“Hoo-ha, hoo-ha.”
On the morning path, a girl dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts was jogging, her slender, fair legs moving in rhythm.
When the sunlight finally broke through the clouds and shone on the verdant leaves, she gradually slowed down, resting her hands on her waist and taking small steps to catch her breath.
“Hoo~” Lin Yiren exhaled deeply, sat on a nearby bench, wiped the sweat from her face, and straightened her ponytail.
After the sunlight had crept a short distance along her gleaming white thighs, she stood up, stretched, and walked in the direction of home.
The whole day depends on the morning.
Lin Yiren breathed in the fresh morning air, feeling her body open up and relaxed.
As for why she started getting up early to run?
Lin Yiren clenched her teeth, recalling last night’s banquet—
***
After the Dance Song ended, the two of them slowly separated from each other’s embrace, both with blushing cheeks.
As soon as they stepped off the dance floor, Lin Yiren saw Shen Que approaching and quickly let go of the Miss Chen’s gently hooked hand.
Chen Zhaoyue felt her hand suddenly empty. Looking down, she saw Lin Yiren’s hand was already properly placed at the edge of her skirt, and she puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
“Yiren-jie, you danced so well.” Shen Que said with a warm smile.
Lin Yiren was about to speak, but then saw Shen Que turn and give Chen Zhaoyue a thumbs-up, “Chen-jie danced wonderfully too.”
“Mm, thank you.” Chen Zhaoyue nodded calmly.
Hm? Lin Yiren was caught off guard by this and took a while to react.
“You two know each other?”
She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice. She never imagined Chen Zhaoyue and Shen Que would have any connection at all.
“Mm, Chen-jie visited our Martial Arts School as a representative of her school’s Taekwondo Club.”
Both of them froze at that sentence.
“Taekwondo?”
Lin Yiren’s eyes widened. She felt like she was finally about to uncover some truth.
“Yeah, even though it’s just a school club, Chen-jie is really skilled. She must have spent a lot of time training in Taekwondo.”
After saying this, Shen Que winked at Chen Zhaoyue. Under that bright gaze, Chen Zhaoyue could only nod.
“What about dancing then? Doesn’t Chen Zhaoyue also practice dance?”
“What dancing?” Shen Que looked genuinely confused.
Two gazes fell on Chen Zhaoyue’s face—one with some doubt, the other filled with scrutiny.
Chen Zhaoyue awkwardly scratched her nose and said, “Um, actually…”
***
“Hoo!” Remembering this, Lin Yiren threw a fierce punch into the air.
No wonder Chen Zhaoyue could always restrain her—turns out she was a Taekwondo ace, and she’d even plotted to have Lin Yiren learn dance.
What’s the point of learning dance? Just so she could have her pose and say things like “Yiren’s body is so flexible”?
Now that Lin Yiren knew the truth, she was indignant, and so she drew up a whole plan to strengthen herself.
“I thought she just exercised regularly, but who knew she was a Taekwondo expert. So what? She’s probably still fast asleep now, while I’ve already finished my morning run.” Lin Yiren opened the villa door, took her prepared clothes, and headed into the bathroom.
She believed in the power of slow and steady effort!
She turned on the shower, letting the warm water flow down her body, washing away the pinkish hue left from exercise.
After drying her hair, Lin Yiren entered the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
By the time she brought out two bowls of noodles sprinkled with chopped scallions, Miss Chen finally came downstairs, yawning.
“So late.” Lin Yiren set the noodles down and pulled out a chair to sit.
“I was wrapping up some recent matters last night.” Chen Zhaoyue sat in the chair across from her, picked up her chopsticks, and stirred the noodles, smiling at Lin Yiren. “After all, we still have to travel together during Vacation.”
“Mm.” Lin Yiren replied softly, lowered her head, blew on the noodles, and took a bite.
“Have you thought about where to go?” Chen Zhaoyue wasn’t in a hurry to eat. She picked up the noodles, then set them down again.
Lin Yiren chewed, thought for a while, and said, “Go traveling?”
“Mm—If it’s travel, in summer, we have to go to the seaside, right?”
“Not necessarily.”
“We must! We’ll go buy swimsuits in a few days.” Chen Zhaoyue suddenly grew excited.
“Don’t rush.”
“How is this rushing?”
“……”
“Hey, why are you blushing? Is it… because of swimsuits?”
“No! Hurry up and eat, we have to go pick up Xing Yao later.” Lin Yiren raised her voice, refusing to admit that just the thought of swimsuits brought up images in her mind, making her cheeks flush even more.
“Hmph.” Chen Zhaoyue laughed softly but didn’t expose her, instead eating her own breakfast.
***
After breakfast, they drove to the Old Residential Complex where Lin Yiren’s family lived.
They parked and went upstairs, walking over the slightly yellowed bricks. This time, though, they seemed more like mothers who’d just enjoyed a private world, coming to bring their daughter home. Chen Zhaoyue was also much more relaxed than the last time.
They knocked on the door, and as they waited, Lin Yiren sneaked glances at the person beside her.
After the ball, their interactions had become much more natural.
Their relationship must have gotten closer, right? But Lin Yiren was still uncertain. She didn’t know if that ambiguous feeling between them was real or just her imagination.
“Ka-da.”
The door opened, interrupting her thoughts.
“You’re here.” Opening the door was Ye Qiao. Seeing the two girls at the doorway, she pulled the door wide to let them in.
“Aunt Ye.” Chen Zhaoyue entered sweetly, sticking close to Ye Qiao with a familiar air.
Ye Qiao chatted warmly with her, smiling the whole time.
When did they become so close? Lin Yiren pursed her lips. As her biological daughter, she was now lagging a step behind.
Inside, Xing Yao was lying on the bed playing with building blocks.
“Xing Yao, look who’s here.”
The little dumpling turned around. When she saw the two girls at the door, her eyes lit up instantly. Forgetting the building blocks she’d loved so much lately, she jumped off the bed.
“Mom! Mommy!”
“Don’t be in such a rush.” Lin Yiren scooped the little one up in her arms, her heart melting with emotion.
They’d been apart for several days, and she missed her daughter dearly.
She pinched those chubby cheeks and uttered a classic line—“Seems you’ve gotten chubbier lately.”
“Your dad’s shown off every cooking skill he’s got these past days. He’s never been so happy cooking for me.” Ye Qiao laughed, “But the past two days, Xing Yao missed her mom and hasn’t eaten as much.”
Hearing this, Lin Yiren’s eyes reddened. She buried her head in Xing Yao’s small shoulder. “We missed Xing Yao too.”
Lin Yiren packed Xing Yao’s little luggage, finally putting in her favorite Cat Plushie before zipping it up.
After lunch together, Ye Qiao saw them to the door.
“Mom, has Xing Yao behaved these past days?” Lin Yiren asked.
“Hmph, of course she behaved. While you two went off for your private world, she was good as gold with us.” When speaking to Lin Yiren alone, Ye Qiao’s tone was full of teasing.
“Mom, we had things to do.” Lin Yiren’s ears turned red in a flash. She glanced at Chen Zhaoyue, who was by the car, checking if their daughter had brushed her teeth these past days.
“Alright, alright, things to do.”
“It’s really not… never mind, I’m leaving.”
Seeing her child shyly stomp her feet, Ye Qiao couldn’t help but laugh and waved her hand. “Come back more often from now on.”
“Got it—”