Zhou Xue’er: “Wanning, you’re still not done?”
Zhou Xue’er: “I’m almost finished eating, and you’re still at it. They really work you to the bone, huh?”
Zhou Xue’er: “? Why aren’t you replying? Can’t even look at your phone?”
Zhou Xue’er: “I didn’t want to disturb you, so I didn’t dare come in. If you can type, just reply to me.”
Zhou Xue’er: “Or tell me what you want to eat and I’ll grab it for you in advance. It’s crowded right now, and a lot of stuff gets snatched up quickly they probably won’t restock tonight.”
Lu Wanning’s phone buzzed repeatedly. Her roommates, noticing she’d been gone so long without returning, had sent messages to check on her.
She had no time to read the details. The moment her eyes landed on the name “Zhou Xue’er,” she quickly flipped her phone face-down.
Lu Wanning stared straight at the person in front of her, brows slightly furrowed, her voice hardening. “Han Yao?”
The private room wasn’t well soundproofed. Even with the door closed, the chatter of customers outside could be heard clearly, lively and bustling. The lightbulb overhead seemed to have a loose connection; it had been fine just a moment ago, but now it flickered on and off from time to time, casting its glow from above onto that snow-white face.
Han Yao’s hair was tied back with a black knit headband, its ribbon trailing down her shoulder along with her braid.
She had never been afraid of the cold, always dressing lightly no matter the season. It was already deep autumn, yet she wasn’t even wearing a coat just a thin shirt.
She looked at Lu Wanning with calm, unruffled eyes, her gaze landing near her ear.
Just below it, at the ends of her hair, freshly cut short not long ago.
What a shame.
It wasn’t until Lu Wanning could no longer bear the suffocating silence that she broke it. “Han Yao, you” But before she could even finish, she was pushed up against the cold wall.
Han Yao’s strength wasn’t great. A pampered young lady like her had never needed to do heavy work; her whole body was delicate and slight.
Including the hand she now rested on Lu Wanning’s shoulder.
It gripped, caressed, traced the shape of her shoulder, then released, winding around the ends of her hair.
There was no pain instead, a familiar fragrance arrived first, spreading up from the fingertips, burrowing into Lu Wanning’s nose without permission. Rich like roses, yet not nearly so vulgar.
“What a shame,” Han Yao said softly. “It had finally grown to your shoulders. Why did you cut it?”
My hair?
Lu Wanning immediately understood what she meant, Han Yao liked her hair kept at that particular length.
Nameless anger surged in her chest. She pushed Han Yao away, putting some distance between them, her voice cold and hard. “What I do with my hair is my own decision. I don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
Perhaps she had pushed too hard.
Han Yao lowered her eyes, staring at the hand that had been flung away, and said, “It hurts.”
“You…” Lu Wanning took a deep breath, not knowing what to say.
“Really.”
Han Yao raised her hand in front of Lu Wanning’s eyes. The spot on the back of her hand where she’d been struck was indeed flushed red, faint but visible.
For a moment, Lu Wanning almost wanted to cradle that hand in her palm, gently soothe the place that “hurt,” then soften her voice to comfort her just as she had done countless times before.
But she knew all too well: from beginning to end, all of this was nothing but Han Yao’s usual tricks.
Whenever the eldest Miss Han wanted something, Lu Wanning couldn’t resist otherwise she’d get a soft, faintly aggrieved “ow.”
That hand wound around Lu Wanning’s hair ends again, tugging with a slight force.
“Let it grow longer,” Han Yao said softly, a look called innocence surfacing on her face. “Your current look feels strange to me.”
It had been five years since they’d last seen each other of course it felt strange.
Han Yao leaned in a little closer. “Do you remember? The first time we had dinner together, we ate sashimi too. Same as this place.”
In fact, that scene had just played out in Lu Wanning’s mind only minutes ago and now, without warning, it was being brought up again.
“You said you weren’t full, and I said I’d have the kitchen make more.”
At the memory, Han Yao smiled, her voice growing even softer.
“You said you’d take me out.”
…
Lu Wanning had a big appetite especially back then, when she was young and still growing. A few pieces of sushi really couldn’t fill her up. Not long after the serving cart was wheeled away, her stomach growled.
One growl would have been fine, but it was a whole string of them, echoing through the vast reception room, piercingly loud.
Even with skin as thick as Lu Wanning’s, she couldn’t help blushing. She turned her head away sheepishly and explained, “I didn’t get full.” A few slices of fish over rice at most that counted as an appetizer. It really wasn’t enough for her.
“Then I’ll have them make something else.”
“No need.” Lu Wanning was a bit embarrassed. “I’ll just go out later and buy myself something.”
