Chapter 9: The Only Other Person Is You, No One Else...

The supermarket was bustling with people. Xu Wu pushed her shopping cart through the aisles, browsing the shelves filled with colorful products.

As usual, after work, she had decided to visit a nearby supermarket since her fridge was nearly empty. She opened her phone to check for messages, but there were none.

She wasn’t sure when Zhou Jin Ye would calculate and send her the money he owed.

Lost in thought, she absentmindedly opened her WeChat contacts and scrolled to the most recently added contact.

The person who claimed to be the landlord was still at the top of her list. She tapped on the profile. Last time, she hadn’t paid much attention to it—only vaguely remembering that the profile picture showed overlapping shadows of trees and buildings.

She glanced at the username—Wild.

After their breakup, she had deleted all his information. It seemed his WeChat username hadn’t changed all these years.

Clicking on his profile picture, she noticed the faint orange glow behind the tree shadows.

It was the crimson sun during sunset.

Their unexpected reunion had already been surprising enough. Becoming neighbors afterward was entirely beyond her expectations.

Everything seemed to have veered off its original course.

Zhou Jin Ye’s question from last night lingered in her mind all day, refusing to fade away.

In truth, the breakup had been her fault. From the moment they met again, his reminders and consideration were already the greatest courtesy he could extend to her.

Thinking about this, Xu Wu pursed her lips slightly.

This time, being neighbors with him would be the extent of their relationship.

No further entanglements.

________________________________________

Just as she closed her phone and resumed shopping, it rang.

It was Wei Linxuan calling from the family landline. Xu Wu found this odd but answered anyway.

“Hello, Sister!” Wei Linxuan’s voice sounded cheerful.

Xu Wu picked up a pack of tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice balls) from the shelf and placed it in her cart, softly responding.

“I heard you ranked first in your class this time.”

She smiled warmly. “Mhm, great job.”

There was silence on the other end.

Xu Wu listened to the soft breathing on the line. When Wei Linxuan didn’t continue, she furrowed her brows and gently asked, “Linxuan, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“No, it’s just… um, Sister, can you…” Wei Linxuan hesitated over the phone.

“What?”

“It’s almost Mid-Autumn Festival. Can you come home for the holiday? I want… to celebrate it with you.” His voice grew quieter toward the end, lacking confidence.

Xu Wu was somewhat surprised. She paused, ready to respond.

“If you can’t make it, it’s okay,” Wei Linxuan said cautiously.

Ever since Wei Linxuan was born, she had entered university, spending little time at home.

They didn’t share the same father, but they shared the same maternal bloodline. Although her relationship with Lin Qingya remained distant, Xu Wu maintained a certain emotional barrier. As for Wei Linxuan, this was her first time being someone’s older sister, and she tried to balance their relationship carefully.

After a long silence, Xu Wu finally spoke. “Alright, I’ll come and celebrate the festival with you.”

Hearing this, Wei Linxuan’s voice brightened with excitement.

“Yes! I’ll wait for you, Sister!”

“Linxuan, Mom is back. Who are you talking to?” Another voice came through the receiver.

Xu Wu looked at the colorful packaging around her. “I’ll see you then. I’ll hang up now.”

After ending the call, she continued shopping.

Not long after, she noticed an ongoing promotion at a display stand.

Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and mooncakes were already on sale.

Later, she would return to her apartment. Now that she and Zhou Jin Ye were neighbors, they were bound to bump into each other frequently.

Though their past interactions had been unpleasant, Xu Wu felt that as neighbors, basic courtesy was necessary. He had helped her twice, after all.

She remembered he wasn’t picky about food, so she picked up a mooncake box and selected one piece of each flavor for him.

________________________________________

Leaving the supermarket, she noticed a pet store next door. She recalled how she had once fed Pudding pudding when she found it as a stray puppy. Its head buried in the dessert, she named it after the treat.

She grabbed a few boxes of pudding dog treats and also picked up two bags of dog food.

Seven years after their breakup, she hadn’t taken care of Pudding, leaving her feeling guilty toward the dog.

The evening sky was painted with red and purple hues as clouds glowed in the waning sunlight. Yiming Garden was located in a residential area with a park nearby where many people strolled in the evenings.

“Woof woof woof!”

A large white blur darted through the crowd toward her. Xu Wu walked forward to meet it.

As it approached, the white figure gradually took shape.

It was Pudding running toward her, its leash trailing behind it in the wind.

Her heart raced as she quickened her pace, meeting the dog in a warm embrace.

If Pudding was here, Zhou Jin Ye couldn’t be far away.

Sure enough, she turned her head and spotted a man standing under a lamppost in the center of a flower bed, talking on the phone.

Meanwhile, on Zhou Jin Ye’s side—

Li Qingyang was updating him on work matters. “The exhibition hall has been confirmed. We’re sharing W1 Hall with Fan Xiang. Right now, we’re discussing how to coordinate the launch of both brands.”

LUNAR was a brand Zhou Jin Ye had built from scratch overseas. After relocating its focus back to the country, LUNAR was set to participate in an upcoming car exhibition in Linjing.

