Shen Tingwan was curious. In her impression, they had often run into each other, but Sang Ning rarely greeted her. During club activities, Sang Ning always kept her distance and never struck up a conversation, as if deliberately avoiding her…
Sang Ning was caught off guard by the question. She had thought Shen Tingwan wouldn’t notice her at all.
Shen Tingwan still looked at her, patiently waiting for an answer.
Sang Ning played dumb and smiled ambiguously. “Have I?”
Shen Tingwan smiled too. Maybe she was overthinking it—perhaps not everyone had to be enthusiastic toward her. She asked again, “So, you haven’t been avoiding me?”
“No.” Sang Ning’s gaze returned to its usual calm. She couldn’t exactly say yes.
Shen Tingwan looked at her with smiling eyes and said matter-of-factly, “Then come with me.”
Sang Ning quietly watched her, her heartbeat secretly quickening by several beats…
Shen Tingwan always felt that Sang Ning was like the photos she took—quiet on the surface but harboring a story beneath. She had no intention of prying into others’ private matters, but with the rain pouring so heavily and them crossing paths like this, it was only natural for a senior to give her junior a ride. It was no trouble at all.
She leaned closer and urged, “Let’s go. I can only park temporarily on the roadside.”
Sang Ning couldn’t refuse a second time.
The two stood under the same umbrella. Sang Ning tactfully kept a little distance between them, ensuring their shoulders didn’t brush.
The umbrella wasn’t large, so Shen Tingwan said, “You can come a bit closer.”
Sang Ning vaguely heard Shen Tingwan speaking and turned her head. “What?”
Shen Tingwan simply scooted closer to her side, closing the gap.
Their shoulders lightly touched, and Sang Ning fell silent, her heartbeat restless all the way, blending into the sound of the rain.
The two hurried into the car. Shen Tingwan handed Sang Ning a tissue. “Did you get wet?”
“No.” Sang Ning took the tissue and glanced at Shen Tingwan. She had only gotten a bit of rain on her arms.
Shen Tingwan simply wiped her sleeves.
Sang Ning sat in the passenger seat and adjusted her hearing aid again.
Shen Tingwan asked her, “Uncomfortable?”
The car was quiet, and the sounds around her were much clearer. Sang Ning said, “I had some tinnitus earlier, but it’s much better now.”
“Mm.” Shen Tingwan responded naturally, without saying more.
Sang Ning rarely talked with Shen Tingwan, but every time she did, it felt comfortable. Only with Shen Tingwan did she face no strange looks—no surprise, no pity.
In Shen Tingwan’s presence, she occasionally felt that she was just a little different from others, and that difference was nothing special, like how everyone’s personality was unique.
Sang Ning would always remember the first time she met Shen Tingwan.
It had been eight years ago.
She had just started her freshman year, feeling frustrated and depressed. She hadn’t integrated into the group, and even her once-proud grades had become mediocre in university.
“Hello, could you tell me which way to Wenyuan Building?”
In the evening, she wandered the campus like a headless fly, frantic and exasperated. She had asked several people for directions in a row, her throat dry and sore.
She was unfamiliar with the campus—it was vast and winding, with poor signage. To make matters worse, her hearing aid had broken at the time.
She needed to go to Wenyuan Building to pick up some materials, but she hadn’t heard her roommate’s reminder and ended up going alone.
The people she asked were all friendly. “Wenyuan Building is to the south. You need to go around the library first, then…”
They kindly explained at length, but she strained to listen and only saw moving lips. Her tinnitus was especially bad that day; she couldn’t make out a thing, nearly driving her to collapse.
Ashamed to keep bothering one person for fear of annoying them, she kept switching people as she went.
Near the academic building, she stopped another girl who didn’t look like a freshman. “Senior, how do I get to Wenyuan Building?”
The girl answered her and pointed out the way.
Sang Ning half-understood, annoyed that she hadn’t heard clearly. She cursed her faulty ears inwardly. Even something simple took her far more effort than others.
Perhaps because the senior smiled so gently and beautifully, she mustered the courage for the first time to say frankly, “My ears don’t work well, and I can’t hear clearly. Could you write it down for me?”
She regretted it immediately. What a weird request—she’d surely be seen as annoying or a freak. She pursed her lips, bracing herself for the odd look, as she was all too practiced at it.
But the other’s expression didn’t change. She still smiled mildly and beautifully, lowered her head to type a line in her phone’s notes app, and showed it to her.
[I’m going that way. I can go with you.]
Sang Ning stared at the person before her in a daze, her nose suddenly souring with the urge to cry. So, she could be treated like this too…
After reaching Wenyuan Building, she foolishly only said thank you. It wasn’t until later that she realized she hadn’t even asked the girl’s name.
Not long after, the college held a welcome party for new students.
Sang Ning sat in the front row under the stage, drowsy, until she saw that senior again. She wore a white long dress and gracefully walked to the center of the stage, sitting at the piano for a solo performance. She seemed to glow, as if all the stars had fallen on her alone.
That was when she learned her name was Shen Tingwan.
The lights flashed in Sang Ning’s eyes. The car ahead was signaling a turn, blinking nonstop.
The car interior had been quiet all along.
Eight years later, Shen Tingwan gave her a ride for the second time.
Sang Ning had originally planned to ask Shen Tingwan to drop her at the subway entrance, but after hesitating, she didn’t say it.
So, another period of silence stretched between them.
