Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 146
by Little PandaFamily Meeting (Part Four)
Anzhi was entirely unaware of the situation at the old residence, nor did she know about the minor disputes that had erupted within Yan Yidong’s and the other brothers’ households.
Yan Xi had heard a few whispers, but she didn’t tell her either. Xiao Yutong had told Yan Xi that although Yan Yidong still couldn’t fully accept it just yet, his opposition was at least less fierce than before, and he simply needed some time to digest it all.
Anzhi hadn’t met with Tao Zhenzhen since she left for the United States. It was not that she had never thought about it—especially since Tao Zhenzhen and Yan Xi were classmates, she had wondered if she should tell her—but considering that her mother likely had her own life now, Anzhi let the idea drop.
Hearing from Lao Chen that she was doing quite well was probably enough.
But as for whether she should tell Lao Chen, Anzhi hesitated for a long time before deciding not to say anything for now. In any case, whether he agreed or not would have no bearing on her relationship with Yan Xi, so it was best to wait for the right moment.
That day, she went to the university campus to look for Yang Mengmeng. On one of the campus paths, she unexpectedly ran into a woman with a high ponytail wearing a flowing, mint-green chiffon dress. She looked somewhat familiar. The woman stopped as well, scanning her up and down several times with a look of growing surprise. “Anzhi?”
Anzhi finally recognized her. “Lin-shijie?”
The two sat down in a campus drink shop.
Lin Han was exquisitely made up, her outfit elegant and stylish—she looked even more radiant than she had in college, easily drawing the gazes of passersby. She said with a smile, “What a coincidence. I had nothing much to do today, so I decided to take a stroll around campus. I was feeling nostalgic for the university cafeteria.”
After graduating with her master’s degree, Lin Han co-founded a cultural media startup with a few of her shixiong and shijie1. Intelligent, sharp, and highly capable, she was already a director.
“You’re amazing, Shijie,” Anzhi said admiringly as she looked at the business card. Even back when they were in school, Anzhi had known she was highly capable.
Lin Han pursed her lips and smiled. “I’m really not that amazing—not like you, who’s actually doing scientific research.” Her gaze landed on Anzhi. Today, Anzhi wore a two-piece linen dress in a very pale blue. The top was a cropped style that revealed her waist, paired with a loose, high-waisted skirt, the cuffs and hemline trimmed with a layer of dark blue lace.
The colors were artistic and fresh, with subtle design elements that showcased a young girl’s playfulness. The fair, slender sliver of her exposed waist lent her a touch of subtle sensuality.
Lin Han hadn’t met a single girl more endearing than Anzhi in all these years. There were plenty of girls who were more beautiful, but that particular aura of bright, spiritual vitality was exceedingly rare.
Pleased and slightly embarrassed, Anzhi smiled, bringing out her familiar dimples. “I only know how to hit the books and run experiments. I’m really not as impressive as you, Shijie.”
Lin Han sipped her fruit tea. She felt a sudden itch to ask if Anzhi was single, but she worried it would come across as too abrupt.
She shifted the topic instead. “You’re in Boston for a five-year program, right? Have you thought about whether you’ll return afterward, or do you plan to stay abroad?”
Anzhi was taken aback. She hadn’t actually given this much thought yet. After all, she was only halfway through her program, and Yan Xi had never asked her about it.
This was a major decision; she’d definitely need to discuss it with her first.
Or perhaps… Yan Xi wanted her to come back?
Seeing her expression, Lin Han knew she hadn’t considered it yet. She smiled and said, “Well, it’s still early anyway, so you have plenty of time to think about it. Even though the research environment abroad might be slightly better, the domestic landscape is quite good these days too. Besides, when the time comes to make a decision, you’ll have to take your boyfriend into consideration, right?”
The only regret Lin Han had harbored over the years was that she’d never found out whether Anzhi liked girls. Back then, she’d been thoroughly deterred by the woman who appeared in Anzhi’s dormitory late at night. She’d subsequently made inquiries through various channels but had never heard of Anzhi being in a relationship. Then came the news of her going to Harvard. By all indications, she didn’t seem to be dating anyone.
Once, when she happened to turn on the television, she finally discovered who that woman was. She had laughed in annoyance at her own overactive imagination. A prominent figure with such an illustrious family background couldn’t possibly be involved with a girl so much younger. Besides, after observing her closely on screen, Lin Han sincerely felt that the television host’s vibe was as straight as could be.
Anzhi offered a soft smile but didn’t comment.
Lin Han watched her lower her head to sip her fruit tea, her pink lips plump and moist. Every slight movement, every soft smile from Anzhi seemed to possess a quiet magic that stirred Lin Han’s heart once again.
“Did you change your phone number?”
