After hanging up the phone, He Yan met Wu Yuejiang’s inquisitive gaze.
The two had been close friends for many years, having grown up climbing trees and catching fish together. Over twenty years of camaraderie had forged a bond that had weathered life-and-death situations. The Wu family had been fortunate—on the day of the factory accident, Wu Yuejiang had suddenly developed a high fever, and his parents had urgently taken time off to rush him to the hospital, narrowly escaping disaster.
Under his parents’ supervision, Wu Yuejiang had excelled academically. Despite his heavy workload during those years, he had insisted on tutoring He Yan, hoping to give his friend a leg up. Unfortunately, the results were minimal. Wu Yuejiang performed well in the college entrance exams and attended a prestigious university, poised to graduate with both a diploma and job offers in hand. At this critical juncture, He Yan had sought him out. Over beers at a street-side stall near the university, Wu Yuejiang, caught up in the moment, had agreed without hesitation to help He Yan.
Looking back now, everyone has their own motives.
Who would choose to be an employee forever if they could be the boss?
While loyalty to his brother was part of it, what he truly sought was a bright future. Because of this, he couldn’t allow He Yan to lose heart or give up his fighting spirit.
“A heater?” Wu Yuejiang eyed him suspiciously, though his tone was certain. “Definitely not for you, and surely not a gift for me. Has Wen Xue moved in?”
“She’s staying in the room above mine,” He Yan replied.
“If anyone at the company asks, just say she’s my sister.”
With He Heng gone, it was no longer appropriate or necessary to introduce Wen Xue to people he knew as his younger brother’s girlfriend.
He thought back to how Wen Xue had once called him “brother.” From now on, he would treat her as his sister.
Wu Yuejiang’s emotions were complex. “Is she doing alright?”
He Yan had only met Wen Xue a few times before this, and Wu Yuejiang even less. He vaguely remembered how, during those days at the funeral home in Haicheng, Wen Xue had seemed completely numb—sometimes silently weeping, trembling without making a sound, other times just sitting blankly beside the portrait of the deceased.
He had assumed that after half a year, this young woman would have started to recover.
But it seemed that wasn’t the case.
If Wen Xue were doing well, He Yan wouldn’t have brought her here.
Her future was still long, and the nature of their relationship was delicate. As the older brother of her deceased boyfriend, he really shouldn’t get too close to her. After all, she was young and would eventually encounter other possibilities—a fact He Yan surely understood. Unless Wen Xue needed his help, he wouldn’t have abruptly entered her life.
“Not well.”
Those two words succinctly captured Wen Xue’s current state.
He Yan paused before adding, “When I’m not at the company, keep an eye on her. Treat her the same way you used to look after Xiao Heng. To me, there’s no difference between them.”
Wu Yuejiang was stunned into silence for a long moment.
The truth was, He Heng’s passing had hit him hard too. In his heart, He Heng had been like a younger brother. He had been the one to advise He Heng on choosing between arts and sciences in high school, and he had recommended the major He Heng eventually pursued for college.
He had always imagined he would continue guiding He Heng—whether to pursue graduate studies or enter the workforce directly, and which major companies to apply to if he chose to work.
But death gives no warning—that’s why it’s called an accident.
“Alright, sure. It’s only right.” Wu Yuejiang lowered his head, hiding the pain in his eyes, and agreed softly.He Yan stopped speaking, took the keys, opened the drawer, and threw himself back into his work.
…
In the Residential Building, Nana barely let Wen Xue lift a finger. She deftly spread out the bedding, saying, “We’ve got several clear days ahead—we can sun the quilts tomorrow. Don’t judge our place by its shabbiness; the sunlight here is wonderful. I have a friend working downtown who can only afford a basement apartment. She has to keep the lights on even in broad daylight, otherwise it’s pitch black and she can’t see a thing.”
“Okay.” Wen Xue paused, then added, “Thank you.”
Nana was amused and tilted her head to look at her. “You’ve thanked me seven or eight times already.”
Their eyes met, and perhaps infected by Nana’s radiant smile, Wen Xue smiled back. “I really am grateful. You must be in a hurry to go out, right? I can handle the rest myself. Please, attend to your own matters.”
“I’m not busy,” Nana said. “My boyfriend isn’t back yet—probably won’t be until around six.”
“Does he work here too?”
“Yeah!” Nana replied with pride. “He was the earliest driver to work with Brother Yan. Back then, it was just the two of them—Manager Wu hadn’t even arrived yet!”
Zhao Nana was a young woman with little guile, her thoughts plain on her face. Once she started on this topic, the words poured out: “Later, I kept coming to West City to visit my boyfriend. Each time, I could only stay a few days, and every time I left, we’d both cry our eyes out. Brother Yan probably couldn’t stand watching it anymore, so he had my boyfriend ask if I’d be willing to stay. And that’s how I ended up helping out here. Oh, right—”
Wen Xue opened the wardrobe, and the scent of mothballs washed over her.
For a few seconds, she was lost in thought. Scents are keys to memories, and in this building so reminiscent of her childhood home, opening this wardrobe felt like opening her grandmother’s. Many people found this smell unpleasant, but to her, it brought an inexplicable sense of relaxation and comfort.
