His warm breath sprayed by her ear, ticklish and tingling. His tone carried a teasing lilt, deliberately provoking her—utterly shameless yet impossible to truly anger.
Sang Zhi’s gloom instantly dissipated by half. She lifted her eyes, silently staring at him.
“Cat got your tongue?” Duan Jiaxu straightened up and chuckled softly, voluntarily admitting, “Alright, I know my words sound corny.”
“...”
Hearing this, Sang Zhi pressed her lips together, holding back for a few seconds before finally failing to suppress a laugh. “Weren’t you refusing to admit it before?”
Duan Jiaxu raised his brows slightly. “It’s really that corny?”
Sang Zhi sniffled, not wanting to discourage him. “It’s passable.”
She lowered her gaze, looking at the black wallet in her hand, and handed it back to him. “Here, take it back.”
Duan Jiaxu didn’t accept it. Instead, he tucked the card in his hand into his pocket, murmuring vaguely, “This one, I’m not returning.”
Sang Zhi said quietly, “I didn’t ask you to return it.”
Only then did Duan Jiaxu take the card out again. He lowered his lashes, staring at it for a long while before suddenly chuckling and muttering under his breath, “At my age, I can still live off someone.”
“...” Sang Zhi said, “I didn’t give you that money to spend recklessly.”
“You gave it to me, but I’m not allowed to spend it?”
Sang Zhi glanced at him. “You should save it.”
Duan Jiaxu drawled lazily, “Save it for your dowry?”
Sang Zhi replied seriously, “Save it to buy a house.”
“...”
“I checked online earlier. For a hundred-square-meter apartment in the city center, the down payment is about five hundred thousand.” Sang Zhi said, “...At this rate, I should be able to save up enough in twenty years.”
Duan Jiaxu was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing. He lowered his chin slightly, not holding back his delight in the slightest, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Alright then, I’ll wait for you to save up.”
“...”
Twenty years did sound a bit pathetic.
Sang Zhi thought for a moment and added, “It probably won’t take that long.”
Duan Jiaxu: “Mm, I’ll wait for you to build a golden house to hide your beauty.”
“...”
Distracted by his teasing, Sang Zhi nearly forgot why she had been in a bad mood. She tapped his arm with the wallet, reminding him, “Yours.”
Duan Jiaxu took it, pulled out two cards from inside, and handed them to her. “Boss, your cards.”
Sang Zhi didn’t take them. “Why are you giving me the cards?”
“I can’t keep money on me,” Duan Jiaxu laughed. “How else am I supposed to live off someone?”
Sang Zhi couldn’t help saying, “I’m very extravagant with money.”
“Then I’m quite lucky,” Duan Jiaxu drawled, “to have found such a generous sugar daddy.”
“...” Sang Zhi only took one card, carefully tucking it into her bag. “I won’t use it. I’ll keep it safe for you. If you need it, I’ll give it back.”
Seeing that her mood had finally improved, Duan Jiaxu asked, “Weren’t you having a company dinner today? Why were you upset?”
Come to think of it, this was the second time Jiang Ying had come looking for her. Combined with the fact that Sang Zhi had been targeted all week because of Jiang Ying, she had no intention of resigning yet. She planned to annoy Shi Xiaoyu for another month before leaving with her salary.
Not wanting to affect Duan Jiaxu’s mood, Sang Zhi didn’t tell him the truth. “The mentor assigned to me is just a bit annoying.”
After dropping Sang Zhi off at her university, Duan Jiaxu drove home. He entered the residential complex and slowed down, but before he reached the turn, someone suddenly dashed in front of his car.
Duan Jiaxu’s gaze sharpened, and he instinctively slammed on the brakes. A cold sweat broke out on his back in an instant, and his mind went blank for a second. Then, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.The person who had just bumped into his car was leaning against the vehicle, clearly drunk. Though unharmed, he was muttering incoherently.
Duan Jiaxu took a deep breath and called out, "Sir?"
The man straightened up abruptly, pointing at the wheel and cursing, "Your car ran over my dog!"
Hearing this, Duan Jiaxu glanced around but saw no sign of the alleged "dog." He closed his eyes briefly, his emotions still unsettled, and said calmly, "You're drunk. Go sit over there for a while."
"I'm not drunk!" The man staggered, drunkenly pointing at him. "I said! Your car! Hit my dog! You have to pay!"
The commotion drew a growing crowd of onlookers.
Soon, security arrived and patiently tried to mediate after understanding the situation. But the man was completely irrational. When the security guard suggested, "Then pull your dog out," he retorted furiously, "A dog's life isn't a life either?"
In the end, there was no other choice but to call the police.
