As she left the company, Wen Yifan instinctively scanned her surroundings, recalling Mu Chengyun’s words. Having witnessed such confrontations before, she felt uneasy and tried to recall the reports she had recently worked on.
She couldn’t remember any unpleasant interactions with her subjects; most of her communications had been peaceful. She also hadn’t produced any exposé-style news pieces lately.
At this hour, there were still many people on the streets of Shang’an, especially near Fallen Street. The roads were lively and bustling. Street lamps illuminated large areas, making the night as bright as day.
Wen Yifan’s worries dissipated because of this.
Shivering from the cold, she tucked her chin into her scarf and hailed a cab directly.
The restaurant for Qian Fei’s wedding was near Shang’an, at most a ten-minute drive away.
Once in the car, Wen Yifan first sent a WeChat message to Sang Yan. Thinking about possibly meeting many of his friends soon, she pondered for a moment, then took out her lipstick and lightly touched up her makeup.
Wen Yifan stared out the window, her thoughts gradually drifting to the graduation ceremony stories Mu Chengyun had recounted about Sang Yan.
She had always been reluctant to revisit those memories and had never brought them up with Sang Yan again. But now, as their relationship grew closer, she felt increasingly insecure, worried that their current bond might someday be affected by past events.
— “They seemed to mention something that day about some senior being someone’s backup plan for years or something.”
— “Then Sang Yan spoke up.”
In an instant, time rushed forward.
Back to that stifling, gloomy summer that left one breathless.
The young man stood before her, fine raindrops hitting his eyelashes, gathering into large droplets before falling. His Adam’s apple moved slightly as he spoke softly, “Why did you apply to Yi University?”
Wen Yifan could no longer clearly remember her feelings at that time. She only recalled being unable to think of a suitable reason and calmly replied, “I made a promise to someone.”
Sang Yan looked at her, “What about me?”
“…”
After a long while, Sang Yan lowered his gaze, his eyes seemingly devoid of any warmth. For the first time, he used a form of address that distanced them, asking each word deliberately, “Wen Yifan, am I your backup plan?”
…
A honking sound interrupted her memories.
The driver in front seemed furious, immediately braking and rolling down the window to shout at someone outside, “Are you an idiot?! Don’t you know how to drive?!”
Wen Yifan’s body lurched forward as she came back to reality and looked outside. She saw a sports car, as if without eyes, arrogantly brushing past them, nearly colliding.
After cursing, the driver reluctantly started the car again.
Wen Yifan, still shaken, asked, “Driver, what happened?”
“Did I scare you, miss?” Wen Yifan was pretty, and her voice was gentle, which seemed to calm the driver’s anger somewhat. “It’s always like this around Shang’an. A bunch of rich kids drink and then drive recklessly, and nobody does anything about it.”
“…”
Wen Yifan was aware of this issue.
Her department had already published several reports on the matter.
But at this moment, Wen Yifan’s attention was drawn to the words “drunk driving.” She paused, suddenly remembering that early morning on Valentine’s Day when she encountered Xing De, the drunk driver, at the scene.
She wondered if he might have realized she worked at Nanwu TV Station because of that.
Wen Yifan recalled Mu Chengyun’s description.
A middle-aged man in his forties.
“…”
She wasn’t entirely sure about this guess, and her lips gradually drew into a straight line.
–
After arriving at the destination, Wen Yifan paid and got out of the car.
Before she could take out her phone, she noticed Sang Yan standing at the entrance of the restaurant. His posture was relaxed, tall, and lean, wearing formal attire that didn’t seem very warm. He had a cigarette between his fingers and looked weary.
Wen Yifan walked up to him, “Why are you smoking out here?”
Hearing her voice, Sang Yan lowered his eyes to look at her. He smelled strongly of alcohol, though it wasn’t clear how much he had drunk. However, his eyes were clear, showing no signs of intoxication.
“Aren’t you cold?” Wen Yifan touched his hand and said softly, “Let’s go inside. Your clothes don’t look very warm at all.”
Sang Yan responded with a sound of acknowledgment and extinguished his cigarette in the nearby trash can. “I’m cold. Warm me up.”
