Wen Yifan retorted, “I’m not afraid—”
She met Sang Yan’s gaze and suddenly realized the implication of the word “either” in his statement. Her voice halted for a few seconds. Instinctively wanting to save face for him, she forcibly added, “—am I?”
“…”
Wen Yifan truly hadn’t considered that Sang Yan might be afraid of this.
After all, Sang Yan always appeared fearless, and she also remembered that this wasn’t the first time he had watched a horror movie in front of her.
In her memory, during their first year of high school, there was a physical education class that couldn’t be held due to heavy rain. The PE teacher had the class representative inform everyone to stay in the classroom for self-study or to watch a movie.
At that time, the classroom computer couldn’t connect to the internet, and only one classmate had a horror movie stored on their USB drive, so there wasn’t much choice. But because most people didn’t want to study, despite the objections of a few, they decisively chose to watch this horror movie.
Back then, Wen Yifan sat at the back of the third row in the classroom.
Sang Yan sat at the end of the fourth row, one row behind her, diagonally to her rear.
Since Wen Yifan had seen this movie before, she wasn’t paying much attention, alternating between solving problems and occasionally glancing at the projection screen. Once, when she looked up, she happened to see a ghost face in the movie.
At the same time, Wen Yifan heard a startled cry from nearby.
She looked over.
It was Sang Yan’s male deskmate.
At that moment, the boy seemed to have been scared and leaned back. Because his movement was too big, the chair tilted backward, as if it was about to fall. In a panic, he grabbed Sang Yan’s chair back, trying to steady himself.
But he was overweight and ended up pulling Sang Yan backward with him.
The two made a huge commotion.
The whole class turned to look at them because of this.
Sang Yan looked drowsy as if he had been woken up by the noise. He was in a bad mood, his eyebrows furrowed as he stood up from the ground: “What are you doing?”
The boy was still in shock: “Damn, that scared me to death.”
“…”
Hearing this, Sang Yan looked at the screen, just in time to see the scene where the ghost crawled out of the TV. His gaze fixed, his expression unchanged: “Is this more frightening than you?”
…
So at that time, was Sang Yan sleeping because he was afraid?
It seemed to make sense.
Because of Sang Yan’s action of patting the sofa, Wen Yifan naturally sat next to him.
Inside the room, apart from the sound of the movie, there was no other noise. The scent of Sang Yan’s shower gel was faint. Throughout the viewing, he was mostly silent, yet his presence felt particularly strong.
Wen Yifan poured a cup of warm water and continued watching the movie.
But this time, she couldn’t concentrate as much.
A moment later, Wen Yifan realized she wasn’t sitting in her usual spot.
The distance between them was also closer than usual.
This distance inexplicably reminded Wen Yifan of the scene earlier that night outside the supermarket, when Sang Yan suddenly appeared beside her.
In a flash.
Everything around seemed to disconnect.
The heavy, damp smell permeating the cold, rainy day was instantly covered by the scent emanating from the man. She looked up and, amid the mist, met Sang Yan’s eyes—so clear she could count his eyelashes—
Her thoughts were interrupted by Sang Yan’s movement as he reached for his water cup.
The distance suddenly closed even more.
For some reason, Wen Yifan felt a bit nervous. She suddenly stood up.
Sang Yan looked up.
Before he could ask, Wen Yifan calmly said, “I’m going to get a bottle of yogurt. Do you want one?”
“Oh,” Sang Yan withdrew his gaze, “No, thanks.”
After taking a bottle of strawberry yogurt from the fridge, Wen Yifan returned to the living room.
Sang Yan was drinking water, his gaze not on the TV, looking indifferent. Wen Yifan’s steps paused for a moment, then she changed direction, seemingly out of habit, and sat back in her usual spot.
She didn’t sit next to him again.
–
After the movie ended, Wen Yifan casually shared a few thoughts about it, without deliberately saying anything that might hurt his pride, like telling him not to be afraid. She gathered her things and returned to her room.
While rummaging through her wardrobe for pajamas, she unconsciously began to daydream, thinking about the movie they had just watched.
And about Mu Chengyun, whom she had seen on the word list earlier.
Wen Yifan’s movements slowed as she only now noticed this point.
It seemed a bit coincidental.
Could it be that Sang Yan had seen the content on the word list tonight, and that’s why he chose this movie to watch?
In the next moment, Wen Yifan also recalled the voice message Sang Yan had sent after his shower.
