Chapter 5 Red Mark: You should call her sister-in-law.
The diamond ring was the perfect size.
Yin Xiao touched the ring band and stretched her fingers. The main diamond was sparkling. She held it up to the lamp for a while, feeling a strange mix of emotions, as if all the light beams before her eyes were unreal.
The cell phone on the table suddenly vibrated.
[Yi Zhiyan: I'm almost there.]
They had agreed to meet at the East Gate yesterday, but this morning Yi Zhiyan messaged her saying that his aunt had returned from Beijing early and insisted on coming to the school with him to pick her up. To avoid being exposed, the two of them had to walk out of the school together.
[good. ]
She had just turned off the screen when the ladder on her right creaked.
Dai Lan climbed down the ladder from the bed, her rabbit ears on her hat drooping, her eyes still sleepy, and walked past her on the balcony.
Yin Xiao was startled, guiltily covered her left hand, and cautiously turned her head away.
Once she was sure no one was watching, she quickly opened her handbag and stuffed the power bank, lipstick, and a few emergency chocolates from the table into it.
She zipped up her jacket and ran to the door before turning back to speak to Dai Lan, "Lan'er, I'm going out now."
"Wait, don't go yet." Dai Lan gripped the clothesline pole with her right hand, holding two or three pairs of long-sleeved shirts and trousers that had just been taken down, and called out to her loudly.
"What's wrong?" Yin Xiao stood at the door.
Dai Lan raised her hand from the pile of clothes and waved to her with difficulty, looking on with a show-like expression, "Come and see, that senior student, Yizhiyan, who we had dinner with yesterday, is downstairs in our dormitory."
She held up two fingers, fluttered them up and down near her face, making the shape of a swallow.
Yin Xiao frowned, clenched her fists, and ran over.
“There, do you see him… It’s zero degrees today, and he’s still wearing a camel coat. He’s really resistant to the cold. Hey, did he get a new hairstyle? He looks even more handsome than yesterday…” Dai Lan pointed downstairs.
Yin Xiao tiptoed and leaned over the windowsill, scanning the area below.
Their dormitory was on the third floor, so they shouldn't have been able to see who was downstairs very clearly. But Yi Zhiyan stood on the stone steps directly opposite the balcony, holding a wine-red long-handled umbrella neatly folded up beside her, making her especially conspicuous in the gloomy sky that threatened to bring a storm.
"Hey, someone from next door came up to his balcony to see him too. This guy's pretty popular." Dai Lan pulled her clothes over her chest and pouted. "Xiao, you probably don't know yet, but he's that genius from the Computer Science Department who won an award for his independent research project. He's a big shot! Super awesome!"
Yin Xiao was stunned. "I really don't know."
“I also thought he looked familiar at dinner that day, and I only realized it was him after checking the school’s official WeChat account.” Dai Lan craned her neck to look downstairs again, “I heard that a foreign team has recently contacted him to talk, but I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
Yin Xiao's eyebrows twitched slightly as she recalled the few English words he had spoken on the phone in the car on the day she returned to school.
It should be true.
After collecting the clothes, Dai Lan returned to her dorm room. She opened the wardrobe, bent down, and squeezed most of her body inside. Yin Xiao was still standing by the window, her back to her, quietly opening Yi Zhiyan's chat window and furiously tapping the screen.
[Senior, didn't you say you'd wait for me somewhere no one would see me?]
[Yi Zhiyan: Yes, I wasn't at the entrance of your dormitory building, but on the back path.]
The path downstairs is secluded, with lush vegetation on both sides. It mainly separates the two dormitory buildings and is now mostly used to park shared bicycles and electric scooters. Indeed, very few people pass by.
The problem is that when you stand on the balcony, you can see the entire view below.
Yin Xiao looked around and roughly counted, estimating that more than a dozen classmates had already seen the person idly spinning an umbrella downstairs, half of whom were acquaintances from the same college.
[Senior, could you wait for me at another intersection?]
[Yi Zhiyan: Okay, where should I change it to?]
[Yi Zhiyan: But nobody can see it here, so it's fine not to change it.]
Yin Xiao tapped her forehead with her fingers, looked down at the bright red whirlwind below, and wanted to laugh but couldn't.
