ATLAS TRANSLATES

The rain outside had stopped, and Feng Ning was lost in thought.

About ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Feng Ning put on her slippers and went to get her takeout. While sitting at the dining table opening the packaging, she found today’s plastic bag had been tied in a dead knot.

She tried to untie it for a while but couldn’t, so she had to get up and get scissors from the kitchen.

As she sat back down in her chair, Feng Ning suddenly thought.

Jiang Wen and her were just like this dead knot – after so many years, they still couldn’t untie it or get around it. While eating her wontons, she replied to his message:

Ning: [How much? I’ll compensate you for one.]

-61nfiawj: [You owe me enough money already, what’s a bit more.]

Feng Ning’s brows furrowed tightly, she read it again to make sure she hadn’t misread.

Ning: [When did I ever owe you… a lot of money?]

Before she could put down her phone, his message popped up with a whoosh.

-61nfiawj: [The tutoring fees you owe me from high school, when do you plan to pay them back?]

…

…

She stared at these words in silence. After a long while, Feng Ning finally came back to her senses. Putting down her phone, she lowered her eyes to see the bowl of wontons still mostly full of soup, and suddenly lost her appetite.

After forcing down a few more bites and cleaning up the table, Feng Ning picked up her phone again, opened her chat with Jiang Wen, but still couldn’t figure out how to respond to that message.

He could casually bring up old matters with such calmness, but her state of mind had already changed. Regarding the events of high school, Feng Ning couldn’t be as relaxed as him.

Because of her mother’s death, it had taken her a very long time to move on.

For Feng Ning, that was a very long, very long period of self-isolation that was difficult to endure. Even after many years, just remembering that time still brought pain.

Bone-deep loneliness had enveloped her. Feng Ning often woke up startled in the middle of the night, leaning against her headboard waiting for dawn. Sometimes when she could sleep until morning, waking up bleary-eyed and confused, she didn’t even want to breathe.

Jiang Wen had once kept her company during her lowest point, so no matter what happened, Feng Ning never held any hatred towards him.

It was she who couldn’t keep him.

Later, Jiang Wen left.

She deleted his contact information, deleted their old photos. At school, to avoid passing by the playground, she deliberately took the long way to the cafeteria. Even though time was tight in senior year, she would take two transfers home just to avoid riding bus route 425.

Feng Ning avoided touching anything related to memories of Jiang Wen, but she remembered his phone number, remembered his face, remembered every song he had played for her, remembered the stairwells and school paths where she had met him. Remembered him getting angry at her on the street.

She remembered it all.

Back then after Zhao Binlin called her, Feng Ning knew she and Jiang Wen had no chance anymore. But she felt she still had many hurdles to overcome. There was a thought in her mind about going to Beijing. Just wanted to, no other reason.

At school, when she would think of Jiang Wen, she needed time to suppress the urge to go to Beijing. She couldn’t calm down.

Right after the April unified exam ended, Feng Ning asked her homeroom teacher for three days off. She took her physics book and math papers, and got on the slow train to Beijing.

In reality, Feng Ning had no illusions left, nor did she want to win anyone back. She just felt that before Jiang Wen left, visiting his city would help her feel more at peace.

Enduring was very painful.

Feng Ning felt she had already suffered enough.

After a day and night on the train, she arrived in Beijing at six in the morning. That day was foggy, and Feng Ning stood on the platform watching smoke rise from distant chimneys.

Feng Ning hadn’t brought much money. She had researched the city’s bus routes in advance, with her backpack containing all her luggage. She took a long bus ride to Jiang Wen’s school.

Their school was very large, with many people coming and going.

She had bought a seated ticket, slept only a few hours in a day and night, spending the remaining time looking at her old chat records with Jiang Wen.

All the places Jiang Wen had mentioned to her, every little detail, she had written down on paper.

