Nan Hong - Chapter 8
As if disturbed by the noise, Sang Yan turned his head slightly and lazily opened his eyes.
Their gazes met.
Awkward tension seemed to crystallize in the air.
Sang Yan remained silent, quietly studying her. His eyes were sharp and alert, without a trace of the unfocused haze typical of someone just waking up.
His features were devastatingly handsome—slightly hooded eyes with upturned outer corners, combined with his perpetual air of superiority, always gave him a cutting edge.
In that moment, Wen Yifan had the distinct feeling he was about to ruthlessly mock the phrase "first love."
"Do you two know each other?" Wang Linlin asked.
"Mm, we were high school classmates," Su Hao'an replied.
Wen Yifan was about to deflect when Wang Linlin, with her usual lack of tact, pressed further: "What does 'first love' mean? Did your friend used to chase Xiao Fan but strike out?"
Su Hao'an, dense as always, laughed: "That's exactly right."
"..."
No wonder these two were perfect for each other.
In this situation, no matter how much Wen Yifan wanted to play dumb and gloss over everything, she couldn't.
She realized that the masks they had tacitly agreed to wear had just been ripped off by the two in front of them, leaving only tattered fragments.
She didn't expect Sang Yan to help salvage the situation.
Knowing his pride always took precedence, Wen Yifan said calmly: "Is that right? How strange—I'm the person involved, and I don't recall any of this. Su Hao'an, are you sure you're not misremembering?"
"How could I misremember? You two—" Su Hao'an finally sensed something was off. "Hey, are you both feeling weird about this or something? Come on, it's been years. You're not still hung up on ancient history, are you? I was just sharing a funny old story."
"How long has it been since you last saw each other?" Wang Linlin asked.
"I can't calculate it off the top of my head. Wen Yifan, you only stayed at our school for a year, right?" Su Hao'an said. "I remember you transferred out during either first or second year."
"I transferred during the second semester of my second year," Wen Yifan replied matter-of-factly.
"By that count, it must be seven or eight years," Su Hao'an noticed Sang Yan's continued silence and added, "Sang Yan, why are you so quiet? Seven or eight years! Don't tell me you're still brooding over this?"
Sang Yan lowered his eyes again, completely ignoring him.
"Unbelievable." Su Hao'an gave up and started rambling: "Wen Yifan, don't mind him. You know what he's like—nose permanently in the air, probably thinking you must have been blind back then not to fall for him. He doesn't realize how insufferable he looks when he acts like this—"
Wang Linlin cut him off: "Oh come on, just focus on driving instead of trash-talking your friend."
"..."
Su Hao'an swallowed the rest of his words, frowning as he glanced at Wang Linlin.
"You need to concentrate while driving—it's not safe otherwise," Wang Linlin said, noticing his mood shift. She quickly added, "Don't be upset, I was just looking out for us. If you want to keep talking, go ahead."
Su Hao'an finally smiled: "I'm not angry. Thanks for the reminder, darling."
Before they knew it, they'd arrived at the restaurant.
Having come this far, Wen Yifan felt it would be rude to suddenly say she wanted to leave. After all, Sang Yan hadn't said anything, and bailing now would make her seem overly affected by their past if she couldn't even manage to share a meal at the same table.
Thinking a dinner would only take about an hour, she decided to just endure it.
But what Wen Yifan hadn't anticipated was that the "friend" Wang Linlin had mentioned earlier—when she'd said "my boyfriend is bringing a friend too"—didn't refer to just Sang Yan.
It was an entire group.
They'd reserved a private room that was already packed when they arrived.
Logically, since Wen Yifan had come with Wang Linlin, she should have sat beside her. But the remaining four seats were arranged in pairs, so Wang Linlin promptly abandoned her to sit with Su Hao'an.
This left Wen Yifan forced to sit with Sang Yan.
From the outside, it looked like Wen Yifan had come as Sang Yan's date.
One of the men teased: "Sang Yan, you're holding out on us. When did you suddenly get a girlfriend?"
Su Hao'an clicked his tongue: "Don't talk nonsense. How could this idiot be worthy of anyone? This is our old classmate—our high school's legendary beauty! Qian Fei, you remember her, right? Didn't you also go to Nanwu First High?"
