Unable to find anything good on TV, Yu Lingshan simply opened a music app and put on a random jazz playlist.
She had said she wouldn’t drink, but the alcohol was brought out anyway.
But this grand dame didn’t have to do a thing; a simple command from her lips and someone would deliver things right to her mouth.
In the middle of the night, Xu Shi even fried up a plate of snacks to go with her drinks.
Watching Yu Lingshan take her first sip of alcohol, Xu Shi couldn’t help but let out a huge yawn.
Yu Lingshan moved her glass away slightly and looked at Xu Shi. “Sleepy?”
Xu Shi nodded. “A little.”
Yu Lingshan: “You’re not allowed to sleep. I’m wide awake.”
Xu Shi smiled. “I won’t. I’ll stay with you.”
Yu Lingshan picked up her phone, unlocked the screen, and held it in front of Xu Shi’s eyes. “See? It’s only four-thirty.”
Xu Shi nodded. “Right. If we stay up a little longer, we can have breakfast. That’s nice.”
Yu Lingshan pinched Xu Shi’s cheek. “Oh, getting sarcastic with me now, are we?”
Xu Shi laughed. “No~”
Yu Lingshan lifted the blanket. “Get in.”
Xu Shi obediently got in, then leaned against the sofa and watched Yu Lingshan drink and eat. Occasionally, when Her Majesty was pleased, she would even feed her a bite. It was nice.
The song on the stereo changed, and a gentle, slow intro flowed into every corner of the living room. Xu Shi watched Yu Lingshan’s chewing cheeks and cleared her throat inwardly.
“Um,” Xu Shi couldn’t help but ask, “why did you pretend to be Heard?”
The moment she said it, Xu Shi saw Yu Lingshan smile.
Yu Lingshan: “I was just wondering if you were genuinely not curious, or if you were just holding it in.”
Xu Shi smiled too, nudging her head against Yu Lingshan’s. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want to talk about it.”
Yu Lingshan squeezed the back of Xu Shi’s neck and chuckled. “Why are you so timid? And you blush so easily.”
Xu Shi let out a little laugh.
Yu Lingshan: “Let me see if you’re blushing.”
Xu Shi hid her face behind Yu Lingshan’s back. “No.”
Yu Lingshan: “Fine, reject me.”
Xu Shi: “Just tell me.”
Yu Lingshan patted Xu Shi’s head. “Sit up and I’ll tell you.”
Xu Shi paused for a few seconds, then slowly sat up straight.
Yu Lingshan glanced over at her. Sure enough, her face was a little red. Yu Lingshan smiled and finished the last bit of alcohol in her glass.
Xu Shi was very attentive. Seeing the glass was empty, she quickly refilled it for Yu Lingshan and handed her a piece of beef jerky.
Her Majesty, having been well-served, was finally willing to tell her story. “I was really happy to see you at the coffee shop that day.” She glanced at Xu Shi. “I’ve never taken the initiative to ask for someone’s WeChat before.”
Xu Shi broke into a smile. “Really?”
“But I didn’t expect you to be so scared of me.” Even now, Yu Lingshan found it baffling. “Why?”
Xu Shi pursed her lips. “Back then, I told Weiwei I had a phobia of beautiful women.”
Yu Lingshan frowned. “A what?”
Xu Shi herself laughed. “It means I get scared when I see a beautiful woman.”
Yu Lingshan: “…Are you serious?”
Xu Shi picked up a throw pillow, covered half her face with it, and said in a muffled voice, “Later, Weiwei told me that maybe I already had a crush on you back then, and that’s why I was scared.”
Hearing this, Yu Lingshan burst out laughing. “Mmm~ I like that explanation.” She was pleased. “So it was love at first sight for you?”
Xu Shi coughed. “Did you recognize me right away at the coffee shop? Why? How were you so sure?”
Yu Lingshan wouldn’t let her off the hook. “Was it love at first sight?”
Xu Shi picked up the pillow again. “I guess so.”
Yu Lingshan was satisfied. “So you liked me first.”
“Did I?” Xu Shi was very curious. “When did you start liking me?”
“How should I put it?” Yu Lingshan said. “I saw the videos on your Weibo. You’ve barely changed since university—ponytail, light bangs. At the time, I wondered why you were called ‘Reason Only Has a Say,’ but the moment I saw your name at the coffee shop, I understood.”
Xu Shi: “And then?”
“And then,” Yu Lingshan pinched Xu Shi again, “who knew you’d be so scared of me? Every time you saw me, it was like you were about to do something. Was I going to eat you?”
Xu Shi laughed again.
Yu Lingshan was exasperated. “Then I ran into you at the bar, didn’t I?”
As she said this, Yu Lingshan shot Xu Shi a look.
Xu Shi: “Huh? What for?”
