The Person Hiding in My Memory (6)

It was a picture of a man's back. He was facing away from the camera, cooking in an open style kitchen. Even though it was only his back, Song Qingchun could tell from one look that it was Qin Yinan. The person who sent her the message was Tang Nuan.

Before Song Qingchun could even fully process what she was seeing, her phone received another message. Again, it was from Tang Nuan. 'Song Qingchun, I wonder, how long have you been waiting for Qin Yinan? From the looks of things, he won't be free any time soon.'

Before Song Qingchun could finish reading, Tang Nuan sent another message. 'Unfortunately, he is over at my place, cooking dinner for me. It is quite unlikely that he'll be able to celebrate your birthday with you.'

Song Qingchun's hand that gripped her phone tightened. The joy and anticipation of spending a wonderful birthday with her Brother Yinan turned into unspeakable sadness. Today was her birthday; he had promised to celebrate it with her, but in the end, he had ditched her for someone else.

He was too busy cooking dinner for another woman and had completely forgotten about her, making her wait for him the entire afternoon.

The phone in her palm vibrated again, and as Song Qingchun stared at those words, she could hear Tang Nuan's sarcastic voice beside her ears. 'Also, I don't mean anything by sending these messages to you. I was just afraid that he forgot to tell you about our little rendezvous and that you would continue to stupidly wait for him. By the way, Song Qingchun, don't tell me you have been waiting for him all afternoon?'

Song Qingchun's finger started shaking. She slammed her phone on the table emotionally. She knew Tang Nuan was trying to get under skin by purposely sending her those messages. If her mood was affected, she would have fallen right into her scheme.

Tang Nuan succeeded. She knew her weak point and could use it to beat her handily.

Tang Nuan and she were classmates from the same high school. When they were in junior high, her relationship with Tang Nuan could not be considered close, but they had, at least, not been enemies. They would nod at each other whenever they met in school and would help each other buy stuff from the cafeteria. When they entered third year of high school, there was even a period when they were good friends.

That period was also when she was good friends with Su Zhinian. During that period, whenever the girls went shopping over the weekend, Su Zhinian would act as their driver and carry their bags for them.

Tang Nuan treated her well, and she reciprocated in kind. Even that one fight Su Zhinian was involved in happened due to Tang Nuan.

It all started in a bar where Tang Nuan was surrounded by a few ruffians who wanted her to play with them. Tang Nuan at the time was completely different from Tang Nuan now. She was a gentle, soft-spoken girl, a completely different character from the woman who had messaged Song Qingchun earlier.

When Song Qingchun had seen the trouble Tang Nuan was in, she had rushed to shield the shaking and teary-eyed Tang Nuan without giving it much thought.

The few ruffians said that of the two of them, one must stay.

At the time, she and Tang Nuan were only eighteen. They had ventured into the bar because they were simply curious about nightlife. Who would have thought that trouble so big would happen on their first night out?

At the time, both she and Tang Nuan knew, it would not end well for the one who stayed.

Honestly, she too had been afraid… But at the time, she had bought into the honorable, yet oftentimes dangerous, belief that friends should stand up for each other. That, combined with the impetuousness of youth, made her grit her teeth and volunteer to stay.