Wen Yifan was stunned, feeling as if a huge pot had suddenly crashed onto her head. She pondered his words carefully, wanting to explain, but realized that no matter how she answered, it wouldn't be quite right.
If she affirmed with a "Yes," it would confirm his statement—that she indeed wasn't looking at him. But if she denied it with a "No," it would seem like she was continuing his sentence—right, I wasn't looking at you.
Wen Yifan felt herself getting tangled up in this logical trap.
She had a growing sense that Sang Yan was truly logically rigorous, able to construct a question where any answer from the other person would put them at a disadvantage, allowing him to pick apart their response at will.
Wen Yifan wanted to give a foolproof answer, thinking very carefully about her words.
Facing Sang Yan, she wasn't in any hurry, responding slowly and with deliberate hesitation.
Her delayed response, in Sang Yan's eyes, was tantamount to admitting that she had indeed done what he suspected—but due to his pressure, she dared not tell the truth.
Sang Yan's lips tightened into a thin line, and he directly pulled back the graduation album with a sharp motion.
Noticing this movement, Wen Yifan looked up.
Their gazes met and held.
Sang Yan stared at her for two long seconds, then averted his eyes and stood up abruptly. He tossed the album aside, no longer continuing the topic, his tone edged with displeasure: "Go back to sleep."
Wen Yifan stared at his face and said softly, "But I haven't finished looking."
His features were handsome and refined. He rarely smiled, usually appearing indifferent and noble, with a strong sense of distance that kept strangers at bay. Now that he was angry, this feeling intensified dramatically.
The sharpness in his brow and eyes seemed to have doubled.
Although she had heard Zhong Siqiao say several times that Sang Yan was particularly frightening when he had a cold face—seemingly able to lower the surrounding temperature by several degrees just by his presence, making others afraid to speak, with a full sense of intimidation—
But strangely enough.
It was precisely at this moment that Wen Yifan felt that she wasn't afraid of him like this at all.
She even felt a bit like laughing.
Sensing that if she laughed, it would be like pouring oil on fire, Wen Yifan didn't speak immediately. She intended to adjust her emotions to be more composed before trying to appease him properly.
The next second, Sang Yan suddenly placed his hand on her head. The force wasn't strong, just pressing back slightly, tilting her face upward. His gaze fell on her as if wanting to see exactly what expression she wore at this moment.
Catching a glimpse of the smile playing at the corners of her mouth, Sang Yan's movement froze, his face still expressionless.
"…"
Wen Yifan immediately suppressed her smile, schooling her features.
"Fine, I thought you were lowering your head in reflection." Sang Yan withdrew his hand, letting out a cold laugh, his voice equally icy. "Turns out you're secretly delighting in looking at handsome guys."
"…" Wen Yifan wanted to laugh again. "That's not it."
Sang Yan ignored her completely.
Wen Yifan moved a bit closer, asking a question she already knew the answer to: "Are you angry?"
Sang Yan couldn't be bothered to respond, pretending to be deaf and mute.
Wen Yifan said in a gentle, coaxing voice: "Can I still look at your graduation album? I haven't finished."
"…"
Sang Yan looked up again, leaning back slightly, looking down at her from his elevated position. His knuckles tapped lightly on the album beside him. Although he seemed to agree, his words carried a strong warning tone: "Fine, take it."
Wen Yifan seemed to not hear the warning at all, truly taking it as genuine agreement: "So I can take it?"
Sang Yan was more direct: "Take it if you dare."
Wen Yifan nodded solemnly and pulled out the album from under Sang Yan's light pressure.
"…"
Sang Yan watched her actions from the side, so angry that his stomach began to ache faintly with irritation.
After taking the album, Wen Yifan shifted her position again, getting even closer to him.
Sang Yan suddenly said: "Sit further away from me."
Wen Yifan didn't listen and opened the group photo at this intimate distance. She looked at Sang Yan in the photo, then at him in person. Seeing his expression still cold and unyielding, she suddenly said: "Why are you suddenly angry with me?"
Sang Yan glanced at her: "Reflect on it yourself."
Wen Yifan held back a laugh and thought for a moment: "Are you feeling guilty?"
Sang Yan: "?"
Wen Yifan continued to flip through the pages leisurely: "I just wanted to see what my love rival looks like."
"…" Sang Yan's eyelashes flickered slightly, his frown deepening. "Say something people can understand."
