Wen Yifan was bewildered by the situation, unsure how to react. She turned her head to stare at the half-open door, feeling as if Sang Yan had come to deliver a package and was now being expedited back out.
"Dad, it's Chinese New Year. Where do you want me to go?" Sang Yan looked at Li Ping, his tone carrying habitual irreverence. "Mom already said it's fine, didn't she? She's happy to let me watch some TV. Why are you trying to drive your son away? Aren't you being quite rebellious?"
"…"
Li Ping was simultaneously amused and irritated by his impudence. She didn't argue further, instead grasping his arm and steering him toward the kitchen. "What TV? Aren't you ashamed, a grown man coming home and doing nothing?"
Then, she turned back to Wen Yifan with a warm smile. "Yifan, have a seat for now."
Wen Yifan instinctively responded, "Alright."
Sang Yan allowed Li Ping to pull him along, turning his head to glance at Wen Yifan. Sang Rong chatted with her for a few moments, then also retreated to the kitchen. "Zhizhi, don't just sit there. Pour Yifan a glass of water."
"I know." Sang Zhi waved her over enthusiastically. "Sister Yifan, come sit over here."
Wen Yifan walked over and settled beside her, accepting the glass of water. She asked in a lowered voice, "Did your brother do something to upset Uncle and Auntie?"
Sang Zhi's smile turned sweet and knowing. "Yes. Before you arrived, I'd already heard them nagging my brother for almost four hours."
"…"
"They started scolding him as soon as they began preparing the New Year's Eve dinner." Sang Zhi began counting on her fingers, methodically listing each parental grievance about Sang Yan. "Not coming home, not calling, not messaging, not sharing recent news, having to beg him to come for a meal, standing up every girl they set him up with for blind dates—"
Realizing something wasn't quite right, Sang Zhi hurriedly added, "But my mom hasn't set my brother up on blind dates for a long time now."
This reminded Wen Yifan of her earlier curiosity. "Why does Auntie always try to set up blind dates for Sang Yan?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Sang Zhi replied matter-of-factly, "Who could put up with my brother's terrible personality? Of course, they need to look early."
"…"
"But my brother must like you." Sang Zhi's round eyes curved slightly as if finding it somewhat miraculous. "I've never seen my brother in a relationship before, but this is the first time I've seen him so timid."
Wen Yifan blinked. "Hm? What do you mean by timid?"
"You know, that 'cheating' thing." Sang Zhi's expression grew knowing. "He was so worried you'd misunderstand."
As the two sat in the living room, they could hear intermittent noises emanating from the kitchen.
Most of it was Li Ping and Sang Rong ganging up on Sang Yan.
Li Ping: "Take off your jacket. Aren't you stuffy wearing so much indoors?"
Sang Yan: "No, I'm cold."
Sang Rong: "Cold? We have the heating on, don't we?"
"Can't you roll up your sleeves? They'll get wet in a moment. And what's wrong with your complexion? Have you been staying up late and not eating properly again?" Li Ping grew increasingly agitated as she spoke. "When I ask you to come home so I can make you some soup to boost your health, you refuse. People will think your mother is trying to harm you."
Sang Yan laughed. "What's there to boost at my age?"
A moment later—
Li Ping's voice suddenly sharpened. "What's this scar on your hand?"
Sang Rong also asked with concern, "When did you get stitches?"
Sang Zhi, who had been chatting with Wen Yifan, stopped mid-sentence upon hearing this. She said quickly, "Sister Yifan, wait a moment," and then rushed toward the kitchen. "What stitches?"
Soon after, she must have seen the scar on Sang Yan's hand. Her tone exploded with alarm. "Who did this?"
"It's none of your business." Sang Yan's voice remained lazy. "Go watch your cartoons."
"You little brat, tell me quickly, what happened?" Li Ping was both angry and worried, her voice climbing. "Can't you give me one day of peace? Can't you hope for your mother to live a bit longer?"
