Before Wen Yifan could react, Sang Yan straightened up and, with an air of nonchalance, pulled out his phone from his pocket and fiddled with it casually. Then, as if he had just realized something, he said in an arrogant and shameless tone, “Oh, it was here all along.”
“…”
He then very considerately reminded her, “No need to get it then.”
Whether it was psychological or not, Wen Yifan felt her lips tingling slightly. The already narrow room seemed to become even more cramped, with an added layer of ambiguity raising the temperature and adding a sense of restlessness.
Staring at the corner of his lips for a few seconds, Wen Yifan suddenly stood up.
“I’ll go wash an apple.”
Without waiting for Sang Yan’s response, Wen Yifan grabbed two apples and went straight to the bathroom. She closed the door in an attempt to cover up her feelings, staring at her visibly reddened ears in the mirror, her mind filled with thoughts of their accidental touch just moments ago.
She took a deep breath to calm herself and turned on the faucet.
Washing an apple shouldn’t take too long.
Afraid of being too obvious, Wen Yifan didn’t stay in the bathroom for long. After washing the apples, she came out.
By this time, Sang Yan was standing by the table, unpacking the bag containing their dinner. Wen Yifan sat down next to him, not initiating any conversation.
Sang Yan glanced at her but didn’t mention the “gift-receiving” incident from earlier.
It seemed that both of them were too embarrassed to bring it up again, and the matter was left unaddressed.
Wen Yifan’s mood gradually relaxed. She took a bite of the apple and suddenly felt sorry for him, having to spend his birthday stuck in this rundown hotel with her, eating hastily packed takeout for dinner.
Even now, Wen Yifan still found it surreal that she had bumped into him at the noodle shop. Originally, because she hadn’t received any response from him, she had prepared herself to discuss moving out with him upon returning to Nanwu.
Just as she was about to leave.
He appeared out of nowhere.
The shop owner had said, “You’re still together after all these years.”
He didn’t respond.
Afterward, he never brought it up again.
He didn’t ask why she was there, didn’t insistently bring up past events, and didn’t demand an explanation from her.
It was as if he didn’t care, or as if he didn’t want to mention the past anymore.
It was also as if, the moment they got together,
He had already let go of the past, forgiving everything.
Only focusing his gaze on the present moment.
…
By the time Sang Yan finished dinner, Wen Yifan had just finished her apple. She wanted to find a topic to chat with him but didn’t know what to say, feeling a bit awkward.
As if she hadn’t yet adapted to their new relationship.
Noticing it was getting late, and having finished her apple, Wen Yifan felt she had no reason to stay longer, yet she wanted to spend more time with him. She lowered her head, not initiating conversation, and busied herself with her phone.
Sang Yan tidied up the takeout boxes and glanced at her, “Want to eat more?”
Wen Yifan looked up, “Huh?”
Sang Yan picked up the other apple from the table and walked over to put it in her hand. As if seeing through her state, he raised an eyebrow slightly, the corner of his lips curling up, “Eat slower this time.”
Wen Yifan asked, “You’re not eating?”
“No.”
“Oh.” Wen Yifan glanced at the time, calculating, and said softly, “Then I’ll eat for another half hour?”
Sang Yan looked at her, “Can you eat even slower?”
Wen Yifan took a bite of the apple and mumbled, “…I can.”
The room fell into silence again.
After tidying up, Sang Yan sat down next to Wen Yifan, also playing with his phone as if bored. She instinctively turned her head to look at him, just in time to meet his slightly upturned lips.
Wen Yifan stared for a few seconds, then quietly averted her gaze.
This was her first time being in a relationship.
She didn’t know if everyone was like this.
Even without words to say, even with some awkwardness, she still wanted to be with him and still felt happy about this somewhat uncomfortable interaction.
Wen Yifan took the initiative to ask, “When did you buy your high-speed rail ticket?”
Sang Yan looked up, “Hm?”
“I wanted to buy a ticket for today too, yesterday, to go back and—” Wen Yifan paused slightly, then continued, “celebrate your birthday. But there were no tickets left.”
Sang Yan put down his phone and said slowly, “Last week.”
Wen Yifan was stunned, “How did you know last week that I wouldn’t be able to get back today?”
