Online Friends

When An Nuan got home, it was later than usual.

"Nuannuan, your mother won three awards at the school's traditional arts competition today: Best Poise, Best Figure, and Best Talent. She was amazing."

She ran into Professor Ling, who lived across the hall, downstairs. Professor Ling was not yet forty and had kept herself in great shape... at least compared with most people her age, though not with Liu Yuewang.

Liu Yuewang was younger than Professor Ling. She was An Nuan's mother.

"That's because this competition wasn't in your field, Auntie. It was all about tradition... If it were a dance competition without that traditional requirement, your belly dancing would win over every judge." An Nuan smiled. It wasn't much of an exaggeration; both she and her mother had learned belly dancing from Professor Ling.

They only danced for fun at home. Among the neighbors in the city, aside from those in the old streets and alleys, the residents of school-affiliated housing complexes like theirs were the most likely to keep up traditional neighborly ties. They were all longtime colleagues who had worked at the same institution for ten or even several decades, and their relationships were entirely different from those between neighbors in newly built commercial housing estates.

Professor Ling was pleased. She patted An Nuan on the shoulder. "Your college entrance exams are coming up. Remember to relax. Dance, listen to music, or come over to my place when you need a break."

"Sure!" An Nuan replied sweetly, linking arms with Professor Ling as they went upstairs.

"You've got such long legs," Professor Ling said enviously, giving An Nuan an admiring look. "I wish I had a daughter like you. Zhizhi's legs don't feel half as long as yours."

"That's an exaggeration. If Zhizhi hears you, she'll beat me until I'm a double amputee." An Nuan burst out laughing.

Chu Lingzhi was Professor Ling's daughter. She lived across the hall, and the two girls were close in age. They didn't go to the same school, but they got along well.

"Children say the darndest things, children say the darndest things," Professor Ling hurriedly said.

An Nuan opened the door, and Professor Ling spotted Liu Yuewang sitting on the sofa, still wearing the qipao she'd worn for the competition that morning. At thirty-six, she had the gentle air and smooth skin of a young woman, enough to make anyone envious. Her delicate brows and soft smile always brought to mind the line, "The moon rose over the willow branches; we met after dusk."

"Still admiring yourself?" Liu Yuewang was looking at her phone, a shy, quietly sweet smile on her face. Professor Ling greeted her.

Liu Yuewang turned around and stood up, chiding her, "What are you talking about? Go home and make dinner for Zhizhi. She just had an ice cream at my place and now she's whining that she's hungry."

"That girl's going to get fat..." Professor Ling grumbled as she turned to open her own door.

An Nuan closed the door and changed her shoes. She took off her track pants and jacket, then headed for the bathroom in just her shorts and camisole. With only the two of them at home, there was no need to worry about dressing lightly.

The young woman's legs were long and straight, and her soft panties hugged her snugly. As she bounced along, it looked as if An Nuan had smuggled a volleyball home in them.

Liu Yuewang frowned and crossed her arms as she watched An Nuan. "Didn't I tell you to come home early today?"

"I practiced volleyball a little longer and lost track of time." Lying came naturally with growing up. An Nuan didn't blush or falter, and looked perfectly calm. Of course, she couldn't tell the truth—that she'd wasted time chatting with Liu Chang'an on the pedestrian overpass.

"Sit down. I need to talk to you." Liu Yuewang tapped the coffee table.

An Nuan had been expecting this, so she sat down without a care. What had caught her attention was the shy, sweet smile on her mother's face when she'd first walked in. It had made her think of a woman in love.

Only women in love looked at their phones with that kind of expression. Her mother's sweetheart must have sent her a message that made her heart flutter and her cheeks burn.

Women all showed similar signs when they were in love, whether they were eighteen or thirty-six.

But it was hard to say. It was only an expression, after all. Maybe An Nuan was reading too much into it. She sat down and watched Liu Yuewang pick up her phone again. Her mother seemed to have no message to reply to, and absentmindedly set the phone on her thigh. She glanced at the screen, then turned her attention back to An Nuan with a serious look.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Liu Yuewang asked, gazing at her daughter's face as if she were looking at herself eighteen years earlier. Their strong genes had made them look remarkably alike, though An Nuan had a young girl's freshness, while Liu Yuewang's figure carried more of a mature woman's allure.

"No." An Nuan grinned. "Mom, that qipao looks so good on you. It really shows off your figure. I bet every man at school was staring today... Actually, the women too."

Liu Yuewang did have a great figure. Only a confident woman would dare to wear a qipao. Even a little extra weight around the waist, a bit of slackness in the hips or thighs, or slightly thick arms would stand out all the more in such an outfit.

The qipao's slit wasn't high, but when Liu Yuewang sat down, the small stretch of exposed thigh was still dazzlingly pale. It brought to mind the smooth, rounded whiteness of milk brimming over the rim of a cup, its creamy scent making one want to lean in close and breathe it in.

"What I wanted to talk about was you and Liu Chang'an from your class." Liu Yuewang sounded a little helpless. She glanced at her phone, finally put it down, and stared intently at An Nuan. "Your exams are coming up. I don't need to tell you how you should handle this."

An Nuan sobered up too, crossing her arms just as her mother had, though her chest didn't curve as generously.

"Liu Chang'an and I are just friends. He was clearing up a misunderstanding that day." An Nuan certainly wasn't going to use the excuse Liu Chang'an had given her to smear him.

"But I think he really does like you. Your mom has been around the block. I can tell by someone's tone and the way they act when they talk about the person they like."

An Nuan shook her head and put an arm around Liu Yuewang's neck. "Mom, what do you know about it? You're the adult here. If you're not good at something, don't pretend you are."

Liu Yuewang glared at An Nuan, then shot her another look and pressed a hand to her chest in irritation. The qipao was a little tight, and if she breathed too sharply, the toggles would pull at the edges and warp.

"I saw you playing on your phone just now. Which uncle were you chatting with so happily? If you really meet someone you like, you'll have to let me vet him." An Nuan took the chance to test the waters.

"What are you talking about? He's just an online friend." Liu Yuewang gave An Nuan a smack on the back. "Go on, take a shower."

An Nuan giggled. As an only child, she was her mother's little darling, and she could usually get away with all sorts of things by playing dumb.

But once she stepped into the bathroom, her smile faded... An online friend? An online romance?