When Yu Lingshan got into the car, Xu Shi had already fastened her seatbelt. She was cradling the bouquet in her hands like a treasure, sniffing the flowers and touching the wrapping paper, looking absolutely ecstatic.
After settling in, Yu Lingshan reached over, originally intending to just brush the back of her hand against Xu Shi’s cheek. But just as she got close, Xu Shi suddenly turned her head.
Yu Lingshan hadn’t said a word, but Xu Shi suddenly broke into a smile at her.
The last rays of the setting sun shone through the windshield, landing on half of Xu Shi’s face. As she turned, the bouquet in her hands was also draped in a layer of orange gauze.
Xu Shi’s eyelashes were already long, and in the slanted sunlight, they cast a long shadow from the corner of her eye until it merged with the darkness.
Yu Lingshan’s hand paused mid-air, and she smiled as well, her voice tinged with helplessness. “You’re killing me.”
Xu Shi was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Yu Lingshan didn’t pull her hand back. She continued with her original intention and also gently touched Xu Shi’s ear.
“Can you wear your hair down from now on?” Yu Lingshan said.
Xu Shi was still confused. “Huh? Why?”
Yu Lingshan: “It’s beautiful.”
Xu Shi nodded. “Okay, I’ll wear it down tomorrow.” She thought for a moment and added, “From now on, I’ll wear it down when I see you, and tie it up when I don’t.”
Yu Lingshan smiled. “And what does that mean?”
Xu Shi avoided Yu Lingshan’s gaze, looking down at the flowers. “If you want me to wear my hair down, then we’ll have to see each other often.”
Yu Lingshan pinched Xu Shi’s cheek.
How could Xiao Zhi be so sweet?
Yu Lingshan asked, “Why do you always tie your hair up?”
Xu Shi pointed to the hair on both sides of her face. “Sometimes when the wind blows, it gets in my face, and it’s inconvenient when I eat.” Xu Shi shook her head. “It’s fine, it’s a small problem.”
Yu Lingshan looked into Xu Shi’s eyes. “Do you know any magic tricks?”
Xu Shi paused. “Magic tricks, all of a sudden?”
Yu Lingshan nodded. “All of a sudden.”
Xu Shi: “I used to know a lot of them. Ah, did you see them on my Weibo? I remember I posted some.”
Yu Lingshan: “Yes. Do you still remember them? I want to see.”
Xu Shi let out a long “um.” “That one was with playing cards, right? If you want to see it, I’ll have to practice again when I get home.” Xu Shi asked, “Or do you want to see something else?”
Yu Lingshan: “I want to see them all.”
Xu Shi nodded. “Okay, I’ll go back and review them all.”
Yu Lingshan didn’t offer any suggestions for dinner that evening, leaving all the arrangements to Xu Shi.
If this had been the Xu Shi from a month ago, she would have been lost and nervous, terrified of not doing a good job. But not anymore. She understood Yu Lingshan too well now.
Although Yu Lingshan was a picky eater, she wouldn’t pass up good food. As long as Xu Shi avoided the things she would never eat, all she had to do was find a great restaurant.
“Okay, done.”
After making the reservation, Xu Shi entered the address into the navigation app on her own phone. But before she could put it in the holder, Yu Lingshan said, “Use my phone for navigation. The password is the same as the door.”
Xu Shi said “oh” and took Yu Lingshan’s phone from the console tray.
The moment she unlocked it, she saw the photo of the two of them.
Xu Shi smiled and unlocked her own phone to show Yu Lingshan her screen saver. “Inspection.”
Yu Lingshan: “I saw it long ago.”
Xu Shi pulled her phone back. “You peeked.”
Yu Lingshan’s phone was neatly organized. Work files were in a work folder, personal things were in a personal folder—everything was clear at a glance. More importantly, in the top right corner, there was a small picture: one of Xu Shi’s one-inch ID photos.
“Huh?” Xu Shi was immediately curious. “Where did you get this photo?”
Yu Lingshan: “Also from your Weibo.”
Xu Shi let out a small “ah.” “So you’ve had it for that long.”
“I only saved this one,” Yu Lingshan smiled. “Good thing I did, otherwise I wouldn’t have had anything.”
Xu Shi smiled. Stepping out of her own shoes to look at the situation from an outside perspective, she muttered, “You’re kind of like my fan.”
She added, “This is the best one-inch photo I’ve ever taken. The photographer at this studio was really famous at our university, did you know? The photo studio across from the northwest gate.”
Yu Lingshan nodded. “I’ve heard of it.”
Xu Shi: “Did you get your picture taken there?”
Yu Lingshan: “No. Every one-inch photo I take is beautiful.”
“Ah, uh,” Xu Shi started laughing. “Alright then.”
Yu Lingshan probably found it funny herself. Hearing Xu Shi laugh, she laughed along.
Yu Lingshan: “What? Am I wrong?”