The Science Building where he often had classes, surrounded by large green lawns. The North Second Library where he studied, with a lush pine tree at the entrance. The West Third Cafeteria where he often ate, with delicious sweet and sour pork on the second floor. And the track where he had run 1500 meters, the grand hall where they held welcome ceremonies, the lotus pond that was beautiful in summer.

Feng Ning had written everything down on paper, listing out every place.

Her train leaving Beijing was at eight the next morning, so she only had one day. Feng Ning spent that day asking passing students for directions, visiting every place Jiang Wen had ever mentioned to her.

In this vast campus, they had no fate for a drama-like encounter. Until sunset fell and night came, Feng Ning walked along the long main road out of Jiang Wen’s school.

She sat in a 24-hour McDonald’s, watching this city slowly wake up, feeling that she had no regrets left, and it was good to stop here.

…

…

Actually, when she first started university, Feng Ning still harbored some hope in her heart. Though she had many pursuers, Feng Ning remained single.

She greedily thought that even if there was only a one percent or one-thousandth percent chance, after her illness got better, after Jiang Wen returned from abroad, something might still happen between them.

But her mindset changed year by year, gradually shifting. Later, life became filled with busyness. When she occasionally thought of Jiang Wen, she felt that some fate ends when it ends, and certain things really should come to a close.

In the vast sea of humanity, they were just grains of sand. Time couldn’t flow backwards, life kept moving forward, and perhaps forgetting was also a kind of release.

Jiang Wen suddenly returned to China, they met, and she had no mental preparation at all. He had matured a lot and changed a lot.

Even though neither of them were young anymore, when facing him, she still couldn’t remain calm. Just a casual message from Jiang Wen could stir up her heart, making her unable to eat.

Feng Ning wasn’t quite sure what Jiang Wen’s intention was with that message, but she really couldn’t be as frank as him.

The alarm she had set for 8:30 PM suddenly rang. Feng Ning had been staring at this message for nearly half an hour.

Ning: [What do you want?]

-61nfiawj: [What else can I do?]

Being ruthless was in Feng Ning’s bones, unchanged since childhood. She didn’t want to beat around the bush with him, directly replying:

Ning: [There’s no point bringing up the past.]

Jiang Wen replied quickly too.

-61nfiawj: [It was just a joke, why are you taking it so seriously?]

His casual line made Feng Ning clench her hand. She quickly reviewed in her mind everything that had happened these past few days. Though Jiang Wen’s personality had changed a lot, her attitude had been natural too.

Could it be that Shuang Yao’s words were right?

While you’re here agonizing over spring and autumn, perhaps others have already moved on.

Ning: [I’m not taking it seriously, forget it, just consider me overthinking.]

-61nfiawj: [I haven’t forgotten about the past, but that doesn’t mean I still care.]

After reading these words in her heart, finally, Feng Ning replied with two words: I understand.

Talking about feelings was awkward for both of them, being purely platonic friends wasn’t bad either.

The conversation ended there, Jiang Wen didn’t reply.

Feng Ning put down her phone.

The next day she went to meet with Su Liuru.

Su Liuru was her psychiatrist, and Feng Ning had been coming here regularly for psychological testing and treatment all these years.

“How’s your sleep lately?”

Feng Ning thought for a moment and answered honestly, “Not good.”

Su Liuru clasped her fingers together, asking gently: “Why? Is it work pressure, or something else?”

Feng Ning shook her head, “Neither.”

“Then what’s wrong, would you like to talk about it?”

After careful consideration, she said, “Maybe it’s because, I met someone.”

Su Liuru listened patiently.

Feng Ning said, “I once told him not to be stuck in the past, but now I realize, I was the one who’s been stuck all along. What should I do?”

Su Liuru guessed: “I’ve heard you mention him before, he was your high school boyfriend?”

“Yes, it’s him.”

Su Liuru understood, “Go on, I’m listening.”

Feng Ning: “When I think back to the days we were together now, it’s like drinking happy water laced with heroin. After drinking it I felt excited and happy, but my whole being was extremely, extremely tired.”

