Heart Flutter

Chapter 116

Ji Yuqing was on her knees on the carpet when Tang Yan suddenly leaned in and kissed her. Her mind froze for a second. Damn it, what scared her most was not the kiss itself—but that she didn’t hate it. In fact, she almost gave in to it. She nearly kissed her back. It was only when her senses kicked in that she realized this couldn’t happen. She quickly pushed Tang Yan away and scrambled to her feet, stumbling toward the bathroom and shutting the glass door behind her.

At the sink, she splashed her face with cold water, trying to shake off the heat that had crept up her spine. Shame burned in her chest. How could her body react like that? Yan Yan was just a child. How could she let something like that happen? The guilt hit her like a wave. It felt like she had crossed a line—something deeply wrong.

After Aunt Ji left, Tang Yan collapsed back onto the sofa. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, the overhead light a bit too bright. She instinctively lifted an arm to shield her eyes. Her lips curled into a contented smile. Her heart was full. Everything felt like a dream—and if it was, she hoped it would last just a little longer.

Drunk, Tang Yan had kissed Aunt Ji under the influence of alcohol. And not long after that, she passed out cold on the couch.

In her dream, she and Aunt Ji had gone even further. It was sweet. It was perfect.

Ji Yuqing stayed in the bathroom, unable to step outside. She had no idea how to face Tang Yan. She didn’t even know how to face herself. After what felt like forever, she braced herself and opened the door, only to find the girl fast asleep on the couch, snoring peacefully without a care in the world. Ji Yuqing couldn’t help but laugh at herself.

She stood there for a second, then walked over to the bed, picked up a blanket, and gently laid it over Tang Yan. After that, she climbed into bed, opened her laptop on her lap, and got back to the work she hadn’t finished. She also booked a flight back to Huadu for the next morning.

Tang Yan slept soundly, murmuring now and then in her sleep. “Aunt Ji… I really like you.” Sitting at the head of the bed, Ji Yuqing couldn’t help but feel a ripple in her heart as she overheard those words. She finished her work distractedly, and by the time she closed her laptop, the sky outside was already beginning to lighten. Before dawn, the world was quiet.

She got out of bed as quietly as possible, packed her things, double-checked that she hadn’t left anything behind, and wheeled her suitcase to the door. She paused, thinking she couldn’t just leave like this without a word. So she wrote a note and stuck it above the couch, somewhere Tang Yan would see it the moment she woke up. Only then did she leave the guesthouse with peace of mind.

It was chilly outside. Ji Yuqing held her coat tightly around herself with one arm and dragged her suitcase with the other. The streetlamps were still on, but at some synchronized moment, they all flicked off. As she walked, she began to see the earliest risers in the city—street cleaners starting their morning shifts.

She finally flagged down a taxi and told the driver her destination. Once she shut the door, the cab headed toward the airport.

As the car moved through the waking city, the sky gradually brightened, and the streets opened up in front of them. Ji Yuqing yawned, leaned back in her seat, pulled out her phone, and messaged Pei Wen that she was heading back to Huadu and asked her to have some documents ready at the office. Only then did she allow herself a short nap.

At 7 a.m., the guesthouse owner, He Xu, arrived and was surprised to find the front door open. That’s odd. Had Qiluo woken up this early? Curious, he walked in. Her room door was still closed—no sign of anyone being up. So it must’ve been a guest who left early. That was the only explanation.

He took the groceries he brought and started making breakfast in the kitchen. That way, Qiluo would have something warm to eat when she got up.

Around 9, Tang Yan’s roommate Lu Wan finally woke up—first one up in the dorm. She was shocked to find that the flatbread on the table had turned rock hard—hard enough to crack a walnut. She quickly woke Han Shuang.

“Hey, look at the flatbread you bought yesterday! I told you not to. It’s basically inedible now.”

Xia Zihan also woke up from the noise, rubbing her eyes groggily. “What’s going on?”

Han Shuang sat bolt upright in bed and rushed over to check the flatbread. She tapped it against the table—loud thunk. One bite of that and her teeth would snap. “Sorry, I didn’t think about the climate here. Who knew it’d harden like that overnight?”

“Forget it,” Lu Wan waved her off. “We’ll try microwaving it later. Feels like a waste to throw away such good bread.”

“Wait, did Tang Yan not come back last night?” Xia Zihan suddenly realized the bed beside hers was still empty.

“Are you serious? She went to sleep in her aunt’s room. We all had a bit to drink yesterday—did you forget already?” Lu Wan rolled her eyes.

“Oh right! Now I remember,” Xia Zihan scratched her head. “What time is it? We’ve got so much to do today.”

“After nine,” Lu Wan said.

“No way! That late? Everyone get up! We need to get ready. Lu Wan, can you go upstairs and wake Tang Yan? My stomach hurts—I need the bathroom now!” With that, Xia Zihan clutched her belly, threw on her slippers, and bolted to the restroom.

Knock knock knock. Lu Wan rapped twice on the door, then called out softly, “Tang Yan? You in there? Time to get up. We’re heading out soon.”

Tang Yan groggily opened her eyes. Her head throbbed like she’d stayed up three nights straight. Her brain was pounding, and she felt a wave of nausea. Damn hangover.

She opened her eyes fully and noticed a sticky note above the couch. Sitting up, she pulled it down. That’s when she heard Lu Wan’s voice calling her from outside.

