Chapter Nineteen: Flash Photo
When Jiang Muwen suddenly lunged forward, Wen Yichen was caught off guard as well. He lowered his gaze, bewildered, at the girl before him. After a moment, he deliberately cleared his throat.
The abrupt cough jolted Jiang Muwen back to her senses. She instinctively took two steps back.
“There was a car just now, so I…” Wen Yichen quickly explained, as if afraid Jiang Muwen might misunderstand.
At his words, Jiang Muwen’s ears flushed red. She mumbled a soft acknowledgment, nervously tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. With Wen Yichen’s explanation, her mind raced—was he hinting for her to thank him, or did he just not want her to get the wrong idea?
After a long pause, she finally managed to utter two words of thanks.
Wen Yichen seemed a bit surprised by her gratitude. “It’s nothing.”
…
When the two of them arrived home, they were greeted by Su Yu lounging on the sofa, leisurely sorting through a pile of photographs on the coffee table. She glanced at Wen Yixin beside her, nudging him with her elbow. “Son, which one do you think is better to put in Piglet’s room, this one or that one?”
Wen Yixin glanced at the photos in her hand and shook his head helplessly. “Mom, you’re sneaking photos into Wen Yichen’s room again?”
At this, Su Yu looked up, her eyes lingering briefly on Wen Yichen and Jiang Muwen. She had planned to be discreet about it, but now that Wen Yichen was home, there was no point in hiding. “How is this sneaking? I’m putting them in with full transparency.”
“Mom, what are you trying to put in there now?” Wen Yichen changed into his slippers and glanced at the coffee table.
Before Su Yu could reply, Wen Yichen continued, “By the way, Jiang Muwen forgot her keys, and her parents are away traveling…”
“That’s perfect! Little Wenwen can stay with us these next few days! I’ll call Wen Nuan in a bit,” Su Yu interrupted him, clearly delighted by the news.
She called the two of them over to the coffee table. “Little Wenwen, come look. Which one do you think is better, this one or this one?”
Jiang Muwen’s gaze followed her words to the two photos. She hadn’t thought much of it at first, but the moment she saw them, she was startled. She had expected landscapes or something similar, but instead, they were childhood photos of herself and Wen Yichen.
Her heart gave a heavy thump. Why would Wen Yichen’s mother print these out?
She had to admit, Wen Yichen as a child had been strikingly beautiful—like a little girl, with delicate features. No wonder he grew up to be so handsome.
It seemed Su Yu noticed her confusion and explained as she sorted through the photos, “I just thought these pictures were so adorable, I couldn’t help but print them out.”
…
“Then why did you print two sets?” Wen Yichen asked, picking up a photo.
“One for you, one for Little Wenwen,” Su Yu replied, snatching the photo from his hand. “You two were betrothed as children—one set each isn’t too much, is it?”
“…?”
“…?”
After Su Yu’s words, Jiang Muwen and Wen Yichen stared at each other in utter bewilderment. Even Wen Yixin was stunned, staring at the pair—so the childhood betrothal wasn’t just a joke between parents?
The air seemed to freeze in that moment, the atmosphere growing so awkward that even breathing felt intrusive.
“Oh, don’t just stand there. Go do whatever you need to do. I’ll go get pajamas ready for Little Wenwen,” Su Yu said, gathering up the photos and leaving the three youngsters around the coffee table.
“…I’m going to play video games,” Wen Yixin muttered, feeling out of place, and got up to leave.
“I’ll go take a shower, then.”
“I’ll go take a shower, then.”
They spoke almost in unison, and awkwardness fell upon them once again.
“You go first. I’ll play games in my room,” Wen Yichen said, standing up and heading to his bedroom.
By the time both Jiang Muwen and Wen Yichen had finished their showers, it was already past ten.
Wen Yichen, dressed in loose pajamas, walked lazily into the room, towel-drying his damp hair.
Jiang Muwen was seated at the desk, watching as Wen Yichen drew closer and stopped beside her. He bent over, reached out, and placed his hand on the phone lying on the desk.
The moment he leaned in, she felt the warmth radiating from his body, along with the strong scent of body wash lingering from his shower.
Jiang Muwen instinctively lifted her eyes, and what met her gaze was his sharply defined profile, with droplets of water still clinging to his skin—one in particular slid slowly from his cheek to his collar, darkening a patch of his light gray neckline.
She must have been staring too intently, for Wen Yichen suddenly became aware of her gaze.
He glanced at her and picked up his phone. “What is it?”
Caught off guard, Jiang Muwen quickly looked away and blurted out, “Nothing… You just showered really fast…”
Wen Yichen chuckled softly, turned away, and flopped lazily onto a beanbag chair in the corner.
Silence descended once more. Jiang Muwen sat there, unsure what to do—she wanted to do her homework, but seeing how relaxed Wen Yichen was, she felt awkward pulling it out.
“Wen Yichen, aren’t you going to do your homework?” she finally ventured.
“Don’t feel like it.”
“…”
The conversation died as quickly as a tornado.
She had to admit, Wen Yichen had an uncanny ability to kill a conversation—he seemed to get better at it every year.
Wen Yichen himself seemed completely oblivious. He lounged comfortably, scrolling aimlessly through Weibo. Suddenly, a notification caught his attention.
He opened the message—Bai Xu had sent it.
“By the way, bro, I forgot to show you something.”
“[Flash photo]”
Curiosity piqued, Wen Yichen tapped on the image.
On his phone screen appeared a photo—the subjects were none other than himself and Jiang Muwen, fast asleep side by side, looking utterly peaceful.