IMH - 21

After Cheng Xiaonan’s WeChat was accepted, he didn’t send a flood of messages to Yu Qian as he used to.

He was as quiet as a fake account.

Only occasionally, when there was a work arrangement for the company, would Cheng Xiaonan send a message.

Yu Qian didn’t reply much, just a single “Mm,” as an acknowledgment.

One time, Sun Yue and Yu Qian were discussing a schedule and got the date wrong. Yu Qian subconsciously corrected her. Sun Yue first slapped her forehead, saying, “Misread, misread,” and then realized, her small head filled with a big question: “Qian, how did you know?”

At times like these, Yu Qian would often change the subject.

Regarding Cheng Xiaonan, she always maintained an evasive attitude.

Unwilling to talk much, yet without the clear coldness she showed towards Han Chu.

Yu Qian recalled the spring before going abroad. Peter found her and said he was going to develop his career overseas for a long time, asking Yu Qian if she wanted to go and have some fun, just to clear her head.

When Yu Qian said no, some scenes had already appeared in her mind.

She could tell without even trying to imagine it; if she stayed abroad for half a year or a year, her phone would be buzzing with messages every day.

It was highly likely that after the college entrance exam, he would find a way to chase her abroad.

Did she ever consider staying in China like that, even when Cheng Xiaonan went to university, she would still be driving to wait for him at the school gate?

She actually had.

She was very happy when she was with Cheng Xiaonan.

Back then, after finishing work, she would open her phone and always see Cheng Xiaonan’s rambling messages.

She’d see him complaining that the school was being unreasonable again, only having Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations for first and second-year high school students, but not third-year.

She’d see the candid photos he took of their teacher, who, because of their collective decline in grades, stood at the podium, spitting as he lectured them with a cane.

At the end of the video, the teacher’s cane pointed over: “Cheng Xiaonan! What are you hiding behind your textbook?!”

“Nothing, Teacher. You must have misread.”

Then the scene in the video began to shake violently and suddenly stopped.

Yu Qian remembered her feelings when she watched that video; she desperately wanted to laugh.

Before she had time to reply, Cheng Xiaonan sent another message:

[I guess you’re off work and saw my message. Not going to reply after reading it?]

She finished work late, well past Cheng Xiaonan’s dismissal time.

So she simply called him, asking if he was playing with his phone in class and didn’t get punished.

Cheng Xiaonan bragged on the phone: “A good student like me, a god-level top student, the school treats me like an ancestor. How could they bear to punish me? They’re counting on me to raise the average score of the entire grade, alright? Don’t let our teacher’s loud scolding fool you; he knows he was wrong and will feel guilty to the point of sleeplessness when he goes home tonight.”

Yu Qian didn’t believe a single punctuation mark of his claims about being a good student.

She had never seen a top student like him, who didn’t even have a single pen in his backpack and walked through the school’s back wall more often than the main entrance.

So, that spring before she went abroad, when Cheng Xiaonan brought a test paper, claiming he scored a high mark of 148, Yu Qian didn’t take it seriously either.

Later, that test paper was left in Yu Qian’s car. She picked it up and flipped through it, raising an eyebrow.

It was an English test paper from a joint exam with other schools, quite long when unfolded, dubbed the “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” by Cheng Xiaonan.

Cheng Xiaonan hadn’t cared much for this paper, folding it casually and leaving it there.

When Yu Qian picked it up, she happened to see the true/false questions, which were filled with A, B, C, D.

She wanted to see how such a paper could be graded 148 points, but then she flipped to the first page of the test and saw Qu Liwen’s signature.

It was Qu Liwen herself who signed it. Yu Qian was all too familiar with her mother’s signature.

All her cooperation contracts had identical signatures; she was too familiar with every stroke and how it should flow.

At that time, Qu Liwen didn’t interfere much with her freedom or supervise her filming. She heard that Qu Liwen had a boyfriend.

And Cheng Xiaonan also said that his dad recently started dating a girlfriend who was quite close to becoming his stepmother.

What did she feel when she saw the name “Qu Liwen” on that test paper?

“Qian, it’s gotten colder outside today. How about wearing this trench coat?”

Sun Yue’s voice interrupted Yu Qian’s thoughts.

Yu Qian looked up, her emotions as usual: “Good.”

________________________________________

Starting in November, the London plane trees in “Wutongli” looked as if they had been baked by the autumn wind, beginning to turn yellow, some already falling.

After finishing a certain job, Yu Qian received a notification from Sun Yue and went with her to the “Eleven” office building for a meeting.

Before the meeting started, Sun Yue had other work to do. She poured Yu Qian some water and then went to get busy.

In the meeting room, there was only Yu Qian, who had arrived early, and Cheng Xiaonan, who “coincidentally” also arrived early.

