Lan Yan didn’t remember what time she had fallen asleep. The last time she had chatted until she was completely blacked out before sleeping was right after graduating and returning to South City, when she had stayed up all night gossiping with Lu Ying.
When the alarm rang, she jolted awake. A massive amount of information flooded into her brain like a tidal wave, leaving her dazed for a few seconds.
She immediately reached out to touch the quilt beside her. Naturally, it was empty.
Her head throbbed as she crawled up, slipped on her slippers, and walked out of the bedroom. On the coffee table, she saw the bouquet of light blue roses, and on the sofa, she found her plush penguin.
She went to the dining room to pour herself a glass of water and noticed a note pressed under a glass.
【Yanyan:
Left first. See you tomorrow night.】
She sipped her water, unlocked her phone, found Liang Jingchuan’s avatar, and tapped it open.
【blueblue: I dreamed last night that you turned into my boyfriend. So weird, right?】
She casually tapped the three dots in the upper right corner and enabled 【Pin to Top】 for the chat.
She wasn’t sure if Liang Jingchuan’s flight had taken off yet and didn’t expect a reply, but by the time she finished pinning it and returned, his message had already come through.
【ljc: What a coincidence. I also dreamed that you turned into my girlfriend. Not weird at all.】
Lan Yan’s lips curved up.
【blueblue: Haven’t taken off yet?】
【ljc: About to.】
【ljc: Miss you.】
【ljc: Do you miss me?】
【blueblue: …You’re so clingy.】
【ljc: Then I won’t message you for the next two hours.】
【blueblue: Oh no.】
【ljc: Taking off now. See you tomorrow.】
【blueblue: Waiting for you.】
【ljc: Waiting for what?】
Lan Yan searched for a “block warning” emoji sticker and sent it over.
She had arranged to meet Liang Manxi and the others at the neighborhood entrance. After washing up, Lan Yan headed out. The sky was clear today, and it might even get sunny later.
She bought breakfast at a convenience store, ate it, and waited by the roadside. Soon, that eye-catching business car pulled up. Yu Wancheng, who was in the passenger seat, got out and opened the door for her.
“Good morning, Miss Lan.”
“Good morning.” Lan Yan smiled in response.
She got in the car and chatted idly with Liang Manxi for a bit. The air inside was warm, and Lan Yan started yawning frequently.
“Sister, didn’t you sleep well?”
“…Yeah.”
“Do you need us to take you back to rest first?”
“No need, it’s fine. I’ll walk it off after we get out.”
The old city district had a street lined with sycamore trees and Republic-era buildings that complemented each other beautifully. It was perfect for a stroll, not too long, which suited Liang Manxi’s reluctance to walk much.
It was only February, so the sycamore trees hadn’t sprouted new leaves yet—a slight imperfection—but the heritage buildings along the road were still worth appreciating carefully.
As they passed a small brick Western-style house hidden behind a cluster of rose bushes, Lan Yan opened WeChat, tapped into the pinned chat, and was about to hit the “camera” button when she thought better of it. She switched to the phone’s camera instead, carefully composed the shot, took a photo, and sent it over.
After strolling that street, they turned into a nearby alley lined with creative product shops and cafes, which clearly suited Liang Manxi’s taste much better.
One tiny shop, less than forty square feet, was crammed full of the owner’s original little trinkets. Liang Manxi was in her element, diving in and not coming out. Seeing there was no hope of moving her, the other two men simply went to the adjacent cafe to sit and wait.
Lan Yan followed behind Liang Manxi, casually browsing. She hadn’t planned to buy anything until she spotted two keychains.
Blue crystal resin little fish, blowing bubbles—one big, one small, chubby and utterly adorable.
She didn’t want to buy them, but they practically had her name written on them.
Lan Yan picked up the keychains and asked the shop owner, “Are these the only two left?”
The shop owner glanced over. “No, these keychains are all handmade by me. Each design is unique. I only made these two little fish ones.”
Now it would be unreasonable not to buy them.
Afterward, Lan Yan led the group to a serene bookshop tucked away from the bustle. For lunch, they ate at a nearby vegetarian restaurant with a very distinctive style.
Throughout the morning, whenever she saw something interesting, she snapped a photo and sent it to Liang Jingchuan.
The restaurant’s private room was separated by bamboo curtains, exceptionally quiet. After ordering, they sipped tea and chatted idly. Lan Yan’s phone on the table vibrated once.
She picked it up and couldn’t help but smile.
【ljc: Getting boyfriend privileges like this has me feeling spoiled.】
【blueblue: Landed?】
【ljc: Still taxiing.】
【blueblue: Lunch plans?】
【ljc: Yes. Heading straight there after landing.】
Lan Yan was about to keep typing when she heard Liang Manxi say, “Sister, don’t you have other work to do today?”
