The air hung still.
Half of Sang Yan's face was still buried in her hair, his right hand gripping her wrist and resting it in front of him. The gesture was intimate and natural, as if she were a treasured possession. Yet it also felt like a restraint, rendering her immobile.
Thread by thread, it unraveled the last remnants of her composure.
Wen Yifan's body stiffened, her fists loosely clenched, this time not even daring to breathe. She had never been this close to a man before, and she could clearly feel her face burning.
Completely beyond her control.
Only when she was on the verge of suffocating did she slowly regain her senses, exhaling shallowly.
Wen Yifan didn’t dare move recklessly now, nor did she dare turn to see what he looked like at this moment. Afraid that he might already be awake, that she would meet his long-awaited, meaningful gaze.
She couldn’t maintain this fragile peace any longer.
It was like self-deception.
As long as she didn’t turn around, he would never wake up.
Wen Yifan focused all her attention on Sang Yan behind her. Her mind was too crowded to think of anything else, trying to gauge how deeply he was sleeping by the rhythm of his breathing.
Several minutes passed like this.
As time stretched on, her anxiety grew.
She couldn’t just sit there and wait for the inevitable.
Summoning her courage, Wen Yifan decided to attempt escape once more.
Staring at the wrist Sang Yan held, she raised her other hand and carefully pried his fingers open one by one. Only when his hand returned to its original position did she relax slightly.
Hesitating, she glanced back again.
Sang Yan’s bangs were messy and disheveled, softening the sharp edges he usually carried. His eyes remained closed, long lashes resting against them, showing no sign of movement.
Wen Yifan felt a glimmer of hope.
She averted her gaze, held her breath, and sat up, inching toward the edge of the bed.
Ten centimeters.
Five centimeters.
Almost there.
The moment her feet touched the floor, Wen Yifan heard Sang Yan’s slightly hoarse voice.
"Wen Yifan?"
"..."
Her mind blanked for several seconds before she mechanically turned her head.
Meeting Sang Yan’s gaze.
The world fell silent in that instant.
Having woken up at some point, Sang Yan looked much more alert now, his expression unreadable but probing. He sat up as well, glanced around, then fixed his eyes on her. "Why are you here?"
Before she could answer, he spoke again. As if still drowsy, his eyelids drooped slightly, his voice low and rough, carrying a hint of morning irritation. "Explain."
"..."
Wen Yifan closed her eyes briefly.
She had been so close—just a few steps away from leaving the room.
And then Sang Yan had to wake up.
All her earlier trepidation now seemed like a joke.
She might as well have woken him up outright from the start.
"You were dreaming," Wen Yifan decided to stall, hoping to bluff him while he wasn’t fully awake yet. Suppressing her emotions, she added calmly, "You’ll be fine once you wake up properly."
"..." Sang Yan stared at her, then let out an exasperated laugh. "Do I look like an idiot to you?"
"Yes." Wen Yifan replied as she walked away, absentmindedly comforting him. "Go back to sleep. You won’t look like one when you wake up."
"..."
Maintaining her composure, Wen Yifan left Sang Yan’s room and hurried back to the master bedroom. She locked the door and immediately collapsed against it, exhausted. Pressing her ear to the door, she listened warily for any movement outside.Not hearing any sound of Sang Yan following her out, Wen Yifan slowly let out a sigh of relief.
Before long, Wen Yifan got up again and went into the bathroom.
In the short term, she felt she couldn't stay in the same space with Sang Yan. She had to leave before he came out of his room and deal with this matter when she returned in the evening.
She needed to calm her emotions first before resolving this peacefully.
After quickly freshening up, Wen Yifan grabbed her bag and left the room. At this moment, Sang Yan's door was tightly shut, while the bathroom door on the other side was open, faintly revealing Sang Yan standing at the sink.
The sound of running water could be heard.
Her footsteps paused, but she steeled herself and continued walking out.
Just then, the water stopped.
Wen Yifan happened to reach the bathroom doorway.
Sang Yan turned his head to look in her direction. He had just washed his face, droplets still clinging to his skin and trickling down. Seeing her, he unexpectedly reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her toward him.
Wen Yifan was forced to stop, stumbling a few steps in his direction.
She looked up.
Meeting Sang Yan's lazy, teasing gaze.
"Running away pretty fast, huh."
"..." Wen Yifan kept her expression neutral, calmly replying, "What?"
Sang Yan didn't respond.
Since she couldn't keep pretending, Wen Yifan had to come up with a reasonable excuse: "I'm not trying to act like nothing happened. I'm just in a hurry right now. I have an interview this morning, and I'm almost late."
Sang Yan looked utterly composed, as if waiting to see what else she would say.
Wen Yifan gently suggested, "Can we talk about this when I get back tonight?"
"Hmm?" Sang Yan smirked, enunciating each word, "No, we can't."
Wen Yifan was speechless.
Sang Yan released her arm and leaned down slightly to meet her eye level. His lashes were still damp, his lips quirking in a half-smile. "First, explain what happened this morning."
"Sleepwalking," Wen Yifan explained. "It's something I can't control."
"Didn't you say before you wouldn't enter my room?"
"This time, I really don't know what happened." Noticing his expression, she added sincerely, "I'm sorry, this is my fault. It won't happen again."
Sang Yan drawled, "You're kind of scaring me, you know."
Wen Yifan: "Huh?"
"After all, I have no idea what you might do next. Who knows, maybe one day I'll wake up," Sang Yan said slowly, his tone infuriatingly shameless, "and my virtue will have been ruthlessly stolen by you."
"..." Wen Yifan's eyebrow twitched.
"You don’t have to be so," he deliberately paused, "obsessed with me."
"..."