Yu Lingshan huffed. “One thing at a time.” She continued, “That night at the bar, you told me a lot about university. I asked a lot of questions, and you answered them all. That’s when I learned about Ying Jie and that stupid questionnaire for your company.”
“If I hadn’t made up an identity to be by your side, would you have accepted my help?” Yu Lingshan asked.
Without a second thought, Xu Shi said, “Probably not.”
Yu Lingshan suddenly got angry again, pinching Xu Shi’s cheek. “That questionnaire of yours was so hard to fill out! Do you know how many people I had to treat to a meal for that thing?” Yu Lingshan said through gritted teeth. “Hmm?”
Xu Shi was overwhelmed with gratitude. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.” Then she said, “Could you pinch the other cheek? This one hurts.”
Yu Lingshan let go and, as a charitable gesture, rubbed it for her.
“It wasn’t easy for me, you know. To make you accept it willingly, I had to register for that stupid thing your company made.” Yu Lingshan sounded like she truly hated Ding Dong Dong. “Registration took me a whole minute!”
Xu Shi burst out laughing and massaged Yu Lingshan’s shoulders. “You’ve worked hard, Teacher Yu. A precious minute of your life was spent on Ding Dong Dong.”
Yu Lingshan gave Xu Shi a look. “Was it only a minute?”
Xu Shi: “Teacher Yu is the best in the world.”
Yu Lingshan: “Get lost.”
Yu Lingshan took a sip of her drink and started laughing to herself. “How are you so easy to fool? I told you I was a fortune teller and you believed me? How do you believe everything?”
Xu Shi sounded wronged. “How was I supposed to know? You made it sound so real.”
Yu Lingshan: “Even I thought the lies I was spinning were ridiculous.”
Xu Shi was aggrieved. “And you have the nerve to say that.”
Xu Shi felt that their roles had reversed again. This was supposed to be a scene where Xu Shi was questioning Yu Lingshan.
Of course, Xu Shi didn’t feel there was anything wrong with that at all.
Yu Lingshan was always right.
Yu Lingshan continued, “I did a little digging into what happened to you back then, got a hold of Ying Jie’s work from that competition, and showed it to some of my other friends. They all thought it was good. Later, I heard Teacher Wu was taking on a student and that he would be stopping by our event.”
Yu Lingshan spread her hands. “And just like that, fate intervened.” Yu Lingshan said it with righteous conviction. “So I tricked you into going.”
“And as it happens, my mentor knows Teacher Wu.” A small glint of luck appeared in Yu Lingshan’s eyes. “Under the pretext of paying my respects to my mentor, I showed Teacher Wu your designs. It was hilarious—after looking at them, he asked me if they weren’t Ying Jie’s work.”
Xu Shi was surprised. “He knew?”
Yu Lingshan nodded. “The moment I heard that, I knew I had a chance. Sure enough, he told me that Ying Shide had also approached him and shown him the same thing. He had also mentored Ying Jie for a while, but, tsk.”
Yu Lingshan shook her head. “Trash is trash. You can’t polish it.”
Xu Shi laughed out loud.
Yu Lingshan: “I subtly mentioned you, and Teacher Wu probably understood. He seemed quite interested in you. You know the rest.”
After hearing all this, Xu Shi was at a complete loss for words.
It was all said so casually, accompanied by such music, as if they were talking about someone else’s story.
But Xu Shi knew that every word from Yu Lingshan was worth pondering, every sentence revealing what Yu Lingshan had done for her behind the scenes.
“What,” Yu Lingshan used her glass to lift Xu Shi’s chin, “are you moved?”
Xu Shi nodded and said in a low voice, “Yeah.”
Yu Lingshan said in a very nonchalant tone, “If you’re moved, then repay me well.”
Xu Shi: “Okay.”
Yu Lingshan said, “It’s mainly because Teacher Xu is so outstanding. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known where to start.”
Xu Shi still nodded. “Thank you.”
Yu Lingshan smiled and wrapped an arm around Xu Shi’s neck. “You’re that moved?”
Xu Shi nodded again. “Yeah.”
Yu Lingshan ruffled Xu Shi’s hair. “Silly thing.”
Xu Shi pursed her lips and brought up the question that Yu Lingshan hadn’t seemed to answer specifically. “So when did you start liking me?” Xu Shi pulled the pillow up higher. “You even said you were pursuing me.”
Yu Lingshan smiled. “At first, when I was doing all this, I really didn’t have any intentions of getting with you. I just purely wanted to help you.” Yu Lingshan delivered another heavy blow. “You’re not my type, baby.”
Xu Shi clutched her chest. “Ah, I’m hurt.”
“Later, I don’t know what happened,” Yu Lingshan said with a smile. “I originally thought you were straight and didn’t want you, but it just…”
Yu Lingshan shot Xu Shi a look. “I just liked you too much. Couldn’t help it.”
