Earlier, when Wen Yifan had blurted out the term “top courtesan” in a moment of absent-mindedness, she thought Sang Yan would be angry. After all, it did carry negative connotations. But to her surprise, he seemed to relish the role.
He quickly slipped into this persona whenever he was with her.
As he spoke, Sang Yan guided her hand downward, his voice husky: “Haven’t you been coveting me for a long time? You’ve always tried every trick to take advantage of me—”
“…”
“Now that you have the right,” Sang Yan kissed her lips again, his tone slightly mischievous yet muffled, “why are you holding back your desires?”
It was unclear if she had even registered his words.
Wen Yifan tightened her grip around his neck, instinctively opening her mouth to say something.
The next moment, his lips and tongue pressed against hers again. This time, his touch was gentler, kissing her over and over, as if teasing her, gradually enticing her.
Slowly, he moved downward.
From her chin to her neck, finally stopping at her collarbone. He left a trail of glistening, sensual marks, accompanied by small, rosy bruises.
Wen Yifan’s thoughts began to drift as she tilted her head back, unable to think of anything else. She only wanted to be closer to the man before her, to follow his lead, hoping it would dispel all her insecurities.
Sang Yan looked up again, meeting her gaze. Then, Wen Yifan felt him guiding her hand to a certain spot. His eyes were dark, the corner of his mouth curled up, his voice unabashedly filled with desire.
“Where do you want to touch me?”
“…”
He made a slight thrusting motion.
“Here?”
Wen Yifan stared at his features, her expression a mix of clarity and confusion. She didn’t seem to be fully present in the moment, more like she was seeking reassurance. She spoke softly, “Anywhere is fine.”
Sang Yan’s movements paused.
She kissed his Adam’s apple as if wanting to offer herself completely: “Everything is fine.”
“…”
Sang Yan lowered his gaze, studying her expression. As if finally noticing something amiss, despite his breath still being hot, he stopped his advances completely.
Following his Adam’s apple, Wen Yifan’s lips continued downward.
Before she could make any further moves, Sang Yan raised his hand, holding her head in place. Then, he gently tilted her face up. Their eyes met.
Wen Yifan stared at him, somewhat dazed: “What’s wrong?”
“Wen Shuangjiang, what’s going on?” Sang Yan’s eyes still held desire, but he lightly caressed the corner of her lips, speaking casually, “Talk to me properly.”
Wen Yifan didn’t answer, stammering: “Aren’t we continuing?”
“Is that all you’re thinking about? But why do I feel like you’re not focused at all?” Sang Yan observed her expression, sighing almost imperceptibly before asking, “Why did you suddenly come out?”
Wen Yifan’s rationality slowly returned. She pressed her lips together, her breathing still a bit rapid: “I couldn’t sleep.”
Sang Yan brought up the issue of Che Xingde again: “Because of what you mentioned earlier?”
Wen Yifan remained silent, seemingly confirming it.
“…” Sang Yan reached out to pinch her cheek, a bit forcefully, “I told you, it’s nothing. If you hadn’t brought it up, I wouldn’t have even remembered it.”
Hearing this, Wen Yifan looked at him again.
Sang Yan: “Is there anything else?”
Wen Yifan shook her head.
“Wen Shuangjiang, recently, the frequency of your sleepwalking,” as if finally unable to hold back, Sang Yan frowned slightly, speaking slowly, “has increased quite a bit.”
Wen Yifan lowered her head, calmly saying: “Maybe I’ve been sleeping too little lately.”
“If you feel tired, take a few days off to rest,” Sang Yan said. “Alright?”
“…Mm.”
“I might have to go to Yihe in a while. My sister isn’t coming back for summer vacation, and my parents are worried, so they want me to go check on her,” Sang Yan leaned down, biting her earlobe lightly. “How can I leave when you’re like this?”
“I’m fine,” Wen Yifan felt ticklish and shrank her neck. “When are you going?”
“End of July.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“A week.” Sang Yan still stared at her, speaking softly, “If nothing comes up, I might go earlier.”
