WRR – Chapter 28

Xu Shi’s courage peaked when she was in a daze.

Now that she was gradually coming to her senses, she realized what she had just done.

Oh my god, she had hugged Yu Lingshan?!

Xu Shi’s face flushed red in an instant. She quickly let go of Yu Lingshan and retreated to what she considered a safe distance. Only then did she notice she was still holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Here, the flower you wanted.”

With one hand in her pocket, Yu Lingshan tilted her head and looked at Xu Shi expressionlessly, letting out a cold laugh. “The flower I wanted?”

Xu Shi said yes and held the flower out a little further.

Yu Lingshan asked, “What’s all this about?”

Xu Shi thought for a moment, then said first, “I’m sorry.”

Yu Lingshan didn’t take the flower. “Explain.”

Xu Shi had no choice but to pull the flower back. “I was in a bad mood just now.”

Yu Lingshan: “Feeling better now?”

Xu Shi didn’t dare to lie. “A little better.”

Yu Lingshan broke into a smile. She reached out, pinched Xu Shi’s cheek, took the flower from her hand, and translated the meaning of Xu Shi’s last sentence: “So hugging me makes you feel better?”

Xu Shi knew that if she denied it now, Yu Lingshan would surely draw a sword and kill her.

Besides, it was the truth.

So Xu Shi simply admitted it. “Mhm.”

Yu Lingshan pressed her lips together, then finally seemed unable to hold it in and burst out laughing, pinching Xu Shi’s cheek again.

“The flower I wanted?” Yu Lingshan held up the bouquet and asked Xu Shi.

Xu Shi nodded. “Yes.”

Yu Lingshan tapped Xu Shi’s head with the flower. “Am I short this one flower?”

Xu Shi shook her head. “No.”

Yu Lingshan: “So why would I have you give me a flower?”

Xu Shi pursed her lips and didn’t answer.

Yu Lingshan said, “Because I’m short a flower given to me by Xiao Zhi.”

Xu Shi smiled inwardly. “Oh.”

Yu Lingshan: “Do you understand?”

Xu Shi nodded. “Yes.”

Yu Lingshan smiled again, looking unconvinced.

Perhaps because she had woken up early to catch her flight, Yu Lingshan wasn’t wearing any makeup. A pair of large-framed glasses covered half her face, and her hair wasn’t tied up.

Xu Shi liked Yu Lingshan in this state, too. Plain and simple, it felt like she could get a little closer to her.

But then again, Xu Shi liked Yu Lingshan no matter what.

Xu Shi walked behind Yu Lingshan, took her suitcase, and held her arm ready for Yu Lingshan to link with.

Xu Shi: “Are you tired?”

Hearing this, Yu Lingshan whipped her head around to look at Xu Shi.

Xu Shi: “What’s wrong?”

Yu Lingshan: “Heavens, Xiao Zhi is actually concerned about me.”

Xu Shi protested weakly, “I’ve always been concerned about you.”

“Oh? Is that so,” she chuckled. “I slept on the plane.”

Xu Shi: “Mhm.”

Yu Lingshan: “But I’m still sleepy.”

Xu Shi: “…Oh.”

Yu Lingshan: “So, why were you in a bad mood?”

Xu Shi smiled.

Yu Lingshan was puzzled. “What are you smiling about?”

Xu Shi shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

It was just that… with Yu Lingshan by her side like this, the pain of Heard leaving seemed to have suddenly vanished.

So magical.

“A friend,” Xu Shi explained vaguely. “For some reason, they can’t contact me anymore.”

This statement actually had many potential avenues for deeper questioning, but perhaps out of respect for her privacy, Yu Lingshan just hummed in acknowledgment and didn’t ask any more.

The car Yu Lingshan had called was waiting at the entrance. As soon as they got in, Yu Lingshan immediately leaned over and closed her eyes.

Xu Shi was familiar with this state, so she quickly adjusted into a position Yu Lingshan usually liked.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Xu Shi asked.

Yu Lingshan’s voice was lazy. “Stayed out playing too late last night.”

Xu Shi: “Playing what?”

Yu Lingshan: “At a bar.”

Xu Shi let out a soft “ah.”

An image of Yu Lingshan chatting happily with some people at a bar instantly surfaced in her mind.

“Was it… was it fun?” Xu Shi asked.

Yu Lingshan: “It was alright. Just a way to pass the time.”

Xu Shi: “Oh.”

Yu Lingshan added, “But you can’t go.”

Xu Shi: “Why?”