As if the look wasn’t enough, she poked Xu Shi’s forehead with her hand. “How can you be so straight? Such a straight girl.”
Xu Shi: “Hehe.”
After laughing, she asked, “So what’s your type, then?”
Yu Lingshan looked into Xu Shi’s eyes. “You really want to know?”
Xu Shi thought for a long time, growing nervous just from thinking about it. “Yeah.”
Yu Lingshan: “What will you do when you know?”
Xu Shi: “I’ll try my best.”
Yu Lingshan laughed. “Then you probably don’t stand a chance.”
Xu Shi: “Why?”
Yu Lingshan: “I don’t like younger ones. You’re five years younger than me.”
Xu Shi was dejected. “Okay.”
Yu Lingshan smiled. “Unhappy now?”
Xu Shi shook her head. “A little bit.” She then smiled, a hint of pride in her eyes. “But I still became your girlfriend, didn’t I?”
Yu Lingshan raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Who said you’re my girlfriend?”
Xu Shi was shocked. “Aren’t… aren’t I?”
Yu Lingshan lowered her head and laughed. “How can you be so cute?” she said. “We’ve already done it. What kind of relationship did you think we have?”
Xu Shi smiled.
Yu Lingshan: “Or do you think I’m very casual?”
Xu Shi shook her head. “No, that’s not it.”
Yu Lingshan pointed at Xu Shi’s eyes. “Don’t lie to me. You’ve definitely thought that before.”
Xu Shi didn’t hide it. “There was a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny bit of that thought once. Not a lot.”
After saying that, she immediately looked at Yu Lingshan seriously, afraid she would get angry.
But Yu Lingshan didn’t. Instead, she continued the conversation. “You thought I was just playing around with you.”
Xu Shi choked a little.
Yu Lingshan nodded and took a drink. “It’s true. Most people have that misunderstanding about me.” She looked at Xu Shi. “But not you, Xiao Zhi. I’m serious about you, and you have to be serious about me too.”
Xu Shi felt wronged. “I’m being very serious.”
Yu Lingshan was amused and started laughing.
Then she said, “Also, whether it’s Yu Lingshan or Heard, the ‘kid’ they talk about has always been just one person, named Xiao Zhi. Do you understand?”
Hearing this, Xu Shi first let out a “Huh?” then her eyes slowly curved into a smile. “Oh.”
Yu Lingshan reached out, intending to pinch Xu Shi, but perhaps remembering that Xu Shi had said her face hurt, she didn’t pinch the other side. Instead, she gently rubbed Xu Shi’s cheek with the back of her hand.
“So I later realized that age isn’t an issue. It’s you, so it’s you.”
Xu Shi bit the tip of her tongue. “I see,” she said. “So you really do like me.”
Yu Lingshan hadn’t expected Xu Shi to say that, and it actually made her a little embarrassed.
She didn’t respond, instead stuffing a piece of beef jerky into Xu Shi’s mouth. She smiled to herself and took a drink to cover it up.
Then, suddenly, Yu Lingshan changed the subject. “So, how did you know how to do it? You must have only found out recently, right?”
Xu Shi almost choked. She let out a slow “Ah.” “Just… just a few days ago. I looked it up, haha.”
Yu Lingshan’s eyes curved. “I never would have thought. The little kid looks so well-behaved on the surface, but secretly she’s thinking about how to top me.”
Xu Shi’s face turned red again. “No, I was just, I…” She let out a helpless laugh. “Okay, yes, I have thought about it.”
Yu Lingshan laughed out loud. “How can you be so cute?”
Xu Shi suddenly remembered what she’d read online about post-coital communication. She swallowed and asked weakly, “So, was I… was I okay?”
Yu Lingshan let out a snort of laughter. “Well, you want the honest truth?”
Xu Shi felt a little panicked, but still said, “Yes, it has to be the truth.”
Yu Lingshan: “Well, it was a standard performance. Pretty good, not bad.”
Xu Shi’s sense of accomplishment instantly dropped by ten points. “Oh, so just average.”
Yu Lingshan offered her glass toward Xu Shi. “Is our big, strong top not satisfied with herself?”
Xu Shi: “I’ll go study some more.”
Yu Lingshan raised an eyebrow. “Just theoretical knowledge?”
Xu Shi couldn’t help but smile. She was embarrassed, but she had to say it. “Well, if Teacher Yu is willing to let me get some practical experience, that would be the best, best, best.”
Yu Lingshan: “Beg me.”
Xu Shi immediately said, “I’m begging you.”
Yu Lingshan: “Mmm~ We’ll see how you perform.”
It was nothing, really, but Xu Shi just couldn’t stop smiling. She wanted to smile at everything, no matter what she was doing or saying.
So it was true. Talking about risqué things once in a while was really stimulating.
She wasn’t sleepy at all anymore.
