Chapter 107. "Without you, Brother Yan..."

Inside the room, Yang Siyi, who was lying on the bed playing on her phone, heard the noise and hurriedly got out of bed and came out. Caught off guard, she saw the two people embracing at the door. She stopped in her tracks, backed away, covered her mouth and chuckled. Although it was late and dark, she really didn't need to be a third wheel.

She didn't know how long they hugged, the cold wind howled past outside the corridor, and all Wen Xue could hear was He Yan's hot breath.

Her ears turned slightly red. She slowly pulled away from his embrace, looked up at him, and whispered, "There's a cake in the fridge."

As she spoke, she also began to struggle.

If she lived alone in the apartment, she would not hesitate to invite him in.

But Siyi was still in the room.

He Yan held her hand, staring intently at her: "Okay, take the cake with you. I'll leave the gift in the car." Then, he added, rather unnecessarily, "I forgot to take it."

They probably really forgot last year.

I forgot if this year's event was fake.

He just wanted to trick her into leaving her home.

Wen Xue suppressed a laugh: "Okay, I'll go get it."

After saying that, she tried to turn around, but was pulled back by a force and bumped into his arms.

A dizzying sensation spread through her as he pressed his slightly dry lips to her forehead and said again, "Happy birthday."

He didn't miss it this time, and he will be there for every one of her birthdays from now on.

"knew."

She pushed him aside and walked in, her steps light. Under his gaze, she went to the bedroom first, opened the door, and poked her head in, meeting the same pair of bright eyes.

Yang Siyi covered her mouth, even happier than her: "He replied?"

Wen Xue nodded, trying to remain reserved, but the person in front of her was her best friend of many years, so her pretense failed, and her eyes were full of happy smiles: "Okay. Si Yi, I'll take him downstairs, don't wait for me."

Yang Siyi pulled something out from under her pillow, beckoned to her, and, afraid that the small house might not be soundproof and He Yan outside the door would hear, she whispered, "Come here."

Wen Xue was puzzled, but she still stepped into the room and leaned over the bed.

Then Yang Siyi unscrewed the cap and applied a thin layer to her lips. "It looks good! I bought it a few days ago, it's very sweet."

"..." Wen Xue blushed. "Annoying."

Go!

Wen Xue left the room, closed the door, and carefully took the cake out of the refrigerator before heading out.

He Yan leaned against the door, his gaze following her, and reminded her, "Scarf, it's cold outside."

"oh."

She reached for the plaid scarf hanging on the chair, not bothering to put it on, and briskly walked to his side, saying, "Let's go."

The elevator is still on this floor.

The two went inside, and He Yan took the scarf from her hand, bent down and wrapped it around her neck, covering half of her face. Her clear, bright eyes looked at him with a smile. He didn't care about the surveillance cameras, and kissed her forehead directly. The kiss then moved down to kiss her exposed ear.

Wen Xue didn't hide. Her heart was full.

He put his arm around her and walked out of the elevator. It was 11 p.m. and the temperature was below zero.

Wen Xue couldn't help but shudder.

He Yan hugged her even tighter. His car was parked nearby, and he got in shortly after.

He didn't turn off the car, and as soon as he got in, the heater was on full blast, so he didn't feel cold at all.

"Eat quickly." The two sat in the more spacious back seat, and Wenxue handed him a fork, urging him to eat.

He Yan: "..."

It's a very big cake.

He suspected that after she ate this piece, she would have to take him to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Regardless of what he was thinking, he readily agreed, took the cake, and then, using the light from inside the car, saw the two words on the cream and chuckled to himself.

"The gift is in the passenger seat, take it yourself," he said.

Wen Xue asked curiously, "What is it?"

See for yourself.

"..." Wen Xue saw that he looked like he didn't know where to start eating the cake, "Eat it all."

She leaned forward, holding onto the back of the chair, and peered out, then paused in surprise.

He Yan is not the type of person who would repackage gifts beautifully.

It is what it is.

The logo and design on the cardboard box were too obvious to be recognized at a glance. She looked at him in surprise: "A computer?"

He Yan swallowed the cake: "Your laptop is old."

Wen Xue moved the cardboard box from the passenger seat. She seemed to really like it; her eyes were bright, and the corners of her lips were slightly upturned. He was relieved. As long as she liked it, that was good. He had spent a lot of time researching this recently, and after much research, he found that buying a notebook was simple: just choose an expensive one.