Wearing black sportswear, Zhou Jin Ye kept one hand in his pocket. “Mhm, contact Fan Xiang’s team. Arrange a visit to assess the best location before finalizing anything.”

“Got it,” Li Qingyang replied on the other end. “That’s all for today. I’m heading off to rest.”

After hanging up, Zhou Jin Ye glanced down and realized his dog was nowhere to be seen.

“Pudding!”

Standing in the flower bed, he called out while searching for the dog.

“It’s over here.”

A soft, melodious voice drifted through the breeze into his ears.

Zhou Jin Ye turned around.

In a corner, Xu Wu was crouched on the ground feeding Pudding.

And his dog, without lifting its head, was happily munching on the treats in Xu Wu’s hand.

“…”

His lips twitched slightly as he walked over.

“I’m feeding it dog food,” Xu Wu explained, noticing his gaze on her hands. “I just bought some pudding-flavored dog treats at the pet store nearby. It seems hungry—it kept pawing at the bag.”

“Couldn’t you just put it on the ground and let it eat?” Zhou Jin Ye raised an eyebrow.

She looked up at him. The setting sun cast a gentle glow on her profile. “The bottom of the box isn’t stable.”

Pudding was nearly done with the treats in the box.

Xu Wu stood up, suddenly feeling dizzy.

She stumbled backward, but Zhou Jin Ye caught her by the wrist.

His hand fully enveloped her wrist as he asked, “Are you alright?”

“It’s fine. I probably squatted too long, and my blood sugar dropped,” Xu Wu steadied herself. “Thank you.”

After confirming she was okay, he let go, smirking. “You can barely stand on your own, yet you’re still concerned about that box.”

Xu Wu paused while pulling out a tissue. Though his words sounded harsh, there was an undertone of concern.

She bit her lip, thinking perhaps she had misunderstood.

After wrapping up the trash, she tossed it into the bin.

Pudding sat semi-reclined by her feet, gazing at her with big, expectant eyes.

“He wants you to hold the leash,” Zhou Jin Ye remarked, glancing at Pudding.

“Woof woof!”

Pudding barked twice after he finished speaking.

It seemed so.

As the sun dipped lower, Xu Wu held Pudding’s leash and walked alongside Zhou Jin Ye.

Their shadows stretched long across the pavement.

Xu Wu occasionally glanced at Pudding by her feet, stealing glimpses of Zhou Jin Ye without realizing it.

Words hovered on the tip of her tongue but remained unspoken.

“You’ve been staring for a while. Do you have something to say?” Her small movements hadn’t escaped Zhou Jin Ye’s notice.

“Well… Has Pudding always been a Bichon Frise? Did you choose that pink dog tag for it?”

“It picked it out itself at the pet store,” he glanced at her briefly. “Back then, it was malnourished and hadn’t grown all its fur. At that time, not only did you fail to recognize it—I didn’t either.”

Hearing this, Xu Wu couldn’t help but smile.

Rarely did Zhou Jin Ye speak to her so calmly, even if it was just about Pudding. “True. Later, while feeding it abroad, it gradually grew bigger, and its features became more apparent.”

When Xu Wu mentioned his time overseas, it was like sand poured into her heart—a slight heaviness.

“Mhm, everything turned out well.”

For a moment, the two fell silent, hearing only the sound of the wind rustling around them.

________________________________________

They eventually returned to the neighborhood and reached their doors.

The corridor lights were already on.

Xu Wu handed him the leash. “How much was lunch? I’ll transfer the money to you.”

“Fifty-two.”

Xu Wu took out her phone and transferred the amount immediately.

Then, she pulled out the mooncakes and handed them to him along with the dog food.

“This is for you. Thank you for last night… I figured you’re not picky about food, so I included one of each flavor.”

“All of this is for me?”

Xu Wu nodded. “Yes, it’s for you. These are for Pudding. I wanted to thank you for yesterday and for reminding me earlier. Also, regarding the question you asked last night—I can answer it now.”

Her hair fell gently on either side of her face. Under the lamplight, her expression radiated warmth and sincerity.

“I don’t have a boyfriend—I already said that at lunch. Now, I’ll answer your other question.

“For all these years, aside from my father, there’s only one other person who has treated me well—and that person is you. No one else.”

Xu Wu’s voice softened as she continued. “This is my answer to you. I hope that in the future, we… can forget those things and simply be good neighbors.”

Her tone was light but carried a sense of distance.

The man in front of her had smiled while listening to her earlier words.

But upon hearing her final statement, his arms crossed, and his expression darkened, his smile laced with mockery. “Forget all of that, as if nothing ever happened? Funny, you were the one who broke up with me, yet you speak as if it’s no big deal.”

“If you were me, could you really forget?”

Seeing she had nothing more to say, he opened his door and turned to Pudding.

“Pudding, come in!”

Pudding whined pitifully.

“If you don’t come in now, you’ll spend the night outside!”

Bam!

The door slammed shut, sending an invisible gust of wind brushing against Xu Wu’s face.

Her gaze shifted from the closed door to the untouched mooncakes and dog food in her hands.

Slowly, she turned around and entered her own apartment.