The journey had exhausted all her energy, and Lan Yan finally fell asleep.
Her days and nights inverted, she woke up without feeling refreshed. She picked up her phone to check the time—it was already one in the afternoon.
She got up to find her slippers, only to remember that Liang Jingchuan had taken them away. She had no choice but to go downstairs barefoot.
The curtains were fully drawn, leaving the room dim and impossible to tell morning from evening.
Liang Jingchuan lay on the sofa, covered with a blanket, still deep in sleep.
Lan Yan did not wake him. She already felt a bit guilty for disturbing him so late the previous night.
She considered ordering takeout so they could eat together when he woke up, but she did not know the building number here. Going to the kitchen to prepare something might wake him.
She had eaten a bowl of udon noodles before bed, so she was not hungry at the moment.
There was a leather cushion on the rug next to the coffee table. She sat down on it, opened WeChat, and replied to messages.
First, she informed the family group of her whereabouts. Then, she messaged Chu Lansun, saying she would report back to the studio the day after tomorrow on time. Finally, she messaged Lu Ying to make plans for dinner.
With the New Year approaching, it was the peak time for the hotel industry to rush KPIs, so Lu Ying was probably busy and had not seen the message yet.
Lan Yan set her phone down and noticed several documents on the coffee table. She glanced at the covers—they seemed to be a restricted stock agreement, a shareholder agreement, an employment contract, and the like.
Liang Jingchuan had mentioned before that he planned to withdraw from Clear Source Creation, probably preparing for that by studying these contracts.
Lan Yan did not rudely flip through them until she noticed the one at the very bottom, which appeared to be a non-competition agreement.
She glanced at the sofa—Liang Jingchuan was still asleep.
After a moment’s hesitation, she gently pulled out the Non-Competition and Confidentiality Agreement.
She brought it under the coffee table, lit up her phone’s backlight, and skimmed through it quickly, finding the key points.
【As a senior executive and core technical personnel, Party B shall bear confidentiality obligations… shall not join or engage in any business competing with Party A, including but not limited to taking positions, starting businesses, inducing…】
【Restriction period: 2 years…】
【During the non-competition period after resignation, Party A shall pay Party B monthly economic compensation, calculated at 30% of the average salary of the 12 months prior to resignation…】
【If the agreement is violated, Party B shall pay liquidated damages to Party A…】
Lan Yan read with furrowed brows. She turned off her phone, closed the contract, and put it back.
She looked toward the sofa again. After a moment, she picked up her phone once more and searched, “Does the non-competition agreement automatically activate upon resignation?”
She skimmed through the results and locked her phone screen.
The space fell back into dim obscurity.
She hugged her knees and zoned out for a while. Then she looked up at the person on the sofa, stared for a moment, got up, moved closer to him, and squatted down.
Was this person still managing his image subconsciously even in sleep? Otherwise, how could his sleeping posture be so proper?
She watched for a long time until her feet started to go numb. Just as Lan Yan was about to stand, Liang Jingchuan frowned slightly, slowly opened his eyes, focused his gaze, and paused.
“…Are you trying to scare me to death?” His hoarse voice carried a hint of amusement.
A surge of complex, hard-to-name emotions welled up, flooding her heart. Lan Yan stood up, took a step back, and said casually, “You sleep without making a sound…”
“Worried I was dead?”
“…”
Liang Jingchuan sat up and asked with a smile, “When did you get up? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Just now.”
“Hungry? Order takeout, or shall we go out to eat?”
“Takeout. I haven’t washed up yet.”
The curtains opened, revealing the dull, gray-white sky of winter. Accustomed to Penang’s perpetually clear blue skies, she struggled to adapt to this gloom, feeling as if a heavy stone weighed on her heart.
After washing up and changing clothes, they ate takeout. Lan Yan booked a cleaner on her phone, planning to head back to her rental first to clean it up, then go home for dinner in the evening.
Since he needed to go to the company to sign an urgent document, Liang Jingchuan drove to the industrial park first.
