Hard to Deceive

Wen Yifan suddenly realized that it had unknowingly become a heated situation when she saw his facial expression.

However, Wen Yifan didn’t have the intentions to argue with him, besides, she didn’t know what she said that made him upset. She was not annoyed by Sang Yan, but her anger originated from Wang Linlin.

“No, you don’t have to worry.” Wen Yifan paused and calmly said, “How would I dare to have such intentions toward you.”

“……”

“Not that I mind the arrangement, but I just wanted to clear things out.” Wen Yifan added, “I don’t know what I said that made you unhappy, because I’m still at a loss as this situation came out of the blue.”

“I think we’re both in a bad mood now, and it’s getting late.” Wen Yifan thought before she added, “How about you stay here tonight? Let’s reconsider and talk about this again tomorrow after I finish my work.

Sang Yan was still looking at her, without saying anything.

Wen Yifan, “Sharing a unit is not a trivial matter, and we can’t come to a conclusion right now. It’ll be very troublesome for me if you think you’re fine staying here today, but change your mind tomorrow.”

There was still silence.

Wen Yifan was longing for sleep, she didn’t want to care about anything at that moment. She felt like she was wasting her sleep time if she continued sitting there. She was slightly impatient, “Why don’t you think about it by yourself first, I’m going…”

I’m going to bed.

“Alright.” Sang Yan suddenly interrupted her without any emotions, “What time will you get off work tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure.” Wen Yifan paused, “I’ll try to come back before eight.”

Sang Yan looked up and softly replied.

Wen Yifan immediately felt a huge relief. She stood up and pointed, “Then you can sleep in the master bedroom tonight. There’s nothing inside, so you’ll have to make your bed.”

She looked at Sang Yan’s luggage, “You brought sheets and quilts, didn’t you?”

Sang Yan didn’t reply.

Wen Yifan didn’t continue asking, “Then I’ll take a bath and go to sleep, you should sleep early too.”

Then, Wen Yifan went back to her room, took her clothes and entered the bathroom. She was so exhausted that her eyes began to ache, the pain started to spread to her head. But she was still unable to finish showering quickly.

Sang Yan was long gone from the living room by the time Wen Yifan came out.

His luggage was still in its original position.

The master bedroom door was closed as usual, she couldn’t hear anything. She didn’t know whether he went in.

Wen Yifan hesitated but still didn’t call him.

Wen Yifan glanced at her phone before she slept.

Wang Linlin sent her several WeChat messages not long ago.

Wang Linlin: Yifan, I’m sorry… I may sound rude just now because I was sleeping. I know I didn’t handle this problem properly. I have already asked my boyfriend. He told me he didn’t think too much about it, but we now knew it was inappropriate for us to give the keys without asking for your opinion. I’m very sorry for giving you a shock.

Wang Linlin: He said he would make it clear to Sang Yan, and he asked me to tell you that he’s sorry too.

Wang Linlin: Don’t be angry…… Besides, that Ferrari is my cousin’s car, so don’t get me wrong. [/Kiss] Please help me to keep this a secret, don’t tell my boyfriend. He doesn’t like me hanging out with my cousin.

Wen Yifan didn’t reply, she recalled what happened that day.

She didn’t know if she was too angry with Wang Linlin at that moment, but she couldn’t hold her anger because of her fear.

What if it wasn’t Sang Yan who came today.

If Wang Linlin had given the keys to some other man, a man like her previous neighbor, would she still be able to sleep in this bed safe and sound?

Wen Yifan sighed.

Nevertheless, Wen Yifan no longer wanted to cross paths with Wang Linlin anymore.

Wen Yifan began to think about sharing the unit with Sang Yan.

She reconsidered it after she calmed down.

She suddenly felt that it didn't seem to be a big deal. Her requirements for a housemate were not high, a girl who could get along well with her was obviously the best choice. However, it was also not a big deal if someone of the opposite sex with an unproblematic personality becomes her housemate.

Although Sang Yan was annoying and irritating, but Wen Yifan still believed in his moralities.

Besides, he was not going to stay for a long time, he would only be staying for three months. This would give her a buffer period to find a suitable new housemate who could share the unit with her in the long run.

However, Wen Yifan thought to herself.

After a night of thinking, by Sang Yan’s earlier attitude towards her, he might not be willing to see her all the time.

Wen Yifan was woken up by a phone call the next morning.

She picked up the phone semi-consciously without looking at the caller display. She was surprised when she heard Zhao Yuandong, her mother’s voice laughing, “Jiang.”

Wen Yifan’s eyelids twitched as she replied.

Zhao Yuandong was calling her nickname.

Wen Yifan was born on the first day of snowfall. Her name was not ready, so her father temporarily called her “Little Shuang Jiang”. But he was used to calling her nickname even after she was named, so they just adopted that nickname.

*Shuang is snow, Jiang is fall.

The nickname gradually became “Jiang” when she grew up.

However, it seemed that no one else would call her by her nickname except her family members.

Zhao Yuandong, “Are you sleeping? Do you want Mom to call you later?”

Wen Yifan, “It’s fine, I’m awake.”

“Is the weather in Yihe cold? Remember to put on more clothes. I saw the weather forecast, it’s around twenty degrees below zero there. It looks scary.” Zhao Yuandong was concerned, “Don’t catch a cold.”

“Alright.”

Zhao Yuandong sighed, “You haven’t called Mom for a long time.”