“Oh, yes, I did change it once,” Anzhi replied with a brief hesitation. She knew Lin Han asking this meant she wanted to swap numbers.
Noticing her expression, Lin Han burst into a soft laugh. “What, is your shijie not allowed to ask for your number?”
“Of course you are.” A little embarrassed, Anzhi took out her phone and prepared to dial the number on the business card so Lin Han would have hers.
“Ah, don’t dial that one. That’s my work number. I have a private line.” Lin Han took the phone from her hands and put in her personal number.
Just then, the phone began to ring. Lin Han glanced at the screen, froze for a fraction of a second at the name displayed, and silently handed it back.
Seeing the caller ID, which read “Closet Romantic2 Auntie,” the corners of Anzhi’s mouth curled up immediately. She accepted the call. “Hello? Mmh, I’m still at school… Are we having dinner at the old residence tonight?”
“All right.” Then… “will you come pick me up?” Anzhi coaxed, her voice dropping into a soft, sweet whine.
Receiving a positive response from the other end, her smile widened.
When she set her phone down, she found the smile on Lin Han’s face had grown rather stiff.
In truth, Anzhi had deliberately babied her voice to Yan Xi just now out of a quiet, unspoken intent. Lin Han hadn’t said anything directly, but Anzhi was worried about letting her misunderstand or lead her on, so she could only drop a gentle hint in this manner.
“Your boyfriend?” Lin Han finally couldn’t resist asking.
“It’s the person I love,” Anzhi replied simply.
Lin Han didn’t press the issue. Instead, she steered the conversation toward lighter, more relaxed topics. She was an adept conversationalist and knew how to put Anzhi at ease, choosing subjects she knew would pique her interest.
Anzhi wasn’t nearly as socially inept as she’d claimed; she actively inquired about Lin Han’s work, asking questions that kept the conversation flowing naturally.
This only made Lin Han find her all the more endearing.
And the more endearing she found her, the more dejected she became.
Time slipped away quickly, and Anzhi’s phone rang once more. It was Yan Xi. She stood up and said to Lin Han, “Shijie, I have to go now. It was wonderful catching up with you.”
Lin Han nodded, offering a faint smile. “I’ll walk you to the gate.”
A white Audi was parked along the campus road. After saying her goodbyes to Lin Han, Anzhi walked over to the passenger side, opened the door, and slipped inside.
Lin Han took a few steps forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of the driver’s face to see if they were a man or a woman. At that moment, the passenger window rolled down, and Lin Han froze in her tracks.
The woman in the driver’s seat possessed a serene and gentle beauty, carrying an understated elegance refined by the passage of time. Her gaze drifted over to Lin Han, her smiling eyes crinkling slightly as she gave a polite nod. Then, the window smoothly rolled back up.
Lin Han stood frozen, unable to find her voice. That same wave of discouraging, uncomfortable defeat she had felt years ago rushed back to hit her once more. Only when the car had entirely vanished from her line of sight did she slowly let out a long breath and shake her head with a wry smile.
Once they set off, Anzhi sat quietly, fully prepared for Yan Xi to interrogate her.
But even after they’d been driving for a while, Yan Xi didn’t bring it up at all.
She stole a quiet glance sideways. Today, Yan Xi wore a white linen shirt patterned with faint vertical stripes, paired with emerald-green wide-leg trousers.
The top two buttons of her shirt were undone, showcasing the delicate necklace Anzhi had gifted her resting against her collarbone.
Under the spell of such beauty, Anzhi decided to proactively confess. “I didn’t actually arrange to meet Shijie, you know. I came to the university to find Mengmeng, but she’s busy studying for her CPA Exam3 and couldn’t hang out. I just happened to run into Shijie on my way out.”
Yan Xi simply smiled.
“I did tell Shijie that I’m dating someone, though she assumed I have a boyfriend,” Anzhi continued. Then, she knit her brows in self-annoyance. Nothing had even happened, so why did she feel so guilty that she’d felt the need to voluntarily lay out all the details?
Anzhi decided to abruptly end her report. “That’s all. Nothing else.”
The curve of Yan Xi’s lips deepened as she shot her a teasing look. “I didn’t even ask. What are you acting so guilty for?”
Anzhi: “…”
She lowered her head to rummage through the storage compartment for their candy jar, fishing out a piece of Hsu Fu Chi Orange Segment Candy4. “Want one?”
“No,” Yan Xi replied smoothly. “I’m getting older, so I have to watch my sugar intake.”
Anzhi: “…” As if. Who is she trying to fool? This woman loves sweets more than anyone.
Sure enough, just as Anzhi peeled off the wrapper and was about to pop the candy into her mouth, she heard Yan Xi speak up again: “Actually, I’ll have half.”
Anzhi paused, the candy caught between her teeth. Half?