She paused, “I didn’t realize then that the exhaustion was caused by my illness. But I blamed all my fatigue on him. So while I enjoyed the feeling of being loved, I was also impatient with him, cold towards him, I couldn’t control myself.”

Facing Su Liuru, Feng Ning was always honest, “I didn’t do well enough, so we drifted apart. All these years, I haven’t let go, I feel guilty about how I handled that relationship.”

After listening, Su Liuru smiled: “So do you want to win him back now?”

Feng Ning shook her head, “I don’t. It’s just that whenever I think back, he gave me such precious feelings in his youth, but I couldn’t cherish them, I missed out. I don’t know how to resolve this regret and guilt.”

“Haven’t you thought about finding him these years?”

After a few minutes of silence, Feng Ning said: “I thought about it, but I didn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because many things have changed.”

Jiang Wen wasn’t the Jiang Wen from before.

And she was no longer the Feng Ning from back then.

Su Liuru patted her shoulder: “Remember what I said? Feng Ning, don’t blame yourself. If you feel pain about past events, then let them go.”

Since they had both changed.

Let the past stay in the past.

After talking with Su Liuru that day, Feng Ning’s mood became much calmer. She went to Beijing on a half-month business trip, and after returning, worked on projects with her senior, keeping busy day and night, temporarily having no time to think about these romantic matters.

Xiao Zhu was excitedly chattering in the cubicle: “Oh my god, I just finished interfacing with Maruko’s project manager, and when I was leaving their company, I think I saw their boss, he’s so young and handsome, incredibly handsome. When he passed by, I’m not exaggerating, my neck almost twisted off, my eyeballs almost fell on the ground.”

Someone asked curiously: “Maruko?”

Guan Tongfu: “It’s that overseas cash cow I mentioned before, they run chain hotels, just entered the Chinese market this year, it’s a multinational company.”

“Did you win the bid?”

Guan Tongfu raised his eyebrows confidently: “Almost, just one company left competing. Plus they’re looking for a translation company for long-term outsourcing this time.”

Feng Ning was bent over peeling an apple.

Xiao Zhu sidled up to her, “Boss Ning, I’ve earned such big business for you, no words of praise?”

After peeling off the last bit of skin, Feng Ning said: “Keep up the good work, we’ll talk when the money comes in.”

Xiao Zhu had a lovestruck expression: “Ah, Boss Ning, do you know? The handsome guy I just met at Maruko was really incredible. He had an assistant with him too, and I was thinking, even if we lower the price by another percentage point, I could accept it, that way I could see the handsome guy while doing business, hehe.”

Feng Ning took a bite of the apple.

Guan Tongfu couldn’t stand it, “Xiao Zhu you boy-crazy girl, haven’t you seen men before? Look at how little ambition you have!”

Xiao Zhu immediately counterattacked: “I have seen men! I see guys like you every day, how can I have any ambition? From head to toe, including your hair, you can’t compare to one finger of Maruko’s handsome boss!”

Guan Tongfu was furious: “—You!”

Feng Ning laughed listening to them argue, “Xiao Zhu, you like handsome guys? I’ll introduce you to some another day. Boss Ning might not have much, but I know lots of handsome guys, lined up in a queue.”

“Wow wow wow, really?!” Xiao Zhu screamed.

Feng Ning took another crisp bite of apple, drawling, “Of course not.”

Xiao Zhu immediately deflated.

Guan Tongfu looked up from his documents, mocking her: “If there were handsome guys, our Ningning would take them herself, why leave them for you? Besides, with our sister Ning being such a beauty, how could it be your turn to pick up leftovers?”

Xiao Zhu heard this very calmly, walked over, and said: “Guan Tofu, please turn around.”

Guan Tongfu: “What for?” He obliged and turned.

Xiao Zhu kicked his butt, “Get lost, you jerk!”

