Chapitre 4: Couples Outfit_1
After lunch, Nian Yuyu said goodbye to her younger aunt's family.
Yuyu's mother Yu Qian watched Yuyu slumped on the sofa and said lightly, "We have to visit your elder uncle's house tonight."
Yuyu immediately sat up straight, "I'm not going."
The next second, she leaned back on the sofa and added slowly, "My foot hurts."
Yu Qian didn't say anything, only mentioning it to Yuyu's father when she saw him come out of the kitchen.
"Yuyu's foot is still swollen, the doctor advised her to rest more, it's fine if just the two of us visit the elder brother's place tonight."
Yuyu also looked at her father and cajoled, "Dad, my foot hurts."
Both mother and daughter tacitly didn't mention the conversation that had just taken place.
Yuyu's father glanced at her still swollen right foot and nodded.
"Then you rest at home."
Yuyu breathed a sigh of relief but also felt a bit distracted.
When she had bought her house, her elder uncle's son was also getting married; his bride-to-be insisted on not living with the parents and wanted their separate wedding house.
Their family didn't have enough money for the down payment, so they set their sights on hers, even justifying it by saying girls didn't need to buy their own homes as the man would purchase one upon marriage.
Naturally, she refused them firmly, and her elder uncle's family had no choice but to borrow from others, scraping together the down payment somehow.
But since then, her once-kind elder uncle became cold towards her, and her cousin, with whom she had grown up, gradually drifted away.
The aunt became sarcastically weird, either bragging about her cousin's bright job prospects and high salary or telling her she would struggle to find a partner if she kept staying at home with no social life.
She just couldn't be bothered to mingle with them; it was best if everyone lived in peace.
--
Time always flies during the New Year, and within a whirlwind week, Yuyu's foot had mostly deflated.
That afternoon, while rushing her draft, she received a message from Jiang Jingyun, asking her to go out for a gathering that evening.
Yuyu agreed without hesitation, as choosing between going out or staying home to work was easy.
Checking the weather forecast, it seemed warm enough today; Yuyu wore a white turtleneck sweater dress underneath a black, thickened coat, and after applying light makeup, she headed out.
Arriving at the agreed location, she didn't have to wait long before she spotted Jiang Jingyun exiting the subway station—
Clad in a pink wool coat, with chestnut curly long hair, a bright and beautiful face, and a tall, graceful figure.
Compared to the hurried passersby, she seemed like a unique and striking scenery.
She hadn't gone far when a man approached to hit on her; it seemed she rejected him, and he walked away looking disheartened.
Yuyu looked down at herself and let out a long sigh.
Comparisons can really be disheartening!
The place they had agreed to meet was a newly built shopping center, only five stories tall yet quite spacious inside.
The first three floors were filled with coffee shops, clothing stores, and accessory shops; the fourth floor was dedicated to restaurants, while the very top housed a large cinema and an arcade, as well as a murder mystery experience hall—it was all about eating, drinking, playing, and shopping.
Having found nothing of interest in a clothing store, the two continued upstairs using the escalator.
They found a firepot restaurant on the fourth floor that wasn't too crowded.
The restaurant was filled with the spicy aroma of firepot, and they chose a seat by the window.
Yuyu clamped a piece of tripe with her chopsticks and submerged it in the bubbling red pot, silently counting the seconds in her head.
Through the steaming mist, a pair of chopsticks suddenly reached over and snatched away the cooked tripe.
Yuyu: "???"
Jiang Jingyun's eyes tilted upward, and a radiant smile appeared on her face, "This is too spicy, and your foot hasn't healed yet."
With that, she picked up a piece of beef from the mushroom soup pot, "Eat this."
Nian Yuyu put down her chopsticks and stared at her silently, without uttering a word.
Jiang Jingyun remained unfazed, "Later, I'll take you to the bar to check out some handsome guys."
The hotpot bubbled, and a mix of various food aromas spread through the air.
Nian Yuyu immediately changed her expression, her round eyes narrowing into a soft curve, and she fished out a piece of tripe from the spicy pot and put it into Jiang Jingyun's bowl, "Please, help yourself."
--
The bar that Jiang Jingyun mentioned was a lounge that had become popular in Mist City in recent years. It had just opened last month in Jianan, and business was booming.
Leaving the shopping center, the two took a taxi to a street full of bars, and from a distance, they saw the bustling bar that had been promoted on various short video platforms—"NAN" Tavern.
The entrance of the tavern was metallic in color, with a wooden sign hanging at the door. In contrast to other bars adorned with colorful neon signs, it appeared notably understated.
Two young bartenders stood at the door of the tavern and immediately welcomed Nian Yuyu and Jiang Jingyun when they approached.
After passing through a long corridor, they entered the tavern where the lighting became much dimmer.
The red and green neon lights, the variously shaped light signs, and the intermittently bright and dim light bulbs, all indicated that this peaceful little tavern was indeed a bar.
Nian Yuyu and Jiang Jingyun arrived early, and the booth seats in the hall were mostly empty. They chose seats near the stage, ordered a half set of lychee cocktails, and casually chose a few snacks.
As time passed, the bar grew lively and filled with noise.
Jiang Jingyun once again rejected a man who came up to chat and turned to see Nian Yuyu seriously eating from the fruit plate.
Jiang Jingyun "..."
"Did I bring you here to eat fruit?"
Nian Yuyu paused for a moment, then slowly speared a piece of kiwi with her fork, and pushed the fruit plate forward.
"The fruit plate is actually quite good, try some," she suggested.
Jiang Jingyun looked at her with a mix of exasperation and disappointment, ready to say something, but her attention was caught by a group of people not far away, and she immediately arched her eyebrows to signal Nian Yuyu.
Nian Yuyu caught the signal and followed her gaze.
In a booth in the corner sat three men, all quite young, but the one wearing a black trench coat was the most eye-catching.
Under the dim lighting, the man's silhouette was hazy, but as the colors of the lights shifted, his delicate features gradually became delineated: deep-set eyebrows, a straight nose bridge, and thin lips tightly pressed together. He exuded an aura of aloofness that did not fit the boisterous atmosphere of the bar.
Nian Yuyu's pupils contracted slightly as she recognized the man who stood out like a crane among chickens—Chu You.
The unattainable flower of the Second Provincial Hospital, the Deputy Chief Physician in orthopedics, and the man who had witnessed her social demise just as she began to entertain some improper thoughts about him.
"Should we get his contact information?" Jiang Jingyun was eager to try.
Nian Yuyu averted her gaze and made like an ostrich, "No, thanks."
That Chu You seemed like someone who wouldn't be receptive to random advances from women. Once was enough to die a social death; she had no desire to experience it a second time.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Jingyun sensed something amiss, "Isn't that handsome guy in the black trench coat your type?"
"Ah! You two are even wearing a couples outfit!"
Nian Yuyu swiftly took off her black trench coat, revealing the white, tight-fitting wool dress underneath.
"I am not!" she protested.
In the corner booth, Li Beize's peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly with a teasing tone, "Ayou, at the booth in front of the stage, there are two beauties sneaking glances at you."
The overhead light ball just happened to flicker, casting light upon Chu You, whose indifferent eyes glanced over.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone