Heart Flutter

Chapter 45

Tang Yan had slept so peacefully that she did not want to wake up. She felt as though she was surrounded by warmth and comfort, with a familiar and pleasant fragrance lingering around her nose—like she was lying among spring blossoms basking in gentle sunlight. The sunlight felt a bit harsh, making it difficult for her to open her eyes.

With that in mind, Tang Yan tried squinting just a little. Facing the light shining through the window, she found it painfully bright and had to try several times before she could open her eyes fully. She was still in the living room—and she was resting on Aunt Ji’s lap!

“You’re awake!” Ji Yuqing stirred from her own doze, alerted by Tang Yan’s movement.

Tang Yan sat bolt upright and raised a hand to smooth her hair, which had become a tangled mess while she slept. “Ji… Aunt Ji, I’m sorry. I… I must have nodded off.”

Remaining seated, Ji Yuqing stretched her aching arms, then stood up and headed toward the kitchen. “What would you like for breakfast?” she asked, only to pause and correct herself. “Actually, it should probably be called lunch now.”

“Anything is fine,” Tang Yan replied, sitting up straight.

Lunch was a simple affair—two vegetable dishes, one meat dish, and a mixed vegetable soup. After they finished eating, Tang Yan helped tidy up, then went back to her room to work on her assignments. Although she was in college, her major still required quite a bit of homework. Compared to her classmates, she did not have any particular advantage, so the only thing she could do was study harder than everyone else.

It was a warm afternoon, and Tang Yan worked through her exercises at her desk. The house was so quiet that she could hear only the soft scratch of her pen moving across the page. Suddenly, a phone rang, breaking the silence. She paused, looked up, and saw her phone’s screen light up with a call from Xiaoyun.

Tang Yan picked up her phone, swiped to answer, and held it to her ear. “Xiaoyun?”

“Where are you right now? Are you okay?” Zhao Xiaoyun’s voice sounded anxious.

“I’m at Aunt Ji’s place. Is something wrong?”

“That cousin of yours—Tang Yawen—found my number somehow. He’s been blowing up my phone all morning, demanding I tell him where you live. I was worried he was trying to give you trouble,” Zhao Xiaoyun complained.

“He came to see me at school, so I blocked him afterward. I’m sorry, Xiaoyun. I never meant to drag you into this,” Tang Yan said, sounding genuinely apologetic.

“It’s fine. I already blocked him too. That guy was bad even when he was a kid, and he clearly hasn’t changed.”

Tang Yan fell silent.

Sensing her mood, Zhao Xiaoyun spoke again. “As long as you’re alright. I was just worried, so I called to check on you. I’m at work, and I had to sneak out to call.”

“You’re working on a Saturday?” Tang Yan asked, surprised.

“I don’t have much choice. It’s expensive to live in Huadu, so I need every bit of money I can earn.”

“Please take care of yourself. I’ll come see you when I can.”

“Alright, I have to go. Bye.”

After they ended the call, Tang Yan set her phone down and let out a long sigh. Feeling helpless, she realized that now even her friends were being bothered by Tang Yawen. She worried that someday he would hassle Aunt Ji too.

It was a truly troublesome and difficult problem.

Halfway through her homework, she noticed that part of her assignments required a computer. Tang Yan searched her bag and remembered she had left her laptop in her dorm room. Her teacher was going to check the assignments on Monday, so she wondered what to do.

She sat in her chair, staring at the ceiling, trying to think of a solution. Suddenly, it occurred to her that there was a computer in Aunt Ji’s study. But would Aunt Ji let her use it? Tang Yan felt embarrassed at the thought; what if it made her look careless, especially knowing she needed her laptop and still forgetting to bring it home?

She struggled with these thoughts for quite a while before deciding that it would be best to speak up. Not finishing her homework would be even worse, especially when she had to hand it in at school.

Clutching her textbooks, she left her room. She noticed that Aunt Ji was not in the living room. Summoning her courage, Tang Yan pursed her lips and knocked on the bedroom door.

“Come in,” she heard from inside.

Tang Yan pushed the door open, and the first thing she saw was a large bay window. Ji Yuqing was sitting on the edge of the bed, propping herself up with one hand. Her phone lay beside her—she must have just put it down when Tang Yan knocked.

“Aunt Ji, I wanted to ask if I could please borrow your computer. I—”

Before she could finish, Ji Yuqing responded, “Sure, go ahead. The study door is open, and the computer’s password is six zeros.”

“Alright!” Tang Yan nodded. Before leaving, she remembered to thank her. “Thank you, Aunt Ji.”

Smiling softly, Ji Yuqing replied, “What are you thanking me for, silly child?”

Holding her books close, Tang Yan carefully entered the study. It was her first time sitting in that chair—the chair where Aunt Ji had spent countless nights working—and she felt a bit nervous. She fumbled around for a while before finally finding the power button. As the computer turned on, her heart began to beat faster.

Sure enough, the screen asked for a password. Tang Yan keyed in six zeros, and the computer unlocked. It had a large monitor, nearly twice the size of her laptop’s, which felt far more comfortable for doing her work.

What really caught her attention, though, was the desktop wallpaper. It was not a system default or an online image, but a photo of Aunt Ji herself and another woman—someone Tang Yan had seen once before: Aunt Ji’s mother. In the photo, the two of them leaned against each other and faced the camera with cheerful smiles.

Tang Yan thought that if someone looked at those smiles every day, they would inevitably be infected by that happy energy and end up smiling themselves without realizing it.

She could not help imagining that seeing the photo each night must have helped Aunt Ji relieve stress and stay motivated.

“How is it? Got it started?” came Ji Yuqing’s voice from the doorway, startling Tang Yan. She quickly clicked on a random webpage so it would not look like she had been staring at the wallpaper for too long.

“Yes, it’s working,” Tang Yan said.

Just then, the phone in Ji Yuqing’s hand rang. She answered it right in front of Tang Yan, her tone shifting from the gentle way she usually spoke to a more solemn, businesslike manner. “Hello? What is it? Right now? It’s Saturday, and Yan Yan is at home. Alright, I understand. I’ll be there soon.”

Once she ended the call, Ji Yuqing turned to Tang Yan and said, “Yan Yan, I need to go out for work. If I don’t make it back tonight, you’ll have to handle dinner by yourself. Is that okay?”

“That’s no problem!” Tang Yan quickly assured her.

“Call me if anything comes up,” Ji Yuqing said, then turned to leave. But Tang Yan suddenly called out to her.

“Aunt Ji,” she said.

Turning back, Ji Yuqing waited for Tang Yan to continue.

“Drive safely,” Tang Yan told her.

“I will.” Ji Yuqing flashed a small smile.

Soon, there were the sounds of her gathering her things, followed by the front door closing. Left alone, Tang Yan returned to the computer and continued working until she finally completed everything two hours later.

Meanwhile, Ji Yuqing drove to the address her assistant had texted her—a restaurant. Pei Wen was already at the entrance. “President Song is waiting for you,” she said.

Striding inside, Ji Yuqing asked, “Why the sudden change of schedule?”

“President Song had a last-minute itinerary shift. He’s flying to Paris tomorrow, so he has to finalize the contract tonight.”

“Alright,” Ji Yuqing murmured, composing herself. She arrived at the reserved private room and knocked softly. A woman inside opened the door and greeted her respectfully. “President Song has been waiting.”

Handing her purse to Pei Wen, Ji Yuqing stepped inside and immediately put on her usual professional smile. “President Song.”

“Miss Ji, come in, come in. You’re late, so you owe us a drink,” said a man seated at the table. His suit jacket hung on the back of his chair, and he wore a brown tie.

In the meantime, Tang Yan, at home and with nothing else to do, decided to clean the place, working until she was covered in sweat. Yet when she checked the clock, it was still only five in the afternoon. She grumbled at how slowly time seemed to pass and tried to find something else to fill the hours.

She put on a movie, but her attention kept wandering, causing her to miss important parts of the plot. Ever since Aunt Ji had left, it felt like time itself had slowed to a crawl. Being alone in such a spacious place made her feel hollow inside, as though something was off no matter where she went.

Eventually, the clock on the living room wall showed eight in the evening, and it was fully dark outside. Yet Aunt Ji still had not returned. Tang Yan turned her phone screen on, then off, repeatedly, unsure whether to call. She worried that contacting her might be disruptive, so she held back.

“President Song,” said Ji Yuqing, trying to fend off yet another toast, “I really can’t drink too much tonight. There’s a child at home waiting for me.”

“Miss Ji, that hardly shows sincerity,” the man replied with a displeased look.

“…”

Pei Wen, standing behind Ji Yuqing, could not say anything. She could only watch as her boss had no choice but to take another drink. It was a deal worth twenty million, after all—no small amount—and her boss was willing to push herself to secure this contract for the company.

By nine-thirty, Tang Yan was fixated on the clock on the wall. Outside, night had settled in, but there was still no sign of Aunt Ji. She felt like she was nearing her limit. She picked up her phone numerous times, tempted to call, yet she was afraid of interrupting her aunt’s work. In the end, she fought the urge again and again.

When the clock finally struck ten, she suddenly heard someone at the front door, pressing the password keys. Tang Yan leaped up from the sofa and ran to the entryway just as the door opened. Another woman was helping Aunt Ji inside. She noticed Tang Yan and seemed pleasantly surprised. “You must be Yan Yan, the one Miss Ji mentioned.”

“Yes, I’m Tang Yan,” she introduced herself before asking, “What happened to Aunt Ji?”

Supporting her weight, the woman replied, “President Song kept insisting she drink, all so she could finalize that huge deal.”

“Let me take her from here,” Tang Yan said, reaching out with a firm look that made it clear she would not be refused.