Chapter 6: Picking up the keys
The tips of He Yu’s ears turned red, and she huffed in rage. She wanted to crumple up the note and throw it away, but she put in the end, she put it securely in her bag.
He Yu’s family lived about 10 minutes away from the store, so she decided to walk there from her apartment. When she arrived, her mother was making food in the kitchen, and her brother was still at work. Her sister-in-law greeted her at the front door with a baby in her arms.
“Sister-in-law.”
The baby heard her voice and grinned, reaching out his arms towards her. He Yu set her bags down and lifted the baby.
“Mother is going to lecture you. You bought too many gifts again, it’s just a house visit.”, her sister-in-law said playfully, “Mom’s been in the kitchen all morning, since she heard you were coming, cooking up all kinds of food. Talk to her later.”
“En.” He Yu replied, “I know.”
For the past few years, He Yu rarely visited home. She and Mother He didn’t agree on a lot of things, the mother and daughter pair could barely say more than three words to each other. He Yu disliked having to argue with her mother every day, so she had moved out to live on her own. Now, she only went home about 1-2 times a month.
However, despite the distance, nothing has changed between the two.
Before Mother He married to Father He, she came from a wealthy household and was brought up on more traditional education. Although she could be gentle or kind, Mother He was rather stubborn about traditions and rules.
After Father He left, she never remarried and had single-handedly raised her children. When they were kids, she never had to worry about them, and they never disobeyed her. Later, her son had become a prosperous young man with a good wife and a child, but it was her daughter that gave her headaches. Her daughter’s preferences completely clashed against Mother He’s traditional values; this was unacceptable to her.
Mother He thought it might’ve been a phase and that He Yu would eventually return to normal, but every time she saw He Yu, she would just get more frustrated.
“You should stay for dinner. Your brother has been busy recently and hasn’t seen you in a while.” Sister-in-law said.
He Yu patted the baby’s back, and paused, “We’ll see….”
Her sister-in-law couldn’t say anything more to persuade her and walked away to go clean up the baby’s things.
He Yu sat on the sofa and put the baby in her lap, and teased, “Cutie, have you missed your aunt?” freewe(b)novel.c(o)m
The baby giggled at He Yu, and drool started dripping from the corners of his mouth.
He Yu reached for the tissues on the table and then looked up to see her mother at the kitchen door, staring at her.
“Mom,” said He Yu.
Mother He nodded her head mutely.
The sister-in-law came back and noticed the awkward silence before helping the pair serve the meal. The three of them sat there silently before halfway through, the baby started crying, and sister-in-law lifted him.
“He should be hungry; I’ll go ahead and feed him in my room. You two should eat without me.” Sister-in-law then hurried away, carrying the baby back to a room and allowing the pair to talk, alone.
Mother He picked up her chopsticks and reached for a bowl, glanced at He Zhe, and asked, “Still the same?”
“Can’t change it,” replied He Yu, staring down her plate and quietly chewing her food.
Mother He’s face hardened.
“Don’t leave until dinner is over, your brother hasn’t seen you in a while.”
“Ok.”
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By the time she left, it was well past midnight, and her brother drove her to the gate of her building.
“Don’t worry too much about what Mom said.”
He Yu nodded her head, “I won’t.”
“Try and come home often, for although she doesn’t show it, she misses you. The words she says may sound harsh, but she’s just concerned for you, her heart is softer than you think.”
“I know.”
“Ok then, it’s late, you should go home,” her brother said.
He Yu grabbed her bag and stepped out, “ Drive safely.”
“Yeah.”
He Yu swiped her keycard, walked through the gate, and into the shadows. She stepped into the elevator, exhaled, and pressed the button for the fifteenth floor.
This time at night, most of the lights were turned off. Only the hallways were still brightly illuminated. He Yu absentmindedly rubbed her keys as she stepped out of the elevator, and her eyes widened as she saw Ye Xun sitting in front of her door.
Hearing the footsteps, Ye Xun’s head snapped up to look at her.
“When did you arrive?” asked He yu as she extended a hand to help Ye Xun off the floor.
“Not long.”
“Call me next time.”
From the looks of it, she has been here for a long time. He Yu thought.
Ye Xun hummed in agreement.
He Yu invited her in and poured her a glass of water.
After their last encounter, He Yu still felt a bit embarrassed. She checked her phone and found that Ye Xun had messaged her through WeChat at around 9 pm, but she hadn’t noticed because she didn’t check until now.
Moreover, Ye Xun didn’t have her number so that she couldn’t have called her.
“You came here because….”
“I forgot my keys here.” Ye Xun replied, “I had wanted to come earlier, but the classes ran longer than usual, so I could only come at night.
“Did you eat yet?” It was long past the curfew, so Ye Xun would have to stay the night.
“I did.”
“Then I’ll help you look for the keys. Today I was in a rush, so nothing has been cleaned up yet. Do you remember where you left it?”
“They should be on the nightstand.”
“Ok, I’ll go grab them.” He Yu offered. She was very alert right now, and her exhaustion completely wiped away. After getting the keys, she’ll set up the guest bedroom for Ye Xun to use. After last night’s endeavor…He Yu couldn’t help but panic a bit.
She entered her bedroom and flipped on the lights, her eyes landing on the keys resting on her nightstand.
She walked over and stooped to pick them up and was suddenly embraced from behind.
A scorching breath landed on her tender neck, slightly hurried, and made her heart tremble.
He Yu struggled slightly but was unable to break free.
Ye Xun rested her chin on He Yu’s shoulder and hummed, “I miss you today …”
He Yu didn’t know what to say in response.
