Chapter 9

“The sun today really is…” Qiao Yan followed her gaze up to the sky. The entire campsite was under shade, so calling it scorching was a real stretch. She’d only said it offhand.

Though she had no idea what Fang Nianchen was deliberately hiding, after so many years of friendship, she wouldn’t pry into what shouldn’t be asked.

“But you really came fully prepared. Camping and still bringing a change of clothes.” More than the reason for her flushed face, Qiao Yan didn’t doubt the origin of the clothes on her body at all.

Fang Nianchen sighed with genuine feeling, “Better safe than sorry.”

She wouldn’t be so foolish as to reveal even a hint of her relationship with Yu Wan to her good friend—not even that they’d attended the same university.

Last time, after getting tipsy on a few drinks, she’d blurted out that she’d once liked a senior sister. The result was predictable: endless teasing that left her on edge.

Qiao Yan and Tao Zhixing were hypersensitive to gossip. Throw them a hint, and they’d turn into radars, determined to track down the target.

Having that past exposed wouldn’t be good for her or for Yu Wan.

So, less talk was always safer.

Endlessly dwelling on the falling-in-water incident was an easy way to slip up, so Fang Nianchen deliberately changed the subject. “Where’s Tao Zhixing?”

Tao Zhixing had gone out with Qiao Yan, but only one had returned. Ruling out the possibility of her being assassinated by Qiao Yan for running her mouth, Fang Nianchen couldn’t think of anything else.

“Her? She got hooked watching the old man fish. Probably won’t be back for a while.” As she spoke, Qiao Yan lightly patted Fang Nianchen’s back. “Let’s go prepare some food first. I’m starving.”

Tao Zhixing’s car had a grill, charcoal, and some prepped meats. By the time Fang Nianchen and Qiao Yan had moved everything to the side of the tent, Tao Zhixing returned.

Hands behind her back, wearing a baggy short-sleeved shirt, she really looked like an old man out for a stroll from afar.

Spotting Fang Nianchen, Tao Zhixing’s first reaction was also to eye her clothes curiously. “How’d you manage to change outfits so quickly? Did you fall in the water or something?”

Even though it was an accident, Fang Nianchen still felt embarrassed. “You know and you’re still asking.”

Tao Zhixing’s expression looked strange, her mouth tight as if desperately holding something back.

Fang Nianchen looked at her helplessly, with a resigned expression. “Just laugh if you want to…”

Only then did Tao Zhixing relax her mouth, laughing until her eyes squinted. Then she coughed. “You’re hopeless.”

Perhaps because Qiao Yan and Tao Zhixing’s way of showing concern was a bit odd, Fang Nianchen didn’t feel the same tangled emotions she did around Yu Wan.

The falling-in-water incident was quickly flipped past. The three sat in a circle, eating barbecue.

Fang Nianchen occasionally checked her phone. Since it was the weekend, the pet clinic was busy, and her friend could only update her on Christmas in between.

Her friend had sent a video of Christmas getting fluids. Compared to its listless state last night, it was much better—able to eat a little now.

Looking at Christmas, Fang Nianchen felt slightly relieved.

Suddenly, Qiao Yan sat up straight, still holding a half-eaten skewer, and cursed at her phone, “That damn Zuo Anfeng.”

“What happened?” Fang Nianchen glanced at her, then at her phone.

Ten minutes ago, Zuo Anfeng had messaged in the department group, @-ing several people, including Qiao Yan and Fang Nianchen.

HR Manager Zuo: [The above personnel, please submit your training plans to me before tonight.]

Since it was the weekend, no one knew if people hadn’t seen it or were just ignoring him deliberately—no replies.

Five minutes later, Zuo Anfeng messaged again in the group: [If received, reply! @HR Fang Nianchen @HR Qiao Yan]

No idea what fit he was throwing, singling them out.

Fang Nianchen was one thing—she was even-tempered and always followed orders obediently—but Qiao Yan had a fiery temper and would snap back when pissed.

Like now: Qiao Yan was already typing to tell Zuo Anfeng it was the weekend and she had no obligation to work overtime.

But before she finished, a new message popped up.

Director Yu: [It’s the weekend today. Handle work matters after resuming work.]

It was so her style—no extra tone words, just pure chill radiating from the text.

“Huh?” Qiao Yan stared blankly at the screen, double-checking the sender’s name, before blurting out after a long pause, “Am I seeing this right? She spoke up for us?”

Her tone was full of disbelief.

