Chapter 69

The wind rose at night, and the two cuddled together in the bed.

Sang Ning had a nightmare that evening. She woke up groggily in the middle of the night once, and the room was pitch black. It seemed to be raining outside.

Unable to see or hear clearly, she used to feel the most insecure in moments like these. But now it was different. She nestled closer into Shen Tingwan’s embrace, and the sensation of the hug felt warm and reassuring.

She slept again until daybreak, unsure of the exact time. The room was filled with hazy light, and the rain outside was still falling.

The person beside her was sleeping soundly. Sang Ning stared for a moment before leaning in carefully. A gentle kiss landed on Shen Tingwan’s lips.

Whenever she woke up before Shen Tingwan, she would steal a kiss. At first, it was just on the hair, then the cheeks, and now she kissed the lips without restraint.

After their brief separation, she grew even greedier. That morning, Sang Ning stole several kisses.

Shen Tingwan felt itchy from the hair brushing against her. After the kiss, she didn’t open her eyes but turned her head and kissed back softly.

Sang Ning paused briefly before pressing closer for a few more kisses. A responsive kiss was always the sweetest, and she curved her lips into a smile.

In her half-asleep, half-awake state, Shen Tingwan heard the sound of rain. She pressed her face to Sang Ning’s ear and asked lazily, “Is it raining?”

“Mm.” Sang Ning responded softly. It was perfect weather for lounging in bed doing nothing. Both of them were on vacation, with plenty of time to spend slowly.

The sound of rain made for good sleep. Shen Tingwan closed her eyes, hugged her tightly, and soon drifted off again. The holiday had been busy with socializing and travel, and only now did she truly relax and rest.

Sang Ning didn’t sleep anymore. Her fingertip quietly brushed aside Shen Tingwan’s hair strands as she gazed at the beautiful sleeping face for a long time. The dreamlike illusion from before was gone; she was growing accustomed to being together like this.

Half an hour later, Lanlan padded to the bedside and let out a soft meow.

Sang Ning glanced at the cat bowl beside her, which had only two kibbles left. She was being accused. She got out of bed quietly, tucked the blanket around Shen Tingwan, and bent down to smooth it.

After putting on some clothes, Lanlan came over and rubbed against her legs. She squatted down to play with the cat for a bit, refilled the bowl with kibble, and then started tidying the room.

The small apartment had never been this messy. Clothes of all sizes were scattered from the living room all the way to the bathroom—everything in sight was a mess.

The impatient scene from last night was still vivid in her mind.

The uncontrolled gasps from both of them in the bathroom seemed to echo in her ears again. Sang Ning’s heart burned at the thought. Before they had gotten together, she had assumed Shen Tingwan probably didn’t like this kind of thing much, given how gentle and calm she always was.

She thought her senior was pretty good at pretending.

Sang Ning picked up the scattered clothes from the floor one by one and put them in the laundry basket, leaving them unwashed for now to avoid the noise from the washing machine.

Shen Tingwan didn’t wake until noon. After days without proper rest plus the exertion from last night, her body felt like it was falling apart. Fortunately, there were still two days of vacation left; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to work in this state.

The small apartment was a single-room layout. Sang Ning sat on the sofa looking at her laptop. Before the New Year, she had posted a job listing for an assistant on the platform, and her inbox was filled with resumes. She could start scheduling interviews.

After busying herself for a while, Sang Ning looked up and saw that the person on the bed had woken up, gazing at her lazily. She curved her eyes and smiled quietly.

Shen Tingwan lay on her side, pillow under her head. Just waking up, she was already sweetened by the sight.

Sang Ning set down the laptop, walked over, and sat on the edge of the bed. Lowering her head, she asked, “What do you want to eat for lunch?”

Shen Tingwan was too tired to think and handed off the task. “Anything’s fine.”

Seeing it was already late, Sang Ning ordered takeout first. Then she went to the closet, picked out a set of clothes, and placed them by the pillow.

Shen Tingwan sat up in bed, and the blanket slipped down her shoulders, revealing large expanses of fair skin. After everything that had happened, there was no need to hide anymore.

Sang Ning instinctively averted her gaze.

Shen Tingwan always wanted to laugh at her fake propriety in moments like this. Even lifting her arms felt exhausting. “So tired. Don’t want to move.”

Worried she would catch a chill like that, Sang Ning leaned down, picked up the clothes, and helped her put them on.

Shen Tingwan sometimes had no defense against Sang Ning’s thoughtfulness—it was meticulous to the extreme.

Helping her dress inevitably involved some touching and brushing. Shen Tingwan turned to look; sure enough, the other’s ears and face were flushed red. She scraped a finger lightly over the slightly red cheek and said softly, “Weren’t you quite enthusiastic when we were kissing?”

“…”

Sang Ning had no rebuttal.

After teasing her into shyness, Shen Tingwan’s lips curved into a smile, and she kissed her cheek.