“I didn’t know, just bought it in advance,” Sang Yan said, “I could always refund it if needed.”
Wen Yifan’s chewing motion paused slightly. After a while, she swallowed what was in her mouth and also mentioned, “Then I’ll do the same in the future.”
“…”
Sang Yan chuckled softly.
Wen Yifan continued eating her apple. But even at the slowest possible pace, this small apple wouldn’t last long. She took the last bite and hesitantly said, “I should head back now?”
Sang Yan gave a sound of agreement.
Wen Yifan said, “We have to leave at eight tomorrow morning, so you should sleep early tonight.”
Sang Yan replied, “Alright.”
Throwing the apple core into the trash, Wen Yifan stood up and walked a few steps toward the door. Suddenly remembering something she hadn’t done, she turned back, “Sang Yan.”
Sang Yan, who was following behind her, asked, “What is it?”
Wen Yifan met his eyes and said very seriously, “Happy birthday.”
Sang Yan smiled and acknowledged it.
“What’s your birthday wish?”
“I’m not telling.”
Wen Yifan blurted out, “Why not?”
“Because,” Sang Yan raised his hand and gently patted her head, saying both seriously and nonchalantly, “it has already come true.”
–
Back in her room, Wen Yifan lay half her body on the bed. She stared blankly into space, looking as if she had lost her soul. After a long while, she suddenly grabbed the pillow next to her and rolled over.
The emotions she had been suppressing all night seemed to finally be released completely at this moment, in this space where she was alone.
Wen Yifan’s eyes were bright and shining. She covered her face with the pillow, feeling that she couldn’t contain this elated mood at all. Only when her emotions had calmed down did she take out her phone from her pocket and check her unread messages.
At a glance, she saw that Zhong Siqiao had sent her a series of messages.
【[Picture]】
【Holy crap, Sang Yan posted on his Moments.】
【He has a girlfriend?】
【Do you know who it is?!!!】
【Are you still going to live with him? Won’t his girlfriend cause you trouble later? Do you want to use this opportunity to talk to him about moving out?】
Wen Yifan paused for a moment, instinctively clicking on the picture.
It was a screenshot of Sang Yan’s Moments post that Zhong Siqiao had taken.
He had only posted a picture, without any text.
The picture showed the birthday cake Wen Yifan had ordered for him, with “Happy Birthday Sang Yan” written on it, which she had specially instructed the shop to add.
Sang Yan’s photography skills weren’t great; the photo was a bit blurry as if he had just casually snapped it.
Zhong Siqiao and Sang Yan had quite a few mutual friends. The screenshot showed a bunch of comments at the bottom, mostly wishing him a happy birthday, but interspersed with quite a few teasing remarks about Sang Yan’s behavior.
【?】
【Did your account get hacked?】
【The last time it was my birthday and I mentioned it to this idiot, he said what’s the point of a grown man celebrating birthdays, and called me fussy!!!】
【Can you act normal? No one cares!】
At the very bottom,
Sang Yan had replied uniformly:
【Sorry, my girlfriend asked me to post it.】
…
Wen Yifan exited the picture. Although she had never made such a request, seeing Sang Yan’s Moments post made her emotions, which had just subsided, surge up again.
Wen Yifan blinked and replied to Zhong Siqiao: 【She probably won’t.】
Wen Yifan: 【I’m his girlfriend.】
After typing this, Wen Yifan stared at it for a while, the corners of her lips curling up. She clicked send, then opened her chat with Qian Weihua and mentioned that she wanted to bring a friend back with her tomorrow.
Qian Weihua was very agreeable and immediately agreed: 【Sure.】
Just as she received this message, Wen Yifan’s WeChat exploded.
It was all Zhong Siqiao’s one-sided bombardment.
【?】
【???】
【??????】
Wen Yifan hadn’t mentioned anything about this to Zhong Siqiao at all. Feeling a bit embarrassed and slightly guilty, she replied: 【That’s the situation.】
Wen Yifan: 【It just became official.】
Zhong Siqiao: 【Didn’t you tell me before that you two had no chemistry at all?!】
Wen Yifan couldn’t remember saying such a thing: 【Did I?】
Zhong Siqiao: 【Of course you did!】
Zhong Siqiao: 【Maybe not in those exact words, but that was pretty much the gist of it!】
Wen Yifan: 【Oh…】
Wen Yifan: 【Then I guess】
Wen Yifan: 【I couldn’t resist】
Zhong Siqiao: 【…】
Zhong Siqiao: 【?】
–
The next morning.
