That “Bad” Woman Next Door – Chapter 12

Yuan Yue Suddenly Felt She Was Superfluous.

“For example, when I want to kiss you.”

While Yuan Yue was in a daze, Yu Xi leaned forward. She had originally intended to kiss her on the mouth, but she suddenly hesitated, tilted her head, and a light kiss landed on Yuan Yue’s cheek, lingering for a moment.

Yuan Yue’s eyes widened. Watching Yu Xi slowly approach and then slowly pull away, she was too surprised to even blush. “Wh-why did you suddenly kiss me?”

Yu Xi didn’t have the slightest bit of shame for having taken advantage of her. She met her gaze frankly and said, as if it were a matter of course, “To thank you.”

“Thank me for what?” Yuan Yue asked mechanically.

“Thank you for treating me to hot pot today.” Yu Xi tilted her head slightly, her smile bewitching. “And I was very moved when you said you’d accompany me just now.”

Yuan Yue felt like her brain wasn’t enough to process this. She blinked and asked, “Is this how people in Germany thank others?”

“Pfft——” Yu Xi hadn’t meant to laugh out loud, but the question was asked with such seriousness, with a kind of silly cuteness, that Yu Xi couldn’t keep a straight face. She stroked Yuan Yue’s somewhat dazed little face and said, unable to hold back her laughter, “No, it’s how I thank you.”

But after hearing this, Yuan Yue couldn’t smile.

If Yu Xi kissed her just to thank her, then what about last time? When she had a cold and treated Yu Xi to hot pot, although she had been the one who couldn’t control herself and kissed Yu Xi first, Yu Xi had quickly reversed the roles of guest and host and seized the initiative¹. That kiss was far more excessive than this one—so sticky, so ambiguous. Was that also out of gratitude?

Pushing her thoughts back even further, Yuan Yue remembered the pas-sion of that drunken night, and her heart darkened.

What did all of this mean to Yu Xi?

Every time, she thought Yu Xi was flirting with her, but every time, Yu Xi never gave a clear attitude. When Yu Xi said these things to her, her expression looked so serious, but upon careful thought, it was also so casual, as if she were just saying things without any need to be responsible for them.

In truth, these questions had puzzled Yuan Yue’s heart for a long time. To be honest, she didn’t like Yu Xi’s attitude of always sketching lightly and writing palely², but she couldn’t say it, couldn’t ask it, as if she were afraid of knowing the answer.

…

In the hot pot restaurant’s break room, Yuan Yue had been staring blankly at her WeChat³ page for half the day.

Ever since finishing hot pot that day and returning home feeling somewhat dejected, her heart had been unsettled. She had opened Yu Xi’s chat window several times but didn’t know what to talk about. She was frequently lost in thought, not even hearing when someone called her name.

Suddenly, her shoulder was tapped, and Yuan Yue whipped her head around.

Xiao Min looked at her, baffled. “What are you spacing out about? I’ve been calling you for ages.”

Yuan Yue flipped her phone face down on the table, tugged at the corners of her mouth, and said, “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about something.”

Xiao Min sat down across from her. Casually glancing at the phone on the table, her sharp eyes spotted something, and they lit up. “Yueyue, where did you buy this phone charm? It looks so special.”

Yuan Yue was using the latest model of the iPhone and was usually too lazy to even put a case on it, but now a small, cylindrical charm dangled from it—a small and exquisite human-shaped wood carving, a gift Yu Xi had given her a few days ago. The wood carving was only the size of a thumb. Yuan Yue thought it was quite fun, so she started using it as a phone charm.

Her fingers stroked the wood carving, and Yuan Yue couldn’t help but think of Yu Xi again.

That day, Yu Xi had said that she thought of her the moment she saw this thing, but Yuan Yue had studied this little trinket for half the day and, for the life of her, couldn’t see how it resembled her in any way.

A subtle feeling arose in her heart. She answered Xiao Min distractedly, “Someone gave it to me.”

“A boyfriend?” Xiao Min guessed boldly.

Yuan Yue shot her an annoyed glare. “Where would I get a boyfriend?”

“It’s not?” Seeing how she seemed to treasure it, Xiao Min gave her a look full of eight trigrams⁴ and winked, trying to get to the bottom of it. “Yueyue, have you fallen in love recently?”

“No way!” Yuan Yue retorted subconsciously. “Why would you ask that?”

Xiao Min’s eyeballs swiveled around, and she said with a grin, “If you’re not in love, why are you always holding your phone and spacing out? I’ve been watching you for a while now. One moment you’re giggling foolishly, the next you’re frowning with a worried face, like you’re waiting for someone’s message. If that’s not the state of being in love, what is?”