Xu Shi affirmed, “You’re absolutely right.” She leaned closer. “Then, pretty fairy sister, could you give me one of your one-inch photos too?”
Yu Lingshan: “It’s in the photo album, in a folder for documents. Take your pick.”
Xu Shi was delighted. “Okay-dokie.”
Xu Shi continued setting up the navigation on Yu Lingshan’s phone while still chatting about the photo studio. “Almost every student in our year got their photos taken there. Some people who had already gotten them done elsewhere even went back to have them retaken.”
She went on, “Later, as it got more popular, you had to wait in line at his shop.”
And then, “It just so happened to be the time of year when the school needed photos, so the line was incredibly long.”
And then, “My roommate didn’t get hers done in time and complained about it for ages when she got back. She loved to complain but loved getting her picture taken there too.”
Listening to her, Yu Lingshan started to laugh. Just as Xu Shi was placing the phone in the holder, she saw the laugh and looked at Yu Lingshan, puzzled. “What are you laughing at?”
Yu Lingshan: “I feel like I’m ‘Heard’ right now.”
Xu Shi didn’t understand at first. “You are Heard.”
Yu Lingshan suddenly asked, “Do you like Heard a lot?”
Xu Shi still didn’t get it. “What do you mean? Aren’t you Heard?”
Yu Lingshan: “Forget it if you don’t understand.”
Yu Lingshan was willing to let it go, but how could Xu Shi? Xu Shi wanted to dissect every word Yu Lingshan said, to drill down to the very phonetics to understand.
So, a minute later, a sudden “Oh!” erupted from the passenger seat.
Xu Shi: “Hahahaha.”
Yu Lingshan smiled. “On the same wavelength now?”
“Yes,” she said. “I do like Heard. I even imagined she was you.”
After saying this, Xu Shi stole a glance at Yu Lingshan, surprised to see no reaction at all.
Then Yu Lingshan said, “Stop talking. You just like me.”
A moment later, she added, “Straight girl.”
Those two words were dripping with mockery, filled to the brim with amusement.
Xu Shi had a feeling Yu Lingshan would be teasing her about being a straight girl for a while.
All Xu Shi could do was swallow her frustration and put the one-inch photo of Yu Lingshan she had just found on the screen as well.
She might as well organize the apps just like her own, giving them the same names and changing the password to match.
It was rush hour, and the car was stuck in traffic, giving Xu Shi plenty of time to do all this.
They were stuck for an hour before finally reaching the restaurant. Fortunately, Xu Shi had already ordered their food, so it wasn’t long after they arrived that the dishes were served. It was almost seven, so Yu Lingshan must have been hungry. She ate silently for a long time after they sat down.
After eating for a while, Xu Shi’s training class group chat suddenly blew up with messages, with many people tagging her.
Xu Shi opened it to see her friends from the competition congratulating her for placing first in her group. They sent special effects of fireworks, confetti, and firecrackers, filling the screen with color.
Xu Shi: Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone!
“What’s wrong? Why are you smiling so happily?”
Hearing Yu Lingshan’s voice, Xu Shi looked up and showed her the messages on her phone.
Yu Lingshan smiled and said, “The works of the top ten should be posted on the website by now. I think Teacher Wu is paying attention too.”
Xu Shi felt a thrill of excitement but kept her voice calm. “Would he pay attention to the preliminary round?”
Yu Lingshan: “He doesn’t pay attention to the preliminary round. He pays attention to you.”
Xu Shi bit her chopsticks. “Is that so.”
Yu Lingshan: “I saw him a few days ago. He knows Teacher Zhang, you know, and the other teachers at your design institute. He’s on good terms with them. They chat privately, so they know everything. They really like you. In everything they said, they were praising you, telling him to hurry up and take you in.”
Xu Shi listened motionlessly as Yu Lingshan spoke.
Yu Lingshan: “So when I ran into him, I hadn’t even said much before he brought you up himself.”
Xu Shi: “What did he say about me?”
Yu Lingshan: “How your competition preparations were going, how you’ve been lately.”
Xu Shi bit the tip of her tongue. “Really?”
Yu Lingshan mimicked Xu Shi’s tone, “‘Really?’” Then, in her normal voice, she replied, “Really.”
Hearing this, Xu Shi was genuinely happy. She peeled shrimp even faster, piling them onto Yu Lingshan’s small plate.
“So, is there anything I need to do?” Xu Shi asked, picking up another shrimp.
Yu Lingshan pointed at the shrimp with her chopsticks. “Put it down. Don’t get too excited.”
Only then did Xu Shi see the mountain of shrimp meat on Yu Lingshan’s plate.
Yu Lingshan: “The finals are coming up soon. We’ll wait for Teacher Wu to call, but one proactive move from him is enough. From now on, you have to supply all the enthusiasm.”
Xu Shi nodded earnestly. “Okay, okay.”
Yu Lingshan: “You’ll have to go to C-City for that, right? I’ll go with you. Don’t be afraid with me by your side.”
