Chapter Twenty-Five: The First Encounter

“Sis, you’re back.” Yishu quietly unlocked the door, thinking that Yihui was probably already asleep and didn’t bother to turn on the light. Guided only by the faint glow from the window, she felt her way toward the bedroom.

Hearing Yihui call out to her, she startled slightly. “You’re still up?”

Yihui switched on the bedside lamp and sat up by the bed. “I just got back too.”

It was already ten in the evening, and he was only just home. What had he been up to all day? Yishu recalled the summer after her own high school graduation—many of her male classmates, once freed from the constraints of those three years, let loose entirely: smoking, spending nights at internet cafés, staying out until dawn. Had her once-timid and well-behaved brother become one of them? Uncertain and suspicious, she asked, “What have you been doing out lately? You get home later and later every day.”

Yihui seemed puzzled. He widened his eyes. “I found a part-time job. It’s pretty far away, so I get back late.”

Yishu walked over and turned on the living room light, then returned. “What kind of job keeps you out so late? And where is it?”

“At a restaurant, near Yundong,” Yihui replied indifferently. He wasn’t much for conversation, and added with a hint of resignation, “The closing time depends on how busy the restaurant is each night.”

“There’s really no need for you to—” Yishu began, but Yihui cut her off, changing the subject. “Why are you home so late today?”

“I had dinner with him and Yan Lu and the others,” Yishu said. “You should have come too.”

“Why would I?” Yihui tilted his head aside. “I’d only make things awkward for you.”

“How could you say that? Don’t you want to meet your—” Yishu paused, “Don’t you want to meet your sister’s boyfriend?”

Yihui reached over and switched off the bedside lamp, looking straight ahead. “If you’re really together, there’ll be time to meet eventually. No need to rush. If…”

If you don’t end up together, meeting now will only make things awkward down the line. He swallowed the rest of his thought. That night, he’d seen Xu Shixi walk his sister home. Mature, composed, scholarly, dressed neither gaudily nor drably—a presence that was almost impossible to resist just by standing next to him. No wonder she was drawn to him. If he himself were… perhaps…

Night had deepened. After the farce at dinner, Yishu was drained. Her brother’s words were always hard to decipher; he kept his own counsel. She nodded silently and returned to her room. Outside, a waning moon kept sleep at bay. She tossed and turned as memories surged through her mind, unbidden and overwhelming—the events of the day, the reasons she dared not examine too closely, all surfacing inexorably.

Perhaps it was just as well that these recollections blurred together; if they were clear and vivid, no one could bear the pain a second time.

Since returning from Shenzhen, Shixi had been caught up in a busy spell. Where before they met nearly every day, now it was two or three days between meetings—a torment for lovers in the early throes of romance.

Yishu could finally understand how couples in TV dramas felt, clinging to each other daily.

But in real life, everyone has their own obligations and work; love, after all, can’t feed you.

Work is sustenance, love the seasoning. Seasoning makes food delicious. Love gives work more drive, more passion.

Yishu understood Shixi’s dedication to his career.

Seated at her desk in the shop, she watched customers drift through the corridor outside.

Shixi seemed thinner; yesterday he’d looked even more worn than before. After his business trip, the company had assigned him new tasks. Yishu felt guilty—it was always him looking after her, considering her feelings, while she could count on one hand what she’d done for him.

After work, Yishu detoured through Old Street, where there was a century-old pharmacy called Huaian Hall. She’d often come here as a child to pick up medicine. Entering, she found the old physician had just left; a new intern, barely on the job, was manning the counter.

Yishu inquired about some herbal tonics.

The intern recommended a few: codonopsis root, astragalus, Chinese yam, licorice.

After buying the herbs, she stopped by the local market to purchase a freshly slaughtered chicken.

Back home, she gathered her pots and pans, searched online for a recipe, and set about making the soup on her own.

Making chicken soup wasn’t difficult; it just took time. By the time it was ready, it was nearly nine.

Shixi had probably already eaten.

Yishu divided the soup in two. Half she would take to Shixi the next day; the other half she’d keep for Yihui when he got home from work. After all, coming and going at all hours was exhausting, and with his constitution, he might not withstand it for long.