Amidst the laughter, Feng Ning was also in good spirits. After finishing everything, she picked up her phone to find Min Yueyue had called her more than ten times.

Seeing the sea of red missed calls, Feng Ning called her back, “What’s up?”

Min Yueyue: “Why did it take you so long to answer! Haven’t seen you for most of the past half month.”

After graduation, Min Yueyue worked at her family’s company, spending more than half of each month slacking off, completely unable to empathize with the busyness of office workers. Feng Ning sighed: “Miss Min, your humble servant has been busy with work, just got back from a business trip to Beijing.”

“Do you have any plans for the weekend?”

“No plans.” Feng Ning thought for a moment, “Probably catch up on sleep at home. Oh right, is your car fixed?”

“How could it be that fast? And why are you sleeping at home again? That’s not good, I don’t like seeing you all alone.”

After nagging for a while, the little princess said: “I want to invite a guy to go to Disneyland.”

“Which guy?”

“The one from the parking lot!”

Feng Ning raised her eyes, recalled for a moment, made an “oh” sound, “Up to you.”

“Come with us!”

Feng Ning was puzzled: “Why should I come along?”

“You’re just going to be free anyway, just come keep me company.”

Feng Ning couldn’t help saying, “You’re going to Disneyland with him? Don’t you have a boyfriend?”

Min Yueyue was unconcerned: “We broke up a few days ago.”

Feng Ning refused: “Then you two go, why call me? To be a third wheel? Three’s a crowd.”

“No, no, don’t you really understand?” Min Yueyue got anxious, “I like that guy, I want to pursue him. But I can’t be too obvious about it, even though I’m the one pursuing, I need to keep some dignity. We’re still in the ambiguous phase, I’m just flirting with him. Besides, I already told him I was going with you, I just casually invited him along, understand? If you don’t come, what am I supposed to tell him?”

Feng Ning still refused: “I don’t want to go, find someone else.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care, you must come with me.” Min Yueyue started throwing a tantrum on the phone again, “Otherwise I’ll go to your house today and beg until you agree, come on, please come, okay?”

In the end, she couldn’t resist Min Yueyue’s persistent pleading and agreed.

They arranged to meet at 7 AM Saturday morning outside a Starbucks in a Lujiazui CBD. Min Yueyue said they would watch the fireworks show at night and had booked a homestay near Disneyland for one night, reminding Feng Ning to bring a change of clothes.

At the meeting spot, Feng Ning was scrolling through Weibo on her phone while munching on a steamed bun.

Entering late September, Shanghai’s temperature had become unpredictable. Just a few days ago it was hot enough to roast people, then it rained yesterday, and today the temperature had suddenly dropped ten degrees. Feng Ning hadn’t brought a jacket, wearing only a long-sleeve t-shirt, and felt cold when the wind blew. Just as she was shivering, someone called her name from behind.

“Feng Ning.” It was Jiang Wen’s voice.

Feng Ning turned around, “Why are you here?” She quickly realized, “Are you going to Disneyland today too?”

Jiang Wen nodded.

Feng Ning fell silent.

Jiang Wen stood on the steps, wearing a light grey casual shirt today with silver half-frame glasses, which softened his alluring eyes, making his demeanor more gentle and scholarly.

Seeing this look on him for the first time, Feng Ning asked, “Are you nearsighted?”

Jiang Wen answered: “No prescription.”

Feng Ning held back what she was about to say.

Oh, so it was just for looks.

Feng Ning checked her watch – it was already five past seven. She craned her neck to look around: “Where are they?”

“Let’s give them some space.”

“What space?”

“Private space.” Jiang Wen’s face showed no expression: “Let’s go, I’m driving.”

Taking the elevator to the parking garage, in the elevator’s mirror, Jiang Wen stared at her.

Feng Ning kept her head down watching the numbers change on the elevator display, too absorbed to notice.

