Outside, a gentle breeze was blowing, and a long row of French sycamores stood out against the sky, their branches white and pointing towards the heavens.

It was eleven o’clock in the morning.

“Ms. Ji, to the company or…?”

Sitting in the back seat, Ji Fan focused her gaze on the dark gold Range Rover not far ahead and said softly, “Follow that car.”

This time, she didn’t let her driver drive the previous blue Porsche, but switched to a black one, which was less conspicuous.

Jiang Cha hadn’t seen this car before.

As soon as they left the building, Jiang Cha didn’t want to say a word to Ji Fan, as if she had only been willing to be held by her just because there were so many people around and she couldn’t directly shake off her hand out of face.

Ji Fan’s long eyelashes drooped as she squinted her eyes and looked out through the car window.

Jiang Cha opened the passenger door and sat down.

As it was nearing noon, the sunlight was a bit glaring. The driver adjusted his sunglasses and followed the car in front according to instructions.

A pair of eyes appeared in the rearview mirror.

A pair of black and white eyes, slightly cold, with a hint of probing and suspicion.

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror.

Why was Ms. Ji following Ms. Jiang? Could it be that she was having an affair?

No way, although Ms. Ji was relatively quiet and didn’t say much to please people, she was also one of the most beautiful women in the world. You wouldn’t find someone like her even if you searched with a lantern. Ms. Jiang shouldn’t have the heart to look for others, she should have been completely fascinated by her long ago.

Hey, Ms. Ji and Ms. Jiang just got married, what’s going on now?

The black Maybach followed behind the dark gold Range Rover, unhurriedly.

The cityscape outside the window flowed slowly, the road was slightly congested, the navigation track on the map turned orange, and after finally going through a section, it turned red again.

“Severe congestion 50 meters ahead, estimated passing time, ten minutes.”

The driver glanced over, and the pair of eyes under Ji Fan’s long eyelashes were gloomy, already extremely impatient.

“Shall I turn on the radio to keep you company?”

Ji Fan didn’t speak, indifferently turning her head to look out the window.

The car radio turned on, playing a random radio station, which turned out to be a sentimental program.

Awkward.

Ms. Ji didn’t seem interested in this, maybe I should switch to a business news program.

Just as the driver was about to adjust it, Ji Fan suddenly turned her head and focused slightly.

The driver’s hand paused.

“Hello, host. Well, there was this boy who chased me, but I liked someone else at the time, so I rejected him. But now he’s given up on me and is with another girl, and I feel very uncomfortable. Why is that?”

“There could be many reasons for this,” the host’s voice was very gentle, explaining calmly, “Maybe you’re just not used to it, or maybe you’ve always had a good feeling for him, but you just don’t want to admit it.”

“Have you ever had a crush on him? If not, then it’s just simple unfamiliarity. But if you have, and many times, then you need to face your own heart.” The host chuckled lightly, “Avoiding your feelings is not a good habit.”

Ji Fan’s long eyelashes drooped, lost in thought.

Heartfelt?

But what does it mean to be heartfelt?

If it refers to the physiological aspect, suddenly the heart beats very fast and uncontrollably, that’s true.

Hmm.

Maybe, she actually likes Jiang Cha?

This thought shocked her. Ji Fan’s chest heaved for a moment, her mind was in a state of uncomfortable confusion, countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and she felt a headache. She closed her eyes and shook off these messy thoughts, thinking that it didn’t matter.

Heh.

She’s not a little girl anymore, why think about these things.

Then she lifted her thin eyelids and looked up at the driver, saying indifferently, “Turn off the radio, it’s too noisy.”

The driver responded in a low voice.

The road finally cleared.

The traffic flowed again.

Jiang Cha didn’t realize that someone was following behind her.

She was just focused on driving.

The villa where Jiang Cha used to live was located in a central villa area. Although it had excellent transportation advantages, being close to the capital airport and subway station, and boasted beautiful natural scenery, the layout was too large, and it was a bit scary to stay alone at night, making it unsuitable for her to live alone.

The place she moved to was called Xiangshan Villa.

