Chapter 33: Like a fantasy

After moving into Jin Fubai’s house, the season officially became autumn. For the two, the concept of living under the same roof was novel, creating a place like “home”. After having lived together, Xiang Yu discovered Jin Fubai was different from her expectations.

He didn’t spend every day in a debauched environment nor was he keen on alcohol. Perhaps his only bad hobby was smoking.

Jin Fubai’s house is far away from Xiang Yu’s company. He would get up every morning and take her to the breakfast stall outside for breakfast. Sometimes it was clear he was not used to getting up early, eating one or two wontons sluggishly and having a few spoonsful of soup. While Xiang Yu ate, he would sit across the table with a cigarette and wait quietly for her to finish eating. But even on these days he hadn’t adjusted, he still sent Xiang Yu to work every day.

One day, Xiang Yu sat in the passenger seat, squinted at Jin Fubai’s profile in the cool autumn morning, and suddenly thought: If he got married, he would probably be a good father. He would pick and drop off his child from school every day. Just like he was patient now, stuck in the rush hour traffic of Beijing, he would just light a cigarette and never speak a word of it.

But, would he stop smoking if he had children? Isn’t second-hand smoke bad for children?

She had drunk a whole cup of steaming hot red date soy milk and nestled comfortably in the car. The song on the radio was “The Brightest Star in the Night Sky” which became popular a few years ago-

    “I would rather hide the sorrow in my heart,

Then to forget the look of your eyes.” 

The car windows isolated them from the traffic outside and only the sound of the music lingered. The car filled with a faint fragrance and a little smell of cleaning soap from cleaning the car. Perhaps this moment was too quiet and beautiful, it gave her a chance to briefly fantasise.

When they got to the company, Xiang Yu opened the car door and felt the cool air again rousing her a drowse. She smiled at Jin Fubai when she looked over. During these moments, he would stretch out his hand to hold her neck and kiss her, “Bye, I’ll pick you up from work.” 

In the company meeting before Golden Week began, Xiang Yu was promoted to Zhou Lie’s chief assistant. During this year, Zhou Lie’s small and run-down company operated smoothly and the company expanded. It used to account for only one-third of the office building, but now it covers the entire floor.

^{Golden Week: Labour Day but a week.}

This development is an industry miracle. In an era where creators and various short videos were rapidly launched, many large paper media companies were on the verge of collapsing. The number of newsstands at street corners gradually decreased, replaced by stations for drinks and treats.

In such an environment, Zhou Lie’s company unexpectedly obtained a cooperation with a TV station, exclusively publishing all the interviews and articles of the station’s TV series and movies. Even the artists and presenters who are difficult to please were featured in their magazine.

Zhou Lie already had three assistants but he approached Xiang Yu and said,  “Xiang Yu, you can be the chief assistant.”

“No, I like the front desk.”

“The chief assistant has a higher salary.”

“I want to work full-time at the front desk.”

“…… Salaries and year-end bonuses are twice those at the front desk.”

“The front desk is good.”

Zhou Lie pushed his glasses helplessly. “What is with your obsession with the front desk?”

“The front desk work is leisurely and I can also secretly play on my phone.”

“The chief assistant can also do that, it’s more relaxed than the front desk.”

Zhou Lie’s promised this and so Xiang Yu became the company’s chief assistant and he increased her salary. On the day when the salary for the position was first issued Xiang Yu took an envelope and said to Zhou Lie, in fact, you don’t have to do this, just by sitting at the front desk, your company can operate smoothly.

She knew it all. She knew why Zhou Lie would spend a lot of money to raise an idler who played snake at work and also knew why the company could operate so smoothly.

Zhou Lie smiled, it’s nothing.

When Xiang Yu got into Jin Fubai’s car with her salary she slammed the envelope and said, “What do you want to eat, I got paid!”

Jin Fubai glanced at the thickness of the envelope, his Adam’s apple slightly moved and smiled. “More?”

She was silent for a few seconds before smiling and saying, “Follow a billion to make a million, isn’t it because I followed you.”

During Golden Week in October, Xiang Yu’s parents didn’t return. They only returned once in July to have a meal with Xiang Yu and then went abroad again. During the meal, her father told her the market had been doing well recently and he was cooperating with the branch companies of a certain corporation.

Xiang Yu skewered a small piece of beef, was silent for half a second and answered with a smile, that’s great, work hard Dad.

She didn’t need to worry about it, everyone around her was reminding her of the fact:

She and Jin Fubai were people from two worlds.

Even if she wanted to be a salted fish, she got his benefits without realizing it.

But this kind of uneasy feeling just flashed past, staying beside Jin Fubai, she couldn’t help but love him. She feels his meticulous love each and every day.

Just like this morning, on the first day of this 7-day holiday, Xiang Yu suddenly opened her eyes and wanted to play tennis on a whim. As soon as she sat up Jin Fubai beside her opened his eyes and frowned, “No holiday on October 1^st? Do you have to work overtime?”

Jin Fubai’s tone was not annoyed at all, it was simply an inquiry. While speaking he sat up, grabbed a nightgown and wore it. “I’ll drop you off.”

His eyes had an unresolved sleepiness and a cigarette already hung between his lips. Xiang Yu removed his cigarette and looked at him softly. “It’s not work, I want to play tennis. Don’t drop me off.”

“I’m already up.”

“Then are you going to play tennis with me?”

Jin Fubai stared at the cigarette in her hand for a few seconds, determined that it wouldn’t be returned to him and smiled helplessly. “Let’s go, I’ll go with you.”

Since Xiang Yu went to the tennis court there were more girl customers, all of whom were said to have been inspired by Xiang Yu. After Jin Fubai returned to China, some people spread rumours that Xiang Yu, they said she had special tricks and was good at seducing people. This caused Jin Fubai who had abandoned her for half a year, to go to the tennis court to find her.

Xiang Yu listened to two people bring up this matter. One is Tang Yuchi and the other is Jin Fubai.

After living together, Jin Fubai often talked with Xiang Yu without hiding anything and would tell Xiang Yu about some things in their circle. On that day he leaned on the balcony, hung up Li Chi’s call, smiled and asked Xiang Yu, I heard you are a woman with special tricks?

Xiang Yu raised her eyes in confusion. He leaned over, peeled off her nightgown and asked ambiguously, “What’s so special? Huh? Let me see?”

During that period, Xiang Yu learnt a lot about people in the circle from Jin Fubai. For example, why she never met almond-eyed girl again at the tennis court during this period.

She heard almond-eyed girl’s President Qu had more than one girl around him and it was common to cut them when he got tired.

Xiang Yu still remembered almond-eyed girl smiling brightly as she stretched out her wrist and the diamond bracelet gleaming in the sun. She said with red ears he was nice and had bought her a bracelet today.

That man! Such a scum!

She hit the tennis ball fiercely and probably because she was absent-minded, she injured her foot and could only sit on a chair next to the court to bask in the sun. Jin Fubai was in another court and while he was not there, she hopped on one leg to buy two ice creams. She ate one and put the other on her ankle to reduce the swelling.

When she finally noticed someone on the chair beside her, An Sui had already been sitting next to her for a while.

Xiang Yu didn’t expect to meet An Sui again. But it was not a surprise, she had said earlier that this circle was not that big.

Xiang Yu was not ready to speak and glanced at An Sui lightly.

But An Sui smiled lightly at her. “Xiang Yu, let’s talk.”

“What is there to talk about?”

An Sui tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and hesitated slightly before speaking, “Tang Yuchi, is he okay now?”

“Good, can’t he have fun without you? ” Xiang Yu took a bite of the ice cream, raised her eyebrows and asked amusedly, “But, does it have anything to do with you? “

An Sui has a pair of clear deer-like eyes, when she quietly looked at Xiang Yu it reminded Xiang Yu of the past.

It was when they were sophomores in high school and Tang Yuchi insisted on being a bad boy. At night he lied about make-up classes and ran out of the house to have a drink with a few boys. He had drunk too much and didn’t dare to be discovered by Xiang Yu’s godfather and godmother. The next day he laid down in the morning self-study classroom like a dead fish and sent a message to An Sui saying he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and the hangover was uncomfortable.

Xiang Yu, the salted fish didn’t have a job for the three years she was in high school and on that day she had to substitute for her desk mate as the student on duty, with an armband on she inspected sanitation. As a result, she saw An Sui on the wall behind the school building.

An Sui was on the wall, her deer eyes hazy with liquid and her calves trembled. She whispered to her, “Xiang Yu… come and save me.”

“What are you doing on the wall?” 

An Sui held a plastic bag tightly in her hands. Inside it were small wontons from outside the school that were very popular and the transparent plastic box was full of steam and hot. She blushed. “Tang Yuchi said he hadn’t had breakfast…” 

The school cafeteria did not sell during class time and An Sui, a good student, piled a few bricks on the wall and went out to buy it. When she came back, she found out that the bricks had been cleared away and she couldn’t come down.

To help An Sui get down that day, the two girls had almost fallen down and An Sui barely stood firmly while holding the wontons, her feet still weak.

Because of this incident, Tang Yuchi was called out by Xiang Yu and scolded during morning studying. An Sui hopped on one leg and persuaded Xiang Yu, “Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu, I am fine. The teacher in the infirmary said that I just shouldn’t exercise vigorously, don’t be angry.”

Maybe it was because they also had some relations as friends that Xiang Yu didn’t want to see An Sui at this time. She took a deep breath, retracted her gaze, lowered her eyes, put the eaten ice cream stick on the table besides her and put on her sunglasses.

But she didn’t know why An Sui wanted to chat with her very much. “Xiang Yu, I know you look down on me, but I can’t help it. What’s the use of studying well? What’s the use of getting into a good university? I still only earn so much after graduation.” She smiled miserably, “The conditions in my family are not like you and Tang Yuchi. I have a younger brother waiting for me to get married and receive a betrothal gift so that I can buy him a wedding house.”

Xiang Yu closed her eyes.

“My mother fell ill when I graduated and I need money but I dare not tell Tang Yuchi. He is just my boyfriend and if I told him, I’m afraid he will look down on me, I can’t say it, really can’t.”

An Sui’s eyes might have teared up as her voice trembled slightly. She said that it was okay at school, at least I was a good student but when I left school, I was just an ordinary employee at a company.

Xiang Yu closed her eyes and interrupted her suddenly, “And talking to those men was precisely your means of getting out of it?”

“You people born with a silver spoon…” An Sui laughed, “Probably don’t understand.”

Xiang Yu frowned and wanted to ask her, why? No matter how bad life was there was always an open and honest path.

But Xiang Yu didn’t say anything. Perhaps in the eyes of An Sui she was also a woman who lived off a rich man, what qualifications did she have to teach others?

At this time, Jin Fubai came over from the neighbouring court with a racket and saw Xiang Yu’s slightly swollen ankle at a glance.

He stood under the big sun, clenching his jaw. “What’s happened to your foot?”

“Accidently sprained it”

Jin Fubai walked over, squatted in front of her, carefully supporting her calf, frowning and checking it, “I’ll call the doctor.”

“Don’t don’t don’t.”

Xiang Yu was really scared of him making a big fuss over a minor issue, every time she experienced period pain Jin Fubai would call the old professor to come. This time she sprained her foot, which was only a little swollen. She didn’t know if he would call the head of an orthopaedic department.

She shook her head and said, “I won’t play tennis in the upcoming days and I’ll pay close attention to it.”

Jin Fubai glanced at the ice cream stick on the table. “En, just eat ice cream, eat more and you won’t have period pain too.”

Xiang Yu turned her head with a guilty conscience.

The interaction between the two fell into An Sui’s eyes. She was surprised and puzzled:

    Wasn’t Xiang Yu Jin Fubai’s lover?

    Why did it seem like their relationship was not as simple as that of a lover?

Jin Fubai helped Xiang Yu with her racket and bag. “Don’t change your clothes, let’s go home.”

“Then for lunch…”

“Why are you thinking about lunch when your foot is like this?” Jin Fubai chuckled lightly, “Just say what you want and I will call the chef home to cook it.”

He turned his back to Xiang Yu, squatted down, and hooked his palm, “Come up.” Xiang Yu jumped on Jin Fubai’s back on one leg and was caught by him firmly.

“Xiang Yu.”

An Sui yelled behind her, but she didn’t expect Jin Fubai and Xiang Yu to turn their heads at the same time and look over.

A long time later Xiang Yu recalled An Sui’s expression which resembled the ragdoll raised by an elderly relative when she was a child. When the cat acted out it would rub its paws secretly trying to scratch you, but if someone found it, it would put away the sharp paws and reveal the soft pads and meow softly.

An Sui met Jin Fubai’s indifferent gaze, paused, and put on a smile again. She said to Xiang Yu, “Get well soon.”

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=516328

Note: I’ve been translating 情人 as lover but the word can have a different connotation meaning people in a relationship where they aren’t official nor committed, this includes being mistress.

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Chapter 32: With all one’s strength

Throughout that day, Jin Fubai’s eyes overflowed with passion as profound as the ocean, causing her to fall in deeply. When he asked Xiang Yu to move in with him, she only had a slight indecision. She put the plastic CD box on the bed gently and nodded in response, okay.

The movie she picked was heartwarming. It portrayed a special kind of romance, the protagonists were teenagers, but their feelings were pure and brave, you couldn’t say that it was not love. In the room illuminated by the TV screen Xiang Yu leaned on Jin Fubai’s warm chest as her mind wandered.

In fact, when Jin Fubai asked her to move in with him, she knew he was actually challenging her. Challenging her to approach him, challenging her to see what it was truely like to be with him. And if after, she would still dare to love him.

After the weekend Xiang Yu continued to work and packed during her time off. Almost everyday after work Jin Fubai would pick her up and on some days he would accompany her for dinner. He never urged her to move, leaving Xiang Yu with ample time to think.

Xiang Yu had a certain characteristic, she didn’t like to make a hassle of things. When she graduated from university she gave away many items to her roommates. She never liked to carry around a lot of things, and she didn’t even take a suitcase when she went to the US. It was also the same this time around too. In fact, she didn’t have a lot of things to pack regardless and even if she went empty handed Jin Fubai would buy her anything she needed.

They both knew that “packing” was just a buffer for Xiang Yu to adjust. She didn’t know if she was brave enough.

She had seen Chu Jue in the US and listened to him criticising her. She remembered the day before Jin Fubai returned to China he was silent and downcast. At night, she tossed and turned restlessly in her dreams. She was not able to let the matter go, and her imagination ran wild. 

