On a rare day off, Wen Yifan stayed up late to watch a horror movie.
The eerie background music and piercing screams built up a terrifying atmosphere, but on the whole, the movie was just a cliché horror-flick with a flat storyline. She only persevered to the end of the movie due to her OCD.
When the credits rolled, Wen Yifan sighed a sound of relief. She closed her eyes, her mind soon overwhelmed by weariness. Just as she was about to doze off, the sound of heavy knocking woke her up.
“Thump!”
Wen Yifan opened her eyes right away.
The pale moonlight streamed into the room through the gap of the curtain blinds, bathing the room in a silvery gleam. She could hear a man’s drunken slur as he stumbled away from her door, his footsteps fading away. Then, she heard another door opening and closing, and the ruckus finally muffled down a little.
Even so, she continued staring at the door in a daze for a few seconds more.
When everything finally silenced down, she heaved a sigh of relief before rage began bubbling within her.
She’d lost count how many times it had happened this week.
She was already fully awake by this point, and it was hard for her to fall back to sleep once again. She rolled over and closed her eyes, her mind drifting back to the movie she’d seen earlier.
Oh.
Was it a horror film?
A second rate low-budget film that was barely entertaining.
……
As her consciousness drifted away, the grotesque monster from the movie suddenly came to her mind.
Three seconds later, she suddenly jolted upward and turned on the bedside lamps.
Wen Yifan spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in her bed. The creepy image of the blood-dripping ghost just wouldn’t leave her alone.
It wasn’t until the first touch of dawn before she could get some shut-eye.
The next day, Wen Yifan was woken up by her ringing phone. Her head was still drumming from the lack of sleep, her mind felt as if it was pierced by thousands of needles. Frustratedly, she stretched towards her phone and answered the call.
Her best friend Zhong Siqiao’s muffled voice came from the other end of the call, “I’ll call you back later.”
“……”
Wen Yifan blinked her eyes, her mind still reeling from what she’d heard.
Waking her up from her sleep just to tell her she’d call her back? Did she wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?
Disgruntled by the call, she blurted out, “Did you just call me on purpose…”
The phone was cut off before she could finish her sentence.
With nowhere to direct her anger to, Wen Yifan stared at the ceiling and sighed audibly. After some tossing and turning, she picked up her phone and saw that it was almost 2PM in the afternoon.
Wen Yifan immediately got out of bed, grabbed a cardigan and went to the toilet.
While she was brushing her teeth, her phone lit up again. Using her pinky finger she slid down the phone screen and put it on speaker.
“Damn it, I ran into my highschool friend without any makeup on, and my scalp was still oily. I almost died of embarrassment!” Zhong Siqiao exclaimed.
“If only it’s that easy to die.” Bubbles filled Wen Yifan’s mouth, her speech barely coherent. “Aren’t you just playing the victim like always?”
After three seconds of silence, Zhong Siqiao decided not to bother. “Wanna hang out tonight, Ms. Reporter Wen? You’ve been working overtime every single day of this week. If you don’t get some fun soon, you’re going to work yourself to death.”
“OK. Where?”
“Why don’t we go to the bar near your office? I don’t know if you’ve been there before, but I heard from my colleague that the bartender’s super handsome…” said Zhong Siqiao. “Hey, why do I hear the sound of running water on your side? Are you doing the dishes?”
“Brushing my teeth,” answered Wen Yifan.
“You just woke up?” Zhong Siqiao asked in surprise.
“Mmm hmm,” Wen Yifan mumbled.
“It’s already two in the afternoon, even your lunch break would have ended by now.” Zhong Siqiao felt strange. “What did you do last night?”
“Watched a horror movie,” said Wen Yifan.
“The title?” queried Zhong Siqiao.
“Hell When You Wake Up,” answered Wen Yifan.
It was obvious that Zhong Siqiao had seen the movie before based on her reaction. “Is that even a horror film?”
“I went straight to bed after the movie,” Wen Yifan pretended not to hear the sarcasm in her friend’s voice. She grabbed a towel, dried her face, then continued, “then I woke up in the middle of the night, and just like in the movie, I saw a ghost hovering in front of me.”
