Shen Xifan’s attention was drawn to a spider. She was already somewhat nearsighted, but unfortunately, she had forgotten to put on her glasses during her inspection rounds.
The supervisors were somewhat nervous. The scene was already quite eerie: Shen, dressed in a deep blue professional suit, assumed a thoughtful pose, staring fixedly at a certain corner, her gaze distant as if anticipating something. It wasn’t until Zhang suddenly exclaimed, “Ah! There’s a big spider!”
Shen Xifan nodded satisfactorily. “Could it be that our hotel’s ecological environment is too good? Even spiders are crawling in here?”
The head of the guest room department, with a sincere attitude, said, “Manager Shen, it’s my negligence.”
She nodded. “I’ll come back to check again at five o’clock in the afternoon. Remember, it’s for all areas. I won’t find it troublesome.”
Back in her office, she turned on her computer to check the department’s accounts. Just as she had read two lines, the computer suddenly made a “pop” sound and went dead. She carefully sniffed. Wasn’t the computer burning? She then glanced at the indicator light on the water dispenser. Oh, there was a power outage!
The engineering department immediately called. “Manager Shen, there’s a large-scale power outage in the city, so we’re using the hotel’s generator. However, due to the large range of power usage, the administrative building is temporarily without power. Please understand.”
Shen Xifan responded with an “Okay.” She then put on her coat and went out, calling her father. Shen’s father said there seemed to be a large-scale power outage in the east of the city, but their home in the west was still receiving power. She sighed in relief. “I’ll be home a little later tonight.”
The lobby was a bit chaotic. Perhaps the sudden power outage had caused the elevators to stop abruptly. Although it was only for a moment, some guests were startled. A little girl seemed panicked, repeatedly calling out “Mom.”
The lobby manager, Ding Wei, explained the situation. Fortunately, the guests understood, and the situation was quickly brought under control.
Shen Xifan squatted in front of the little girl and asked, “Little friend, where’s your mom?”
The little girl, with a childish voice, spoke haltingly, “I… just now… my mom was still here… when the power went out… it was chaotic… I was pushed here… and then my mom was gone…”
She had no choice but to take the little girl to the security office, pull up the lobby surveillance footage, and let her identify. The little girl was clever, pointing at a woman of average height and saying, “This is her!”
Shen Xifan signaled to rewind the footage. When the woman turned around, her face was directly facing her. She was suddenly stunned. Guning Yuan?
She pointed at the screen and asked, “Are you sure this is your mom?”
The little girl nodded. “Mom suddenly said she wanted to go out. I didn’t want to stay at home alone, so I secretly got into her car and followed her there. But when we got here, my mom disappeared in the blink of an eye.”
“What’s your name?”
“Zhou Siqi.”
Shen Xifan breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn’t someone surnamed “Yan” or “Dai.” However, this little girl seemed to be around six or seven years old. How could she be Guning Yuan’s daughter? There was not the slightest resemblance between them. Perhaps she wasn’t her biological child.
“Auntie will help you find your mom now. You stay here with Uncle Security and don’t wander around, okay?”
“Auntie!” The little girl pleaded timidly, “When my mom comes, can you ask her not to hit me? Siqi is so scared!”
Guning Yuan. How many years had it been since she thought of that name? She had been deliberately ignoring that memory, but three years later, it was forcibly dug up. It still hurt, like a freshly coagulated blood clot. A gentle touch would cause it to bleed again.
Yan Heng was affectionate, but she couldn’t blame him. If she were clever enough, she wouldn’t have willingly jumped into it. But even if she was intelligent, she would become powerless in front of love. He would only love one person, and pamper one person. In front of him, you were a princess. But his affection for each person had an expiration date. When he felt it was no longer fresh, you expired. Then, like canned pineapples, you were packed up and thrown into the trash.
And he was too good, like a drug invading the mind, corroding the heart, and then seeping into the skin, occupying inch by inch. Slowly, irresistibly, every drop of blood in the body shouted his goodness. He was an addiction, with no cure.
But Shen Xifan couldn’t help but ask in her heart, Guning Yuan, this time you came to find Yan Heng, do you want poison or an antidote?
