A Moment Too Late (GL) - Chapter 30

She likes You Fu.

Nan Xue fell silent instantly.

She lowered her head, her dark hair covering half her face. Her eyelashes fluttered, and the restaurant’s light cast a soft glow on her pale nose, giving her a somewhat silent appearance.

She pinched the napkin, her slender fingers moving slightly before she threw it on the table.

“Are you serious?”

Nan Xue raised her eyes, staring intently at Shu Yubai’s eyes, fearing she might miss any detail.

Shu Yubai responded with a soft “Yes.”

A hint of desolation flashed across Nan Xue’s eyes. Her long eyelashes fell, and her petite red lips pressed against the rim of her glass as she took a sip of juice.

After a moment, she looked up again, and the hint of desolation disappeared, leaving only a detached indifference.

She took a deep look at Shu Yubai, lowered her head, and gave a self-deprecating smile.

Shu Yubai glanced at her watch; the silver hands trembled, indicating 7:40 PM.

It was almost time to leave.

The restaurant was bustling with noise, and there were many people around. Outside, there were still many waiting in line to collect their food numbers.

Shu Yubai looked around the restaurant; they were almost at the front of the queue. She then glanced at Nan Xue, who seemed somewhat isolated, perhaps because of the cooler tones of her clothing.

Shu Yubai, however, chose to ignore it.

“Shall we go? Let’s wait for them in the garage.”

Shu Yubai stood up.

At that moment, a child rushed by, making a lot of noise. The child’s mother hurried after them, anxious not to lose sight of the child. Shu Yubai didn’t notice this and was busy tidying up her seat. She was wearing delicate high heels and lost her balance when bumped by the child, swaying backward.

She was startled, but a light touch at her waist steadied her.

There was a gentle breath by her ear.

Nan Xue was supporting her waist. The fragrance from her seemed very close, and her waist felt soft and delicate.

The sensation was warm.

Shu Yubai was slightly distracted.

When she regained her balance and turned around, she met Nan Xue’s clear, expressive eyes.

“Sister…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Shu Yubai immediately removed Nan Xue’s hand from her waist, grasped her wrist to pull her away, and then, avoiding any appearance of intimacy, stood at a distance.

Nan Xue’s words were caught in her throat.

Shu Yubai was looking far away, where You Fu was still in line.

Nan Xue raised an eyebrow.

So, she was afraid of misunderstandings?

She bit her lip and looked at You Fu’s direction with an indifferent gaze, her eyes as cold and deep as an ancient well.

Shu Yubai felt slightly awkward. Nan Xue’s touch made her shift her perspective, and she thought that Nan Xue might be overthinking things.

Since that impulsive kiss, Shu Yubai had realized that Nan Xue was quite resistant.

Shu Yubai cleared her throat and tried to find a new topic, saying, “What about that boy? Do you like him?”

She was referring to You Luan.

You Luan resembled You Fu somewhat and was quite outstanding among his peers. Did Nan Xue like that type? Shu Yubai even began considering the economic standing of both families—seemed like a good match.

Once Shu Yubai learned that she and You Fu weren’t officially together, Nan Xue had many more thoughts.

Nan Xue immediately replied:

“I don’t like him.”

“I have no feelings for him.”

“We don’t have anything in common; it was just an arranged blind date organized by my father.”

She might as well have written “I don’t know this man” on her face.

Shu Yubai leaned back on the woven bamboo chair, her long hair resting on one shoulder, and said softly, “That’s your own matter.”

Then she looked back at You Fu.

As if she didn’t care at all.

••••

The dinner for the four came to an end, and it was getting dark.

Shu Yubai drove home alone.

When they parted, You Fu invited her to go out sketching together sometime, and Shu Yubai agreed.

However, she felt slightly insecure.

Was her painting good?

Would her senior be disappointed?