“……”
There was an absolute silence from the other end.
“Then I fought with the ghost for the rest of the night.” Wen Yifan said.
Zhong Siqiao was speechless. “Why are you switching to an X-rated topic suddenly?”
“And why is it considered X-rated?” Wen Yifan raised her eyebrows.
“What kind of fight do you need the whole night for?” Zhong Siqiao replied.
Wen Yifan tried not to roll her eyes.
“OK, let’s not hunt for ghosts anymore. Ms. Zhong’s gonna bring you to go man-hunting.” Zhong Siqiao said gleefully, “Hot, fresh, dashing males.”
“I’d rather hunt for ghosts.” Picking up her phone, Wen Yifan strolled out of her bathroom. “At least it’s free.”
“Who said it’s not free?” Zhong Siqiao retorted. “Man-hunting can be free too.”
“Yeah?” Wen Yifan asked.
“We can always window shop.”
“……”
Wen Yifan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. After she hung up the call, Wen Yifan messaged her landlady about the situation last night. After some hesitation, she added that she might not renew her contract when the contract expires.
Two months ago, she moved to Nanwu city from Yihe town.
She rented the room with the help of Zhong Siqiao, and the place was wonderful. The only downside was she had to share it with two other housemates. The landlady had converted the 800 square feet apartment into three separate bedrooms with attached bathrooms, so there was no kitchen and living space. However, the price was cheap.
Wen Yifan wasn’t very picky when it came to her living quarters. Plus, the location was ideal, with plenty of food and public transport in walking distance. She even considered renting it for the long term, until the day she met the guy next door.
Everything gradually unfolded into the situation now.
Unknowingly, the small confined room was covered in darkness after the sun had set. The lights in the neighborhood lit up one by one, the city was lit up, and the night market increasingly became lively.
It was almost time. Wen Yifan got dressed and applied some light makeup.
Zhong Siqiao couldn’t stop spamming her in WeChat.
She grabbed her purse on the rack, “I’m going out now.” she replied with a voice message. She went out, glanced across the street, and went down the stairs in a hurry.
They promised to meet at the subway station.
The place that she was going to was a bar recommended by Zhong Siqiao. The bar was located opposite Shang An Plaza. After passing through an alleyway, lanes of neon lights were gleaming on every signboard of the stores.
This was a place that would only be bustling at night.
This street of bars was well-known in Nanwu City, it was also nicknamed ‘The Depraved Street’.
Since they had never been here before, it took them a long time before finding the bar in an unnoticeable corner.
The name was intriguing, it was called “OverTime”
With a sleek white font and black background, the signboard was extraordinarily simple. It was so low-profile like a hair salon, that it did not stand out among the vast number of vivid and colorful neon lights.
“Seems like a good idea.” Wen Yifan commented after staring at the bar for a moment. “Opening a hair salon at a street of bars. Those who wish to pick up some girls could visit here to glam up beforehand.”
Zhong Siqiao’s lips twitched slightly, dragging her inside, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Unexpectedly, the bar was not as vacant as Wen Yifan thought it would be.
They were early when they reached. Although it was not the peak hours yet, the seats in the bar were mostly occupied.
There was a lady singing while playing the guitar on stage, the ambience was serene and relaxing. At the bar, a blonde bartender was tossing and juggling the shaker around with ease.
They found a seat, and Wen Yifan ordered the cheapest liquor.
Zhong Siqiao looked around, disappointed, “Is the owner away? I don’t see the handsome guy here.”
Wen Yifan rested her cheeks on her hands, and mumbled, “That bartender could be the one.”
“Rubbish!” Zhong Siqiao clearly couldn’t accept it, “My colleague who drops by ‘The Depraved Street’ all the time said that the owner of this bar is ‘The Icon’ of this street.”
“Perhaps that was all self-proclaimed.”
“?”
Wen Yifan noticed the glare from Zhong Siqiao, she straightened her back and enunciated, “Perhaps.”
Zhong Siqiao grunted.
