"Му friеnd..." Shang Zhi Tао turnеd tо lоok but didn't see Luаn Niаn standing in the shаdows. "Mу friеnd рrоbаblу went outsidе to wait for me. It's fine, I'll stand hеrе and wаit for him. Yоu shоuld gо uрstairs аnd расk uр, yоu have work tоmоrrow."
"Will уou be okаy by уourself?"
"I'll bе finе."
Shаng Zhi Тао wаtched Sun Yuаnzhu gо upstаirs, thеn turnеd arоund and sаw Luаn Nian emеrgе from thе shadows. "Huh? I thоught you werеn't hеrе."
Luan Niаn glanced аt hеr bеlongings but didn't оffеr tо hеlр, turning instеad tо wаlk towаrd the сar.
"Arеn't yоu gоing tо helр mе?" Shаng Zhi Тao askеd him.
"Don't you have hаnds?" Luan Nian tossеd back bеforе gеtting into thе car, watching coldly as Shang Zhi Tao struggled alone. She didn't have much—two large suitcases and a big cardboard box. Probably someone drifting in Beijing wouldn't have too many possessions. Like migratory birds moving twice a year, what's the point of buying so much stuff?
Shang Zhi Tao exerted great effort to load her things into Luan Nian's trunk. Luan Nian truly didn't lift a finger to help. Once she got in the car, he started the engine and drove off.
His mood changes faster than flipping a book!
Even after arriving home, he still let Shang Zhi Tao handle everything herself. When he went downstairs to get something, he saw the items he had given her in that big box of hers. He recognized the things he had given—the packaging hadn't even been opened, and there was a thin layer of dust on them.
"Not using it?" he asked directly, a bit abruptly.
"What?"
Luan\ Nian gestured with his chin toward the box. "The bag I gave you."
"Oh, oh, oh." Shang Zhi Tao made a few vague sounds. "I can't bear to use it."
Luan Nian could tell she was being evasive and turned to leave. It was on the way to work the next day, while waiting at a red light, that he asked Shang Zhi Tao, "How much is your rent?"
"What?"
"How much do you pay for that apartment you're renting?"
"My room is a little over a thousand."
"You could rent from me for a thousand a month."
Shang Zhi Tao was stunned. How nice was Luan Nian's place? She'd be willing to pay two thousand a month! She actually thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head. "Thank you, but I'd rather go rent a place."
"Why? Because you can't bear to leave your roommates?"
"Yeah." Shang Zhi Tao nodded earnestly. "My roommates are really good people."
Her heart was clear—her roommates were genuinely good people!
"Congratulations on finding good roommates." Luan Nian's tone was neither enthusiastic nor cold, neither warm nor detached. Shang Zhi Tao couldn't tell if he was genuinely congratulating her or mocking her.
By Saturday, she left early to meet up with Sun Yu and Sun Yuanzhu. Still in the same area, they had checked listings online in advance, called each one, and visited them one by one. Finding an apartment was really difficult. The photos online looked great, but when they got to the actual place, it was barely better than a pigsty. When they finally found a decent place, the rent was sky-high.
So hard. Shang Zhi Tao thought to herself, renting is so hard. I must buy my own place someday! Then I'll have all my friends move in with me, and we can eat and drink together.
The three of them wandered around North Fifth Ring Road all day. By evening, they were all exhausted. The weather was cold, and they were hungry, so they quickly ate a bowl of knife-cut noodles and agreed to continue the search tomorrow. Just as they were about to part ways, Sun Yu received a call. On the other end was a kind, elderly woman's voice: "Dear, do you remember me? I'm your landlady.""I remember, hello, Auntie." The three of them exchanged glances, unsure why the landlady was calling them.
"Have you found a place yet?" the landlady asked directly.
"Not yet, Auntie," Sun Yu replied politely.
"Since you haven’t found one, why not come back and stay at Auntie’s place? Same price as before."
"Huh? Weren’t you afraid the agency would retaliate?" Sun Yu asked the landlady.
"It’s fine now. The police called today and said the matter is resolved. The agency also called me today, saying they’ve written a guarantee, handed over their ID, and even pressed their fingerprints. Not only won’t they cause trouble, but they’ll also help keep an eye out for us. Their attitude was really good."
"Okay, Auntie, we’ll discuss it first and get back to you soon, alright?"
This dramatic turn of events left the three of them both amused and exasperated. Sun Yu asked them, "Should we still stay?"
"Stay!" Shang Zhi Tao suddenly felt especially happy.
"Then let’s stay!" Sun Yu nodded as well.
Seeing how happy they were, Sun Yuanzhu nodded too. "Alright, then we’ll keep living here. But I have a small suggestion..."
"What is it?"
"Can we rearrange this place a bit? Since Zhang Lei moved out, I’ll cover his share of the rent because I want a separate study."
"Okay!" The girls knew this meant they were taking advantage of Sun Yuanzhu, but none of them wanted to settle accounts too clearly with him—because he was Sun Yuanzhu! If he paid more rent, they would take care of more daily expenses. No matter what, living with good friends was enough.
Shang Zhi Tao was so happy that she hummed a tune as she entered. Luan Nian was on the phone with Dr. Liang and, hearing the noise, muted the call, looked up, and glared at her. Shang Zhi Tao quickly covered her mouth, pointed upstairs, and dashed away.
