The back seat of the luxury sedan was quiet, filled only by the low hum of the engine and the streaking lights of the streetlamps flying past the window.
The air was thick with the scent of the expensive perfume Jiang Muyun wore.
Jiang Muyun was looking down, her fingers caressing the brand-new handbag on her lap with loving admiration.
The moon-white rare leather, the metal clasp engraved with a unique serial number.
This was a limited edition handbag from a top luxury brand’s current season, gifted to her by Su Qinghan just moments ago.
It was said to be the only one of its kind in all of City A.
A smile played on her lips as she mentally planned which dress to wear with it tomorrow, to casually and stunningly impress everyone at school.
“Qinghan, look at the sheen on this clasp. Isn’t it especially beautiful?”
She turned her face, her voice soft and sweet, hoping for an equally admiring gaze from the person beside her.
However, Su Qinghan wasn’t looking at her, nor at the exorbitantly priced bag.
She was slightly frowning, staring at her mobile phone screen.
On it was the text message Yan Yu had just sent in reply.
‘Qinghan, how could you think of me like that? I haven’t… I’ve never said anything bad about Miss Jiang. This afternoon during the outdoor painting session, I was just painting by myself the whole time, far away from everyone else. Is there… is there some misunderstanding?’
Between the lines was Yan Yu’s usual style—cautious, even somewhat humble, defense.
But for some reason, as Su Qinghan read it, an extremely faint trace of… surprise? inexplicably crossed her heart.
In her impression, when Yan Yu received a reproachful message like this from her, she would either fall silent or offer even more frantic explanations and pleas to stay, which Su Qinghan found merely annoying.
But this reply, while still weakly worded, carried an unusual calmness in its tone?
The statement in the message felt more like stating an objective fact, not complaining about anything.
Was she overthinking it? Or was it… really a misunderstanding?
“Qinghan?”
Jiang Muyun called again, a hint of displeased coquettishness in her voice.
Su Qinghan snapped back to reality, turned off her phone screen, and suppressed that inexplicable feeling.
She turned her head to look at Jiang Muyun, her face already restored to its usual composure, though a trace of contemplation about the message lingered deep in her eyes.
“Yes, it suits you well.”
She answered offhandedly, her gaze settling on Jiang Muyun’s face, trying to find some words of praise from that slightly pouting expression.
But Jiang Muyun had noticed her momentary distraction.
The smile on her face faded a little as she placed the bag aside.
“What were you looking at just now? So intently… Did I do something wrong today that’s bothering you?”
Looking into those watery eyes, the slight disturbance caused by Yan Yu’s message in Su Qinghan’s heart was suddenly replaced by a faint sense of weariness.
She reached up and rubbed her temples.
“No, it’s just some family matters,” she said dismissively.
Then she paused, remembering Jiang Muyun’s earlier complaints, and softened her tone, adding a note of placation.
“Yunyun, about Bai Yan’er and Yan Yu… After all, they are nominal sisters and have known each other longer. It’s only natural for Bai Yan’er to be closer to Yan Yu. Don’t take it too much to heart.”
Her intention was to soothe, to get Jiang Muyun not to dwell on these things.
But to Jiang Muyun’s ears, these words took on a completely different meaning.
“Only natural?”
Jiang Muyun’s voice rose a notch, her pretty brows furrowing, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.
“Qinghan, are you saying I’m being petty? I just… I’m just not used to it! I just got back, I’m not familiar with anything. Bai Yan’er made me lose face in front of so many people, then turned around and was so nice to Yan Yu… I… I feel awful. Can’t I even talk to you about it?”
She grew more aggrieved as she spoke, tears hanging precariously on her lashes as if she had suffered a great injustice.
“And besides, Yan Yu clearly… You used to say she was calculating. And now it’s like this… I’m just worried she might do something behind our backs because of our relationship, to affect me…”
Seeing her look as if the whole world had wronged her, a trace of irritation quietly arose in Su Qinghan’s heart.
Again.
In the few days since returning home, similar scenes seemed to have played out several times.
The slightest inconvenience, an offhand remark from someone else, even an unintentional glance from another person—Jiang Muyun would sensitively interpret countless meanings from them, then come running to her, seeking comfort in this fragile, aggrieved manner.
The Yunyun from childhood… didn’t seem to be like this.
The little girl who saved her in her memory clearly had a bright smile.
In the icy, bone-chilling lake water, that hand that gripped hers so tightly… that strength had supported her through many years.
But the Jiang Muyun before her eyes…
“Yunyun,” Su Qinghan’s voice lowered, carrying a hint of detachment she herself hadn’t noticed.
“Let’s drop this matter. It ends here.”
She rarely used such a slightly firm tone.
Jiang Muyun was abruptly stunned, as if she hadn’t expected Su Qinghan to speak to her like this.
The teardrop hanging on her lash finally rolled down, tracing a path across her fair cheek.
But this time, the tears weren’t filled solely with grievance.
There was more shock, and a trace of offended anger.
“Su Qinghan,” she called out her full name, voice trembling.
“What is this attitude? Have you forgotten who pulled you out of the water? If it weren’t for me, would you even be sitting here right now? And now, for the sake of an outsider, a substitute you long since discarded, you speak to me like this?”
The fact that she had saved Su Qinghan all those years ago was Jiang Muyun’s greatest confidence, the trump card she was most accustomed to playing, intending to make Su Qinghan soften and compromise.
Sure enough, Su Qinghan’s expression shifted slightly, a complex undercurrent flashing in her eyes.
That vague memory was always the softest part of her heart.
But for some reason, hearing Jiang Muyun bring it up again now, in such a self-righteous tone, no sense of guilt surged in Su Qinghan’s heart.
Instead… a weariness arose, one she herself was unwilling to examine deeply.
The girl who saved her… that little sun… could she really be this Jiang Muyun before her, who nitpicked over trivial matters and constantly needed her reassurance and partiality?
This thought flashed by, too fast for her to grasp, yet like a tiny thorn, it silently embedded itself in her heart.
An oppressive silence fell inside the car.
Only the sound of Jiang Muyun’s suppressed sobs and the ceaseless flow of city lights outside the window remained.
Seeing Su Qinghan remain silent, her expression even colder and sterner than before, Jiang Muyun felt both furious and panicked.
She abruptly grabbed the brand-new limited edition handbag beside her and pushed the car door open to get out.
“Stop the car! I’m getting out!”
The driver glanced at Su Qinghan through the rearview mirror.
Su Qinghan closed her eyes briefly.
When she opened them again, her eyes were filled with resignation.