“Worried about me? More like worried about saving their face, right? I’m an adult with two hands and two feet. Haven’t I gotten by all these years? What exactly is there for them to worry about?”

Luo Xingyue let out a cold laugh, her words dripping with disdain. Song Shanshan frowned deeply as she listened, and couldn’t help letting a touch of sternness creep into her tone:

“Luo Xiaoyue, how can you talk about your parents like that? They’re only concerned about you…”

“Concerned about me? If they really cared, they wouldn’t interfere in my life. Shanshan, if you asked me out just to talk about this, then let me save you the trouble: you can stop right now. After all these years of friendship, you should know that once I’ve decided something, I won’t change it because of a few words from anyone—not even you.”

“Precisely because we’ve been friends for so many years, there are things I have to say. This really is you—”

“Ow, ow!”

Just as the air between Song Shanshan and Luo Xingyue was growing tense, Su Xiaobu suddenly clutched her stomach and groaned, instantly drawing both their gazes.

Borrowing the interruption, Song Shanshan took a few deep breaths to steady herself. Luo Xingyue’s expression also smoothed over at once. She turned to Su Xiaobu and asked with a trace of concern:

“Xiaobu, what’s wrong?”

Su Xiaobu hugged her belly with both hands, a hint of embarrassment on her face. Blushing, she whispered:

“I wolfed down that sundae, then took a few sips of hot coffee… I think it messed up my stomach… No, I… I need the restroom…”

She wriggled in her seat and sprang up from the booth, hurrying to leave—only for Luo Xingyue to yank her back with a single word:

“Come back!”

Su Xiaobu stopped, helplessly, and stamped her foot, face anxious.

“What now, oh great ancestor? Ever heard of nature’s three urgencies?”

Luo Xingyue stood as well, grabbed a napkin from the table, and wiped the cream and coffee smudge at the corner of Su Xiaobu’s mouth. She then smoothed the wrinkles from Su Xiaobu’s dress, stuffed a packet of tissues into her hand, and chided her with mock annoyance:

“Who’s your ancestor? How can a young lady be so sloppy? This isn’t home—mind your image. And take this pack of tissues, just in case. The restroom is down the hall, turn right. Go on.”

With Xingyue’s permission granted, Su Xiaobu darted off at a little gallop.

Luo Xingyue sat back down, stirred her now-lukewarm coffee with a small spoon, but didn’t drink it. She only watched in the direction where Su Xiaobu had disappeared, the corner of her lips holding a faint, thoughtful smile.

Having silently watched the whole little farce, Song Shanshan downed the last swallow in her cup, then suddenly asked:

“Luo Xiaoyue, are you dating Su Xiaobu?”

“Hm? Why do you ask?”

Luo Xingyue turned her head back, meeting Song Shanshan’s eyes evenly—neither confirming nor denying.

“The way you acted just now—like a girl in love.”

“She’s my partner, my junior. She’s new to the capital and doesn’t know the place. The higher-ups told me to keep an eye on her. What you saw was just… concern.”

Luo Xingyue shook her head in rebuttal. Song Shanshan snorted, lifted her left hand from the seat, and waved her ring finger in front of Luo Xingyue, showing off the ring there.

“My son’s almost old enough to run errands. You really think you can fool me with that? Since when does a senior show that kind of intimacy to a junior? And come on, Luo—I’ve known you for years. Don’t I know your temperament? An ordinary junior acting spoiled in front of you would’ve been kicked out long ago.”

“Is it so impossible I’ve changed lately?”

“You have changed—but not into someone more caring. You’ve gotten more twisted and prickly. And listen, when a person is willing to change their temperament for someone else, it usually means they’ve fallen in love.”

On matters of love, the already-married Song Shanshan was naturally far more adept than Luo Xingyue, who was still a novice. While she was delighted to see her good friend finally opening up to romance, what was with the target being a girl who looked sixteen or seventeen? Wearing a grave expression, she asked in an extremely serious tone:

“Luo Xingyue, are you serious? Or were you planning to just fool around with her?”

“What do you mean, ‘serious’ or ‘fooling around’? I already told you that’s not what this is. There’s really nothing between us.”

Seeing Song Shanshan knit her brows, Luo Xingyue worried she would go tattling to her parents. Xingyue wasn’t afraid of being questioned by them, but it would be an unnecessary headache—for both her and Su Xiaobu. So Luo Xingyue thought for a moment and added:

“She reminds me of Xingli. I only treat her like a little sister.”

“Ha, that again? Every time this topic comes up, you wheel out Xingli as a human shield. How many times has it been? You think I’ll still buy it?”

“Believe it or not, I’m stating the facts. Or do you think my orientation is questionable—that I’d fall for a girl almost ten years younger than me?”

