Night Fire Lingering

Chapter 166 Are you afraid she'll come back to me?

"Why are you looking at me, Nan? Is there something you want to say?" Wen Yan asked with a smile.

"No, no." Nan Zhiyi was taken aback when Wen Yan asked her this question.

Wen Yan looked at him with a "Really?" expression, resting her chin on her hand, and said, "I thought you were going to tell everyone about my boyfriend, after all, you saw him at the mall that day."

Nan Zhiyi's eyes widened in astonishment, even more surprised that Wen Yan would take the initiative to this extent.

She opened her mouth, not wanting to reveal the relationship between Gu Yanci and Wen Yan to so many unsuspecting classmates.

She didn't want to mention how protective and doting Gu Yanci was of Wen Yan.

"Your partner is very particular about things, isn't he?" Nan Zhiyi's smile was a little forced. "If I say something carelessly, I'm worried he'll get angry."

Wen Yan nodded and said with a light laugh, "Your concerns are quite comprehensive."

Nan Zhiyi pursed her lips and didn't say anything more.

The other students looked at each other in bewilderment.

I always felt that the atmosphere between Wen Yan and Nan Zhiyi was a bit strange, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong. Apart from the time when Nan Zhiyi gave Wen Yan the gift at the beginning, there didn't seem to be anything strange.

"I'm leaving now, see you all next week!" Jiang Xing packed her bag, her cool demeanor from class gone, and her smile became exceptionally gentle.

"Oh, your boyfriend came to pick you up?" a senior student teased.

"Yes!" Jiang Xing nodded with a smile, her expression full of happiness.

Wen Yan didn't stay long. She said goodbye to everyone and left with her belongings.

Seeing this, Nan Zhiyi immediately said goodbye to everyone and followed them out.

Other classmates had initially speculated that something unpleasant might have happened between Nan Zhiyi and Wen Yan, but upon seeing this, they dismissed that speculation.

Wen Yan planned to go to the library, but halfway there she found that Nan Zhiyi had followed her.

She followed him all the way to the library entrance.

Wen Yan stopped impatiently and looked at her: "What is it?"

"Yan, why...why are you so hostile towards me? Did I do something to upset you?" Nan Zhiyi asked innocently.

Wen Yan felt like she was hearing a joke: "Nan Zhiyi, don't overdo it. I just have no reason to be extra enthusiastic towards you."

Wen Yan believed that as long as Nan Zhiyi did not provoke her, she treated Nan Zhiyi as a stranger, and was even polite and respectful towards her.

"You...you're only doing this to me because of Mommy..." Nan Zhiyi started to say, but then noticed that Wen Yan's gaze was unusually cold, so she had to stop herself from speaking.

"I heard you applied for this exchange program at the last minute." Wen Yan's expression was indifferent. "Nan Zhiyi, what is your intention?"

"I don't have any bad intentions!" Nan Zhiyi said eagerly. "I just want to know what the place where you live, the place where Mom used to live, is like!"

“I thought you were going to say—” Wen Yan paused, “that you wanted to see what the place where Gu Yanci lived was like.”

The warm light of the early spring sun enveloped the woman, bathing her in a soft golden glow. Her smile, unrestrained yet tinged with a mocking disdain, was so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.

Wen Yan possessed an innate, aloof beauty, something Nan Zhiyi knew from the first moment she saw her as a child. The difference was that back then, Nan Yun only had eyes for Wen Yan, not for her.

After a few seconds, Nan Zhiyi asked, "Yan, do you think I'm going to compete with you for Mr. Gu? I never thought about competing with you for anything. That day at the airport, I was representing my father and my family company."

"I didn't ask you that many questions, why are you so eager to explain?" Wen Yan completely ignored her.

"Yan, I...I didn't...I..."

Wen Yan looked at her calmly: "Nan Zhiyi, you like your mother very much, don't you?"

“Yes.” Nan Zhiyi nodded without hesitation, adding, “She is also your mother.”

Wen Yan ignored the second half of her sentence and stared at Nan Zhiyi with great interest.

Nan Zhiyi felt uneasy under her gaze.

Finally, she spoke: "Nan Zhiyi, if you keep her by my side, aren't you afraid that she will really come back to me?"

Nan Zhiyi's face suddenly turned pale, and her color faded instantly.

When you're too scared, there's no time to hide your true feelings.

"You're scared." Without Nan Zhiyi needing to say anything, Wen Yan stated the answer.

“I…” Nan Zhiyi unconsciously clenched her fist at her side, took a shallow breath, and said with difficulty, “She has the right to choose to love you, and the right to choose to stay by your side.”

Wen Yan understood another layer of meaning in those words—just like when Nan Yun chose to leave her and go to Nan Zhiyi's side, it was also Nan Yun's right.

"Is it."

Wen Yan smiled, ignored Nan Zhiyi, and walked straight into the library.

Nan Zhiyi stood alone in the same spot, not moving for a long time.

"If you keep her by my side, aren't you afraid she'll really come back to me?"—This sentence kept echoing in Nan Zhiyi's ears like a demon.

She is afraid.

Of course she is afraid!

She had finally gained a mother, and finally received maternal love that was not shared with her. Of course, she was afraid that Nan Yun would return to Wen Yan's side!

but……

From the moment Wen Yan appeared before Nan Yun, from the moment Wen Yan and Nan Yun recognized each other, from the moment Wen Yan doubted that Nan Yun was still alive... she could not avoid the reality of sharing the same mother with Wen Yan; it was simply a matter of who was favored more.

Instead of living in constant anxiety, it's better to face it sooner rather than later!

-

Wen Yan studied until evening when she received a call from Gu Yanci.

"Mrs. Gu, when does school end?"

"Huh?" Wen Yan said in a low voice in the stairwell.

"Lou Qi will be hosting tonight," Gu Yanci reminded him.

Today is Lou Qi's birthday, and Wen Yan usually doesn't attend his birthday parties. But now, her relationship with Gu Yanci has progressed further, and Lou Qi is Gu Yanci's best friend. As Gu's wife, it wouldn't be appropriate for her not to attend.

"I'll go right away."

Wen Yan hung up the phone, slung her shoulder bag over her shoulder, and as soon as she stepped out of the library, she saw a tall and slender figure standing at the bottom of the library steps.

Gu Yanci was unusually dressed today, not in formal attire, but in a black hoodie and jeans, looking like a senior student on campus, with passersby frequently turning to look at him.

Wen Yan recalled the last time he went to the snack street, a girl asked him for her contact information. At that time, he dressed even more to keep his distance. Wouldn't he be even more tempted today?

Thinking of this, Wen Yan mischievously stopped on the stairs and waited quietly.

Sure enough, less than two minutes later, a girl walked up to Gu Yanci, blushing and flustered as she spoke.

Wen Yan watched the show with her arms crossed.

Just as he was enjoying the view, the man suddenly looked up at him.

Immediately, the girl looked up and gave Wen Yan a thumbs-up.

Wen Yan: "?"