She had long black hair, wore a blue hat, a fitted top with puff sleeves, and high-waisted wide-leg pants that accentuated her slender waist.
She ordered a cappuccino and sat in the corner.
But the steam from the coffee had dissipated, and the latte art on the surface remained untouched. She kept looking down and tapping on her phone.
The note on the screen is an emoji: sheep.
Why aren't you here yet?
If you're not coming, I'm leaving.
The coffee shop is closing down.
The other party only replied with one sentence: "Coming soon."
The person engrossed in their phone replied impatiently: "[Stop dawdling.]"
The moment the sentence was sent, the door to the coffee shop was pushed open.
A woman in a grass-green coat smoothed her wind-blown curly hair. When a waiter approached and said, "Miss, we're closing soon," the woman raised her chin and said, "I'm looking for someone."
As for who to turn to, it goes without saying.
There was only one customer in the shop, and the staff were exhausted. They were supposed to close at 11 o'clock, but this lady came in at 10:30, ordered a coffee, and sat there. It was past their closing time, and they had already politely reminded her once, but she just said, "Wait a little longer."
I didn't even drink coffee.
The store couldn't just forcibly expel customers when it was closing time. Several employees, exhausted from standing all day, stared intently at the customer, hoping he would behave himself.
Unexpectedly, the guest was waiting for a friend.
If they chatted in the store a little longer...
The shop assistants felt a chill run down their spines just thinking about it.
Zhang Yangning, who had just managed to escape a drinking party to host a welcome ceremony for newly hired employees, arrived late, still smelling of alcohol.
Zhang Yangning walked to the table in the corner, sat down, took a sip of the now-cold coffee, and immediately frowned, "What's this taste like?"
"It's been sitting out for an hour," the person on the other end said, their voice cold and gloomy.
Zhang Yangning put her bag on a chair and asked the waiter for a glass of water.
The waiter hesitated, but Zhang Yangning raised her phoenix eyes slightly and asked, "You won't even give me a cup of water, let alone coffee?"
"Yes, we do." To avoid trouble, the clerk immediately went to pour her a glass of water.
Zhang Yangning took a sip; it was slightly hot. She frowned, about to complain, but was stopped by the person opposite her. "That's enough."
"Ranran." After drinking water, her throat was no longer as dry as before, and her voice became softer. She smiled at the person opposite her and said, "Are you angry?"
Only then did the woman raise her head; her eyes were so red they looked almost frightening.
It was Liang Xinran.
Zhang Yangning was also startled, "My God, what happened to you? Why are your eyes all red like a bunny's?"
“You’ve cried too much,” Liang Xinran said coldly.
Zhang Yangning: "..."
"What happened?" Zhang Yangning asked.
Liang Xinran glanced at the water in her hand. "Have you finished drinking? Let's talk outside."
Zhang Yangning hesitated, reluctant to go outside in the cold wind, but Liang Xinran had already gotten up and walked outside.
A few seconds later, Zhang Yangning gulped down a mouthful of water, grabbed his bag from the chair, and followed.
Her bag was a designer brand, costing five figures.
The clothes she was wearing were also quite expensive.
After they left, the coffee shop staff were still gossiping, saying that the man acted like a nouveau riche.
Zhang Yangning, who had already left, was unaware that she had been freezing as soon as she stepped outside. She chased after Liang Xinran, asking, "Where are you going?"
Liang Xinran said, "Don't speak yet."
Zhang Yangning: "..."
She looked around by the roadside and saw nothing unusual.
Besides, it's a wide, open street, so far from the Liang family and Dongheng, who would be able to see them?
That's just paranoia.
However, Zhang Yangning only thought about it in his heart, but still obediently did as Liang Xinran said.
There is a narrow alley connecting two main roads. Few people pass through the alley, and one of the streetlights is broken and hasn't been repaired yet.
Liang Xinran stood in the middle of the alley waiting for the other party.
A moment later, Zhang Yangning came running over, panting. "I'm not saying this to be mean, but your legs aren't that long. How come you walk like you have a motor?"
"You're too slow," Liang Xinran said without changing her expression.
Zhang Yangning subconsciously replied, "You prefer it when things go slowly in bed."
After he finished speaking, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Liang Xinran glanced at her sideways, "All you remember is that stuff in bed, isn't that annoying?"
"Why don't we try it tonight and see?" Zhang Yangning said, pinning Liang Xinran against the wall and slipping his hand inside her clothes. "Don't you want to too?"
Caught off guard, Liang Xinran's slender back slammed hard against the cold wall, causing her to swear in pain.
