Once the awkwardness passed, Wen Yifan’s emotions adjusted quickly. She didn’t feel there was anything wrong with mentioning it and became much more at ease. She nodded lightly, echoing, “I’ve heard that.”
Sang Yan turned his head to look at her.
“I said it.”
“…”
The hotel was located on a somewhat secluded street with few surrounding shops. However, there was a breakfast place directly across from it, which already had quite a few customers, mostly locals from the neighborhood.
The four of them casually ordered breakfast and left after eating.
The car was parked near the hotel, about fifty meters away.
Qian Weihua was getting on in years, and the recent rushing about and late nights had taken a toll on his body. He had been experiencing back pain for the past few days and was extremely lacking in rest.
Mu Chengyun hadn’t gotten his driver’s license yet. So they had agreed the night before that Wen Yifan would drive today.
The journey would take about three hours in total, which wasn’t too far. Along the way, the other two mostly rested, with only Sang Yan in the passenger seat occasionally chatting with her.
After reaching Nanwu, Wen Yifan first dropped Sang Yan off at the entrance of his residential complex, then drove the car back to the station.
After parking the car in the lot, Wen Yifan got out. The three of them took the equipment from the car and walked towards the building. Qian Weihua walked alone in front, currently on the phone with someone.
As if he had been holding it in for the entire trip, before long, Mu Chengyun suddenly called out to her.
“Sister Yifan.”
Wen Yifan turned her head: “What is it?”
Mu Chengyun was silent for a few seconds, his tone seemingly certain yet unwilling to believe.
“Are you together with Senior Sang now?”
Because she had let Sang Yan hitch a ride, Wen Yifan hadn’t felt comfortable openly discussing their relationship earlier. She was afraid it would give the impression that she wasn’t separating her personal and professional lives, making it seem more like she came for a romantic getaway rather than work.
But thinking carefully, apart from bringing Sang Yan along on the return trip, Wen Yifan hadn’t neglected anything during this business trip.
Feeling there was no reason to keep it a secret anymore, Wen Yifan nodded: “Mm.”
Mu Chengyun was quiet again for a moment, then quickly said with a smile: “I see.”
Based on Su Tian’s words earlier, and Mu Chengyun’s behavior, Wen Yifan had noticed his feelings. But they didn’t interact much usually, and since he had never expressed it directly, she hadn’t paid much attention to it.
Wen Yifan breathed a sigh of relief.
She felt that discussing this now was good for both of them.
Back at the office.
Wen Yifan greeted the others and then began frantically writing scripts while reviewing materials. She just wanted to quickly finish the wrap-up work, end this half-month-long overtime, and go home to rest.
Just before leaving work, Wen Yifan received a WeChat message from Sang Yan asking when she’d be off. She looked at the time and replied with an approximate time: [Around 7 PM.]
Wen Yifan: [What’s up?]
The next moment.
Sang Yan sent a voice message, his voice slow and deliberate.
“Just wanted to tell you something.”
Three seconds later, another one.
“Your boyfriend is coming to pick you up.”
–
After finishing the remaining work, Wen Yifan packed up her things and left the company. She immediately spotted Sang Yan’s car parked nearby, walked quickly towards it, and got into the passenger seat.
Sang Yan had changed clothes and seemed to have gone home to rest in the afternoon, looking much more refreshed now.
Not knowing why he had come, Wen Yifan asked, “Are we going somewhere now?”
“Home,” Sang Yan turned his head and looked at her for a while.
Wen Yifan looked back at him: “What is it?”
After another moment of silence.
Sang Yan didn’t speak, suddenly unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning over to fasten hers. His face came close in an instant, the distance between them mere inches. After fastening it, he didn’t immediately move back, finishing his sentence from this close distance.
“You still owe me a gift, don’t you?”
At this distance, they could feel each other’s breath.
Wen Yifan instinctively held her breath: “Didn’t you say you already received it?”
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow.
Wen Yifan blinked: “Then I’ll save this gift for you for next year.”
