Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 90
by Little PandaChaos
After Grandfather Yan was discharged from the hospital, his spirits were decent enough, but given his age, his recovery would be very slow. First Brother’s work transfer would take time, so the others had consciously extended their stays at the Old Residence.
Yan Xi received a call from Gao Jiming saying he was coming to visit.
He had returned to China a month ago and was now head of the technical department at Shengda Games. He had also bought a house in Beicheng and was officially settling down.
That day happened to be one when the whole family was present. He wore a gray knit sweater, his figure tall and straight, his features striking. His manner was witty and he was good at conversation—impossible to find fault with.
This was Anzhi’s first time seeing him. She watched him speaking softly with Grandfather Yan, sitting there beside Yan Xi. She didn’t want to admit it, but they really did look well-suited.
Liu Yiyi patted her shoulder. Only she knew her secret. Anzhi lowered her head.
“Oh, is this Anzhi?” Gao Jiming walked toward her. “Hello, nice to meet you.”
Anzhi, after all, was young and hadn’t yet learned to be polite to people she didn’t like. She instinctively resisted, furrowing her delicate brows as she stared at the newcomer without speaking.
Beside her, Liu Yiyi snorted. “Old Gao!”
Gao Jiming smiled at her. “Yiyi, long time no see. I haven’t congratulated you on your wedding yet.”
“I’ve been married almost two years now.” Liu Yiyi spoke casually, not giving him a pleasant look. “So you’re not leaving this time?”
“Not leaving.” Gao Jiming’s gaze drifted toward Yan Xi—the meaning was clear.
“Hmph. Is this a prodigal son turning over a new leaf, or just unable to forget an old flame? Let me tell you, don’t you dare hurt Yan Xi again.”
A hint of helplessness showed in Gao Jiming’s eyes. “I was the one who got dumped.”
“Oh? So you came back alone, or is there an ex chasing after you too…”
Gao Jiming laughed and shook his head, not minding her teasing at all. After all, you don’t slap a smiling face. Liu Yiyi couldn’t very well continue.
Liu Yiyi had known before that Gao Jiming was popular with women—he would never lose his temper with one. In his younger days he might have been a bit smug about it, but at this age he had grown more measured and composed.
Anzhi watched coldly from the sidelines, feeling even more discouraged.
Perhaps her gaze was too hostile. Gao Jiming studied her, amusement in his eyes.
Anzhi nodded reluctantly. “Hello.”
“I heard you’re starting university in September. Congratulations.” Whether Anzhi was imagining it or not, his tone seemed overly familiar. Perhaps he saw himself as some kind of elder figure in Yan Xi’s life, which was why he spoke with that condescending, approving tone. In any case, Anzhi didn’t like it.
Anzhi, who was usually so well-behaved and polite, pursed her lips. “Oh.”
Gao Jiming wanted to tease her into saying more, but Anzhi showed no interest whatsoever.
Liu Yiyi held back laughter beside them.
Yan Xi walked over. “What’s going on?”
Gao Jiming turned his head and smiled at her. “Anzhi has quite a personality.”
Anzhi answered him in her heart: No, I just hate you.
Yan Xi was about to say something when Auntie Xin came over and asked him to stay for dinner.
Tonight was essentially a family gathering. Grandfather Yan and Grandmother Yan were eating downstairs with them. Da Pang and Xiao Pang had come back from boarding school, and Yan Yidong had rushed back as well.
Anzhi felt a prickling discomfort in her heart. She looked up secretly at Yan Xi, while Gao Jiming also smiled at her, his eyes asking as if to say, “Do you agree to me staying for dinner?”
Or perhaps, “Let me see if you agree, so I can figure out what you’re thinking.”
She watched Yan Xi look back at him, her expression unreadable. Anzhi tried her hardest to detect something different in her eyes.
“Auntie Xin, no need. He’s leaving in a bit,” Yan Xi said.
“Ah? Stay and have dinner with us. More people, more lively,” Auntie Xin urged.
Gao Jiming chuckled softly. “No, thank you, Auntie Xin. I actually do have something to do.” Then his gaze returned to Yan Xi’s face. “I hope there’ll be another chance.”
Yan Xi stared at him coldly for a few seconds. “I’ll walk you out.”
Gao Jiming didn’t mind being shown the door at all. Instead, he smiled with pressed lips. “Alright.”
They walked out together. Gao Jiming said his goodbyes to Grandfather Yan and the others. Da Pang and Xiao Pang, won over by his games, were already asking when he’d come again, only to be scolded by the adults.
Anzhi watched their retreating figures with a heavy heart. In her memory, Yan Xi always appeared alone, or with family, or with her. She had never seen Yan Xi walking together with a man.
This Gao Jiming was different from Liao Chengyu. He stirred up many emotions in Yan Xi, could even distract her. Just now, Yan Xi hadn’t looked at her, hadn’t said a single word to her. Even though she was right there, Yan Xi hadn’t seen her.
Anzhi stood there, feeling lost.
Liu Yiyi saw it all and could only sigh.
Yan Xi walked Gao Jiming to where his car was parked, then said, “If there’s nothing important in the future, you don’t need to come to my home.”
“That unwelcoming?” Gao Jiming smiled faintly.
“What exactly do you want?” Yan Xi raised an eyebrow.
“I want to win you back.” He spoke without the slightest hesitation.
Yan Xi paused, turning her face to the side, revealing the elegant white of her neck. “The past is already past.”