“It’s good to spend some time with Zhizhi. It’s worrying to have a young girl there alone. Don’t argue with her,” Wen Yifan seemed to have returned to her usual self in this short time. “Shall I help you look for hotels? I should be more familiar with that area than you.”
Sang Yan’s expression was unreadable. After a long moment, he responded: “Alright.”
–
Whether it was due to the effect of that phone call or just her psychological comfort, Wen Yifan didn’t see Che Xingde again, nor did she hear anything about him from her colleagues.
On WeChat, Zhao Yuandong didn’t mention anything about her eldest uncle’s family either.
Wen Yifan’s unease gradually dissipated with the disappearance of these people.
In the following days, Wen Yifan intermittently contacted the car sales consultant via WeChat.
She had already chosen a car and was just about to go pay and complete the paperwork. But Zhong Siqiao persuaded her, saying that the National Day holiday was coming up, and buying during the promotional period would save quite a bit of money.
After being convinced, Wen Yifan also felt there was some logic to it and decided to wait a few more months.
As a result, the car-buying plan was put on hold.
Sang Yan didn’t mention this much, nor did he seem impatient about having to pick her up from work every day. He just casually mentioned that if she needed to use a car, she could just use his.
As midsummer arrived, the temperature in Nanwu kept rising, reaching a peak in late July. The scorching sun and heat rising from the concrete made people inexplicably irritable.
Wen Yifan received a hotline call about a chain restaurant failing to meet hygiene standards, causing many customers to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea. The impact was quite severe, and the Food and Drug Administration had already intervened.
After organizing the information, Wen Yifan applied for an interview car from the station and left with Fu Zhuang.
Just as they exited the building, Fu Zhuang scratched his head, suddenly remembering something. He said apologetically, “Sis, I forgot my phone. Can you wait here for two minutes? I’ll be right back.”
“…” Wen Yifan, carrying the equipment, sighed helplessly, “Go quickly.”
“Alright!” Fu Zhuang shouted as he ran back inside, “I’ll be back in a second!”
Wen Yifan took out her phone and waited for a while. Standing for too long made her realize how heavy the equipment was. After some thought, she sent Fu Zhuang a message: [I’ll wait for you in the car.]
Then, she headed towards the parking lot.
Finding the interview car, Wen Yifan was about to walk over when suddenly, the strap of her backpack was yanked from behind. Caught off guard, she stumbled backward a few steps and quickly turned around.
Like history repeating itself, she once again faced Che Xingde’s persistent, unwelcome presence.
“Finally caught up with you,” Che Xingde grinned sleazily, loosening his grip as she turned. “You’re something else. I’ve been coming here every day, but never once saw you. No need to avoid your uncle like this, right?”
Wen Yifan glanced up at the security camera: “Wasn’t I clear enough before?”
“What kind of talk was that?” This time, Che Xingde didn’t bother with pleasantries, getting straight to the point, “Fine, I’ll be frank with you. Do you want to get rid of us? You can. First, give me ten thousand.”
“…”
“To reimburse the money your man extorted from me earlier. Otherwise, neither of us will have peace.”
As if she hadn’t heard him, Wen Yifan ignored him and continued walking.
Perhaps frustrated at being treated like air, Che Xingde’s temper flared, his patience completely gone. His expression turned malicious as he grabbed her bag: “Damn it! Do you think you’re too good for me now? Your stupid boyfriend doesn’t give me a face! And you dare to look down on me?!”
Wen Yifan’s bag was yanked away, now in his grasp.
Then, Che Xingde forcefully pushed her, venting his anger.
“You fucking whore! Think you’re something now that you’ve hooked up with a rich guy?”
Wen Yifan stumbled backward uncontrollably. The nearby bushes had some uneven branches that scraped against her thigh, leaving several distinct cuts. She let out a muffled groan of pain, barely steadying herself, and looked down.
She saw that her thigh had already started bleeding.
Che Xingde seemed about to approach again.
At this moment, Fu Zhuang returned with his phone. Seeing the situation, he was momentarily stunned, then filled with rage: “Hey! What are you doing?!”
