First Frost

Earlier, when Wen Yifan blurted out the term "Top performer" in a moment of thoughtlessness, she had expected Sang Yan to be annoyed. After all, the term carried somewhat negative connotations. But to her surprise, he seemed to revel in it instead.

Every time in her presence, he quickly slipped into that role effortlessly.

As he spoke, Sang Yan guided her hand downward, his voice slightly hoarse: "Haven’t you been coveting me for a long time? Always finding every possible way to take advantage of me—"

"..."

"Now that you have the right," Sang Yan kissed her lips again, his tone teasing yet indistinct, "why suppress your desires?"

It was unclear whether she even processed his words.

Wen Yifan tightened her arms around his neck, instinctively parting her lips to say something.

The next moment, his lips and tongue pressed in again. This time, his movements were gentler, kissing her repeatedly—sometimes playful, sometimes a slow, deliberate seduction.

Gradually descending.

From her chin to her neck, finally lingering at her collarbone. Glossy, sensual trails followed, dotted with faint rosy marks.

Wen Yifan’s thoughts grew hazy. Tilting her head back, she could recall nothing. She only wanted to be closer to the man before her, to follow his lead, hoping it would dispel all her unease.

Sang Yan lifted his gaze, meeting her eyes. Then, Wen Yifan felt him guide her hand to a certain spot. His dark eyes gleamed, his lips curling as desire laced his voice without restraint.

"Where do you want to touch me?"

"..."

He nudged slightly.

"Here?"

Wen Yifan stared at his features, her expression both lucid and dazed. She seemed less present in the moment, more like she was seeking solace, murmuring softly, "Anywhere is fine."

Sang Yan paused briefly.

She kissed his Adam’s apple, as if offering herself completely: "Anywhere."

"..."

Sang Yan looked down at her. Finally sensing something amiss, though his breath was still scorching, he stopped entirely, making no further moves.

As Wen Yifan’s lips trailed lower from his throat,

Before she could continue, Sang Yan cupped her face, lifting it gently. Their eyes met again.

Wen Yifan blinked at him slowly: "What’s wrong?"

"Wen Shuangjiang, what’s going on?" The desire in Sang Yan’s eyes hadn’t faded, but his tone was light as he brushed her lips. "Talk to me properly."

Wen Yifan didn’t answer, murmuring instead, "Aren’t we continuing?"

"All you can think about is this? But I feel like you’re not even here." Sang Yan studied her expression, sighing faintly before asking, "Why did you come out suddenly?"

Gradually, Wen Yifan’s rationality returned. She pressed her lips together, her breathing still uneven: "I couldn’t sleep."

Sang Yan brought up Che Xingde again: "Because of what you mentioned earlier?"

Wen Yifan stayed silent, as if confirming it.

"..." Sang Yan pinched her cheek, a bit roughly. "I already told you, it’s nothing. If you hadn’t brought it up, I wouldn’t even remember it."

Hearing this, Wen Yifan looked at him again.

Sang Yan: "Anything else bothering you?"

Wen Yifan shook her head."Wen Shuangjiang, your sleepwalking episodes lately," as if finally unable to hold back, Sang Yan frowned slightly, speaking slowly, "have been somewhat frequent."

Wen Yifan lowered her head calmly. "Maybe I haven't been sleeping enough recently."

"If you're really tired, take a few days off to rest." Sang Yan said, "Alright?"

"...Mmm."

"I might need to go to Yihe soon. My sister isn't coming back during summer break, and my parents are worried, so they want me to check on her." Sang Yan lowered his head, nibbling her earlobe. "How am I supposed to go when you're like this?"

"I'm really fine." Wen Yifan felt ticklish and shrank her neck. "When are you going?"

"Late July."

"How long will you be gone?"

"A week." Sang Yan continued watching her, his tone light. "I'll come back early if nothing comes up."