“I wanted to come find you last month, but there were so many matters with the house and the company. And Grandfather had just had surgery—I knew you must be having a hard time…”
“Yan Xi, I’m back. I’m never leaving again.”
“Why would you think I’d definitely agree? You don’t think I’ve been single all these years waiting for you, do you?” Yan Xi glanced back at him. Her eyes were calm.
Gao Jiming knew this question had to be answered carefully. “How could I dare think that? I admit, I was surprised when I found out you were single. And pleased.”
“I’m telling you, you might not believe it, but after Alex called off our engagement, I didn’t have any other relationships. There were people around me, but I never felt moved. No one ever made my heart race the way you did, or ache the way you did.”
Gao Jiming had always known how to say romantic things. In the days when they were together, Yan Xi had been swept away by his tenderness and devotion.
When he spoke, his eyes would gaze at you, drawing you imperceptibly into his world, making you believe everything and be moved by it.
Yan Xi’s heart trembled slightly at the word “ache.” Ripples appeared in her eyes.
“I was a fool for waiting until now to come back,” he said, his gaze steady. “I will prove it to you with my actions. I’ll make you accept me again.”
When Yan Xi entered the dining room, everyone had already started eating. Grandfather Yan waved her over, and Yan Xi sat down beside him.
“Auntie, could Uncle Gao be our uncle?” Da Pang asked.
“Mm, he seems pretty nice,” Xiao Pang chimed in.
At these words, the adults around the table had different reactions.
Anzhi’s hand holding her bowl trembled.
Yan Yidong, sitting across from Yan Xi, scolded, “You two, stop talking so much! And… hmph! I haven’t forgiven that Gao Jiming yet!”
Beside him, Yan Dasao was feeding Junjun. “You tell the children not to talk so much, but aren’t you talking too much yourself?”
Yan Yidong: “…”
Da Pang and Xiao Pang watched their father get put in his place, covering their mouths and giggling.
“Jiming has grown more steady over the years,” Grandfather Yan suddenly remarked. As soon as he spoke, the older children fell into thought. Anzhi set down her bowl.
But Da Pang, spotting an opportunity, piped up cleverly, “Great-grandfather, you think Uncle Gao could be our uncle too, right?”
“Ugh, Da Pang, you’re so annoying. Do you even have a girlfriend yourself?” Liu Yiyi glanced worriedly at Anzhi and spoke up.
Da Pang was about to answer proudly, but the parents he’d just been bickering with both shot him interrogating looks. The enormous pressure made him shut his mouth, and he even took an elbow from Xiao Pang beside him.
Yan Yinan, diagonally across the table, was only focused on sending WeChat messages, completely ignoring the dinner conversation. But when he caught the tail end of “girlfriend,” he stared at his phone screen and raised his hand. “I have a girlfriend. The best, most beautiful girlfriend in the world.”
“Hey… Doctor Yu is great, but calling her the most beautiful might be stretching it?” Liu Yiyi lifted her chin.
Yan Yinan glared at her. “She’s the most beautiful in my eyes.”
Liu Yiyi glared right back until Yan Yixi beside her put a piece of beef in her bowl with his chopsticks. She shrugged and let it go.
The dining room was lively and warm. Grandmother Yan, however, wasn’t fully present. She lowered her porridge spoon and asked Grandfather Yan quietly, “Who is Jiming?”
Grandfather Yan asked gently, “Is the porridge too hot?” He touched the edge of the bowl. “It’s fine. Would you like some pickled vegetables?”
In Yan Xi’s memory, Grandfather Yan and Grandmother Yan had always had white hair. In recent years, it had gone completely white and thinned considerably. Their legs weren’t as nimble, their movements slower.
Yan Xi had been about to say something, but watching them, she couldn’t get a single word out. A long sigh rose from within her, her heart twisting into a knot.
“Oh, I remember now. It’s Xiao Wu’s boyfriend.” Grandmother Yan’s gentle, slightly clouded eyes swept across the dining table. She paused at the seat behind the dining room, then swept back, studying Yan Xi carefully before recognizing her. “Xiao Wu, Grandma almost forgot.”
Yan Xi looked at her face, pressing her lips together. In the end, she couldn’t object.
Before long, the dinner table had moved on from this topic, chattering about something else. Yan Xi lowered her head and poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks. She frowned, about to prop her chin on her hand, but stopped herself abruptly.
She hadn’t heard Anzhi speak since the beginning. She searched for her with her eyes.
Anzhi sat there quietly. In the lamplight, the young girl kept her head down, her soft lashes lowered. All around her, voices rose and fell in lively chatter, but she alone remained silent against that backdrop.
For the past two years, Yan Xi’s relationship with Anzhi hadn’t been in a good state. Sometimes Anzhi would act spoiled and playful with her, sometimes give her the cold shoulder, sometimes be very well-behaved and considerate. She could never quite grasp her emotions in time.
But in this moment, she felt Anzhi’s loneliness keenly—and something else, something heavy…
Yan Xi’s heart stung without warning. She was about to call her name when Anzhi suddenly pulled the plate in front of her. Then Yan Xi watched her pick up a large piece of green chili pepper and stuff it into her mouth.
Yan Xi froze.
She watched as Anzhi’s eyes teared up from the heat. She gasped, stuck out her tongue, covered her mouth, and stood up, fleeing the dining room.
Yan Xi’s heart ached fiercely. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
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