“No, I took the day off.”
“Oh, oh, good then. I saw you handling messages the whole time and was worried I was holding you up.”
“Sorry…” Lan Yan immediately set her phone face down. “My boyfriend just landed and was checking in, so we chatted a bit more.”
“No, no, it’s fine…” Liang Manxi paused. “So Sister, you’re not single?”
And Yu Wancheng, sitting across from her, had looked up the moment she mentioned “boyfriend.”
Lan Yan took a sip from her teacup. “Yeah… just got out of singlehood.”
Yu Wancheng: “…Last night?”
Lan Yan nodded with a smile.
She had never been one to flaunt things. She could easily have said it was a friend checking in, but mentioning “boyfriend” was deliberate.
Yu Wancheng naturally understood the implication. He looked away, his expression still calm, but his tone carried a hint of bitterness: “Congratulations.”
Liang Manxi sensed she might have missed some “big gossip” and quickly asked, “What happened last night?”
Lan Yan just smiled. “Nothing, really.”
After lunch, while the others went to the restroom one by one, Lan Yan finally picked up her phone again.
Liang Jingchuan’s last message was just “In the car now.” Since she hadn’t replied, he hadn’t sent anything else or asked why she hadn’t responded.
She knew it—they had similar styles in everything, and that compatibility wouldn’t change just because they’d become boyfriend and girlfriend.
Lan Yan hung out with them all day and took them to the night market in the evening. Due to lack of sleep, when she got home that night, she planned to shower and sleep, but collapsed on the sofa and passed out directly.
Until her phone buzzed in her pocket. Groggily, she answered the call. The voice on the phone overlapped with one at the door—her takeout had arrived.
Lan Yan was puzzled but told them to leave it at the door.
She heard the delivery guy run downstairs, went over, and opened the door.
On the floor was a delicate paper bag printed with a certain dessert shop’s logo. She picked it up, went inside, and checked WeChat. Sure enough, there was a message from Liang Jingchuan.
【ljc: This shop’s new item looks great. Want to try it?】
Sent forty minutes ago. Probably because she hadn’t replied, he’d just placed the order.
Lan Yan took out the exquisitely shaped desserts from the bag, snapped a photo, and sent it.
【blueblue: I gained so much weight over the holiday.】
【ljc: Doesn’t feel like it to me.】
【blueblue: …Don’t say stuff like that on WeChat.】
The previous message was immediately withdrawn.
【ljc: Sorry.】
Lan Yan knew Liang Jingchuan might have misunderstood. She wasn’t opposed to textual flirting per se, but for her, seeing it in text was just too embarrassingly intense.
【blueblue: No need to apologize. That’s not what I meant.】
【ljc: ?】
【ljc: What do you mean? I don’t get it.】
【blueblue: …Never mind.】
She withdrew the “Don’t say stuff like that on WeChat” message.
A while later, Liang Jingchuan replied.
【ljc: Quite the tactic.】
Lan Yan laughed out loud.
The box had four pastries. She ate one and put the rest in the fridge, then went to wash up.
She lay down in bed, and sleepiness hit soon after.
She messaged Liang Jingchuan that she was going to sleep.
Liang Jingchuan replied “Good” and told her to rest well.
【blueblue: Where are you? Still out eating?】
【ljc: Been back at the hotel a while.】
【blueblue: What are you doing?】
【ljc: Waiting for you to reply.】
【blueblue: …Do something productive?】
【ljc: This is.】
【ljc: No more chatting, Yanyan. I know you haven’t rested well. Go to sleep.】
【blueblue: Take a look.】
【ljc: ?】
【blueblue: Which word don’t you understand?】
【ljc: The whole thing.】
Lan Yan stopped bantering and directly called him on video. But right before it connected, embarrassment surged again, and she quickly reached out to turn off the room’s main light.
Liang Jingchuan’s face appeared on the screen. He seemed to be sitting in a chair at the hotel room’s desk, propping his face with one hand, wearing only a black T-shirt.
Whether due to the lighting or the front camera’s flattery, his face looked so handsome up close that she felt a bit shy to stare directly. Good thing he couldn’t see her.
Liang Jingchuan gazed at the lens. “You didn’t turn on your camera?”
“…No lights on.”
“Oh, so ‘take a look’ just means looking at me, huh.”
“Not allowed?”
“Allowed.”
“Aren’t you cold?” Lan Yan asked.
“Not cold. You’ve been in North City for so many years—forgot how warm the indoors get in winter here?”
“Yeah, kinda forgot.”
“The place I ate at today wasn’t far from your school. I went and strolled around.”
“Any changes?”