[Senior, are you sure no one saw this?]
Look up.
—
Dark clouds loomed overhead, and the light flickered between bright and dim.
It had just rained in the afternoon, and there weren't many people on the road. Yin Xiao tucked her hands into the sleeves of her down jacket, carefully avoiding the puddles at her feet, and kept a distance of about one meter from Yi Zhiyan on her right.
Not too close, not too far; it allows for both offense and defense.
As she approached the access control, Yin Xiao felt a little nervous, her gaze fixed on the outside of the iron bars.
Outside the East Gate, there was only a gray-purple Bentley parked. A woman with brown curly hair was leaning against the car, wearing a yellow beret, with her arms crossed, as if she was waiting for someone.
Yin Xiao used her facial recognition to exit the school gate, then took a few steps and quietly asked Yi Zhiyan, "Is that right?"
Seeing Yi Zhiyan nod, she instantly put on her most appropriate smile, reached back and grasped his wrist, her fingertips sliding down little by little.
He visibly froze for a few seconds before slowly turning his hand around and interlocking his fingers.
"Here you are!" The woman seemed to notice the commotion and ran over in her high-heeled boots. She took Yin Xiao's other hand in a familiar manner and patted the back of her hand lightly.
"Is this Xiaoxiao? I've heard Mr. Qian talk about you a lot. You're a million times prettier than your mother described. I heard you're also a scriptwriter in the school drama troupe. You're so talented... Oh, you know I've known your mother since we were little, right? We were even in the same band in high school. But later she took over the Qian family business, and I went to Beijing to develop my career, so we saw each other less and less. Speaking of which, this is the first time I've met you in person. Before, I only saw photos of you from your mother's posts..."
Yin Xiao nodded repeatedly, her smile tingling with embarrassment. She was taken aback by the rapid-fire delivery of information from the other side and couldn't respond for a moment. Her lips twitched downwards, and she silently tried to come up with the right words in her mind.
Yi Zhiyan suddenly stepped forward and came to her rescue, saying, "This is my aunt, Yi Lu."
Yin Xiao glanced at him gratefully and greeted him politely, "Hello, Auntie, I'm Yin Xiao. My mom has also mentioned you. She said you're smart and capable, and that the jewelry you design is very beautiful."
Yi Lu held down her beret, which was about to be blown away by the wind, and nodded approvingly. "You have a sweet tongue... Speaking of jewelry, I have a gift for you. Get in the car first."
When Yi Lu turned around, Yi Zhiyan released Yin Xiao's hand, gently pushed her back, and opened the car door.
Yin Xiao bent down and climbed into the car, raising her hand to hold onto the door frame. Her sleeve slid down with her movement, revealing a striking red mark on her wrist, arranged in a regular pattern, like pressed fingerprints.
Yi Zhiyan's gaze lingered on her wrist for a moment, then he slowly closed his fingers, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
As Yi Lu bent down to look for the gift box, a gust of cold wind blew into her collar from behind. Turning her head, she saw her nephew standing there like a wooden post. Helplessly, she called out to him, "Hurry up and get in the car and close the door!"
Seeing that Yi Zhiyan had made a move, she felt relieved and continued searching through the cabinet. She had come back in a hurry this time and brought back many and varied gifts for her friends. She searched until the car had passed the first intersection before finally finding the blue jewelry box she remembered.
"Xiaoxiao, I designed this pendant. Your mother told me you like pandas."
The sterling silver pendant hangs in mid-air, its color translucent, and its panda shape is quite endearing.
Yin Xiao reached out and took it, somewhat surprised and delighted. "Thank you, Auntie, I really like it."
"If you like it, then put it on quickly."
"Okay." Yin Xiao unchained herself, raised her wrist towards her chest, and suddenly caught Yi Lu's gaze drifting towards Yi Zhiyan.
A focused, persistent, and passionate urgency.
...I understand.
Yin Xiao stopped what she was doing, turned her head and forced a smile at Yi Zhiyan, then uttered two dry words.
"help me."
Yi Zhiyan didn't react much, his gaze slowly shifting from her hand to her face, his eyes showing a hint of confusion.
...It can't be carried.
Yin Xiao closed her eyes, trying to maintain a polite smile, and gave him a light push with her elbow, "Help me put it on."
