After Lu Yuwen went out, Su Man stayed home alone to pass the time — browsing through his study, looking at his collection, playing on her phone for a while, searching online for nearby attractions worth visiting.
When it was nearly noon, she wandered into the kitchen to cook a bowl of instant noodles, when suddenly a click sound came from the front door, like someone using a key to open it.
She hadn’t expected Lu Yuwen to return so early, and was delighted, running out from the kitchen — only to find a woman walking in——
Su Man: “……”
Fang Zixin: “……”
The two women stared at each other wide-eyed, both frozen on the spot.
Su Man hadn’t expected the person coming in to not be Lu Yuwen.
Fang Zixin hadn’t expected there to be a woman in Lu Yuwen’s home.
——Some time ago she had called Lu Yuwen and asked when it would be convenient for her to come by and retrieve her things. Lu Yuwen said he’d be staying in Shanghai for a long time, and told her to come by herself since she had a spare key.
So Fang Zixin had come today.
Then she ran into Su Man……
Fang Zixin was stunned for a moment, but quickly composed herself and smiled: “Hello, I’m looking for Lu Yuwen — is he not home?”
“He went out, he should be back this afternoon.” Su Man said politely, “Please come in and have a seat. I’ll give him a call and ask.”
“No need.” Fang Zixin quickly waved her hand. “I left some things here. I’ll just collect them and go, no need to disturb him.”
Su Man suddenly understood, looking at Fang Zixin: “Oh, you’re… you’re that — his ex-girlfriend?”
“……Yes.” Fang Zixin forced a smile, no longer hiding it, and made small talk: “So, are you his current girlfriend?”
Su Man gave an embarrassed smile, feeling a little awkward.
Just a little.
“He mentioned you to me. We’re planning to move recently, and your things have been packed separately. We were going to hand them over to you before leaving, but since you’ve come today, you can take them right back.”
Su Man looked around the living room and found a cardboard box, carrying it over to Fang Zixin.
“Have a look — if anything’s missing, I’ll help you find it.”
Su Man tried to keep her manner as calm and natural as possible, but since the other party was after all Lu Yuwen’s ex-girlfriend, she couldn’t help but look her over a few more times.
She appeared to be an ordinary white-collar worker… perhaps with somewhat higher income than the average white-collar worker, because her clothes and shoes were all very fine and elegant, and her bearing seemed quite good as well… what a pity she and Lu Yuwen had broken up.
Hmph, what was there to feel pitiful about — if they hadn’t broken up, none of this would have anything to do with her now.
Su Man thought to herself quietly.
Fang Zixin bent down to open the box and inspect the items. Her belongings had been sorted and organized — clothes sealed neatly in plastic bags, small items like earphones and charging cables packed in individual small boxes.
Fang Zixin couldn’t help but feel something: “Yuwen is still as meticulous as ever. He really is a very considerate man.”
Su Man immediately nodded in agreement: “Yes, he’s especially gentle and thoughtful.”
Fang Zixin was briefly taken aback. While it was true that Lu Yuwen was considerate, having Su Man echo it like this felt somehow… strange, like a personal item that had once belonged to her being praised as “handy” by someone else.
She looked up at Su Man, who wore a completely sincere expression, and asked with concern: “You haven’t missed anything, have you?”
“Uh……” Fang Zixin looked through the box again. “There’s a bottle of perfume — it doesn’t seem to be in here.”
Su Man asked: “What does it look like? Do you remember where you left it? I’ll help you find it.”
Fang Zixin smiled and straightened up: “It’s been too long, I don’t quite remember. Maybe in the bedroom?…… Or the bathroom?”
Hearing this, Su Man turned and headed toward the bathroom, saying as she walked: “I saw a bottle in there last night, but I don’t know if it’s yours. What does your perfume bottle look like?”
—