He parked in the underground garage, got out, and told her to wait in the car—he would be down in at most fifteen minutes.
On WeChat, Lu Ying had replied. Lan Yan chatted idly with her and set a plan to eat hotpot together tomorrow evening.
She switched to Moments and scrolled for a bit when someone knocked on the window.
Lan Yan looked up abruptly, thinking it was Liang Jingchuan. Looking out through the window, the person standing outside was actually Chen Boyu.
She lowered her head, not wanting to acknowledge him, and continued scrolling on her phone.
Chen Boyu did not leave. He stood outside the window and, after a moment, knocked lightly again.
Lan Yan frowned slightly, pressed the window button, and the window rolled down. She looked out expressionlessly.
Chen Boyu wore a camel-colored cashmere coat, one hand in his pocket, unable to hide his awkwardness. “…Jingchuan said you went abroad recently. Have you finished your work?”
Lan Yan remained silent, unable to understand how he could talk to her so casually.
Chen Boyu knew Lan Yan well. When she put on a cold face, she kept strangers at bay. But after their close relationship was revoked, this coldness was even harder to bear than her attitude toward strangers.
Even so, he looked at her, ignoring the indifference in her gaze, and said, “I’ve always wanted to find an opportunity to apologize to you properly…”
“No need. Anything else?” Lan Yan interrupted him.
The atmosphere grew tense. Chen Boyu gave a bitter smile, as if mocking his own embarrassment. “No… It’s just been a while. I saw someone in the car who looked like you. Knowing you definitely didn’t want to see me, I still couldn’t help coming over to say hi…”
“Then you’ve said hi.” Lan Yan looked straight ahead.
Three months had passed, and the past events no longer stirred any waves in her heart.
“…Yeah.” Chen Boyu took half a step back. “Sorry… for disturbing you.”
Footsteps approached from not far ahead.
Chen Boyu turned to look, and Lan Yan raised her eyes. Through the front windshield, she saw Liang Jingchuan walking over.
Liang Jingchuan’s gaze fixed for an instant, but his steps did not stop. He said flatly, “Finished lunch with President Xu?”
Chen Boyu made an “mm” sound.
“The documents are already signed by Sister Shan and me. I’ll drop her off home, then come back for the meeting.”
Chen Boyu nodded and stepped aside further.
Liang Jingchuan went straight to the driver’s seat, opened the door, got in, nodded to Chen Boyu through the window, and raised it.
Chen Boyu backed up further to make space for the car to pull out. With the glass window between them, the person in the passenger seat became an unattainable silhouette once more.
As the car drove out, Liang Jingchuan turned to look at Lan Yan several times, gauging if she was upset by the encounter.
“What did Chen Boyu say to you?”
“Said hi. And wanted to apologize.”
Liang Jingchuan nodded.
Lan Yan looked at him. “You said you’re preparing to withdraw—have you mentioned it to Chen Boyu yet?”
“Not yet. After the next phase of R&D deployment ends, I’ll help him find a few suitable successors. If I withdraw, it might affect the company’s next round of financing valuation, so I’ll have to make up for it with R&D results. As friends, even if we part ways, at least I’ll have a clear conscience.”
“…That matter is already in the past for me. I won’t hold it against you. You don’t have to cut ties with him.”
“I’m not willing to work long-term with the ex-boyfriend of someone I like.”
“…I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
Lan Yan sighed inwardly. “You’re so capable—how could Chen Boyu possibly let you go easily?”
“I have differences with him on future development directions too. He wants to focus on commercialization; I hope for more funding into R&D. If we can’t align, parting ways is inevitable. The manner of exit can be negotiated. As for Chen Boyu… I’m not speaking up for him, but from what I know, he won’t deliberately make things difficult.”
Lan Yan bit her lip.
She was not one to overestimate her importance to Chen Boyu, but from a common-sense perspective, how many people could accept their good brother getting together with their ex-girlfriend?