Midway, Shen Shen pushed the door open once and saw Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian sitting in the meeting room, both looking at him...

Shen Shen was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on; he closed the door and ran away.

This meeting room was quite small, with brown one-way glass.

Yu Qian sat in the armchair, watching the busy staff outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, and suddenly spoke, “What are you looking at?”

“Looking at you,” Cheng Xiaonan said naturally, sitting on the chair next to Yu Qian.

Yu Qian reached out and forcibly turned Cheng Xiaonan’s head, “Go look at other women, CEO Cheng, I’m not falling for that.”

“Do you know why I always look at you?”

“Because I’m incredibly beautiful, all the men in the room think so, nothing special.”

Cheng Xiaonan smiled.

He didn’t fully believe Yu Qian’s claim of amnesia, and he even asked his dad to find someone to inquire about it.

But regardless of whether she had amnesia or not, since Yu Qian didn’t want to talk about the past, he wouldn’t bring it up.

Cheng Xiaonan turned sideways, hunching his back slightly, staring at Yu Qian: “Wrong, I look at you because I’ve found you’re always saying one thing and meaning another. If I don’t look into your eyes, I won’t know what you’re really thinking, especially with your replies. I always feel like you’re trying to argue with me.”

Cheng Xiaonan took out his phone and showed her his chat page with Yu Qian.

The longer messages in the conversation were all from him, and no matter what he sent, Yu Qian always replied with one word, “Mm.”

Indifferent.

Yu Qian asked, “You can tell what I’m thinking just by looking at me?”

“Yeah, I know. At least you don’t dislike me,” Cheng Xiaonan said with a smile.

“Overthinking.”

Just as her words fell, the staff arriving for the meeting pushed open the door and sat down one by one.

Someone asked, “CEO Cheng, aren’t you going to sit at the main seat?”

Cheng Xiaonan sat next to Yu Qian and waved his hand, “No need. Sitting here is fine. Let CEO Shen lead the meeting for you.”

An employee, who seemed familiar with both Cheng Xiaonan and Shen Shen, probably an old employee, joked boldly, saying, “CEO Cheng, are you giving up your kingdom for a beauty? As soon as Teacher Yu arrives, you won’t even sit in the main seat.”

Shen Shen entered from outside and happened to hear this: “Oh, if my girlfriend were here, I’d also want to sit next to her. Who wants to sit next to you old guys?”

These were just jokes. After the meeting officially began, no one mentioned them again, and they resumed their serious demeanor.

Cheng Xiaonan was as quiet as if he wasn’t there. Yu Qian could only occasionally hear the sound of someone next to her flipping through documents.

This meeting lasted from just after 4 PM until past 8 PM.

In autumn, it gets dark earlier in the north. When they left the meeting room, it was already completely dark outside.

Yu Qian was planning to return to the hotel by herself, but Cheng Xiaonan took a call in the meeting room, then strode towards her.

“I’ll take you.”

“No need.”

Yu Qian was a bit helpless. “Was that Sun Yue calling? It’s just a few steps back to the hotel?”

But Cheng Xiaonan said no, that Sun Yue was busy with other work, and her meeting with a few assistants hadn’t ended yet.

It was the hotel calling. Something unexpected happened at the hotel; there was a power outage, and the backup generator wasn’t working either. It would take 2-3 hours to resolve.

“The hallway only has emergency lights, and no elevators. I’ll take you there.”

Actually, Yu Qian really wanted to say, aren’t you the one who’s afraid of the dark?

In the past, when she went to amusement parks with Cheng Xiaonan to ride roller coasters, drop towers, and Italian flying carpets, Cheng Xiaonan was always very excited.

Only when she asked if he wanted to go to a haunted house, he would uncomfortably turn his head away and change the subject.

Another time, they drove to the outskirts to watch stars. There was a stretch of road that hadn’t been repaired, with lush branches and leaves on both sides. Cheng Xiaonan frowned and said, “Jiejie, do you think something strange will suddenly pop out of the woods?”

Something did pop out, but it was just a cute stray cat with round eyes.

Startled by the light, it scurried away with its tail between its legs.

Equally flustered was Cheng Xiaonan. He turned his head and whispered something at the time. Yu Qian read his lips and felt he was saying, “Holy cow, that scared me to death.”

So, if the hotel had a power outage, shouldn’t Cheng Xiaonan be the one afraid of the dark?

However, Yu Qian didn’t ask this question.

Cheng Xiaonan didn’t bring up the past again, perhaps genuinely believing her claim of amnesia.

Regardless, their current way of getting along suited Yu Qian perfectly, so she couldn’t say she remembered his fear of the dark and simply enjoyed the benefits of her “amnesia.”

