Hearing these words, Wen Yifan didn't react immediately, thinking she might have accidentally clicked yesterday's voice message. Her eyelashes fluttered as her finger instinctively scrolled down.
But she had already reached the bottom.
Coming to her senses, Wen Yifan tapped the latest voice message again.
The same words repeated.
A suspicion began to form in her mind. Frowning, she slowly scrolled back up, listening to the previous messages one by one until she reached the one that said—"69 days left."
68, 69.
Oh.
The numbers were different.
Wen Yifan was about to habitually reply with "Okay," but after typing just one character, she suddenly snapped out of it. She blinked hard, sat up straight, and stared at the screen.
She could still see the message she had sent earlier—"Can you count down for me every day?"
At the time, she had been so out of it that she just wanted an excuse for him to send her a voice message daily. But now, looking back at that request, she suddenly realized how shameless it sounded—utterly ridiculous and idle.
And she was dragging him into her idleness too.
But hadn't Sang Yan refused?
He had even bluntly called her thick-skinned.
Wen Yifan licked her lips, hesitantly typing while hugging her blanket: [Didn’t you tell me to keep track myself?]
Perhaps he was out and not checking his phone, as Sang Yan didn’t reply for a while.
It wasn’t until much later, when Wen Yifan was nearly asleep again, that he finally sent a few voice messages. It seemed he had moved somewhere quieter, as the background noise was noticeably fainter, making the space around him sound much more peaceful.
Wen Yifan had always found his way of speaking unique—who knew who taught him that. His pace was neither fast nor slow, flat and unemotional, yet with a habitual drawl at the end of each sentence, carrying a natural roguishness.
Sang Yan: "Hm? Yeah. But then again, you’re too good at muddying the waters."
Sang Yan: "You’ve promised meals several times before and still haven’t made good on them. If I don’t remind you, you’ll probably treat your own words like thin air again. Who’s really at a loss here?"
Sang Yan: "Alright, go to sleep."
Wen Yifan was indeed exhausted. Her sleep had improved a lot recently—unlike before, when even falling asleep was a struggle. She dreamed less and slept deeper, often waking up only at dawn. Fighting to keep her eyes open, she replied: [I’ve cooked for you quite a few times.]
Wen Yifan: [Does that count as repayment?]
Sang Yan: [?]
Wen Yifan yawned: [Fine.]
Wen Yifan: [Then tell me what you’d like to eat.]
Wen Yifan: [I’ll make it up to you.]
After a moment’s thought, she added earnestly: [I won’t let you be at a loss.]
There was no reply for a long while.
Wen Yifan drifted off without realizing it.
The next morning, her first instinct was to grab her phone and check for unread messages. Not long after she fell asleep, Sang Yan had replied—another straightforward voice message.
"Now that’s a fresh one—sounds like the weasel wishing the chicken a happy new year." His voice carried a drowsy, lazy tone. "You’ve already taken every advantage there is to take. What ‘loss’ is even left for me to suffer?"
Wen Yifan: "..."
Hearing this, Wen Yifan mulled it over and suddenly felt like she was the one at a disadvantage here.After all, she had no recollection of the things Sang Yan mentioned. Like the so-called kissing and hugging. But from Sang Yan's perspective, these things had indeed happened, which explained his emotional ups and downs.
It was equivalent to another version of herself having done these things with him.
Even before successfully pursuing him, Wen Yifan was already worrying unnecessarily. She was a little concerned—if she were truly lucky enough to eventually win Sang Yan over—whether he would have already lost the sense of novelty when they did such things again.
This made Wen Yifan even more resistant to the idea of sleepwalking.
Although from the very beginning, Wen Yifan felt she couldn’t possibly do such things, during this period, she finally realized that she did indeed have those kinds of feelings for Sang Yan.
Because of this, Wen Yifan began to think again that she might have actually done those things.
Perhaps these were all things her subconscious wanted to do.
Thinking this way, Wen Yifan found herself rather terrifying.
From Sang Yan’s perspective, her image was that of a rogue who would sleepwalk at night, get up to kiss and hug him, and even threaten him while awake to dress properly, lest she commit criminal acts of violation against him.
“...”
