Chapter 26: The Unspoken Embrace
The remaining words seemed to lodge in his throat, and the room suddenly fell into profound silence.
Sang Yan's eyelashes fluttered as he struggled to process what was happening. From his vantage point, he could only glimpse Wei Fan's slightly disheveled hair and the downward sweep of her lashes. His Adam's apple bobbed convulsively as he managed to rasp, "What are you doing?"
Wen Yifan offered no explanation.
Sang Yan's hair remained damp from his recent shower.
Water droplets traced lazy paths from his hair tips down the sharp angles of his face, following his jawline before dripping onto her hair like gentle rain. He watched their descent with hypnotic fascination, then slowly, deliberately raised his hand to brush them away with his fingertips.
She gave no indication of noticing his touch, remaining perfectly still in his arms.
Wen Yifan wasn't particularly short—her height brought her to approximately his chin—but her frame appeared delicate and slight. Now, with her cheek pressed against his chest and her arms encircling his waist with surprising firmness, her presence felt as intense as molten lava against his skin.
The moment stretched endlessly—perhaps ten seconds that felt like hours.
"Can you give me a straight answer?" Sang Yan's voice carried a hint of forced lightness, though tension threaded through every word. "How much longer do you plan to hold me like this?"
The question seemed to shatter whatever spell had held her. Wen Yifan immediately released him.
She retreated a sluggish step, carefully avoiding his gaze while her lips moved in what appeared to be mumbled words. The sounds seemed to roll around her tongue, emerging as indistinct murmurs.
Sang Yan leaned forward slightly, straining to hear. "What did you say?"
But Wen Yifan had already withdrawn into silence.
As if the entire encounter had been perfectly ordinary—as though emerging from her room in the middle of the night to embrace him was the most natural thing imaginable—she turned and began walking toward the master bedroom with unhurried steps.
Caught completely off guard by her nonchalant response, Sang Yan felt his eyebrow twitch with bewildered irritation.
"Wen Yifan?"
She had just reached the threshold of the second bedroom when her footsteps hesitated. Though she seemed to register his voice, her gaze remained fixed in the direction of his room, lingering for several heartbeats before she pulled her attention away and continued forward.
The soft click of her door closing created a barrier between them.
Sang Yan remained frozen in place, staring at the space she had just vacated.
The scene felt surreal, suspended in time like a photograph.
Several seconds passed before the towel slipped from his shoulder, hitting the floor with a muffled thud that broke his trance.
He bent to retrieve it mechanically, his movements automatic while his mind struggled to process what had just transpired.
The harsh white light of the living room suddenly seemed blindingly intense. The surrounding silence pressed against his eardrums—so complete he could hear the subtle movement of air currents. Even Wen Yifan's lingering presence seemed to dissipate in the wake of her departure, leaving him to wonder if the entire encounter had been nothing more than an elaborate dream.
The Next Morning
Wen Yifan's melancholy and physical discomfort had evaporated entirely overnight. She felt as though she had been plugged into a charger for hours, awakening completely restored and energized. After sitting up in bed, she remained still for several minutes, allowing her mind to clear while reflecting idly that sleep truly was nature's most powerful remedy.
A single night of quality rest could dissolve even the most persistent negative emotions.
She retrieved her phone and padded into the bathroom, habitually scrolling through news headlines before opening WeChat. As she reviewed her messages, she noticed that Sang Yan had sent her something around nine o'clock the previous evening.
Sang Yan: [What's wrong with you?]
Wen Yifan blinked in confusion, uncertain whether she had even been awake at that time. After returning from the bathroom last night, she had immediately settled into bed to encourage sleep, avoiding her phone entirely.
She placed her toothbrush between her teeth and used her free hands to type a response: [What?]
His reply arrived almost instantly.
Sang Yan: [?]
The solitary question mark stared back at her accusingly.
Where had he acquired this habit of pelting people with cryptic punctuation?
Wen Yifan pondered the situation while mechanically brushing her teeth.
When Sang Yan had sent that WeChat message, she hadn't been in the living room or made any noise that might have disturbed him. Moreover, her conversation with him upon returning home had proceeded normally.
After considerable thought, she typed another response: [Did you send it to the wrong person?]
Sang Yan: [?]
Several seconds elapsed before he sent a thumbs-up emoji.
