Midnight Tales of Maidens

Probably considering there were three young people with them, Shen Shi and Chen Minyue started driving back to town before five o'clock.

Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan, who had napped at noon, were full of energy now, chatting away like magpies.

They arrived home before six.

Shen Nian had bought groceries that morning, so as soon as they got back, he and Chen Minyue started cooking. In no time at all, dinner was served.

Is that girl very close to you? Chen Minyue suddenly asked during dinner.

Shen Nian paused for a moment and said casually, She is alright, just a good friend.

I see...

What is it? Do you have your eye on her?

What are you talking about?

When a mother-in-law sizes up a potential daughter-in-law, she does not just pick one at first sight. Being pretty does not necessarily mean she is a good girl.

Besides, Shen Nian was only eighteen. Why worry about a daughter-in-law now? Even if he graduated university at twenty-two, it would not be too late to look then if he still had not found anyone.

Chen Minyue sized up Shen Nian. He was clean-cut, tall, slim, and very smart. If he could not find a girlfriend, it would only be because he did not want one.

This was a mother's confidence in her son.

Plus, Shen Nian and Little Chun next door were still on great terms. If they kept it up, it was not impossible for them to become a family. Worrying about this was just asking for trouble.

Do you think Little Chun is pretty?

She is okay, nothing special.

Since his mom suddenly asked that, she probably suspected something.

Shen Nian calmly ate his rice and joked, Hey, Mom, do you think me and Haji-Chun have a shot?

How should I know? If you are interested, go after her yourself.

Never mind then. I am afraid she would stop talking to me. If I confess and fail, it would be so awkward to see her again.

So you do have feelings for her?

Not really, just kidding. Do not go telling Auntie Wen that I like Haji-Chun next door.

Why would I bother saying that?

Are you not going to ask if I will say anything? Shen Shi, who had been listening for a while, finally spoke up.

Well, will you?

Nope.

Then why did I even ask you?

Just to waste your breath, Shen Shi, the Hercules, said, stifling a laugh.

Shen Nian: ...?

This was ridiculous. It was hard not to laugh.

...

At eleven o'clock that night, Xia Yanchun had just finished showering. Her feet were still a bit damp, but she did not care. She lifted the covers and dove right in.

Whew, so warm.

Li Shiyan had showered first and had been lying in bed for a while, resting her head while scrolling through her phone. When Xia Yanchun got in, she made room, scooting further inside.

What are you looking at? Xia Yanchun leaned over to peek at Li Shiyan's screen.

It was Xiaohongshu fashion—pretty, light-colored dresses.

Looking at clothes. This skirt is so pretty.

It really is.

But it is over three hundred yuan. So expensive. It is not even a brand name, and there is so little fabric.

Do not bother. Sometimes those posts are just subtle ads anyway.

Yeah. Li Shiyan turned off her phone and set it on the desk. She lazily pulled the duvet up to cover herself.

She was tired from the day's fun and the two car rides. Even though she had napped, she was still sleepy, and eleven was not exactly early.

Li Shiyan rested her head on Xia Yanchun's pillow. She thought Xia Yanchun smelled lovely. Her large, dark eyes settled on Xia Yanchun as she smiled. Little Chun, does Shen Nian come to your room often?

“Yeah, he can't sit still. He's running around all over the place every day.”

“Then do you go to his room often too?”

“No way!” Xia Yanchun replied, her voice devoid of guilt. She didn't look like she was acting.

“Then... what do you two usually do in the room?”

“Questions, questions! Ask one more and I'll tear you apart.”

“Ugh.”

Li Shiyan whimpered, pulling the blanket over her head as if entering an invincible state. Her little mouth kept motor-boating, though her voice became muffled and thin—any further away and she probably wouldn't have been heard.

She finally spoke her mind.

“I see Shen Nian looking for you all the time at school. Does he like you? If he didn't, no matter how close you are, he wouldn't look for you to play that often.”

“!”

Xia Yanchun’s heart raced. With a flick of her wrist, there was a click, and the room instantly went dark. Her eyes, not yet adjusted to the darkness, could see nothing.

I've... I've been found out...

She thought she was mentally prepared to accept it calmly, but now that Li Shiyan had guessed most of it, her face began to burn again.

Xia Yanchun pursed her lips and remained silent for a while before answering, “I don't know.”

Once the lights were out, Li Shiyan poked her head out.

“I think he likes you.”

“R-really?”

“Mm-hmm, it's pretty obvious.”

“How is it obvious?”

When the topic turned to romance, the Shipper Bird wasn't sleepy at all. She began counting on her fingers, listing the points she had observed for Xia Yanchun.

“Shen Nian often makes you brown sugar water and goji berry water. He gives you the most snacks. He also plays with your hair and is always throwing erasers at you during class. Oh, and there's more! When you sprained your ankle before, he came out immediately as soon as you called!”

Xia Yanchun felt bashful listening to this.

Because Shen Nian really did like her—she knew it in her heart.

Xia Yanchun didn't know what to say. She felt that Li Shiyan’s sharp, piercing gaze was even harder to deal with than Shen Nian’s.

Seeing that Xia Yanchun remained silent, Li Shiyan rested her head on her hands and continued to chatter, “Does Little Chun like Shen Nian too?”

“I do not!”

Xia Yanchun was huffy.

She didn't know why.

She could clearly say “I like you” to Shen Nian’s face, yet she couldn't bring herself to say “I like Shen Nian” in front of someone else. Logically, the former should have been much harder...

Just thinking about it made her feel incredibly shy.

Li Shiyan covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling. “What a big reaction.”

“If I said you liked so-and-so, let's see if your reaction would be big or not.”

“Well...”

Li Shiyan felt her reaction would definitely be even bigger.

“But you never chase him away when he comes to find you.”

There was a sense of tacit permission, a feeling of being pleasantly bothered.

If you didn't like someone, wouldn't you find it annoying to be disturbed by Shen Nian like that?

Li Shiyan tried to put herself in those shoes—if Shen Nian played with her hair, threw erasers at her, and came looking for trouble for no reason...

She’d be scared to tears.

So, being able to allow Shen Nian to do so many things... it was hard to say it wasn't love. Though Little Chun picked on Shen Nian quite a bit too.

Others might not be able to tell, but as their deskmate for two and a half years, she had witnessed all the interactions and bickering between Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun.

“I'm just used to it. He's been like that since we were kids.”

Li Shiyan didn't believe her for a second. Extremely clever as she was, she had already seen through everything.

“Actually, I've felt there was something going on between you two for a long time now.”

“...So what? No more talking. Go to sleep.”

“I hit the nail on the head!”

“Don't even think about sleeping tonight!”

Xia Yanchun knew exactly what was happening: Li Shiyan was asking a question she already knew the answer to. If Yanchun didn't give her the response she was looking for, the girl would undoubtedly keep pestering her.

Xia Yanchun flipped over, her hands darting out to tickle Li Shiyan relentlessly. She had to teach this talkative "little mystery" a lesson.

She just had to hear it from Yanchun's own mouth, didn't she? Li Shiyan was clearly just looking for a laugh; her little scheme had already hit the mark.

Tickled senseless, Li Shiyan dissolved into a fit of giggles, squirming and wriggling across the bed like a worm.

But she had also confirmed one thing for sure.

Xiao Chun really did like Shen Nian!

***

Taking a day off today, so there's only this short update. orz.