First Frost
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Chapter 54
Sang Yan Always Keeps His Promises
Those words made Wen Yifan instantly recall Sang Yan saying that relatives visited his house last year and that he didn’t return home. Her lips moved, but no words came out for a long time before she eventually said, “I don’t really feel like celebrating. You can just stay with your family.”
“It’s tiring to hang with relatives,” Sang Yan laughed. “Do I look like someone who likes celebrating festivals to you?”
Wen Yifan wasn’t sure what to say, took a bite of the apple and continued watching the movie.
Her attention wasn’t even on the movie.
Wen Yifan didn’t really know what to make up of her emotions when she thought of Zheng Kejia’s messages and how Sang Yan could notice her mood.
Those horrible feelings seem to be replaced by something else.
It wasn’t all that bad either.
It was just a little annoying.
Part of it was due to the nonsense from home.
But more of it was due to Sang Yan and how she herself had been handling the issue.
Even though he knew that she wasn’t going home for Lunar New Year’s, and even though Sang Yan didn’t know the reason, he never probed her for an explanation. Perhaps he was afraid that the topic would upset her and only followed her lead, accompanying her.
She, on the other hand, had always avoided talking about it.
Whenever she came face to face with these incidents, her first reaction was always to avoid it, never wanting to spare any bit of energy on it.
He may want to know, but she didn’t want to talk about it.
So he just acted like he didn’t want to know.
Wen Yifan put her foot down and made her decision. “Sang Yan.”
Sang Yan’s gaze was fixed on the television, but he replied anyway. “Hm?”
“It was Zheng Kejia who was texting me earlier.” Wen Yifan turned to the television, pretending to be normal. “She said my mother asked if I wanted to go back for the new year.”
“…”
“But I’m really not in good terms with my stepfather and the others.” Wen Yifan paused before finishing the rest of her sentence. “Not long after my father passed, my mother remarried.”
Sang Yan immediately turned to her. All signs of his jokes had vanished from his face. “When did this happen?”
Wen Yifan was silent for a few seconds before naturally saying. “The second term during our first year of high school.”
“…”
“It was…” Wen Yifan was finding it difficult to continue. “That time when I was called out by the teacher halfway through our class-“
Her memories from the past resurfaced and she returned to that afternoon of the new term.
Wen Yifan remembered that it was an extremely cold winter morning.
The windows of the classroom were tightly shut and the air was not circulating, but cold air was blowing in from somewhere. Her fingers were frozen and her writing was off because of it.
Wen Yifan listened to their Maths teacher drone on and she felt like nodding off.
Right then, Zhang Wenhong suddenly appeared at the door. She had a phone in her hand and she looked panicked and in a mess. She interrupted her colleague’s class. “Sorry, Teacher Chen.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Something happened,” Zhang Wenhong looked at Wen Yifan and said, “Yifan, come out for a moment.”
For some reason, Wen Yifan’s stomach dropped at Zhang Wenhong’s demeanour. It felt like God presenting a buffer out of mercy to someone before something big happens.
However, she’d thought that it was just a small matter. The worst that could happen was a scolding or perhaps her parents were called over. She’d thought that what would happen next was just the common ‘big event’ that everyone her age would’ve experience at least once.
All her classmates around her instantly turned to her.
Even Sang Yan, who had been lying on the table, straightened up a little.
Wen Yifan immediately stood up in a daze, put down the pen in her hand and walked towards Zhang Wenhong.
As though afraid of agitating her, Zhang Wenhong’s tone was softer than usual and the sympathy in her words were obvious. “Go and pack your things. Your mother just called, saying that she’ll be here to pick you up.”
Wen Yifan was stunned. “What’s wrong?”
“Your father…” Zhang Wenhong forced the words out of her mouth and said, “His condition isn’t great.”
At that moment, Wen Yifan felt like she was in a dream.
There was no reaction. Her mind was blank. Everything was just fantasy and she’d just heard some odd words. She didn’t dare to challenge her form teacher’s words, but she could clearly feel her whole body trembling.
Wen Yifan went back into her classroom with a blank face.
