Hard to Deceive
Chapter 7: White Moonlight

After the live broadcast, Zhen Yu interviewed several nearby citizens who came to watch the fireworks show.

After that, they packed their things and returned home.

Wen Yifan was feeling uneasy as she was thinking of what just happened. She called Fu Zhuang who was sitting in the back seat of the car, “Zhuang.”

Fu Zhuang replied, “Yes?”

Wen Yifan hadn’t taken off her mask yet, “If you meet me outside, and I’m wearing a mask like this and clothes that you have never seen before.”

She paused and asked seriously, “Are you still able to recognize me?”

“Only a mask?” Fu Zhuang gave it a thought and carefully asked, “Every other part of your face isn’t covered? Like wearing sunglasses or a hat?”

“Just like what I’m wearing now.”

Fu Zhuang confidently answered, “Of course I can!”

“……”

“Yifan, to be honest, I have never seen anyone who looks prettier than you.” Fu Zhuang scratched his head embarrassedly, “When I saw you on the first day of work, I thought you were a big star who ran to the wrong place.”

Zhen Yu who was sitting in the front passenger seat smiled and said, “Yifan is really pretty.”

“Indeed.” Qian Weihua was more down to earth during his spare time, he playfully asked, “Yifan, do you have a boyfriend? One day, I’ll introduce my son to you.”

Zhen Yu laughed and said, “Come on, your son hasn’t even graduated from elementary school yet!”

Fu Zhuang smirked, “How about giving me a chance?”

Not annoyed by their jokes, Wen Yifan smiled and replied, “We’ll talk after your New Year’s wish comes true.”

Fu Zhuang grumbled, “Yifan, why must you be like this!”

After dropping it, Fu Zhuang went closer to her and whispered, “But.”

Wen Yifan, “Hmm?”

“Yifan, I was so touched when you gave me a hand warmer today.” Fu Zhuang’s big eyes looked like he was longing for her praise, “So, when I made a wish, I made one for you as well.”

“What did you wish for?”

“I wished that you could replace a boyfriend who will treat you like a princess.” Fu Zhuang clenched his fists, “Every aspect of him will be perfect, and he will look as handsome as the man we saw today!”

“……”

It was close to two in the morning when Wen Yifan got home.

She was used to staying up late. She wasn’t feeling sleepy at that moment but she was exhausted. She put on her slippers and sat directly on the rug beside her bed, and lazily scrolled through her phone.

There were many missed calls and unread messages due to the bulk message she sent.

Wen Yifan scrolled down and replied to all of them one by one.

She scrolled until the end of the notification bar and there were still no messages from Sang Yan.

She entered the chat with him.

She caught a glimpse of the text, “It’s okay if you’re not happy.” Wen Yifan tensed up.

“……”

She didn’t give much thought to it during that time, she just wanted to joke around to ease the tense atmosphere, so she didn’t feel something was wrong.

However, she felt weird when she was reading the same text at that moment.

It seemed like she was provoking him.

He obviously didn’t want to talk to her, so Wen Yifan didn’t continue texting him as well. She began to dive into her thoughts, and she inexplicably thought of the conversation between Sang Yan and his sister Sang Zhi.

Then, she recalled the days when she was in her sophomore year.

During that time, both of them had poor grades, and they were both academically ranked last in their class.

Wen Yifan was admitted into Nanwu High School as a dance major, so she was not academically gifted. On the other hand, Sang Yan had extreme preferences in his academics. He refused to study any subjects except mathematics, physics and chemistry. His grades were a mess.

His grades for mathematics, physics and chemistry were always in flying colors, however, he would only get thirty to forty marks for other subjects.

Every time after the examination grades were announced, Sang Yan would look at her scientific papers and laugh at her.

It had happened several times, despite her good temper, Wen Yifan couldn’t resist saying, “Sang Yan, it’s useless to look at my test papers. You should search for the mistakes in your answers.”

“Hmm? Are you having a misunderstanding about me?” Sang Yan looked at her and used his fingers to draw a circle at a red cross on her paper. He annoyingly added, “There is no such thing on my paper.”

……

Wen Yifan recovered from her thoughts and took her clothes to take a bath.

She could somewhat understand why Sang Yan pretended not to know her.

He probably recalled the immature actions he did during his youth when he was with her. It was the only embarrassing history for him, therefore, he didn’t want his life to cross with hers again.

Pretending not to know each other was the best choice.

Thinking of this.

