According to the original host Yan Yu’s storyline, before the plot point of Jiang Muyun returning home, Bai Yan’er’s affection points had accumulated to a certain value.
Everything that happened today was a manifestation of the affection points accumulating to a certain level and beginning to show paranoia.
Yan Yu closed her eyes.
Her main quest was to role-play as a substitute who loves Su Qinghan but cannot have her.
Even though she had no interest in obtaining Su Qinghan’s love, for a purpose she couldn’t explain, she had to finish this line.
Bai Yan’er’s feelings absolutely must not affect the main plot.
But…
She couldn’t bring herself to hurt Bai Yan’er.
Letting Bai Yan’er darken was also not an option.
Then she had no choice but to soothe her.
“Yan Er,” Yan Yu said softly.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“I know…” Yan Yu’s voice was very soft. “I know that you, Yan Er, have special feelings for me.”
Bai Yan’er’s movements paused, the spoon stopping midair.
“But you are the young miss of the Bai family, and I am an ordinary person,” Yan Yu raised her eyes. “If we are too close, and others see us, people will gossip.”
The lounge was quiet for a few seconds.
Bai Yan’er stared at her blankly, as if digesting the meaning of these words.
Then, she blinked, squinted her eyes, and smiled.
That smile carried a hint of mischief, a hint of understanding, and a hint of… pleasure that Yan Yu couldn’t quite describe.
“So, Elder Sister means—” she deliberately drew out her tone, saying word by word, “you allow me to secretly pursue you, right?”
Before Yan Yu could react, Bai Yan’er had already leaned forward, getting close to her face, her curved eyes like a sly little fox.
“Not letting anyone know,” Bai Yan’er raised a finger and counted with a serious expression, “behind Su Qinghan’s back, behind your roommate’s back, and behind my father’s back.”
She tilted her head, her gaze locking onto Yan Yu’s eyes, her smile deepening.
“Elder Sister, you’re a bit more wicked than I imagined.”
Yan Yu opened her mouth to say, ‘That’s not what I meant,’ but before the words could come out, Bai Yan’er had brought the spoon with the now-cold congee back to her lips.
Yan Yu slightly opened her mouth, preparing to take the spoonful of congee.
But just as her lips were about to touch the spoon, Bai Yan’er suddenly pulled the spoon back and instead brought her own lips close.
That innocent and cute face suddenly enlarged before her eyes.
Yan Yu was startled, her body instinctively flinching back, her back pressing tightly against the wheelchair’s backrest.
But Bai Yan’er did not continue to close in.
Her lips stopped just a few centimeters away from Yan Yu’s lips.
Then, she let out a soft laugh.
Then.
Click.
She took a somewhat intimate photo of herself and Yan Yu.
She laughed very lightly, very softly, with a hint of triumph from a prank well played.
Then, Bai Yan’er pulled back a bit, looking at Yan Yu’s slightly widened eyes and flushed cheeks, a mischievous light shining in her eyes.
“Scared?”
She asked softly, the curve of her lips like a crescent moon.
“This is just the beginning.”
“Since Elder Sister has tacitly allowed me to do these things with you in secret…
Then I won’t hold back so much from now on.”
In those eyes, Yan Yu’s flustered face was reflected.
The food on the table had already cooled a bit, but the aroma still filled the air.
…
When Yan Yu returned to the apartment, it was almost nine in the evening.
The sound-activated light in the corridor turned on as she passed, the dim yellow light stretching her shadow long.
She stopped her wheelchair in front of her door, fished the keys out of her bag, inserted them into the lock, and turned them with a slight click.
The door opened.
The room was very quiet, only the low hum of the refrigerator running.
Then she saw the dining table.
On the table were three dishes and a soup, all carefully wrapped in plastic wrap.
The portions were small, clearly left specifically for her by Ruo Xiaozhen, each dish covered tightly with a plate to prevent dust.
That silly girl.
A vague and indescribable bitterness welled up in Yan Yu’s heart. She turned her wheelchair closer to the table, reached out, and gently touched the plate of braised pork belly under the plastic wrap.
Cold.
She packed away the food one by one and put them in the fridge.
After putting away the last item, as she closed the fridge door, her eyes fell on the sticky note stuck to the fridge door.
It was Ruo Xiaozhen’s handwriting, round, with a slightly childish font:
“You can heat up the food! — Xiao Zhen”
There was also a smiley face drawn after it.
Yan Yu smiled slightly, took a pen from the pen holder, and neatly wrote two words under the sticky note:
“Thank you.”
After writing it, she turned off the kitchen light and pushed her wheelchair back to her own room.
The door closed behind her, the familiar small space enveloping her.