First Frost

After the last time, the rain outside the window seemed to have stopped as well.

Wen Yifan rested her face against Sang Yan's chest, her arms still wrapped tightly around him. She felt utterly drained, covered in sweat, and extremely uncomfortable—hot, sleepy, and exhausted all at once.

Under these circumstances.

Wen Yifan also noticed Sang Yan picking up the remote control beside them and turning off the air conditioning.

She immediately lifted her head, her voice slightly hoarse. "Why did you turn it off?"

"I'll turn it back on later." The strands of hair on Sang Yan's forehead were still damp, his eyes dark and smoldering, the lingering traces of desire from their earlier intimacy still evident in his expression. "You're sweating. Don’t want you catching a cold."

Staring at him—still full of energy after half a night of exertion—Wen Yifan felt a complicated mix of emotions. After a moment’s thought, she called his name. "Sang Yan."

"Hmm?" Sang Yan reached for the clothes nearby, intending to help her put them on.

Wen Yifan slowly made a request. "Can you help me take a shower?"

"..."

The last time she’d said something like this was when she was drunk and barely conscious. Sang Yan lowered his gaze, staring straight at her. After a couple of seconds, he chuckled. "Wen Shuangjiang, have you no shame?"

You didn’t seem to have any shame when you refused to turn off the lights earlier.

Wen Yifan thought to herself.

The idea of having to shower alone made her want to just fall asleep as she was. But she couldn’t stand the sticky feeling, so she looked up at him. "I don’t have any strength left."

Sang Yan watched her lazily, as if waiting to see what else she might say.

Feeling that her excuse wasn’t convincing enough, Wen Yifan added, "And if I shower by myself, I might irritate the wounds."

"Wen Shuangjiang, you’re such a spoiled brat." Sang Yan casually pulled on his pants, then picked her up and carried her toward the bathroom. "How old are you, still needing someone to help you shower?"

"..." Wen Yifan couldn’t help retorting, "Isn’t it because you—"

She suddenly caught herself and swallowed the rest of her words, too embarrassed to continue.

Sang Yan smirked. "Because I what? Finish your sentence."

Wen Yifan stayed silent.

Once inside the bathroom, Sang Yan glanced around, figuring this spoiled brat probably wouldn’t even want to stand. He grabbed a towel, spread it over the counter, and set her down on it.

Picking up Wen Yifan’s towel, he dampened it with warm water and began meticulously cleaning her up.

Wen Yifan relaxed under his care, her eyelids growing heavy. Fighting off sleep, she looked at his face and mumbled, "Sang Yan, did you really work in this line before?"

"..." Sang Yan pinched her cheek. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Just now, I really felt," Wen Yifan thought she ought to give some kind of feedback and, after a pause, slowly voiced her earlier impression, "like I was here to hire your services."

"Didn’t you say my service didn’t meet the pricing standards?" Sang Yan’s lips curled lazily. "Had to step up my game, or what if I lose my job?"

"..."

"Also," Sang Yan stated succinctly, "this is my first time taking a customer."

Wen Yifan blinked slowly.

"For this lifetime," Sang Yan lifted his gaze, brushing his thumb against the lingering redness at the corner of her eye before leaning down to kiss her, "you’re the only customer I’ll ever have."

...After coming out of the bathroom, Sang Yan randomly pulled out a piece of clothing from his luggage bag and slipped it onto Wen Yifan. He placed her on the other bed, then walked over to the desk, making slight noises as if retrieving something.

Wen Yifan murmured softly, "You should get some sleep early."

Then, without paying him any further attention, she pulled up the blanket and burrowed under the covers.

For the past two days, because of their argument, Wen Yifan hadn’t been able to sleep at all while alone at home. Now, with her mind finally relaxed, an overwhelming drowsiness swept over her.

At this moment, Wen Yifan’s only desire was to sleep.

But the moment she closed her eyes, before the bed could even warm up, she felt herself being pulled out again.

Wen Yifan struggled to open her eyes.

She saw Sang Yan tugging at the hem of her clothes, pulling it upward.

