Jiang Ruoning was not a reserved person. She had always been straightforward in her personality, saying whatever was on her mind and expressing her likes openly. At most, she had learned a bit of tactfulness lately, but deep down, she remained as direct as ever.
Yet at this moment, she felt she was being too direct.
It had only been the second day since she met Shi Sui.
And there she stood at the door of Shi Sui’s room, about to knock and go inside.
What was she going to do once inside?
No matter what it was, adults should understand what going inside implied.
This wasn’t even about being reserved or not anymore—it was that she was being too proactive.
To be fair, she knew nothing about Shi Sui. She only knew her name and gender. She didn’t know her job, her age, her family situation, or even her past and experiences.
Blindly rushing in was a terrifying thing.
Jiang Ruoning felt she was terrifying right now.
She curled her fingers and took half a step back, wanting to turn and leave. But she looked up at the door again, and in the end, plopped down to sit beside it. It was a thick carpet, but Jiang Ruoning was afraid of dirt, so she pulled out a disposable seat cushion from her bag.
What was she doing sitting at someone’s room door?
She didn’t know.
Jiang Ruoning propped her chin on her hand, her fingers tapping idly against her cheek. Finally, she remembered why she was sitting there—to ask about Shi Sui.
To ask Sister Xiao Man.
Jiang Ruoning pulled out her phone from her bag, found Zhou Man’s WeChat, and sent a silly emoji. Two minutes later, Zhou Man replied with an emoji of her own. Jiang Ruoning’s eyes lit up: 【Sister Xiao Man!】
Her urgency came through even across the screen.
Zhou Man chuckled: 【Yeah, what’s up?】
Jiang Ruoning: 【Got something to ask you.】
Zhou Man didn’t think much of it. Over the past six months, Jiang Ruoning had often consulted her about work matters, so she assumed it was business again. But then Jiang Ruoning sent: 【How well do you know Shi Sui?】
They should be close, right?
The two were not only schoolmates but also next-door neighbors.
Yet Shi Sui didn’t even know Xiao Guai’s name.
It didn’t seem like they were that close.
When Zhou Man saw the question, her right eyelid twitched. She didn’t reply right away and instead asked: 【What’s going on between you and her?】
Jiang Ruoning: 【Nothing, I just suddenly wanted to learn more about her.】
Zhou Man stared at her phone.
At the end of last year, a lawyer friend of hers had met Jiang Ruoning during a dinner at her home. The friend was a partner at the firm, a few years older than Jiang Ruoning, with a stable and outstanding career, a high income, and good looks—tall and beautiful. Most importantly, he lived in the same neighborhood. Before coming over for dinner, he had already noticed Jiang Ruoning for over two months. He knew they had met, and he knew Jiang Ruoning would be at the gathering that day. He was like a girl experiencing her first crush, blushing after just two sentences.
His previous relationship had been around the time he started his career, lasting about a year. His family all knew he liked girls and supported him.
Objectively speaking, he met all of Jiang Ruoning’s conditions.
He was nearby, could take care of her anytime; career-wise, he could even help her; personality-wise, Jiang Ruoning was straightforward, and he was the nurturing type of partner. Most importantly, his family supported it. That day, Jiang Ruoning hadn’t outright rejected him but said they could try getting to know each other.
Later meetings revealed they’d only dated for two weeks.
When asked why, Jiang Ruoning couldn’t give a clear reason.
She had sat on a stone bench in the neighborhood that day, legs stretched out lazily, swinging them idly. The words that came out were dejected: “Sister Xiao Man, do you think I’m just not suited for dating?”
“How could that be?” Zhou Man had comforted her. “You probably just haven’t met the right person yet.”
Jiang Ruoning slumped her shoulders: “No right person—what even is the right person? I thought Lawyer Zou was perfect. He’s so handsome, such a great personality.”
Zhou Man had asked: “Do you like him, then?”
Jiang Ruoning thought for a moment: “Yeah, I like him.”
Zhou Man had looked at her without saying a word. Jiang Ruoning might not have realized it herself, but Zhou Man knew.
She had seen what Jiang Ruoning looked like when she truly liked someone.
It wasn’t about meeting conditions or being suitable.
It was that the person was that person.
Zhou Man didn’t believe in mysticism or gut feelings. Ever since Shi Sui left, Jiang Ruoning had never mentioned the name or the person. Her memory of Shi Sui was even fuzzy. But every time someone tried to set her up, she always found something wrong—this one wasn’t right, that one wasn’t either. Pressed for reasons, it was height, build, looks. Jiang Ruoning had said: “It’s not that they’re bad, but there’s just no spark.”
Later, Zhou Man pieced together a person from all those “not right”s.
A person who had left long ago.
Shi Sui.
Though Jiang Ruoning had no memory of that time and didn’t even remember Shi Sui, subconsciously, she still compared everyone she met to that person who didn’t exist in her memories.
It was a miraculous discovery.
Because to Zhou Man, it seemed almost impossible.
How could you compare to someone you had no memory of?
But facts spoke louder than arguments.
Jiang Ruoning was unconsciously searching for a familiar shadow.
In every possible candidate.
Messages popped up one after another on her phone: 【Sister Xiao Man?】
【Hey, hey, Sister Xiao Man!】
【Hello, you there?】
【Sister Xiao Man, my dear Sister Xiao Man, where’d you go?】
Zhou Man looked at the screen full of “Sister Xiao Man”s and lost her patience. She replied: 【Yeah, I’m here.】
Jiang Ruoning: 【Where’d you disappear to? Taking forever to reply.】
She could practically hang an IV bottle from her pouty mouth.
