Chapter 24: Even

It was possible that he was too busy and forgot to change the fingerprint lock.

In fact.

Weeks had passed, and he still hadn’t remembered.

…For someone like Fu Yingcheng, who was meticulous and detail-oriented, this was indeed a rare oversight.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Fanling’s mind was in chaos. Driver Chen was huffing and puffing, carrying the box into the house.

Ji Fanling snapped back to reality, raised her hand, and with a loud smack, propped it against the door frame, blocking his way. “Wait a minute.”

Driver Chen trembled slightly, wobbling as he stood: “…”

Ji Fanling closed the door and asked carefully, “Can you open the door by yourself?”

Driver Chen: “…Of course not.”

“If I’m not here, where should I put the things?”

“By the door.”

“Then just leave them by the door.”

Driver Chen, understanding, said, “Alright,” placed the box in the corner by the wall, straightened up, and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Why aren’t you going inside?”

Ji Fanling pressed the elevator button to go downstairs behind her and replied, “Isn’t he not home?”

“Mr. Fu went on a business trip to Shanghai. He left today and will be back the day after tomorrow. Didn’t you tell him you were coming?”

“No.”

The elevator doors opened, and the two stepped inside together. Ji Fanling paused for a moment and said, “You don’t have to be so polite with me.”

Driver Chen thought back on his words and chuckled, “Ah, it’s just a habit. I address everyone like that. Don’t mind it.”

“Oh.”

When they reached the first floor, they walked out together. The night was dim, and a pitch-black Maybach was parked under the camphor tree in front of the building.

Driver Chen enthusiastically said, “Are you heading to Heping Street? I’ll give you a ride.”

Ji Fanling: “No need.”

Mr. Chen wouldn’t dare let her go home alone in the middle of the night. If anything happened, Mr. Fu would have his head: “I’m heading home anyway; it’s on the way and super convenient… Hey, wait!”

Driver Chen suddenly noticed what Ji Fanling was holding and pointed at it with his mouth: “The pomegranates you brought for Mr. Fu, you forgot to leave them in the house.”

Ji Fanling instantly felt her scalp tingle and quickly hid the plastic bag behind her back.

At the time, the idea of giving pomegranates to Fu Yingcheng was just a spur-of-the-moment thought.

But now, upon reflection, it actually felt rather silly.

What kind of fruit hasn’t he already had?

The balcony was piled with boxes of cherries. Every time, Aunt Tong would say, “They’re going bad! If you don’t eat them, they’ll spoil!” To avoid wasting food, Ji Fanling ate them from morning till night, so much so that the mere sight of cherries made her feel terrified. While hiccupping, she told Aunt Tong to buy less. “Fu Yingcheng doesn’t eat much,” she said. Aunt Tong would nod and agree, “Alright, alright,” only to turn around and order a box of mangoes instead.

And now, these five pomegranates, which were natural and a little ugly, full of bumps and spots, were hardly presentable.

Ji Fanling said firmly, “They’re not for Fu Yingcheng.”

Driver Chen: “?”

Ji Fanling slowly explained, “I was planning to take them to his house and eat them in front of him.”

Driver Chen: “???”

Ji Fanling: “Since he’s not home, I guess I’ll just have to take them back and eat them myself.”

Driver Chen: “…”

Such a… niche hobby.

*

In the end, she couldn’t resist Driver Chen’s determination to give her a ride.

After all, he had almost chased her out of the entire neighborhood to get her into the car. Ji Fanling felt that continuing to refuse would be making too much of a fuss, so she had no choice but to relent and let him drive her all the way back to Jixing Street.

She ended up eating those pomegranates herself, but as she ate, she couldn’t help feeling troubled.

She couldn’t think of anything nice to give Fu Yingcheng. It felt like no matter what she gave him, he wouldn’t like it, and it would end up being discarded with disdain.

…Forget it, she thought. Better to focus on paying back the money she owed first.

The next day was supposed to be Ji Fanling’s day off, but she wanted to make up for the leave she took last time when she was sick, so she went to work as usual.

Her colleagues were all talking about the band doing a roadshow in front of their store next week.

But she couldn’t even remember the name of Cheng Jiali’s band, so she didn’t pay it much mind.

That evening, the open-air food stall was bustling and lively. A group of high school students, both boys and girls, noisily took over a round table. Ji Fanling was drawn by their laughter and glanced up briefly. Judging by their uniforms, they seemed to be students from Beiwan No. 1 High School. However, since it wasn’t her assigned table, she didn’t pay much attention.

It wasn’t until she was clearing a table that she suddenly heard a soft voice behind her: “Sister?”

Ji Fanling turned around, and a flicker of surprise flashing through her eyes.

The last time she had seen Little Xing was when she and Fu Yingcheng had gone to eat at Jiang Family Noodles.

The boy was tall and slim, wearing a hoodie layered with a sports jacket.

Even in the middle of winter, he didn’t seem to feel the cold. His jacket was unzipped, and his face was lit up with joy, almost glowing: “So you work here sister! I thought you were still in school.”

Ji Fanling averted her gaze, letting out a soft “mm” while her hands kept moving. In just a few quick motions, she finished wiping down the table.

Jiang Baixing: “Sister, are you a waitress?”

Ji Fanling: “Do I look like the boss to you?”

“Why do you never reply to my texts?”

“Adults are like this, they have to work.” Her tone sounded like she was brushing off a little kid.