“Ah.” Wen Yifan blurted out, “I was too busy recently.”

“I know that you’re busy, I also didn’t want to call to bother you. But it’s almost Chinese New Year.” Zhao Yuandong added, “I just wanted to ask, are you coming back home this year?”

“......” Wen Yifan was unable to react, “Back where?”

Zhao Yuandong suddenly became silent for a few seconds, her voice became unnatural, “What do you mean where, of course back to where your mother’s at. Mom hasn’t seen you for many years, and your uncle Zheng wants to see you too.”

Wen Yifan opened her eyes and said gently, “I thought you wanted me to go to uncle’s.”

Zhao Yuandong smiled when she heard what she said, “I don’t mean that you must come to me, you can go to your uncle’s if you want.”

“I want to go to your place.” Wen Yifan opened her eyes and said in a gentle tone without any aggression, “But did you mention this to Zheng Kejia? Is she willing to let me stay with you during Chinese New Year?”

There was silence again.

The sudden question seemed like a casual courtesy, she never thought she would agree.

Wen Yifan smiled and answered, “I’m just kidding, I’m not going anywhere.”

Before Zhao Yuandong could reply, their conversation was interrupted by a lively and crisp female voice, “Mom, come here! How do we choose a tangerine?”

It seemed like it broke the awkward atmosphere, but also aggravated it at the same time.

Wen Yifan could guess that the girl was Zheng Kejia by listening to the voice, “Hey! Why are you on the phone? I won’t go out with you in the future if you’re still doing this!”

“Okay, okay! I’m on my way!” Zhao Yuandong replied and whispered, “Jiang, I’ll call you back later.”

Zhao Yuandong hung up the phone before she could answer.

In a hurry.

She seemed to be afraid of annoying the kid.

Wen Yifan threw her mobile phone aside, she turned over and was struggling to get back to sleep.

She was not affected by the phone call, but she couldn’t sleep.

Wen Yifan was a person who could hardly fall back asleep after being woken up, even though she was still extremely sleepy. She picked up her phone and glanced at the time before getting up.

She saw the luggage in the living room when she was going to the bathroom.

It wasn’t moved for the whole night.

Wen Yifan recalled what happened last night and wondered.

Doesn’t he need to take his clothes to take a bath?

Wen Yifan didn’t bother about it. After taking a quick bath, she went back to her room to change before heading out. When she was putting on her shoes on the porch, she glanced and noticed Sang Yan’s shoes were gone.

If it weren’t for Sang Yan’s luggage, Wen Yifan would have thought that he refused to share the unit with her and left.

Wen Yifan hesitated for a moment before making up her mind to knock on the master bedroom door. There was no response inside after waiting for a while. She knocked three more times and said, “I’m going in?”

She waited for a moment.

Wen Yifan turned the doorknob and carefully pushed the door open.

It was empty inside, there was only a mattress on the bed, without traces of someone sleeping on it. It was in the same state from the day when Wang Linlin left, except there was a little dust on the table as no one was staying in that room.

Wen Yifan went out.

She took the subway to get to her office.

Although Wen Yifan felt that there was nothing wrong with what she had done, Sang Yan made her feel that she was being cruel when he didn’t choose to stay last night.

It was as if her suggestion to stay last night was just an illusion, or she was being rude when she asked him to, which wounded his self-esteem.

She seemed to have turned into a cruel person.

Wen Yifan sent him a WeChat message after giving in to her thoughts.

Where did you sleep last night?

After sending out the text message, Sang Yan didn’t reply even when Wen Yifan arrived at her office.

She didn’t have time to think about it after that. She was busy until lunchtime at 2 o’clock before she had time to catch her breath. Sang Yan still didn’t reply when Wen Yifan checked her phone.

Wen Yifan was doubtful whether the plan to talk it out at night could still be carried out according to his attitude.

Wen Yifan could only send: Where should we talk tonight?

Wen Yifan: At home or somewhere else? 

Sang Yan’s reply was faster this time.

He replied before Wen Yifan could finish her lunch: 8 pm, your place.

Wen Yifan: …...

Why does this look so misleading?

After staring at the message, Wen Yifan felt that whatever she replied would turn out weird. But it would be rude if she didn’t reply. So, she bit the bullet and replied to him with an “OK” emoji at the end.

……

Before finishing her work, Qian Weihua suddenly gave her some clues of a case, he wanted her to complete a news manuscript as soon as possible. She had to spend quite some time on it, and it was nearly eight o’clock when she left the office.

Wen Yifan had notified Sang Yan in advance because she was worried that he would be impatient.

It was half-past eight when she reached home.

Wen Yifan opened the door and entered.

It was dark inside, Sang Yan was not home yet.

Wen Yifan looked down and placed her keys on the shoe cabinet. She noticed Wang Linlin’s keys were still on it as well. She paused, took the keys and stared at it.

She never thought that Sang Yan would leave the keys behind.

Wen Yifan didn’t think too much, she sat beside the coffee table and boiled water.

The living room was quiet, so Wen Yifan turned on the television. The doorbell rang when the water was boiled. She got up to open the door.

Sang Yan was standing outside with his hands in his pocket. He seemed like he was wearing a brand new dark jacket. His eye bags around his eyes were dark, he seemed like he stayed up all night and he looked sleepy.

Wen Yifan greeted him and made room for him, “Have a seat.”

Sang Yan didn’t reply, he simply went in.