Chapter 580: Orange! Tangerine!

Li Wan District, Lanxin Garden Community.

In the modest living room of the rental apartment, the glow of the fluorescent lamp enveloped the slender figure seated before the desk.

"Squeak—"

Watching the green bubble on her phone screen signaling "sent successfully," Zhang Yan felt as if all her strength had been drained; she collapsed heavily back into her chair.

"Huff—huff—"

She gasped for air, and only now did her long-suppressed heart begin to pound like a drum.

I sent it. I really sent it.

Since university, that impulse, which had lingered in her heart and been rehearsed countless nights and days, had finally become reality.

In the past, even dreaming of this moment would jolt her awake with unbearable shame.

Now, she had actually done it.

Did he see it? Would he find it bizarre? Would it trouble him?

A wave of belated panic surged over her.

Zhang Yan buried her burning cheeks deep into her palms, murmuring unconsciously:

"Tang Song…"

"I'm sorry! I'm wrong!"

She had always known that to Tang Song, she was merely an inconspicuous classmate from junior high.

Her faint shadow had long since faded entirely from his memory, eroded by time.

She had understood this clearly six years ago.

After she had poured all her effort into retaking a year of school and finally gained admission to Yancheng Agricultural University.

She had mustered the courage to enter Yan Science University, waiting for an hour at the entrance of the Computer Science building until she saw him again.

They passed each other face to face; he walked calmly past her without a single pause, not recognizing her at all.

Later, she grew accustomed to watching him from afar—in the library, the cafeteria, the corners of self-study rooms.

She finally realized that the sunny, energetic boy from her memories had become quiet, reserved, and extraordinarily hardworking.

Through school events, she had proactively added a friend of Tang Song's from his Computer Science class.

According to that girl, Tang Song was the "top student" in their class, spending all his time studying or working part-time, often taking leave.

He rarely went home during summer or winter breaks.

He no longer read manga, rarely played basketball—he seemed like an entirely different person.

She thought it was probably because a girl named Liu Liu Liu Qingning had disappeared from his life.

Liu Liu Liu Qingning—what a brilliant, unattainable name!

Since the first joint exam in high school, that name had never dropped out of the county's top three in science.

And she was so beautiful, like a delicate, fragile porcelain doll; even sitting in the obscure corner of No. 2 High School,

her radiance would blind those who gazed upon her.

And she knew that Tang Song had loved Liu Liu Liu Qingning.

Unfortunately, Liu Liu Liu Qingning was too outstanding—she had been admitted to Peking University as the county's top science student.

She understood Tang Song's feeling perfectly—the helplessness of chasing something just out of reach—just like herself.

Finally, on a certain afternoon in 2018, she had bought stationery printed with "Yancheng Agricultural University" and intended to write him an encouraging letter, slipping it to him secretly.

But she wrote it, deleted it, rewrote it, and ultimately never sent it.

Instead, she had sent him unseen messages on her habitual QQ account.

University passed quietly, amid longing, anguish, distant observation, and self-growth.

She joined the literature club and made some new friends.

Because of "his name," she began studying poetry and culture from the Tang and Song dynasties; she learned calligraphy and memorized countless Tang and Song poems.

Then came 2019.

Shortly after entering her third year, she learned that Tang Song had moved to the capital for an internship.

Word had it he joined a rapidly growing unicorn tech company—extremely impressive.

She genuinely rejoiced for him, because now he could finally meet his moon in the same city.

Yet within that pure joy, a faint thread of loss had quietly crept in.

Then, during her senior-year internship, she too came to the capital.

After preparing diligently for a long time, she had the fortune to land a decent company.

She saw him again.

He had almost completely forgotten her.

On the crowded Line 5 subway, the most recent time, she sat directly in front of him, their eyes meeting.

At this point, he had grown even quieter, more disheveled, consumed by the complexity of his work.

Only before Liu Liu Liu Qingning did he become lively again.

The once passionate boy seemed to be slowly devoured by the monstrous force called "life."

After being laid off by Gao Si Education, before deciding to leave the capital, she had considered writing something as a final farewell.

But she still lacked the courage.

In the end, she left him a long, heartfelt message on QQ.

After moving to Yangcheng for work, the physical distance grew greater.

Yet that spiritual refuge, intensified by loneliness and bitterness in reality, became stronger than ever.

