Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 143

Family Meeting (Part One)

Rain pattered softly against the roof. On a rainy night like this, Anzhi dreamed that she was lying on a wide, unfamiliar bed, her body having shrunk until she was very, very small. At first, she couldn’t tell where she was, but then she recognized it—it was the room she and Tao Zhenzhen had briefly rented when they first arrived in Beicheng.

She could even smell the distinct scent of that room’s air conditioner.

            

Anzhi was suddenly struck by fear. It was too real, as if it were reality itself.

It was so real that it birthed a fleeting illusion: that Yan Xi had never come to find Tao Zhenzhen, that she herself had never opened that door, had never locked eyes with her, had never been taken away to live with her, let alone eventually fall in love.

Overcome with fear, Anzhi tried to move her body, only to find she couldn’t. She tried to scream, but only a soft whimper escaped her lips. Then, the arm wrapped around her waist tightened, and a hand gently patted her. A familiar, fragrant breath brushed against the back of her neck, and a clean, fresh embrace enveloped her.

            

Anzhi instantly felt her heart settle. She turned over and burrowed into the arms of the person beside her. Still unsatisfied, she hooked her leg over hers, pressing herself tightly against her.

“What’s wrong?” The room was dark, and the rain rustled softly against the eaves outside. Yan Xi stroked her back, her voice thick with sleep, making it sound even gentler.

Anzhi whispered, “It’s nothing.” She leaned in close, inhaling deeply the scent drifting from the collar of her pajamas.

            

“Just… having a bit of trouble sleeping.”

“It’s okay. Relax. You can stay in all day tomorrow if you want,” Yan Xi coaxed.

They had spent several days in Chengdu, thoroughly enjoying themselves every day as they went around sightseeing and exploring. Yan Xi had even brought her to stay at the inn she’d visited before.

            

What filled them with emotion was that the couple with an age difference of over ten years who used to run the place had already sold the inn. According to the new owner, the wife had fallen ill, and her husband, who was over a decade younger, had sold the inn without a second thought to take her away for medical treatment.

The changes in this world were truly unpredictable; one could only hold tightly to the person right in front of them.

Yan Xi felt deeply moved.

            

She had brought Anzhi to stay in the very room she had occupied back then.

“Yiyi, will we be together forever?” Anzhi asked.

“We will,” Yan Xi comforted her softly, sensing her underlying unease.

            

Hearing her promise, Anzhi smiled, her eyes narrowing. She nudged her nose against Yan Xi’s, then leaned in to kiss her.

“There’s a cliché metaphor… Uranium-235 and uranium-238¹ are a pair of isotopes that are incredibly difficult to separate. Out of every thousand uranium atoms, only seven are uranium-235, while the rest are uranium-238… Just like us, we’re inseparable.”

“Stop, stop, stop! I get what you mean…” Yan Xi laughed, pinching Anzhi’s chin. “You’re so cute.”

            

Anzhi replied shyly, “You’re cute too.”

At that, the two naturally kissed. Having already shared absolute intimacy, their kisses quickly grew out of control. Anzhi held Yan Xi close, gradually pressing her body against her.

Yan Xi’s hands caressed the legs beneath Anzhi’s dress. Before long, the hem of the dress had been pushed up to the tops of her thighs.

            

Under her touch, Anzhi’s legs trembled uncontrollably. Gasping for breath amid the kisses, she clung to Yan Xi’s slender, firm shoulders. “Yiyi…”

Outside, the rain poured harder and harder. It was a perfect night for intimacy.

“Taotao… is it okay?” Yan Xi was always so gentle, with a trace of nervous hesitation. Anzhi thought of her first night—the way Yan Xi’d focused so intensely on foreplay, terrified of hurting her. Though it’d been incredibly sweet afterward, Yan Xi seemed to find it a bit embarrassing in hindsight, which was why they hadn’t fully made love these past few days.

            

Anzhi’s dimples deepened. Rubbing against Yan Xi’s skin with every kiss, she murmured, “I want to go first.”

Yan Xi fell silent for a couple of seconds. Anzhi felt the warmth rising in her cheeks before she finally heard a quiet, muffled “Mn.”

Overjoyed, Anzhi boldly caressed Yan Xi’s skin, which felt as smooth as fine soap. She tangled her lips with Yan Xi’s, highly satisfied to hear her breath catch and quicken.

            

Like a small, clinging animal that couldn’t be shaken off, Anzhi showered kisses all over her body. The light was dim. The courtyard of the inn they stayed in was filled with lush green foliage, and the rain pattered rhythmically against the leaves outside. Inside, a warm, fragrant haze gathered, accompanied by the sound of Yan Xi’s soft panting.

Beneath her lips, Anzhi felt Yan Xi’s body grow slightly hot, trembling under her touch. A damp, clean scent rose from their skin. Hooking back her own falling hair, Anzhi kissed her way down, inch by inch.

The woman completely surrendered.

            

Even amidst the burning passion, Yan Xi maintained a shred of clarity, letting the girl have her way. It didn’t matter; it’d be her turn soon enough.

The night was both short and long.

The rain never stopped.

            

A night of lingering passion.

As dawn began to break, the rain finally ceased. The thick, heavy leaves in the courtyard lazily shook off their water droplets. A few wisps of thin clouds, even lazier, veiled the rising sun as if preparing for another deep sleep.

The curtains also blocked out the rest of the daylight, and the exhausted figures on the bed slept soundly in each other’s arms.

