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The first snow of the night stirred many memories. Yu Qian, Cheng Xiaonan, and even the excited Sun Yue, none of them slept well. The next morning, around 9 AM, they met in the hotel restaurant.
Cheng Xiaonan arrived even later. As he carried his tray over, Sun Yue was pulling Yu Qian, trying to get her to do a small test on a mobile app—
“What kind of person do you think you are? Please choose.”
“A. Lively and interesting.”
“B. Lively but uninteresting.”
“C. Quiet but interesting.”
“D. Quiet and uninteresting.”
Yu Qian was sipping a creamy mushroom soup with a spoon, and after hearing the options, she hesitated little: “D.”
It was at the very moment her words fell that Cheng Xiaonan placed his tray on the table.
Yu Qian and Sun Yue were seated at a four-person dining table. Yu Qian’s bucket bag and Sun Yue’s backpack occupied an empty chair.
Cheng Xiaonan sat in the only remaining empty chair, his eyes seeming tired. He rubbed the corner of his eye: “Morning.”
After sitting down, he wasn’t in a hurry to eat. He just leaned back lazily, propping his chin, listening to Sun Yue incomprehensibly question Yu Qian: “You chose D? Quiet and uninteresting? Qian, I think you should be C. You’re quite interesting, and very cool...”
“Very strong, very beautiful, very professional.”
The latter three were additions from Cheng Xiaonan, which made Yu Qian glance at him.
But Sun Yue strongly agreed, saying Yu Qian should be like that.
The test questions were quite serious; it was actually a little fortune-telling test about romantic luck.
After Yu Qian answered a few questions, the final conclusion was that she was destined to be single.
Sun Yue took the test herself and also ended up being destined to be single.
To verify the accuracy of the test, Sun Yue had Cheng Xiaonan take it too. He got a different conclusion, and then she widened her eyes, saying, “CEO Cheng, you have endless romantic luck, is that true?”
Cheng Xiaonan put down his chopsticks: “This test of yours is too inaccurate.”
When he said this, he was looking at Yu Qian, with a hint of disassociation.
However, Yu Qian ignored him. She took a call, finished her breakfast first, and said goodbye to Cheng Xiaonan and Sun Yue.
She said she would go downstairs first to handle something, and then go to the company.
Sun Yue said she would wait for her and then take her. Cheng Xiaonan lazily added, “I’ll come too, it’s on my way.”
Yu Qian nodded, telling them to take their time eating and call Sun Yue when they were done.
After Yu Qian went downstairs, Sun Yue, with a mysterious expression, raised a hand and lowered her voice: “CEO Cheng, I have something important to report! The person who came to find Yu Qian was Han Chu! Qian’s childhood neighbor’s brother!”
After Cheng Xiaonan left last night, Han Chu kept sending messages.
Sun Yue was initially chatting with Yu Qian, but her phone kept vibrating. Sun Yue had to stop their conversation and remind Yu Qian that her phone was vibrating.
Yu Qian initially didn’t look, but later, while they were doing face masks together, she clicked on the voice messages.
She didn’t deliberately avoid Sun Yue; every message was on speaker, so Sun Yue heard some of them.
The cause seemed to be that Han Chu had sent Yu Qian something, but Yu Qian didn’t accept it and told him not to send things anymore.
She probably also said that they weren’t familiar enough for him to send gifts frequently.
Sun Yue’s brows furrowed in annoyance and some indignation: “I always feel like Yu Qian’s neighbor’s brother is strange. One moment he says he’s taking care of Qian on behalf of her mother, and the next he says Qian’s mother was very kind to him before, so he should care more about Qian. Qian already said not to trouble him, but he still says something about light snow showers these first few days of December and tells Qian to wear more clothes when she goes out. Hmph~ does he need to worry? Am I, her assistant, just freeloading? Besides, it’s not like there’s no weather forecast; what’s he fussing about!”
Cheng Xiaonan was indeed annoyed by Han Chu, but he couldn’t comment on other people who showed care for Yu Qian.
So he didn’t speak at this moment, quietly eating his sandwich.
“I think he definitely likes Qian,” Sun Yue said, frowning. “But if he’s also one of Qian’s admirers, CEO Cheng, I’m still rooting for you.”
Girls were always a bit sensitive about these things. Even if Sun Yue didn’t know the full story, just listening to a few voice messages gave her a strong intuition.
It seemed that the man named Han Chu, despite his gentle voice and tone, was hesitant and indecisive about liking Yu Qian.
He didn’t even dare to admit his feelings, only daring to send things under the guise of friendship with an elder.
It made one feel as if he was always comparing, always observing.
In contrast, Sun Yue felt that Cheng Xiaonan’s affection for Yu Qian was more generous and straightforward.
Sun Yue secretly supported her boss, even boldly egging him on: “CEO Cheng, aren’t you going downstairs to check things out?”
