Chapter 7

Early Saturday morning, the ringtone echoed repeatedly throughout the house.

Finally, after the third round of phone bombardment, Fang Nianchen struggled to extend her hand from under the covers, dragged her phone in front of her eyes, squinted, and saw that it was Tao Zhixing calling.

Her mind was foggy, and she still hadn’t remembered what Tao Zhixing could possibly want with her.

The person on the other end asked loudly, “Have you gotten up yet? We said we’d go camping today—don’t tell me you forgot.”

Camping…

Fang Nianchen’s eyes had been about to close again, but those two words instantly sobered her up. She abruptly threw off the covers and sat up, struggling to steady her voice.

“I’ve been awake for ages.”

“Really?” Tao Zhixing let out a merciless mocking laugh. “Your nose is still all stuffed up—what kind of ‘awake’ is that?”

Blame it on how well she knew Fang Nianchen—better than her own mom did.

She didn’t even wait for Fang Nianchen to defend herself before saying directly, “Then I’ll go pick up Qiao Yan first. I’ll be downstairs at your place in half an hour—no waiting if you’re late. You’ll have to run over yourself.”

With things laid out like that, Fang Nianchen hung up and hurriedly started getting ready.

Last night, one of the cats at home had suddenly started vomiting and having diarrhea nonstop. She’d rushed it to a pet clinic run by a friend.

That cat with the sudden bout of gastroenteritis was in pretty bad shape. Her friend had advised leaving it at the clinic for observation for a few days before shooing her home to sleep, but Fang Nianchen still couldn’t relax and had worried about it all night.

Her head had been muddled and drowsy, her thoughts full of that sick cat. As for the camping plans with Qiao Yan and the others the next day, they’d long been drowned out by her worry.

Fang Nianchen moved quickly and was ready in twenty minutes. By the time she went downstairs, Tao Zhixing’s car was right on time at the neighborhood entrance.

Fang Nianchen got in the car, and Qiao Yan asked her, “Did you stay up late last night?”

“It was Christmas,” Fang Nianchen said as she buckled her seatbelt. “It had a flare-up of gastroenteritis—I barely slept at all.”

All the kittens at home were strays she’d picked up from outside. There were even some purebreds with names, but if left in little crates and abandoned, no one would pick them up—they’d starve, freeze, or even get snatched and eaten by stray dogs.

The cat that had gotten gastroenteritis yesterday was named “Christmas,” picked up last Christmas, hence the name.

Christmas had struggled to survive hard before she found it, with a poor constitution, making it the most sickly cat in the house.

Fang Nianchen poured a lot of effort into caring for it meticulously, hoping it would get better, but after all this time, its condition hadn’t improved at all.

Tao Zhixing pulled onto the main road and said helplessly upon hearing her, “You’re raising cats, but you’re putting in all the worry of a mom—what do you even get out of it?”

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Fang Nianchen was the smartest person she’d ever met—whether dominating the year-end rankings in high school or getting directly admitted to Qingyuan, it all proved it.

But she always managed to be silly in the most unexpected ways, like starting to take in stray cats and dogs after returning to North City, getting chased out by landlords left and right.

And Fang Nianchen was such a pushover, putting up with who knew how much grievance over it.

Tao Zhixing suggested, “How about sending all those cats and dogs to a rescue shelter? I can help you find a better place to live.”

“Shut up and drive,” Qiao Yan shot back at her. “You think everyone lacks compassion like you?”

“I’m doing this for her own good—why are you cursing me out again?” Tao Zhixing looked extremely displeased. “Tch, crazy hag…”

Qiao Yan shot her a fierce glare but had no interest in arguing first thing in the morning. She turned to Fang Nianchen with concern. “Will Christmas be okay?”

She really liked that little cat that looked like a black cloud with snow treads—jet black all over, with four snow-white paws.

“It should be fine,” Fang Nianchen said, though she wasn’t certain. She didn’t want everyone heading into camping with heavy hearts, so she smiled. “Don’t let it fool you—it gets sick a lot, but it’s got a sturdy build.”

Qiao Yan said, “Then get some sleep first. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

Fang Nianchen didn’t refuse.