She didn’t need to personally go find Guning Yuan. Moreover, she had been deliberately avoiding Villa Area F. But, she didn’t know why. Perhaps it was reluctance, unfinished business, perhaps there were more reasons. She wasn’t the little girl who cried in hiding when she saw Yan Heng with another girl anymore. But what did she want now? She didn’t know.
After a deeply memorable first love ended, three years later, when both parties met again, what kind of expression should be used, what kind of words should be said, she didn’t know. But many times, everything didn’t need an explanation, and there was no way to explain it.
Yan Heng was wearing very little. Indeed, standing opposite him was Guning Yuan, the former belle of the chemistry department. Now, her glory had faded, and her delicate makeup couldn’t hide the haggardness of her face. Perhaps her marriage was not happy, Shen Xifan speculated.
She didn’t disturb them, just stood far away, unable to hear their conversation, only seeing Guning Yuan grabbing Yan Heng’s arm, only to be fiercely thrown away by him. Then she staggered out, her eyes full of tears.
Shen Xifan took a deep breath and called out, “Wait, Miss Gu!”
Gu Ningyuan and Yan Heng both turned their heads, one with surprise and the other with annoyance. Shen Xifan casually said, “Miss Gu, your daughter is in the security room of the lobby. Please take her away. Also,” she paused, “the child didn’t mean any harm by following. Please don’t blame her!”
Gu Ningyuan forced a smile, noticing Shen Xifan’s name tag, and paused slightly, “I didn’t expect you to work at this hotel. Nice to meet you. I’m very busy today, let’s schedule a time to talk privately another day.”
Shen Xifan wanted to scream, “Even if you invite me on a trip to the Maldives, I won’t go. I’m scared of you!” But she kindly added, “Please don’t scold your daughter!”
Gu Ningyuan smiled and walked away, saying, “My hand hurts just thinking about hitting her…”
Left facing Yan Heng alone, they were close but in an extremely awkward atmosphere. She had to break the silence, “Mr. Yan, there was a large-scale power outage in the city earlier. I hope it didn’t inconvenience you.”
Yan Heng shook his head, sounding somewhat softer, “Xifan, do we have to be so distant?”
She was suddenly at a loss for words, regretting coming here to stir things up. As she turned to leave, Yan Heng’s voice came from behind, causing her breath to hitch, immobilizing her.
“Xiaofan…”
“Shen Xifan, your name sounds a lot like porridge, but that’s just congee, very fragrant, just like you. You have to slowly savor it to appreciate its flavor!”
“Shen Xifan, now that you’re my girlfriend, calling you by your name doesn’t feel intimate enough. I’ll just call you Xiaofan!”
“Xiaofan, Xiaofan, do you like this name? What? Sounds like a dog’s name? How could it be? If you were a dog, you’d be the cutest dog in the world and the laziest!”
“Xiaofan, let’s break up. You’ve changed. You’re not the same Xiaofan anymore. Goodbye, Shen Xifan!”
Yan Heng smiled somewhat bitterly, “Xiaofan, only you know my tastes. I don’t like spicy food but I love hot pot. I don’t eat fish, only fish soup. Every meal I’ve had for the past three years, was it all instructed by you to the chef? You haven’t forgotten anything about me in three years, have you?”
Her eyes welled up uncontrollably. Shen Xifan dared not turn back, just the sound of a familiar name made her so moved and nostalgic. If she continued, she didn’t know how to face the scarred past and the uncertain future.
The wounds of a lifetime couldn’t be healed with words or forgotten over time, but with happiness. She was just lost, wondering if happiness had been taken away by him or if it had never existed.
Suddenly, the intercom buzzed with the supervisor’s voice, “Manager Shen, do you want to inspect the hygiene at five o’clock?”
“I’ll be there right away. Okay, wait for me in front of Building 1.”
Shen Xifan dared not say goodbye, as if she had never said “goodbye” to him. Even if it was their last meeting, she didn’t say “goodbye.” This time, she just softly whispered, “Mr. Yan, I have something to attend to. Goodbye.”
She always said that “goodbye” had two meanings—one was “see you again,” and the other was “never see you again.” She didn’t like either meaning, because she didn’t want to part with him, nor did she want to miss the chance to meet him again.
But things always went against her wishes.