Chapter 12: Sister Yu
Eldest Miss Ming returned to her room, huffing.
Yu Xian sat back down in her desk chair and transferred the 100 yuan to her via mobile.
Just then, He Shiyun sent her a message.
He Shiyun was her high school classmate—one of the few people who had never looked down on her back then. However, once college began, the two went their separate ways, and the occasions they met could be counted on one hand.
He Shiyun: [Ah Xian, the submission deadline for the 16th National Fine Arts Exhibition is September 20th. Don't let it slip your mind.]
Yu Xian acknowledged the reminder. There was still a little over half a month until the cutoff, but among her current oil paintings, none truly satisfied her.
She had constantly been searching for inspiration by immersing herself in the lives of the grassroots folk. She had painted many landscapes and captured several portraits depicting the rustic, earnest culture of Xiangling Town, yet she always felt something vital was missing—so much so that she had kept hesitating to upload any piece for the competition.
The National Fine Arts Exhibition was held once every five years; its prestige and gold standard were beyond words.
Yu Xian stood up and went into the studio. None of the paintings, large or small, left a uniquely lasting mark on her mind. Turning to walk out, she accidentally knocked against an easel. By the time she propped it back up, she found that one of its legs had snapped off.
Feeling a bit of pity, she removed the wooden drawing board, intending to discard the broken stand.
While clearing it away, some paint got onto Yu Xian’s hands.
Bright yellow pigment clung to the pads of her fingers, smearing into an unsightly blotch. Yu Xian stared at her hand, momentarily lost in thought.
—Those people's hands are so filthy—how could this lady ever touch them?
—Who knows what kind of bacteria other people have on their hands? How disgusting is that!
Yu Xian curled her fingers inward, her thumb pressing against the paint on her index finger, slowly rubbing it. Lowering her gaze, an actual wave of nausea rose within her.
Yu Xian carried the broken easel down to the ground-floor utility room and washed the paint stains thoroughly under running water.
With the easel broken, she needed to buy a replacement.
And so, Yu Xian knocked on Eldest Miss Ming's bedroom door.
A delicate voice came from within: "Come in."
Yu Xian opened the door. The room was dim, with a movie projected onto the wall opposite the foot of the bed. Eldest Miss Ming reclined like an 18th-century European court noblewoman against pillows propped high on the bed, her rounded, pearl-like bare feet resting daintily atop the white cotton quilt.
On the nightstand sat a plate of cherries and strawberries.
Aware that Yu Xian had entered, the young lady didn't bother lifting her head in the slightest. She merely extended a soft, slender hand toward the bedside table, picking up a large, plump strawberry.
Those usually non-stop chattering lips had taken on a tender, glistening pink sheen from the juice of the previous strawberry, catching a faint, watery gleam beneath the dim reflection of the projector light.
Yu Xian watched her quietly. Eldest Miss Ming was deeply engrossed, her pearl-white teeth delicately biting off only the sweet tip of the strawberry, chewing slowly and savoring every nuance.
Her rosy cheeks shifted softly; she ate at an exceptionally leisurely pace.
Yet Yu Xian also noticed that the young lady only ate the tips—on the table lay a discarded strawberry bottom, half-eaten and left behind.
"Eldest Miss, I need you to run an errand."
"Say that again?" Her movie viewing interrupted, Ming Ruixi turned her head toward the doorway, her entire small face radiating displeasure: "This lady just went out at seven in the morning!"
She had finally managed to carve out some free time to relax and watch a movie.
Yu Xian watched as she placed the newly bitten strawberry bottom onto the table, then shifted her gaze back to her face: "Go into town and buy me a forward-tilting beechwood easel, two rolls of textured masking tape, and a 4K solid drawing board."
As she spoke, Yu Xian pulled five hundred yuan from her leather wallet and laid it beside that discarded strawberry bottom: "There's a physical art shop in town called Zuo Hui. After you pay, they provide a home delivery service. One hundred is your errand tip. If there's any change left over after paying for the supplies, you can keep that too."
Eldest Miss Ming: "..."
"This lady doesn't want to go!" Ming Ruixi showed fierce resistance. "My movie isn't even finished..."
