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As daylight lasted longer, the sky at 7 PM turned into a deep blue curtain. Chen Shuyin sat in front of her computer, organizing interview transcripts. People were leaving, and workstations were gradually emptying.
Throughout the day, Pei Yu’s messages occasionally popped up on her phone, always timed perfectly during her free moments to report on his illness progress, as if he had put a surveillance system on her.
Chen Shuyin glanced at them a few times, and each time, she would recall the way his gaze lingered on her—deep, lingering, as if an invisible hand was stripping her bare, leaving nothing hidden.
She shuddered involuntarily and decisively blocked him.
“Pei Yu and Zhu Xi seem quite devoted to each other. She was the first to rush to the hospital when he had his accident, and the moment he woke up, he immediately cleared up any misunderstandings about her,” a nearby photographer chatted with the editor about the trending entertainment news. “Wanna bet when they’ll go public?”
“When this drama airs.”
“When this drama wraps up.”
Both spoke at the same time.
Liu Yiran, packing her bag, overheard and joined in. “You should give up hope. I have insider info—they’re fake.”
Lu Fang rolled his chair back and chimed in, “Sis, all your scoops come from me tracking news first. Stop bragging.”
“I was just giving you a chance, and now you’re biting the hand that feeds you?” Liu Yiran tugged at Chen Shuyin’s sleeve, shaking her out of her reluctance to engage in boring gossip. “Shuyin, don’t you think so?”
“She and Pei Yu have been classmates for years.”
“For real? Are you two close?”
Chen Shuyin sneered, pursing her lips. “Not exactly. Just the kind of relationship where we’d be the first to show up at each other’s funerals—happily.”
Her eerily calm tone startled everyone. Then, a few dry chuckles followed.
“Wow, Shuyin-jie really doesn’t speak often, but when she does, she’s got a dark sense of humor.”
Liu Yiran grinned knowingly. “Yeah, but before the funeral, I’d like to attend your wedding first.”
Chen Shuyin pushed her face away. “Not in this life. Not in the next, or the one after that.”
Liu Yiran clasped her hands, already imagining catching the bouquet. “Then I’ll wish for it in the life after that.”
Lu Fang, still dazed, laughed along. “Shuyin-jie, you and your husband haven’t had a wedding yet?”
Chen Shuyin sighed listlessly. “Mm.”
“Then when Pei Yu has his wedding, will he invite you?” Lu Fang asked sneakily.
She seriously considered the scene. With both of their personalities, even if they ended things badly, they’d still invite each other just to flaunt their happiness. She nodded with certainty. “Yes.”
“Then can you take me along? I’d love to see a celebrity wedding.” Lu Fang rubbed his hands excitedly.
She waved him off with a vague, “We’ll see.”
Liu Yiran noticed her reluctance and tugged her away. “My brother got a new car and gave me his old one. Want a ride home?”
“No need to trouble you. We’re not headed in the same direction, and by the time I reach my apartment, it’ll be pitch dark.” Shuyin gently pushed her away.
“Alright then, be safe on your way home.”
Shuyin waved as she watched her leave, then took out her phone to book a ride.
The area around the TV station was a traffic hotspot. A car that was supposed to arrive in nine minutes stretched into fifteen, still nowhere in sight.
A pink Tesla stopped not far away. She heard the click-clack of high heels approaching behind her. Slightly turning her body, she caught a glimpse of Zhu Fangning in her peripheral vision.
Fangning leaned into the passenger seat, laughing flirtatiously, saying something animatedly before excitedly getting into the car.
The reflection off the windshield made it hard for Shuyin to see the driver’s face immediately.
She had no interest in prying into others’ private lives, so she straightened her gaze. The car slowly approached, its speed decreasing until it came to a complete stop in front of her.
The window rolled down, revealing Zhu Fangning’s face. Instead of their usual rivalry, she wore a warm and friendly smile. “It’s hard to get a ride at this hour. Hop in.”
Shuyin returned a polite smile. “Thanks, but I already booked one.”
A mature female voice from the driver’s seat chimed in. “Don’t be shy. At the station, we’re all colleagues who help each other. You and Xiaoning are the same age, no need to be formal.”
That voice…
Shuyin’s whole body tensed. Uncontrollably, she lowered her head and caught a glimpse of the driver’s face.
Years had passed, yet she hadn’t changed at all. Still sporting shoulder-length curls, wearing pearl earrings the size of a fingertip, her smooth face bore no trace of time—like a woman in an oil painting.
Fangning beamed. “Yeah, Mom, she’s my competitor for the same position. But even though we’re rivals, we get along great. Friendship first, after all—whoever wins or loses, we’re still good friends in private.”
Her mother patted her head affectionately. Glancing briefly at Shuyin, she showed no sign of recognition as she unlocked the backseat door.
She doesn’t recognize me?
Suppressing her emotions, Shuyin stepped into the car, controlling the tremor in her voice. “Then, thank you.”
Since canceling her ride would incur a fee, she paid half of the cancellation charge before quietly lifting her gaze to the woman’s back.
“Mom, how long will you be staying? Can you pick me up every day?” Fangning clung to her mother’s arm.
“I’m back to handle some matters. If all goes well, one or two weeks. If not, a month.” The woman’s voice was gentle. “Since my Xiaoning asked, of course I’ll agree.”
“Thanks, Mom! You’re the best.”
Their mother-daughter warmth might have been touching to an outsider.
Shuyin, however, kept her gaze low. In the midst of a balmy April evening, the warmth beneath her knitted sweater suddenly turned to ice, chilling her from her feet to her scalp.
“What’s your name, young lady?” The woman looked at her through the rearview mirror as they reached a traffic queue.
“It’s fine,” Shuyin said softly. “You don’t need to know. Just drop me off at Chunwu Plaza’s subway station.”
Fangning, afraid of losing the spotlight, quickly added, “Mom, asking like that might make her uncomfortable. Just call her Xiao Chen.”
“Alright, my apologies, Xiao Chen.” The woman smiled through the mirror.
“It’s fine,” she repeated.
It had always been fine.
Shuyin’s voice was clear, but so devoid of emotion that it left no room for speculation.
The woman’s warm and amiable smile faded upon hearing her lifeless tone again.
“Thanks for the ride,” Shuyin muttered, finally reaching her stop. She nodded at the driver before quickly walking away.
“Mom, why are you still watching her?” Fangning whined.
The woman’s gaze lingered on Shuyin’s distant figure. “Nothing. She just reminds me of my daughter.”
Fangning gasped. “You mean the daughter you had with your ex-husband? No way…”
She nearly blurted out Shuyin’s name. “She’s called Chen—”
The woman cut her off hastily, her smile turning stiff. “It’s impossible. I haven’t seen her in years, but I wouldn’t mistake her.”
Fangning’s expression soured, lips pursed in displeasure.
As the sky dimmed, the wind swept across her face, stinging her eyes dry.
Shuyin stepped into the elevator, unlocking her phone.
Three years. She always reappeared at the end of each third year—then vanished again.
It was about time.
She should be reaching out to her soon.