Chapter 48

Yu Wan stared blankly at her, not speaking for a long while.

The Fang Nianchen reflected in her eyes was tilting her head back like this, with large and small wounds on her face. Without a response for so long, she looked even more pitiful.

Whether it was to amuse herself or if she truly felt that way, as long as she brought it up, Yu Wan couldn’t bear to ignore it.

Yu Wan reached out and gently patted the top of her head, asking softly, “Is this better?”

“Mm!” Fang Nianchen nodded vigorously, her eyes very bright. “Much better.”

The gentle soothing was like a reward for her heroic deeds tonight. The rewarded person got carried away for a moment, her smile stretching too wide and tugging at her wound, making her wince in pain.

Yu Wan broke into a smile through her tears.

Little liar.

Seeing her finally smile, Fang Nianchen felt both proud and relieved, lifting the corners of her mouth.

She had acted willfully for no reason this time, not just to pull Yu Wan out of her self-blame, but more so to satisfy her own little selfish desire.

The “connection” between her and Yu Wan relied on light touches, on restrained yet unwilling hearts.

To this day, the connection between them was no longer as fragile as a silken thread. Greedily, she wanted more.

She wasn’t very confident in her own demands, but she firmly believed that Yu Wan would do it.

With the comforting taking effect, Fang Nianchen continued, “You don’t need to blame yourself too much. From beginning to end, the only one in the wrong was Chen Yuyang. He’s received the punishment he deserves too. Mm… hitting his head shouldn’t be fatal, right?”

The tears in Yu Wan’s eyes gradually faded, a smile still lingering on her lips. “It shouldn’t be.”

“Do you want to wash your face?” Fang Nianchen reminded her considerately. She knew tears drying on the face felt awful—itchy and tight.

“Then you…”

“I’ll handle my wounds myself. You go ahead.”

She must look a total mess right now. Yu Wan didn’t argue back and forth with her anymore. She went to the bathroom to wash her face, removed her makeup, and washed away the exhaustion from her body.

When she returned, her naturally refined face was tinged with moisture, her forehead slightly damp, her expression much softer than usual.

In those few minutes, Fang Nianchen had already cleaned her wounds herself. She was now applying bruise cream under her eye in front of the mirror, poking around with some difficulty.

“Let me.” Unable to watch her torment herself, Yu Wan sat over and took the cotton swab from her hand.

Their breaths drew close, yet neither thought anything of it. The atmosphere reached a perfect balance, as if such intimate actions happened often and tonight was just one of countless everyday moments.

“Should we go to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up?” Yu Wan carefully wiped on the ointment, holding her hand steady so as not to poke her painfully, until it went numb.

“It should be fine, right?”

“Should be? It can’t be ‘should be.’ You have to take your health seriously.” Yu Wan lectured her. “Doctors are professionals, after all. Their methods might heal it faster.”

“Besides, with such a big bruise on your face, it’s not just unsightly—if your colleagues see it, they’ll definitely overthink things.”

As she spoke, her tone turned into that of coaxing a child.

Fang Nianchen thought about it and realized she had a point.

Office drones were vulgar and gossipy, jumping to melodramatic conclusions. Someone guessing domestic violence wouldn’t even surprise her.

She was also weak to Yu Wan’s gentle coaxing. She obediently agreed, “Then I’ll go to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow.”

Of course, she hadn’t forgotten the injury on her waist. She needed to get some painkillers no matter what, or she wouldn’t be able to sit and work.

Yu Wan nodded in satisfaction. “Mm, I’ll go with you.”

“Meow—” Just as the words fell, a cat’s meow came from who-knows-where.

For that instant, Fang Nianchen thought she’d misheard, but then a ball of black fur hopped onto the sofa and rubbed its head against Yu Wan’s hand, begging for pets.

She surely wasn’t hallucinating, was she?

Fang Nianchen stared at it, her doubtful eyes nearly turning one big and one small.

Fang Nianchen was certain she wasn’t seeing things. She had a unique recognition system for cats’ appearances—once seen, never forgotten. Otherwise, she couldn’t distinguish between the many cats at home so clearly.

Uncertain, she asked, “It… I think I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

“It’s the one you picked up.” Yu Wan hadn’t planned to introduce Little Briquette to Fang Nianchen so soon, but now she could only go with the flow.

There wasn’t anything to hide anyway.

Fang Nianchen inhaled sharply. “So the one who adopted it is you?”

A flood of information rushed into her mind, including how Yao Zhihao had praised the adopter to the skies, calling her a heavenly beauty and saying he’d taken a fancy to her.

And how Yao Zhihao said the adopter was also at Yunqi, hinting for her to help play matchmaker.

Crucially, she’d agreed.

Why the hell did she agree?! Fang Nianchen regretted it deeply.

No way, she had to call him tomorrow and make it clear—anyone but Yu Wan.

Yu Wan nodded. “I saw your Moments post, so I thought she might need me, just like I need her.”

With that, seeing Fang Nianchen hanging her head in thought, she gently lifted her chin with her hand. “Chin up. The ointment isn’t done yet.”

“Oh…” Reminded by her, Fang Nianchen snapped out of her brainstorm.

She obediently tilted her head forward.

But this time, seeing Yu Wan gently applying medicine to an outsider, the little cat meowed unhappily several times and burrowed into her arms.

Yu Wan was fully focused and had no time for it. Little Briquette got temperamental and started batting at her hand with its paws.

It was never this enthusiastic with her usually, but right now she couldn’t deal with it. Yu Wan ignored it.

To avoid its interference, she even lifted her hand higher.