The residential complex was somewhat old, but the location was good. From higher floors, you could see the distant lake and snow-covered plains. After getting out of the car, Shu Yubai unlocked the main door and walked inside.

The floor was damp and cold, making her toes numb.

Downstairs, some children were building a snowman. Shu Yubai looked over and smiled faintly; children were not afraid of the cold.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Shu Yubai fished it out of her bag and saw Lin Lan’s name on the screen.

She answered the call, “Hello?”

“Xiao Shu?”

On the other end was Lin Lan, sounding a bit cheerful. She asked straightforwardly, “I heard from Nan Xue that the little dog is with you?”

Shu Yubai looked down and replied, “Yes.”

Lin Lan was relieved to know the dog was fine. After a moment, she asked, “Your no longer single? I saw you posted a lot of photos.”

Shu Yubai shook her head, “Not yet. You misunderstood.”

She wasn’t out of her situation yet and needed more time.

Maybe one day, when she was completely over it, she could respond to You Fu properly.

Shu Yubai felt a bit hopeful.

“Oh,” Lin Lan said after thinking, “Then Nan Xue must have misunderstood. I told her you were no longer single.”

“It’s fine,” Shu Yubai smiled, holding the phone to her ear. She entered the hallway and pressed the elevator button. “I just ran into her and explained it.”

Lin Lan was reassured, and they chatted for a bit longer before ending the call.

Shu Yubai returned home to stay with her mother.

Her mother was older and a bit lonely, so she had a cat for company. Now that Shu Yubai was back, the place felt a bit livelier.

“Mom?”

Shu Yubai opened the door, changed her shoes, and looked around.

A white Ragdoll cat came over, and after a while, the small teddy dog Lin Lan was fostering also arrived.

The cat and the dog didn’t fight.

“Is Xiao Shu back?”

A woman walked out from the kitchen—her mother.

Her mother, though older, had taken good care of herself. She had been meticulous in her youth and remained the same in her old age: clean, calm, and fond of playing with cats and dogs.

Shu Yubai’s mother, Li Nian, had been an associate professor at a university’s fine arts school when she met her father. She later became a professor but divorced her father not long after. Now, living alone in this three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, she had no plans to remarry.

She hadn’t endured much hardship and had a non-confrontational personality. Her only real struggle was her marriage.

Used to not competing or fighting, when Shu Yubai’s father had an affair, she couldn’t be bothered to argue with the mistress. She thought it was better to let him go and quickly divorced him.

However, after the divorce, their financial situation worsened.

Shu Yubai also suffered quite a bit.

Shu Yubai put the groceries she had brought along into the fridge and cleaned the dirty laundry before sitting at the dining table.

Dinner was simple, and the mother and daughter ate quietly. After a while, her mother suddenly said, “You had a package delivered just now.”

Curious, Shu Yubai saw the package on the coffee table. It was a black envelope that resembled a book.

She went over, used a small knife to open the package, and indeed found a book—or perhaps a magazine.

“What is it?”

Her mother stopped eating and looked over.

Shu Yubai flipped through a few pages, her lips curving into an uncontrollable smile. She put down the book, looked up with bright eyes, and said, “Mom, I made it into the exhibition. It’s a silver award piece.”

This was from an exhibition in Beijing a while ago. After submitting her work, she impulsively had a falling-out with Nan Xue and left.

Now, the exhibition organizers had printed her work in this booklet and mailed it back to her.

It was amusing—at that time, she had a premonition that things wouldn’t work out with Nan Xue, so she had used her mother’s address.

Her work received a silver award.

It wasn’t comparable to her peak achievements, but it still demonstrated some personal skill.

Li Nian held the booklet, flipping through it with a beaming smile, and said, “Not bad.”

After dinner, Shu Yubai began planning to find a mentor.

It was better to bring her work along than come empty-handed. The work was fine, but on the other hand, she needed to set aside a large amount of money for tuition. When her previous mentor had guided her, there was no charge at the school, but external rates were high.