Could you please! Make some! Sense!
Suppressing her irritation, Wen Yifan patiently replied, "Let's stick to the facts. I just found a spot to sleep on your bed. I didn’t even touch you."
Sang Yan: "How do you know?"
"I woke up before you." This whole situation was already distressing enough, and with Sang Yan being so unreasonable, Wen Yifan decided she might as well lay it all out. "If anything, you're the one with bad sleeping habits. When I tried to get up, you pulled me back—"
At this point, her rationality returned.
She swallowed the rest of her words."What's the matter? You pulled me back, and then?" Sang Yan looked at her with amusement, as if unaware of what happened next, his tone deliberately provoking. "Go on, finish your sentence."
"..."
"Anyway, even in an unconscious state, you also had physical contact with me," Wen Yifan pursed her lips, speaking very fairly. "So we can consider it even."
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow. "Even what?"
Wen Yifan said calmly, "That time I sleepwalked and hugged you."
"..."
"Oh," Sang Yan drawled. "So that's how you're settling it."
Hearing this, Wen Yifan instantly realized her words didn't sound quite right.
"But isn't this still unfair to me?" Sang Yan's lips curled into a particularly arrogant smile. "Who's the one with ulterior motives here? Isn't it obvious?"
"..."
Wen Yifan's mind was a mess right now, and she really didn't know how to deal with this person.
Moreover, before, when she heard him say such things, she only felt speechless. Now, there was an added sense of guilt, as if her thoughts had been exposed. She simply used the excuse of needing to rush to an interview again, suggesting they resolve this matter when she returned in the evening.
She forced a composed expression.
Sang Yan looked her up and down, his expression thoughtful, as if trying to pinpoint something off.
After a moment, he readily agreed.
His words felt like a reprieve. Wen Yifan didn't say anything more and immediately left.
Even after leaving the space where she was alone with Sang Yan, Wen Yifan didn't feel any relief. She just had a headache, knowing she'd have to formally discuss and resolve this matter when she returned in the evening.
Mainly because Wen Yifan didn't even know what there was to resolve.
It wasn't a one-night stand, nor was it drunken recklessness.
It was just because she sleepwalked to the wrong place, so the two of them slept in the same bed without interfering with each other. At most, it could only be said that she rented half the bed from him.
Sigh.
How could this even be resolved?
Would she have to rent half her bed to him in return?
She brooded the entire way.
Back at the TV station, Wen Yifan focused her energy on work, temporarily pushing the matter aside. She requested equipment and a company car, taking Mu Chengyun—the only available colleague in the office—with her for an interview.
The two walked toward the parking lot.
Wen Yifan glanced at her phone messages.
Mu Chengyun chatted with her as they walked. "Yifan-jie, are you free after work tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" Wen Yifan thought about her schedule. "I'm not sure. Why?"
"A senior I know just had a baby girl," Mu Chengyun scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I want to pick out a gift for her, but I don't really know much about these things."
"A girl?" Wen Yifan understood. "You could ask Zhen Yu-jie about it. She has a daughter who's a few years old."
"..."
Mu Chengyun was silent for three seconds. "Okay."
As they neared the car, Mu Chengyun suddenly stared at her face, as if just noticing something. "Yifan-jie, you've got something dirty on your face." He pointed to the same spot on his own face. "Here, it looks like dust."
"Ah." Wen Yifan took a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at the spot he indicated. "Here?"
"A little lower... no, to the left." Seeing her struggle to wipe it off, Mu Chengyun simply took the tissue from her hand, his expression completely innocent. "Let me help you."
"..."Wen Yifan hadn't even processed what was happening.
He had already raised his hand.
This close proximity made Wen Yifan feel somewhat uncomfortable and resistant. She instinctively took a step back, smiling politely. "No need, I'll deal with it later."
Mu Chengyun's expression froze momentarily before he awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Alright."
They got into the car.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Wen Yifan wiped the stain off her face using the rearview mirror before starting the engine. Keeping her eyes on the road, she casually mentioned, "Chengyun, check the equipment first."
Mu Chengyun snapped out of his thoughts and replied obediently, "Got it."
No one spoke in the car, only the news playing from the radio. It felt quiet, yet not entirely silent.
Soon, Mu Chengyun broke the silence with a smile. "Speaking of which, this senior of mine was in the same class as Senior Sang. He got married right after graduation and already has a kid now."
Wen Yifan nodded. "That's nice."
Mu Chengyun continued, "Sister Yifan, how did you and Senior Sang meet? I remember your alma mater is Yihe University."
Wen Yifan answered succinctly, "High school classmates."
Mu Chengyun let out an "ah." "You've known each other that long? You two seem really close."
"Mm."
"I actually thought you were dating at first because Senior Sang treats you so specially," Mu Chengyun said, sounding somewhat envious. "So you're just really good friends then."
Wen Yifan couldn't be bothered to explain and simply smiled.
"Sister Yifan, do you know if Senior Sang had someone he really liked in high school? Apparently, he pursued that person for a long time but never succeeded," Mu Chengyun chuckled. "My senior mentioned it several times, but he never met that person. He's really curious about who could make someone as outstanding as Senior Sang pine for so long."
Wen Yifan thought this guy might be even more gossipy than Fu Zhuang and replied absentmindedly, "I'm not too sure either."
"I remember during the graduation banquet, someone even said, 'Is it because what you can't have always seems better?'" Mu Chengyun paused mid-sentence. "Ah, right. I remember what Senior Sang said then."
Wen Yifan spared him a glance.
"He said—" Mu Chengyun's eyes were clear, his smile bright and sincere. "'Otherwise, do you think I'd be the type to stay devoted for so long?'"
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