Wei Yifan’s breath caught as she lifted her gaze to Sang Yan.
“Yihe?” Su Hao’an frowned, suspicion lacing his tone. “Didn’t you fly out for a business trip last time? Am I misremembering? Why would you suddenly go to Yihe—and when? How come I didn’t know?”
Sang Yan turned his head slightly. “How many questions are you asking?”
“Oh, I see.” Su Hao’an’s alcohol-flushed face darkened, his emotions running hotter than usual. “You went to find Duan Jiaxu, didn’t you?”
Sang Yan said nothing.
“I can’t believe this,” Su Hao’an burst out, his voice rising. “If I’d gotten into Nan Da, he wouldn’t be the one tangled in rumors with you!”
“…Lower your voice,” Sang Yan said, irritation edging his tone.
Zhong Siqiao, an alumna of Nanwu University, immediately caught the reference. She broke into laughter and leaned toward Wei Yifan, whispering through her smile, “The Duan Jiaxu he mentioned? He was at our university too.”
Wei Yifan recalled Wang Linlin’s words and gave a small nod.
“They were in the same department, same major, same class—even the same dorm,” Zhong Siqiao went on. “Both ridiculously handsome. Everyone called them the twin heartthrobs of the Computer Science Department.”
Across the table, Su Hao’an was still ranting.
Wei Yifan, meanwhile, sat quietly listening as Zhong Siqiao gossiped, with Xiang Lang leaning in too.
“One year, someone made a post on the campus forum about the school’s heartthrobs,” Zhong Siqiao said. “It blew up. Everyone started nominating people, mostly with candid photos.”
Wei Yifan asked softly, “And then?”
“Of course Sang Yan and Duan Jiaxu were nominated,” Zhong Siqiao replied. “Their photos practically filled half the thread. The funny part? Almost every picture of Sang Yan had Duan Jiaxu in the background. And every shot of Duan Jiaxu had Sang Yan in it too.”
“…”
“People realized that in over 80% of those photos, they were together. It looked like they were glued at the hip.” Zhong Siqiao chuckled. “And during all four years of college, neither of them was ever close to any girls. Naturally, people started calling them ‘that pair of gay heartthrobs from the Computer Science Department.’”
She spoke so loudly that Su Hao’an overheard.
“That’s because people were blind!” Su Hao’an yelled, slamming the table. “Qian Fei and Chen Junwen were in the photos too, but no one counted them because they weren’t good-looking enough!”
“…”
Then, out of nowhere, Su Hao’an slumped forward, his voice breaking. “I’ve got nothing now. I’m never dating again.”
“…”
He turned to Sang Yan, eyes red. “Bro, you’re my best friend. That’s enough for me. Make me your number one too, okay? You know what I mean?”
The table fell into awkward silence.
Zhong Siqiao sensed it instantly. She glanced at Sang Yan, then smoothed things over: “It’s all just gossip, nothing worth taking seriously. Let’s keep playing.”
Wei Yifan leaned forward, shaking the dice cup.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Sang Yan hadn’t reacted at all to Su Hao’an’s rambling. He sat back, scrolling his phone. Then, suddenly, he rose to his feet.
“You guys keep playing,” he said casually. “I’m going back to sleep.”
Su Hao’an blinked. “Huh? Already?”
Sang Yan’s tone was even. “Went to bed late yesterday. Tired.”
Then, without warning, he downed three glasses of alcohol in quick succession. His lips quirked faintly. “I’ve ruined the mood today. You all keep playing.”
He nodded at Su Hao’an. “You host. Put the bill on my tab.”
Without another word, he bent down, picked up the lighter from the table, and walked away.
To the others, his emotions seemed perfectly calm—gentler even, compared to earlier. None of them sensed anything amiss. But for some reason, Wei Yifan felt a heavy gloom settle over her.
After a few more rounds, Su Hao’an also excused himself, leaving only the three childhood friends at the table.
The atmosphere held, but Wei Yifan found her thoughts drifting.
She suddenly asked, “Qiaoqiao—”
“Hm? What’s up?”
“That Duan Jiaxu you mentioned earlier,” Wei Yifan asked carefully, “was he really close with Sang Yan?”
“They must have been,” Zhong Siqiao replied. “Otherwise, why would the rumors spread? I can’t say for sure though. We weren’t in the same department. But one of my roommates chased Sang Yan, and she considered Duan Jiaxu her biggest rival.”
“…” Wei Yifan asked again, “Is Duan Jiaxu in Yihe now?”
“Yes. He’s from Yihe. After graduation, he went back there to work.” Zhong Siqiao blinked curiously. “Why? Did you run into him while you were in Yihe?”
Wei Yifan exhaled softly. “No. Just asking.”
…
Because Wei Yifan had work the next morning, the group left the bar just after 10:30. Xiang Lang wanted to pay, but Su Hao’an insisted and even saw them to the parking lot.
Since Xiang Lang had been the designated driver, Wei Yifan and Zhong Siqiao rode in the backseat.
On the way home, Zhong Siqiao turned to her. “Hey, Diandian—are you sure it’s okay living with Sang Yan? If not, you can always move in with Xiang Lang and let him swap.”
“I don’t mind,” Xiang Lang added from the front.