Zhou Man smiled: 【Just took a call.】
Jiang Ruoning: 【Oh, you still haven’t answered my question.】
Zhou Man: 【Shi Sui? Yeah, we’re pretty familiar.】
Jiang Ruoning: 【She—】
Her family must be wealthy, right?
You could tell from her clothes, accessories, jewelry.
Zhou Man watched the “typing…” indicator at the top of the screen that kept going but never sent a message. She could sense Jiang Ruoning’s hesitation and replied: 【Ruoning.】
Jiang Ruoning: 【Yeah?】
Zhou Man: 【Shi Sui’s a really good person.】
Jiang Ruoning’s mood soared at those words. She smiled and replied casually: 【Oh.】
A good person.
She wasn’t planning to knock on the door tonight anyway.
It was too fast. Maybe the alcohol had made her impulsive enough to come up to the eighth floor. Jiang Ruoning stood up, rubbed her aching stomach, and gave a light wave toward the door.
As if saying goodbye to Shi Sui.
If someone photographed her now, she’d probably make the hotel’s top ten mysteries list.
Jiang Ruoning burst out laughing.
Shi Sui stood at the corner, watching her.
Watching Jiang Ruoning laugh.
Her brows relaxed.
Shi Sui had been standing there for a long time.
From the moment Jiang Ruoning was about to knock, she had wanted to go over. But when she saw Jiang Ruoning hesitate, Shi Sui stopped too. From the corner, she watched Jiang Ruoning not knock on the door but sit down beside it instead.
She was texting.
Shi Sui instinctively pulled out her phone and refreshed it many times, confirming that the messages Jiang Ruoning sent weren’t to her.
Jiang Ruoning looked very happy.
When she stood up again, all traces of her earlier demeanor were gone—her brows lifted brightly once more.
Like a little sun recharged with energy.
But who had given her that energy?
Qin Zheng?
Ye Yu?
Shi Sui gripped her phone tightly, her fingertip pressing against the hard case until it deformed, unnoticed.
Jealousy consumed her.
But Jiang Ruoning’s smile was too sweet.
Shi Sui’s emotions were tugged back and forth, torn apart. She greedily watched Jiang Ruoning, jealous, moved, heartbroken.
Jiang Ruoning didn’t notice the gaze from the corner. She slung her bag casually over her shoulder, hooking the strap with one finger, and stood at the elevator, watching it come up floor by floor. She got in, went down to the first floor, and hailed a cab.
Shi Sui called a cab too.
Jingxin Neighborhood was about a fifteen-minute drive from the hotel. It was ten-thirty now; there were fewer pedestrians on the road, but plenty of cars. While waiting at a red light, Jiang Ruoning rolled down the window, rested her chin on the sill, and looked out. The streetlights reflected in her eyes in a riot of colors.
She suddenly thought of the watch on Shi Sui’s wrist.
It had vibrant colors too.
Shi Sui watched Jiang Ruoning through her car window, seeing her gaze fixed on the streetlights.
The light turned green, and the cab sped away. Shi Sui actually arrived at the neighborhood entrance first.
She watched Jiang Ruoning get out of her cab not far away, and it felt like they were back in their freshman year. Shi Sui had more classes than Jiang Ruoning. One day, after finishing a paper and leaving school past nine at night, she messaged Jiang Ruoning to report her progress as soon as she exited the gates.
Jiang Ruoning praised her: 【Not bad, classmate Shi Sui. So serious about studying.】
The address made her laugh, and she replied in kind: 【Gotta work hard in school so I can support classmate Jiang Ruoning later.】
Jiang Ruoning asked: 【And how would you support me?】
Shi Sui: 【Give you the very best of everything I can.】
She had broken that promise.
Shi Sui remembered getting to her door that day. As she fumbled for her keys, a pair of hands suddenly reached out. Before she could even get startled, she caught the familiar scent and smiled.
Jiang Ruoning shoved her: “Not fun—you didn’t even get scared.”
She pulled Jiang Ruoning inside and said, “Then let’s do it over.”
Jiang Ruoning pouted: “How do we do that?”
She scooped Jiang Ruoning up in her arms. Jiang Ruoning yelped in fright!
She laughed: “See? Scared now.”
Jiang Ruoning fumed and gnashed her teeth.
She even bit her.
Bit hard. The next day, she wore a high-neck sweater to class.
The sound of footsteps faded. Shi Sui watched Jiang Ruoning’s figure disappear through the gates. She didn’t follow inside.
Once in the neighborhood, Jiang Ruoning hesitated—should she tell Shi Sui she was back?
What if that person was still waiting in the room?
In pajamas?
No.
That person knew she was on her period; nothing could happen.
Jiang Ruoning squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
What are you thinking! What are you thinking!!
She fanned her cheeks vigorously. By the time she reached her door, she was holding her breath. She sent Shi Sui an emoji. The reply came quickly: 【Home safe?】
Jiang Ruoning: 【Yeah.】
Then: 【Wait, how’d you know I was home?】
Shi Sui: 【I just saw you. Figured you’d be home by now.】
Jiang Ruoning, surprised: 【Saw me? Where? When?】
Shi Sui: 【When you were sitting at my room door.】
