I Just Want to Wait for You

Ji Shen's gesture was quite heartwarming. Knowing that she minded his coming over, he had specially sent someone to deliver food to them.

Wen Shuang typed out a reply: [Thank you.]

Ji Shen: [Between you and me, what is there to thank for? Eat up quickly, or it will get cold and won't taste good soon!]

Wen Shuang unsealed the packaging and carefully carried it to Tang Yan. "Yan Yan, I know you're very heartbroken right now, but please eat at least a little. Don't starve yourself."

The most hysterical phase of Tang Yan's stay in the hospital had already passed. However, she still wept silently after returning home.

With red-rimmed eyes, she shook her head. "Shuang Shuang, I can't eat! Whenever I think about He Zhi staying with that little white lotus right now, it feels as if my heart is being carved up by a knife!"

Wen Shuang had tasted this kind of pain before, too. She expressed deep understanding. "Yan Yan, a broken heart is like a severe cold. It's hardest to endure at first, but once you pull through, everything will be bright again!"

Tang Yan sobbed woefully, "I want to as well. Can I actually do it?"

"You can definitely do it!" Wen Shuang scooped a spoonful of porridge, gently blew on it to cool it down, and brought it to Tang Yan's lips. "Come on, open your mouth."

Tang Yan obediently opened her mouth. "Ah."

Seeing Tang Yan's tear-stained, flushed face, Wen Shuang felt a pang of heartache. "Be a good girl. Without a man, you still have your girlfriends. Girlfriends are always reliable!"

Two months ago, the period right after she and Ji Shen broke up had also been quite difficult. It was Tang Yan who had stayed by her side the whole time. This time, Wen Shuang would also accompany Tang Yan through her ordeal!

Tang Yan nodded heavily!

Remembering something, she asked, "Shuang Shuang, what is your relationship with Officer Ji now? I feel like the way he treats you now is... so different from before!"

Mentioning Ji Shen gave Wen Shuang a headache. The person she had originally resolved to have nothing more to do with was now showing up in front of her every single day, lingering around.

"He... probably just isn't reconciled to it now! That's why he's acted like a completely different person lately, going to all lengths to curry favor and be good to me." Wen Shuang shook her head. "But there's already no possibility between him and me!"

"Mm-hmm. Bai Yan is pretty good, though. You could give it a try with him."

Wen Shuang's spoon paused.

"Bai Yan... he is quite good. But I suppose he and I aren't really a match either."

"Why?"

"I'm too old!"

"My foot you're too old! You're only twenty-five, how old can you possibly be? Younger little milk-dog boyfriends are so wonderful. Wen Shuang, give it a try, you definitely won't lose out on this investment."

Wen Shuang coaxed Tang Yan, "Alright, alright, my little princess, I'll try it if you say so!"

***

Fearing that Tang Yan's emotional state would be unstable if she stayed home alone after the breakup, Wen Shuang specifically asked for leave and stayed to accompany Tang Yan for several days straight.

At first, Tang Yan constantly had nightmares. In her dreams, she would shout out at one moment, "He Zhi, you damned bastard, you won't come to a good end!" And at the next moment, she would cry out, "He Zhi, where are you... I miss you so much..." Sometimes she would even start crying right in the middle of shouting!

Watching this, Wen Shuang felt an extreme ache in her heart. She silently patted Tang Yan's shoulder, comforting her in soft, gentle whispers.

After a few days of this, Tang Yan's emotional fluctuations became much more stable. Wen Shuang breathed a sigh of relief and finally went back to dancing.

Yao Qianqian was as enthusiastic toward her as ever. "Shuang Shuang, do you have things going on lately? I've noticed you taking leave quite frequently."

Wen Shuang gave a bitter smile. "I've had terrible luck at the end of the year; quite a lot of things have happened."

Originally, the director wanted to assign her two new dance dramas, but Wen Shuang didn't have the time and had passed them all on to Yao Qianqian.

"No wonder I've seen you looking quite haggard lately. No matter how many things are going on, you still have to take care of yourself!"

Wen Shuang nodded to acknowledge it.

