Chapter 76

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The layouts of the two apartments weren’t entirely the same, but Ning Jiuwei had carefully examined them when she bought her place. Now, stepping into Su Jinglan’s home felt as familiar as returning to her own.

Su Jinglan had given her the passcode and the promise that she could come anytime. The house was silent, with no response. Ning Jiuwei didn’t venture further inside—the answer was already plain as day.

She should have known better. No one could like and tolerate another person forever without fail. Ning Jiuwei slowly backed out of the entryway, steadying herself on the doorframe as she gently closed the door.

The smart system-controlled sensor door shut with a soft click. Ning Jiuwei lifted her gaze to the pitch-black interior and took one last look.

The few short steps back to her own door felt endless. Ning Jiuwei walked in a daze, her dull eyes staring unfocused ahead. Memories swarmed and tangled in her mind, vivid scenes like wet paint on a canvas layered over and over until they smeared into an inky blot.

Ning Jiuwei gripped her door handle and unlocked it with her fingerprint. The door swung open, but she didn’t step inside. Instead, she bowed her head and drew in deep, forceful breaths.

Her heart pounded faster and faster, ripping open old memories. Fear and suffocation shadowed her every move. Ning Jiuwei staggered through her front door, leaning on the entryway cabinet for support as she shoved all those unwelcome emotions deep into the recesses of her heart.

Her phone rang in the study, again and again. By the time Ning Jiuwei made it there, it had rung through to voicemail once more.

She saw the name on the missed call and sank into a chair, rubbing her forehead before calling back.

“Why did it take you so long to pick up?” Concern brimmed in the voice. In this world, probably only a mother would keep calling in a panic when she couldn’t reach her child. Mama Ning, her heart full of anxiety, let out a quiet sigh of relief at the sound of her daughter’s voice. She fussed with gentle reproach, “Were you working?”

“Mm, I was sketching design drawings. My phone was on silent.” Ning Jiuwei’s voice was mild and soothing, the kind that put people at ease.

Mama Ning chatted with her about family matters for a while, confirmed that everything was fine, and ended the call at the right moment. Before hanging up, she reminded Ning Jiuwei to get some early rest and not overdo it.

The warm phone call did little to calm Ning Jiuwei’s heart. In the quiet study, the sound of her heartbeat grew louder. She could clearly hear her heart thumping away, keeping her alive.

Someone had entered her life very early on. After more than a decade apart, they’d met again but pretended not to know each other. Ning Jiuwei pulled out the documents, flipped them over, and gazed at the bold, vigorous handwriting.

Shen Lanyan, who hadn’t bothered her in ages, found some time that evening to message Ning Jiuwei and ask how the design drawings were coming along.

The brooch was still only half-finished. The main body didn’t satisfy her, and she hadn’t put pen to the details yet. Ning Jiuwei sent back a standard, professional reply: “I will deliver the initial design draft to Miss Shen on time.” She didn’t add a single extra word.

“Sister, want to come out for some late-night snacks?” Shen Lanyan sent a voice message from her nest on the sofa.

Ning Jiuwei typed out two words—”No thanks”—but before hitting send, she changed it to a question: Coming to Miss Shen’s place to eat?

“If sister comes over to my place, you won’t get any late-night snacks—you can only eat me.” Shen Lanyan’s words dripped with flirtation. Even through the screen, Ning Jiuwei could picture the smile on her face. Ning Jiuwei regretted deleting those two words. She frowned and replied, “No thanks.”

“I’m just kidding, sister. What late-night snack do you want? I’ll have Ah Xiao prepare it.”

Ning Jiuwei paused over Shen Lanyan’s message for a moment before asking: Will President Su be there?

If she said President Su would come, Designer Ning definitely wouldn’t. Shen Lanyan shot back: Don’t worry, Designer Sister. President Su won’t be here—I didn’t invite her.

She replied to Ning Jiuwei in seconds, and Ning Jiuwei fired back just as fast: I need to work on the design drawings. No time to come over. Next time.

Ning Jiuwei exited the chat, found Su Jinglan’s WeChat, and opened it.