Tao Zhixing was a skilled driver and had specially brought out an SUV perfect for travel this time. In the back seat, she could stretch her legs into a relatively comfortable position.

It wasn’t as good as being at home, but she could at least catch a brief rest.

By the time they arrived, Fang Nianchen had recovered quite a bit of energy.

The camping spot this time was at a resort an hour and a half’s drive from North City, surrounded by mountains and rivers with stunning scenery.

As North City trended more and more toward becoming a steam oven, the cool, fresh mountain air stood out in stark contrast.

After getting out of the car, Fang Nianchen felt much more clear-headed and sent a message to her friend asking about Christmas’s condition.

She was staring down at her phone waiting for a reply and didn’t notice that, not far away, someone was silently watching her.

On Friday night, after finally settling on the itinerary, Quan Cige had been unusually excited but hadn’t forgotten to confirm with her, “You’re really coming, right?” “You’re not lying to me, are you?” and the like.

Yu Wan had been annoyed by her fussing and couldn’t focus on the document in her hands at all, so she’d gone along with it. “I’m not lying to you. I promised—I’ll be at the campsite right on time at ten tomorrow morning.”

Quan Cige wouldn’t let up. “What if you’re late?”

Yu Wan closed her eyes, suppressing her impatience. “I won’t be.”

“You always say you won’t, but—” Quan Cige’s voice cut off abruptly.

Yu Wan was puzzled; she hadn’t even reached the point where a thought in her mind would prompt immediate action.

She picked up her phone and realized it had automatically shut down from low battery. Later, she’d charged it up, but Quan Cige hadn’t called back, and she hadn’t bothered calling to explain.

Because there was no “but”—she never ran late.

She arrived at the campsite even before ten. Instead, Quan Cige messaged that she’d overslept and would arrive late with Shao Qingyun.

She’d waited half an hour like that without going anywhere. There were tables and chairs set up outside the reserved tents, so she just sat there enjoying the breeze.

Not many people had arrived yet, making it surprisingly peaceful.

She’d planned to just sit quietly, but unexpectedly, a familiar figure intruded into her line of sight.

Fang Nianchen was dressed casually in brighter colors—a khaki denim shorts and a slightly loose violet short-sleeved shirt. Even without seeing her face or wearing the standard black uniform, Yu Wan recognized her at a glance.

Yu Wan realized that the “something” Fang Nianchen had mentioned that day was camping.

She wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but something that should have been happy instead made her feel like Fang Nianchen looked worried.

“Already turned into a ‘gazing-at-wife stone’ this early in the morning?” Quan Cige got out of the car and walked over. Seeing what Yu Wan was staring at, she followed her gaze, her brilliant smile unobscured even by her mask.

Yu Wan turned to look at her and said coolly, “You’re late.”

“Aiya, look at those eyes, so full of tender affection~” Quan Cige reached out, cradled her face, and turned her head back. “Don’t look at me—that’s a waste of feelings. Keep looking at your little sister.”

Yu Wan took a deep breath and swatted her hand away. “Quan Cige…”

“Yu Wan.” Quan Cige mimicked her tone. “Calling people by their full names like that all the time—it’s scary, you know?”

Then she laughed again. “I was just thinking about how to help you chase her. It offsets the tardiness, so stop dwelling on that.”

Quan Cige spoke with the utter illogic of a child; arguing with her was a total waste of time.

Yu Wan simply ignored her words and didn’t respond. Seeing a coolly dressed woman following over, she stood up from the low stool, bracing her knees.

It had been as long since she’d seen Quan Cige as since she’d seen Shao Qingyun.

She disliked superficial socializing; the friends she could count on one hand, and Shao Qingyun was one of them.

Of course, maybe because she hung out with Quan Cige so much, this one was a bit…

Yu Wan opened her mouth. “Qing…”

Shao Qingyun’s eyes lit up. “Xiao Ge said you’ve been dazed by that little sister lately—is it true?”

Yu Wan: …

This one had a mouth that owed a beating too.

Maybe she never should have agreed to come in the first place. Now everything was spiraling out of control.