"......"

Wen Yifan was stunned.

She truly couldn’t understand where Sang Yan got all this energy.

Hadn’t they just taken a bath?!!!

"Sang Yan," Wen Yifan said tactfully, "do you know what time it is?"

"Hmm? Three." Perhaps sensing the implication in her words, Sang Yan glanced at her but didn’t stop what he was doing. "What are you thinking? Just sleep."

Wen Yifan had no idea what he was up to.

She looked at him for a moment but didn’t argue, quickly letting him do as he pleased.

She was so tired that she nearly fell asleep the moment she closed her eyes.

In her dazed state, Wen Yifan could feel Sang Yan pulling her clothes up to her collarbone, and the bedside lamp being turned on. After what felt like an eternity, she heard him mutter to himself in a drawn-out tone, "What do we do? It’s broken."

"......"

"Gotta apply medicine again."

Wen Yifan slept like the dead, feeling as though she had made up for all the lost sleep from the past few days, with most of her exhaustion now dissipated.

She slowly opened her eyes, her body aching all over, though the discomfort between her legs had lessened considerably. Lifting her head slightly, she realized she was now lying in Sang Yan’s arms.

He had apparently been awake for a while, holding her with one arm while idly scrolling through his phone with the other, as if killing time.

Noticing her movement, Sang Yan looked down at her. "Awake?"

Wen Yifan instinctively asked, "What time is it?"

Sang Yan replied, "Four."

"......" As if unable to believe her ears, Wen Yifan blinked before finally saying, "Four in the afternoon? Aren’t you hungry? Why didn’t you wake me?"

"Didn’t I? You’ve got the worst temper when woken up—three attempts and ten outbursts." Sang Yan raised an eyebrow slightly and put his phone down. "Hurry up and wash up, then we’ll go out to eat."

Hearing this, Wen Yifan vaguely recalled being woken a few times in her half-asleep state. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she obediently got up and headed to the bathroom.

Picking up her toothbrush, she squeezed some toothpaste onto it. As she brushed, she glanced up at the mirror and suddenly noticed that the skin around her collarbone was covered in a large patch of hickeys, with a couple more scattered along her neck.

"......"

Wen Yifan stared for a long moment before stubbornly continuing to brush her teeth.

Just as she finished washing her face, Sang Yan walked into the bathroom.

Wen Yifan looked at him.

Sang Yan seemed to have already washed up earlier and was only there to rinse his hands. Noticing her gaze, he turned his head toward her, his eyes sweeping over her from top to bottom before he drawled lazily, "What are you looking at?""There are marks here, clothes can't cover them." Wen Yifan didn't believe he couldn't see them, but still patiently pointed at her neck and reminded him, "I can't go out like this."

"Oh." Sang Yan stared at the spot she indicated, took a tissue to dry his hands, and said, "So you're blaming me now."

"......"

Wen Yifan felt she was just trying to remind him.

So that in the future, he'd be more careful and avoid leaving marks in these places. Why did he make it seem like she was the type to turn cold after sleeping together?

Then, Sang Yan picked her up and placed her back on the bathroom counter. He leaned in slightly, examining the marks on her neck with amusement, and asked, "So what should we do about it?"

Wen Yifan tried to stay composed. "I'll figure something out later—"

"You can't hold it against me after the fact." Sang Yan's voice was low as he pressed his hand against the back of her neck, subtly pulling her closer. "But fine, I'm a fair person."

"......"

"How about this?"

Wen Yifan looked up, her gaze landing on his Adam's apple. Unlike her, his skin was unmarked, smooth and clean.

"Hmm?"

Sang Yan continued guiding her toward him, inch by inch, and chuckled softly.

"Now you leave a mark on me."

......

After changing clothes, they didn’t linger any longer.

Leaving the room, Wen Yifan stole a glance at Sang Yan and noticed the faint mark near his Adam's apple, instantly recalling what had happened in the bathroom earlier. Guiltily averting her eyes, she asked, "What would you like to eat?"

"Didn’t you go to college here?" Sang Yan said lazily. "You pick."