She sent nothing. Instead, she locked the screen and set the phone aside.

She lingered in the study for over an hour more, then let out a soft sigh. Accepting that inspiration wasn’t coming tonight, she grabbed a book and headed to the bedroom.

It had been days since she’d stayed home, and it felt like a lifetime ago. Su Jinglan had changed into pajamas and lay in the middle of the bed, her eyes wide open with no trace of sleepiness.

Time crept toward the dead of night. Su Jinglan glanced at the time on her phone: 11:32. In twenty-eight minutes, the day would be over.

Ning Jiuwei hadn’t sent a single message.

If only Ning Jiuwei would ask—even once—she’d rush over immediately.

Su Jinglan sat up and leaned against the headboard. Another minute ticked by, bringing midnight even closer. At this hour, Ning Jiuwei was probably already asleep.

The more she dwelled on it, the more her heart ached. Ning Jiuwei hadn’t even checked if she was upset—not so much as a goodnight.

Su Jinglan closed her eyes and placed her phone on the nightstand.

The next second, Su Jinglan’s phone screen lit up as a message came in from her.

Ning Jiuwei: I’m asleep, President Su.

Those five short words carried a deeper meaning that Su Jinglan immediately picked up on. Ning Jiuwei was essentially saying she was waiting for her to come over.

In that moment, Su Jinglan finally understood what it felt like to deal with someone playing hard to get. She waited a full half-minute before replying with a simple good night.

That brief interval made her seem less desperate, but once the message was sent, Su Jinglan grew anxious herself. She desperately craved a response from Ning Jiuwei—even five seconds felt like an eternity.

Su Jinglan probably wasn’t coming after all. Ning Jiuwei stared at the two words on her screen, hugging her quilt as she lay on her side.

Should she reply with a good night of her own? Ning Jiuwei lit up her screen and opened WeChat.

Deep down, she didn’t want to just say good night. An inexplicable impulse surged within her—she yearned to chat with Su Jinglan about something else, anything to keep the conversation going instead of ending the night separately.

The topic from earlier that day flickered through her mind. It was the quiet hours of the night, perfect for intimate conversation. After a moment’s thought, Ning Jiuwei typed out a good night and sent it, without bringing up what had happened during the day.

Without Su Jinglan beside her, Ning Jiuwei’s sleep quality plummeted. She drifted in and out of restless slumber, and each time she woke, her hand instinctively reached for the spot beside her pillow, seeking that familiar warmth and presence.

At three in the morning, when everyone else was deep in sleep, Ning Jiuwei switched on the bedside wall lamp. In the soft orange glow, she retrieved her phone from the nightstand and checked for messages.

Her eyes felt dry and swollen with fatigue. She blinked a few times to clear the blur of exhaustion and scanned the unread messages in WeChat.

Su Jinglan really wasn’t coming tonight.

That was for the best.

Ning Jiuwei told herself as much. She had never liked Su Jinglan in the first place—this was the perfect chance to put some distance between them.

She should keep her distance anyway.

Her body ached with exhaustion, but her mind raced on, wide awake. Ning Jiuwei slipped her phone under her pillow, turned off the light, and let her thoughts wander freely through memories of the past.

Dawn broke, and Ning Jiuwei left for the company at her usual time.

She would act as if nothing had ever happened between her and Su Jinglan. Ning Jiuwei stepped out of the elevator with a mild, polite smile, nodding in response to her colleagues’ greetings.

As she neared her office, she ran into Su Jinglan emerging from the President’s Office. Their eyes met, and just as Ning Jiuwei started to look away, Su Jinglan turned back inside first.

Ning Jiuwei: “…”

A surge of pent-up emotion broke free in an instant, flooding her heart. Ning Jiuwei clenched her fists and pushed open the door to her own office.

From the corner of her eye, she watched Su Jinglan, who stood with her back to the room, phone in hand as if texting someone.

Ning Jiuwei glanced at her own phone. No message from Su Jinglan.