At the beginning of September Xiang Yu stood in Zhou Lie’s office and the flowers on the 7th floor opposite had remained as red roses for over ten days. She knew Jin Fubai was concerned she was delaying.

It was just that he respected her and was willing to be patient with her.

On that same day Xiang Yu held the miniature telescope and thought: people yearn for love but they are always bounded by timidity and cowardice, wouldn’t it be better to love wilfully once. It’s better than having regrets in the years later and recalling the lost moments would ache.

On a sunny Saturday, Xiang Yu packed up a 29-inch suitcase with her items. She sat on the suitcase and called Jin Fubai, “When will you come to pick me up? I’m all packed.”

Jin Fubai had just got up when he received her call and was standing by the window smoking a cigarette. After listening to her, he laughed with the cigarette in his mouth. The laughter carried on, cigarette ashes scattered on the window sill and the room filled with an agarwood incense. He said, “I will pick you up, wait for me.” 

The refreshingly breeze picked up outside, it was the beginning of autumn again. Jin Fubai still remembered his feelings towards Xiang Yu in October last year.

How did it start, there were millions of way to spend time and Jin Fubai usually doesn’t even think about them. It was always like this, it was as if he wasn’t even bothered with life. But one time at Li Chi’s noisy venue he watched the light reflect on the liquor and suddenly wondered whether Xiang Yu could be a way for him to get rid of boredom.

It had started so casually. He said to her, follow me.

In one year, they haven’t bided farewell nor have they quarrelled nor have they ever wanted to rationally wave goodbye to each other, yet how did it develop into this? Jin Fubai even ran a red light on his way to meet Xiang Yu.

He was eager to pick her up.

When Jin Fubai drove the car into the street to Xiang Yu’s house the sun was shining. Xiang Yu wore a pair of sunglasses sitting on the suitcase as she waved to him from a distance. Her hair was now a little longer and fluttered in the wind. Due to the sun, her hair was dyed a golden coffee colour.

Jin Fubai stopped the car in front of  Xiang Yu, one arm carrying her and the other her suitcase. “Let’s go, come home with me.” 

The car drove out of the complex and the road became more and more unfamiliar. After playing two rounds of snake, Xiang Yu raised her eyes and stared at the unfamiliar environment around her for.

She asked blankly, “Where are we going?”

“Going home.”

“…This is not the way to the Li Chi’s Hotel.”

Jin Fubai sneered, “What kind of home would his shabby place be. “

Xiang Yu had never been to Jin Fubai’s house and hasn’t heard of him having a home in Beijing. But thinking about it, with his status, who wouldn’t own a few properties, would he really stay at a hotel every day?

On the way Xiang Yu jokingly imagined scenes like lakes of wine and forests of meat and so on. She even wondered whether Jin Fubai had hired Li Chi when decorating his house to create a mix of luxury.

_{‘lakes of wine and forests of meat’: an idiom referring to a place of debaucheries/lavish area}

After she arrived, she discovered it was just an ordinary high-end community. She also encountered a few faces that were on TV often when she walked into the area. Xiang Yu was very excited and pulled Jin Fubai to ask him if there were any male celebrities, if she were to meet one, she would like a signature.

Jin Fubai glanced at her. “I don’t know.”

The decoration style of his house was simple, without any unnecessary decorations it looked a little cold. There were not many books in the study, instead, it resembled a store that rented out compact disc in her childhood with a wall full of discs. These discs are different from the ones in Li Chi’s hotel, many of them were signed by actors and directors.

Xiang Yu curiously walked around Jin Fubai’s house with her hands behind her back like a female boss inspecting work.

Jin Fubai leaned against the wall and asked with a smile, “Boss, are you satisfied?”

Xiang Yu who was walking to the bathroom door put on an act and nodded, “It’s okay.”

She pushed open the bathroom door and was taken aback, this bathroom really made one feel embarrassed.  It was the first time Xiang Yu saw a bathroom in a person’s house which had glass walls, it was floor-to-ceiling windows only visible from the inside. Standing in the bathroom, one could see the green garden in the community and the cars on the street.

She turned her head and asked him, “Don’t you feel like people will see you when you take a bath?”

“Haven’t experienced it yet.”

Jin Fubai didn’t know much about this house, it seemed he hadn’t come here in a long time. After walking around a bit he found a cup and poured her a cup of room-temperature water.

“The weather is so hot; I want to drink it iced.”

Jin Fubai stared at her, “Was it not you who rolled around the bed when you were on your period?” 

It was a coincidence, just a few days after Jin Fubai came back Xiang Yu experienced stomach cramps again and sweated all over. This time Jin Fubai was even more over the top, he brought the professor to the hotel and had him give Xiang Yu an injection.

The professor pushed up his glasses and said, Miss Xiang should avoid eating raw or cold food and pay attention to the type of food. When the professor left Xiang Yu saw the Haagen-Dazs raspberry ice cream, the imported rum and raisin frozen treat and the vanilla cocoa ice cream cones she had in the refrigerator in the suite now all lying in the trash and she felt very wronged.

If it wasn’t for her period that day, she really wanted to choke Jin Fubai to death.

Today Xiang Yu was not weak so she was very courageous. She squatted next to the suitcase and licked her dry lips. “If it’s not iced, I won’t drink it.”

Jin Fubai didn’t say anything. After a few seconds, Xiang Yu took out a pile of clothes and felt him pat her on the shoulder. Xiang Yu raised her eyes subconsciously and her chin was held by his hand, a kiss falling on her lips.

He passed the water into her mouth and commented with a smile, “Stubborn.”

Xiang Yu held the water in her mouth, swallowed it reluctantly, and muttered, “I’m stubborn, so what?”

Jin Fubai chuckled lightly, and then coaxed the person, “I was wrong, you are charming, especially charming.” He took the clothes in her hand, walked to the closet and opened the door, putting her clothes next to his. Then he turned to ask her, “I feel like I should get you a walk-in wardrobe.”

Xiang Yu didn’t know how to answer him. This house is not new and she didn’t know how long she would live in it. If he made a walk-in wardrobe specifically for her wouldn’t that be too great of a task?

After packing up her luggage Xiang Yu collapsed tiredly on the bed and Jin Fubai suddenly said the bath was changed to a jacuzzi last year and he didn’t know if it would work well. Xiang Yu jumped up excitedly, with no slippers on she ran in and shouted that she would help him try it out.

It turned out that it was a trap. She was pressed on the floor-to-ceiling glass of the bathroom and eaten clean. They didn’t turn on the ventilation, with hot water continuously fallling, the mist hang in the air as they made love.

Jin Fubai didn’t forget to tease her as he moved. He smiled in her ear and in a low voice he said, “Look out the window, didn’t you ask if there were any male celebrities in this community? Maybe you can see them now.”

There was traffic outside the window and many people were in the shared area. Some were walking their dogs and some were running. Xiang Yu was placed against the glass and she felt that even being 20 floors high, with one-way windows, as long as someone looked up they would be able to see them.

She, who was rarely shy had her face flushed, she gritted her teeth and asked, “Jin Fubai, I want to go back to the bedroom…Ah!” The response to her was a deeper movement.

They spent the first day at Jin Fubai’s house in this kind of comforting and warm atmosphere. Even after dinner, they walked in the garden downstairs hand in hand and sat in the pavilion watching two stray cats eating cat food given by people. They were like all other ordinary couples.

Maybe because of a change of residence, Xiang Yu became more sensitive in her sleep. She woke up at night to the area beside her empty, Jin Fubai was not there.

A soft white light seeped through the cracks of the bathroom door and someone was faintly speaking. A woman’s voice? Speaking a foreign language?

Xiang Yu walked towards him sneakily, the sound inside had stopped, and Jin Fubai only let out a muffled groan. It was that kind of nasally sound that would come about, engh. It was difficult to not let one’s imagination roam.

She opened the door and went into the bathroom. Frowning like an empress who had caught a couple in the middle of an act, her tone was a little weird, “You have tossed me like that and you are not satisfied yet? Watching the video to deal with it by yourself?”

Jin Fubai was sitting on the edge of the bath with his bathrobe open, and there was something wet on his fingertips. He raised his eyebrows, smiled vilely and rubbed the thing on his hand against Xiang Yu’s face, “What am I dealing?”

Xiang Yu thought it was that kind of thing, her eyes widened and she wanted to raise her hand to hit him but suddenly smelled a sweet mint fragrance and her face felt cold. She blinked, “What is it?”

“Ointment.”

“…Ointment?”

Jin Fubai smiled happily and asked her, otherwise, what do you think it is?

Xiang Yu ignored him, looked around and found a bottle of imported green ointment on the sink. There were no Chinese characters on the bottle and she couldn’t recognize which country it was from. Jin Fubai’s cell phone was placed next to the ointment and the paused screen showed that he was looking at instructions on ointment.

Really… She misunderstood him.

She cleared her throat, without mentioning the misunderstanding just now, she picked up the ointment and pretended to be stupid, “What is this ointment for?”

“Sprain.”

This person was so vigorous before going to bed, and now he was putting ointment on his injury? Xiang Yu looked at Jin Fubai carefully and there was still a bit of moisture on his left shoulder.

Could it be he strained himself when he picked her up with one arm this morning? That should be the case. He had also lost a lot of weight when he came back this time, maybe he was too busy abroad and had no chance to exercise?

Jin Fubai frowned. “Accidently twisted it in the wrong direction, just needs some medicine.” What wording!

Xiang Yu felt that this kind of ointment was slow to work and sweating at night might result in it coming off. She asked Jin Fubai if there was something to bandage the ointment and he said maybe in the first aid kit. She brought the kit, placed the ointment on some transparent dressing, leaned behind Jin Fubai and pointed on his shoulder, “Here?”

“Yeah.”

Xiang Yu stuck the dressing on him. She rubbed her sleepy and tart eyes, mumbling casually to herself, “Why didn’t you say it before going to bed? I would have applied it for you if you said so, must you toss from side to side in the middle of the night.”

Jin Fubai turned his head blankly and refused to answer this question.

Xiang Yu stared at him for half a second and then suddenly chuckled, “Jin Fubai, are you afraid of losing face?”

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=516328

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Chapter 31: Filling the Void

Jin Fubai came back on the 24^th of August, a Saturday. He tried his best to hurriedly finish his work. He worked overtime and returned a week earlier only for Xiang Yu to throw a tennis ball on his chest. She was very dissatisfied and asked, “Why didn’t you return earlier? If you returned earlier we could have spent the Qixi Festival together.”

_{The Chinese ‘Valentine’s Day’} 

Xiang Yu held out her hands and counted with her fingers. She said regretfully, “Just ten days.”

“What did you do for Qixi Festival when I was not here?” 

“Nothing, I had a meal with Tang Yuchi.”

Jin Fubai was holding her waist and walking across the tennis court to the fitting room when he heard her words he stopped and his hands on her waist gently pinched her soft flesh, “The two Valentines this year, one foreign and the other domestic were both spent with your childhood friend?”

Xiang Yu was like a flexible fish, she nudged out of his arms, stood in front of him and said with a smile, “Kidding, my godparents were also there!” 

The tennis court was a clear blue colour, she wore a white vest and a tennis skirt with something on the top of her head similar to a peaked cap that was empty on the top. She had just finished a match, her cheeks pink from exercising and her hair soaked in sweat. As for her eyes, they were filled with craftiness.

_{AKA Half cap}

Jin Fubai looked at her, spell trapped for a moment. When he recovered, Xiang Yu shoved the tennis racket and hat into his arms and kissed him tippy-toed. The girl ran away after the kiss, jumping like a rabbit, not forgetting she turned her head around and said, “Wait for me, I’m going to wash up and change my clothes!” 

The tennis skirt was really short, he could see her butt checks when she ran. The skin on her legs was dazzling white under the afternoon sun.

Jin Fubai retracted his eyes and smiled, weighing the tennis racket in his hand. He had never heard of the racket’s brand. It was pink and white and didn’t feel very good to use.

He had seen this racket before; in her photos. He was abroad when Xiang Yu, full of joy, sent him a photo saying she got a new friend and happily introduced this “budget-friendly” racket. What was the original wording? Oh, she said, “I bought a racket that was 25% off and there was also a free sports water cup how worthy!”

Obviously, she was talking about how she got it for free but it was like she had got a bargain as big as the sky. This caused Jin Fubai to burst into laughter despite a day of high stress.

Xiang Yu came out of the locker room very quickly. She should have just taken a short shower, she had no makeup on her face, and her hair was not dry, just wet and scattered. Such an appearance reminded Jin Fubai of when he encountered her at Changsha. Unexpectedly there was someone who looked more beautiful the wetter they were making one unable to look away.

Jin Fubai thought so, and said, “You look so good when you are drenched in water.”

The person who was praised was quite dissatisfied, “Why are you so evil? Do you hope for me to be drenched in water?”

But her dissatisfaction only lasted for a moment, in the next second she took Jin Fubai’s arm and waved to a man in another venue from a distance. When the man turned around to continue playing tennis, Xiang Yu said, “That man just now was my personal trainer.”

“I know, Li Chi said you have a male trainer.” He specifically emphasised the word “male”.

“Why is Li Chi so gossipy? What kind of hotel does he run, he should open a weekly gossip publication business.” Xiang Yu admired her teacher quite a bit. “My trainer is amazing. One time the teachers versed each other and he had the best technique.”

Jin Fubai glanced at her. “Are you looking for trouble?”  She was really getting more and more bolder. It had only been ten minutes since they had reunited and she had already mentioned two men in front of him.

Maybe because Jin Fubai had returned, Xiang Yu was in a good mood. She made a naive expression of “fear”, widened her eyes and pretended to exclaim, “Don’t kill me.”

Jin Fubai was amused by her and swept his gaze on her body ambiguously, “I’m not talking about doing that, but doing it while you’re ‘dead’ is indeed not good.”

_{作死呢? Translated as ‘are you looking for trouble’ is zuò sǐ ne? but is something more along the lines as ‘Do you want me to kill you’ Jin Fubai then says 我说的不是作，是做 which is Wǒ shuō de bùshì zuò, shì zuò, meaning ‘I am not talking about doing but about ‘making love.’ the zuò has the same pronunciation but different meaning.}

Xiang Yu was very lively that day. Wearing a pair of jeans, she ran in front of Jin Fubai’s car and greeted the car happily, “Hello, blackie, long time no see.”