________________________________________

Cheng Xiaonan parked the car downstairs at the hotel. A doorman stood by the entrance with a handheld light.

It had to be said that these people were exceptionally observant. Seeing Cheng Xiaonan next to Yu Qian, the doorman, who was familiar with Yu Qian, didn’t say much. He simply shined the light on the steps for them, reminding them to go slowly and be careful not to fall.

“The power outage might last for another 2 hours. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you need a flashlight, you can pick one up at the hotel front desk. Additionally, as an apology, tomorrow morning’s breakfast will be complimentary. You just need to swipe your room card tomorrow morning.”

Cheng Xiaonan nodded and said they didn’t need a flashlight, his phone light would suffice.

He consistently walked by Yu Qian’s side, his phone’s flashlight illuminating the rising steps of the stairwell for Yu Qian.

At such a time, the hotel’s vastness indeed felt a bit eerie.

The long corridor was deep and dark, and the phone’s light couldn’t penetrate the darkness extending into the distance.

Upon reaching Yu Qian’s floor, there was a white sculpture in the hallway, somewhat resembling a mythical beast from ancient legends, with bared teeth and claws.

During the day, it didn’t seem like much, with its small pointed teeth, it even looked quite cute.

But now, with Cheng Xiaonan’s bright phone light sweeping over it, a sudden glance was genuinely a bit frightening.

Even Yu Qian’s gaze paused.

She clearly felt Cheng Xiaonan’s movements beside her also halt for half a second, the circular beam of light from his phone gently swaying on the floor, but only for an instant.

Then Cheng Xiaonan coughed and spoke, feigning ease, comforting Yu Qian: “This thing is a Pixiu, for attracting wealth. Old Cheng... that’s my dad, he’s quite superstitious. When this hotel was being renovated, he brought a friend to see it. His friend was a geomancer and said placing a Pixiu in this hallway would work.”

Cheng Xiaonan’s tone was quite helpless, saying there was no choice. At the time, his father had a share in the business, and you couldn’t completely ignore a shareholder’s words.

And Shen Shen also thought a Pixiu would work, so in the end, they really got a statue.

Perhaps to distract her, Cheng Xiaonan deliberately explained in detail, saying that on opening day, his dad didn’t even send flower baskets; he sent 99 exquisitely packaged ornamental wheat stalks, symbolizing “long-lasting prosperity and great sales.”

Cheng Xiaonan said, “Anyone who didn’t know would think I opened a shopping mall, and it’s ‘great sales’.”

Actually, Yu Qian wasn’t scared. It was Cheng Xiaonan himself who, after comforting her for a long time, still looked back with lingering fear at the direction behind him after walking quite a distance.

Yu Qian used the movement of tucking her hair behind her ear to hide her smile.

________________________________________

Cheng Xiaonan walked Yu Qian back to her room door. About ten minutes after saying goodbye, Yu Qian had listened to a single song on repeat under the moonlight less than 5 times when someone lightly knocked on her door—

“Knock, knock, knock,” just three times.

She didn’t need to ask to know who it was. Yu Qian opened the door in the dimness and saw Cheng Xiaonan holding a pile of glow sticks and a glowing bottle.

He said these were props for a photo shoot. It was boring in the dark, so he got them from the prop room for her to play with.

His temples were damp with sweat; who knew how fast he had run.

Yu Qian took the pile of items, wondering if it would be too heartless not to invite him in to sit down.

But Cheng Xiaonan showed no intention of staying, only telling her to close the door properly and not to open it without asking.

After Cheng Xiaonan left, Yu Qian sat by the window on the sofa, fiddling with the glowing bottle.

The bottle contained an unknown substance. When the bottle was inverted, the liquid inside flowed slowly with a faint blue light, like holding a corner of the Milky Way in her hand.

She remembered that winter, Yu Qian said that the imperial capital city was so boring, with no snow in winter, only a hazy smog.

Cheng Xiaonan pretended to be casual, ripped a hole in his down jacket, and extended the sleeve out the window. Feathers fluttered wildly with the cold wind, truly like snow.

He said, “See? With me around, how could it be boring? Didn’t it just snow for you?”

Yu Qian was stunned and didn’t speak. He seemed to reach out his hand, hooking her pinky finger, “Jiejie, if you really want to see snow, shall we go to the ski resort this weekend? Artificial snow counts as snow, right?”

By the time Yu Qian reacted and pulled his sleeve back from outside the window, the fluffy down jacket had become two flimsy layers of fabric.

She truly felt that this little brother was a bit of a spendthrift.

But Cheng Xiaonan didn’t mind, acting spoiled and saying that half of his down jacket had been blown away by the wind, so it wasn’t warm anymore, and asked her to take him home.