Yu Lingshan shifted, adjusting her head, and said in a low voice, “It’s not that you can’t go. If you want to, let me go with you.”

Xu Shi still asked, “Why?”

Yu Lingshan: “You’d get eaten alive.”

Yu Lingshan’s voice grew softer and softer, sounding like she was about to fall asleep any second, so Xu Shi decided to stop talking to her.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Yu Lingshan fell asleep.

How did Xu Shi know? Because the hand resting on Yu Lingshan’s knee lost its balance and started to slip off.

But before the hand could fall onto the seat, Xu Shi caught it.

She caught it very gently, afraid of waking Yu Lingshan, following the hand’s downward momentum for a short distance before slowly bringing it to a stop.

Then she glanced at Yu Lingshan, who was still asleep.

Xu Shi had originally intended to place Yu Lingshan’s hand on the seat, but for some reason, she found herself holding it, pressing her own palm against Yu Lingshan’s.

The air conditioning was on in the car, and the back of Yu Lingshan’s hand had grown cold from the draft, but her palm was still warm.

Yu Lingshan’s hand was small but her fingers were long, and every nail was clean.

Xu Shi felt a strong urge to play with Yu Lingshan’s fingers, but her rational mind told her not to.

So, after experiencing the warmth for only a few seconds, she let go of Yu Lingshan’s hand.

And in this 23-degree air-conditioned environment, she was so hot that a fine sheen of sweat broke out on her neck.

Half an hour later, the car stopped in the basement garage of Yu Lingshan’s residential complex. A sleepy Yu Lingshan continued to link arms with Xu Shi, leaning on her as they went upstairs.

“Let’s eat together,” Yu Lingshan said in the elevator.

Xu Shi: “Okay.”

Yu Lingshan smiled. “What’s going on? Xiao Zhi is so well-behaved today.”

Xu Shi smiled at Yu Lingshan, not knowing what to say.

When they got out of the elevator, Xu Shi continued to pull Yu Lingshan’s suitcase to the door, then stepped aside to make way for her.

But Yu Lingshan didn’t open the door. Instead, she made a “please” gesture to Xu Shi. “You open it.”

Xu Shi: “Huh?”

Yu Lingshan tilted her head. “No way, you forgot the code?”

Xu Shi let out a “heh” and proved with her actions that she remembered the code.

Beep, beep, beep. The door opened. Xu Shi turned to look at Yu Lingshan.

Yu Lingshan smiled and hooked a finger under Xu Shi’s chin. “So proud of yourself, huh.”

Xu Shi just kept smiling without a word.

After they went inside, Yu Lingshan found a vase for the flower Xu Shi had given her. Then, on a whim, she looked at Xu Shi standing in the middle of the living room and said, “I’ll cook lunch.”

Xu Shi was a little surprised. “You can cook?”

Yu Lingshan: “Nope.”

Xu Shi: “…”

Yu Lingshan: “There’s a first time for everything. I’m giving it to you.”

Xu Shi: “Huh?… Oh.”

Yu Lingshan: “Have a seat. I’ll put on some makeup and then we’ll go downstairs to buy groceries.”

Xu Shi was puzzled. “You need… makeup… to buy groceries downstairs?”

Yu Lingshan laughed. “What do you know? What if I run into an ex-girlfriend?”

Xu Shi froze. “An ex… ex-girlfriend?”

Yu Lingshan made a sound and said coaxingly, “An ex-boyfriend, then. Is that better?”

Yu Lingshan was quick with her makeup. She was done with a light look in ten minutes and had changed her clothes as well.

The two of them then went downstairs together.

Maybe it was because of what Yu Lingshan had said, or maybe for some other reason, but amidst the coming and going of people, whenever a woman gave Yu Lingshan a second glance, Xu Shi suspected she was an ex-girlfriend.

“How are your cooking skills?” Yu Lingshan asked when they reached the produce section.

Xu Shi: “They’re okay.”

Yu Lingshan: “Do you usually cook?”

Xu Shi: “My mom usually does, but when she’s feeling lazy, I’ll cook.”

“That’s not bad, then you can rescue me later,” she said, then added, “I wonder when I’ll get to eat a meal personally cooked for me by Xiao Zhi.”

Xu Shi smiled. “How about I do it for lunch?”

Yu Lingshan: “No way. I said I’d cook lunch, so I’m cooking.”

Xu Shi thought for a moment, but before she could decide, Yu Lingshan gave her the answer.

“Tonight, then.”