“Huh?”
Nana realized her question had gone unanswered and turned to find Wen Xue standing before the wardrobe, lost in thought.
She moved closer, following Wen Xue’s gaze into the wardrobe, and felt a twinge of disappointment.
She’d half-expected to find money inside…
“You still haven’t answered me,” Nana nudged her with an elbow, urging.
Wen Xue snapped back to reality. “What?”
Worried the other might take offense, she added, “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
“I was asking about your relationship with Brother Yan,” Nana said with a laugh. “Just curious, you know? I’ve known him for quite a while, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen him speak so gently to anyone. It’s downright spooky.”
What was her relationship with He Yan? The question stumped Wen Xue.
No one had ever asked her this before. But now?
She no longer wanted to mention He Heng to strangers she’d just met—she didn’t even want friends or family bringing him up anymore. He Heng had become a scar on her being. Every time he was mentioned, she had to expose it anew. But her body was hers, her skin was hers, and the scar was hers too—she didn’t want to show it to others.
She didn’t want to explain who He Heng was or where he’d gone.
“He’s my brother,” Wen Xue said, recalling how He Yan had introduced her to Sister Mei during lunch.
Nana looked surprised. “Siblings?”
“Not by blood,” Wen Xue explained. “We’re both from Haicheng, so he looks out for me.”
“Got it!”
Nana didn’t press further about their relationship. Her eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly, “So, are you here to work?”
Everything here was fine, but she had no friends.Sister Cai and the others were ten years older than her, creating something of a generation gap. Her friends of the same age were working in the city—some only had two days off a month, and even their days off never aligned with weekends, making it impossible to coordinate schedules.
“I’m not sure if it counts,” Wen Xue said carefully. “He mentioned they were short-handed here, and since I’m on winter break, I came to help out.”
“Winter break?!”
Nana looked at her in surprise. “Are you a teacher or a student?”
Terms like winter and summer breaks only applied to those two roles. It had been years since she’d heard the phrase, and for a moment, it felt strangely unfamiliar, almost like a relic from a past life.
“…A student,” Wen Xue replied after a moment’s thought. “I haven’t graduated yet.”
“College student?”
After receiving a nod, Nana gasped in admiration. “That’s amazing!”
Knock, knock, knock—
The sound at the door interrupted their conversation, and both turned to look.
Wang Yuan stood there, hands on his hips, panting heavily as he spoke in broken phrases. “They’re… they’re here…”
“What’s here?” Nana walked over and only then noticed the pile of items at his feet. She stared in shock. “What is all this?”
“Hello.”
Wang Yuan greeted Wen Xue proactively. He was so overheated that he’d unzipped his jacket. “Brother Yan told me to buy these. Look—a space heater, a foot warmer, a hot water bottle, an electric kettle, and a thermos. I’m exhausted!”
Boxes of all sizes nearly blocked the hallway, and it was a mystery how he’d managed to carry them all up.
Both Nana and Wen Xue were stunned.
After catching his breath, Wang Yuan finally had a chance to properly observe Wen Xue. The young woman exuded an academic air, with delicate features and an elegant grace. She wore a down jacket with a white fur trim around the hood, framing her small face—the kind of girl in a youth film who’d have boys staring intently as she walked past classroom corridors with books in her arms.
Suddenly, a hand with painted nails blocked his view.
Nana rolled her eyes dramatically. “Your eyes are practically glued to her! Keep staring, and I’ll poke them out!”
Wang Yuan’s face flushed red, his grin stretching ear to ear. “No, I wasn’t…”
“Did Brother Yan ask you to bring these?” Nana asked.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Alright, you can go now.”
Wang Yuan: “…”
He scratched his head sheepishly, the blush still lingering on his face. “Well, if you need anything, just find me. I’m Wang Yuan—Wang as in the character Wang, Yuan as in the character Yuan. I live—”
“Get out.” Nana pointed decisively. “Go back to your room and look at yourself in the mirror!”
After Wang Yuan left with frequent backward glances, Nana snorted lightly and turned back to Wen Xue. “Don’t pay him any mind. But he’s not a bad guy—just a bit silly. He works as an assistant and bodyguard for Brother Yan and President Wu, usually running errands. Don’t let his thin build fool you; he’s really good in a fight.”
Wen Xue nodded thoughtfully.
She felt as though she’d stumbled into a world she’d never set foot in before—strange and peculiar, yet somehow harmoniously so.
“Let me help you move these in!” Nana bent down and effortlessly lifted what looked like the heaviest space heater, carrying it into the room. “You’ll put this by the bed, right?”
The two girls moved all the heating equipment from the doorway into the room.
Gradually, the once-empty space filled up. The electric kettle hummed as steam billowed from its spout. The cute cartoon-patterned hot water bottle lay on the bed like a lapdog, while the foot warmer crouched on the floor like a docile sheep.
Click.Nana pressed the switch of the heater, its glow shifting from dim to bright, then to a radiance resembling firelight.
The two crouched side by side, instinctively warming their hands.
“Warm, isn’t it?”
Wen Xue quietly savored the warmth in her palms—it was truly comforting—as a smile touched the corners of her lips. “Mm.”