WRR – Chapter 59

“I told you yesterday this wouldn’t work. Why are you giving me the same thing again today?”

When Yu Lingshan brought a plate of fruit into the room, she happened to hear Xu Shi say this.

She had one hand propped on the edge of the desk, the other on the mouse, frowning at her computer.

Yu Lingshan had opened the door quietly. Seeing the situation, she decided not to disturb her, and as if she’d never been there, she silently carried the fruit platter back out.

Mom was sitting at the dining table, sorting vegetables. When she saw Yu Lingshan come back out less than a minute later, the platter in her hands untouched, she looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Lingshan placed the fruit platter on the table. “She’s scolding a subordinate,” she said, pulling out a chair and sitting down opposite Mom. “So fierce.”

Mom laughed and shook her head. “That’s what being a boss is like.”

Yu Lingshan added, “She’s different now.”

Xu Shi didn’t come out until more than ten minutes later. By then, Yu Lingshan and Mom had moved on to another task and were shelling peas.

Hearing a sound from the hallway, the two of them tacitly looked up and exchanged a glance. Yu Lingshan then shot a quick look in Xu Shi’s direction before swiftly pulling her gaze back.

Mom lowered her head and smiled.

“What’s wrong?”

As soon as Xu Shi came over, she sensed something was off. She pulled out a chair, sat down next to Yu Lingshan, and casually grabbed a handful of peas to start shelling.

Yu Lingshan asked, “How’s work?”

Xu Shi shook her head. “It’s nothing. Just a draft that hasn’t been finished for a few days.”

Yu Lingshan hummed in acknowledgment, moved the fruit platter over, and personally speared the reddest piece of watermelon, handing it to Xu Shi. “You’ve worked hard, Teacher Xu.”

Xu Shi smiled. “It was no trouble.”

Mom laughed along with them, but before “Teacher Xu” could eat the watermelon, she said, “If it’s no trouble, go turn off the stove in the kitchen.”

Teacher Xu pouted at Yu Lingshan.

Yu Lingshan: “Go on.”

Teacher Xu didn’t know who to pout at anymore.

Today was Mom’s birthday. The two of them had requested the day off several days ago; no matter what, they were definitely coming home today.

Yu Lingshan and Xu Shi had also agreed to take care of both lunch and dinner today.

“I just didn’t expect that, while you did come back, you brought your work back with you.”

As Yu Lingshan spoke, she pushed the fruit platter toward “our Teacher Xu.” It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or doting on her.

What could Xu Shi say? She had indeed been running off to her room all morning.

“Haha,” Xu Shi laughed. “Well, I’ll make lunch then.”

Mom smiled. “There’s no need for such strict rules. If you bring work home, you bring work home.” She kindly placed the fruit pick in front of Xu Shi. “But I made the soup today, I just sorted the water spinach, and look, these peas are almost shelled.”

Yu Lingshan laughed out loud.

Xu Shi could only pout at herself.

Xu Shi felt that ever since this older sister had come into their home, her own status had been steadily declining.

Her mom hadn’t always been so passive-aggressive. After Yu Lingshan arrived, her mom’s skills had grown, and the whole family was becoming “Yu-ified.”

Just as they finished shelling the peas, the flowers Yu Lingshan had ordered arrived.

She took the flowers from the delivery person and immediately turned to hand them to Mom.

“Happy birthday, Auntie. May you stay forever young and beautiful.”

Mom beamed, accepting the flowers with a little “Aiyo.” “You’ve spent too much. Didn’t you already give me a necklace? Why buy flowers too?”

Xu Shi said, “They’re roses.”

Mom laughed. “I can see that.”

Even though Xu Shi had said that, Yu Lingshan still helped her out quite a bit with lunch.

Not only had they prepared flowers and roses, but during the meal, they also brought out a small cake they had hidden in the refrigerator.

It was another little surprise, and Mom smiled so widely her eyes nearly disappeared.

When the design on the cake was revealed, Xu Shi added, “Let me tell you, Mom, Yu Lingshan made this cake herself.”

Mom was surprised. “That’s so impressive! It’s beautiful.”

As if she had made it herself, Xu Shi started rattling off the details: “It’s delicious, too. It’s made with a sugar substitute. She knew you can’t have sugar, so she spent all last night making it.”

Mom: “That’s so thoughtful.”

Yu Lingshan: “Auntie only has one birthday a year. It only gives me one chance to show what I can do.”

Xu Shi felt wronged. “Why didn’t you make one for me on my birthday?”

Yu Lingshan: “Did the meal I cooked get fed to the dogs?”

Xu Shi laughed, pushing her luck. “But there was no cake.”

Yu Lingshan: “What more do you want?”

This exchange originally had nothing to do with Mom, but Yu Lingshan’s retort instantly made her laugh.

She even said to Xu Shi, “Teacher Yu is so humorous.”

Xu Shi: “Isn’t she?”

After lunch, the three of them cleaned up and went out to see a movie.