Xu Shi: “Okay.”

Yu Lingshan then said, “Forget it, I’ll cook tonight too. You can cook for me some other time.”

Xu Shi still replied, “Okay.”

Yu Lingshan turned to look at Xu Shi. “Why are you so obedient, agreeing to everything,” she raised an eyebrow. “Are we that close?”

Xu Shi choked on her words.

But Yu Lingshan immediately added, “Just try saying we’re not.”

Xu Shi was inexplicably amused, her eyes curving as she smiled. “We are.”

Yu Lingshan asked about Xu Shi’s preferences and then started shopping.

Of course, Xu Shi didn’t really have any preferences; the picky eater was Yu Lingshan.

Perhaps afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle it, Yu Lingshan bought ingredients that were simple and easy to prepare.

When she was done, she stood by the wall in the meat section, earnestly counting on her fingers and muttering to herself about what ingredients each dish needed.

Xu Shi just watched from the side as Yu Lingshan muttered away, and found her incredibly cute at that moment.

Just as she was thinking this, Yu Lingshan suddenly shot a look at her.

“You’re laughing at me,” Yu Lingshan said.

Xu Shi immediately pressed her lips together and shook her head.

Yu Lingshan ignored her and finished her muttering. “Alright, let’s go.”

While waiting in line to check out, Yu Lingshan, who was standing in front, suddenly leaned back and said to Xu Shi, “The girl in the white dress at three o’clock.”

Xu Shi looked over. There was indeed a girl in a white dress, currently paying.

Xu Shi: “What about her? Your ex-girlfriend?”

Yu Lingshan seemed about to say something but was cut off by Xu Shi’s words.

Yu Lingshan slowly turned her head. “…You’re hilarious.”

Xu Shi understood. “So she’s not.”

Yu Lingshan: “I was just telling you to appreciate the beautiful woman.”

Xu Shi said “oh” and looked over again.

She was indeed very pretty. She had finished paying by now and was lifting her bags into her shopping cart. They might have been a bit heavy, as the girl was clenching her jaw.

“You’ve been looking for a little too long, Xiao Zhi.” Yu Lingshan’s voice drifted over faintly.

Xu Shi retracted her gaze.

Yu Lingshan: “Is she that good-looking?”

Xu Shi mumbled aggrievedly, “You told me to look.”

“I didn’t tell you to look for that long,” Yu Lingshan said, then asked, “Is she prettier or am I?”

Without even thinking, Xu Shi said, “You are.”

Yu Lingshan huffed. “That’s more like it.”

They spent over half an hour at the supermarket. When they got home, Yu Lingshan took the groceries into the kitchen and wouldn’t let Xu Shi follow.

Xu Shi obediently watched TV in the living room for a while, but with all the clattering and banging from the kitchen, she couldn’t sit still.

When she went over, Yu Lingshan was chopping vegetables, and on a stand next to her, a cooking tutorial video was playing.

Yu Lingshan’s technique was extremely clumsy; every chop looked like she was about to cut her own hand.

Xu Shi stood at the doorway, her heart in her throat. By the time Yu Lingshan finished chopping, Xu Shi felt like her soul had left her body.

Yu Lingshan even turned to look at her, a hint of pride in her eyes. “Not bad, right?”

Xu Shi couldn’t bring herself to praise her. “Haha.”

When Yu Lingshan started to stir-fry, she pushed Xu Shi out and closed the door. Xu Shi waited anxiously in the living room for nearly half an hour before Yu Lingshan finally emerged.

Unexpectedly, the food looked quite impressive. The colors were vibrant, and there were even garnishes.

“No praise?” Yu Lingshan twirled the chopsticks in her hand like a pen.

Xu Shi gave Yu Lingshan a thumbs-up. “Amazing.”

Yu Lingshan shook her head. “I guess I’ll never hear any sweet talk from Xiao Zhi in this lifetime.”

Xu Shi laughed softly. “I don’t know how.”

Yu Lingshan handed her the chopsticks. “Do you know how to eat?”

That, Xu Shi did know how to do.

So she took a bite.

Then, under Yu Lingshan’s expectant gaze, Xu Shi said, “It’s a little salty.”

Yu Lingshan was exasperated. “This is the first meal I’ve ever cooked in my life.”

Xu Shi smiled. “That’s not what I meant. Overall, it’s actually very good.”

Yu Lingshan’s exasperation vanished. “How could I have fallen for you, Xiao Zhi.”

Xu Shi froze instantly. “What?”

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