"It's good to go keep Zhizhi company. It's understandable they'd worry about a young girl there alone. Try not to argue with her either." In just this short while, Wen Yifan seemed to have returned to her usual self. "Should I help you look at hotels then? I'm probably more familiar with the area than you."

Sang Yan's expression was unreadable. After a long pause, he finally replied, "Sure."

Whether it was the phone call that had an effect or just her own psychological reassurance, Wen Yifan didn't see Che Xingde again afterward, nor did she hear any mention of him from colleagues.

On WeChat, Zhao Yuandong also stopped bringing up matters related to her uncle's family.

As these people faded from her life, Wen Yifan's unsettled emotions gradually returned to normal.

In the following days, Wen Yifan intermittently contacted a car sales consultant via WeChat.

She had already picked out a car and was just about to go make the payment and complete the paperwork when Zhong Siqiao persuaded her to wait until the National Day sales for better discounts.

After being convinced repeatedly, Wen Yifan saw the logic and decided to wait a few more months.

Thus, her car-buying plans remained on hold.

Sang Yan didn't mention it much either, nor did he seem impatient about having to pick her up from work daily. He only casually mentioned that she could just drive his car whenever she needed one.

As midsummer arrived, Nanwu's temperatures kept rising, peaking in late July. The scorching sun beat down mercilessly, heat waves rising from the concrete, making people inexplicably irritable.

Wen Yifan received a tip about a chain restaurant's hygiene violations causing many customers to suffer food poisoning, with quite severe consequences. The Food and Drug Administration had already intervened.

After compiling the information, Wen Yifan requested a news van from the station and headed out with Fu Zhuang.

Just outside the building, Fu Zhuang scratched his head and suddenly remembered something, sounding embarrassed: "Sis, I forgot my phone. Wait here for two minutes—I'll be right back."

"..." Carrying the equipment, Wen Yifan sighed. "Hurry up."

"Got it!" Fu Zhuang shouted while running back inside. "Super quick!"

Wen Yifan took out her phone and waited for a while. Standing too long made the equipment feel heavy, so after some thought, she texted Fu Zhuang: [I'll wait for you in the car.]

Then she walked toward the parking lot.Locating the interview spot, Wen Yifan was about to head over when suddenly someone yanked her backpack strap from behind. Caught off guard, she stumbled backward a few steps before whirling around.

Like history repeating itself.

She found herself face-to-face with Che Xingde's hauntingly persistent visage once more.

"Finally caught you," Che Xingde sneered with a thuggish grin, loosening his grip as she turned. "You're something else—I've come every day this whole time without seeing you once. No need to hide from your uncle like this."

Wen Yifan glanced up at the surveillance camera. "Was what I said before not clear enough?"

"What kind of talk is that?" Che Xingde cut straight to the chase this time. "Fine, I'll lay it out—want to shake us off? Easy. First give me ten grand."

"..."

"Reimburse me for the money that bastard keeping you extorted from me. Otherwise, none of us are getting out of this clean."

As if deaf to his words, Wen Yifan ignored him and kept walking.

Perhaps infuriated by being treated as air, Che Xingde's temper flared, his patience evaporating. His expression darkened as he violently grabbed the bag at her side. "Goddammit! Think you're too good now? That idiot boyfriend of yours disrespected me, and now you've got the nerve to look down on me too?!"

He ripped the bag from her grasp.

Then, with pent-up rage, he shoved her hard.

"Fucking gold-digging whore! Think you're hot shit now that you've latched onto some rich guy?!"

Wen Yifan staggered backward uncontrollably, the jagged branches of nearby shrubs raking across her thighs, leaving several glaring cuts. She stifled a pained gasp, steadying herself before looking down.

Blood was already seeping from her thighs.

Che Xingde seemed ready to advance further.

At that moment, Fu Zhuang returned with his phone. Taking in the scene, he froze momentarily before erupting. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"

The appearance of others seemed to restore Che Xingde's rationality. Clicking his tongue, he shot Wen Yifan a venomous glare and made to leave with her bag.

