Seeing his expression, Wen Yifan suddenly realized that the atmosphere had imperceptibly become tense.
However, Wen Yifan had no intention of arguing with him, nor did she know what she had said to upset him. She had no particular feelings towards Sang Yan himself; her anger was directed solely at Wang Linlin.
“It’s nothing, you don’t need to worry,” Wen Yifan paused, then said calmly, “I wouldn’t dare set my sights on you.”
“…”
“I’m not bothered, I just wanted to clarify the situation with you,” Wen Yifan said. “I don’t know what I said that made you unhappy. But this situation did come up suddenly, and I’m still trying to process it.”
“Besides, I think we’re both not in the best mood right now, and it’s getting late,” Wen Yifan thought for a moment, then suggested, “How about this: you stay here tonight. Let’s both think it over, and we can talk again after I get off work tomorrow.”
Sang Yan continued to look at her without saying a word.
Wen Yifan: “Sharing an apartment isn’t a small matter, and we can’t decide on it right away. After all, if you think it’s suitable today but then find it unacceptable tomorrow and want to move out, it would be quite troublesome for me too.”
Another moment of silence followed.
Wen Yifan wanted to go to sleep; at this point, she didn’t want to deal with anything else. Every second she sat there felt like a waste of her sleeping time. She was growing impatient: “Well, why don’t you think about it some more, and I’ll go—”
I’ll go to sleep first.
“Alright,” Sang Yan suddenly spoke, interrupting her, his voice devoid of emotion, “What time do you get off work tomorrow?”
“It’s not certain,” Wen Yifan paused, “I’ll try to be back by 8 PM.”
Sang Yan looked up and gave a light “Mm” in response.
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Yifan immediately felt a sense of reprieve. She stood up and pointed towards the interior: “You can sleep in the master bedroom tonight. But there’s nothing in there, so you’ll have to make the bed yourself.”
As she spoke, she looked at Sang Yan’s suitcase: “You did bring sheets and blankets, right?”
Sang Yan didn’t respond.
Wen Yifan didn’t ask again: “Well, I’m going to wash up and go to sleep. You should turn in early too.”
Afterward, Wen Yifan returned to her room, grabbed her change of clothes, and went into the bathroom. She was so tired that her eyes were starting to hurt, the pain spreading to her head, which felt like it was about to explode. But she still couldn’t rush through her shower.
When Wen Yifan came out, Sang Yan was nowhere to be seen in the living room.
His suitcase was still in its original position.
The master bedroom door was closed as usual, and she couldn’t hear any sounds, so she didn’t know if he had gone in.
Wen Yifan hesitated for a moment but decided not to call out to him.
Before going to sleep, Wen Yifan checked her phone.
Wang Linlin had sent her a few WeChat messages not long ago.
Wang Linlin: [Xiao Fan, I’m sorry. I was sleeping earlier, so my tone might have been off. I know I didn’t handle this situation well, and I’ve already asked my boyfriend about it. He said he didn’t think much of it, but we know it wasn’t appropriate to just give out the key. We’re truly sorry for scaring you.]
Wang Linlin: [He said he’ll explain everything clearly to Sang Yan, and asked me to apologize to you on his behalf as well.]
Wang Linlin: [Don’t be angry anymore… Oh, and that Ferrari belongs to my cousin, don’t misunderstand. [Kiss] You have to keep this a secret for me, don’t tell my boyfriend. He doesn’t like me hanging out with my cousin.]
Wen Yifan didn’t reply and instead reflected on the day’s events.
She wasn’t sure if her outburst at Wang Linlin earlier had been too much, but at that moment, she had been unable to control her emotions due to fear.
What if the person who came today wasn’t Sang Yan?
If Wang Linlin had given the key to another man, someone like her previous neighbor, would she still be able to lie in bed so peacefully and sleep?
Wen Yifan sighed.
Regardless, Wen Yifan no longer wanted to have any association with Wang Linlin.
Wen Yifan began to consider the idea of sharing an apartment with Sang Yan.
Now that she had calmed down, she reconsidered the situation.
She suddenly felt that it might not be so hard to accept. Her requirements for a roommate weren’t high; a compatible person of the same gender would be the ideal choice, but a person of the opposite gender with good character wouldn’t be a problem either.
Although Sang Yan could be a bit sharp-tongued and annoying, Wen Yifan still had faith in his character.