“Did you drink a lot?” Wen Yifan observed his appearance, holding his hand and tucking it into her coat pocket. “Didn’t you say you weren’t a groomsman? Why did they make you drink so much?”
Sang Yan stared at her face and drawled, “Even those with partners have to drink.”
“…” Wen Yifan blinked, pondering this logic. “Does that mean I’ll have to drink too?”
“Of course.” Sang Yan pulled her inside. “But…”
“Hmm?”
Sang Yan’s lips curled slightly, his fingertips gently stroking the back of her hand. He seemed to be in a good mood.
“Your partner has already taken care of your share.”
…
Wen Yifan was led by Sang Yan to his table.
This table was mostly filled with Qian Fei’s close friends, all of whom knew each other. When they saw Wen Yifan appear, being led by Sang Yan, the group of boisterous men suddenly fell silent.
Noticing all the eyes on her, Wen Yifan felt a bit uncomfortable.
Su Hao’an was the first to break the silence: “Damn, Sang Yan, your partner is Wen Yifan?”
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow: “So?”
“Is this the girl you said was desperately trying to chase you?” Su Hao’an was incredulous, feeling he really shouldn’t have believed Sang Yan’s boasting. “How could you say something like that?”
Wen Yifan instinctively looked at Sang Yan.
Su Hao’an then turned to Wen Yifan and said, “Wen Yifan, can you say something to slap this dog’s face? I really can’t stand his disgustingly arrogant attitude!”
“Huh?” Wen Yifan didn’t see anything wrong with what was said and hesitantly replied, “But I did, though it wasn’t exactly chasing…”
“…”
Wen Yifan felt the word “chase” sounded more sincere: “It was pursuing.”
As soon as she said this.
The banquet fell into silence again.
Sang Yan remained silent, just quietly playing with her hand, looking extremely relaxed. He tilted his head, staring at Wen Yifan’s serious expression as she explained, and suddenly chuckled with his chin lowered.
Su Hao’an was a bit speechless: “You’re giving Sang Yan a face here.”
It seemed that no one at the table believed Wen Yifan’s words.
Wen Yifan hadn’t noticed their reactions and was unconsciously looking around. She spotted the person sitting next to Sang Yan and quickly recognized him as another of Sang Yan’s college roommates.
His name was Chen Junwen.
“So,” Chen Junwen happened to speak up, his tone extremely gossipy, “Su Hao’an, that girl you’ve been talking about everywhere, the one Sang Yan couldn’t chase in high school no matter what? Is it her?”
Su Hao’an, being a typical teasing friend, sighed: “Yes, and he still has the nerve to brag about her chasing him.”
“…”
Wen Yifan was a bit puzzled and leaned close to Sang Yan’s ear to ask: “Don’t you want to explain?”
Sang Yan glanced at her: “Explain what?”
Wen Yifan seemed more concerned about his reputation: “That you’re not boasting.”
“…”
Chen Junwen continued: “So Sang Yan, is that why you didn’t date anyone in college?”
“You’re overthinking it,” Su Hao’an exclaimed, “Sang Yan just simply couldn’t find anyone to date, okay? Who the hell could put up with that dog-like temper? Tell me, who could stand it! It’d take someone with an incredibly good nature to spend a lifetime with him!”
Chen Junwen took a sip of wine: “To be honest when Sang Yan asked me earlier if Duan Jiaxu was handsome, I thought he had taken a liking to Duan Jiaxu.”
There was that rumored love interest again.
Wen Yifan instinctively listened to Chen Junwen’s words.
“I was floored. Then he said something like, oh—” Chen Junwen imitated Sang Yan’s tone, drawling, “So, who’s more handsome between me and Duan Jiaxu?”
“…”
Wen Yifan immediately looked at Sang Yan.
She met his gaze, looking down at her with a meaningful expression.
It was as if he was belatedly trying to settle an old score with her.
This time, Wen Yifan didn’t want to evade. She pressed her lips together, thought for a moment, and leaned in to soothe him.
“I vote for you.”
