Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

It only takes about two hours to fly from Changsha to Shanghai.

Li Cheng parked his Buick GL8 at the arrival level exit with his hazard lights on.

Jiang Fan and Zhou Yutong pushed the luggage cart ahead, while Shen Nian, wearing a mask, followed closely behind.

After getting into the car, Li Cheng glanced at Shen Nian in the rearview mirror.

"Shen Nian has undergone a complete transformation! She looks so radiant, I almost don't recognize her. Congratulations!"

Shen Nian nodded from the back row: "Thanks to Brother Li and Jiang Fan."

Jiang Fan, sitting in the passenger seat, didn't respond to the conversation; he was scrolling through messages from Xu Qingya on his phone.

"Xu Qingya: Two seats have been reserved for you in the VIP area tomorrow night at 8 pm."

Jiang Fan typed two words: "Okay".

Li Cheng first went around in circles and then threw Zhou Yutong back into her rented apartment.

Zhou Yutong pulled her suitcase and waved her old Nokia phone out the car window.

The car window was rolled up, and the GL8 drove away from the roadside.

When the car arrived at the apartment building, Shen Nian got out first, pulling her suitcase.

Jiang Fan didn't move. After she walked into the lobby, he turned to look at Li Cheng.

"I'm taking Shen Nian to Qing Ya's concert tomorrow night."

Li Cheng's eyes lit up: "I want to go too! Are there any tickets left?"

"Go buy it yourself."

"I—" Li Cheng opened his mouth, "You should at least take me with you, I'll give you..."

The car door closed.

Li Cheng cursed, shifted gears, and drove off.

-

Inside the apartment building elevator.

Jiang Fan and Shen Nian stood side by side, with a suitcase between them.

Shen Nian stared at the changing floor numbers, not turning her head when she spoke.

"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?"

Jiang Fan turned his head to look at her.

"What do you want to eat? Noodles again?"

Shen Nian turned around and glared at him.

"Get lost. Take it or leave it."

The elevator has arrived.

Shen Nian pulled her suitcase out, walking quickly.

-

It's 6:30 in the evening.

Jiang Fan stood at the entrance of Shen Nian's apartment carrying a bag of groceries, then unlocked the keypad and went inside.

Shen Nian changed into a loose white T-shirt and tied her hair into a low ponytail.

She took out slippers and put them on Jiang Fan.

"What vegetables did you buy?"

"Tomato and beef brisket".

Jiang Fan took the beef brisket out of the plastic bag, and Shen Nian followed him to the kitchen doorway, holding a cushion from the sofa in her hands, and leaned against the door frame to watch him wash and chop vegetables.

What are you doing standing here?

"Watching you cook."

Jiang Fan didn't chase her away anymore.

Peel the tomatoes and sauté them in a pan until they release their juices. Blanch the beef brisket, cut it into chunks, and add it to the pan. Add hot water to cover the meat and noodles, cover the pan, and turn the heat to low.

It simmered for forty minutes.

The aroma of tomatoes and beef stewing together in the kitchen grew stronger and stronger, and Shen Nian's stomach growled.

She buried her face in the cushion, pretending nothing had happened.

Jiang Fan lifted the lid, tasted the soup, and added some salt.

"Alright, let's eat."

-

Shen Nian directly showed off two bowls of rice.

Jiang Fan's chopsticks stopped in mid-air as he watched how fast she ate her rice.

This girl used to be lucky to eat half a bowl of rice per meal.

"Is it tasty?"

"Mmm." Shen Nian mumbled a reply with her mouth full of rice, and then picked up a piece of beef brisket.

Jiang Fan washed the dishes after dinner. Shen Nian nestled on the sofa, scrolling through her phone with her feet propped up on the edge of the coffee table.

After washing the dishes, Jiang Fan dried his hands and went over to sit down next to her.

Are you free tomorrow evening?

Shen Nian put down her phone.

"What is it?"

"I'll take you to Xu Qingya's concert."

Shen Nian's finger stopped on the screen.

"Xu Tianhou's concert?"