She hadn’t forgotten Yu Wan tearing into her on her first day, or the hellish week that followed, but right now, she just wanted to call Yu Wan a bodhisattva.

Another chat bubble popped up in the group.

Director Yu: [Manager Zuo, please strictly follow company regulations.]

HR Manager Zuo: [Received.]

Now Qiao Yan really believed she wasn’t dreaming.

Zuo Anfeng went from barking orders to meekly replying “received” like a lackey. Qiao Yan was thrilled, deleting her drafted text. “Hilarious. That Dog Zuo deserves it.”

This wasn’t the first time Zuo Anfeng had demanded overtime on weekends. Back then, he’d colluded with the former director, squeezing employees dry. Several older staff in HR had collapsed from exhaustion.

Stumbling upon the dragon-slayer slaying the evil dragon? She had to mock it twice to make up for her hair loss.

“What happened? Why are you two so happy?” Tao Zhixing was the only one out of the loop and dying of curiosity, scooting right up to them.

Qiao Yan was in such a good mood that she unusually didn’t tell Tao Zhixing to buzz off, instead recounting the whole thing.

Afterward, she couldn’t resist commenting on Yu Wan: “She’d be even better if she didn’t always have that stone face. Doesn’t look like a good person.”

She was the one who liked aloof, ascetic types, and the one terrified by Yu Wan. Her filters shattered; she’d probably only go for sweet girls from now on.

Imperial sisters were truly for distant admiration only—lovable in theory, impossible to pursue.

After hearing it, Tao Zhixing sincerely advised, “Pardon my bluntness, but your director who doesn’t look like a good person is camping here too. Keep it down so she doesn’t hear.”

At her words, Qiao Yan really seemed to think her trash-talking had been too loud, weakly covering her mouth. “Really?”

“Would I lie to you?” Tao Zhixing went from looking aggrieved over the trust crisis one second to flashing shrewd eyes the next. “But your director is seriously pretty. Doesn’t your yuri circle stan older sisters on average? No one planning to give it a shot?”

Whoever went would get a good start, saving her the daily worry over two singletons.

“No no no.” Qiao Yan shook her head like she wanted it to fly off, rejecting firmly. “Dating your boss is way too scary. Unless I quit someday and run into her at a bar—then maybe I’d hit on her.”

“Send Fang Nianchen. She even dared to like a straight girl.”

Fang Nianchen had been spacing out, but she was sensitive to insults, frowning. “How long are you two gonna keep this up?”

This wasn’t about daring or not—it was having no choice.

If people could control who they liked, so many things would be simpler. She wouldn’t fixate on someone impossible and wouldn’t agonize over stuff like this.

“Our Xiao Chen isn’t mad, right? Not mad.” Tao Zhixing sounded protective, even pretending to smooth her fur. “Next time, we’ll find one a hundred times better than that senior sister.”

You couldn’t shut Tao Zhixing’s mouth, but Fang Nianchen slapped her raised hand away as soon as it lifted.

Annoying…

After eating, Tao Zhixing eagerly suggested, “I saw an archery stall over there earlier. Wanna go play?”

It was clearly aimed at Fang Nianchen; her gaze stayed on her the whole time.

Fang Nianchen hadn’t slept well last night and, with droopy eyelids, wanted to refuse.

“Come on. All that skill and you hide it away—what girl would go for you?” Ignoring whatever she was thinking, Qiao Yan pulled her up from the recliner.

Though it was just an excuse to trick her into going, Fang Nianchen’s overly modest personality really frustrated her.

She could count her skills on one hand but never liked showing off, as if afraid of being admired or desired.

“I don’t even want to date.” Fang Nianchen resisted her, refusing to budge.

That was the truth.

Her urge to date had only existed during those university years. Before or after, being alone was what she preferred most.

Dating was exhausting. The thought of splitting her time, second-guessing someone else’s feelings—it ground down her patience, making her back out.

She wasn’t suited for dating. No one had told her that; she’d concluded it herself.

But Qiao Yan didn’t care about her resistance. When coaxing failed, she and Tao Zhixing flanked her, dragging her off one on each side.

The campsite center was a lively hub for social butterflies. Fang Nianchen felt lost amid the noise, her mind going blank until a compound bow was shoved into her hands, making her realize what was happening.

Though it was just for fun, the other two clearly weren’t cut out for cold weapons—their aim was off, half the arrows missing the target entirely. Finding it dull, they just watched Fang Nianchen instead.

The target was just over a dozen meters away, and the compound bow’s draw weight wasn’t high either. Drawing the bow didn’t require much strength, so it wasn’t difficult at all.

