Hard to Deceive

Sang Yan felt she was being ridiculous, “What?” 

Wen Yifan called Qian Weihua when she found his phone number in her contacts. While waiting for him to answer, she asked again, “Can you tell me the name of the neighborhood and the specific address?”

Sang Yan, “?”

Before Wen Yifan could receive her answer, Qian Weihua had picked up the phone call.

Qian Weihua hurriedly said, “Great, I was going to call you, you just got out of work, right? I just received a hotline, a fire broke out nearby Zhongnan Century City. We’re going to the fire scene now.”

Wen Yifan hurriedly replied and told him her specific location before hanging up.

She met Sang Yan’s eyes.

She felt that the atmosphere was a little silent.

Wen Yifan took the initiative to ask, “Are you living in Zhongnan Century City?”

Sang Yan, “......”

“I have to work an unplanned shift, I guess I’ll have to postpone this dinner.” Speaking of that, Wen Yifan paused for a few seconds and asked hesitantly, “My senior is driving over here now, do you want to come along?”

……

Three minutes later, Qian Weihua’s car arrived. Fu Zhuang had also come along, and was sitting in the back seat.

Sang Yan’s car was parked in the parking lot at the mountain pass. He was too lazy to go there to drive, so Wen Yifan asked him to sit in the back seat, while she sat in the front passenger seat.

Fu Zhuang asked, “Yifan, who is this?”

Wen Yifan buckled her seat belt and said, “My high school classmate, he lives in Zhongnan Century City. He should be the owner of the house where the fire broke out. He has to go back and check on the situation.”

Qian Weihua started the car and said in surprise, “What a coincidence! It took me 14 years to finally get ahead of others, to think there’s such a coincidence.”

Fu Zhuang blurted out, “Could this be an ominous sign?”

“......” Wen Yifan said, “Fu Zhuang, don’t speak nonsense.”

“But there’ll definitely be a silver lining after this incident.” Fu Zhuang was quick-witted, he looked at Sang Yan and corrected, “You will be blessed by the God of Wealth when the fire burns out. You’ll get super-rich this year!”

Sang Yan glanced at him and was too lazy to be bothered.

“Hey, bro.” Fu Zhuang leaned over and felt that Sang Yan looked familiar, “Why do I think that you look familiar? Have we met before?”

Wen Yifan was sitting in front and checking her equipment. When she heard this, she subconsciously felt that Sang Yan would say, “Your pick up lines are so amateur.” However, he didn’t say anything.

She didn’t mind it.

He probably was not in the mood for anything at that moment.

Zhongnan Century City was not far away from here, it would only take them a few minutes by car.

When the group arrived at the fire scene, the fire truck and ambulance had already arrived. Most of the residents were evacuated. They must have run out in panic as most of them were wearing only pyjamas and without a coat.

They were gathered together and chattered as they probably had not experienced such an incident before.

It was almost 9 at night.

They didn’t know when it began to rain. The drizzling rain was so cold as if the rain was mixed with ice.

The fire broke out in Unit B on the eighth floor of Block 6. The glass window was blown up by the explosion, and the fire spread to the unit above like a demon. The drizzles of rain had no effects on the blazing fire and they evaporated as soon as they fell.

The house where Sang Yan lived was just above the burning unit.

He looked up, the tip of his tongue touched the corner of his lips, and his brows twitched.

Wen Yifan could probably guess why he had that reaction earlier. The person who called him was not reliable, moreover, this fire had caught him off guard, he probably didn’t think it was a big deal. 

A moment later, Sang Yan stepped aside to answer a phone call.

Qian Weihua carried the camera and filmed the surroundings.

Vehicles flashed red and blue lights, firefighters passed by back and forth to put out the fire, save victims and control the scene. They had no free time.

The rain was getting heavier, the light-coloured concrete ground was stained dark and night simply aggravated the cold. The surroundings were noisy and chaotic, all sorts of noise were merged just like a disaster in a movie.