 Jin Fubai threw the car key into her hand, “It’s not easy to see it, I’ll give the car to you.”

“Who wants the car!”

“Then you want me?”

The blackie she called was the black car with the license plate number 44444. Xiang Yu pressed unlock and opened the car door for Jin Fubai. “Let me drive. You had a 10-hour airplane flight so you should be tired.”

Jin Fubai threw the tennis racket in the back seat when he got in the car and turned to meet Xiang Yu’s fierce gaze as if to warn him to treat her racket better. He couldn’t hold back, laughed, and joked, “You should’ve brought a more expensive one considering how much your personal trainer cost.”

Many women played tennis here. Beijing is said to not be very big and you could run into acquaintances in the circle everywhere. Jin Fubai has also heard people say several kept women played tennis but they all had female trainers.

On one occasion Li Chi went abroad and talked about it. He was too busy to take care of Li Chi then but he still heard him gossiping, saying other women all had female trainers and he asked whether his sister-in-law was being taught by a male instructor or a personal trainer.

_{Talking about a one-to-many or one-to-one}  

At that time, Jin Fubai smiled and said, there’s nothing I can do? It was a trainer someone else paid for with their own money, could I still make her not pay for him?

Li Chi was quite surprised, even the trainer was invited by sister-in-law? So stingy?

Jin Fubai smiled happily and told Li Chi not only did he not hire a trainer for her, but he was also waiting to return to China to eat a meal with the salary she had saved.

On the way back to the hotel, Jin Fubai casually asked Xiang Yu why she started playing tennis.

Xiang Yu’s eyes shined, “Have you seen ‘The Prince of Tennis’?”

“What prince?”

“Ryoma Echizen!” Xiang Yu was very enthusiastic about describing this manga to Jin Fubai, saying how handsome, powerful, and beautiful Ryoma Echizen was.

Jin Fubai leaned in the front passenger seat and calculated in his heart: the third man.

Because it was the weekend there were a lot of cars in the hotel parking lot however, there were three parking spaces that were always free. Xiang Yu parked the car but it wasn’t in a very good position, almost occupying three parking spaces.

Jin Fubai smiled and reminded her, “Do you want to try again?”

Xiang Yu decisively threw the car key at him. “If you want to park then you can park. This parking space is reserved for the kind of licentious honourable son you are. Maybe in a moment, there’ll be a victimized little beauty.” After she finished speaking, she chuckled and fantasised, “If Li Chi brought a girl back and wants to play the role of a pretentious prick but he found out that there is no parking. What kind of expression would he have?”

Jin Fubai took the person into his arms and said, “Let’s go, don’t think about it.” 

When entering the hotel, the staff first called out “Miss Xiang”. Looking up and seeing Jin Fubai behind her. The staff showed some panic and immediately called out, “Mr. Jin.” 

As a result, Jin Fubai made fun of Xiang Yu, “Miss Xiang is very famous now.”

“What name do I have? Merely due to the benefit I got from you that’s all.”

There were people in the elevator and Jin Fubai was very well-behaved with both hands in the pockets of his pants. When they exited the elevator, the whole floor was very quiet. He began to mess around, biting her neck and asking, “You mentioned four men along the way. I’m jealous, how are you going to appease me?”

The warm breath between his lips and teeth ran down her neck, Xiang Yu felt like an electric shock ran through her entire spine as he pecked her She could barely hold the key in her hand, shivering for a long time before she was barely able to open the door.

She was a little puzzled and when she was pushed on the wall by the door she didn’t forget to struggle, “I only mentioned three!”

“And Li Chi.”

“What kind of man is he! Isn’t he your brother?!”

Jin Fubai didn’t answer any more, he raised his hand to push off the two straps of her overalls and the denim fabric piled up on the floor. He thought with satisfaction overalls were also good and easy to take off.

The two of them from the afternoon to the evening were lovely-dovey. As they used up too much energy, they did not go out for dinner. Xiang Yu still remembered she said she would invite Jin Fubai to taste the pasta from the convenience store. Using her powerful connections, she called the hotel front desk, said a lot of names and sent someone to buy them.

Hanging up the phone, she lay on the bed and sighed, saying capitalism is really crazy.

Jin Fubai wanted to smoke afterwards, only to realise the cigarette and lighter were in the car downstairs. He was about to go downstairs to get it but was stopped by Xiang Yu. She said, “Wait a minute.”

She knelt on the bed, stretched out her hand to open the drawer of the bedside table and took out a pack of cigarettes from it. It was the half-pack of cigarettes he had smoked before and she had carefully sealed it in a fresh-keeping bag with a layer of tape.

Xiang Yu was biting and gnawing at the cigarette case. When she finally tore open the plastic bag outside the cigarette case, took out a cigarette and pinched the shredded tobacco, suddenly her shoulders collapsed. “It’s still dry… “

“It’s okay, I can probably still smoke.”

“Can’t.” Xiang Yu calculated on her fingers, “It was opened on February the 14th, it has been half a year, and you will cough after smoking it. I’ll get you a cigarette from the car?”

Jin Fubai was a little surprised. Remembering the staff had reflexively called her by her name he asked her, “When I’m away, do you come often?”

“Yes, Aunt Chen went back to her hometown. She said her daughter gave birth, so she went back to take care of her for a while. It didn’t make sense for me to go back to an empty home and when I’m idle I would always come here.”

Xiang Yu insisted on getting the cigarettes by herself that day. She didn’t say she was distressed for Jin Fubai because of the pressure he faced over the past few months. When she exited the car she met the staff who had returned from the convenience store with the food. Xiang Yu went upstairs with the food and cigarettes.

There were simple kitchen supplies in the suite. She put the pasta into the sauce and placed it in the microwave. She loosened the shredded tobacco while waiting for the pasta to heat up and stuffed the agarwood sticks into the end.

Jin Fubai leaned against the kitchen door and watched Xiang Yu make the.

A few minutes ago, Xiang Yu had returned with a big plastic bag. He was about to get up to pick it up but he was pressed on the sofa. She said she would handle everything today and wanted him to rest.

Jin Fubai had a dirty thought then had a dirty thought and he subconsciously teased her, “At night when you’re on top, it is already enough that you move then.” 

But now, Jin Fubai watched her approach him, press the lighter to help him light the cigarette and then with a “beep” from the microwave she hurriedly threw away the lighter to serve the pasta. He suddenly had a warm feeling inside. Although he didn’t know why she was so enthusiastic today.

He only found out the reason later that night. Xiang Yu sat by the bed, eating pasta and picking a CD movie.

The weather was not too hot, the bedroom window was open and the night breeze was refreshing. In the wind, there was a faint fragrance of leaves from the number of plants outside.

There were a lot of “famous convenience store products” she introduced to Jin Fubai on the bed. From oden to chocolate, from lava baos to soft-boiled eggs and milk tea to soft candies.

Under Xiang Yu’s enthusiastic recommendation, Jin Fubai ate a little more than usual. After eating he moved these things from the bed to the bedside table and arranged them yet Xiang Yu hadn’t finished picking a disc yet.

Jin Fubai liked compact discs even though there were so many video websites now, he was still used to watching movies with DVD players.

But today Xiang Yu was too picky. Many discs were just picked up and thrown aside. Jin Fubai took a few discs she was dissatisfied with and randomly read through the description.

The hotel would not prepare bad movies for him, these movies were not bad. Why was she not interested in them? After looking through three or four discs in a row Jin Fubai’s smile gradually faded.

The CDs she passed on had different movie styles and different nationalities. There was only one thing in common- They were all films in Cantonese.

Jin Fubai was silent for a few seconds contemplating.

Xiang Yu was not only a charming woman; she was also an intelligent woman. She probably knew that his grandmother had passed away so she avoided Cantonese movies for fear that he would feel sad.

No wonder this girl was extraordinarily attentive today. No wonder she had this “caring” manner, and she even sealed up the cigarettes he threw in the hotel to keep them.

Maybe she thought that losing his grandmother was losing someone he loved. And so she tried to fill in his loss.

However, she didn’t say anything when he asked. She only told him that the auntie at home had returned to her hometown and she was idle and bored by herself, looking for something to do.

“Xiang Yu.” Jin Fubai hugged her from behind and when she looked back, he kissed off the tomato sauce on the corners of her lips.

Xiang Yu had raised the disc in her hand and declared as if she had made up her mind, “Let’s watch this, “Flipped”, it looks pretty good…”

• 2010 American Romcom film.

The latter words were blocked by Jin Fubai with a kiss. At the end of the kiss, he asked her, “Move in with me?”

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=516328

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Chapter 30: Returning Home

The rain was not comparable to the heavy rain in Changsha where they met last summer.  It was just that the drops were so dense it drenched Jin Fubai’s face. He impatiently brushed his hair exposing his forehead and his wet shirt stuck to his skin. Cutting a sorry figure full of anxiousness it made her emotions stir.

Standing in the traffic, Xiang Yu waved and jumped, calling him, “Jin Fubai! I’m here!”

Hearing this, Jin Fubai suddenly looked back, looking straight at her. They stared at each other on an unfamiliar street overseas through the misty rain. They had not seen each other for a long time and as a result, their eyes brimmed with emotions in the rain.

Xiang Yu watched Jin Fubai throw the police megaphone in his hand back to the police and strode towards her. He pulled her wrist to leave, pulling Xiang Yu back to her senses, “I haven’t paid for the taxi yet.”

Standing in the rain Jin Fubai exchanged a few words with the taxi driver and took out his wallet, paying the taxi driver.

He turned around and embraced Xiang Yu. Through the noisy and congested traffic, the police sirens and the rainfall he gently guided her into the car.

Jin Fubai remained silent the whole way as the car drove out of the road to the airport. Xiang Yu went over to him in the hotel’s elevator and hooked his finger, tentatively asking, “Are you upset at the fact that I am here?”

Jin Fubai looked back, his gaze fell deeply into her eyes and said, “I heard that there was an accident with a Chinese person on the road to the airport and thought it was you.”

Before Xiang Yu could say anything, he grabbed her waist and she almost fell on his chest. She raised her head and her lips were blocked by his kiss.

In this country this hotel was probably not Li Chi’s property. The decoration style is simple and Xiang Yu was not used to it. Jin Fubai didn’t live in a suite but the place was surprisingly spacious. Xiang Yu who was held by him was placed down as he took off his shirt soaked in rainwater.

Xiang Yu had her back towards him as she felt Jin Fubai push her skirt up to her waist and hold her from behind. This was probably the craziest of all their love affairs.

Afterwards, they hugged each other and lay on the bed. Jin Fubai held up the white dress that was wet from the rain, squinting, he asked Xiang Yu, “In Changsha last year did you wear this?”

Xiang Yu’s whole body was exhausted as she nodded weakly and said yes.

During the four months that Jin Fubai was absent, although they did not meet, he called and sent messages to her almost every day but since they didn’t meet, there were many topics to talk about. They stayed awake late into the night as Xiang Yu told Jin Fubai about the trivial things in her life. She talked for a long time before suddenly stopping, “These trivialities, are they boring?”

Jin Fubai chuckled in her ears, “Very interesting, keep talking.”

Maybe it was because he was infected by Xiang Yu, he also talked about his family business but Xiang Yu didn’t understand it. Nevertheless, she was quiet. She listened carefully and only remembered Jin Fubai’s sigh in the night. He said his inability to reverse the outcome of a desperate situation roughly described the situation.

In the early morning, Xiang Yu woke up a little dazed. Hearing the phone ringing by the bed she subconsciously picked the phone up and put it to her ear, “Who?”

There was a gentle elderly on the phone. The elderly coughed a few times and with a voice full of surprise she said a few words in Cantonese. Xiang Yu’s mind cleared up and she held the phone in shock.

Fortunately, Jin Fubai came out of the bathroom at this time. She had a stressed look on her face, she covered the speaker and said to him with an agitated voice, it’s not good. I received a call from your family, it seems to be your grandmother, she’s speaking Cantonese but I don’t understand…

Jin Fubai didn’t have any special emotions. He smiled, took the phone in her hand and spoke a few Cantonese words to the person on the phone.

When he hung up, Xiang Yu asked nervously, “Is it your grandmother, did she say anything?”

Jin Fubai, the hooligan had put on a nightgown loosely after showering and deliberately changed clothes in front of her. As he slowly buttoned his shirt, he smiled and said, “It’s nothing, my grandmother asked if you were her grandson’s future wife. She asked you to come and sit with her if you have time.”

Xiang Yu was taken aback, “Then did you agree?!”

“Aren’t you the future grandson’s wife?” He said this sweetly, and Xiang Yu’s heart beat fiercely a few times but she didn’t respond again.

After that day, Jin Fubai didn’t have much time to accompany Xiang Yu.

Jin Fubai abroad is also not the same as in China. Sometimes when she drinks water at night or goes to the bathroom, she discovers Jin Fubai has come back. Maybe because he worried about waking her up he didn’t come to bed to sleep. Instead, in his suit he leaned on the sofa with his eyes closed.

His eyebrows were always frowning with what seemed like an endless amount of sorrow. And in all his sorrow, he never let her in.

Xiang Yu would come over to sit on his lap at night and help him untie his tie.

Often, Jin Fubai would suddenly open his eyes, full of hostility and defensiveness. When he saw that it was Xiang Yu, his eyes softened, he looked at her affectionately and pulled the tie in her hand, kissed her lips and wrapped the tie around her wrist, “Did you want to do something spicy?”

During those moments in bed, he had an unspeakable fierceness and Xiang Yu was tossed so hard that she couldn’t even bother to leave the hotel and ate at the hotel’s restaurant.

He spends very little time with her but never ignores her. One day, Xiang Yu was sitting in the restaurant. A waiter spoke to her in another language to say Mr. Jin has arranged lunch for you.

Xiang Yu didn’t expect that the lunch Jin Fubai arranged for her was the bone broth she was obsessed with when they were in Changsha. Opening the soup’s lid the fragrance smelt delicious. She took a spoonful of it to taste it and the taste was exactly the same as she remembered.

She didn’t know whether Jin Fubai invited the cook to come abroad or used other methods. She was reminded of the words “Mounting a house for thousands of miles for a concubine’s smile, no one knew it was due to lychees”. It was an ancient poem by Du Mu, to win Concubine Yang’s heart Xuan Zong travelled far and wide to send fresh lychees to Concubine Yang.

Xiang Yu thought jokingly she was being treated as a “noble concubine”. She sent this message to Jin Fubai, and Jin Fubai replied, saying, you only want this much? Just a noble concubine?