Xu Shi nodded. “Okay.”
Yu Lingshan: “It doesn’t matter if it works out or not. Your path has already broadened. Getting Teacher Wu is a matter of fate, not a reflection of your skill.”
Xu Shi chuckled. “I know.” She added, “Thank you.”
Yu Lingshan smiled. “Also, it was because Teacher Wu mentioned you at the design institute that you were able to get into Teacher Zhang’s class so easily.”
Xu Shi paused, then had to ask, “What about the tuition fee?”
Yu Lingshan raised her eyes.
Xu Shi asked, “You paid it for me, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
Yu Lingshan smiled. “You can owe me. Is that okay?”
“Okay,” Xu Shi said with a helpless laugh. “I knew it.”
“Teacher Wu is like my master, a person of action rather than words. He takes good care of the younger generation and particularly dislikes scheming and backstabbing,” Yu Lingshan said, then laughed. “It’s funny, actually. He even brought up Ying Jie to me that day.”
Xu Shi: “Ying Jie?”
“Mhm,” Yu Lingshan said. “He probably looked into what happened with you back then. There was a hint of regret in his voice. He told me that Ying Jie and her father’s hands aren’t clean, and it wasn’t just with you, nor was it just that one incident. He’s heard things over the years, one or two things here and there. It’s just that Ying Shide’s company is big, and he’s very skilled at handling things, so everything was dealt with nicely afterward and didn’t make any waves.”
Xu Shi let out a small “ah.” “It seems Ying Jie plagiarized in this competition too, but the other person deleted their Weibo post.”
Yu Lingshan raised an eyebrow. “Is that where your news feed ends?”
Xu Shi: “What do you mean?”
Yu Lingshan: “She was disqualified. The official announcement is already out on the website.”
Xu Shi was shocked. “Really?”
Yu Lingshan: “The girl this time has connections. Her family went and made a scene this afternoon.”
Xu Shi quickly opened the official website. Sure enough, the top post on the announcement board was about Ying Jie. It was concise, stating that she was disqualified for plagiarism and banned from participating in the competition for five years.
Xu Shi instantly felt a rush of satisfaction. Although it only said five years, this basically meant her career in design was over. Besides her father, no one would hire her.
After reading it, Xu Shi put down her phone and heard Yu Lingshan say, “Should we set off some firecrackers later to celebrate?”
Xu Shi laughed. “No need.” She picked up her water glass. “I don’t want to make a fuss over her.”
She smiled at Yu Lingshan. “I’m so happy I met you.”
Yu Lingshan picked up her glass too, and the two clinked them together lightly. “Me too.”
Actually, Xu Shi really wanted to go over and stay with Yu Lingshan that night. So during dinner, she kept trying to think of an excuse to go to Yu Lingshan’s place.
But she had absolutely no experience staying over at someone’s house for no reason. The more Xu Shi thought, the more her head ached, and each excuse she came up with was more ridiculous than the last, completely unusable.
While she was still racking her brain, a message came from her mother.
Mom: Seriously, young lady? You’re not coming home for dinner and you didn’t even say anything?
Xu Shi’s vision went dark. She immediately felt she had lost any chance of talking her way out of this.
So she told her mom she was eating out with Yu Lingshan.
Her mom sent an ellipsis, then said: Come back early.
Xu Shi showed the phone to Yu Lingshan, pouting, her lower lip stuck way out.
Yu Lingshan smiled. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
After dinner, they strolled around a nearby plaza for a bit before Yu Lingshan drove Xu Shi home.
Yu Lingshan parked the car outside and walked with Xu Shi for a stretch, all the way to the entrance of her apartment building.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Yu Lingshan asked.
Xu Shi immediately replied, “Finding a way to sleep at your place.”
Yu Lingshan burst out laughing and pinched Xu Shi’s cheek. “What’s with you, Xiao Zhi? All you think about all day is sleeping with me.”
Xu Shi ducked her head. “Huh? Isn’t that it?” After a second, she remembered. “Oh! Wearing my hair down.”
Yu Lingshan: “That’s right.”
Xu Shi chuckled. “Besides, you’re on your period anyway.”
Yu Lingshan started laughing. “My, my. Are you drunk?”
Xu Shi: “I’ll try to get drunk every day.”
Yu Lingshan laughed again at her words.
Xu Shi was actually quite shy about saying such things, but she also enjoyed it. It was a strange contradiction. So after she said it, she eagerly changed the subject. “I’m going in. Message me when you get home.”
Yu Lingshan: “Go on.”
Xu Shi waved a couple of times and started to walk inside, but after two steps, she suddenly turned back. Very smoothly and naturally, she pecked the corner of Yu Lingshan’s lips.
“Bye-bye.”
Xu Shi slipped inside in a flash, feeling absolutely giddy.
But she didn’t expect what was waiting for her just around the corner.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
“Mom.”