Moreover, he wasn’t planning to stay long-term, just for three months, which would give her a buffer period to find a suitable new roommate who could live with her long-term.
However, Wen Yifan thought that after a night’s reflection, given Sang Yan’s attitude towards her earlier, he probably wouldn’t want to live in close quarters with her.
–
The next morning, Wen Yifan was awakened by a phone call.
Without checking the caller ID, she answered groggily. To her surprise, she heard her mother Zhao Yuandong’s cheerful voice: “Ajiang.”
Wen Yifan’s eyelids fluttered, and she responded with a soft “Mm.”
Zhao Yuandong was calling her by her nickname.
Wen Yifan was born on the day of Frost’s Descent, and since her name hadn’t been decided yet, her father had temporarily called her “Little Frost’s Descent.” Later, even after her name was chosen, they had gotten used to it and kept it as her nickname.
As she grew older, the nickname gradually evolved into just “Ajiang.”
But now, apart from her family members, hardly anyone else called her by this nickname.
Zhao Yuandong: “Were you sleeping? Should Mom call you back later?”
Wen Yifan: “It’s fine, I’m awake.”
“Is it cold in Yihe? Remember to wear more clothes. I saw the weather forecast; it’s minus ten to twenty degrees there, which sounds terrifying,” Zhao Yuandong said with concern, “Don’t catch a cold.”
“Okay.”
Zhao Yuandong sighed: “You haven’t called Mom in so long.”
“Ah,” Wen Yifan blurted out, “I’ve been too busy lately.”
“I know you’re busy, so I didn’t dare call and disturb you. But the New Year is coming up soon,” Zhao Yuandong said, “I wanted to ask if you’re coming back this year?”
“…” Wen Yifan, as if not understanding, asked, “Coming back where?”
The other end suddenly fell silent. After a few seconds, her voice became unnatural: “What do you mean ‘where’? Back to Mom’s place, of course. Mom hasn’t seen you in years, and your Uncle Zheng wants to see you too.”
Wen Yifan opened her eyes and said docilely: “I thought you wanted me to go to First Uncle’s place.”
Hearing this, Zhao Yuandong laughed softly: “I’m not insisting you come to my place, you can go to your First Uncle’s if you want.”
“I’d prefer to go to your place,” Wen Yifan opened her eyes, her tone gentle and without any hint of aggression, “But have you mentioned it to Zheng Kejia? Is she willing to let me stay at your place during Spring Festival?”
—Silence fell again.
It was as if this sudden question was just casual small talk. As if she hadn’t expected her to agree.
Wen Yifan’s lips curved into a smile, and she quickly said: “I’m just kidding, I’m not going anywhere.”
Before Zhao Yuandong could respond, their conversation was interrupted by a clear, lively female voice: “Mom, come here quickly! How do I pick these tangerines?”
It was as if the awkwardness had been broken, yet also intensified.
Just from the tone, Wen Yifan could guess it was Zheng Kejia: “Hey! Why are you on the phone? I won’t accompany you to buy things anymore if you’re like this!”
“Okay, okay! Coming right away!” Zhao Yuandong responded, then said in a low voice, “Ajiang, Mom will call you back later, okay?”
Before she could say anything, Zhao Yuandong had already hung up the phone.
In a hurry.
As if afraid of offending that little princess.
Wen Yifan tossed her phone aside and turned over, trying to struggle back to sleep for a while longer.
She wasn’t emotionally affected by this phone call, but she couldn’t fall back asleep either.
Wen Yifan was typically the type of person who found it hard to fall back asleep once woken up, even though she was still extremely tired. She picked up her phone again to check the time, then decided to get up.
Just as she was about to enter the bathroom to wash up, she suddenly noticed the suitcase in the living room.
It hadn’t moved all night.
Wen Yifan suddenly remembered last night’s events and felt puzzled.
Didn’t Sang Yan need to take out clothes and shower?
Wen Yifan didn’t think much of it, quickly washed up, returned to her room to change clothes, and was about to head out. As she was putting on her shoes in the entryway, she glanced around and suddenly realized that Sang Yan’s shoes were gone.
If it weren’t for Sang Yan’s suitcase still being there, Wen Yifan would have assumed he had decided not to share the apartment and had left.
Wen Yifan hesitated for a while before finally deciding to go and knock on the master bedroom door. After waiting for a while with no response, she knocked three more times and then said, “I’m coming in, okay?”
She waited a bit longer.