— “Recommend a ghost movie, to help me sleep.”
Wen Yifan suddenly understood and stopped overthinking.
…
The next morning.
Wen Yifan changed her clothes and went to the living room, planning to make some breakfast. She took out the milk powder from under the coffee table and glanced at the empty sofa next door, feeling somewhat unaccustomed.
Based on their shared living experience over this period, Wen Yifan had roughly observed that Sang Yan’s sleep schedule was quite irregular. His bedtime varied from early to late, and sometimes he would be sleeping even in the middle of the afternoon.
But no matter how late he slept, he would always wake up early.
Every day when Wen Yifan came out of her room, she would see him lying on the sofa, droopy-eyed, playing with his phone.
Looking sleepy and bored.
Last time, perhaps because she hadn’t lived with Wang Linlin for too long, Wen Yifan didn’t have much of a reaction.
But now, thinking that Sang Yan would be moving out in just over a month and that she would have to start adjusting to living with a new roommate, Wen Yifan belatedly felt something unusual in her mood.
She couldn’t say she was unhappy, but she also didn’t know how to describe it.
Wen Yifan blinked.
But it should be normal, right?
After all, they had been living together for two months.
Having experienced it once, when it comes time to part with future roommates, she should have experience and be able to adapt quickly.
Walking to the kitchen, Wen Yifan toasted a few slices of bread in the oven. Returning to the dining table, she saw Sang Yan just coming out of the bathroom, looking as if he had just finished washing up, his face still wet.
As he passed by the dining table, Sang Yan glanced at her breakfast.
Wen Yifan paused and politely asked, “Do you want some?”
“Ah.” Sang Yan stopped, very unceremoniously pulled out a chair, and sat down, “Thanks then.”
“…”
Noticing the milk in front of her, Sang Yan lightly tapped the table, as if ordering in a restaurant: “I’ll have a glass of milk too, thanks.”
Wen Yifan: “…”
Since it wasn’t a big deal, Wen Yifan held back and returned to the coffee table, using the remaining hot water to make a cup of milk. Just as she was about to pick up the cup, Sang Yan also got up and walked to the coffee table, taking a bag of fruit cereal.
As he tore open the packaging, he casually picked up the milk and returned to the dining table.
Wen Yifan was stunned for a moment, following behind him.
Their positions were side by side.
The cups were also placed close together.
Wen Yifan sat down and noticed that Sang Yan was still standing beside her, using the spoon that came with the packaging to pour some cereal into her cup. She looked up and reminded him, “You’re pouring into the wrong cup.”
Sang Yan made a sound of acknowledgment, as if just realizing, and then started pouring cereal into his cup.
Feeling that he seemed to have just woken up and his mind wasn’t quite clear yet, Wen Yifan didn’t pay much attention. She stirred the milk with her spoon, took a spoonful of cereal into her mouth, thought for a moment, and then asked, “Have you asked about the renovation progress?”
“Didn’t answer the call,” Sang Yan said casually, “I’ll go check it out myself in a couple of days.”
Wen Yifan had just mentioned it casually and wasn’t in a hurry.
“Okay.”
–
Tuesday morning.
Wen Yifan left for work, and while waiting for the subway, she casually glanced at her phone and happened to see that Zhao Yuandong had sent her another message.
Since the day she returned from Zhao Yuandong’s place, Zhao Yuandong had been persistently trying to talk to her. Perhaps out of fear, Zhao Yuandong never called her, only using text messages to explain herself.
Wen Yifan never replied, but seeing too many messages started to affect her mood, so she simply set it to “Do Not Disturb.”
Just as the subway arrived, Wen Yifan put away her phone. As soon as she sat down, her phone rang again, the caller ID showing “Nanwu.” She answered directly, politely greeting, “Hello, may I ask who this is?”
“Shuangjiang, it’s Aunt,” Che Yanqin’s voice immediately came through, with a pleasing laugh, “You child, if I hadn’t seen you that day, Aunt wouldn’t have known you held such a grudge against me. Let’s talk it out properly. After all, Aunt raised you for so many years, and it’s all just a misunderstanding—”
“…”
Wen Yifan didn’t listen to the end, directly hanging up the phone and blocking this number.
From the time Wen Yifan went to Yihe for university and then returned to Nanwu for work over these few years, she had changed her phone number several times. Because of this, Che Yanqin had long lost any means of contacting her.
