“No need, why treat me like a doorman and wait for me to go first?”
“I’ll carry my own stuff, you don’t need to help me.”
“I’ve been fine for ages, okay? It’s not like I’m still in the hospital. Do you want to get me a wheelchair to feel better?”
“Stop treating me like a kid!”
Yet as soon as she stepped outside, Bai Yao, who had been sharp-tongued just moments ago, immediately put on a cold face.
She lagged half a step behind Qiu Ye, hiding behind his tall figure.
She stood expressionless, her iceberg face seeming to keep everyone at arm’s length.
No one would guess that in private, she was a chinyu.
Qiu Ye closed and locked the door, then turned back to Bai Yao.
“It’s just a little thing. Let’s go?”
He knew Bai Yao didn’t like being overly cared for, but looking at her delicate appearance, he couldn’t help feeling a surge of protectiveness and a desire to cherish her.
Sometimes he even got the urge to tease her like a cute little animal…
Bai Yao felt the same about helping out.
Even though they’d been in a romantic relationship for a while, they didn’t go Dutch—they basically took turns treating each other, and Bai Yao always found opportunities to pay.
To be honest, Qiu Ye thought this was a bit too distant.
Why split it so finely?
They went downstairs, left the building, and stepped onto the street outside the urban village.
Bai Yao had already called a ride-hailing car.
Once outside, Bai Yao lost the enthusiasm she had at home.
She kept half a meter between herself and Qiu Ye, one hand in her pocket and the other holding her phone, her posture tense.
She could still see traces of the man she used to be.
So Qiu Ye reached out and grabbed Bai Yao’s hand.
Bai Yao looked up at him, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
The shadow of masculinity melted away, turning her into a shy little girl who looked down at her toes in embarrassment.
The qualities of both men and women seemed to converge in her, switching back and forth.
When it was time to be shy and delicate, she was shy; when it was time to be seductive and charming, she was seductive; when something needed handling, she could be as decisive as a man.
A few minutes later, the ride arrived.
Bai Yao opened the car door, slid into the back seat, and recited the last four digits of the license plate.
Qiu Ye got in right after and asked, “Where is Senior taking us?”
“Her boyfriend will be there too. Probably just shopping, watching a movie, having a meal, something like that?”
Bai Yao couldn’t help recalling the half-meter height difference between her and her senior, and felt a little embarrassed, her face heating up.
She glanced at Qiu Ye and imagined it—she figured he could probably do it too.
After all, she only weighed about 100 pounds.
Seeing Bai Yao’s shy blush turn into a flirtatious pink, and her eyes darting away as if she couldn’t look at him, Qiu Ye knew the chinyu was thinking about something dirty again.
The car ride was about two kilometers, leaving the fringe university town and arriving at the busiest commercial pedestrian street in the city.
As soon as Qiu Ye got out, he noticed a burly man who must have been about two meters tall, standing by the street like a big bear.
And next to the big bear was the petite, childlike Senior.
Seeing such a combination in real life gave a jarring sense of contrast that made his eyelids twitch.
He almost wondered if the big guy was breaking the law.
Long Ziyi spotted them too and waved, standing on her tiptoes.
“Junior! Little Bai Yao!”
Bai Yao heard the voice and looked around blankly, unable to find where Senior was.
“Over here!”
Senior almost jumped.
Qiu Ye pulled Bai Yao along until they reached Senior.
“He’s so tall…”
Bai Yao tilted her head up, facing the stranger she’d met for the first time.
Even through her expressionless face, she couldn’t help showing a look of amazement.
He seemed twice as big as Qiu Ye!
“Uh… morning?”
The big burly man scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking restrained and shy.
Clearly, he was a bit introverted.
A fine big bear, but honest and simple, completely under the thumb of the lively Long Ziyi, his “keeper.”
“My boyfriend!”
Long Ziyi wrapped her arms around the bear’s arm.
“He’s your senior too! Just call him Senior.”
“Senior? You two are in the same class?”
“No, he’s a year behind me. He’s a senior this year, doing an internship.”
So he’s actually a year younger than Senior!
“Where are we going now?”
“The vegetable market! Shopping! The vegetable market!”
The two girls walked ahead, turned a corner, and entered the vegetable market not far from the commercial street.
Senior was lively and enthusiastic, dragging Bai Yao around to buy vegetables.
Bai Yao’s cold face could barely hold up.
Qiu Ye and the male senior followed behind like two bodyguards, occasionally sizing up the big guy next to them.
“Hey, man.”
Qiu Ye pulled a pack of Chinese cigarettes from his pocket, meant for socializing.
“Want one?”
“No, no, I don’t smoke.”
The male senior waved his hands repeatedly.
“Actually, I don’t either.”
Qiu Ye put the cigarettes back and asked with a grin, “Why are we buying vegetables? Are you two going to cook?”
“I’ll cook.”
The male senior was a man of few words.
Ahead, Bai Yao carefully stepped over a puddle of dirty water, chasing after Long Ziyi to the meat stall.
“Little Bai Yao, what meat do you want? My boyfriend can cook anything.”
“Little Bai Yao, huh…”
Because Senior was short and small, she always liked to find some psychological comfort in this area.
Bai Yao hesitated.
“I’m fine with anything?”
“Hmm… how about two pork leg bones, two pork ribs? And two pounds of pork tenderloin.”
“That much?”
“Your senior can eat a lot! He finishes a whole big bowl of rice!”
Senior quickly bought the meat, casually handed it to her boyfriend who was following behind, and then pulled Bai Yao to look at seafood.
“Come on! Let’s buy some seafood. What do you want?”
“Just… shrimp, and some shellfish?”
Bai Yao hesitated, then asked curiously, “Have you two moved in together?”
“We’ve been living together for almost nine months now.”
Long Ziyi crouched in front of the shellfish stall, picked up a bamboo basket, and started picking through the clams, tossing them in while draining the water.
“I do all the housework and cooking at home. I feel like he’s more suited to being a househusband than running business errands with me.”
“An introvert isn’t cut out for business, right?”
“Yeah, not suited.”
Long Ziyi called her boyfriend over and shoved the just-bought groceries into his hands.
“Go buy a few cups of milk tea!”
She summons him at will and dismisses him the same way.
Senior must feel a bit stifled~
Bai Yao always easily empathized with the male perspective.
Sensing Bai Yao’s thoughts, Long Ziyi grumbled, “Don’t think I’m bullying him. Usually, he bullies me even worse, okay?”
Bai Yao quickly realized what she meant, and her cheeks flushed slightly, but she couldn’t suppress the upward curve of her lips.
“Oh~”
Senior narrowed her eyes and immediately leaned in to whisper, “Junior’s not being honest~ Thinking about bad things, huh?”
“No, I’m not!”
“What about your boyfriend? Does he bully you badly?”
Bai Yao instinctively shook her head to deny it, but then remembered how her thighs had almost been rubbed raw yesterday, and the blush on her face deepened even more.
Long Ziyi’s mouth curled into a huge grin, almost reaching her ears, looking as delighted as if she had found a kindred spirit.