First Frost

As soon as the words were spoken.

The scene seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

The atmosphere made Su Tian realize something was off, and she quickly caught on to what she had just said. Her expression stiffened slightly as she awkwardly corrected herself, "Ah, so this is your boyfriend?"

Wen Yifan instinctively glanced at Sang Yan.

At that moment, his gaze was also fixed on her—looming and unreadable.

Unsure whether he had heard clearly, Wen Yifan could only brace herself and reply, "Yes. My boyfriend, Sang Yan." Then she turned to introduce him, "This is my colleague, Su Tian."

Sang Yan gave a faint hum.

At this point, the man sitting across from Su Tian smiled and spoke up, "Xiao Tian, is this your friend?"

Su Tian nodded. "My colleague, Wen Yifan."

The man, with a gentle demeanor, politely extended an invitation. "Since we’ve run into each other, why don’t we have a meal together?"

Wen Yifan didn’t have any strong objections to this. She turned to Sang Yan, silently seeking his opinion with a look.

Sang Yan’s expression was inscrutable as he stared at her for a few more seconds. Then, he glanced at the man and nodded. "Sure, I’ll ask the waiter to switch us to a larger table."

……

After sitting down, Wen Yifan noticed Su Tian casting an apologetic look her way. She paused, finding it somewhat amusing, and simply shook her head reassuringly to indicate it wasn’t a big deal.

Only then did Su Tian’s expression relax slightly.

The four of them introduced themselves.

The man Su Tian had brought along was her boyfriend, Lin Sun. Based on what Wen Yifan had overheard earlier, this seemed to be a new relationship—they had only been together for about a month.

The two men engaged in sporadic small talk.

During the conversation, Sang Yan poured a glass of warm water and placed it in front of Wen Yifan. She took a sip just as her phone buzzed beside her. Freeing a hand, she unlocked the screen.

It was a message from Su Tian.

Su Tian: 【Holy shit! I just remembered!】

Su Tian: 【Isn’t your boyfriend that Top performer from Street of Vice???】

"……"

Wen Yifan nearly choked.

At her reaction, Sang Yan glanced over, raising a hand to pat her back gently. His expression remained unchanged, his tone indifferent. "Drink slowly."

With that, he turned his attention back to Lin Sun, continuing their conversation.

Yet his hand still moved lightly, soothing her back.

Wen Yifan licked her lips and nodded. When she looked up, she caught Su Tian stifling a laugh before turning back to her phone.

Su Tian: 【I’ve seen him a few times when I went for Overtime.】

Su Tian: 【Hahahaha I’m dying, no wonder you called him the King of Ducks.】

Su Tian: 【Ughhh he’s seriously top-tier, now I get why you went after him!!!!】

Su Tian: 【How is he both cool and gentle? He just coldly tells you to drink slowly when you choke, but keeps patting your back the whole time!!!】

Wen Yifan had no idea.

How Su Tian had suddenly become Sang Yan’s fangirl.

But in that moment, she realized—Sang Yan really was quite famous on Street of Vice.

And in this… indescribable way.

Wen Yifan took another sip of water.

Soon, Su Tian sent another message: 【But does he know you call him that?】

Wen Yifan replied: 【He doesn’t, but I’m not sure if he heard earlier.】

Su Tian: 【Oh, he definitely heard qwq】Before Wen Yifan could respond, Sang Yan suddenly turned to Su Tian with a polite smile. "Su Tian, Yifan's mentioned you several times. She says you often look out for her at the company—thank you for that."

Su Tian immediately set down her phone and waved her hands modestly. "Not at all! Yifan is so kind and gentle—if anything, I'm the one being looked after."

Then, returning the courtesy, she added, "I've also heard Yifan talk about you often."

Sang Yan raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? What does she say about me?"

"That you're good-looking, practically the King of—" Su Tian coughed lightly, swallowing the rest of her words. "That you're the most handsome man she's ever seen. And that you're kind and take good care of her."

"Is that so?" Sang Yan glanced at Wen Yifan, his smile betraying a hint of restrained arrogance. "She does say that about me often."

Wen Yifan: "..."

After dinner, the four chatted for a while before parting ways.

The entire way home, Wen Yifan was on edge, but Sang Yan never brought up the "King of Ducks" comment. She didn't dare mention it herself and only relaxed slightly when she saw he seemed his usual self.

That is, until they got home.

As she changed into slippers, Wen Yifan remarked casually, "You seem to get along easily with guys—you were like that in high school too. Today was your first time meeting Lin Sun, but you two had plenty to talk about."

