Sensing her tone, Sang Yan leaned in closer and grasped her chin, tilting it upward. His eyes were as dark as ink, seemingly not comprehending her words. “When?”
“When the college entrance exam results came out,” Wen Yifan met his gaze, her voice soft and slow, “The day you came to find me in Beiyu.”
“…” Perhaps not expecting such an answer, Sang Yan’s expression paused briefly, his emotions unreadable. After a few seconds, he tugged at the corner of his mouth lazily, “Was it raining that day?”
Wen Yifan didn’t speak, only nodding slightly.
“Getting wet is no big deal, why apologize?” Sang Yan’s hand moved, pinching her cheek firmly. As if not taking the matter seriously, he raised an eyebrow playfully, “What’s wrong with a grown man like me getting caught in the rain? I’m not that delicate.”
Wen Yifan felt a lump in her throat as she quietly looked at him.
Sang Yan’s tone remained casual: “Why do you always treat your boyfriend like some delicate flower?”
“…”
“Let’s go,” Sang Yan didn’t continue the topic, opening the umbrella and asking, “Have you had dinner?”
Wen Yifan followed beside him: “I had the in-flight meal.”
“Is that enough?” Sang Yan said, “We’ll eat something later.”
“Okay.”
For the past two days, they hadn’t been in much contact, with their only communication through WeChat messages. Moreover, their last conversation hadn’t been particularly pleasant, so the atmosphere was still a bit awkward.
Wen Yifan couldn’t help but steal glances at him: “Are we heading towards Yihe University now?”
Sang Yan made an affirmative sound.
During her university years and work, Wen Yifan lived in this city for six years.
Although she had left two years ago, she was still familiar with the city: “We can take the airport shuttle from there, there’s a direct bus. But for the two of us, taking a taxi directly to Yihe University might also be”
Before she could finish, Wen Yifan noticed that Sang Yan was primarily leading the way. Her voice trailed off, and she mumbled, “Oh, you just came from there, so you probably know the way…”
Sang Yan: “Mm, let’s hail a cab.”
Wen Yifan: “Okay.”
They got into a taxi parked at the edge of the airport.
Wen Yifan got in first, sitting on the inside, and told the driver “Yihe University.” A moment later, Sang Yan also got in, glanced at her, and then habitually leaned over to fasten her seatbelt.
Then he sat back.
Wen Yifan looked in his direction a couple of times.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Sang Yan quickly pulled his seatbelt and fastened it.
Seeing this, Wen Yifan recalled their conversation in the car the day she got drunk. She licked her lips and initiated conversation: “How’s Zhizhi doing at Yihe?”
This question seemed to remind Sang Yan of something, his voice cool: “Pretty good.”
Wen Yifan asked with concern: “So have you made up with her?”
Previously, Wen Yifan had overheard Sang Yan talking on the phone with Sang Zhi.
The gist of the conversation was that Sang Zhi had found a graduate student boyfriend at Yihe and was staying at school during the summer break instead of going home. They had argued about it and had been in a long cold war since.
“What’s her boyfriend like?” Wen Yifan was a bit curious and asked further, “Have you met him?”
“…” After a long while, Sang Yan finally said, “I’ve met him.”
Wen Yifan made a sound of acknowledgment: “How is he?”
Sang Yan: “You’ve seen his photo.”
The light in the car was dim, and Wen Yifan couldn’t see Sang Yan’s expression. She couldn’t recall Sang Yan ever voluntarily showing her a photo of any man, so she was confused: “When?”
This time Sang Yan directly said the name: “Duan Jiaxu.”
“…” It took Wen Yifan a while to process this, and then she came to a conclusion, “Is Zhizhi’s boyfriend your college roommate? The one you had those rumors with.”
Sang Yan casually made an affirmative sound.
Wen Yifan asked again: “So your roommate is now studying for a master’s degree at Yihe University?”
Sang Yan let out a cold laugh.
“I remember,” Wen Yifan recalled that he had made several phone calls to Duan Jiaxu at home before, “Didn’t you ask him to take care of your sister earlier?”
This seemed to be adding salt to Sang Yan’s wounds. He didn’t speak, just looked in her direction again.
Wen Yifan didn’t quite understand, looking back at him blankly. Soon, she gradually figured out the situation: “Did neither of them tell you? You only found out when you came here.”
Sang Yan continued to look at her.