Fu Zhuang blocked him while dialing the police, cursing: "You fucking rob and assault people in broad daylight? Enjoy prison, asshole!"

Che Xingde yelled back, "You're the one going to prison! Taking my niece's stuff isn't robbery!"

"Fu Zhuang, just let the police handle it," Wen Yifan straightened up, seemingly impervious to pain. "With surveillance footage, he's not getting away."

"..."

Che Xingde paused, only now noticing the camera. Panic flickered beneath his bravado as he blustered, "This is family business—you think the cops care about your petty domestic squabbles?"

"Fine." Wen Yifan met his gaze expressionlessly. "I'll be waiting."

The incident transferred her reporting assignment to a colleague. Taking half-day leave, she accompanied responding officers to the station. After perfunctory concern from her editor, Fu Zhuang was officially dispatched to cover the news story.

Wen Yifan first visited the hospital for wound treatment and forensic documentation before giving her statement at the police station.Not long after, Che Yanqin arrived upon receiving the call. At the sight of Wen Yifan, she immediately understood the situation and said to the police officer, "Officer, how are you handling this? How can this be considered robbery?"

Che Yanqin's attitude was poor, and the officer replied impatiently, "How is it not? We have both witnesses and physical evidence. This can be officially filed as a case."

"We're family! This is my niece!" Che Yanqin flared up. "Don’t you have family? Taking something from a family member counts as robbery?!"

The officer frowned. "Watch your tone!"

Wen Yifan remained completely unruffled. She looked at the officer before her, her expression calm and detached as she explained coolly, "This is my aunt, but I’m not close with them."

"..."

"And," Wen Yifan paused before continuing, "Che Xingde has been harassing me for a long time. I’m not sure if that can be included in the case. The surveillance footage outside my company should provide evidence."

...

After giving her statement and completing the necessary procedures, Wen Yifan went straight home. She had intended to take a shower but worried about getting the wound on her leg wet, so she settled for washing her hair and wiping her body with a towel.

Noticing the ugly gash on her leg, Wen Yifan applied some ointment and then pulled on a pair of long pants.

Once out of the bathroom, she lay down on the bed and sent Sang Yan a message to let him know she was home.

Remembering that Sang Yan would be leaving for Yihe the next day, Wen Yifan opened an app to look up hotels for him. As she browsed, drowsiness crept in. Just as she was about to doze off, she heard a noise at the front door.

Wen Yifan immediately opened her eyes. After a brief internal struggle between sleep and Sang Yan, she got up and walked out.

As soon as she entered the living room, her eyes met Sang Yan’s.

Sang Yan raised an eyebrow. "You’re home early today?"

"Yeah," Wen Yifan sat on the sofa. "There wasn’t much to do after the interview, so I came back."

Sang Yan changed into slippers and walked in, his gaze dropping. Noticing her long pants, he sat beside her and casually asked, "Why are you wearing long pants at home in the middle of summer?"

Wen Yifan lowered her eyes and instinctively lied, "I’m on my period, and the AC makes me feel cold."

Hearing this, Sang Yan thought for a moment. "Your cycle came early this month?"

"..." Wen Yifan froze, then mumbled, "Ah, yeah. It’s been irregular."

"Then don’t sleep with the AC on tonight," Sang Yan said without suspicion, pulling her into his arms as usual and placing a warm hand over her abdomen. "Does it hurt?"

Wen Yifan stared at his face and suddenly found it hard to continue the lie. She changed the subject, murmuring, "Aren’t you leaving for Yihe tomorrow? You should start packing."

Sang Yan chuckled. "What’s there to pack?"

"Your flight is at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow," Wen Yifan began planning seriously. "Why don’t you come by my company after work? I’ll drive you to the airport and then bring the car back."