With the appearance of others, Che Xingde’s rationality seemed to return. He cursed under his breath, glaring fiercely at Wen Yifan one last time before attempting to leave with her bag.
Fu Zhuang, while calling the police, tried to stop him, unable to hold back his profanity: “You fucking dare to rob and hurt people so brazenly? Wait to rot in jail, you idiot!”
Che Xingde shouted back: “You’re the one who’ll rot in jail! How is taking my niece’s things robbery?!”
“Fu Zhuang, let the police handle it,” Wen Yifan straightened up, seemingly unfazed by the pain. “There are security cameras, so he won’t get away.”
“…”
Che Xingde paused, finally noticing the nearby cameras. He panicked a bit but forced a cocky smile: “I’m just taking something from family, you think calling the police will do any good? You’ll see if the police have time to deal with such trivial family matters.”
“Fine,” Wen Yifan looked at him, her face expressionless. “I’ll wait and see.”
Due to this incident, Wen Yifan’s report was handed over to another colleague. She took half a day off, accompanying the arriving police officers to the station. After the director expressed concern and very officially assigned Fu Zhuang to follow up on this news, Wen Yifan first went to the hospital to treat her wound and undergo an injury assessment, then to the police station to give her a statement.
Soon after, Che Yanqin received a call and rushed over. Glimpsing Wen Yifan’s presence, she immediately understood the situation and addressed the police officer: “Officer, how can you conduct business like this? How is this considered robbery?”
Che Yanqin’s attitude was poor, and the police officer replied impatiently: “How is it not? We have witnesses and evidence. We can file a case now.”
“We’re relatives! This is my niece!” Che Yanqin flared up, “Don’t you have family? How is taking something from a family member robbery?!”
The police officer frowned: “Watch your tone!”
Wen Yifan remained completely unaffected. She looked at the police officer in front of her, her emotions very subdued, explaining calmly: “This is my eldest uncle’s wife, but I’m not close to them.”
“…”
“Also,” Wen Yifan paused, then continued, “Che Xingde has been harassing me for a long time. I don’t know if this can be included in the case. The security cameras in front of my company should have recorded everything.”
…
After giving her statement and completing various procedures, Wen Yifan went straight home. She wanted to take a shower but feared getting water on her leg wound, so she only washed her hair and wiped her body with a towel.
Noticing the ghastly wounds on her leg, Wen Yifan applied medicine and then put on a pair of long pants.
After leaving the bathroom, Wen Yifan lay on the bed and sent Sang Yan a message saying she was home.
Remembering that Sang Yan was leaving for Yihe tomorrow, Wen Yifan opened an app to help him look at hotels. As she browsed, she began to feel drowsy. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard some movement at the entrance.
Wen Yifan immediately opened her eyes, struggling between sleep and Sang Yan for a moment before getting up to walk outside.
As soon as she reached the living room, she met Sang Yan’s gaze.
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow: “You’re home early today?”
“Mm.” Wen Yifan sat on the sofa. “After the interview, there wasn’t much to do, so I came back.”
Sang Yan changed into slippers and walked in, his gaze dropping. Noticing her long pants, he sat next to Wen Yifan and casually asked, “It’s the height of summer, why are you wearing long pants at home?”
Wen Yifan lowered her eyes, instinctively lying: “I’m on my period, and it’s a bit cold with the air conditioning.”
Hearing this answer, Sang Yan thought for a moment: “Isn’t it early this month?”
“…” Wen Yifan froze, stammering, “Ah, yes. It’s not very regular.”
“Then don’t sleep with the air conditioning on tonight,” Sang Yan didn’t suspect anything, habitually pulling her into his arms and placing his hand on her lower abdomen, “Does it hurt?”
Wen Yifan stared at his face, suddenly finding it hard to continue the conversation. She changed the subject, saying softly, “Aren’t you going to Yihe tomorrow? You should pack your things first.”
Sang Yan smiled, “There’s not much to pack.”
“Your flight is at 8:30 PM tomorrow,” Wen Yifan began planning seriously, “How about you come to my office after work, and I’ll drive you to the airport, then bring the car back?”