So this phone number could only have been given to Che Yanqin by Zhao Yuandong.
Wen Yifan didn’t know how long Che Yanqin planned to stay in Nanwu before returning to Beiyu and felt somewhat annoyed. She pursed her lips, quickly adjusting her mood, and didn’t dwell on this matter too much.
After all, Nanwu was big, and the chances of a chance encounter were slim.
Moreover, after returning to Nanwu, Wen Yifan never mentioned her current situation to Zhao Yuandong, nor did she disclose her address or workplace. The possibility of them finding her again was also slim.
Wen Yifan considered this just an insignificant interlude.
Back at work, Wen Yifan had just sat down when Fu Zhuang came over, chattering away: “Sister Yifan, Teacher Zhang has resigned.”
“Teacher Zhang?” Wen Yifan said casually, “Why are so many people quitting lately?”
An older reporter passing by with a thermos cup overheard Wen Yifan’s comment and stopped to correct her: “There have always been many people quitting.”
Then he drifted away, seemingly unbothered.
“…”
“Yeah, how many people have left since we joined? Didn’t Sister Lin quit before the New Year? Then Chen Ge changed jobs recently. The department is short-staffed now,” Fu Zhuang continued, “I just overheard the director saying they might be hiring again.”
Wen Yifan: “That’s good.”
“Seems like they’re recruiting both experienced workers and fresh graduates,” Fu Zhuang said with a grin. “I have a classmate who heard I was interning at Nanwu Radio and Television. He asked me the other day if the station was still hiring.”
Wen Yifan: “You can give him an answer now.”
Fu Zhuang: “I’ve already told him. He’ll probably come for an interview.”
They chatted a bit more before each turning to their computers to start work.
After a busy day, Wen Yifan returned home at 10 PM.
The place was pitch black, eerily quiet. Wen Yifan reached out to turn on the light just as her phone chimed. She checked it. It was a WeChat message from Sang Yan, just three words: [Coming back late.]
Wen Yifan replied: [Okay.]
…
Due to some business at the bar, Sang Yan didn’t return home until 2 AM. He quietly closed the door. Looking in from the entrance, only the hallway light was on, the living room was dark.
Sang Yan didn’t turn on the lights, went to the kitchen for a bottle of cold water, and then returned to the living room.
He had just twisted off the cap.
When he heard the sound of a door opening from the master bedroom.
Sang Yan’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and soon he saw Wen Yifan in her pajamas appear in his view. She walked silently, expressionless, to the sofa and sat down quietly.
“…” Sang Yan found this scene a bit eerie and looked her over, “What are you doing?”
Wen Yifan didn’t speak.
Sang Yan asked again: “Can’t sleep?”
She seemed to make a vague sound of agreement in her throat.
“Then go turn on a light,” Sang Yan slouched on the sofa, feeling something was off about her, “You don’t need to come out especially to welcome me, it’s quite scary in the middle of the night—”
Before he could finish, Wen Yifan had already stood up.
Thinking she was obediently going to turn on the light, Sang Yan stopped talking and watched her actions while drinking water. Unexpectedly, Wen Yifan seemed to treat his words as air, turning to walk towards her room.
As if she had lost her soul.
After about ten more seconds, the sound of a door closing came from the hallway.
“…”
Sang Yan:?
–
Since the next day was a day off, Wen Yifan didn’t get up immediately after waking up.
She lazed in bed for a few hours.
Seeing it was about time, Wen Yifan got up to change clothes and wash up, preparing to go out to meet Zhong Siqiao.
A while ago, Zhong Siqiao had made plans with her to go shopping together on Wen Yifan’s next day off. She walked to the entrance, putting on her shoes, ready to leave.
At this moment, Sang Yan happened to come out of the kitchen, their eyes meeting. He stood expressionless, his gaze meaningful, as if waiting for her to say something.
Wen Yifan picked up her keys and asked, “What time did you get back yesterday?”
Sang Yan frowned: “You don’t know?”
“I don’t know,” finding his reaction a bit strange, Wen Yifan explained, “I went to bed quite early yesterday, so I didn’t hear when you came back.”
“…”
Seeing him not speaking, Wen Yifan opened the door: “Well, I’m heading out?”
Sang Yan fell silent as if pondering something.
After a few seconds, he looked up at her again, only giving a perfunctory “Mm.”
…
Wen Yifan met Zhong Siqiao at the subway station.
