Before going to bed, Qiu Yang went to the bathroom again. Although it was winter, showering indoors wasn’t cold. She calmed down a bit, waiting for the restlessness in her body to subside.
The phone call with Shen Ningruo had left her feeling a little tired, not mentally, but physically.
She had never been like this before.
What was this called…?
She pursed her lips.
But she had to admit, the sense of immersion was strong. Her hand felt as if it were Shen Ningruo’s, and the one touching her had become Shen Ningruo.
She exhaled a few more times, feeling completely calm, before lying down again.
Shen Ningruo also took a shower. When she came back, she saw the message from Qiu Yang: 【Good night, Ruoruo.】
Shen Ningruo’s lips curved. She typed a few words: 【I saw someone say the other day, this is called ‘chatting for self-comfort’.】
Qiu Yang: 【……】
Qiu Yang: 【Got it!!!】
Shen Ningruo could almost see the look on her face as she typed that reply, and the smile on her lips deepened. She pressed the record button, said “Good night,” and released her finger.
However, Shen Ningruo didn’t actually go to sleep like Qiu Yang. Instead, she started packing.
The team’s flight was originally scheduled for tomorrow morning, but Shen Ningruo felt she couldn’t wait that long, so she changed it to 11 PM tonight.
Qiu Yang would be asleep by then. She would be quiet when she got back, maximizing the surprise when Qiu Yang woke up.
As Shen Ningruo packed, she began to look forward to Qiu Yang’s reaction tomorrow morning.
Qin Yu’s call came after she zipped up her suitcase: “Ruoruo, I’m downstairs.”
“Coming right down, Brother, just putting on a scarf.”
Winter was already cold, and it was late at night. Qiu Yang had spent some time knitting her a scarf last month.
Shen Ningruo thought Qiu Yang was amazing because she could knit a beautiful scarf. Of course, there was more than just this one thing Qiu Yang could do.
And there were so many things she herself couldn’t do.
This scarf was gray, a color Shen Ningruo chose herself because Qiu Yang had asked her directly.
Wearing such a scarf full of love, Shen Ningruo felt it was much warmer around her neck than any store-bought one.
Qin Yu didn’t wait long downstairs before Shen Ningruo came out of the hotel. It was late, and as her brother, Qin Yu wasn’t comfortable letting Shen Ningruo take a taxi to the airport alone, so he offered to drive her.
Qin Yu put Shen Ningruo’s luggage in the trunk and asked with a smile, “Does Xiao Qiu know you’re going back now?”
“She doesn’t know.”
“I coaxed her to sleep.”
Qin Yu opened the car door: “Good thing Xiao Qiu doesn’t stay up late, otherwise the surprise you prepared would be discovered the moment you walked in.”
Shen Ningruo thought Qin Yu had a point, but then changed her mind: “Wrong, Brother, how would a single person like you understand?”
“Understand what?”
“Even if I was discovered the moment I got back, it would still be a surprise.”
Qin Yu glanced at her: “Heh.”
“Just show off.”
Qin Yu was still single; he had let go of his feelings for Wen Yuan.
On the way, Shen Ningruo mentioned Wen Yuan: “Xiao Yuan went back to Yuncheng today. When are you going back?”
“Me? Probably New Year’s Day.”
“Hope my parents don’t arrange any blind dates for me.”
Shen Ningruo looked at Qin Yu’s profile, pursed her lips, and said with some worry, “Brother, what if Uncle Qin really forces you to get married?”
“I won’t agree. Besides, my sexual orientation is leaning towards men now. If I really got married, I’d be a scumbag deceiving someone.” Qin Yu said with a smile, “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve been conveying my idea of not getting married to my parents for a while now.”
Shen Ningruo looked out the window. There were few people on the road now.
She thought of Shen Yuankai.
In the past six months, the children Shen Yuankai had helped had all come to visit his grave. Some had already graduated from university and started working. They contacted Shen Ningruo wanting to return the money Shen Yuankai had sponsored them with over the years. Shen Ningruo didn’t agree.
Shen Ningruo hoped they would use that money to help more people in need.
She herself was no exception.
The money in the two cards Shen Yuankai had given her added up to over a million yuan. In the past six months, she had contacted several charity organizations. She didn’t donate all the money at once but did it gradually.
Doing charity requires long-term persistence, and Shen Ningruo was very sure she wouldn’t just do it for a short period.
She would carry on her father’s dying wish and continue this work.
The atmosphere in the car fell silent. With so many years of sibling relationship with Shen Ningruo, Qin Yu naturally knew what she was thinking, so he didn’t speak to disturb her until the car stopped in the airport parking lot.
“Thanks, Brother.” Shen Ningruo unbuckled her seatbelt.
Qin Yu held the steering wheel and sighed, “Ruoruo.”