Wen Yifan inexplicably felt that the path to pursuing him was somewhat difficult, having already lost at the starting line. If a strong competitor were to appear now, she would stand no chance of winning.
Due to Wen Yifan’s words, over the following period, Su Tian would occasionally ask about her progress. Each time, Wen Yifan would succinctly reply with the same six words: “Still working on it.”
After hearing this repeatedly, Su Tian, as an observer, grew anxious: “Is he stringing you along?”
“No, he probably doesn’t even know I’m pursuing him.” At this point, Wen Yifan sounded uncertain. “Do I need to say it outright first?”
“Of course not!” Su Tian immediately said. “You can appropriately show your affection for him, but don’t put yourself in a position of emotional weakness right from the start. You need to be more confident in yourself. Chat with him when he’s free, but don’t come across as too clingy. Or, find common ground through his hobbies and occasionally ask him out.”
“I see,” Wen Yifan said thoughtfully. “Got it.”
“So how’s the pursuit going?” Su Tian checked the time and recalled, “It’s been a month since you first told me you were going after someone. Hasn’t the relationship warmed up at all?”
Wen Yifan thought for a moment. “I’m not really sure.”
Su Tian pressed, “Then when do you plan to succeed?”
“No rush.” Wen Yifan pulled her thoughts back and continued typing. “I’ll think about it some more.”
Su Tian was taken aback. “Think about what?”
Wen Yifan replied, “How to pursue him.”
“...”
During this time, Wen Yifan had indeed been pondering this question while subtly making her presence known in front of Sang Yan.
The question she had previously submitted to the tree-hole blog might not have been as sensational as before, as this time, she never got a response. With no experience, all her pursuit tactics were based on her understanding of Sang Yan, carefully thought out.
But Su Tian’s suggestion about starting with his hobbies—she found that advice quite viable.From what Wen Yifan knew, Sang Yan's hobby seemed to revolve around playing a certain mobile game—and he was quite skilled at it. At home, she often heard him arrogantly trash-talking his teammates: "What kind of garbage play is that?"
Wen Yifan wasn’t particularly interested in games. When she first started university, she had played an online game for a while with her roommates. Initially, she logged in frequently, but over time, she only went online occasionally.
After starting work, she had even less time to touch these things.
By now, Wen Yifan had barely played any games. The online game had long been uninstalled from her computer.
But Wen Yifan thought that if she wanted to pursue someone, she should naturally do things she wasn’t interested in for their sake. That night, after returning home, she downloaded the mobile game onto her phone.
She looked up guides online and spent several days studying and playing before gradually getting the hang of it.
A few days later, noticing Wen Yifan’s constant exhaustion, Su Tian casually asked, "What’s up with you?"
"Hmm?" Wen Yifan answered honestly, "Following your advice, I’ve been trying to connect through hobbies lately. I’ve been playing a mobile game that the person I like enjoys."
"How’s it going?"
"It’s pretty fun, just a bit time-consuming. I haven’t been sleeping much these days."
Su Tian asked offhandedly, "Are you playing alone or...?"
"Alone."
"..."
Su Tian was stunned. "No, of course you should play with him! What’s the point of playing alone?"
"I’m too terrible at it. I don’t dare ask him to play," Wen Yifan said, her apprehension strong as she recalled Sang Yan’s scolding tone. "I’m afraid of being yelled at."
"..." Su Tian found it amusing. "Relax, when guys play games with girls, they get this sense of accomplishment from carrying them. No matter how bad you are, they won’t say anything. They’re all very chivalrous!"
Wen Yifan shook her head. "He wouldn’t be."
"..."
"And I think not playing together is fine too," Wen Yifan continued, as if unable to accept the suggestion, finding reasons on her own. "This way, we’ll have another common topic."
Su Tian fell silent for a few seconds. "Well, I guess that works."
"There’s just one downside," Wen Yifan sighed. "I don’t have much time to chat with him now."
"..."
Su Tian choked, feeling that Wen Yifan’s way of pursuing someone was particularly unusual. "Yifan, even if you’ve never pursued anyone before, you’ve definitely been pursued, right?"
Wen Yifan hummed in agreement.
Su Tian: "Then you can take reference from how others did it."
"Huh? But I don’t think their methods are worth referencing," Wen Yifan said bluntly, as if she’d never considered this angle. "Aren’t they all failed cases?"