Wei Yifan chuckled. “What could happen? You saw him tonight. He doesn’t like to socialize. At home, we barely talk. We’re just splitting rent.”
Xiang Lang nodded. “Still—if you want to move, just say the word.”
…
They dropped Wei Yifan off first. Remembering Sang Yan’s words about “going back to sleep,” she softened her steps as she entered the apartment. The living room was pitch dark.
No one had come back.
She slipped into her slippers, showered, and checked her phone.
Two WeChat messages from Sang Yan blinked on the screen:
[Not coming back tonight.]
[Just lock the door.]
Wei Yifan stared at them for a moment, then typed back: [Okay.]
…
That night, as drowsiness overtook her, Wei Yifan thought of Su Hao’an’s words.
Perhaps Sang Yan hadn’t come back because he was comforting Su Hao’an. Perhaps Su Hao’an had finally learned about Wang Linlin’s betrayal.
Or perhaps… it was something else.
And with that weight on her chest, Wei Yifan drifted into a dream—one that carried her back to high school.
Because of Wei Yifan’s gentle, slow-to-warm nature, when everyone else in the class had already formed small groups of friends, she still hadn’t grown especially close to anyone. For a while after school started, she often ate her meals with Zhong Siqiao and Xiang Lang.
One evening, Zhong Siqiao had a club activity, leaving Wei Yifan to eat alone with Xiang Lang.
That was when they ran into Sang Yan in the cafeteria.
Sang Yan was always popular among the boys. Every time Wei Yifan saw him, he was surrounded by a crowd—some familiar faces, some new, making the whole scene loud and energetic.
As the group carried their trays in search of seats, Sang Yan suddenly noticed Wei Yifan sitting face-to-face with Xiang Lang.
His brows lifted slightly.
A few of the boys quickly picked up on it and began teasing. But before long, they moved on, leaving it at that.
That night during self-study, however, the rumors that had always lingered around Wei Yifan began to ferment again, fueled by that single cafeteria encounter.
This time, there were new twists.
Some said that Wei “Flower Vase” didn’t even like Sang Yan’s type to begin with—that she had only agreed to be with him because he had pursued her persistently. But once she spotted someone “better,” she turned her head without hesitation and cheated.
Wei Yifan had no idea any of this was spreading. She didn’t attend evening self-study like the others; she always went to the dance studio instead. Her dormmates never gossiped about her to her face either.
She only faintly sensed that the dorm atmosphere had become… off.
The next morning during reading period, she returned to the classroom and again felt odd stares on her. At first, she didn’t think much of it. She assumed it was just another round of unreliable rumors and brushed it aside.
But during the long break, when she went to the bathroom, she overheard classmates talking.
“I didn’t expect Wei Flower Vase to be that kind of person…”
“It’s disgusting.”
“So what if she’s pretty?”
“Pretty’s useless if your character’s rotten.”
…
Wei Yifan froze in the stall, utterly confused. She had no idea what had happened, nor why she was suddenly the “disgusting” one in their mouths.
After they left, she stepped out, washed her hands slowly, and searched her memory for anything she might have done wrong.
She came up with nothing.
So she decided to act as though she hadn’t heard, letting it pass through one ear and out the other.
Back in the classroom, she had barely sat down when Sang Yan suddenly seized a boy by the collar and dragged him in front of her.
“Apologize,” Sang Yan ordered.
The outburst was so abrupt that Wei Yifan was stunned. For a moment, she thought he was talking to her.
Faced with his sharp, intimidating glare, she instantly lost her nerve. Even though she was sure she’d done nothing wrong, she bowed her head and said, “I’m sorry.”
“…” A vein twitched at Sang Yan’s temple. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
The boy in his grip—a bespectacled student—looked terrified.
Sang Yan’s gaze bore down on him. “Do I need to spell it out for you?”
“I—I was just joking…” the boy stammered nervously. “Everyone was saying it, not just me. Can you let go first?”
“Joking?” Sang Yan sneered. “You’re a grown man running your mouth like that. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
“…”
“I’ll say this once.” Sang Yan’s voice cut across the room as he lifted his chin, sweeping the classroom with his eyes. Each word was clear, deliberate. “If anyone spreads this nonsense again and it reaches me—we’ll settle it one by one.”
He added, voice dripping with arrogance, “I’m not interested in anything else. My only hobby is holding grudges.”
With that, he let go of the boy’s collar.
The boy immediately lowered his head, stammering out an apology to Wei Yifan. “I’m sorry. I was the one who told others you cheated. I had no evidence—I just made it up. It won’t happen again.”
“…Cheating?” Wei Yifan blinked, completely bewildered.
The boy was about to scurry back to his seat when Sang Yan casually stretched his leg, hooking it against the bar of a nearby desk to block him.
He spoke lazily, as if reminding him, “Aren’t I the supposed victim here?”
“…”
“Think about what you’re saying,” Sang Yan continued. “What do you mean she saw someone ‘better than me’ and dumped me?”
Then, as if the thought amused him, he turned his head and glanced at Wei Yifan. His face was half in shadow, his expression arrogant as ever.
“If there ever came a day when I actually pursued someone…” His tone was unhurried, confident to the point of conceit.
“They wouldn’t even realize it was happening. By the time they did, they’d already be mine.”
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