She stood at her seat and pulled out her bag from her desk drawer.
A loud clatter sounded.
Everything in her desk got dragged out with her bag and scattered across the floor.
The Maths teacher stopped again and frowned. “What’s going on?”
Wen Yifan belatedly turned and snapped back to reality. “It’s nothing. I’m sorry.”
Wen Yifan slowly picked up her belongings. Her classmates around her bent down to help her. She softly thanked them and stood back up.
Wen Yifan carried her bag and was about to leave, but she turned to glance at Sang Yan for some reason.
He was still seated in his place with an unreadable expression, his gaze fixed on her.
Their eyes met.
Wen Yifan pursed her lips hard and turned to leave. She had the absence slip that Zhang Wenhong had passed to her in her hand. She quickly rushed to the school gates, Zhang Wenhong’s words from earlier replaying endlessly in her mind.
Your father’s condition isn’t great.
Condition.
Isn’t great.
What does that mean?
Why was her father’s condition not great?
Her father had always been well.
Just recently he even told her, he was going to be home soon.
She passed the absence slip to the school security and left the campus. She grabbed her phone from inside her bag and switched it on before calling her mother.
It took a while before the line connected.
Zhao Yuandong sounded like she was just crying. “Ah Jiang…”
At that point, Wen Yifan finally confirmed Zhang Wenhong’s words. Her mouth moved, but her words were stuck at her throat and nothing came out. She didn’t want to hear the rest of what Zhao Yuandong had to say either.
“I asked your uncle to pick you up, but it would take him a while to go over.” Zhao Yuandong did her best to stabilise her voice. “You should take a taxi to the main city hospital. Your aunt will come down to bring you up.”
Wen Yifan softly replied. “Okay.”
Wen Yifan hung up and walked to the bus station nearby.
Nanwu (I) High was a closed campus and it was located in a remote area which was quite inaccessible. Wen Yifan waited for several minutes but there were no taxis that drove by.
Just then, a public bus happened to arrive and Wen Yifan got on without a second thought.
There wasn’t anyone else there other than the the driver and her. Wen Yifan went to the back row, feeling empty. Her world was crumbling down.
The bus started moving.
But after a few seconds, it braked all of a sudden.
Wen Yifan was seated, but her body lunged forward with the momentum. She looked up to see the front door open and a teenager hopped on before thanking the driver and walked towards her.
Wen Yifan softly asked, “Why did you get out?”
“I suddenly lost the mood for class.” Sang Yan sat next to her and simply said, “Wanted to see how skipping class felt.”
On a normal day, Wen Yifan would probably talk back a little, but right then, she wasn’t in the mood to joke around. She just pursed her lip and looked down.
For some strange reason, her tears came along with his arrival and started welling up in her eyes.
After a few seconds, Sang Yan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Wen Yifan looked at him again and wanted to shake her head, but her tears decided to lose control and rolled down her face.
Drop by drop, it slid down heavily.
Wen Yifan felt embarrassed and immediately turned away. She tried her best to hold back her tears and her whole body began to tremble. She felt like the road out was so long, yet she hoped it would never end.
She couldn’t see Sang Yan’s expression from behind her.
But she just felt like,
the world she was in had completely collapsed then.
However, in the next moment, Wen Yifan’s senses were enveloped by the scent of sandalwood from him. Her body froze and she looked up, but her vision was blocked by his blue and white-striped school jacket. The tears in her eyes were still silently falling.
From the other side of his jacket, she could hear Sang Yan’s voice.
It was so soft that she almost didn’t catch the words or the hint of comfort in them.
“I won’t be able to see it this way.”
Wen Yifan remembered how extremely cold that day was. The weather was gloomy as the sky was covered by a blanket of dense clouds, threatening to crash onto the ground. It was still noon, yet not a ray of sunlight could be seen.
Her gaze was still turned to the window and the teenager’s warm wrapped around her body.
It was the only thing she could feel at that moment.
Wen Yifan stayed in that position. Only after a while did she grab onto the corner of the jacket. She clenched her fist around it before slowly releasing it.
Everything she held back was released together with that motion.