Her messages grew more frequent, gradually turning into a weekly "tree hole" sharing.

She poured out her heart, her work frustrations, her life's burdens.

Occasionally, like an old friend, she wished him well.

Until one day, by chance, she saw a news post on a former colleague's social media about "Century Century Zhixue" launching a new-generation personalized learning system.

The article mentioned the familiar name "Liu Liu Liu Qingning."

Only then did she learn that Liu Liu Liu Qingning lived not far away, in Raffles Shenzhen.

And she had already built such a dazzling career.

Then, she began inquiring about Tang Song's whereabouts.

She learned he had left Meigou Technology and returned to Yancheng.

South and north, pursuit and abandonment—she instantly empathized with Tang Song's feelings.

She mustered courage once more, wanting to contact him, encourage him, comfort him.

But in the end, she retreated.

She was introverted, insecure, and accustomed to silently watching—she was an inconspicuous person.

She didn't know what identity to use to reach out to him, or even how to address him.

After all these years, in his mind, they were probably already strangers.

Until that day, in a corner of a secondhand bookstore in Yangcheng, a glimpse of "Dragon Ball" instantly stirred all her memories.

She picked it up—it was Volume 16, the one she had lost in 2012, the 2009 edition, published by Qiong Island Photography and Art Press.

Everything felt like a destiny-given sign.

She bought that volume, and from that day on, resolved to gradually collect the entire "Dragon Ball" series.

She would complete her own "summon the Dragon Ball" ritual, granting herself the courage to act, and then "make that wish."

To express, in the most subtle, gentle way possible, everything she had wanted to say over the years.

In essence, she simply wanted to tell him:

All these years, someone else had quietly loved him, someone still clearly remembered his youthful appearance.

She hoped he would draw warmth and strength from this letter, and continue to be passionate, brave, and full of light in his eyes.

Of course, at the same time, this was also her farewell to the past.

She was already twenty-six. She feared that if she didn't say these words now, she might never have the chance again.

In the future, she might leave Yangcheng, move to some unknown place, get married, become someone entirely different.

She had to complete her reckoning with "the past version of herself" while she was still "herself."

"Meow~"

A soft cat's meow interrupted her thoughts.

Ju Zi had somehow jumped onto the desk, rubbing her cool arm with her fluffy head.

Zhang Yan slowly came back to herself, reached out, and pulled Ju Zi into her arms, burying her face deep into the warm, soft fur.

"Ju Zi, I miss you so much—"

Sobs rose, hot tears soaking the orange fur.

For her, that distant Tang Song had always been the best friend of her life.

Like that afternoon in junior high, sunlight streaming through the window, illuminating his radiant face as he shared manga with her.

But her friendship was never pure—it was tangled with trembling adolescent longing, and stifled by shame that kept her from approaching.

Just then—

"Bang bang bang!" A sudden knock on the door.

Zhang Yan jolted upright, leaping from her chair.

She frantically wiped her tears with the back of her hand, forcing her voice to sound normal: "Who—who is it?"

"It's me!" A familiar voice came from outside the door.

Zhang Yan quickly pulled out a tissue and wiped her face, took several deep breaths, then hurried over and pulled the door open.

Immediately, a man and a woman appeared at the threshold.

Standing beside Lu Lu was their former colleague Li Chao, the friend who had once helped her replace the hallway lightbulb.

Li Chao held a slightly worn electric grill, while Lu Lu carried several heavy shopping bags.

"Surprise! Hehe." Lu Lu barged in without hesitation, dumped the bags onto the table, and declared with grandeur, "It's Friday! And my fund made money! We've got to eat something great and drink to celebrate!"

Li Chao grinned and waved the grill in his hand: "I brought everything. Tonight's barbecue is paid for by our rich friend Lu Lu."

Looking at this scene, at Lu Lu's forced casual smile, Zhang Yan bit her lip and said nothing.

"Hurry up, don't just stand there!" Lu Lu shoved her gently, opened the bags, "You wash the vegetables, Li Chao and I will handle the rest!"

The shopping bags were packed full of ingredients.

Marinated chicken wings, beef slices, large prawns, green peppers, enoki mushrooms, and even a few bottles of RI0 cocktails.

Zhang Yan nodded numbly.

Lu Lu swiftly pushed open the window; the evening breeze carried the chill of late autumn inside.

