Chapter 9

“It’s fine, if you saw, then you saw…” Si Nanyu stopped halfway through the sentence, suddenly realizing that Wen Qingyan’s expression was off, and fell silent.

Her eyes darted around restlessly, not daring to look at Wen Qingyan, until finally all she could do was stare down at the flagstone path.

Wen Qingyan’s face wasn’t looking too good, because she’d remembered what Si Nanyu once said to her.

At school, it was better not to let anyone know about their relationship.

For a long time, Wen Qingyan hadn’t understood. Si Nanyu had only given her a light, offhand explanation: “You used to be my teacher. If people knew about us now, what would they think of you?”

It sounded considerate, like she was looking out for her.

But Wen Qingyan had always felt something was wrong. Very wrong.

In their love, Si Nanyu had been flamboyant and domineering, never hiding anything.

She made the first move. She treated Wen Qingyan like something she owned…

Forget it.

That Si Nanyu was long gone, especially this currently ‘amnesiac’ Si Nanyu.

Nothing she said mattered. This Si Nanyu understood nothing, remembered nothing.

Futile. It was all futile.

Wen Qingyan felt a little lost, unsure what she was even holding on for…

“Teacher Wen, is this the car?”

A voice slightly more cheerful than before snapped her out of it. She turned her head and saw Si Nanyu gazing at the new energy vehicle in front of them with obvious curiosity.

Wen Qingyan felt somewhat helpless, and yet the corner of her lips couldn’t help curving upward.

Then she pressed them tightly together, feeling a twinge of annoyance, annoyed that even faced with this version of Si Nanyu, she still instinctively wanted to smile.

Only she knew how embarrassed she was, so Wen Qingyan feigned composure, pulled out her phone to check the license plate, and said to Si Nanyu evenly, “This is the one. Get in.”

“Okay!!” Si Nanyu had been itching to get in for ages, pulling open the front passenger door and about to climb in when Wen Qingyan spoke up behind her. “Si Nanyu, sit in the back.”

“It’s safer…” Wen Qingyan’s voice trailed off over the last few words, and without even looking at Si Nanyu, she got into the back seat first.

As if oblivious, Si Nanyu was just delighted to be invited along, and obediently followed her into the back.

In the car, Wen Qingyan was quiet, eyes closed as she rested. Si Nanyu, on the other hand, had no shortage of entertainment, looking left and right, full of novelty.

It wasn’t until they got out that Wen Qingyan couldn’t help teasing her, “No need to be so amazed. You have one too.”

“Huh? Really~” Si Nanyu grinned back at her. Wen Qingyan… did not grin.

She picked up her bag and headed straight into the 4S dealership.

Inside, they found a salesperson and waited for the paperwork.

The car had been bought by Si Nanyu, but when she’d left her phone number back then, she’d left Wen Qingyan’s too.

It wasn’t only Si Nanyu who got the call. That morning, the salesperson had phoned Wen Qingyan as well, and they’d settled on a time.

Wen Qingyan stayed quiet while Si Nanyu waited, wide-eyed with curiosity, for over half an hour before the two of them finally got to see the car brought out.

Avocado green. Truly beautiful, with a nice sturdy frame.

Wen Qingyan felt nothing, though. She gave it a flat glance and told Si Nanyu to go take it for a test drive.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Si Nanyu stepped forward, but as she neared the door, she started backing up…

Backing up all the way to Wen Qingyan’s side, and said two things.

“Teacher Wen, I don’t think this car is a new energy vehicle?”

“And also… I can’t drive!”

Si Nanyu had only just turned eighteen and hadn’t had a chance to get her license yet, so as far as she was concerned, she couldn’t drive!

The salesperson stood by waiting for the two of them, and seeing that neither of them moved, was getting anxious and about to speak up when she noticed the cold-faced one let out a soft scoff and open the driver’s door…

Both Wen Qingyan and Si Nanyu’s eyes had lit up at the sight of the car, but watching them stand together, the salesperson’s heart couldn’t help filling with pink bubbles.

The cold, reserved older one and the lively, radiant younger one!

