The car drove into a narrow alley in the city and finally stopped in front of an old, unremarkable house.
The alley was a dead end, nearly deserted. The houses on both sides were clearly still cared for, but the peeling walls and rusted iron bars still revealed the traces of time.
“Come on, get out,” Lu Nian’an said.
“Huh—this place?” Xia Jiuwei couldn’t help glancing around a few more times.
“Mm.”
Lu Nian’an had already walked to the door and rang the bell with practiced familiarity.
The door opened quickly.
“Oh, it’s you, Lu Nian’an.”
Standing behind the door was a woman wearing slightly worn glasses and neat workwear. She carried a sharp, capable aura, her gaze sharp and observant.
The moment the door shut, the silence outside vanished.
Inside looked nothing like the exterior.
Warm yellow light poured down from above, softly illuminating rows of neatly arranged fabrics.
From fine silk to matte-textured wool, every bolt of cloth was stored between glass cabinets and wooden shelves like silent works of art.
The air carried the faint scent of fabric and wood, mixed with lingering steam from recently used irons.
Tailoring tools lined the wall in meticulous order—scissors, measuring tapes, tailor’s chalk—everything arranged with near-obsessive precision.
At the center of the room stood a large worktable. A half-finished suit jacket lay across it, a needle still caught in the final seam, as though it had only just been set down.
“Don’t let the outside fool you. Not just anyone gets to come in here,” the woman said while leading them further inside.
“I’ve known Lu Nian’an since college. Back then, she gave me my first startup funds.”
She sighed lightly, sounding half-joking.
“I still owe her for that.”
She glanced sideways at Lu Nian’an.
“So the only person who can still order me around to make clothes is her.”
As she spoke, she led them into a smaller room further inside.
Three outfits were displayed inside the room.
A suit, a pleated dress, and an evening gown—completely different styles, yet equally refined.
After the designer explained them, Xia Jiuwei barely hesitated.
Her gaze settled on the pleated dress in the center.
Compared to the imposing suit or the overly glamorous evening gown—
this one made her feel oddly at ease.
“I’ll take this one,” she said, pointing at it.
“I knew it,” Lu Nian’an smiled.
She reached for the suit beside it.
“This one’s mine.”
The moment she finished speaking, the designer had already taken away the evening gown.
She packed the gown away so smoothly it almost felt rehearsed.
Xia Jiuwei paused, faintly sensing something strange.
“Alright then, Miss Xia.” The designer clapped her hands lightly. “Let’s try it on.”
Before she even finished speaking, Lu Nian’an had already taken Xia Jiuwei’s hand and led her toward the fitting room.
The door clicked shut, leaving the room in sudden silence.
“Do you really have to watch me change?”
The space wasn’t large. Xia Jiuwei stood awkwardly in place, visibly uncomfortable.
“It’s not like you’re stripping completely.” Lu Nian’an leaned casually against the wall, her tone calm. “Besides, I already changed.”
“Says the one who kept staring at me earlier…”
Xia Jiuwei muttered quietly, not daring to look directly at her.
A brief silence followed.
“Um… I don’t really know how to wear the top part,” she finally admitted.
Lu Nian’an looked at her.
The pleated skirt was already on, but her upper body still wore her original T-shirt, making the whole thing look strangely ridiculous.
She couldn’t help laughing.
“Don’t laugh at me,” Xia Jiuwei glared at her.
“You’re not much better when you cook.”
“Alright.” Lu Nian’an walked closer.
“I’ll help you.”
The distance between them instantly disappeared.
The air shifted.
“Take your outer shirt off first,” she said.
Her tone was calm, yet impossible to ignore.
“Or should I help you take it off?”
Her voice brushed close behind Xia Jiuwei’s ear.
Xia Jiuwei stiffened.
“I-I’ll do it myself…”
Her movements turned clumsy. The rustling of fabric sounded unusually clear in the silence.
Her shirt fell away.
The fabric slid to the floor, warm against her skin.
“…Done.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Lu Nian’an didn’t move immediately.
Her gaze lingered briefly on the exposed skin of Xia Jiuwei’s back before she finally raised a hand.
Her fingertips touched lightly against her waist first.
Xia Jiuwei trembled faintly.
“Don’t move,” Lu Nian’an said softly, steadying her waist with one hand. “Or it’ll sit crooked.”
She began fastening the structure of the dress for her.
Occasionally, her fingers brushed against skin.