"Why are you making it sound so serious? As if I'm about to die the next second." Sang Yan's tone carried his usual impatience, but he did explain properly. "I was being a good Samaritan and accidentally got a small cut."
…
Several minutes later, Sang Zhi returned to her seat. Her mood seemed to have deteriorated considerably. She asked Wen Yifan in a lowered voice, "Sister Yifan, do you know what happened?"
Wen Yifan clutched her cup. "You mean Sang Yan's hand injury?"
"Yes, when I came back during the National Day holiday, I didn't see any injury on his hand." Sang Zhi had clearly examined the scar, guessing that the original injury must have been quite severe. She speculated with growing concern, "Did someone cause trouble at his bar? I think his personality easily attracts enemies…"
"…"
"Will something more serious happen in the future?"
"No, Sang Yan encountered a relative from my eldest aunt's side." Wen Yifan found it somewhat difficult to explain but still didn't hide the truth. "He happened to be a wanted criminal, and Sang Yan got injured in the process of catching him."
Sang Zhi was stunned into silence.
Wen Yifan didn't know what else to say.
After a moment, Sang Zhi sighed in relief. "So he was being a good Samaritan? I thought my brother was making it up. That's doing a good deed. It's great that nothing serious happened." She began muttering, "I don't know how my brother grew up, but he's particularly good at fighting."
Wen Yifan let out an "Ah."
Sang Zhi tattled cheerfully, "He beat up my boyfriend once. His face was all bruised. There wasn't a spot on his body that wasn't hurt."
The topic shifted so abruptly that Wen Yifan paused briefly before continuing the conversation. "Why did Sang Yan beat up your boyfriend?"
"Because they were college classmates, and my brother thought he was taking advantage of his age to deceive me emotionally, and then he kept being fooled…" Sang Zhi sighed with dramatic flair. "Anyway, he hits hard."
"…"
"But my boyfriend also hit my brother." Sang Zhi puffed out her cheeks and complained, "After they fought, I was furious and scolded my brother. But then they became all lovey-dovey, making me feel like I was the odd one out. My brother even said he didn't come to Nanwu to see me, but to see his brother."
Wen Yifan couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.
Perhaps worried that she might be nervous, Sang Zhi talked more than usual, chattering continuously. Finally, she suddenly returned to the previous topic. "Sister Yifan, besides his arm, was my brother injured anywhere else?"
Wen Yifan nodded. "He also had an injury on his waist, but it wasn't as severe as the one on his arm. They've all healed now, don't worry."
"That's good. Have you been taking care of him all this time?" Sang Zhi said thoughtfully, "I see that my parents don't know about this."
Wen Yifan nodded and said gently, "But I didn't help much."
"I think his wound has healed quite well, and it's only been a few months." Sang Zhi observed.
Wen Yifan wanted to say that Sang Yan went to catch Che Xingde because of her—that otherwise he wouldn't have been injured.
But she couldn't quite articulate it.
"My brother did a good thing." As if sensing her mood, the young girl's eyes were clear and sincere as she spoke earnestly. "His luck will surely improve from now on."
Soon after, they were summoned by Li Ping to eat.
The New Year's Eve dinner was extraordinarily sumptuous, with dishes of every flavor filling the entire table. Thinking of Sang Zhi's comforting words earlier, Wen Yifan became somewhat absent-minded. Simultaneously, Sang Yan grasped her hand under the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.
She turned her head to look at him.
Sang Yan was also looking at her, as if asking with his eyes, Are you still nervous?
Wen Yifan curved her lips and shook her head.
After chatting for a while at the dinner table, Li Ping gradually realized something. She stared at Wen Yifan's face, finding it increasingly familiar. "Yifan, have we met before?"
Wen Yifan hadn't expected her to remember and quickly said, "Yes. I met you at school when I was in high school."
"…"
Memory dawned on Li Ping's features. She exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, you're that little girl who was in puppy love with Yan in high school?"
At these words, the gazes of the others also fell on Wen Yifan. She slowly swallowed the soup in her mouth and explained, "Yes, but we weren't in puppy love then. We only got together last year."