Sang Yan let out a lazy "Mm."

"Lin Sun seems nice, though—pretty mild-mannered," Wen Yifan continued, sitting on the couch. "I think Su Tian probably likes that mature, steady type."

"Oh." Sang Yan drawled, "How novel."

Wen Yifan blinked. "What?"

Sang Yan leaned over, poured a glass of water, and pressed it into her hand. Tilting his head slightly, he stared straight at her. "Most people's dating criteria have at least one baseline requirement—that the other person is, you know, human."

"..."

Before he could finish, Wen Yifan already understood his implication.

"My partner, however, has... unique tastes." Sang Yan smirked. "Specifically picks ducks."

"..." Wen Yifan's scalp prickled, but she pretended not to hear, handing the water back to him. "Want some?"

Sang Yan smiled. "No."

Wen Yifan let out an "Oh" and took a sip herself.

"Funny, I had no idea," Sang Yan leaned back in his chair, leisurely settling the score in their private space, "that my qualifications were so outstanding—even reaching the level of King of Ducks."

"..."

"Then how come," Sang Yan hooked a finger around hers, trailing up her wrist, his tone teasing, "someone once said I didn't meet the pricing standards?"

Wen Yifan couldn't take it anymore. "Why didn't you bring it up earlier?"

Sang Yan arched a brow, dragging out his words. "Too embarrassing to mention."

"..."

Wen Yifan didn't sense any embarrassment on his part.

If anything, he was always the quickest to lean into the role.

"Well, even if you're satisfied with a product when shopping," Wen Yifan set the glass down, feigning composure, "you'd still try to haggle, right...?"

Their eyes met.

Sang Yan didn't comment.

Studying his expression, Wen Yifan blinked, then suddenly leaned in and kissed him. For some reason, she found it amusing and soon pulled away, laughing to herself."..." Sang Yan looked at her. "What are you laughing at?"

"I didn't know how to describe you at the time, and I was afraid Su Tian might recognize you if I used the term 'Top performer,'" Wen Yifan explained. "So I had to settle for a synonym."

Sang Yan pinched her fingertips lightly.

"After I told Su Tian we were together," Wen Yifan continued, chuckling again, "she said I was the 'Queen of Male Escorts.'"

Hearing this title, Sang Yan's brow twitched slightly.

After finishing the story, Wen Yifan kissed him again, her voice muffled.

"I'm basking in your glory."

"..."

Over the next few days,

Wen Yifan had to visit the police station again, this time accompanied by Sang Yan. Coincidentally, they ran into Che Yanqin once more. Having hit too many walls with Wen Yifan, Che Yanqin didn’t bother initiating conversation this time.

Noticing Sang Yan beside Wen Yifan, Che Yanqin seemed to recall something. Her gaze flickered toward him repeatedly. "Young man, are you First Frost's boyfriend?"

Sang Yan didn’t even lift his eyes, showing no intention of acknowledging her.

Che Yanqin sneered sarcastically, "You seem like quite a catch. How did you end up with my niece?"

Sang Yan’s lips curled slightly, as if scoffing, but he still ignored her.

After several more taunts with no response, Che Yanqin finally lost her temper. She turned to Wen Yifan with a cold laugh. "First Frost, what kind of person have you found? Does he have any manners?"

Wen Yifan replied calmly, "His manners are just fine, no need for your concern."

Che Yanqin rolled her eyes. "Ignoring his elders—that’s what you call good manners?"

Wen Yifan met her gaze. "You’d be better off looking in the mirror. Even a complete overhaul wouldn’t fix you."

"..."

Outside the police station,

Wen Yifan felt somewhat awkward, knowing this was Sang Yan’s first exposure to her side of the family. She glanced at him hesitantly. "My relatives are... pretty eccentric, huh? You probably haven’t met people like this before..."

"You still stood up for me, though." It was the first time Sang Yan had seen her display such sharpness. He ruffled her hair with amusement. "Wen Shuangjiang, I didn’t know you had it in you to curse someone out?"

Wen Yifan flushed slightly in embarrassment.

Sang Yan continued, "It’s good."

She paused.

"There are plenty of twisted people in this world. Don’t let them bully you or take advantage of your kindness." Sang Yan bent slightly to meet her eyes, his tone serious. "When you encounter them, protect yourself the same way you protected me just now. Got it?"

"..." Wen Yifan held his gaze, pressing her lips together before nodding. "Mm."

