Chen Zhaoyue was dressed in a petite suit, her slender legs wrapped in black stockings, giving her a more mature air than usual.
Lin Yiren sat a seat apart from her.
“Why haven’t you replied to my messages?”
“I was just at the beauty salon, so I didn’t check my phone.”
Suddenly, Chen Zhaoyue leaned over, propping herself up.
“You kept saying you wanted to stay the same, but you’re still doing things girls do after all.”
She whispered softly near Lin Yiren’s ear.
Paired with her suit, Chen Zhaoyue wore a pencil skirt, so her legs were pressed together as she leaned toward Lin Yiren, a faint fragrance enveloping them both.
“Boys go to beauty salons too.” Lin Yiren stared straight ahead.
Chen Zhaoyue found her nervous yet unyielding look extremely amusing.
When she saw the girl marching in little circles by the roadside, any discomfort she’d felt from not being able to reach her had already vanished.
Now, she was even more delighted.
“If you want to go for a beauty treatment or something next time, you can ask me.”
“Thanks, but I probably won’t go again.”
The two exchanged words like this, and before they knew it, their shoulders were touching.
They arrived at the base of Qinzi Hall.
Through the window, Lin Yiren saw Xing Yao and Jiang Xue waiting downstairs, hand in hand, with Su Hui standing nearby.
***
“My mom and the others are here.”
Xing Yao saw the two girls getting out of the car one after the other.
Jiang Xue looked a little shy as they approached, but still quietly said, “Hello, Auntie.”
“Hello.” Lin Yiren saw the little girl lower her head and gently patted her head, saying, “Thank you for waiting here with Xing Yao.”
Jiang Xue gave a small “Mm.”
After saying goodbye to Su Hui and her daughter, Lin Yiren carried Xing Yao into the car.
The little one knelt energetically between them, twisting this way and that.
“Mommy’s face is so smooth now.”
Her little hands wandered all over Lin Yiren’s face.
Being called out by her daughter, Lin Yiren shyly fidgeted with the edge of her pants.
“Yiren, do your parents want to spend a couple of days with Xing Yao?”
Chen Zhaoyue spoke up suddenly.
Lin Yiren was just pulling Xing Yao’s hand away from her face. Hearing Chen Zhaoyue’s words, she was a bit puzzled and replied, “They did say I should bring Xing Yao home for a few days, but something came up at the time—why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“I have to attend a banquet soon.”
“Then I can come—”
“You’ll go with me, too.”
Chen Zhaoyue tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes smiling, and said, “There will be a dance segment at the banquet. I want a dance partner.”
Thump, thump, thump. Lin Yiren could hear her own heart pounding wildly.
“But I don’t know how to dance.”
She heard herself say it.
“I don’t either, we can learn together—just for one dance.”
The young lady sat sideways by the car window, inviting her, the setting sun casting a gentle glow around her.
A flood of thoughts surged up, only to vanish again in a blink.
All Lin Yiren heard herself say was:
“Okay.”
“Then it’s settled, we’ll go to your house next week.”
A happy expression appeared on Chen Zhaoyue’s face—settled with a single word.
After a while, Lin Yiren, still dizzy, caught hold of a trivial detail and asked, “Didn’t you say you could dance?”
“It’s a different style.”
Uncle Xu, who had overheard their conversation from the front, couldn’t help but smile. Miss Chen really loved teasing Miss Lin.
The sedan continued toward their home, bathed in the orange afterglow.
***
Back at the Villa, Chen Zhaoyue changed into casual clothes and curled up on the sofa with Xing Yao.
Upstairs, the bedroom door was half-closed.
A figure rolled back and forth on the bed.
Lin Yiren admitted she had been utterly dazzled by that “glowing” figure at the time.
Now, her thoughts tumbled along with her body—she’d only been a girl for a few months and was already about to dance? Wouldn’t she be standing very close to Miss Chen while dancing? And just hearing about Miss Chen’s banquet, it sounded so upper-class. Living together for so long, she was almost forgetting that Miss Chen was part of the wealthy class.
Gradually, Lin Yiren stopped moving and lay flat on the bed, staring up.
Perhaps the fear of entering a world reeking of money was slowly rising within her.
She wasn’t insecure, it was just an unknown world.
Would she seem out of place next to Chen Zhaoyue?
She didn’t want to cause Chen Zhaoyue any trouble.
In that case, all she could do was practice dancing as best she could.
Lin Yiren let out a breath, sprang up from the bed, and her messy hair flew up for a moment.
At least all this exercise lately let her pull off a Carp Flip now.
Lin Yiren touched her soft belly, trying to tense her muscles to find any sign of belly muscle.
“Mommy, can we eat yet—”
Xing Yao’s voice called from downstairs.
“Coming!”
Since things had come to this, time to make dinner.
***
The next day, Lin Yiren took Xing Yao to Qinzi Hall.
Xing Yao’s classes would wrap up next week, since she was preparing for kindergarten.
Coincidentally, the banquet was also next week.
After dropping off Xing Yao, Lin Yiren went with Chen Zhaoyue to find the dance teacher she had arranged.
The dance studio was in a building, bright and spacious.
The Dance Teacher, Sun Jiao, was dressed sharply, highly regarded in the industry, and had been invited by Chen Zhaoyue at great expense to give one-on-two lessons.
“You two go change first, I’ll wait for you inside.”
Sun Jiao led them to the Changing Room.
Chen Zhaoyue and Lin Yiren went into different stalls.
Lin Yiren took off her clothes and struggled to put on the tight top—the snug Training Clothes made her feel constricted across her chest.
Her lower half was a light, airy chiffon skirt.
Lin Yiren turned around to look at herself in the mirror. The tight top accentuated the curves of her upper body, while the chiffon skirt below added a touch of liveliness.
She took a deep breath and turned to leave the room.
Only to find a graceful figure already standing outside.
Chen Zhaoyue and Lin Yiren wore matching outfits, standing tall and elegant, their hair neatly tied behind them, exposing fair, graceful swan necks.
The upturned peach-blossom eyes and that beauty mark added a hint of allure to this radiance.
Lin Yiren’s ears turned slightly red.
She had secretly looked forward to this, but was still stunned by the beauty.
Wait, she hadn’t tied her hair up.
Lin Yiren looked at the neatly bound long hair and suddenly realized her own hair was still loose.
She reached for her Gum Band, but Chen Zhaoyue stepped up before her, gathering up her long hair.
Caught off guard by her nearness, Lin Yiren’s body tensed.
“You probably don’t know how to put your hair up, do you?” Chen Zhaoyue laughed.
Indeed, all she knew was how to tie a ponytail, and only a low one at that.
Lin Yiren felt her hair gently separated and wrapped; first a Gum Band tied it up, then a Clip secured the style.
A pair of slender, gentle hands carefully arranged her hair.
It felt so nice.
Lin Yiren savored Miss Chen’s tenderness.
Sun Jiao, watching her two students in their own little world, thought they looked like a painting but still spoke up: “Are you ready? Let’s start the lesson.”
Chen Zhaoyue’s hand gently let go.
“Let’s go.”
Lin Yiren nodded, following after Chen Zhaoyue.
She already felt a little reluctant.