The three of them bustled about in the small space—the sounds of washing vegetables, slicing meat, and Lu Lu's laughter as she directed Li Chao intertwined.

Instantly, the once-silent rental apartment filled with warmth and the authentic scent of home-cooked meals.

Four Seasons Hotel.

Outside the window lay the dazzling, bustling night view of Yangcheng, the lights of Zhujiang New Town flowing like a river of stars.

In the private office, silence reigned, broken only by the faint hum of the central air conditioning.

Tang Song stared blankly at his phone screen, his thoughts surging and churning like the river outside.

It turned out that months ago, the person who had voluntarily added him on WeChat—"Breathing in a Smile"—was Zhang Yan.

【I also wish you will always remain as you were in your youth—passionate, brave, with light in your eyes.】

He lowered his head, gazing at the neat handwriting on the letter, his heart tightening as if gripped.

His fingertip slid to the fourth photo.

It was a row of neatly arranged volumes of "Dragon Ball," totaling 34 books.

"2009 edition," Tang Song murmured, his gaze growing distant.

In junior high, he had been obsessed with shonen manga; his greatest dream then was to one day open a manga café.

"Dragon Ball" was his favorite—once he had been utterly obsessed with Super Saiyan Goku, initially borrowing the comics from his classmate Zhang Lei.

Later, he wanted to buy a complete set as a permanent collection.

He remembered that Zhang Yan had once lost one of his most treasured volumes—the 2009 edition of "Dragon Ball" he had struggled to buy.

At the time, she had only kept apologizing, crying silently, unable to explain a single word.

He had been furious then, ignoring his clumsy desk partner for several days.

But teenage anger comes fast and fades quickly.

Soon enough, he had forgotten the whole thing.

He never imagined that his desk partner still remembered—and had bought a whole new set.

Tang Song slowly closed his eyes.

Those fragments—pieced together bit by bit, awakened by the 【Memory's Light Feather】, and previously ignored by himself—

At this moment, were fully linked and reactivated by this letter.

Zhang Yan's figure emerged in his mind with unprecedented clarity, slowly taking shape.

In junior high, high school, university, and even in his Imperial Capital dream state, he was in an extremely unusual condition—his subconscious deliberately ignored many things to avoid emotional dominance and information overload.

Among them, Zhang Yan was one of the overlooked details.

Yet throughout his youth, she had paid attention to him in this very way.

An indescribable emotion surged through his chest.

When he opened his eyes again, a moist sheen had stained his pupils.

"Thump. Thump. Thump—"

The sound of his heartbeat echoed in his ears, startlingly clear.

The passion and impulsiveness of his youth seemed reignited at this very moment by this letter.

"Whoosh!"

He leapt to his feet, his gaze piercing through the floor-to-ceiling window into the deep night.

The thought of Zhang Yan in Yangcheng sprouted wildly in his mind, clamoring.

He wanted to see her immediately.

He wanted to take that letter in his own hands, to receive the complete manga set himself.

He wanted to talk to her, to tell her he had never forgotten her.

"Tap-tap-tap—" Footsteps sounded.

Wen Wen Ruan, who had been chatting with her best friend, lifted her head in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"I have an urgent matter to attend to. I need to go out."

Seeing his expression, Wen Wen Ruan said nothing more, softly replying, "Go. Be careful."

Tang Song nodded, slipped on his leather shoes, and strode out.

On the electric grill, beef slices sizzled under high heat, curling at the edges into golden-brown crispness, releasing a mouthwatering aroma mingled with the sweet freshness of green peppers.

In the small rental apartment, the lively atmosphere and the scent of food mingled and spread.

The three sat around the coffee table.

Ju Zi lazily curled at Zhang Yan's feet, occasionally receiving a small piece of cooked meat without dipping sauce.

"Come on, come on, cheers!" Lu Lu raised her RI0 cocktail high, her cheeks flushed with excitement, "To our invincible friendship—and to our damn, shitty workplace lives!"

"Cheers!" Li Chao responded heartily, clinking his glass bottle hard.

Zhang Yan lifted her bottle too, the cold liquid sliding down her throat.

She couldn't help glancing again at her phone screen—still no message.

A quiet unease stirred inside her.

Had Tang Song even seen it? Or had he just dismissed it as a silly prank?

Had she already been deleted as a friend?

Lu Lu deftly flipped the prawns on the grill and shot Li Chao a subtle glance.