"Of course I remember Wen Yifan. Plus, I was in the same class as your friend Zhong Siqiao before." The chubby man sitting next to Sang Yan looked at Wen Yifan with a bashful smile. "I've seen photos of you two together on her social media."
Wen Yifan smiled and nodded politely.
The next moment, another man said: "Whoa, Fatty, why are you blushing?"
Sang Yan hadn't participated in their conversation at all, seemingly deaf to how many times his name was mentioned. Only now did he show the slightest reaction, raising his eyes to glance in Qian Fei's direction.
"Isn't he always like this?" Su Hao'an said. "He turns into a mute when he sees a beautiful woman."
Perhaps feeling ignored, Wang Linlin became visibly displeased and interjected: "What's this about? How can you talk about someone else being beautiful right in front of me?"
After a moment of awkward silence, Su Hao'an coaxed: "Baby, what are you thinking? Don't be jealous over nothing."
...
The restaurant was painfully slow with their service. The group of men chatted aimlessly, but even after a considerable time, not a single dish had appeared. However, as conversation gradually shifted topics, the attention caused by her arrival as a stranger began to fade.
Wen Yifan relaxed slightly and unconsciously glanced at Sang Yan.
He wasn't engaging in the conversation, currently absorbed in his phone, projecting an aura of complete indifference to everything around him.
He remained aloof even when others directly addressed him.
Wen Yifan lowered her head to sip her water.
She felt completely out of place here.
After a while, Wang Linlin suddenly kissed Su Hao'an's cheek and stood up, walking toward Wen Yifan's seat. She tugged on Wen Yifan's wrist with a sweet smile: "Xiao Fan, come on. Keep me company in the restroom."
Wen Yifan stood up, quietly grabbing her bag from the chair.
Following the signs, they made their way to the restroom.
Wang Linlin pulled out her lipstick to touch up her makeup, chatting casually: "So you actually rejected that Sang Yan before?"
Wen Yifan didn't respond.
Wang Linlin took her silence as confirmation and said with genuine surprise: "You know that 'Overtime' bar near our company? He co-owns it with my boyfriend and another guy."
"..."
"His situation is so good—tall, handsome, and wealthy too. How could you reject him?" Wang Linlin shook her head, unable to comprehend it. "Your standards must be impossibly high. But it's been so many years, and judging by his attitude tonight, he doesn't seem to have any lingering interest in you."
"It's all ancient history," Wen Yifan smiled gently, then checked her phone. "By the way, Sister Lin, I'm sorry, but I need to head back. Teacher Qian wants me to submit a draft to him tonight. Could you please help explain to your friends?"
Wang Linlin let out a disappointed "Ah," looking unhappy: "It's just one meal—it won't take that long."
"The teacher is in a rush for it," Wen Yifan said. "I don't dare delay. I'm still in my probation period, you know?"
"Oh, alright then." Wang Linlin pouted. "Be careful getting home. I'll head back first."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Lin. See you tomorrow."
After Wang Linlin left, Wen Yifan turned on the faucet and washed her hands. She wasn't sure if this counted as disappointing Wang Linlin, but she had no desire to continue sitting through a gathering where she knew no one.
Wen Yifan sighed with relief and pulled out a paper towel to dry her hands.
Just as she walked out, she bumped into Sang Yan, who was simultaneously exiting the men's restroom across the hall. This time, contrary to her expectations, he didn't ignore her like she was invisible.
Sang Yan stopped, his expression impassive, standing there looking down at her.
The scene felt strangely familiar to Wen Yifan.
It reminded her of their first encounter at the Overtime bar when they'd met in the corridor.
But this time, the situation was completely different.
Like a do-over.
A return to the normal trajectory.
Judging from his silence all evening, Wen Yifan felt there was no need to mention their previous encounters. She nodded to him, treating this as their first meeting after many years, and politely offered a greeting.
"Long time no see."
But unexpectedly, Sang Yan didn't seem interested in maintaining a facade of civility with her. He maintained that scrutinizing expression and slowly repeated: "Long time no see?"
His tone left Wen Yifan uncertain whether it was a question or a statement.
Then Sang Yan continued: "It's only been a few days since New Year's Eve. Not seeing me—" He paused, methodically dismantling what remained of their pretense.
"Surely hasn't felt like an eternity, has it?"