319 Wonderful Mood of the Artis

She laughed. He laughed.

Then, Zixu gave a small nod of his head, telling her, "Good night. Sleep soon."

"You too," she replied, still smiling. 

He gave her a short peck on the forehead again before turning around. And just like that, one moment, he was still standing there with her, while the next moment, he was already gone, climbing over the wall.

Yujia stood there for a minute. She touched her forehead, then her lips, and then dropped her hand. The smile she was wearing only grew a little larger.

Yujia was grinning when she walked slowly back into her room. She was grinning when she went through her nightly routine, getting dressed in her sleeping robes and washing her face. She was still grinning when she fell into her bed, rolling herself up in the blankets.

Even when she buried her face into her pillow, she still could not wipe that grin off. It was not like she minded it, though. If not for the fact that she was already in bed, she would want to jump up and celebrate.

Yujia rolled back over to face the ceiling. Her fingertips reached up, brushing over her lips.

What just happened felt almost like a dream. Except, based on how clearly it made a home in her memories, she knew that it could not be anything but reality.

They kissed.

It was that simple, yet her brain couldn't stop mulling over it, repeating that phrase, that memory, over and over again. The kiss was something that she didn't expect. Only when it happened, it didn't feel abrupt at all. She liked it. 

She couldn't help but wonder what Zixu was thinking right now. She wondered if he made it home yet. He probably did. Lingxin was close to the Yu Villa. She wondered if the memory they shared was also stuck in his brain, on repeat, like her.

Yujia laughed again, rolling to the side and hugging an extra pillow.

He told her, before she left, to sleep soon. With how wide awake her brain was right now, at this very moment, she seriously didn't think that she could fall asleep anytime soon. 

If she couldn't physically get up and dance, at least her brain was throwing a party. And it was going to be one festive party without any sleeping anytime soon, by the looks of it. 

…

It seemed like eventually, at some point in time, she got tired. The power of sleeping was just too great, and she fell into a dream that she would have no recollection of the next morning. The only thing Yujia knew when she blinked open her eyes was that she had a quality, quality deep sleep. 

She stretched her arms, washed her face, and got dressed. Amidst her wardrobe, she found a new set of robes that she had not yet had a chance to wear. With a white top and a lively orange skirt, the color was not one that Yujia typically wore, but she liked it quite a bit. It reminded her of the morning sun, rising over the horizon, with its brilliant orange hues. Originally, the intricate embroidery work on the ribbons was what caught her eye; however, now, she thought that the whole piece was quite excellent.

As she got dressed, Roubao, who usually slept at the foot of her bed, started pawing her for attention again. Yujia bent down and looked at the puppy, then picked him up and swept him into a tight hug. Roubao yelped and licked her face, as if asking, 'What's the occasion, Mom?'

Yujia just grinned at her son, telling him, "My cute little Roubao, I love you so, so much." She planted a few kisses on his forehead, to which he responded happily. He surely did not understand, but at least he knew that kisses and affection meant good.

Once she finished hugging, petting and giving scratches behind Roubao's ear, she stepped outside. Xie Yufeng was already there, eating a typical breakfast of congee at the stone table. Yujia skipped over, as cheerful as she could be, hugging the young woman and catching her off guard.

Yufeng put her hands up, demanding, "What do you want now?"

In a humming tone, Yujia leaned back and replied, "Good morning! I'm just in a really good mood today."

Yufeng narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth, as if about to say something. But in the next moment, she seemed to decide that she did not care enough to know. She went back to eating, which was more of her priority. A bowl was already set aside for Yujia. Although she wanted to eat, she also wanted to skip around the villa first. 

Thus, instead of sitting down and eating breakfast with Yufeng, she went on over and skipped to the kitchens, where she greeted Chef Hong and Lili with a hug.

Hugging Lili was fine. The young woman hugged and bid Yujia a good morning back. On the other hand, when hugging Chef Hong, the woman had crossed her arms, saying, "Girlie, you are not usually this affectionate. Tell me, what's your underlying motive?"

"Ah?" Yujia blinked innocently. "I'm just so, so happy. Can't a girl be happy?"

"You usually have underlying motives if you treat me with this kind of hyper joy. Don't think I don't know your tricks, girlie," Chef Hong replied with a snort. 

"You really think that I always— always— have to have some sort of motive?"

"Always."

Yujia pretended to get offended, though her mood was still as jubilant as when she woke up this morning. "That's really the kind of person you take me as?" she asked.

"Well, you're a smart girlie. And smart girls do always have reasons behind everything they do. That's why they're smart, no?" Chef Hong answered.

"Then… if you put it that way, and insist on a motive from me, please make me some hangover soup! I'm not hungover but I'm craving that right now," Yujia replied with a wink.

Chef Hong gestured to the ingredients she was chopping. "Already on that," she informed proudly.

"Thank you then!" Yujia reached over and gave Chef Hong another tight hug. "You're the best!" 

With that, she left the kitchen, still wearing a smile across her face that was foolishly wide. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and she could not be happier.

Today was going to be such a good day. She could feel it in every precognitive cell within her.