Climbing the stairs was an exhausting ordeal. After just a few flights, Su Yao couldn’t go any further. She stopped on the landing halfway up, took a brief rest, and only then continued upwards.
She lowered her head, watching as her feet stepped up each stair.
As she walked, she became a little absentminded.
Outside Su Yao’s front door, Mu Nanqiu was sitting on the suitcase, looking at something on her phone. When she heard movement in the stairwell, she put her phone away, stood up from the suitcase, walked to the side of the stairs, and peeked through the gap to look down.
Just in time, a fair, delicate hand was gripping the stair railing, inching its way up. Mu Nanqiu immediately knew it was her.
With a little time left, she wondered how she might give Su Yao a small surprise. Should she suddenly pop out, or do something else? Mu Nanqiu considered many ideas, but in the end, decided that simply waiting at the door for Su Yao to open it was best. Those flashy antics were for little girls. As the older one, elegance was her most captivating charm.
At this moment, Su Yao had already reached the landing just half a flight below her home. With all her attention on her feet, she didn’t notice Mu Nanqiu standing at the door watching her.
She felt a playful urge and took a step spanning two stairs at once.
Unfortunately, it seemed there wasn’t an even number of steps. On the last one, Su felt a bit off-balance.
She pouted, skipped up happily, and looked up—only to freeze in place. Mu Nanqiu was watching her with a gentle smile, her eyes fixed on Su Yao, making Su Yao feel extremely embarrassed.
Being seen acting so childish left Su Yao unable to face Mu Nanqiu. Feeling both ashamed and flustered, her words became a little tangled.
“Um… w-why are you here…”
“I was just worried about you being home alone. If you got sick, there’d be no one to take care of you, so I came. Yaoyao, you promised me, remember?”
Mu Nanqiu stood up from the wall where she’d been leaning, stepped aside to make room for Su Yao, and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. The tiny wheels made a bit of noise, pulling Su Yao from her daze. She glanced at the not-so-large suitcase and swallowed nervously.
“……”
Su Yao shyly walked to the door, took the keys from her pocket, but before inserting them into the lock, she glanced back at Mu Nanqiu, who was only half a meter behind, then quickly looked away again.
She hadn’t cleaned up her place. There were messy and dirty spots everywhere. If possible, she’d have gone back in time to last night just to tidy up properly.
Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen.
From the corner of her eye, Su Yao noticed Mu Nanqiu watching her, and heard Mu Nanqiu’s voice from behind.
“What’s wrong, Yaoyao?”
“N-no, it’s just that my house might be a little bit…”
“Oh? Then let’s tidy up together.”
“How about I… tidy up first?”
Mu Nanqiu narrowed her eyes, placed a hand on Su Yao’s shoulder, moved a bit closer, and whispered.
“Yaoyao doesn’t want me to come in, is that it?”
“Hah, no way! You’re more than welcome, I’d never say no!”
Su Yao couldn’t help but tremble a little, hurriedly jamming the key into the lock. Even after several tries and several deep breaths, she still didn’t get it in. Finally, she managed to insert it, turned the lock, and with two crisp clicks, the door opened.
Once the door was open, Su Yao was far less nervous than before.
What was the saying?
The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge.
Letting out a breath, Su Yao pushed open the door and stepped inside. This was her first time officially having a guest. She had no idea how to be a good host. She put on her only pair of fuzzy slippers. When she saw Mu Nanqiu enter the entryway, she realized she should probably offer her the slippers—but since she’d already worn them, Su Yao wasn’t foolish enough to do that.
“Just come in, it’s fine! Don’t worry about getting things dirty!”
She grinned and scratched her head awkwardly. When Su Yao saw Mu Nanqiu carrying the suitcase, she quickly darted over and grabbed it from her.
“I’ll take it, let me.”
Carrying the suitcase into the living room, Su Yao then had no idea what to do next. She stood there for a long moment before remembering that she should serve her guest a cup of hot water.
Yes, hot water!
Su Yao went to prepare some, leaving the suitcase sitting alone in the center of the living room. Halfway to the kitchen, she remembered and hurried back to pull the suitcase closer to the wall before searching for a cup. She filled it halfway at the water dispenser, added some room-temperature water, and handed it to Mu Nanqiu.
The whole time, Mu Nanqiu watched Su Yao’s flustered behavior, finding it utterly adorable.
Taking the water, she thanked Su Yao.
“Yaoyao, take a break for a bit. Later, help me bring the rest of my things up.”
“Ah?”
Su Yao blinked in surprise, and Mu Nanqiu explained.
“There’s still quite a bit left in the car. Sorry to trouble you, Yaoyao~”
“It’s no trouble at all, haha! Ask me for anything, it’s fine!”
As she spoke, Su Yao lifted her chin proudly, but quickly lowered it again, feeling shy.
“My place is a bit shabby. I don’t even have a single tea leaf.”
“I don’t really drink tea.”
“My home is small.”
“As long as the bed’s big enough, that’s all that matters.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
After a short break, Mu Nanqiu took Su Yao downstairs to bring up the rest of her things from the car. There weren’t actually that many—just some electronics—but the sight of them startled Su Yao a bit.
Now the question arose: which room should Mu Nanqiu stay in?
Su Yao’s apartment had three rooms and a living room. She lived in one. The other, the Master Bedroom, was empty, and there was a storage room. It was impossible to have her guest stay in the living room, and the storage room… Well, while it was a decent size and well-lit, it was crammed full of stuff and thick with dust—impossible to clean in any reasonable way.
So there was only one option left: the Master Bedroom.
Mu Nanqiu watched as Su Yao moved things out of that room and into the storage room one by one, looking a little surprised.
Once the two of them had finished tidying up the spacious Master Bedroom, Mu Nanqiu asked Su Yao,
“You’re really letting me stay here?”
“My place isn’t that big. If it’s too small for you, Nanqiu, the living room is yours.”
“Silly, am I the type to dislike a place for being too small?”
Mu Nanqiu tapped Su Yao on the head, making her droop. Then she reached out and rubbed her hair.
“Don’t worry. I’m not some delicate princess, I don’t have many demands. But—there are still some: Yaoyao has to take care of my three meals a day, and if you could help me with my laundry, that would be even better. I’ll handle all the expenses.”
“The air conditioner’s broken.”
Su Yao pressed the Remote Control several times with no response, then turned to look at Mu Nanqiu.