They had a casual conversation for a while.
Zhong Siqiao seemed to have recalled something from the afternoon, “Oh, I met my high school deputy class monitor today. He is also a Nanjing University student, and seems like he’s living in the same dormitory as Sang Yan, but why do I not recall ever seeing him?”
Wen Yifan became startled when she heard that name.
“Speaking of which, do you remember——” While asking, Zhong Siqiao glanced, then had her eyes fixed at the bar, “Hey, look at your 10 o’clock direction, could he be ‘The Icon of The Street’ ?”
In the meantime, Wen Yifan heard someone yelling “Brother Yan!”.
She looked in the direction of the voice.
Not knowing exactly when, a man started standing next to the bartender.
The bar was dimly lit. He was leaning on the side of the table, with his back towards the bar and his head tilted aside. It seemed like he was having a conversation with the bartender. He was wearing a pure black jacket, and he had a tall and fit physique. Even though he was slightly hunched, he was still taller than the bartender next to him.
With pitch-black eyes and that smirk on his face, he seemed cynical.
The beams of LED lights left traces on his face.
In that split second, Wen Yifan recognized him.
“My goodness.” Zhong Siqiao probably discovered the same thing, “Girl, it’s Sang Yan!”
“……”
“He showed up as soon as I brought him up just now… Do you still remember him? He flirted with you before you transferred to another school……”
Wen Yifan’s eyelashes fluttered.
A waiter was just passing by. Wen Yifan was feeling a little uneasy, and was about to interrupt Zhong Siqiao when she heard a cry right next to her. She looked up and saw someone bumped into the waiter. The serving tray and the glasses on the tray lost their balance…
…towards her direction.
Liquor, along with ice cubes, spilled and streamed down her left shoulder. She wore a loose-fitting sweater that day, and half of her sweater was drenched. The piercing cold gave her shivers.
Wen Yifan gasped and instinctively stood up.
The music in the bar was loud, but that still caused quite a scene.
In shock, the waiter’s face went completely pale, and he apologized repeatedly.
Zhong Siqiao stood up and removed the ice cubes on her sweater before frowning, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Wen Yifan’s voice shivered involuntarily, and she looked at the waiter calmly, “There’s no need to apologize, just be careful next time.”
“I’m going to the washroom to clean this up,” she informed Zhong Siqiao.
She glanced up and unintentionally bumped into an intense and distant but ambiguous gaze.
Their gaze held for two seconds.
Wen Yifan turned away and headed towards the washroom.
She took off her sweater in the changing room. Inside was a tightly fit innerwear.
Fortunately, the sweater had absorbed most of the moisture, and her innerwear was just slightly damp.
Wen Yifan took the sweater to the sink and managed to clean the liquor off herself using a damp tissue.
She went out of the washroom after roughly fixing her outfit.
She had a glimpse at the aisle, there was a person standing there. Wen Yifan intuitively looked up and was stunned.
With a cigarette in his mouth, the man was leaning against the wall. His expression was dull with lackluster eyes. Unlike before, his jacket was taken off and held in his hands.
There was only a black T-shirt left.
It has been six years since they both last met.
Not being completely sure if he still recognized her, Wen Yifan didn’t know if she should greet him. After struggling for a second, she decided to bite the bullet and pretend like she did not know him. She looked down and went straight towards the bar.
This place had a dark-colored yet classy interior design, the spread-out vein pattern of the marble tiles were glistening. The melodious vocals of the singer could be faintly heard from where she was.
Closer and closer.
She was going to pass by him.
It was at this moment.
“Hey,” he uttered indistinctly, sounding weary.
Wen Yifan stopped and looked towards him.
Out of a sudden, Sang Yan threw his jacket towards her, blocking most of her view. Wen Yifan was stunned but she quickly grabbed the jacket while feeling baffled.
Without looking up, Sang Yan put out his cigarette on the bin next to him.
Neither one of them took the initiative to speak.
It lasted just for a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. Sang Yan slowly looked up and met her gaze. His gaze unveiled a trace of distance.
“Let’s talk,” he said.
