Sang Zhi had no idea what had happened between the two of them, nor did she understand where Qian Fei's intense resentment came from. Utterly bewildered, she could only change the subject: "Brother Qian Fei, why are you the one picking us up? Where's my brother?"
Facing Sang Zhi, Qian Fei's anger mostly subsided: "Your brother said he had something to do."
Sang Zhi nodded and didn't ask further.
The three of them exited the airport and got into Qian Fei's car parked outside.
Sang Zhi naturally took the back seat, while Duan Jiaxu got into the passenger seat. She pulled out her phone and continued searching for hotels for Duan Jiaxu, sending suitable options to his WeChat as she found them.
It was already close to 1 a.m., but since Sang Zhi had slept on the plane, she wasn't particularly tired.
Soft music played in the car as Duan Jiaxu and Qian Fei chatted intermittently. Perhaps worried that Sang Zhi might feel awkward, Qian Fei refrained from teasing them about their relationship.
Forty minutes later, the car arrived at Sang Zhi's apartment building.
Duan Jiaxu got out with her and habitually gave a few words of reminder, watching her enter the building before returning to the car. As he fastened his seatbelt again, he heard Qian Fei ask: "Hey, where are you staying?"
Hearing this, Duan Jiaxu glanced at his phone and named a hotel.
Qian Fei said: "Why book a hotel? Just stay at my place."
"Forget it," Duan Jiaxu laughed. "Not appropriate."
"Why not? Though you're right," Qian Fei chuckled, "staying for a week, wouldn't want you to hear something you shouldn't. By the way, Sang Yan said you moved again?"
Duan Jiaxu: "Mm."
Qian Fei frowned, nagging like an old mother: "Seriously, how many times have you moved these past few years? Just buy a place and settle down. Otherwise, what are you going to do with all that money you're earning - take it to the grave?"
"I don't want to stay in one place too long, and I don't plan to remain in Yihe permanently." At this point, Duan Jiaxu paused thoughtfully before adding, "Speaking of which, could you help me check if there are any new developments in Nanwu? Around this area would be good."
Qian Fei was taken aback: "In Nanwu?"
"Mm."
"You're planning to come back here?" Qian Fei understood. "Because of Sang Zhi?"
Duan Jiaxu smiled and hummed in agreement: "The little girl is quite homesick."
"I'll ask around for you later," Qian Fei said. "But are you sure? What about your job? Didn't you get technical shares in that company? And it's developing quite well, right? What was the agreement back then?"
Instead of answering his stream of questions, Duan Jiaxu suddenly said: "I've been considering something recently."
Qian Fei: "What?"
They happened to arrive at the hotel. Duan Jiaxu didn't elaborate further. Unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the car door, he said casually: "Never mind, I'll think about it some more."
Worried about disturbing Sang Rong and Li Ping, Sang Zhi moved with extreme caution. After taking off her shoes, she didn't even dare to put on slippers. Without turning on any lights, she made her way back to her room using only her phone's flashlight.
Sang Zhi thought she hadn't made any noise at all, but she still managed to wake Li Ping. The moment she closed her bedroom door, before she could even sigh in relief, the door was pushed open again.
Li Ping's face still showed traces of sleepiness. When she saw Sang Zhi, her drowsiness instantly faded: "You scared me! Weren't you supposed to come back tomorrow morning?"
"..." Sang Zhi scratched her head. "The flight was too late, I was afraid you'd wait up for me."
"Have you eaten? Did your brother bring you back?""I already ate, and it wasn't my brother who brought me back." Sang Zhi didn't lie, answering honestly, "He seemed to have something to do, so he asked Brother Qian Fei to bring me back. I'm going to take a shower and then go to sleep. You should go to bed too."
It had been quite some time since they last saw each other. Li Ping stared at her, reached out to touch her face, and sighed, "Why do I feel like you've gotten thinner again? It's been over half a year since you came home..."
Sang Zhi shook her head, "I haven't lost weight; I've actually gained two pounds."
"I'm always worried that you're not doing well over there, and I'm afraid you won't tell me," Li Ping couldn't help but say a few more words, "I only feel at ease when you're right in front of me. In the future, if you're looking for an internship, try to find one closer to home, okay?"
Afraid of waking Sang Rong as well, Sang Zhi agreed softly, lowering her voice to coax Li Ping. It took her quite a while to finally persuade her to go to sleep.
Sang Zhi quickly took a shower and returned to her room.
She messaged Duan Jiaxu on WeChat to check on him, and after chatting for a while, she tossed her phone aside.
Closing her eyes to try to fall asleep, it wasn't long before Sang Zhi opened them again.
For some reason, Sang Zhi suddenly remembered something. She climbed out of bed and pulled out the cardboard box from under her bed once more.
