Chapter 646

The black Toyota Alphard gradually drives away from the bustling Yangcheng CBD.

It passes through several old streets full of the hustle and bustle of life and finally stops outside the gate of Lanxinyuan Residential Quarter.

"Sister Wen Ruan, it—it's here." Zhang Yan's voice carries constraint and shyness.

"Hmm, it looks quite quiet, the environment is not bad." Wen Ruan looks at this residential quarter with a sense of age through the car window.

The two get out of the car and walk into the residential quarter one after the other.

Looking at the mottled walls and the slightly dim stairwell around her, Zhang Yan's heart jumps to her throat once again.

She nervously takes out the key and opens the old anti-theft door.

"That, the home is a bit old, you—please don't mind." She turns sideways, almost not daring to look into Wen Ruan's eyes.

Because of its age, this small house has almost no modern decoration to speak of, more like an old house in the countryside, really not presentable.

And Wen Ruan is a director of Nebula International; one can tell from her dress and appearance that she is a person from another world.

She has never been in contact with same-sex friends of this level, which is why she is so worried.

However, there is not a trace of strange expression on Wen Ruan's face.

Instead, she smiles and looks at this small home that is tidied up in an orderly manner and full of the scent of life.

"It's quite good, a very clean and warm little home."

Zhang Yan finally sighs in relief.

Just at this moment— "Meow—"

A chubby orange cat, like a warm little cannonball, suddenly darts out from the corner of the sofa.

It rubs affectionately against Zhang Yan's trouser leg, a purring sound coming from its throat.

"Oh my, you must be Orange, right?"

Wen Ruan's eyes light up instantly; she squats down immediately, touches its fur, and a look of undisguised love appears on her face.

She had heard Tang Song mention before that Zhang Yan keeps an orange cat that is especially cute and especially able to eat.

"Hello there, little guy, I'm Wen Ruan."

As she says this, she carefully picks up the cat.

Orange rubs against her palm without any sense of being a stranger.

"Oh my, so well-behaved." Wen Ruan is completely melted by its cuteness; she looks up at Zhang Yan, her eyebrows curved: "To tell you the truth, I also keep a cat, a Ragdoll, named Snowball, who is incredibly clingy. If there's a chance another day, let them get to know each other."

"Hmm!" Zhang Yan's heart is completely put at ease, and a happy smile appears on her face: "Sister Wen Ruan, you sit in the living room for a while,

I'll go cook."

"Okay, thanks for your hard work, I'll play with Orange for a while."

Zhang Yan nods, puts down her backpack, and walks quickly into the kitchen.

Wen Ruan pulls up a small stool and sits at the kitchen door.

While petting the cat, she chats with Zhang Yan through the door.

From the cat's eating habits, to the recent hit dramas, and then to some interesting news in the company.

The sound of the spatula hitting the iron wok, accompanied by the humming of the range hood, weaves into a long-lost scent of life.

Dinner is soon served on the table.

Stir-fried kale, steamed eggplant, pork ribs with dried tangerine peel, and fragrant rice.

Wen Ruan picks up her chopsticks and tastes a piece of rib, her eyes narrowing instantly.

She praises it endlessly: "Wow! This taste is too authentic! Yanyan, your cooking is too good!"

Being praised like this, Zhang Yan blushes.

The two sit around the small coffee table, eating and chatting.

Orange lies quietly at their feet, occasionally letting out a few "meows."

The atmosphere is warm and natural.

In the time it takes to eat a meal, the relationship between the two seems to have been completely opened up by the rising heat.

Zhang Yan has a shy smile on her face, and she gradually talks more.

She even starts to confide in Wen Ruan about her past unlucky work experiences.

After the meal, Wen Ruan walks into Zhang Yan's bedroom to look around simply.

Although the room is old, it is clean and tidy, and everything has been carefully placed.

Her gaze is soon attracted by a photo frame on the desk.

She walks forward and picks up the photo frame.

In the photo, Zhang Yan is wearing a light and elegant Hanfu, holding a round fan, standing in a classical garden with an antique charm.

Her temperament is gentle, her eyebrows are like a painting, like a lady who walked out of ancient poetry.

Compared to her wearing modern attire, it's like she's a different person.

"This photo is taken so beautifully." Wen Ruan praises sincerely: "Where was this taken?"

"It—it was at 'Yuyin Mountain Villa,' it's a classical garden from the Qing Dynasty, very beautiful." Zhang Yan answers somewhat embarrassedly.