Sang Ning kissed the corner of her mouth in return. Shy or not, she was perfectly willing to be teased by Shen Tingwan.

She pulled open the curtains. The rain was drizzling steadily, but it didn’t feel oppressive. The leaves outside were washed green by the rain, carrying the thickening scent of spring.

After the Spring Festival holiday, Sang Ning had moved in. The two now lived together. Their work was busy again, and if they didn’t live together, they would barely see each other.

Shen Tingwan’s place wasn’t far from the studio, so they didn’t look for another apartment. Sang Ning didn’t have much stuff and settled in by mid-afternoon.

For their first meal as cohabitants, they ate at home. After a busy day, it wasn’t anything elaborate—Sang Ning simply boiled two bowls of dumplings.

Shen Tingwan came out after her shower. Steam wafted from the kitchen, and Sang Ning’s silhouette was soft, her long hair cascading down her back. Compared to when they first met in the summer, it had grown much longer.

Sang Ning’s waist tightened as her back was enveloped in fragrance and warmth. She smiled brightly, loving when Shen Tingwan suddenly hugged her from behind.

Shen Tingwan’s arms circled her waist. “Your hair has grown so much.”

“Has it?” Sang Ning asked.

Shen Tingwan measured on her arm. “Last summer, it was about here.”

Sang Ning was surprised. “You remember that clearly?”

“Yeah.” Shen Tingwan admitted she had always been drawn to Sang Ning, regardless of any initial intentions.

Sang Ning’s heart sweetened. She turned, pressing her cheek to Shen Tingwan’s, and couldn’t help rubbing against it.

Shen Tingwan nudged her cheek with her nose tip and teased, “Are you a cat?”

Sang Ning looked at her face and whispered, “You’re the fox.”

Shen Tingwan gazed into her clear, smiling eyes, pinching her chin between thumb and forefinger to tease her a little.

Sang Ning laughed too. No matter if Shen Tingwan kneaded her cheeks or pinched her ears, she always went along with it obediently.

The dumplings were almost ready. The homemade ones were generously filled, with thin skins and plump filling. Shen Tingwan watched. “I wasn’t hungry before, but now I am.”

“It’ll be ready soon.” Sang Ning fished one out to cool, blew on it carefully, and brought it to Shen Tingwan’s lips. “Careful, it’s hot.”

Shen Tingwan took a small bite—fresh and sweet. “So delicious.”

“My mom made a bunch and told me to bring some for you to try.”

“Auntie thinks of me that much?”

“Mm, she’s mentioned you several times.” They chatted idly as Sang Ning adjusted the broth and made two steaming bowls of dumpling soup—perfect for winter.

It was the simplest meal imaginable, but both ate it warmly and happily.

After dinner, Shen Tingwan remembered the several photo albums Sang Ning had brought when moving in. She pulled them from the bookshelf—six solid volumes.

Sang Ning saw them and hesitated to speak.

Shen Tingwan noticed her reaction. “Can’t I look?”

Sang Ning: “No, it’s not that…”

They leaned together and flipped through the old photos. Shen Tingwan saw that many were landscapes. “Taken with friends?”

“Some with friends, but mostly alone.”

Shen Tingwan stroked her hair and reached for another album.

Sang Ning glanced and gripped the sofa cushion, already feeling embarrassed.

Shen Tingwan opened it and froze. The entire album was filled with photos of herself—some taken by Jiang Yunchun before, others from the riverside on Halloween…

“You like the composition of every single one?” Shen Tingwan asked with a meaningful smile.

Sang Ning: “…”

Shen Tingwan continued flipping with a smile on her lips. When she reached some blurry old group photos from club activities—one of the few she had—her smile lingered.

One was from a club sharing event, where Sang Ning had happened to sit next to her. Their only university photo together, carefully treasured.

Further down, Shen Tingwan paused longer. Tucked in the album was an unsent postcard, faded and yellowed.

The familiar handwriting held a few simple, sincere graduation well-wishes, unsigned, dated to the summer she graduated from university.

Sang Ning lowered her head. Looking back, she had been such a complete coward, not even daring to send an anonymous postcard.

Shen Tingwan’s eyes grew hot. She had been quietly loved by this fool for so long.

For a moment, they both fell silent.

Shen Tingwan pulled her into a tight embrace.

Sang Ning hugged her back wordlessly. She wanted to say not to feel sorry for her, but it was pointless—loving someone always made heartache easy.

“In the future, I’ll travel with you. In the future, I’ll be your personal model. In the future, we’ll take lots of photos together, okay?”

Shen Tingwan listed several futures. Sang Ning listened until she wanted to cry. She foolishly said yes, then leaned to Shen Tingwan’s ear and greedily added, “I want to be like this with you forever.”

Shen Tingwan leaned to her ear too. “Then forever it is.”