That “Bad” Woman Next Door – Chapter 18

A Couple’s Relationship, Huh.

Yu Xi was just about to step into her home when, unexpectedly, Yuan Yue suddenly came to her senses and ran over to grab her. “What is it?”

Yuan Yue’s face was still red, and she fidgeted shyly. “We might be going home to stay for a couple of days, so remember to bring a change of clothes.”

“Going home?” Yu Xi mulled over the words, the smile on her lips deepening. “Alright, I got it.”

Yuan Yue thought of that chaste kiss from just now, bit her lower lip, and as if she had made up her mind, stood on her tiptoes and quickly planted a kiss on Yu Xi’s forehead. “Returning this to you. You get some rest too. Good night!”

Not waiting to see Yu Xi’s reaction, Yuan Yue covered her burning face and ran back home, slamming the door shut with a bang.

So embarrassing.

In the quiet room, she could even hear her own heartbeat. Yuan Yue waited for her emotions to calm down a bit before picking up her phone to call Yuan Xi. “Ge¹, I’m bringing someone home tomorrow.”

Yuan Xi: “Who are you bringing? A boyfriend?”

Yuan Yue: “What boyfriend… It’s Yu Xi! My neighbor, the one you had dinner with last time.”

“Oh, so it’s her.” Yuan Xi’s tone was a little disappointed, but he didn’t really mind. “Sure, bring her then.”

Although Yuan Xi didn’t object, Yuan Yue still gave a simple explanation: “She’s all alone in the country and pretty lonely, so I wanted to bring her to our home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival² with us. I just wanted to let you know.”

Yuan Xi expressed his understanding, set a time with her to head home the next morning, and nagged her a bit more not to forget.

Yuan Yue readily agreed. After hanging up, she hummed a song cheerfully and went to take a shower.

Before bed, she sent Yu Xi a WeChat³ message, reminding her of the departure time for the next morning.

【Yu Xi: Okay, I’ll come get you when I’m up tomorrow morning.】

An instant reply.

Yuan Yue suppressed her delight and closed her eyes, completely satisfied.

Afraid of traffic, Yuan Xi had arranged to leave with them at seven in the morning. Yuan Yue and Yu Xi were already prepared, but before they left, Yuan Xi called to say that the two kids at home were throwing a tantrum, so his departure might be delayed.

Yuan Yue had already bought a car, and since she had Yu Xi for company this time, Yuan Xi didn’t want them to wait too long. He said, “Your saozi⁴ is still dressing Xiao Xi and Xiao Mi. You two go on ahead, no need to wait for us.”

“Alright, you guys take your time.” Yuan Yue hung up and turned to Yu Xi. “My ge has something to take care of. Let’s go ahead.”

Yu Xi, considerate of the fact that Yuan Yue was on her great aunt⁵ and not feeling well, volunteered to drive, and Yuan Yue didn’t argue.

As they were putting their packed luggage in the trunk, Yuan Yue noticed Yu Xi had an extra item. She glanced over and saw it was a tea set. “What are you bringing this for?” she asked curiously.

“I can’t just go to your home empty-handed and freeload, can I? I don’t know what your parents like, and it was too last-minute for me to prepare anything, so I went to the mall last night and bought a tea set for them,” Yu Xi said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

So it was a gift for her parents, and one she had gone out to buy late last night. Yuan Yue was very moved, feeling that Yu Xi was incredibly thoughtful. She, their own daughter, hadn’t even prepared a gift for her parents. The thought made her feel quite ashamed.

After closing the trunk, Yuan Yue thought for a moment, then turned to Yu Xi and said, “Don’t be so polite with me in the future.”

Yu Xi just smiled nonchalantly. “It’s my first time meeting your parents. I should be a little polite.”

“Just this once, then.”

“Alright… I’ll listen to you.”

The two got into the car from opposite sides. Yu Xi had no trouble driving Yuan Yue’s new, domestically-produced Volkswagen, handling it steadily as she followed Yuan Yue’s directions from the city toward the county town.

Yuan Yue had thought the traffic would be better since they left early, but it wasn’t. They were stuck for over an hour just getting from their apartment to the highway. Yuan Yue waited so long she couldn’t help but yawn, her eyes watering. She heard the person beside her ask, “Didn’t you sleep well again last night?”

Feeling it was a bit unseemly, Yuan Yue covered her mouth with her hand. “I was too excited, so I had a little trouble sleeping.”

“What were you thinking about that got you so excited?” Since they were at a complete standstill, Yu Xi’s attention shifted from the road to Yuan Yue, a smile playing on her lips.

Yuan Yue’s gaze flickered. She lowered her hand from her mouth and said vaguely, “Nothing, it’s just… I haven’t seen my parents in a long time, so I’m a little excited.”

The real reason was actually because of Yu Xi’s kiss…

Yuan Yue didn’t know why such an innocent kiss had such a strong aftereffect. It was clearly just a touch like a dragonfly skimming the water’s surface⁶, yet she’d thought about it for a long, long time. She thought about how she’d shamelessly kissed Yu Xi back, how Yu Xi had thoughtfully taken care of her last night, rubbing her stomach, how they had lain so close together in the same bed… The thoughts made her whole body flush with heat, her heart like an ape and her mind like a horse⁷, unable to sleep for the longest time.

Being excited to see her parents was understandable, but was there any need to blush? Yu Xi watched as her small face went from pale to pink, and finally to the color of a tomato, feeling rather puzzled.

Yuan Yue was blushing for a good while before she realized Yu Xi was watching her. That gaze held confusion, curiosity, and a trace of unconcealed affection. She froze, feeling as if her face was about to burst into flames. She straightened her back and demanded unreasonably, “What are you looking at?”

“You,” Yu Xi said softly, her gaze softening.