"Me?" Wen Yifan suddenly remembered something and smiled. "There was a noodle shop near here that I loved in college. The food was great and cheap, so I went there all the time."

Sang Yan nodded. "Then let’s go there."

Once outside the hotel, Wen Yifan led the way, holding his hand.

She thought it would be straightforward, but having been away from the city for years, with many shops changed or rebuilt and roads renovated, even familiar places felt different. Though she had walked these streets countless times before, she now felt a little lost.

At a crossroads, she hesitated before deciding to go right.

Just then, Sang Yan spoke up from behind her. "Wrong way."

"......" Wen Yifan turned back. "Huh?"

"Saw a noodle shop nearby when we came. Might be the one you mentioned." He tilted his chin toward the other direction, his tone casual. "Go that way."

"Really?" Already unsure, Wen Yifan wavered and followed his lead. "Okay, let’s go this way. It’s been too long—I don’t remember the roads well."

Walking down the street and through a few alleys, they found the noodle shop tucked away in a narrow lane. The shop looked old, dimly lit, and poorly decorated.

But business was booming.

By 5:30 PM, the place was already filled with students.

They found a seat, and the owner—a middle-aged woman with a warm smile—approached them. "What would you like, dear?"Soon, the owner noticed Wen Yifan and seemed to remember her, greeting her with a smile, "Hey, long time no see. It's been years since graduation, and you're still coming to my place?"

Wen Yifan smiled and nodded. "Just happened to be in the area."

As she spoke, she pointed to the menu on the wall, letting him decide what he wanted to eat.

Sang Yan replied lazily, "You order."

Hearing this, the owner glanced at Sang Yan beside her, sizing him up for a moment before asking cheerfully, "Handsome, have you eaten here before?"

Sang Yan looked up.

Wen Yifan was momentarily stunned. "No, it's his first time."

"Ah." The owner didn't dwell on it. "Thought you looked familiar—must’ve been mistaken."

Sang Yan gave a slight nod and said nothing.

After ordering, the two exchanged idle chatter.

Sang Yan asked ambiguously, "Still sore?"

"..."

Wen Yifan paused, immediately grasping his meaning.

She lowered her head awkwardly. "It's fine."

Only now did she belatedly regret her provocative words from last night.

Before long, Sang Yan took a call. From his tone, it seemed to be a colleague. He remained seated, listening lazily, though his speech carried more seriousness than usual.

Wen Yifan didn’t interrupt but had nothing else to do, so she started scrolling through Weibo.

After a while.

Sang Yan ended the call. "What are you looking at?"

Wen Yifan had just come across a funny post and handed him her phone. "Check this out—it's pretty hilarious."

Sang Yan took the phone, his fingers accidentally brushing the "Messages" tab. He glanced down, landing on Wen Yifan’s message list. Spotting one in particular, his brow twitched, and he instinctively tapped it.

There, he saw two private messages Wen Yifan had previously sent.

Sang Yan raised an eyebrow as he read.

The first had received a "Got it" from the blogger, but the latest one had gone unanswered.

Pitiful, really.

[Anonymous post: How to pursue someone you’ve offended?]

Sang Yan pondered briefly before leisurely typing three words.

Sent.

Wen Yifan, sitting across from him, noticed his actions.

Seeing him typing, she was baffled but figured there was nothing incriminating on her phone. Curious, she asked, "Are you typing something?"

Sang Yan smirked and unabashedly hummed in affirmation, handing the phone back.

Wen Yifan looked down and immediately saw her private chat with the advice blogger.

"..."

In an instant, she recalled the messages she’d sent earlier. Flustered, she only caught the last two characters of Sang Yan’s reply—"arrived"—and instinctively assumed it meant "caught up.""

She quickly exited.

Just then, their food arrived.

Wen Yifan sighed in relief but suddenly sensed something amiss.

While Sang Yan poured water, she picked up her phone again and reopened Weibo.

The previous screen was still there.

Wen Yifan saw at a glance what Sang Yan had sent.

[Fell asleep.].."