Little Briquette hit a wall and immediately fumed. No one had ever dared ignore it like this!

With its master unhappy, it naturally needed to vent.

It didn’t dare mess with Yu Wan, its litter scooper who provided food and shelter, so the target could only be… the two-legged beast sitting opposite.

Little Briquette suddenly rolled over, arched its back, kicked its hind legs repeatedly, and got into a pouncing stance.

Then it “whooshed” out, swiping a claw at Fang Nianchen’s leg. Immediately after, it thumped up onto the sofa backrest, occupying the high ground and staring at her warily.

Little Briquette’s sudden freakout startled both of them. Yu Wan had never seen this and watched worriedly and tensely.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“No idea…” Fang Nianchen wondered why she’d been smacked out of nowhere and looked puzzledly at Little Briquette.

One human and one cat stared each other down. Little Briquette bared its teeth and hissed fiercely at her.

Fang Nianchen narrowed her eyes, feeling this demeanor looked familiar.

This cat… wasn’t jealous, was it?

She was done with cats—these creatures were all little geniuses. It wouldn’t surprise her if one started speaking human language someday.

The last time something like this happened, Christmas was having a birthday. She’d been holding it and feeding it treats when Laba got displeased. Before Fang Nianchen could react, it ambushed from behind, smacking Christmas on the head “pa pa” twice. It beat Christmas to the point of questioning its cat life, even making Fang Nianchen think it’d been smacked dumb.

Fang Nianchen had thought cats’ jealousy only targeted their own kind, but this one was even jealous of humans. It really didn’t see itself as a pet.

“It might be jealous,” Fang Nianchen said honestly. “You ignored it just now, so it took me as the enemy.”

Though she couldn’t figure out this kitten’s logic, it was clearly competing for attention. It wouldn’t settle down unless she left.

Sure enough, Little Briquette charged again but misjudged the distance—not only missing Fang Nianchen, but nearly tumbling off the sofa itself.

Fang Nianchen amusedly scooped it up and handed it to Yu Wan. “I should head out.”

After all the tossing and turning half the night, she usually went to bed early anyway. With the pain easing, drowsiness hit her quickly.

Plus, there was this little guy at home that didn’t welcome her. Staying longer would probably mean more chaos.

She didn’t want to trouble Yu Wan.

Yu Wan took Little Briquette. “It’s late. Is it safe?”

“I can call a ride.”

“Rides aren’t always safe either.” Yu Wan looked at her seriously. “Why not stay here tonight? You can leave when it’s light out. I’d feel better.”

“But I need to freshen up…” Fang Nianchen glanced at her dust-stained pant leg—not to mention the rest of her.

It wasn’t that she was a neat freak; she just feared leaving a bad impression on Yu Wan. Being filthy dirty seemed rude no matter whose home you visited.

“I have spare bathrobes, and fresh bedsheets. No need to worry about troubling me.” Yu Wan paused. “Mainly… it depends if you’re willing.”

“I…” Fang Nianchen stared troubledly at a corner of the coffee table.

Honestly speaking, she was willing.

Staying over at Yu Wan’s place was something she’d never even dared dream of before. But with the opportunity right in front of her, she suddenly felt like her blood carried some indecent intentions, making her seem scheming.

This was the second time tonight that Yu Wan had asked her to stay. Was it related to that thrilling scene from earlier?

Perhaps if she stayed, Yu Wan would sleep more soundly?

If that was the case…

“Mm.” Fang Nianchen nodded. “As long as I won’t trouble you.”

“Of course not.” Yu Wan smiled relaxedly.

She packed away the medicine box and led her to the room.

The apartment was a two-bedroom unit, with the doors to both bedrooms facing each other.

The second bedroom hadn’t been occupied since Yu Wan moved in. Last night, Quan Cige had squeezed into the same bed with her, so the room was still pristine and brand new.

“How are the conditions?” Yu Wan asked her with a smile.

“Very good. The place is spacious, and the furnishings are all new.” Fang Nianchen suddenly asked, “Did the company assign it?”

“Yes. But at first, they gave me a one-bedroom with a bigger living room. I asked them to swap it.”

Though a one-bedroom would have been plenty for her, for some inexplicable reason, she’d long since prepared for the possibility of a roommate.

“It’s late. Hurry up and shower, then get some rest.” Yu Wan urged her. “You go first, then I’ll wash up.”

Fang Nianchen had no objections and headed into the bathroom with a bathrobe in her arms.

After her shower, Fang Nianchen slipped into the bathrobe. She had no idea whether staying over would bring her a night of sweet dreams or keep her tossing and turning with excitement.

It was already deep into the night. After blow-drying her hair, she stepped out, crossed through the living room, and headed toward the room Yu Wan had prepared for her.

As she got closer, she noticed the door wasn’t shut. Yu Wan was standing in front of the bed, staring thoughtfully at the mattress.

“What’s wrong?” Fang Nianchen walked over and asked curiously.

Yu Wan first pointed at the mattress with a pained expression. Then, her face turning stern, she grabbed Little Briquette by the scruff of its neck and tossed it onto the “crime scene.”

“It peed on the bed. I just checked, and the mattress is soaked through.” Not only did it smell sharply sour, but there was no way anyone could sleep on it now—might even need a whole new mattress.

None of that mattered. Spending money and effort was nothing compared to the sheer embarrassment that made it impossible to bring up.

Fang Nianchen stood there in a daze, but she already had a premonition, vaguely guessing what was coming next.

“Do you want to…” Yu Wan hesitated as she spoke, “squeeze in with me?”