Nan Hong - Chapter 7
After the live broadcast wrapped up, Zhen Yu interviewed a few nearby residents who'd come to watch the fireworks display.
Afterward, the crew packed up their equipment and headed back.
Still thinking about what had just happened, Wen Yifan felt restless. She turned to Fu Zhuang, who was sitting in the back seat beside her: "Da Zhuang."
"Yeah?" Fu Zhuang replied.
Still wearing her mask, Wen Yifan asked: "If you saw me on the street like this—wearing a mask and clothes you'd never seen before..." She paused, then asked seriously: "Would you recognize me?"
"Just wearing a mask?" Fu Zhuang considered this carefully, then asked with precision: "Nothing else covering your face? No sunglasses or hat?"
"Just like I am now."
"Of course I would!" Fu Zhuang replied matter-of-factly.
"..."
"Sister Yifan, honestly, I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you," Fu Zhuang said, scratching his head sheepishly. "On my first day at work, when I saw you, I thought some celebrity had wandered into the wrong building."
Zhen Yu laughed from the front passenger seat: "Xiao Fan really is stunning."
"That's absolutely true," said Qian Weihua, much more relaxed during downtime than usual. He joked, "Xiao Fan, do you have a boyfriend? I should introduce you to my son one of these days."
Zhen Yu laughed and scolded him: "Come on, isn't your son still in elementary school?"
Fu Zhuang grinned mischievously: "Well, how about considering me then?"
Not bothered by their teasing, Wen Yifan smiled and replied: "Let's wait until that New Year's wish of yours comes true first."
"Sister Yifan, how could you!" Fu Zhuang exclaimed.
After this outburst, Fu Zhuang leaned closer and said quietly: "But you know what?"
"Hm?" Wen Yifan responded.
"Sis, I was so touched that you gave me that hand warmer today," Fu Zhuang said, his big eyes seemingly seeking praise. "So when I made my wish, I included one for you too."
"What did you wish for?"
"I hope you find a boyfriend who treats you amazingly, really soon," Fu Zhuang said, clenching his fist determinedly. "Someone with incredible qualities all around, and as handsome as that guy we saw today!"
"..."
—
It was nearly two in the morning when Wen Yifan got home.
Staying up late was routine for her, so she didn't feel sleepy—just too exhausted to move. She changed into slippers and collapsed directly onto the carpet beside her bed, lazily scrolling through her phone.
Due to the mass message she'd sent earlier, there were quite a few missed calls and unread texts.
She replied to them one by one as she scrolled down.
Even after reaching the bottom of her message list, there was still no response from Sang Yan.
She tapped into their chat.
Catching sight of her message "being unhappy is fine too," Wen Yifan felt a pang of unease.
"..."
At the time, she hadn't thought much about it—just wanting to lighten the mood with a joke—so nothing had seemed wrong.
But looking at it now, it seemed to carry a different tone entirely.
Like she was mocking him.
Since he clearly didn't want to engage with her, Wen Yifan didn't say anything more to invite further rejection. Her mind began to wander, and she found herself thinking about Sang Yan's conversation with his sister Sang Zhi earlier.
And then, inevitably, she recalled their time together in their first year of high school.
Back then, both of their grades were terrible, ranking near the bottom of the lowest-performing class in their year.
Wen Yifan had entered Nanwu First High School as a dance specialty student, so naturally her academic performance wasn't stellar. As for Sang Yan, his studies were extremely unbalanced—he only focused on math and science while completely ignoring other subjects. Every time report cards came out, his looked like they'd been mauled by a dog.
He'd score nearly perfect marks in math and science, but mostly thirties and forties in everything else.
Whenever exam results were announced, Sang Yan would examine her science test papers, raising his eyebrows with an amused smile.
After this happened repeatedly, even the patient Wen Yifan couldn't help saying: "Sang Yan, staring at my test papers won't help you. You need to analyze your own mistakes."
"Hm? What kind of misunderstanding do you have about me?" Sang Yan looked up at her, his fingertip circling a red X on her paper. He spoke in that cocky, infuriating way of his: "Things like this don't exist on my papers."
...
Wen Yifan snapped back to the present and grabbed her change of clothes for a shower.
Regarding Sang Yan pretending not to recognize her, she could understand it.