Duan Jiaxu returned to his car and watched indifferently as the man continued to cause a scene outside.
It wasn't until the police arrived that he managed to get away.
The whole ordeal took half an hour.
Back home, Duan Jiaxu opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of cold water, and gulped it down, the chill numbing the base of his tongue. His mind felt like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.
Scanning the assortment of snacks inside, he pursed his lips and randomly picked up a chocolate bar.
He sat on the sofa, tore open the wrapper, and took a bite.
The taste was overwhelmingly sweet.
Duan Jiaxu casually pulled the card from his pocket. He stared at it for a long while, his expression softening, his peach blossom eyes curving downward. The tension in his mood seemed to gradually dissipate.
After finishing the rest of the chocolate, Duan Jiaxu grabbed his change of clothes and headed to the bathroom. By the time he came out, it was almost eleven. At that hour, Sang Zhi was already fast asleep.
Duan Jiaxu felt no drowsiness. He took out his phone and played a game for a long while, only lying down to sleep around one in the morning.
Then, he had a dream.
He dreamed that tonight, after drinking at a business dinner, he insisted he wasn't drunk and stubbornly chose to drive home. On the way, he hit the same man from earlier.
He heard his own voice in the dream, desperately trying to stop himself.
A voice filled with utter despair and hysteria, as if it could pierce through eardrums.
Yet, in the dream, he still fled.
Duan Jiaxu dreamed.
He became Duan Zhicheng—
...
That was probably the most chaotic night Duan Jiaxu had ever experienced.
He was in his room doing homework, thinking that once he finished, he'd still have time to read some comics. Xu Ruoshu was watching TV in the living room, and he could faintly hear her intermittent laughter.
It should have been an utterly peaceful evening.
Until Duan Zhicheng returned.
He was recklessly agitated, reeking of strong, unpleasant alcohol, his entire body trembling. In response to Xu Ruoshu's worried questions and attempts to comfort him, he only pushed her away in utter collapse.
Panic had reached its peak.
The loud disturbance made it impossible for Duan Jiaxu to continue his homework. He set down his pen, stood up, and went to the living room, asking, "Mom, what's going on?"
Xu Ruoshu adjusted her shawl and reassured him, "It's nothing. Go back to your homework.""I'm finished." However, Duan Zhicheng was far from "fine" as she had described. His eyes were bloodshot as he kept repeating these three words, "I'm finished..."
Xu Ruoshu frowned, frightened by his state. "What exactly happened? How did you get back in such a drunken state? Didn't I ask Xiao Chen to drive you?"
"I drove myself..." Duan Zhicheng's throat emitted a sound close to a sob. "I... I hit someone..."
"..."
The house fell silent instantly, leaving only Duan Zhicheng's heavy breathing.
After a long pause, Xu Ruoshu snapped back to reality and turned to Duan Jiaxu. "A Xu, go back to your room." She quickly grabbed Duan Zhicheng's arm, forcing herself to stay calm. "Explain properly. What happened?"
Duan Zhicheng raised his voice, shouting, "I don't know!"
"Where did it happen? Did you call an ambulance?" Xu Ruoshu's eyes reddened, her voice trembling involuntarily. "Did you get out of the car to check?"
"On Renmin Road, near that convenience store..." Duan Zhicheng suddenly lifted his head, tears streaming down his face. "What should I do... What am I going to do..."
Duan Jiaxu spoke up at this moment. "Dad, did you call an ambulance?"
Duan Zhicheng shook his head repeatedly, unable to process anything. "We can't call. No one saw it was me. No one knows... Just leave it alone! Don't—"
Xu Ruoshu also yelled, "Duan Zhicheng! Have you lost your mind?"
"..."
A vein throbbed at Duan Jiaxu's temple, his palms turning cold. Listening to his parents' argument, he silently walked to the sofa, picked up the receiver, and began dialing 120.
Noticing his actions, Duan Zhicheng looked over. "What are you doing?!"
As the call connected, Duan Jiaxu's eyes reddened. He turned and stared directly at Duan Zhicheng. "Is this the hospital? There's been a car accident near the convenience store on Renmin Road. There's an injured person. Please..."
Duan Zhicheng seemed to go mad, trying to snatch the phone from him, but Xu Ruoshu held him back.
"—Please send someone as soon as possible. Thank you." After finishing his sentence, Duan Jiaxu hung up the phone and said word by word, "We have to save them."
"..."
"That person might not be dead yet. Why didn't you help them?" The image of his father shattered in an instant. Duan Jiaxu's facial muscles tightened as he gritted his teeth and asked, "Why did you run away?"
