Chapter 94

Ji Yuning’s voice was very low, so low that it was almost the same as her usual tone, without a hint of anything amiss.

The corners of her eyes only moistened for a moment before quickly drying again.

The emotion came suddenly, but it wasn’t inexplicable at all.

As early as the moment she saw Fang Bai again, that tear should have fallen, but miraculously, during the days she spent with Fang Bai, there was no opportunity for her to cry.

Fang Bai was still the same as she remembered, still the familiar her. The three years they hadn’t seen each other felt like three days; Fang Bai had only been gone for three days and now she was back.

It was just that she was studying in another city, and Fang Bai was waiting for her at home.

No matter how bad the excuse, the other person would believe her, would go along with her, as always.

Fang Bai didn’t notice Ji Yuning’s strangeness. She replied with another “good night,” then put her ​unauthorized copy​phone aside and slowly closed her eyes.

Her sleep quality had always been very good; she could fall asleep within five minutes of lying down.

Conversely, Ji Yuning’s sleep wasn’t very good. She had difficulty falling asleep and would wake up at the slightest sound.

Half an hour passed, and Fang Bai, who should have been sound asleep, quietly opened her eyes, her gaze clear and wide awake.

Ji Yuning, who usually had trouble sleeping, was already sound asleep.

Fang Bai was experiencing insomnia.

It wasn’t a lie when she said she was tired and wanted to sleep, but when everything calmed down, the restless factors slowly came alive, playing with her nerves.

Closing her eyes brought the image of Ji Yuning in the mirror, blurry and unclear.

Fang Bai silently exhaled a breath and looked at her phone, which was still lit beside her.

Ji Yuning hadn’t turned off her bedside lamp. The image on her end was still very clear, unlike Fang Bai’s side, where the room only had a patch of light from her phone.

The phone was propped up, and Fang Bai saw Ji Yuning’s sleeping face at a glance. Compared to usual, it lacked some of its coolness.

Her mind became clearer.

Fang Bai wondered if it was because her phone was lit.

She reached for her phone, wanting to pretend to accidentally touch it to end the call.

But when Fang Bai saw the sleeping person’s slightly furrowed brows and thought of the sound of the call ending waking her, she hesitated and withdrew her hand.

Fang Bai slowly turned over, no longer looking at her phone, and kept her body turned to the side without moving.

As if this way, she wouldn’t be caught by a beam of light.

South City in early July had a pleasant climate.

Having stayed for a long time, Fang Bai quite liked this refreshing weather.

Feeling the gentle morning breeze, Fang Bai stepped into the apartment complex. From afar, she saw a short-haired beauty standing in front of her building.

Hao Yingman looked at Fang Bai’s tied-up ponytail and athletic attire, noticing that she didn’t have a single pocket to put her phone in. This explained why several phone calls had gone unanswered.

She asked, “Went for a morning run?”

“Mmm,” Fang Bai said, walking towards Hao Yingman. “Why are you here?”

Hao Yingman had been busy with work, and Fang Bai hadn’t contacted her for a while.

Hao Yingman raised the thing she was holding and smiled. “Ta-da~ Breakfast with love.”

Fang Bai smiled. “Thanks, but I’ve already eaten.”

Hao Yingman pouted. “Then it’s lunch with love, no difference.”

“Is work not busy anymore?” Fang Bai asked.

“How can it not be busy all the time?” Hao Yingman said with a hint of melancholy. “I’m exhausted.”

Fang Bai: “How’s the partnership with Lu Raomei going?”

Hao Yingman’s expression visibly paused for a moment before she said, “Actually, she’s not as aggressive as the outside world describes. She’s always smiling, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, capable of devouring you without you noticing. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but one good thing is that her professional abilities are quite strong.”

After saying that, Hao Yingman noticed Fang Bai looking at her strangely, with a hint of teasing.

Hao Yingman panicked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Fang Bai smiled slightly. “I think I asked about the partnership.”