Wen Yifan then thought about the reason for their argument before he came to Yihe.
It was also because someone didn’t tell him something, keeping him in the dark. As a result, he flew for several hours to Yihe, only to receive the same treatment from his roommate and sister…
She immediately fell silent.
The car once again lapsed into silence.
After a while, Sang Yan took the initiative: “Choose a hotel.”
Wen Yifan looked up.
Sang Yan: “Didn’t you help me pick a few earlier?”
“…” This was what Wen Yifan had said to Sang Yan in the car at the time, and she thought he hadn’t even listened. She quickly nodded and pulled out her phone from her pocket, “Then take a look and see which one you like.”
Sang Yan flipped through the bookmarks and casually picked one, then handed the phone back to her.
Wen Yifan: “This one?”
Sang Yan: “Mm.”
When it came to room types, Wen Yifan hesitated for a while before choosing a standard room with twin beds: “Shall I book one room then?”
Sang Yan immediately looked at her.
Afraid he might not agree, Wen Yifan added: “With two beds.”
Sang Yan’s gaze was meaningful, and after a while, he responded: “Alright.”
After booking the hotel, Wen Yifan told the driver the hotel’s name, asking him to drive directly to the hotel entrance.
Sang Yan turned his head, his gaze sliding down to her thighs covered by long pants: “Did you bring medicine?”
Wen Yifan didn’t react at first: “What medicine?”
“For your leg injury.”
Wen Yifan stammered: “I forgot.”
Sang Yan nodded, not saying anything more.
As they approached their destination, Sang Yan looked out the window and suddenly asked the driver to stop. Then, they got out of the car right there. Wen Yifan was a bit confused: “Why are we getting off here?”
Sang Yan opened the umbrella and gestured with his eyes: “To buy medicine.”
Following his gaze, Wen Yifan looked up and noticed there was a pharmacy right next to them.
After leaving the pharmacy, they walked side by side towards the hotel.
Wen Yifan lowered her head, staring at her empty hand. She felt a bit uncomfortable with this state, her palm slightly closing then opening again: “Sang Yan.”
Sang Yan looked ahead: “Mm?”
Wen Yifan said softly: “Why aren’t you holding my hand?”
“…” Sang Yan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her, “I’m holding the luggage and umbrella, I don’t have a free hand.”
“Then can I carry the luggage?” Wen Yifan said seriously, “I want you to hold my hand.”
Sang Yan stared at her intently, and after three seconds of silence, he suddenly lowered his head and smiled. His eyebrows relaxed, and the dimple at the corner of his mouth became faintly visible: “Wen Shuangjiang, are you trying to act coy?”
The awkward atmosphere seemed to dissipate with her words, returning to their usual dynamic.
Wen Yifan was taken aback. She only then realized that her behavior was indeed acting coy, and she felt a bit hot and nervous. She maintained a calm demeanor, pretending that her request was reasonable.
“Oh.” Sang Yan raised an eyebrow, dragging out his tone, sounding a bit mischievous, “So you came to Yihe just to hold hands with me.”
“…”
As he spoke, Sang Yan handed her the umbrella: “Take it.”
Wen Yifan instinctively took it.
Sang Yan reminded her: “Use that hand to hold it, otherwise how can I hold your hand?”
Wen Yifan obediently switched hands.
The next moment, Sang Yan held her hand, grasping it in his palm. His hand was broad and warm, holding hers firmly but not painfully. It just felt incredibly secure.
Wen Yifan was a head shorter than him, making it a bit difficult to hold the umbrella in this position. She watched Sang Yan’s expression, secretly thinking that he seemed to quite enjoy her acting coy.
Fortunately, the pharmacy wasn’t far from the hotel they had booked, less than a five-minute walk. They entered through the main entrance at nine o’clock, taking out their ID cards to check in at the front desk.
During this interval, Sang Yan suddenly asked: “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Wen Yifan answered honestly: “I was afraid you wouldn’t let me come.”
“…” Sang Yan looked at her.
“Afraid that you might not want to see me right now.”
Sang Yan squeezed her hand hard: “Say something that makes sense.”
After thinking for a moment, Wen Yifan reciprocated with a question: “Then why did you suddenly decide to go back?”
Sang Yan: “Because you weren’t replying to my messages.”