Wen Yifan stared at the screen in complete bewilderment, unable to decipher his intentions. However, she could sense from his repeated question marks that the thumbs-up wasn't intended as approval. She spat out the toothpaste foam, genuinely at a loss for how to respond.
This man's emotional state seemed to fluctuate like mercury—unpredictable and volatile.
Every day brought fresh peculiarities.
Rather than overthink the situation, Wen Yifan chose to interpret the thumbs-up at face value, assuming Sang Yan was offering morning encouragement.
Believing such gestures should be reciprocated, she sent a thumbs-up emoji in return after brief consideration.
It was just past eight in the morning.
Wen Yifan collected her jacket, draping it over her arm as she shuffled from her room in slippers. Though Sang Yan was clearly awake, the early hour prompted her to move with exaggerated quiet.
She assumed he remained sequestered in his bedroom.
To her surprise, upon entering the kitchen, she discovered him leaning against the counter with a glass of ice water in hand.
Sang Yan appeared to favor dark clothing even in casual settings—today wearing a black T-shirt paired with matching pants. His posture radiated nonchalance, though fatigue shadowed his features as if sleep had proven elusive. He was currently absorbed in his phone, holding it with one hand while his other supported his weight against the counter.
Noticing her presence, he merely lifted his eyelids with languid indifference.
Wen Yifan retrieved a container of yogurt and a package of toast from the refrigerator. After closing the door, she hesitated momentarily before addressing his previous evening's message. "Did you need something from me in your WeChat last night?"
Sang Yan raised his eyes to meet hers directly, and suddenly smiled—though the expression carried an edge of something darker.
"Want to pretend it never happened?"
Confusion washed over her features.
If Wen Yifan weren't absolutely certain she hadn't consumed alcohol the previous day, she might have suspected blacking out and committing some unknown transgression.
Her mind raced back to the nine o'clock timeframe.
Upon returning home, she had mentioned wanting to sleep early and requested he lower the television volume before nine—an hour earlier than her usual ten o'clock noise restriction established before they began cohabiting.
Wen Yifan hadn't considered this significant.
But Sang Yan possessed a talent for transforming molehills into mountains.
Perhaps prolonged consideration had convinced him that advancing quiet hours by sixty minutes represented a grave inconvenience.
"Last night was a special circumstance," Wen Yifan explained carefully. "I apologize if my request affected you—it won't happen again. Thank you for being willing to accommodate me."
Sang Yan withdrew his gaze with cool detachment. "Fine."
Relief flooded through her.
"This isn't a trivial matter for me," Sang Yan tilted his head with deliberate emphasis, enunciating each syllable with precision. "I hope that in the future, when you engage in such behavior, you can provide me with a reasonable explanation."
Her relief curdled into irritation.
This time, Wen Yifan found his response petty and unreasonable.
How could this possibly qualify as a serious issue?
She had simply asked him to lower the television volume.
Despite her mounting frustration, she maintained diplomatic restraint. "Alright, I will."
When Wen Yifan arrived at the television station, the office remained empty. She made her way to the break room for coffee, returning to find Su Tian had also arrived and was currently napping with her head pillowed on her desk, appearing utterly exhausted.
After exchanging greetings, Wen Yifan inquired, "Why are you here so early today?"
"Never went home—pulled an all-nighter in the editing bay," Su Tian mumbled drowsily. "Just need a quick nap first."
"Of course," Wen Yifan replied gently. "Sleep as long as you need. I'll wake you if anything urgent comes up. But won't sleeping hunched over be uncomfortable? Would you prefer the couch? I have a blanket you could use."
"No need," Su Tian insisted. "Thirty minutes should suffice—then I need to tackle the script."
Wen Yifan didn't press further but quietly placed the blanket within Su Tian's reach. She opened her document files, reviewed her research materials, and began crafting an interview outline.
After some time had passed, Su Tian suddenly jolted upright, her expression dazed and disoriented. She turned toward Wen Yifan with noticeably rapid breathing. "Yifan."
Hearing the tremor in her colleague's voice, Wen Yifan immediately swiveled to face her. "What's wrong?"
"I just experienced the most bizarre nightmare," Su Tian's forehead gleamed with perspiration, clearly shaken. "I dreamed I was sleeping right here at my desk, and I could hear you typing, but there was also a child crying somewhere nearby. It felt like something heavy was pressing down on my back."