“Cough.” Hao Yingman couldn’t help but cough. “It’s going well, everything’s smooth.”

While speaking, the two had already gone upstairs.

The door opened, and while Fang Bai changed her shoes, Hao Yingman’s eyes swept around. The room layout was simple yet cozy, all the furniture neatly arranged, showing that the owner loved life. She admired how Fang Bai lived so well on her own.

…Alone?

Hao Yingman looked at Fang Bai’s back and asked, “Hey? Where’s that kid of yours? Hasn’t she come looking for you these past few days?”

Fang Bai’s footsteps slowed for a beat before she turned around, gesturing for Hao Yingman to sit on the sofa.

She poured a glass of water for Hao Yingman and said, “Mmm, she went back to school.”

After saying that, as if afraid of being asked more questions, Fang Bai proactively changed the subject. “What about you? You successfully secured the project, what did your uncle say this time?”

“Him? I’d be thanking the heavens if he didn’t scold me, I wouldn’t even dream of him praising me.” Hao Yingman bought two breakfasts, handing one to Fang Bai before picking up hers and unwrapping it.

While unwrapping, she asked, “Have you thought about where you want to travel?”

Fang Bai had just placed her breakfast on the coffee table when she heard Hao Yingman’s question, and her hand froze in mid-air.

Hao Yingman glanced at Fang Bai’s reaction out of the corner of her eye and tsked. “You wouldn’t have forgotten, would you? Didn’t we agree to go traveling after we settled this project?”

Fang Bai’s hand fell to her lap, her brow furrowed. “I haven’t forgotten, I just haven’t decided where to go yet.”

Hao Yingman oh-ed, took a bite of her pastry, “Then think about it, tell me when you’ve decided. I’ll treat this time, the plane tickets and everything are on me.”

Fang Bai: “So generous?”

“Why not? You have to seize the opportunity.” Hao Yingman ate her pastry, the white sugar inside a bit hot on her tongue. She didn’t rush to eat, waiting for the sugar to cool.

While waiting, she suddenly thought of the previous topic that hadn’t been finished. Hao Yingman looked at Fang Bai and said, “I always feel like your relationship with that kid isn’t as simple as you make it out to be.”

Fang Bai looked up at Hao Yingman, knowing the topic hadn’t been successfully diverted.

Just as Fang Bai was about to explain to Hao Yingman again, Hao Yingman said, “If I’m not mistaken, those lingerie sets from last time were a gift from her, right?”

Fang Bai asked, “How do you know?”

“Hmph, a woman’s intuition,” Hao Yingman said. “Back then, I knew she was the only person by your side. If she didn’t give them to you, who else would have? And your reaction at the time was so bland, it didn’t seem like anyone else gave them to you.”

Hao Yingman glanced at the sweet pastry, feeling it still wasn’t cool enough, and continued, “Is she a lesbian?”

Yes.

The female lead of a yuri novel was definitely one.

“She has someone she likes, I’ve met that kid too, very cute,” Fang Bai thought of Mu Xuerou.

Hao Yingman asked, “Really?”

Fang Bai felt the topic had drifted far, and she smiled, asking Hao Yingman, “Weren’t we talking about travel? Do you have any place you want to go?”

The pastry had cooled down. Hao Yingman took a bite. “Anywhere is fine with me.”

“The key isn’t where to go, but who to go with.” After saying that, Hao Yingman raised an eyebrow at Fang Bai. “How was that? I just learned it.”

Fang Bai: “…”

She didn’t want to comment.

Hao Yingman asked after a few seconds, “But haven’t you gone home to see your family yet? Why don’t we go back to Hu City before we travel?”

Fang Bai was silent.

It wasn’t until Hao Yingman finished her pastry that she said, “We’ll see.”

Fang Bai had thought that the trip with Hao Yingman would be some time away, but she hadn’t expected Hao Yingman to say they would go in a few days.

