Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 114
by Little PandaMeeting (Part 1)
The sky was very blue. Sunlight filtered down through the lush branches, leaving patches of mottled light on the ground, and the road was bleached white by the sun.
Time passed silently; the flowers by the roadside withered and bloomed again. Another summer had arrived.
“I’m going to pick up Anzhi today. You should get off work early too.”
Liu Yiyi had told her this.
Yan Xi stayed in the office until four o’clock, but she really couldn’t sit still any longer. She drove back to Yanzhai, stopping by a supermarket on the way to buy fruit, picking out several extra honey peaches.
The lilacs by the alley entrance of the villa neighborhood were blooming abundantly. She drove her car into the yard and parked. Many flowers were planted in the courtyard; when the gentle breeze blew, the air was filled with floral fragrance.
The living room was bustling.
Yu Shengnan was already over six months pregnant. Because of the hot weather, she was resting at home. Eldest Sister-in-law was keeping her company and chatting.
There was no sign of Liu Yiyi or Anzhi.
Yan Xi stopped abruptly at the living room entrance.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
“Where is Second Sister-in-law?” Yan Xi asked.
“Oh, she went back to her company,” Xiao Yutong replied from inside.
“Then…” Yan Xi hesitated.
“Anzhi is upstairs keeping Grandfather and Grandmother company and chatting with them.”
“Oh…” Yan Xi lowered her head, her fingertips pinching together.
Then she heard footsteps coming from the stairs.
Yan Xi stood in the foyer. Behind her was the slightly scorching summer sun, and before her was the cool relief of the air conditioning.
Half fiery heat, half cool shade.
Her heart was clamoring, as restless as the chirping of the cicadas in her ears.
The young woman standing at the top of the stairs had a pair of straight, bright white legs gathered together in light blue denim shorts. She was wearing only a fitted, cropped white T-shirt, revealing a sliver of fair waist.
Her clear, rippling eyes stared at her, and her dimples twitched.
Yan Xi froze there for two seconds. She raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and averted her gaze. The breeze from the courtyard blew over, carrying the scent of flowers, and Yan Xi looked back again.
Yan Xi was dressed in a white shirt and mint-green wide-leg pants, with a light green-and-white polka-dot silk scarf tied around her wrist. Standing there, her figure was perfectly proportioned and graceful, like an oil painting.
The two of them stood there, neither speaking.
It was like a close-up shot from an indie romance film.
The room was deep in the feeling of summer.
Over there, Xiao Yutong and Yu Shengnan’s continuous laughter rang out.
Xiao Yutong glanced over, stood up, and walked toward them. “Pfft, what are you two doing standing here like fools? It’s like you’re looking in a mirror.”
She headed toward the kitchen. “Anzhi, cut some fruit and take it up to Grandfather and Grandmother.”
Anzhi shifted and opened her mouth. “Okay…”
Yan Xi looked at her and said, “Eldest Sister-in-law, I bought some fruit on my way back.”
“What do you have? Any Hami melon1? Grandfather loves eating that.”
“Oh, yes, I bought some, and… peaches.”
“…Go bring them in,” Xiao Yutong said as she entered the kitchen, her voice lowering. “Anzhi likes peaches, so Auntie will wash one for you too.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“Oh, alright…” Yan Xi said, moving her body but still looking at Anzhi’s face.
The two of them looked at each other, as if waiting for the other to speak first.
Anzhi lowered her eyelashes and bit her lower lip.
“You’re… you’re back?” Yan Xi’s lips parted slightly.
“Mn… Auntie.” Anzhi showed her dimples, offering her a smile.
Dinner was incredibly sumptuous. There was pork rib and lotus root soup, braised fish, cold tossed shredded tripe, hot and sour shredded potatoes, cold tossed broccoli, garlic choy sum, pumpkin pancakes, and taro cakes, filling the entire table.
Yan Yixi had hurried back, and he and Anzhi were deep in a conversation about topics only the two of them understood.
“What research topic did you choose?”
“3D paper-based microfluidic sensors.”
“Not bad. There are many medical schools in Boston; you might really be able to make a breakthrough in this area.”
Not far from them, Liu Yiyi scrunched up her face and quietly asked Yan Xi, “Do you understand what they’re saying?”
The corners of Yan Xi’s lips curled up. She rubbed the center of her brow and shook her head.
“Sigh… the way he talks nonsense with a straight face is just so sexy…” Liu Yiyi rested her chin in her hand.
Afraid her own gaze was too obvious, Yan Xi looked at her Second Brother, inadvertently letting her line of sight extend past him.
“Mn, I still have to take other related elective courses. It’s all still very unfamiliar right now.”
“When doing scientific research, all disciplines are interconnected. You need to keep a broad perspective and communicate more with your advisor. But you also must do your own work well and be meticulous. Doing research requires care and patience…”
“Mn, my advisor is quite strict. He just has a bit of an accent, so it’s a little hard to understand.”
“You can’t understand him?”
