Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 27

Beginning to Grow Up (Part 2)

Liu Yiyi wasn’t one to bicker with Anzhi anyway. She had other things on her mind. “My Mom calls me every single day, telling me to go on blind dates. Aren’t international calls expensive?! I went, but what kind of crooked melons and split dates¹ were they?”

“Sigh, have you noticed? Good men are practically extinct these days. The second they have a tiny bit of ability, their tails stick up to the sky²! A monthly salary of ten thousand in Beicheng City is just barely above comfortable, right? But he was as smug as if he were making a million a month! I was afraid if I took out my salary card³, it would scare him into fainting dead away⁴!!”

“And another thing! Being poor is one thing, but at least pay some attention to your appearance! He’s just past thirty and already has a potbelly! There’s simply no medicine that can save it⁵!”

Once Liu Yiyi’s conversation box opened⁶, it was simply without end, without finish⁷. Seeing her words get more and more out of line, Yan Xi shot her a look.

Liu Yiyi didn’t hold back. “What’s the big deal! Anzhi is already 12! Elementary schoolers are dating now! Isn’t that right, Anzhi?”

Hearing this, Yan Xi looked over at Anzhi.

Anzhi was playing on her phone. Caught off guard by the question, she didn’t react in time. “Ah?”

“What ‘ah’? Tell us, is there a boy you like?”

“Ah?” Anzhi was dumbfounded.

“Logically speaking, your classmates are all older than you, right? Our Anzhi is so pretty, there must be boys chasing you.”

Anzhi didn’t know how to answer that question.

“She’s still young, don’t talk to her about this stuff.”

“Mhm, she is still young, but this stuff needs to be said! Otherwise, Little Anzhi will be silly and not understand anything, only knowing how to study. Hmph, she’ll turn out just like Yan Yixi.”

Liu Yiyi’s daily topics were complaining about men, complaining about work, and complaining about other people’s fashion. No matter how the topic diverged, it would always circle back to the problem of Yan Yixi.

“You know what? Every time I go on a blind date, I send the time and place to Yan Yixi. I’m always hoping he’ll show up, just like in that movie 《A Chinese Odyssey》⁸, that my dream lover will ride a seven-colored auspicious cloud⁹ to come and save me! But every single time, that message is like a stone sinking into the great sea¹⁰. The most he’ll ever send back is an ‘oh’!”

“Oh my ass! Would it kill him to type a few more words besides ‘oh’?!”

“I’m really! I’m really…” Liu Yiyi had been speaking, her chest filled with righteous indignation¹¹, but she suddenly choked up.

“I’m really…” Her eyes, framed with exquisite eyeliner, suddenly turned red.

Yan Xi reached out and pressed her shoulder, comforting her in silence.

Anzhi was a little dazed. She had never seen Liu Yiyi like this. She was a person with such a vivacious personality, so dazzlingly beautiful, yet this was the first time she had revealed such a vulnerable expression.

Anzhi looked over at Yan Xi again. Her long lashes were slightly lowered; she seemed to understand the reason for Liu Yiyi’s sadness. And with the tacit understanding of old friends, she didn’t try to console her with words, only listening and accompanying her in silence.

Anzhi felt that Auntie Liu must really, really like Second Uncle Yan. But isn’t liking someone supposed to be a happy thing?

In her first year of junior high, she entered an unfamiliar learning environment. Unlike elementary school, her classmates were all two or three years older than her, and she was no longer constantly surrounded by a group of little friends.

And it was true that many people were getting boyfriends and girlfriends. Once, during the inter-class exercises¹², Anzhi went to the girls’ restroom and saw a male and female classmate from her class, fiercely gnawing on each other’s mouths.

It stunned her.

They were wearing their school uniforms, holding each other tightly. They didn’t even care that they’d been seen. The boy just pulled the shy girl along, tossed out a “Don’t you dare tell the teacher,” and left.

Then there was Chen Muqi and that Auntie Xu from earlier, who looked like they couldn’t wait to stick to each other. Although both scenes were spicy eyes¹³, they seemed pretty happy? But it was different for Auntie Liu. How many faces did this so-called “love” really have?

At dusk, the entire sky was a warm orange, the edges of the clouds singed with purple.

Yan Xi drove Liu Yiyi’s Audi convertible at a leisurely pace. A cool breeze was blowing; it was the most comfortable time of day in the summer. Yan Xi was wearing a sleeveless chiffon¹⁴ top, her slender, fair arms resting steadily on the steering wheel. From time to time, she would glance in the rearview mirror at Anzhi, who was riding her bike behind them.

Yan Xi smiled. Even though she’s grown taller, she’s still a little kid, putting stickers on her bike and wiping it down every day after riding. So cute. You could tell from a very young age that she was very sentimental. That little rabbit toy I bought her at KFC back then is still on her bedside table. When she likes something, she really, really likes it. She’ll look at it with those joyous, pure eyes, her dimples so deep.

“I really can’t believe it, she’s a big kid now!” Liu Yiyi was also watching Anzhi from the other rearview mirror.

