Su Yiyi didn’t speak directly. Instead, she posed a bold question.
“Do you like her?”
Lan Yucheng, caught off guard by the question, trembled slightly, as if pondering why Su Yiyi would ask so directly.
“I… I do.”
Su Yiyi observed every subtle shift in Lan Yucheng’s gaze.
“That’s not ‘like,’ is it?”
Su Yiyi seemed to pierce through the facade Lan Yucheng tried to maintain.
“Your… feelings for her strike me as odd. Your eyes clearly don’t show affection, so why is there a hint of helplessness deep within them?”
“Do you… find her troublesome?”
Su Yiyi’s rapid-fire questions made Lan Yucheng feel increasingly transparent, as if she had been seen right through.
‘Had she truly been that obvious?’
‘Or was Su Yiyi’s perception simply terrifyingly sharp?’
“No, Qingxue is wonderful, but… she’s a bit too clingy.”
Lan Yucheng spoke candidly; this was precisely why she always felt the ‘capture’ was somewhat challenging.
“Clingy? But this reason… you must know something about it, right?”
Su Yiyi probed cautiously, feeling that Lan Yucheng’s relationship with Qing Xinxue didn’t quite align with her impression of childhood sweethearts.
“…”
Lan Yucheng remained silent for a moment, ultimately choosing not to answer. Instead, she changed the subject.
“Want to hop on for a ride?”
“Sure.”
Su Yiyi nodded in agreement. Since Lan Yucheng was unwilling to speak, there was no need for her to press further.
She sat behind, merely resting a hand on Lan Yucheng’s shoulder.
“Perhaps you should hold my waist instead?”
Lan Yucheng warned, not wanting to accidentally throw Su Yiyi off the moment she started the bike.
“It’s fine, just like this.”
Su Yiyi refused. In her opinion, Lan Yucheng wasn’t even as tall as her; how fast could she possibly go?
Alas, she was destined for regret.
****
Meanwhile, in the car, Qing Xinxue gazed out the window, counting the scattered stars, and murmured to herself,
“Sister Cheng… you seem… to have changed.”
“I barely recognize you anymore…”
She stared blankly, recalling Lan Yucheng’s demeanor from before.
“Sister Cheng used to be so incredibly gentle…”
“But this Sister Cheng now… seems even better.”
“I wonder if I’ll ever be able to be with Sister Cheng…”
Qing Xinxue rarely entertained such thoughts. Yet now, with Lan Yucheng out joyriding with Su Yiyi, a sudden emptiness settled in her heart, and these thoughts surfaced uncontrollably.
But thinking alone offered no solution.
She shook her head, attempting to dislodge these superfluous ideas completely.
“I’ll be sleeping at Sister Cheng’s house tonight…”
“And Sister Cheng said we’d look at the stars together!”
With these two strong desires, Qing Xinxue closed her eyes, leaning against the car door just as Lan Yucheng had done earlier.
****
At the same time, Lan Yucheng was having a blast, but Su Yiyi…
She clung tightly to Lan Yucheng’s waist, pressed her legs firmly against the motorcycle, buried her head in Lan Yucheng’s shoulder, and screamed,
“Slow down! Slow down!”
Lan Yucheng, however, completely ignored her. She had said it was a joyride; how could she possibly slow down?
Half an hour later, Lan Yucheng finally returned to the amusement park entrance.
“How was it? Exciting?”
Su Yiyi nodded, seriously wondering if this was Lan Yucheng’s retaliation for her earlier words.
“So, what was the joke you played on Qingxue today?”
Lan Yucheng was equally direct. She dismounted the motorcycle and glanced into Su Yiyi’s car.
“Qing Xinxue… she really likes you. So, I told her, ‘Hand her over to me.'”
“I didn’t expect her reaction, though.”
Lan Yucheng’s attention lingered on the phrase ‘really likes.’
‘If she ‘really likes’ her, why is her favorability so low?’
She couldn’t quite grasp it. Even for a sibling-like bond, the favorability shouldn’t be only half.
‘Could it be that Qing Xinxue is too good at disguising herself?’
But then she felt it wasn’t the case. To put it bluntly, Qing Xinxue’s inherent naiveté didn’t seem feigned.
‘Upon returning, I must thoroughly investigate this favorability rating.’
“Should we head back?”
Su Yiyi checked the time; it was getting late.
“Let’s go back.”
Lan Yucheng nodded. She remembered that tonight she needed to get Qing Xinxue to voice her deepest feelings, so she could address them appropriately.
“With your driving speed… perhaps I should drive Qing Xinxue?”
“Hmm, that works too.”
Lan Yucheng didn’t give it much thought. She indeed struggled to drive at a significantly slower pace.
“What’s the location of your residential area? I’ll set the navigation.”
“Xuyun District.”
Lan Yucheng stated it naturally.
However, Su Yiyi’s typing motion suddenly paused, and she asked again, with a hint of suspicion,
“Xuyun District?”
“Yes, that’s right. Do you live there too?”
“It seems we truly are fated.”
Su Yiyi got into her car and drove off towards the district first.
Lan Yucheng, meanwhile, revved her motorcycle once more. With a roar,
The black motorcycle streaked down the road like a dark bolt of lightning.
“Goodness, she really drives fast.”
Su Yiyi, in her car, watched Lan Yucheng flash past and genuinely sighed in admiration.
She glanced at Qing Xinxue, still asleep in the rearview mirror, and silently pressed the accelerator.
By the time she reached the district entrance,
Lan Yucheng had already finished a skewer feast by the roadside.
“Want some?”
Lan Yucheng picked up the last skewer from the table and offered it to her.
“No thanks, I’m on a diet.”
Su Yiyi politely declined. She weighed herself daily, terrified of gaining even a little.
“Alright then.”
Lan Yucheng stood up and tapped on the car window.
“Mmm…”
Qing Xinxue slowly opened her eyes, turning her head towards the sound. Upon seeing Lan Yucheng, she excitedly opened the car door.
“Sister Cheng! I missed you so much!”
“Okay… want to eat this?”
Lan Yucheng mused, ‘Not much time has passed, has it?’
“Yes! I’ll eat anything Sister Cheng gives me!”
Qing Xinxue took the skewer from Lan Yucheng’s hand and finished it in two bites.
“What if I gave you poison, would you eat that too?”
Lan Yucheng teased her.
“Mmm…”
Qing Xinxue actually thought about it seriously.
“Yes, I would! Sister Cheng wouldn’t do that! I trust Sister Cheng!”
Lan Yucheng ruffled Qing Xinxue’s hair, a gesture of reward.
Qing Xinxue chuckled, then naturally wrapped her arms around Lan Yucheng’s arm.
Watching all this, Su Yiyi felt a profound sense of comfort, and the corners of her lips curled into an uncontrollable smile.
‘That’s right.’
‘This is the pairing I’m meant to ship!’
“Shall we go then?”
“I’ll walk you out.”
Lan Yucheng had no reason to refuse Su Yiyi’s offer.
But as they walked, Su Yiyi sensed something was amiss.
‘This…’
‘Why are we walking towards my building?’
‘Could it be…’
It wasn’t until they reached the unit entrance that Su Yiyi confirmed it: Lan Yucheng and Qing Xinxue lived in the same unit as her.
“Sister Su Yiyi, see you next time!”
“Yes, see you next time.”
After bidding farewell, Su Yiyi didn’t turn to leave. Instead, she took a step towards them, entering the elevator before the doors could close.
The atmosphere instantly fell silent.