From what I recall, it must have been a weekend during the first semester of my sophomore year in high school.
Wen Yifan couldn’t remember why she had gone out that day, only that she was shopping when suddenly a little girl ran up to her, saying she wanted to treat her to ice cream.
A moment later.
As if remembering her original purpose, the little girl quickly added.
“Big sister, I can’t find my brother.”
Wen Yifan was taken aback. “Did you get separated from your brother?”
Sang Zhi tilted her head and reluctantly hummed in agreement.
Wen Yifan: “Where did you get separated?”
Hearing this, Sang Zhi turned and pointed to a tree behind her. “Over there.”
Wen Yifan glanced in that direction but didn’t see anyone. She set down what she was holding and pulled out her phone from her pocket. “It’s okay. Do you remember your brother’s phone number?”
Sang Zhi shook her head. “No.”
“...”
“But he should be right over there,” Sang Zhi took the initiative to grab her hand, blinking her round eyes. “Big sister, can you take me to find him? I’m a little scared to go alone.”
Wen Yifan smiled gently. “Of course.”
The sunlight was scorching that day, and even the breeze brushing against their cheeks felt burning hot.
Wen Yifan opened her parasol and let the tiny Sang Zhi pull her forward. The girl was small, with short strides, but she walked surprisingly fast, bouncing along with high spirits.
Sang Zhi tugged her straight toward the tree she had pointed at earlier.
It wasn’t until they were almost there that Wen Yifan gradually began to feel something was off.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that this child had a very clear objective.
It seemed she was absolutely certain her so-called brother was right there.
Just as Wen Yifan started wondering if she had stumbled upon some child-baiting human trafficking scheme—
The next moment, Sang Yan’s tall, lean figure came into view.
In an instant, a certain suspicion flashed through her mind.
But Sang Yan, who should have been guilty, looked utterly unbothered.
Standing under the shade of the tree, he tilted his head to look at her, his features carrying the effortless arrogance of youth.
“What a coincidence.”
...
Just like now, when Sang Yan heard Sang Zhi’s words.
He acted as if he didn’t mind being exposed at all, casually carrying the groceries toward the kitchen. As he passed Wen Yifan, he glanced at her, the corner of his lips quirking up in an audacious smirk.
As if saying—
So what if I did?
“...”
Wen Yifan silently followed him into the kitchen.
After all, that incident had happened seven or eight years ago.
And this was just how he was—never hiding what he’d done, so brazen that it made the other person feel like they were the guilty ones.
She opened the fridge and took out a bottle of yogurt.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the things Sang Yan had bought. Judging by the setup, it seemed he was planning to have hotpot at home.
Wen Yifan averted her gaze and left the kitchen.
Noticing that Sang Zhi was only wearing socks, Wen Yifan thought for a moment and walked to the entryway. She pulled out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and said with a smile, “I have an extra pair here. You’re welcome to wear them if you don’t mind.”
Sang Zhi immediately replied, “Thank you, big sister.”
“Make yourself at home. Feel free to take anything you’d like to eat.” Worried her presence might make the girl uncomfortable, Wen Yifan added, “Most of it is your brother’s stuff anyway.”
Once Wen Yifan returned to her room.
Sang Zhi opened the TV cabinet and peeked at the snacks inside.
Just then, Sang Yan happened to walk out of the kitchen."Brother," Sang Zhi was feeling a bit hungry and reached for a bag of chips. "Why did you decide to share an apartment? And with a girl, no less. Did you tell Mom and Dad? Do they know?"
Noticing her action, Sang Yan snatched the chips back and tossed them onto the TV stand.
"Follow some rules."
Sang Zhi was baffled. "Aren’t these the ones you bought?"
"You knew and still touched them?" Sang Yan said leisurely. "Do you really think I bought them for you?"
"..." Sang Zhi thought he was being stingy, but she wasn’t particularly interested in the chips anyway, so she chose to swallow her pride. "Then hurry up. I need to finish eating and go back to study."
"Still half an hour. Go study first—make every second count." Sang Yan tilted his chin toward the dining table. "Sit there, or you can go to my room if you prefer."