Now that she had graduated.

Shu Yubai thought for a moment, her gaze falling on a few paintings stacked in the corner.

A few minutes later.

She listed photos of those paintings on an auction site.

She set the starting bid at: 1000.

After a while, she changed it to: 500.

So disheartening.

The price of a painting by You Fu was significantly higher, but hers were only in the three-digit range.

••••

On the distant mountain peak, lights flickered on. At the foot of the mountain, the shimmering lake reflected the night, with snow accumulated on the shore. The willow branches were bare, gently swaying in the night. The light illuminated the snow, creating distinct black-and-white outlines, as if painted with ink.

The room was connected to the outdoor terrace through floor-to-ceiling windows that were open, letting the cold wind blow inside.

However, Nan Xue seemed oblivious to it all, curled up alone in the cold, silent room, not doing much.

The blanket formed a small mound.

Aunt Zhang brought the warm milk prepared for Nan Xue, steam rising from the porcelain cup.

“Here, for sleep.”

Nan Xue waved her hand, softly saying, “Thanks, but no need.”

“Didn’t you have it every night before?”

Aunt Zhang sat on the edge of her bed, closing the lid of the cup with a soft click.

She looked at Nan Xue’s expression and asked, “Is the young lady feeling down?”

“No.”

Nan Xue was huddled under the blanket, her head buried deeply, facing the wall.

Footsteps approached from afar, and Nan Xue recognized them as her father’s.

Aunt Zhang looked at Nan Mingzhu, somewhat awkward, “Sir, she won’t drink it.”

“It’s okay, just leave it on the table.”

Nan Mingzhu replied casually, leaning against the doorframe, looking down at Nan Xue, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

Nan Xue’s voice had a touch of coldness.

Nan Mingzhu stood at her door, turned on the light, and looked at Nan Xue.

Nan Xue shielded her eyes from the light, turning around to see who was there, mumbling, “Dad.”

Her mental state had been poor these days, her complexion pale, and she didn’t eat much. She only took a few bites and claimed to be full. Her parents had noticed. In the dim light, her disheveled black hair covered half her face, her transparent white skin making her look even thinner.

She was curled up in the blanket, holding her phone.

Nan Mingzhu’s gaze fell on her phone screen.

Nan Xue turned off the screen in a second.

“Nothing.”

Nan Mingzhu gave her a suspicious look and turned off the light, “Go to bed early.”

Hearing her father’s footsteps fade away, Nan Xue sighed lightly and turned over in bed. The large room felt even lonelier, lacking something. If Shu Yubai were here, everything would be different.

Once her father had gone downstairs, Nan Xue felt a bit more at ease.

The screen lit up, and the search bar prominently displayed the three words: Shu Yubai.

Searching this on Baidu seemed somewhat suspicious.

Nan Xue remembered a boy who had once passed her love letters and had done similar things.

She caught him red-handed.

Feeling uneasy, Nan Xue quickly scrolled through the search results.

Shu Yubai had a Baidu encyclopedia entry.

Nan Xue clicked on it. The introduction said she was a painter, listing her representative works, exhibitions she had participated in, and her considerable fame.

The description contained a lot of praise.

She scrolled further down the page.

She even looked through the profiles of people with the same name.

Her attention was drawn to a search link, which she focused on.

It was a link to an auction website, with her name in small red text.

Nan Xue clicked on it.

A familiar painting came into view. Her calm eyes flickered slightly, then she looked at the starting bid next to it: 500.

The painting was one Shu Yubai liked very much.

It depicted a courtyard in watercolor, with a rich green spread out, and distant mountains of varying shades. Under the trees, there was a small house, and a classical woman stood in front of the house, gazing into the distance as if waiting for someone to return.

Shu Yubai had shown Nan Xue this painting after she finished it, saying it was the one she was most satisfied with since her injury.

She had even said she would give it to Nan Xue as a gift.

Now it was being auctioned.