In the dim living room, light and shadow flickered. The horror film’s terrifying background music had everyone sitting on the sofa tense with nerves, screams caught in their throats, just one second away from bursting out.
The sliding door to the balcony wasn’t completely closed. Wind caught the curtain, letting in a bit of light that flickered on and off, making the atmosphere even more eerie.
Meng Xinglan was timid. Back in high school when their group went to a haunted house, there’d been nothing much, yet she’d screamed louder than anyone. So many years had passed, but nothing had changed. Watching this horror film, she practically wanted to hide entirely in Ruan Mian’s embrace. She clung to Ruan Mian’s arm, and whenever she saw something frightening, she’d bury her head in Ruan Mian’s chest, instinctively squeezing toward her.
On Ruan Mian’s other side sat Chen Yi. The sofa space was already small to begin with, and each time Meng Xinglan leaned over, she was pushed sideways, her arm pressing against his arm. Through the thin layer of clothing, she could even feel the warmth of his body.
Her every breath was filled with the light, clean scent from the man—crisp and fresh.
Ruan Mian subtly shifted to the right. She’d just opened up a bit of distance when Meng Xinglan let out another cry and squeezed over. Ruan Mian found herself falling unexpectedly into Chen Yi’s embrace.
Her head bumped against his chin—not too hard, not too soft.
At such close proximity, Ruan Mian could even hear the man’s barely audible muffled grunt, as if it had escaped from deep in his throat.
Mixed with a hint of ambiguous meaning.
Her breath caught. The string in her mind seemed to tighten to its limit, then snapped with a ping. Her entire being felt flushed with heat from the inside out.
In the dim light, the subtle sound of fabric rubbing seemed amplified countless times. Ruan Mian forced herself to sit up calmly, straightening her back, like a roly-poly doll.
But where she couldn’t see, Chen Yi propped his elbow and tilted his head to watch her for a long time. As light and shadow flickered, he lowered his head and smiled.
After a while, Liang Yiran apparently noticed that Meng Xinglan had moved farther and farther from him. He reached out to grab her arm and pulled her back, saying in a low voice, “Sit properly.”
After speaking, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, encircling her in his embrace. Unable to move, Meng Xinglan was now at some distance from Ruan Mian.
The movie gradually entered its climax. The others watched with great interest, but Ruan Mian felt somewhat drowsy, lowering her head to yawn several times.
At first she could still rely on willpower to hold herself up and sit there properly, but the closer it got to the end, the less spirit she could muster. Her whole body gradually sank into the sofa, her head resting against the low pillow behind her, eyelids drooping, half-asleep.
Soon, more drowsiness surged up. Ruan Mian’s eyelids struggled twice, but in the end she couldn’t resist and fell asleep.
She didn’t know how much time had passed. Chen Yi, who hadn’t really been watching the movie, was about to get up to pour himself some water. His fingertips had just touched the cup on the table when the person who’d been sleeping peacefully there suddenly seemed to lose her support and fell toward where he’d just been sitting.
Before he could react, his body moved first. His hand caught her head and he gently leaned back.
Then he replaced his hand with his shoulder.
The sofa was soft, and Ruan Mian was sleeping deeply, sinking in deeply as well. Leaning like this wasn’t very comfortable. Seeing this, Chen Yi slid down a bit more, positioning his shoulder at a height suitable for her.
For the remaining half hour or so of the movie, Chen Yi had even less interest in watching. That bit of weight on his shoulder felt heavy, filling his heart to the brim.
The movie soon ended. As the ending credits played, Shen Yu, who’d been sprawled on the single sofa the whole time, sat up and stretched. His gaze inadvertently fell on the four people sitting on the long sofa, and he couldn’t help cursing.
Fuck.
He cursed under his breath, slipped on his slippers, got up to drink some water, then walked over to the balcony with mischievous intent and yanked the curtains open forcefully.
The living room suddenly brightened with glorious sunshine streaming in.
Meng Xinglan was startled by him. Rubbing her eyes, she shouted, “Shen Yu! What’s wrong with you! You’re such a grown person, are you childish or what!”
Shen Yu laughed and waved his hand to pull the curtains fully open, humming an off-tune melody leisurely.
Ruan Mian, who’d been sleeping nearby, was also startled awake by the commotion. She instinctively raised her hand to rub her eyes, but unexpectedly grabbed onto something.
Cool and a bit soft.
She woke up instantly. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the extremely clear lines on the man’s palm, and a light-colored small mole at the first knuckle of his middle finger.
Ruan Mian froze, as if unable to come to her senses or at a loss for what to do. The sensation beneath her fingertips was especially clear. Both of them unconsciously moved their fingertips.
Chen Yi moved his arm and withdrew his hand. His fingertip brushed past hers, stirring up a small tingling sensation.
He didn’t seem to take this matter to heart at all, standing up quite naturally, putting his hand in his pocket, and walking toward the kitchen.
Ruan Mian followed through with that motion to touch her forehead, then lowered her hand. Her gaze fixed on a certain spot, slightly lost in thought.
She didn’t want to overthink, but she couldn’t help thinking—were his actions and behaviors unintentional care, or something else?
Was that “something else” the meaning she’d thought about many times before but didn’t dare to think about?
Ruan Mian had an indescribable feeling. It was as if the person she’d hidden deep in her heart had suddenly one day reached out and knocked on her door.
But Ruan Mian didn’t dare open the door.
She didn’t know if he was tired from walking and just passing by wanting to come in and rest his feet, or if he truly wanted to move in and become a permanent resident here.
She was a gambler, but also a timid gambler—eager to try yet hesitant and undecided.
……
That evening, the group ate out. On the way there, Shen Yu mentioned the Japanese meal from last night, complaining, “If Chen Yi hadn’t insisted on going, I’d rather have just bought some cold dishes from downstairs in our residential complex.”
