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The orange-yellow glow of the evening sky settled into Xu Wu’s slightly dimmed eyes after a long day of work.
The warm water beside her slowly emitted steam. After replying to Zhou Jinye, she turned off her phone and immersed herself in her tasks. In the morning, she had organized the client’s requirements and, after another round of discussions, began arranging the project schedule.
Recently, she would have to go on a business trip for this project.
As it approached the end of the workday, Xu Wu had already completed her tasks for the day. With some free time, she went to the tea room to pour herself a cup of water.
She sat down at one of the designated spots in the tea room.
On the 20th floor of Lingmei’s building, they had a panoramic view of everything below. The warm light from the setting sun filtered through the windows, casting a glow in one corner of the room. This brief moment of calm provided Xu Wu with a temporary respite after an afternoon of work.
It was almost time to leave. Normally, Zhou Jinye would send her a message by now, but Xu Wu didn’t realize her phone had automatically shut down due to a drained battery.
She stood up, holding her cup of hot water, and returned to her workstation.
When her phone finally charged enough to turn back on, Xu Wu opened it to find a Weibo notification from two hours ago.
She rarely used Weibo for anything other than following industry news and hadn’t followed anyone personally. She knew it was the person she had messaged earlier—
[Is your boyfriend Qin Shili’s son?]
It seemed the other person wasn’t sure yet. Without giving it much thought, Xu Wu replied with a simple “Yes.”
The other person typed back—
[We’ll have a chance to meet in the future, but probably not in the next few days.]
Xu Wu wondered why this person would say that. Out of curiosity, she clicked into their profile. Just like last time, there was no activity—only a mountain as their profile picture. She couldn’t help but think the person she was chatting with might be older.
Zhou Jinye hadn’t sent a message today, which was unusual. Assuming he was busy with meetings, Xu Wu packed her things and prepared to head to his company.
Just as she was about to leave the office, Shu Ke called: “Oh my god, I just got home and haven’t even sat down yet when Xu Tianya called me to deliver some documents to her.”
Shu Ke had left work over an hour early and was already at home. Xu Wu didn’t understand why Xu Tianya had contacted her. After explaining the situation, Shu Ke clarified further.
“Everyone at the company is either on a business trip or handling other tasks. Through Chen Haili, she specifically asked for me. Tomorrow, we’re supposed to coordinate on a project. She needs the project materials for tomorrow. Xu Wu, my house is over half an hour away from the company. Are you done with work? Could you help me deliver them?”
Since Zhou Jinye hadn’t messaged her, Xu Wu picked up her phone, checked the time, and headed toward the PR department’s workspace: “Alright, I’ll bring it over for you.”
“Thank you so much, Xu Wu!”
Following the location Shu Ke mentioned, Xu Wu passed several workstations and arrived at Xu Tianya’s desk.
Xu Tianya hadn’t been to the office recently, and her desk was cluttered with unorganized documents. Xu Wu didn’t linger long, confirming the file Shu Ke needed for tomorrow, grabbed it, and left.
Taking a taxi, Xu Wu quickly arrived at Xu Tianya’s location based on the address Shu Ke had sent.
Upon arrival, she had already messaged Xu Tianya.
The residential area wasn’t too far from the city center. The community environment was peaceful, without the hustle and bustle of downtown. Scattered electric bikes under the trees cast faint shadows in the warm orange glow of the setting sun, creating a tranquil and cozy atmosphere.
When Xu Tianya came down, the evening breeze carried a faint smell of Chinese medicine to Xu Wu’s nose.
Recognizing the scent, Xu Wu instinctively thought of the person in the wheelchair Xu Tianya had pushed to the clinic the day before.
The street was filled with the sounds of honking electric bikes. As Xu Tianya approached, Xu Wu took the requested documents out of her bag: “Shu Ke couldn’t make it. I brought the documents for her.”
Xu Tianya took them. Xu Wu noticed her nails hadn’t changed color or decoration—they were still the same as before.
The neighborhood had many trees, and the yellowing leaves scattered by the wind stopped near Xu Wu’s feet.
She had only come to deliver the documents for Shu Ke and didn’t intend to exchange more words with Xu Tianya. Taking out her phone, she saw a new message from Zhou Jinye on WeChat.
It had been sent just two minutes ago.
[I’m coming to find you.]
Her slender fingers held the phone screen, her index finger brushing against the charm hanging from her phone case.
As she was about to type a reply, the charm swung with the evening breeze and landed near Xu Tianya’s shoes.
Bending down to pick it up, Xu Tianya beat her to it.
Picking up the framed photo, Xu Tianya recognized the smiling figure in her nearly forgotten memories.
“Who is this person to you?” Xu Tianya asked, eyes fixed on the framed photo without looking up at Xu Wu. Bent over, strands of hair fell to cover half her face, obscuring her expression.
Holding the framed photo, Xu Wu said, “It’s a picture of me as a child. That person is my father.”