Sang Ning sat upright gazing ahead. From the corner of her eye, she could only glimpse Shen Tingwan’s hand on the steering wheel—pale and cool, with faint blue veins on the back that looked good too.
The destination was just ahead. Sang Ning spoke up, “Just stop at the intersection up front.”
Shen Tingwan slowed the car. “Okay.”
The car came to a gentle stop. Sang Ning unbuckled her seatbelt. “Thank you, Senior.”
Nearly thirty years old and still being called “Senior”—Shen Tingwan felt a bit awkward, but since Sang Ning said it so naturally, she let it go. “You’re welcome.”
Sang Ning prepared to get out, pushing the door open a crack.
“Wait.”
Sang Ning quickly turned back. “Hm?”
Shen Tingwan picked up the umbrella and said, “Take the umbrella.”
Sang Ning glanced out the window. “The rain stopped.”
Shen Tingwan said nothing more. “Goodbye.”
It was a perfectly ordinary polite farewell, but Sang Ning still felt a ripple of delight. She kept her composure and replied to Shen Tingwan, “Goodbye.”
Sang Ning got out of the car. Once she turned her back, the curve of her lips grew a bit larger. It was the same as before—running into Shen Tingwan always improved her mood, whether it was just a greeting or even just a glance.
She walked toward her apartment against the damp wind, suddenly wondering if she should have accepted the umbrella…
*
Sunny days gradually increased, and the air grew thick with summer vibes.
After that mutual “goodbye,” they didn’t see each other again or have any contact, as if each had returned to their own world.
Sang Ning knew that Shen Tingwan appearing in her world was just a rare coincidence. Not seeing her was the norm.
Seeing her brought a bit more joy; not seeing her meant continuing her uneventful life.
The studio had acquired a fiddle-leaf fig, a towering one at 1.7 meters, turning the corner into a little forest of greenery. All the clients who saw it said it was beautiful.
Yu Shuang said even her fiery temper had been purified a bit—this purchase was worth it.
Work pressure was light that week. Sang Ning handled two clients in the morning, shot a set of still lifes, and got praised by the client for the great shots. Barring surprises, she could clock out on time today.
Everything went smoothly, adding a touch of quiet pleasure to her day. A simple life yielding simple joys—that was her routine.
Contentment was constant happiness.
During lunch with takeout, Yu Shuang suddenly called her. “Sang Ning, Sang Ning.”
Sang Ning looked up. “Hm?”
Yu Shuang checked her homework like a teacher. “Have you kept in touch with your goddess senior?”
Sang Ning paused. “…Kept in touch how?”
“Daily chats to build rapport.” Yu Shuang analyzed. “She works at a magazine; she must have tons of resources in that field. Great networking.”
“We’re not close.” Sang Ning didn’t want to.
“How are you not close? I feel like your senior is pretty nice to you.”
Sang Ning smiled and told Yu Shuang, “She’s nice to everyone.”
Her gentleness and thoughtfulness came from ingrained upbringing. On the surface, Shen Tingwan didn’t keep people at arm’s length, but she actually maintained distance and wasn’t easy to get close to. Yu Shuang could hit it off with Wei Xue quickly, but never with Shen Tingwan.
“Then be proactive! Chat with her now and then, ask after her health, be a caring junior. You’ll get close eventually.”
Sang Ning said softly, “No.”
Yu Shuang: ???
Sang Ning fell silent. She had seen others do this to Shen Tingwan… To Shen Tingwan, it was just a disturbance. Too many people approached her that way.
She didn’t want to disturb Shen Tingwan’s life. Not before, and not now.
Sang Ning remembered that Yu Shuang also had Shen Tingwan’s contact info, so she reminded her first. “Don’t be thick-skinned and bother her.”
“What do you mean bother?” Yu Shuang felt wronged. “She might need photography services too. It’s mutual benefit.”
Sang Ning remained unmoved.
Seeing Sang Ning’s reaction, Yu Shuang was exasperated. “Do you even know how to leverage your advantages? If you were even a little proactive and enthusiastic, smiled sweetly, even someone like your senior couldn’t resist…”
Sang Ning cut Yu Shuang off. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Yu Shuang: “…”
She thought Sang Ning was great in every way, except too aloof and no good at socializing.
Work finished on schedule, and she clocked out at six sharp. Sang Ning turned down Yu Shuang’s dinner invite.
Back home, Sang Ning saw a delivery box at the door and carried it inside.
A big box of peaches, sent from home. Her hometown was a small county near Birch City, famous for its peaches, and it was exactly peach season.
Sang Ning opened the box, and a fresh fruit fragrance filled the air. She snapped a photo and sent it to Sang Mingjuan, saying she’d received it.
With time to spare, Sang Ning prepared for her night run. After moving, she’d run a few times and found a good route, sticking to it mostly.
She had a habit of running in her free time. Once she started, she focused solely on the moment, the natural wind whooshing past, as if blowing away all stress and worries.
That night, she ran five kilometers in one go. Sweating felt great, leaving her refreshed.
After the run, she walked a stretch back home, arriving just in time for a shower.
Emerging from the bathroom, the night was deep and still.
Sang Ning dried her damp hair and glanced at WeChat—it had a new message. She picked up her phone to check.
As she took the phone, her hair-drying paused. Water droplets trailed from her dark, soft hair tips, one by one, quietly falling to the floor…
It was from Shen Tingwan.
