♡ Chapter 21.2 ♡

The next evening, Lu Yanzhou had to work overtime. Yu Xia went out for dinner and stopped by the delivery station to pick up two packages. They were items she had bought in Hong Kong that were too heavy to carry back herself.

She walked into the building, holding the two packages, and saw a tall woman standing in front of the elevator.

Yu Xia approached, and the elevator doors opened just as she got close.

The woman stepped in first, pressing the button for the 12th floor. Yu Xia stood behind her, still holding the packages. She assumed the woman must be a guest at Aunt Liu’s house. When the woman noticed Yu Xia hadn’t pressed any buttons, she looked back at her.

Yu Xia finally got a good look at her: her makeup was meticulously done, though a little heavy, but she was very beautiful, with a kind of elegant charm.

“Do you live on the 12th floor too?” the woman asked.

“Mm.” Yu Xia hadn’t expected the woman to strike up a conversation, so she asked, “Are you going to Aunt Liu’s place?”

“Aunt Liu? Who’s that?”

“…My neighbor.”

Maybe it was the woman’s intuition, but Yu Xia suddenly had a bad feeling. This woman might be here to see Lu Yanzhou. Could she be… his ex-girlfriend?

The elevator arrived, and the two of them stepped out, walking side by side, turning right. The woman slowed her pace and looked at Yu Xia in confusion. “Do you… know Lu Yanzhou?”

“Yeah, we’re neighbors.” Yu Xia replied calmly, then asked, “Are you looking for him?”

“Yes.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “Are you very close to him?”

Yu Xia nodded. “Quite close. He helped me when he first moved in.”

The woman sized her up before falling silent. She didn’t speak further and turned to ring the doorbell. Of course, no one came to answer.

Yu Xia opened her door, placed the packages in the foyer, and turned around to see the woman still persistently pressing the doorbell. She kindly reminded her, “He’s not home. You can call him if you need to reach him.”

“How do you know he’s not home? Are you close to him?” The woman turned around, her tone challenging.

“He told me this afternoon that he’s working overtime today,” Yu Xia replied, noticing the woman’s worsening expression. She paused and added, “I’m his girlfriend.”

The woman furrowed her brows. “When did you two get together?”

“That’s our business.” Yu Xia smiled slightly. “Who are you?”

The woman didn’t answer. She gave Yu Xia a furious glare before walking away.

What a bizarre situation.

Yu Xia felt a bit unsettled. She closed the door, sat down on the package, and sent Lu Yanzhou a message. She typed quickly: [A woman came to see you just now. When I told her I was your girlfriend, she left angrily.]

In his office, Lu Yanzhou had just finished reviewing some data with Zhuo Sheng when he saw the message and frowned. He stood up and walked to the window, calling her. Yu Xia picked up quickly, snorting. “Who was that woman?”

“Probably the previous landlord’s niece.” Lu Yanzhou hadn’t expected Cheng Nana to show up again. “I told you before, I moved because I was being harassed.”

Yu Xia’s eyes widened. “Is it because of her?”

Lu Yanzhou nodded, then added a few more details to explain the situation with Cheng Nana. Zhuo Sheng, who had been sitting on the couch, overheard, walked over, and said, “I can vouch for him. Don’t misunderstand, sister-in-law.”

The sister-in-law herself: “…”

Suddenly receiving a new nickname, Yu Xia felt a bit embarrassed. She muttered softly, “I didn’t suspect anything, I just thought…”

“Thought she was my ex-girlfriend?”

“…Ah, it was just a tiny guess.”

Lu Yanzhou looked down and chuckled softly. “I don’t have an ex-girlfriend.”

Yu Xia froze for a moment, and a smile crept up on her face. “Oh…” She suddenly found herself at a loss for words, feeling like anything she said would be unnecessary.

Finally, she asked, “When will you be back?”

“Probably not until after twelve,” Lu Yanzhou replied. “You should go to bed early. You don’t need to wait for me.”

“Okay, then, you go ahead. I won’t disturb you.”

After hanging up the phone, Yu Xia sat on a cardboard box, grinning like a fool. How did this man… fall for her at first sight? This kind of luck probably only happens once in a lifetime.

Why did it feel like she was falling more for him every day?

Yu Xia posted on her WeChat Moments, using two emojis: [jumping][spinning] to express her current mood, then got up and went into the study.

She had promised her readers to finish the comic she had posted on Weibo. During the two nights in Hong Kong, she had drawn part of it while at the hotel, but after returning, she had been busy with other things and hadn’t finished it.

She spends several hours in the study, stopping the story at the point where the man tells her the name of a perfume, claiming it’s for her next boyfriend.

In the end, she adds a little Easter egg, where the man whispers the perfume’s name into her ear.

The image froze there.

The rest was left for the readers to imagine.

After finishing, she opened Weibo to update it.

She didn’t check the comments and exited Weibo right after posting.

She stretched a little, and it was just then that Lu Yanzhou came home. He changed his shoes and entered the room, frowning as he looked at her. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Yu Xia had just completed a task and was still excited, but his gaze made her feel a little guilty. “I’ll go to bed soon.” After a pause, she added sweetly, “I wanted to wait for you.”

