Her mind was still not with it. It was after quite some time that she fully recovered. She then turned to Qin Yinan and said, "Brother Yinan, what did you just say?"
Just as Qin Yinan was going to speak, Song Qingchun's phone suddenly rang.
Song Qingchun quickly pulled out her phone and apologized to Qin Yinan. "I'm sorry, Brother Yinan, let me take this call."
Then, she lowered her head to call at the caller ID. It was from Su Zhinian.
Just as Song Qingchun was about to answer the call, he hung up. Then, a message popped up on her phone. It also came from Su Zhinian. "Half an hour until twelve am."
Song Qingchun blinked a few times before she saw the time at the top of her phone screen. It had just turned 23:31.
29 minutes left until twelve midnight. She had promised him she would be home before twelve…
Song Qingchun did not have the time to stay to listen to Qin Yinan. She raised her head and blurted out in hurry, "Brother Yinan, I'm in a hurry; I need to go now, so we'll talk about this another time…"
Then, she ran away without waiting for Qin Yinan to respond.
"Song Song…" Qin Yinan called after Song Qingchun, to which the girl waved at him. "Brother Yinan, goodbye!"
Then, she disappeared among the bamboo patch. Qin Yinan shook his head helplessly but amusedly. As he turned to leave, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Tang Nuan, who was still standing there, looking straight at him.
Qin Yinan slowed in his footsteps and turned to face Tang Nuan with his profile. Tang Nuan stared unblinkingly at Qin Yinan but said no words. Only the two of them remained at the lakeside; the place felt exceptionally deserted.
After a long silence, it was Tang Nuan who broke the silence first. "Yinan."
Qin Yinan lowered his head slightly when he heard her. Then, they both stood there quietly for another ten seconds. When she thought he would turn around to look at her, he took his first step and walked away without a word.
Staring at his retreating shadow, Tang Nuan felt curiously anxious. She instinctively wanted to call his name, but as her lips moved, she suddenly stopped as if she had just remembered something.
It was he who liked her, not the other way around. It was him who willingly enslaved himself to her, so why would she ever beg him for forgiveness? There was no reason for her to lower herself to a mere Qin Yinan.
As she thought about it, Tang Nuan took the path opposite from Qin Yinan and left with her heels clicking and her chin held high.
Song Qingchun practically ran all the way out of City Clubhouse. She hailed a random taxi by the roadside. As she jumped in, she gave the driver the address of Su Zhinian's bungalow.
Thankfully, the roads were clear that night, and Song Qingchun just barely kept to her promise. She reached Su Zhinian's place at ten seconds to midnight.
The lights of the bungalow were off, and the place was shrouded in darkness. It appeared like Su Zhinian had not reached home yet.
Her clothes were still wet from when Tang Nuan collapsed on her. Furthermore, she had also stood by the lakeside, enduring the wintry winds for several hours. Afraid that she might catch a cold, Song Qingchun changed out of her shoes and dashed upstairs into her bedroom to take a warm bath.