"Sure." Sang Yan leaned down, his warm palm still resting on her abdomen, and said nonchalantly, "I’ll make you some brown sugar water later. Drink it before bed."

Wen Yifan avoided his gaze. "No need."

"What do you mean, no need?" Sang Yan said lazily. "I don’t want you waking up in pain in the middle of the night and bothering me."

"..."

The next afternoon.After leaving the office, Sang Yan entered the restroom. Just as he unzipped his pants, someone stood at the urinal next to him and greeted him with surprising familiarity: "Sang Yan, you're using the restroom too?"

"..." Sang Yan turned his head and met Xiang Lang's face. "Got something to say?"

"Just saying hi since we haven't seen each other in a while," Xiang Lang's voice was smooth, chatting casually. "Though we work at the same company, we hardly run into each other."

Sang Yan couldn't be bothered to respond.

Xiang Lang didn't mind his attitude and found it amusing. "Why do you always treat me like this? It's been this way since high school."

Sang Yan glanced at him with a half-smile. "You just have a punchable face."

"..."

After finishing up, Sang Yan turned toward the sinks.

"You don't have to be like this. Yifan and I are just friends. How long are you going to hold this grudge?" Xiang Lang followed him and suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way, that story I told you about promising to go to Yihe University with Yifan was complete nonsense." At these words, Sang Yan slowly lifted his gaze.

"I just wanted to annoy you back then, but you didn't react at all, which was pretty boring. Still, it's been so long—no need to punish me with drinks now." Xiang Lang turned on the faucet, laughing. "Don't take it out on Yifan because of this."

Sang Yan scoffed.

Xiang Lang studied him with interest, somewhat moved that these two had ended up together after all these years. "Honestly, I always thought you had the best chance with Yifan back then."

"..."

"But your luck was just terrible." Xiang Lang said offhandedly, "I feel like if Yifan hadn't had to move to Beiyu with her uncle, you two would've gotten together much earlier."

Sang Yan's gaze froze. "Uncle?"

"Yeah."

"Wasn't she living with her grandmother?"

"No, she stayed with her grandmother for a while at first, but later she lived with her uncle." Realizing they'd been talking too long, Xiang Lang didn't elaborate further and headed out. "I'm off to work now."

Sang Yan remained where he was, his lashes lowered, lost in thought.

...

At exactly six o'clock, Sang Yan left the office on time and drove to the Nanwu Broadcasting building. He found a parking spot, rolled down the window, and texted Wen Yifan: [Here.]

Wen Yifan replied quickly: [Almost done, wait for me.]

Sang Yan tapped his fingers absently against the window frame, still preoccupied with Xiang Lang's words.

Back in high school, Wen Yifan had lived with her uncle but told him she stayed with her grandmother. That "uncle" who had harassed her was actually her uncle's brother-in-law. On the day the college acceptance letters came out, he had gone to Beiyu and found her being harassed by that man.

She had claimed she didn't know him.

Combined with her recent emotional state after encountering that man again...

Sang Yan's lips pressed into a tight line as a disturbing suspicion formed in his mind—one he desperately didn't want to believe. He forced himself to stop dwelling on it, turning to grab his cigarette pack. Just as he pulled one out, someone suddenly called his name.

"Brother Sang Yan!"

Hearing the voice, Sang Yan looked over and met Fu Zhuang's wide eyes.

Fu Zhuang leaned against his car window with effortless familiarity. "Here to pick up Sister Yifan again?"Sang Yan had run into him a few times already and wasn’t in the mood for conversation, so he simply nodded.

"You’re truly the world’s best boyfriend," Fu Zhuang said, patting his shoulder reassuringly. "But you don’t need to worry too much lately. That perverted creep is being held at the police station, so things should be quiet for a while."

"..." Sang Yan tilted his head, catching onto four specific words. "Perverted creep?"