"But this brat liked you back then, and he didn't hide it from us." Thinking of this, Li Ping found it amusing. "After coming back from school, I talked to Yan several times, telling him to focus on his studies for now and not consider these things."
Wen Yifan agreed diplomatically. "Yes, we were indeed quite young at that time."
"He didn't listen to me at all, rebellious from childhood to adulthood." Li Ping cast a light glance at Sang Yan. "But later, for some reason, he suddenly started studying like crazy, and then for several years after graduating from university, he didn't find a single partner."
Sang Rong also laughed. "We were so scared, thinking this kid was influenced by our words."
Sang Yan, the person in question, remained conspicuously silent.
Sang Zhi, chewing her food, said indistinctly, "Is it possible that he was secretly dating someone?"
Li Ping shook her head. "I asked Hao'an and Qian Fei. They both knew nothing about it, which made me worry that Yan might have some psychological issues, so I kept trying to set him up on blind dates."
Hearing this, Sang Yan seemed to think of something. His chopsticks stopped, and he said with a lazy expression, half-smiling, "Later, you even set me up on a blind date with a man."
"…" Li Ping choked, saying irritably, "Wasn't that because you refused to go on any dates with girls? How could I not think in that direction? Your mother has already compromised to such an extent for you."
Sang Rong and Sang Zhi burst into simultaneous laughter.
Wen Yifan lowered her head, inexplicably also starting to laugh.
…
After dinner, the family settled on the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala, though most of the time was spent in casual conversation. After staying up until the end of the New Year's Eve celebration, the two elders distributed red envelopes to the three younger ones and then retired to their room to sleep.
Back in Sang Zhi's room, after chatting for a while, Sang Zhi's phone rang.
The caller appeared to be Duan Jiaxu.
Seeing this, Wen Yifan wanted to give Sang Zhi privacy, so she got up and left the room. She walked to Sang Yan's door and knocked lightly. A voice quickly came from inside: "The door's not locked."
Wen Yifan turned the doorknob and walked in.
At this moment, Sang Yan was sitting on the sofa in the room, holding a game controller, casually playing. He raised his eyes to look at her. "Not sleeping yet?"
Wen Yifan closed the door. "I'll sleep in a bit."
"Want to come sleep with me?"
"No."
Sang Yan raised his chin, speaking arrogantly. "Then go back now."
"…"
Pretending not to hear, Wen Yifan sat down next to him of her own accord. "What are you playing?"
Sang Yan handed her the controller, wrapped his arm around her waist, tightened his grip, and pulled her onto his lap. He seemed somewhat tired too, resting his chin on her shoulder, his palm covering her hand. "I'll teach you."
They played together for a while.
Although her hands were moving, it was Sang Yan controlling everything. Wen Yifan watched as the health bar of her character remained untouched while the opponent's health bar kept decreasing until nothing remained.
In this situation, Wen Yifan also had the illusion that she was skilled. She became interested and turned her head to say, "Let me try a round on my own."
Sang Yan obediently released her hands and watched her play.
She expected the result would be similar to before.
But the difference between playing independently and playing with Sang Yan's guidance was vast. In less than a minute, Wen Yifan's character was utterly defeated, without even scratching the opponent's health.
Sang Yan chuckled softly, his chest vibrating slightly as he commented, "Noob."
Wen Yifan looked at him. "Can we play in two-player mode?"
"We can." Sang Yan drawled, "But I'm even more formidable than the computer."
"…"
At Wen Yifan's insistence, Sang Yan switched to two-player mode and picked up another controller. He showed no intention of going easy on her, his movements seeming casual but each hit removing nearly half of her health bar.
After being mercilessly killed three times, Wen Yifan put down the controller, feeling it was about time and having no desire to stay longer.
"I'm going back to sleep."
"What are you doing?" Sang Yan pulled her back, holding back his laughter. "Didn't I say I'd teach you? Do you want to graduate after such a short lesson? I need to teach you a lesson."