He was always so passionate when he was good to someone.

Yu Qian inverted the glow bottle in her hand again, watching the glowing liquid slowly flow.

She shouldn’t have actively responded to him; she always felt like she was falling into his trap.

But finally, as if making a compromise, she took out her phone and sent Cheng Xiaonan a message:

[Thanks tonight.]

Just as she pressed send, all the lights in the room simultaneously turned on. Yu Qian squinted, dazzled by the light, but then heard a phone notification sound from the doorway.

She frowned, opened her eyes, and said towards the door, “Cheng Xiaonan?”

Three light knocks came from the door panel, “Knock, knock, knock.”

Then came his lazy voice, laced with laughter: “The power’s back on. You get some rest. I’m leaving.”

________________________________________

Yu Qian didn’t sleep well that night, constantly dreaming of the day she went abroad, sitting in the airplane cabin.

Peter asked her, “What’s wrong, Yu Qian? Are you that unhappy about going abroad? Your face looks like you’re attending a funeral.”

She also dreamt of her mother, Qu Liwen, pinching her ear, telling her:

“If you don’t want to shoot commercials or be a model, then go die.”

When she woke up the next day, one of her ears actually hurt, as if Qu Liwen’s ghost had returned and pinched her ear.

Yu Qian touched her earlobe, then suddenly frowned.

One earring was missing.

Yu Qian had many earrings. Some were gifts from big brand partners, some she bought herself, and some were designed by Peter’s friends.

She wasn’t a meticulous person; she had lost countless earrings over the years.

But this one was a prop, borrowed, so losing it would be troublesome.

Unable to remember where she might have dropped it, Yu Qian contacted the hotel staff, hoping someone could help check the surveillance footage.

She ended up running into Shen Shen in the monitoring room.

Ever since Shen Shen had talked a lot while drunk that day, he had been trying to avoid Yu Qian every time they met, perhaps feeling embarrassed about his slip of the tongue while intoxicated.

Shen Shen was also one of the hotel shareholders. Hearing that Yu Qian had lost something, he immediately perked up and told the staff, “You guys step aside, I’ll help her look.”

Yu Qian said it wasn’t necessarily dropped in the hotel; she just wanted to check.

But Shen Shen was very enthusiastic: “No problem, let’s check. What if it was dropped in the hotel? Around what time did you return yesterday? I’ll check the surveillance for you.”

“After the meeting yesterday.”

Checking the surveillance gave Shen Shen a great sense of accomplishment.

He felt he had wronged his “Nan Ge” (Brother Nan) by saying too much while drunk that day, and his guilt was deep.

If he could help Yu Qian find her earring, it would be a form of atonement.

Fortunately, the hotel’s surveillance system was very expensive and comprehensive, with an automatic UPS system that could fully save video footage even during a power outage.

Because of the power outage, night vision mode automatically activated. Shen Shen found the floor and time slot, and as soon as he clicked, he saw Yu Qian and a man walking side by side in the corridor.

The man’s figure was so familiar that Shen Shen would recognize him even if he turned to ash.

Who else could it be but his Nan Ge?

But Shen Shen hadn’t been drinking today. He pinched his thigh to suppress his gossiping heart and asked with an extremely steady voice, “Is this the time?”

“Yes.”

The video timeline slowly moved. For an instant, Yu Qian in the frame brushed her hair, and something flashed and fell to the ground.

Shen Shen was quite excited: “Is this it?! Was that your earring that just fell?”

He instructed the floor staff to inquire with the floor cleaning personnel and told Yu Qian to rest assured that hotel employees would never hide anything.

Yu Qian shook her head, “It’s not valuable, just a prop. It’s more likely to be lost.”

While waiting for news, she chatted with Shen Shen for a bit. Yu Qian suddenly looked at the surveillance footage—

The screen was still playing, showing Cheng Xiaonan returning with the glow sticks.

He walked alone in the long corridor, holding things, not using his phone for light. As he passed the Pixiu statue, he seemed startled by it and got into a “fight” with the Pixiu.

It might sound unbelievable, but Cheng Xiaonan initiated it.

He threw 3 or 4 glow sticks at the innocent Pixiu before stopping.

Shen Shen knew Cheng Xiaonan was afraid of the dark, and there was quite a history to it, but he had already made a mistake once and dared not speak carelessly.

He could only try to forcibly save face for his Nan Ge. Just as he was about to use some nonsense excuse like “you have to throw glow sticks at a Pixiu for it to be effective,” he turned around and saw Yu Qian smiling.

Yu Qian’s smile was faint, but her lips were indeed curved.

Shen Shen suddenly felt that he didn’t need to say anything for his Nan Ge.