Chapter 47

They arrived at the hotpot restaurant at half past six and began ordering after taking their seats.

Tan Xiaoqiu scanned the menu and asked Sang Ning what she wanted to eat. Sang Ning said anything would do, and she laughed. “You’re still the same as always, fine with whatever.”

Sang Ning smiled too.

“Tingwan-jie, what do you want? Don’t let me do all the ordering.” After Shen Tingwan said there was no need to call her senior, Tan Xiaoqiu switched to a more familiar address.

Shen Tingwan smiled faintly. “Whatever you pick is fine.”

Tan Xiaoqiu muttered again, “What about the broth base, then?”

“Mandarin duck pot,” Sang Ning chimed in. Shen Tingwan wasn’t great with spicy food, and Tan Xiaoqiu didn’t know that. She was afraid Tan Xiaoqiu would just order the spicy one.

Tan Xiaoqiu grinned. “Sure.”

The broth bubbled and boiled, and the dishes arrived quickly. The spice level at this place was intense, so Sang Ning added some iced drinks and desserts to cool things down.

Tan Xiaoqiu was chatty, dipping meat while making small talk. “Must be nice running your own studio—way more freedom, right?”

Sang Ning nodded. “It’s tiring, though. What about you?”

“It’s okay, just a lot of business trips.” Tan Xiaoqiu glanced at Shen Tingwan. “Tingwan-jie, didn’t you work abroad? Are you back now?”

“Yeah, came back this year.” As Shen Tingwan spoke, she reached for a drink.

Sang Ning glanced at her. “Don’t drink anything iced.”

Shen Tingwan blinked. “Huh?”

Sang Ning reminded her softly, “Isn’t your period coming up soon?”

Shen Tingwan stared at her for a moment, then smiled. “You still remember my cycle?”

Sang Ning fumbled awkwardly, “…Ours are about the same.”

Tan Xiaoqiu noticed how close they seemed and suddenly recalled something from university. She chuckled. “Sang Ning, you only joined the Photography Society because of Tingwan-jie, right?”

The two across the table fell silent at once.

Sang Ning hadn’t expected Tan Xiaoqiu to bring that up out of nowhere.

Shen Tingwan was surprised too. She glanced at the person sitting beside her.

Sang Ning: “…”

Shen Tingwan smiled warmly and asked, “What do you mean?”

“She thought the senior was pretty, so she signed up without a second thought.” Tan Xiaoqiu teased, shooting Sang Ning a look. “Right?”

Shen Tingwan fell silent again.

Sang Ning’s mind buzzed. She forced a smile. “…No way.”

“How not?” Tan Xiaoqiu laughed outright. “You weren’t even planning to join the Photography Society. I only filled out the form because I followed your lead.”

Sang Ning was speechless. It was the first time Tan Xiaoqiu had teased her like this; otherwise, she never would have invited Shen Tingwan tonight.

Shen Tingwan gave her a couple of looks with a smile but said nothing.

“This flame beef is delicious.” Tan Xiaoqiu’s lighthearted comment steered the conversation away.

“Another serving?” Sang Ning picked up the thread casually, though the embarrassment lingered inside her. Fortunately, Shen Tingwan didn’t press her on it.

After hotpot, Tan Xiaoqiu left first. She had work tomorrow and couldn’t stay out too late. She said she’d visit Sang Ning in Birch City next time she had free time.

As they left the restaurant, Sang Ning took out two candies and quietly handed one to Shen Tingwan.

Shen Tingwan looked at her and accepted it.

They exchanged a glance. Sang Ning thought of the dinner conversation and felt awkward all over. She looked down, unwrapped the candy, and popped it into her mouth, focusing on the coolness on her tongue.

They stepped out of the mall, still warm from the hotpot.

Shen Tingwan turned her head to look at the pale profile beside her and spoke first. “Why so quiet?”

Sang Ning met her eyes.

Shen Tingwan clarified, “I didn’t say you couldn’t call me…”

Sang Ning: “Hm?”

“Call me senior if you want.” Shen Tingwan noted that Sang Ning hadn’t called her that all evening, probably because of what she’d said to Tan Xiaoqiu.

Sang Ning replied, “Doesn’t it bother you?”

Shen Tingwan smiled. “Not when you say it. I’m used to it.”

Sang Ning murmured an absentminded “mm,” a spark of happiness flickering at the special treatment, though it couldn’t quite dispel her embarrassment.

They walked a stretch to digest. Shen Tingwan slowed her pace and turned. “Did you join the Photography Society because of me?”

Sang Ning’s heart tugged.

She’d sensed Shen Tingwan would bring it up, and sure enough.

Shen Tingwan stopped and looked at her. “Tell the truth. No lying.”

Sang Ning’s eyes were locked on, nowhere to hide. She wasn’t good at lying anyway, and this made it worse—her silence gave her away.

Shen Tingwan was incredulous. “It really was because of me?”

Back then, she’d only been dragged by a friend to “hold down the fort” at the recruitment event, which did draw a crowd, but she’d never imagined Sang Ning was one of them…

Sang Ning sorted through her jumbled thoughts and answered softly, “I just thought the senior was a really nice person.”

Shen Tingwan kept watching her.