Wen Yifan turned the doorknob and carefully pushed the door open.
The room was empty, with only a mattress on the bed and no signs of anyone having slept there. It looked no different from the day Wang Linlin left, except for a thin layer of dust on the table due to lack of occupancy.
–
Wen Yifan left the house.
On her way to work, sitting on the subway.
Although Wen Yifan felt that her actions regarding this matter were not problematic, the fact that Sang Yan chose not to stay last night still gave her a feeling that she had been very inconsiderate.
It was as if her suggestion for him to stay the night was just an illusion, or perhaps her attitude in making the offer had been so terrible that it was completely unacceptable to his pride.
She felt like she had become the villain.
After much consideration, Wen Yifan still sent him a WeChat message.
[Where did you sleep last night?]
Even after sending this message, Sang Yan hadn’t replied by the time Wen Yifan arrived at her workplace.
Afterward, she didn’t have time to think about this matter, being busy until 2 PM when she finally had a chance to catch her breath during lunch. When Wen Yifan checked her phone again, Sang Yan still hadn’t replied with a single word.
Given his attitude, Wen Yifan wasn’t sure if their planned talk for tonight could still happen.
Wen Yifan could only send another message: [Where are we meeting to talk today?]
Wen Yifan: [At the apartment, or should we meet somewhere else?]
This time, Sang Yan replied more quickly.
Before Wen Yifan finished her lunch, he responded: [8 PM, your place.]
Wen Yifan: “…”
Why does this sound so ambiguous?
Staring at this message, Wen Yifan felt that any response would be awkward. But not replying also seemed inappropriate. In the end, she simply bit the bullet and, feigning nonchalance, sent an “ok” emoji.
…
Just before leaving work, Qian Weihua suddenly gave Wen Yifan a lead, asking her to write a news article as soon as possible. She spent some time on this, and by the time she left the office, it was already close to 8 PM.
Worried that Sang Yan might be impatient waiting, Wen Yifan informed him in advance.
When she reached her front door, it was just past 8:30 PM.
Wen Yifan opened the door and walked in.
The inside was pitch black; Sang Yan hadn’t arrived yet.
After placing her keys on the shoe cabinet, Wen Yifan lowered her eyes and suddenly noticed that Wang Linlin’s key was also there. She paused, picked it up, and stared at it.
She hadn’t expected Sang Yan to leave even the key behind.
Wen Yifan didn’t think too much about it and sat down by the tea table to boil some water.
The living room was quite quiet, so Wen Yifan decided to turn on the TV.
Just as the water came to a boil, the doorbell rang. She got up to answer it.
Sang Yan stood outside with his hands in his pockets, wearing a new-looking dark-colored windbreaker. There were dark circles around his eyes as if he hadn’t slept well, and he looked somewhat tired.
Wen Yifan greeted him and then made way for him to enter: “Have a seat first.”
Sang Yan didn’t respond and walked in on his own.
They sat back in the same positions as yesterday.
Wen Yifan poured him a cup of warm water and, before getting to the main topic, made some small talk: “Where did you sleep last night? It looks like you didn’t sleep in the master bedroom.”
Sang Yan took the water but didn’t drink it: “Hotel.”
Wen Yifan was a bit surprised: “Didn’t you say you were too lazy to go?”
Sang Yan replied coldly: “I’m not in the habit of sleeping in other people’s homes.”
“…”
His words seemed to imply that since he hadn’t decided whether to move in last night, the apartment could only be considered Wen Yifan’s home. If he had stayed then, it would have been equivalent to admitting he was a pitiful, homeless person accepting her charity.
“As long as you slept well,” Wen Yifan took a sip of water and said softly, “Shall we start our discussion? Did you understand all the points I mentioned yesterday?”
“Mm.”
Wen Yifan asked, “Have you thought it through?”
Sang Yan glanced at her and asked in return, “Have you thought it through?”
Wen Yifan: “Yes, I don’t have very high requirements for roommates. As long as they’re of good character and we don’t interfere with each other, it’s fine. Besides, you’re only staying for three months, right? It’s not that long.”
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow: “You’re so trusting of me?”
Wen Yifan was taken aback: “There’s nothing to be worried about.”
Sang Yan smiled and said slowly, “But I’m not so sure about you.”
“…”
Then don’t stay.