In her years in Shanghai, Feng Ning had never been to Disneyland. The longest line she’d ever waited in was for Ge Laoguan. So when she got to Disneyland’s entrance and faced the sea of people, she almost turned around and went home.

As soon as she saw Feng Ning, Min Yueyue exclaimed: “Ningning, why are you dressed so plainly today?”

Saying this, she put a big red bow hairband on Feng Ning’s head.

Feng Ning had a small face, almond eyes, and an oval face. Wearing the exaggerated Mickey Mouse headband with her smooth black hair falling down, she suddenly showed a girlish charm. Min Yueyue was very satisfied and took several selfies with her.

When it was just the two of them, Feng Ning lowered her voice to question, “If you were planning to come with Bai Hongyi anyway, what was the point of calling me?”

Min Yueyue’s voice carried a hint of coaxing, “Wasn’t I just trying to create an opportunity for you and your ex-boyfriend?”

“I don’t need it.”

After spending half a month adjusting her mindset, when facing Jiang Wen again, Feng Ning was much calmer. She said, “Don’t worry about things between him and me, we know what we’re doing.”

Min Yueyue acted as if she hadn’t heard, excitedly whispering like she’d discovered something new: “Oh my god, Ningning, where did you get such a wild love bite on your neck, things must have been intense!”

“What?” Feng Ning touched her neck, “What love bite, this is a mosquito bite from a few days ago.”

The queues at Disneyland could make you feel despair before even entering. Just getting into the park took them at least an hour and a half.

While queuing, Min Yueyue and Bai Hongyi were talking, and Jiang Wen stood behind her. After all these years, he seemed to have grown even taller.

Several times when Feng Ning turned her head to look for Min Yueyue, she would catch his gaze.

Jiang Wen had his hands in his pockets, not lowering his head when looking at people, only lowering his eyes.

As casual as ever.

She looked at him directly without avoiding his gaze, asking pleasantly, “What’s with that look?”

Jiang Wen was like performing a silent mime, not making a sound, looking elsewhere.

Feng Ning thought, did I offend you?

They bought fast passes and spent nearly an hour checking off the trending TRON Lightcycle Power Run from Douyin.

There were small kiosks selling souvenirs by the road, and Min Yueyue excitedly went to browse.

By now, Feng Ning had only eaten two steamed buns. She was a bit hungry and went to buy a hot dog from the popcorn stand. When scanning to pay, she discovered it was actually forty yuan, and nearly coughed up blood.

Disneyland’s prices were practically robbery, no wonder children’s money was the easiest to earn.

Enduring her bleeding heart, she tore open Stitch’s packaging, took a couple of bites, and was struck by another bolt from the blue. Feng Ning nearly spat it out – in all her life she had never eaten such an awful sausage.

She turned the bitten hot dog over and over, suspecting something was wrong with her taste buds. After several moments of hesitation, she continued eating.

—Feng Ning never wasted food, and having spent forty yuan, no matter how bad it tasted or how hard it was to swallow, she would finish it.

Feng Ning randomly chose a chair to sit down.

As she focused on dealing with this expensive hot dog, something suddenly landed beside her.

Looking up, it was Jiang Wen.

Feng Ning pushed it aside to look, using her other hand to take out what was inside, finding it was a fluffy hooded scarf. “What’s this for?”

Jiang Wen tilted his head, lifting his chin: “To cover up.”

“Cover what?” She followed his line of sight, lowered her head slightly, and instantly understood.

Feng Ning took out the Florida water she always carried in her backpack, sprayed some on her palm, and dabbed it on the red mark on her neck.

…

…

After a full day, Feng Ning opened her phone’s WeChat step counter. It showed she had walked seventeen kilometers.

Consider that she was usually too busy with work to even go to the gym. Occasionally when free she would go running, but she really couldn’t handle Disneyland’s various endless queues. She felt like the little mermaid from the fairy tale walking on knife edges – every step was piercingly painful.

