Half an hour later, Jiang Cheng finally emerged from the elevator.
Wang Ziyue was leaning against the bar counter, holding an iced Americano.
Today’s outfit was rare for her: a French-style floral sundress, a rose-gold chain hanging at the chest, and a hair tie on her wrist.
“How was it? Sleep well?”
Wang Ziyue looked perfectly calm, as if last night’s near-collapse of reason had never happened.
“It was… okay.”
Jiang Cheng didn’t dare look at Wang Ziyue at all, so naturally she didn’t notice the slight swelling on the woman’s cheeks.
“Um…”
“Right—”
They spoke at the same time. “You go first—”
“Then I’ll go first…”
Wang Ziyue used the glass to hide most of her face.
“Last night, um… do you remember anything?”
“You mean after I got drunk?”
Wang Ziyue’s hand trembled.
She stepped down from the high stool.
She stood directly in front of Jiang Cheng and looked down at her.
“So you do remember…”
“Huh? Remember what?”
Jiang Cheng’s reaction made Wang Ziyue narrow her eyes.
The girl’s gaze was no longer evasive, only pure confusion on her face—impossible to read.
For a moment Wang Ziyue couldn’t tell whether she actually remembered or not.
“Why is your face swollen?”
Jiang Cheng finally noticed the redness on both of Wang Ziyue’s cheeks.
“Oh… didn’t sleep well last night, a bit of puffiness.”
Would puffiness make your face this red? Jiang Cheng was skeptical.
“Was that what you wanted to ask me just now?”
Wang Ziyue smoothly changed the subject and took half a step back.
“No… I forgot.”
The question she wanted to ask had been asked first by Wang Ziyue.
Now that she was pretending not to know anything, bringing it up again would feel forced and awkward.
“You forgot?”
“Mm, yep. I’m hungry. I want to eat.”
Jiang Cheng stiffly cut off any further questioning and hurried toward the dining room, looking very much like she was fleeing the scene.
Wang Ziyue raised a brow.
Today she had drawn half-winged eyeliner that made her look like a fox.
She followed Jiang Cheng into the dining room and saw her adding vinegar to a soup dumpling.
Lunch was light: clear vegetable noodle soup, a few small side dishes, a pitcher of juice in the middle, and a small bucket of ice.
“These crab-roe soup dumplings are freshly made—be careful, they’re hot.”
“Ah… mmph.”
Jiang Cheng had already bitten into one. Wang Ziyue poured her a glass of orange juice.
Jiang Cheng downed the juice in one go, yet her tongue still felt numb.
“Little glutton.”
Wang Ziyue’s tone was flat, yet it somehow carried an ambiguous undertone.
She pinched Jiang Cheng’s cheek.
The girl instinctively opened her mouth slightly, and something cold and slippery was popped inside.
Hiss—
Tongue and ice cube tangled together.
Jiang Cheng grimaced, revealing pink gums.
Wang Ziyue casually sat down beside her, leaving two seats between them.
At first it didn’t feel strange, but as Wang Ziyue kept “accidentally” scooting closer, Jiang Cheng finally sensed something was wrong.
Was the distance between them shrinking?
Wang Ziyue’s gaze stayed on her bowl the whole time; she only leaned toward Jiang Cheng when reaching for food.
Yet each time she sat back down, the gap between their chairs seemed just a little smaller.
After Wang Ziyue’s shoulder brushed against her several times, Jiang Cheng finally asked, “Sister, want to switch seats?”
“Hm?”
“I feel like it’s inconvenient for you to reach things…”
Wang Ziyue perfectly understood the subtext but could only play dumb.
“No need. I just think the radish cake is delicious—here, try some.”
She placed a piece on Jiang Cheng’s plate.
Small and delicate, perfect for one bite.
Wang Ziyue’s eyes suddenly deepened, as if remembering something.
“I’m full.”
Jiang Cheng had barely touched her noodles, but she had finished the radish cake Wang Ziyue gave her.
“That’s all you’re eating?”
“Mm… not very hungry.”
She was clearly distracted.
Wang Ziyue didn’t call her out; she already had a rough idea of what the girl was thinking.
“Shall I take you home now?”
“Mm.”
Jiang Cheng carried her school bag and a small plastic bag, sitting obediently at the entrance putting on her shoes.
Wang Ziyue slipped into flats and followed her out to the courtyard.
Someone had watered the plants that morning; the soil was half-dry, half-damp.
Before leaving the yard, Jiang Cheng took a long look at the roses in the flowerbed.
Basking in the blazing sun, yet hiding in the shade.
Wang Ziyue pulled the car out. The moment Jiang Cheng fastened her seatbelt, her mother called again.