For Shao Qingyun and Quan Cige, they meant no harm, but their overflowing curiosity caused no end of trouble for others.

And so she denied it. “No.”

“Hm?” Shao Qingyun wasn’t fooled that easily. Patted on the arm by Quan Cige, she got the hint and glanced over, one eyebrow arching. “So this is your type? Not bad. How old is she? She looks so young.”

“Judging by when she joined the company, twenty-five?” Quan Cige guessed.

“Twenty-two,” Yu Wan corrected. “She started school early.”

“Twenty-two?” Shao Qingyun exclaimed dramatically. “Ms. Yu, put your hand on your heart—this young and innocent girl, and you can still bring yourself to go after her…”

Her words weren’t even finished when suddenly, Yu Wan grabbed Shao Qingyun’s arm and yanked her in front, using her as a shield.

Shao Qingyun was baffled. “What’re you doing?”

She looked up and saw that little sister seeming to glance their way.

She’d only been looking at the scenery over here, and Yu Wan was already this nervous—not just dazed, but straight-up bewitched!

A thought flashed through her mind. “You suddenly agreed to come camping—was it for a chance encounter with her?”

“It’s just a coincidence. I didn’t know she would come.”

Shao Qingyun had a look of disdain: “Then why did you act all guilty and use me as a shield?”

Saying it was a chance encounter was fine, but skipping the greeting and acting all sneaky made it seem way too suspicious. Yu Wan wasn’t the type to get shy either.

Yu Wan let go of the hand she’d been gripping and countered, “Do you want to run into your boss on the weekend?”

Fang Nianchen’s attitude toward her these past few days wasn’t exactly strange, but it was enough to let her pick up on the tension and evasion. If they chalked it all up to the awkwardness of not seeing each other for so long, well, they really hadn’t been in touch for ages.

But her gut told her that if it was just years apart, there was no way it’d still feel like they were strangers after a whole week.

Fang Nianchen was probably scared of running into her—maybe because of her director position.

So she didn’t want Fang Nianchen spotting her there too and sinking back into that negative mood.

Yu Wan went on, “She’s here to relax. I don’t want my showing up to put pressure on her.”

“You know, that kinda makes sense.” Shao Qingyun nodded in agreement. But she was only serious for a second before fixing her with a teasing look. “Not bad—you actually put some thought into it. Way more tolerant with her than with others. You get that with a face like yours, looking like everyone owes you their life, it’s kinder to spare folks the sight.”

“How thoughtful, Director Yu~”

Shao Qingyun had unloaded every single jab in one go, and Yu Wan felt a headache coming on.

She squeezed her eyes shut and asked, “Had your fun yet?”

When Yu Wan opened her eyes again, the smile on her face sent chills down the spine.

It had felt a little stuffy and warm just now, but Shao Qingyun suddenly shivered hard, her mouth going stiff. “Ah…”

“Hey? Where are my sunglasses? Did you see my sunglasses?” Shao Qingyun patted her pockets. “Xiao Ge, quick, help me find my sunglasses.”

Quan Cige chimed in, “Aren’t they in the car? Let’s go look.”

“Let’s go.”

The noisy bunch left in a flash, and the area went quiet in an instant. Yu Wan settled back onto her little stool, took a moment to compose herself, then glanced again toward where Fang Nianchen stood.

Fang Nianchen was still rooted there. Her expression hadn’t improved at all from before—in fact, as time dragged on, it grew heavier and more serious.

Figuring she must’ve run into some trouble, Yu Wan pulled out her phone, tempted to just message her on WeChat.

But after typing a few characters, she hesitated.

She remembered Xiao Ning’an mentioning more than once that Fang Nianchen was the strong type who hated showing any weakness.

What if it was something Fang Nianchen didn’t want to talk about? Wouldn’t barging in with a question just make her hate her?

She typed and deleted in the input box over and over, never hitting send.

She was starting to realize how easily she got stuck—anything to do with Fang Nianchen felt like a minefield.

No answers in sight, Yu Wan looked up—and caught Fang Nianchen glancing their way. Their eyes met.

Fang Nianchen tilted her head, blinked…

She seemed to have spotted her.