“Alright,” Sang Yan lowered his head, his warm palm resting on her lower abdomen, casually saying, “I’ll make you some brown sugar water later. Drink it before bed.”
Wen Yifan avoided his gaze, “No need.”
“What do you mean, no need?” Sang Yan said lazily, “I don’t want you waking up in pain in the middle of the night and bothering me.”
“…”
–
The next afternoon.
Leaving the office, Sang Yan entered the restroom. Just as he unzipped, someone at the adjacent urinal greeted him warmly, “Sang Yan, you’re using the restroom too?”
“…” Sang Yan turned his head to see Xiang Lang’s face, “Do you need something?”
“It’s been a while, just saying hello,” Xiang Lang’s voice was clear and casual, “You know, we work for the same company, but we rarely run into each other.”
Sang Yan couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Xiang Lang didn’t mind his attitude and found it amusing, “Why are you always like this with me? It’s been this way since high school.”
Sang Yan glanced at him, almost smirking, “You just have a face that’s easy to dislike.”
“…”
After finishing, Sang Yan turned towards the sinks.
“You don’t have to be like this. Yifan and I are just friends. You’ve been targeting me for so long,” Xiang Lang followed, remembering something, “By the way, what I said before about planning to attend Yihe University with Yifan was just nonsense.” Hearing this, Sang Yan slowly raised his eyes.
“I was just trying to annoy you back then, but seeing no reaction from you made it pointless. It’s been so long, no need for the drinking punishment, right?” Xiang Lang turned on the faucet, smiling, “Don’t take it out on Yifan, okay?”
Sang Yan let out a light snort.
Xiang Lang looked at him with interest, feeling somewhat emotional that the two were still together after all these years, “To be honest, I always thought you had the best chance of pursuing Yifan.”
“…”
“But your luck was just too bad,” Xiang Lang said casually, “I feel if it weren’t for Yifan having to move to Beiyu with her eldest uncle, you two would have been together much earlier, right?”
Sang Yan’s gaze paused, “Eldest uncle?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t she live with her grandmother?”
“No, she lived with her grandmother for just a short while at first. Later, she always lived with her eldest uncle,” Perhaps feeling the conversation had gone on too long, Xiang Lang didn’t continue and walked out, “I’m off, going back to work.”
Sang Yan remained standing there, his eyes lowered, lost in thought.
…
At 6 o’clock sharp, Sang Yan left the company and drove to the Nanwu Broadcasting building. He found a parking spot, lowered the window, and sent Wen Yifan a message: [I’m here]
Wen Yifan replied quickly: [Coming soon, wait a moment.]
Sang Yan’s fingers tapped lightly on the window sill, his mind still on Xiang Lang’s words, somewhat distracted.
In high school, Wen Yifan lived with her eldest uncle but told him she had always lived with her grandmother. That “uncle” was her eldest aunt’s brother. On the day the college entrance exam results came out when he went to Beiyu to find her, he encountered this “uncle” harassing her.
She said she didn’t know this person.
Connecting this with Wen Yifan’s emotional state after encountering that man recently.
Sang Yan’s lips gradually tightened into a straight line, a suspicion he desperately didn’t want to believe slowly forming in his mind. He dared not think further, turning his head to reach for his cigarette box, just pulling out a cigarette.
At this moment, Sang Yan suddenly heard someone calling him.
“Brother Sang Yan!”
Hearing this, Sang Yan looked over and met Fu Zhuang’s big eyes.
Fu Zhuang came over and leaned on his car window, very familiar, “You’re here to pick up Sister Yifan from work again?”
Sang Yan had encountered him a few times before, but he wasn’t in the mood to talk now, just nodding.
“You’re truly the world’s best boyfriend,” Fu Zhuang patted his shoulder, comforting him, “But you shouldn’t worry too much lately. That pervert is being held at the police station now, so there shouldn’t be any trouble for a while.”
“…” Sang Yan turned his head, catching four words: “Pervert?”