The force on her waist tightened a little, and she felt something wet and soft, brushing the back of her neck. Like a feather, it tickled but tenderly trailed her skin.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day. During class, when I’m eating…”Ye Xun planted one kiss after another onto her neck, then moved from her neck to her sensitive earlobe, then slowly turned her around and pushed her to lean against the wall.
The small lights in the room were a little dark and dim.
“I want you so, so much…”
Her breathing became labored, and the feeling of warmth moved down her throat, all the way to her core. He Yu’s chest was beating furiously against her chest as if it wanted to jump out.
It was unclear as two who initiated it, but soon the two were deeply kissing one another. He Yu was much shorter, having to stand on the tips of her toes, her arms looped around Yeh Xun’s neck as Ye Xun leaned down to meet her.
The warm and moist feeling passed from the tip of the tongue to the body, lingering and gentle, a desperate sense of wanting to know everything about the other.
_______________________________________________________________
Today, Jiang Yun was finally free to spend time with He Yu, so she came to visit her at the shop.
The two chatted, Jiang Yun was the one talking while He Yu listened, and when Jiang Yun was almost done with her monologue, He Yu asked, “Are you familiar with Ye Xun?”
“Ye Xun?” Jiang Yun was surprised. “I know she is close to my cousin Ah-Ning, but other than that, I don’t know her very well. Why?”
He Yu’s ears turned red, “No reason. Just asking.”
“Oh,” Jiang Yun said, “Well, I know she’s from Beijing, a rich second-generation type. I think that the family deals with real estate. The specifics are not clear. She’s smart too, and I heard she participated in some national competitions and won a few.”
“Uh-huh.” He Yu said in a daze; she was just an ordinary person, the difference between the two of them was huge.
“By the way, do you remember when I participated in that auto show on behalf of our company last year?” Jiang Yun recalled, “I also met her there, she was a racer, representing Dongfeng or whichever company participated in the race at the time, she was pretty good. “
“That’s amazing.”
“Right? If our Ah-Ning interacts with her and learns a bit, she would be able to pass her classes at least.” Jiang Yun laughed, then thought of something and asked her, “I say, you have been single for so long, are you planning on finding anyone yet?”
He Yu shook her head, “No need to hurry. I still got time.”
Jiang Yun squinted at her, raising her eyebrows: “You are picky; you will be thirty in three or four years, then it will be even harder to find someone.”
He Ye didn’t answer and continued to wipe down the coffee container.
“Is it because of your mother?”
“No,” He Yu replied, sighing, “I just haven’t met the right one.”
“If you’re not looking for one, how do you know that you can’t meet the right one? Find one as soon as possible; it’s better than living alone.”
He Yu didn’t answer, but asked, “How about you?”
Jiang Yun was speechless for a moment. She moved her lips and was silent for a long while. Then she squeezed out in a low voice: “I’m going out for a smoke.”
He Yu waited for her to come back, then gave her a glass of iced lemonade. “Angry?”
Jiang Yun said, “Maybe?” She drank half a glass in one breath, and said, “She wanted to get back together two days ago …”
He Yu froze and quickly recovered, her head not even lifting, she asked, asking, “What do you think?”
“Impossible, I cannot tolerate sand in my eyes.”*
The “she” they were talking about was Jiang Yun’s ex-girlfriend. The two were high school sweethearts and dated through college as well, an ideal relationship. However, the other side was caught cheating, and Jiang Yun caught off their relationship cleanly.
“Good.”
Jiang Yun took a look at the time, grabbed her bag and got up: “Are you free on Sunday? Dayang Department just opened a new store at the mall, and since I’m on vacation, I want to go and take a look.”
“Ok, I haven’t gone shopping for clothes for a long time.” He Yu replied.
“Great, can I bring Ah-Ning along? I need to get her some new outfits as well.”
“That’s fine.”
_______________________________________________________________
Sunday.
He Yu waited for Jiang Yun at the gate, and the little cousin arrived a few minutes late with Ye Xun, unexpectedly, following from behind.
Jiang Yun politely greeted the two of them, the little cousin responded with an energetic shout, and claimed the passenger seat, letting the other two sit behind.
They had already done it, and although she was no longer as embarrassed, He Yu didn’t want to reveal anything to Jiang Yun. She leaned as far away as she could and stared out of the window.
Ye Xun naturally approached her, their legs touching each other. He Yu could not retreat, she was blocked, and she glanced at Ye Xun. Ye Xun then grabbed her hand.
Jiang Yun was concentrating on driving, not paying attention to them.
Her hands were very soft, and Ye Xun, feeling mischievous, started playing with He Yu’s hands, pinching her palms and fingers. He Yu couldn’t win against her, so she chose to look away through the window.
Dayang Department store was not too far away, about half an hour’s drive. As soon as they entered the mall, they went straight to the new store. He Yu first helped the little cousin choose clothes, and then she picked a light blue linen dress to try on.
Ye Xun had nothing to buy, so she helped them carry their bags, and waited on a leather sofa outside the dressing room area.
He Yu was the first to come out, the collar on her dress was turned outward, and Ye Xun helped her smooth it out.
And this scene happened to be seen by Mother He and sister-in-law, who was passing by the store.
But He Yu didn’t see her mother and sister-in-law, she took the dress to the front desk to pay, and when she came back, she saw her mother talking to Ye Xun. She was too far away and couldn’t hear what she said, by the time she walked up to them, Mother He abruptly turned around and left, obviously having no intention to talk to her.
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