Yuan Yue was stunned by her words. Her emotions had been a bit up and down lately, but was it that obvious??? Yuan Yue hadn’t even noticed it herself. Feeling a bit guilty under Xiao Min’s scrutiny, her eyes flickered. She shot Xiao Min a look of feigned anger and said, “You’re thinking too much. There’s no boyfriend. A great beauty gave this to me.”

Xiao Min scoffed. Her desire to hear gossip instantly vanished. “It’s actually a beauty, how boring.”

Although Yuan Yue was one of the hot pot restaurant’s owners, she never put up shelves⁵, so she had a very harmonious relationship with the staff. Xiao Min was lively and outgoing, a chatterbox who loved to gossip, and she was the only one in the restaurant who dared to speak to Yuan Yue like this. Yuan Yue wasn’t annoyed, though. She gave her shoulder a push and said, “Stop gossiping during work hours. Hurry up and get back to work.”

The boss had spoken, so Xiao Min didn’t dare disobey. She shot up from her seat. As she was leaving, she noticed something and looked Yuan Yue up and down before whispering, “Let me be nosy one more time, Yueyue, you seem to have gained some weight recently. It’s time to go on a diet!”

Afraid of getting hit, Xiao Min grinned and was about to slip away, but Yuan Yue, with eyes swift and hands fast⁶, grabbed her. “Do you really think I’ve gotten fatter?”

Xiao Min looked her over again. Seeing her serious expression, she quickly wiped the smile off her face and rephrased her words tactfully. “Not really, it’s just that your face seems a little rounder recently. Just a tiny bit.” Fearing Yuan Yue would get angry, she even used her fingers to show a small measurement, adding emphasis.

Yuan Yue’s face fell.

“But you look really cute with a round face! You look just like that little person on your phone charm, super likable!” Xiao Min quickly added, thinking this would comfort Yuan Yue. It did not.

This was the second person to say she had gained weight. Yuan Yue had to re-examine her own weight. She let go of Xiao Min and turned to walk toward the kitchen.

The kitchen staff saw Yuan Yue and assumed she was there for a routine inspection, but Yuan Yue walked straight to a digital scale without a word and stepped onto it wearing her ten-centimeter-high heels. When she saw the number displayed on it, she sucked in a sharp breath.

50.33!

Even subtracting the weight of her heels, that was still fifty kilograms!

Heavens, how did she suddenly get so heavy!!!

Yuan Yue’s barefoot height was one meter sixty, neither tall nor short, so this weight was within the standard range. But she clearly remembered having a physical exam last year when her weight was just over ninety jin⁷. She never expected to have gained so much flesh in such a short time!!!

For Yuan Yue, who loved to pursue a slender figure, this was practically a thunderbolt from a clear sky⁸. She found it hard to believe, stepping on and off the scale several times to weigh herself repeatedly. Seeing that the number barely differed by a hair’s breadth, her face grew darker and darker.

Someone passed by, and Yuan Yue quickly grabbed them and asked, “Is this scale broken?”

The person glanced at the scale and said, “I don’t think so! This scale was just bought last month. It shouldn’t break that easily, right?”

Yuan Yue darkly rubbed and pinched the fat on her waist, finally forced to accept the fact that she had indeed gained weight.

She walked out of the kitchen, crestfallen.

As dinner time approached, Yuan Xi came over to Yuan Yue and said, “Your saozi⁹ is cooking personally tonight. Come back with me for dinner later.”

Yuan Yue waved her hand. “I’m not going. You guys eat by yourselves.” As she spoke, she started walking out of the restaurant. She had already called the 4S store¹⁰ to let them know she was coming to pick up her car today.

Yuan Xi called after her, “If you don’t eat dinner, what will you eat?”

“I don’t want to eat anything. I’m on a diet,” Yuan Yue said listlessly.

“A diet?” Yuan Xi found it strange. He looked her up and down but didn’t notice that she had gained any weight. Even if he had, in Yuan Xi’s aesthetic, he wouldn’t think anything of it. His own little sister was plump and cute; wasn’t this figure just right? He expressed his confusion, “Why go on a diet for no reason? Are you okay?”

How could she be okay? Yuan Yue felt like she had fallen ill again, but this time, it was an illness of the heart.

Ever since eating hot pot at Yu Xi’s house, Yuan Yue and Yu Xi had lost contact.

As for the reason they weren’t in contact, half of it was due to Yuan Yue’s own hang-ups.