Wen Yifan approached the crowd to interview the residents that just escaped from their home, “Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m a news reporter from the news column of Nanwu TV station. Are you a resident of Block 6?”

The lady she interviewed was holding a child and she spoke with a strong accent, “Yes.”

“Which floor do you live on? How did you discover the fire?”

“I’m living on the fifth floor, I heard an explosion out of a sudden, it gave me a fright! I thought there were fireworks!” The lady was particularly enthusiastic when she saw the camera, “The noise outside was also loud, so I ran out to have a look.”

The man next to her interrupted, “Yes! Several times! The scene is under control now…”

“Bang——!”

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud noise that came from the eighth floor which was still burning.

It caused an uproar and people gasped.

Qian Weihua immediately lifted the camera and focused on the scene.

Wen Yifan looked towards the direction of the ninth floor. Then, she subconsciously looked at Sang Yan. He just stood there, quietly watching the burning fire, and put the phone down from his ear.

She looked away and her sympathy for him gradually crept up her mind in hindsight.

……

Fortunately, the damage caused by the explosion was not too serious.

Only a firefighter had suffered minor injuries.

All the residents in the building were evacuated, except a child who was under ten years old was trapped in the elevator, but was rescued by the firefighters. It took nearly an hour for the fire to be completely controlled.

The fire department was still cleaning up the scene.

The cause of the fire was still unknown, and almost all of the items in the house were burned. Houses on the same floor and on the upper and lower floors also suffered minor damages. The nearest unit, Unit B on the ninth floor was badly damaged, where the kitchen and living room were burned beyond recognition.

Interviews were made with the victims involved in this accident. Wen Yifan and Fu Zhuang followed Qian Weihua to the scene with the consent of the owner and the firefighters.

Qian Weihua filmed the situation inside the house while listening to the firefighters’ brief description of the situation and asked several questions from time to time.

Wen Yifan met Sang Yan when she reached Unit B on the ninth floor.

They asked him for a simple interview, and Fu Zhuang was the interviewer for this time. He casually asked because it was someone he knew, “Bro, how are you feeling right now?”

Sang Yan obviously felt that the question he asked was extremely stupid, he sneered, “I’m very happy.”

“……”

“Hope you’re as happy as me.”

“……”

Qian Weihua took the initiative to ask, “Did this fire cause a major loss to you?”

Sang Yan calmly replied, “It’s not that bad.”

Qian Weihua, “We just had a look at the condition of the house, almost none of the places are still intact.”

Sang Yan, “So what.”

“……”

Sang Yan might be aware of his rudeness, he obviously became cooperative, “I didn’t put anything valuable here, excluding the house and furniture, only a mobile phone was burned, but it was long been unusable.

Wen Yifan was beside doing records, she paused for a while. But there was no unnecessary conversation with him.

Then, the group went back to the office to write and edit videos.

Fu Zhuang couldn’t hold back, “Yifan, your classmate is really miserable yet dope. The house was burned, and he can still remain calm.”

Qian Weihua, “You should console him and ask him to request compensation from the property and insurance companies. He could just find a new place to live for the moment, he shouldn’t be too upset about this.”

Wen Yifan simply smiled.

Although she didn’t think Sang Yan needed her comfort.

Fu Zhuang began to nag, “But Yifan, you’re miserable as well. You have to work overtime today although it’s your day off tomorrow. I told Senior to just bring me alone…”

Speaking of this, he lowered his voice and complained in a volume only they could hear.

“But he said that I'm trash.”

Wen Yifan nodded, “Indeed.”

“……”

It was chaotic that night.

However, Wen Yifan thought that this incident had finally come to an end.

The fire was just an unexpected incident, and Sang Yan happened to be one of the victims. She went back to the office to write a news manuscript to be submitted. This incident would be over once the manuscript was approved.

After that, the following up procedures for the victims had nothing to do with her.