Song Shanshan eyed Luo Xingyue with suspicion, but Xingyue’s face was calm as ice, showing not a flicker of anything. Forced to accept the explanation for the moment, Shanshan nevertheless thought for a beat and decided to press on:

“Even if to you it’s only sisterly affection, that Su Xiaobu has clearly gotten the wrong idea. Xiaoyue, don’t tell me you haven’t noticed her feelings for you already go beyond the normal bounds. If you don’t draw the line in time, you’re going to get burned.”

She wasn’t wrong; it was exactly what had been worrying Luo Xingyue all along. Xingyue firmly believed her indulgence toward Su Xiaobu was merely an older-sister’s pampering. But looking at it from the other side, it would be all too easy for Su Xiaobu to misunderstand under that kind of care.

Xingyue had considered keeping some distance—for instance, moving out and letting Su Xiaobu live in the apartment alone. But on the one hand, she didn’t feel safe leaving Xiaobu by herself. On the other, Luo Xingyue herself was addicted to their ambiguous little game and couldn’t pull free. So the matter kept getting delayed on various pretexts. At this point, even if Su Xiaobu herself proposed moving out, Xingyue probably wouldn’t allow it.

Song Shanshan caught the flicker of hesitation in an instant, alarm bells going off in her head. She hurried to ask:

“Luo, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her too? Then you need to cut ties with her immediately. File a report with your superior and get assigned a different partner.”

“Oh? Why? Weren’t you all wishing I’d fall in love? Why worry now?”

“Are you being serious with that? Your parents and I want you to date because you’re at the age where you should. We want you to have a happy, fulfilling family in the future—not to watch you get into a yuri relationship with a girl ten years your junior.”

Clearly riled, Song Shanshan’s words spilled out like a machine gun, pounding at Luo Xingyue without pause:

“Have you even thought through the consequences? What will your relatives and friends think of you? Of your parents? What will your colleagues and leaders at work think? Are you ready to throw away your career?”

Left speechless by the barrage, Luo Xingyue of course knew the answers. She simply didn’t want to think about them—because even if she did, there was no solution. One person’s strength is so small; changing the majority’s prejudice isn’t something you do overnight.

Seeing she had Xingyue on the back foot, Song Shanshan pressed her advantage:

“And have you thought about what Su Xiaobu wants?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said it yourself—she’s ten years younger. That means she has heaps of youth to burn. What if she only means to play around? What if one day she has a change of heart and decides she wants to marry—what then? Or are you planning to tether her at your side for life, depriving her of the right to marry and have children? Luo Xiaoyue, you’re almost twenty-seven. Ten years from now, Su Xiaobu will be the age you are now. She can throw around those ten years of youth doing whatever she wants and still be young and pretty and sought after. But you—no. In ten years you’ll be pushing forty. At that point, when you’re long past your bloom, do you really think you can find a reliable man to marry?”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“Like I said—sit down with her and talk it out. Draw as clear a boundary as possible and snuff this spark out right now. Then try dating a man. Give yourself a chance—and give your parents an answer.”

A look of “just as I expected” crossed Luo Xingyue’s face. The corner of her mouth curled into a faintly mocking smile as she said, unsurprised:

“All that preamble, running circles just to bring us back to this, huh…”

“Luo, I’m saying this because I care about you—as your best friend. I know how resistant you are to your parents arranging blind dates. I’m not telling you to go on one. I’m saying: look around at men your age. If there’s someone you like and who suits you, try spending some time with him. Who knows? Maybe it’ll work out. I just can’t believe that with such a gorgeous woman right there, there isn’t a single guy at your workplace who wants to pursue you.”

“Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t. I don’t care, and I’m not interested. Shanshan, I once took your advice and accepted someone’s confession. You know how that turned out.”

“Zhou Xin is Zhou Xin; other people are other people. You can’t generalize. Just because you took a hit in love before doesn’t mean you should shut yourself off. Besides, that situation—if you ask me—you both shared the blame…”

“Don’t mention that name in front of me.”

Xingyue rapped the table lightly with her knuckles, cutting Shanshan off. Her tone carried a hint of menace, though her expression didn’t waver.

“My biggest regret is listening to your ‘date first and see’ suggestion and accepting that guy’s confession. And the result? The very day I got back from a work trip, I saw him cuddling up with another woman. Tell me—does that look like ‘both parties share blame’ to you?”

“Luo Xingyue, that’s turning things on their head. The morning you accepted his confession, you vanished that afternoon without a word—no calls answered, no texts replied to. You were gone for over a month. If I hadn’t gotten the scoop from your parents, Zhou Xin and I might’ve filed a missing person report. And don’t forget—Zhou Xin chased you for more than a year. You barely even looked him in the eye. After he finally ‘got’ you, you wouldn’t even let him hold your hand. If I remember right, you never even smiled at him. Search your heart—did you repay what he put in? If you were Zhou Xin, wouldn’t you lose heart and turn to someone else?”

