Sang Yan’s eyelashes lowered as he stared at the water droplets gathering and sliding down the back of his hand. His Adam’s apple bobbed slowly. Soon, he raised his eyes again and asked in a hoarse voice, “What’s wrong?”
She remained motionless, making no sound, with only tears falling uncontrollably from her eyes.
As if this was the only way.
Silently, in this empty night, to digest all that pain alone.
Sang Yan raised his hand, gently wiping away the tears on her face. He felt these ice-cold tears had turned into molten lava at this moment, scorching his entire body with pain. His throat was dry, and he could hardly speak.
After a while, he finally called out, “Wen Shuangjiang.”
Wen Yifan’s gaze remained fixed on her knees.
“You asked me if I’ve been doing well these years.”
“…”
“What about you?” Sang Yan’s voice was very soft. “Have you been doing well?”
They had been roommates for over a year.
After Wen Yifan’s first sleepwalking incident, Sang Yan researched related information. He learned that there were many causes for this condition, mostly due to lack of sleep and life stress, as well as past traumas and painful experiences.
Considering Wen Yifan’s work schedule and job pressure, Sang Yan didn’t find this particularly unusual.
Wen Yifan’s sleepwalking wasn’t frequent, and there wasn’t much regularity to it. Plus, Sang Yan noticed that she seemed quite concerned about this issue. Later on, when she sleepwalked again, as long as there wasn’t any significant impact, he wouldn’t bring it up proactively.
But Wen Yifan had sleepwalked so many times.
This was the first time Sang Yan had seen her cry while sleepwalking.
Sang Yan didn’t know if anything else had happened to Wen Yifan today. But based on her reaction today and his recollection, the main reason she was crying here now was most likely because of that man from earlier tonight.
He didn’t know.
All these years, had she been constantly harassed by this so-called “uncle”?
He also didn’t know.
Was it that every time after experienced these unpleasant things, she would cry silently alone in the night like this?
It continued for several minutes.
Wen Yifan’s tears finally stopped completely. She raised her eyes mechanically, looking at Sang Yan, staying frozen like that for quite a while before standing up. Sang Yan was still holding her hand and stood up abruptly, following her movement.
Then, Sang Yan vaguely sensed that she seemed to have grasped his hand in return. His eyelashes fluttered, and he followed behind her, thinking it was his imagination, trying to loosen his grip a bit.
Their hands remained unseparated.
Wen Yifan was still holding his hand.
Sang Yan’s eyebrows raised slightly.
He had thought that Wen Yifan would, like before, go to sleep in his room after sleepwalking. But unexpectedly, this time, when passing by the second bedroom, her footsteps didn’t stop, and she continued walking forward.
Sang Yan didn’t pay much attention to it.
After all, the things she did while sleepwalking weren’t always the same, and there were always a few times with deviations.
Sang Yan continued to be led by her as they walked forward.
Until they reached the door of the master bedroom, Wen Yifan raised her other hand and turned the doorknob. She walked in, bringing him along with her.
After the two entered.
Wen Yifan turned back habitually, slowly closing the door. Her actions were extremely natural, not much different from her usual behavior, just slightly stiffer and slower.
They walked to Wen Yifan’s bed.
Sang Yan was just thinking about settling her back into bed and returning to his room if there were no other abnormalities when he felt Wen Yifan lift her foot and climb onto the bed. The force pulling his hand still hadn’t loosened, as if she wanted to drag him onto the bed as well.
At this moment, Sang Yan finally realized something was amiss.
“You want me to sleep with you?”
Wen Yifan raised her eyes, quietly looking at him. Her appearance clearly showed no consciousness. Yet it strangely gave Sang Yan a feeling that she had found some treasure in her dream and wanted to secretly take it back to her little base, claiming it as her own.
Her grip wasn’t strong; Sang Yan could break free with a single tug.
But he had a premonition.
If he broke free, she would start crying again like just now.
Although they had already slept on the same bed a few times before.
Sang Yan felt that being in his own private space and invading her space were two different concepts. He stood still in place, patiently making a suggestion: “How about we go to my room instead?”
Wen Yifan did not react.
After another moment of stalemate.
Seeing that she seemed unwilling to compromise.
Sang Yan conceded again, no longer caring about this trivial matter. He lowered his gaze, scanning the bed, and then lay down on the empty side. He felt a bit uncomfortable, without a hint of sleepiness, only tucking Wen Yifan in with the blanket.
She was still holding his hand, as if finally at ease, her eyes gradually closing.
Sang Yan lay beside her, looking down at her.
After a long while, he raised his head and gently kissed her forehead.