“Dunno. Back then, when I went to find you, I was too busy looking at you to notice what the school was like.”
“You didn’t come find me that many times anyway.”
“Need a reason to find you?”
The five years they both lived in North City had been the most distant period in their relationship. Even in the same city, their schools were ten or twenty kilometers apart in different districts. Aside from things like delivering medicine at their parents’ request or bringing mooncakes sent from home for Mid-Autumn Festival, Liang Jingchuan rarely had an excuse to call Lan Yan out.
Back then, he had looked forward to winter and summer breaks even more than high school, because even if she went traveling with friends, she always spent a few days at home.
“I went to North City for school to avoid you guys,” Lan Yan said.
“I know. You can still go hide wherever you want now.”
“You’ll just chase after anyway, right?” Lan Yan teased.
Liang Jingchuan smiled.
The darkness made Lan Yan a bit more candid. She could stare at his face this close-up, but it also brewed some sleepiness, making her yawn involuntarily.
“Go to sleep, Yanyan.”
“Yeah.”
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
The image on the screen didn’t disappear. After a moment, Liang Jingchuan said, “You hang up.”
“…Yeah.”
Liang Jingchuan chuckled softly. “You won’t hang up, won’t let me see you—what are you trying to do?”
“Want to hold you.”
She saw Liang Jingchuan’s expression freeze for a second, then his gaze shifted away from the lens, his face turning to the side, almost entirely blocked by his palm.
“…No warning before pulling out the big guns?” His voice was muffled, clearly uncomfortable.
“This isn’t the big guns.”
“Then what is?”
Lan Yan fell silent, hung up the video call.
Her fingers hovered over the input box, paused for a second, overcame the embarrassment, typed it out in one go, and hit send.
She tossed the phone aside, pulled the quilt up over her head, burying herself completely.
A while later, she heard the phone vibrate.
She reached her hand out from under the quilt, grabbed the plush penguin by the pillow, hugged it tight, and only then opened WeChat while hiding under the covers.
【blueblue: Want to sleep with you.】
【blueblue: This is.】
【ljc: If you don’t want me to sleep well, just say so. No need for such dirty tricks.】
Lan Yan laughed, her shoulders trembling slightly.
【blueblue: You have my photos.】
【ljc: There’s no way I’d do that to my “A-Beibei.”】
【blueblue: You have more than one. Didn’t you think of switching to another?】
Liang Jingchuan did not reply again.
/
The next day, Lan Yan went to work as usual.
The “big job” that Chu Lansun mentioned was a collectible suspected to be by Dong Bangda, sent by some collector. Dong Bangda’s Eight Scenic Views of Gehong Mountain had fetched over 17 million yuan at the Jiade Autumn Auction in 2022. This restoration piece was a typical Dong Bangda-style antique landscape painting, its quality only slightly inferior to the Eight Scenic Views of Gehong Mountain.
It was a famous artist’s work with a large size; every step of the restoration proceeded with extreme caution.
On the first day, Lan Yan only followed her master to assess the painting and perform the most basic physical cleaning.
Once she got busy, she threw everything else to the back of her mind.
By the time they finished the assessment form and restoration plan, it was already six thirty, long past dinnertime.
Chu Lansun told her to eat dinner and then get off work. The painting would not be finished in less than two months; there was no need to rush.
Lan Yan hurriedly left the Mounting Room and once again confirmed the plane’s landing time.
She could make it just in time to pick up the person if she hurried now.
She passed through the small courtyard, heading toward the gate.
At that moment, the phone in her hand vibrated as she prepared to call a car; it was a call from Liang Jingchuan.
She immediately answered.
Liang Jingchuan: “Turn around, Yanyan.”
Lan Yan was stunned and abruptly turned around. Only then did she see Liang Jingchuan standing under the tree in the small courtyard, a black suitcase beside him.
Lan Yan walked toward him. When she reached him, she stammered, “How did you…”
Her own voice came from the phone; she then realized the call had not been hung up yet.
“I didn’t eat lunch with anyone. The chat ended, and I switched to an earlier flight.”
Daylight hours were still short; twilight had already deepened, the sky an inky blue tinged with deep gray.
He wore a black trench coat. His figure under the tree was exceptionally elegant and carefree.
She took a step forward but still could not hold back. She reached out, her hand passing between his dangling arms to hug his waist, and rested her forehead against his chest.
Liang Jingchuan was clearly a bit surprised. After a moment, he raised his hand and pressed his palm against her back.
Footsteps and voices suddenly came from the doorway of the small building.
Lan Yan had just recognized them as Xue Mengqiu’s and Zhou Wenshu’s voices when their conversation abruptly stopped.
A moment later.
Xue Mengqiu: “Yo, Wenshu, you’ve got a new brother-in-law.”