“No need.” Sang Yan still maintained his composure, seemingly not accepting such a perfunctory resolution. His tone was light, “I never force others.”
Wen Yifan felt like laughing: “No, I’m being completely sincere.”
Sang Yan let out an “Oh”: “Is that so?”
“Otherwise,” Wen Yifan paused, bringing up Su Hao’an’s earlier words, “I wouldn’t have pursued you so desperately.”
“…”
–
As the wedding banquet was coming to an end.
Sang Yan was pulled away by some old friends to chat at another table. Wen Yifan didn’t know those people, so she didn’t join them, instead staying at the original table waiting for him to return. She lowered her head to play with her phone, overhearing Chen Junwen chatting with the man next to him nearby.
Chen Junwen sighed: “I never thought Old Qian would be the first among us to get married. I remember at our graduation farewell dinner, he was crying about being someone’s backup plan for so long in college.”
The other person laughed: “It’s been several years since graduation, man.”
Chen Junwen chuckled: “Yeah, I remember Sang Yan was drunk then, and he mistook me for someone else, saying something like…”
Wen Yifan instinctively looked over.
Before she could hear Chen Junwen finish his sentence, Su Hao’an suddenly stood up, seemingly drunk, and toasted Wen Yifan: “Hey, Wen Yifan. To celebrate you and my good brother Sang Yan becoming a couple, come on, let’s have a few drinks!”
Wen Yifan turned her attention back, remembering Sang Yan’s words about “even those with partners have to drink.” She smiled, feeling content to drink with such a sentiment, and obediently accepted the drink and downed it.
…
When Sang Yan returned from the other table, he found that Wen Yifan had already been made to drink several glasses. She smelled strongly of alcohol, but her appearance seemed normal, except for her cheeks being slightly redder than usual, and she looked fine otherwise.
However, her reactions were noticeably slower, and her gaze seemed a bit dazed.
Sang Yan had seen Wen Yifan drunk before and could roughly gauge her condition.
He looked at Su Hao’an, somewhat angry: “What’s your problem?”
“Good brother,” Su Hao’an also didn’t look too sober, smiling, “That’s right, it’s your old man! Your old man personally created a wonderful evening for you! No need to thank me!”
“…”
Wen Yifan was still sitting in her original spot, calmly drinking.
Sang Yan didn’t let her continue drinking, directly taking the glass from her hand and setting it aside. Seeing that it was getting late, he simply pulled Wen Yifan up and said in a deep voice: “Let’s go home.”
Wen Yifan raised her eyelids, staring at Sang Yan’s face: “Okay.”
Both had been drinking, so they couldn’t drive.
Although Wen Yifan still appeared calm and composed, her steps were already unsteady. She was half-supported by Sang Yan as they left the restaurant, and then she stood watching as Sang Yan waited at the roadside to hail a cab.
Eventually, Wen Yifan seemed to tire of standing and simply sat down on a nearby traffic barrier post.
The street wasn’t particularly remote, but for some reason, they couldn’t find a taxi for a long time.
Noticing Wen Yifan’s actions from the corner of his eye, Sang Yan walked back to her, crouching down to look at her. He frowned and pinched her cheek: “You’ve got quite the talent.”
Wen Yifan nodded, accepting the compliment: “Thank you.”
Sang Yan laughed in exasperation: “Who told you to drink?”
“…” Wen Yifan stared straight at his face, suddenly reaching out to touch him. “Sang Yan.”
“What is it?”
Not sure what she was thinking, Wen Yifan pressed her lips together, her mood seeming a bit low. She sniffled slightly and said softly, “Have you not been doing well these past few years?”
Sang Yan’s expression froze: “Who told you something?”
Wen Yifan shook her head: “No one.”
Sang Yan smiled: “Then what are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking,” Wen Yifan tilted her head, looking particularly confused and seemingly very sad about it, “how did you end up becoming the top host in Fallen Street?”
“…”
Completely caught off guard by such words, the smile on Sang Yan’s lips stiffened.
“Don’t be like that anymore,” Wen Yifan sighed, very seriously saying, “I’ll buy out your contract, okay?”
“…”