“Hello? Mom.”
“Little Cheng, are you on your way back?”
“Yeah, I’m in the car. Mm, she’s driving me. Okay, okay…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Mom asked what time I’ll be home.”
“Mm.”
This time Wang Ziyue drove slowly and even took a longer route.
She wanted to say something to Jiang Cheng, but every word that reached her lips refused to come out.
Like the lingering aftershocks of passion—neither here nor there. Even Wang Ziyue started feeling a little depressed.
Jiang Cheng’s reaction made her half-doubt the girl’s claim of remembering nothing.
If she truly remembered nothing, she wouldn’t be acting like this.
But if she was distancing herself because of last night, that didn’t seem quite right either.
This reaction…
Wang Ziyue felt uneasy.
She realized her understanding of Jiang Cheng seemed to have regressed to square one.
The girl was like a gourd with a sealed mouth—when she didn’t speak, no one could guess what she was thinking.
But why was she pretending not to know?
Or… was she forced to pretend?
Wait— A more terrifying possibility suddenly hit Wang Ziyue.
Jiang Cheng might remember fragments, but not the entire sequence.
And if the fragments she remembered were exactly those ones, then in her eyes…
Wouldn’t that mean—
[Why are you touching me everywhere?]
[I trusted you so much, yet you… I can feel it, but I also feel like you’re not that kind of person.]
The dazed murmurs of the girl, the unintentional truths that slipped out.
Her image in the girl’s eyes… was probably pretty terrible right now…
Wang Ziyue didn’t know where she’d been exposed, or whether her overly obvious feelings had been keenly noticed by the girl.
“Sister, you can stop up ahead.”
Wang Ziyue glanced at the crowded street—it was next to a wet market.
“Isn’t your place a bit further?”
“Mom suddenly has to work overtime and asked me to buy some garlic.”
She hadn’t eaten much at lunch.
Thinking of the shopping list her mother had rattled off, Jiang Cheng unconsciously licked her lips.
That flash of lilac tongue slid into Wang Ziyue’s field of vision.
“Shall I come with you?”
“No need, it’s really close once I finish shopping.”
Jiang Cheng thought Wang Ziyue just wanted to drop her off.
“Your mom is working hard overtime for the company—the least I can do is take care of her daughter.”
Something about that felt off to Jiang Cheng.
She was about to refuse again when Wang Ziyue had already unbuckled and gotten out.
Resigned, Jiang Cheng left her school bag in the car and followed.
Damp ground, noisy shouting.
The stall owners were enthusiastically hawking to every passerby.
Wang Ziyue found it quite novel, looking here and there.
Soon her hands were full of black plastic bags.
Jiang Cheng picked out a few heads of garlic.
When she turned around, she saw Wang Ziyue smiling bitterly at her while holding two huge bags.
“Why did you buy so much?”
“I was just looking—the owners were too enthusiastic, so I bought some.”
To be precise, Wang Ziyue had been watching two mantis shrimps fighting in a tank.
When she turned back, the stall auntie was already grinning and holding a small net toward her.
The enthusiastic auntie talked a mile a minute, and somehow Wang Ziyue ended up buying a whole catty of mantis shrimp, then some swimming crab, and other seafood too.
Jiang Cheng could tell what happened just by looking at her face.
“The seafood here is really fresh. Steam it when you get home—it’ll be delicious.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Wang Ziyue saw the girl reach out, puzzled.
“You can’t carry all of this alone. Let me help.”
Wang Ziyue had been about to say it wasn’t heavy, but then she happily handed over one bag with a grin.
Jiang Cheng took one bag, and the two walked out together.
“It’s just a few steps. I can walk the rest myself.”
Jiang Cheng retrieved her school bag and prepared to leave.
“It’s fine. I still need to turn around up ahead anyway—it’s on the way.”
They looked at each other silently for a few seconds before Jiang Cheng sighed.
Ten minutes later—
Watching Wang Ziyue follow her all the way upstairs, Jiang Cheng leaned against her front door and asked,
“Didn’t you say you were turning around up ahead…”
“I turned, found a parking spot, and decided not to leave yet.”
Wang Ziyue couldn’t hide the smile at the corner of her mouth—it was infuriatingly smug.
“You…”
“Sigh, I’ve never been up to your place before. At least let me have a cup of tea?”
“You… really just want tea?”
“Yes. “Of course.
I have to work overtime this afternoon anyway—I’ll leave soon.”
Wang Ziyue said seriously.
Following her up had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
“…Fine. You promised, okay?”
Wang Ziyue gave a wry smile.
This time she really heard the wariness in the girl’s voice.
Big bad wolf.