Fragrant Memories
Shen Xifan's gaze was drawn to a spider. She was slightly nearsighted, but unfortunately, she had forgotten to remove her glasses during the inspection.
The supervisors were all a bit nervous. The scene was rather bizarre: Manager Shen, dressed in her deep blue professional suit, struck a pose reminiscent of "The Thinker," staring unblinkingly at a certain corner with a distant look, as if expecting something. It wasn’t until Zhang Jie suddenly realized, "Ah! There’s a big spider!"
Shen Xifan nodded in satisfaction. "Could it be that our hotel’s ecological environment is too good? Even spiders are crawling in here?"
The Jingge guest room supervisor replied earnestly, "Manager Shen, it was my oversight."
She nodded. "I’ll check again at five this afternoon. Remember, all of them. I won’t mind the trouble."
Back in her office, she turned on her computer to review the department’s accounts. She had barely read two lines when suddenly, the computer let out a "pop" and shut off. She sniffed carefully—no burnt smell from the computer. Then she glanced at the indicator light on the water dispenser—oh, a power outage!
A call immediately came in from the engineering department. "Manager Shen, there’s a large-scale power outage in the city, so we’ve switched to the hotel’s generator. However, due to the extensive power demand, the administrative building will temporarily remain without electricity. We appreciate your understanding."
Shen Xifan responded with an "Mmm," adding, "You’ve worked hard."
She then draped on her coat and stepped out, calling her father. Shen's father mentioned that it seemed to be a widespread outage in the eastern part of the city, while their home in the west still had power. She sighed in relief. "I’ll be home a bit late tonight."
The lobby was somewhat chaotic, likely due to the sudden halt of the elevators during the blackout. Though it lasted only a moment, some guests had been startled. A little girl, panicked, kept crying out, "Mommy!"
Ding Wei, the lobby manager, explained the situation. Fortunately, the guests were understanding, and order was quickly restored.
Shen Xifan crouched down in front of the little girl and asked, "Sweetie, where’s your mommy?"
The girl spoke in a childish, halting voice, "Just now… she was here… then the power went out… it got really crowded… I got pushed here… and then Mommy was gone…"
Shen Xifan had no choice but to take the girl to the security office and pull up the lobby’s surveillance footage for her to identify her mother. The girl was sharp and pointed at a petite woman. "That’s her!"
Shen Xifan signaled to rewind the footage. When the woman turned around, her face came into full view, and Shen Xifan froze—Gu Ningyuan?
She pointed at the screen and asked, "Sweetie, are you sure this is your mommy?"
The girl nodded. "Mommy suddenly said she had to go out. I didn’t want to stay home alone, so I secretly got into her car and followed her. But when we got here, Mommy disappeared in the blink of an eye."
"What’s your name?"
"Zhou Siqi."
Shen Xifan let out a sigh of relief—at least the surname wasn’t "Yan" or "Dai." Still, this girl looked to be at least six or seven years old. How could she be Gu Ningyuan’s daughter? There wasn’t the slightest resemblance between them. Maybe she wasn’t her biological child.
"Auntie will go find your mommy now. You stay here with the security uncle and don’t run off, okay?"
"Auntie!" The girl pleaded timidly. "When Mommy comes, can you tell her not to hit me? Siqi is really scared!"Gu Ningyuan—how many years had it been since she last thought of that name? That memory had been deliberately ignored, forcibly dug up after three years, and it still hurt. Like a freshly formed scab, the slightest touch would make it bleed again.
Yan Heng was affectionate, but she couldn’t blame him. If she had been clever, she wouldn’t have willingly jumped into it. But even if she had been smart, love would have still turned her into a helpless fool. He would love only you, spoil only you—in his presence, you were a princess. But for everyone, there was an expiration date. Once he grew tired of you, you were discarded, packed away like a canned pineapple and tossed into the trash.
And he was too good—like a drug that eroded the mind, corroded the heart, seeped into the skin, inch by inch, until every drop of blood in your body screamed for him. He was an addiction, one without a cure.
But Shen Xifan couldn’t help but wonder— Gu Ningyuan, this time you’ve come looking for Yan Heng. Are you seeking poison or the antidote?
She didn’t need to go find Gu Ningyuan herself. She had always avoided Villa Area F on purpose. But she didn’t know why she was doing this—maybe it was unwillingness, maybe lingering feelings, maybe something else. She wasn’t the same girl who used to hide and cry when she saw Yan Heng with other women. But what exactly did she want now? She didn’t know.
After a heart-wrenching first love ended, three years later, when the man and woman reunited—what expression should they wear? What words should they say? She didn’t know. But often, everything needed no explanation, and there was no way to explain it anyway.