Later, Xiang Yu ate the soft and sticky hibiscus decorative border on the side and reflected. Firstly, why did she think about being a noble concubine? The second was to reflect on herself. After more than ten years of school, once she graduated, she only remembered the “scandalous” verses and can’t remember the entire poem?

When she was thinking about this a shadow was cast over the table. Xiang Yu raised her eyes and saw a man standing by her table in a suit and leather shoes, looking to be Chinese.

The man looked at Xiang Yu and smiled. He asked politely, “Miss, can I sit at this table with you?”

She was sitting at a two-seated dining table, did this man want to sit opposite her and have a meal? Obviously, the restaurant was only half full, why did he want to sit at the same table with a stranger?

Xiang Yu had just eaten the hot bone broth soup with hibiscus flower and her mind was filled with a satisfying comfort. She was not alert thinking he was just an ordinary person trying to hit on her. So she propped her cheek up with one hand, put down the silver spoon in the other, shook her fingers and casually refused, “I’m sorry, someone is sitting here.”

The man turned a deaf ear to her refusal, pulled the chair out and sat opposite Xiang Yu, “I heard you live in room 404?”

Xiang Yu realized then that the man in front of her might not be simple when he said her room number. She glanced at him calmly and couldn’t make out his purpose, so she could only ask, “If so?”

“Nothing.”  The man laughed, the fine lines stretched around the corners of his eyes looked harmless but his words were sharp, “Miss Xiang, what is your relationship with Jin Fubai? Are you his lover?”

If Xiang Yu was more sensitive she would have realized that he said Jin Fubai. Not Mr. Jin.

There were many people in the hotel’s restaurant. Xiang Yu felt she had watched too many spy movies as she glanced towards the safety exit and then said, “No, I am Jin Fubai’s girlfriend.” Jin Fubai had been affectionate with her for the past few days which gave her the courage to say such things without showing a guilty conscience. Rather she was neither humble nor overbearing.

The man raised his eyebrows slightly, not expecting her answer. He was silent for a few seconds before spitting out a few words in another language with a smile. It was like a ridicule but the irony was heavier.

Xiang Yu was not good in the language but she still understood such simple words. He said, wow true love.

When most people encounter such a situation felt like they are either encountering a rival or found the other person meddling. But Xiang Yu didn’t have any special emotions. She was still drinking the soup and only glanced at the man opposite, nodded, and said with certainty, “Bingo, we are sincere.”

Xiang Yu’s mood wouldn’t be affected because of other people’s deliberate words and deeds. What’s more, she is experiencing the life of a “noble concubine” today, drinking the bone broth soup with hibiscus flower Jin Fubai brought from more than 10,000 kilometres away.

How could she not continue to eat it?

The man on the opposite side spoke several times. Xiang Yu acted like she couldn’t see him, scooped the soup to her lips, and even played snake.

The man probably didn’t think Xiang Yu had such a calm temper. He froze for a while and suddenly smiled, “No wonder Jin Fubai likes you. Interesting.”

He talked about a man’s interest in a woman very frivolously and Xiang Yu didn’t lift her face, “Listening to your tone, you don’t have a partner, right?”

“People like us don’t need a partner; do you understand?”

“Okay, there is a pitiful person who doesn’t have a true love.” Xiang Yu continued to play snakes.

The man finally stopped sitting down, got up and walked to Xiang Yu. He leaned in and said in a low voice in her ear, “Miss Xiang, if you say that true love is abandoning one’s family and betraying relatives then I can’t agree.”

Xiang Yu’s snake hit its tail, dying. She put her phone down and smiled, saying with a bright expression, “Who would want to be family with a dog?”

That was a singular sharp moment in her 22 years. There are such noisy people who are not even deeply involved in the matter.

It was only after many years later Xiang Yu saw a face on TV and she knew he was the heir of a well-known domestic company surnamed Chu. It was just at that time she didn’t know the young President Chu, but of his younger sister, Chu Linlang.

When Jin Fubai came out of the villa, the sky was already dark. He wanted to go to the hotel to find Xiang Yu and casually found an excuse to leave.  After a few steps, the driver followed, “Mr. Jin.”

“What? My grandmother hasn’t fallen asleep yet?”

“The old lady is asleep, it’s about Miss Xiang.”

Jin Fubai turned his head, “Talk.” 

“In the afternoon Miss Xiang had a little incident., Chu Jue found Miss Xiang and he said something to Miss Xiang.” 

The Chu family has always wanted to marry the Jin family. If Chu Jue found Xiang Yu, it would be weird if he said anything good. Based on the situation Jin Fubai constantly felt uneasy on the way to the hotel.

Pushing open the door to the room he saw Xiang Yu in the lounge. She knelt on the sofa and rested on the backrest to look at the scenery outside the window.

He had told the hotel staff to move the sofa to the window. Xiang Yu has always played games in the hotel these days and he was worried she would feel bored. Fortunately, there was a beautiful crown-shaped tree outside the window and the scenery was not too bad.

She lay by the window looking at the moonlight outside, her hair blew in the breeze when she looked back and her eyes were stained with the colour of the lights from outside the window. She smiled at him. Jin Fubai was silent for a moment thinking she was going to say something serious but she only said, “Jin Fubai, the moon in the sky is so beautiful, like freshly cut nails.”

• Very neat and smooth. 

Jin Fubai laughed in surprise and leaned over to kiss her from behind, “Did you meet something unhappy in the afternoon? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Xiang Yu softly said in between the kiss, “No, I only met an irrelevant person.” After a pause, she said, “The bone broth and hibiscus flowers are delicious. It’s a pity you were not there, this was the most unhappy thing for me today.”

There was a lot of tenderness in her eyes, it was enough to soothe all of Jin Fubai’s feelings of impatience.

Jin Fubai twisted the buckle on her back through her clothes and put his hand in, “Maybe I’ll have time tomorrow afternoon to take you out for a walk?”

“Okay.”

“If I don’t accompany you, you won’t go out, huh? Not afraid of being suffocated in the hotel, so lazy now?” he said as he continued to twirl his fingers, rubbing her.

Xiang Yu smiled in his arms, “I’m here to accompany you, not to travel. I don’t want to go out if you are not there. It has nothing to do with being lazy.”

But on the next day, Jin Fubai still didn’t have time to accompany her. For the whole day, Xiang Yu heard no news of Jin Fubai in the hotel.

He came back late at night wearing a black suit with a black shirt underneath. Like a night-time killer in a movie, he quietly opened the door of the hotel, walked in and sat on the sofa.

Xiang Yu slept restlessly that day. Maybe it was because she drank too much coffee while playing games in the afternoon, and she couldn’t get into a deep sleep. So when Jin Fubai came back even if his movements were light, she felt it.

Instinctively she felt that he was in a very bad mood, worse than the late night when it was raining outside.

Without turning on the light or wearing shoes, Xiang Yu walked to Jin Fubai in the dark and snuggled into his arms, “What’s the matter?”

His body was covered in the ice-cold night and she pressed her warm body against his to help him keep warm. For a moment she felt like a wife who had been married to him for a long time.

Jin Fubai hugged her waist, rarely did he not take the opportunity to take advantage of her. He only buried his head in Xiang Yu’s neck, his voice hoarse like a patient with a severe cold. He said, “Xiang Yu, stay with me for a while.”

Jin Fubai smoked half a pack of cigarettes that night but remained silent. Xiang Yu accompanied him until the sun rose to the horizon outside the window and the sun shone slightly through the lush canopy into the hotel room did Jin Fubai take out his phone from the pocket of his pants. It turned out his phone was turned off the whole time. Many missed calls and messages flooded in the moment it turned on.

Xiang Yu didn’t close her eyes all night, her mouth was a little dry and she licked the corners of her lower lip before asking him, “Jin Fubai, should I rebook the ticket and stay with you for a few more days?”

Jin Fubai kissed her on the forehead. “No, I can’t spare the time to come over anymore. Go back and wait for me.”

Jin Fubai didn’t take her to the airport personally. When Xiang Yu washed he had already changed into another all-black suit, wearing a tie. After getting dressed, Jin Fubai took Xiang Yu’s hand and comforted her simply, “Trust me, don’t think about it. Wait for me to come back.”

Xiang Yu turned around and standing on her tippy toe kissed the side of his face, “Okay, I will wait for you.” 

Xiang Yu didn’t know what had happened to Jin Fubai then. It wasn’t until a week after returning to China when she was using her computer to scan the news at work she happened to see the notice of a person’s death: The co-founder and chairman of company xxx in the top 100 suffered an emergency abroad and was unable to be rescued. On June 31 2013, she unfortunately passed away at the age of 85.

June 31st was the date she returned to China. Xiang Yu typed the unfamiliar name of the deceased in the notice into the search engine and saw the background information of the deceased elderly. On the top, it said she is Cantonese.

In the introduction, there are photos of her when she was younger. She was dressed in a formal suit and sat with a few men. She had sharp eyes and a determined look, she was a strong woman. The sharp inner corners of her eyes looked very similar to Jin Fubai.

But Xiang Yu had heard her voice, gentle and kind.

When Xiang Yu was at the hotel that day, she answered Jin Fubai’s call. The elderly spoke softly in Cantonese, asking her if she was Jin Fubai’s girlfriend and she had also said she wanted her to sit with her sometime later. Unexpectedly, such an elderly would suddenly die.

Yet, Jin Fubai didn’t disclose the loss of a close relative to her. In his most fragile and gloomy moment, he just smoked cigarettes and stayed up all night. Fortunately, she had the opportunity to be by his side that day.

Xiang Yu suddenly regretted that she did not stay abroad for a few more days to accompany Jin Fubai.

It was late summer when she saw Jin Fubai again. At that time Xiang Yu had managed to relax at the company, sitting in front of the computer at the front desk all day, her shoulders and neck felt somewhat unbearable. Jin Fubai was not in the country and she had a lot of free time so she simply brought an annual card to the tennis court to play tennis when she had time.

She had a meal with Tang Yuchi that day and he sent her to the entrance of the tennis court. Tang Yuchi raised his jaw, “Hey, a woman is wearing the same outfit as you.”

Xiang Yu exited out of the car in curiosity. Such a coincidence, she saw the girl who asked her about her clothing brand at Li Chi’s venue in winter, it was Miss Almond-eyed. Miss Almond-eyed waved goodbye to a man smiling very sweetly.

Miss Almond-eyed saw Xiang Yu getting out of Tang Yuchi’s car and she seemed to want to say hello but she shyly withdrew her hand as if considering something. The girl didn’t pay attention to her facial expression and her smile became a little strange.

Xiang Yu still took the initiative to speak to her, “We meet again, we matching today.”

Miss Almond-eyed’s eyes lit up like a chirping little sparrow, jumping over to talk to Xiang Yu. “I found these clothes in the shop that you gave me the name of. The clothes in this shop are really pretty! Are you here to play tennis too?”

“Yeah, you too?”

“Yes, yes, I also came here to play tennis.” Miss Almond-eyed was very excited. “Last time I talked to you a few older sisters said that I shouldn’t talk to you saying you would be annoying.”

“Why would I be annoying?”

“Because Mr. Jin…” Miss Almond-eyed hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, “Because Mr. Jin’s status is too high. I am following President Qu and I have to talk to those of similar status to President Qu. Otherwise, it would be bad for him, someone would say that he…”

“President Qu, is he the one who sent you here?”

Miss Almond-eyed nodded with red ears, “Yes, he is very good. Today he even brought me a bracelet.” She stretched out her thin wrist and a chain of diamonds gleamed on it.

Perhaps it was because she often met Miss Almond-eyed when playing tennis there were gradually rumours in the circle that Xiang Yu had finally “fallen out of favour” and was abandoned by Jin Fubai. So she could only mix with some “low-grade goods”. Xiang Yu had heard of these rumours vaguely but she didn’t care.

The only thing that worried her was at the end of August Jin Fubai had finally returned from abroad. When Xiang Yu finished playing tennis that day, she turned around with a racket and suddenly saw Jin Fubai sitting on a chair in the rest area with his legs wide open, drinking half of her mineral water.

Xiang Yu ran all the way over and grabbed the water bottle, “You are drinking it all, what will I drink?”

Jin Fubai’s eyes were full of smiles, “I rushed to see you when I got off the plane and you won’t even let me drink from the same bottle?”

“What are you doing? You’re back today? Didn’t you say next week?”

“I missed you so much I came back early.”

Xiang Yu was carried by him and placed on his lap. Upon closer inspection, she discovered Jin Fubai lost a lot of weight. She remembered the notice of that person’s death, the night he was smoking in silence while abroad and the news of him holding his close relative who passed away but he had never shown a weakness.

Xiang Yu’s eyes were red and she called him, “Jin Fubai.”

This person hadn’t had the slightest idea of telling his grievances to her. He rubbed her buttocks and looked down at her tennis skirt, “You didn’t play very well but the clothes look good.”

Xiang Yu held back her tears and hit him, “Why are you so perverted! Forget it if you’re not serious!”

Jin Fubai smiled and leaned into her ear, “When you jumped up, guess what I saw?”

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=516328

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Chapter 29: LA

In the blink of an eye, it was June. In Beijing, it was already warm enough to wear a skirt. On Xiang Yu’s way to work both sides of the road were green with plants and roses bloomed abundantly.

Jin Fubai has been abroad for 4 months. To her, he only said his grandmother was not in good health but she was aware that he had other reasons for not being able to leave. It was just that he didn’t say and she wouldn’t ask.

After the new year, Xiang Yu was also busy with her small company and there were a few weekends when she had to work overtime. The boss of the company is called Zhou Lie, he is a 25, 26-year-old man, he looks upright and the employees call him “Zhou Bapi” in private. It wasn’t about his appearance, but rather due to the conflict between the employees and the boss.

_{Lie in his name means violent, upright is Zhou Zheng with the same Zhou.}

^{Zhou Bapi, the same Zhou is a character from a Chinese animation (半夜鸡叫), he is an evil landlord who abuses his workers.}

Xiang Yu and Zhou Lie were somewhat close and she didn’t call him “Zhou Bapi” despite having to work overtime. Although she aspired to be a salted fish, even when she works overtime a lot or has a lot of work pressure, she can be regarded as hardworking and there are not many negative emotions.

The advantage of this is that there is always a mini telescope hanging next to the badge on her chest. When she would go to Zhou Lie’s office, she would hold it out in front of her boss and look at the other side.

