As if disturbed by the noise, Sang Yan tilted his head slightly and lazily opened his eyes.
His gaze met hers.
An awkward tension seemed to hang in the air.
Sang Yan remained silent, watching her quietly with clear eyes that showed no trace of the disorientation one might have upon waking.
His features were strikingly handsome. With faint double eyelids and slightly upturned outer corners, combined with his perpetually indifferent demeanor, his gaze always carried an edge.
At that moment.
Wen Yifan had the distinct feeling that he was about to mercilessly mock the term "White Moonlight."
Wang Linlin broke the silence first: "You two know each other?"
Su Haoan: "Yeah, high school classmates."
Wen Yifan averted her gaze and was about to casually steer the conversation elsewhere when Wang Linlin, with remarkable lack of tact, blurted out: "What does 'White Moonlight' mean? Did your friend have a crush on Yifan but got rejected?"
Su Haoan even laughed cluelessly: "Yeah, yeah, exactly."
"......"
No wonder these two were a couple.
In this situation, no amount of pretending or dodging would work for Wen Yifan.
She clearly realized that the unspoken masks they had been wearing were now half torn away by these two, leaving only remnants of concealment.
Not expecting Sang Yan to say anything to salvage the situation—knowing his pride always came first—Wen Yifan calmly said, "Really? As the person involved, I don’t recall that. Su Haoan, are you misremembering?"
"How could I misremember? You two—" Only then did Su Haoan belatedly sense the awkwardness. "Wait, are you two uncomfortable or something? Come on, it’s been years. Are you still hung up on this? I was just bringing it up as a funny anecdote."
Wang Linlin: "How long has it been since you last saw each other?"
"I can’t calculate it off the top of my head. Wen Yifan, you only stayed at our school for a year, right?" Su Haoan said. "I think you transferred in your first or second year of high school."
Wen Yifan replied earnestly: "I transferred in the second semester of my second year."
"Then that’s about seven or eight years." Noticing Sang Yan’s continued silence, Su Haoan added, "Sang Yan, why aren’t you saying anything? It’s been seven or eight years! You’re not still holding a grudge over this, are you?"
Sang Yan lowered his eyes again, ignoring him.
"Incredible." Su Haoan was exasperated. "Wen Yifan, don’t mind him. You know how he is—acts like he’s above everyone. Probably thinks you were blind for not liking him back then, but he doesn’t realize how obnoxious he—"
Wang Linlin cut him off: "Hey, focus on driving, will you? Don’t talk about your friend like that."
"......"
Su Haoan swallowed the rest of his words, frowning as he glanced at Wang Linlin.
"Driving requires concentration. It’s not safe otherwise." Sensing his mood, Wang Linlin quickly added, "Don’t be upset. I was just reminding you. You can keep talking if you want."
Su Haoan finally smiled. "Not upset. Thanks for the reminder, dear."
Before they knew it, they arrived at the restaurant.
At this point, Wen Yifan couldn’t very well say she was leaving. After all, Sang Yan hadn’t said a word—if she left now, it would only make her seem overly fixated on the past, unable to even share a meal with him.Thinking that a meal would only take about an hour, Wen Yifan figured she could endure it and get through it.
But what she hadn’t expected was that when Wang Linlin had previously said, "My boyfriend will also bring some friends," the term "friends" didn’t just refer to Sang Yan alone.
It was a whole group of people.
They had reserved a private room, which was now packed.
Logically, since Wen Yifan had been brought by Wang Linlin, she should have been seated next to her. But the remaining four seats were arranged in pairs, so Wang Linlin decisively abandoned Wen Yifan and sat with Su Haoan instead.
Thus, Wen Yifan was forced to sit next to Sang Yan.
From the looks of it, it seemed as though Wen Yifan had been brought by Sang Yan.
One of the men teased, "Sang Yan, you’re not being fair—how come you suddenly got yourself a girlfriend?"
Su Haoan clicked his tongue. "Don’t talk nonsense. Is this idiot Sang Yan even worthy? She’s our old classmate, the famous school beauty from our high school!—Qian Fei, don’t you remember? You went to Nanwu No. 1 High School too, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, Wen Yifan. And I was in the same class as your friend back then, Zhong Siqiao." A chubby man sitting next to Sang Yan looked at Wen Yifan with a somewhat embarrassed smile. "I’ve seen her post photos with you on her social media."