Neither had eaten lunch, so they first found a nearby noodle shop to eat. While waiting for the noodles, Wen Yifan took out the autograph from her bag and asked, “Do you know this actor?”
Zhong Siqiao took it and studied it for a long time: “What handwriting is this?”
“…” Wen Yifan said, “Mu Chengyun.”
“Don’t know him.”
“I met him during an interview before. He thought I was his fan, so he gave me an autograph,” Wen Yifan explained, “I looked him up later, seems he was the male ghost in ‘See Ghost When Dream Wakes’.”
“The male ghost from ‘See Ghost When Dream Wakes’?” Zhong Siqiao laughed, “Then he must be a D-list actor at best.”
“He signed it specially, it doesn’t feel right to throw it away,” Wen Yifan sighed, “Alright, I’ll use a different notebook then.”
The two chatted idly.
“Oh right,” Zhong Siqiao suddenly remembered something, “A few days ago, my nephew had a high fever, so I went to the hospital with my sister-in-law. And guess who I ran into?”
“Who did you run into?”
“I saw Cui Jingyu, we even chatted for a while. She’s married now, even has a second child,” Zhong Siqiao marveled at how fast time flies, “My only impression of her is that she really liked Sang Yan in high school, and pursued him quite openly.”
Wen Yifan also had some impression of this person.
“Hey, speaking of this, I’m quite curious about something,” Zhong Siqiao said, “I’ve never asked you before.”
“What?”
“Did you never like Sang Yan before?”
“…” Wen Yifan was slightly stunned, “Why do you ask that?”
“Because he’s handsome and eye-catching,” Zhong Siqiao rested her chin on her hand, “And although I never really talked to him much, I know he liked you. Seemed to treat you very well too.”
These words and the name Zhong Siqiao had just mentioned, made Wen Yifan momentarily lost in thought.
Her mind was pulled back to a scene from the past.
Because of what Sang Yan had said to the boy with glasses earlier, afterward, no one in the class would gossip about the two of them anymore, and no more ridiculous rumors spread.
As time passed, others also found that Wen Yifan was easy to get along with, just a bit slow to warm up. Because she was good-looking and good-tempered, gradually, many people would actively talk to her, and she began to have quite a few familiar classmates.
But at some point, Sang Yan’s attitude towards Wen Yifan had a very obvious change. He did everything openly, feeling it was natural, and didn’t bother to hide anything.
Everything was laid out in the open.
So because of this, many classmates would privately ask her if she was dating Sang Yan.
At that time, Wen Yifan herself wasn’t quite sure what was going on.
She felt that given Sang Yan’s personality, he couldn’t possibly have such thoughts, nor would he lower himself to explain these things. So when she heard these questions, she would just smile and deny them.
Fortunately, this matter would only occasionally cause a stir in the class.
Later, somehow, this news reached the ears of Cui Jingyu from another class.
Many people in their class knew this girl, because Cui Jingyu often came to find Sang Yan, either to give him things or to make small talk, showing her affection very intensely.
Even after being rejected by Sang Yan, she didn’t give up at all.
After learning about this, Cui Jingyu came directly to confront them.
It was during the long break between classes.
At that time, after the radio calisthenics ended, all the students were gradually returning to the classroom. Wen Yifan was walking at the back, and when she reached the classroom door, she saw Sang Yan blocked at the doorway by Cui Jingyu.
Cui Jingyu was pretty and bold, with the brightness typical of girls their age: “Sang Yan, I heard from others that you’re pursuing the dancer in your class?”
Sang Yan was holding a can of cola, looking a bit impatient because his way was blocked: “What’s it to you?”
“I’m just curious and asking, everyone says you like her,” Cui Jingyu smiled, just noticing Wen Yifan behind them, “But I’m just repeating what others said, you don’t need to be upset.”
Hearing this, Sang Yan looked at Cui Jingyu. Then following her gaze, he turned to look at Wen Yifan.
Seeing her, Sang Yan’s lips relaxed, then curved into a smile.
Sunlight poured in from outside, casting a faint golden glow on him. He seemed to radiate brilliance. At that moment, Wen Yifan realized that when he smiled widely, a shallow dimple appeared at the right corner of his mouth.
“This kind of talk seems to have spread many times, they’re too bored,” Cui Jingyu said again, “I know it must all be nonsense, I’m just casually mentioning it to you.”
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow, looking at her, still speaking in that irritating tone.
“Didn’t I say it wasn’t true?”