"Go easy on me, you fucking thing," Liang Xinran said unhappily.
Zhang Yangning scoffed, "They're all right here, what's the point of being gentle?"
Zhang Yangning leaned closer to her, his movements suggestive, "It has to be a bit heavy to feel anything, aren't you happy?"
Liang Xinran: "...I'm not happy at all."
Liang Xinran gave her a push and said seriously, "Let's get down to business."
Zhang Yangning, who was pushed away, left empty-handed, but still couldn't resist pinching her chest and taunting her in a nonchalant manner: "The Liang family is living a good life, isn't it? This place is all big now."
She never spoke seriously in front of Liang Xinran; she was always sleazy and vulgar.
Liang Xinran glanced at her sideways and held out her hand, "Give me a cigarette."
Zhang Yangning slowly took out cigarettes and a lighter from his bag, handing them to her while asking, "How did you get out of the Liang family's house? And you dare to contact me on your own initiative? Aren't you afraid of being found out?"
"If they find out, just say we're from the same hometown." Liang Xinran exhaled a puff of smoke and waved it away in front of her. "I didn't do anything."
Zhang Yangning laughed, "Nothing yet?"
“I didn’t do that little brat thing,” Liang Xinran said. “She just messed around with her hands.”
Zhang Yangning was too lazy to argue with her and replied with a perfunctory smile, "Okay, okay."
"You weren't recorded or anything when you were talking to Xu Kang, were you?" Liang Xinran asked.
Zhang Yangning shook his head: "No, and besides, I didn't do anything. I just gave him a little pointer. The idea was all his wife's. Besides, it's not the first or second time that the two of them have done this kind of thing. It's not a big deal."
Liang Xinran nodded slightly and remained silent for a moment.
Zhang Yangning also lit a cigarette and asked her, "Aren't you going home tonight?"
Liang Xinran said, "I was kicked out."
Zhang Yangning: "..."
"Damn it, that's it?" Zhang Yangning said angrily, "I told you, you can't rush things. What kind of family is the Liang family? Do you think those people are pushovers? They're not your stupid, clueless father, nor your mother who only knows how to give birth. Your little tricks won't work..."
"Enough!" Liang Xinran frowned and growled in a low voice, "I didn't call you here to listen to your lectures."
Zhang Yangning paused for a few seconds, then said, "So tell me, what do you want to do?"
“My mom will come looking for me again,” Liang Xinran said. “Does Liang Xinzhou think he can get away with just kicking me out? He’s so naive.”
Zhang Yangning looked at her and couldn't help but say, "I don't understand, why do you want to sow discord among them? Can't you just be a good Miss Liang? If you get a little bit of her, you'll live comfortably for the rest of your life."
"Why should I only get a little?" Liang Xinran said. "Didn't they say I was their most beloved child? They abandoned me for so many years, and I haven't seen them give me any compensation."
Liang Xinran's eyes were gloomy as she stared at a black insect on the ground at her feet. She lifted her foot slightly and then slammed it down, stepping on the insect.
They stomped on him and killed him.
Her voice was even colder than the late autumn breeze, "They've been young masters and ladies for so many years, that's enough. Leave the rest to me."
Zhang Yangning: "..."
The box was cold and deserted, with a cold wind howling through it.
Zhang Yangning looked at her and suddenly smiled. She was still the same Liang Xinran.
“So many years have passed.” Zhang Yangning laughed heartily, “You haven’t changed at all.”
Liang Xinran scoffed, "Aren't you the same?"
Zhang Yangning suddenly remembered Liang Xinran when she was seven years old, back when she was called Guo Xinran.
Because her mother was pregnant with her second child, her father took advantage of the new baby and treated her exceptionally badly, often beating and scolding her.
Zhang Yangning met the girl by the stream outside the village.
At that time, Zhang Yangning was not very old. He was holding a snake and trying to drown it in the water, a secret pleasure on his face.
Seeing Guo Xinran staring at her, she shouted, "What? Do you want to drown too?"
Guo Xinran jumped into the water and walked towards her step by step, her eyes burning with intensity. Her first words were: "Kill me."
This completely baffled Zhang Yangning.
But Guo Xinran's second sentence was: "Or kill the child in my mother's womb, and I'll be at your beck and call."
...
Memories flood back, that figure overlapping with the present.
Liang Xinran is still the same person who dares to do anything when she gets ruthless.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Yangning asked her, "So how are you going to get back?"
“I left a note there,” Liang Xinran said. “My mother will come looking for me. Until then, find me a place to stay.”