"Yes. I wrote a new song for her, and it's premiering live tomorrow. I'd like to take you to hear it."

Shen Nian crossed her legs, hugged the pillow to her chest, rested her chin on it, and didn't say anything.

Jiang Fan turned to look at her.

"Don't you want to go?"

Shen Nian bit her lower lip.

"...Go. I'll go see just how good the song you wrote for her really is."

Jiang Fan pretended not to notice the sarcastic tone of the remark. He stood up, poured two glasses of water, and brought them over.

"You'll have your own concert someday. Go experience what it's like to be there live."

Shen Nian took the cup and took a sip. The cup covered half of her face, and her eyes looked at him from above the rim of the cup.

"It's still early for me."

"It's getting late. 'The Wind Rises' is about to surpass 100 million views. If you release a few more songs of this caliber, you'll be qualified."

Shen Nian didn't reply, staring down at the water in the cup.

The two chatted casually. They talked about tomorrow's plans and the preparation plan for the next episode of "The Voice of China".

9:30.

Shen Nian stood up and took the empty cup to the kitchen to put it away.

As she walked, the hem of her T-shirt swayed, revealing glimpses of her shorts underneath.

"I'm going to take a shower."

"Um."

After saying that, she opened the bathroom door and went inside.

Jiang Fan got up from the sofa, turned off the living room lights, leaving only a wall lamp on.

About thirty minutes later, the bathroom door opened.

Shen Nian walked out wearing a pink spaghetti strap nightgown with very thin straps, and her wet hair was draped over her shoulders.

She walked to the bedroom door, put her hand on the doorknob, and glanced back at him.

Jiang Fan understood, quickly took off his clothes, and went into the bathroom.

Five minutes, rinsed off.

He pushed open the bedroom door, a bath towel wrapped around his waist.

Shen Nian sat on the edge of the bed, using a hairdryer to dry her hair.

The bedside lamp was on, casting an orange glow on her. One strap of her nightgown slipped down and draped over her arm.

The hairdryer stopped when Jiang Fan came in.

"I can't reach the back, can you blow on it for me?"

Jiang Fan walked over and took the hair dryer from her.

"Turn around."

Shen Nian turned around, her back to him.

Jiang Fan gathered her wet hair at the back with one hand and held a hairdryer in the other, blowing warm air from the roots to the ends of her hair.

Shen Nian closed her eyes, her back pressed slightly against his abdomen.

The smell of my body after showering, mixed with the fragrance of shampoo, was warm and comforting.

"Alright, that's enough—"

"Could you give me a splinter?"

Shen Nian didn't open her eyes, and her voice was so soft it was almost melting.

Jiang Fan put the hairdryer aside and took two black hair ties from the bedside table.

Shen Nian's hair was black and smooth, making it easy to comb.

He gathered his hair, preparing to tie it into a low ponytail—

He looked down at the two rubber bands lying in his palm.

The hand stopped.

Jiang Fan thought for two seconds.

Then I parted my hair in the middle and gathered a handful on each side.

Tie the left side first. One, two, three times, then secure with a rubber band.

Then stab the right side.

The technique wasn't very skillful, but the stitches were still quite tight.

"alright."

Shen Nian opened her eyes, tilted her head, and took a moment to feel around.

That's not quite right.

She reached out and touched them—one on the left, one on the right.

Shen Nian jumped out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and ran to the mirror in front of the dressing table.

The person in the mirror had two pigtails of the same height, one sticking up on each side, paired with a bare face and a slip dress—

She looks exactly like an eighteen-year-old girl.

Shen Nian opened her mouth slightly.

"Jiang Fan".

"Um?"

"What kind of thing did you put on me?"

Jiang Fan walked behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, and looked at her in the mirror.

"It looks pretty good."

"Looks good my ass!"

Shen Nian reached out to take it apart, but Jiang Fan grabbed her hand.

"Don't take it off, I've been tying it up for ages."

"This is what you managed to do after all that effort?" Shen Nian glared at herself in the mirror, her face flushed red. "I asked you to do my hair, and you gave me pigtails?"