Then go after finishing it...
That sentence rose to Yu Xian's lips, only to lodge in her throat the moment her gaze brushed over her own slightly calloused, lean fingers. The hands before her suddenly felt as though they were smeared in that revolting paint all over again.
Yet she knew full well there was nothing on them; the paint had already been scrubbed spotless.
"Go right now." Yu Xian switched to a firm, unyielding tone. Reaching out, she switched on the overhead light, instantly flooding the room with brightness. "Watch the rest when you get back."
Ming Ruixi saw the film projected on the wall wash out into a pale blur under the bright incandescent light. Right before her eyes, Yu Xian powered off the projector. A wave of stifling fury jammed straight into Ming Ruixi's chest.
Scrambling indignantly off the bed, she pointed a trembling finger at Yu Xian: "Y-You woman, how can you be so awful?! All you do all day long is boss people around!"
Yu Xian stood at the door, watching her get ready: "You are my maid. Why wouldn't I boss you around?"
Ming Ruixi: "..."
In the end, Eldest Miss Ming took out her small handbag, tucked the five hundred yuan inside, and picked up a strawberry before heading out, biting into it.
Just as she was about to toss the strawberry bottom aside—
Yu Xian reached out to grip her hand, but for some reason, her fingers adjusted at the last second and clamped onto her wrist instead: "Eat the whole thing."
"Yu Xian!" Eldest Miss Ming's willow-leaf brows knit tightly as she cried out in high displeasure: "This lady never eats the bottoms of strawberries."
"Don't waste food," Yu Xian said.
Ming Ruixi tried to reason with her: "The rest isn't sweet at all, it tastes terrible. How about... you eat it? This lady doesn't mind letting you have my leftovers."
The air suddenly fell dead silent.
The young lady cautiously lifted her gaze, only to find the woman's face had chilled to a terrifying darkness in an instant.
The pressure around her wrist steadily tightened; she could distinctly feel the icy rage emanating from Yu Xian.
Eldest Miss Ming bit her lip. Fearing that she would truly snap and kick her out, she took a reluctant bite of the tart strawberry bottom. Keeping her eyelashes lowered, she forced down every bite until the entire strawberry was finished. Only then did Yu Xian's cold fury recede, turning to walk out.
Watching her figure recede into the distance, Ming Ruixi initially wanted to dive right back into bed. But looking down at the handbag in her hand, she had no choice but to head downstairs reluctantly and step out into the heat to buy the easel.
"Truly intolerable."
"Who on earth bosses people around like this?!"
...
Arriving in town once more, Xiangling Town had grown bustling and lively. Shops lined both sides of the bluestone avenue, with tea houses and restaurants dotting every main street as pedestrians bustled back and forth.
Ming Ruixi traversed a commercial street. With noon approaching, all sorts of mouthwatering aromas drifted through the air, stirring her appetite into overdrive.
Ever since coming here, she hadn't eaten a single truly delicious meal.
Ming Ruixi initially set out to find that shop called Zuo Hui. However, after trekking through several streets across town, she found no trace of it.
Disheartened and discouraged, she stood under the blazing sun, which beat down as if trying to melt her entirely.
"Pretty girl, want to come in for lunch? We have braised prawns, hotpot, pickled pepper fish fillet, tribute pepper snowflake rabbit..."
Recited one delicacy after another, Ming Ruixi's mouth watered uncontrollably. Perhaps it was because the weather was simply too hot; standing in the shade, exhausted, sweaty, and sticky, her mind lapsed into a daze.
By the time she snapped out of it, five or six signature dishes were already in front of her, half-eaten.
Looking down at the receipt in her hand—a bill exceeding one thousand yuan—she was jolted stone-cold sober.
She didn't have that much money. At most, she only had 600 yuan on her, and that was factoring in the tips Yu Xian had given her.
The server smiled politely: "Please settle the bill at the front counter when you're ready."
Staring at the remains of the feast on the table, Ming Ruixi's face went stark white. She was finished!
Only now did she reach the crystal-clear realization that she was no longer that wealthy, powerful heiress of the past.
She had no money to pay the bill!
...
