Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 112

Wanting to See Her

Yan Xi had been staying in Chengdu for several days. It was so comfortable she didn’t want to leave.

She took her time, wandering through Kuanzhai Alley¹ during the day and watching Sichuan Opera at night. The next day, she visited Wuhou Shrine—taking in its legendary red walls and bamboo shadows—before heading to Jinli for local snacks.

            

On the third day, she went to Du Fu Thatched Cottage and continued exploring Jinli. She wasn’t in any rush; she took her time admiring the sights, strolling, and taking photos. She had no desire to just skim the surface. In the evening, she went to Lotus Mansion for a drink.

Most of her photos were posted to her WeChat Moments. After such frequent picture-spamming, her family ended up blocking her posts.

Only one person hadn’t blocked her.

            

Anzhi would “like” her posts, though, as usual, she left no comments.

Yan Xi also noticed from her status updates that she had been preparing for exams lately.

It must be almost Christmas break, right? She wondered if she would come back. Yan Xi couldn’t find a single clue in her WeChat Moments.

            

She could have tested the waters, actually, just like she did last time with the custom visibility group.

Thinking about it made Yan Xi’s cheeks feel slightly hot.

It was so obvious. If she claimed that “the rabbit is cuter” was just a joke between family, even she wouldn’t believe it. After doing it, she had felt secretly, overwhelmingly ashamed.

            

Furthermore, Yan Xi realized in hindsight that grouping wasn’t entirely foolproof, as it was very easily seen through.

Just as she knew Anzhi had put her in a group all by herself; only she would understand that photo.

That sentence—Anzhi neither liked nor commented on it.

            

That photo—Yan Xi neither liked nor commented on it either.

Yan Xi’s heart rose and fell. Even she didn’t know what she wanted. She never expected that Anzhi would take that toy with her, that she would actually treasure it for so many years. Yan Xi had almost forgotten about it herself. A heavy, aching tenderness blossomed in Yan Xi’s heart.

Anzhi had been attached to objects since she was little, likely because she had lost so much in her early childhood. Yet she wasn’t greedy; just a little bit was enough for her.

            

To be able to be loved by her—what a blissful thing that would be.

Setting aside gender and age, setting aside their relationship, Anzhi was a wonderful person to fall in love with. She was young, beautiful, pure, talented, devoted, and gentle.

But if she hadn’t grown up by her side, their paths would never have crossed. She never would have met Anzhi…

            

The moment this thought surfaced, Yan Xi’s heart flared with sharp pain, as if she were erasing all the days Anzhi had spent with her.

These past few days, she had been agonizing back and forth, her mind a tangled mess of sorrow she couldn’t sort out. One was the young Anzhi she had nurtured and protected; the other was the lovely Taotao who made her heart flutter.

Sometimes in her dreams, the young woman in her arms would turn back into a little girl. She would jolt awake, condemning herself, yet unable to stop yearning for the feeling of holding her.

            

Her fingers gently stroked her phone screen.

Anzhi hadn’t posted a selfie in a long time. Why didn’t she post more?

The atmosphere in the music bar was nice. A singer on stage was strumming an acoustic guitar and humming softly. Yan Xi took a sip of her drink, and someone approached from the side.

            

“I’ve been watching you for a while. Is something on your mind?”

It was the female owner of her homestay. They would greet each other whenever they crossed paths these days.

Yan Xi smiled and nodded at her.

            

The female owner wore exquisite makeup and was alone. She smiled back. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes crinkled. She was a woman with a past, her smile carrying a hint of worldly weariness.

Just then, her phone buzzed. She answered it, and her expression instantly shifted, softening completely. “I’m having a drink. Mmm, then come pick me up in a bit.” She hung up, a smile lingering on her lips.

She smiled at Yan Xi. “The kid at home.”

            

“?” Yan Xi looked questioning.

“My husband.” The female owner laughed.

“Mn.” Yan Xi didn’t know what to say and could only nod again.

            

She remembered—the husband who was many years her junior. The two of them were deeply in love.

Perhaps people in happy relationships just wanted to share it with others. Perhaps the female owner felt a kinship with Yan Xi, or perhaps the bar’s atmosphere was simply too perfect.

She said, “He’s eighteen years younger than me. I’m actually under a lot of pressure.”

            

Yan Xi paused, a spark of gossipy interest flaring up.

But this female owner knew exactly how to hook someone’s curiosity, and she was an excellent storyteller. Yan Xi offered a faint smile, playing along. “But it looks to me like the two of you have a wonderful relationship.”

“Mhm… I used to be his teacher. He was only fifteen at the time.”

            

Yan Xi choked on her drink. Fifteen? That was…

But the moment she thought of Anzhi, she didn’t quite dare to judge.

“Haha, it’s not like we started dating when he was fifteen. But we definitely had feelings for each other back then. When he went to university, he came looking for me, and then we got together.”

            

The female owner spoke at a leisurely pace, her eyes brimming with a soft light.

“…” Yan Xi remained silent.

“Of course, there were plenty of obstacles along the way. His mother, a lot of people who objected. Later on, I couldn’t be a teacher anymore. But we held on. Until he graduated, and we moved to Chengdu, started our own business, opened shop… Things are finally looking up now.”

            

Yan Xi said sincerely, “Congratulations.”

The female owner looked over, her gaze pointed. “My story’s done. Your turn.”

Yan Xi smiled. “I don’t have such an exciting story.”