Sang Ning pressed her lips together and smiled faintly as she explained, “You probably don’t remember anymore, but back in freshman year, you showed me the way once…”

“I remember,” Shen Tingwan said, recalling the scene. “I took you to Wenyuan Building.”

Sang Ning was surprised that Shen Tingwan remembered. On second thought, it must have been because her own behavior had been so odd—she’d even asked Shen Tingwan to type for her.

“So you remember?” Shen Tingwan asked back. “I thought you’d forgotten.”

“I didn’t.” Sang Ning thought, How could I forget? She hesitated, then added, “My hearing aid was broken then, and I had bad tinnitus that day. I was really grateful you took me there…”

It fulfilled a little wish of hers too—she’d never properly thanked Shen Tingwan for it.

Shen Tingwan gazed at her quietly. No wonder she’d been so insistent that time with the rumors, saying “I know the senior is a good person.”

“So you paid attention to me?”

Sang Ning nodded.

Shen Tingwan frowned, almost laughing. “Then why were you always so distant?”

Sang Ning: “…”

Shen Tingwan looked at her usual quiet, inscrutable self. “Sang Ning.”

Sang Ning, distracted: “Hm?”

Shen Tingwan stared. “You really can be so quiet.”

Sang Ning let her say it. With this explanation, Shen Tingwan shouldn’t overthink anymore.

*

A few days later, the cold snap passed, and the weather improved.

They met again on Friday evening. Sang Ning was going for a night run, and Shen Tingwan said she’d join.

Sang Ning no longer deliberately ran past the street with the coffee shop, since Shen Tingwan would accompany her when she had time.

At some point, they’d started watching movies together, exercising together, and eating out now and then.

Shen Tingwan seemed to have carved out a fixed place in her life. Sang Ning was happy but uneasy—if that spot ever emptied, she couldn’t imagine the pain. She began worrying that Shen Tingwan might meet someone she liked, even though she knew such thoughts were no good…

Shen Tingwan worked out regularly and had a good fitness base, so their paces matched well when running together.

Sang Ning loved the warm, energized feeling after a run.

After a few kilometers, they walked a bit and passed a snack street. They hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so Sang Ning glanced at Shen Tingwan. “There’s a great beef noodle soup place here.”

“Sure.”

Sang Ning ordered familiarly—she frequented good spots, and the owner recognized her, greeting her warmly.

She turned to Shen Tingwan. “What do you want?”

Shen Tingwan said, “Whichever’s good— you pick.”

Sang Ning ordered two signature beef noodle soups and a plate of hot stir-fried braised beef. When the owner was about to add cilantro to the beef, she quickly stopped him. “No cilantro.”

“Got it, got it.” The owner stopped in time. He usually asked, but skipped it for this regular.

Shen Tingwan remembered Sang Ning ate cilantro, but she herself couldn’t stand it. She never made a fuss when eating out, just avoided what she didn’t like.

Sang Ning noticed her watching.

Shen Tingwan asked, “You knew I don’t eat cilantro?”

Sang Ning: “…I guessed. You never seem to eat it.”

Shen Tingwan smiled thoughtfully.

Winter was perfect for noodle soup. Sang Ning took a sip of broth, warming up even more.

Shen Tingwan looked up. After Sang Ning finished the soup, her lips turned red and soft… She chuckled lightly.

Sang Ning didn’t know what she was laughing at. “Why are you staring?”

Shen Tingwan grinned. “Watching you eat makes me hungry.”

Sang Ning smiled too, taking it as a compliment.

“Didn’t your family run a noodle shop too?” Shen Tingwan remembered seeing Sang Ning post about it on her Moments.

Sang Ning: “Mm-hm.”

Shen Tingwan asked, “When can you take me to try it?”

Sang Ning laughed. “Anytime you’re free.”

Shen Tingwan spotted some sesame on her lip and leaned in with a napkin to wipe it off.

Sang Ning’s hand rose then fell. Unable to resist savoring the fleeting intimacy, she stayed still and let Shen Tingwan wipe it.

Shen Tingwan’s eyes were downcast, her lips soft.

The small gesture ended quickly, but Sang Ning’s heartbeat raced belatedly. She quietly licked her lips, feeling a faint itch.

Someone at the next table kept glancing over. Sang Ning had a feeling they wanted to ask for contact info—it happened often.

Their friend was egging them on.

Sure enough, soon a person from that table stood and approached with two cans of drink.

They smiled. “Here, for you—we have extras.”

Sang Ning realized upon hearing the voice that it was a girl, just dressed androgynously, and pretty cute.

Shen Tingwan looked up with a smile. “No thanks, you keep them.”

The short-haired girl stared at Shen Tingwan’s face. “Jie, can I add you?”

Shen Tingwan refused calmly and directly. “No.”

Sang Ning watched, the scene so familiar. Shen Tingwan always rejected people like this—gentle but with clear distance.

“Let’s just be friends.”

The girl tried again, intentions obvious. Sang Ning figured Shen Tingwan would brush it off with “I don’t like girls”…

Shen Tingwan cut it short. “I have a girlfriend.”

Sang Ning’s chopsticks paused as she listened quietly. She realized Shen Tingwan was even better at lying than Yu Shuang.

The short-haired girl froze, then glanced at Sang Ning, awkward. “Your girlfriend?”

Shen Tingwan smiled gracefully. “Mm-hm.”