On the weekend, Su Nian woke up early. She saw Shen Moran sitting at the dining table, eating a sandwich and drinking coffee. She glanced at her younger sister who was getting up to wash and felt filled with curiosity.
Shen Moran took a light bite of her sandwich. She watched as Su Nian emerged from the bathroom while braiding her hair. After rummaging around on the balcony, Su Nian poked her head out and asked, “Sister, did you see my socks? The white pair. I washed them and hung them on the balcony yesterday, but they are gone.”
Shen Moran took a sip of her coffee before replying, “I put them in the drawer in your room, on the shelf specifically for socks. Go have a look.”
Su Nian ran over and then ran back, leaning against the door frame to ask, “When did you go into my room? I did not even notice.”
“While you were sleeping.” Shen Moran finished her breakfast in three bites, pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, and watched as Su Nian changed her clothes and checked herself in the living room mirror. Shen Moran stared at her with dark eyes and asked, “Are you going out today?”
“Yes.” Su Nian happily pinched the hem of her skirt and spun around before looking back at Shen Moran. “Sister, do you think this outfit is okay? Will it look good in photos when I go out?”
“It is fine.” Shen Moran stood up with her coffee cup and headed to the kitchen, instructing her, “There is a big temperature difference between morning and night. Bring a jacket when you go out and come home early.”
After washing the cup, Shen Moran gave a few more instructions while she changed her shoes at the door. She did not usually live with her sister, so she was not quite sure how to accompany a child, but she at least knew that safety came first.
“Who are you going out with?” Shen Moran asked.
“Classmates.” Su Nian answered immediately and added, “Girls, classmates from my class. We are going to watch a movie and visit a bookstore today.”
Shen Moran nodded, put on her shoes, picked up her bag and phone, and said to Su Nian before leaving, “Come home early. If you do not come back for dinner, give me a call. You know the password for the electronic lock, and if you run out of money, just tell me.”
“I know, I know.” Su Nian stood at the door with her hands behind her back and smiled at Shen Moran. “I am not a child anymore. You do not need to nag so much. I will definitely come home on time.”
Shen Moran gave the child a suspicious look. She felt that something was not quite right, but she did not think too much about it. Su Nian was grown up enough to go to and from school by herself, and she had a mobile phone, so nothing should happen.
“Alright.” Shen Moran said to her before leaving, “Close the door when you go out. I am off to work.”
Su Nian waved at her, “Bye!”
After Shen Moran closed the door, Su Nian immediately jumped to the door and peered through the peephole. Seeing that Shen Moran had entered the elevator and gone downstairs, she cheered, ran happily to her room, picked up her phone, and called Sun Heng.
Sun Heng was not yet awake when she answered the phone. She was lying in her soft quilt with messy hair. Feeling something ringing, she picked it up and saw it was a call from Su Nian. She gave a soft hum, held the phone to her ear, and kept her eyes closed, trying to continue sleeping.
“Sister!”
Su Nian’s cheerful tone came through the receiver, as lively as a happy little bird. She chirped at Sun Heng, “Sister, are you awake yet? I am ready to set off. Did you not say you wanted me to come find you? How about I go directly downstairs to your place? It is a direct subway ride, so I do not need to transfer.”
Sun Heng’s brain had not yet fully woken up. She mumbled for a long time before she reacted and asked, “Where are you now?”
“I am at my sister’s place.” Su Nian told Sun Heng, “My sister went to work. Can I come to you?”
“No, no, no, do not come find me.” Sun Heng immediately thought of something. She crawled out of bed, pushed the bangs from her forehead, and said to Su Nian, “How about this: send me the location of your sister’s home, and I will drive to pick you up. We can go together, so you do not have to endure the hassle.”
Su Nian did not think much of it. At the thought of Sun Heng coming to pick her up, she was thrilled and immediately agreed. “Okay, okay, okay. I will send you my sister’s address. Hurry up and come.”
Sun Heng hummed in agreement and added, “Make it detailed. It would be best if you send me the unit and door number as well.”
Su Nian did not suspect a thing. Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, “Okay!”
After hanging up the phone, Su Nian sent Sun Heng the address and location. Sun Heng looked at the message Su Nian had sent. It even included the specific door number, which made Sun Heng incredibly happy.
She now knew Shen Moran’s home address, which would certainly make things much easier in the future.
Sun Heng got up, took a shower, packed, and drove off. She had everything planned out. Shen Moran’s cold and distant personality would be hard to win over, but it did not matter. As long as she pleased Su Nian, she would have opportunities to get close to Shen Moran in the future.
Once that happened, love would surely blossom over time.
Humming a little tune, she drove into Shen Moran’s residential area. The high-rise apartment was quite far from Sun Heng’s home, stretching from the east side to the west side, but fortunately, the destination was on the way, so it was not too much of a detour. She picked up Su Nian downstairs and drove back, then headed straight forward after getting onto the overpass.