Cheng Xiaonan had no intention of discussing other men, only calmly saying, “Your Teacher Yu Qian called this meeting ‘solving things.’ There’s nothing to worry about.”
Sitting with the boss indeed didn’t offer many conversation topics, and silence felt a bit awkward.
Sun Yue had to turn the conversation back to the test from earlier, saying that if Yu Qian hadn’t chosen “quiet and uninteresting,” the result would definitely have been different.
Although during their conversation last night, Sun Yue did most of the talking, and Yu Qian quietly listened, occasionally responding.
But Sun Yue didn’t think Yu Qian was an uninteresting person.
She always gave off a cool and detached vibe, but she wasn’t boring.
In Sun Yue’s eyes, Yu Qian was cool, cool enough to be admired.
“CEO Cheng, you knew Qian before. Was she always like this?”
Cheng Xiaonan said, “Pretty much the same.”
When he knew her, she had already experienced those unhappy things.
Her profession and experiences destined her not to be someone too emotionally sensitive or outwardly expressive.
To move forward, she could only become strong and show no emotion.
Not everyone could remain strong amidst those rumors and slanders.
But Yu Qian did.
________________________________________
Yu Qian hadn’t called yet. Sun Yue, having finished her meal and feeling bored, was still waiting for the kitchen to bake a new batch of grilled eel to have a small piece.
But Cheng Xiaonan glanced at his watch, stood up, and was already preparing to leave.
“Didn’t Qian say she would call me?”
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t speak, only pointed to the backpack on the chair, reminding Sun Yue not to forget to take it.
He thought to himself, “It’s been fifteen minutes. What could she possibly be talking about with that man?”
As they went downstairs, he saw Yu Qian about to call Sun Yue with her phone. Cheng Xiaonan glanced around the lobby but didn’t see Han Chu.
At the company, Cheng Xiaonan returned to his conference room, where Shen Shen was hiding, playing a game.
Upon seeing Cheng Xiaonan, Shen Shen’s eyes were still glued to the game, but his voice already carried a teasing tone: “Brother Nan, how was last night?”
Yesterday, Shen Shen and Ji Ran texted Cheng Xiaonan, inviting him to dinner, but Cheng Xiaonan refused.
Shen Shen sent several messages, and his Brother Nan replied with just one sentence: “Already have a date, eating in Yu Qian’s room.”
Shen Shen’s game had voice chat on. He hadn’t turned on his mic, but the noisy communication of his teammates filled the conference room.
Cheng Xiaonan was expressionless: “Turn down the sound, it’s noisy.”
Within a few minutes, Shen Shen cursed; he had lost the game.
He simply turned off the game and went to chat with Cheng Xiaonan: “You two are quite romantic, having dinner together on the first snow day? A candlelight dinner?”
“Not just the two of us, there were three.”
“What do you mean? You even brought a third wheel?”
Cheng Xiaonan was a little helpless: “Sun Yue. The two girls had agreed to watch the snow together; I was just tagging along.”
“No, how far have you two gotten?”
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t want to talk about it, waving his hand impatiently: “Come wash the car with me this afternoon?”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Before leaving the company that afternoon, Cheng Xiaonan actually saw Yu Qian.
She habitually favored two kinds of outfits:
Either very sexy, wearing dresses.
Or very cool, with wide-leg trousers and long coats.
And she favored cool apricot colors; this shade always appeared in her clothes or bags.
Today, she was dressed both cool and chic.
When Cheng Xiaonan saw her, she was sitting in the company’s outdoor area, elbows on her knees, hunched over, talking to a younger man who was delivering coffee.
Cheng Xiaonan’s car was parked directly across from the outdoor area, not far, just about 5 or 6 meters away.
Shen Shen had gotten out to get materials from a staff member. Cheng Xiaonan rolled down the car window and happened to hear Yu Qian asking the coffee delivery guy which shop the coffee was from.
The young man was wearing a coffee shop waiter’s uniform, looked fair and well-behaved.
He pulled at his chest ID card to show Yu Qian, saying they were a chain, with many branches in Imperial City. The “Wutongli” one was a new store, and because they had a partnership with “Eleven,” employees there got an 8.5 discount on coffee and free delivery.
The coffee was probably ordered by Sun Yue.
The young man handed over the coffee. Yu Qian extinguished the cigarette in her hand, tossed it into the trash can, and took the coffee.
After a moment, she suddenly asked if there was a branch on Xueyuan Road.
The coffee delivery guy paused, then said: “That might have been the very first main store, but it moved several years ago. I only heard about it during staff training meetings.”
Shen Shen returned to the car and found Cheng Xiaonan with his eyes closed, as if feigning sleep.
All the way to the car wash, Cheng Xiaonan didn’t say much, appearing to be in a bad mood.
He was indeed in a bad mood.
It took Cheng Xiaonan half a day to realize how Yu Qian could claim amnesia from a car accident, remember her childhood neighbor, the straight-A student, and even remember that old coffee shop on Xueyuan Road, yet only forget him?
