to postpone the reservation?”
“Hello, Ms. Ning. Chen Ji provides a 72 hour reservation window for every guest. If that timeframe is still insufficient, you are entitled to a one time extension. Are you certain you would like to postpone your reservation?”
“Yes, I’m certain.”
In the end, Ning Che pushed the reservation back by two full months.
She figured that by then, all her school matters would be completely settled, and the postgraduate recommendation list would definitely be official. She could enjoy a comfortable summer vacation while waiting for her graduate school life to begin.
More importantly, the thing she wanted to accomplish would be completed by then. It would be the perfect time to take Xie Yuqi to taste the “Yushan Qiongxue” during the summer break.
At this thought, her mood brightened again.
She was ultimately a soft-hearted person, once the initial disappointment faded, nothing remained but a heart full of worry and longing.
Yuqi was so unhappy. Did something bad happen to her?
During the afternoon tutoring session, Ning Che seemed somewhat distracted. Even Xiang Chen noticed it, remarks laced with her usual sarcasm. “Teacher Ning, tutoring me with your mind wandering like this… aren’t you being a bit unprofessional?”
Ning Che offered a sincere apology.
Xiang Chen immediately seized the opportunity: “What’s the use of an apology? If you really want to make it up to me, take me out for a drive. Do that, and I won’t tell my sister.”
Feeling a bit guilty about letting Xiang Wan find out, Ning Che had no choice but to agree to take her for a drive tomorrow afternoon.
“Why not today?” Xiang Chen pressed.
“I’m distracted today,” Ning Che replied. “How can I drive safely?”
Xiang Chen rolled her eyes.
Fine, that reason was unassailable.
She extended her pinky finger. “Pinky swear.”
Ning Che refused.
Xiang Chen flared up. “This won’t do, that won’t do! You just don’t want to take me for a drive!”
Ning Che explained seriously, “I haven’t even done a pinky swear with my girlfriend yet. I want to save my first time for her.”
Xiang Chen: ?
When Ning Che finished tutoring and stood up to leave, Xiang Wan came out and invited her to stay for dinner.
Ning Che politely declined.
Xiang Wan gave her a long, meaningful glance. “Hasn’t your girlfriend not returned yet?”
Ning Che smiled faintly. “I’m afraid she will come back.”
Xiang Wan fell silent.
After Ning Che left, Xiang Chen turned to Xiang Wan and said, “Sister, don’t you think Teacher Ning is the ultimate love-brain?”
Xiang Wan replied, “You’re only just realizing something so obvious? Tonight, you can do an extra mock exam paper.”
Xiang Chen: ?
Is she just fundamentally incompatible with Ning Che or what?!!
When Ning Che returned to the apartment, Xie Yuqi had not returned, and even Auntie Wang was absent.
She asked the other domestic staff, but she couldn’t get anything out of them, their lips were tightly sealed, and they never disclosed any information regarding Xie Yuqi.
Ning Che thanked them, turned on her phone, and found no messages and no calls.
Standing on the balcony and looking out, the longing in her heart grew as wildly as the burning evening clouds on the horizon.
At 7:30 PM, Xie Yuqi received a message.
She didn’t look at it.
Instead, she went into the study to read.
An hour later, she closed her book, planning to go to the gym for half an hour of yoga.
She casually checked her phone and noticed several more messages had arrived.
Only then did she open them, her expression changing instantly.
Ning Che had sent her two messages.
“Yuqi, are you home? Is your mood any better?”
“Yuqi, I’m at the entrance of your neighborhood.”
The two messages were separated by an hour.
Xie Yuqi immediately dialed the number. “Where are you?”
Hearing her voice, Ning Che was overjoyed and instantly replied, “I’m at the entrance of your residential area. Is it convenient for you to come out?”
Xie Yuqi’s expression shifted again. She lowered her voice and barked, “What did you come here for?”
Ning Che immediately detected her suppressed rage. Her voice lost its confidence, turning small and tentative. “I missed you…”
Before she could finish, Xie Yuqi coldly interrupted, “Which gate are you at?”
“The south gate…”
“Don’t move. I’ll be right out.”
This was a highly secure, exclusive private villa district composed entirely of detached estates separated by vast distances. Residents usually drove directly into their own properties, it was rare for anyone to walk around inside the neighborhood.