“I’m here! I’ll be right down!” she called back.

“Okay, hurry up! We’ll be waiting on the first floor,” Lu Wan said, heading downstairs.

Tang Yan turned her attention back to the note. The handwriting was unmistakably Aunt Ji’s. She’d recognize it anywhere. Aunt Ji always left her notes when she had to step out—especially on weekends.

The note read:

Something came up at work. I caught a flight back. After you wake up, help me check out at the front desk. Please don’t drink again when you’re with your classmates.

Tang Yan’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately looked around the room. Her aunt’s luggage was really gone. She had really left. But why so suddenly?

A wave of emptiness crashed into her. Other than what she did last night, she couldn’t think of any other reason.

Turns out, you can’t just throw hardened flatbread into the microwave. Thankfully, the guesthouse owner came to the rescue. With practiced ease, he sprinkled a bit of water over the bread, wrapped it in a plastic bag, and microwaved it for thirty seconds. Just like that, it softened. The girls watched him in awe, realizing how little they knew.

He Xu laughed awkwardly. “Everyone who stays here knows how to deal with it. The bread can be eaten in other ways too. The weather here is different—you’ll get used to it.”

The kindhearted owner even brought out a big pot of lamb soup so they could dip the bread in it. As he looked around, he noticed someone was missing.

“Are you girls missing someone?”

“Oh yeah, she didn’t sleep with us last night. She stayed with her aunt. She should be down soon.”

Just as she said that, Tang Yan appeared at the top of the stairs, freshly dressed. She saw everyone lined up neatly having breakfast. Instead of joining them, she looked at He Xu and said, “I’d like to check my aunt out of her room.”

Everyone looked up in surprise. He Xu asked, “That sudden?”

Tang Yan gave a sheepish smile. “Something urgent came up at her company. She flew back.”

“No wonder. The door was open when I got here this morning,” He Xu muttered.

Tang Yan stayed quiet and went to the front desk to handle the check-out. Only after that did she rejoin the others at the table.

“Your aunt just left?”

“That fast? When?”

Everyone was full of questions. Tang Yan didn’t know how to answer. She just forced a smile and said it was because of work.

Aunt Ji’s unannounced departure felt like a punch to the gut. Tang Yan had no clue what her aunt was thinking and could only assume the worst—maybe she hated her now?

Since her aunt left, Tang Yan had been in a daze. Even when she went out with her team, she seemed completely absent.

Later that morning, Zhou Qiluo finally got out of bed. Dressed in pajamas with messy hair and no makeup, glasses perched on her nose, she walked past He Xu at the front desk without acknowledging him to fetch some water.

That’s when He Xu finally spoke. “She left.”

She straightened up and asked, “Who?”

“Ji Yuqing,” he said.

He thought, maybe now she’ll understand—some things are meant to stay in the past. If that woman really cared, she wouldn’t have left like that. He hoped Zhou Qiluo would finally see it clearly: there was no going back.

But Zhou Qiluo flared up instantly. Her voice rose. She stormed up to him and grabbed his collar. “When?! Why didn’t you tell me?! You kept it from me on purpose!”

“Hey, hey—calm down,” He Xu tried to reason. “I just got here early this morning. Saw the door open. Then Tang Yan came down and helped check her aunt out. That’s how I found out. I told you as soon as I knew!”

Zhou Qiluo let go of him and stormed off with her water cup, slamming her door behind her. He Xu shouted after her, “She’s gone. Can’t you just let it go? Pretend these last few days never happened!”

She ignored him. In her room, she picked up her phone and dialed Ji Yuqing’s number. But all she got was the automated message—powered off. She tried again. And again. Same result.

On the plane, Ji Yuqing had managed to doze off for a bit. By the time she woke up, she had already landed in Huadu. Her car was still at the train station parking lot—she’d left it there days ago. But to her surprise, Pei Wen had already shown up at the airport to meet her.

Out of breath, Pei Wen rushed over and grabbed her suitcase. “Sis, let me take that. You must be exhausted.”

Ji Yuqing didn’t argue. She handed over the suitcase and walked alongside her.

Pei Wen hesitated, chewing on her question before finally blurting it out, “Why did you come back so suddenly? I was still asleep when your text came in.”

At first, she thought she was seeing things. But after double-checking, she realized it was real—Ji Yuqing was on her way back and told her to be on standby at the office. Since her car wasn’t at the airport, Pei Wen rushed over to pick her up.

Ji Yuqing didn’t answer. She just picked up the pace. “Did you finish the new proposal?”

“It’s done. Already on your desk,” Pei Wen said.

Her car was parked outside. They stashed the luggage in the trunk and got in. As Pei Wen set the GPS, she asked if they should head to the train station first.

“Let’s go straight to the office,” Ji Yuqing replied.

“But what about your car?” Pei Wen asked.

“It can wait. I need to get back to Director Liu with an answer,” Ji Yuqing said.

She leaned back in the passenger seat, eyes half-shut. She hadn’t slept all night and was completely drained.

Pei Wen glanced over, sensing something wasn’t right. Ji Yuqing clearly wasn’t asleep. After some hesitation, she carefully asked, “Sis… did Tang Yan do something to upset you?”

“Don’t ask,” Ji Yuqing said, eyes closed.

Pei Wen shut her mouth instantly. The rest of the ride was silent.