Lan Yan stared at the man, trying to find some clue. He just paused briefly, then smiled. “Yue Yue mentioned it. She said she was coming with the designer, and the designer’s last name was Lan.”

His tone was calm, his gaze clear. His features were delicate, and he exuded a reassuring aura.

Lan Yan murmured, “Is that so?”

It sounded like she was talking to herself, or perhaps she was about to say something more, but she stopped when she heard Jiang Jin Yue ask, “What are you doing at the door?”

Lan Yan started to say, “With…”

Jiang Jin Yue introduced them. “This is Yu He. Lan Yan, this is the person I mentioned in my message. We were classmates, and she’s an interior designer now.”

There was a hint of a smile in her voice.

Lan Yan’s voice was hoarse. “Mr. Yu.”

Yu He said, “Hello. We’ll be troubling you with our apartment.”

He looked at Jiang Jin Yue. “I’ll go put these things away. What did you buy?”

His tone was familiar, his demeanor natural. Jiang Jin Yue walked over to him. “Look, all these things are for the renovation.”

Yu He smiled. “We haven’t even started yet.”

Jiang Jin Yue said, “Soon.”

Lan Yan stood behind them, listening to their casual conversation, a maelstrom of emotions churning within her. She gripped the strap of her bag tightly, forcing herself not to turn and leave.

Jiang Jin Yue said, “Lan Yan, come in and have a look.”

Lan Yan glanced at her, the corners of her eyes reddening. She didn’t say anything and walked inside.

Jiang Jin Yue said, “This is the living room. I want it to be spacious…”

“Lan Yan, let’s buy a bigger apartment in the future, okay?” Jiang Jin Yue had said. “I want to live with my mom. Do you want to bring your parents over too?”

Lan Yan had replied, “No, I don’t have a good relationship with my parents.”

“It’s alright,” Jiang Jin Yue had said, hugging her. “You’ll have a good relationship with me.”

Her body pressed against Lan Yan’s, weightless, soft, and fragrant. They lay side by side on the bed, gazing at the bright yellow light, imagining their future.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Lan Yan closed her eyes briefly. “It’s a bit warm in here.”

She looked at Yu He. “Mr. Yu, could you please go downstairs and buy us some drinks?”

Yu He smiled. “Sure.”

He didn’t ask about their preferences, just took his wallet and went downstairs. After he left, Lan Yan looked at Jiang Jin Yue. “Any other requirements?”

Jiang Jin Yue’s expression was calm. “I want the bedroom to be mainly beige, with a large wardrobe, and a sunny bay window. I want to keep…”

Unfazed, she calmly listed her requirements to Lan Yan.

Lan Yan’s face paled with the pain. She looked down, typing on her phone, but she wasn’t taking notes. Instead, she repeatedly typed Jiang Jin Yue’s name, filling the screen. She said, “Where’s the bathroom?”

Jiang Jin Yue pointed. Lan Yan walked in. It was an empty shell, nothing inside, just a pipe in the bathroom. She wanted to splash some water on her face to cool down, but she couldn’t. She just turned on the tap, cupping her hands under the stream, letting the water flow over her hands, wrists, arms. She heard a voice behind her, “Yue Yue.”

Yu He was back.

He’d bought three drinks, all orange-flavored. Jiang Jin Yue took one and handed it to Lan Yan. “Take a break.”

Lan Yan took the drink but didn’t open it, just looked at Jiang Jin Yue.

Jiang Jin Yue asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lan Yan said, “You didn’t used to like orange flavor.”

She looked at Yu He. “Didn’t you know?”

Jiang Jin Yue chuckled. “I like it now.”

She opened the drink and took a sip in front of Lan Yan. “Let’s talk.”

Talk? Was she afraid Lan Yan would say something in front of Yu He?

Otherwise, why, after so long, did she suddenly want to talk now? Lan Yan’s assumptions wavered again. She nodded. “Okay.”

Jiang Jin Yue said to Yu He, “We’re going out for a bit. Can you put away the things I bought?”

Yu He seemed unconcerned, smiling at them. “Sure, take your time.”

Jiang Jin Yue led Lan Yan downstairs.

They took the elevator again, but going down felt very different from going up. Lan Yan finally asked, “Why did you buy an apartment on the tenth floor?”

Jiang Jin Yue’s tone was casual. “I just happened to like the layout on the tenth floor.”

Lan Yan looked at her intently. “Just happened to?”

Jiang Jin Yue met her gaze, her expression indifferent. “What else?”

She smiled. “Lan Yan, what are you thinking?”

Meeting her eyes, Lan Yan suddenly lost her courage. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her heart raced, the mental preparations she’d made before coming here completely useless. From the moment she saw Yu He, she’d been filled with jealousy and resentment.

Jealous that Yu He could have her.

Resentful that Jiang Jin Yue had abandoned her.

The elevator reached the ground floor. Jiang Jin Yue stepped out first, Lan Yan following close behind. They walked out of the lobby into the scorching sunlight. Lan Yan felt her body burning up. Jiang Jin Yue found a shady spot under a tree, leaned against it, and took out a pack of slim cigarettes from her bag. She pulled one out and offered it to Lan Yan. “Want one?”

Lan Yan stared at her, stunned.