To avoid raising any alarms, Xie Yuqi rode a self-balancing scooter to rush to the south gate.
Ning Che was waiting near the green belt on one side of the south gate, about a hundred meters away.
The security was too strict, if she got any closer, she would be questioned and driven away.
Xie Yuqi glided up to her, only to find a bouquet of flowers cradled in Ning Che’s arms.
An immense wave of resistance immediately swelled in her heart. She felt a surge of sheer fury at this cliché, incredibly generic routine of gifting flowers.
She felt insulted.
Ning Che was incredibly excited. She stepped forward and called out, “Yuqi!”
Xie Yuqi glared at her, and without saying a single word, she glided toward the nearest green promenade.
This area was a wealthy district in Yanjing, boasting exceptional landscaping. The roads were wide and immaculate, with rarely any cars passing by. Every kilometer, there was a green promenade for people to rest, covered by ornamental vines. Lush, green tendrils hung down, interspersed with beautiful flowers blooming between the leaves. Beneath them sat benches, creating a highly serene environment.
Unfortunately, because there were so few people in the wealthy district, no one ever enjoyed this beautiful setting. At this moment, the benches along the promenade were blanketed in fallen petals.
Ning Che followed her over, noticing that Xie Yuqi was completely covered up, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a face mask.
Even though they were now within arm’s reach, Xie Yuqi showed no intention of removing her sunglasses or mask, projecting an aura that practically screamed “keep away.”
An inexplicable trace of unease surfaced in Ning Che’s heart. She carefully set down the bouquet of flowers, pulled out a tissue to wipe the bench clean, and invited Xie Yuqi to sit.
Xie Yuqi said nothing, nor did she sit.
Ning Che spoke up tentatively, “Yuqi?”
Xie Yuqi pulled down her mask and asked coldly, “What did you come here for?”
Ning Che replied, “When we spoke on the phone this afternoon, I could tell you weren’t very happy. I just wanted to come see you.”
Xie Yuqi demanded, “How did you find my house?”
Ning Che said, “You brought me here once before, and I remembered the route.”
Xie Yuqi’s brows knitted instantly. That entire previous trip had been by car, cutting across more than half of Yanjing. Furthermore, this specific villa district didn’t even have a name on satellite maps.
She hadn’t expected Ning Che to actually remember the way under those circumstances.
Directly following that realization, an unnamable anger flared up within her.
“I believe I’ve said before that I do not like people prying into my privacy.”
Her tone was calm, but Ning Che understood her well enough to know that the calmer she sounded, the angrier she actually was. Panicking slightly, Ning Che rushed to explain, “Yuqi, I didn’t mean to pry into your privacy. I just thought that since you were in a bad mood, maybe if I kept you company, you would feel a bit better.”
Xie Yuqi remained noncommittal.
Ning Che’s face was filled with anxiety, her eyes uneasy. She bit her lip and tried once more to explain earnestly, “Yuqi, really… I was worried about you.”
Xie Yuqi soon noticed that Ning Che’s face was flushed with anxiety and a layer of sweat had broken out on her forehead. She couldn’t help but ask, “How did you get here?”
Ning Che answered, “I took the subway and then transferred to a bus.”
The nearest bus stop was two to three kilometers away from this location. There were no shared bicycles in the vicinity, and it was impossible to even hail a taxi. She had walked the entire way on foot.
Xie Yuqi asked, “Why didn’t you drive?”
Ning Che glanced at her and said softly, “I’m not familiar with the road conditions around here, so I didn’t drive.”
In truth, she had been so consumed by thoughts of Xie Yuqi that she kept losing her concentration, she hadn’t driven out of a fear that it wouldn’t be safe.
Xie Yuqi’s tone softened slightly. “Go back. Don’t come here again in the future.”
The light in Ning Che’s eyes froze.
Xie Yuqi added, “Ning Che, don’t let this happen again.”
For a moment, Ning Che couldn’t find her words. Xie Yuqi’s expression already betrayed her impatience. Ning Che’s mind was in utter chaos, she hastily murmured an “okay,” but when it came time to actually leave, she couldn’t bear to go. Spotting the flowers placed to the side, she hurried over to pick them up.
“Yuqi, for you.” She held the flowers out in front of Xie Yuqi, looking at her with a hint of anticipation.
