The winter morning brightened later than usual, but the waking time remained unchanged.
Amid the gentle music, a hand stretched out from under the covers, grabbed the phone, and then the dim room was filled only with the hum of the air conditioner.
After a while, Su Yao had no choice but to crawl out of her warm bed.
She lazily stretched and yawned.
Last night, she had an awkward conversation with Mu Nanqiu that lasted until late.
Calling it awkward wasn’t entirely accurate, since every now and then they’d pull out a photo to spark a new topic.
Then, lost in Mu Nanqiu’s constant praise of “Yao Yao, you’re amazing! Yao Yao, you’re so incredible!”, Su Yao didn’t realize it was already 2:30 a.m. when she finally went to sleep.
“So tired.”
Rubbing her eyes, irritated from lack of rest, they felt swollen and dry, unable to open fully.
So Su Yao half-closed her eyes as she got out of bed.
The room was gloomy; the only light came from her phone.
If you looked closely at the dark curtains, you’d see tiny bright spots.
Curious about the outside, Su Yao walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain.
The glass was covered in countless droplets, each one sliding down and taking other droplets along, leaving long streaks behind.
The air conditioner was still on, maintaining the temperature difference inside and out, causing these droplets to keep forming.
She pushed the window open just a crack and stared outside, lost in thought.
The sky was free of clouds, a rare, bright, clear day—her mood matched the clarity.
Though the weather was bright, the temperature remained low.
The cold seeped in through the narrow gap, making Su Yao shiver.
She quickly closed the window.
Since becoming a girl, her grooming routine took much longer.
With Mu Nanqiu around, Su Yao cared more about her image than before, spending more time on these things just to avoid appearing sloppy to Mu Nanqiu.
Luckily, she didn’t have to worry about skin care or maintenance—things she didn’t understand and avoided because of the cost.
All she needed was to dress neatly and smooth her hair.
Nothing more, right?
Suddenly remembering something, Su Yao ran to the bedside table and rummaged through it.
“This one? Or this one?”
Standing before the full-length mirror, she looked at two coats in her hands.
They were similar in style but different colors.
Unable to decide, she picked the “lucky coat”—the one she touched would be the one she wore.
A black coat paired with light denim jeans; many girls would dress like this sometimes.
But on Su Yao, these clothes looked a bit loose—they were all old clothes… old clothes that now felt big.
That was strange, right?
Su Yao was troubled by this.
She had thought about buying some clothes, but shopping was expensive, especially for women’s wear.
Fortunately, she found some affordable options online and ordered them, but they were still en route, so she couldn’t wear them out yet.
Looking at the extra balance on her phone, Su Yao was unusually happy.
Yun Qing had dropped a lot of gold coins.
With this extra money, she finally dared to spend.
And today was the day she and Mu Nanqiu planned to go out and shop!
Feeling a little down, Su Yao checked her pocket.
Yesterday’s delay had kept the gift she wanted to give Mu Nanqiu still in her hands.
Today, she must make sure it reached Mu Nanqiu.
After making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, Su Yao left the room.
Walking downstairs, she glanced at her phone again.
It was 7:40 a.m., nearly twenty minutes before their scheduled meeting.
The place was close—just a three to five-minute walk.
Last time, Mu Nanqiu had lingered too long by the road at the neighborhood entrance and got fined for illegal parking.
When Su Yao found out, she felt really bad and wanted Mu Nanqiu not to have to pick her up, but Mu Nanqiu refused.
After some back and forth, they found a compromise.
If parking here was illegal, they’d park somewhere else.
There had to be a spot.
So, they parked on the old Commercial Street beside the neighborhood.
Because there were few shops and almost no foot traffic, parking was no problem.
Just after turning the corner, Su Yao saw Mu Nanqiu standing by the car, looking at her phone.
Soon, she received a message on QQ: Mu Nanqiu had arrived.
Su Yao pressed her lips together and quickened her pace.
The sound of her footsteps made Mu Nanqiu look up.
Only when she was about a meter away did Su Yao slow down and stop.
Her bright, sparkling eyes looked at Mu Nanqiu with a goofy smile.
“What’s up?”
Mu Nanqiu, seeing Su Yao so happy, asked with some curiosity, but Su Yao just smiled, tugging at the corners of her mouth.
After a moment’s inspection, Mu Nanqiu noticed something different.
Looking at Su Yao’s face, brighter than today’s sky, she cupped the slightly chubby cheeks teasingly.
“Yao Yao, how come you’re even cuter than yesterday? What’s different? Let me have a good look~”
“Um…”
Having been gently influenced by Mu Nanqiu, Su Yao was used to this face-cupping and pinching, but Mu Nanqiu’s words made her blush. She lowered her gaze, pursed her lips, and shyly said, “N-not really anything…”
“Oh! So it’s lipstick! No wonder.”
