Don’t Even Think About It - Chapter 9

The weekend weather was decent, neither too hot nor too cold, with a gentle, cool breeze blowing through.

Foot traffic at Kaffa’s offline store experienced a cliff like plunge. However, online orders didn’t double in response, they only increased by about a third compared to usual. The revenue for the entire day wasn’t even as high as a regular workday.

Qiao Yan and Rong Yin took turns guarding the shop. One took the day shift, while the other went over to take over the management at five in the afternoon, keeping their division of labor strictly defined.

On the days she didn’t have to work, Qiao Yan didn’t go anywhere. When she had free time, she just lounged at home watching dramas and playing games. When she got tired, she would just collapse and slump right over, living a thoroughly cozy and comfortable life. Sometimes, when she was truly bored out of her mind, she would refresh her Moments feed every little while, her fingers restlessly scrolling to peek at her acquaintances’ online lives.

And while she was at it, she also took the opportunity to check if a certain someone had posted anything.

But unfortunately, that certain someone still hadn’t posted a single update, acting as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.

Zhou Xiyun didn’t like posting her personal life online to share, she didn’t have that habit. She had always kept a clear boundary between reality and the virtual world, and it had been that way for many years without any major changes.

On Saturday night, Zhou Xiyun attended another gathering to meet up with some college friends. Xing Yuan had publicly shared photos of the scene on his Moments, which Qiao Yan happened to scroll past.

Xing Yuan was not only Zhou Xiyun’s childhood friend but also her college classmate, so their relationship was far from ordinary.

Qiao Yan had no intention of prying into other people’s privacy, but she was still a bit curious and couldn’t help clicking on those photos.

There were nine photos in total. In the fourth one, Jiang Kaipin’s figure could be seen; during the group photo, he was standing right on Zhou Xiyun’s left side.

In the caption, Xing Yuan explicitly called out Jiang Kaipin’s identity, noting that he was a junior alumnus who shared the same alma mater as everyone else present.

It wasn’t clear who had brought Jiang Kaipin along, whether it was another friend or Zhou Xiyun herself. At any rate, analyzing the content Xing Yuan had posted, it seemed that among all the attendees, only Jiang Kaipin wasn’t from the same graduating class, he alone was the exception.

After that, Qiao Yan stopped browsing her Moments and buried her head entirely into grinding her game.

On Sunday, it was Qiao Yan’s turn on the day shift again, following the same division of labor as the previous day.

Since one of the employees had requested a personal leave for the afternoon, leaving the shop short-handed, she absolutely had to stay behind in the evening to help out.

Kafa had taken two large orders that required someone from the shop to go out and deliver them.

Qiao Yan was responsible for delivering one of them, sending coffee to the Yifeng Group.

Some people at Yifeng Group were working late into the night, including a portion of the venture capital department’s staff.

However, Zhou Xiyun was not among them; that small amount of work didn’t require so many people.

The working hours for the remaining week went by just like that, not much different from before.

The only difference was that fewer people were ordering flowers, and Jiang Kaipin didn’t show up a third time. Perhaps he had switched to another shop, or maybe he had changed to sending other types of gifts instead.

During those five days, Qiao Yan didn’t manage to see Zhou Xiyun; there was simply no opportunity to cross paths.

The mark on Qiao Yan’s collarbone had disappeared, completely fading away within a few days. She made time to go to a major shopping mall and bought two boxes of bird’s nest to give back to Zhou Huiwen, thinking that she shouldn’t accept a gift from an elder for nothing.

Certain courtesies didn’t matter when she was a clueless child, but they wouldn’t fly now that she was grown up. The proper etiquette could not be lacking.

In the blink of an eye, it was Friday.

Qiao Yan gave Rong Yin a heads-up in advance, taking a solid two days off. Then, carrying large and small bags of various items, she headed home.

Xu Ziqing went out early to the courtyard entrance to welcome her daughter, immediately opening her mouth to nag the moment she arrived.

Qiao Yan called out obediently, “Mom.”

Xu Ziqing acknowledged her, glanced at the pile of things Qiao Yan had bought, frowned, and said, “Why did you buy so many supplements? Are you coming back to your own home or visiting as a guest? You’re just blindly wasting money day after day.”

Qiao Yan explained, “Some of these are for Aunt Zhou, and the others are local specialties Rong Yin sent for you.”