Fang Nianchen stopped overthinking random things. She nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and closed her left eye to aim.

She released her fingers, and the arrow shot off the string, striking the bullseye dead center with a muffled “bang”.

“Wow, so cool!”

It wasn’t the first time Qiao Yan had seen Fang Nianchen shoot arrows, but whenever this girl picked up a bow, her demeanor completely changed. Those light-colored bright eyes would dim, and the smile constantly lingering at the corners of her mouth would disappear.

Honestly speaking, she looked a bit fierce.

A boy nearby heard the commotion and glanced over from the corner of his eye. He’d just drawn his bow full but immediately lowered it, turning his face to focus intently on Fang Nianchen.

Moments later, the bullseye directly opposite Fang Nianchen was already stuck full of arrows.

It had been a long time since she’d shot arrows, but unexpectedly, her accuracy was still pretty good. She was very satisfied with her performance, and a faint smile climbed onto the corners of her mouth.

She set down the bow and looked around for her friends’ figures.

Qiao Yan and Tao Zhixing were buying water at a convenience store not far away.

“You’re so amazing.” The boy had watched for a long time and finally couldn’t hold back from speaking up. “Want to compete in one round?”

She had been just about to head over when someone suddenly spoke to her. Fang Nianchen jumped in fright and involuntarily stepped back two paces. The smile on her face was replaced by tension: “No, it was all luck.”

“Doesn’t look like it.” The boy shook his head. “You’re way too modest. I wouldn’t believe for a second that you haven’t practiced, and no girl could have accuracy this good.”

Fang Nianchen knew he must have watched the whole thing. She was a bit annoyed with herself—why take a casual play session so seriously?

The boy wouldn’t let up: “Just a friendly matchup? It’s fine, I can go easy on you.”

The boy was standing a bit too close. Fang Nianchen subtly shifted her steps to put some distance between them, her resistant expression plain as day on her face.

She felt like she was suffocating.

“No… My friends are waiting for me.”

“Just one round, little sis.” The boy smiled and took a step forward. “Give me a little face here—it won’t take up too much of your time. I’ll buy you a drink afterward.”

Fang Nianchen awkwardly stared at the tips of his shoes, wracking her brain for a polite way to refuse.

The more she thought, the more hopeless it felt. This guy was just a clueless moron who couldn’t read the mood.

“Swish—” An arrow sliced through the air with a shrill whistle.

Immediately after, a “bang” rang out as the arrowhead slammed deep into the wooden board behind the target paper.

“If you don’t want to, just say it straight. No need to feel bad about it.” Yu Wan didn’t look at her, her gaze still fixed straight ahead on the target.

She tilted her head slightly, sweeping a glance over here. Her eyes held a cold indifference that seemed to scorn all the world.

Truth be told, Fang Nianchen had spotted Yu Wan not long after arriving. They must have come at around the same time, but Yu Wan was at a target several meters away.

Her coming over this close was surprising, yet somehow felt predictable.

After all, it wasn’t like with her—for Yu Wan, Fang Nianchen was just a simple acquaintance.

An acquaintance close enough to borrow her clothes.

The boy flinched like he’d been pricked. He pulled back the step he’d taken forward. “Ah… you don’t want to? Just say so then. I don’t have to compete or anything—making me sound like some villain.”

Yu Wan’s hair was tied low in a ponytail, her long locks draped down her back, with only a few stray strands floating in the wind. She gave off a gentle and virtuous vibe, but that didn’t stop her voice from carrying the chill of a blizzard that could bury someone alive: “Aren’t you?”

The boy played dumb: “Aren’t what?”

“Picking her up. You’re bothering her—don’t you realize how annoying you are?”

“I just saw her accuracy was good and wanted to compete with her.” The boy defended himself, growing agitated. “So what if it’s picking up? It’s not you I’m hitting on. What’s it to you? Whatever, forget it. Bad luck.”

The boy muttered a few more things under his breath, but no one was listening.

After the boy left, Fang Nianchen’s tension eased a little. Only then did she have the chance to thank Yu Wan and explain that she would have refused anyway—just not quite so bluntly.

In Qiao Yan’s words, she had a soft personality, better suited to chanting sutras and eating vegetarian in a temple. Living in the human world meant nothing but spreading love and enduring torment.

“Not good at all…”

Fang Nianchen heard Yu Wan’s sudden sigh and looked at her in confusion: “Not good what?”

“You look super easy to bully.”

Easy to bully?

Yu Wan thought she was easy to bully?!