Chapter 18

Wen Xihan’s rejection was entirely expected by Ruan Xinyi. Although she had mentally prepared herself, the ache in her chest still spread uncontrollably.

"Wen Xihan." For the first time, Ruan Xinyi called her by her full name.

Wen Xihan was slightly taken aback, her brows furrowing in confusion as she looked at Ruan Xinyi.

Seizing the moment of distraction, Ruan Xinyi swiftly placed a soft candy in Wen Xihan’s hand. With a slight arch of her brow, she said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "This candy tastes pretty good."

Wen Xihan pressed her lips together, intending to return the candy to Ruan Xinyi.

Anticipating her move, Ruan Xinyi turned her wrist to avoid her. Noticing Wen Xihan’s determination to return the candy, she decisively grabbed her hand, halting her in her tracks.

"Ruan Xinyi!" Wen Xihan was slightly annoyed. She struggled twice but couldn’t break free. Instead, Ruan Xinyi’s grip tightened. Embarrassed and exasperated, she demanded, "Let go of me!"

Ruan Xinyi eased her grip slightly, fearing that if she released her completely, Wen Xihan would return the candy immediately. She decided to bargain. "I’ll let go, but only if you promise to accept the candy."

"..." Wen Xihan’s brow twitched as she coldly reminded her, "This is the office."

The moment she said that, Ruan Xinyi abruptly let go and stepped back, putting some distance between them.

Just as Wen Xihan thought she had finally grasped the boundaries of workplace decorum, Ruan Xinyi threw her a curveball: "So, are you saying that it’s okay after work or outside the office?"

Wen Xihan: "???"

Feigning an epiphany, Ruan Xinyi replied, "Got it, I’ll keep work and personal matters perfectly separate. I promise not to cause you any trouble!"

Wen Xihan: "???" What kind of logic was that?

Wen Xihan was thrown off by Ruan Xinyi’s eccentric thinking. When she finally processed what had happened, her face turned slightly blue.

Her good upbringing prevented her from uttering a single curse word. Faced with Ruan Xinyi’s shameless persistence, Wen Xihan held back for a long time before finally saying, "Ruan Xinyi, there’s no way we could ever..."

For a split second, the smile on Ruan Xinyi’s face stiffened. She lowered her gaze, her expression neutral, and said calmly, "So, you won’t even give me a chance?"

"This isn’t about chances," Wen Xihan’s tone carried a mix of visible impatience and subtle hesitation.

When it came to someone as soft as Ruan Xinyi, she had a fatal weakness: she couldn’t be harsh.

"Then what is it?" Ruan Xinyi found Wen Xihan’s answer too perfunctory. Glancing at the slightly ajar breakroom door, she lowered her voice and pressed on, "Is it a matter of principle?"

Even Ruan Xinyi herself didn’t believe that.

If this was about principles, then what about that night? Were those principles out of bounds?

Detecting the sarcasm in Ruan Xinyi’s words, Wen Xihan furrowed her brows tightly, her lips forming a straight line.

"How would you know unless you tried?" Ruan Xinyi leaned closer, deliberately brushing Wen Xihan’s hair aside and blowing softly near her ear. "After all, that night, your body didn’t seem to think so..."

Wen Xihan’s face turned from blue to black and then to a faint shade of pink, like a perfectly ripened peach—sweet, juicy, and exuding an irresistible fragrance.

"Ruan Xinyi!" Unfortunately, her rebuke carried no weight in Ruan Xinyi’s ears.

"You’re not allowed to mention that night again!" Wen Xihan’s words sounded more like a soft plea. If only her expression weren’t so frosty, it might have been more convincing.

Wen Xihan shot a cold glance at Ruan Xinyi.

Ruan Xinyi coughed twice, immediately straightened her posture, and mimed zipping her lips. "Alright, I promise I won’t tell anyone except you."

"..." Wen Xihan was at a loss for words again. At this moment, she had no desire to engage with this shameless, overly persistent Ruan Xinyi.

And to think Qi Jingning had warned her. She had said that Ruan Xinyi’s free-spirited soul, once unleashed, was utterly uncontrollable.

Wait, if that was true, wasn’t the catalyst... her?

---

Unwilling to deal with Ruan Xinyi any longer, Wen Xihan picked up her teacup in a huff and returned to her office, completely forgetting to return the candy.

Back at her desk, Wen Xihan frowned at the strawberry-flavored candy in her hand. Her slender fingers slowly tightened, and the candy’s plastic wrapper crinkled noisily, the sound grating to her ears.

Two seconds later, Wen Xihan decided she didn’t want to see it anymore. She opened the drawer under her desk and tossed the candy inside.

But as she was closing the drawer, she suddenly hesitated. Halfway through, she reopened it, tapped her fingers on the edge of the drawer, and retrieved a small jar of rock sugar from the back.