Yi Zhiyan raised an eyebrow, rolled up the cuff of her sweater, and took the pendant.
Yin Xiao turned her back to him, raised her hand and reached behind her neck to brush away the hair that was loose on her shoulders.
A crystal pendant rests on my chest, and my neck is enveloped in a subtle coolness as the fresh, dry woody scent gradually intensifies.
Her eyelashes fluttered, and she unconsciously slowed her breathing.
"alright."
Yi Zhiyan let go, lowered his head and leaned forward, his chest almost touching her shoulder. He skillfully half-encircled her, his chin close to the side of her face, patiently adjusting the position of the pendant, his breath brushing against the back of her ear, carrying a faint, ticklish sensation.
Yi Lu, sitting in the front row, smiled contentedly, looked away, turned her head and nestled into her seat, casually pressed the audio button, and turned up the air conditioning a few degrees.
The warm air from the vent pressed against my exposed skin, raising the temperature and making my head spin.
Yin Xiao's teeth accidentally brushed against her lips, and the dull pain was instantly amplified. She blinked, turned to look at Yi Zhiyan, and asked him in a low voice.
"Did Senior Qi Chen teach you this too?"
Yi Zhiyan released his hand, his gaze naturally downwards, seemingly aimlessly surveying the environment inside the car, as if looking at her but also as if not.
After a long while, his gaze finally returned precisely to her face, noticeably a beat slower, his eyes filled with a thoughtful certainty.
"Yes, he taught me."
—
Half an hour later, Yin Xiao put on her down jacket and got out of the car. She stood on the steps, looked back at the wide open space, and secretly calculated that if she walked around here twice, her WeChat steps would definitely top the list of her Moments.
After climbing a few steps, she looked up again, staring at the magnificent European-style building in front of her, grabbed the sleeve of the person next to her, and joked, "Senior, do you live in a manor?"
"I don't live here." Yi Zhiyan's lips curled into a slight smile, his answer ambiguous, as if he were scoffing, "There are people who love living here more than I do."
Yin Xiao looked up in surprise, but before she could see his expression clearly, he resumed his usual businesslike demeanor.
“I live at school, but not on the same campus as you.”
“I know, the graduate student dormitories are all on the Hubin campus.” She smiled, vaguely feeling that she shouldn’t have made that joke.
She pursed her dry lips and said nothing more.
"You just called me senior?" Yi Zhiyan suddenly leaned closer, his voice deliberately lowered.
Yin Xiao paused, "Yes, isn't that right?"
"Are you planning to keep calling me that?" He chuckled, as if finding it amusing.
Yin Xiao belatedly realized, "That won't do. If others hear it, they'll definitely give it away. I have to come up with a unique yet subtle nickname."
She looked down at the floral patterns on the stone steps beneath her feet, carefully considering how to address him.
Calling her "senior" is too formal, but calling her "husband" would be much more appropriate... but she just can't bring herself to say it now.
Perhaps we should first explore the dimensions of Yizhiyan.
"What did you call me?" she asked directly as she turned around.
Yi Zhiyan stopped and fell behind her by one step.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, back straight. His coat was open, the hem billowing in the wind, giving off a casual and indifferent vibe.
Their gazes met flatly in mid-air.
"Xiaoxiao," he called softly.
The deep voice seemed out of place with the intimacy inherent in reduplicated words.
Yin Xiao looked at his stern face and couldn't put her mind at ease.
She suddenly realized that if their sham marriage were ever discovered, the problem would most likely stem from his contradictory words and actions. After all, he seemed capable of saying ambiguous things, yet his actions kept people at arm's length.
“That’s what Aunt Qian calls you,” Yi Zhiyan added.
Yin Xiao nodded perfunctorily, turned around and stepped onto the stairs, continuing to immerse herself in her own thoughts.
The way he addresses her needs to be changed, and his WeChat nickname should also be changed. It would be best to change it to a unique name that only she can recognize as him.
Actually, reduplicated characters work too...
Her thoughts were interrupted when suddenly her feet lost their footing, causing her to fall backward as the world before her eyes rapidly inverted. She frantically reached out, waving her hands in the air a few times before regaining her balance.