She had wrapped another layer of tape around it.
Sang Zhi took a utility knife and cut it open.
In the dim light, Sang Zhi slowly took out everything inside. The items that took up the most space were the plush toys—there were quite a few of them. She placed them on the desk, planning to throw them into the washing machine the next day.
Sang Zhi took out the milk bottle filled with paper stars and placed it back on the windowsill.
Digging deeper.
Sang Zhi found the photo she had secretly taken of Duan Jiaxu with her phone. The edges of the photo had already turned yellow, and the resolution wasn't high, but she could still make out the man's features.
Back then, Duan Jiaxu still had a very youthful aura, wearing a white sweater. He was looking down, holding a black game controller in his hands, which made his skin appear even paler. The smile on his face wasn't much different from how it was now.
To be honest, Sang Zhi couldn't quite remember how she felt when she took that photo.
But there was still a magical feeling about it.
The man she fell in love with at first sight.
The person she had liked from her youth until now.
From finding excuses to get close, secretly hiding her feelings, wanting to leave a mark in his life, to drifting apart and trying her hardest to forget.
To, because of meeting again, everything reigniting.
When she thought about it, it seemed quite beautiful.
She was together with her first love, the person she had secretly liked for so many years.
But Sang Zhi felt that she would probably never tell Duan Jiaxu about this.
She wouldn't let him know.
That she had once tried hard, wanting to fearlessly offer her heart, but because of cowardice and helplessness, she ended up hiding it in the deepest part of herself.
Hidden so deeply that it felt as if it had disappeared.
Even she herself could no longer find it.
And she wouldn't let him know.
That with just a crook of his finger, her entire heart would race, instantly resurfacing.
All those so-called hidden feelings.
In front of him, became something she couldn't hide even if she tried.
The next day, after finishing breakfast, Sang Zhi returned to her room. Only when she noticed the plush toys on the desk did she suddenly remember. She gathered them all in her arms, walked out of her room again, and called out, "Mom, I want to wash these."
Li Ping and Sang Rong were sitting on the sofa watching TV.Hearing Sang Zhi's voice, Li Ping looked up and glanced at what she was holding: "Huh? Didn't you put that away? Why are you taking it out again?"
"Just stumbled upon it," Sang Zhi didn't know how to explain and answered vaguely, "It doesn't take up much space anyway."
"Put it in the laundry basket. I'll toss it in the washing machine later." Li Ping didn't press further and patted the spot beside her. "Come, keep Mom and Dad company while we watch TV."
Sang Zhi nodded and went over to sit down.
Though they said they were watching TV, most of the time they were asking about her holiday and recent happenings. Sang Zhi answered honestly for the most part, only glossing over things she felt she couldn't share.
Taking advantage of a lull in Sang Rong and Li Ping's conversation, Sang Zhi pulled out her phone from her pocket. Just then, she saw a message from Duan Jiaxu: 【Awake?】
Sang Zhi: 【Yeah.】
Duan Jiaxu: 【1532.】
Sang Zhi: 【?】
Duan Jiaxu: 【Room number.】
Sang Zhi: "..."
Duan Jiaxu: 【Feel free to come grace me with your presence.】
Sang Zhi found it both ridiculous and amusing, replying: 【Maybe in a couple of days.】
She was about to type something else when she suddenly heard Li Ping call her name. Instinctively, she turned off her phone screen and looked up, dazedly saying, "Huh? What is it?"
Li Ping smiled and asked, "Who are you chatting with? You look so happy."
Sang Zhi casually replied, "A classmate."
Li Ping teased half-jokingly, "Are you dating someone?"
Hearing this, Sang Rong also turned to look: "Zhizhi, are you seeing someone?"
"..." Sang Zhi licked her lips, looking uncomfortable. "Yeah."
Since she was at that age, Li Ping wasn't too surprised and simply asked, "Since when? I called you so many times, but you never mentioned it."
Sang Rong frowned, "You're really dating someone?"
Sang Zhi said softly, "Not long."
Seeing her embarrassment, Li Ping reassured her, "It's fine to date, but make sure to take care of yourself and stay safe."
Sang Zhi nodded.
Li Ping continued, "What's their name? Where are they from? They're from your school, right? What's their major? What's their personality—"
Sang Rong waved at Sang Zhi, his expression disapproving. "Zhizhi, wait until after graduation to start dating. If you get serious now, you might settle down there. Is this person willing to come back to Nanwu with you?"
Overwhelmed, Sang Zhi abruptly stood up and ran toward her room. "Enough talk, I'm going to take a nap!"
Behind her, she could still hear Sang Rong asking, "Who is she dating?"