"..."
On the other side.
After finishing overtime, Sang Yan had planned to head straight home, but under Su Haoan’s repeated urging, he ended up going to "Overtime." He went straight to the second floor and entered the innermost private room.
Inside, there were about six or seven people, all close friends.
The moment he walked in, Su Haoan’s loud voice, amplified as if through a speaker, came dripping with sarcasm: "Well, well, look who decided to grace us with his presence! Finally remembered you’ve got brothers, huh?"
Sang Yan shot him a glance. "Can you not sound like such a drama queen?"
"..."On the other side, Qian Fei shook his head: "Su Haoan, can you tone it down? You sound like a resentful wife. Sang Yan is the kind of person you just can’t spoil—look at that smug face of his. I can’t stand it anymore."
Sang Yan found a seat and sat down, the corner of his lips quirking up: "Boss Qian, you’ve got quite a few opinions about me."
"What have you been up to lately?" Qian Fei asked. "Tell us."
"Hard to say," Sang Yan grabbed a can of beer, popped it open with one hand, his tone teasing. "I’m afraid after hearing it, you’ll all be so jealous your faces will twist in envy."
Qian Fei: "?"
"I give up." Su Haoan rolled his eyes and sat down next to Qian Fei. "He’s saying there’s a girl chasing him lately, so he doesn’t have time for us. Got it?"
"Are you sick?" Qian Fei stared at Sang Yan’s composed demeanor, utterly baffled. "Is this your first time being chased? Why didn’t you brag about it before? Do you actually like her too?"
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow: "What if I do?"
The answer exploded like thunder in the room.
"Seriously? For real?"
"Who is it?"
"The iron tree finally blooms?"
"Wait, so you like her but you’re just waiting for her to chase you? Can you not be such a dog? Are you stringing her along?" Qian Fei complained. "What’s wrong with you? Why’s a grown man acting so coy?"
Hearing this, Sang Yan’s eyelids twitched slightly, and he called out with a faint smirk, "Qian Fei."
Qian Fei: "What? Spit it out."
"I won’t say much, but if you had even a thousandth of my emotional intelligence," Sang Yan drawled, "would you still be stuck as your goddess’s backup after half a century?"
Three seconds of silence.
Someone burst out laughing.
"...Damn it." Qian Fei tried to hold back but couldn’t. He stood up, rolling up his sleeves as he marched toward Sang Yan. "Alright, let’s go down together."
A man beside him stifled his laughter and held him back: "Come on, let’s not stoop to the dog’s level."
Soon, someone else chimed in teasingly: "So who’s the fairy that caught the eye of our lofty Young Master Sang?"
At this, Su Haoan remembered something: "Oh. Is it that new intern at your company? A junior or senior in college? She is pretty good-looking."
"Nice one, Sang Yan. An old cow eating tender grass? A college girl?" A man in the corner grinned. "Hey, now that I think about it, isn’t she around the same age as your sister?"
"So you like someone that much younger?"
Sang Yan grabbed a cigarette box from the table and threw it at him: "Watch your mouth."
Qian Fei was exasperated by his bias: "What’s wrong with that? Love knows no age, okay? Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten years younger—what’s the big deal? As long as they’re an adult! My mom’s friend married someone thirteen years younger."
Sang Yan sneered: "What a beast."
"..."
His reaction made it clear that Su Haoan had guessed wrong.
A few more names were tossed around, but Sang Yan neither confirmed nor denied, giving nothing away. Finally, annoyed by the questioning, he snapped impatiently, "Why are you grown men so damn nosy?"
The others were unfazed.
Su Haoan kept guessing: "Maybe you met through a blind date?""Speaking of which, I just remembered—isn’t Duan Jiaxu also going on blind dates lately? His boss introduced him to someone. He’s still in the hospital right now, recovering from an appendectomy." Qian Fei clicked his tongue twice. "I mean, look at us—the two most sought-after bachelors in Nanwu—how did we end up like this?"
Sang Yan took a sip of his beer. "Don’t include me in that. Thanks."
The conversation drifted further and further off-topic.
By the time Sang Yan was about to head back, someone suddenly asked, "So what’s your plan with this girl?"
Sang Yan glanced over.