"Weren't you involved in rumors with this Duan Jiaxu?" Wen Yifan recalled Zhong Siqiao's words, slowly repeating them, "I heard you two were known as the famous pair in the Computer Science department of Nan University—"
"…"
"The gay campus heartthrobs."
Sang Yan: "…"
The topic gradually shifted in an entirely different direction.
Sang Yan's expression eased considerably, not taking this so-called "rumor" to heart at all. He raised an eyebrow thoughtfully and said with deliberate leisure: "Wen Shuangjiang, aren't you in journalism?"
Wen Yifan continued flipping through the album: "Hmm?"
Further on, there were group photos of various dormitories. She quickly located the photo of Sang Yan with three others. In this particular image, his eyebrows finally showed a hint of a smile, looking at the camera carelessly, appearing noble and spirited.
"So you believe this kind of hearsay, unverified rumor?"
"…" Wen Yifan shook her head. "I don't believe it."
"Oh." Sang Yan pressed down on her hand, very arrogantly issuing an invitation: "Then when are you coming to verify it?"
…
Because of his deliberate interference, Wen Yifan couldn't seriously flip through the album, causing quite a delay. In the end, she hastily found all the photos of Sang Yan, glanced at them briefly, and then was urged by him to go back for a nap.
Back in her room, Wen Yifan changed clothes and lay on the bed with the voice recorder Sang Yan had given her. She felt inexplicably nervous and took a while to find the new recording inside before playing it.
Sang Yan's voice emerged from it.
His voice was rather cold, the end of his words always unconsciously rising, carrying a unique flavor that was distinctly his.
"Wen Shuangjiang, be careful at work. Your boyfriend tells you to come home safely."
"…"
Wen Yifan was stunned for a moment, then played it several more times.
Be careful.
Come home safely.
Wen Yifan's heart skipped a beat, and she unconsciously touched the area behind her ear, remembering the injury she had received in Beiyu before.
It had been quite some time, and the wound had long since healed, not even leaving a scar now. But Sang Yan seemed to always keep this incident firmly in mind. Every time she went out for overtime work late at night, as long as he was home, he seemed to stay awake waiting for her return.
Wen Yifan was lost in thought.
After a long while, she carefully put the voice recorder back in its box.
Wen Yifan lay on the bed, trying to sleep. But she had been awake for too long and now found it difficult to fall asleep.
Her mind kept replaying images of Sang Yan from the graduation album.
He was more mature than in high school;
Yet more youthful than his current appearance.
It was a stage she had never witnessed, never been a part of.
Wen Yifan stared at the ceiling, her expression dazed.
In this instant.
Wen Yifan very clearly felt an emotion that had surfaced countless times before, yet she had never fully grasped:
She regretted it.
I deeply regretted it.
A few days after Valentine's Day, the Spring Festival arrived.
Similar to last year, Wen Yifan only had a brief three-day holiday. Although Sang Yan's company also frequently had overtime, they were quite conscientious and gave time off until the seventh day of the new year, even starting the holiday two days early.
He had considerably more free time than her.
Except for New Year's Eve night, when Sang Yan didn't return until eight or nine o'clock, he spent most of his time at Shangdu Huacheng. They spent the entire Spring Festival holiday together.
After the third day of the new year, Wen Yifan started her shifts at the company again. Fortunately, this new year was particularly peaceful, and there wasn't much happening at the station during this time—not as busy as she'd imagined.
Wen Yifan was able to leave work on time every day.
It wasn't until the seventh day of the new year, when everyone resumed work, that she became truly busy.
On the evening of the eighth day of the new year.
Wen Yifan worked some overtime temporarily, barely finishing her wrap-up work at nine o'clock. She packed up her things, wound her scarf around her neck, and then left the office to wait for the elevator.
Soon after, Wen Yifan noticed someone standing beside her in her peripheral vision.
She instinctively looked over.
It was Mu Chengyun.
During this time, even while eating in the cafeteria, Wen Yifan had vaguely sensed that Mu Chengyun was avoiding her. She could guess the reason, but as long as it didn't affect work, it didn't matter much to her.
Mu Chengyun smiled at her and greeted her: "Sister Yifan, are you about to get off work?"
Wen Yifan nodded.
Silence fell between them.
Both elevators stopped for about ten seconds on each floor, and after waiting for a long time, they were still far from this floor. During this interval, Wen Yifan took out her phone and sent a WeChat message to Sang Yan: [I'm done, coming over now.]
Sang Yan immediately replied: [I've been drinking, should I send someone to pick you up?]
Wen Yifan: [No need.]