Jiang Baixing looked aggrieved: “I thought you were still at No. 1 High School. I even went to the senior year section to look for you, but I couldn’t find you.”

Ji Fanling lifted her lashes. “Why aren’t you focusing on your studies? What are you looking for me for?”

“I am focusing! I ranked in the top ten for my grade in the midterm exams.”

Ji Fanling had an expression that seemed to say, “Top ten in the grade? That’s nothing. Back in the day, when was I ever not at the top?” She drawled lazily, “Oh, and you’re already proud of that?”

“I’m not proud… Oh, right! Since you’re working as a waitress, you could come work at our family’s store!” Jiang Baixing quickly stepped in front of her.

“Not interested.”

“I’m serious!” Jiang Baixing thought he had come up with a brilliant idea. “Our store happens to be short-staffed,” which wasn’t true, “and we offer weekends off, year-end bonuses, full insurance and benefits—everything. Plus, it’s in Yuetong Mall, so you wouldn’t have to deal with the wind, sun, or cold like this…”

His gaze fell on the girl’s fingers, gripping the damp rag, knuckles red and cracked from the cold. The words in his mouth suddenly stopped, and it felt as if a giant hand had clenched his heart tightly.

If.

If she really was the sister who had saved him.

Then everything he had should rightfully be hers.

In the end, he did nothing. There was nothing he could do.

The boy found his voice again. “And at Jiang Family Noodles, it’s not too busy. You can take time off whenever you want. My mom’s really nice too…”

Ji Fanling finally put down the rag in her hand and looked up, giving him a serious glance.

In the night, the boy’s gaze was both guilty and earnest, reminiscent of a big dog wagging its tail eagerly.

This kid’s pretty good at showing gratitude, she thought.

He had received Fu Yingcheng’s financial support for his education, and his desire to repay the favor was written all over his face.

Maybe it was because he’d seen her eating with Fu Yingcheng last time and assumed she had a close relationship with him, which was why he’d come to her.

Ji Fanling let out a light laugh. “You want me to work for you?”

Jiang Baixing’s heart skipped, thinking she had agreed, only to hear the girl casually say:

“—Keep dreaming.”

Jiang Baixing: “…”

Meanwhile, the second-year students of Class 3 at Beiwan No. 1 High School were feasting and having a great time.

“What’s Brother Jiang doing? He’s been gone forever. Did he fall into the restroom?” someone suddenly said while munching on skewers.

“Isn’t he right over there?” A boy leaning against his chair peered into the distance and raised his hand to point. “What’s he doing? Talking to a waitress?”

“He’s not planning to secretly pay the bill, is he?” Xiang Kun looked up. “We agreed to split it evenly.”

The boy who had just spoken furrowed his brows. “What the heck? Is he arguing with the waitress?”

“No way, right?”

Several students turned to look and saw Jiang Baixing in the distance, gesturing emphatically as he spoke.

In front of him was a slender girl, her height barely reaching his chest. She turned away dismissively, clearly trying to shake him off, but Jiang Baixing, looking rather ingratiating, repeatedly stepped in front of her, trying to get her attention.

Finally, Jiang Baixing grabbed her arm and blurted something out in desperation.

The girl froze for a moment, then looked up, grabbed her small order notebook, stood on tiptoes, and with a solid bang, knocked it firmly on the top of his head like scolding a child.

The boys were dumbfounded:

“…What the heck! Brother Jiang just got hit by the waitress!”

“Is there no justice left in the world?”

“Hey, hey! The waitress hit someone! Is no one going to do anything about this?”

The group of boys protested loudly and stood up in unison, ready to stand up for Jiang Baixing. But before they could act, they saw him slouching back, rubbing his head, looking utterly defeated.

“Jiang Baixing! What’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Baixing, seeing their fiery expressions as if they were about to start a fight, stammered, “W-what’s going on?”

Xiang Kun was fuming. “What did that waitress do to you?!”

“N-no, no, no, no, no!”

Jiang Baixing panicked. “It’s not like that! I know her! She’s… she’s… an important friend of mine!!”

The group froze for a moment, their anger dissipating. They began shoving each other playfully, their expressions turning mischievous as they teased in exaggerated tones, “Ohhh~~~ im-por-tant~ friend~”

Jiang Baixing: “…”

The boy froze for two seconds, his ears turning bright red, then lunged at them, desperately trying to explain, “That’s not what I meant! Don’t think like that! It’s my fault—I owe her!”

Hearing this, his buddies only got more riled up, mimicking him with exaggerated tones, “It’s~ my~ fault~ I~ owe~ her~”

Jiang Baixing flailed in a panic, trying to suppress his rowdy friends.

The years of guilt that had built up, the offerings made every year during Qingming at her grave, and the words his parents constantly mentioned had turned Ji Fanling into something more than a person in his mind, a symbol. She was perfect, sacred, and beyond reproach.

Not to mention the teasing from this group of boys. While not malicious, it was undeniably annoying, and Jiang Baixing was terrified their crude jokes would somehow tarnish the image of his “heavenly” sister.

Regardless, he now knew where his sister worked, which counted as progress. Even if it meant pestering her every day, he was determined to help her live a better life.

And then there was one thing, something even more important.

Aside from his childhood memories and an indescribable intuition, he needed more concrete evidence.

He had to find a way to test her.

To confirm whether she really was… that person.

*