"Huh? Did I just hear a girl humming?" Dr. Liang’s sharp ears caught it, and she asked him directly.
Luan Nian pretended not to hear and continued, "My flight is next Sunday."
"When will you be back?"
"End of February. I have meetings at headquarters, and then I’m reviewing two projects."
"That’s good, you can spend a few more days with us." Dr. Liang sounded in a good mood. She took a sip of water and said, "So, you’re in a relationship, right?" Dr. Liang would never let Luan Nian change the subject—she knew her own son best and how to handle him.
"I definitely didn’t mishear just now. There was a girl humming," she added with certainty.
"I don’t want to discuss this."
"Why not? If you’re in a relationship, just say so. Are you afraid I’ll pressure you to get married? Don’t worry, I won’t, and neither will your dad. We only set you up on blind dates because sometimes it’s hard to turn down friends and family."
"I don’t want to discuss this because I’m not in a relationship." Luan Nian paused. "I’m an adult."
Hearing this, Dr. Liang understood. Not in a relationship, an adult—so it was just casual fun. Her own son was finally playing around too.
"That’s not good, is it? Not for you or the girl," Dr. Liang said.
"I’ll handle it myself."
"Then handle it yourself. I’m hanging up."
Luan Nian hung up the phone and saw Shang Zhi Tao coming downstairs with a water cup. "Isn’t there a water dispenser upstairs?"
"It’s out of water."
"Why were you so happy earlier?"
"I found a place to live."Shang Zhi Tao drank a glass of water and placed the cup on Luan Nian's bar counter: "I can move out tomorrow. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. I didn't mean to make noise earlier—I didn't know you were on a call."
"It's fine."
"As long as I didn't cause any trouble."
Shang Zhi Tao pointed upstairs: "I'll go to sleep now, then? I'll leave early tomorrow morning because I need to pack up the house. It might take the whole day, so I'll leave early to avoid affecting work on Monday."
"Mhm." Luan Nian gave a brief acknowledgment and said nothing more.
After going upstairs, Shang Zhi Tao packed all her belongings, turned off the light, and lay down on the bed. She had overheard Luan Nian's phone call unintentionally. I'm not in a relationship. I'm an adult, I can handle things myself. He had almost directly told his mother that she was his long-term casual partner.
Shang Zhi Tao didn't think Luan Nian had done anything wrong—he was just telling the truth. The warmth she had felt from him that day vanished just like that. So it really was like that—because we slept together, and a woman he had slept with got beaten up, he had to stand up for her once to show his masculinity, or perhaps it was just male possessiveness at play, not because of liking or love.
The next day, she woke up early, quietly moved her things downstairs, and after some thought, left a note on the pillow: Thank you for letting me stay these past few days. Sorry for the disturbance. Polite and formal.
The small moving truck she called took her from Luan Nian's neighborhood to the North Fifth Ring Road. The surreal feeling from the past few days disappeared, and standing at the entrance of her building, she felt like she had returned to the real world. Her world was in such a tangible setting—surroundings that were worn yet lively, but with good friends by her side.
A light snow began to fall. She stood downstairs watching for a while. How fast time flies—this year was already coming to an end. She felt the year had ended well, even with a bit of dramatic turbulence, but it was ultimately fulfilling.
Sun Yu also returned with her belongings. Looking at each other's luggage, they both laughed.
"Who would have thought we'd end up back here after going around in circles? I guess this is our unbreakable bond with this place. I hired a mover." Sun Yu pointed to someone approaching in the distance. "Let's not tire ourselves out. After all, I'm a partner in a struggling startup—I can afford this hundred yuan."
"Well, I'm at least a gofer at a top-tier foreign company—I'll cover today's meal expenses. I can afford it."
They exchanged smiles and went upstairs.
Pushing the door open, they saw Sun Yuanzhu's belongings already piled up in the living room. He was assembling a bookshelf he had bought online, which required putting together himself. He had also bought some nice wallpaper, and the old sofa in the living room was gone.
"This…"
"Didn't we say we'd tidy things up properly?" Sun Yuanzhu smiled, dusting off his hands. "I'll leave the two south-facing rooms for you two. I travel often for work, so I don't need a south-facing room. You two can choose between yourselves."
Such kindness had to be accepted—because he was Sun Yuanzhu.
The three of them played music, quietly listening as they tidied up. Sun Yu sent Shang Zhi Tao a message: "My dwindling romanticism is acting up—I hope this moment stays with us until we live to a hundred."
Shang Zhi Tao also cherished moments like these.
In such a space and time, there were no people or things around that made her feel pressured. Everything was simple.
Setting up a home like this gave her a sense of belonging in this city for the first time.Sun Yuanzhu sat in the living room sunlight assembling a cabinet, surrounded by warmth, beautiful as a dream.
They worked until evening, and the home finally took on a new look.
Sun Yuanzhu took out a diagram and explained his plans to them.
"I want to place a long desk here, so we can sit side by side and work."
"Here, I’d like to set up a few plant stands, put some potted flowers, and keep a small fish tank—that’ll bring life to the space."
Shang Zhi Tao raised her hand. "I also have something I want to keep."
"What?"
"I want to get a dog."
Seeing the other two widen their eyes, she nodded firmly. "I really want to get a dog as a New Year’s gift to myself. Is anyone afraid of dogs?"
The other two shook their heads.
"Then I’m getting a dog!"
Shang Zhi Tao applauded her own decision.
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