Zhihao would then light her way with his phone to cook her noodles in the darkness. Just like now, they sat opposite each other, taciturn and quiet, eating their noodles. Then, after finishing, they'd...But when he ran after them, there was no one left.

Call her and hang up.

She rejected his video call on WeChat.

This seems to be the first time in years that he has contacted her proactively. Usually, it's her who reaches out, and he replies based on his mood.

"Chen Ning, where are you I'm coming to find you, let's talk." He had to send a message.

Chen Ning walked out of the alley and wanted to ride a bike home, but she was too tired. Her whole body ached, especially between her legs, so she chose to take the bus back.

When she received his message, she had just gotten on the bus. Fortunately, it was Sunday and there were still seats on the morning bus. After taking a seat in the last row, she replied: "I'm working overtime at the office."

She didn't want to say she was going home, afraid he would go there. She regretted telling him her address the other day.

She didn't want to talk; there was nothing to say. It would just be him apologizing for his behavior last night. His subconscious push of her this morning already said it all. No matter how much they talked, he wouldn't like her, and it would only bring unnecessary sadness.

She looked at the dialogue box, the other party was always showing as typing but never sent a message. She probably was thinking hard about how to phrase it so as not to hurt her feelings. She believed in his character; he wouldn't shirk responsibility.

But last night's affair, to say who was wrong, it was her fault. He wasn't sober, she was. So she quickly edited a message and sent it: "Uncle, last night's affair, I was willing, we are both adults, don't overthink it, just treat it as having a meal together, solving the problem of hunger."

She said it nonchalantly, as if .

I don't really want to make things too complicated.

But deep down, she knew she wouldn't reach out to him, or see him again on her own accord.

The shame of being pushed naked and the piercing, heart-shattering feeling she didn't want to experience again.

Just like before, watching from afar and silently liking it would be enough.

Outside the bus, there was a flurry of traffic. The sky was vast and blue, and the bustling city scenery swept past her eyes one by one. Suddenly, the phrase "the sky is high and the birds can fly freely" popped into her mind.

She pressed her forehead against the glass of the bus window, quietly watching the scenery pass by. Memories flooded back: her desperate sprint out of the mountains, the endless nights of only four hours of sleep during her high school retakes, and the grueling days at the Foreign Affairs University where she wore earphones to practice her pronunciation until she developed ear infections, spoke with pebbles in her mouth, and bled from her chapped lips. All that hardship was for him, but more importantly, it was for herself, to break free and discover a wider world.

So, she did it, after all. There's a gain for every loss. In this world, there’s no such thing as everything going her way.

Thinking this way, I instantly felt relieved.

She got off the bus, went back home and took a good bath. Then she drew the curtains and went to bed, wanting nothing else but to sleep soundly through the darkness.

After Song Jingye learned she was going to work late, he waited a while before replying and asked what time she would finish. He said he would pick her up, but she was swiping her card to get off the bus and didn't see his message. She didn't reply later and just decided not to go back.

Song Jingye fell into a sea of immense pain. Last night's intimate scenes, holding each other tightly, replayed in his mind frame by frame with startling clarity. He wasn't a person driven by lust; this kind of intimacy was something he had always believed should happen only between two people in love. Otherwise, he would rather...

Use your hands, never seek to vent them on others.

But he sought out Chen Ling, a girl he had watched grow up and treated as a younger sibling. He felt pain and guilt for his "beastly" actions.

The red stain on the sheets kept tantalizing his nerves, jumping and throbbing, he silently rolled up the sheets and took them to the laundry room, tossing them into the washing machine.

The entire Song family's atmosphere was strange, with Mrs. Song looking at him several times as if she wanted to speak but held back.

Last night, there was quite a commotion in his room. I thought that when we woke up this morning, we'd see two sweet and loving people, but instead, one looked gloomier than the other.

"Song's mother couldn't bear it any longer: "Xiaoning left early in the morning. Didn't you make her angry"

Song Jingye silently looked at her for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Why was she in my room last night"

"You don't even know you're drunk"

"Even if you get drunk, there's a driver, or you and your aunt at home." His room has never had a girl in it. It's unreasonable for Chen Ling to send him back to his room as a little girl.

A hint of awkwardness flashed across Song Mu's face, but she quickly masked it: "It's not as complicated as you think. Since she brought you back, she might as well take you back to your room. You're the one who has feelings for her, and you were the one who slept with her. You can't just deny it now."

After Song's mother finished speaking, she glanced at the washing machine spinning in the laundry room, “Besides, Xiaoning is doing this for the first time. You should comfort her well and don't hurt her feelings. She ran out crying this morning.”

"Cried" Song Jingye frowned upon hearing this.

"She was crying so hard!" Song's mother exaggerated, though in reality she had only seen red-rimmed eyes.

For a whole morning at home, Song Jingye fidgeted and couldn't sit still.

I couldn't reach her, so I drove to the office building where Chen Ling worked around noon and waited there. I sent her a message saying I wanted to have lunch together, but it was like throwing stones into the sea, with no reply.

I've looked at my phone countless times, the waiting is not easy.

Her company's office building was as magnificent and imposing as his own, so it was also heavily guarded, with ordinary people unable to get in. He waited in his car until the afternoon, but he couldn't get in. Frustrated, he had to use his connections and ask someone to take him in. It was also because he was getting carried away that he resorted to asking someone for help with such a small matter. He would never have done this before.

The people took him away for a while, then they rode the elevator until they finally reached Chen Ling's translation department. Even on Sunday, there were still many busy figures. This building is busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A girl from the translation department came out and glanced at Song Jingye: "Excuse me, who are you What's the matter with her I can help you tell her."

The woman was Tao Kaiyan. She looked at the man before her, his bearing extraordinary, not like an ordinary person, so her attitude was very good.

She is resting this weekend.

Song Jingye didn't say anything, he turned and left.

Now I know how to trick him.

Her apartment wasn't far, it was near her work, so he walked there directly.

Chen Ning was awakened by the knock on the door. Because he had drawn the curtains, the room was dim, and he didn't know what time it was. He glanced at his phone and saw that Song Jingye had sent him several messages and made several unanswered calls.

Another knock came, this time louder.

"Chen Ling, are you in there" His voice came urgently from outside the door.

Song Jingye was really anxious. He called but no one answered, and pressing the doorbell didn't work either. He was only worried that something would happen to her.

Unexpectedly, his attitude was bad in the morning. Hearing from his mother that she had left crying, he became even more worried. So, he knocked louder and louder, threatening to kick the door down if it wasn't opened.ready a stranger. 。As far as he knew, Qiao Zhen's relationship with that man was fairly stable. However, recently, there were problems in their relationship, and the man disappeared. Only then did Qia...