“Not exactly. It’s just… a lot like Matthew McConaughey’s accent.”
Yan Yixi stared blankly. “Who?”
“Pfft!” Liu Yiyi laughed out loud. “Anzhi, spare your Second Uncle. The only actor he knows is Marlon Brando.”
Anzhi pursed her lips into a smile.
“Who is that? Is he famous?” Yan Yixi asked doubtfully.
“Yes, he’s incredibly sexy, and a great actor too,” Liu Yiyi said.
Anzhi watched them teasing each other, her eyes brimming with laughter. Turning her head, she collided straight into Yan Xi’s gaze.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Yan Xi was the first to look away.
The dining table remained lively. Yu Shengnan had a poor appetite. She craved heavy flavors, but after one bite, she would find it too greasy. Her belly was quite large, and the pregnancy was taking a heavy toll on her. But she always maintained a calm expression, wearing a soft smile, as Auntie Xin tried to coax her to eat beside her.
Nine-year-old Junjun shoveled rice into his mouth. He was growing fast and his appetite had increased significantly, but he was also an extremely picky eater. He refused to eat this and wouldn’t eat that, making Xiao Yutong so angry that she scolded him while picking up food for him.
The familiar, bustling atmosphere at the dinner table made Anzhi secretly curve her eyes into a smile.
It was so nice; this was her home.
Suddenly, she paused. She saw the tomato and egg stir-fry2 on the table.
She picked some up with her chopsticks, took a bite, and immediately froze.
It was sweet.
She secretly peeked at Yan Xi.
Suddenly at a loss for words, she was overcome by an inexplicable surge of sourness in her nose.
“Oh, Anzhi, is it good? That’s the dish your Auntie made,” Xiao Yutong said with a smile, having just noticed her eating it.
Everyone at the table was surprised. Liu Yiyi let out an exclamation. “Yan Xiao Wu actually knows how to cook?”
“Yes,” Auntie Xin sighed. “She finally managed to learn one dish.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… Let me have a taste?” Liu Yiyi said with a beaming smile. She took a bite of the tomato and egg stir-fry and frowned. “Ah, why is it sweet?”
Yan Xi said mildly, “I just eat it sweet…”
“What kind of unorthodox practice is this?” Liu Yiyi said. “It’s weird.”
“I think it’s quite delicious. Adding sugar occasionally isn’t bad,” Xiao Yutong said, trying some as well and casually picking up a little for Junjun.
Yu Shengnan chuckled, “In some places, they even put chili peppers in their tomato and egg stir-fry…”
“Huh?” Anzhi and Yan Xi voiced their surprise in unison. Their eyes met, exchanging a look of disbelief.
The amusement in Yan Xi’s eyes deepened, and Anzhi’s dimples showed prominently.
Anzhi pursed her lips, lowered her head, and simply used a spoon to scoop several spoonfuls over her rice, eating it in large mouthfuls.
Yan Xi didn’t speak either. She ate little, quietly sipping her congee. Her lowered eyelashes fluttered, and the smile on her lips faintly rippled outward.
After they had eaten dinner, Anzhi volunteered to wash the dishes.
Auntie Xin said, “Aiya, aiya, child, you’re still dealing with jet lag. Don’t wash them, let me do it.”
Anzhi said, “Let me do it. I wash them very clean.”
Xiao Yutong laughed. “This child, do you think you’re still in the lab? Auntie Xin, just let her wash them.”
Auntie Xin said, “Then I’ll help you.”
Yan Xi spoke up from behind them, “I’ll do it…”
The others withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the kitchen. Anzhi did the initial wash. The sink was full of white, cotton-like suds. As she washed, she handed the dishes to Yan Xi.
Yan Xi took them, rinsed them in clean water, dried them, and placed them on the draining rack.
Back and forth, passing dishes to each other, the two of them didn’t speak, yet they cooperated with perfect, tacit understanding.
“How many days are you staying at home?”
“Mn… one week, and then I have classes when I go back to school.”
Yan Xi said nothing, only giving a soft “Mn.”
“I… I got my driver’s license.”
“Do you want to buy a car?”
“I’ll wait and see.”
The two fell quiet again.
After a while, Anzhi said, “In the laboratory, the standard for a clean chemical container is ‘water should neither form droplets nor run down in streams.’ So we always joke among ourselves that if we can’t secure funding for a project in the future, at least we can wash dishes in a restaurant…”
Yan Xi was speechless.
Then she gave a soft chuckle. “Wetting phenomena, right?”
Anzhi looked at her, her eyes sparkling. She took a freshly washed bowl, ran a little water into it, and poured it out. “Look, there are no watermarks. We washed it very cleanly.”
Yan Xi raised an eyebrow, laughing as she shook her head. “You don’t need to apply laboratory standards every time you wash the dishes…”
Anzhi blinked twice and stuck her tongue out at her.
It had been a long time since she had seen this mischievous side of her. Yan Xi paused slightly, her eyes curving into a smile.
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