“More than just acquaintances! We’re old classmates.” Lin Shuangyu smiled meaningfully at Si Yuan. “Right?”
Si Yuan felt everyone’s gaze fixed on her, waiting for her reaction.
Swallowing the bitterness in her throat, she casually picked up a champagne glass from a passing waiter and smiled: “Congratulations to you both. Hello, sister-in-law.”
Song Yan heard those last three words clearly.
His eyes darkened slightly before he nodded.
“Little Yuan has always been so well-behaved.”
Si Yuan averted her gaze, finding the word “well-behaved” grating for the first time.
Light laughter and whispers rose around them, seemingly mocking Si Yuan for finally facing reality and abandoning her foolish fantasies.
Having feelings for her adoptive brother was already contemptible enough.
Moreover, the object of her affection was Song Yan – the center of everyone’s attention.
Si Yuan took a sip of her wine and didn’t look at Song Yan again, as if unwilling to spare him another glance.
This unfamiliar coldness, this deliberate avoidance – Song Yan noticed it all, his expression shifting momentarily.
Halfway through the gathering, Si Yuan excused herself to take a phone call and left the banquet hall.
She needed to catch her breath, even if just for a few minutes.
Being in the same room with her former bullies, subjected to their probing stares and scrutiny, was torture both physically and mentally.
She texted her therapist: I did it.
The therapist replied: “I know it must be painful, but desensitization is inherently painful.”
Si Yuan responded: “I understand.”
The moment she stepped into the elevator, Si Yuan closed her eyes and let out a long, relieved sigh.
Desensitization was painful, but compared to being morally coerced and bullied by everyone, it was nothing. After today, it would mean she had completely moved on – she had finally bid farewell to all the shadows of her past.
The elevator doors slowly closed.
Just as Si Yuan thought the night was over, a slender, pale hand suddenly reached through the closing gap.
The doors reopened, and a tall figure stepped inside.
Si Yuan opened her eyes, lifting her gaze upward bit by bit.
Black Martin boots, cargo pants, black leather jacket, and that face…
Her breath caught.
Jiang Wang.
Si Yuan hadn’t gotten a clear look, but she immediately lowered her head.
Compared to Song Yan, the person she really didn’t want to see was Jiang Wang.
It wasn’t just unwillingness – it was fear.
The man seemed even taller than he was at eighteen, his presence beside her overwhelmingly oppressive. But he probably hadn’t recognized her, Si Yuan thought with slight relief.
Was he here for the reunion too?
After all these years, had he actually… become sociable?
After all, he used to look down on everyone in their class.
The next moment, Jiang Wang’s phone suddenly rang.
Just a brief vibration, but it still startled Si Yuan.
Jiang Wang answered. A man’s voice came through, saying something unintelligible. Jiang Wang only replied: “I’m here.”
His voice was just as she remembered – lazy, casual, utterly unconcerned.
He chuckled: “Haven’t seen anyone else yet, but… there’s someone I know standing in the corner.”
Si Yuan’s hand abruptly tightened around her bag strap.
He… had recognized her all along?
Only then did Si Yuan slowly look up at Jiang Wang.
Jiang Wang was watching her too, one eyebrow slightly raised.
The elevator lights carved his features into sharp, clear relief.
He was born with features that made it impossible to look away—high and sharp brow bones framing intense, ink-black phoenix eyes that tilted slightly upward at the corners. Though his gaze was aggressive, it brimmed with raw magnetism on such a face.
The corners of his lips always held a faint, mocking curve, as if ready to unleash another cutting remark at any moment.
He didn’t wait for the person on the phone to finish speaking before pulling the device away and ending the call.
“Classmate, still pretending not to know me?”
Jiang Wang’s voice was like a key, instantly unlocking the floodgates of the past.
Certain memories surged forth like a torrent.
Before Si Yuan’s eyes flashed those dimly lit nights—
Jiang Wang’s slender fingers always tangled in her hair.
His tobacco-tinged breath brushed against her neck, his low laughter echoing in her ears.
You’re so well-behaved. I like you.
Those images, blurred yet vivid, burned so fiercely that her heart trembled.
But she quickly snapped back to reality.
It was nothing more than… a foolish transaction from the past.
Back then, she needed protection, and he happened to want an obedient plaything.
That was all.
No matter how wild and reckless things had been back then, five years had passed. He’d probably long forgotten.
“Mm, hello.”
“Mm, hello.”
Si Yuan kept her head lowered, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
Jiang Wang let out a light chuckle, the sound carrying an ambiguous undertone.
The elevator numbers slowly changed. Si Yuan stared at the floor display, wishing she could flee the cramped space immediately.
Ding—
The elevator finally reached the first floor.
Si Yuan nearly bolted out, but as she turned, she felt a sharp tug at her scalp.
Damn it—her hair had somehow gotten tangled in the decorative metal chains on Jiang Wang’s leather jacket.
“Ah!” she gasped softly, fumbling to untangle it. “Sorry…”
Jiang Wang leisurely stepped back until he leaned against the elevator wall, letting her tug and struggle in panic.
His gaze drifted boldly over her, from the flushed tips of her ears to her tense, rising and falling shoulders.
“Don’t move,” he said, his voice dropping as he suddenly gripped her wrist.
Si Yuan froze in place, watching as Jiang Wang’s slender fingers deftly worked through her tangled strands.
“Still so clumsy.”
His breath skimmed the nape of her neck, sending a faint shiver through her.
The scent of mint and cedar enveloped her—a fragrance uniquely his.
Si Yuan hadn’t expected that, even after forgetting so much from the past, she would still remember his scent.
Perhaps it was because they were too close.
Close enough for him to see the shadows cast by her lashes, close enough for her to feel the rhythm of his breathing.
“All these years abroad—did you have a boyfriend?”
Jiang Wang’s sudden question made Si Yuan look up sharply, meeting his deep, unfathomable dark eyes.
They stared straight at her, silent yet intense enough to bore a hole through her.
She opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.
Si Yuan felt she owed Jiang Wang no answers.
“If you ever find yourself in need of a man again,” Jiang Wang said leisurely, freeing the last strand of her hair from the chain but not letting go. Instead, he wound it around his finger in a slow circle, “You’re welcome to come find me.”
As he spoke, he looked at Si Yuan and smiled.
Her heart skipped a beat, a surge of fear rising within her.
“I… I have to go.”
She stumbled back a step, her hair slipping from his fingertips.
Jiang Wang froze, his hand still suspended mid-air, suddenly feeling somewhat… hollow and desolate.
How ruthless—not even a moment for reminiscing.