But then she watched Wen Qingyan’s actions, and inwardly she screamed: I’ve got it backwards! The older one is the top!!!

Especially when Wen Qingyan rested her hands on the steering wheel, arched a brow, and called out, “Get in!”

Si Nanyu climbed in obediently, and the salesperson followed.

She snuck into the back seat, secretly shipping the real-life couple.

For a moment she even forgot what she was supposed to be doing. After a big loop around, Wen Qingyan asked, “Can I drive it out now?”

The salesperson answered with a smile, “Just remember to keep the temporary plates handy. You’re good to go!”

It was Wen Qingyan who drove out, with Si Nanyu in the front passenger seat.

The salesperson watched them drive away, utterly entranced, unaware that inside the car, Wen Qingyan’s face had darkened to the extreme.

This car was not easy to drive.

She wasn’t used to it at all, and a wave of frustration she couldn’t quite hold back surged up. The moment she opened her mouth, it came out as an accusation, “Why didn’t you tell me about this car before buying it?”

“If I’d known…” she would have stopped it for sure.

But Wen Qingyan didn’t say those words, because Si Nanyu had been startled by her tone, gripping her seatbelt tightly.

She was looking at her with wide, eager eyes, and after a good while, ventured carefully, “There’s a lot I don’t know, but I remember that you, Teacher Wen… you used to love road trips.”

As for Si Nanyu herself, road trips were just okay in her book. Still, she had thought about it, and she figured that if one day she could go on a road trip with Wen Qingyan, that would be pretty wonderful too.

Ten years of memory, and so much was unclear to her, including this car she was sitting in right now. It was completely outside of anything she knew.

But she thought, if she had chosen this car, it couldn’t possibly have had nothing to do with Wen Qingyan.

That sincere, burning gaze and those words singed Wen Qingyan. She reined in her emotions, and her mood began to turn complicated.

She even thought back to half a year ago, when Si Nanyu had excitedly said to her, “Honey, don’t you think this car looks cool? The performance should be…”

“I’m busy.”

Wen Qingyan really had been busy back then, busy organizing the groups for final exams.

That memory left a sour taste as well. After a long stretch of silence, she finally said, “I don’t like road trips anymore.”

Giving Si Nanyu no chance to respond, she asked straight away, “What do you want for dinner?”

Food trumps everything. When it came to understanding Si Nanyu, no one knew her better than Wen Qingyan.

Whether it was eighteen-year-old Si Nanyu or twenty-eight-year-old Si Nanyu, neither could escape the pull of a good meal.

The cafeteria’s head chef had been away recently, which meant no sweet and sour ribs. Wen Qingyan guessed Si Nanyu must be craving them.

And sure enough, Si Nanyu lived up to her expectations, exclaiming excitedly, “Sweet and sour ribs!”

“I want braised pork too!”

“Or deep-fried pork tenderloin!”

The more she spoke, the more outrageous the list got, and Wen Qingyan hurriedly cut her off. “No. You can only pick one meat dish.”

“Then sweet and sour ribs.”

Si Nanyu’s devotion to ribs had never wavered. Compared to sweet and sour ribs, braised pork and deep-fried pork tenderloin simply couldn’t compete.

So sweet and sour ribs it was.

The two of them went to the supermarket closest to home, Si Nanyu pushing the cart while Wen Qingyan picked out ingredients.

It wasn’t for any particular reason, except that Si Nanyu always ended up tossing all sorts of random junk into the cart.

Admittedly, Si Nanyu was behaving well now, not throwing everything in sight into the cart, but she overlooked one practical problem, which was that Si Nanyu was currently ‘eighteen’.

Which meant she knew how to act cute.

“Teacher Wen… I’d also like eggplant with minced pork. Can we?”

“That dish… doesn’t really count as a meat dish, does it?”

Wen Qingyan felt a tug on the hem of her shirt from behind, the girl wheedling pathetically for favor, all while those clear, guileless eyes stared straight at her.

She could only swallow the words “that dish is drowning in oil” back down.

Unable to hold out, she relented. “Fine.”

“Those two dishes, and that’s it.”