Wen Yifan was slightly stunned. “Because I was on the plane…”
“I know. Next time, remember to let me know,” Sang Yan said leisurely as he ruffled her hair vigorously. “Otherwise, if you had called me any later, I would have been on the plane back to Nanwu.”
“…”
After getting their room keys, they took the elevator back to their room.
Sang Yan put down the luggage and glanced at the time on his watch. “Do you want to go out to eat or order takeout?”
As soon as they entered the room, Wen Yifan didn’t want to move anymore. “Let’s order takeout.”
“Alright,” Sang Yan handed her his phone and turned on the air conditioner. “After ordering, go take a shower. It’s time to apply medicine.”
Wen Yifan followed Sang Yan’s suggestion and ordered two meals. She then opened her luggage bag and took out her change of clothes. As she walked into the bathroom, her mind began to wander, remembering the purpose of her visit this time.
She had delayed it all the way and still hadn’t mentioned it.
She had brought it up briefly at the beginning, but he had changed the subject in the end.
From last night until now, Wen Yifan had been contemplating how to tell him. After the topic had passed, she didn’t know how to bring it up again. She just felt that it wasn’t something that would make people happy.
No matter how she said it, it would lead to a heavy atmosphere.
She sighed, feeling increasingly nervous and uneasy.
Wen Yifan didn’t know what kind of reaction Sang Yan would have after finding out.
But she knew.
Sang Yan was different from others.
He must be different.
…
By the time Wen Yifan came out of the bathroom, the takeout had already arrived.
Sang Yan was sitting on one of the beds, holding a medicine bag. “Come here, let’s apply the medicine before eating.”
Wen Yifan walked over and sat beside him, watching as he took out a medicine bottle and cotton swabs from the bag. She lowered her eyes, staring at the red string on his right wrist and the small snowflake pendant on it.
She became a bit absent-minded.
She recalled Sang Yan’s words again.
— “Wen Yifan, can you consider my feelings?”
— “Do you think I can’t be trusted?”
She remembered how Sang Yan had silently fixed her trouser leg at the end. He had lowered his head, his back slightly bent, his expression extremely calm, yet one could sense the deep helplessness hidden within. It was completely different from his usual imperious demeanor.
Sang Yan held her calf, frowning as he looked at the wound on her leg. “Did you get it wet again?”
Wen Yifan snapped back to reality. “Ah, I accidentally got it wet just now.”
Sang Yan’s tone wasn’t very pleasant. “Don’t wash it tomorrow.”
“…”
Then, Sang Yan took a cotton swab and gently wiped the water off her wound. His lips were drawn into a straight line, clearly in a bad mood, but his movements were extremely gentle.
As if he was afraid that being any harder would hurt her.
Wen Yifan stared at his slightly lowered head, her palms gradually tightening. She mustered up courage and spoke, “Sang Yan, this wound is from a few days ago. That day, I encountered Che Xingde at the company parking lot, the one who claimed to be my uncle.”
Hearing this, Sang Yan looked up. “Mm.”
“In Nanwu, I first met him before the New Year. I was working overtime late one night,” Wen Yifan said. “He was the person involved, drunk driving, and had a car accident. But nothing serious happened at that time. Later, I saw him again when I was ‘working overtime’ with you.”
“Then he probably found out that I work at Nanwu Broadcasting, so he started waiting for me outside my workplace, but I didn’t run into him many times.”
“That day, he wanted me to give him ten thousand yuan. I ignored him, so he grabbed my bag and pushed me.” As she spoke about these events, Wen Yifan’s tone was very calm. “After that, I called the police. Nothing major happened.”
Sang Yan listened quietly, his hands not stopping as he gently applied medicine to her wound.
After a long while.
“I didn’t tell you the whole truth before,” Wen Yifan rarely confided in others, her speech slow. “After my father passed away, my stepsister didn’t like me very much. So my mother sent me to live with my grandmother.”
“But later, when my grandmother’s health deteriorated, I was sent to my eldest uncle’s place,” Wen Yifan said softly. “My eldest uncle’s family didn’t like me very much either.”
“In high school, when we were called in by the school for dating for the second time, it was my eldest uncle who went. That day, after I returned home, I wasn’t in a good mood, so I lost my temper with you on the phone,” Wen Yifan pressed her lips together hard, not daring to look at him. “I’m sorry, but what I said wasn’t true. I didn’t find you annoying.”
Sang Yan’s movements stopped.