Back at the desk, Yu Xian was sketching the background linework on her tablet. Her luck had turned—just moments earlier, an idea of how to construct the background had crystallized in her mind. Lines flowed effortlessly from her stylus, and a rough composition began to take form.
Then, the ringtone of her phone shattered the silence once again.
A scene utterly familiar.
Answering with a sinking sense of foreboding, sure enough, Eldest Miss Ming had caused trouble again.
"Yu Xian, hurry and transfer money to me! This lady is being accused of dining and dashing, sob sob sob..."
"They're holding me here and won't let me leave! They're even demanding this lady wash dishes to work off the debt!"
Yu Xian's gaze turned frosty inch by inch. Her stylus lingered on the tablet screen, leaving behind a stark dark blotch: "How much did you eat?"
The young lady's voice dwindled: "1,388..."
Yu Xian: "In that case, go wash dishes for them."
Eldest Miss Ming clearly couldn't believe her ears: "Yu Xian, help me out! This lady doesn't want to wash dishes!"
Yu Xian tightened her grip around the stylus: "Did you ever think of the consequences before doing something? I'm not your parents. I have no obligation to clean up your messes. Deal with it yourself—"
Before the words fully left her mouth, a panicked commotion erupted from the other end of the line: "Don't pull on this lady! I never said I wouldn't pay! Don't drag me—sob sob sob, this lady doesn't want to wash dishes..."
Yu Xian listened with cold detachment to the uproar over the phone. Setting it down on the desk, she was just about to resume drawing—
"What do you think you're doing?! Back off! Don't you dare touch me! Where are you putting your hands?! Is my chest something a filthy man like you can lay your hands on—"
The stylus came to an abrupt, violent halt. Yu Xian's gaze snapped back to the glowing phone screen.
...
Half an hour later, Yu Xian led the delinquent heiress down the steps of the teahouse.
After bailing her out, Yu Xian hadn't spoken a single word, marching straight ahead in silence.
Knowing full well she had crossed a line, Ming Ruixi trailed behind her with an uneasy, pounding heart. Unable to endure the heavy silence any longer, Eldest Miss Ming finally opened her mouth: "Yu Xian, this lady will pay you back this money."
Yu Xian paid her no mind, walking into the Zuo Hui art supply store. She purchased the easel, drawing board, and masking tape, arranging for home delivery to Yu Xian Inn.
"Yu Xian..." Seeing her remain so quiet, the young lady was genuinely frightened, having no idea when that suppressed fury might erupt.
Especially given that she still had to live under her roof.
"Yu Xian, I know I was wrong..." Ming Ruixi stepped forward, reaching out to tug at her wrist.
Yet Yu Xian noticed that she only grabbed her wrist, deliberately avoiding her palm as though her hands carried some sort of vile bacteria.
With an icy glare, Yu Xian shook her hand off.
"Yu Xian..." Catching that frigid look, Ming Ruixi felt a deep dread—Yu Xian probably wasn't going to forgive her this time.
All the way back to the inn, Yu Xian didn't utter a single sound. When noon arrived, it was time to prepare lunch.
Yu Xian began cooking herself. Ming Ruixi’s heart dropped at the sight—hadn't she told her that she was supposed to cook?
Why was she handling it herself now?
Soon, Ming Ruixi recalled what Yu Xian had said yesterday: if she couldn't see any value in her labor, she would throw her out.
Panic seized Ming Ruixi. She rushed to help, only to find there was no room for her to step in—Yu Xian simply gave her zero opening to intervene.
When Yu Xian moved to wash the bean sprouts, Ming Ruixi thrust her hands into the basin, washing along with her while chattering in frantic appeasement: "Yu Xian, can you please just forgive this lady for once?"
Yu Xian lowered her eyes, looking down at the hands placed alongside hers. Slender, snow-white jade fingers, stripped of that expensive diamond manicure; the nails were a soft, natural rosy pink, the nail beds forming elongated, elegant ovals that still radiated effortless aristocratic luxury.
"Take them away." Yu Xian's tone chilled, entirely unmoved by her apology.
Ming Ruixi didn't pull away. Instead, she softened her voice into an even gentler, pleading tone:
"Yu Xian..."
"Sister Yu..."
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