“Go out?”
“Mm-hm. There’s a night market nearby with all kinds of good food.”
One stall there sold egg fried rice absolutely the best. It was Lu Wanning’s favorite, and just thinking about it made her mouth water; she wanted to dash over and devour a big bowl right now.
Lu Jiahui usually gave her some loose cash as pocket money. She remembered having twenty yuan left… that should be enough, probably.
“Want to come?” Lu Wanning figured Han Yao probably hadn’t eaten her fill either. “My treat.”
Han Yao said neither yes nor no.
Either way, that night, two figures slipped out through the back door.
The night market was supposedly nearby, but in truth it was quite a distance: first a ten-minute walk to the bus stop, then a bus heading west to that intersection.
Lu Wanning patted the coins and bills in her pocket and quickly worked out a rigorous budget for the evening bus fare was two yuan each way, so eight yuan round trip for two people; egg fried rice was six yuan a bowl, so twelve for two. Twenty yuan exactly, fitting the budget perfectly.
If only she could do math problems that fast on exams.
Lu Wanning placed four one-yuan coins in Han Yao’s palm. “This is your bus fare.”
“Bus?”
“Yeah, the bus.”
The two stood beside the bus stop sign. The evening breeze swept through Han Yao’s bangs and lashes, making her squint slightly. “I’ve never ridden a bus.”
Lu Wanning raised her eyebrows in surprise, but the moment after, it seemed perfectly reasonable. The Han household employed not just servants but dedicated drivers the family was chauffeured wherever they went, naturally.
“I’m sorry,” she said, a little ashamed. “Taxis are so expensive, and I don’t have enough money. I’ll have to put you through taking the bus is that okay?”
It was a long while before Han Yao said, “I don’t know how.”
For a moment, Lu Wanning was stunned too.
The girl who had just moments ago commanded her in an imperious tone “Be my toy” was now staring at the few coins in her palm with a look of helpless bewilderment.
The bus happened to arrive just then, and Lu Wanning said, “Follow behind me, and just toss two coins into the fare box. Only two the rest is for the ride back.”
There weren’t many people at this stop, and the bus was nearly empty. She got on, glanced back, and saw the eldest Han daughter obediently following behind her, gently dropping the coins into the box.
The steps onto the bus were filthy, and the hem of a white dress could easily brush against the ground. Before that could happen, Lu Wanning instinctively lifted Han Yao’s skirt for her.
Han Yao lowered her eyes, paused for a moment, then smiled slightly. “Thank you.”
It seemed this was the only way she knew how to smile the curve just right, never showing her teeth. Very elegant, but not quite genuine.
Lu Wanning suddenly had the odd impression that they were becoming friends… Never mind. What was she thinking?
Just after nightfall was when the night market was at its liveliest. Countless little vendor carts crowded together in a dense mass, the stall owners hawking their wares while keeping a wary eye out for the city inspectors, poised as if ready to bolt at any moment.
Lu Wanning led Han Yao with practiced ease to the egg fried rice stall only to be struck dumb the moment she saw the sign. It-it-it had gone up in price?!
Shocked, she asked, “Auntie, how come it’s 8 yuan now?”
“If I don’t raise prices, there’s no money to be made!” the auntie’s booming voice cut through the sizzle of frying eggs. “I use the freshest ingredients for you all. Any more of this and I’ll be running at a loss.”
As one coin can stump a hero, two yuan had stumped Lu Wanning. She only had 16 yuan on her. Was she supposed to spend it all on fried rice and then walk Han Yao all the way back home?
After an internal struggle, she made an agonizing decision: “Then just one bowl, please.”
The auntie quickly had the fried rice ready. There were crude seats beside the stall. Lu Wanning carried the bowl over, set it on the table, and with tremendous effort pushed it toward Han Yao’s side.
“Eat,” she said tersely, because any more words and the drool would start flowing.
Han Yao looked at the bowl of greasy fried rice sprinkled with scallions.
“Where’s yours?”
Lu Wanning said ruefully, “I didn’t know they’d raise prices today. I don’t have enough.”
Han Yao said, “I have money.”
Beneath the coat draped over her shoulders there seemed to be a small wallet with several cards inside. Before she could take it out, Lu Wanning’s quick hands pressed it back. “Don’t keep it tucked away. There are lots of thieves around here.”
Especially since they were two young girls, and Han Yao’s attire clearly marked her as someone who didn’t belong in a place like this quite a few passersby had already shot glances their way.