The security was good, and the location was excellent. Just a few steps out of the community was the financial street, a prime location and a transportation hub.

The area was densely populated, with crowded food streets and shopping malls. When she was alone and tired, she could go for a walk and wouldn’t feel lonely.

Ji Fan’s car followed Jiang Cha at a distance, smoothly driving along the long asphalt road. At the end of the beautiful street, Jiang Cha’s car turned right and stopped at the entrance of a residential complex.

Ji Fan’s car followed closely behind.

The front dark gold Range Rover stopped, the driver’s side window slowly lowered, and a white and beautiful hand reached out to swipe a card.

The gate opened, they entered, and then closed.

Ji Fan was afraid of losing her and hurriedly told the driver to speed up, but was then stopped by the security guard.

In some communities, an outsider’s vehicle could pass by with a card, simply by paying a parking fee. But this community was different.

“Hello.”

The security guard walked over respectfully and bowed slightly, “Hello, who are you visiting here?”

“…” The driver was at a loss and turned to look at Ji Fan.

Ji Fan glanced at the security guard indifferently.

“I’m looking for Jiang Cha.” She pursed her lips impatiently, her gaze fixed on Jiang Cha’s car.

The taillights flickered and were about to disappear.

The security guard looked into the car following the sound.

Sitting quietly in the back seat was a young woman with beautiful features, a high nose bridge, and dark, cold eyes that exuded a strong sense of “keep out.” Her khaki trench coat was open, and her long legs were crossed, straight and slender.

The silver earrings made her look sharp and aloof.

She was looking for Jiang Cha?

That’s right, this was Ji Fan, Ms. Ji!

After all, the two of them were a same-sex couple who had been in the news several times, and the security guard recognized her, quickly apologized, ran back to the security room, and let her car in.

The buildings were a bit dense.

The garden downstairs was neatly trimmed.

The mosaic walls alternated between warm brown and light gray, and the building was quite tall, probably twenty stories or more. Through the car window, Ji Fan saw a familiar face on the road—a female singer.

She was a female singer that Jiang Cha really liked, and Jiang Cha had secretly collected a stack of her records.

Ji Fan frowned.

She was very dissatisfied with Jiang Cha’s current residence.

Jiang Cha’s car had long since disappeared, and Ji Fan asked the driver to drive around looking for her parking spot. They circled from the underground garage all the way to the surface until they finally found it in a green parking space in front of a building.

Ji Fan memorized the location.

“Ms. Ji, do you want to go up and sit for a while?”

Ji Fan said indifferently, “No.”

She didn’t want to startle her.

After returning, Ji Fan told the plainclothes bodyguard she had hired the address where Jiang Cha lived, asking him to squat downstairs and report Jiang Cha’s schedule to her regularly, along with a set of photos.

On the first day, Jiang Cha went downstairs to buy some vegetables. In the photo, she was wearing soft long hair, her eyes lowered, picking bright red tomatoes in the supermarket.

Her pink and white cheeks were soft and delicate.

Ji Fan’s fingertips touched it, only feeling the smooth touch of the screen.

On the second day, Jiang Cha went downstairs to throw out the trash, wearing a pair of little rabbit slippers, looking sleepy and a bit cute.

Ji Fan’s long eyelashes drooped as she quietly looked at her.

Her eyes softened, and the corners of her lips curved slightly.

On the third day.

A series of messages appeared on the WeChat interface, all sent by the bodyguard.

“Ms. Ji, Ms. Jiang put on makeup and dressed very formally, it seems like she’s going to meet someone.”

[Image]

“Ms. Jiang went to a buffet restaurant.”

[Image]

“There are three people at the table, all women.”

[Image]

In the third photo, due to the shooting angle, only Jiang Cha and the woman beside her could be seen.

There was another young woman sitting opposite them, with a thin back, wearing a white shirt, and her hair was medium-length, neither dyed nor permed, very natural, with a slender and straight waistline.

Ji Fan’s gaze fell on the unfamiliar back.

She knew the woman sitting next to Jiang Cha, whose name was Ye Man, and was a friend of Jiang Cha’s, so she didn’t need to worry too much.