He probably saw her and instantly recalled the foolish things he'd done for someone unworthy during his reckless youth—remembering that one dark chapter in his personal history. Because of this, he didn't want any further contact with her.
Pretending not to know her was the wisest choice.
With this thought, Wen Yifan tried to see the situation from Sang Yan's perspective:
A long-forgotten former crush suddenly appears at his bar and seemingly propositions him for work;
Deliberately leaves behind a bracelet to secure a second meeting;
Intentionally sends New Year's greetings to get closer;
Finally, stages a "accidental" bump to create physical contact.
"..."
Who knew what scenarios he must be imagining from all this?
—
The new year continued as usual.
On New Year's Day, Zhong Siqiao sent Wen Yifan the WeChat contact of her classmate who worked in real estate.
But based on Wen Yifan's price range, all the apartments this person recommended were either shared rentals like before or tiny single rooms in the suburbs.
Eventually, Zhong Siqiao offered a suggestion.
She could find someone to share an apartment with.
Splitting the rent on a two-bedroom or three-bedroom would be much more affordable.
Wen Yifan accepted this idea but didn't know where to find a roommate. Her previous neighbor had left too much psychological trauma, making her wary of living with strangers.
She only wanted to find a female friend she actually knew.
On Thursday afternoon, Wen Yifan emerged from the editing room and headed to the bathroom.
As she exited a stall, she happened to run into Wang Linlin from her team.
Wang Linlin had been with the "Relay" program for three years, was a few years older than Wen Yifan, and had a sweet appearance and voice. She'd been off on New Year's Day, and since she often arrived late and left early, Wen Yifan felt like she hadn't seen her in ages.
Wen Yifan took the initiative to greet her.
Wang Linlin looked at her through the mirror: "Hey, Xiao Fan, what shade is your lipstick? It's gorgeous."
"I'm not wearing any today, but the shade I usually use is—" Wen Yifan replied reflexively.
"Oh please!" Wang Linlin interrupted before she could finish, speaking coquettishly, "What do you mean you're not wearing any? We're both women here—let's be honest with each other, okay? If you want to know about my makeup brands, I can tell you too."
Without waiting for a response, Wang Linlin clicked out of the bathroom in her high heels.
Wen Yifan stood bewildered in front of the mirror, then tentatively rubbed her lips with the back of her hand.
"..."
She really wasn't wearing any lipstick.
Back in the office.
Wen Yifan returned to her desk. Wang Linlin's workstation was diagonally behind hers, and she was currently half-perched on her desk, turned to chat with Su Tian at the adjacent table.
Su Tian had joined the company at the same time as Wen Yifan. They were about the same age and got along fairly well.
Wen Yifan smiled and asked: "What are you two discussing?"
"We're talking about Sister Lin's New Year's Eve with her boyfriend," Su Tian replied.
"Just casual chat," Wang Linlin waved dismissively, speaking very casually. "I was lucky enough to have New Year's Day off, so I went to Huaizhu Bay with my boyfriend for the night. We had a candlelit dinner, enjoyed the hot springs, that sort of thing. He even transferred me 5,200 and 1,314 yuan. We didn't do much—it was quite boring actually."
"I'm so envious, Sister Lin." Su Tian forced a smile and changed topics: "By the way, Yifan, aren't you looking to move? Have you found a new place yet?"
Wang Linlin looked surprised and immediately asked: "Oh, Xiao Fan, you're moving?"
"Yes," Wen Yifan replied.
"What perfect timing!" Wang Linlin jumped up, looking thrilled. "I've been stressing about this lately. My previous roommate quit and moved back to her hometown, and I haven't found a suitable person to live with yet."
Wen Yifan was caught off guard, still processing this information.
"Would you consider my place?" Wang Linlin asked.
Su Tian proactively inquired: "Sister Lin, where do you live? Yifan wants somewhere closer to the company."
"Shangdu Huacheng—very close," Wang Linlin replied.
Wen Yifan knew this residential complex. It was very near her current place, and she passed it daily on her commute. It was a newly built development, considered one of the more upscale areas in that district.
Su Tian glanced at Wen Yifan and asked again: "So besides you, are there other roommates?"
"No, no, just me," Wang Linlin patted Wen Yifan's shoulder with a sweet smile. "Don't worry, I won't bring random people home. If we become roommates, we can discuss ground rules before you move in."