"No matter what happens," Sang Yan pinched her cheek habitually, his usually cool voice softening with rare reassurance, "whether it’s something you can handle or not, remember to come to me."

Wen Yifan stared at him without blinking.

Sang Yan didn’t say more, his gaze lingering on her as if waiting for her response.

Outside the police station, people came and went.

Suddenly, Wen Yifan smiled, her eyes crinkling slightly.

"Got it."

Hearing her answer, Sang Yan’s lips curved into a faint dimple. He reached out, casually tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before finishing solemnly,

"Remember—I’m your support."

...As for how the situation with Che Xingde would develop later, Wen Yifan didn't pay much attention to it. After all, she knew that what Che Xingde had done wasn't serious enough to warrant a heavy sentence.

Through Fu Zhuang, Wen Yifan learned that Che Xingde's side seemed intent on framing it as a family dispute—the incident where he snatched her bag was portrayed as mere scuffling during an argument. Moreover, since there had been nothing valuable in her bag at the time, it couldn’t even be classified as robbery.

He hadn’t run when someone called the police and had cooperated fully with all subsequent procedures. In the end, it seemed he was only detained for a little over half a month, paid a fine, and was released.

Wen Yifan didn’t care much.

She just wanted Che Xingde to understand that his actions would always come with consequences, no matter how minor. Besides, she wasn’t the least bit afraid of his family—her only concern had been whether they might affect her and Sang Yan.

Now that this was no longer an issue,

she wouldn’t spare these people another thought, nor would she let them affect her emotions again.

In the blink of an eye, midsummer faded away with the turning of the calendar pages. The sweltering, unbearable heat dissipated as the temperature in Nanwu dropped, heralding the arrival of autumn.

After returning from Yihe, Sang Yan had contacted Qian Fei several times.

But perhaps because Qian Fei knew Sang Yan had gone to Yihe and even heard he had beaten Duan Jiaxu to a pulp, he always found new excuses—either he was busy with this or that—refusing outright to meet up.

Sang Yan had no idea what he was so afraid of, nor did he have the patience to deal with it.

"If you don’t come today, don’t bother coming at all."

After a long pause,

Qian Fei finally replied: 【My wife is free today.】

Qian Fei: 【I’ll bring her along.】

"..."

Seeing this, Sang Yan scoffed and stubbed out his cigarette. Straightening up, he lazily sent a voice message: "Sure, bring her if you want her to see you with a bruised face." Then he turned and walked back into Overtime.

Weekends on the Street of Vice were especially lively, and the bar was even more chaotic.

Just as Sang Yan was about to head to the counter for a drink, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure. The curve of his lips flattened as he strode over without hesitation.

The deafening music, the clamor of the crowd.

Che Xingde sat at the bar, talking to a woman beside him. His face was flushed, clearly drunk, and he was speaking loudly: "That bitch tried to screw me over again—dream on!"

The woman looked disgusted, as if she wanted to leave.

But Che Xingde grabbed her arm and continued, "I didn’t even do anything, didn’t get a single cent, and got chewed out by my sister. Just wait, you filthy slut, once I find you—"

The woman snapped, yanking her arm away. "Are you insane? Let go!"

The next moment,

Sang Yan seized Che Xingde by the back of his collar, his expression icy. Without a word or a glance at anyone else, he dragged him outside effortlessly, the veins on his hand standing out.

Che Xingde yelled, "The hell are you?!"

From behind, He Mingbo’s voice could faintly be heard.

"This guy’s caused trouble here a few times already. Sorry, ma’am, for the disturbance—"

Noticing the commotion, a security guard approached. "Yan-ge, want me to handle it?"

Sang Yan glanced at him. "Mind your own business."Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Che Xingde's limbs felt incredibly weak. He tried to struggle but couldn't muster even half the strength to resist. The collar tightened around his neck, making it hard for him to speak clearly.

Sang Yan dragged him into the alley behind the bar and slammed him against the wall.

Che Xingde's back hit the hard surface, and he let out a few pained groans before opening his eyes.

Sang Yan crouched halfway, his figure shrouded in darkness: "You're out?"

Che Xingde's voice was muddled: "You again..."

"I wasn't looking for you," Sang Yan grabbed his hair and slammed his head onto the ground. He chuckled, the long-suppressed brutality now completely unrestrained. "And you dare come to my place?"

"..."

—"That's right, he's been harassing me nonstop."

Recalling every word she had said, Sang Yan smashed Che Xingde's head against the ground again, his tone eerily calm. "Let's hear it."

"..."

"Who exactly are you trying to mess with?"