Wen Yifan thought for a moment and felt he had a point. "Then continue teaching me."
As they played the game, they chatted intermittently.
Sang Yan asked, "Are you staying here tomorrow?"
Wen Yifan nodded. "Yes, I like your home."
When she first got to know Sang Yan, Wen Yifan understood that he must have grown up in a very happy and harmonious family. Otherwise, it would be impossible to raise someone with his personality.
Proud, confident, and passionate.
Like light itself.
Thinking of how Sang Yan's family members addressed him—
A-Yan.
It was just the first character's tone that changed.
But it seemed to have become gentler.
Wen Yifan licked her lips and suddenly called out to him. "Sang Yan."
"Hm?" Sang Yan responded.
"Your sister has a nickname called Zhizhi, do you have one?" Without waiting for his answer, Wen Yifan continued, "Is it also changed to the first tone, called 'Yan Yan'?"
"…" Sang Yan pinched her face, somewhat speechless. "No."
"Then is it still in the second tone?" Wen Yifan persisted. "Called 'Yan Yan'?"
"Are you sleepy?" Sang Yan stared at her, suddenly smiling. "What nonsense are you talking?"
"Oh, then it is." Wen Yifan paused for two seconds, then spoke. "A-Yan."
"…"
Seeing his slightly stunned expression, Wen Yifan leaned in to kiss his lips, then stood up, pretending to be casual. "I'm going to sleep now."
Sang Yan quickly pulled her back. "What did you call me?"
Wen Yifan half-lay on top of him, no longer shy, her lips curving upward. "A-Yan."
Sang Yan's Adam's apple bobbed as he lightly kissed the corner of her lips.
"Mm, call me that from now on."
This meeting with Sang Yan's parents added a new routine to Wen Yifan's weekly life. She liked the atmosphere in Sang Yan's home, so whenever she had time, she would drag Sang Yan back to his house for meals.
The number of times Sang Yan went home during this period could rival the entire second half of last year.
They set the moving date for the 28th.
They started packing things up bit by bit a week in advance. The night before moving, Wen Yifan continued with the final preparations. Her room had already been mostly organized, with only some miscellaneous items left to sort out.
Wen Yifan had been tidying for a while when there was a knock on the door from outside.
She casually said, "Just come in."
Sang Yan pushed the door open and entered, scanning her position with a frown. "Don't sit on the floor, aren't you still on your period?"
Wen Yifan had no choice but to stand up.
"Need my help?" Sang Yan asked.
Wen Yifan pointed toward the desk. "Then help me pack the things over there, I've already sorted them and put them on the table."
"Alright."
After saying this, Sang Yan picked up the documents on the table and started stuffing them into the box stack by stack. When he reached the last stack, he seemed to notice something. His movements paused, and he slowly picked it up to take a closer look.
It was a small notebook.
At that moment, it was placed upside down, revealing the back. There was a huge name signed with a water-based pen, occupying the entire back page, looking messy and difficult to recognize what characters it corresponded to.
Wen Yifan, who was nearby, was still talking. "How's the packing in your room going?"
Sang Yan didn't respond.
Wen Yifan spoke again. "I'll come to help you in a bit, okay?"
Sang Yan remained silent.
Wen Yifan found it strange and looked over.
She saw Sang Yan holding a notebook, his expression inscrutable. On the notebook was a name signed by Mu Chengyun a long time ago.
"…"
Wen Yifan paused, feeling a chill down her spine, but she also thought he probably couldn't recognize what character it was. She lowered her eyes again, pretending normalcy as she continued to pack. "We should be able to finish packing before eleven—"
"Wen Shuangjiang," Sang Yan interrupted her, "you're quite bold."
"…"
"Why don't you explain to me why you're so preciously keeping the signature of your pursu— oh," Sang Yan emphasized his words, very deliberately correcting himself, "former colleague?"
Wen Yifan didn't know how he'd recognized it, so she told the truth. "I just left it there, I'm not preciously keeping it."