Wen Yifan felt better when she thought from his point of view.

The long-forgotten ex-crush suddenly came to his bar and intended to get laid by him;

She left a bracelet behind on purpose in exchange for a second meeting;

She sent a greeting text to him to get close to him;

And finally, she pretended to bump into him to have physical contact with him.

“……”

I don’t know how much he will overthink this time.

The new year went on as usual.

Not long after she finished talking with Zhong Siqiao, Zhong Siqiao gave the WeChat contact of her friend who was also a housing agent.

The housing agent had suggested several units according to Wen Yifan’s budget, however, they were either group sharing units like her previous unit or single room units in the suburbs.

In the end, Zhong Siqiao gave her a suggestion.

She suggested she think about replaceing someone to share a unit with.

This was because two or three-bedroom units would be cheaper when shared with housemates.

Wen Yifan accepted the suggestion, however, she didn’t know where to replace a housemate. She didn’t want strangers as her housemate anymore because she was traumatised by her previous neighbour.

She wanted to replace a female that she knew as her housemate.

On a Friday afternoon, Wen Yifan came out from the editors’ room and went to the washroom.

She happened to meet Wang Linlin from the same team after she came out from the cubicle.

Wang Linlin was in the news column team for three years. She was a few years older than Wen Yifan, but her appearance and voice were very sweet. She had taken a day off on New Year’s Day, and she often came to work late and left early, so Wen Yifan had the feeling of not seeing her for a long time.

Wen Yifan took the initiative to say hello to her.

Wang Linlin looked at her in the mirror, “Hey, Yifan, what's the colour of your lipstick? It looks nice.”

Wen Yifan subconsciously replied, “I didn’t apply lipstick today, but the colour I usually use is……”

“Geez!” Wang Linlin interrupted her before she could finish her sentence, she softly said, “Didn’t apply? Let’s be real, shall we? We’re both females after all. I can tell you if you wanted to know the brand of my cosmetics.”

Then, Wang Linlin walked out of the washroom in her heels without waiting for Wen Yifan to reply.

Wen Yifan was stunned as she stood there, looking into the mirror. She hesitantly rubbed her lips with the back of her hand.

“……”

I really didn’t apply anything.

Back in the office.

Wen Yifan went back to her desk. Wang Linlin’s desk was behind hers, she was leaning against her desk and talking to Su Tian who was next to Wen Yifan’s desk.

Su Tian and Wen Yifan were recruited into the company in the same batch. They were about the same age, so they had a good relationship.

Wen Yifan smiled, “What are you girls talking about?”

Su Tian, “We were talking about Linlin’s New Year’s Eve with her boyfriend.”

“We were just having a small talk.” Wang Linlin waved her hand and casually said, “I was lucky, too. I just took a day off on New Year’s Day, so I went to Huaizhu Bay with my boyfriend to spend a night there. We had a candlelight dinner, a hot spring bath and whatnot. He also transferred 5200 and 1314 to me. We did nothing else, it was quite boring.”

“I really envy you, Linlin.” Su Tian’s lips slightly twitched and she deliberately changed the topic, “By the way, Yifan, aren’t you moving?” Have you found a new unit?”

Wang Linlin looked surprised and she immediately asked, “Hey, Yifan, you’re moving?”

Wen Yifan, “Yeah.”

“It’s quite a coincidence!” Wang Linlin jumped and looked very surprised, “I was stressed out recently. My ex-housemate resigned and went back to her hometown, I have yet to replace a suitable person to live with me.”

Wen Yifan was stunned and was unable to react to it.

Wang Linlin, “Do you want to consider my place?”

Su Tian asked, “Linlin, where are you living? Yifan wanted to replace a place that is close to our office.”

Wang Linlin, “It’s at Shangduhua City, it’s nearby.”

Wen Yifan knew the neighborhood, it was close to where she was living at the moment. She would pass by that neighborhood when she went to and came back from work. The neighborhood was newly built in recent years, and it was regarded as a relatively upper-class neighborhood.

Su Tian glanced at Wen Yifan and asked, “Are there any other housemates besides you?”

“No, it’s just me.” Wang Linlin patted Wen Yifan’s shoulder and giggled, “Don’t worry, I won’t simply bring people back. If we really become housemates, you can also list the do’s and don’ts before moving in.”

“You can come to have a look at my house after work today if you’re interested.“ Wang Linlin paused and said, “Oh, no. I guess you can only come tomorrow, I’m going to the movies with my boyfriend tonight.”