Wen Yifan’s tears flowed out freely and her sniffles came out uncontrollably.
Sang Yan, who was next to her, sat there silently.
The silent company. Only using that as a way to say that, he was next to her.
Before they got to the stop, Wen Yifan forced herself to control her emotions. She rarely cried, but her eyes were quite puffy. She used her sleeves to wipe away her tears and pulled Sang Yan’s jacket off her head and turned to him.
Noticing her movements, Sang Yan glanced over.
They caught each other’s eyes for a brief moment.
Wen Yifan looked away and used her hair to block his gaze.
Silence.
When the bus announced the station, Wen Yifan stood up.
Sang Yan moved to let her leave first. He only followed from behind, not knowing what to say. He was quieter than he ever was.
After getting off the bus, the cold hit them again and surrounding them. Afraid that he would catch a cold, Wen Yifan passed his jacket back to him. Her voice came out very nasally. “It’s very cold. Put it on.”
Sang Yan took it back. “Hm.”
Knowing that he definitely ran out because of her, Wen Yifan sniffled and said, “Go back to school. Don’t skip class. The teacher would get mad. Otherwise, your parents would be called to school again. I’ll just grab a taxi and my mum will pick me up.”
Sang Yan was silent for a few seconds before replying, “Okay.”
After a while, Wen Yifan looked up and said in a serious tone, “Thank you.”
Thank you for accompanying me here.
For giving me the strength to persevere on.
At least it made me feel that the road here, wasn’t that difficult to go through.
The bus line didn’t go directly to the hospital so Wen Yifan could only stop here and get a taxi.
Just then, a taxi drove by and Sang Yan waved it down for her. He turned to her and his voice came out a little deep. “Wen Shuang Jiang, I’m not sure what happened.”
So I don’t know what I should say.
Afraid that he would misspeak and deepen her wounds, afraid that his comfort would have the opposite effect.
And so he’d rather not say anything.
“I’m not someone who’s good with my words.” Sang Yan bent forward and stared at her and earnestly finished, “But whatever happens, I’ll always be here for you.”
During that age when they were young and frivolous, most teens would speak on impulse without putting too much thought into it, and without thinking if they could really fulfil what they’d promised. Just a few more years when they grow up, they’d probably forget all about it, or regard it as a dispensable past that would never be realised.
Even Wen Yifan had thought back then that Sang Yan’s words were just merely to comfort her.
A casual offer of reassurance.
However, after such a long time, Wen Yifan finally realised.
That wasn’t the case.
Sang Yan always keeps his promises.
No matter what the obstacles were, no matter how difficult things were, he would always try his best to make it happen.
Wen Yifan gradually resigned from her thoughts and continued to bite into the apple. She glanced at the man beside her. After hearing her words, his eyes were slightly downcast. From her point of view, his appearance was slightly dark from the lack of lighting.
Afraid that the heavy topic would make him uncomfortable, Wen Yifan added, “It’s already been such a long time.”
Sang Yan tilted his head like he just snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at her.
She blinked. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
He was just relieved.
Relieved that he chose to skip class that day.
He looked down and casually asked, “Did you and your mother move in with your stepdad after that?”
“Yeah, but we weren’t getting along well after that.” Wen Yifan skipped over the details and gave a rough description. “Then I moved to my grandmother’s.”
“Were you treated well?”
Wen Yifan didn’t register what he’d asked. “Ah?”
“Your grandmother,” Sang Yan repeated. “Did she treat you well?”
Wen Yifan was stunned before she laughed. “Quite well. She loved my dad, so she loved me too.”
After she finished, Sang Yan eyed her for a bit before relaxing. “So what’s up with your stepsister?”
“Hm?”
“She was kinda,” Sang Yan snorted, “acting like you guys were close.”
“No. She’s just like that. She’s been spoiled by her father.”
Sang Yan was probably talking about how Zheng Kejia mindlessly pushed the drink to her. Wen Yifan explained, “She’s used to being that way. Everything she owns is the best. She’ll never settle for anything less. Anything that she didn’t like, she’d leave it to those around her to sort it out.