Wen Yifan took the keys and returned them to the former landlord. Then, she bid farewell to her previous house once and for all. She didn’t need to take the initiative to contact and mention the dinner since she would not meet him again.

There was only one problem left for her to solve in the near future.

Which was finding a reliable and suitable new housemate.

Wang Linlin finished handing over her work and completely moved out before the new week.

Wang Linlin emphasized that she would help her to find a new housemate and asked her to worry no more before leaving as if she wanted to maintain her image as a good housemate.

Sharing a unit was long-term after all, Wen Yifan never thought of living with the people introduced by Wang Linlin.

Because there was a high possibility that the person introduced by Wang Linlin would be someone she didn’t know. It would be troublesome to find a new place to move to if conflicts were to happen with the housemate.

However, Wen Yifan could only reply politely.

Wen Yifan had already asked for Zhong Siqiao’s help and had been waiting for her news for a long time. She would have to search for a new housemate online if Zhong Siqiao couldn’t find one.

-

The next Friday.

Su Haoan was about to go out when he received a phone call from Sang Yan.

He was impatient when he said, “Help me to rent a house.”

Su Haoan, “?”

“A house close to ‘OverTime’. I will live for a few months and I’ll move back to my house once it’s done renovating.”

“Is there something wrong with you? Am I a housing agent? Can’t you go back to your home?”

“Okay, I’ll live at your place.” Sang Yan said, “I’m hanging up.”

“...... Wait, wait, wait.” Su Haoan didn’t think he could be this shameless, he gritted his teeth, “Choose a neighborhood, I’ll ask my friend for you later.”

Silence.

After a few seconds, he replied, “Shangduhua City.”

When the phone was hung up, Su Haoan suddenly remembered what Wang Linlin had told him for the past few days. She seemed to be complaining while being coquettish, she wanted him to help her to find a new housemate for her former housemate, and she said that she really wasn’t able to find one.

Su Haoan wanted to curse so badly.

Does a tall, rich and handsome person like me look like a housing agent?

Su Haoan was wondering who to ask for help and he suddenly recalled where Wang Linlin used to live.

It seemed to be Shangduhua City.

If I’m not mistaken.

Her housemate….... Isn’t it Wen Yifan?

Su Haoan paused when he was about to make a phone call, he raised his eyebrows.

-

The frequency of various events had increased during the days before the new year.

Wen Yifan was busier than usual. Sometimes she didn’t even have the time to go home, her office was her second home. She was so exhausted that she could fall asleep while standing.

She had no intentions to think about other things when she was working overtime day and night. Her relationship with Sang Yan, who she frequently met previously, had changed back to former classmates who did not contact each other because they stopped meeting each other ever since.

Wen Yifan’s only thought when she thought of him during her spare time was that they would never meet again.

Sunday night.

Wen Yifan had finally finished her work and had time to go home to catch her breath. She opened her door with her keys, and as soon as she entered the front door, she saw the back of a man.

The man was tall but slim, he seemed to have just come in as he was still in his shoes. There was a suitcase beside him.

Wen Yifan’s mind suddenly went blank and she even stopped breathing.

She associated this situation with the burglary case that she reported two days ago. The female victim was stabbed twice by the burglar because she resisted, and she was still unconscious in the hospital.

The man turned when he heard something.

Their eyes met.

The scene that Wen Yifan pictured in her mind disappeared immediately when she saw his face. She breathed a sigh of relief and her legs felt like jelly. Her panic that rose in an instant was gradually replaced by confusion, “Why are you here?”

Sang Yan frowned, “I would also like to ask why you are here.”

“I live here.” Wen Yifan was confused, she wanted to know, “How did you get in?”

Wen Yifan noticed the keys in his hand when she blurted out.

It was Wang Linlin’s keys.

“……”

After a while.

The mind-blowing thought in Wen Yifan’s mind was confirmed when he spoke. 

“I just moved in.”