Everything Liang Jingchuan said presupposed that Chen Boyu did not yet know he was pursuing her. Once he found out, would Chen Boyu still agree to let him exit peacefully?
Liang Jingchuan glanced at her. “Don’t worry about it. This is between Chen Boyu and me. I can handle it properly.”
Lan Yan made an “mm” sound. The heaviness in her heart did not lift at all, but she said nothing more.
The car reached the residential complex entrance. Liang Jingchuan helped carry her suitcase upstairs. With business still to attend to, he had to leave first, saying that if the meeting ended early, he would come pick her up to go home together.
“No need. I’ll go back myself once the cleaning is done.”
Liang Jingchuan could not guarantee when the meeting would end, so he did not insist.
In the afternoon, Lan Yan spent three hours with the cleaner tidying up the apartment that had accumulated three months of dust.
She threw the dirty clothes that had not been washed in time from her suitcase into the washing machine, ordered takeout to restock the fridge, took the trash bags downstairs to discard, went to a nearby flower shop to buy a bunch of eustoma, and arranged them in the azure blue vase on the console table.
The room was spotless, everything back in its place.
It was as if everything had returned to normal.
She dug out the souvenirs from her suitcase for Lan Junwen and Liang Xiaoxia, called a cab at the door, and went home.
Upon entering, a rich aroma hit her. Lan Junwen was busy in the kitchen, seemingly preparing to show off his skills.
It had been three months since they last met. The usually taciturn Lan Junwen toward his daughter spoke more, chatting for a while and confirming she was safe and sound before returning to the kitchen.
Lan Yan gave the aromatherapy essential oil she brought back to Liang Xiaoxia. Liang Xiaoxia sniffed it close to her nose and loved it.
“Just in time—I have a gift for you too.” Liang Xiaoxia got up and headed to the bedroom. “Wait a sec.”
Moments later, she returned to the living room with two white satin drawstring bags in hand.
She did not take out the items, placing them on the coffee table like a tease and pushing them toward Lan Yan to open herself.
Lan Yan untied the smaller drawstring bag and pulled out its contents, instantly stunned.
It was a white genuine leather underarm bag.
The other bag, unsurprisingly, held a grass-green tote bag.
Liang Xiaoxia smiled and said, “These two styles got the highest votes in our internal poll. They’re from the first batch of mass production—limited quantity, just a few hundred each, set to go on pre-sale next week. I specially grabbed two so Yanyan could carry them first.”
Lan Yan’s throat tightened. “…Thank you, Auntie. The real thing is even prettier than the renders.”
“We made some adjustments to the fit based on samples. The young girls in our design department all said they love them.”
“…I love them too.”
“Will you carry them?”
“I will.”
Liang Xiaoxia’s smile made her eyes sparkle with warmth. “That’s perfect.”
She sat beside Lan Yan, picked up the white underarm bag, lowered her voice, and spoke more sincerely. “I heard from Jingchuan that you two are getting along very well now. After all these years, seeing you like real brother and sister, so close and loving—I’m truly delighted, Auntie.”
Lan Yan could not speak. After a moment, she murmured, “…Liang Jingchuan takes good care of me.”
“That’s what he should do. In the future, don’t hesitate to boss him around if you need anything.”
No one knew better than Lan Yan that, all these years, it had been Liang Xiaoxia and Liang Jingchuan trying every way to accommodate her emotions, constantly extending goodwill, approaching her cautiously, carefully gauging the distance, bit by bit attempting to truly merge the two families.
She admitted she could not handle such kindness. At that moment, she felt like sitting on pins and needles, desperate to flee.
But she did not. She tried on both bags. Liang Xiaoxia praised how she made them look ten times more expensive than the price tag.
After stowing the bags in her bedroom, Lan Yan stayed in her room for a good while before coming out.
The main dishes were ready. In the group chat, Liang Jingchuan said he was almost at the complex entrance, so Lan Junwen started stir-frying the vegetables.
Lan Yan and Liang Xiaoxia brought the dishes to the table. Soon, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance.