What He Yan didn't know was that Wen Xue's laptop was an old one.

It was a gift from my cousin that she had used for two years.

She doesn't really care whether electronic products are new or old; she has to pay for new ones, but she doesn't need old ones.

"Thanks……"

Wen Xue carefully stroked the edge of the cardboard box with her hand and said softly.

Today was a special day, so He Yan didn't correct her "thank you." He didn't eat much for dinner, spending the last few hours thinking about how to get rid of those people; dealing with this piece of cake wasn't that difficult.

The phone camera flashed.

Wen Xue was secretly taking pictures of him when he wasn't paying attention, and she even turned on the flash.

He Yan paused, some cream still on his lips, frowned at her, and snapped a few more photos, a triumphant smile on his face.

He stared at her for a moment, then stretched out his long arm, pulled her close, and deliberately kissed her face, smearing cream on it.

"Take as many photos as you like," he said.

Wen Xue felt sticky on her face, wanted to laugh but couldn't help it, leaned against his chest, and could only plead as she raised her phone and randomly pressed a few buttons, taking a lot of photos.

My first day as a 22-year-old was very happy.

…

After spending time in the car until midnight, He Yan dropped Wen Xue off at her apartment. He then drove on a quiet road, not heading back to the vicinity of Xida University. He turned off to another location. In the dead of night, with the roar of cars, he parked, closed the car door, stood outside the courtyard for a while, and then pressed the doorbell expressionlessly.

Aunt Zhang goes to bed early, and when she suddenly heard the doorbell ring, she thought it was dawn.

She opened her eyes and looked out the window, but it was still pitch black. She immediately became alert, thinking that Zhou Xian had come. She got up, dressed, and hurriedly went outside. The cold wind in the yard made her regain some of her senses. Wait a minute, Zhou Xian has the key.

Thinking this, she took a few steps outside and saw a tall, unfamiliar man standing outside the iron gate.

She asked warily, "Who are you looking for?"

"Zhou Xian".

Aunt Zhang was slightly taken aback: "He's not here."

When Mr. Cheng was still alive, Zhou Xianhui would stay here overnight.

After Old Master Cheng left, Zhou Xian would come occasionally, stay for a while, and then leave. He had another place to live in the western part of the city.

"Alright." He Yan thanked him politely, and as he turned to leave, he asked, "If it's convenient, could I offer incense to Elder Cheng?"

Aunt Zhang was in a dilemma.

She was just a nanny, not the employer. The man in front of her should be Zhou Xian's friend. Could she stop him from entering? "I'll call Zhou Xian."

He Yan nodded calmly.

Aunt Zhang dialed Zhou Xian's number, but no one answered.

She gritted her teeth, hung up, and said, "Then come in."

He Yan followed her into the house. The tea room, which was originally for drinking tea, had been converted into a place to enshrine the portrait of the deceased. He looked at the kind-faced old man Cheng in the black and white photo, took the three incense sticks handed to him by Aunt Zhang, and habitually reached into his pocket, touching the metal lighter.

It was sent by Wen Xue.

He looked at Aunt Zhang and politely asked, "Do you have a lighter?"

Aunt Zhang quickly grabbed a box of matches from the side, struck one with a snap, and lit it.

He Yan gathered the incense sticks together, bowed three times, and placed them in the incense. He casually remarked, "I admire Elder Cheng very much. Many people in his position fail to maintain their integrity in their later years, but he was able to maintain his high moral character throughout his life. He is truly remarkable."

No one is perfect.

Even if you do 99 things right, making just one mistake will still leave a stain in the eyes of the world.

Mr. Cheng, who lived a life of high moral character, also once blurred the lines between public and private matters because of the emotional debt he owed his daughter.

Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "Yes."

After she finished speaking, she felt that something about what he said seemed off.

Before he could think it through, He Yan took a few steps back and said, "I'm sorry to bother you so late."

After he left, Aunt Zhang received a call back from Zhou Xian. She briefly explained what had happened, and he slammed the phone down. It was almost 2 a.m. when he arrived.

Seeing his tense expression, Aunt Zhang became even more uneasy.

Zhou Xian stared blankly at the three burnt-out incense sticks. "What else did he say?"

Aunt Zhang dared not hide anything and recounted the whole story without omitting a single word.

Zhou Xian's face immediately turned ashen.

-

After New Year's Day, it's another new year.