"Yeah, disgusting and vile. Just hearing the things he said made me furious." Fu Zhuang grew angrier as he spoke, his voice rising. "Kept claiming Yifan was his niece or something. He’s been harassing her at the station lately, and yesterday it escalated to the police station."

Sang Yan’s voice softened. "The police station?"

Fu Zhuang nodded. "Sis Yifan got pushed by him, and her leg was scraped by a branch. It bled a lot—looked really painful."

After talking for a while, Fu Zhuang finally realized something was off. "Bro Sang Yan, didn’t you know? Sis Yifan didn’t tell you?"

Sang Yan toyed with the cigarette in his hand, silent for a few seconds.

"She did."

Afraid of delaying Sang Yan’s flight, Wen Yifan didn’t dare to dawdle after receiving his message. She left the office, found his car in its usual spot, and got into the passenger seat before asking, "Do you want me to drive to the airport?"

Sang Yan replied flatly, "No need."

Without another word, he started the car.

Wen Yifan nodded and pulled out her phone. "By the way, I picked out a few hotels near Yi University for you last night. It’s summer break, so there are plenty of vacancies. No rush to book. You can check them out later and let me know which one you prefer?"

Sang Yan gave a noncommittal "Mm."

Noticing his terseness, Wen Yifan glanced at him. Just as she was about to speak, she realized the car was heading in the wrong direction. Hesitantly, she said, "Did you take a wrong turn? We’re supposed to be going to the airport—this road leads home."

Sang Yan kept his eyes on the road, his tone icy. "We’re stopping home first."

"..." Unsure what was happening, Wen Yifan asked tentatively, "Did you forget something?"

Sang Yan gave another vague "Mm."

Wen Yifan checked the time. "Then we’ll have to hurry. I’m worried you’ll miss your flight."

For some reason, the atmosphere in the car felt unbearably tense. A sense of unease settled over her, her right eyelid twitching nervously. She couldn’t help but ask, "Are you in a bad mood today?"

Sang Yan didn’t respond.

Wen Yifan pressed, "What’s wrong?"

When he remained silent, she tried to lighten the mood by chatting cheerfully, hoping to lift his spirits. But seeing his disinterest, she gradually trailed off.

She felt both troubled and as if a storm was brewing.

They drove all the way to the underground garage of Imperial Capital Flower City.

After parking, Sang Yan took Wen Yifan’s wrist and led her toward the elevator. She studied his profile, an inexplicable sense of foreboding growing, though she had no idea what was wrong.

She attempted a few more lighthearted remarks to cheer him up.

Sang Yan responded, but his tone was colder than ever—merely humoring her to avoid awkwardness, with no real intention of engaging.

On the sixteenth floor, Sang Yan unlocked the door with his key.

They stepped inside.Wen Yifan stood at the entrance, not intending to take off her shoes. "Then hurry up and get—"

Before she could finish, Sang Yan lifted her up and placed her on the shoe cabinet. His expression was unreadable as he looked at her, as if trying to confirm something, and without hesitation, he rolled up the leg of her pants.

"..." Wen Yifan's face stiffened.

In that instant, because of his actions, she understood the reason for his foul mood.

Instinctively, Wen Yifan reached out to stop him.

Sang Yan reacted swiftly, completely disregarding her feeble resistance. With one hand, he pinned down both of her wrists and forcefully continued rolling up her pant leg until it reached the top of her thigh.

Her legs were fair and delicate, without a single scar.

His movements paused. He lifted his eyes to glance at her again, then silently began rolling up the other pant leg.

Only then did Wen Yifan truly panic, yet she couldn’t break free from his grip.

“Sang Yan!”

Just as he rolled the fabric up to her thigh, Sang Yan clearly saw the wounds on her leg. Several bloody gashes, not yet scabbed over, with some still oozing fresh blood. The skin around them was red and swollen, a horrifying sight.

At that moment, Sang Yan’s anger seemed to ignite completely.

He shut his eyes briefly, suppressing his fury as he asked, “How did this happen?”