“Mhm, when she started her first year of junior high, she suddenly shot up. You know, when she was little, she was often afraid she wouldn’t grow tall and would start crying nose¹⁵,” Yan Xi’s eyes held a smile. “Sigh… she was so tiny back then, super cute. Holding her was like holding a cloud, but a cloud with warmth. She had little hands and feet, so soft to pinch, and she would hook onto you, grabbing you and not letting go…”

Yan Xi’s long hair was lightly curled. It was tousled by the summer night breeze, and a strand flew up. She shook her head slightly, still smiling, a tenderness in her voice that couldn’t be concealed. “Sometimes she was very clingy, too. When I made her sleep by herself, there were several nights when I’d wake up and find her crawling up to my bedside, clutching the quilt and sleeping just like that. I’d have no choice but to carry her back. She’s so big now, I probably can’t carry her anymore, sigh…”

Liu Yiyi stared at her with a strange look. “Yan Xi… you’re a loli-con¹⁶, aren’t you?”

Liu Yiyi, who spent her years lurking on Jinjiang¹⁷, felt her mind whirring. She pointed at her. “Now the loli has grown up, turned into a young maiden, so the magic has disappeared? Xiao Wu! Could it be you’re a Ji-person¹⁸? A Ji-person who has ideas about little kids?”

“Liu Shu¹⁹! What are you saying!” Yan Xi nearly swerved the car. “You’re speaking nonsense!”

“Otherwise, why haven’t you gone on blind dates all these years? Why haven’t you dated? At first, it might have been because you couldn’t forget Gao Jiming, but what have you been doing these past few years, just treading water?”

“There’s only one explanation—you turned Ji²⁰!”

“What are you even talking about? What Jinjiang, what Ji? Pfft, what’s going on in your head?”

“Aiya! Look at me! Why don’t we do Ji²¹ together? It’s a popular baihe theme on Jinjiang, too! The aunt and sister-in-law pairing!” Liu Yiyi said with a cheeky smile.

“Shameless! Since when did you become my sister-in-law!” Yan Xi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Could your skin get any thicker!”

Liu Yiyi was amused by her own antics. She burst out laughing. “Hahaha! If I wasn’t absolutely sure I have no interest in women, Xiao Wu, we might have really gotten together.”

Yan Xi shot her a sidelong glance. “Even if you really did like women, what makes you so sure I’d get together with you?”

“Ah?! Xiao Wu! What’s not to like about me! An honorable older sister²²! A mature woman, okay! You really are a loli-con!”

Yan Xi felt like she was about to be spun dizzy by her. “What nonsense are you speaking! Don’t joke about Taotao!”

“Aiya, Taotao, Taotao, you only have Taotao in your heart!”

“…”

Liu Yiyi’s unbridled laughter scattered all along the road.

Anzhi, riding behind them, couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she smiled too. It looks like Auntie Liu is okay now…

Liu Yiyi finally managed to stop laughing, dabbing the corner of her eye. “Reserved²³, reserved! My eye cream costs several thousand, you know!”

Yan Xi silently peeked at her.

“Hey, about Little Anzhi’s biological dad… he’s a scoundrel, but at least he gives her living expenses, right?”

Yan Xi nodded. “Mhm, I’ve saved it all up for her. When she’s a bit older, I’ll open a household registration²⁴ and get a card for her.”

“What? So you’re saying you’ve been raising her all these years?”

Yan Xi didn’t deny it. “It doesn’t cost much.”

“How could it not cost much?” Although Liu Yiyi earned a lot, her work required her to frequently fly between Milan, New York, and London for various fashion weeks. She was a bona fide shopaholic, so she basically didn’t have much money left over each month.

Putting other things aside, just Anzhi’s clothes alone—most of them were bought by Yan Xi through her. Liu Yiyi would see something nice, snap a picture for her, and if Yan Xi liked it, she’d have her buy it. That expense alone was considerable, not to mention hiring a nanny, food, daily necessities, and other miscellaneous costs.

Just thinking about it made Liu Yiyi feel that Yan Xi was a true tycoon²⁵!

“Hey, what about Little Anzhi’s biological mom? Has she contacted her? Does she know Anzhi is with you?”

“I don’t know if she knows or not. Anyway, she hasn’t contacted me. Her original number stopped working as soon as she went abroad. When Anzhi first came to me, I tried to ask around for her contact information, but not a single one of our old classmates knew it.”

Liu Yiyi was amazed. “That woman is truly ruthless! People say mother and daughter’s hearts are connected. Even though I find my Mom incredibly annoying, if I don’t call her for a month, I feel like something is missing! Tsk tsk, Tao Zhenzhen’s heart must be made of iron²⁶.”

For a moment, Yan Xi didn’t speak. She slowed the car, watching Anzhi in the rearview mirror.

“Maybe she was afraid of her own heart growing soft. As long as there’s contact, there’s a possibility of a soft heart, and then all her previous efforts would fall short of success by one basket of earth²⁷,” Yan Xi said faintly.

Liu Yiyi glanced at her sideways. “Oh…”

Yan Xi clearly didn’t want to continue this topic. She slowed down again, waiting for Anzhi to catch up, and said to her, “Hurry up and get in the car.”

“But I still want to… ri…”

“Then I’m not waiting for you…”

“…Okay…” Anzhi pouted.

“Just put the bike in your Auntie Liu’s back seat…”

Liu Yiyi, who had been watching from the side, cried out, “Hey… I just had my car washed, okay!”

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The author has something to say:

I wrote a few hundred words of thoughts, then deleted them again.

Thank you everyone for subscribing. The ten-day consecutive update mission is complete. Starting tomorrow, I have to go move bricks²⁸. Future updates are not guaranteed. Thank you to the little angels²⁹ who threw an overlord ticket³⁰ or irrigated with nutrient solution³¹ for me~

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