"What plan? She’s the one trying to hit on me," Sang Yan chuckled, setting the beer can down on the table with a careless, lazy air. "What else can I do?"
"..."
"Wait for her to make a move, I guess."
...
When he got home, Sang Yan glanced at the empty living room before his eyes shifted to the master bedroom door, his movements quieting slightly. He took off his coat and headed to his room. Just as he was about to turn on the light, he noticed something extra on his bed.
Sang Yan froze.
Under the dim light from outside, he could see a lump under the covers, with slightly wavy long hair scattered across the pillow. Wen Yifan always slept soundlessly, her breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible. She liked curling up into a ball, like a little sphere.
Sang Yan walked over and crouched down, staring at her face half-hidden under the blanket.
Amused, he murmured softly, "Where did you come from, you little tyrant? Gotta take over both rooms now?"
Not intending to wake her, Sang Yan was about to stand up and grab his clothes to shower when he suddenly recalled Qian Fei’s words earlier. He lowered his gaze, looking at Wen Yifan—who was sleeping in his bed without a care in the world.
"Hey, Wen Shuangjiang."
In the dead silence of the room, even the softest words seemed to echo.
"Could you be any more obvious?" His voice was so low it was almost a whisper, as if afraid to wake her. "Otherwise, I won’t have any confidence either."
After all, he used to think that even if it wasn’t much, she must have at least some affection for him.
But later, he realized emotions were the hardest thing to guess.
What he believed wasn’t necessarily the truth.
The fervor he wanted to give her—even if it was one-sided—she might not even want to bear it.
So this time, he had to wait.
Wait until she was willing to reach out to him first.
Only then would he.
Once again, place everything back into her hands.
When Wen Yifan woke up, she looked around and realized she’d sleepwalked into Sang Yan’s room again in the middle of the night. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been sleeping well lately, causing her sleep quality to worsen again. She rubbed her temples and glanced at the other side of the bed, but Sang Yan wasn’t there.
Wen Yifan let out a quiet sigh of relief.
But she wasn’t sure if this time was the same as last time.
Had Sang Yan not returned yet when she sleepwalked? Or had she come to his room to sleep, forcing him to wake up in the middle of the night and endure silently sleeping on the couch?
She hoped it was the former.
Because she really didn’t want to take advantage of Sang Yan unconsciously again. Scratching her head, she got out of bed and tiptoed toward the door.
The moment she stepped out of the room, her eyes met Sang Yan’s from the living room couch. He was covered with a small blanket, leaning against a pillow, looking like he’d just woken up too. He stared straight at her without a word.
"..."Wen Yifan stopped in her tracks, the feeling of "a dove occupying a magpie's nest" was overwhelming. Hesitating, she walked toward Sang Yan and asked, "Did you come back last night while I was sleepwalking?"
Sang Yan gave an indifferent "Mhm."
"..." Wen Yifan pressed on, "So you came out in the middle of the night to sleep here?"
Sang Yan yawned and gave another perfunctory "Mhm."
Wen Yifan grabbed a nearby coat and put it on. After deliberating for a while, she decided to have a proper talk with him about this: "How about this—from now on, you lock your door before sleeping, okay? That way, I definitely won’t be able to get into your room. It won’t affect your sleep either."
Sang Yan dismissed it casually, "You’d pick the lock."
Wen Yifan kept her patience. "Since when do I have that kind of skill?"
"To violate me," Sang Yan lifted his eyes slowly, his tone lazy, "is there anything you wouldn’t do?"
"..."
Wen Yifan closed her eyes briefly.
She was on the verge of losing it.
So, did she really try to violate him while sleepwalking?
Had she actually done something like that?
Wen Yifan couldn’t quite understand Sang Yan anymore.
If something like that had really happened, then why wasn’t he locking his door!
Did he only learn his lesson when things reached the most critical point?
After two seconds of silence—
To prevent such incidents from happening again, a sudden idea flashed through Wen Yifan’s mind. With a sincere expression, she said, "If I really do violate you, will you finally lock your door then?"
Hearing this, Sang Yan’s brow twitched.
The next moment, Wen Yifan began taking off her coat. "Then let’s get to it."
Sang Yan: "..."
Sang Yan: "?"
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