Although Disneyland was in the suburbs, the nearby town was quite lively. After Min Yueyue finished watching the fireworks, it was already 8:30, and they went to find a Shanghai restaurant to eat.

While waiting for the food to arrive, Shuang Yao sent her a classic clip of Master Guo Degang.

Min Yueyue and Bai Hongyi were chatting, and no one was paying attention to her. Feng Ning put on her earphones by herself, immersed in Master Guo’s crosstalk performance, unable to help laughing.

After watching for a while, the internet suddenly cut out. After checking her cellular data, Feng Ning turned to call Min Yueyue: “Let me connect to your phone’s WiFi, I need to top up my phone credit.”

Min Yueyue tossed a French fry into her mouth: “Oh my, I’m eating and too lazy to take out my phone, just connect to Jiang Wen’s.”

Feng Ning opened Bluetooth and immediately saw “-61nfiawj”. She clicked on it, “What’s your password?”

Jiang Wen was sitting opposite her and was about to speak when Feng Ning interrupted him, “Wait, there are too many people here.” She took out paper and pen and passed it to him, “Better write it down.”

He leaned back in his chair, grabbing the pen with one hand, wrote the password on the paper, and pushed it to her.

Feng Ning picked it up to look – a messy scrawl of ugly characters.

ytxwz92459111499959

She started inputting the password. After typing ytxwz, she hesitated slightly, feeling something flash through her mind.

Just then, Bai Hongyi who was beside her glanced at the password on the paper, “Ryan, you really use the same password for everything, aren’t you afraid of getting your accounts hacked?”

Jiang Wen didn’t seem to care much, “Used to it, too lazy to change.”

Min Yueyue also leaned over to look: “What?”

Bai Hongyi shook his head: “I helped him with course selection before, his student ID password was this too. To be honest, I even tried logging into his WeChat later, and it worked, but he still won’t change it. Don’t know why he’s so attached to this password.”

Min Yueyue took the paper: “ytxwz… hey, is this short for Chibi Maruko-chan (in Mandarin han yu pin yin)?”

“Is it?” Bai Hongyi hadn’t noticed this before, “Seems like it.”

Min Yueyue looked at Jiang Wen, “Wouldn’t have guessed, handsome Jiang, you actually like Chibi Maruko-chan, such a girlish heart.”

Bai Hongyi teased: “Yeah, Ryan is more girly than most girls.”

Min Yueyue eagerly pursued the question, “Then what do these numbers mean?”

Bai Hongyi pondered briefly, “Nothing special, just some lottery numbers.”

“Lottery?? Why would someone use lottery numbers as a password, did you win?” Min Yueyue found it intriguing and somewhat romantic, “Or does it have some other meaning?”

Jiang Wen’s expression remained unchanged as he said dismissively: “Past things… don’t really remember anymore.”

“Then why do you keep using it?”

“Bit old-fashioned.”

The blue icon showed the hotspot connection was successful. Feng Ning’s lips pressed into a line.

Thinking of what he said that night.

—I haven’t forgotten about the past, but that doesn’t mean I still care.

Feng Ning could only play deaf and dumb. She quickly topped up her phone credit, disconnected from Jiang Wen’s hotspot, and thanked him with forced calmness.

Opening WeChat’s phone credit top-up page, buying a few megabytes of data package, she put her earphones back on, shutting out their conversation.

Min Yueyue changed the subject: “Weren’t you starting a business abroad, why did you suddenly decide to come back?”

“Don’t know.” Jiang Wen raised his eyebrows slightly, “Felt like that place wasn’t where I belonged, so I came back.”

Min Yueyue noticed the little charm on Feng Ning’s phone and said without thinking, “Ningning likes Chibi Maruko-chan too, you two really have a connection…”

After she spoke, Bai Hongyi didn’t catch anything unusual. Jiang Wen paused slightly but showed no reaction.