Briefly.
Yet impossible to ignore.
Xia Jiuwei didn’t turn around.
But she could feel the other person’s breathing.
Falling lightly against the back of her neck.
Her body unconsciously tensed.
“Relax a little,” Lu Nian’an murmured.
“…I am relaxed.”
The tension in her shoulders said otherwise.
Lu Nian’an didn’t point it out.
She simply continued.
When fastening the final clasp, she leaned in slightly from behind, almost wrapping her arms around her.
Like an embrace.
Yet not quite.
The distance was far too close.
Close enough to make thinking impossible.
The clasp clicked into place, but Lu Nian’an didn’t immediately step away.
And in the next instant—
a fleeting warmth touched the nape of her neck.
So brief it almost felt imagined.
Neither of them moved.
Both of them paused at the same time.
“…Done.” Lu Nian’an’s tone remained calm as she stepped back.
As though nothing had happened.
“…Mm.”
Xia Jiuwei didn’t turn around.
And together, they walked out of the fitting room.
The designer looked up once—and her eyes immediately lit up.
She circled around them once, nodding in satisfaction.
“I have to say, you two really look perfect together.”
The words slipped out before she paused herself.
She gave Lu Nian’an a meaningful look.
“Wait… don’t tell me you’re still unmarried because you like women?”
The air instantly froze.
Both of them stiffened at the same time.
“Kidding, kidding.” She waved her hand with a laugh. “People my age just talk too much.”
She sighed, then added casually:
“But honestly, your face hasn’t changed at all since you were seventeen.”
“Someone who doesn’t fear aging definitely has the luxury of marrying late.”
She didn’t continue further.
Instead, she simply waved them out the door.
And just as the door closed—
they heard her muttering to herself inside:
“If you’ve found someone you like… you should hold onto them sooner rather than later.”
They got back into the car.
The sound of the door closing wasn’t loud, yet it felt as though it sealed everything from earlier inside the confined space.
The engine started, and the car slowly drove out of the alley.
Neither of them spoke along the way.
Streetlights swept past the windows one after another, fragmented light and shadow brushing briefly across their faces before slipping away again, as though leaving nothing behind.
Lu Nian’an held the steering wheel, her gaze fixed straight ahead.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
That moment earlier—
she knew very clearly that she had crossed a line.
She shouldn’t have.
She had always kept boundaries clear.
And yet—
in that instant, she hadn’t stopped herself.
“I…”
A quiet voice came from the passenger seat.
Soft. Hesitant. As though the words had become trapped halfway out.
Lu Nian’an didn’t turn her head.
She wasn’t even sure whether she should listen right now.
The red light came on, and the car stopped.
The silence grew so still it felt possible to hear each other breathing.
A hand slowly reached over.
Gently taking hold of the hand resting beside the gearshift.
The movement was small, but there was no hesitation in it.
Lu Nian’an froze briefly.
She didn’t pull away.
Nor did she return the grip.
She simply let that warmth remain.
The light turned green.
The car began moving again.
And this time, the silence inside no longer felt unbearable.
The city lights gradually disappeared behind them.
The car turned onto a mountain road leading toward the suburbs.
The road curved endlessly ahead of them. The view slowly widened, while the night deepened around them.
Still, neither of them spoke.
But something tense between them had quietly loosened.
At some point, that hand was finally released.
Or perhaps—
neither of them had bothered noticing anymore.
About ten minutes later,
the road flattened out, and ahead stood a European-style mountain villa.
Warm light spilled from inside the building, calm and gentle against the darkness.
The car stopped before the gates.
Lu Nian’an rolled down the window.
Before she could say anything, the security guard had already recognized the license plate and promptly opened the gate.
The iron doors slowly slid apart.
The car drove inside.
She didn’t park in the most visible area. Instead, she circled once and stopped near the shadows by the edge.
Lu Nian’an got out first.
The night breeze carried a faint chill from the mountains.
She walked around the front of the car and opened the passenger-side door.
Then she extended her hand toward her.
“Come on.”
Her tone was perfectly normal.
As though nothing had changed.
Xia Jiuwei looked up at her.
But didn’t move immediately.
Their gazes met briefly in the still air.
And in that instant, it felt as though something between them had quietly shifted ever so slightly.
She wouldn’t have known how to explain it.
But something had changed.
Slowly, she placed her hand into Lu Nian’an’s palm.
And stepped out of the car.