The Seductive Pretender: Sister-in-Law is Turning Gay - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: “When Will She Be Back?”

At 9:00 PM, “Whatever Noodle House” had just sold out of stock and was closing for the day. Lin Yuqing removed her apron and sat down for her nightly bookkeeping.

She had been open for nearly a month; naturally, she hadn’t broken even yet, but her income and expenses were within a controllable range. She meticulously recorded the accounts every day, setting the daily costs and living expenses with strict, unyielding discipline.

Since arriving here, her life had mostly been under her own control except for…

Lin Yuqing’s gaze fell on another small notebook, which recorded the money she earned from her part-time job at the swimming center. After deducting living expenses and miscellaneous items, she currently had 1,480 yuan of disposable income. After tomorrow’s shift, it would surpass 1,500 yuan.

She was searching for information on her phone. The screen displayed: What gifts to give a girl under 2,000 yuan. This was the only uncontrollable factor in her life right now.

Zhong Manjing had helped her in so many ways, both big and small. Lin Yuqing felt a deep need to thank her, but as she scrolled through various gift ideas, she sincerely felt that items measured by money didn’t quite suit Zhong Manjing.

Furthermore, all the money she could spare added up to only this much. She knew Zhong Manjing didn’t lack money; in fact, she had likely seen the finest things the world had to offer. Ordinary, vulgar items wouldn’t catch her eye.

It was a headache.

She let out a soft sigh, feeling completely out of her depth. Her phone vibrated it was her set alarm. It was already 9:25 PM.

In the past, when Zhong Manjing came to find her for late-night snacks, she would usually arrive at nine, never later than nine-thirty.

She hadn’t come today.

Thinking of their parting scene that afternoon, Lin Yuqing lowered her eyes.

Meng Luo walked in from outside, carrying a bag. “What are you daydreaming about? I was entrusted by someone to bring you something.”

“Where is she herself?” Lin Yuqing stood up. Meng Luo looked at her with a smirk as she set the items down. “I didn’t say she sent it. For all you know, maybe Zhang Pingrui’s family sent some food? He said those firecracker flowers you gave the officer were great for his throat and wanted to thank you.”

Lin Yuqing said, “The scent of the things Zhong Manjing makes is different from everyone else’s. It’s easy to tell.”

For instance, this time, it was the aroma of bread and chocolate. In Meng Luo’s hand was a roasted pork rib; the cumin scent was so strong it was impossible to miss.

“True…” Meng Luo agreed wholeheartedly. She held a long rib, ignoring the oil smearing her lips, and pulled a container from the bag. She unclipped the lid to reveal a sausage, cheese, and corn ciabatta.

“Manjing said the ribs and ciabatta are mine. Only this chocolate scone was specifically made for you.” Meng Luo grabbed a tissue to wipe her hands, smelling the cheese on the ciabatta and wishing she had two stomachs.

Actually, she had already eaten a bowl of cold noodles in chili oil, stir-fried bean sprouts, and a pear for dinner. But the smell at Zhong Manjing’s house was so intoxicating she couldn’t help herself—she ate there and took some to go.

“She said she didn’t get to eat the roasted lamb chops at the bee farm because she gave them all to the kids, so she roasted two more ribs when she got back.” Meng Luo had finished half of her rib when she noticed Lin Yuqing staring at it.

“What? This is mine. I didn’t get any earlier.”

Lin Yuqing wanted to say she hadn’t eaten any either. When she and Zhong Manjing returned from the hike, Zhong Manjing hadn’t brought them out, and Lin Yuqing wasn’t about to ask. Besides, at that time, her mind wasn’t on food, but on something else entirely.

She still hadn’t figured that “something else” out.

Lin Yuqing took the chocolate scone and was about to put it in the fridge, but Meng Luo stopped her. “You can’t. Manjing said I have to watch you eat it. You definitely haven’t had dinner yet. Eat one now so I can report back on how you liked it.”

“…” So, Lin Yuqing obediently sat back down and began to eat a chocolate scone. She didn’t refute Meng Luo’s claim; she indeed hadn’t eaten dinner.

Meng Luo made a mental note: Zhong Manjing even knows her eating habits that well. When did these two get so close?

“It’s good.” In front of Meng Luo, Lin Yuqing’s reaction was reserved. The first bite was crispy, with a slightly sweet chocolate ganache in the center. The chocolate had been baked into a delicate, crunchy outer shell. The scone had four tall, distinct layers; the texture was like a giant egg yolk pastry, but without the dryness. It melted in the mouth. “The whole house must have smelled like chocolate when these were baking.”

“The whole yard did. I smelled it the moment I walked in.” Meng Luo nodded with satisfaction, tossed her finished rib bone into the trash, and noticed Lin Yuqing’s quiet glance at it.

Meng Luo took out a key and handed it to Lin Yuqing. “Here. I’m not going to the swimming center tomorrow. I have no morning classes, so you open up in the afternoon.”

“Are you going somewhere?” Lin Yuqing asked.

“Do you know about ‘post-holiday syndrome’? No one wants to work the first day back. My head is full of camping in the mountains—fresh air, good appetite, great sleep. I have no energy for work. Don’t you feel it?”

“A little. I brought the wrong bowls of noodles to a few customers today,” Lin Yuqing admitted. The scones were hearty; she was full after two. There were eight evenly cut pieces left in the box enough for four days of breakfast.

Meng Luo understood. Lin Yuqing hesitated for a moment after taking the key, then asked, “Did Zhong Manjing… say anything?”

Meng Luo had been waiting for this. As an observant “silent witness,” ever since she noticed the tension between them, she couldn’t control her gossipy heart.