“Yeah, creepy and disgusting. Just hearing what he said made me furious,” Fu Zhuang grew angrier as he spoke, his voice rising, “He kept saying Yifan was his niece and stuff, and he’s been coming to the station to harass her recently. Yesterday, it even escalated to the police station.”
Sang Yan’s voice grew quieter, “Police station?”
Fu Zhuang nodded, “He pushed Sister Yifan, and her leg got scratched by tree branches, bleeding a lot. It looked really painful.”
After talking for a while, Fu Zhuang finally realized something and found it strange, “Brother Sang Yan, didn’t you know? Didn’t Sister Yifan tell you?”
Sang Yan played with the cigarette in his hand, silent for a few seconds.
“She did.”
–
Afraid of delaying Sang Yan’s flight, after receiving his message, Wen Yifan didn’t dare to dawdle. She left the office, found Sang Yan’s car in the familiar spot, and after getting into the passenger seat, asked, “Do you want me to drive?”
Sang Yan: “No need.”
He said no more and started the car.
Wen Yifan nodded, lowering her head to check her phone, mentioning, “By the way, I helped you pick out a few hotels last night, all near Yihe University. It’s summer vacation now, so there are many vacant rooms. No need to rush to book. Why don’t you look and see which one you prefer, and I’ll make the reservation for you?”
Sang Yan made a sound of acknowledgment.
Noticing his taciturnity, Wen Yifan turned to look at him. She was about to speak when she suddenly noticed the car seemed to be going in the wrong direction. She hesitantly said, “Did you take a wrong turn? We’re supposed to go to the airport, but this road leads home.”
Sang Yan continued looking ahead, his tone cold, “We’re going home first.”
“…” Wen Yifan didn’t know what was going on and hesitantly asked, “Did you forget something?”
Sang Yan made another noncommittal sound.
Wen Yifan glanced at the time, “Then we need to hurry, I’m worried you’ll miss your flight.”
For some inexplicable reason, Wen Yifan felt the atmosphere in the car was extremely tense. She felt uneasy, her right eyelid twitching, and couldn’t help asking, “Are you in a bad mood today?”
Sang Yan didn’t respond.
Wen Yifan: “What’s wrong?”
Seeing he still wouldn’t speak, Wen Yifan started talking about some happy things, hoping to improve his mood. Seeing he had no desire to chat, she gradually fell silent.
She felt worried and sensed an impending storm.
They drove to the underground parking lot of Shangdu Huacheng.
After getting out of the car, Sang Yan reached out and held Wen Yifan’s wrist, walking towards the elevator. Wen Yifan stared at his profile, somehow feeling a sense of foreboding, yet not knowing what had happened.
She tried to say a few words to cheer him up.
Sang Yan would respond, but his tone was different from any other time, remaining extremely cold. It seemed he was just replying to avoid making her uncomfortable, but in reality, he had no desire to talk.
They went up to the 16th floor, and Sang Yan took out his key to open the door.
The two walked in.
Wen Yifan stood in the entryway, not intending to take off her shoes, “Then you should quickly go and get—”
Before she could finish, Sang Yan picked her up and set her on the shoe cabinet. He looked at her expressionlessly, as if wanting to confirm something, and directly started rolling up her pant leg.
“…” Wen Yifan’s face froze.
In that instant, because of his actions, she understood the reason for his bad mood.
Wen Yifan instinctively tried to stop his movement.
Sang Yan reacted quickly, completely disregarding her small resistance. He used one hand to hold both of hers, forcefully continuing to roll up her pant leg until he reached her upper thigh.
Her legs were fair and delicate, without a single scar.
Sang Yan paused, looked up at her again, and wordlessly started rolling up the other pant leg.
It was then that Wen Yifan truly became anxious, but she couldn’t break free from his grip.
“Sang Yan!”
Just as he rolled it up to her thigh, Sang Yan saw the wounds on her leg. Several bloody scratches, not yet scabbed over, with some areas still visibly bleeding, red, and swollen, looking extremely alarming.
At this moment, Sang Yan’s anger seemed to be fully ignited.
He closed his eyes briefly, suppressing his fury as he asked, “How did this happen?”