Feng Ning didn’t hear it.

The comment passed by lightly.

None of them could handle spicy food very well, so they ordered dishes that were mostly sweet. Although Feng Ning rarely ate Shanghai cuisine normally, she had been hungry all day, having only eaten a forty-yuan hot dog and a few steamed buns, so now she was famished and even vegetables looked delicious.

She ate quickly, and midway through, she received a WeChat message.

Seeing the name, she first looked up at the person across from her.

Jiang Wen was turned to the side, talking with Bai Hongyi.

Feng Ning lowered her eyes and unlocked her phone.

Jiang Wen had sent two photos and an emoji – a Corgi peeking through a door crack.

The photos were ones he had just taken, from half an hour ago, of her unconsciously smiling while watching crosstalk videos.

Across the table, Feng Ning looked up at him again, typing one-handed to chat with him on WeChat:

Ning: [Why are you secretly taking photos of me?]

-61nfiawj: [This dog looks a bit like you.]

Ning: [……..]

…

…

After finishing dinner and paying the bill, Bai Hongyi and Jiang Wen went outside to smoke. Min Yueyue’s legs were also sore, so the two women sat resting in their seats. She said half-seriously: “I think Jiang Wen is trying to flirt with you.”

Feng Ning ignored her words.

“Is handsome Jiang still hung up on old feelings for you?”

Min Yueyue looked at her thoughtfully, “My intuition says he still has some kind of, subtle ambiguity towards you.”

Feng Ning didn’t acknowledge her: “Young lady, stop making things up in your head.”

“How am I making things up?” Min Yueyue wasn’t convinced, “Why are you so dense? Let me give you an example.”

“Just now when you were eating, you were so focused. Basically didn’t look up at all, right? Then when I was getting food, as I was putting down my chopsticks, a drop of oil fell on the back of your hand. Before I could even react, Jiang Wen had already passed you a tissue. But you just glanced at the tissue, took it, and still didn’t look at him. If there’s nothing going on between you two, who would believe that?”

Feng Ning didn’t know what to say for a moment, she asked: “Then what?”

Min Yueyue: “What do you mean then?”

Feng Ning: “Nothing then.”

The homestay they booked was nearby, and the group went to check in.

It was an independent villa, with Min Yueyue and Feng Ning staying on the second floor. They each went back to their rooms to shower.

While Min Yueyue was showering, she called from the bathroom, “Ningning, there’s no conditioner here, can you help me buy a bottle from the convenience store next door? Also, get a hydrating face mask, I forgot to bring one.”

Feng Ning grabbed her keys, dragging her tired body out the door.

This whole area was a homestay district, very quiet. Walking on the pebble-paved path, it was dark all around, with only dim, flickering lights.

Feng Ning turned into an alley, not expecting to run into anyone.

Hearing movement, Jiang Wen turned his head.

After a few seconds of silent eye contact, Feng Ning understood his meaning, thinking she had disturbed his solitude. She was about to walk around him when he blocked her path.

“…?”

Jiang Wen leaned against the wall, pressing his finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.

He was close, and tall. She stepped back slightly.

It was quite dark here. After a while, when Feng Ning’s eyes had somewhat adjusted to the light, she finally noticed a couple kissing in the corner ahead.

She asked quietly: “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Wen opened his palm, revealing a lighter and half a pack of cigarettes.

Feng Ning glanced at the passionate couple, who were kissing intensely, and turned her head: “You’re not leaving?”

Jiang Wen’s long eyebrows and narrow eyes held a hint of amusement, handsome with a touch of gloom, “Interrupt others at a time like this?”

Can’t you take another route?

Feng Ning couldn’t be bothered with him anymore, sarcastically saying: “So you’re waiting here, planning to watch a live show?”

Jiang Wen casually lit a cigarette, still in that flat tone: “If you want to, I don’t mind keeping you company.”

Author’s Note: Jiang Wen has grown up and become flirty!