Wen Yifan curved her lips and nodded.
The next moment, another man exclaimed, "Damn, why’s your face red, Fatty?"
Sang Yan didn’t engage in their conversation at all. Even when his name was mentioned multiple times, he acted as though he hadn’t heard a thing. Only at this remark did he show a slight reaction, lifting his gaze to glance in Qian Fei’s direction.
Su Haoan said, "Isn’t he always like this? He loses his ability to speak around pretty girls."
Perhaps feeling ignored, Wang Linlin grew displeased and interjected, "What’s this? How can you call someone else pretty right in front of me?"
After a brief silence, Su Haoan coaxed her, "Sweetheart, that’s not what I meant. Don’t be jealous."
…
The restaurant was slow with serving dishes. The group of men at the table chatted away, but not a single dish had arrived yet. Gradually, the topic shifted, and the attention Wen Yifan had drawn as a newcomer began to fade.
Wen Yifan relaxed slightly and inadvertently glanced at Sang Yan.
Sang Yan wasn’t participating in the conversation. He was currently looking down at his phone, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.
Even when others called out to him, he barely responded.
Wen Yifan lowered her head and sipped her water.
She felt completely out of place here.
After a while.
Wang Linlin suddenly kissed Su Haoan on the cheek and stood up, walking over to Wen Yifan’s seat. She grabbed Wen Yifan’s wrist and said with a smile, "Xiao Fan, come on. Accompany me to the restroom."
Wen Yifan stood up. Spotting the bag she’d left on the chair, she quietly picked it up.
Following the signs, the two entered the restroom.
Wang Linlin took out her lipstick to touch up her makeup and casually remarked, "You rejected that Sang Yan before, didn’t you?"
Wen Yifan didn’t answer.
Taking her silence as confirmation, Wang Linlin said in surprise, "You know that ‘Overtime’ bar near our company? He co-owns it with my boyfriend and another guy."
"...""He's got such great qualities—tall, handsome, and wealthy. How could you possibly reject him?" Wang Linlin shook her head, unable to comprehend. "Your standards are way too high. But it's been so many years now. From the way he acted just now, it seems he really doesn’t have any feelings for you anymore."
"It's all in the past." Wen Yifan smiled gently, then glanced at her phone. "By the way, Linlin, I’m really sorry, but I have to head back. Teacher Qian asked me to submit a draft to him tonight. Could you please let your friend know for me?"
Wang Linlin let out an "ah," visibly displeased. "It’s just one meal. It won’t take much time."
"The teacher is in a hurry," Wen Yifan explained. "I don’t dare delay, especially since I’m still on probation."
"Oh, fine then." Wang Linlin pursed her lips. "Be careful on your way back. I’ll head off first."
"Okay, thanks, Linlin. See you tomorrow."
After Wang Linlin left, Wen Yifan turned on the faucet and washed her hands. She wasn’t sure if she had upset Wang Linlin, but she really didn’t want to stay any longer at a gathering where she didn’t know anyone.
Wen Yifan exhaled in relief, drying her hands with a paper towel.
Just as she stepped out, she bumped into Sang Yan, who had simultaneously emerged from the men’s restroom across the way. This time, unlike what Wen Yifan had expected, he didn’t simply brush past her as if she were air.
Sang Yan stopped in his tracks, his expression indifferent, standing there and looking down at her.
Wen Yifan inexplicably found the scene familiar.
It reminded her of their first reunion in the hallway of the Overtime bar.
But this situation was entirely different from back then.
As if starting over.
Returning to a normal progression.
Given his silence all evening, Wen Yifan felt there was no need to bring up their previous encounters. She nodded at him, greeting him politely as if it were their first meeting in years.
"Long time no see."
Unexpectedly, Sang Yan didn’t seem inclined to maintain even surface-level civility. He remained in that scrutinizing posture, leisurely repeating, "Long time no see?"
His tone left Wen Yifan momentarily unsure whether it was a question or a statement.
Then Sang Yan added, "It’s only been a few days since New Year’s. Missing me so much—" He paused, deliberately tearing down any remaining pretense.
"—that it feels like years?"
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