Xie Yuqi’s face remained entirely expressionless as she said coldly, “Throw it away.”
Ning Che’s mouth parted slightly, her face filled with utter disbelief.
Xie Yuqi raised her voice. “Throw it into a distant trash can. Do not leave it at the entrance of my neighborhood.”
Ning Che pressed her lips tightly together, feeling as though a fist had violently slammed into her chest.
“Ning Che, did you not hear what I said?”
“I heard you.”
“Go back.”
Ning Che slowly lowered her head, suddenly feeling her eyes sting intensely. Fortunately, she remembered she had brought something else with her.
She quickly lifted a royal blue tote bag, though she lacked the courage to hold it directly out to Xie Yuqi.
“Yuqi, I also brought you…”
“Go back! Do not make me repeat myself a second time!”
Ning Che fell silent once more, the bag in her hand suddenly feeling incredibly heavy.
On her way over, she had specifically ridden six extra subway stations to detour to a highly famous heritage shop just to buy an eight treasures sweet soup. To maintain its texture and temperature, she had specifically begged the clerk to add an insulated layer.
Xie Yuqi also maintained her silence.
She was currently weighing whether she should just make things entirely clear to Ning Che right now.
Ning Che suddenly showing up at her doorstep had already crossed her boundary line. What if next time she called her house directly? And what if, the time after that, she showed up directly in front of her parents or her friends?
She could not tolerate the occurrence of such a situation.
Yet, she quickly hesitated again. Ning Che’s sudden appearance at the neighborhood gate was already an act of losing control. If she broke things off completely right now, would Ning Che lose her composure and cause a massive scene?
If the estate security guards noticed and came over to investigate, she would be the one losing face.
Xie Yuqi decided right then to find a more appropriate time to clear the air.
Just then, Ning Che lifted her head to look at her and said, “Yuqi, it was too abrupt of me. Don’t be angry. I’ll go back right now.”
Xie Yuqi stared at her, observing her expression.
She immediately noticed that the rims of Ning Che’s eyes were red. An inexplicable irritation flared up in her heart because she hadn’t intentionally caused this, yet it was being displayed right in front of her, making it seem as though she had done something terribly cruel.
“Ning Che, be responsible for your own words and actions. Don’t throw a tantrum and cry like a child when you do something wrong,” Xie Yuqi said coldly.
The tears Ning Che had been suppressing suddenly surged upward. She felt a sharp, unbearable sting at the corners of her eyes, as if the tears were about to burst through at any second.
How incredibly humiliating that would be!
Panicking, she quickly turned around and said hurriedly, “Yuqi, I understand. I’m leaving.”
Clutching the flowers, she walked away in a great rush.
Xie Yuqi caught a faint rumbling sound, it sounded like a stomach growling from hunger, which added a few more degrees to the irritation in her chest.
“You didn’t eat?”
With her back turned to her, Ning Che answered incredibly fast, “I did. I’m actually stuffed.”
Watching Ning Che walk faster and faster, her retreating figure looking battered and dejected, Xie Yuqi suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable. It was an indescribable sensation, she instinctively felt that if she let Ning Che leave like this, she wouldn’t feel a sense of relief at all, instead, it would only make her angrier.
Ultimately, she couldn’t resist calling out, “Ning Che.”
Ning Che stopped and turned her head back.
Xie Yuqi held up her phone. “Wait a moment.” She placed a call to her driver.
A few moments later, a black sedan drove out from the neighborhood and pulled up by the curb.
Xie Yuqi walked up to Ning Che. “I’ll have the driver take you back.”
Ning Che replied, “No need, the subway is still running.”
Xie Yuqi snapped, “Stop being stubborn. Get in right now!”
Ning Che silently climbed into the car.
By this point, she could no longer bring herself to look at Xie Yuqi. After sitting down, she automatically kept her eyes glued to the front windshield.
Her heart felt profoundly bitter. She had already arrived at the entrance of the residential area by the time the first message was sent, she had simply been too afraid of disturbing her to call, waiting the whole time for a reply.
The driver turned around and asked, “Miss Ning, are we ready to depart?”
Ning Che nodded, then tilted her head slightly, catching sight of Xie Yuqi standing by the roadside.
She had already put her mask back on, her arms crossed in a haughty, unapproachable stance.
Ning Che couldn’t see her expression, she could only see the reflection on her sunglasses.