"What a coincidence," he said, his voice very faint.

Shen Yan leaned back in his chair, picked up his water glass, and took a sip. His tone was neither cold nor warm: "Mr. Lu is alone? Would you like to sit together?"

Since Shen Yan learned about what happened between Ginger and Luke, he couldn't simply view Luke as a junior anymore.

Luke gave him a look: "No need."

He turned and headed toward a corner seat.

Shen Yan put down his water glass, looked at me, and his voice returned to its gentle tone: "Are you okay?"

I smiled: "What could be wrong with me?"

Halfway through the meal, a waiter brought over a pot of hot sake.

"Compliments of that gentleman," the waiter pointed to the corner.

Shen Yan glanced at the pot of sake and let out a soft laugh—it was faint, but carried clear mockery.

He didn't speak, pushed the pot aside, and continued eating his meal.

I didn't touch the sake either.

When Shen Yan went to pay the bill, the front desk said the gentleman in the corner had already paid, including ours.

Shen Yan stood at the front desk, silent for two seconds. Without saying thank you, he directly scanned the QR code to pay for our table.

He walked back and picked up his jacket: "Let's go, I'll take you home."

Walking out of the Japanese restaurant, the night wind blew over.

Shen Yan sent me back to my apartment. When we got downstairs, he suddenly stopped.

"I won't back down just because he's Luke."

He looked at me, his tone very serious.

"Unless you tell me yourself that you still have feelings for him."

Before I could speak, a voice came from behind me.

"Ginger."

I turned my head.

Luke stood by the flower bed, holding a takeout bag in his hand.

"Are you stalking me?"

"I live in this residential area." He held up his access card, "1802."

I lived in 1602.

Shen Yan looked at him, then at me; the expression on his face faded.

"Ginger, I'm heading out." His voice was calm, but the fingers holding the car keys were tight.

"Okay."

Shen Yan turned and walked away; his pace was much faster than usual.

Luke walked over and stood in front of me.

"When he said he wouldn't back down, you didn't answer." His voice was low, "Do you really like him?"

I looked up at him.

"That has nothing to do with you."

I turned and walked toward the unit door, swiping my card to open it.

Luke didn't follow in, his hand pressed against the glass.

"Then what about me?" His voice came through a layer of glass, "Do you still have any relation to me?"

I stood at the elevator entrance, with my back to him.

"Luke, on the day you said we were breaking up, you said you didn't care, you said you didn't lack people chasing you. You also said, once I left you, no one would give me a second glance."

I turned around, looking at him through the glass.

"I remember every single word."

The elevator doors opened, and I walked in.

As the doors were about to close, his voice came through: "Those words, they are the things I regret saying most in my life."

The elevator doors closed.

I leaned against the elevator wall and closed my eyes.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from him.

It was added out of necessity during the project, but now it had become a nuisance.

[I live in 1802, you live in 1602. You live right downstairs from me.]

I didn't reply.

The elevator reached the 16th floor, and I stepped out.

The phone vibrated again.

[Ginger, how did you survive every single day during those years you waited for me?]

I stood in the hallway, and the voice-activated light above my head went out.

The light from the phone screen reflected on my face.

[I’ve only waited for three months, and I’m already nearly going insane.]

The screen lit up again, the last message.

[You waited for me for three years back then. Now that I’ve started waiting, do you want me to wait for three years too?]

[Or is it that you will never turn back again?]

I gripped my phone tightly, didn't reply, opened the door, and went inside.

Chapter 15

For the next three days, I didn't see Luke again.

I didn't reply to the messages he sent, nor did I answer his calls.

I thought he had given up.

When I went out on the morning of the fourth day, there was an umbrella at the entrance of my unit.

It was a black, long-handled umbrella, very new, with a waterproof sticky note tied to the handle.

[It will rain tonight. The frame of the umbrella in your bag is broken; don't force it.]

I was stunned for a moment.

The umbrella in my bag had been ruined by the wind during the rain last week, and I hadn't had time to buy a new one.

When did he find out?

I didn't take the umbrella and walked straight away.

I worked overtime until nine in the evening, and when I walked out of the company entrance, it was raining hard.

I stood under the porch, just about to rush into the rain to flag down a taxi, when the security guard handed me an umbrella.

"Miss, someone entrusted me to give this to you".

It was a black, long-handled umbrella—the same one as in the morning.

I opened the umbrella and walked into the rain, remaining dry by the time I got home.

Only my pant cuffs were a little wet.

Walking into the unit door, I closed the umbrella and leaned it against the wall, not taking it upstairs.

When I went out the next morning, the umbrella was still by the wall, and a pair of rain boots had appeared beside it.

The note read: [You twisted your ankle stepping in a puddle last time, wear these.]

I didn't take the rain boots and walked away using the umbrella.

When I returned in the evening, a narrow shoe cabinet had appeared by the wall at the door, perfectly fitted against it.

The umbrella and the rain boots were on the shoe cabinet, and a pair of flat shoes I usually wore had also been added.

There was only one sentence on the note: [There are drying insoles in the left drawer of the shoe cabinet; remember to change them if they get wet.]

I crouched down and pulled open the left drawer.

There were five pairs of drying insoles, individually wrapped and neatly arranged.

I closed the drawer, stood up, opened the door, and went inside.

On Friday night, Shen Yan asked me to go to a movie.

When we arrived at the cinema, I subconsciously glanced around.

Shen Yan noticed my gaze and smiled slightly: "Looking for him?"

I withdrew my gaze: "No".

I kept losing focus after the movie started, and I didn't take in a single word of what the people on screen were saying.

It was nearly eleven o'clock when the movie ended and we came out.

Shen Yan took me back to my apartment, but when we reached the entrance to the unit, he suddenly stopped.

He glanced at the shoe cabinet by the wall, then looked at me.

"He put this there?"

I didn't speak.

Shen Yan smiled, a bitter smile.

"Ginger, you know? I used to think that as long as I was sincere and patient enough, I could eventually wait for you to turn and look at me".

He paused.

"But now I realize, I can't even compare to a shoe cabinet".

I opened my mouth, wanting to say something, but he shook his head.

"No need to explain. I'm going now".

He turned and walked away; this time, he didn't say, "Text me when you get home".

I swiped my card to open the door and walked inside.

Walking to the elevator entrance, my phone vibrated.

It was from Luke.

[Did he leave?]

I didn't reply.

The elevator door opened, and I walked inside.

The phone vibrated again.

[Ginger, if you are making him unhappy because of my things, I will move the shoe cabinet away tomorrow.]

I leaned against the elevator wall and typed a few characters.

[Fine, then move it away.]

After the message was sent, there was a long silence on the other end.

The elevator reached the 16th floor, and I walked out.

The phone lit up, and his message popped up.

[You were finally willing to talk to me.]

I felt a bit helpless, not expecting this to be the point Luke was focused on.

I stood in the hallway without replying.

I opened the door, went inside, changed clothes, washed up, and turned off the lights.

I drew the curtains and went back to bed.

The moment I closed my eyes, the phone vibrated.