…
Early the next morning.
Wen Yifan opened her drowsy eyes, and her first reaction was to feel that she was being hugged by someone. Her eyelashes moved slowly, and she immediately understood what was happening. But because this had happened quite a few times already, she didn’t pay much attention to it.
She just focused on waking up.
When her consciousness was fully clear, Wen Yifan looked up at her surroundings. The remaining sleepiness dissipated in an instant, and she immediately noticed something was off.
— This was her room.
Wen Yifan was dumbfounded, turning her head blankly to look at Sang Yan.
She saw that he was now awake, his eyelids lazily drooping, his expression still somewhat drowsy. Noticing her gaze, Sang Yan appeared unconcerned. He closed his eyes again, shamelessly hugging her waist and pulling her closer into his embrace.
As if he wanted to sleep for a bit longer.
“…”
This composed and natural demeanor made Wen Yifan unsure which of them had a problem.
She couldn’t help but say, “This is my room.”
Because he had just woken up, Sang Yan’s voice was a bit low: “So?”
Wen Yifan: “Why are you here?”
“What do you mean, why am I here?”
“…”
“Your attitude makes me feel quite hurt.” Sang Yan’s forehead rested against the back of her neck, his tone casual, “You count how many times you’ve set fires, and this is only my first time lighting a lamp–“
“No.” Wen Yifan interrupted him, saying good-naturedly, “I just want to know why you’re here.”
“Oh.” Sang Yan laughed, “You’re asking why?”
“…” Wen Yifan turned her head.
Sang Yan also raised his eyes in response.
Their gazes met, and after a few seconds, Wen Yifan came up with a guess: “Did you sleepwalk too?”
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow: “Of course not.”
“Oh.” Wen Yifan guessed again, “Then, did you have a nightmare in the middle of the night, or were you scared after watching a horror movie and didn’t dare to sleep alone? So you came to my room in the middle of the night?”
“Not that either.”
“Or is it that you simply wanted to sleep with me?”
This time Sang Yan voluntarily explained: “You sleepwalked in the middle of the night.”
Wen Yifan nodded: “Mm, and then?”
Staring at her face, Sang Yan’s eyes were pitch-black as he slowly stroked her face. Then, he curled his lips and calmly finished his sentence: “You hugged me and brought me to your room.”
“…”
Wen Yifan imagined that scene.
She sleepwalking in the dead of night, suddenly becoming incredibly strong, running to Sang Yan’s room, effortlessly picking up this man who weighed over 70 kilograms.
What the hell! How could he say such things?!
Wen Yifan suppressed her emotions and spoke in a calm and composed tone: “I… hugged you?”
Sang Yan didn’t answer, seeming to confirm it by his silence.
“Could I even…” Wen Yifan felt that Sang Yan was completely treating her like a fool, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it directly, so she could only point out his logic step by step, “carry you?”
Sang Yan looked at her expression, suddenly lowered his chin, and laughed to himself. He still didn’t intend to change his story, shamelessly sighing: “I didn’t expect it either.”
“…”
Wen Yifan didn’t argue further with this thick-skinned person, after all, this situation was completely different from the previous times. It was a tall tale, and no evidence was needed to prove it.
They looked at each other for a few more seconds.
Wen Yifan managed to squeeze out four words: “Then I’m quiet.”
“…”
“Manly.”
Sang Yan hummed in response, wanting to pull her back to cuddle and sleep.
Mentioning the word “manly” reminded Wen Yifan of their first meeting. Her mind went blank, and she oddly wanted to bring up this matter: “So apart from the name–“
Sang Yan glanced at her.
Wen Yifan continued: “It seems my strength is also manlier than yours.”
“…”
It was about time to get up for work.
After saying this, Wen Yifan immediately regretted it. Afraid that Sang Yan would hold it against her, she quickly got up, leaving with a sentence as she ran towards the bathroom.
“I’ll go make breakfast, you keep sleeping.”
–
By the time Wen Yifan finished washing up, Sang Yan was no longer in her room. The blanket had been neatly arranged by him, laid flat on the bed. She stared at it for a few seconds, still unable to figure out why he had appeared in her room.
She felt that her last guess just now was the most reasonable.
But given Sang Yan’s personality, Wen Yifan also felt that he wouldn’t do such a thing.
Wen Yifan really couldn’t understand, so she could only ask the person involved later. She changed her clothes and walked out of the room towards the kitchen. She rummaged through the refrigerator, observing the ingredients inside, planning to just cook some noodles and be done with it.
Just as she took out the vegetables, Sang Yan also entered the kitchen, habitually taking out a bottle of cold water from the refrigerator.