Speechless at his self-absorbed behavior, Wen Yifan held back and said, “I barely communicate with roommates when I’m home. It was the same when I lived with Wang Linlin. If you’re still worried, you can just lock your door when you’re in your room.”
She wouldn’t care even if he put eight thousand locks on it.
Sang Yan’s eyebrows lifted slightly, but he didn’t comment on her words.
Wen Yifan asked again, “If you can accept all this, then let’s discuss the details of our co-living arrangement.”
Sang Yan: “What’s there to discuss?”
“First, the rent and deposit,” Wen Yifan was very businesslike. “When Wang Linlin moved out, she passed the landlord’s WeChat contact to me. The contract was signed under Wang Linlin’s name alone, with six months left.”
Wen Yifan: “The rent is paid monthly, five thousand per month. The deposit is one month’s rent, which I’m currently covering. Since you’re moving in now, shall we split this cost?”
Sang Yan said lazily, “Fine.”
“Then let me be clear,” Wen Yifan bent down, took out a notebook from under the coffee table, and started writing numbers on it. “I’m currently in the secondary bedroom, and you’ll be taking the master bedroom where Wang Linlin used to live, which comes with an en-suite bathroom. So your rent will be a bit higher, three thousand per month.”
At this point, Wen Yifan paused and looked up: “Is this acceptable to you?”
Sang Yan rested his face on one hand, his gaze on her, listening casually.
“Mm.”
The separate space, because of their conversation, brought them closer.
“The water and electricity bills are paid through a passbook. I recently checked the transaction record,” Wen Yifan tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at the passbook. “There’s still over eight hundred in it.”
After calculating, Wen Yifan said, “So, you can just transfer me five thousand nine hundred for now.”
As she said this, Wen Yifan looked up at him.
Sang Yan withdrew his gaze: “Alright.”
“Also, since we’re living together, it’s impossible to separate everything. For daily consumables and such, shall we split the costs? I’ll make a detailed list for you tomorrow. But if you prefer, we can use our things separately.”
Sang Yan couldn’t be bothered with these trivial matters: “Just give me the total after you’ve calculated everything.”
“That’s about it regarding the financial aspects,” Wen Yifan said. “I’ve never lived with someone of the opposite sex, so I don’t have much experience. Even though you’re only staying for three months, we should still discuss our respective requirements in advance, okay?”
Sang Yan cooperated: “Go ahead.”
“I’m a light sleeper. So the first rule is, I hope you won’t make any loud noises during normal resting hours, that is, from 10 PM to 9 AM the next morning. I won’t interfere at other times.”
He spoke as if he could only utter one word at a time: “Fine.”
Considering the difference between men and women, Wen Yifan added, “Second, pay attention to hygiene. Clean up after yourself if you make a mess, and dress appropriately in common areas.”
Hearing the word “appropriately,” Sang Yan snorted lightly: “You wish.”
“…”
“Last rule,” Wen Yifan didn’t waste time arguing with him. “Before bringing friends over, whether of the same or opposite sex, ask for the other person’s opinion first.”
Mentioning this, Wen Yifan suddenly thought of something: “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Sang Yan looked up: “Hm?”
“If you do,” Wen Yifan reminded him, “you should inform her about this situation in advance. If she minds—”
“Don’t worry, I don’t,” Sang Yan curled his lip, his tone not entirely serious. “But don’t get too excited too soon.”
Wen Yifan: “?”
Sang Yan: “For now, I’m not interested in dating.”
“…”
“Alright, if you find someone during our time as roommates, we can discuss it then,” Wen Yifan added. “I’ll let you know if I find someone too.”
Sang Yan’s lips tightened.
Wen Yifan couldn’t think of any other requirements: “That’s all I have for now. Do you have any requirements?”
“Can’t think of any,” Sang Yan said perfunctorily. “I’ll let you know if I do.”
Wen Yifan nodded: “Then I—”
Sang Yan: “Which room am I sleeping in?”
“The master bedroom is at the very end. Wang Linlin cleaned it before she left,” After talking for so long, Wen Yifan finally realized the most crucial point. “You can go take a look to see if it meets your requirements. If not, we can still book a hotel now.”
“…”
Sang Yan made a sound of acknowledgment and got up to walk inside.
Wen Yifan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like she had solved a major problem. She went back to her room and started rummaging through her wardrobe for a change of clothes. Just as she was about to go out, she hesitated and covered her undergarments with other clothes.