Wen Yifan answered, “Okay, tomorrow then.”

……

Su Tian went closer to her when Wang Linlin went to the pantry, she looked worried, “Do you really want to live with her? I think she’s quite annoying, and she might talk about her rich boyfriend all day long. And I feel that she speaks to you weirdly because you are attractive.”

Wen Yifan had a general understanding of Wang Linlin’s character.

She wasn’t mean, she simply was just spoiled and talkative, Wen Yifan didn’t think it was a big problem. They have been working together for several months, most of the time, Wang Linlin was quite easy to get along with.

Besides, Wen Yifan was really desperate to move.

She smiled and softly answered, “I’ll have a look at the unit first.”

……

Wen Yifan and Wang Linlin took the subway to Shangduhua City after work the next day.

Wang Linlin was living in a three-bedroom unit, however, the landlord had only offered two rooms for rent. A small room was used as a storage room for the landlord, so most of the time it was locked. There was one master bedroom with a bathroom and a relatively smaller bedroom.

Hence, the rent was relatively lower.

The overall unit was very good. The kitchen, dining room, balcony, and all basic necessary facilities were available.

The master bedroom had always been occupied by Wang Linlin.

Wen Yifan had a look at the smaller empty bedroom.

The room was cleaned and there was no dust on the table.

Wang Linlin was standing beside her and said, “I’ll pay slightly more than you because I live in the master bedroom. You’ll pay $2000 every month, we’ll share the water and electricity bills equally. What do you say?”

The price was slightly more expensive than the group sharing unit she used to live in, but it was still within her budget.

Moreover, the conditions of this unit were much better.

Wen Yifan felt that this unit was decent, but she didn’t make the decision immediately.

“You can think about it.” Wang Linlin didn’t force her to give her an answer on the spot as she knew moving was not a small matter. She looked at the time, “It’s late, let’s have dinner, I’m so hungry.”

Wen Yifan didn’t have the habit of eating dinner, she intended to decline her offer. However, she thought that they might be sharing a unit together soon, so she accepted her offer with the idea of building a good relationship with her in mind.

Wang Linlin’s mobile phone rang when they just left the neighborhood. She picked up her phone and answered in a squeamish tone, “Hello, why did you call, dear?”

Wen Yifan quietly walked beside her.

“I’m outside with my colleague now, we’re going to have dinner together.” Wang Linlin said coquettishly, “Okay, where are you now? I just left the gate of the neighborhood. Hmm, you’re almost here? Alright, I won’t bother you while you drive. I’ll wait for you at the gate, come pick me up quickly.”

When she hung up the call, Wen Yifan sensibly said, “Then I’ll go back home first, tonight…”

“Why are you suddenly going back home? Didn’t we agree to have dinner together?” Wang Linlin frowned, but she suddenly remembered, “Oh, you don’t have to be uncomfortable, you won’t be a third wheel. My boyfriend will also bring his friend, you can see this as a gathering.”

Wen Yifan was unable to decline the offer again.

A black car was parked in front of both of them.

The window of the front passenger seat was slowly going down, and the men in the driver’s seat looked over and smiled, “Dear, get in the car.” The next moment, he caught a glimpse of Wen Yifan who was standing next to Wang Linlin, he was stunned, “Eh, Wen Yifan?”

Wen Yifan looked in the direction, she was also stunned.

She didn’t come across the thought that Wang Linlin’s wealthy boyfriend would be Su Haoan.

“D*mn, it has been so many years since we last met……” There were cars honking from behind before he could finish his sentence, “Sh*t, hurry up, both of you get in the car first, I can’t stop here.”

Wen Yifan, “No……”

Su Haoan hurriedly said, “Hurry!”

“……”

She had to bite the bullet and get into the back seat of his car.

After getting in the car, Wen Yifan noticed that there was someone else in the back seat.

She looked at the person.

It was dimmer in the car than outside.

The man didn’t make any sound, his breathing was soft, and he had a strong sense of existence. He looked like a boneless man who had collapsed on the seat at that moment. His eyes were closed, and he looked exhausted.

He was unaware of what was going on around him.

The car started to move.

Su Haoan looked at the rearview mirror, he yelled as he drove, “Hey! Sang Yan, wake up! Get up and greet your White Moonlight!”

*White Moonlight: refers to something or someone that is extraordinarily beautiful yet cannot be obtained.

Wen Yifan, “……”