“Just a girl who’s been spoiled her whole life.” Wen Yifan could understand, and her tone of voice was calm and gentle. “Her father loves her a lot, and I’m older than her. I’d usually have to let her have her way.”
“Let her have her way?” Sang Yan laughed. “Where did that rule come from?”
“…”
On that note, she thought of how he treated Sang Zhi.
Before she responded, Sang Yan suddenly leaned back all the way on the sofa. While doing that, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his chest.
Wen Yifan fell onto him.
He then hugged her waist and supported her whole body against his with all his strength. He quietly hugged her without moving after that.
It was quite intimate and sweet.
At the sudden closeness, Wen Yifan became anxious and glanced at him. “What’s wrong?”
Sang Yan was straightforward. “Hug for a bit.”
“…”
“Where did all the food you ate go? Your bones are hurting me.” Sang Yan lightly pinched her arm, feeling like it was an impossible job. “When are you going to gain weight?”
Wen Yifan immediately said, “My friend said I put on weight.”
Sang Yan raised a brow. “Who? Who’s out there trying to belittle you?”
Wen Yifan’s lips stretched out as she laughed uncontrollably. “Is there something wrong with you?”
He wanted her to put on weight.
But when other said she did, he started nitpicking their words.
Sang Yan watched her laugh and briefly raised his brows. “Why’re you attacking me now?”
Wen Yifan was still laughing.
The living room wasn’t all that quiet. Other than their voices, the movie was still running in the background. It was exciting and attractive, but neither of them paid it any mind.
After a while, Sang Yan reached out and touched the corner of her eye and called out, “Wen Shuang Jiang.”
“Hm?”
“Don’t dump all your stepsister’s bullshit and those stupid standards against mine, okay?” Sang Yan’s eyes were dark and he slowly said, “Do you think everything I bought in this house was randomly chosen?”
Wen Yifan paused.
“Everything I picked was for you, but if you don’t like it, just leave it there.” Sang Yan’s tone was calm, but he seemed a little peeved. “Also, what do you mean your stepsister’s just like that.”
“…”
“Just like your eye for choosing your boyfriend,” Sang Yan stared at her and suddenly kissed the side of her lips. He slowly spelled out, “You deserve the best of everything, understand?”
After the movie, they returned to their own rooms.
Wen Yifan tried to think of the movie, but it felt like she barely watched it at all. She couldn’t recall any bit of the story. She suddenly realised that she couldn’t watch movies with him.
As long as he was there.
Her attention would be fully placed on him. Pay attention to the movie would be a hundred times more difficult than usual.
It was like that every time.
Wen Yifan touched her lips. His presence still lingered over her body, like they’d hugged just a second ago. Thinking of how she was practically on his body, her face started heating up again.
She steadied her breath and decided to take a shower to calm herself down.
Entering the bathroom, Wen Yifan took off her clothes and switched on the shower.
Wen Yifan’s thoughts gradually emptied and she recalled Zheng Kejia’s messages.
Only one word stood out to her.
When Zheng Kejia was ranting, she said ‘they’.
It meant that unlike last time, it wasn’t just Che Yanqin who came. Maybe Su Liangxian and Wen Ming, and…
Thinking of this, Wen Yifan recalled the middle-aged man she saw at the hospital in Beiyu.
That was Che Xingde.
Che Yanqin’s younger brother.
Maybe he came along too.
No matter how much she didn’t want to care about these things, every time those people came to mind, her mood would still be affected.
However, mysteriously, when she thought of it now, she only felt calm.
Even if she was affected, it was only just by a little.
It was so brief, she could ignore it.
All her emotions were fully influenced by another person. There was just no more room for anything else.
Wen Yifan suddenly touched the corner of her lips.
As long as he’s there.
All the bad emotions can disappear without a trace.
TL/N : No but, why would you ask your daughter to take a taxi to the hospital on her own like that.
P/S: The story from here on out will slowly start to touch on the past a little more. There will be topics covered which may be uncomfortable for some readers, but I will make sure to put a warning / a note at the start of each chapter these appear (and on the main chapter list page)
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