This photo was a gift from the place where they rented Hanfu when she went to play with Lulu a while ago.

She only mustered the courage to put it out these past few days.

"Is that so?" Wen Ruan's eyes turn, and she pulls Zhang Yan's hand: "You've been quite tired recently, everything is fine with Auntie now,

you should also relax. How about we go again together tomorrow? To tell you the truth, Sister also wants to take a set of photos like this."

"Ah? O—okay!" Zhang Yan nods and agrees immediately.

Then she looks at Wen Ruan's explosive body curves beside her.

She thinks secretly that with Wen Ruan's body proportions,

after putting on this kind of Hanfu, it will definitely be very exaggerated.

After nine o'clock in the evening, the night is already deep.

The street outside Lanxinyuan Residential Quarter is quiet.

The neon lights in the distance reflect on the gray and old walls, and occasionally the shouting of small vendors closing their stalls comes through.

Zhang Yan sends Wen Ruan to the gate of the residential quarter, and the two stand side by side in the cold moonlight.

The night wind blows, carrying a trace of early winter chill, blowing their hair tips.

"Alright, my car is here, that's it for today, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Sister Wen Ruan—thank you."

"Why thank me?"

Zhang Yan blushes and says: "After chatting with you for so long, I feel much better."

On the first day of officially integrating into the work process, her heart was full of enormous pressure.

Plus, she has always been worried about her mother, making it hard to truly relax.

And today, Sister Wen Ruan's arrival, accompanying her to chat, sharing joy and concern, made her whole person relax.

"Hehe." Wen Ruan smiles, takes the initiative to open her arms, and gives her a warm and firm hug.

She lets go and looks at Zhang Yan's eyes, which appear exceptionally clear in the moonlight.

She suddenly asks: "Yanyan, let me ask you one more thing. You and Tang Song, what exactly is your relationship now?"

Hearing this question, Zhang Yan's eyes tremble violently, and her fair face turns red instantly.

"It's—I" She lowers her head, her gaze landing on her toes, stammering, unable to say a word.

That night before parting in Yangcheng last time.

She mustered the greatest courage of her life to confess to him, and he also responded that he liked her.

According to normal logic, they should—be considered boyfriend and girlfriend now.

But how can the reality of the situation be summarized by "normal logic"?

Liu Qingning's existence is like a mountain pressing on her heart, making her almost unable to lift her head.

Not to mention that she is actually completely blank about Tang Song's true state now.

In his complex life, she is just a corner that has been accommodated.

She looks up, secretly glancing at the charming and charismatic Wen Ruan in the night, her gaze dimming.

She is not a fool.

From Wen Ruan's attitude toward her, and the trust Tang Song has in Wen Ruan without any defense, she can clearly feel it.

Their relationship is far more intimate than "good friends."

As for whether it is the kind of relationship she thinks, she doesn't dare to ask, nor does she dare to think deeply.

Because one Liu Qingning is already making her almost unable to breathe.

"Alright, I think I know the answer." Wen Ruan, like a real sister, rubs her head and smiles: "This guy Tang Song, hmm—although he has quite a few shortcomings in relationships, he is indeed a good man, and he values relationships very much."

After saying this, she waves at Zhang Yan, turns around, and sits in the back row of the Alphard.

The black car window rises slowly, cutting off Zhang Yan's line of sight.

The car drives away steadily.

Inside the car.

The smile on Wen Ruan's face gradually fades, and she sighs.

Tang Song arranged for Zhang Yan to enter Nebula International and also asked her to take the initiative to contact her.

Naturally, it is to let her, this "person who has been through it," do psychological construction and ideological counseling for this simple little white rabbit.

In short, she is here to take the blame.

Some things have to be said sooner or later, and her own situation is awkward now, so it's better to let Zhang Yan understand the situation she is about to face sooner.

Beicheng Garden Residential Quarter.

The lights in the bedroom are bright and warm.

Yao Lingling is wearing a white camisole and gray-blue pajama pants, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

In front of her is the "battle robe" she carefully selected for tomorrow's date, as well as various personal items that need to be carried, covering half the bed.

"Amitabha, God bless—"

She puts her hands together, mutters to the ceiling for a few sentences, and then picks up her phone for the Nth time.

On the screen is the chat interface with Tang Song.

Her fingers hover over the input box for a long time, hesitating again and again, but in the end, she still doesn't dare to say the plan of "soaking in the hot spring together."

