Chapter 10

The next day, when Sang Ning woke up, she felt a bit embarrassed recalling the slip-up with liking the post. But even if Shen Tingwan had noticed, she probably wouldn’t mind—after all, so many people followed her.

She arrived at the studio.

“Yo, you finally changed your profile picture?” Yu Shuang noticed as soon as she logged into WeChat that Sang Ning’s avatar had changed.

From a starry sky to a moon.

Sang Ning’s old profile picture had been taken two summers ago at Little Mi Mountain during the Perseid meteor shower. She loved it so much that she’d never changed it. But last night, she had captured something she liked even more.

“When are we going back to Little Mi Mountain? I want to go camping,” Yu Shuang mentioned casually. They hadn’t gone out to play since starting their business. “How about this weekend? A spontaneous trip.”

Little Mi Mountain was a scenic spot near Sang Ning’s hometown—not too far away. It was great for stargazing and camping in the summer, and if you were lucky, you might catch a meteor shower.

Sang Ning hadn’t been back in a while either, but she couldn’t this week. “I have something on Saturday.”

“What is it?” Yu Shuang guessed easily. “A charity event?”

Sang Ning asked her offhandedly, “Do you want to come along?”

“I’ll stay home and rest. You can convey my love for me,” Yu Shuang admired Sang Ning. She worked like a horse every day and still had energy for charity events.

Sang Ning’s schedule this weekend was actually light—just a volunteer activity on Saturday afternoon at the Deaf-Mute School, where they were holding a children’s art exhibition.

After work on Friday, she went for a night run of a few kilometers, then bought a burger for dinner. Simple and straightforward.

Shen Tingwan’s days were far more complicated. She attended an unavoidable social engagement, came home reeking of alcohol and exhaustion, and opened WeChat to find a bunch of red dots—all unread messages.

She took a shower first, then called Jiang Yunchun.

Jiang Yunchun had already been discharged from the hospital after recovering.

Shen Tingwan said to the old lady, “I’ll come back this weekend to keep you company.”

But the old lady wasn’t pleased. “On a big weekend, why aren’t you going out to have fun? Why hang out with an old woman like me? I’ve made plans to take photos in the park with my old friends.”

Shen Tingwan laughed helplessly. “You don’t want me around?”

“No, no,” Jiang Yunchun said repeatedly. “Go out and play with your friends this weekend. I’m all better now—don’t keep worrying about me. You’ve been working so hard; take some time to relax.”

Jiang Yunchun was a very independent old lady who didn’t want her family hovering around her. She always said everyone should live their own lives, centered on themselves.

Hearing this from Jiang Yunchun, Shen Tingwan had no choice but to change her weekend plans. She really did need to relax.

She had plenty of friends, so making plans for the weekend was easy. Several had invited her out. She looked them over and turned them all down one by one. The older she got, the less genuine her social circle felt—often, it just left her drained.

Wei Xue messaged her, saying the shop had added a few new pasta dishes and inviting her to try them.

She agreed—it was perfect since she had nothing going on.

The next day at noon, she went to Wei Xue’s coffee shop.

“I never expected pasta and desserts to sell better than coffee. I should just open a restaurant,” Wei Xue complained endlessly. “Is the taste okay?”

Shen Tingwan replied, “It’s pretty good.”

Wei Xue asked, “How’s your grandma doing now?”

Shen Tingwan said, “She’s out of the hospital, but she won’t let me come keep her company.”

Wei Xue cut straight to the point. “The old lady wants you to go out more and find someone soon—get yourself coupled up.”

Shen Tingwan felt helpless but sensed that was exactly the intention.

“It’s not that I’m saying this, but you really need to find someone. I’m getting annoyed—tons of people keep asking me to help them pursue you.” Once the topic came up, Wei Xue opened the floodgates. “I get that you’re not into guys; that’s normal. But how come you’re not into women either…”

“That one from last time—who was it? Forgot the name—she was chasing you so persistently. So enthusiastic. Shouldn’t you give her a chance? She seems pretty suitable.”

