Lou Yixuan was driving on the highway from the airport back home when she received the call from “Teacher Lin.”
Logically speaking, Lin Huayan shouldn’t have called her at this time on a Saturday.
Lin Huayan and the others all knew her weekend schedule at Haifan—classes started at one in the afternoon.
It was already one-thirty now.
She tapped her Bluetooth earpiece to answer. “Hello, Teacher Lin?”
“Hello, is this Teacher Lou? I’m a friend of Lin Huayan—Teacher Lin. The name’s Qin, nothing fancy. To cut to the chase: Teacher Lin had lunch with us, we friends got together and had a great time, everyone drank too much, and she asked me to call you to come pick her up and take her home.”
Qin Fengru didn’t give Lou Yixuan a chance to get a word in edgewise—her words came rapid-fire, arranging this “chauffeur” of hers crystal clear.
“Teacher Lin’s drunk?”
“What, you don’t believe me? Afraid I’m tricking you? Or afraid your Teacher Lin’s tricking you?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t believe you. Teacher Lin mentioned she had a very important friend’s wedding this weekend—is it you, Sister Qin?”
“There you go. Hurry up and come get her. She’s already unconscious.”
“…” Lou Yixuan wasn’t entirely sure. “Alright, send me the address. I’ll head over right away.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Lin Huayan was drunk—it was that she didn’t believe Lin Huayan would drink herself unconscious.
After receiving the hotel address from Qin Fengru, Lou Yixuan rerouted her navigation and arrived at the hotel even ten minutes faster than it had taken her to drive home.
Roughly thirty minutes later, she parked outside the hotel.
When she got out, she deliberately wrapped the scarf that Lin Huayan had “given” her around her neck—the one sitting on the passenger seat. This scarf had gone with her to Jingping.
In the hotel lounge, Qin Fengru kept coaxing Lin Huayan one after another. “Old Lin, why don’t you take off that brooch? You treasure it so much, I’m afraid you’ll lose it when you’re drunk, or accidentally scratch yourself—or worse, scratch that Teacher Lou who’s coming to pick you up. That’d be a real mess, right?”
She’d never seen Lin Huayan wear a brooch before and had no idea when she’d bought it.
It looked nice, suited Lin Huayan’s temperament perfectly, but Qin Fengru couldn’t tell what flower it was. She’d thought to ask Lin Huayan, but the woman hadn’t said a word except when rinsing her mouth or eating candy.
What pissed her off more was that even when she asked for a couple of candies, Lin Huayan wouldn’t give her even one!
Watermelon-flavored throat lozenges, for crying out loud?
She’d eaten them before! Why not today?!
Qin Fengru huffed in frustration, afraid that if she didn’t calm down, Lin Huayan would give her a lump in her chest from sheer aggravation.
“Just hold it in then. No talking? Fine, I’ll take it off for you.”
She was genuinely worried the brooch might scratch someone—the hard object on her coat, with its owner sloshed like this? Who could say?
Lin Huayan’s mind was a fog, but her right hand clamped firmly over the brooch, refusing to let Qin Fengru touch it.
“Hey, you…” Qin Fengru was so mad she wanted to swat her.
The phone on the sofa rang.
Qin Fengru picked up. “Little Lou, you here?”
“Yeah, in the hotel lobby.”
“Don’t hang up. I’ll guide you. Follow my directions.”
“Got it.”
Huai’an wasn’t as cold as Jingping, where the first snow had already fallen—that was why Lou Yixuan had worn Lin Huayan’s scarf.
The warmth she craved could only come from Lin Huayan.
Following Qin Fengru’s directions, she turned left and right, took the elevator upstairs, and even spotted Qin Fengru’s wedding photos. Birds of a feather flock together—neither Qin Fengru nor Lin Huayan were the gentle type. Lin Huayan’s features were cooler, Qin Fengru’s sharper; without a smile, both intimidated.
Lin Huayan rarely smiled at all. Qin Fengru smiled often enough to have laugh lines.
The groom? Fresh-faced.
The lounge door was ajar, heat blasting from inside. When Lou Yixuan pushed it open, a wave of warmth hit her.
So hot.
Mainly because of the thick scarf blocking her collar airtight.
In one glance—even with only the upper half of her face visible—Qin Fengru instantly understood Old Man Zhang’s endless praise.