Their gazes met.
Wen Yifan’s gaze lowered, stopping at the bottle of cold water in his hand, then raised again. After a few more seconds of staring, she said nothing, walking to the side to get a pot, while gently asking, “Is noodles okay for breakfast?”
Sang Yan’s movement paused. In a moment of silence, he put the cold water back.
“Sure.”
After a night had passed, Wen Yifan’s bad mood had mostly dissipated. She was pouring water into the pot while paying attention to his movements. Seeing this, the corners of her lips curved up, strangely wanting to laugh at this small gesture.
Sang Yan walked to her side, washing the side dishes and meatballs.
The two chatted on and off.
Originally, Wen Yifan wanted to make breakfast, but in the end, most of it was completed by Sang Yan. She sat at the dining table, sipping the soup in small mouthfuls, just about to ask Sang Yan again why he had woken up in her room.
Sang Yan spoke first: “Wen Shuangjiang.”
Wen Yifan: “Hm?”
Sang Yan raised his eyes, seemingly casually mentioning: “That man who said he was your uncle yesterday, I think I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
“…”
Wen Yifan’s expression froze slightly, remembering Che Xingde from last night. She slowly withdrew her gaze, took a bite of noodles, and honestly said, “Mm, you’ve seen him before when you came to find me.”
“You seemed to say at that time,” Sang Yan chose his words carefully, “that you didn’t know him.”
“Yes.” Wen Yifan nodded, saying gently, “Because I don’t like this person. Every time I see him, I avoid him and don’t want to have any interaction with him. Whoever asks me, I always say I don’t know this person.”
“…”
Wen Yifan smiled and said, “What’s wrong?” Sang Yan’s gaze rested on her face as if observing her expression. His expression was unreadable, and it wasn’t clear what he was thinking, but he didn’t seem to doubt her words: “Has this person been bothering you?”
“No.” Wen Yifan lowered her head, continuing to eat noodles, “I haven’t seen him since I started university, I thought he was still in Beiyu. I don’t know when he came to Nanwu.”
Sang Yan was still looking at her, this time without speaking.
Noticing his gaze from the corner of her eye, Wen Yifan raised her head. She thought for a moment, roughly guessing his thoughts, and added, “I never thought I’d encounter this person again, I’ve been living quite well all along.”
Sang Yan tugged at his lips: “That’s good then.”
With these words, silence fell over the dining table.
Wen Yifan didn’t know what to say and also felt that last night’s incident was just a small episode, not worth mentioning again. But she also didn’t know what the current situation was with her uncle’s family.
She didn’t know if they were still staying at Zhao Yuandong’s place, or if they had settled in Nanwu, or if they would return to Beiyu.
Wen Yifan felt that Nanwu was a very big city.
Just by chance encounters, one probably wouldn’t meet more than a few times in a lifetime.
But Wen Yifan vaguely felt uneasy.
She didn’t know if the person Mu Chengyun had mentioned earlier was Che Xingde, nor did she know if he would try to find her through this method after knowing about Sang Yan’s existence.
She didn’t know what their intention was in suddenly moving back to Nanwu.
She didn’t know if they would keep bothering her.
Although Wen Yifan felt there was no reason for it.
She was still apprehensive about this possibility.
Thinking of this, Wen Yifan looked at the man in front of her again. Remembering the incident of Che Xingde causing trouble in his bar last night, her lips gradually pressed into a straight line, and she spoke again: “Sang Yan.”
Sang Yan: “Hm?”
Wen Yifan had nothing to worry about and wasn’t afraid at all that these people would cause any ripples in her life. No matter what, she was no longer that child who could only rely on others and had no abilities of her own.
She didn’t think these people could cause any trouble.
But she was afraid it might affect Sang Yan.
Wen Yifan met his eyes, earnestly advising: “If that person from yesterday goes to ‘Overtime’ to find you again in the future. No matter what he says to you, or what he wants, you don’t need to pay any attention to him.”
Sang Yan looked at her, noticing her expression, and chuckled softly, raising his hand to ruffle her hair forcefully. As if he hadn’t taken this matter to heart at all, his tone carried a hint of playfulness: “What are you worried about?”
“…”
“You brought up something from a year ago to pick on me, how would I dare to casually talk to people anymore?”
Hearing this, Wen Yifan instantly remembered when she was drunk and mentioned to him the incident of “you smiled at four girls in one night.” Her attention was immediately diverted, feeling a bit embarrassed.
If it weren’t for her drunken words, she wouldn’t have even realized she was focused on that detail.
“Besides you,” Sāng Yán chuckled, “who do you think could get anything from me?”