Wei Xue rambled on without a response, finally trailing off. “Shen Tingwan, are you even listening to me?”

Shen Tingwan somewhat regretted coming to Wei Xue’s for lunch today—her ears hadn’t had a moment’s peace. She’d eaten half her pasta, while Wei Xue’s plate had barely been touched.

“I remember now—President Xie. She’s pretty attractive. Aren’t you going to consider her?” Wei Xue exaggerated with excitement. “She’s head over heels for you—asked me about it several times.”

Shen Tingwan took a slow sip of water and countered, “We’ve only met twice. What does she like about me?”

“Come on,” Wei Xue couldn’t help but retort. “With someone like you, liking you is just a glance away. Does it take long?”

“How can you call it liking without even knowing each other?” Shen Tingwan chuckled lightly. No matter how grand such “likes” were proclaimed, how much real emotion could there be? She’d seen too much pretense in both her career and relationships.

Wei Xue felt defeated by this woman’s rationality. She’d known Shen Tingwan since childhood, so she understood her better than most. Shen Tingwan seemed approachable with lots of friends, but she was actually quite aloof—most interactions were just surface-level pleasantries.

“Then consider me—I know you,” Wei Xue said with a laugh. “Want to date me and give it a try?”

Shen Tingwan gave her a blank look.

Feeling rejected, Wei Xue put on an injured expression. “Hey! I’m super popular, okay? Tons of people want to date me!”

Shen Tingwan couldn’t help but laugh.

Wei Xue hated being alone, so she curiously asked, “Don’t you get lonely by yourself? Like, late at night when it’s quiet—don’t you want a girlfriend to keep you company?”

“Being alone is fine too. Another person would just disrupt my routine,” Shen Tingwan said calmly. She probably had low emotional needs; it didn’t matter if she didn’t have someone. She felt no regrets.

Wei Xue scoffed dismissively. “That’s because you haven’t met someone you like yet. If you did, you’d toss all your principles out the window.”

Shen Tingwan brushed it off. “Is that so?”

Wei Xue was speechless, hating these people who stayed so cool about romance.

Shen Tingwan didn’t want to keep chatting idly about it and changed the subject. “When are you moving?”

“In about a month. Get my housewarming gift ready in advance.”

Shen Tingwan smiled. “Got it.”

Wei Xue picked up her phone to take a photo.

Shen Tingwan reminded her, “Don’t photograph me.”

“Not your face.” Wei Xue lowered the lens a bit to capture just the body, then posted to her Moments while saying, “Posting to Moments to show off—lunch with a great beauty…”

Shen Tingwan laughed at her silliness.

After lunch, with nothing to do, Shen Tingwan decided to stay at the coffee shop and read a book to pass the time, enjoying the nice sunshine.

Wei Xue couldn’t sit still. Sipping her coffee, she was already fidgety. “Want to go out this afternoon?”

Shen Tingwan had no interest. “No thanks.”

“Not even a polite excuse anymore? Rejecting me so bluntly?” As Wei Xue chatted, she got a WeChat message and tapped it open.

Seeing it, Wei Xue laughed. “Your junior is even more of a workaholic than you. Not resting on a weekend like this.”

Shen Tingwan looked up slightly. “What?”

Wei Xue replied to the message while saying, “We’d planned for Monday, but she said she’s free today too.”

Shen Tingwan smiled. Photography probably took up ninety percent of Sang Ning’s life.

When Sang Ning walked into the coffee shop, she heard Wei Xue whining to Shen Tingwan, begging “Come on,” and Shen Tingwan agreeing with “Okay.”

As her coffee neared the bottom, Shen Tingwan looked up and spotted a familiar figure carrying a large black backpack that made her look even slimmer.

Wei Xue saw her too and waved Sang Ning over.

“Sister Wei.” Sang Ning glanced at Wei Xue first, then at Shen Tingwan. “Senior…”

Shen Tingwan curved her lips slightly. “Working on the weekend?”

“It depends on the schedule.” After greeting them, Sang Ning added, “I’ll get to work then.”