Yan Xi turned her head to look at her—or more precisely, at her lips—and leaned closer.
Only then did Anzhi realize her intention. She bit down on one end, leaving the other half protruding. Yan Xi leaned in, plucked the remaining piece directly from Anzhi’s lips with her own, and rolled it into her mouth.
Anzhi hadn’t expected her to do that at all, and her cheeks instantly burned red.
Yan Xi smoothly returned her attention to the road. As she drove, she spoke with a perfectly straight face, her expression calm and unbothered. “Mm, quite sweet.”
Anzhi shielded her scorching face with her hands, utterly defenseless against the sudden flirtation.
When they gathered for dinner at the old residence that evening, everyone except Da Pang and Xiao Pang was there, filling the house with its usual boisterous warmth. Yan Yinan’s dragon-phoenix twins5 were already over two years old; plump, fair, and adorable, they were currently being fed by their parents, who held one child each.
Their names had been chosen by Grandfather Yan before his passing: the sister was Yan Xingya, and the brother was Yan Xingcheng.
However, Yan Yinan insisted on calling the sister “Little X” and the brother “Little Y.”
“What on earth are those supposed to be?” Yan Yidong grumbled. No matter how many times he heard those nicknames, he still disliked them.
“Maybe Third Brother wants them to grow up to be math geniuses?” someone suggested.
“No, no, no,” Yan Yinan said proudly. “It’s the X chromosome and the Y chromosome! The moment anyone hears it, they’ll know their parents are doctors. Isn’t that incredibly cool?”
Aside from Yu Shengnan, who smiled and played along with his humor, everyone else offered nothing but a blank stare: “…”
Liu Yiyi chimed in. “Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask something. Look at Da Pang and his brothers—Yan Qi, Yan Ji, and Yan Jun. Then there’s Yan Xi, and even the twins are named Yan Xingya and Yan Xingcheng. All of those names sound so poetic, elegant, and meaningful. But the names of you three brothers…”
The implication was self-evident.
An identical look of stiffness crossed the faces of Yan Yidong, Yan Yixi, and Yan Yinan at the same time.
Yan Yinan let out a sigh. “That’s because only the four of us brothers had our names chosen by our dad.”
Liu Yiyi blinked, not quite following.
Yan Yixi added in a flat voice, “Our dad was an architect.”
…
Instantly, every woman at the table burst into hearty laughter.
Xiao Yutong shook her head, laughing so hard she could barely speak. “No matter how many times I hear that, it never fails to make me laugh!”
Yu Shengnan pursed her lips to suppress a giggle. “When I first married in, I genuinely thought Dad was just a massive mahjong enthusiast.”
At that, the table erupted into even louder hysterics.
Liu Yiyi slapped the table. “East, West, South, North…” She turned to Yan Xi. “Xiao Wu, it’s a blessing Grandfather was the one who named you. Otherwise… otherwise, you might have been called Yan Yizhong, or maybe even Yan Fabai6…”
The smile on Yan Xi’s face stiffened.
She huffed in amusement, “No way.”
The laughter around the table continued, and even Anzhi was looking at her with a sweet, dimpled grin.
Yan Xi cast her a mock-glaring look, reaching out to tap the tip of her nose before playfully pinching her cheek.
Anzhi was startled, but she didn’t shrink away. Instead, she swept a slightly panicked glance over the rest of the table. To her surprise, no one seemed to pay them the slightest attention. Even though everyone had clearly seen the intimate gesture, they showed no reaction whatsoever, simply continuing to chat and eat their food.
Anzhi turned her gaze back to Yan Xi. The older woman was smiling at her with profound tenderness, her eyes shining with an open, warm, and unmistakable devotion.
Suddenly, a profound understanding washed over Anzhi.
The author has something to say:
“Closet Romantic Auntie” is Anzhi’s contact name for Yan Xi.
Care to guess what Yan Xi’s contact name for Anzhi is?
Footnotes
- A student's senior male and female classmates or peers within the same academic department or under the same advisor. Transliterated as shixiong and shijie.
- An internet slang term describing an introverted, reserved, or proper person who harbors deep sensuality, passion, or a playful, flirtatious nature underneath. Transliterated as mensao. In this context, it refers to Yan Xi.
- Certified Public Accountant examination, a highly competitive national qualification exam in China.
- A classic orange-flavored gummy candy popular in China manufactured by the Hsu Fu Chi brand.
- A traditional Chinese term referring to fraternal twins consisting of one boy and one girl, symbolizing supreme luck and balance.
- A pun on mahjong tile suits. After the four directional tiles (East, West, South, North), the remaining honor tiles are Zhong (Middle/Red), Fa (Prosperity/Green), and Baiban (White). If named after them, Yan Xi would be Yizhong or Fabai.
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