Yan Heng was dressed lightly, and standing across from him was indeed Gu Ningyuan. Once the belle of the chemistry department, now her former radiance was gone. Her delicate makeup couldn’t hide the exhaustion on her face. Maybe her marriage wasn’t happy, Shen Xifan guessed.
She didn’t interrupt, just stood at a distance, unable to hear their conversation. She only saw Gu Ningyuan grab Yan Heng’s arm before he harshly shook her off. Then she stumbled away, tears streaming down her face.
Shen Xifan took a deep breath and called out, “Wait—Miss Gu!”
Both Gu Ningyuan and Yan Heng turned—one in surprise, the other in irritation. Shen Xifan spoke lightly, “Miss Gu, your daughter is in the security office in the lobby. Please take her with you. And—” she paused, “she just followed you out without meaning to. Please don’t scold her.”
Gu Ningyuan smiled, though it was strained. She glanced at Shen Xifan’s name tag and froze slightly. “I didn’t expect you to work at this hotel. Nice to meet you. I’m quite busy today, but I’ll arrange to meet you alone another time.”
Shen Xifan groaned inwardly— Even if you invited me to the Maldives, I wouldn’t go. I’ve had enough of you. But she still added kindly, “Please don’t scold your daughter.”
Gu Ningyuan chuckled and turned away. “Hitting her would just hurt my hand too…”
Now it was just her and Yan Heng, standing face to face. The distance wasn’t far, but the atmosphere was unbearably awkward. She had no choice but to speak. “Mr. Yan, there was a city-wide blackout earlier. I hope you weren’t affected?”
Yan Heng shook his head, his voice softening. “Xifan, do we really have to be so distant?”She was suddenly at a loss for words, regretting her decision to come here looking for trouble. As she turned to leave, Yan Heng's voice called out from behind, instantly freezing her breath and rooting her to the spot.
"Xiao Fan..."
"Shen Xifan, your name sounds like 'porridge,' but that's a good thing—it's fragrant, just like you. It takes time to savor and appreciate its true flavor!"
"Shen Xifan, now that you're my girlfriend, calling you by your full name feels too distant. I'll just call you Xiao Fan!"
"Xiao Fan, Xiao Fan—do you like this name? What? Sounds like calling a dog? No way! If you were a dog, you'd be the cutest and laziest one in the world!"
"Xiao Fan, let's break up. You've changed—you're not the same Xiao Fan anymore. Goodbye, Shen Xifan."
Yan Heng smiled bitterly. "Xiao Fan, only you know my tastes. I don't like spicy food, but I love hot pot. I don't eat fish, only fish soup. The meals I have every day—they're all prepared according to your instructions to the chef, aren't they? Three years... you haven't forgotten a thing about me, have you?"
Tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes. Shen Xifan didn't dare turn around. Just a familiar name had already stirred her heart and brought back sorrow. If this continued, she didn't know how to face her scarred past or the uncertain future.
The wounds of a lifetime aren't healed by words or endless time—they're healed by happiness. But she was lost, unsure whether happiness had been taken away by him or if it had never existed at all.
Suddenly, the walkie-talkie crackled to life. Her supervisor's voice came through: "Manager Shen, are you doing the five o'clock inspection?"
"I'll be right there. Wait for me in front of Building One."
Shen Xifan didn't dare turn back to say goodbye, just as she had never said "goodbye" to him before—not even during their last meeting. This time, she only whispered softly, "Mr. Yan, I have to go."
She always said that "goodbye" had two meanings: one was "see you again," and the other was "never see you again." She disliked both meanings—she neither wanted to part with him nor face the possibility of never seeing him again.
Yet things always seemed to go against her wishes.
As she circled around the artificial lake in Zone C, she suddenly felt drained. She used the winter wind to try and clear her mind, reminding herself that personal emotions had no place in her work, nor should she have any ambiguous ties with clients. She had always been meticulous and sensitive, but also highly disciplined.
Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her uniform and forced a smile, silently reciting her checklist: guest rooms—door locks must be smooth, no fingerprints, room numbers clean and polished, walls and ceilings free of cobwebs and stains...
As she turned to leave, she noticed a car parked in front of Villa No. 2. A stunningly beautiful woman stepped out gracefully. Upon closer inspection, she seemed to be a famous model.
Shen Xifan sighed inwardly. Calamity Ling, you really are a menace. Too bad so many people fall for your act. Then she wondered if snapping a photo of this scene and selling it to a tabloid would make her a fortune—before getting fired, sued, and thrown in jail, with her parents taking turns visiting her in prison. Never mind. Better to just walk away quietly. Yet she couldn't help stealing another glance. Ling Yufan was leaning against the doorframe grinning at her. Without his glasses, his charm was at full wattage, making Shen Xifan immediately pull a long face while her little heart fluttered uncontrollably.