That afternoon, Fang Bai curled up on the sofa, looking at the two cat icons on her WeChat interface.

She had changed Xiao Zhang”s contact name to Xiao Ning 2.

Ever since that video call the other night, Fang Bai hadn’t sent Ji Yuning any messages, and tacitly, Ji Yuning hadn’t contacted her either.

While Fang Bai tapped back and forth between their two profile ​Read on BaiLianTales​pictures without sending a single message, a WeChat notification sounded.

Xiao Ning: [Are you home?]

The moment she saw the message, Fang Bai sat up straight.

Ji Yuning had messaged her?

After a moment of surprise, she typed: [Yes.]

Xiao Ning: [What do you want for dinner tonight?]

Fang Bai bit her lip, thought for a moment, and said:

[I haven’t decided yet.]

[No need to order takeout for me, I’ll cook in a bit.]

She figured that Ji Yuning asking her what she wanted to eat meant she was going to order takeout for her, and Ji Yuning’s reply confirmed this.

Xiao Ning: [Okay.]

Fang Bai held her phone, unsure what to chat with Ji Yuning about.

She stayed like that for almost five minutes.

The bathroom door opened a crack, and Hao Yingman’s voice drifted out, “Fang Bai, I forgot my bath towel, could you get it for me?”

“Okay.”

Fang Bai replied, putting down her phone.

Since she didn’t know what to send, she decided to leave it for now.

She would know what to say after a while.

After giving the bath towel to Hao Yingman, Fang Bai walked to the sofa. Just as she sat down, two somewhat muffled knocks sounded on the door.

After two knocks, the person outside didn’t knock again.

Fang Bai thought she had misheard and didn’t intend to pay attention, but for some reason, the next second she stood up as if guided by a ghost and walked to the front door.

Her slender fingers grasped the doorknob, and after turning it gently with force, the door opened with a “ka” sound.

Fang Bai looked straight at the door, so the moment it was pulled open, her eyes met those of the person standing outside.

She froze in place, her hand gripping the doorknob suddenly tightening as she looked at the person before her, her pupils slightly constricted.

The fine, scattered bangs on the forehead of the person outside swayed slightly with a gust of wind, like a melody played by the wind in a desolate mountain range. Dim eyes shimmered the moment they saw Fang Bai, and thin lips were rosy and glossy, as if they had applied fruit-flavored lip balm. In a daze, she could smell strawberries.

A black logo was printed on the pure white sports vest, the vest’s length not even reaching the abdomen. A long-sleeved sun protection jacket was worn over it, covering most of the upper body. The lower body was a pair of light blue denim shorts, with a ten-centimeter gap between the shorts and the vest, revealing clear abs and a small navel. There were several ripped holes in the shorts, very stylish. White sneakers matching the vest were worn on the feet.

Fang Bai was shocked by Ji Yuning’s sudden appearance outside the door. Amidst her surprise, she called out softly, “Xiao Ning?”

Having not seen her for a while, Ji Yuning’s dressing style had changed drastically.

However, the style was younger than before, the kind of outfit someone her age would wear.

Very beautiful.

Fang Bai naturally looked her up and down a few more times.

Ji Yuning seemed very satisfied with Fang Bai’s reaction. The corners of her lips slightly curved up. “Auntie.”

Fang Bai stepped aside, making room for Ji Yuning. “Come in first.”

“Mmm.”

As they brushed past each other, the strawberry scent in the air became stronger.

Ji Yuning carried a bag of groceries in her hand.

Fang Bai recognized the logo printed on the bag; it was the supermarket downstairs in the apartment complex.

Thinking of something, Fang Bai looked up at Ji Yuning. “When you asked me what I wanted for dinner earlier, were you already at the supermarket?”

Ji Yuning hummed faintly, her tone colder than before.

The moment she stepped into the room, the bathroom door in the distance was pulled open from the inside, and then a woman wrapped in a bath towel walked out.