There was a beautiful vase of poppies on the opposite table for a few days in mid-June. Xiang Yu held the bronze telescope and glanced at the flowers, mindlessly a smile hung on her face when she heard Zhou Lie say, “Assistant Xiang, shall I put a table in this office for you?”

She put down the telescope, not falling to his scheme, “NO, although I have two jobs, my goal has always been to be a full-time front desk employee. You should hire a suitable assistant soon.”

Zhou Lie wasn’t one to talk much so he just nodded and said got it. When he finished looking at a part of a document carefully and raised his eyes, Xiang Yu still hadn’t left. She was standing by the window seeming like she was contemplating something, in a daze.

Zhou Lie knocked on the tabletop and asked, “Is there anything else?”

Xiang Yu looked back with her telescope and tentatively said, “Boss, you say, I have been so diligent and hardworking since before the new year till now, would I be able to apply for an annual leave in advance?” She hasn’t been employed for a full year yet and according to the company’s policy, she cannot take annual leave.

But Zhou Lie has seen Jin Fubai’s car more than once, and at one time he found a telescope to look at the opposite office building. The entire 7th floor on the opposite side was empty with only a flower on a desk.

This also explains why the company had big projects coming in after the new year and why it was smooth sailing. So, he knew it was because Xiang Yu was employed in his company and that a certain “upper level” made it much easier for him.

Zhou Lie thought about it briefly and nodded in response, “Okay, when you want to take a break, write a request and send it to me directly.”

Actually, Xiang Yu wanted to take a vacation because of Jin Fubai. Jin Fubai called at noon and was silent for nearly a minute, not saying a word.

The weather in Beijing was fine and the sun was shining brightly. When Jin Fubai called on the phone Xiang Yu was having lunch. The pasta in the convenience store was heated in a microwave and with a slice of cheese melted into the tomato beef sauce, the taste was not too bad.

Facing the high-rise noon sun with earphones in her ears, she heard Jin Fubai’s silence and silently put down the plastic fork in her hand. For a moment, she thought she was in a far far foreign country on the same silent night as Jin Fubai.

Xiang Yu was also silent for a long time before she lowered her voice and called him anxiously, “Jin Fubai?”

The person on the phone seemed to have just returned to his senses. After a pause, he said, ” What are you doing?”

“I’m having pasta from the convenience store for Lunch, it tastes good. When you come back, shall I invite you to eat it?”

Jin Fubai’s mood had returned to normal at this time. He smiled and teased her, saying once he had travelled all the way back to China, was she going to invite him to eat pasta from a convenience store? He also asked her if she was late this month and missed the attendance bonus.

Xiang Yu told him not to jinx her, saying she had perfect attendance for two months. After a while, she said softly, “I have saved up my salary over the past few months. You can eat whatever you want when you come back.”

Jin Fubai asked with a chuckle, “Miss me?”

“Yeah.”

Hanging up the phone Xiang Yu felt a little uneasy and didn’t even eat a few bites of pasta. In that minute silence, she felt a kind of powerless desolate feeling in Jin Fubai. So, she came up with an idea, she was going to find him.

The annual leave was approved on June 20^th. Xiang Yu took nothing and went to the airport alone. When she received a call from Tang Yuchi on the way, the young master asked in surprise, “Are you really going to find Jin Fubai?”

“Yes, I want to play for a few days and Zhou Lie gave me a ten-day holiday.”

Tang Yuchi couldn’t say much on the phone, he just told her to pay attention to her own safety, remember to report to him when she was abroad, remember to charge her phone and don’t turn it off at any time, if he couldn’t contact her it would worry him. He was overly sensitive; it was like she was going into retreat on a deserted island. Xiang Yu said okay and then hung up.

In fact, she hesitated on going to Jin Fubai. Foreign countries are another “circle” of Jin Fubai. She is not sure whether she should disrupt the current peace.

She was not sure if the Jin Fubai she would meet is the same person as the Jin Fubai in Beijing.

But people living a peaceful life craved for a romance even more. Even when Du Mu wrote “Red Cliffs”, he wrote the sentence “The two Qiao’s locked deeply in Bronze Bird Terrace”. She is but an ordinary person, missing a bit of rationality in love, wasn’t this normal? She’ll accompany him if he needs her.

^{Another ancient poem based on a war. Bronze Bird Terrace is known as a place of pleasure and the Qiao sisters were renowned for their beauty.} 

Jin Fubai worked in the family business from February to April. He met with shareholders every day and listened to them argue their stance. The conservatives and radicals fought against each other, as did members of the conservatives between themselves. People with bad personal relationships confronted each other and those with close personal relationships also argued. The quarrelling and noise made him have a headache.

It was late at night and because of the different opinions, a major shareholder threw his teacup and walked away.

His grandmother was in poor health these days. She coughed at night and the coughing made her eyes go red. She finally fell asleep earlier today and Jin Fubai did not dare to disturb her. He smoked silently in the air and then called Xiang Yu.

In fact, Jin Fubai couldn’t mention these things to Xiang Yu. It was very late at night and he missed her so much.

When his phone rang, he smoked in silence and didn’t speak to Xiang Yu. After being silent for a long time, Xiang Yu’s careful breathing came through the phone and she finally tentatively called him, Jin Fubai? The voice was so soft as if one was looking at the pond for the moon but at the same time afraid of breaking the moonlight.

Jin Fubai’s irritability gradually calmed down under this voice. After chatting casually, he hung up the phone and turned around, his grandmother stood silently behind him.

Her face was old and wrinkled, she was in poor health today, her face pale. So what if she had a net worth of over 100 million dollars? The same person couldn’t resist aging.

Jin Fubai’s grandmother is the only person Jin Fubai is close to in his entire family. Both of his grandfather’s family are family friends and they were also the best business partners, these were the achievements of his grandmother.

She was a powerful woman when she was young. His grandfather died young and Jin Fubai’s mother’s entire family was expanded into what it is now by his grandmother.

While she was a person who could produce clouds with the turn of her hand and rain with another, she was also a kind elderly. She was the only elderly who urged him to marry a girl based on how compatible she was with him and not because of family interests. That’s right, the only one.

The wind was heavy at night and his grandmother felt weak when she coughed. She took Jin Fubai’s hand and told him in Cantonese, Fubai, don’t be too angry, after all, we are all ants on the same boat.

The reason why she was respected was not only because of her exceptional means but also because of how she always made one feel comfortable. She was the leader of an entire corporation, and yet said she was an ant.

Jin Fubai calmed the hostility in his body and nodded, saying yes.

Because of the persuasion of his grandmother, Jin Fubai did not show any hostility in the next two days. He even spent a large sum of money to entertain several shareholders to discuss ways to win the support of some radical shareholders.

It’s just that the lunch banquet that day was not pleasant. A respected old man mentioned at the dinner table, “The young lady from the Chu family admires Fubai, perhaps marriage is the best way to get the support of all the families.”

Jin Fubai was humbly nodding his head while listening to the elders’ speeches and suddenly heard such a proposal. He slowly raised his eyes and snorted coldly, “Am I a male prostitute? The Jin family has hundreds of billions of assets and I need to sell my body to maintain it?”

He said this vulgar sentence and the people at the table were embarrassed. Someone jumped out to make peace and, in the end, even the old man changed to another topic. However, Jin Fubai had always had a grand and heroic character that was difficult to dispel and did not respond at all. At this time, Jin Fubai’s phone rang.

It was a message sent by Xiang Yu:

    [Jin Fubai, I’m at the LA Airport.]

Jin Fubai stared at the message for nearly half a minute and then looked up again, his face slightly darkening. He took his phone and got up, “Sorry everyone, I need to take a call.”

Jin Fubai stood in the quiet corridor and talked with Xiang Yu. She raised her voice in a noisy environment full of foreign languages ​​and said joyfully, “I want to stay in LA for a few days. If it is convenient, can you give me a hotel address close to you?” She said I can wait for you at the hotel if you have time to see me.

He was busy currently and she didn’t come at a good time. But her words were so considerate that made him want to make time.

At that time WeChat was far less developed than it is now and its functions were not so good. It was only recently one could add a location when posting photos in Moments and it wasn’t possible to message one’s location in chat. So Jin Fubai glanced at the closed door behind him and said, “I’ll get someone to pick you up.”

Xiang Yu refused his request saying that her annual leave was precious and waiting for him to pick her up meant wasting time at the airport. She might as well call a taxi herself.

Jin Fubai also couldn’t really walk away and he gave her the name of a hotel, saying softly, “Wait for me at the hotel.” 

His fickle and agitated attitude disappeared when he returned to the dinner table. He took the initiative to poor wine for the elders at the table, apologising, that he was too young and to please bear with him. The old man who proposed the marriage smiled, accepted his apology, and in the end, they had a pleasing chat.

Exiting the hotel, Jin Fubai escorted several elderly people into their car and watched them leave. When he was about to take the car key handed over by the waiter at the door, he suddenly heard someone discussing a major accident in a foreign language.

Seven vehicles collided on the road to the airport killing 5 people on the spot. Among them is a woman who is Chinese.

Jin Fubai suddenly glanced back, the car key in his hand dropping on the marble step.

In LA that day there was a continuous light rain and the weather was gloomy. Wrapped in Jin Fubai’s black shirt and a white skirt, Xiang Yu sat in the car and waited for the road to clear.

The cars under the downpour were blocked and she couldn’t see the end to the traffic. The cars behind them kept honking their horns for unknown reasons. In front of Xiang Yu was a line of policemen, ambulances came and went. The traffic police were still at the scene with foreign policemen in dark blue uniforms among them. She didn’t know what they were talking about.

A driver pulled out and said a series of sentences in a foreign language, Xiang Yu’s language proficiency was limited. She could vaguely guess that the driver was saying, what bad luck, don’t know when the traffic jam will clear.

She had played Snake on her phone on the plane and only stopped playing until her phone ran out of batteries. She could only wait for the police to resolve the issue before going. The sky got darker, the rain still pouring, there was no Snake and Xiang Yu closed her eyes in boredom.

About an hour later, she vaguely heard someone calling her name. The man spoke in Chinese.

Was it Jin Fubai?

Xiang Yu pushed the car door open in the rain, holding onto the car door, she stood on her tippy toes and saw Jin Fubai in the crowd.

How should she describe the scene? Everyone had turned into a silent background and only he travelled back and forth in the rain. Behind him were two police officers who were at a loss and wanted to stop him but they did not dare to step forward. He took the loudspeaker from the policeman behind him, his eyes which were always full of affection, were panicked and his brows were frowned as he frequently called her name, “Xiang Yu! Xiang Yu!”

If it was possible to use sound to indicate that you love someone. It must have been Jin Fubai’s anxious call at this moment.

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=516328

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Chapter 28: Concerned

Jin Fubai’s schedule should be very packed. Xiang Yu was being held by him on the bed when she heard the phone carried in his coat’s fine cashmere material making a muffled buzz sound on the bedside table.

She lifted her neck up and there was an uncontrollable moan when she spoke, “Phone…” 

Jin Fubai buried his lips around her neck and whispered, “Don’t worry about it.”

They didn’t talk about the quarrel over the phone, only continuously making love. After, they simply embraced each other exhausted, and fell asleep.

In the early morning, Xiang Yu vaguely heard Jin Fubai on the phone in the bathroom ordering someone to prepare a private jet for him.

Before leaving, Jin Fubai lightly kissed her forehead, the touch of his lips was warm and soft as if he wanted to pour all his tenderness into her forehead. Xiang Yu struggled, wanting to say something to him but she couldn’t get rid of the sleepiness after being tossed around.

Maybe she grabbed Jin Fubai’s clothes and said something, or maybe not. When Xiang Yu was completely awake, the mattress on the other side of the bed was already cold and only half a pack of cigarettes remained on the bedside.

After that day, Jin Fubai was always abroad. He occasionally called Xiang Yu and he would send her some random photos:

    Once it was the fuzzy outline of when the sun rose through the horizon.

    Once it was the moonlight reflected in a still pool.

Xiang Yu used these photos to piece together Jin Fubai’s living environment abroad. It was probably an astonishingly large villa. He took photos of places with the same decoration style but at different places.

Through those early dawns and lonely nights, she could infer that he was busy after going abroad and his mood was not good.

The photo of her and Tang Yuchi hugging was not mentioned by Jin Fubai until a long time after the event.

It was a weekend and Xiang Yu had lunch at Tang Yuchi’s house. Jin Fubai happened to call at this time. Under the gaze of her godfather, godmother and Tang Yuchi she took the phone and left the room to pick it up. It was like having a secret crush at school.

Closing the door to the guest room, Xiang Yu answered the phone and greeted Jin Fubai in a low voice, “Hello?”

It was another quiet night over there. Jin Fubai’s voice was tired but he was still in a good mood to joke with her, “Talking in such a low voice? Are you cheating on me?”

“…I’m eating at my godparent’s house.”

Maybe because Jin Fubai heard she was at Tang Yuchi’s house he gave a soft “tsk”.

Xiang Yu deliberately said, “What’s wrong, it’s not good to eat here because I’ll be secretly photographed by another?”

Jin Fubai smiled, “Being secretly photographing is nothing, at most I’ll get jealous and want to fly back to find you.”

Xiang Yu said to him, why are you jealous, I said that I had asked Tang Yuchi to accompany me to resize the ring. Jin Fubai, still joking told her: I thought with me away, you would seduce others with the skills you learnt from me.

True, Jin Fubai had taken her to that restaurant and kissed her on the bridge. Xiang Yu’s emotions had already settled so she curled her lips and said, “Who told your friend’s cousin to be so annoying, he must have something to do with Tang Yuchi’s ex-girlfriend.”

“He is so annoying; one look at him and you lose your temper at me, don’t see him again in the future.” Jin Fubai commented on Li Mao in a half-hearted manner.

Sometimes the relationships between people were so strange. Xiang Yu and Jin Fubai thought they were reasonably rational people but on that night they were out of control and their rationality died. One unreasonably picked a fight and one returned to Beijing late at night just to coax a person.

They didn’t think they would make such a move but strangely, they seemed to have become even closer after the quarrel.

Jin Fubai should have been tired after a long day and after speaking a few words, the sound of opening a water bottle came through the phone. Xiang Yu leaned against the door to the guest room and specially brought up a topic.

“Jin Fubai, have you read the news? There was a man and woman who had an affair in a car. They turned on the heater after turning the engine off and they were poisoned by carbon monoxide, almost dying.”

