Chapter 52 Part 1

After finishing breakfast, Yu Wan didn’t notice any sign that Fang Nianchen wanted to chase her away.

Her behavior today was very strange—strange enough that Yu Wan suspected she’d said or done something during her blackout.

While Fang Nianchen was changing the cat’s water, she stood by and asked, “I… didn’t do anything excessive last night, did I?”

She hesitated, scrutinizing her expression.

“Nope.” Fang Nianchen’s attention was entirely on her hands, not even glancing up. “You came back and went straight to sleep.”

Yu Wan nodded. She vaguely remembered at the parking lot, how she’d grabbed Fang Nianchen’s collar and said she liked her.

Getting handsy like that must’ve been because of the alcohol making her bolder. Plus, it had been a week since they’d seen each other, and she couldn’t wait to tie her down—take her on business trips from now on, so she wouldn’t miss her so much.

After getting in the car, she’d been too exhausted to stay awake and had just let herself pass out. She vaguely recalled Fang Nianchen putting in quite some effort to get her upstairs, but at that point, she was too tired to even open her eyes.

Good thing she hadn’t done anything awful.

Once Fang Nianchen finished changing the water, she gazed at the clear skies outside and suddenly asked her, “Do you have anything going on today?”

Yu Wan smiled. “I just got back from my business trip. The company wouldn’t be that heartless to make me work the weekend.”

That week away, she’d been swamped—either bickering with subsidiary leaders during the day or observing operations, and only getting a chance to rest at the hotel in the evenings. She was past the age of endlessly scrolling her phone, but after showering and lying in bed, she tossed and turned sleeplessly, just waiting for a single message.

She knew exactly what she was hoping for, but not a peep from Fang Nianchen—not even a greeting.

So she’d gotten a bit annoyed and decided not to message first, seeing who could hold out longer.

But clearly, Fang Nianchen’s self-control was superior.

It wasn’t until right before heading back to North City that Yu Wan suddenly realized: this petty contest only affected her—no one else.

Back in university, Fang Nianchen had been willing to share her daily life because they were close, but after losing touch because of her, it was hard to return to that state.

If she wanted to pursue her, she had to take the initiative.

So on Friday evening, she’d messaged Fang Nianchen first, saying she was about to return to North City.

After sending it, she wanted to add, “Want to come pick me up?”

But it felt too clingy, and bossing her around on the weekend screamed sleazy superior abusing her position.

So she tweaked the tone, thinking to invite her to dinner instead.

Before she could send it, Secretary Cao called, informing her of a last-minute dinner with the board of directors.

Vice President Zheng from Yunqi was originally handling it, but something came up, so they roped Yu Wan in to cover.

Having been at the company just a month, she hadn’t figured out the higher-ups’ tempers yet—the safest bet was to agree. But she didn’t want to miss the chance to see Fang Nianchen over something like that.

Her longing for that person had never burned so fiercely.

While she hesitated, Fang Nianchen replied—with a perfunctory emoji.

Like saying “Got it.”

And then what? Was “got it” enough? Their feelings weren’t mutual at all.

In that instant, Yu Wan lost all interest in asking her to dinner. It felt like this was all one-sided; Fang Nianchen didn’t miss her one bit.

She hadn’t expected that after going all that roundabout trouble, she’d still end up back at Fang Nianchen’s place.

“How about the zoo?” Fang Nianchen suggested. “Since you came to North City, I haven’t taken you around properly. Xiao Ning’an told me to bring you out more, to help change up your mood.”

She swore this was the last time she’d use Xiao Ning’an as a shield.

Though in a way, she had indeed promised Xiao Ning’an to take Yu Wan out over the weekend.

“Has Xiao Ning… contacted you again lately?” Yu Wan’s calm expression darkened instantly at the mention of Xiao Ning’an’s name.

“Not lately—it was the week before last when we talked on the phone.” Fang Nianchen remembered; that was when she’d been jealous of Chen Yuyang and called Xiao Ning’an to vent.

Seeing Yu Wan hesitate, Fang Nianchen asked, “Don’t want to go?”

“Let’s go. Just the two of us?”

“Yeah.” Fang Nianchen felt baffled. Was there a third wheel here or something?

“Anyone else you want to invite?”

Yu Wan shook her head lightly. “No.”

She’d thought Fang Nianchen wouldn’t want to go out alone with her.

Hearing that she agreed, Fang Nianchen immediately pushed off her knees and stood, excitedly planning: “We’ll drive there now—we can arrive at the zoo by nine-thirty. North City’s wildlife zoo is huge; one day is just right to see it all. Then we can eat whatever you want afterward.”

“Heading out now?”

“Mm!” Fang Nianchen nodded. “Wait while I change.”

She was still in her morning jog clothes—not zoo-appropriate; more like hunt-ready.

Ten minutes later, the two of them, freshly prepared, headed out.

Fang Nianchen drove, her emotions unusually expressive—she was happy the whole way.

Light jazz played from the car speakers, and when classic tracks came on, Fang Nianchen would hum along softly, the cheerful notes swirling through the cabin.

Unknowingly, a smile tugged at Yu Wan’s lips too.

It was time to relax properly.

Probably because it had rained all night, the zoo—which should have been packed—was surprisingly quiet.

They bought tickets and lined up to enter.

Not far from the entrance was the primate exhibit, where ring-tailed lemurs were the stars. A row of kids pressed against the glass, shrieking excitedly at the lemurs swinging on ropes.