Xu Ruoshu shielded Duan Jiaxu behind her and said seriously, "Turn yourself in."
"..."
"Admit your mistake and atone for it." Facing such a major incident for the first time, Xu Ruoshu's voice was thick with tears. "You made a mistake. You have to make amends. This is what you should do. You can't run from it."
"..." Looking at their expressions, Duan Zhicheng continued shaking his head. His entire face was flushed, sweat pouring down his forehead. "I don't want to go to prison... I don't want to..."
Xu Ruoshu wanted to say more.
Duan Zhicheng seemed mentally unstable, muttering, "How about I pay with my life? Is it enough if I die?"
Then, Duan Jiaxu witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
His father, to escape this sin.
Suddenly dashed toward the balcony and leaped from the sixth floor.
...
Duan Zhicheng didn't die. He lay in bed, becoming a vegetable.The massive medical expenses, enormous compensation fees, and never-ending accusations—all the blame that should have been borne by Duan Zhicheng shifted direction and came crashing down heavily upon this family.
Duan Jiaxu and Xu Ruoshu endured the relentless harassment from Jiang Ying's family and all their relatives.
The young child and the gentle, timid woman became the easiest targets to bully. The endless extortion and sharp, malicious curses only gradually subsided after they moved away.
Yet it became a permanent, lingering shadow.
—"You should die too."
—"Who knows what you'll grow up to be."
Afraid he would become what everyone said—
That Duan Jiaxu would grow up to be like Duan Zhicheng.
So he never drank alcohol.
He followed every rule meticulously in everything he did.
Duan Jiaxu lived with self-doubt, cautiously and diligently. He refused to believe in fate and would never let himself sink into despair or wallow in the mud because of others' words.
He believed, as Xu Ruoshu had said,
And as he himself thought.
He would live better than anyone else.
...
...
Sang Zhi kept her phone on silent mode long-term, mainly because of classes and to avoid disturbing her roommates. But recently, since she was often alone in the dorm and kept missing messages from others, she turned on the sound.
In the middle of the night, she was awakened by a WeChat call.
Annoyed and disoriented, Sang Zhi initially thought it was her alarm. She fumbled for her phone, groggily hung up the call, buried her head under the covers, and tried to go back to sleep.
Not long after, the phone rang again.
Sang Zhi became slightly more awake this time. Squinting, she focused on the screen.
It was Duan Jiaxu calling.
Noticing the time displayed in the center of her phone, Sang Zhi instantly flared up. She took a deep breath, suppressed her temper, and answered the call, immediately switching to speakerphone.
Duan Jiaxu's voice instantly filled the small dorm room: "Asleep?"
Sang Zhi was going crazy: "It's three in the morning, dude."
Duan Jiaxu paused, then chuckled softly on the other end: "Sorry, I just couldn't sleep."
Sang Zhi only wanted to sleep and replied dismissively, "What do you want?"
"To talk to you."
"I need to sleep!" Sang Zhi resisted the urge to hang up directly and said, "Go call my brother. I bet he's still awake—he usually stays up all night on weekends—"
Duan Jiaxu: "I only want to talk to you."
"..."
Sang Zhi's eyelids fluttered open. Thinking it was odd for him to bother her at this hour, she reached out and turned on the camera: "What's wrong?"
Her side was pitch black, and even with the camera on, nothing was visible.
Seeing this, Duan Jiaxu turned on his camera as well, revealing his face. The lighting on his end was dim, making the image appear low-resolution: "It's nothing. Go back to sleep."
"..." Sang Zhi said, "Did you have a nightmare?"
Duan Jiaxu laughed softly: "How did you know?"
Still half-asleep, Sang Zhi's voice carried a nasal tone, making it sound soft, and she spoke slowly: "What else could it be at this time besides a nightmare?"
"..."
"Did you dream about ghosts? Sleep paralysis? Why are you so timid?" Sang Zhi said disdainfully, "Lie down properly now. I'll sing you a lullaby."
Duan Jiaxu hummed softly in agreement.
Sang Zhi lay on her pillow and began to sing: "Sleep, sleep, my dear little one..."
"..."Before long, Sang Zhi stopped and sat up. "I feel like if I keep singing like this, I'll fall asleep first."
Duan Jiaxu began to laugh again, his breaths faintly audible.
Sang Zhi sat against the wall wrapped in her blanket, phone in hand, saying whatever came to mind. "It's just a nightmare, none of it's real. Look at the things around you, look at me on the screen—"
"..."
"Oh." Sang Zhi's mind was a bit fuzzy. "There's no light on my side, and I'm too lazy to get up and turn it on."
Duan Jiaxu responded with a laugh, "Mm."