Those eyes, tinged with a faint pink flush like blooming peach blossoms, were utterly soul-stirring.
A beauty in her prime like this—even she wanted to steal a few more looks.
No wonder Old Lin was hooked, body and soul.
No wonder Old Lin dolled herself up with a thousand percent effort just to match her.
Qin Fengru had always thought the saying “Women dress up for those who please them” was off—instead, “Women dress up to please themselves” fit better.
Heh, wasn’t a living example right there?
All these years, she’d chased after Lin Huayan with gifts and compliments, but Lin Huayan turned a deaf ear, no progress, no change.
Then Lou Yixuan shows up, and Lin Huayan starts primping on her own.
The more she thought, the more irritated she got.
“You’re here—great. Get her out of here quick. I need a break. There’s a ton of stuff waiting for me outside!”
“…”
Lou Yixuan walked toward the sofa. Qin Fengru stood, patted Lin Huayan’s shoulder. “The person you specifically asked for is here. Gonna open your eyes and look?”
Lin Huayan slumped against the sofa armrest, eyes closed. Even after Qin Fengru’s words, she didn’t stir.
A pure black coat, dark red turtleneck sweater tucked into black casual wool suit pants, paired with black pointed-toe chunky-heel ankle boots.
Her breathing was slow and even, as if she were asleep.
This was what Lou Yixuan saw.
Her Teacher Lin. Her drunken beauty.
She approached the armrest side on tiptoe, knelt down, and gently brushed aside the hair covering Lin Huayan’s face without touching her skin.
Then she saw those distinctly long lashes tremble, and tremble again.
Lou Yixuan held back a smile. “Teacher Lin, I’m here to pick you up. Head home now, or…?”
Before she finished, Lin Huayan’s hand twitched.
Her right hand lifted from her chest, revealing the brooch she treated like treasure.
A purple iris brooch, custom-made by Lou Yixuan based on one of the blooming irises from the “Flower Face” sketchbook she’d given Lin Huayan.
It was the “not-so-precious” birthday gift she’d handed over personally at the school South Gate on October 24th.
Lin Huayan was wearing the birthday gift she’d given her—at such an important occasion.
Lin Huayan…
When Lou Yixuan’s gaze traveled back up to Lin Huayan’s face, the latter had already cracked her eyes open into narrow, hazy slits.
Still silent, she pushed against the armrest and cushion, trying to sit up, trying to go home now.
“I’ll help you.”
Lou Yixuan stood straight and extended her hand toward Lin Huayan.
If Lin Huayan grabbed it, that meant she could assist. If not, she’d have to ask Qin Fengru.
Her hand wasn’t cold right now.
But Lin Huayan’s was scorching hot.
Her palm slick with a thin sheen of sweat.
The moment it met Lou Yixuan’s dry palm, they stuck together.
“Ahem.” Qin Fengru cleared her throat. “Looks like you can handle her, Little Lou. You two…”
“Don’t worry, Sister Qin. I’ll get Teacher Lin home safe.”
Lou Yixuan’s arm was already around Lin Huayan’s waist—polite and proper on the surface, but inside, her heart bloomed with joy, thrilled to the core, itching to pull her close and steal a few improper liberties with her drunken beauty.
Lin Huayan was genuinely over the limit, her steps unsteady.
As Lou Yixuan helped her down the stairs and into the car, her mind replayed that year of Lou Yixuan’s graduation, that night—over and over.
Before entering the room… and after.
A ten-minute walk stretched into endless loops of that debauched haze.
Her body burned feverishly.
And yet…
She’d been the first to get intimate with Lou Yixuan. Lou Yixuan had liked her first.
So why, after eight years, was she the farthest from Lou Yixuan now?
Xu Yaning could hug her, Du Heming could hug her, Kinla could hug her—even Lin Jianlu could lean in close, hold her hand.
Nothing was hers alone anymore.
Lou Yixuan’s body, her heart… none of it was hers.
But then why send her a one-of-a-kind iris if she couldn’t relax? Why wear someone else’s ring and still wrap her scarf around her neck to pick her up?
Which side was the real one now? Which Lou Yixuan was the truest?
Lin Huayan had had enough.
Enough of Lou Yixuan’s boundaries. Enough of her own.
And the jealousy that came flooding in.