Having not practiced for several days, Wen Shuang deliberately stayed in the theater's dance studio to practice for a long time. When everyone else had already finished work and gone home, she was the only one left.

When it came to dancing, if you skipped practice for a day or two, only you knew it. But if you neglected it for a long time, the audience would know!

After finishing her practice and stepping outside, she realized it was almost midnight!

Wen Shuang prepared to hail a taxi home.

Just as she walked a few steps, a car parked in the corner suddenly lit up—it was the familiar Red Flag L5.

The man pushed open the driver's door and got out. "Miss Wen, get in the car."

Ji Shen was wearing a long black overcoat, which made him look even taller and straighter. The coldness of his past had faded from him now, replaced by a touch of languid ease.

"You've been here the whole time?"

Ji Shen replied, "After work, I had nothing else to do, so I came to wait for you."

Wen Shuang was startled. That meant Ji Shen had been waiting for nearly six hours!

A wave of emotion stirred in her heart, and she slightly averted her gaze. "Actually, you don't have to do this. Waiting for me is useless; you'd be better off using that time to take care of your own affairs."

"After I get off work, there isn't anything else I want to do." Ji Shen curved his lips into a smile. "Wen Shuang, I only want to wait for you."

Wen Shuang lowered her gaze, refusing to meet his eyes.

***

Ji Shen said, "You must be hungry, I'll take you to get some food."

Wen Shuang didn't want to eat. She truly did not want any further entanglements with Ji Shen. With such frequency, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to help herself and would end up repeating past mistakes!

Ji Shen added, "Regarding the matter of He Zhi's ex-girlfriend, I've already asked a friend about it. If you want to hear about it, I'll tell you while we eat."

Wen Shuang: "........."

Wen Shuang went anyway.

Ji Shen took Wen Shuang to a bustling, noisy street food stall alive with the sounds of people.

The proprietress waved when she saw Ji Shen. "Officer Ji is here! Hurry, go up to the third floor and take a seat! Is this your girlfriend? She is truly gorgeous, looks just like a fairy."

The proprietress had an exceptionally sweet tongue. She also appeared very familiar with Ji Shen.

Wen Shuang quickly explained that she was not Ji Shen's girlfriend.

"Then it looks like you're still in the middle of pursuing her, then. Keep it up, Officer Ji! Wishing you success in winning the beauty's heart!"

The smile at the corners of Ji Shen's lips deepened. He led Wen Shuang upstairs, and as they sat down, he explained, "The food at this food stall is exceptionally good. Xiao Zhang was the one who recommended it. Afterwards, whenever our criminal investigation team solved a case, we would always come here to celebrate with a meal. Over time, we just became regulars."

"So that's how it is."

When she first stepped inside, she had been quite surprised. She hadn't expected that someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth like Ji Shen would also come to eat at such a humble little hole-in-the-wall eatery.

"Surprised, aren't you?" Ji Shen perceived Wen Shuang's confusion. "Originally, I wouldn't come to places like this either. I used to think they were unhygienic and noisy. But ever since I became a police officer, I realized that the worldview I had established before was wrong. You have to look at every single thing in this world, and every single citizen, with an egalitarian mindset. You shouldn't distance yourself from the common people just because of your identity."

This was the first time Wen Shuang had ever heard Ji Shen talk like this. "You're really quite down-to-earth now."

"When I first joined the precinct back then, I didn't understand anything. Later, after being tempered by reality for a couple of years and having the world teach me a lesson, I naturally understood it all." Ji Shen pulled out a pair of disposable chopsticks, rubbed them together to remove any splinters, and handed them to Wen Shuang. "Can you get used to a place like this, though?"

"I can."

Wen Shuang had eaten at street food stalls a few times before. The food tasted good, and the atmosphere was very lively. However, after being harassed by a middle-aged man at the next table one time, she had never gone back! After all, night markets and food stalls tended to be a mixed bag of all sorts of people.

Ji Shen showed Wen Shuang the menu, but Wen Shuang told him to just order whatever he liked.

Ji Shen ordered a few signature dishes, and Wen Shuang asked, "Who on earth is that Lin Xueyuan, and why can't He Zhi let go of her?"