At that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Wen Yifan had to put the clothes back and went to open the door: “What’s wrong? Is it not suitable?”
“Mm.” Sang Yan leaned against the doorframe, jerking his chin towards the master bedroom. “You move over there.”
Wen Yifan didn’t quite understand: “You want to stay in this room?”
Sang Yan made another sound of agreement.
Wen Yifan didn’t have anything to hide in her room, so she simply stepped aside, giving him enough space to look inside: “Does the master bedroom not meet your requirements? But the conditions of the secondary bedroom are not as good as the master bedroom.”
Sang Yan casually scanned the room and nodded.
He repeated: “You move over there.”
“…”
Wen Yifan gradually came to an uncertain conclusion.
Did he think three thousand yuan was too expensive?
Wen Yifan stood still, subtly stating: “The rent for the two rooms is different.”
Although she felt awkward saying this, due to her financial situation, she had to mention: “It’s like this, I’m still in my probation period, living on subsidies. Two thousand yuan is already my limit.”
Sang Yan’s lips twitched: “I’m not asking you to pay more.”
“It’s not about whether you want me to pay more or not,” Wen Yifan said. “Whoever pays more gets the better room. This is an unspoken and fair arrangement.”
“Which room is better is for me to decide,” Sang Yan said lazily, turning around. “Not for the house to decide, understand?”
“…”
“And can you be a bit reasonable?” Sang Yan said slowly. “Since I’m paying more, shouldn’t I get to choose which room I want first?”
“Alright.” Wen Yifan couldn’t understand what he was thinking and couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you want that room?”
“Hm? No particular reason,” Sang Yan said calmly. “Just wanted to give you something to do.”
“…”
After a few seconds, Sang Yan added, “That room smells too bad.”
It wasn’t clear if he was making this up or telling the truth.
…
Wen Yifan didn’t have many belongings, and since the two rooms were only about two meters apart, it only took a few trips back and forth to move everything. During this time, Sang Yan sat in the chair like a lord, showing no intention of helping.
As she picked up the last item, Wen Yifan suggested, “Since we’re doing this, shall we use the two bathrooms in the house separately? I’ll go get my things out in a moment.”
Perhaps feeling that they had finished communicating about this matter, Sang Yan only lifted his eyes slightly, not bothering to respond to her.
Wen Yifan took his silence as agreement and walked out. She went to the public bathroom to get her toiletries and returned to the room.
Too busy moving things earlier, Wen Yifan only now noticed that there was indeed a smell in the room. But it wasn’t unpleasant. It was the scent of Wang Linlin’s flameless aromatherapy.
Looks like this young master can’t stand this fragrance.
Wen Yifan wanted to tell him that the smell would dissipate in a few days if they just aired out the room.
But seeing the mess of things on the floor.
Thinking about having to move again, she remained silent for a moment, then decided against it.
After showering, as Wen Yifan came out of the bathroom, a fleeting thought crossed her mind — having a bathroom in the room was quite nice, she wouldn’t have to hide her underwear when going to shower anymore.
Looking at the messy room, Wen Yifan felt a bit of a headache. After drying her hair, she began to make the bed.
Just as she finished putting on the bed sheet, Wen Yifan heard her phone chime.
She reached for the phone on the bedside table, lit up the screen, and saw it was an Alipay transfer notification.
— Sang Yan has transferred 13,000 yuan to you.
Seeing this amount, Wen Yifan was stunned.
She quickly realized that Sang Yan probably found it troublesome and directly gave her three months’ rent plus the deposit and utilities. But calculating this way, if he wanted to round it up, 12,000 would have been enough.
What was the extra thousand for?
Thinking of this, Wen Yifan recalled the “daily consumables” she mentioned later.
She hadn’t bought anything recently, except for when the old washing machine in the house broke down. At that time, Wen Yifan had discussed it with Wang Linlin and they jointly bought a new washing machine.
Wang Linlin had only used it a few times before leaving, and when Wen Yifan returned her deposit, she simply gave her this money back as well.
Not wanting to take advantage of Sang Yan, Wen Yifan took screenshots of the list while calculating the account with her phone calculator.
After finishing the calculations, she transferred the excess money back to him based on the numbers above.
As she sent it, she suddenly felt something was off and picked up her phone again.
…
On the other side.
Hearing his phone ring on the bed, Sang Yan tossed the towel aside and bent down to pick it up.
— Wen Yifan has transferred 520 yuan to you.