“Besides, they only take cash here. Cards are useless.” Lu Wanning motioned for Han Yao to scoot further in, while she herself vigilantly guarded the eldest Han daughter’s pockets, determined to prevent anyone from so much as pilfering a thing.
She swallowed. “You eat first. If there’s any left over… I’ll have a couple of bites.”
Even Lu Wanning didn’t know why she was being so self-sacrificing. At school, she was fiercely protective of her food no one could ever take her snacks from her. Yet now, though she was so hungry her stomach felt like it was caving in on itself, she could bear it and hand the whole bowl over to the eldest Han daughter.
Sigh.
But the next second, Han Yao pushed the fried rice back toward her. “You eat.” She blinked. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“I already said I’m treating you…”
Before she could finish, the auntie making egg fried rice tossed a plastic spoon over: “Stop dawdling! Just eat together!”
Lu Wanning caught it instinctively, scratched her head, and suddenly burst out laughing.
Right,why hadn’t she thought of that?
So much time had passed that she could barely remember what the fried rice tasted like anymore.
What remained in her memory was only the bustling warmth of the night market, with Han Yao so close she could touch her, eyes curved into crescents, smiling at her with lips pressed together.
…
In the private room, the Han Yao of the present was just as close.
Their noses were nearly touching, a faint fragrance winding between them, and there was no escaping those clear eyes and what lay within them love? Or hate? What difference did it make.
Her phone buzzed probably Zhou Xue’er messaging again to hurry her along. Lu Wanning’s heart was beating faster and faster. If she didn’t reply soon, Xue’er might come looking for her out of worry.
She had to keep Han Yao steady first.
But the moment she opened her mouth, her ear was suddenly bitten. “Mmph!”
Han Yao wasn’t just biting her ear she was biting the side of her neck too, leaving behind hot, damp marks like crimson blossoms unfurling down her throat.
Lu Wanning wasn’t afraid of pain, but she was extremely ticklish so much she could barely stand it. With the wall behind her, there was nowhere to retreat; the only option left was to push Han Yao away.
But then Han Yao had to go and say it hurt.
Where exactly did it hurt?
Lu Wanning felt a flicker of irritation, and her fingers trembled slightly.
She wanted to keep the upper hand in front of Han Yao, yet after all these years, one word “hurt” from the young Miss Han could still tie her hands and leave her not daring to do anything.
Pathetic.
“Enough.” She could only reprimand in a low voice. “Are you a puppy?”
Han Yao couldn’t have cared less about words like that; she just let out a soft laugh by Lu Wanning’s ear.
“If I’m a dog, what does that make you?” she asked with amusement. “A dog’s toy?”
In truth, Lu Wanning knew Han Yao was more like a cat.
A cat’s bite doesn’t hurt, but a feline’s tongue is covered with barbs once prey tries to pull away, it gets hooked fast, and then dragged across the skin, leaving streak after streak of bleeding pain.
“Even a dog shouldn’t go around biting people. How old are you three?” Lu Wanning’s voice was cold, edged with anger. “What are you doing here?”
In the online meeting on her computer, the project manager was still droning on. This impromptu overtime session had finally come to its end:
“Thank you all for your time. We can end the meeting now.”
Before Lu Wanning could do anything, Han Yao casually snapped her laptop shut with a click. She said nothing, only gazed at Lu Wanning with a soft smile, yet it made her skin crawl.
Han Yao looked most like a cat when her eyes narrowed.
And not the sweet, docile kitten that lets itself be petted, but the kind that lies in wait, ready to swipe its claws at any moment.
“Ningning, I’ve given you as much time as I can.” Han Yao spoke unhurriedly. “But my patience is limited. I think I’m about to get angry.”
Her tone remained calm as ever: “I want your answer within three days. This isn’t a negotiation.”
“You” Lu Wanning fumed, remembering what she’d asked Zhou Xue’er before. “Those terms you listed have no legal validity at all. Even if I signed, it wouldn’t mean anything. So what then?”
“As long as it’s binding between you and me, that’s enough.”
Han Yao said slowly.
Her fingers hooked the collar of Lu Wanning’s collar, pulling her close once more.
“As for what I can do don’t you know better than anyone?”
Just then, a voice sounded from outside the door: “Wanning, where are you?”
Seeing that she’d been gone too long without replying to messages or answering her calls, Zhou Xue’er couldn’t help coming out to look for her, muttering to herself, “Nothing’s happened, has it?” When she spotted the locked door, she knocked on it heavily. “Anyone in there? Wanning, are you in there?”
A smile bloomed at the corner of Han Yao’s lips again. Mimicking Zhou Xue’er’s tone, she slowly savored those two words. “Wanning.”
“So, what are you going to do about it, Wanning?”