Taking a deep breath, she clasped her hands together and silently recited: "The path of lust leads to dead ends, turn back to shore where you can earn RMB instead."
After inspecting all floors, Shen Xifan nodded in satisfaction. "The hygiene conditions are excellent. I'm very pleased, and thank you all for your hard work this afternoon!"
As she headed back to her office to pack up, she passed by the Chinese restaurant unintentionally, then backtracked. Sniffing exaggeratedly, she dashed to the back kitchen to find Xu Xiangya. "Xiangya, are those fennel dumplings for tonight?"
Xu Xiangya jumped. "What kind of dog nose do you have? You could smell that from so far away? Hey, what are you scheming? Tender winter fennel is impossible to find—even if we did, it wouldn't be for you! Give it up!"
Shen Xifan pouted. "It's for Yan Heng, isn't it? No way, give them all to me. He actually prefers celery dumplings anyway!"
Xu Xiangya's eyes lit up. "Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"
"No lies, no lies!" Shen Xifan reached for the exquisite dumplings served in a blue-and-white porcelain bowl, their pleated edges strikingly beautiful—VIP meals were truly different.
Chef Li chuckled. "No worries, Manager Shen. If you like them, take them. We still have plenty left—we can make more in time. Ah, Manager Xu, should we make celery or fennel dumplings now?"
Shen Xifan answered for Xu Xiangya, "Celery for Mr. Yan. Add a bit more sugar—he likes it sweeter. Use aged vinegar, not aromatic vinegar! As for the remaining fennel, wrap them all up, and make some cabbage ones too. Distribute them to all departments as a treat. The winter solstice is coming—let's celebrate a little. Everyone's worked hard for this conference."
A kitchen assistant promptly packed the dumplings for her, adding a bowl of noodle broth and placing it by Shen Xifan's side.
Xu Xiangya sighed in frustration. "I'm such a failure as the F&B manager. Want to switch places?"
Shen Xifan shook her head vigorously. "No way. I'm afraid I'd lead the charge in embezzlement and bribery. You know I can't resist Chef Li's cooking. Besides, aren't you worried I'd eat the hotel out of business?"
Everyone laughed—except Yan Heng, who stood not far away, his expression somewhat forlorn.
He still remembered Shen Xifan's gluttonous nature. Unlike his picky eating habits, she was an absolute foodie.
The first time he saw her was during a law elective in their sophomore year. Winter mornings were the ultimate test of willpower—most students would sleep in until the last minute before rushing to class with milk and bread, then brazenly eat during lectures. Since it was an elective, the professors would just smile at this. Some even borrowed money from students during breaks to buy breakfast—he'd been approached several times and always repaid double. In short, winter was the perfect excuse for laziness.
Shen Xifan had slipped in through the back door ten minutes after class started, carrying a lunchbox. She plopped down boldly by the window in the second-to-last row—right in front of him—then opened the box. Immediately, steam and the aroma of flour wafted out. He was stunned. How bold—she'd actually brought steamed dumplings from the cafeteria to eat in class.The original smell of the steamed dumplings was one thing, but she had also added some vinegar, immediately causing nearby classmates to turn their heads toward the source of the aroma. They chuckled before turning back, tacitly accepting her breakfast. Still, she was considerate enough to flip up her stool and crouch by the window to eat on the floor. The moment she took her first bite, he caught the scent—fennel dumplings.
At that moment, he was in the throes of intense suffering. His empty stomach instantly rebelled at the fragrant aroma, and his mind, already struggling from lack of blood flow, began to wander. He really wanted to tell her—could she please not eat? The smell was too enticing, far too distracting for class.
Just then, she sat up to grab her water bottle. He gently tapped her back with his pen and whispered, "Classmate, could you go outside to eat your dumplings?" But somehow, she must have misheard him. She blinked in slight confusion, picked up the lunchbox, shook her head, then pulled out half a pack of digestive biscuits from her bag. "There's still half a box of dumplings left. If you're hungry, you can have these first!"
Caught between laughter and exasperation, he had no choice but to take them. He hesitated for a long while, planning to return them after class—until she suddenly sprang up with a shout, "Lunchtime! Hurry and grab food, or there won't be any left!"
Left clutching half a pack of biscuits, he was utterly bewildered. It wasn’t until much later that he realized Shen Xifan had misheard his words as: Classmate, could you... give me... some dumplings?
Yan Heng thought to himself—she hadn’t changed. She still loved dumplings, drowned them in vinegar, ate until her lips turned pale, then gulped down water in huge mouthfuls.
Suddenly, it struck him—those three years that had passed felt like mere seconds. Time had never altered his memories. The reckless days of youth were long gone, yet he could never return to that time to make amends.
She must hate him terribly, right?
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