"How would I know?" Li Ping chuckled. "Must be a classmate she met there."
—
This was something Sang Zhi still wanted to bring up slowly and gradually.
Sang Yan's reaction had left her a bit shaken.
But thinking it over, she felt that Sang Rong and Li Ping probably wouldn't be as difficult as him—they'd likely be more understanding. Besides, in her eyes, there was really nothing to criticize about Duan Jiaxu.
Sang Zhi spent a few days at home with her parents. Either Li Ping dragged her out shopping, or they visited relatives, so she never found time to see Duan Jiaxu.
But he seemed busy too, catching up with old college friends during those days.
Throughout the long holiday, Sang Zhi didn't see Sang Yan come home once.From time to time, Sang Zhi would hear Li Ping grumbling about him, saying this kid had always been unreliable and now didn't even have a conscience—they'd raised an ungrateful wolf. When meeting friends, others would assume she only had a daughter and would be startled to learn she had an older son, even asking if he was recently adopted.
For every complaint she heard, Sang Zhi would very thoughtfully relay it to Sang Yan over WeChat.
This finally pressured him into coming home one evening.
Because of this, Sang Zhi was no longer the center of attention at the dinner table that night, nor did she have to rack her brains dealing with the questions Li Ping and Sang Rong threw at her.
Sang Zhi quietly nibbled her food off to the side, thoroughly enjoying listening to Sang Yan being lectured in turns by Sang Rong and Li Ping.
This went on for over ten minutes until Sang Yan finally couldn't take it anymore and said flatly, "Can you let me eat or not?"
Seizing on his words, Li Ping started scolding again, "Now I can't even say a few words to you, is that it?"
"..."
Sang Yan took a deep breath and nudged Sang Zhi with his elbow, signaling for her to help say something.
Sang Zhi glanced at him sideways and sighed, "Brother, this isn't good. You're really hurting Mom's feelings."
"..."
Sang Rong added, "You're so much older, yet you're not as sensible as your little sister."
Sang Yan lifted his eyelids and said coolly, "If she's so sensible, then she'd probably come home to keep you company during all the long and short holidays." Pausing, he looked at Sang Zhi, "Right?"
Sang Zhi choked up.
Mentioning this, Sang Rong and Li Ping both turned their eyes to Sang Zhi. The attention at the entire table converged on her once again.
"..." Sang Zhi somewhat regretted adding fuel to the fire earlier and said stiffly, "Let's just eat."
After dinner, Sang Yan didn't sit for long before receiving a phone call and preparing to go out again.
Li Ping, sitting on the sofa, saw him getting ready and started again, "Not staying home for a few days? Just one meal and you're off?"
"Mom," Sang Yan had been scolded to the point of losing his temper, "I'm a grown adult. What would it look like if I still hung around the house all day?"
Li Ping was displeased, "You just got back. How is that hanging around all day?"
"..."
Li Ping pressed on, "What are you going out for?"
Sang Yan walked to the entryway, changing his shoes as he said, "Qian Fei's looking for me. Going out for a late-night snack."
"Drinking again?"
"Not drinking."
Sang Zhi was sitting on the sofa eating fruit. Hearing this, she looked up and said casually, "Getting barbecue? I want some too."
Seeing through her intention, Sang Yan smirked and kindly reminded her, "You can order delivery."
Sang Zhi pretended not to hear, jumping up and running to her room, "Wait for me, I'll just change clothes."
As she expected, Sang Yan didn't wait for her. By the time Sang Zhi came out of her room, there was no one in the entryway.
Sang Zhi hurried to the entryway, putting on her shoes as she said, "Mom, Dad, I'm heading out."
Li Ping was taken aback, looking at her puzzled, "Zhizhi, are you really going?"
"Yeah."
"You can just order delivery, or your dad and I can go with you," Li Ping found it strange, "You never liked going out with your brother before. You said you didn't know anyone."
Sang Zhi didn't know how to explain, so she could only pretend to be in a hurry, saying anxiously, "I'll be back soon. You guys go to sleep early, no need to wait for me!"
With that, without waiting for Li Ping to say more, Sang Zhi immediately opened the door and went out.
Sang Yan was still waiting for the elevator in the elevator lobby. Seeing her come out, he sneered, "Getting barbecue?"
"...""Why does this feel so familiar?"
Sang Zhi didn't feel guilty at all, speaking with confidence, "It's not like it's my first time going out for barbecue with you."
"I just remembered something that seems a bit strange."
"What?"
"When I was in my third year of college, you said you wanted to help me move dorms," Sang Yan turned his head, asking meaningfully, "That time, was it also for 'barbecue'?"
Author's note: Sang Zhi: ???????? Why aren't you being naive and sweet today?
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