Seeing her silent, Pei Shaoyin looked at her, frustrated. "You're not saying you don't want to be friends with me, are you?"
Su Banxia shook her head, offering a faint smile. "Then... Miss Pei, we're friends from now on!"
She extended her hand toward her.
Pei Shaoyin paused, then smiled, reaching out to shake her hand.
Su Banxia didn't know why she was saying or doing any of this. She was smart enough to know that in the adult world, friendship was often hard to sustain.
The car pulled up to the apartment building. Pei Shaoyin tilted her head to look up. "You live here?"
Su Banxia nodded, smiling lightly. "Want to come up for a bit?"
Pei Shaoyin shook her head. "No, another time."
It was already really late.
Getting out of the car, Su Banxia didn't insist further. She said goodbye to Pei Shaoyin and headed upstairs.
It was too late; Guoguo and Su Hao were already asleep, and the living room lights were off. When Su Banxia came home, she moved quietly, worried about waking anyone up.
As soon as she turned on the living room light, she saw someone lying on the sofa—Fang Shiqing.
A thin blanket covered her. The sudden light made her squint, adjusting for a moment before opening her eyes fully.
Su Banxia saw her sleeping in the living room and asked, puzzled, "Why didn't you sleep in the bedroom? Did I wake you?"
Fang Shiqing sat up straight, looking at her with slightly furrowed brows. "Why are you back so late? Did something happen?"
Su Banxia shook her head, put her bag away, and sat down next to her on the sofa. "Nothing major, just got back a bit late. Why were you sleeping in the living room?"
And she hadn't even removed her makeup.
Fang Shiqing stretched. "Lin Haoran called earlier, asking me to meet him. I didn't go."
Su Banxia frowned. What did that have to do with sleeping in the living room?
She furrowed her brows slightly, then understood. Lin Haoran had probably just made one call to invite Fang Shiqing out. Fang Shiqing had been feeling down lately, so she hadn't agreed to go.
It wasn't that Fang Shiqing didn't want to go, but girls had their pride. She wouldn't just drop everything for a single call from Lin Haoran. What Fang Shiqing wanted was his persistence—if he called a few more times, she might have gone. But he only called once, so she kept waiting for him to call again.
And Lin Haoran never did.
She waited like that for a while and ended up falling asleep on the sofa.
Su Banxia sighed, a bit speechless.
But she didn't say much. If feelings could be explained so easily, they wouldn't be feelings.
She went into the bathroom to wash up. When she came out, she saw Fang Shiqing still sitting on the sofa, not planning to clean up. Su Banxia looked at her. "Aren't you going to sleep?"
Fang Shiqing sat there, humming in acknowledgment, then looked up at Su Banxia. "What if he gets drunk and calls me? I'd have to get up and put on makeup again. Too much trouble."
Su Banxia was exasperated. "So you're planning to wait like this, with a full face of makeup on?"
Fang Shiqing didn't answer.
Su Banxia knew she couldn't talk her out of it. "When is Zhang Shanshan being discharged?"
"In a few days, she should be able to leave."
Good. Once she was discharged, Fang Shiqing wouldn't have to run back and forth every day.
Su Banxia couldn't stand seeing her like this. She took the phone from Fang Shiqing's hand and scrolled to Lin Haoran's number.
Fang Shiqing froze, then quickly got up to grab the phone. "What are you doing?"
"Calling Lin Haoran."
If she wanted to see him, she should just go see him. Why suffer like this, waiting for a call in the middle of the night?
Su Banxia couldn't understand it, and she refused to.
Seeing this, Fang Shiqing panicked. "Su Banxia, give me the phone. Don't call him."
"Don't you like him? Are you going to end it before it even starts? If you like him, tell him. Let the two of you get along properly. If it works, great; if not, cut it off. Why torture yourself like this?"
As she spoke, Su Banxia dialed the number.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was one in the morning. At this hour, he was probably already asleep.
The call connected not long after.
"Shiqing, you're still awake?"
It was Lin Haoran's voice.
The call went through. Su Banxia looked at Fang Shiqing and handed her the phone. "Here, talk to him properly."
Then she went back to her room.
Fang Shiqing took the phone, momentarily at a loss for words.
Lin Haoran, hearing silence on the other end, spoke again. "Shiqing, what's wrong?"
"Are you asleep?"
Fang Shiqing's voice came out a bit hoarse.
Lin Haoran hummed in response. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Fang Shiqing shook her head, then remembered he couldn't see her. "No, I'm fine."
She didn't know what to say.
The call was Su Banxia's doing. She had tried to stop her but failed. Now, talking to Lin Haoran, she truly didn't know what to say.
Maybe there was nothing to say.
After a moment of silence, she spoke into the phone. "It's late. Goodnight."
"Shiqing!"
Lin Haoran's voice came through. "Can we talk? Please?"
Fang Shiqing paused, then hummed in agreement, staying silent.
Lin Haoran didn't know what she was thinking. Over the phone, neither could guess the other's emotions.
When Fang Shiqing didn't speak, Lin Haoran waited a moment before asking, "Are you still angry?"
"No."
Fang Shiqing replied. She hadn't been angry from the start.
Just a little disappointed.
"About that night..."
"It's not your fault."
Lin Haoran tried to say something, but Fang Shiqing cut him off. "It was my own overthinking. It has nothing to do with you."
They were just starting out, not even officially together yet. How could she expect him to pay her constant attention like a boyfriend?
Lin Haoran frowned. "Shiqing, that was my fault. I should apologize, and you have every right to be angry. But please, don't stay mad for too long, and don't ignore me for too long?"
Fang Shiqing was stunned by his sudden words.
For a long moment, she couldn't say anything.
Su Banxia came out after changing clothes and saw she was still on the phone. She paused briefly but said nothing, heading straight to her own room.
Hearing no response from Fang Shiqing, Lin Haoran thought she was still upset. "Shiqing..."
Before he could continue, Fang Shiqing spoke. "Let's talk tomorrow."
She couldn't deal with this right now.
With that, she hung up.
After a moment of silence, she got up and went to the bathroom to wash up.
Su Banxia was a bit surprised. She came out and leaned against the wall, watching Fang Shiqing wash her face. "What's going on with you and Lin Haoran?"
"Nothing."
She replied briefly, lowering her head to wash.
Su Banxia looked at her. "Shiqing, can you not get too close to Zhang Shanshan from now on?"
Fang Shiqing paused her washing and looked up. "Why?"
Su Banxia didn't know how to explain, but she really didn't like Zhang Shanshan. She had seen her bad behavior and harsh words.
She was grateful that Zhang Shanshan had taken a knife for Fang Shiqing, but she still didn't want Fang Shiqing to get close to that woman.
She had a feeling Zhang Shanshan wasn't a good person.
Seeing Su Banxia frowning silently, Fang Shiqing looked at her. "Banxia, from the moment she took that knife for me, I can't keep my distance from her anymore."
That was true.
She couldn't avoid her—after all, that person had saved her life.
Su Banxia didn't know what to say. She sighed, feeling a bit hopeless.
Seeing her like this, Fang Shiqing turned to her. "You keep talking about me and Lin Haoran. What about you and Pei Shaoze?"
Su Banxia frowned. Her and Pei Shaoze?
Pei Shaoze's reaction tonight...
He had almost choked her to death.