“Quite a long time.” Jin Fubai commented vaguely.

Xiang Yu was dissatisfied, “I’m not talking about how long it was.”

Jin Fubai smiled, “Then are you teaching me to not turn on the heater in the car if I cheat?”

“Of course not, I’m telling you that if you cheat it will not end well! You will die!”

The person on the phone smiled and said, “Yes, yes, I see.”

Hanging up the phone, Xiang Yu came out of the guest room with her phone and Mother Tang asked, “Is Yuyu on the phone with your boyfriend? What kind of person is he? How is his family?”

Xiang Yu was speechless for a moment.

The name “Jin Fubai” was too difficult to say. Should she say, “My boyfriend and I have a very good relationship but he probably will never marry me”?

It was Tang Yuchi who was biting into a piece of ribs, pretending to act relaxed, helping her solve the problem, “What kind of boyfriend would there be, she probably can’t even get married, crashing at our house to let you two to recognise her as your daughter,  you two were the ones who raised her! “

Tang Yuchi was beaten twice by Mother Tang with the napkin box, “Shut up! I think you are the unwanted one! Why are you cooped up at home all day long where is An Sui? I haven’t seen you contact her recently?”

At this time, Xiang Yu used her chopsticks to poke at the soup of braised pork ribs and with a depressed tone, “Godmother, are there still spare ribs in the pot? I haven’t had enough.” 

The topic was finished and Mother Tang immediately turned her head and said, “There is some, let your godfather get some.”

Xiang Yu and Tang Yuchi secretly glanced at each other and looked helpless in each other’s eyes. They rescued each other and they were helpless with each other’s situation.

After the meal, Tang Yuchi leaned against the balcony window, carrying a bottle and asked Xiang Yu, “You say if you think about it, he is unlikely to take you as a wife.”

She didn’t know if he really wanted to ask her that. Or did he want to ask about An Sui who he had spent a long time together with at school.

A table and a set of chairs were placed on the balcony of Tang Yuchi’s home. Xiang Yu sat on the chair, resting her cheeks in her hands, “I picture that he loves me.”

“Love? He has this kind of thing?”

Xiang Yu remembered that night when Jin Fubai rushed back from the Hong Kong Airport. It was inevitable that he was jet lagged but he said he did not feel at ease wherever he went and had to coax her first. So, she squinted her eyes in the sunlight and smiled faintly, “There is some.” 

It’s just that this “some” made it hard for her to give him up.

Jin Fubai has been busy for more than three months, entangled in family disputes and schemes every day.

Occasionally, he would receive messages from Xiang Yu, all trivial things. But when he saw her messages, his brows loosened and he felt an unprecedented amount of relaxation.

Once she complained about a traffic jam in Beijing during the morning rush hour saying she was late and lost her full attendance bonus. She was very heartbroken. Jin Fubai received the message at 7 o’clock at night when he was abroad and the group strategy meeting had not ended even after 5 hours. He didn’t bother to listen any more, turned his head back to message Xiang Yu and asked her how much the attendance award was.

Xiang Yu:

    [A full 200 yuan! I’m heartbroken! ]

Jin Fubai stared at the message on the phone silently curling his lips. In front of him full of different business sectors, the diagram densely packed and a random project is worth tens of millions.

But none were like her 200 yuan, lively and lovely.

Jin Fubai looked around coldly, it was appalling that everyone’s eyes were filled with lust and greed.

For a moment, Jin Fubai suddenly rejoiced that he loved someone. So he could still be a little tender on a night like this.

At the end of the meeting, his voice was exhausted and he called Xiang Yu, “What are you doing?”

The voice on the phone was faintly resentful, “Eating the cheapest lunch in the cafeteria.” It seemed like she was mourning for her 200 yuan bonus.

Jin Fubai lit a cigarette, “When I come back and we go for dinner, what do you want to eat?”

“Let’s talk about it when you come back. Have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet.”

The girl on the phone urged, “Then go eat.”

“Going.”

Jin Fubai suddenly remembered when he kissed her on the forehead in the early morning at the hotel suite before he left to go abroad. Xiang Yu, who was trapped in a silk quilt, grabbed the corner of his clothes. Her wrist, a victim of his passion when he held onto her, leaving behind a purple-red mark on her arm. She did not open her eyes; her hands were not strong and her expression had some grievances.

Jin Fubai took her slender wrist into his hand, his thumb gently fumbling with the red marks on her skin, “What’s wrong? Did I do it too hard yesterday, now you feel wronged?”

Xiang Yu’s voice was quiet and Jin Fubai leaned over, barely hearing what she was talking about– “Jin Fubai, I am not normally like this. I have never been so unreasonable in a relationship before…”

Her voice was a little hoarse, he wasn’t sure if it was because of sleepiness or if it was because of something else, she seemed confused and fragile.

Jin Fubai kissed her fingertips, “I know, I will treat you well.”

When he said that sentence, he was really genuine, so the current turmoil made him particularly irritable.

Jin Fubai family’s company members are divided into two groups. One group is the conservative group, which believes that the current excessive diversification strategy will cause disasters for the company. The other group is the radical group, who believes that if they do not insist on diversified acquisitions, they won’t be able to obtain new areas for profit.

His grandmother is a conservative, Jin Fubai has not picked a group but he has always represented his grandmother. Perhaps because his grandmother is old and her status is shaky, the conservatives are in a difficult situation.

Jin Fubai is too lazy to deal with these people, but in fact, he supports the group his grandmother is in and is unwilling to take any risks. The only battle he didn’t prepare for was Xiang Yu.

In this turbulent and risky relationship, Jin Fubai stood by the window with a cigarette. The phone in his hand was calling Xiang Yu, who was more than 10,000 kilometres away. On this silent night, he frowned, “Xiang Yu, I miss you so much.”

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=516328

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Chapter 27: To Coax

Xiang Yu remembered her first encounter with An Sui. She and Tang Yuchi had just started the first year of high school. Their school held an art festival and everyone was excited like it was Chinese New Year. Some people wanted to show off their looks and would secretly wear separate clothes under the school uniforms. They would remove their school uniforms before entering the auditorium when the teachers could not control them due to the crowds. Tang Yuchi was one of those people who wanted to show off.

He took off his jacket in the school auditorium showing a black short sleeve, the logo was an eye-catching double G. He squeezed through the crowd to Xiang Yu’s side, grabbing her Coke and drinking the remaining half in the bottle. Then he wiped the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, and said excitedly, “Look at the platform!”

Xiang Yu hit him with the empty bottle of Coke, “What are you looking at! Is there something worth seeing in the choir?”

“Look at the second-to-last row, the girl on the far right, isn’t she pretty? I am going to chase her.”

Xiang Yu followed Tang Yuchi’s description and saw a girl in a white shirt and plaided skirt. With a bun hairstyle and a pair of deer eyes, she looked very delicate and pretty.

Tang Yuchi was very proud as if the girl was already his girlfriend. He grabbed Xiang Yu’s shoulders shouting in her ear, “How’s she? Looks good? Aren’t her eyes particularly big?”

Xiang Yu glanced at someone’s chest, “It’s quite big.”

“…… Where are you looking at? I’m talking about eyes! Eyes!!! Xiang Yu, can you show some respect for my future girlfriend?! “

The past was like a wave rippling in her mind. The An Sui in front of Xiang Yu, was still a woman with a pair of deer eyes. It is just that the way that she drew her eyeliner and her long fan-like eyelashes, blurred the young girl’s youthfulness, instead, being mature and charming.

Li Mao’s hands were dishonest and even if there were people around him when he walked into the jewellery store, he rubbed her through her clothes. An Sui’s smile could probably be described as if she wanted to stop him but when she raised her eyes, she saw Xiang Yu not far away and her smile collapsed.

Xiang Yu and An Sui looked at each other for a short moment and then they withdrew their eyes instantly. She kept a composed face through this moment considering An Sui’s face.

But, in fact, Xiang Yu wasn’t that calm, she was worried that Tang Yuchi would come to her at this time and she couldn’t help speeding up her pace.

Fortunately, Tang Yuchi thought she was going to answer Jin Fubai’s call. He didn’t want to hear the two of them being lovey-dovey so he leaned against the counter to look at a bracelet.

When Tang Yuchi turned his head and saw Xiang Yu approaching, he shook the bracelet in his hand, “Do you think this bracelet will look good on me?”

Xiang Yu stabilized her mind and roasted him as normally as possible to the best of her ability, “Girlish.”

Her ring design was too complex, there was no gap between the inner ring full of diamonds and the staff said it was difficult to make it smaller. Finally, using a traditional manner, a small layer of transparent string was knitted on the inside for it to just fit.

After altering the ring, Xiang Yu took Tang Yuchi to eat and she asked him to go to a restaurant where she had previously eaten with Jin Fubai before. It was so expensive, it was like she was being robbed.

Tang Yuchi was not kind when ordering, it was as if he was actually here to eat. After ordering, he asked, “Do you want to order this discounted dish? Don’t you like discounted things?”

Xiang Yu gritted her teeth, “It still costs 200 yuan after the discount!” 

The dishes came out one by one, but she didn’t think about how to tell Tang Yuchi. She could only tangle up a chopstick of sea cucumber and put it in her mouth, the feeling was the same as chewing wax. After much deliberation, Xiang Yu was still ready to use the most direct way.

Long-term pain was worse than short-term pain. A sharp knife can cut the mess.

Xiang Yu took a deep breath, “Will you…” contact An Sui.

“No.” Tang Yuchi interrupted Xiang Yu suddenly.

Xiang Yu was taken aback and looked at Tang Yuchi abruptly. He hung his head down, his chopsticks fiddled with a small piece of fish on the plate, looking quiet and lonely.

Tang Yuchi randomly poked at the white fish’s belly, turned it over and back again, not stabbing it. After a long time, he put down the chopsticks in his hand, took off the watch on his wrist, and gently placed it into the bamboo basket containing fishbone and crab shells on the tabletop.

It was a Swatch, Tang Yuchi’s cheapest watch but he had worn it preciously for many years.

It seems that it was on a Valentine’s Day when they were in university that Tang Yuchi received this watch and showed it to Xiang Yu very excitedly, “Look, my wife bought it for me.”

At that time, he was obsessed with motorcycles from abroad and posted a picture riding a Yamaha, wearing a heavy helmet. His following group of friends commented that it was cool but he responded one by one asking them to look at his watch, saying that his wife bought it.

Someone was welcoming guests outside of the private room, and they said politely in a joyful tone that they had not seen each other for many days and asked if they gained weight since they last met. The person being greeted laughed, yeah yeah, I gained weight again and ate well during Chinese New Year.

Xiang Yu asked at this moment, “Did you see?” 

Tang Yuchi raised the corners of his lips and smiled, “I saw it, she found such a tall man, they were too conspicuous standing in the crowd, how could I not see.” After a pause, he said, “And it’s her, would I not recognize her?”

He said the last sentence very lightly. After speaking, Xiang Yu saw a tear slip from the corner of Tang Yuchi’s eye and smash into the plate in front of him.

Xiang Yu knew that the “she” Tang Yuchi was talking about was An Sui.

The meal ended very early, the good ingredients were wasted, and none of them were in the mood to taste it seriously.

After the meal, Tang Yuchi wanted to go home and asked her if she wanted to come too. Xiang Yu shook her head, she knew he needed to be alone.

After Chinese New Year, the sky gets dark very late unlike in the middle of winter when night was after 4 o’clock and it was so dark that it would make one feel lifeless. When they walked out of the hotel, it was dusk, and the two stone elephants carved in front of the store were caged in dim lights as if they had come to life.

The water still flowed under the long bridge and the little lions carved on the bridge rails remained vivid. Xiang Yu and Jin Fubai had already been on this bridge, resolving their misunderstandings and they even kissed affectionately here.

But at this moment, she was standing on the long bridge with a small knot in her heart. Because she heard Tang Yuchi say in an unexpectedly calm voice, “Xiang Yu, fortunately, you are here today.”

Xiang Yu deliberately teased him for the atmosphere to be lighter, purposefully joking, “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gone to the jewellery store. “

Tang Yuchi also smiled cooperatively, “Then for this meal, you have made amends to it.”

If people really had a balance in their hearts, then Xiang Yu’s balance is now in favour of Tang Yuchi. In a flash, she felt childish and dreaded because the “enemy” of her friend was someone from Jin Fubai’s side. When she thought of Jin Fubai, she became extremely angry.

But she didn’t go home and came to Jin Fubai’s hotel suite alone. The bedroom had been cleaned up long ago. The handful of roses had been placed in a crystal vase and there was still a slight fragrance of agarwood in the room.

Xiang Yu sat on the bed and there was a message from Jin Fubai a few minutes ago on her phone:

    [Changing at Hong Kong, I’ll board the plane an hour later.]

Xiang Yu looked at it for a while but didn’t reply. However, Jin Fubai called.

In fact, at this time, Xiang Yu didn’t want to talk to Jin Fubai. Even if she had returned to the hotel yearning for him, she couldn’t guarantee that she could talk to him peacefully.

Jin Fubai is Jin Fubai and Li Mao is Li Mao. They are merely familiar with each other, don’t be angry, be rational. Xiang Yu said this silently in her heart and picked up the vibrating phone in her hand.

Jin Fubai was probably in a coffee shop at the airport, the surrounding environment wasn’t quiet. His voice was lazy and gentle, he asked her if she had dinner, whether the ring resizing went well, and whether she wanted to buy another one.

Xiang Yu answered almost everything on the phone. Jin Fubai chuckled, “What’s the matter, are you unwilling to talk to me? Was it because I didn’t spend Valentine’s Day with you, so angry now?”

Maybe it was because of his gentleness, maybe she was too dependent on him these days. The more you love, the more you can’t control your emotions.

Xiang Yu couldn’t help but ask Jin Fubai, “Why didn’t you tell me that Li Mao’s new woman was Tang Yuchi’s girlfriend?”

“Are you angry at me for this reason?”

Jin Fubai paused, he sighed softly on the phone, his tone still gentle. He said, Xiang Yu, I do have opportunities to know about their affairs but I don’t always pay attention to everything. There are dozens of gossips in the circle every day, how I can care about everything?

Finally, he said, “What’s more, I’ve been with you these days.” This was to the point and she could tell that Jin Fubai didn’t want to fight.

He was right, he had a chance to know but he was not a nosy person. These things, she shouldn’t blame him, they have nothing to do with him.