Su Jinglan showed no sign of leaving her office anytime soon, so Ning Jiuwei pulled out her tablet and pretended to revise a design draft while stealing glances at that tall, slender silhouette.

Su Jinglan was dressed in a black shirt paired with beige suit pants today. Her long hair cascaded loosely over her shoulders in a lazy, tousled wave, and her straight-backed posture exuded an intimidating aura. Even from behind, she commanded respect and a touch of fear.

Fear and attraction had always gone hand in hand for Ning Jiuwei. She struggled to steady her racing heartbeat as her furtive glances turned into an outright, unabashed stare.

From the office directly across from hers, she gazed silently at Su Jinglan without a word.

Su Jinglan lifted her eyes slightly, catching sight of Ning Jiuwei watching her in the faint reflection from the floor-to-ceiling window. The corners of her mouth twitched upward involuntarily, but by the time she stepped out, her expression had smoothed into cool indifference.

She strode down the corridor without so much as a sideways glance, vanishing from Ning Jiuwei’s line of sight.

From lunchtime the previous day until that morning, it had been Ning Jiuwei’s only glimpse of Su Jinglan. She didn’t see her again for the entire morning.

In the afternoon, Su Jinglan held a meeting with the Design Director and the heads of the Production and Promotion Departments. Jiang Shiyao and Qi Mingqin attended as the designers for the Quarterly New Products.

Word quickly spread that Shen Lanyan had been confirmed as the spokesperson for the Quarterly New Product line, “Chiqing.” The news reached Ning Jiuwei soon enough.

Assistant Tan, who delivered it, spared no details. “Designer Ning, Miss Shen is going to endorse the Quarterly New Products. She’ll be able to come and go from the company whenever she wants from now on.”

Previously, Shen Lanyan had avoided wandering around the company to prevent any scandalous rumors. But with this official endorsement deal, her visits would be purely business—no one could gossip about it.

“Is it definitely her?” Ning Jiuwei twirled her tablet stylus, her expression unchanging.

“Ninety-nine percent sure.” Noticing how the President’s Office was right across from the Chief Designer’s Office—and thus how convenient it would be for Shen Lanyan to drop by—Assistant Tan felt a twinge of concern.

Ning Jiuwei saw right through her worries and offered a faint smile. “Whether she’s the spokesperson for the Quarterly New Products or not, I’m still her personal jewelry design consultant. Don’t overthink it, Assistant Tan. Could you pour me a pot of water?”

The Teachers’ Office was some distance from the Pantry. Tan Yushu was accustomed to waiting on Ning Jiuwei hand and foot. The moment Ning Jiuwei gave the word, she grabbed the thermos flask and hurried off to the Pantry to refill it with hot water.

Ning Jiuwei smoothed the smile from her face and glanced toward the office across the way.

Several sets of footsteps drew nearer from down the hall, passing through the open door of the Teachers’ Office. Ning Jiuwei recognized them by sound alone and quickly withdrew her gaze, bending her head over her drawings once more.

The footsteps didn’t pause for an instant. They brushed right past the doorway and continued on into the President’s Office.

Ning Jiuwei lifted her eyelids just a fraction. In that same moment, the transparent glass walls frosted over, blocking her line of sight.

“Designer Ning, I’ve left the hot water on the tea table for you.” Tan Yushu set down the thermos and came over to ask, “Anything else you need?”

“Go back to your work. I’ll call if I need you.”

Tan Yushu had just turned to leave when Ning Jiuwei seemed to remember something and called her back. “Little Tan, did you see President Su and the others on your way back?”

“I did.” Assistant Tan nodded. “President Su went into her office with Director Zhang and Designer Qi.”

“What about Designer Jiang?”

“She wasn’t there.”

Assistant Tan departed. Ning Jiuwei glanced at her desk, picked up her tablet, and went to knock on the door of the President’s Office.

“It’s Designer Ning.” Several pairs of eyes turned her way. Su Jinglan, seated on the sofa, betrayed no hint of warmth in her gaze as she regarded Ning Jiuwei with cool professionalism. “Director Zhang and I are in the middle of a discussion. Please come back later.”