After packing her things, Wen Yifan first went to Sang Yan’s room to find him. Seeing him, she still felt a sense of unreality and said softly, “We’ll have breakfast downstairs, and then drive back.”
Sang Yan sleepily agreed.
Wen Yifan looked at him again but didn’t say anything more, leading him to the door of Qian Weihua and Mu Chengyun’s room.
Soon after, the other two came out of their room.
All four had met before; Qian Weihua had seen Sang Yan once when his house was on fire. So upon seeing Sang Yan now, Qian Weihua wasn’t surprised and just greeted him, “Are you in Beiyu for business or pleasure?”
Sang Yan was concise: “Looking for someone.”
Mu Chengyun’s gaze wandered between Sang Yan and Wen Yifan, but he didn’t say anything.
The four of them went downstairs.
Qian Weihua and Wen Yifan took the room keys to check out.
Sang Yan and Mu Chengyun waited nearby.
After standing for half a minute, Mu Chengyun took the initiative to speak, smiling sweetly: “Senior Sang, although I know you wanted to see Sister Yifan, it doesn’t seem appropriate for you to follow her on her business trip.”
Hearing this, Sang Yan turned his head to look at him, his expression indifferent.
“Sister Yifan has a good nature, she probably won’t get angry with you,” Mu Chengyun said, “But you should consider her situation more.”
Seeming to think he had a point, Sang Yan slowly said, “Oh.”
Perhaps because he had been criticized by Sang Yan last time, this time Mu Chengyun wanted to regain some face. He paused for a few seconds and sighed, “No wonder your pursuit hasn’t been successful if this is how you go about it.”
…
After checking out, Wen Yifan took the deposit and walked towards Sang Yan with Qian Weihua.
The two were about five or six meters away, talking. Sang Yan was slightly taller than Mu Chengyun, standing tall with a presence that completely overshadowed the other. His expression was leisurely as if he didn’t take the other person seriously at all.
He also didn’t seem to take the other’s words seriously, treating them like background noise, hearing but not listening.
Wen Yifan faintly heard Sang Yan say, “We’re past that stage already.”
Mu Chengyun, standing opposite him, seemed to be stunned for a moment.
After a few seconds.
“We are now,” as he said this, Sang Yan’s eyelashes fluttered, and his gaze met hers. As if thinking of something, he curled the corner of his lips and said word by word, “Mu-tu-al-ly in love.”
“…”
“Mutually in love,” Sang Yan repeated, arrogantly adding, “Have you heard of this term?”
“…”
Qian Weihua, not knowing the context, didn’t understand what they were talking about and just assumed it was some young people’s topic, so he didn’t join their conversation.
But Wen Yifan knew very well that these words had come from her mouth, and it had been less than a night since she had said them.
Moreover, Sang Yan had said this while staring at her.
At this moment, Wen Yifan had a strange feeling that Sang Yan’s words seemed more like they were meant for her to hear. And after she had said these words last night, Sang Yan had indeed laughed for quite a while.
So the case could be solved.
He probably thought it was silly for her to say such words seriously.
Wen Yifan pressed her lips together, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Sigh.
But she had no experience.
She just felt that such things should have a sense of ceremony, after all, it’s not like a marriage certificate that has legal effect. Since there was no other proof, at least they should go through some verbal process.
To make the relationship seem more official.
Their arrival interrupted the conversation between Sang Yan and Mu Chengyun.
Wen Yifan quietly walked back to Sang Yan’s side.
The two walked behind. After a while, Wen Yifan felt Sang Yan suddenly hook her finger lightly with his fingertip, just for a moment before letting go. The touch was neither light nor heavy, a bit ticklish.
Wen Yifan instinctively looked up, meeting his slightly tilted face.
Sang Yan’s eyelids were drooping as he looked at her, his smile slightly cynical. He bent down slightly, leaned close to her ear, and asked in a low voice, “What about you, have you heard of it?”