But the one opposite them was different.

Ji Fan lowered her long eyelashes and squinted slightly.

“What does she look like?”

“She’s a very young and beautiful woman.”

“Hmm?”

Ji Fan squinted slightly and raised her long eyebrows, “Very beautiful?”

“Yes. Coincidentally, although that person’s appearance is different from yours, her temperament is quite similar to yours.”

Ji Fan chuckled.

That’s a coincidence.

Jiang Cha must still like her, otherwise why would she have dinner with a woman who looks similar to herself?

It’s just that she didn’t know what their relationship was.

Ji Fan’s long, bony fingers tapped on the screen:

“Send me the address.”

••••

Three hours ago.

“Bai Yihan is back in the country,” Ye Man said.

Ye Man was her childhood friend.

Jiang Cha’s parents were university professors. Their income wasn’t considered excessive, but in the past, the benefits were excellent.

Back then, the university would allocate housing to teachers, and often colleagues who were also teachers would live in the same apartment building allocated by the school, so all the kids knew each other. Ye Man’s father was the dean of the chemistry department, but he also lived in the housing allocated by the school.

In the past, she and Jiang Cha were neighbors.

Jiang Cha and Ye Man could be said to have known each other since birth and had been companions for many years.

Some things are quite strange.

Growing up together, Jiang Cha had no feelings for Ye Man, but suddenly, she fell in love with Bai Yihan.

It shows that heartbeats have nothing to do with the length of time spent together.

It’s all about the person.

Hearing this name, Jiang Cha was stunned.

This name was too distant, she thought she had long forgotten it, but hearing it suddenly at this moment, she felt like she had been electrocuted, and for a moment felt numb.

“She finished her Ph.D. abroad and is now in a research institution in the capital, majoring in neuroscience.”

“Oh,” Jiang Cha smiled lightly, “I almost forgot about her.”

Who was Bai Yihan?

She was the only daughter of the former commander of the Military Medical University, Jiang Cha’s good friend, and her first crush.

Now, it could only be said that: not very familiar, not well-understood.

Jiang Cha had actually forgotten her a long time ago.

People, sometimes they are very affectionate, and sometimes they are very cold.

When she was young, she also thought that if she fell in love with someone, she would never change her heart, but after Bai Yihan went abroad, Jiang Cha gradually forgot about her.

And in less than a year, she fell in love with Ji Fan.

Now, many years have passed since the initial heart-fluttering, and Jiang Cha couldn’t even remember her appearance.

This shows that the only powerful things are time and distance. With enough time and distance, any emotion can be washed away.

Jiang Cha realized her sexual orientation very early, when she was still in middle school.

The person who made her realize it was Bai Yihan.

But this was all old news, not worth mentioning.

“We’re all friends, why don’t you come to a gathering?”

Ye Man smiled and looked at Jiang Cha.

In her memory, Jiang Cha had hardly changed at all. She had been the same from childhood to adulthood.

When she was a child, her skin was fair and rosy, her big eyes blinked, like a doll, cute and innocent. When she grew up, she became thinner and taller, but her eyes were still as bright and lively as before. Her facial features were thin and sharp, like they were carved from a knife, and her side profile was exceptionally cold and beautiful.

I wonder what Bai Yihan would think if she saw Jiang Cha now.

It would definitely be interesting.

Ye Man’s lips curved.

“No, I don’t think so.”

After so many years, what was there to talk about?

There was nothing to say.

It would only be awkward.

“Bai Yihan specifically asked if you were coming.”

“…”

Jiang Cha lowered her head, her long eyelashes fluttered for a moment, and then she looked up, saying, “Who else is there?”

“Just the three of us.”

“Does she know I’m married?”

Ye Man shook her head with a smile:

“I don’t know if she knows.”

Ye Man’s eyes flashed.

She suddenly remembered something and teased, “I found that your taste is very fixed. Don’t you think Ji Fan and Bai Yihan have a similar temperament?”

Jiang Cha was stunned.

Is that so?

---

T/N: Heh~