Ming Lan had waited for quite a while, but Yi An still hadn’t come back with her phone. Wearing slippers and steadying herself against the wall, she walked out to look for her. Just then, she saw Yi An standing at her bedroom door, frowning at her phone screen, clearly absorbed in something.
“What’s wrong?” Ming Lan asked.
Yi An looked up. “Nothing, just replying to a message.”
She put away her phone and helped Ming Lan back into the room. After they both lay down again, Yi An glanced at Ming Lan and suddenly asked, “Do you have someone you like?”
“Huh?” Ming Lan looked confused at first, then realized they were just chatting. It was a common topic between girls. “Of course not. What about you? Do you like someone?”
Yi An believed her. After living through two lifetimes, she had never seen anyone truly worthy of Ming Lan. In fact, in their previous life, she had witnessed Li Jue losing control, grabbing Ming Lan by the throat and asking her why she couldn’t love him. Ming Lan’s answer had been just two cold words: “Go die.”
“I also…” Yi An was about to say she didn’t like anyone either, but when her eyes met Ming Lan’s bright, expectant gaze, she hesitated. The words changed in her mouth. “Yes, I do.”
“Really?” Ming Lan’s eyes widened in surprise. She then leaned over and linked her arm through Yi An’s. “Then we’re the same. Honestly, does it even matter whether we like someone or not? Whether we fall in love someday? The important thing is, I’ll always be with you, and you’ll always be with me, right?”
They were so close that Yi An could count every one of Ming Lan’s eyelashes. She nodded slowly. “Yes, I will.”
“I knew it.” Ming Lan looked satisfied. “By the way, do you remember those letters you wrote to me? I’ve kept every single one. In one of them, you said I was the most beautiful, the kindest, the gentlest, and the most unique girl in the world.”
Yi An blushed and quickly reached out to cover her mouth. “I only wrote those to encourage you when you weren’t cooperating with treatment. I just wanted you to regain your strength. You should throw those letters away.”
Ming Lan laughed and pulled Yi An’s hand down. “I’m not throwing them away. So tell me, am I the most beautiful?”
“Yes,” Yi An answered, her face turning redder.
“The kindest?”
“Yes.”
“The gentlest and the most unique?”
“Yes.” Yi An’s face had turned completely red. She pulled Ming Lan into her arms and gently covered her eyes. “It’s getting late. You should sleep.”
Ming Lan let go of her arm and wrapped her arms around Yi An’s waist instead. She snuggled into a comfortable position and whispered, “Alright. Good night.”
Yi An could feel the soft flutter of Ming Lan’s eyelashes against her palm as she closed her eyes. Her heart tightened slightly. “Good night,” she replied softly.
In response, Ming Lan held her even closer.
The next morning, when Ming Lan woke up, Yi An was already gone. She walked out and found her in the kitchen, making breakfast.
Still wearing her loose nightdress, Ming Lan stepped into the kitchen and hugged Yi An from behind. “Why are you up so early?”
Yi An’s body tensed. She quickly turned around, gently pulling away from Ming Lan’s arms. “Breakfast is almost ready. Go freshen up, and I’ll call you when it’s done.”
Ming Lan didn’t notice anything strange. She yawned and nodded. “Thank you.”
Only after watching her walk back into the room did Yi An breathe a sigh of relief. She turned off the stove and stood there for a moment, a little lost in thought.
She had clearly been too nervous about Ming Lan getting close. Even though she knew this kind of closeness was normal between girls, it still felt unnatural. Maybe it was because she had never been this close to anyone before. That unfamiliarity made everything feel awkward.
She gave herself a reasonable explanation and calmed down. Then she plated the food and set it on the table, waiting for Ming Lan to come out.
Since Yi An was moving out that day, they got to work right after breakfast. They packed everything Ming Lan had bought for her. There wasn’t much else left.
Yi An mentioned she still had to go back to her old rental to pick up a few remaining items.
“I’ll come with you,” said Ming Lan. She had already told her company she would be off today, and she didn’t have anything else planned. “There’s nothing for me to do at home anyway.”
“But your ankle,” Yi An said with concern. The roads near her rental were rough, and that was where Ming Lan had twisted her ankle last time.
“I was wearing heels that were way too high.”
Ming Lan gently rotated her ankle. After resting for a few days, the swelling had gone down, and the pain was almost gone. Worst case, she could wait in the car while Yi An went up.
Yi An couldn’t win the argument, so she gave in. Along with Ming Lan’s chauffeur and bodyguard, and one more from the Ye family, the group left in three cars.
This time, the cars drove a bit farther into the alley and stopped just in front of the lane where Yi An’s rental was located. They were parked so tightly they almost blocked the entire street.
After getting out, Yi An glanced around and stopped Ming Lan before she could open her door.
“There’s really not much to carry. I can handle it on my own. This alley sometimes gets electric scooters coming through, so you all should wait back on the main road.”
“Can I come with you?” Ming Lan asked. She was curious to see where Yi An had been living.
“There’s no elevator here. It’s all stairs,” Yi An explained. She glanced at Ming Lan’s ankle again. The stairwell was narrow, and there wasn’t even room to carry a wheelchair. “Just wait in the car. I’ll be quick.”
Ming Lan had no choice but to agree. She watched Yi An close the car door, and the driver backed the vehicle out of the alley.