“With your sleep schedule, it wouldn’t matter whether you wait or not.” Lu Yanzhou was not easily fooled. He had already received a special notification on his phone while in the elevator, seeing that she had been working on the comic all night.

He glanced at the whiteboard on her desk.

It listed her plans:

• Go to bed early and wake up early (latest by midnight, wake up at 8 AM, eat three meals a day)
• Exercise three times a week (health is the foundation of everything)
• Stock up on two to three drafts

She had only managed the last one.

Yu Xia quickly pressed the whiteboard down onto the desk, but Lu Yanzhou casually said, “It’s too late. I saw it last night.” He had nearly perfect vision, and he had seen it the previous evening while in the living room.

“…”

He walked over and pulled her back to the bedroom. “Go to bed earlier from now on. Staying up too late isn’t good for your health.”

“Wait, I haven’t showered yet.” Yu Xia stopped him. “I’ll go to sleep right after I shower.”

Lu Yanzhou looked at her helplessly. Yu Xia hadn’t realized the time, but now that she grabbed his hand and looked at his wristwatch, she realized it was already past one. She shook his hand and looked up at him. “Do you want to go back first? I’ll join you after I shower.”

The man smiled lazily and teased her, “Together?”

“…No, thank you.”

She knew that if they showered together, things would get out of hand.

Flushing, Yu Xia pushed him toward the door.

Lu Yanzhou chuckled, closing the door behind him as he left.

Girls tend to take longer showers, and in the end, Lu Yanzhou comes back to Yu Xia’s room. It was late, and since it was the weekend, he didn’t bother her anymore. He enjoyed a rare lazy sleep-in and woke up around nine.

He sat up at the head of the bed and pulled out a small box from the drawer.

Yu Xia was still asleep, groggily feeling her hand being lifted, something cool placed on her wrist. She didn’t open her eyes, lazily asking, “What did you put on me?”

“A watch.” Lu Yanzhou lowered his head and brushed his nose against hers. “Open your eyes and see if you like it.”

Yu Xia suddenly opened her eyes and raised her hand to her face.

The room was dim as the light was off, and she couldn’t see clearly. Lu Yanzhou turned on the bedside lamp, and the warm orange light illuminated the bedside. Yu Xia finally saw the watch on her wrist.

There’s something familiar about both the dial and the strap. 

It was very similar to the one Lu Yanzhou wore last night.

“Couple watches?” She turned to look at him.

“Yeah.” Lu Yanzhou nodded. “I ordered it a few days ago and just got it yesterday afternoon. I wanted to give it to you last night, but I came back too late.”

His eyes were soft with a gentle smile as he looked at her. “Do you like it?”

“I like it.” Yu Xia sat up and crossed her legs over his, feeling inexplicably fond of this intimate posture.

But for him, it was a little hard to bear, and he gently restrained her movements. Yu Xia froze for a moment, looking down, her ears turning red.

She instinctively wanted to move off, but he held her back. He held her in his arms, tilting his head to look at her. “Just wait a little longer.”

Yu Xia didn’t say anything, resting her head on his chest. She heard him ask, “Do you want to go have breakfast together?”

They had never had breakfast together before.

It seemed like such a simple thing.

But they had never done it.

Yu Xia looked up, her eyes brightening. “Yes.”

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them left the house, hand in hand.

They ran into a couple downstairs, both holding a cat as they discussed taking it to the hospital for a check-up. Yu Xia watched them and then looked up at Lu Yanzhou. “A few of the illustrators I know also have cats. They say cats are very clingy and often end up ‘locking’ them in, which affects their work. But I think they’re happy with it. Since I moved here, I’ve been wanting to get a cat, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to take care of it on my own.”

She asked, “Do you like cats?”

“I don’t dislike them.” Lu Yanzhou glanced at her. “If you want one, we can go look at some later.”

Yu Xia’s face immediately lit up with a smile. “Sure!”

That afternoon, the two of them brought back a golden British Shorthair kitten.

It was still very small, barely bigger than Lu Yanzhou’s hand. His long fingers scratched under its neck, and the kitten rubbed comfortably against his fingers.

Yu Xia quickly snapped a photo and shared it on her social media.

Living In Spring): [Jumping][Spinning] I have a cat now!

The picture was of Lu Yanzhou’s hand playing with the cat.

Tang Yue: That hand… Now I believe you when you say your man is handsome. With a cat and a man, I can’t even be jealous.

Editor: Not sure if you’re showing off the cat or the man.

Yu Xia chuckled as she put her phone away, looking out at the bright sunshine. She turned to the man who was assembling the cat’s bed and said, “Lu Yanzhou, summer is coming soon.”

“Hmm?” Lu Yanzhou glanced at her casually. “Are you changing your name?”

Yu Xia looked at him. “No, I want to always live in spring.”

The spring when I met you feels like an unexpected fairytale, one that will always be worth remembering.