"None of it's real," Even sitting up, Sang Zhi felt like she was about to fall asleep, rambling incoherently. "I'm the only real thing, everything else is fake."
Duan Jiaxu's voice was low, carrying a lingering tenderness. "I know."
The two chatted intermittently, and before she knew it, Sang Zhi had lain back down on the bed and gradually drifted off to sleep.
The call remained connected.
On the other end, listening to her steady breathing, he chuckled softly and slowly fell asleep as well.
Until daybreak—
A new week began, and Sang Zhi went to work at the company as usual.
As usual, Shi Xiaoyu targeted her with nitpicking, and Sang Zhi responded deftly. After it happened so many times, watching Shi Xiaoyu get thoroughly irritated each time, Sang Zhi actually found herself rather enjoying it.
At the end of the workday, Shi Xiaoyu promptly slung her bag over her shoulder and left. Before going, she shot Sang Zhi a cold glance and said expressionlessly, "Finish organizing the reports before you leave."
Sang Zhi nodded. "Okay."
After Shi Xiaoyu left, Sang Zhi also started packing up her things, ready to head home.
Noticing what she was doing, He Pengxing widened his eyes. "You're leaving? Didn't she tell you to organize the reports?"
Sang Zhi: "I'll do it tomorrow."
Wan Zhe said enviously, "Sang Zhi, how are you so badass?"
He Pengxing: "You're going to get chewed out by Sister Xiaoyu tomorrow."
"Whether I organize them or not, I'll still get scolded," Sang Zhi said. "So I might as well leave early, get some proper rest, and save my energy for when she comes to yell at me tomorrow."
"..."
Wan Zhe: "If I were as bold as her, I'd be this cool too."
He Pengxing: "If I weren't planning to get a full-time position, I'd be this cool too."
Sang Zhi: "..."—
This kind of workday was actually quite entertaining.
After leaving the company, Sang Zhi didn't feel tired. She took the subway to the building where Duan Jiaxu worked and waited for him to finish. She found a sushi restaurant and casually ordered a set meal.
She pulled out a comic to read.
Before long, Sang Zhi received a call from Li Ping.
She answered it.
Li Ping: "Zhizhi, where are you now? Still working overtime?"
Sang Zhi, chewing on sushi, said, "No, I just got off work. I'm having dinner now."
"Finish up and head back to the dorm soon, okay?" Li Ping sighed. "You being there all by yourself makes me so worried. How about finding an internship in Nanwu next time?"
"It's fine," Sang Zhi glanced at the time. "I should be back by eight, so it won't be too late."
"Alright, video call me later."
"Okay."
Sang Zhi hung up, not giving the matter much thought, and continued eating her sushi.
Soon, Duan Jiaxu arrived.
Sang Zhi had ordered a portion for him too and said, "I have to go back early today. My mom wants to video call me."
"Mm."
After they finished eating, Duan Jiaxu accompanied Sang Zhi back to her school.He wasn't driving, so after getting off the subway, the two of them walked hand in hand toward Yihe University. "Today Shi Xiaoyu asked me to get her a cup of warm water, so I went to fill it for her."
"And then?"
"After I filled it, she scolded me, saying she clearly wanted cold water." Mentioning this, Sang Zhi became animated. "So I said the water dispenser couldn't produce cold water anymore."
Duan Jiaxu found it amusing. "Then?"
"She was really angry, saying how could it possibly not produce cold water. I told her to go try it herself, so she went and tried. Then she told me it clearly could. I said maybe it broke right when I used it—"
Before Sang Zhi could finish, her phone suddenly rang.
While still talking, Sang Zhi fished out her phone and saw that the caller was actually Sang Yan. She blinked and answered with remarkable cowardice. "What?"
There was a pause on the other end, followed by a chilly tone. "Are you back in your dorm?"
"Why do both you and Mom keep asking today?" Sang Zhi was baffled. "I'm almost at the school now, what's up?"
"So," Sang Yan's words came out slowly, one by one, "the person currently at the school gate, holding hands with a man, is you, right?"
"..."
The statement was utterly abrupt.
Sang Zhi was still somewhat dazed and didn't immediately grasp the meaning of his words. She instinctively looked around. "Huh? Brother, did you come to Yihe?"
The call had already ended.
At the same time, Sang Zhi spotted Sang Yan's presence.
He was standing by the roadside, staring expressionlessly at their intertwined hands. A taxi started up beside him and disappeared into the traffic, as if taking all the sound in the world with it.
Sang Yan said flatly, "Am I seeing things?"
"..."
"You know," Sang Yan let out a cold laugh, "I think your graduate student boyfriend looks exactly like that dog Duan Jiaxu."
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