Li Chao immediately understood, put down his chopsticks, cleared his throat, and said, "Zhang Yan, I heard from Lu Lu—you stood up to that fat bastard in front of the whole office today. That was awesome!"

Lu Lu chimed in, "Exactly! That white fatty turned green!"

"I—" Zhang Yan opened her mouth to speak, but finally just lowered her head.

She had indeed acted impulsively.

She knew that openly defying her boss under the company's current conditions meant she'd be the first to be "let go."

She might even be forced into resignation through various means, losing even her severance pay.

Li Chao slammed the table. "That kind of idiot boss deserves it! All he does is PUA employees—I'll tell you, my current company's boss is a total old dog." He began vividly recounting his own "tragic experiences," mimicking his boss's oily tone and denouncing unreasonable overtime policies, making the two laugh.

The atmosphere grew lighter and more relaxed through complaints and venting.

After a while, Li Chao shifted tone, becoming serious: "But seriously, Zhang Yan, don't worry too much. Work is just like this. And Shucheng Tech is just a small company with no real future. Leaving there might actually open the door to a big enterprise. Look at Lu Lu—she's already interviewed at Star Cloud International Group. So cool."

Lu Lu's expression paused, then a flicker of barely concealed excitement lit her eyes. "There's something I haven't told you yet."

"What?" Li Chao asked curiously.

"This afternoon, I got a call from Star Cloud International's HR," Lu Lu's voice rose slightly, "I passed my first interview! I'm preparing for the second round next Monday!"

"Whoa! Awesome!" Li Chao's eyes widened.

Zhang Yan's face instantly lit up with pure joy; she raised her bottle. "Congratulations, Lu Lu!"

Lu Lu clinked her bottle against Zhang Yan's, stuck out her tongue, "Honestly, I still have little chance—but just making it to the second round is enough. Pure luck—"

Then Lu Lu began excitedly explaining.

With her education and experience, she had never met Star Cloud's hiring standards.

But coincidentally, Star Cloud's Yangcheng branch was launching a new "AI Marketing" department, and she had recently studied intensively on AI-generated copywriting.

During the interview, she'd stumbled upon the right answers by pure chance—and her performance unexpectedly impressed the interviewer.

"Zhang Yan, you really shouldn't worry."

"Even though the overall environment is bad, there are still new opportunities. You could try applying to Star Cloud International too. If I actually get in by dumb luck, I'll refer you both!"

Lu Lu's words brimmed with warmth and hope, as if trying to uplift her friends through her own optimism.

Li Chao joined in, "Then Li and I are counting on you to pull us up!"

He worked at a media company managing public accounts and naturally admired Star Cloud International, the elder giant of China's media industry.

A warm current surged through Zhang Yan's heart; her eyes began to sting again.

As the conversation deepened, the atmosphere grew even livelier.

Li Chao coughed from the smoke, stood up, and said, "I'll open the door for some ventilation. Otherwise, Zhang Yan won't be able to sleep tonight."

He walked to the door and opened the old security door halfway.

A cool night breeze rushed in, dispelling the stuffiness; all three sighed with relief.

They continued eating and drinking, imagining Lu Lu's bright future in a big company and plotting new career paths for Zhang Yan.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom slowed to a stop before a quiet, old neighborhood filled with everyday life.

The car door opened, and Tang Song stepped out.

He lifted his head, gazing at the residential complex before him named "Lan Xin Zhao Yuan."

The yellowed walls, the slightly peeling stairwell, and the massive banyan tree whose foliage nearly obscured the building—according to the data Zheng Zheng Zheng Qiudong had sent, Zhang Yan's communication address was Unit 3, Building 4, Apartment 602.

Tang Song took a deep breath of the damp, cool air and stepped through the complex's main gate.

The complex was quiet; the dim streetlights glowed silently.

Dressed in a high-end tailored outfit, he stood out oddly against the surroundings.

Nighttime residents passing by turned their gazes toward him.

Tang Song walked slowly along the complex's worn concrete path, his eyes scanning the building numbers.

The distance grew closer; Building 4, Unit 3 lay right before him.

Tang Song stopped, his gaze slowly rising until it settled on the windows of the sixth floor, wondering which one belonged to her.

At this very moment, this friend from Yangcheng, who existed only in Aq comments, was separated from him by just over ten meters.

He picked up his phone, unlocked the screen, opened WeChat, and tapped open the chat window labeled "Breathing in Smiles."