Xiang Yu thought about these things in her mind clearly but she blurted out another reaction, unreasonably, “You really haven’t heard of it? You know what kind of relationship I have with Tang Yuchi… ..”

Jin Fubai sneered suddenly and his tone became rough, “What kind of relationship do you have, would someone take a picture of you and him embracing each other and send it to me?”

Hug? She and Tang Yuchi? Was it at the entrance of the hotel just now?

Someone took a picture of them and sent it to Jin Fubai? So, he called during his layover? It was not that he missed her to the point where he would contact her whenever he was free…

Xiang Yu’s voice also became chilly and she said a heavy sentence, “Jin Fubai, you people are not only heartless but petty and nauseating.”

“Xiang Yu.” Jin Fubai’s voice warned implicitly.

This was the only quarrel between her and Jin Fubai in more than half a year. It was also the only time she had lost control of her emotions in 22 years.

When Xiang Yu hung up the phone, the phone slid from the palm of her hand onto the bed and her tears were also dripping on the bed. Jin Fubai didn’t call again, maybe he had already boarded the plane.

She knew that she was very unreasonable but she couldn’t help it. Xiang Yu did not fall asleep until late at night, she couldn’t sleep properly and she had a few intermittent dreams. All of which were of the chaotic lights in Li Chi’s venue where she could not find Jin Fubai.

Xiang Yu twisted uncomfortably and suddenly felt the mattress sink. She woke up from her dream and screamed when she saw a shadow leaning over the bed.

In the next second she fell into the embrace of an agarwood scent, “It’s me.”

“Why are you back?”

Jin Fubai accurately found her eyes in the dark and gently wiped her tears away. He sighed, “Was it not that I made you cry? I won’t feel at ease wherever I go, I’ve come back to coax you.”

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=516328

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Chapter 26: Lover

It was late when they exited Li Chi’s venue. There was no starlight that night and even the moon did not shine, hiding behind a layer of cloud. Instead, the place was lit by neon lights and the night was not too lonely.

Xiang Yu held her bag in front of her chest with one hand, her posture like that of students carrying books. It was different from other women who deliberately and in an arrogant manner carried their luxury bags. Her other hand was held tightly by Jin Fubai.

Li Chi did not wear a coat, only a light green striped suit when he came out. He took Jin Fubai’s shoulder to send him off and slightly attentively, “Brother Jin, how can you drive when you’ve been drinking? Should I call my driver?”

Jin Fubai lightly brushed away Li Chi’s hand, “Your sister-in-law will drive. “

“Oh oh oh, my sister-in-law is driving, then get back safely.”

Jin Fubai unlocked the car, first helping Xiang Yu open the door to the driver’s seat and after she got in, he sat in the passenger’s seat by himself.

Outside the car, Li Chi stood by the side of the car. He bent over and looked into the car, “Brother Jin, sister-in-law, drive slowly.” 

Xiang Yu started the car and found that Jin Fubai had sat into his seat with closed eyes. She thought he had drunk too much. and so she could only throw her bag in the back seat, lean over, and struggle to fasten his seat belt. Then she lowered the car window, and responded to Li Chi’s farewell, “Bye Li Chi.”

Li Chi waved his hand that had three diamond rings on it and the diamond light flashed as he smiled and said, “Bye bye sister-in-law, drive slowly.” 

When the car drove halfway through the street, the colourful lights in front of the venue behind them were no longer visible and Jin Fubai suddenly said, “You’re quite willing to talk to him.” He suddenly said these words and Xiang Yu who was focused on driving was shocked.

“Aren’t you sleeping?”

“No.”

Jin Fubai’s attitude towards Li Chi was very indifferent today, and he didn’t respond to him. Li Chi had told jokes several times but he didn’t show any expressions. He didn’t fail to understand why Li Chi called “Xiang Yu” when Xiang Yu first went to the venue. Xiang Yu was willing to give way to Li Chi, but he was unwilling.

Thinking of this, Jin Fubai opened his eyes, leaned into the back of the chair and turned his head to look at Xiang Yu, “I didn’t know you were such a considerate sister-in-law.”

Xiang Yu didn’t pretend to not understand what he was saying and with both hands on the steering wheel, she truthfully said, “Well then what can I do? Li Chi is your friend and wants to save face for you. Even if he does something wrong, I can’t embarrass him in front of you. Am I right?”

She drove well, the speed was not too fast, instead slow and unhurriedly in the dim light of the night. When she met an intersection, even if there was no shadow of anything on the street in the middle of the night, she would slow down a bit and look around.

The heating in Li Chi’s venue was very high and Xiang Yu was probably hot. She tied up her collarbone-length hair, and there was a small braid on the back of her head. It was a few inches long, like a bird’s tail, quite funny. She also has a beautiful neck, looking like a student with her back straight and who earnestly drove a car.

But occasionally when she looked into the rear-view mirror, she would inadvertently glance to the right, her eyes holding a hidden charm. It reminded him of the times when he pressed her sensitive parts, she would become coquettish and look at him with a thin layer of tears in her eyes. During those moments, her eyes would be filled with confused affection, like she was trying to remember him through her tears. He found it very heart-pounding.

Jin Fubai tilted his head and looked at Xiang Yu for a while, his breathing slightly disturbed. He took out a cigarette and lit it. With the cigarette in his mouth, he held Xiang Yu’s wrist, putting it on a certain part of himself and with a very lustful tone, “What’s the use of being considerate to them, why not be considerate to me?”

Xiang Yu’s whole body was pulled, swaying, and the car shook on the unmanned road.

She pressed her palm on a hard object and she curled up like she was hit but an electric shock, calling at him, “Jin Fubai! I’m driving! We might get into a car crash.” Actually, she wanted to be more aggressive but after she felt the firmness in his pants, a certain memory in her body awakened earlier than her reasoning could, and the tone of her voice was not like anger, but like flirting.

Jin Fubai didn’t let go of her wrist, rubbing his thumb on her bone, “If it’s the two of us it’s not death, it’s called dying in the name of love.”

Xiang Yu threw his hand away, “Who wants to die with you.”

“Then what do you want? “

She felt complicated when she heard the word “do” and Xiang Yu slammed the gas pedal unbearably, “Jin Fubai, don’t talk.”

Jin Fubai opened the window of the car. The smell of smoke dissipated in the night breeze and he laughed loudly.

In fact, it was really a joy to fall in love with Jin Fubai.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, February 14th, Xiang Yu’s parents failed to return home to Xiang Yu because they had taken over a new project. In the early morning when her parents did not come back, she opened her sleepy eyes, turned around and embraced a handful of fragrant roses in her arms.

Because she had stayed up late, Xiang Yu was still not completely awake yet, she stared at the roses for a long time before slowly widening her eyes and calling out, “Jin Fubai?”

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped and Jin Fubai came out wearing a nightgown.  He lifted his wet hair to the top of his forehead, stood by the bed, leaned over, touched her cheek and kissed her, “Happy Valentine’s Day.” 

Men are indeed warm-blooded animals, not afraid of the cold. In the winter, Jin Fubai always likes to take a cold shower. His lips and fingers were cold. To avoid the coldness Xiang Yu turned her head, burying into the red roses, rubbing her face against dewdrops.

This was the last day of Xiang Yu’s New Year holiday and she suddenly felt that this day was very precious. Being tossed till midnight yesterday, she didn’t want to stay in bed and laze around. She got up in a hurry after lying in bed with Jin Fubai for a while.

Originally Jin Fubai and her would spend Valentine’s Day together. But when Xiang Yu was sitting by the bed and wearing jeans, she heard Jin Fubai answering the phone downstairs. At first, his tone was normal and probably because the person on the phone was his grandmother he spoke in Cantonese. But when another call came, she didn’t know who was on the other side of the phone as Jin Fubai’s tone became more and more impatient. In the end, he didn’t even speak Cantonese and responded with a few sentences in Mandarin. Finally, he sneered and said, “Don’t talk to me about this. Is this something I can decide on?”

When Jin Fubai called, he didn’t deliberately hide from Xiang Yu and she could hear it all. She had also heard him make a call to ask someone to book a flight to another country at noon.

Regarding Jin Fubai’s matters, she wouldn’t ask more even if she heard it all. This was her way of protecting their relationship.

When Xiang Yu pulled the jeans up to her thigh and stood up to continue to put it on, Jin Fubai came up from downstairs. He was still angry from the phone call and unexpectedly, when he entered the door, he saw his girlfriend with her back to the door holding her pants and her plump buttocks were covered with a patterned lace fabric.

Jin Fubai finally smiled, walked over and rubbed her, “I didn’t do it enough yesterday? You’re seducing me in the morning?”

Xiang Yu pulled up her jeans and turned to hit him. The loose ring between her fingers flew out again, rolling under the bed.

Xiang Yu was taken aback and knelt down by the bed to look for it. Her posture was more seductive than when she pulled up her pants.

Jin Fubai glanced at the time and frowned regretfully. It’s too late.

He picked up the person and kissed her deeply, “Don’t look anymore, I’ll find someone to find it for you.”

It was the hotel staff who hooked the ring out from under the bed and after the staff left, Jin Fubai put the ring on Xiang Yu’s hand. When he bought the ring, the designer suggested an 11 but he felt that Xiang Yu’s fingers were thinner and ordered a 10, he didn’t expect it to be like this.

“When I have time, I’ll take you to pick a new one.”

It was at this time that Xiang Yu tactfully mentioned the phone call he had and said, “Actually, I have other things to do too, you don’t always have to accompany me.” She didn’t ask him what he was busy with, only saying, go ahead and do whatever you need, I’ll wait for you.

She’s really realistic. Jin Fubai was full of affection, and he held Xiang Yu, kissing her on the back of her neck, “I’m going abroad. I’ll be back in a few days, wait for me.”

“Ok.”

“How are you going to spend today?” He asked uneasily.

Xiang Yu showed Jin Fubai the message on her phone, it was sent by Tang Yuchi:

[A friendhood emergency! For valentine’s day can you not pay more attention to your lover than your friend, come out and accompany me!]

     [I really don’t want to watch your godfather and godmother being affectionate to each other, they are both feeding each other for breakfast, I’m dying!] 

     [Help! SOS!]

Jin Fubai glanced at Tang Yuchi’s profile picture, he appeared to be unhappy but he still said, “I’ll take you there.”

“Aren’t you going to the airport?”

“There’s still time, I’ll drive you there first.”

When Jin Fubai drove her to Tang Yuchi’s front door he suddenly frowned and said, “Xiang Yu, are you going to the hot springs with your childhood friend?” He still remembered Xiang Yu saying that she wanted to go to the hot spring with her parents.

Xiang Yu raised her hand with a smile, and showed him the ring, “I asked Tang Yuchi to accompany me to change the ring to a smaller size so I don’t lose it. Don’t buy a new one, it’s a waste of money.”

The man was satisfied, he got out of the car and opened the door for her. Then he pressed her on the car eagerly and kissed deeply. Perhaps his dissatisfaction was too obvious that Xiang Yu’s eyes also quietly reddened and put her arms around his neck and asked, “Then come back soon, okay?”

“Good.”

Xiang Yu watched Jin Fubai drive away and then she turned around to see Tang Yuchi leaning against the door. Young Master Tang held his neck and deliberately retched, “I’m going to throw up.”

Xiang Yu glanced at him, “Really?”

“Throw up your mum! I was disgusted by you and Jin Fubai, you even came downstairs to my house to kiss, deliberately trying to abuse me?!” Tang Yuchi swung his arm around Xiang Yu’s neck, “What shall we do to pass time?”

Xiang Yu flicked him away, “Drive me to resize a ring.”

When Tang Yuchi got into the car he pulled out his sunglasses and put on them, “There are couples everywhere, looking at them makes me feel annoyed.”

In fact, Xiang Yu saw that on Tang Yuchi’s wrist was a watch that had been picked by An Sui for him a few years ago. She didn’t know if this young master with an unkind mouth but a soft heart would contact An Sui on this special day.

Many people say, don’t look back. But in fact, how many could let go of these feelings, whenever you want to let go of them there are always memories that come out to disturb your mind.

Xiang Yu went to a famous jewellery store, stood in front of the counter and took off the ring, “Excuse me, can I make this ring smaller?”

Tang Yuchi picked up the ring, “Did Jin Fubai select this? Good taste.”

In fact, after having arrived at the jewellery store that day, Xiang Yu was talking on the phone with Jin Fubai. She covered the microphone in the bustling store and told him to call her once he arrived. Jin Fubai said, why do I miss you so much already.

If nothing happened afterwards, even after he had to fly abroad it would still be a very good Valentine’s Day.

When Xiang Yu put the phone away and raised her eyes, she suddenly saw a fairly familiar figure, Li Chi’s cousin, Li Mao. Perhaps because of the story he told at the dinner table where they first met or not, but Xiang Yu had always had a natural dislike for Li Mao.

She subconsciously wanted to avoid Li Mao but she could clearly see the woman holding his arm. Last night, she heard people say that Li Mao had been entangled by a “vixen” recently, and she heard how clever the woman was.

However, Xiang Yu didn’t expect that the woman in those men’s mouths would be An Sui.

If she suddenly felt sick of that circle for a moment. Then it must be now.

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=516328

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Chapter 25: Pretentious

Li Chi has met many different kinds of people. There were the good, bad, and those of both. But for the first time, he was shocked by a woman’s overly thorough gaze and his glib tongue was almost left speechless.

He had some regrets, why did he think that Xiang Yu would be a spoiled and arrogant woman?

At that moment, an expressionless Jin Fubai cast his gaze over after hearing Li Chi call “Xiang Yu” just now and was waiting for Li Chi to say something important. Under Li Chi’s silence, an awkward atmosphere started to spread.

Finally, Xiang Yu smiled and started a random topic, “The New Year’s chocolate at your hotel tastes very good. I have eaten quite a bit. Should I pay for it?” 

It was also at this time that Li Chi who was sitting between two women realised that Xiang Yu was different from other women. She was honestly and seriously in love with Jin Fubai.

Based on Xiang Yu’s sincereness towards their love, she would take into account Jin Fubai’s face and also consider Jin Fubai’s friend’s face as well and ultimately, she relieved Li Chi’s embarrassment. Even though she knew Li Chi was not very friendly to her.

Li Chi accepted Xiang Yu’s kindness, his eyes narrowed and he smiled in a crooked manner, pretending to be drunk, “I’ve addressed you incorrectly, I should’ve called you sister-in-law. How can I ask my sister-in-law to pay? It’s good that you like it, next time you come by, I’ll ask someone to give you extra.”