Finally! Lin Yuqing was finally taking a step. She was surely going to ask if Zhong Manjing had a boyfriend.

Determined not to kill the budding romance, Meng Luo blurted out before Lin Yuqing could finish: “She doesn’t!”

Lin Yuqing froze. “I see…” What she actually wanted to ask was whether Zhong Manjing had mentioned wanting to see her. Seeing Meng Luo’s decisive answer, she misunderstood the context.

A sense of regret gnawed at her. Why had she merely asked if Zhong Manjing needed help? She should have just gone to see her after work.

Meng Luo patted Lin Yuqing’s shoulder comfortingly, assuming she was suffering the pains of unrequited love. “It’s okay. People in small towns think differently now; I understand. Don’t rush into anything. Take it slow. Start with things she likes.”

Lin Yuqing listened, figuring that as Zhong Manjing’s best friend, Meng Luo knew best. She interpreted this as Zhong Manjing being unhappy, likely because of Lin Yuqing’s silence on the way back.

Lin Yuqing had been thinking all night: Are those drawings and the phone call important? Was she equating those things with Zhong Manjing, or with danger? Even if she hadn’t figured it out, she shouldn’t have taken her silence out on her.

So she asked, “What does she like?”

Meng Luo said, “You could decorate your room a bit. It looks so empty. Manjing once told me she likes cozy styles bright, full, and lively.”

Lin Yuqing thought for a while. “Okay. Thank you for the advice.”

For the next few days, Zhong Manjing was busy brewing wine. Two bags of persimmons provided endless possibilities: wine, syrup, jam, pancakes, muffins, cakes, and pudding.

The wine was the priority. It was simple: keep the white frost on the skin, wash and dry them lightly, then put them in a jar with rock sugar to ferment for fourteen days to create persimmon syrup. For actual wine, she added specific yeast, plenty of sugar, and white liquor, sealing it for seven days.

She also made medicinal wines with peach blossom and Angelica dahurica, wolfberry, and passion fruit. She spent her nights mashing and slicing fruit. Looking at her rows of jars, she contentedly posted a photo to her WeChat moments.

Immediately after posting, she got a like. It was from Lin Yuqing. She checked the time: 4:30 AM. No wonder.

The next day, she didn’t wake up until 2:00 PM. Her schedule was indeed flipped. she cut some chives from the roof garden and fried some chive pockets to tide her over before slowly simmering a pot of ginkgo and cuttlefish soup. It was the best thing to drink after a late night to restore energy, though she didn’t feel particularly tired after her long sleep.

During her meal, she listened to the news. A weather report mentioned that the first autumn rain was coming to Yuqiu City, and temperatures would drop in two days. Yuhai County was the closest county to the city only a twenty-minute drive so weather reports for the city naturally applied here.

Zhong Manjing thought for a moment and decided to bring her new “little heart” umbrella when she left the day after tomorrow.

She hadn’t tended to her roof garden in days, and it was overflowing. She couldn’t eat all the tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans, so she patiently sliced them and pickled them. She donned gloves to make chopped chili sauce with garlic.

She had dinner at 6:00 PM—a leftover chocolate scone and a latte made with persimmon puree. Sitting at her small wooden table on the roof, she took a picturesque photo of her dinner against the twilight.

After eating, she went back to work. She put a basket of persimmons in the freezer to make frozen persimmons. Having plenty of chocolate left from the scones, she baked a batch of chocolate cookies. Thinking a plain dark filling looked boring, she added a layer of whipped salted cream.

She ended up making too much cream, so she happily whipped up an Oreo towel roll and six cake boxes.

There was no way she could eat it all. She checked the time; it was late into the night again. She posted another photo to her moments the one of her dinner. At 4:30 AM, she saw Lin Yuqing’s “time-keeping” like.

Zhong Manjing smiled, plugged in her phone, and went to sleep. The next day, she again slept until after 2:00 PM. The sun was still out, showing no signs of the predicted cold front.

Zhong Manjing took the chilled cake boxes and left them for Su Yun, giving her a few instructions at the door before heading out with her bag.

At 5:30 PM, Lin Yuqing finished her shift at the swimming center. She checked her phone and frowned. Zhong Manjing was indeed staying up way too late, just as Meng Luo said. If she continued…

Lin Yuqing hopped on her scooter, buckled her helmet, and drove straight to Zhong Manjing’s house. She couldn’t stand seeing someone so young waste away their health. She had made up her mind: stop overthinking and live in the present. She was going to ask Zhong Manjing if she needed help fixing her sleep schedule.

As she pulled up to the courtyard, Su Yun happened to be opening the gate, carefully holding a piece of Oreo towel roll.

“Looking for Xiao Zhong? She’s not here. She went out.”

“When will she be back?” Lin Yuqing asked.

“Xiao Zhong said she went to Yuqiu City for business. She won’t be back today.” Su Yun smiled and noticed a brand new pink long-handled umbrella with heart prints standing by the door. “Oh, that looks like Xiao Zhong’s umbrella.”

In the end, Lin Yuqing returned to the shop with a frown, feeling distracted. She went to bed early but was woken up by a booming sound.

She got up and looked out. It was a torrential downpour. The rain fell like a flood from the heavens, washing over the city. A chill seeped in from outside, colder than the air conditioning.

Lin Yuqing turned off her window unit. She turned on the light, intending to cover the other half of the window with waterproof cloth.

Her gaze shifted to the side, and she froze.

In the midst of the first cold autumn rain, that seemingly dead gardenia plant had actually put forth a new, tender green sprout.

Lin Yuqing instinctively reached for her phone. At this moment, she felt a surge of joy and she desperately wanted to share it.

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