Although Wenxue was busy with work, she kept in touch with Nana and the others every day. From their conversations, she learned that both transportation and trade had suffered heavy losses in the past few months. It started with trade; Wang Yuan had delivered documents to them a few times and said that the people in the company had nothing to do and were listless, with a gloomy atmosphere.

Then came transportation. At first, the volume of goods was halved, and everyone thought it was because the business was not doing well this year. But on New Year's Day, when things used to be so busy, there were only one or two trucks running. It was too outrageous, so outrageous that even the most oblivious person would notice that something was wrong.

Someone is messing with their Yan Ge, and they're trying to kill him.

Anyone in business knows that if you stop working, you stop earning money. You can manage for a month or two by gritting your teeth, but after several months... going bankrupt and being heavily in debt is all too common.

It was Saturday.

Wen Xue quickly packed a change of clothes and drove to the old town.

He Yan has been busy lately, meeting with clients he had a past relationship with, and he didn't know she would be coming today.

Taking advantage of the good weather today, she carried the quilt from the third-floor room to the rooftop to air it out, making it fluffy and soft, so she would definitely be able to sleep well tonight.

Then, she sent He Yan a message: [Where did you put your spare key?]

He Yan: [? ?]

He Yan: [Wang Yuan has one]

When Wen Xue went to find Wang Yuan, his room door was open, and he was playing mahjong with several drivers.

Seeing her knock on the door, Wang Yuan quickly stubbed out his cigarette and waved it away. Worried about the smell in his mouth, he tugged at his collar and covered his mouth before coming out, saying in a muffled voice, "Wen Xue, what brings you here? Brother Yan isn't here."

Wen Xue chuckled: "I know, he said you have a key to his room."

Wang Yuan: "Oh, wait a minute."

He turned and ran into the house, then came running back out a few seconds later, handing her the keys. "You don't need to clean, I'll find a housekeeper!"

"I'll air out his blankets."

"oh……"

Wen Xue smiled at him, took the keys, and went downstairs.

She rarely went into He Yan's room here and was still a little unaccustomed to it. She knew he would occasionally come to stay here. There was a copy of the sutra he had copied a couple of days ago on the table, each stroke of the pen was very careful. The room was simply furnished. She took off the sheets and blankets, preparing to run to the roof a few more times. When she walked out of the room with the blanket, she was stunned. Wang Yuan was standing in the corridor outside the door.

Seeing her tilt her head and look at him, he blushed and said, "It's too heavy, I'll do it."

Wen Xue knew that Wang Yuan handled many of He Yan's daily life matters, so she didn't stand on ceremony with him and gave him the quilt.

She walked in front, he walked behind, and the two of them arrived at the rooftop.

A clothesline was strung up on the roof, and with Wang Yuan's help, the quilts were easily dried. Just as she was about to leave, Wang Yuan suddenly handed her a card.

Wen Xue looked at him with a puzzled expression.

I don't know what he's trying to do.

Wang Yuan laughed heartily: "I've been following Brother Yan for several years. Without Brother Yan, I don't know where I would be drifting. I know that Brother Yan is in trouble now. I can't help much. This card is what I've saved up over the years. I'm giving it to Brother Yan in case he needs it urgently."

As for the house, we can buy it later.

But when Yan Ge gets into trouble, he can't just ignore it.

Wen Xue was stunned.

She hurriedly waved her hands, "No, no...this is your hard-earned money..."

Wang Yuan: "It's not a free gift. It's borrowed from Brother Yan. He can pay it back when he makes a comeback."

Wen Xue shook her head again, "No, no, you have to tell him yourself!"

Wang Yuan sighed.

Just kidding. If Brother Yan would accept it, he wouldn't be Brother Yan. That's why he wanted to use Wen Xue to give it to him. "You and Brother Yan are no different in my hands."

After some tugging and pulling, Wen Xue refused to accept it. Wang Yuan, having learned this trick from someone, put the card aside and quickly slipped away, disappearing without a trace.

Feeling helpless, Wen Xue picked up the card.

She inappropriately recalled Zhou Xianwen's question: What does he have?

He has too much.

She stood on the rooftop, feeling the wind, her mind filled with images. Lost in thought for a moment, she took a picture of the card Wang Yuan had given her and sent it to He Yan: 【[Image] This is from Wang Yuan, who asked me to give it to you.】

A few minutes later, He Yan replied: [This kid's got some nerve.]