            

The female owner chuckled. “Every person traveling alone definitely has a story. Most of the time, they’re troubled by love. Over the years, my greatest joy has been listening to these stories.”

Yan Xi fell silent for a moment before asking, “Can I ask you one more thing?”

The female owner looked at her. “Of course.”

            

“He’s so much younger than you. How did you figure out your own feelings? After all, he was once your student…”

The female owner giggled. “It’s not like I didn’t have my hesitations, but the attraction was just too strong. That sort of thing between men and women is actually very simple.” She gave a knowing look.

Yan Xi froze, unsure of how to respond to that.

            

The female owner glanced at her with a teasing smile. “What, is your situation the same as mine?”

Yan Xi lowered her head and took a sip of her wine. The taste was mellow, the fruity aroma crisp and fragrant. “She’s much younger than me,” she murmured. “I feel incredibly guilty.”

A slightly dazed expression washed over her face. She lowered her gaze. The crease of her eyelids was deep, her skin a delicate, translucent white.

            

The female owner shrugged. “What does that matter? As long as they’re of age, it’s fine. You don’t need to care about how others view it either. People always love to gossip.”

Yan Xi paused, then continued, “She grew up by my side since she was a child. She’s considered my junior.”

The female owner raised an eyebrow, hesitating. “Well, that is a bit…”

            

Yan Xi cast a sidelong glance at her and stated bluntly, “She’s a girl.”

“Cough, cough, cough!” The female owner suddenly choked on her drink. For several seconds, she couldn’t speak at all.

Then, trying to cover it up, she took another sip of her drink, but couldn’t hold it back anymore. She broke into a wide grin and burst out laughing. “Wow.”

            

Yan Xi pursed her lips, and a low chuckle escaped her as well.

“Come, come, come, I’ll toast to you.” The female owner slid her glass over and gently clinked it against the rim of Yan Xi’s.

Yan Xi stepped out after a few more drinks. The cool wind brushed against her. Beneath the swaying night lamps, the alley stretched out in serene quiet.

            

Yan Xi felt an unprecedented sense of relief. As it turned out, admitting her true feelings wasn’t all that difficult after all.

She let out a soft laugh, then breathed a long, drawn-out sigh.

Beneath the dark, cool sky, a vast, white layer of mist and rain shrouded the air. Yan Xi ducked under the eaves, pulled out her phone, and scrolled to her WeChat Moments.

            

The screen lit up.

There was a selfie.

It was morning on her end. She was biting into a piece of toast, her cheeks puffed out. The morning light reflected in her clear, pitch-black eyes. She was wearing a chunky, apricot-yellow knit sweater that revealed a slice of creamy white neck.

            

The caption above the picture read, “Last exam, yeah!”

Yan Xi stared at it for a long time. A voice echoed in her heart: she wanted to see her. She wanted to go see her.

As if worried she would back out, as if worried she wouldn’t have enough courage, the voice echoed over and over again, repeating itself, densely occupying her every thought.

            

Her heart began to race—thump, thump, thump—in the sparsely populated alleyway.

Then she made a call. She could hear her own rapid heartbeat; even her breathing was a little quick. No one answered. She called again. After several rings, Liu Yiyi’s voice came through. “Yan Xiao Wu, what’s up?”

“Go to my place right now. I’ll tell you where my passport is. Send it to me via SF Express².”

            

“…Right now?”

“Tomorrow works too…”

“…Alright, I’ll head over first thing tomorrow morning.”

            

She hung up the phone and calculated the time. It would probably arrive the day after tomorrow. Over the next two days, Yan Xi was completely distracted, wishing she could reach out and manually push the hours forward.

She boarded her flight in the afternoon. For seventeen hours, she slept peacefully. By the time she woke up, it was already morning, and she stepped off the plane looking vibrant and energized.

The air was brisk and cold, the sky blue with white clouds. The holiday atmosphere was thick. She pulled her coat tightly around herself and made her way into Harvard University. It was a world-class academic institution, and Anzhi was studying right here.

            

A smile played at the corners of Yan Xi’s lips.

She knew where Anzhi lived. She walked all the way to the foot of her apartment building.

Yan Xi slipped her hands into her pockets. Suddenly, she felt timid. Her courage evaporated into thin air.

            

“I’m just here on vacation…”

“I figured I’d drop by and see you…”

“I came over with a colleague; her child is looking to study abroad…”

            

She suddenly scrunched up her face, then rubbed her features to smooth them out. That excuse was terrible. She paced back and forth.

Just then, the door downstairs swung open. By pure reflex, Yan Xi ducked behind a tree.

But the person who walked out made her freeze.

            

A tall, slender figure, light gray hair, deep-set, fair features. The person was blindingly radiant. She recognized this girl.

Xu Jia’er.

The one who came out after her was Anzhi. Yan Xi’s gaze fixed upon her. She was shrinking her neck, hiding inside her oversized sweater. Her shiny black hair was tousled and loose. She seemed to have just woken up not long ago; she let out a tiny yawn, rubbed her eyes, and mumbled something. Xu Jia’er grabbed her hand, laughing as she said something, and pulled her forward.

            

Anzhi didn’t seem able to say no to her, having no choice but to follow her steps.

There was snow piled on the ground. Her foot slipped. Xu Jia’er immediately turned back and caught her in an embrace, patting her on the head. Anzhi scratched her head, said something, and kept walking forward on her own.

Yan Xi couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She tore her gaze away.

            

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