Is that even possible?
If she hadn’t forgotten, why was she pretending to?
She could face everyone else, but just didn’t want to face him?
Why?
As Cheng Xiaonan was pondering, a car wash staff member called out to Shen Shen: “Are all the items in your car supposed to be cleared out?”
Shen Shen asked: “What items?”
“There’s an, uh, old lighter.”
“What lighter?”
Shen Shen turned back in confusion, nudging Cheng Xiaonan, who was sitting in the chair frowning and lost in thought, with his hip bone. “Brother Nan, there’s a lighter in your car, and they’re asking if you want it. You don’t smoke, do you? Where did the lighter come from?”
Cheng Xiaonan was also a little surprised.
No one else rode in his car. Recently, only Shen Shen, Sun Yue, and Yu Qian had.
Shen Shen’s lighter was a limited edition bought by Ji Ran, cherished like a treasure and not dared to be left anywhere, almost tied to his neck. It couldn’t be his.
Sun Yue didn’t smoke.
Was it Yu Qian’s?
Cheng Xiaonan waved to the staff member: “Bring it over, it might be a friend’s.”
This car care shop was Cheng Xiaonan’s regular, and he was familiar with the staff. The staff member returned to the car, took out the lighter, and walked towards Cheng Xiaonan, saying as he walked, “Glad I asked; otherwise, I almost threw it away. It looks like it’s out of gas.”
The lighter fell into Cheng Xiaonan’s palm. The staff member was still talking to him: “Brother, it’s best not to keep this kind of lighter in the car. It’s quite dangerous; it can explode in hot weather. You have a car lighter, so don’t use this one.”
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t respond, because the lighter in his palm looked very old.
Like those cheap lighters sold in small shops outside school gates—
A transparent plastic one. The gas inside used to be blue, but now it’s empty, with only a faint blue trace hidden in the plastic crevices.
The label stuck on it was peeling up on one side, its writing worn away.
The ignition mechanism was extremely simple. Back in school, some boys would even dismantle this small black device and mischievously use it to give electric shocks to classmates, playing pranks on each other.
But what Cheng Xiaonan was looking at wasn’t the antiquity of this lighter.
It was that he recognized this lighter.
He remembered his 18th birthday. Yu Qian, driving her sports car, waited for him outside the back wall of the affiliated high school.
On the passenger seat was a birthday cake in a dark blue box with a transparent lid, adorned with a few brown roses molded from chocolate cream, looking like a very ordinary design.
Yu Qian saw him climb over the wall, then felt her pocket, suddenly frowning, seemingly annoyed.
Cheng Xiaonan then pulled out the lighter he had prepared earlier, joking, “Jiejie, what’s wrong? I’m more thoughtful than a man. I’ll light the candles myself. Should I sing myself a birthday song?”
The lighter he had prepared back then was bought from the small shop outside the school gate.
It was plastic, with blue gas. The shopkeeper said it was a windproof model and charged him two yuan.
Kept in his pants pocket, when he was bored in class, his nails would casually scratch it a few times, and the label on it would peel up on one side.
This kind of broken lighter, Yu Qian kept for 7 years?
How could she possibly not remember him?
________________________________________
After work, Yu Qian returned to her hotel room and changed into her pajamas. The gloomy weather felt like it was going to snow again, and she, too, felt lazy, not wanting to eat in the restaurant, planning to order room service.
Just having showered and blow-dried her hair, Yu Qian suddenly remembered the lighter Sun Yue had pulled out of her bedside drawer a few days ago.
She seemed to have casually tossed it into her bucket bag then?
But when she changed bags today, she hadn’t seen any trace of the lighter...
Yu Qian’s bags were all hanging by the entrance. She went to rummage through them but indeed couldn’t find it.
She had kept this lighter for many years. She hadn’t taken it abroad then; it had remained in the old house.
It was only after returning to China that she brought it over.
She hadn’t expected to lose it so quickly.
Feeling a little annoyed, Yu Qian’s brows had just furrowed when she heard a knock on the door.
It was still three gentle taps.
She knew who it was and simply pulled the door open.
Cheng Xiaonan stood by the door, his expression unreadable: “I have a question for you.”
Where did he get so many questions?
“Ask.”
Cheng Xiaonan took something from his coat pocket and held it out to her: “Do you really, not remember me?”
Lying in his hand was the old lighter she had just been searching for.
For a moment, Yu Qian felt her heart skip a beat.
But she was too accustomed to calmness; she only said, “How did it get to you...?”
Before her words finished, Cheng Xiaonan stepped into the room, cornering her in the entryway. He quickly seized her wrist and pinned it above her head.
His gaze was deep. He leaned in, but just before his lips touched hers, he released her hand.
He called her as he used to: “Jiejie, I’m going to kiss you now. I won’t hold your hand. If you feel it’s wrong, you can push me away or slap me. Either is fine.”
After speaking, he tilted his head, closed his eyes, and leaned in to kiss her.
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