Chapter 46: Who Is This Person? Part 2

“It’ll fade in a couple days.” Miao Zhu hung up her coat. Mu Shanyi didn’t usually leave marks on her, but that night at Carp Moon Manor, things had spiraled out of control toward the end. Mu Shanyi had pinned her to the bed, covering her neck, chest, and even lower back with who-knew-how-many hickeys.

Emma had never seen a mistress stake her claim so boldly, nor expected Miao Zhu to indulge Mu Shanyi without any boundaries. At a loss, she simply pushed Miao Zhu’s back, leading her to the sink: “This way. We’ll wash up and eat!”

As they shuffled along like that, Angel thought it was a game and charged over to join, slamming headfirst into Emma’s shin.

The soda bottle flew from its mouth. Angel flopped down on the spot, whining, while Emma let out a drawn-out hiss of pain from the steel-hard headbutt.

Miao Zhu: “…”

Miao Zhu: “Did you end up contacting Wen Jie later?”

The implication was whether she’d asked Tang Yuwen for help finding Angel a new home. Emma rubbed her sore spot: “I’m not that close with Wen Jie. It’d be weird to go to her specifically for this, right?”

Miao Zhu could understand: “So are you dropping it, or do you have another plan?”

Emma hesitated a bit. Angel, meanwhile, bounced back up energetically, barking brightly at them: “Wer~ wer~ wer~.”

Emma grabbed Miao Zhu’s hand, serious: “If I get a chance to see Wen Jie, I’ll super casually bring it up, then naturally ask her to help. What do you think?”

“There’s a chance right now.” Miao Zhu told Emma about Tang Yuwen’s invite to the mountain homestay for the meteor shower. Emma’s eyes lit up, and Miao Zhu reminded her: “It’ll be cold up there. Bring a thick coat.”

The mountains were colder than the city, especially winter nights. Snow from previous days still dotted the woods, and the wind sliced like a thin blade, chilling to the bone.

Tang Yuwen had invited plenty of friends, calling it a meteor shower viewing, but it was really just a themed party.

Most guests huddled inside the warm house, drinking, chatting, and playing games. Sheng Xingran wasn’t into socializing and braved the cold wind at the observation deck, scanning star clusters.

Miao Zhu naturally stayed with Sheng Xingran.

For stargazing, the surrounding lights were off, leaving pitch darkness. The meteor activity hadn’t peaked yet; occasionally, one streaked across the sky with a long tail, which Miao Zhu captured on her phone.

It was the first day of her period, and she felt the cold keenly. After snapping the meteor trail, she touched the screen lightly with her icy fingertips inside leather gloves, stopping the recording.

The screen’s glow illuminated her brows and eyes.

Sheng Xingran stood two or three meters ahead, fiddling with the astronomical telescope.

Miao Zhu’s fingers curled slightly. A moment later, she sent the meteor video to Mu Shanyi.

It was morning for Mu Shanyi, work hours. Miao Zhu didn’t wait for a reply and casually set her phone on the chair armrest, screen up.

“Mia!” A flashlight beam swung from afar. Miao Zhu turned as Emma’s voice carried on the wind before she arrived: “There’s longan and red dates here. I made longan-red date ginger milk. Go grab some.”

“You want some?” Miao Zhu asked Sheng Xingran.

“Bring me a hot coffee.” Sheng Xingran rubbed her eyes, stepped away from the telescope, and sat beside Miao Zhu.

“Okay.” Miao Zhu instinctively picked up her phone, paused, then set it back down screen-up. She got up to find Emma. Once they met, Emma hooked her arm through Miao Zhu’s: “Wen Jie’s seriously the best! She agreed to help! You should’ve seen my smooth moves just now—what’s up?”

Miao Zhu pulled her gaze from Sheng Xingran and paused for a few seconds before walking again: “Hm? Just happy for you and Angel.”

Emma immediately launched into how she’d cleverly steered the conversation to dogs, naturally bringing up Angel, and what Tang Yuwen’s reaction had been. She chattered excitedly, oblivious to Miao Zhu’s unease in the darkness.

The phone screen on the armrest lit up.

At the same moment, several meteors flashed across the sky—the meteor shower had erupted in full force.

【[Heart]：In a meeting】

【[Heart]：Meteor】

【[Heart]：Baby, period—don’t catch a cold in the wind】

The wind died down, and time seemed to freeze. Sheng Xingran stayed rigid in her seat. After the initial blankness, her mind raced unprecedentedly, dissecting every word that pierced her eyes.

-[Heart]

Was this person’s WeChat name a red heart, or had Miao Zhu set it as her note for them? Like how Miao Zhu’s note for her was a star icon?

A heart always carried special meaning. What kind of relationship warranted that?

-In a meeting

A midnight meeting meant a time difference—probably not in the country.

-Meteor

So Miao Zhu had messaged them first, shared the meteor with them. Miao Zhu wanted to share with this person.

-Baby, period—don’t catch a cold in the wind

A surge of fury shot up from Sheng Xingran’s heart.

Baby! She hadn’t even called Miao Zhu that!

Not only calling her “baby” outright, but knowing it was her period—who else was that close besides Emma?

The flutist in the orchestra? Sheng Xingran dismissed it immediately. The flutist was in Cloud City, couldn’t be in a meeting now, and the tone didn’t match anyway.

Then who? They’d grown up together, social circles wide open to each other. Miao Zhu’s friendships had always been simple—how had she not known about this person? Miao Zhu had been hiding them?

Who was this person?

These three messages were like the fuse to Pandora’s box. Reason told Sheng Xingran it was impossible, but a crazy name bubbled up from her heart anyway.

—Mu Shanyi.