Sitting in the back seat, Ruan Mian’s eyelid twitched. She casually asked, “Which Japanese restaurant did you eat at?”
“Hezuo, the one at Liangyuan Bridge.” Shen Yu opened the car window. Cool breezes wrapped around this prosperous city that never sleeps.
The food container Chen Yi had brought last night had no markings. Ruan Mian had only thought the taste was familiar, but hadn’t expected it to be exactly the restaurant where she and He Zechuan had eaten before.
She looked up and glanced in the rearview mirror at the person driving. The man’s expression was as usual, his elbow resting on the window edge, one hand controlling the steering wheel.
The next second, as if sensing something, his gaze looked toward the mirror. Ruan Mian hurriedly withdrew her gaze and turned to look out the window.
Chen Yi caught that second of her flustered state, and the corners of his lips curved into an extremely faint arc.
Outside the window, high-rise buildings stood row upon row. Tree shadows flashed past. Even the vast night couldn’t disturb this city’s bright lights and wine-green revelry.
After eating, the group returned to Chen Yi’s residence. Besides the study and master bedroom, his house had two additional guest rooms.
Meng Xinglan and Liang Yiran hadn’t booked a hotel outside. Ruan Mian had originally intended to return to her own place, but couldn’t withstand Meng Xinglan’s persistent coaxing and had no choice but to come back with them.
The five of them sat in the living room playing poker for a while. Around ten o’clock, Chen Yi and Shen Yu suddenly received calls from their unit—they had to return to the military district urgently.
The card game broke up. Meng Xinglan went back to her room to find a charger. Shen Yu hurriedly stood up and dove into the bathroom. Liang Yiran said a few words to Chen Yi, then also followed back to his room.
For a moment, only Ruan Mian and Chen Yi remained in the living room. The atmosphere suddenly became much quieter.
Chen Yi stood there and poured himself a glass of water, drinking two sips, then walked to the entrance. He rummaged through the shoe cabinet drawer for a set of keys and removed one from it.
He walked back to the living room and handed the key to Ruan Mian. “This is the spare key to the front door. When you guys leave, remember to help me lock the door.”
Ruan Mian made a sound of acknowledgment, then thought of something. “What about this key?”
“Just keep it for now.” Chen Yi said casually, “When I come back on leave next time, I’ll get it from you.”
His arrangement was reasonable. Ruan Mian couldn’t find any reason to refuse. She nodded and said okay.
On the other side, Shen Yu came out of the bathroom with his face still wet. He glanced at the two of them and asked expressionlessly, “Are we leaving?”
Chen Yi made an affirming sound, bent down to pick up the car keys from the table, and instructed, “The rooms are all clean. Sleep wherever you want. There are also unopened toiletries in the bathroom.”
Ruan Mian nodded. “Got it.”
He seemed uneasy, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. Shen Yu couldn’t stand it anymore. “Come on, can’t you say whatever it is on the road?”
“……”
“……”
Ruan Mian paused, clutching the key in her hand, and looked away somewhat unnaturally. Chen Yi let out an inaudible sigh. “Then I’m leaving.”
“Okay.”
Meng Xinglan and Liang Yiran also came out of their rooms. “Be safe on the road. We’ll get together again in June.”
Shen Yu waved his hand. “Alright, you guys have fun.”
The two of them left one after the other. Once the door closed, no sound could be heard anymore. Ruan Mian inexplicably felt a sense of loss, but looking at the key in her hand, that little bit of disappointment seemed to dissipate quite a bit.
That night, Ruan Mian and Meng Xinglan slept in one room. After showering, the two of them lay in bed chatting.
Meng Xinglan looked at her several times, as if she’d been holding back for a long time and finally couldn’t help it anymore. “Mianmian, can I ask you a question?”
“What?”
“Are you and Chen Yi…?” Meng Xinglan sat up. “I just feel like something seems a bit off between you two.”
During the movie that afternoon, she’d inadvertently turned her head and seen Ruan Mian sleeping with her head pillowed on Chen Yi’s shoulder, but Chen Yi seemed completely accustomed to it, even lowering his shoulder to accommodate her.
Later when the movie ended and Shen Yu suddenly yanked open the curtains, she’d also seen Chen Yi use his hand to block the light in front of Ruan Mian’s eyes. Such small detailed actions couldn’t be done unless one cared.
Hearing this, Ruan Mian also sat up slowly.
Seeing her lower her eyes in silence, Meng Xinglan couldn’t quite tell what was going on. “So what’s the situation with you two now? Are you together?”
“No.” Ruan Mian pressed her lips together. After a moment of silence, she wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start. She could only sigh softly. “I really can’t say.”
The emotions in her eyes were too complex. Meng Xinglan couldn’t bear to ask further. “Okay, okay, I won’t ask anymore. Anyway, this is between the two of you. But you need to remember, no matter what, I’ll always be on your side.”
Ruan Mian’s eyes grew hot. She nodded and said okay.
Meng Xinglan lay back down. “I’m turning off the light, okay?”
“Mm.”
The room lost its light, becoming dim and dark. The two of them lay there without speaking. After quite a while, Meng Xinglan turned over to face Ruan Mian and still couldn’t help saying, “Mianmian.”
“Mm?”
“If Chen Yi confesses to you, can you delay accepting him a bit?” Meng Xinglan said with some regret, “I mean, all these years, I’ve barely seen him looking defeated. Just thinking about it makes me kind of look forward to it.”
“……”
Author’s Note: Chen Yi: ????
Tomorrow is Thursday’s late update, still at 8 PM.
This Mei You Ren Xiang Ni – Chapter also gets fifty red envelopes! Thanks for loving it!!!