PSMD – Chapter 53

Yue Chu’s cooking skills were average, while Qiu Yang was much better. So, after arriving at Yue Chu’s new place, she consciously tied on an apron and went into the kitchen, not letting Yue Chu come in to help. Yue Chu couldn’t do anything about it and sat on the sofa outside, looking at materials.

Today was Qingming Festival, and the evening broadcast would be somewhat related to it, talking about a few things about Qingming. Yao Yao didn’t have a holiday and had been working overtime all day. Yue Chu had messaged her, but her replies were quite late.

Yue Chu familiarized herself with the content again and then received a call from Yao Yao. She glanced at the kitchen door, stood up, and walked to the balcony before slowly answering.

“Hello?” Yue Chu’s voice unconsciously took on a broadcasting tone.

Yao Yao rubbed her temples on the other end of the phone: “Sister, you’re not even at work yet, why the broadcasting tone?”

Yao Yao’s voice sounded tired. Yue Chu’s brows furrowed slightly. She opened her lips but didn’t ask about her well-being, only saying, “Practicing in advance.”

“Okay.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Almost.”

“Did you make it yourself again?”

“No,” Yue Chu paused, “A junior from school, you don’t know her.”

“Alright, I don’t know her, we’re from two different worlds.”

“Yao Yao…”

Yao Yao interrupted her: “Miss Yue, those were your own words, can’t I just repeat them?”

“That’s it, I’ll get back to work, you eat well.”

The call ended in less than a minute. Yue Chu held her phone, looking down at the screen, lost in thought for a few seconds.

She could feel Yao Yao’s anger, but that was all.

Just then, Qiu Yang had finished bringing the dishes to the table and called out to her back, “Jie, dinner’s ready.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll wash my hands first.”

Although Tao Sixian didn’t cook, she was very picky, and Qiu Yang’s cooking skills were effectively honed by her. The three dishes and one soup on the table were all her specialties, including one main dish.

Yue Chu came out after washing her hands and, seeing the dishes on the table, sincerely praised, “Just asking, am I in front of a five-star hotel chef?”

“Six-star hotel, thank you, madam,” Qiu Yang played along and sat down.

Qiu Yang also poured milk for both of them. The current situation wasn’t suitable for drinking alcohol, so Qiu Yang raised her glass first: “Congratulations, Miss Yue Chu, on finding a place to live and a new job.”

“Thank you,” Yue Chu smiled and clinked glasses with her, took a couple of sips of milk, and then picked up her chopsticks to taste the dishes she made.

Since her breakup, Qiu Yang had cooked much less.

Firstly, because there was no Tao Sixian telling her to make this and that, she just wanted to casually deal with her own meals.

Secondly, she seemed to have become lazy; ordering takeout was also quite appealing.

However, even though she hadn’t cooked for almost a month, she made the dishes in front of her very easily, ensuring each one was perfect in color, aroma, and taste.

She just wondered if Shen Ningruo had eaten. Qiu Yang was a little worried, and this feeling grew stronger. By the time she finished eating, she couldn’t hold back anymore. She told Yue Chu, “I’ll do the dishes later,” and went to the balcony with her phone.

The sky outside the window had turned inky black. Qiu Yang held her phone, staring at the night for a while, then slowly turned around.

She suddenly felt that contacting Shen Ningruo would be a bit abrupt.

They weren’t children. Shen Ningruo wouldn’t be working overtime today, so she would definitely eat.

Her worry was purely unnecessary.

Yue Chu was clearing the dishes and was a little surprised to see Qiu Yang come back without making a call. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Qiu Yang smiled, “Jie, let me wash them. You continue looking at your documents.”

Yue Chu shook her head: “You cook, I wash the dishes. That’s normal. Who cooks and washes? We need equality.”

These words made Qiu Yang’s eyelid twitch, and Tao Sixian’s image immediately popped into her mind.

Tao Sixian never lifted a finger for housework and basically never washed dishes. She often suggested Qiu Yang buy a dishwasher but would never contribute a cent herself.

Yue Chu noticed Qiu Yang’s expression and mostly guessed what she was thinking. She raised her hand and patted Qiu Yang’s shoulder: “Yangyang, it’s over.”

“Mm,” Qiu Yang lowered her eyelashes, “I know.”

Yue Chu had to go to work, so Qiu Yang naturally wouldn’t stay there. She went downstairs with Yue Chu.

They each took a taxi and parted ways. Sitting in the back seat, Qiu Yang was lost in thought again, looking at the scenery outside the window. She had thought of Tao Sixian quite a bit these past two days, and none of the memories were pleasant. She couldn’t help but start thinking about why she hadn’t felt Tao Sixian was excessive before.

The answer was obvious: because she was an idiot, willing to work like a nanny without complaint.

Qiu Yang closed her eyes, her thoughts jumping to last night’s dream, feeling even more annoyed. She rolled down the window a bit for fresh air, as if only that would make her feel better.

The three-day Qingming holiday quickly came down to the last night. Qiu Yang and Shen Ningruo had no contact at all. Qiu Yang wasn’t surprised, because Shen Ningruo had said they would meet when she was better.

A cold couldn’t get better that quickly, it would take a few days, right?