In her memory, Jiang Jin Yue hated the smell of smoke.

She remembered going to karaoke with Jiang Jin Yue. Jiang Jin Yue could never stay for more than a few minutes, complaining that the smell of smoke was too strong, that she couldn’t stand it. But now, she held a cigarette between her slender fingers with practiced ease. In the light of the flame, her expression was different, colder. The smoke swirling around her made her features seem even more distant.

Jiang Jin Yue said, “Surprised? I smoke now.”

Lan Yan’s throat tightened, dry and painful. She asked, “When did you start smoking?”

“Some things you don’t learn, you just… pick up.” She turned her head. “Lan Yan, some things you don’t need to dwell on, you just… let go.”

Lan Yan asked, “Have you let go?”

Jiang Jin Yue smiled. “I’m getting married. Of course I’ve let go.”

Lan Yan asked, “Was it because of your mother…?”

“My mom?” Jiang Jin Yue exhaled a stream of smoke, the white mist curling from her red lips. The Jiang Jin Yue before her now was a different person from the one in her memories.

She said, “My mom passed away.”

Lan Yan was shocked. “Your mother…?”

Jiang Jin Yue’s tone was flat. “People die from accidents every day. She was just one of them.”

Lan Yan was stunned by the news, unable to process it. She remembered Jiang Jin Yue’s mother being healthy, always smiling. During the first two years she’d known Jiang Jin Yue, her mother would buy them snacks, sometimes secretly slipping extra treats to Lan Yan. “Yan Yan, don’t tell Yue Yue. This is for you.”

She would refuse. “Auntie, I can’t.”

“Don’t be silly. Look how thin you are. You don’t have any relatives here, and you have nowhere to go during the holidays. What’s wrong with me giving you some food?”

She had accepted her kindness.

Thinking she would repay it one day.

But then, in this way…

Lan Yan couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She turned her head away, her nose stinging. She blinked, trying to regain her composure, and asked, “When did it happen?”

Jiang Jin Yue said, “More than half a year ago.”

She looked at the cigarette held between her slender fingers, as if holding a pen. But the person who held the pen was Lan Yan. She could only hold a cigarette.

Lan Yan said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“What are you sorry for?” Jiang Jin Yue looked at her. “Lan Yan, there’s nothing for either of us to be sorry about. If you’re talking about what happened before, there’s no need. Did you think I chose to get married because of my mom?”

Lan Yan looked down, silently admitting it.

She truly believed Jiang Jin Yue had been forced, forced by her mother to get married, that it wasn’t what she truly wanted.

But now that her mother had passed away, there was no one to force her.

Lan Yan remained silent.

Jiang Jin Yue said, “Lan Yan, I didn’t tell you before because I thought we were both adults. We were childish and naive back in school, our thoughts immature. But it’s different now. We’ve grown up. Isn’t it foolish to cling to the naivety of our school days?”

Lan Yan looked at her. “Foolish?”

She asked Jiang Jin Yue, “But you said you’d wait for me.”

“Yes, I did say that.” Jiang Jin Yue seemed amused, a gentle smile in her eyes that somehow felt cold. “Who hasn’t said something they regret?”

Lan Yan’s eyes reddened. “Something you regret?”

Jiang Jin Yue met her gaze and nodded. “Something I regret. I apologize. I’m sorry.”

She continued, “I don’t think you need to dwell on the past either. At most, we just had a relationship, and it was during a naive and immature time. It’s been years. We’ve both changed. Lan Yan, have you ever considered that the person you like isn’t the me of now, but the Jiang Jin Yue who lives in your memories?”

“You’ve been holding onto this for so many years just because we were forced to separate back then, because we didn’t get to be together. So, you’ve romanticized that memory. If we had stayed together, we would have argued about mundane things, about the realities of life. Perhaps we would have broken up long ago. Don’t you think so?”

Lan Yan had never known Jiang Jin Yue to be so eloquent. She was speechless.

But…

“Does that man like the you of now?” Lan Yan asked. “He doesn’t even know your favorite flavor.”

Jiang Jin Yue said, “It doesn’t matter. As long as it’s from him, I’ll like any flavor.”

Lan Yan’s heart twisted with pain. All her conjectures were overturned. Now, hearing it confirmed from Jiang Jin Yue herself, her previous assumptions seemed ludicrous. Jiang Jin Yue said, “I didn’t want to say any of this. Lin Lin told me you’re a designer now, and I thought I could ask you to design our bridal suite, as a way to put an end to our past.”

“But it seems you’ve misunderstood.”

So it was her wishful thinking, her misunderstanding.

Lan Yan lowered her head, the pain in her chest making it hard to breathe. The shade was truly cold, her hands and feet icy. Jiang Jin Yue said, “In that case, think carefully about whether you want to take on this project.”

She straightened up, glanced at Lan Yan, not expecting a reply, and didn’t wait for one either. She turned and walked back towards the lobby. Lan Yan remained standing under the tree, unmoving. Her phone rang several times, unanswered. Passersby glanced at her. She seemed numb. Only after a long time did she finally look up at the tenth floor.

The window on the tenth floor was open, sunlight streaming in, bright and dazzling.

A stark contrast to the darkness and dampness in her heart.

Just like her and Jiang Jin Yue.

They were now worlds apart.