The door opened, and the man in a black coat, handsome and refined, walked in holding a large bouquet. His gaze passed through the living room, greeting Liang Xiaoxia first before lingering on Lan Yan’s face for an instant.
He changed into slippers and walked to the dining room. Liang Xiaoxia took the flowers from him and smiled. “Which girl gave you these?”
“…Bought on promotion from the flower shop downstairs.”
Liang Xiaoxia grabbed a vase from the sideboard and headed to the kitchen to fill it with water, preparing to arrange them. “What flowers are these? Lilies?”
“The flower shop said it’s a six-petal lily, a type of lily.” He paused and looked toward Lan Yan. “The flower language is ‘looking forward to meeting again.’”
Lan Yan felt a heart-pounding sense of dread, but her face grew even more expressionless.
Liang Xiaoxia’s laughter drifted from the kitchen. “Pretty romantic. It would be even more romantic if some girl sent it to you.”
Soon, the whole bunch of pink six-petal lilies was arranged in a vase and brought to the dining table, adding vibrancy to the spread of dishes.
Lan Junwen served the final dish—stir-fried lettuce—washed his hands, and took his seat.
Everyone raised their glasses of fruit juice. At Liang Xiaoxia’s suggestion, they clinked them first, congratulating Lan Yan on wrapping up her work smoothly so she wouldn’t have to spend the New Year stranded in a foreign country.
Under the chandelier, Lan Junwen glanced at Lan Yan. “You don’t look tanned at all.”
“Most of the time was spent indoors,” Lan Yan said.
“Was it fun over there?” Liang Xiaoxia asked. “Next time we get the chance, our whole family should go together again.”
“It was fun. But there aren’t many places to visit. You could pair it with Kuala Lumpur.”
Liang Xiaoxia nodded. “Whenever Yanyan and Jingchuan both have time off.”
Lan Junwen said, “The downside of working is it’s hard to sync schedules, unlike before when they had winter and summer breaks.”
Liang Xiaoxia replied, “Jingchuan is practically half the boss, so he’s got some flexibility.”
“Yesterday at dinner with Engineer Wang, he mentioned his nephew started his own business too. Tinkered for over half a year and lost all his money. For Jingchuan and the others to succeed like this—it’s perfect timing, location, and people.”
Liang Xiaoxia smiled. “It only counts as real success when their company goes public. Otherwise, the shares are just numbers on paper, and they’re still drawing a fixed salary.”
“That salary isn’t something just anyone can pull in.”
Normally, Liang Jingchuan would chime in on the topic at this point, but right then, all his attention was on Lan Yan.
For some reason, she seemed a bit distracted.
After dinner, Liang Xiaoxia suggested Lan Yan practice the mahjong skills she had finally picked up. Lan Yan smiled and said she had spent the whole previous day rushing back and was tired, so she planned to turn in early.
Liang Xiaoxia asked, “Then you’ll sleep here at home, or…”
Lan Yan started to say she would head back to her place but caught herself—Liang Xiaoxia would surely have Liang Jingchuan drive her. She changed her words. “I’ll just stay here.”
She sat and rested for a bit, then went to the bathroom to freshen up. After bidding goodnight to everyone, she returned to her room.
Liang Jingchuan sat in the living room, gazing at the tightly shut bedroom door with a slight frown.
He picked up his water glass for a sip and asked Liang Xiaoxia evenly, “Did Lan Yan say anything when she got back?”
“No,” Liang Xiaoxia said, puzzled. “What’s up?”
“She seems a little unhappy.”
“Does she? Before you got back, she was chatting happily with me. Did you do something to upset her?”
“…”
“She’s probably just tired.”
The door stayed shut for a long time. He had no idea if the person inside had already fallen asleep. Liang Jingchuan lingered a while longer. He really wanted to knock and ask, but he had no right to.
He pulled out his phone and sent Lan Yan a WeChat message.
【ljc：。。。】
No reply came.