Yuan Yue was suddenly overcome with a feeling of restlessness. Her heart sped up, and her breathing grew shallow.

Seeing her face redden another shade, Yu Xi really couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it. It was hot and soft.

“…What are you doing!” Yuan Yue yelped as if she’d been shocked. Not knowing why she felt so flustered, she craned her neck to look around. They were completely boxed in by cars. Her eyes darted around and unexpectedly met the gaze of a person in the car to their left. She sucked in a sharp breath.

Yu Xi noticed the change in her expression and followed her gaze. She, too, saw a woman in the car to their left, staring at them with wide eyes.

At first, the woman was staring intently at Yuan Yue. When she noticed Yu Xi looking at her, her gaze shifted to Yu Xi, and her expression instantly became a kaleidoscope of emotions: surprise, anger, sadness… Her complicated gaze roamed back and forth between Yuan Yue’s and Yu Xi’s faces, making no attempt to hide her feelings. She just leaned against the window, watching them without blinking, until the man in the driver’s seat said, “Wenya, what are you spacing out for? I’m talking to you.”

Yuan Yue had never imagined she would run into Sun Wenya on the highway. What was even more unfortunate was that Sun Wenya had seen the moment Yu Xi ambiguously touched her face.

Life was truly full of dog blood⁸ at every turn.

From her angle, Yuan Yue couldn’t see the face of the man in the driver’s seat clearly, but she guessed it must be Sun Wenya’s husband, Xu Kai.

The man didn’t seem to have noticed them, so only Sun Wenya had seen the interaction between her and Yu Xi. The heat on Yuan Yue’s face slowly faded, and she didn’t look away from Sun Wenya’s gaze.

Hasn’t Sun Wenya always misunderstood the situation between me and Yu Xi? Seeing us together, and that ambiguous touch to the face… she can finally give up all hope and stop pestering me, right? Yuan Yue thought, a little selfishly.

Once Sun Wenya’s eyes were completely filled with disappointment, Yuan Yue hardened her heart and looked away. Only then did she realize that Yu Xi was still turned to the side, also watching Sun Wenya. Her heart tightened, and she tugged on Yu Xi’s sleeve. “What are you looking at?”

Yu Xi turned back, her beautiful face betraying no emotion. Her voice was calm. “Oops. Looks like someone saw us.”

Yuan Yue could feel Sun Wenya’s burning gaze still fixed on them. At this distance, their conversation was probably perfectly audible. Her expression remained impassive as she said, as much to herself as for Sun Wenya to hear, “So what if she saw? It’s not like we’ve done anything to feel guilty about.”

The look in Yu Xi’s eyes changed subtly. Her red lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something but held back.

Before Yuan Yue could decipher the emotion in that look, the car in front of them started to move.

Someone behind them honked. Yu Xi faced forward, started the car, and moved on. She stepped hard on the gas, putting distance between their car and Sun Wenya’s. Only after they were a good ways ahead did she slow to a steady speed. Her long, slender fingers gripping the steering wheel, she asked, seemingly without thinking, “That woman just now, was that your ex-girlfriend?”

Yuan Yue stared at her elegant profile in astonishment. “You figured that out???”

Yu Xi kept her eyes on the road, her lips pursed in what looked like a casual smile. “That man called her name just now; I heard it. Plus, the way she looked at you… it was quite something. And when she looked at me, there seemed to be hostility? It was the same hostility from the phone call that night. So, I guessed.”

Yuan Yue had mentioned Sun Wenya’s name to Yu Xi the night she was drunk. She hadn’t expected Yu Xi to actually remember. “You have a great memory.”

Yu Xi was noncommittal. After a pause, she said, “The way she looks at you is… off.”

“How so?”

“You can tell she still cares about you.”

“So what if she cares? You saw that man just now, right? His name is Xu Kai, and he’s her husband. No matter what she’s thinking about me now, it’s impossible between us in this lifetime.” Yuan Yue’s face was completely blank as she said this; even she was shocked by her own coldness.

Perhaps because she spoke so lightly, with the indifference of someone talking about a complete stranger, Yu Xi spared a glance at her. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Has she called you recently?”

Yuan Yue watched the slow-moving traffic outside the window and said listlessly, “No calls, but she did come to the shop looking for me the other day.”

“What for?”

Yuan Yue hadn’t expected Yu Xi to be so interested in Sun Wenya. Her gaze shifted back to Yu Xi’s face, but she couldn’t detect anything unusual… After a moment of thought, she recounted the events of the day Sun Wenya had come to find her.

“We’ve talked on the phone, we’ve met in person, and I’ve said so many nasty things to her. She probably won’t come looking for me again, right?” she muttered to herself.

Yu Xi frowned. “Hard to say.”

“Hm?” If Sun Wenya showed up again, Yuan Yue really wouldn’t know what to do.

This wasn’t something Yu Xi should get involved in, but thinking about Sun Wenya’s inexplicable hostility toward her and the way Sun Wenya looked at Yuan Yue, she felt a little unsettled. After a moment of contemplation, she said to Yuan Yue, “If she comes looking for you again, just tell her about our relationship.”

“You and I… what relationship is that?” Yuan Yue had a feeling the answer wasn’t as simple as “friends.”

The traffic ahead came to another halt. Yu Xi had to brake. Once the car was stopped, she turned her head to look at Yuan Yue, her eyes smiling and her voice alluring. “A couple’s relationship, of course.”

Yuan Yue was stunned. “We… When did we become a couple?!”

I clearly didn’t agree that night…

Or did I lose my memory???

Yu Xi rested a hand on the steering wheel, propping her chin up with the other. She looked at Yuan Yue lazily, a meaningful smile on her face. “We’re about to go home and meet the parents. If we’re not a couple, what else could we be?”

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