Wen Yifan casually wrote: [I'm riding with a colleague.]
The next moment, Mu Chengyun spoke again: "Sister Yifan, when I came up from downstairs just now, I saw a man looking for you. But he was stopped by security. Have you offended someone?"
Wen Yifan froze, looking up sharply: "Who?"
In this line of work, one inevitably offended people to some extent.
Wen Yifan had witnessed before how an older reporter in her office was confronted by a subject of a previous report—because they felt his reporting had negatively affected their life.
This was considered normal at the station, which is why the security downstairs had become much stricter.
"I don't know, he looked to be in his forties." Mu Chengyun recalled. "But he didn't seem to have any ill intentions, maybe it's someone you know."
Wen Yifan pondered to herself, but really couldn't think of who it might be, so she just nodded.
Mu Chengyun: "But you should still be careful."
Wen Yifan smiled: "I know, thank you."
Silence fell again.
"Sister Yifan, I actually—" Mu Chengyun suddenly let out a breath, looking as if he had struggled for a long time before finally getting to the point. "I have something to tell you."
Wen Yifan looked at him: "What is it?"
"You've probably noticed, I previously…" Mu Chengyun didn't dare to finish, instead changing the subject. "But now it's gone."
Wen Yifan didn't understand his words: "Hmm?"
"I've never had experience in this area, and it was my first time trying to pursue someone… so I asked a lot of people for advice. My sister taught me several tricks, and I tried to use them all."
"…"
"Like, before pursuing someone, you should first eliminate your rivals, and discredit them. And, you should defeat your rivals in terms of momentum." Saying this, Mu Chengyun seemed a bit embarrassed. "But now that you're together, I wanted to explain this to you."
His words came suddenly, leaving Wen Yifan somewhat stunned.
"What I told you before, about what Senior Sang said at the graduation ceremony, I made that up." Mu Chengyun smiled with obvious remorse. "He never said those words, and they didn't mention you at their graduation ceremony."
These words were said quite a while ago, and Wen Yifan had no impression of them anymore.
She tried to recall.
"I think they did mention something that day, about some senior being someone's backup for several years or something, I can't remember clearly." Mu Chengyun said. "Then Senior Sang said something, but I didn't hear clearly what he said."
Hearing the word "backup," Wen Yifan immediately looked up, a scene flashing vividly in her mind.
Mu Chengyun: "For a while, I didn't know how to face you, but now I've come to terms with it."
Wen Yifan made a sound of acknowledgment: "Why are you suddenly telling me this?"
Mu Chengyun scratched his head: "I was afraid those words might affect your relationship."
Wen Yifan laughed: "It's not that serious."
After she said this, Mu Chengyun also breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
Just then, the elevator arrived.
They both walked in.
There were quite a few people inside, so they could only stand at the outermost position.
Mu Chengyun pressed his lips together, unconsciously glancing in Wen Yifan's direction again, remembering the first day he saw her.
She was following behind Qian Weihua, and when she entered, it seemed as if the dim interior was suddenly illuminated.
Her features were extremely gorgeous, beautiful enough to steal everyone's attention, and impossible to look away from. It was a face that was stunning at first glance, and still stunning at second glance.
Mu Chengyun fell for her with just one look.
Because of this, he specifically asked his classmate Fu Zhuang if Nanwu Radio and Television was still hiring, and indirectly inquired about whether she had a boyfriend. Later, through campus recruitment, Mu Chengyun came to the "Convey" column group with this determined mindset.
Hoping to get closer to her through this opportunity.
But the more time he spent with her, the less courage Mu Chengyun had to approach her.
Although she always seemed gentle and mild, in reality, she seemed indifferent to everyone, and extremely difficult to get close to. She looked gentle, but in essence, she was like someone extremely cold, with nothing that could make her care.
Like an unreachable existence.
But that day, Mu Chengyun saw how Wen Yifan was when she was with Sang Yan.
It seemed it wasn't like that at all.
Mu Chengyun pulled back his thoughts, no longer dwelling on this.
Even though he had spent time adjusting his feelings during this period, now that he was thoroughly heartbroken, Mu Chengyun still felt a bit stifled. He clearly understood that these words would make her impression of him worse.
Yet he still hoped.
The person he had liked for almost a year could be treated well.
And could, without any external influence, be happy with the person she liked.
Meanwhile.
Despite repeatedly refusing, Sang Yan was still forced to drink a few glasses of alcohol and now felt a bit overheated after staying indoors for so long. He loosened his tie, lowered his eyes to look at his phone message, and replied: [Call me when you arrive]
Then he turned off the screen.