Wei Xue nodded. “Thanks for your hard work.”

Sang Ning gave a polite smile in return.

Soon, Sang Ning set up her equipment and began shooting. A few days earlier, Wei Xue had booked her again for new items at the shop.

Shen Tingwan and Wei Xue sat to the side, not interrupting.

Shen Tingwan’s gaze swept over the person not far away, who once again seemed indifferent to everything. She suddenly thought of that midnight like and couldn’t help smiling. Actually, she’s not that cold…

Wei Xue noticed. “What are you smiling about?”

Shen Tingwan said lightly, “Nothing.”

Sang Ning was wearing a T-shirt and jeans today—loose on top, fitted below—a casual, comfortable outfit for work. She wasn’t particularly tall, but her proportions were good, and clothes looked great on her.

“Your junior is quite a sight when she works,” Wei Xue sighed appreciatively. “Nice figure too…”

Shen Tingwan turned her head and saw Wei Xue propping her chin, watching Sang Ning with keen interest.

“Behave yourself.”

Wei Xue turned to Shen Tingwan. “How am I not behaving just complimenting her figure? What are you thinking? You’re the one with the dirty mind.”

Shen Tingwan knew Wei Xue could say anything without filter. “Don’t make inappropriate jokes with her usually.”

Wei Xue played dumb. “What?”

Shen Tingwan said, “She’s very innocent.”

“How do you know she’s innocent?” Wei Xue tilted her head. “She’s quiet—maybe she’s a repressed wild one.”

Shen Tingwan paused, surprisingly agreeing with the second half.

Wei Xue murmured on, “I don’t think she’s that innocent with me.”

Shen Tingwan glanced at Wei Xue.

“She always jumps at chances to shoot here. Today, as soon as she heard I was in, she came to work on the weekend.” Wei Xue rambled. “Don’t you think she has a thing for me?”

Shen Tingwan almost laughed at Wei Xue’s analysis. “You think everyone likes you.”

Wei Xue rolled her eyes, then added, “But seriously, I feel like she might. She always stops by for coffee when passing—maybe just to see me.”

Shen Tingwan frowned.

She didn’t know what to say.

Wei Xue smiled sweetly. “Don’t you think your junior and I would make a good match?”

Shen Tingwan finished her last sip of coffee, looked at her, and replied calmly, “No.”

Wei Xue treated relationships like entertainment, while Sang Ning clearly wasn’t that type.

Wei Xue’s eyes widened in confusion. Unable to chat further, she stood up.

Shen Tingwan asked, “What’s up?”

Wei Xue said, “I’ll invite your junior to hang out with us.”

Shen Tingwan watched as Wei Xue walked over to Sang Ning.

“Sang Ning.”

Hearing Wei Xue’s voice, Sang Ning straightened up and looked at her.

Wei Xue said enthusiastically, “Once you’re done, we’ll take you out to play, okay?”

Sang Ning hesitated but shook her head. “I have something later.”

Wei Xue smiled. “Really?”

Sang Ning explained, “I have to shoot a charity art exhibition.”

Not long after, Shen Tingwan glanced over and saw Wei Xue returning with a bored look. She asked leisurely, “Rejected?”

“She wanted to come with me, but she has to shoot that charity art exhibition later. Next time, then.”

Shen Tingwan smiled without saying anything, then after a moment, “Wei Xue.”

Wei Xue: “Hm?”

Shen Tingwan said softly, a bit more serious, “Don’t go teasing her.”

Wei Xue was surprised. “Teasing? Since when do you meddle so much?”

Shen Tingwan fell quiet again, as if she was overstepping. She had boundaries and never interfered in others’ relationships.

Wei Xue wanted to say more but held back. She felt like Shen Tingwan was especially protective of Sang Ning, though she was always caring toward others. Feeling stuffy, she said, “Let’s go. Stop reading.”

Shen Tingwan replied, “You go ahead. I’m not going.”

Wei Xue was baffled. “Didn’t you just agree to go?”