“After I moved to Beiyu, Che Xingde moved in during my senior year of high school,” At this point, Wen Yifan’s tone became a bit difficult. “He… he kept harassing me.”
Hearing this, Sang Yan put down the cotton swab in his hand. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, his voice hoarse: “Wen Shuangjiang, if you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it,” Wen Yifan shook her head and continued, “During the week of filling out college applications, one night he came into my room…”
Wen Yifan lowered her head, her eyes a bit empty, skipping over this part: “But nothing major happened. Because my eldest uncle and his family always came back at 3 AM, and that day they came back on time.”
Sang Yan closed his eyes briefly and pulled her into his arms, unable to say a word.
He didn’t dare to imagine at all.
He couldn’t bear to think about how she had gotten through that period.
That girl who never had any temper, who was soft-natured, and always gentle to everyone.
How did she endure after encountering such a thing?
“I did apply for Nan University at first. I wanted to go to the same university as you. I didn’t lie to you,” Wen Yifan’s eyes gradually reddened, and she started to become a bit incoherent. “But then, something bad happened.”
“I just, I didn’t know what to do at that time, no one helped me.”
Wen Yifan held back her tears: “Sang Yan, not a single person stood on my side.”
She didn’t want to cry at all.
She felt that she shouldn’t cry.
Because even if she had been mistreated, it wasn’t a reason to hurt Sang Yan.
“At that time, I couldn’t think of anything else, I just didn’t want to stay in Beiyu or Nanwu anymore. I just wanted to go somewhere far away,” Wen Yifan said. “I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you.”
“…”
“I’m sorry I said such unpleasant things to you.”
For so many years.
She had never thought back to the events of that time.
She only remembered that her tone had been very harsh, and she had said very unpleasant things to Sang Yan.
But as time passed, it had gradually faded away.
Thinking deeply about it today.
She finally remembered.
She had said such things.
She had said such hurtful things.
Sang Yan tightened his embrace, pulling her onto his lap. His voice was hoarse as he gently stroked her reddened eyes, his tone seemingly serious yet casual: “Do you remember what I said to you back then?”
Wen Yifan looked up: “What?”
At this moment, it was as if they had returned to that dark alley.
The two of them standing under the pitch-black curtain of rain, covered by a small umbrella, their distance very close. Everything around them seemed to recede, the sound of rain rustling, and all that darkness disappearing.
The young man’s face before her had matured, his features more rugged and mature than before, repeating in a low voice.
“Is there nothing you want to tell me?”
That year, that girl who had closed herself off, remained silent without giving any response.
At this moment, she gave a different answer.
“…There is.”
Sang Yan’s lips curled up: “Then say it now.”
Wen Yifan sniffled: “I liked it when you came to Beiyu to find me. I didn’t find it annoying to come out and see you.”
Sang Yan: “Mm. Anything else?”
“I just felt that changing my college choice was my fault, that I forgot to tell you,” Wen Yifan said. “And Yihe is so far from Nanwu, I didn’t want you to keep coming to find me like you did in high school.”
“What else?”
“I never made a promise to anyone else, I only made a promise to you.”
“Mm.”
“I felt,” Wen Yifan looked at his eyebrows and eyes, finally unable to hold back her tears, “that I wasn’t good enough for you.”
Sang Yan wiped away her tears: “Take that back.”
“…”
“Wen Shuangjiang, do you know why I haven’t looked for a girlfriend all these years?” Sang Yan stared at her, his tone arrogant and superior, “I only settle for the best, understand?”
“…”
Wen Yifan stared at him blankly, her mind occupied by the three words “the best” that he had said. She continued to say everything she wanted to say: “I never treated you as a backup plan.”
“Mm.”
“All these years, I haven’t liked anyone else but you.”
“Mm.”
“I’m sorry, Sang Yan.” As if removing a stone that had been pressing on her chest for many years, Wen Yifan slowly, choking back sobs, finished her last sentence, “I broke my promise.”
Sang Yan looked down at her: “Mm.”
In the extremely quiet room.
The lights were bright, and the rain outside was getting heavier, but it couldn’t affect them in the slightest.
That bone-chilling rainy night, that time covered in mud and bottomless darkness, that past that neither of them was willing to mention again. At this moment, it had finally become the past.
After a while.
Wen Yifan felt something warm fall on her forehead. Along with it came Sang Yan’s solemn and clear words.
“I forgive you.”