The next afternoon, Yishu carried a thermal lunch box to the entrance of Xunyuan again. The surroundings looked just as imposing, just as unapproachable.

The receptionist seemed to have changed, or perhaps it was simply someone else’s shift. Yishu paid it no mind. Not wanting to risk any more of their cold stares, she messaged Shixi directly.

Five minutes later, Qiao Siming came out from the elevators and called to her, “Mrs. Xu, this way.”

Yishu flushed scarlet and, under a host of surprised glances, lowered her head, clutching the lunch box as she walked in.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” she scolded him.

“Was I wrong?” Qiao Siming feigned aggrieved innocence. “Shouldn’t you thank me? I just put an end to all those others’ wild ideas.”

Yishu shook her head, unwilling to argue. He really was impossible to fathom.

This was her first time inside Xunyuan. Compared to a small group like Kaisheng, the grandeur and décor here was worlds apart.

Yishu marveled inwardly, keeping her expression deliberately composed. She didn’t want to make a spectacle of herself like some country bumpkin in a palace. Not only would she be laughed at, but Shixi would lose face as well.

It was lunchtime, so the office area was deserted.

“He’s in that office there,” Qiao Siming pointed, but as Yishu was about to go in, he stopped her. “Wait a minute, he’s still in a meeting.”

“Then I really picked the wrong time,” Yishu turned to him. “Why didn’t you say so? I wouldn’t have come up and disturbed him.”

Qiao Siming gave her a meaningful look. “I thought you’d want to see him right now.”

His words always left her bewildered.

At that moment, the door opened. Xu Shixi stepped out, accompanied by a tall, slender woman. They were chatting and laughing.

Yishu’s heart gave a jolt.

“You’re here,” Shixi fixed his gaze on her.

A pair of eyes turned toward her too—assessing, probing, hostile.

Yishu instinctively gripped the lunch box tighter.

“Who is she?” the woman asked softly.

“She is your former ‘her’,” Qiao Siming interjected suddenly.

Xu Shixi shot him a cold glance. “She is my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” The woman could barely believe it.

Yishu watched her expression crumple, as if her world had collapsed.

Xu Shixi continued, “Yishu, this is my junior from university, Tang Dai.”

“Hello, I’m Tang Dai.” She extended her right hand, her gaze sharp. “I didn’t expect that after five years abroad, everything at home would be so changed—both the environment and… the people.”

Yishu felt the very air pressing in on her, the woman’s eyes icy, her words unreadable. There was something between her and Shixi, secrets she wasn’t meant to know. But now was hardly the time to ask.

Tang Dai was coldly beautiful, graceful, with bright eyes and perfect features, her skin almost translucent. A tailored business suit highlighted every elegant line, while her chestnut curls were tied back carelessly, a single lock falling to frame her thin face.

Yishu glanced down at her own plain clothes, feeling a pang of inferiority. She reached out a trembling hand and shook Tang Dai’s politely. “My name is Su Yishu. I’m—”

Tang Dai withdrew her hand, cutting her off. “Shixi just said you’re his girlfriend—no need to repeat it.” She spoke with a smile that was all pretense.

Stung by her words and the discomfort she radiated, Yishu retorted, “Just now Shixi said I was his girlfriend, but what I meant was that he’s my friend.” She lifted her chin. “So, I don’t think I repeated what he said.”

A deft riposte, catching the other woman off guard. Tang Dai withdrew her gaze from Yishu and turned to Shixi. “Your girlfriend’s quite articulate—why not recruit her for property sales?”

“She’d never give in—selling real estate is exhausting,” Qiao Siming finally found an opening to chime in.

Xu Shixi shook his head. “She has work she loves. I respect her wishes.”

“Fine,” Tang Dai pouted and nodded mechanically. “Let’s talk next time. I have to go. About what we discussed, I hope you’ll give it some thought.”

As she passed Yishu, she shot her a sidelong glare—if looks could kill, Yishu would have been pierced through.

Yishu met her gaze in silence, sensing a storm gathering on the horizon.