Wen Yifan felt a chill run down her spine. "That sounds absolutely terrifying."
"I nearly suffocated," Su Tian continued with a shudder. "The strangest part was feeling conscious but completely paralyzed—like being wrapped in plastic film. I couldn't move at all."
"That sounds like sleep paralysis," Wen Yifan offered reassuringly. "Sleeping hunched forward probably restricted your circulation. You should really try the couch—it likely won't happen again with proper positioning."
"I'm too unsettled now," Su Tian admitted. "It's the first time I've ever had such a vivid, disturbing dream."
Her words triggered Wen Yifan's own memory. "Actually, I had quite a strange dream last night as well."
Su Tian reached for her water bottle with interest. "What happened?"
"Though it wasn't a nightmare," Wen Yifan began thoughtfully. "I dreamed I wandered alone through a dense forest for hours, unable to find my way out. Eventually darkness fell, and I couldn't see anything while growing increasingly cold."
"Then what happened?"
"I suddenly remembered glimpsing the sun during my initial journey into the forest," Wen Yifan continued. "So I decided to retrace my steps to find it for warmth. After walking for some time, I located it."
Su Tian identified the logical inconsistency immediately. "But wasn't it already dark? How could there still be sun?"
Wen Yifan smiled at the observation. "Exactly why it was clearly a dream."
"Is that how it ended? Did you escape the forest?"
"I did—seeing the sun somehow led me out," Wen Yifan struggled to recall the fading details, sensing something absurd about the scenario. "And when I found the sun, I seemed to—"
"What?"
"Couldn't help but embrace it."
Wen Yifan had arrived at work early, and with minimal activity at the station recently, she was able to leave precisely on schedule.
Returning to her apartment complex, she encountered Sang Yan in the elevator—apparently he had also just arrived home, likely coming directly from the underground parking garage while engaged in a phone conversation.
Wen Yifan nodded in acknowledgment.
Sang Yan barely glanced in her direction.
After a brief pause, he spoke into his phone with characteristic laziness: "No need for doubt—she's simply not interested in you."
They reached the sixteenth floor.
Wen Yifan extracted her keys and exited the elevator.
Sang Yan followed behind her, continuing his conversation: "Tell me exactly what ambiguous behavior she displayed."
Wen Yifan unlocked her door and began changing into house slippers.
Behind her, Sang Yan's voice carried clearly: "She hugged you once?"
The observation was punctuated by the sound of his door closing.
Simultaneously, Sang Yan tapped her shoulder. "Hey."
Wen Yifan turned to face him.
"Since you're both women, you can answer this," Sang Yan raised his chin with meaningful implication. "This person hugged my friend once, then acted the next day as if nothing had occurred. What's your interpretation?"
Wen Yifan blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
Sang Yan's expression grew mock-serious. "Should we involve law enforcement?"
Startled by the suggestion, Wen Yifan hesitated before responding cautiously, "Just a hug... hardly seems to warrant..."
Noticing his expectant expression, she added diplomatically, "It largely depends on your friend's relationship with this woman. Perhaps she was experiencing emotional distress and needed comfort."
Sang Yan remained silent, studying her intently.
His scrutiny made Wen Yifan feel like the perpetrator of whatever crime they were discussing, making her increasingly uncomfortable. "The embrace might not carry romantic significance—it could simply represent friendship..."
Unable to continue under his intense gaze, she concluded weakly, "But since I'm unfamiliar with the specific dynamics between your friend and this woman, my perspective offers limited insight."
Upon hearing this assessment, Sang Yan expressionlessly returned his attention to his phone call. "I'm asking you—what exactly is your relationship with this person?"
"Are you insane? What do you mean involve law enforcement?!" Qian Fei's voice erupted from the phone speaker, having been ignored throughout half the conversation. "What kind of relationship could it be? She's my goddess! I've harbored feelings for an entire year!"
Sang Yan paused, processing this information.
"And what are you even talking about?" Qian Fei continued indignantly. "Didn't I explain? My goddess gave me chocolate on Valentine's Day! It wasn't a hug, for crying out loud!"
"Oh, he clarifies it's someone who," Sang Yan lowered his phone, fixing Wen Yifan with an appraising look as if reaching a definitive conclusion about her character, "is completely infatuated with him."
The weight of his assessment hung in the air between them.
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