“I was just being polite earlier, saying something nice to save your face,” Sang Yan’s eyebrows lifted slightly, his tone drawn out and slow, “But don’t you know who’s receiving the gift?”
“I think,” Wen Yifan thought for a moment, inexplicably wanting to laugh, “we should split it fifty-fifty.”
“…”
“Well, after the kiss,” saying it out loud, Wen Yifan felt a bit embarrassed. But she still very seriously described yesterday’s situation, “you seemed quite happy too.”
Sang Yan glanced at her, not continuing to argue. His gaze lowered, fixing on her lips. Then, he sat back straight and started the car: “Fine.”
“Hm?”
Sang Yan very frankly: “I admit it.”
…
It was a bit late to go home and cook dinner at this hour.
Passing by a restaurant near their home, Sang Yan parked the car, went in to buy dinner, and then returned home.
After being away for half a month, the house seemed no different from when she left, with everything still in its original place and neatly arranged. Wen Yifan now just wanted to eat dinner and go to sleep. She had just sat down intending to eat when Sang Yan pulled her up.
Wen Yifan looked at him in confusion.
Sang Yan reminded her: “Didn’t you forget something?”
“…”
Wen Yifan immediately remembered, got up, and walked towards the bedroom: “Wait for me a moment.”
Entering the room, Wen Yifan opened the wardrobe and took down the bag she had placed on the very top. She looked inside, belatedly feeling a bit worried, not knowing if he would like it.
Wen Yifan walked back to the dining table and handed him the bag.
Sang Yan took it and casually glanced inside: “Clothes?”
Wen Yifan nodded: “A coat.”
Sang Yan lowered his eyes and took it out to look.
It was a plain camel-colored long coat.
Perhaps because he had never worn clothes of this color, Sang Yan stared at it for a while and asked, “Why did you buy this color?”
Wen Yifan observed his expression: “I thought it would suit you well.”
She quickly added: “And I’ve never seen you wear clothes of this color.”
Although he seemed to prefer wearing black.
But Wen Yifan occasionally wanted to see him wear clothes of other colors.
Wen Yifan wasn’t sure if her gift was appropriate, feeling a bit nervous: “If you don’t like it, should I exchange it for another gift?”
Sang Yan smiled: “When did I say I don’t like it?”
“…”
“I received quite a few gifts this year. In terms of satisfaction,” Sang Yan deliberately paused for quite a while before seemingly seriously commenting, “this one ranks second.”
Wen Yifan made an “ah” sound and promptly asked: “What’s first?”
“First?” Sang Yan didn’t say directly, “What I received yesterday.”
“…”
Yesterday?
Yesterday was Sang Yan’s actual birthday, and he should have received quite a few things.
She had sent a cake.
They had also confirmed their relationship yesterday.
And, according to Sang Yan’s words, that kiss on the corner of his lips should also count.
Wen Yifan wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with her, but she wanted to know the answer, so she asked again: “What is it?”
Sang Yan told her to guess: “What do you think?”
Wen Yifan didn’t know what other gifts he had received, and thinking that other people’s gifts were all precious, she didn’t dare to rashly claim the first place. She reached out to unwrap the package in front of her: “Let me guess first.”
But her guessing time didn’t even last half a minute.
Suddenly, Wen Yifan felt a weight on her head. She instinctively looked up to see Sang Yan’s hand resting on her head, then rubbing it forcefully.
Not gently like a normal person would.
Soon, Sang Yan’s movement stopped, the corner of his lips curving slightly.
“Thanks.”
His hand remained on Wen Yifan’s head.
Wen Yifan didn’t move, her eyes meeting his black ones, a bit confused: “Thanks for what?”
Sang Yan smiled: “The gift.”
Hearing this, Wen Yifan’s gaze lowered, focusing on the coat in his hand.
“And, stop guessing,” Sang Yan withdrew his hand, saying lightly, “The first is you.”
…
After dinner, Wen Yifan returned to her room.
After completing her bedtime routine, Wen Yifan lay back on the bed, reminiscing about what Sang Yan had just said when suddenly there was a knock on the door. She was startled and sat up.