She had barely stepped onto the stairs and hadn't even had a chance to catch her breath when the hood of her down jacket was suddenly pulled up forcefully. Her entire head was covered, a gray shadow flashed before her eyes, and she was abruptly dragged down another step.
She clutched her chest, stunned for a second, then looked at the boy who had grabbed her hat, "What are you doing?"
"I'll save you."
"...Thank you." Yin Xiao pursed her lips. "Let go, I'm fine."
Yi Zhiyan didn't let go, his right hand gripping the brim of his hat tightly. His sleeves slipped down, the cuffs of his sweater bunching up at his wrists, the veins on the back of his hands standing out, his finger bones white.
Yin Xiao looked up and saw a crack in his calm face, and a hint of urgency flashed in his eyes.
“I’m really fine,” she repeated earnestly.
Yi Zhiyan looked suspicious and loosened his grip slightly, but still kept his hand on her head, as if ready to strike at any moment.
Yin Xiao looked into his brown pupils and suddenly thought of a cat waving its claws, cold and temperamental.
“Carter.” Her eyes lit up, and she murmured to herself.
"What?"
Yin Xiao casually covered it up, "From now on, I'll just call you Yi Zhiyan, okay?"
Yi Zhiyan withdrew his hand, lightly supporting her arm, his mind completely elsewhere, "Fine, call me whatever you want."
Yin Xiao smiled and silently murmured with satisfaction, "Carter."
Carter, cat.
Change your WeChat nickname to this, and absolutely no one will recognize you.
As they discussed their way up, the two had fallen far behind. Yin Xiao looked up and saw Yi Lu just climbing the stone steps, waving anxiously in their direction, "Hurry up! It's raining!"
It felt like a gray cloth was covering my head, and the rain that had been accumulating for a long time finally fell. The raindrops were so fine that they were almost imperceptible, but they were damp and felt cold on my face.
Yin Xiao narrowed her eyes, grabbed Yi Zhiyan's arm, and rushed inside. The doorman handed her a towel, took her coat, and gestured for her to enter.
Yin Xiao wiped the water off her face, a strange intuition rising within her.
Yi Zhiyan said he was taking her home to a family banquet to meet his family, but judging from the way he looked at it, he seemed more like a guest.
She took a few steps further inside, and her doubts deepened.
The room was brightly lit and decorated in a retro style. Although there were quite a few people, it was strangely quiet and somewhat oppressive. The people around him were dressed in formal or casual attire, chatting in groups around tables, their voices extremely low. They didn't glance in his direction at all, as if they were complete strangers to Yi Zhiyan.
Is this a family dinner...? It's not quite the joyful scene she imagined.
As soon as Yi Lu entered, she was pulled away by a friend. Yin Xiao followed Yi Zhiyan to the dining area and couldn't help but pat his arm, "Aren't you meeting the parents?"
Yi Zhiyan didn't answer. Instead, he slightly raised his chin to the right, held up a large white porcelain plate, and asked her, "What would you like to eat?"
Yin Xiao glanced at the exquisitely presented dishes and swallowed.
"I want to eat them all."
Yi Zhiyan turned her back, silently picked up the tongs, and two minutes later filled a plate and handed it to her.
"Are we just going to eat it right away?" Yin Xiao held the tray with both hands, still feeling uneasy.
Yi Zhiyan nonchalantly stuffed a shrimp into his mouth, "Eat it."
"Shouldn't the normal procedure be to inform your family first?"
Yi Zhiyan leaned against the table, casually picking up a glass of champagne. "You've met my closest blood relatives."
Yin Xiao was taken aback, and the meat gravy noodles she had just rolled up fell back into the plate.
Yi Zhiyan remained expressionless, his voice flat.
“The two people in power at Yizhi now are my adoptive parents.” He casually tapped the plate, speaking lightly, “Or rather, Hu Feipeng had a two-year marriage with my biological mother and was forced to adopt me.”
Yin Xiao frowned at him, rubbed the corner of her eye, and didn't ask any more questions. She tentatively offered some words of comfort.
"If this is your reason for getting married, just tell me when you need my cooperation. After all, we're in the same boat now, helping each other out."
She lowered her eyes, picked up a cherry tomato with a fork, brought it to her mouth, and smiled at him, "We can be considered family now."