Feeling bored in the car, Ming Lan looked around. Most of the buildings here were illegally constructed add-ons or self-built homes. The area’s original layout had been completely disrupted, and the space felt cramped and overcrowded. Still, there were plenty of people living here—probably more than the area was meant to support.
As she was studying the surroundings and thinking about the urban development issues, another car pulled up and blocked her view.
Even though this was technically a main road, it was still quite narrow. With two luxury vehicles parked side by side, the street was completely blocked.
Ming Lan turned her head. The tinted window of the black car across from her slowly rolled down. Someone inside was looking in her direction.
It was Li Jue.
Ming Lan wasn’t surprised to see him. According to the plot of the novel, this was the time when Li Jue and Cheng Yurong were seeing each other frequently.
She leaned back in her seat and looked away, pretending not to see him. The tinted windows would make it hard for him to see her anyway.
But she had clearly underestimated him. Even though Li Jue hadn’t seen her directly, he recognized the Ming family’s license plate. He walked straight up to her car and knocked on the window.
The chauffeur in the front seat turned around and looked at Ming Lan, waiting for instructions.
She wanted to ignore Li Jue completely, but he showed no signs of leaving and just stood there waiting.
Frustrated, Ming Lan lowered the window and looked at him. Li Jue seemed surprised to see that it really was her.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Move your car,” Ming Lan said coldly. She rested her chin on her hand, not interested in wasting words.
“This place is messy. It’s not somewhere you should be,” Li Jue said, frowning. He still hadn’t gotten used to how cold Ming Lan had become toward him.
He was actually trying to control her now. Ming Lan almost laughed from sheer frustration.
“Get out of the way. Don’t make me say it again.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she began raising the car window, not wanting to speak to him any longer. What she didn’t expect was for Li Jue to place his hand firmly on the glass. Even as it began to close on his fingers, he didn’t let go.
Unfortunately for him, the car had an anti-pinch feature, so the window stopped and rolled halfway down again.
Ming Lan looked away with a touch of regret. Li Jue, still holding the edge of the window, caught the change in her expression. His frown deepened.
“Why are you treating me this way?” he asked.
“Because I didn’t realize what kind of person you really were until it was too late,” Ming Lan replied coldly. She felt she had been far too polite to him lately, which only encouraged him to cling to her like a persistent stain.
Li Jue’s heart sank. Did this mean she already knew about the things he had done?
Speechless, his hand slipped away from the window. He watched as Ming Lan raised the glass without hesitation, shutting him out completely. He remained standing there, stunned and silent.
When Yi An came out carrying her luggage, the first thing she saw was Li Jue standing in front of Ming Lan’s car, blocking the way. The memories of their past life surged up all at once, and her expression instantly turned cold.
“Move,” she said.
Li Jue turned around when he heard the voice and saw an unfamiliar girl. He didn’t recognize Yi An and made no move to step aside. He simply stared back with a frosty glare. The tension between the two grew thick in the air.
Cheng Yurong was two steps behind Yi An, having helped her pack upstairs. She had already heard Yi An mention the Ye family and was genuinely happy for her. Carrying a small bag, she stepped outside. At first, she was surprised to see a row of luxury cars, but then her attention turned to the standoff happening in front of her.
“President Li? What are you doing here?” Cheng Yurong’s eyes lit up slightly when she saw him. But sensing the strange tension between him and Yi An, she quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.
“This is my friend, Yi An. Is there some kind of misunderstanding?”
Yi An turned to look at Cheng Yurong. Her suspicions from yesterday were now confirmed. So Cheng Yurong and Li Jue really did know each other already. And something about their relationship was clearly off.
When Li Jue heard Cheng Yurong’s introduction, he sneered. His eyes briefly skimmed over Yi An with contempt before landing back on Cheng Yurong.
“Where’s the item I ordered? Do I need to come get it myself?”
The sudden shift in his tone and the cold look in his eyes pierced Cheng Yurong’s heart. But she had no choice except to swallow her frustration and bow her head in apology.
“I’m sorry, President Li. I’ve already resigned from the workshop, so I really don’t know…”
“I don’t want to hear excuses. Have it delivered to my house tomorrow,” Li Jue interrupted. He didn’t want to be seen getting involved with Cheng Yurong in front of Ming Lan. More than that, he feared Ming Lan might notice something between them. His tone grew colder.
He glanced once more at Yi An, whose presence made him feel inexplicably uneasy. But his next words were directed at Cheng Yurong.
“You should stop hanging around people who have no class. It’s embarrassing.”
He turned, planning to walk away after throwing out the insult. But just then, the door of Ming Lan’s car slowly opened.
Li Jue stopped and looked back in surprise. Ming Lan was leaning lazily against the armrest of her seat, one arm draped over it. She glanced at the distance between them, roughly a meter apart, then crooked her finger, motioning him to come closer.
Though unsure what she meant, Li Jue felt his heart speed up. He stepped forward and leaned in, resting one hand on the car roof.
“What is it?” he asked softly.
Smack.
A sharp slap landed cleanly across his face. Li Jue recoiled, stunned, turning his head in disbelief.
Ming Lan calmly pulled out a wet wipe and wiped her hand clean.
“My friend is not someone you get to insult. Who do you think you are?”