Not knowing what Sang Yan wanted at this hour, she immediately got up and opened the door.
Sang Yan stood outside, looking like he had just finished showering. He was wearing casual clothes, his hair half-wet, hanging softly at his ears, a bit fluffy. Seeing her open the door, he tilted his head, seeming to look behind her ear.
The next moment, Sang Yan frowned and directly grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards him.
Following this force, Wen Yifan leaned forward, her forehead bumping against his chest.
She was completely unprepared and asked in confusion: “What’s wrong?”
Sang Yan’s other hand pressed against the back of her neck, without any further movement. Then, he slightly tilted his head, looking down at the area behind her ear, pausing for quite a while. As if observing something.
Wen Yifan instantly understood.
The distance was close to touching, and with him just out of the shower, the sandalwood scent on him was extremely strong. Wen Yifan felt his gaze had become tangible, the places he touched starting to feel hot.
Wen Yifan wanted to step back a bit, but he held her in place, unable to move.
Sang Yan spoke flatly: “Did you apply medicine?”
“No,” Wen Yifan licked her lips and explained, “It’s already scabbed over, no need to apply anything.”
“It got wet,” Sang Yan let go, his tone a bit annoyed, “You didn’t even look, did you?”
“…”
Sang Yan walked out, leaving behind a sentence: “Come out and apply medicine.”
Wen Yifan instinctively touched behind her ear, only now realizing it was indeed a bit sore and swollen. She hadn’t paid much attention to this small injury and followed Sang Yan’s footsteps.
After rummaging through the TV cabinet for medicine, Sang Yan jerked his chin towards the sofa: “Sit there.”
Wen Yifan didn’t think it was a big deal: “This wound will heal naturally on its own.”
Sang Yan ignored her comment, walked back, and sat down next to her, approaching her with an expressionless face. He picked up a cotton ball, seemingly intending to help her wipe off the water on the surface of the wound.
The atmosphere was a bit tense.
This situation reminded Wen Yifan of the scene when she had applied medicine for him before.
She felt she should do something to ease this atmosphere.
Seeing from the corner of her eye that Sang Yan was about to touch her, Wen Yifan thought for a moment, then suddenly dodged backward.
Their eyes met.
Wen Yifan squeezed out a word: “It hurts.”
“…”
The tension seemed to shatter in that instant.
Sang Yan said with a half-smile: “Are you faking it?”
Wen Yifan wanted to say she learned all these tricks from him but decided to save him some face. She leaned back, casually mentioning: “After it scabbed over, I didn’t take care of it, thought it was pretty much healed.”
Hinting that he shouldn’t keep such a stern face.
Sang Yan didn’t respond to this: “Do you often get injured at work?”
“Huh?” Wen Yifan thought for a moment, “Not really.”
“…”
“Occasionally, I guess. This time I don’t even know when I got scratched,” Wen Yifan said with a smile, “And I didn’t notice right away, only knew when my colleague told me. It doesn’t hurt much.”
Sang Yan used iodine to disinfect it for her, looking like a little devil, but his movements were gentle.
“Doesn’t hurt?”
Somehow, hearing this, Wen Yifan’s voice stopped, inexplicably swallowing back her denial. She stared at Sang Yan’s profile, instinctively answering truthfully: “It hurts a little.”
Sang Yan’s touch seemed to lighten even more: “Does it hurt now?”
Wen Yifan: “It’s okay.”
After finishing, Sang Yan threw the cotton swab into the trash: “Don’t let it get wet when you shower tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Sang Yan started tidying up, saying casually: “Go to sleep.”
Wen Yifan made an “oh” sound and stood up, walking towards her room. But soon, she turned back, looking at Sang Yan still sitting on the sofa, and blurted out: “Will you help me apply medicine again tomorrow?”
“…”
As if he hadn’t expected her to say this proactively, Sang Yan’s movements stopped. He looked at her for quite a while before averting his gaze.
“Come find me yourself after you shower.”