“What’s going on?” Liu Minlan asked with obvious interest.
Qin Yuzheng didn’t answer.
He withdrew the hand resting on the railing, slipped it into his trouser pocket, and turned around. His face remained expressionless, but he didn’t deny it.
To Liu Minlan, not denying it was the same as admitting it.
Mu Cheng and Zhou Zhanyu had stopped walking as well, waiting at the other end of the corridor. Mu Cheng looked from Liu Minlan to Qin Yuzheng, raising an eyebrow as if about to ask something, but a glance from Liu Minlan stopped him.
“Let’s go,” Qin Yuzheng said evenly, as though nothing had happened.
He took the lead toward the staircase. His leather shoes made no sound against the carpet. Yet as he stepped onto the first stair, his gaze drifted involuntarily in that direction once more.
His eyes wanted to look. It had nothing to do with his brain.
Following behind him, Liu Minlan caught every detail. One hand in his pocket, his thumb slowly rubbing the edge of it, the corner of his mouth curled just a little higher than usual.
A few days earlier, Qiu Jinyi had told him something over the phone. At the time, Liu Minlan had believed only half of it.
Qiu Jinyi had a habit of exaggerating. A matter worth three points would become seven once it came out of his mouth, so Liu Minlan had never taken him completely seriously.
But today, seeing Qin Yuzheng with his own eyes…
The man who had stayed away from women for thirty-five years, whose ex-wife had accused him of “not being able to,” the man everyone believed had no interest in women whatsoever…
…had stood at the corridor railing, completely entranced by the sight of a woman eating.
There’s definitely something going on with this guy, Liu Minlan thought.
Once we get to the winery, I’m going to interrogate him properly.
The four men went downstairs and crossed the hotel lobby.
Qin Yuzheng walked in front, eyes fixed ahead, while the corner of his vision remained on the left—toward the window.
As he passed by, he was only seven or eight meters from her table. Two other tables and a waiter serving dishes stood between them.
The waiter carried a plate of steamed sea bass. Steam rose from it, forming a white curtain between their lines of sight, blurring each other’s silhouettes.
Did she know he was here?
Probably not.
Her face remained turned toward the round-faced girl sitting opposite her. She lowered her head to eat, nodding and smiling, as though she hadn’t noticed anything.
But during those few seconds when he walked past, her chopsticks paused.
She picked up a piece of barbecued pork pastry, placed it into her mouth, and chewed slowly.
When Qin Yuzheng stepped out of the restaurant, the May evening breeze greeted him. It carried the fresh scent of plane tree leaves and the lingering warmth of the day, brushing gently across his face.
Liu Minlan came out behind him, draping an arm over his shoulder and steering him toward the parking lot.
“Come on, A’Zheng. I’ve got a few questions for you tonight,” Liu Minlan said with a grin.
Qin Yuzheng glanced at the smiling fox beside him.
This can’t be anything good.
He took his phone from his pocket and lit up the screen.
In WeChat, the chat window labeled Zhiyan sat quietly. The last message was still the one he had sent two days earlier.
“The qipao arrived. Grandma loves it.”
He stared at the conversation for a moment before locking the screen and slipping the phone back into his pocket.
Watching from the side, Liu Minlan’s smile widened again.
He said nothing.
But he understood everything.
The evening breeze carried away the lingering taste of Cantonese cuisine.
Jiang Siya’s car was parked outside the restaurant. Under the streetlights, its white body glowed with a warm golden hue, while the hood reflected the neon lights from the flower shop across the street.
She pressed the remote.
The headlights flashed twice.
Beep.
The sound rang crisply through the quiet street.
“Get in. Next stop—the bar.”
Opening the driver’s door, Jiang Siya looked back at Yang Zhiyan with a smile, her dimples faintly visible beneath the streetlights.
Standing beside the passenger door, Yang Zhiyan rested a hand on the handle without opening it.
“I don’t want to go.”
She answered without hesitation.
“Why not? You’ve finally started putting yourself first tonight. Shouldn’t we celebrate?”
Tilting her head, Jiang Siya added, “That bar has a great atmosphere. It’s not noisy—a lounge bar. They have live singers too, and they’re pretty good.”