Logically speaking, she is going to spend the night at a resort in the suburbs tomorrow.

She should have told the other party in advance so he could bring some clothes to change into or something.

But the problem is, this dating plan is truly too shameful!

After all, taking the initiative to invite a boy to soak in a private hot spring and stay in a hotel, no matter how you look at it, it seems a bit like a "pervert."

However—tomorrow, he will be my "boyfriend"!

If they are boyfriend and girlfriend, then this invitation is very reasonable.

She tries hard to convince herself.

Senior shouldn't be angry; when the time comes, for the sake of being a "temporary girlfriend," if I am a little willful, he will definitely accept it.

Yeah! Right! Just like that!

Anyway, she knows Senior's body measurements and has made clothes for him before, so she can just go to the mall later and prepare swimming trunks and clothes for him to change into.

Other daily necessities are definitely available in the hotel suite.

Then, she thinks of Senior's perfect body.

She only touched him through his clothes when measuring his size and has never seen Senior's naked appearance.

If he changes into swimming trunks tomorrow, that scene will be simply— "Ah ah ah—"

Yao Lingling buries her head in the pillow, her heart jumping wildly. Actually, her original wish was just to go on a date, hold hands, hug, or something.

It was only later that she discovered Senior is actually a "sea king," and her courage grew unconsciously.

After all, the other party didn't just have one girlfriend to begin with.

If she is a little out of line, it shouldn't matter, right?

Just as she is letting her imagination run wild.

"Ding-a-ling—"

The phone rings; it's her mom calling. "Hello, Mom."

"Lingling, you're back at your place, right? Are you busy with work? Are you used to living in the new house?" From the other end of the phone comes her mom's familiar voice of concern.

"Everything is quite good, don't you worry."

The two chat about family matters for a while.

Yao Lingling suddenly remembers something and says: "By the way, I'm not going home this weekend, I'll go back next week."

"Ah?" Her mom says somewhat embarrassedly: "Then what about your Sister Rourou's matter..."

Yao Lingling says indifferently: "Oh, you guys just go, I'm just a transparent person, it's the same whether I go or not."

"How is that the same? My daughter is now a well-known designer, your mom has already bragged about it to the relatives, and I was thinking of showing off a bit."

"Mom, you really have a young heart, what's there to show off."

"You don't know, your Uncle has been so arrogant recently, my daughter finally made something of herself, you won't let me be proud?"

Yao Lingling laughs twice and starts joking with her mom.

Her cousin Yao Rourou is considered the most successful in their Yao family generation; after graduation, she passed the exam into a provincial-level institution, glorious and infinite.

A while ago, she got a new boyfriend, heard he is a deputy section-level cadre in the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, not even thirty years old, a super "potential stock."

Uncle Yao Guanying's family has been developing quite well, and they like to show off among relatives daily; now they are even more proud.

This weekend they said they would have a meal together and let the relatives see Rourou's "son-in-law."

To put it bluntly, they just want to show off.

She didn't want to attend such occasions to begin with, and now that her dating plan has changed, naturally, it's even more impossible for her to go back.

It's her parents who are so attentive; it's obvious they think Su Yu wearing the windbreaker she designed is something to brag about, and they've already posted several times on WeChat Moments today. "By the way, Lingling, it's getting colder and colder, you can't always ride that motorcycle of yours everywhere, right? It's so unsafe. You should buy a car. Your dad and I discussed it, we can give you 100,000 for the down payment, you just choose one."

"Wow?! So generous? Is this still my stingy mother?"

"Go away, when have I ever been stingy! Your salary has risen so much now, if you buy one, buy a better one, it can't be less than 300,000!"

"Okay! With these words, I can choose boldly."

Mother and daughter chat happily for a while, the atmosphere very cheerful.

After hanging up the phone, Yao Lingling leans against the head of the bed and starts thinking seriously.

She is now the chief designer of 【He Yi】, and with the phenomenal explosion of the windbreaker, her income has skyrocketed.

There will be a steady stream of sales commissions later.

Buying a luxury car worth 300,000 or 400,000 is indeed no longer an unreachable dream for her today.

And she also knows that the reason her mother is suddenly so "generous" is that she is hiding a spirit of longing to hold her head high after being suppressed for many years.

Her mom is 42 years old this year, a true post-80s generation.

She was very fashionable when she was young and had always been doing clothing business.