"Who is this guy?"
"He's the ghost from 'See Ghost When Dream Wakes'." Remembering what Su Tian had mentioned before, Wen Yifan added, "I heard he's participating in some talent show now, and he's quite popular."
Sang Yan had only watched this film. After thinking for a moment, he said expressionlessly, "I quite like it."
Wen Yifan: "?"
Sang Yan: "Fine, give it to me then."
"…"
Wen Yifan found his behavior somewhat amusing. "If you like it, take it."
…
After finishing packing the remaining items, Wen Yifan felt it was about done. "That's it, we'll deal with the rest tomorrow morning. Let's go pack your room now, there are still some things in the living room and kitchen that need to be sorted."
Sang Yan made a sound of agreement, holding the small notebook with Mu Chengyun's signature as he followed behind her.
After entering his room, Sang Yan casually placed the notebook on the desk. It happened to touch the mouse, and the screen lit up. Wen Yifan instinctively glanced at it and suddenly noticed a familiar game icon on his desktop.
Wen Yifan stared at it for several seconds, then pointed. "Do you play this game too?"
Sang Yan glanced lightly. "Mm."
Wen Yifan shared with him, "I played this game in college too, but I haven't played for a long time."
Sang Yan smiled. "Is that so."
After that, Wen Yifan didn't pay any more attention to it, scanning the room. Compared to her room, Sang Yan's room was neat, with various items packed into cardboard boxes and placed to one side.
It looked like there wasn't much left to pack.
"Sit down, there's nothing much to pack." Sang Yan remembered something and walked toward the door again. "I just made some brown sugar water for you, let me check how it's doing."
Wen Yifan nodded, but still helped him check if anything was missed. She glanced at the bookshelf, which was empty. She turned around, opened the wardrobe, and saw only a few scattered coats left inside.
Her gaze moved from top to bottom.
Wen Yifan suddenly noticed a medium-sized storage box in the corner at the bottom of the wardrobe. Thinking it might be something he had forgotten, she reached out to pull it out. The box was heavy, and she didn't know what was inside.
The weight didn't feel like clothes, more like books.
Wen Yifan casually opened it.
The first thing she saw was a yellowed newspaper.
Wen Yifan paused, then continued to flip through, finding that they were all newspapers. She didn't know why Sang Yan would keep so many old newspapers here, so she curiously picked up the topmost one to look at.
She stared at the words on the main page.
Yihe Daily.
July 27, 2013, Saturday.
Yihe's newspaper?
Why would it appear here?
Wen Yifan was stunned, and a thought suddenly flashed through her mind. She couldn't believe it and quickly scanned the various bylines on the page. Then, she turned it over, her gaze fixed.
In one of the sections, she saw her name.
— Yihe Daily reporter Wen Yifan
"…"
Wen Yifan's expression froze as she continued flipping.
Next.
And next.
September 5, 2012, Wednesday.
…
April 22, 2012, Sunday.
…
March 11, 2011, Friday.
Until she reached the bottom one.
December 13, 2010, Tuesday.
Wen Yifan remembered this day quite clearly.
It was the day her first article was published after she started her internship at Yihe Daily.
Underneath this were countless plane tickets between Nanwu and Yihe, various unidentified small receipts, and a photograph.
Wen Yifan held her breath, wiping her sweaty palms on her clothes. After a long while, she reached out to pick up the photograph.
In the photo stood a large group of students, all wearing black graduation gowns. In the middle was a girl with particularly striking features. She seemed to have heard something and, unlike the others, was looking toward the camera.
Her eyes were filled with confusion, without any focus.
She had no idea who the person taking the photo was.
It was a scene Wen Yifan once thought was just a dream.
Wen Yifan's throat tightened.
She clenched her fist and turned the photo over, immediately seeing the man's handwriting that had pressed through the paper.
Unlike his usual unrestrained and arrogant style, these characters were written neatly and meticulously. As if done with utmost seriousness.
Only four characters.
— Happy Graduation.
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