Mu Nanqiu teased Su Yao a little, but Su Yao, embarrassed by being called out so directly, lowered her head even more, resting it against Mu Nanqiu’s chest and softly asking,
“Does it look weird?”
“Not at all, it looks really good.”
Su Yao wasn’t confident in herself.
Hearing this, she looked up at Mu Nanqiu.
Her eyes were bright and clear, pure like a newborn.
Her skin was equally flawless, without a hint of dullness or blemishes—though occasional late nights gave her a slightly pale, sickly look.
The glossy lipstick on her lips created a strong contrast.
Mu Nanqiu saw a special potential in Su Yao and lowered her voice.
“Yao Yao, will you be my model?”
“Huh?”
Su Yao was momentarily caught off guard, stunned by this sudden idea.
Before she could respond, Mu Nanqiu changed the subject.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay! Okay! I don’t really understand modeling, but if you say ‘let’s go’, then I get it.”
Su Yao happily strode to the passenger seat.
Seeing that she already had Su Yao in her hands, Mu Nanqiu decided to start planning for the future.
Today was a day off, but Su Yao’s class was actually holding a Class Celebration to mark the successful completion of the performance.
Originally, there wasn’t supposed to be one, but recent troubles prompted Zhang Su to organize a relaxed gathering to smooth over past unpleasantness.
Yesterday’s performance wasn’t perfect, but at least it was completed.
Su Yao was considered a contributor, having been thrust into action and risen to the occasion.
She deserved public praise, but she declined, saying she had plans with Mu Nanqiu and skipped the whole class party.
Why?
She preferred just the two of them alone.
Or with her beautiful senior, totally awesome!
Then, Mu Nanqiu drove to the hospital parking lot.
Before getting out, Su Yao felt a solemn atmosphere.
Looking up at the hospital building, the oppressive feeling hit her instantly.
But why were they coming here?
“We’re here, get out.”
“S-senior… what are we doing here?”
At first, Su Yao didn’t realize the first stop today was the hospital.
She thought they’d head straight to a mall or a leisure spot.
She swallowed nervously.
Before she could hesitate further, Mu Nanqiu had already gone around to the passenger side, opened the door, and gave Su Yao a calm, gentle smile.
“Of course, it’s for a check-up.”
“Huh?”
At the mention of a check-up, Su Yao instinctively resisted, clutching her seatbelt tightly.
Although she never openly shared her secret, it wouldn’t be hard for Mu Nanqiu to find out the truth.
Su Yao had tested herself—it was genuine, the kind where bleeding happened—but that was just her subjective judgment.
She wasn’t entirely sure whether her physiology had undergone a drastic change.
Her eyes reddened as she looked at Mu Nanqiu with a hint of a sob.
Mu Nanqiu paused for a moment but didn’t push any further.
She leaned down to unbuckle the seatbelt, then stood upright, her beautiful eyes fixed on Su Yao, who refused to get out of the car.
They were both stuck for a moment.
Finally, Su Yao let go of the seatbelt.
Just as she was about to step out, Mu Nanqiu suddenly wrapped her arms around Su Yao’s legs, and with her other hand clasping behind Su Yao’s back, lifted her out of the car.
“We’re already here, so no backing out now!”
Mu Nanqiu smirked mischievously, carrying Su Yao, kicked the door shut with her foot, and headed to the elevator.
At the elevator, she said,
“Press the button.”
Only then did Su Yao realize she was being princess-carried.
Leaning against Mu Nanqiu’s chest, she wrapped her arms around her neck, and when she looked up, it was Mu Nanqiu’s face—her breath mingled with Mu Nanqiu’s, making her feel warm all over.
“Yao Yao?”
“Ah, okay, okay!”
Too focused on Mu Nanqiu’s profile, Su Yao froze, not moving.
Mu Nanqiu frowned playfully and glanced at the girl in her arms.
Startled, Su Yao hurriedly pressed the elevator’s up button.
Soon, the elevator arrived with many people inside, all staring at her… Why were they looking at me?
Glancing at the calm Mu Nanqiu, Su Yao suddenly understood.
She was being princess-carried!
To avoid their gazes, Su Yao quickly buried her face in Mu Nanqiu’s neck.
After they entered, before the elevator doors closed, a childish voice said,
“Mommy, mommy, why are those two big sisters hugging like that?”
“The sister being carried probably hurt her leg. Girls who are lively often hurt their legs. Baby, you must be a quiet good girl, okay?”
“Oh, I see! So the little sister’s leg was hurt by the big sister playing too much?”
The elevator doors shut. Pouting, Su Yao muttered gloomily to Mu Nanqiu,
“Senior, put me down. My leg’s fine.”