It's just that she didn't have the brains for business and lost a lot of money, later just settling for opening a tailor shop in the residential area.

Because of these failed experiences, she has often been made a joke by relatives behind her back over the years.

Her mom doesn't say it, but that spirit of not admitting defeat has always been in her heart.

Now that she has some achievements here.

Her mom's heart, which has been silent for a long time, naturally becomes active again.

She let her buy a luxury car, which is just wanting to find back some lost "face."

However, these are not important.

What's important is tomorrow's date.

She picks up the bikini she bought to collect design inspiration.

The upper body is a gathered style, and it even has thick chest pads, but even so, it still can't cover her biggest shortcoming—her A-cup, funny, funny.

She holds it in front of herself and can't help but sigh.

Then, Yao Lingling stands up and does a few hip-lifting movements in the bedroom.

Then she runs to the living room and comes to the full-length mirror in the corner.

She turns around slowly and casts her gaze on her own back in the mirror.

In an instant, all the lack of confidence vanishes.

Because of long-term targeted training on her buttocks, plus her natural talent, her waist-to-hip ratio is extremely exaggerated.

Just like what netizens say, the waist-to-hip ratio is also a deadly weapon that can attract boys!

Although my chest "doesn't have much material," my butt is big!

Wearing a bikini, it might look plain from the front, but from the back—that is definitely a scene that can make Senior unable to look away.

After all, last time in the office, he couldn't help but pat it...

Yao Lingling thinks of this and can't help but imitate Tang Song's style from last time, trying to pat it herself.

"Pat pat pat~"

The crisp sound, carrying a strange feeling, echoes in the quiet living room.

Her cheeks instantly become red and hot.

Tomorrow is the time for the decisive battle!

November 25, 2023, Saturday, -6~3°C.

5:30 AM.

Her biological clock wakes Tang Song up on time.

Outside the window, it is still the silent ink color, and the room is as warm as spring.

The fresh breath of waking up makes his whole body full of a vigorous spirit.

He walks to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The curtains slide open to both sides without a sound.

Tang Song's breathing pauses imperceptibly.

Outside the window, he doesn't know when fine, fragmented snowflakes started drifting down.

The dense snow velvet, like shredded willow catkins, is swept by the cold wind from the high-rise buildings under the gray-white sky, falling quietly and fluttering.

On the street, the orange streetlights illuminate the snowflakes, like countless dancing fireflies.

The whole city becomes hazy and gentle in the drifting snow.

The first snow of Yancheng has arrived.

A subtle emotion surges in Tang Song's heart.

He comes to the corner, takes the drawing board and pencil, and leans against the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Swoosh swoosh swoosh—"

The pen tip slides on the paper, making a fine and rhythmic sound.

His wrist moves lightly, and between his slender fingers, precise and smooth lines are constantly outlined.

The outline of the high-rise buildings, the halo of the streetlights, the falling snowflakes—ten minutes later, a snow scene sketch full of light and shadow details is completed.

Tang Song appreciates it quietly for a moment, then seems to think of something, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

He takes out his phone and aims the camera at the sketch he just finished.

He clicks record.

He reaches out and gently pinches a corner of the drawing paper.

His wrist shakes lightly, and the drawing paper shakes with it. Then, he raises the camera again, aiming at the night view of the drifting snow outside the window.

He carefully adjusts the focus and exposure, letting the halo of the streetlights in the distance and the snowflakes falling nearby present a dreamy and beautiful texture.

After doing all this, Tang Song stands up and walks into the study.

He imports the two videos he just shot into the editing software on his computer.

His fingers jump quickly on the keyboard and mouse.

The city outside the window gradually wakes up.

Half an hour later.

Preview the video.

The screen starts with a quiet black-and-white snow scene sketch, and with the shaking of the "drawing hand" with distinct joints, the whole drawing paper seems to turn into flowing ripples.

Accompanied by rhythmic music.

The screen switches seamlessly to the city dawn where snow is drifting quietly outside the window.

Romantic and beautiful.

It seems the world in the painting has come alive at his fingertips.

After appreciating it several times, a brilliant smile appears on Tang Song's face.

He transfers the video to his phone, opens TikTok, and clicks upload.

He adds the caption: 【I want to watch the snow with you this winter, not just this year, not just this winter, not just watching the snow.】

Click publish.

Done in one go.

"Ding-dong—" A WeChat notification sound rings out immediately.

A new message pops up.

【Lingling: "(。>V..."】