Yuan Yue was still brooding over the kiss Yu Xi had called an act of gratitude. She knew she was drilling into the tip of a bull’s horn¹¹, that perhaps Yu Xi had just said it casually to lighten the mood, but she just couldn’t feel happy about it.

This unhappiness might also stem from Yu Xi’s consistent lack of initiative. Yuan Yue couldn’t stop herself from thinking, if Yu Xi were truly interested in her, how could she have saved her number and added her on WeChat, yet endure for so long without contacting her?

Yuan Yue had never been someone who liked to complicate things. She liked things to be simple, to do whatever made her happy. But this situation had truly depressed her these past few days. Her heart had suffered through torment, and she couldn’t figure it out no matter how long she thought about it.

Finally, she decided to just stop thinking about it.

She compromised.

What was the point of fussing over so much? Since Yu Xi was reserved and passive, then she would just take the offensive!

Yuan Yue’s mind suddenly opened up and became bright¹². After brewing on it for a long time, she finally mustered the courage to send Yu Xi a WeChat message.

【Yuan Yue: Are you home tonight?】

【Yu Xi: I am.】

Perfect!

Yuan Yue put her phone away, completely satisfied.

She had been refusing to eat dinner for the past few days to lose weight. Yuan Xi couldn’t persuade her otherwise, so he had no choice but to buy a pile of fruit for her to take home and eat at night. Yuan Yue figured that if Yu Xi liked vegetarian food, she probably liked fruit too. She carried two full bags of fruit home. Seeing the elevator doors about to close, she hurriedly shouted at the person inside, “Wait, wait, there’s still someone!”

The person in the elevator held the door for her.

Yuan Yue successfully squeezed in, placed the heavy bags of fruit on the floor, and said “thank you” to the person.

The person didn’t respond.

Yuan Yue reached out to press the button for her floor, only to see that her floor number was already lit up. It can’t be such a coincidence, can it? Did I run into another neighbor? she thought.

Yuan Yue couldn’t help but raise her eyes to look at the person, only to find that she was dressed very strangely.

Judging by her figure, she was a woman, dressed in designer brands from head to toe. The scent of perfume wafting from her was very unique and pleasant. The woman had a head of chestnut-colored big waves, and she wore a pair of exaggerated sunglasses that could cover half of her palm-sized face. Her nose was very straight, her lips were very sexy, and the vivid color of her lipstick made her skin look as white as snow.

Dressed in full gear like this in broad daylight, is it for sun protection, or is she afraid of being seen???

The more Yuan Yue looked, the stranger she found it, and she couldn’t help but take a few more glances. She didn’t seem to recall ever seeing this person. Besides Yu Xi, her other female neighbor certainly didn’t have such a good figure, nor was she this fair.

The person probably felt that Yuan Yue’s gaze was too brazen. She pushed up the sunglasses resting securely on her high nose bridge, took a few steps back, and simply hid herself in the corner.

Only then did Yuan Yue remember that this person hadn’t made a sound just now. So vigilant, as if she were truly afraid of being seen. She couldn’t keep staring at someone so impolitely, so she sheepishly withdrew her prying gaze.

With a “ding,” the elevator doors opened.

Yuan Yue’s hands were full with the heavy items, making it inconvenient for her. She had to make way and said to the woman in the corner, “After you.”

This time, the woman finally responded. She gave a slight nod and said a very soft “thank you.”

Her voice was quite pleasant.

The woman stepped gracefully out of the elevator in her stilettos, and Yuan Yue followed closely behind.

One person would definitely take a long time to eat this much fruit. Yuan Yue already had a plan in mind: keep one bag for herself and give one to Yu Xi.

Yu Xi was definitely home at this hour. Yuan Yue’s heart leaped with secret joy and anticipation. She couldn’t wait to drop one bag of fruit off at her own place; she wanted to find Yu Xi first. She walked in the direction of Yu Xi’s apartment, but as she walked, she froze.

The woman from the elevator had stopped in front of Yu Xi’s door. The woman first looked up at the door number to confirm, then raised her hand to ring the doorbell.

Yuan Yue stared blankly at the woman’s side profile, which, despite being half-hidden by sunglasses, still couldn’t conceal its stunning beauty. She hesitated, not moving forward.

A few seconds later, the door opened from the inside.

It was Yu Xi who opened the door.

Yuan Yue’s breath caught.

She saw Yu Xi say happily to the person, “You’re here,” her face breaking into a smile. She opened her arms and embraced the person in a deep hug…

At that moment, Yuan Yue suddenly felt she was superfluous.

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