"If you're interested, after work today you can come check out the apartment with me—" Wang Linlin paused mid-sentence and corrected herself, "Actually, not today. Let's do tomorrow—I'm going to the movies with my boyfriend tonight."
"Alright, tomorrow then," Wen Yifan agreed.
...
While Wang Linlin was in the break room.
Su Tian leaned over, looking somewhat concerned: "Are you really going to live with her? I find her pretty irritating—always bragging about her newly wealthy boyfriend. And I feel like she's constantly speaking to you with a sarcastic undertone because you're beautiful."
Wen Yifan had a general sense of Wang Linlin's personality.
She didn't have malicious intentions, just spoiled and gossipy tendencies, which Wen Yifan didn't consider major flaws. Most of the time, Wang Linlin was actually quite pleasant to be around.
She blinked and said softly: "I'll look at the apartment first."
—
After work the next day.
Wen Yifan and Wang Linlin took the subway together to Shangdu Huacheng.
The apartment Wang Linlin currently lived in was a three-bedroom, but the landlord only rented out two rooms. One small room was used for the landlord's storage and remained permanently locked. The remaining spaces were a master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and a secondary bedroom.
So the rent was relatively reasonable.
Overall, it was quite nice—complete with kitchen, dining area, balcony, and all necessary amenities.
Wang Linlin had always occupied the master bedroom.
Wen Yifan examined the secondary bedroom.
The room was spotless, without a particle of dust on the desk.
"Since I'm in the master bedroom, I'll pay slightly more rent than you," Wang Linlin said beside her. "You'd pay 2,000 a month, and we'll split utilities. How does that sound?"
This price was somewhat higher than her previous shared apartment, but still within her acceptable range.
And the conditions were significantly better in every aspect.
Wen Yifan remained silent, still considering.
"Think it over," Wang Linlin didn't pressure her for an immediate answer, understanding that moving wasn't a trivial matter. She glanced at the time: "It's getting late—let's go grab dinner first. I'm starving."
Wen Yifan didn't usually eat dinner and wanted to decline. But thinking they might become roommates and should build a good relationship, she agreed.
Just as they exited the complex.
Wang Linlin's phone rang. She answered, her voice becoming several degrees sweeter: "Hello, darling. What's up?"
Wen Yifan walked quietly beside her.
"I'm out with my colleague right now—we were just about to get dinner." Wang Linlin began acting coy: "Sure. Where are you? I just left the complex entrance, my feet are so sore from walking... Oh, you're driving over? Are you almost here? Okay then, I won't distract you while driving. I'll be a good girl and wait for you at the entrance—come pick me up quickly, okay?"
After hanging up, Wen Yifan tactfully said: "I'll head back then. Tomorrow I'll—"
"Why are you suddenly bailing? Didn't we agree to have dinner together?" Wang Linlin frowned, then suddenly realized: "Oh, don't feel awkward—you won't be a third wheel. My boyfriend is bringing a friend too. Just think of it as a small gathering."
Wen Yifan didn't have time to refuse again.
A black car had already pulled up in front of them.
The passenger window rolled down, and the man in the driver's seat turned to look over, smiling: "Darling, get in quickly." The next moment, he spotted Wen Yifan standing beside Wang Linlin and froze: "Wait—Wen Yifan?"
Wen Yifan looked over and was equally stunned.
She'd never expected Wang Linlin's wealthy boyfriend to be Su Hao'an.
"Wow, it's been so many years..." Before he could finish, a horn honked behind them. "Shit. Quick, you two get in—we can't park here."
"No, I—" Wen Yifan started.
"Hurry up!" Su Hao'an urged.
"..."
She reluctantly climbed into the back seat.
After getting in, Wen Yifan realized there was already someone else back there.
She looked over carefully.
The car's interior was dimmer than outside.
The man made no sound, breathing shallow, but his presence was overwhelmingly strong. He was currently sprawled in his seat like he had no bones, eyes closed, looking lazy and drowsy.
As if completely oblivious to everything happening around him.
The car started moving.
Su Hao'an glanced back through the rearview mirror, driving while stirring up trouble: "Hey! Sang Yan, wake up! Come see your first love!"
Wen Yifan: "..."