Yang Zhiyan still shook her head.
“Siya, I just don’t like places like that.”
Jiang Siya leaned against the driver’s door with her arms folded, listening without interrupting.
Turning toward her, Yang Zhiyan said quietly,
“If I don’t like it, then I don’t like it. Going to a bar won’t make me happy. You wouldn’t want me to be unhappy, would you?”
Jiang Siya stared at her for a moment before breaking into a smile.
Well, well. The student is finally learning.
“Fine.”
She shut the car door, locked it again, walked over, and linked arms with Yang Zhiyan.
“If you don’t want to go, then we won’t. I’ll take you home instead.”
The two had only taken a couple of steps toward the car when Yang Zhiyan called softly,
“Siya.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you.”
Jiang Siya glanced at her.
The streetlight happened to illuminate Yang Zhiyan’s face, softening every feature—the gently arched brows, amber-colored eyes, the tiny mole on the bridge of her nose, and the slight curve finally appearing at the corner of her lips.
For the first time, Jiang Siya thought Yang Zhiyan looked more beautiful than ever.
I hope she’ll become even more confident from now on.
“What are you thanking me for? Get in the car.”
Jiang Siya patted her shoulder, deliberately sounding gruff.
As they drove toward Yang Zhiyan’s neighborhood, the scenery gradually changed.
The broad asphalt road gave way to a narrow concrete lane. The plane trees lining the street were shorter than those along Binjiang Road, their branches thinner and their leaves sparse.
Cars filled both sides of the road, parked bumper to bumper, leaving barely enough room for a single vehicle to squeeze through.
Jiang Siya drove slowly, turning the steering wheel left and right as she carefully navigated the tight space.
“You sure your brother’s neighborhood even has parking?” she frowned, eyeing a parking space that looked practically impossible to fit into.
“You can just stop here. I’ll walk the rest of the way. It’s not far.”
Yang Zhiyan unbuckled her seat belt and opened the passenger door.
After getting out, she walked around to the driver’s side, bent down by the open window, and said,
“Drive carefully. Send me a message when you get home.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re so naggy.”
Jiang Siya waved her off.
“Hurry home. We’ve both got work tomorrow.”
Feeling lighter than she had in a long time, Yang Zhiyan walked toward the neighborhood entrance.
She didn’t notice the two people standing behind the holly bushes near the gate.
Yang Yaohua.
And Li Fengxia.
They had supposedly come out for a walk, but in reality they had only lingered near the entrance.
Five months pregnant now, Li Fengxia’s belly was beginning to show. Walking for too long tired her easily.
Leaning against a utility pole beside the bushes, one hand rested on her stomach while the other fanned herself.
“Why is it so stuffy today?” she muttered.
Then she noticed the white BMW parked by the roadside.
The passenger door opened.
Yang Zhiyan stepped out, bent over to exchange a few words with the driver, then turned toward the neighborhood.
Li Fengxia’s eyes swept over the blue-and-white BMW emblem.
She recognized it.
She’d seen it plenty of times on Douyin.
She didn’t know exactly how much a BMW cost.
But the name BMW alone was enough for her to start calculating.
As Yang Zhiyan approached, Li Fengxia called out first.
“Zhiyan! You’re back?”
Her tone was warm and affectionate, as though they were incredibly close.
Yang Zhiyan stopped.
Only then did she notice the two of them behind the bushes.
Her brother leaned against the utility pole with a cigarette between his fingers, its glowing tip brightening and dimming in the darkness.
Her sister-in-law stood beside him wearing a smile.
It was a smile Yang Zhiyan knew all too well.
Every time her sister-in-law wanted something from her, she wore exactly that expression.
“Brother. Sister-in-law.”
She nodded politely and started walking inside.
“Wait.”
Li Fengxia stepped forward and grabbed her arm.
“Zhiyan, that car that dropped you off just now… whose was it? Your boyfriend’s?”
Yang Zhiyan lowered her eyes to the hand gripping her arm.
This was the same hand that usually ordered her around without the slightest warmth.
It had never rested on her this affectionately before.
“No.”
She gently slipped her arm free and took half a step back.
“She’s just an ordinary friend.”
“A woman.”