            

After a few hours of deep sleep, Yan Xi was awakened by a soft gurgling sound. Opening her eyes, she found Anzhi sprawled across her shoulder, eyes closed tight in deep sleep. The sound had come from her stomach.

Yan Xi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Anzhi’s eyes stirred behind her closed lids, her nose wrinkling. Without opening her eyes, her cheeks flushed pink as she tilted her face down and mumbled, “…I’m hungry…”

            

Yan Xi lifted her face and kissed her. “Lie here a bit longer. I’m going out to buy some food and’ll be right back.”

Anzhi waited until she got out of bed before opening her eyes. On this trip, Yan Xi dressed very casually, sometimes even wearing Anzhi’s T-shirts, though she didn’t like wearing shorts.

Anzhi watched her pull on one of her white T-shirts, pairing it with a cream-apricot cotton maxi skirt. Yan Xi turned back to stroke her face, then went into the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth and wash up. From her angle on the bed, Anzhi could see both her back and her reflection in the mirror. Framed by the morning light streaming in, Yan Xi’s skin looked fair and translucent, her long eyelashes virtually unchanged since the day they first met.

            

Once she finished washing her face, applying lotion and sunscreen, Yan Xi looked back with a smile, grabbed her phone, and headed out.

Anzhi covered her face and smiled.

Her mood was like the sunshine outside—sweet and honey-colored.

            

They stayed for two more days before Yan Xi’s vacation came to an end, leaving both of them reluctant to part.

“We can always come back in the future, and we can visit other places too,” Yan Xi comforted her during the ride back.

“Mn, as long as I’m with you,” Anzhi whispered. The two looked at each other and smiled.

            

Just then, Yan Xi’s phone rang. She stared intently at the name on the screen before picking up. “Eldest Brother… Yeah, I’m back. Tonight?”

Calmly and without showing any emotion, she said, “I just got off the plane. Alright, I’ll head over tonight.”

Yan Yidong had been brooding over this for days. He didn’t believe those few comments online, yet a persistent sense of unease plagued him. He’d spent his time looking back over how Yan Xi and Anzhi had interacted over the years, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off. He couldn’t voice these concerns to anyone—not even to his wife of over twenty years. Just the thought of it struck him as shockingly scandalous, filling him with dread.

            

Having slept poorly for several nights, he decided he had to get to the bottom of things. So, he called Yan Xi over.

Throughout the entire evening, his face remained tightly set. Neither the children nor the women in the house noticed or spared him any concern, which only made his expression darken further.

When Yan Xi arrived, she handed a gift bag to Xiao Yutong. “Taotao bought this for you at the airport when she came back from the US.”

            

She then pulled out a Lego toy for Junjun.

Yan Yidong sat in the living room, listening to the women chat.

“Anzhi didn’t come with you?”

            

“No, I had her rest at home.”

He wondered if he was overthinking, but he could swear his wife and his younger sister exchanged an odd look.

He cleared his throat a few times to make his presence known.

            

Yan Xi handed him a gift. “A tie Taotao bought for you.”

Yan Yidong’s expression softened. He accepted it, a warm feeling blossoming inside him, though he still feigned indifference. “So only little Anzhi bought me a gift? What about you? Aren’t you going to buy anything for your Eldest Brother?”

Before Yan Xi could answer, Xiao Yutong laughed at him. “Come on, be glad you got anything at all. It’s not even a holiday. The child went away to study and saved up from her stipend just to buy you a gift. That thought alone is more than enough.”

            

Yan Yidong cleared his throat. “Anzhi is indeed a good girl.” He glanced at Yan Xi before turning back to Xiao Yutong. “Do you remember Old Guan? My old comrade-in-arms. I was on the phone with him a couple of days ago. His youngest son is at Cornell University. I mentioned to him that our Anzhi is over there too, and since they aren’t that far apart, why don’t we introduce the two youngsters?”

“…” Yan Xi’s face instantly darkened.

Xiao Yutong was left speechless. Having been married to him for so many years, she knew exactly what was going through this man’s head. “Honestly, when are you going to fix this habit of trying to play matchmaker?”

            

Ignoring her, Yan Yidong continued, his eyes locked onto Yan Xi’s expression. “What of it? They’re both young and in a foreign country. It’s only natural they look out for each other. Though I haven’t met Old Guan’s youngest son myself, Old Guan is excellent at raising his kids. He’s just a little older than Anzhi…”

Before he could finish, Yan Xi couldn’t bear to listen any longer and cut him off. “There’s no need.”

Yan Yidong stared at her. Unlike his younger siblings with their fair skin, his complexion was a healthy, sun-bronzed wheat, topped by two naturally arching, thick black eyebrows. Though he was nearly fifty, having served in the military in his youth and maintained a strict fitness routine in his middle age, his physique remained robust and straight. He rarely smiled, radiating an imposing authority without even trying.

            

Aside from Xiao Yutong, everyone in the family was more or less intimidated by him.

Yan Xi had never seen him direct his anger at her, but looking at his piercing gaze now, she felt that he might genuinely be angry this time.

Reluctant to start an argument, she softened her tone. “Blind dates aren’t in fashion anymore. You don’t need to worry about Taotao.”

            

Yan Yidong stared at her for several seconds. “Come upstairs with me.”

Behind them, Xiao Yutong watched their retreating backs. “…It’s over.”

Beside her, Junjun was happily ripping open his toy, completely oblivious to the actions of the adults around him.

            

Xiao Yutong let out a sigh. “What an old fox.”

He only knows how to fish for information.

---