Dropping two pieces of rock sugar into her honeysuckle tea, she placed the jar back in the drawer and closed it.

As the rock sugar dissolved in the hot tea, the sweetness gradually infused the entire cup.

With Wen Xihan gone, the breakroom returned to its previous silence.

Ruan Xinyi poured herself a cup of warm water and settled back into the single-seater sofa. Crossing her legs, she stared out the floor-to-ceiling window, lost in thought.

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully.

Since Wen Xihan didn’t deliberately assign her any tasks, Ruan Xinyi had a relatively relaxed afternoon and clocked out right on time after finishing her work.

On her way back to her apartment, she passed by a flower shop. On a whim, she decided to buy some flowers to decorate her living room. Ignoring the hassle of navigating rush hour traffic, she turned her car around and parked in front of the shop.

A wind chime above the entrance jingled crisply as she walked in.

The shop owner, arranging flowers, looked up at the sound of the chime. In a gentle and soothing voice, she asked, "Hello, what can I get for you?"

Ruan Xinyi glanced around before her gaze settled on a pot of red spider lilies with only one bloom. "How much for that one?"

The shop owner removed her gloves and shook her head apologetically. "I’m sorry, that pot isn’t for sale."

"I see..." Ruan Xinyi sounded disappointed. She looked at it a few more times, reluctant to tear her gaze away. To be honest, she had noticed the spider lily the moment she entered.

"I planted that one myself," the shop owner explained with a smile. "Watching it sprout, grow, and bloom... I’ve become too attached to let it go."

"If you like, I can give you some bulbs to grow your own."

"Thank you," Ruan Xinyi said graciously.

The shop owner smiled, carefully digging out two sprouting bulbs along with some nutrient-rich soil. She handed them to Ruan Xinyi while explaining how to care for them.

Ruan Xinyi listened attentively, thanked her again, and, at the shop owner’s recommendation, bought a bouquet of eustoma flowers for her vase and a pot of clematis for her balcony.

After paying, the shop owner thoughtfully wrapped the pot with protective foam paper and added two small packets of fertilizer as a gift.

"Thank you."

"Please visit again," the shop owner replied warmly.

The detour to the flower shop cost her half an hour, putting her right into the worst of the rush-hour traffic. The car moved at a snail’s pace, inching forward and stopping frequently.

Feeling bored, Ruan Xinyi tapped the car’s touchscreen and played some music.

Cars on the three main lanes moved at different speeds. Some drivers, impatient with waiting, switched to the faster lanes, cutting others off.

Ruan Xinyi didn’t mind. Since she wasn’t in a hurry, she stayed in her lane. If someone wanted to cut in, she let them, following her principle of accommodating others when possible.

After a few minutes of slow movement, Ruan Xinyi changed the music track. She fished through her pocket and found her last piece of chewing gum.

As she unwrapped the gum and started chewing, she noticed the white car in the adjacent lane signaling to merge in front of her. Instead of moving forward, she let the car merge.

But soon after, traffic in the adjacent lane sped up while her lane slowed down. The white car, unlucky in its timing, tried to cut back into its original lane but was blocked by other drivers. After a few failed attempts, and a warning honk from a black SUV, it stayed put.

Ruan Xinyi rolled her window down slightly, glancing at the clear reflection in her side mirror. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed a silver-gray Mercedes behind her. Why did it look so familiar?

"Beep beep—"

The sudden honk of a horn interrupted her thoughts.

It was the Mercedes.

The car in front of her had moved forward, leaving a gap. The adjacent lane was teeming with cars eager to cut in, so she stepped lightly on the accelerator, closing the gap without giving the other car a chance to merge.

Unbeknownst to her, Wen Xihan, in the Mercedes, let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief.

Wen Xihan had subconsciously assumed that the driver of the car—a Volkswagen Phaeton—must be a middle-aged, successful man. She believed no one could remain so patient, repeatedly allowing cars to cut in during such heavy traffic. But this driver’s behavior defied her assumptions.

Without that horn earlier, Wen Xihan was certain the Phaeton would’ve let another car cut in.

Once the worst of the traffic cleared, the pace picked up. Although still somewhat slow, the cars moved steadily.

Maintaining a safe following distance, Wen Xihan followed the Phaeton all the way back to the same apartment complex.

After the Phaeton parked, Wen Xihan drove a bit further, carefully maneuvering into a parking space.

As she glanced at the reversing camera on her dashboard, her eyes inadvertently drifted upward. A slender, shapely leg stepped out of the Phaeton across from her.

"Beep beep beep—"

The reverse camera’s proximity alert entered the red zone.

Wen Xihan pressed the brake pedal, stopping the car. Frowning, her gaze traveled upward from the long leg until it landed on a face she knew all too well—one she’d recognize even in a pile of ashes.

Wen Xihan: "???" How could it be her?!

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