Fang Nianchen hated noisy kids the most. Amid the piercing screams, her brows furrowed quickly, though she had to endure it.

Who could blame Yu Wan for looking so interested in the lemurs, phone out to snap photos.

Yu Wan wasn’t short, but standing in the back made for a bad view. Add a horde of bratty kids hogging the front and oblivious parents crowding in—a solid wall of people blocking the resting lemurs below.

No good angle, Yu Wan raised her phone, then lowered it.

Suddenly, her free hand was grasped.

Yu Wan startled at first but instinctively didn’t pull away from the warmth. Looking down, sure enough—it was Fang Nianchen.

She said nothing, just silently led Yu Wan through the crowd.

Fang Nianchen was a pro at carving paths in crowds, shifting left and right effortlessly to reach the front. When a family of three left, she seized the prime spot.

Once up front, she let go—but her eyes held a hint of smugness as she looked at Yu Wan.

—See? Aren’t I awesome?

“Thanks.” Yu Wan thanked her softly.

Just thanks?

The light in Fang Nianchen’s eyes dimmed.

She’d hoped for some praise…

Oh well, at least Senior could see the lemurs and take photos now.

Fang Nianchen just pursed her lips downward briefly before lifting them again. When Yu Wan turned after snapping pics, she smiled and asked, “On to the next area?”

“Let’s go.”

Following the guide map, a few minutes’ walk brought them to the flamingo house.

Built like a pink castle to match the birds’ feathers, it looked dreamy from afar.

Couples flooded the flamingo exhibit, as if the romantic pink would make their relationships romantic too.

Fang Nianchen and Yu Wan kept a consistent distance: Yu Wan walked, so she walked; Yu Wan stopped to photo, she waited.

Strolling and pausing, unhurried.

Fang Nianchen quietly caught up, closing the gap to walk side by side.

“North City is actually pretty boring.”

“Why do you say that?” Yu Wan obligingly turned to her.

“North City has two wildlife zoos, two aquariums, and a natural history museum—more than shopping districts. Everyone crams in here on holidays.” Seizing the chance, Fang Nianchen invited, “Next time we get the chance, want to check out the aquarium? They built a new underwater tunnel—supposedly amazing.”

“Sure.”

No time set yet, but with the promise, she wouldn’t back out.

Not far along, her phone buzzed. Fang Nianchen unlocked it to check WeChat—Yin Chi had sent a photo.

She’d thought it was casual chat, but clicking it made her steps halt.

“What is it?” Yu Wan stopped too, asking concernedly.

“Yin Chi-jie is here too…” Fang Nianchen glanced at her phone, then scanned around.

In the photo, she and Yu Wan were very close—snapped just minutes ago while they talked.

Sure enough, a familiar figure appeared in her line of sight, wearing a pair of sunglasses that covered half her face, her hair loosely draped over her shoulders as she strode over with purpose, arriving right in front of them in no time.

“What a coincidence.” The “coincidence” Yin Chi mentioned was one even she hadn’t anticipated.

She had spotted the two of them as early as the ring-tailed lemur exhibit, but with so many people around, she hadn’t dared confirm it. She followed them all the way to the flamingo pavilion before verifying it was Fang Nianchen and Yu Wan.

Given the vibe between them, it was hard not to guess that they’d already pierced the window paper and were on a date.

“What are you doing here?”

“Why can’t I be here?” Yin Chi took offense to Fang Nianchen’s tone—it sounded like she wasn’t welcome.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just purely curious.” Being so familiar, Fang Nianchen could tell what Yin Chi was thinking from her tone alone and quickly explained.

“I was supposed to meet someone, but they’d already arrived here when they suddenly stood me up.” Yin Chi sighed. “But I’d already bought the ticket, so it’d be a waste not to see everything. Guess I’m stuck wandering alone.”

With that, she turned sarcastically: “Unlike some people~”

Indeed, unlike some people. Differential treatment on the regular was one thing, but to run into it like this?

From the bar incident last time to the zoo now—any one of them could give her material to roast Fang Nianchen for two days and nights.

So in her mind, this half-sister of hers was that worthless?

“How about we all go together?” Yu Wan spoke up to invite her.

“Huh?” Yin Chi thought she’d misheard.

The two of them were perfectly fine on their date, yet they wanted to drag along a third wheel like her?

“If Miss Yin doesn’t mind, three people would make it more lively.”

“I don’t mind at all.” Seeing she seemed sincere, Yin Chi grinned. “If you two have no objections, I’d be happy to join you.”

As she spoke, she shot Fang Nianchen a raised eyebrow.

See? Someone actually wants me to join.

“Then let’s all go together…” Fang Nianchen couldn’t understand why Yu Wan had suddenly invited Yin Chi, but this way, her alone time with Senior was interrupted.

And Yin Chi was reacting like this again… She was definitely laughing her head off inside right now.

Thus, the atmosphere that followed became subtly awkward and bizarre.

Fang Nianchen was sandwiched between the two of them, one on each side, but they were the ones chatting while she was stuck in the middle like a telephone wire, feeling more like a nuisance.

The three of them walked from the flamingo pavilion all the way to the crocodile exhibit amid laughter and chatter, but Fang Nianchen barely participated the whole time.

Conveniently, there was a rest area midway, and the three agreed to sit down for lunch and rest, planning to tour the remaining areas in one go that afternoon, leave before closing, and avoid the traffic jam.