All the way, Su Nian chatted with Sun Heng about the weather, school, and what they would have for lunch, but she never mentioned where their destination was.
Sun Heng gripped the steering wheel and asked, “Are you not afraid that I might sell you off?”
Su Nian smiled, revealing a row of white teeth. “Sister is such a good person; you certainly are not a human trafficker. I am not afraid.”
Sun Heng smiled, shook her head helplessly, and said to her, “You only met me this time. Next time you go out with someone you met online, you must be careful. Watch out for being tricked into the mountains to give birth to children. Once you are in those big mountains, you will not be able to escape.”
Su Nian did not have a concept of the mountains, and her knowledge of human trafficking was limited to literature and the news. “How can there be so many human traffickers? Besides, this is a big city, which is very safe.”
Sun Heng did not respond. She only nodded with a smile.
The road to the countryside was quite boring. Although there was music playing in the car, the interior gradually became quiet. Sun Heng noticed Su Nian’s small movements, as she kept pulling her skirt down to cover her knees. She looked like she might be a bit cold.
Sun Heng tilted her head slightly and asked, “Are your legs cold?”
Although the temperature reached nearly twenty degrees during the day, it was still very cold in the morning and evening. How could she not be shivering while wearing a short skirt in a season when everyone else wore thick jackets?
Yet Su Nian insisted stubbornly, “I am not cold.”
Sun Heng knew exactly why Su Nian insisted on wearing a short skirt in such cold weather. While waiting for a red light, she grabbed a coat from the back seat and threw it directly onto the child’s lap.
“Cover up,” Sun Heng said. “You are wearing so little in this cold weather. If you catch a cold, I will not be able to explain it to your sister. Did she not instruct you to wear something thicker when you go out?”
Su Nian clutched Sun Heng’s coat and whispered, “She did…”
Sun Heng raised an eyebrow. “She instructed you, and you did not listen?”
Su Nian stopped talking and bowed her head, looking as if she had committed a mistake. Seeing that the red light was about to end, Sun Heng reached out and patted her head. She said to the young girl, “Cover your legs. I will turn on the heater. Do not end up falling ill and having your sister blame me.”
“Okay.” Su Nian spread the black coat over her legs. With the heater blowing, she was not as cold as before. Moreover, although Sun Heng’s words were sharp, Su Nian could tell that she was being kind.
“Sister, you are such a good person,” Su Nian sincerely praised Sun Heng. “You are just like my sister; you are very concerned about me.”
Hearing Su Nian mention Shen Moran, Sun Heng took the opportunity to ask, “Your sister has a different personality than you. She seems quite difficult to get along with and treats me with indifference.”
“Not at all,” Su Nian patted the coat on her knees. “My sister is also very kind. She just does not like to smile or talk much, but she is a lawyer, so she definitely thinks more than she speaks.”
“Did you come up with that yourself?”
“My mother said that.”
Sun Heng took the opportunity to ask about Shen Moran’s situation. Su Nian, who trusted Sun Heng completely, told her everything she asked. Soon, she had told her everything about her sister.
When Su Nian’s parents divorced, Shen Moran was already in university. In university, she excelled academically and went on to complete her master’s degree. Two years ago, after graduation, she started working at a law firm introduced by her mother. Shen Moran adapted quickly and began taking on independent cases within a year. Her career was now going smoothly, but the most important thing was that Su Nian had never heard of her sister having a partner.
No boyfriend, and no girlfriend.
Sun Heng felt relieved. Once she had more contact with Shen Moran, she would confirm whether she preferred men or women. If she were straight, she would give up, but as long as Shen Moran liked women, Sun Heng would spare no effort to pursue her.
Soon, Sun Heng drove off the highway and bumped along the bumpy country road.
Su Nian felt a bit dizzy from the shaking. She had not expected the road here to be so difficult. Sun Heng, on the other hand, was used to driving on bad roads. Seeing Su Nian grab the handle above her head, she burst into laughter and said, “Do you see that red house in front? That is where I am taking you.”
Hearing this, Su Nian looked up and saw a very tall house at the end of the country road. It looked to be five stories high with a large, brightly colored red roof. From a distance, it looked like a castle.
“Where is that?” Su Nian asked curiously.
Sun Heng slowly stopped the car to let a group of white geese pass in front of them. The geese turned their heads and honked at the car, looking quite fierce, but then a few gray goslings appeared from the grass, and the adult geese strutted past the car with their goslings.
Su Nian found it interesting. She stretched her neck to look at the flock of geese and said happily to Sun Heng, “They are geese, how cute!”
Sun Heng laughed. Once the geese had gone to the field nearby, she released the handbrake and said to Su Nian, “There are even cuter things ahead.”