What is Love

"Oh, Ning Yu, stop fidgeting!"

Shen Yiyue held Ning Yu's forehead with one hand, while the other hand held a lipstick. Her arm was covered in various lipstick swatches, one after another.

"Hey, you just used that lipstick yourself. Now you're putting it on me?"

Ning Yu gave a helpless expression and stopped resisting.

"What? Are you rejecting me?"

Shen Yiyue immediately became unhappy. If it weren't for the fact that they were going out today, she would have insisted on applying the lipstick to Ning Yu several times over.

Today, Ji Mengyao finally had some free time to invite them over for a meal, though her birthday had already passed a few days ago.

They had been busy dealing with base matters at the time, so they rescheduled it for today.

As a result, Shen Yiyue had dragged Ning Yu around all afternoon, changing hairstyles and doing makeup.

"I feel like you're treating me like a doll..."

Ning Yu muttered softly, but Shen Yiyue was already busy changing Ning Yu's hairclip.

"Huh? Ning Yu, what did you say?"

Before Ning Yu could answer, Shen Yiyue continued talking to herself:

"Hmm, these are all pretty good. Which one should I choose...?"

"Stop! Stop!"

Ning Yu had no choice but to raise her hand to stop Shen Yiyue's indecisiveness. She removed the strange decorations from her head and picked up the black baseball cap that Ji Mengyao had given her.

She put it on her head and said decisively:

"That's enough, that's enough. You're treating this like a princess attending a gala dinner or something. We're just going to a friend's house for a meal and a birthday celebration..."

"Let's go!"

She stood up, ignoring Shen Yiyue's expression that suggested she wanted to say more, and walked over to the mirror.

Seeing that there was no room for further argument, Shen Yiyue pouted in frustration:

"Who asked Ning Yu to be so beautiful? Once you start dressing her up, you just can't stop."

Ning Yu looked at the girl in the mirror. Her snow-white silver hair cascaded down, with a small section of hair by her temples cut shorter, just reaching her neck.

The hair behind her ears, which was longer, had been carefully curled with a curling iron by Shen Yiyue, creating natural, playful waves that swayed with her movements.

She was wearing a school-style skirt, with a white shirt featuring a bow tie on top, and a dark blue pleated skirt with golden lines that started from her slender waist. The bottom of the skirt was adorned with white lace, thanks to the underskirt.

Her face was lightly made up. Her originally pale pink lips were now more vibrant, thanks to the lipstick Shen Yiyue had carefully selected. The perfectly drawn eyeliner and eyebrows made her look like a doll straight out of a fairy tale.

The most captivating were her amber-colored gemstone-like eyes, deep and tranquil, as if just one glance could draw you into the depths of her gaze.

Ning Yu couldn't help but shake her head as she looked in the mirror. This damn charm just kept increasing.

It was then that she noticed the baseball cap on her head, feeling it didn't quite match the outfit. She took it off and replaced it with the dark-colored bow Shen Yiyue had chosen for her.

"Hmph, I told you so! Mine was better!"

Shen Yiyue's face lit up with pride when she saw Ning Yu change back to the accessory she had picked.

"By the way, why are there several layers of white tulle inside this skirt?"

Ning Yu looked at the somewhat puffy skirt and felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Dummy Ning Yu, it's to give the skirt volume. Once it's puffed up, it makes your waist look thinner, and the tulle also prevents accidental exposure!"

Shen Yiyue began her "Girl's Knowledge" lecture, and while she was at it, she adjusted the slightly crooked bow on Ning Yu's chest.

As Ning Yu looked at Shen Yiyue adjusting her clothes and accessories so close to her, she suddenly had a vision of a young wife straightening her husband's tie.

"Sister, what are you doing in there? Are you done yet?!"

Shen Qianqian, who was already starving, couldn't help but call out from outside.

After shouting, she muttered to herself: "Why do I always feel like I'm the extra one... those two are so lovey-dovey inside that they won't come out."

Just as she was about to open the door a crack to see what they were doing, the door suddenly swung open.

Ning Yu looked at Shen Qianqian, who was trying to peek, and without saying anything, patted her head:

"Alright, we're done. Let's go!"

...

At Ji Mengyao's apartment.

The birthday gifts Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue had prepared for her were placed by the door, and dinner was already on the table.

This time, Wu Di had cooked. Surprisingly, this tall, strong guy turned out to be an excellent chef.

Ji Mengyao didn't mention her own cooking skills. Whenever the topic seemed to veer in that direction, Wu Di was about to respond when Ji Mengyao would discreetly step on his foot under the table.

Shen Yiyue, seeing how close the two were sitting and how affectionate they seemed, couldn't help but start gossiping:

"I bet you two are living together again, aren't you? Things are going well, huh!"

She glanced down at their matching couple's slippers—one bear, one rabbit. Ji Mengyao was wearing the bear one, while Wu Di was wearing the rabbit one, in a manly shade of pink.

Judging by... Wu Di's expression, he probably wasn't exactly thrilled with the choice...

Ji Mengyao's face turned red at the comment:

"Wh-what are you talking about? You... you don't know that living together saves electricity and water, do you?"

She tried to justify their cohabitation with a practical reason.

"Oh~~ I get it, I really do."

Shen Yiyue's teasing smile didn't fade; if anything, it grew wider.

Wu Di, on the other hand, didn't say much. He was too busy serving Ji Mengyao food.

Shen Yiyue smiled on the surface, but seeing the two of them so sweet made her feel a bit empty inside.

Under the table, Ji Mengyao and Wu Di were holding hands, which Shen Yiyue had noticed when she went to get some wine.

Shen Qianqian, meanwhile, had inherited the family tradition and was shoveling food into her mouth like there was no tomorrow, just like her sister.

But Ning Yu felt that Shen Yiyue seemed a bit off.

The number of empty wine bottles in front of her seemed to be piling up, even surpassing Ji Mengyao, the self-proclaimed "alcoholic."

Seeing her cheeks already flushed from drinking, Ning Yu frowned: Could it be that this girl, who's already a foodie, is also a drinker?

When she saw Shen Yiyue and Ji Mengyao about to open another bottle, Ning Yu reached out and patted Shen Yiyue's shoulder:

"Don't drink too much..."

"What's there to be afraid of?!"

Shen Yiyue seemed to have become drinking buddies with Ji Mengyao, waving her hand to signal they were going to keep going.

"Yeah, Ning Yu, don't be a buzzkill~"

Ji Mengyao also waved her hand, telling Ning Yu not to worry.

When they got home, Shen Yiyue was so drunk that Ning Yu had to help her walk.

She placed the slightly dizzy Shen Yiyue on the living room sofa, then went to pour a cup of tea, placing it on the coffee table next to her. Only then did she speak:

"What's going on with you today?"

Ning Yu's intuition told her that Shen Yiyue had something on her mind.

"Ning Yu..."

Shen Yiyue took the tea but didn't drink it. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Ning Yu with burning eyes:

"Do you know what it means to like someone?"