At this moment, Sang Zhi came over to him and said: "Brother, I'm going to say congratulations to Brother Qian Fei, and then I'll head back first, okay?"
Sang Yan glanced at her: "You can get back on your own?"
Sang Zhi nodded: "There's a bus right outside, I know the way."
"Mm." Sang Yan's tone was lazy. "Be careful."
After Sang Zhi left, Su Hao'an, sitting across from him, couldn't help but tease: "Sang, is your girlfriend coming or not?"
Sang Yan looked up.
Maybe it was the alcohol getting to his head, but Su Hao'an's mood was very high: "Did you just make up a girlfriend to brag about?"
Sang Yan sneered, too lazy to respond.
Chen Junwen beside him chimed in: "I think so too."
As he finished speaking, Chen Junwen looked up and caught sight of someone approaching Sang Yan. He grinned and asked: "Old Xu, do you agree with us?"
Following this, Sang Yan looked to the side.
The man was also wearing a formal suit with a dark red tie, seemingly just returning from the restroom. His hair fell in fine strands on his forehead, his eyelids deeply creased, his eyes sparkling with light—looking as if he was emitting electricity with just a casual glance.
Perhaps not having heard what they were talking about earlier, he curved his lips: "Hmm?"
"Duan Jiaxu," seeing him, Su Hao'an called out unhappily, "Where have you been! How can you not drink on a day like this? What are you here for? Hurry back to your Yihe! It's annoying!!!"
Duan Jiaxu chuckled lightly, his tone gentle as if flirting: "Why do you still have so many opinions about me?"
Sang Yan let out a light snort and took another sip of his drink.
The next moment, Duan Jiaxu glanced at the seat next to Sang Yan. Then, he slightly raised his eyebrows and looked at Sang Yan directly.
"Brother."
"…" Tortured by this form of address all night, coupled with Wen Yifan's recent mention of the "gay" incident, Sang Yan said with a forced smile, "Is there something wrong with you?"
Duan Jiaxu laughed to himself for a while: "Where's your sister?"
Sang Yan replied casually: "Just left."
"I see, lend me your car keys." Duan Jiaxu picked up his coat nearby, his expression natural. "It's not safe for a young girl to go back at this hour, I'll send her home."
Sang Yan directly tossed him the car keys: "You're quite considerate of this kid."
Duan Jiaxu smiled: "As I should be."
Hearing this, Sang Yan looked at him again.
The man before him had cold white skin, a tall and slender figure, and a pair of peach-blossom eyes. His features were extremely outstanding, his eyes slightly curved when he smiled, his lips too vivid in color—eye-catching even just looking at his features.
Like a reincarnated male enchanter.
He did indeed seem to attract young girls' attention.
Sang Yan suddenly thought of how Wen Yifan had praised Duan Jiaxu's looks after seeing his graduation photo. His brow furrowed slightly, his gaze moving up and down, carrying a scrutinizing quality. Then, he suddenly turned his head to Chen Junwen beside him: "Hey."
Chen Junwen was looking at his phone and raised his head in confusion: "What?"
Sang Yan: "Ask you something."
Chen Junwen: "?"
Sang Yan: "Is Duan Jiaxu handsome?"
Duan Jiaxu, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks when he heard this, his eyebrows slightly raised in amusement.
"…" Chen Junwen was extremely exasperated. "Are you sick? Turned gay?"
Sang Yan was a bit impatient, but also too lazy to continue asking him, and turned to Su Hao'an.
"Su Hao'an, you say."
"Duan Jiaxu?" Su Hao'an was drunk, his face all red. He stared at Duan Jiaxu's face and shook his head. "Just average, not even one ten-thousandth as handsome as me."
Duan Jiaxu curved his lips: "Then what's wrong with you?"
Su Hao'an: "?"
Duan Jiaxu said slowly: "Your face turns red as soon as you see me."
"…" Su Hao'an felt like vomiting. "You haven't changed a bit in hundreds of years."
Feeling that no one could answer the question normally, Sang Yan turned his gaze back to Chen Junwen: "Hurry up and answer."
Chen Junwen was annoyed to death: "…Handsome, handsome, handsome, your girlfriend is the most handsome! Satisfied?"
"Oh, then." Sang Yan ignored his words and turned his head, staring at Duan Jiaxu with an indecipherable look. "Who's more handsome, me or Duan Jiaxu?"
…
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