After hearing this, Xu Tianya straightened up, staring directly at Xu Wu’s face. “You used to live in Jiangcheng too?”
She had stared at the photo for a while. Xu Wu’s father was wearing a police uniform, and the background reflected the name of the place. She assumed Xu Tianya had noticed it.
Her hand was still open, and Xu Wu retrieved the framed photo. During their internship, Xu Wu had accidentally seen Xu Tianya’s information. Xu Tianya was originally recruited from Jiangcheng and had lived and studied there before coming to Linjing.
Before her father’s accident, Xu Wu had lived in Jiangcheng. “That was before.”
Xu Tianya’s face was full of disbelief, her eyes reflecting emotions Xu Wu couldn’t decipher.
They shifted repeatedly. Watching Xu Tianya’s retreating figure, Xu Wu didn’t know what she meant.
So strange.
________________________________________
After delivering the items, Xu Wu left the neighborhood and messaged Zhou Jinye. He happened to be nearby and arrived at her location shortly.
After getting into the car, Zhou Jinye’s gaze was deep, leaving Xu Wu confused about why both he and Xu Tianya had looked at her with such unreadable expressions.
Her relationship with Xu Tianya wasn’t close, so she didn’t ask. But regarding Zhou Jinye, she questioned, “Why are you looking at me like this?”
This stretch of road couldn’t accommodate parking for long. After Xu Wu got in, Zhou Jinye restarted the car and headed toward the main road.
Today, his schedule had been busier than usual, with an extra hour-long meeting. He hadn’t checked his phone during the meeting, and upon its conclusion, he planned to message Xu Wu when Uncle Xu’s notification popped up.
According to what Uncle Xu said, he had already inquired. It seemed the person chatting with him was indeed Xu Wu.
“Nothing.”
After saying this, Zhou Jinye remained silent, focusing on driving. Xu Wu didn’t speak either.
She didn’t understand what was going on—it all felt so strange.
After dinner, Zhou Jinye mentioned he wanted to share a Weibo message with her.
Xu Wu told him to send it over, but Zhou Jinye didn’t move. Instead, he looked at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ll send it to your Weibo.”
“You gave me your Weibo ID; it’s more convenient to send it there.” Zhou Jinye held his phone, waiting for her.
Unaware of the trap she was walking into, Xu Wu innocently believed he truly wanted to share something from Weibo and gave him her Weibo ID.
Not long after, Zhou Jinye really sent her a Weibo message—but it was someone’s profile page.
She had only seen this profile twice, both times recently. Looking at the homepage Zhou Jinye sent, Xu Wu’s mind began piecing things together.
How did Zhou Jinye know the person she had been chatting with?
Before she could continue pondering, he sat on the sofa and said, “From your expression, do you know them too?”
Without time to process, Xu Wu nodded absentmindedly.
Soon, a few red notifications appeared on her screen, all from the Weibo account Zhou Jinye had sent her.
There were several screenshots. The content was so familiar that Xu Wu could recite it by heart.
Wasn’t this the conversation she’d had with that person? How did Zhou Jinye get it?
Her gaze shifted from her phone screen to Zhou Jinye.
He hadn’t intended to involve her, and Xu Wu hadn’t told him about this. Yet, somehow, Zhou Jinye already knew.
The wind outside gently swayed the curtains, and the cold silence outside contrasted with the turmoil brewing inside her heart.
Zhou Jinye didn’t directly address the matter but sent her all the screenshots.
After a long silence in the room, he moved behind Xu Wu, looking down at her sitting on the carpet: “Do you know how I felt when I saw these photos?”
“I just wanted to solve this problem together with you.” She sat on the carpet, the softness of the rug tickling her senses.
“Didn’t you see yesterday that I didn’t want you involved?” Zhou Jinye said, “So why did you keep investigating this?”
Pudding, lying beside them, also sensed the tense atmosphere in the room.
Suddenly overwhelmed by委屈 (grievance), Xu Wu stood up and faced Zhou Jinye, speaking firmly: “Yes, you didn’t tell me. But have you thought about it? Even if you said you didn’t want me involved, I’m already part of this. And what about Qin Shili? Do you think I can avoid being dragged into this because of him? You’re doing this for my good, but what about you? You’re always pushing me away and dealing with things alone. Aren’t we together now? Didn’t we agree not to push each other away? So, can you please stop pushing me away?”
By the end, Xu Wu’s voice grew hoarse as she shouted.
Her tears, which she couldn’t hold back, began to flow.
Zhou Jinye rarely saw Xu Wu cry, and it felt like something inside him was being pulled apart. He pulled her into his arms.
Xu Wu rested against his chest, her hand hovering near his heart.
Her hand, which seemed to rest there, lightly traced the scar she imagined lay beneath.
No matter what danger arose, he always pushed her behind him. The more Xu Wu cried, the harder her tears fell.
Zhou Jinye held her tightly, his large palm gently patting her back, soothing her: “Don’t cry, baby. It’s my fault.”
“I’m not trying to push you away.”
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