Yi Zhiyan's gaze froze for a moment, as if he had been distracted. After a long silence, he put down the plate and said softly, "Actually, the purpose of bringing you here has already been achieved. From the moment we walked in, those who needed to know already knew."
He mechanically raised his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes. The crystal chandelier above him shimmered, its beams gently falling on his shoulders, yet beneath his composed demeanor lay an imperceptible chill and ruthlessness.
His eyes darkened, and a strong sense of oppression flashed across them, as if it were just her imagination.
Yin Xiao tensed her back and turned slightly to the side. She bit into a cherry tomato, chewing slowly as she broke the skin with her teeth, while secretly glancing at the boy beside her out of the corner of her eye.
She didn't quite understand him. But a guy who could rescue her from being completely alone on the subway couldn't be in much danger, could he...?
Yi Zhiyan suddenly took out a candy box, poured five or six transparent compressed candies into his palm, and pretended to stuff them all into his mouth.
Yin Xiao glanced at the candy box packaging and raised her hand to stop her, "These mints are not only cold, but also bitter. Are you eating so many like you're taking medicine?"
Yi Zhiyan nodded, with an attitude of usual composure, "I know."
Yin Xiao hesitated for a moment, then took out a chocolate from her handbag. "Would you like something sweet?"
"I love bitter food."
Yi Zhiyan shook off her hand, tilted her head back, and poured the mint into her mouth.
Yin Xiao was too lazy to say anything more. She clenched her fist, withdrew her hand, and snorted, "Eat it or don't, it's up to you."
Just as she was about to put it back in her bag, her wrist was grabbed.
“Chocolate…” He coughed, looking down, “Give me one.”
"Didn't you say you didn't want it?" Yin Xiao glanced at him.
He avoided eye contact and explained calmly, "I don't like sweets, but one is fine. It's your kind gesture after all..."
Yin Xiao slightly curved her lips, but before she could hand over the chocolate, a strange man suddenly jumped out from the side and quickly approached her.
"Mr. Yi, President Hu is busy and can't get away, so he sent me to deliver this gift to you." The man stopped in front of Yi Zhiyan, presented the mahogany box with both hands, his expression impeccable.
Yi Zhiyan accepted it, gave a token smile, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Hu."
The man turned and left. Yi Zhiyan unlocked the copper lock, and a rich, incense-like fragrance exploded out like a water balloon.
Yin Xiao wrinkled her nose and awkwardly moved away. She stared at the pen inside, opened her mouth, but before she could make a sound, a boy suddenly rushed out from behind and bumped into her.
The boy had youthful features, a baby face and grape-like eyes. He looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old, but he was full of recklessness and snatched the mahogany box.
"My dad gave you something again?" He glared at Yi Zhiyan, his tone defiant. "What right do you have to take it!"
Yi Zhiyan held the wooden box with both hands suspended in the air, without refuting it, and his emotions were unreadable.
Yin Xiao's mind went blank for a moment. When she saw the boy raise his head, straighten his chest, and turn to leave, she stepped forward and called out to him.
"etc."
The boy turned around and looked at her. "Who are you?"
"Come here."
The boy's round face scrunched up, looking puzzled and curious, as he slowly moved closer to her. "What?"
Yin Xiao squinted and grinned. She put her hands behind her back, quietly rolled up the cumbersome lace cuffs, raised her wrists, and took the wooden box without hesitation.
The boy seemed completely bewildered by her actions. He blinked rapidly, his mouth slightly agape. After a few seconds of silence, he pointed a finger at her, too angry to speak, "You...you..."
Yin Xiao took a step back, secretly standing on tiptoe to make herself look more imposing. While regretting not wearing her best high heels, she cleared her throat, ready to argue.
The dappled sunlight before her eyes was suddenly enveloped in shadow, and a dry, astringent atmosphere surrounded her.
Yi Zhiyan stood in front of her and slapped the boy away.
"Yi Zhiyan, what do you mean by this!" The boy walked around to the other side, pointing at her, "I'm still your brother, how can you side with an outsider!"
"Younger brother?" Yi Zhiyan asked in a low voice, with a half-smile, "Then you should call her sister-in-law."
A note from the author:
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