A sense of unprecedented tension suddenly enveloped him.

On the way here, driven by adrenaline, he hadn't overthought it—he'd simply wanted to see her immediately.

But now, at this moment, he didn't know how to face this pure, unblemished emotion.

In fact, if not for Zhang Yan's letter tonight,

he likely would never have disturbed her, instead quietly paving her career path so her life could become smooth and happy.

Tang Song stood beneath the building, silent, hesitant, lost in thought.

Just as his mind grew chaotic,

a plump, orange, petite figure suddenly sprinted out from the unit's entrance.

Tang Song blinked, staring at the cat before him—his mind instantly conjured the gluttonous orange cat from Zhang Yan's writings.

"Orange?" he blurted out, his voice soft.

Yet the orange cat abruptly stopped, turned its head, and fixed him with wide, gleaming eyes full of curiosity.

"Chengzi!"

"Miaow~"

It meowed, then trotted toward him on its tiny legs.

Tang Song's heart was struck by an indescribable emotion, tinged with a surreal, time-bending disorientation.

He slowly crouched down and extended his hand.

Orange, unafraid, pressed her fluffy head against his palm, purring contentedly.

Tang Song gently lifted the heavy cat into his arms.

Apartment 602.

The wine bottles were empty; the grill's ingredients were nearly gone.

Zhang Yan picked up her phone again; the chat window remained silent as ever, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

She wanted to send a message to check if she'd been deleted—but feared seeing the red exclamation mark, which would sever the last faint thread of hope in her heart.

She flipped her phone face-down on the table and absentmindedly brushed her toe against Orange—only to touch the cold leg of the coffee table.

"Orange? Orange~" she whispered, bending down to peer beneath the table—nothing there.

Her calls grew louder.

But there was no reply.

Her heart lurched; she shot to her feet.

She shouted frantically around the room: "Orange! Orange!"

Lu Lu and Li Chao stopped laughing and joined the search.

Under the sofa, beneath the bed, in the kitchen, in the bathroom—this small apartment was turned upside down, yet not a trace of Orange could be found.

"Maybe she ran outside!" Li Chao said, staring at the half-open door, feeling guilty. "Oh damn! It's all my fault! I forgot!"

Lu Lu hurried to comfort her: "Don't worry, Zhang Yan. Orange is so smart and obedient—she's probably just wandering near the stairwell. She won't go far."

"Yeah, yeah, let's go look quickly—she must be in the stairwell!" Li Chao added urgently.

Zhang Yan nodded shakily, abandoning all else, and rushed toward the door.

Because of Tang Song, she'd been distracted tonight and forgotten to watch Orange.

Orange had been a stray cat; though she'd been adopted for a while, she might still be stirred by her wild instincts and run off again.

A wave of intense guilt washed over her.

"Orange! Orange!"

Her cries echoed through the empty stairwell, laced with tears.

The dim motion-sensor lights lit up one by one beneath her footsteps.

Zhang Yan's face grew taut; beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

"The old lady on the first floor of this side always leaves her unit door open for ventilation—Orange might have slipped out!"

Lu Lu comforted her: "Don't worry—we'll split up and search nearby. She just came out a moment ago; she can't have gone far!"

As she spoke,

Zhang Yan had already burst through the unit door.

The cool night breeze brushed her face, clearing her panicked mind slightly.

She stood below the building, gazing helplessly around.

She opened her mouth to call out—but her voice caught in her throat.

Directly opposite the unit entrance, beneath the dim streetlight,

a tall, slender figure stood quietly, cradling a plump orange cat.

The cat was none other than Orange, the one she'd longed for.

The boy—Zhang Yan's breath stopped; her mind went blank.

All surrounding noise and light faded to colorlessness; the world seemed muted.

He wore a crisp white dress shirt and black dress pants, his jawline sharp and defined, nose straight, lips thin, his dark eyes shimmering like ink under the night.

He looked as if he'd stepped straight out of the most beautiful frame in her memories.

Then, under her gaze, he shed all the awkwardness of youth.

He had grown quietly, untouched by the weariness of life, only refined by time into calmness and clarity.

Zhang Yan stood frozen, motionless, as if she'd forgotten to breathe.

Searching for you in dreams, through flying rain and falling petals.

This scene, dreamlike and unreal, blurred the boundary between reality and illusion.