“Uncle Shen must be reunited with Auntie in heaven now.”
“I know.” Shen Ningruo smiled, “Don’t worry.”
Qin Yu got out of the car: “Okay, I’ll get your luggage out for you.”
Shen Ningruo didn’t let Qin Yu see her off. She pulled her suitcase, tightened the scarf she was wearing, and walked inside.
It was almost ten o’clock, and there were still quite a few people in the airport.
As soon as Shen Ningruo thought about seeing Qiu Yang soon, her smile widened. She happily checked in and then went through security.
Only Yao Yao and Yue Chu knew she was coming back, but she specifically asked them to keep it a secret from Qiu Yang. Just after security, she received a message from Yao Yao: 【Be safe, Ruoruo.】
【See you tomorrow.】
Yao Yao: 【Okay.】
Yao Yao: 【Ah, Chuchu is going on a business trip after New Year’s Day too, feeling complicated.】
【Didn’t you used to love freedom?】 Shen Ningruo teased.
Yao Yao: 【That was then, this is now. Didn’t you used to say you didn’t want to date? And now?】
Yao Yao: 【You and I shouldn’t mock each other.】
Shen Ningruo chatted with Yao Yao for a while, then boarding began.
The moment she sat down, she let out a sigh of relief.
Finally, there was a sense of reality.
It takes about two hours to fly from Beijing to Yuncheng. When the plane landed in Yuncheng, it was already two-thirty in the morning.
She was tired, yes, but compared to the joy of seeing Qiu Yang soon, the fatigue was negligible.
She recalled the time she came to the airport to pick up Qiu Yang before they were together. She couldn’t quite remember the exact feeling back then, but now she felt that feeling seemed to have returned.
Anticipation and joy, mixed with a little nervousness.
After getting off the plane, Shen Ningruo walked towards the baggage claim area. Her pace wasn’t fast because the luggage wouldn’t come out that quickly.
Stepping on the floor of Yuncheng Airport, every step Shen Ningruo took felt solid.
At the baggage claim, she took out her phone and messaged Yao Yao: 【Arrived.】
Yao Yao replied instantly: 【Okay.】
Shen Ningruo scrolled through her recent chat history with Qiu Yang. The most frequent word was “miss you”.
If it weren’t for this business trip, she wouldn’t have known how tormenting missing someone could be.
A few minutes later, Shen Ningruo got her luggage. She put her phone back in her pocket, ready to get a taxi.
It was past midnight, but there were still quite a few people at the airport. Taxis were constantly arriving at the taxi stand outside.
Shen Ningruo was focused on getting a taxi and didn’t notice the crowd at the arrival gate. After walking several steps to the side, she wondered if she was hearing things; she seemed to hear Qiu Yang calling her name.
“Ruoruo.” The voice she missed sounded again while she was slightly stunned.
This time, Shen Ningruo was sure it wasn’t her imagination. Her body stiffened slightly, and she turned around in disbelief.
She saw Qiu Yang holding a bouquet of white campanula, smiling at her.
Shen Ningruo blinked. Qiu Yang was already walking towards her with the flowers, standing in front of her.
Qiu Yang held out the flowers: “Why no reaction, Ruoruo?”
Shen Ningruo snatched the flowers and then hugged Qiu Yang.
She had wanted to give Qiu Yang a surprise, but now it was the other way around.
Some people looked over, but such a scene was common at arrival gates, so it didn’t seem strange.
Shen Ningruo took a few seconds to fully accept that Qiu Yang was standing in front of her, though she was still somewhat shocked: “Why are you here?”
“Let’s talk on the way.”
Shen Ningruo had let go of Qiu Yang. She held the bouquet of flowers, smiling brightly.
Qiu Yang pulled the suitcase and held out her other hand: “Director Shen, not ‘leading away a sheep conveniently’ today?”
Shen Ningruo chuckled: “It’s not ‘conveniently’ now, it’s just leading the sheep.”
Back then, Shen Ningruo had specifically said “leading away a sheep conveniently” just to hold her hand.
Recalling the memory, Qiu Yang’s lips curved into a smile.
She had really been about to go to sleep tonight, but before bed, she thought about it carefully and felt something was strange.
Usually, they would chat about other things, but tonight was a bit early. She had a feeling Shen Ningruo would come back tonight.
And she went to ask Yue Chu. She believed Yue Chu would definitely know.
Indeed, Yue Chu didn’t hide it from her.
Qiu Yang immediately got up and changed clothes. Luckily, a flower shop on the street hadn’t closed yet, and she had time to buy flowers.
But seeing Shen Ningruo walk past without noticing her, Qiu Yang couldn’t help but laugh.
But it didn’t matter, she was very satisfied.
Because her lover was back.
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