It was an arthouse film that made Xu Shi and her mom cry their eyes out, while Yu Lingshan was busy handing them tissues.

Coming out of the theater, Yu Lingshan thought it would take the two of them a while to recover, but unexpectedly, they were fine by the time they reached the bottom of the escalator.

It was Mom who stopped first. She pointed to a clothing store on the floor below and declared with a wave of her hand, “Let’s go. I’m buying you two dresses.”

Xu Shi was taken aback for a moment. “Dresses, all of a sudden?”

Yu Lingshan was also puzzled. “Dresses, all of a sudden?”

Mom: “Yes, dresses, all of a sudden.”

A long time ago, Xu Shi had told Yu Lingshan about her childhood. One thing was that her mom loved to dress her up, but later, probably around middle school, Xu Shi became more independent and started taking care of herself, so she no longer wanted her mom to buy her clothes.

The two of them seemed to understand at once. They looked at each other, smiled, and said in unison, “Let’s go.”

When it came to buying clothes, Mom was incredibly picky. She spent over an hour in the mall before finally buying dresses for the two of them.

It was tiring, but the happiness was real. Once they were in the car, she was still muttering, “Wear them for me tonight.”

For dinner, they decided on steak, but Mom wouldn’t let Xu Shi cook. She claimed to dislike Xu Shi’s cooking, saying it wasn’t as good as hers, but Xu Shi knew her mom was just worried she was too tired.

Yu Lingshan had bought lots of small lights and candles, and at dinner, they celebrated Mom’s birthday again at the table.

“How about some wine?” Mom said, standing up. “Xiao Shi said you enjoy a drink. I’ll go get some.”

Yu Lingshan asked, “What about her?”

Mom asked Xu Shi, “Are you drinking?”

Xu Shi swallowed and quickly waved her hands. “No, thanks.”

The trauma from last time was still fresh.

So…

What trauma, you ask?

A few months ago, her studio had landed a major collaboration. Using celebration as an excuse, Yu Lingshan had insisted she drink.

What happened next was quite spectacular. Perhaps she drank a bit too fast, because in less than half an hour, Xu Shi was completely out of it.

And according to the video on Yu Lingshan’s phone, Xu Shi did the following things.

She clung to Yu Lingshan, telling her “I love you” over and over. When saying it herself wasn’t enough, she made Yu Lingshan say she loved her back. But because Yu Lingshan said it with a smile, Xu Shi inexplicably felt wronged and started crying uncontrollably, clinging to Yu Lingshan and whispering sweet nothings she would never say when sober.

Constantly teetering on the edge between deeply affectionate and cringey.

Although some things that were bound to happen interrupted her sweet talk, it didn’t stop Xu Shi from cringing so hard she could have dug a mansion with her toes when she saw the video the next day.

It was so embarrassing.

What even was that?

Yu Lingshan probably remembered this too. She lowered her head, smiling silently. Once Mom had gone to get the wine, she drawled, “You are the moon, and I am the stars. Every day, because of you, I—mmph…”

Xu Shi clapped a hand over Yu Lingshan’s mouth. “I’m begging you.”

Yu Lingshan couldn’t stop laughing.

Xu Shi’s alcohol tolerance probably came from her dad; she was nothing like her mom in that regard.

Those two finished a bottle of wine over the evening without feeling a thing, while Xu Shi watched them with envy, clutching her coconut milk.

Later, at Mom’s request, the two of them changed into the new dresses.

Mom had picked a long, form-fitting slip dress for Yu Lingshan and a short, pale white dress for Xu Shi. One black, one white—though the styles were different, they complemented each other well.

The three of them were enjoying the breeze on the balcony for a while when Mom, on a sudden whim, brought out the old electronic keyboard from the storage room.

Luckily, it still worked. After playing a few keys, Mom asked, “Do you two know how to dance?”

Xu Shi and Yu Lingshan exchanged a look.

Xu Shi: “No.”

Yu Lingshan: “A little.”

Xu Shi knew Yu Lingshan would know how. This older sister used to have so much fun; what didn’t she know? Tch.

As if hearing Xu Shi’s inner thoughts, Yu Lingshan pinched her cheek. “I’ll teach you.”

Xu Shi: “Oh.”

Yu Lingshan: “Want to learn?”

Xu Shi: “Sure.”

While they were trying to dance, Mom was trying to play.

It had been a long time, so her fingers were a bit rusty. She looked up some sheet music on her tablet and, after a bit of practice, started to play.

Xu Shi was a fast learner, and Yu Lingshan was teaching her simple steps, so the two of them got the hang of it quickly.

As they were dancing, just as Yu Lingshan took a step back, the music in the air suddenly changed key.

Coincidentally, at that exact wrong note, Xu Shi also made a misstep and trod on Yu Lingshan’s foot.

All three of them stopped at the same time, and at the same time, they all started laughing.

In the nine o’clock night, there was Yu Lingshan, the moon, and Xu Shi, the star. The music was soft and slow, their steps shifted bit by bit, and the melody of time stretched on, with only a beginning and no end.

Their show would never end.