“Where is Rong Yin? Why didn’t she come?” Xu Ziqing asked. “Didn’t I tell you to invite her over for a meal? Didn’t you mention it to her?”

“The shop needs someone to watch over it, so how could she find the time?” Qiao Yan walked toward the house as soon as she got out of the car. Since her hands were full holding the items, she used her foot to prop the door open. “Let’s wait until next time. I’ll bring her over whenever both of us are free.”

When mother and daughter reunited, they always had to exchange pleasantries. Xu Ziqing was still just as long-winded, liking to ask about this and that just as she had for years. Qiao Yan tirelessly answered her mother’s questions. After entering the house and putting down her things, she reached out to give Ms. Xu a hug, saying sweetly, “I missed you. Come on, let’s hug first.”

Xu Ziqing looked at her daughter with mock distaste and reached out to push her away. “So cheesy. Stop being so clingy.”

Qiao Yan replied cheekily, “Don’t be stubborn.”

Xu Ziqing said, “Stop acting, it’s giving me goosebumps…”

Qiao Yan countered, “Mom, you’re just putting up a tough front.”

Xu Ziqing smiled, giving Qiao Yan’s soft flesh a playful pinch. “Stop being poor. Hurry upstairs to put away your luggage, and help me clean up the house later.”

“I just got back, can’t I rest for a bit?”

“No. Go quickly, don’t even think about slacking off.”

Qiao Yan absolutely refused to budge, acting as if she were completely deaf to the request.

Xu Ziqing urged, “Be diligent, otherwise your grandma will come downstairs to deal with you in a minute.”

This was a divorced household. Many years ago, Xu Ziqing and her ex-husband had parted ways amicably, and she had raised Qiao Yan on her own.

Originally, four people lived in the house, which also included Grandma and Grandpa. But Grandpa passed away six years ago, so now only three women remained.

Furthermore, Qiao Yan took her grandmother’s surname, which was a mutual decision made by Xu Ziqing and Qiao’s father before their divorce.

When Grandma was younger, she was a strong, career-driven woman and the backbone of the family. Back when her health was still robust a few years ago, she was incredibly capable. Grandma was quite strict with Qiao Yan and held high expectations for her, so Qiao Yan had been afraid of her since childhood.

The moment she heard Xu Ziqing bring up the matriarch, Qiao Yan instantly wilted. She quickly grabbed her luggage and hurried upstairs.

The first night back home was warm and cozy, with the whole family gathered together in perfect harmony.

After dinner, Qiao Yan went to the house across the way to deliver her gifts, accompanied by Ms. Xu to visit Zhou Huiwen.

Only Zhou Huiwen was home next door; there was no sign of Zhou Xiyun.

“Xiyun is working overtime at the company. There was a last-minute notice today, and I still don’t know what time she’ll be back,” Zhou Huiwen said, smiling cheerfully as she brewed tea to entertain the mother and daughter.

Compared to the bustling warmth of the Qiao household, the Zhou house over here felt a bit desolate. Both upstairs and downstairs were empty, lacking a bit of the lively energy of daily life.

It was probably because people didn’t stay here often anymore, quite unlike how things used to be when they were kids.

Since the mothers of both sides were present, topics like their children’s recent situations were naturally inevitable.

Xu Ziqing and Zhou Huiwen had a thoroughly enjoyable chat, speaking in an endless torrent the moment they opened their mouths, once the floodgates of conversation were open, they simply couldn’t stop. Qiao Yan couldn’t get a word in edgewise, so she could only sit quietly to one side and listen, occasionally pouring tea and water for the two elders.

They stayed at the Zhou house for quite a long time, departing only after drinking through half a pot of tea.

Zhou Huiwen was very pleased with the return gifts Qiao Yan had bought. As she saw the mother and daughter out the door, she added, “Xiyun shouldn’t be working overtime this weekend. Qiaoqiao, you should come over more often to sit and chat. You two haven’t really seen much of each other in recent years, so now is the perfect time to catch up on old times.”

Qiao Yan wasn’t keen on catching up at all, but how could she dare to speak out of turn in front of an elder? She merely replied, “Sure, thank you, Aunt Zhou.”

By the time they returned to the house across the way, it was already quite late.

Xu Ziqing instructed Qiao Yan to get some rest early and not to play on her phone, managing her just as if she were a little child.