Luo Xingyue let out a short, cold laugh and said bluntly:

“Did I beg him to do anything for me? What, just because he crowned himself my boyfriend, I had to greet him with a smile? Fawn on him? I told him ‘no’ more than once, didn’t I? He’s the one who clung on. We grew up together—doesn’t he know what I’m like? If he can’t take me as I am, he should go chase someone else and stop making a fool of himself in front of me. And strutting around as my ‘boyfriend’ while he fools with other women—was that meant to humiliate me? The fact I didn’t beat him up on the spot was me doing him a favor.”

“You… that’s outrageous…”

Parched after unleashing a torrent of words only to have them bounce off, Song Shanshan reached for her cup to wet her throat—only to find it empty. She slammed it back onto the coaster, exasperated, and snapped at Luo Xingyue:

“Fine, forget Zhou Xin. Let’s talk about this Su Xiaobu you brought. With a personality as awful as yours, how long do you think she’ll put up with you? You think feelings are that different for men and women? Once the novelty wears off and she gets tired of you, all your flaws will be magnified. Are you sure she won’t throw herself into someone else’s arms? What will you do then—chain her to your side? Do me a favor and actually think these things through.”

A scene like the one Shanshan described seemed to flash in Luo Xingyue’s mind. Her expression darkened, her eyes flickering with something hard to read. After a pause, she replied in a low voice:

“If it comes to it, I will chain her to my side.”

“You!!!”

That one line nearly made Song Shanshan faint from fury. Seeing there was no way to keep going, she shoved her empty cup forward, stood up, and called out loudly:

“Waiter, another cup of blended coffee.”

—

Having finally finished her business in the restroom, Su Xiaobu returned just then. She happened to see Song Shanshan standing to order a refill, so she hurried back to the booth and sat down. The moment she did, she sensed something was off between the two.

Shanshan had lost her earlier composure and was breathing hard, head turned away from Luo Xingyue, as if there had been a dispute.

Xingyue’s expression was even icier than before. She was sizing Su Xiaobu up with a predatory gaze, as though weighing some unkind idea.

“Um… what were you two talking about?”

Su Xiaobu gave an awkward laugh, trying to break the weird tension. Song Shanshan shot her a very unfriendly look and hesitated, then suddenly seemed to think of something. She put on a slight smile and answered:

“Ha, we were reminiscing about our college days—specifically about Luo Xiaoyue’s boyfriend.”

‘Boyfriend?’

Su Xiaobu froze, instinctively glancing at Luo Xingyue. She’d never heard about any boyfriend. ‘What is this supposed to be?’

At the word “boyfriend,” Luo Xingyue’s pupils contracted. She glared at Shanshan with a spark of anger, but Shanshan only smiled faintly and went on:

“You didn’t know? Back then, Zhou Xin chased Xiaoyue for ages. The two of them had quite a few spats. Oh, by the way, little sister Su Xiaobu—mind if I call you that? You’re so pretty; you must have a boyfriend, right?”

Sneaking a look at silent Luo Xingyue and seeing no reaction, Su Xiaobu could only stammer:

“No problem, no problem—just call me Xiaobu. Can I call you Sis Shanshan? Sis Shanshan, I want to focus on work and school right now. I’m not planning to date for the time being.”

“Oh? So Xiaobu is still a student?”

“Mm. I’ll be starting at the University of Science and Technology in September.”

“Oh ho, a high achiever at UST! Congratulations!”

“Th… thank you…”

“Xiaobu, let me give you some big-sister advice: studies and work matter, but you shouldn’t miss out on the four years of college as a golden chance for romance. Those four years are your one window to find a boyfriend who genuinely wants to date you for you. Once you graduate, it’ll be career, car, job, apartment, savings, household registration—those realities take over. Then it’s much harder to find the right person for a sweeping, wholehearted love. So don’t miss your chance. If you see a boy you like, seize it—”

“That’s enough! Su Xiaobu, we’re leaving.”

At last, Luo Xingyue’s patience snapped. She stood and began to hustle Su Xiaobu out. Seeing this, Song Shanshan finally put away the fake smile and called after her:

“Luo Xingyue, your birthday’s next week. A few of us classmates here in the capital are throwing you a party—at the Four Seasons Hotel. You’ll come, won’t you?”

She glanced at Su Xiaobu and added:

“And you can bring someone along if you like. The more the merrier.”

Xingyue merely swept her gaze over Shanshan, expression unreadable, and didn’t answer. She only nudged Su Xiaobu and said in a low voice:

“Come on. We’re going home.”