Wen Xue was amused by him.

…

In the evening, Li Jingru, knowing that Wenxue was coming, unusually went out to buy some ingredients for hot pot. She invited Nana, and the three of them snuggled up in the small room to eat hot pot and chat. They ate until they felt warm and cozy. After dinner, Nana cleaned up the table and took out the trash, while Li Jingru pulled Wenxue to the kitchen to wash the pots.

Wen Xue, wearing gloves, diligently scrubbed the pot.

Li Jingru gazed at her profile and drawled, "Yan Sir is so lucky. You're such a good girl."

Wen Xue smiled.

I secretly thought to myself, she's not that great.

At least, He Yan had a very difficult time after being with her.

Li Jingru moved closer to her and slipped the object into her pocket.

Wen Xue's eyelids twitched. Remembering what Wang Yuan had done that afternoon, she could roughly guess what Li Jingru had given her. She cried out, "Sister Jing, please don't do this! Really, really!"

Li Jingru whistled happily: "Little sister, you don't understand. I'm helping someone in need. From a long-term perspective, I'm not losing out at all. You mustn't stop me. This is the first time in my thirty-plus years that I've been so clever."

Wen Xue turned her head away, hiding the tears in her eyes.

Her heart ached with mixed feelings of sadness and warmth.

Li Jingru looked at her and smiled, "See? It's such a good deal. Even the proprietress was touched by me."

"Sister Jing!"

After handing over the card, Li Jingru quickly walked out, saying, "I'm not chatting anymore, I'm going to the internet cafe to play games. I have a guild war scheduled for tonight."

"Sister Jing!!"

Wen Xue took off her gloves and chased after Li Jingru, but she didn't catch up with her and almost bumped into Nana who was going upstairs.

Nana's eyes widened: "What's wrong?"

Wen Xue forced a smile: "It's nothing."

The kitchen was cleaned up, and since Wan Nian was gone, Nana happily followed Wen Xue back to her room. In the past, the two of them would always snuggle on the small sofa and chat. Wen Xue boiled a kettle of water and made two cups of hot cocoa.

She gets one cup, and Nana gets one cup.

"It's so delicious!" Nana exclaimed.

Wen Xue was satisfied and had good taste.

Unlike He Yan, when she went to the supermarket to buy hot cocoa, he would always look at her with a strange gaze, as if it were such an incredible thing that she liked to drink it.

"I heard that our area is about to be demolished."

Nana leaned on Wenxue's shoulder and said, "We'll have to move when we come back for the New Year. I'm so reluctant to leave. I always feel that the happiest time of my life was spent here."

Wen Xue listened quietly.

Nana took out a card from her pocket and gave it to her. "Wannian and I have discussed it. We're still so young, so we're not in a hurry to get married. The wedding during the National Day holiday might be postponed. Next year or the year after is fine. This is the money we've saved. I don't know how much Yan-ge needs... Anyway, it's our heartfelt gift."

This happened three times today. Wenxue couldn't hold back her emotions any longer and broke down, feeling both relieved and distressed.

It's comforting to know that He Yan has the trust of so many people.

What's heartbreaking is that all his hard work over the years is about to go to waste because of her.

Nana was at a loss and had to offer a lot of comfort.

"Actually..." Wen Xue said with difficulty, "It's because of me, it's all because of me. If only I left—"

She paused, took a deep breath, and then stopped.

It's too difficult.

She finally understood what He Yan meant when he said that the trouble Zhou Xian brought was secondary; what he feared most was her wavering.

But she is a human being, a living, breathing human being, a person with feelings.

How could she not waver?

She didn't want to cause trouble for anyone, especially since He Yan was such an important person to her.

Nana opened her mouth.

I didn't know how to process this news for a while.

Both of them fell silent.

After a long while, the hot cocoa in the cup cooled down. Nana said in a mixed voice, "I don't know what happened, but Wenxue, I feel that if the company is gone, all of us, including President Wu, can go out and find other jobs. But if you leave, without you, Brother Yan might not be able to survive."

Wen Xue's gaze faltered slightly, and her breathing became labored.

Outside the door.

He Yan leaned against the wall, silently looking up at the night sky with a cold expression. He held a packing bag tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

"Me too."

Wen Xue's voice was very soft: "I really...like him."

I like it so much that I'm wavering.

I love it so much that I will never leave, no matter how much I waver.