These words went in one of Qiao Yan’s ears and out the other. She gave a verbal assurance that she would definitely sleep early, but after returning to her room and closing the door, she went right ahead and stayed up late anyway. She lay in bed idling away the time, tossing and turning for ages before finally fishing out some clothes and heading into the bathroom to wash up.

By the time she finally finished and came out, the eastern side of the second floor diagonally opposite had already turned from dark to bright. Zhou Xiyun had finished her overtime and returned at some unknown point.

The Qiao and Zhou houses faced each other. Opening the window from this side allowed one to look directly across at the other, making it possible to see into a certain someone’s room.

Qiao Yan came out wrapped in a bath towel. With a casual glance, she caught sight of that person.

Zhou Xiyun was still working at this moment, wearing her glasses and looking at her computer.

Goddess Zhou was focusing so intently on her work that she completely failed to notice the commotion over here.

Qiao Yan paused her steps, gave her hair a couple of messy rubs, and then immediately reached out to fiddle with the green plants on her windowsill, deliberately making some noise. She was inherently prone to showing off, even tossing her towel about for fear of failing to catch the other’s attention.

After a moment, Zhou Xiyun shifted her gaze away from the computer screen. Raising her long eyelashes slightly, she looked toward this side.

Qiao Yan ceased her actions, instantly draping the towel over herself and walking away while feigning nonchalance.

Her true nature was truly hard to change; even after more than twenty years, she remained stubbornly unrepentant. Back in their middle school days, she used to do this frequently, putting on silent, clownish pantomimes in the dead of night to disrupt Zhou Xiyun’s reading and studying.

Back then, she hadn’t been making a ruckus out of nowhere. It was mainly because Xu Ziqing loved to use the star student Zhou as a model example, believing that Qiao Yan didn’t work hard enough, fooling around all day and letting herself go, unlike Zhou Xiyun across the street, who was still solving problems even at eleven or twelve at night, possessing both talent and drive. Ms. Xu demanded that Qiao Yan measure up to Zhou Xiyun, hoping Qiao Yan could study until the middle of the night just like her counterpart.

Qiao Yan was utterly powerless to achieve this, getting drowsy every single time she studied until ten o’clock. Consequently, she tried to strike a deal with Zhou Xiyun, begging her to read for one less hour so that she herself could be liberated an hour earlier.

The subsequent outcome could well be imagined. Zhou Xiyun completely ignored her, while Qiao Yan had plenty of underhanded tricks up her sleeve, stubbornly pestering the other until she couldn’t get a moment of peace.

Nowadays, Zhou Xiyun was already capable of ignoring these antics, offering no response whatsoever.

Qiao Yan curled her lips, and before long, she slipped back, standing right behind the window.

Zhou Xiyun adjusted her silver-rimmed glasses as if there were no one else around, calmly typing away.

She treated everything with absolute disregard, proving even more cold and detached than before.

Qiao Yan let her eyes wander around before fish-hooking a piece of paper, crumpling it into a ball, and throwing it across. It flew accurately through the window opposite, landing squarely on Zhou Xiyun’s shoulder.

The paper ball dropped onto the laptop keyboard, suddenly rolling a few times.

Zhou Xiyun remained unaffected. In the next moment, she brushed the paper ball away as if it were merely a stray leaf that had drifted inside.

She was determined to ignore a certain someone, treating her as non-existent throughout.

Qiao Yan refused to give up. Propping both hands on the windowsill, she called out restlessly, “Hey, you surnamed Zhou…”

Her voice was lowered, but it was still sufficient to carry across to the other side.

It was a stroke of luck that the elders of both families and the surrounding neighbors had already turned in for the night; otherwise, someone would have definitely discovered the racket here.

Qiao Yan leaned half her body out of the window, terrified that the other wouldn’t hear her, and immediately called out again: “Zhou Xiyun…”

Zhou Xiyun caught her breath, turning to glare at her as she finally reached the end of her patience.

Qiao Yan smiled roguishly, her grin widening as she waved triumphantly toward the opposite side.

That posture of hers looked exactly like a high-ranking official conducting an inspection.

Zhou Xiyun maintained her silence. After a long pause, she stood up once more.

Swish! She drew the curtains shut, swift and decisive, without a single second of hesitation.