“The back seat’s roomy. Make yourself comfortable.”
Lou Yixuan helped her into the rear seat, only to be yanked down unceremoniously by the neck.
A trembling, drunken accusation whispered in her ear. “Lou Yixuan, you bastard. Why come stir me up again? Why? Why’d it take you so long to find me?”
Lou Yixuan’s neck was hugged tight.
Tighter than Du Heming’s hug.
Afraid of crushing Lin Huayan, she braced her left hand on the seatback, coaxing patiently. “Alright, alright, baby, I’m sorry. I should’ve come find you sooner.”
But at “baby,” the woman beneath her soured, nose stinging.
The arms around Lou Yixuan’s neck went slack, her head tilting toward the seatback to hide, voice choked. “Who’s your baby? You’ve got so many babies—go call them… mmph.”
She couldn’t hold back.
This time, Lou Yixuan didn’t want to—and couldn’t.
In the open-air parking lot bustling with people, the grating noise became pleasant background.
Lou Yixuan cupped Lin Huayan’s face, tilting it up slightly. Those drunken eyes, hazy like a moonlit lake, shimmered with tenderness.
As if planned all along, her lips met the ones she’d longed for day and night—like rose petals just blooming, soft and sweet.
But with shadows flitting by, Lou Yixuan could only taste briefly before pulling away.
That fleeting kiss was like a shooting star across the night sky—brief, yet unforgettable. Like ripples on a lake after a breeze— the wind gone, but the waves circling endlessly.
“Good thing you hadn’t left yet.”
Qin Fengru had chased after them with Lin Huayan’s bag, thinking Lou Yixuan was just settling her in the back seat. Instead…
What did she see?
Lou Yixuan casually wiping lipstick off Lin Huayan’s lips—with her thumb!
Lipstick smeared from her own mouth!
In broad daylight…
Shocking! Utterly shocking!
No wonder the candy!
Only after Lou Yixuan wiped her own lips along the edges a few times did she climb out of the back seat, flashing a sheepish little smile.
“Sister Qin.”
“Old Lin forgot her bag.”
Qin Fengru, a veteran of the business world who’d weathered all storms—what was this little scene? She cleared her throat and held out the items, one in each hand.
Handed over the purse first, then the bouquet. “The bride’s bouquet. Take it all home to her. Let you two soak up some wedding luck.”
She recognized that scarf around Lou Yixuan’s neck all too well.
Bought last fall when she’d dragged Lin Huayan shopping. She’d paid at the mall, but Lin Huayan transferred the money later.
“…Home?” Lou Yixuan took the items. “I only know Teacher Lin’s dorm room number at school.”
Dorm?
You’ve already kissed, lipstick’s smeared—what dorm?
Soundproof?
The rear door still open, Qin Fengru glanced at Lin Huayan in the back—head drooped, playing possum again.
Keep pretending. Just you wait.
Stubborn as a dead duck—that blockhead Lin would pay later!
“What dorm? That’s no fun.”
Lewd thoughts whizzed through her mind, and Qin Fengru chuckled first. “Little Lou, quick—put the stuff down, give me your phone. Sis is sending you something good. You’ll love it.”
“…” Something good?
Lou Yixuan didn’t pry, just did as told.
After stowing the items in the front passenger seat, Qin Fengru added her WeChat on the spot, editing the remark without asking her name.
“Full name’s Lou Yixuan, right? I know about you. Chatted with Old Man Zhang at the South Gate, heard his stories—about you and Old Lin.”
“…”
“Sent the good stuff.”
When Lou Yixuan read the message in the chat—a neighborhood address, building number, door code—her eyes reddened in an instant.
Qin Fengru had sent her Lin Huayan’s home address. “This is Old Lin’s place. She doesn’t stay often, but the house is guaranteed spotless.”
That house was one that Qin Fengru had urged and coaxed Lin Huayan into buying a few years back.
It was a mid-to-high-end apartment complex, with a reputable developer and property management. It was a ten- or twenty-minute drive from Tianmu Middle School, and it had been renovated long ago—Lin Huayan just rarely stayed there.
“What are you doing, memorizing the password?”
Seeing Lou Yixuan seemingly mumbling it to herself, Qin Fengru teased, “I already sent it to you. Just save it—don’t bother committing it to memory.”