And Qiu Yang’s period had completely stopped by Sunday, making her feel much lighter. For someone like her who suffered from menstrual cramps, having her period was suffering.

However, something else happened during these three days. On Qingming Festival itself, Qiu Yang took Pingzi out for photos. Along the way, someone took a video and posted it on Douyin. This person happened to be an influencer with a decent follower base. As soon as the video came out, it quickly received comments, likes, and shares.

The video didn’t show Qiu Yang’s face, but her figure was slender, and she was wearing a black baseball cap, which somehow gave people the feeling that the cat’s owner was very good-looking. Many comments asked for Qiu Yang’s ID, but how would this influencer know?

Until someone said this cat looked very much like a cat belonging to a photographer on Weibo and compared them, finally confirming they were the same cat.

Miao Yi told Qiu Yang about this. Miao Yi was extremely excited, recounting the whole story to Qiu Yang, her eyes shining: “Yangyang, maybe Pingzi will be an internet celebrity cat from now on!”

Indeed, these past two days, Qiu Yang’s photography blog’s private messages had received many people selling cat products, wanting her to do product endorsements.

Qiu Yang hadn’t expected a trip out would lead to this. She refused them one by one. Her salary was enough to support Pingzi; she didn’t need the money from these promotions. Moreover, if there was a quality issue, Pingzi would be the one to suffer in the end.

She couldn’t take that risk with Pingzi, and she had no plans to open a Douyin video account.

Some netizens who watched the video really liked Pingzi, especially when it tilted its head, which made them cover their mouths in cuteness. But what did that have to do with Qiu Yang?

Just because others liked Pingzi, did she have to show Pingzi to everyone?

What were they thinking?

The internet is a tricky place, and she didn’t want Pingzi to be criticized by some contrarians.

Right under that video, she saw some people saying things like “This cat isn’t good-looking” or “How did the owner bring it out? Cats get stressed.” It made Qiu Yang frown.

When Shen Ningruo opened Weibo again on Monday night, she saw that Qiu Yang’s followers had increased by several thousand. Her brows furrowed slightly, not knowing what had happened, until she scrolled down and saw that the comments under the photos of Pingzi that Qiu Yang had posted earlier were full of excited reactions.

Shen Ningruo: …

Right, they were all fans of this chubby cat.

She bit her lip and said “Long time no see” to the air. After confirming that her voice had no nasal tone, she called Qiu Yang.

Qiu Yang was still looking at the comments. There were quite a few praising Pingzi, but there was always a portion saying annoying things. She was scrolling down when her phone screen showed an incoming call.

It was from Shen Ningruo.

Qiu Yang almost jumped up. Her eyelashes trembled before she slowly answered.

As soon as she put the phone to her ear, she heard Shen Ningruo chuckle softly: “Can you hear if I still have a nasal tone? Or if my voice is still hoarse?”

After three days without contact with Shen Ningruo, Qiu Yang listened to Shen Ningruo’s voice and was momentarily dazed for two seconds before lowering her head slightly, smiling, and replying, “It’s hard to tell over the phone, maybe still a little.”

Shen Ningruo used the knuckle of her bent index finger to lightly touch her nose, then said, “Okay.”

“Then don’t listen over the phone.”

Qiu Yang: “Mm.”

The next second, Shen Ningruo said in a seemingly casual tone: “Xiao Yang, you still owe me a debt, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, I was really afraid you’d forgotten.”

It was strange and wonderful. They hadn’t been in touch for three days, but now talking on the phone felt as natural as before.

This was a good thing.

Qiu Yang’s meaning was clear. After hanging up, Shen Ningruo grabbed her car keys and left.

She had originally planned to get an outfit to wear to work tomorrow, but then she thought wearing Qiu Yang’s clothes was actually very nice, much more comfortable than wearing her own.

Qiu Yang held Pingzi in her arms again. She knew Shen Ningruo was coming, but time seemed to slow down. She kept looking at the clock on the wall, but only a little time had passed each time.

Pingzi was so tired from being petted by Qiu Yang that it fell asleep in her arms.

A little cat’s world is simple; if it’s tired, it won’t force itself to stay awake, it sleeps if it can.

But it hadn’t slept soundly for long when the doorbell rang. Its owner shouted “Coming” towards the door and placed it aside.

Pingzi: Numb.

It wanted to see who was coming that made its mom abandon it.

Oh, it was the beautiful lady who called her chubby. Okay, never mind.

Shen Ningruo heard Qiu Yang’s slightly quieter “Coming,” and her heart tightened.

Even though it was just a door separating them, it made her feel both strange and distant. This thought only lasted for three seconds before the door opened, and Qiu Yang stood entirely before her.

Shen Ningruo was stunned. She looked into Qiu Yang’s eyes, her lips moving: “Listen in person? Still have a nasal tone? Is your voice still hoarse?”

The same questions as on the phone.

“No,” Qiu Yang nodded, her eyes shining as if filled with many stars.

Not seeing each other for three days, it was false to say she didn’t miss her. The restraint and patience from when she last parted with Qiu Yang were still fresh in her memory.

Shen Ningruo took a step forward. She lifted her right foot back and closed the door, instantly closing the distance between her and Qiu Yang.

Qiu Yang swallowed, hearing Shen Ningruo say, “I came to pet Pangpang, I missed her.”

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