Sang Zhi picked up her backpack and headed toward the table, asking again, "So why did you decide to share the apartment?"
Sang Yan: "Do I need to report everything I do to a little brat like you?"
"Oh." Sang Zhi glanced toward the master bedroom and suddenly understood. "You like that older sister, don’t you?"
"..."
"Come on, brother, it’s not that I don’t want to support you." Thinking of Wen Yifan’s appearance, Sang Zhi sighed. "But we should at least have some self-awareness."
"..." Sang Yan laughed in exasperation. "Self-awareness?"
"Yeah."
"Kid, get this straight." Sang Yan casually pulled out the hot pot base he had stuffed into the cabinet earlier. "It’s the people who fall for me who need to think about that word, got it?"
"..."
Sang Zhi thought he was utterly shameless and didn’t want to waste any more time arguing with him.
She sat at the table, pulled out a few test papers from her bag, and began focusing on her work.
Half an hour later.
Sang Yan brought out the hot pot base right on time and said lazily, "Go get the side dishes from the kitchen."
Sang Zhi gave an "okay."
The meat and vegetables they had just bought at the supermarket had already been washed, sliced, and neatly arranged on plates by Sang Yan. Sang Zhi could carry a few plates at a time, making several trips back and forth before finally mixing her own dipping sauce.
Returning to the table, she had just sat down when she suddenly remembered, "Brother, aren’t you going to invite that older sister to eat with us?"
Sang Yan didn’t answer, grabbing a beer from the fridge instead.
"You’re really not going to invite her? It’s the New Year." Sang Zhi couldn’t believe it, thinking he was utterly lacking in basic courtesy. "Since you’re roommates, you should get along well."
Sang Yan shot her a glance. "What’s it to you?"
Sang Zhi was annoyed. "She even specially gave me slippers and told me to take whatever I wanted to eat. Wasn’t she nice to me? Shouldn’t you at least return the courtesy and invite her to eat with us?"
"She was nice to you," Sang Yan smirked. "What does that have to do with me?"
Sang Zhi: "..."
Sang Yan couldn’t be bothered with her. "If you want to invite her, go do it yourself."
Sang Zhi stared at him for a moment before deciding not to meddle—after all, he wasn’t her roommate. She picked up her chopsticks again and dropped some vegetables into the pot to cook.
Not long after, Sang Yan suddenly remarked, "You’ve got quite the conscience."
Sang Zhi: "?"
But he didn’t elaborate.
Sang Zhi immediately realized he was being sarcastic, mocking her for only talking about how nice others were to her and expecting others to handle the social niceties for her while she did nothing but talk.
"..."After that, Sang Yan leisurely picked up his chopsticks, clearly not wanting to deal with anything, looking particularly punchable.
Sang Zhi suppressed her irritation, stood up, and headed toward the master bedroom.
...
Meanwhile.
Wen Yifan finished watching the latest episode of her drama and glanced at the time in the lower right corner of her computer. Just as she was about to lie down for a bit before taking a shower, there was a knock at her door.
She got up and went to open it.
Standing outside was Sang Zhi.
The girl was slightly shorter than her, with two small dimples appearing when she smiled. She took the initiative to invite, "Sis, come out and eat with us. I noticed you didn’t have dinner."
"No need," Wen Yifan smiled. "Enjoy your meal."
Thinking she was just being shy, Sang Zhi cut straight to the point, "Sis, you might not realize this."
"Hmm?"
"When it's just me and my brother eating together, there’s no way it’ll be enjoyable."
"..."
In the end, Wen Yifan was dragged out by the overly enthusiastic Sang Zhi.
At the rectangular white dining table, Wen Yifan and Sang Zhi sat on one side, while Sang Yan sat alone across from them. When the two came out, he merely lifted his eyes briefly, saying nothing.
Wen Yifan’s hair grew quickly, and without a trim for some time, it had now reached her chest. She tied it all up with a hairband, revealing her smooth forehead. Though completely bare-faced, she still looked as radiant as if she were wearing makeup.
Her fox-like eyes sparkled, her skin was porcelain-white, and her lips were naturally rosy without any tint.
Sang Zhi couldn’t help but sneak a few extra glances at her.
Unsure whether Sang Zhi’s invitation to join them had been approved by Sang Yan, Wen Yifan kept her presence as low-key as possible, quietly eating a few meatballs.
Sang Zhi, on the other hand, kept urging her to try this and that.
After a few minutes, Sang Zhi suddenly remembered something, "Sis, what’s your name?"
"Wen Yifan," she added, "'Yi' as in 'past,' 'Fan' as in 'ordinary.'"
"Oh, then can I call you 'Yifan-jie'?" Sang Zhi, being particularly appearance-conscious, had taken a strong liking to Wen Yifan and thus became even more enthusiastic. "I’m Sang Zhi, 'Zhi' as in 'childish.' You can call me Zhizhi—it’s my nickname."
"Okay," Wen Yifan smiled. "That’s a really cute nickname."
Hearing this, Sang Yan suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
Sang Zhi immediately turned to him, displeased. "What’s wrong with her saying my nickname is cute?"
The corners of Sang Yan’s eyes lifted slightly, his lips still curved, but he ignored her.
"..."
Wen Yifan pressed her lips together, inexplicably feeling that his laugh was mocking her.
Because the first time Sang Yan heard her nickname, he had laughed just as mockingly. Later, he even said something like—"Your nickname sounds like a maid’s name."
Wen Yifan found him rather childish and pretended not to hear, responding to Sang Zhi instead.
"It is cute."
Sang Zhi blinked and, under such differential treatment, decided to completely treat Sang Yan as air.
The two chatted casually for a while longer.
"By the way, Zhizhi, why did you come here today?" Wen Yifan found it odd and asked offhandedly, "Isn’t it the third day of the Lunar New Year? Shouldn’t you be at home?"
"My parents went visiting relatives, and I didn’t really want to go. Plus, I’m about to take the college entrance exams." At this, Sang Zhi’s voice softened. "I wanted to spend more time studying. I’m worried I won’t do well in the upcoming exams.""Are you in your senior year of high school?" Wen Yifan asked. "Have you thought about which university you want to attend?"
Sang Zhi fell silent.
Since it was just casual conversation, Wen Yifan didn’t press further.
But before long, Sang Zhi picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and mumbled between bites, "I haven’t decided yet. I’m torn between Nanwu University and Yihe University."
Wen Yifan was taken aback. "You can get into both?"
Sang Zhi replied, "If nothing goes wrong."
Wen Yifan’s own grades had been unstable back then, and she hadn’t been confident about getting into either school before the college entrance exams. Now, she felt like she was talking to a top student. "Then your grades must be really good."
Sang Zhi said, "I’m just worried I might not perform well."
"Don’t put too much pressure on yourself."
"Okay."
"Both schools are great. It just depends on which one you prefer or which one has a better ranking for the major you want to study. You can decide based on that," Wen Yifan advised. "Also, Yihe is quite far from Nanwu, and the climate there is very different from here. It took me a while to adjust when I first arrived. You should consider those factors too."
Sang Zhi nodded eagerly, then suddenly realized something. "Yifan-jie, did you graduate from Yihe University?"
Wen Yifan replied, "Yes."
Sang Zhi asked, "What was your major?"
"Internet and New Media."
"Oh," Sang Zhi paused, hesitating. "I have a classmate who wants to apply for that major too, so I’ve heard a bit about it. I think Nanwu’s Internet and Media program is more renowned than Yihe’s."
Wen Yifan froze.
Sang Zhi continued, "Yifan-jie, why did you choose Yihe University?"
Before Wen Yifan could answer, Sang Yan abruptly set his beer bottle down on the table with a loud clink .
At the sound, both girls turned to look at him.
"What are you looking at me for?" Sang Yan leaned back casually, his tone light. "Keep talking."
"..."
Sang Yan’s dark eyes gleamed, his smile faint. "I’d like to hear the reason too."
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