Xiang Yu smiled, “Okay, thank you.” She didn’t have anything to add for the name “sister-in-law”, not even a special expression.

Jin Fubai fiddled with her earlobe, “Like to hear people call you that?” His hand was just holding an iced wine glass and his fingertips were cold. When he touched her earlobe there was a special flirtiness.

Xiang Yu shook her head, the diamond stud earrings fragmented the venue’s lights and shined in fragments, “It’s him who likes to call me that way, it doesn’t matter whether I like it or not.” She curled her lips and muttered, “If you had another woman with you, she would also be called sister-in-law.”

These words were scattered in the noisy nightclub, mixed with the echoing sounds her words were cut out and there was only a light and fluttering sound, like a swallow flying by an entrance in early spring.

Jin Fubai didn’t hear what she said but he had his eyes on her intently. After a few seconds, he figured out what she said through the movement of her lips. He smiled and poked at her earrings, “When has there ever been another person, aren’t you the only one?”

Xiang Yu didn’t expect him to hear her, she was a little surprised at his attentiveness. She turned her head and stared at him, “Who knows if there hasn’t been? “

“Want to eat this kind of fake vinegar?” Jin Fubai said with a smile.

She was in the area where the men gathered, seated at an oval table top surrounded by a circle of soft leather sofas. Later, a few men whom Xiang Yu didn’t know came to the table and the women they were holding automatically sat on the other side of the sofa, it was like a dividing line of classes.

The only exception was Xiang Yu who was held by Jin Fubai and sat in the middle of this “line”.

She wore a pair of basic jeans and a fluffy white sweater made from a blend of rabbit fur. She dressed differently from how the other women dressed and occasionally their attention wandered to her. Or perhaps it was because of Jin Fubai. This guy talked to others without letting go of her, clasping his fingers tightly with hers.

Xiang Yu was not interested in listening to what they were talking about and opened up snakes and concentrated on playing. With the mobile phone on her lap, one-handedly playing the game and her other hand tied. At that moment, she felt like Yang Guo, the disabled one-armed hero from The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

After playing snakes for a while, Xiang Yu carefully controlled the snake but Jin Fubai pulled her arm shifting the phone from her jeans to the sofa. She didn’t have to turn to look at the screen to know that her snake must have died.

Xiang Yu raised her eyes to stare at Jin Fubai and halfway through the stare, she suddenly lacked confidence. She knew Jin Fubai didn’t mean to interrupt her game. She didn’t know since when there was a fruit platter on the table but he had spotted a Zhangji strawberry, stretched his arms to pick it and brought it to her mouth.

Seeing her half-glaring at him, Jin Fubai laughed, “I picked a strawberry for you to eat and you are glaring at me?” 

She couldn’t say that she blamed the person who delivered her fruit because of a game. Xiang Yu turned her eyes and said stiffly, “What if I wanted to eat grapes?” 

She didn’t know what the men were talking about but Jin Fubai didn’t listen and simply leaned into her ear and in a lowered voice, “Oh, the strawberry I fed you was not as sweet as the one that your childhood friend fed you?”

Xiang Yu was startled by this and after thinking for a few seconds she realized the jealousy in Jin Fubai’s words. She bit the strawberry and said indistinctly, “It’s so sweet!”

Jin Fubai’s eyes were amorous, and with his lips right next to her ears, his warm breath lingered around her outer ear, and his lips rubbed against the top of her ear, “Is it sweet? Let me try it?” When the voice fell, he kissed her and he actually tasted the strawberry.

Because there were people around, Xiang Yu hit him with her fist but she didn’t manage her strength well and she hit a little hard. Jin Fubai held her wrist, “So cruel?”

Xiang Yu glanced at him with eyes of affection. In such a noisy place, with dim lights and an insincere gathering, they unexpectedly had sincere feelings.

In fact, how many people could have a love that lasts for eternity, but at this moment, all their words of love, all their affection and all of their tenderness in each other’s eyes were true.

Since it was a social gathering, Jin Fubai couldn’t accompany her all the time. But these men didn’t always talk about business.

In this noisy area, Xiang Yu had also heard someone ask why Li Mao hadn’t come. Someone replied, “He was caught by a vixen.”

They talked about Li Mao’s new woman, saying that she had good skills, had a proper job and was a woman who understood things clearly. They also said that she had followed Mr. Shan previously, and later latched onto someone else before finally climbing onto Li Mao’s. She was a capable person.

Someone said, “That’s all?”

“Why, have you slept with her?”

“What’re you saying?”

This drew a burst of laughter.

Xiang Yu looked at Jin Fubai at this moment, he had no expression and she didn’t know if he had listened to this vulgar talk before. These wanton men shouldn’t be completely looked down on. Anyone similar to Li Chi would have gone abroad to study. She heard that Li Chi also received a masters.

She looked at these people and she had a feeling that Jin Fubai was the most unpredictable among them. She also whispered this to him. Jin Fubai just laughed and said jokingly, “Did I not take my girlfriend with me? So I dare not make trouble.” 

It was late that day and at 1 o’clock, a waiter rushed in but didn’t rush to speak, standing respectfully by their side. When they finished discussing a topic, Li Chi meaningfully glanced at him, “What’s the matter?” 

The waiter asked, “Mr. Li, there is a white BMW outside with the license plate W4751. Is it any of these bosses’ car?”

There are a lot of people who come to the venue, and some cars are parked badly, blocking others from getting out. Since there is no contact information on cars, the waiters have to look everywhere for the owner to move the car. Li Chi found these kinds of people the most annoying. Most of the people who come to the venue get drunk, and there are a lot of fights and car crashes. Every month, the police come to Li Chi because too many incidents happen.

Li Chi’s complexion was visibly impatient to the naked eye, but because the “owner of the car was unknown” his emotions did not erupt.

Li Chi asked around with a glass of wine and finally asked Jin Fubai, before he put a smile on his face again, “Brother Jin, is it Xiang Yu’s car?”

Jin Fubai still held Xiang Yu’s hand but Xiang Yu had already turned her head and was chatting with several other women.

Xiang Yu was a salted fish and because she is a salted fish, she appears to be easy-going in life. It’s not that she didn’t know the identity of the other women sitting on the sofa, nor did she fail to notice their gazes but when an almond-eyed woman asked about her clothing brand she answered very seriously.

The almond-eyed girl is a lover brought by one of the men. She looked to be timid and appeared to be more naive than the others. She took the initiative to talk to Xiang Yu saying that she was still in college.

When Jin Fubai called Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu was talking to the almond-eyed girl about another brand of clothing, saying that it was a substitute of a big brand, and the quality of the style was also good. This kind of easy-going attitude that is neither arrogant nor pretentious was very pleasing in others’ eyes.

After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look at Jin Fubai, “What’s the matter?”

“Did you drive?”

Xiang Yu shook her head, “I didn’t drive. My old car always breaks down, driving is not as convenient as taking a taxi and I can’t have you seeing me off too.”

“Where are you going?”

“To home.”

Jin Fubai rubbed the small bulging bone on her wrist with his thumb, “Going home? Not sleeping with me?” 

Li Chi didn’t listen to the following words, he only heard that it was not Xiang Yu’s car and he turned his head and waved to the waiter, “No, go ask other tables.”

Li Chii took his seat again, contemplating with a sip of wine. Jin Fubai’s attitude towards Xiang Yu was really hard to figure out.

Apart from the “newly arrived” women present here which one of those familiar-looking women did not carry a luxury bag? Which one did not drive a small sports car or sedan? For them, women were just another type of decoration for men to show their identity and status.

However, obviously, for Jin Fubai, Xiang Yu is not such an ornament. She dressed casually, there was no special bag or car and it didn’t matter because she was sincere in this relationship.

But Jin Fubai seemed to have deliberately jumped out of that certain inherent routine. Even when he heard her say “My old car always breaks down” he didn’t say “I’ll get you one”, and he also fed her fruit affectionately. Was Jin Fubai also sincere?

Li Chi was unsure about it. During the time that Xiang Yu went to the bathroom with the almond-eyed girl, Li Chi bumped Jin Fubai’s arm with his elbow and lowered his voice, “Brother Jin.”

“En?”

“I want to ask you something. ” 

Jin Fubai raised his eyes in the hustle and bustle, “Yes.”

“It’s about Xiang Yu, I’m a little confused about your attitude towards her…” 

On public matters, Li Chi’s and Jin Fubai’s relationship was based on shared beneficial interests. On personal matters, Li Chi’s and Jin Fubai’s were also close friends. He had to understand Jin Fubai’s attitude so that he could find a suitable approach for Xiang Yu.

Jin Fubai cast his gaze into the distance, Xiang Yu had just come out of the bathroom wearing a simple loose sweater and ordinary jeans. She walked across the party’s dance floor, her eyes softly meeting Jin Fubai’s eyes and she smiled lightly at him.

Her eyes fell into the pretentious area still as pure as stars.

Jin Fubai also curled his lips, still looking at Xiang Yu’s figure but he said to Li Chi, “Didn’t you call her sister-in-law? That’s a good name.”

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5163285

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Chapter 24: Relaying on his favour

Going back to Li Chi’s hotel and falling back into bed again, this scene could be regarded as familiar. When lying on the bed, Xiang Yu even remembered to tilt her head to avoid her hair being pulled on by Jin Fubai.

The light in the bedroom was not turned on. The curtains remained open from the morning and the thick curtains cut the moonlight into rectangles, scattering them on the head of the bed. The cigarette case at the bedside held the remaining two cigarettes.

She didn’t know what brand Jin Fubai’s cigarettes were, but she knew that one probably couldn’t get them at regular stores. The mouth of the cigarettes were patterned with gray clouds, similar to embroidery, like a work of art.

The light hazy, as was Jin Fubai’s voice. His voice dyed of lust, and danger but also equally of charm as he asked her, “Are you afraid?”

Xiang Yu had a unique cuteness, her entire face was wrinkled with tension but her eyes were full of water as she shook her head gently. She said, you can do it, you can do whatever you want.

She properly shouldn’t have said anything, because when he started to move, she felt that even if he was as gentle as possible in doing it, she would not be completely fine.

The night gradually aged, causing one to be enchanted. It’s just that this enchantment, she couldn’t tell whether she felt it more or Jin Fubai felt it more.

It didn’t matter if she could figure out whether he was enchanted or not. Why would one bother to be clear-headed?

Occasionally there were fireworks or firecrackers and more often, when the room was quiet you could hear the mattress creak. Jin Fubai held her ankle and held it over her.

Xiang Yu raised her neck, her voice soft, “Jin Fubai.”

“En?”

“Do you love me?” This was a silly question, clichéd, like lines from a third-rate movie.

In those movies, women would always ask when lying in bed, do you love me.

Before, when hearing this kind of line, Xiang Yu would shake her head and want to vomit: How stupid are they to ask such a question at this time, how can a man who has an arrow on his bow answer? You can’t even say you don’t love her, otherwise, what should the man do if the woman changes her mind and doesn’t want to do it? Solve it by yourself? Of course, the man wouldn’t be satisfied, so he would say I love you regardless of whether he loved her or not, and it is hard to distinguish between a truth and a lie.

Unexpectedly, her turn had come and she actually asked. Not only did she ask, but she did so in an aggrieved tone, her voice trembling as she sobbed.

Jin Fubai placed his fingers on her, rubbing gently and replied in a hoarse voice, “Love.” After speaking, he felt that he was not serious enough.

How rational was the girl lying on his bed? She was rational even when she entered his suite in Changsha. She was neither humble nor overbearing, and she was even playing snakes when inviting him to dinner.

Because she knew that his invitation was not “selfless”, but based on a man’s interest in a woman and there was no need for her to be grateful.

Jin Fubai was worried she would find it insincere so he raised his hand and brushed away the scattered hair on her forehead that was soaked in sweat, kissing her gently, “I really love you.” 

When his voice fell, Xiang Yu clearly felt his ****, frowning tightly, she was unable to hold back and tears fell from the corner of her eyes. Jin Fubai was not in a hurry to relieve himself, he stopped, and wiped her tears away with his fingers, “It will be more comfortable in a while.”

What he said was true, he really understands her, where she is sensitive, where she is vulnerable, and where she is more likely to react. Xiang Yu was trembling in this storm and she suddenly opened her eyes in the next second.

What kind of feeling was that? It was like she was shot in the heart.

Jin Fubai had pulled a trigger that would run through her long and untold life.

In fact, Jin Fubai was really really gentle to her. Xiang Yu was aware of it.

On the third day of the new year, Xiang Yu woke up in Jin Fubai’s arms, glanced at the time and hurriedly got up. As soon as she sat up, her waist softened and she collapsed back into his arms.

Jin Fubai barely opened his eyes, and his sleepiness was not over. He supported her on the back of her head to prevent her from knocking on the bedside, “Why aren’t you paying attention?”

Xiang Yu turned her head towards him and glared at him, “Then why were you not smaller yesterday!”

These words made Jin Fubai amused, he laughed his sleepiness out and he squeezed her face, “I can control the size?”. After speaking, he approached her ear and in an ambiguous tone, “Is this size not good? I saw you enjoy how tall it was.”

“Jin Fubai, I’m going to be late.” Xiang Yu ignored his dirty joke and said sullenly.

Jin Fubai also followed with a serious face, “Is there something urgent?”

“I’m going to pick up my parents at the airport. They’re returning home today and land at 10:30.”

Jin Fubai kissed her and in a pacifying tone, “Don’t worry, it’s still early, I’ll drop you off after I wash up.”

The water in the shower head hit the ground, changing from cold to hot, and mist gradually appeared. Xiang Yu was taking a shower when she vaguely heard what Jin Fubai was arranging on the phone. When she came out to dry her hair, it was no exaggeration to say that she was floored. There were several sets of matching clothes piled on the bed in the bedroom. Red and gold gift boxes were all over the floor.

Xiang Yu hesitated, “You…”

“Is it not father-in-law and mother-in-law who are coming back? You can pick and see what they would like and take it.” He stood by the window and smoked. The words “father-in-law” and “mother-in-law” were very natural.

Xiang Yu wrapped the bath towel around herself. She struggled to get over the gift boxes on the floor as she walked in front of Jin Fubai, and pointed casually, “Then this alcohol, my dad occasionally drinks it.”

There was a traffic jam on the road. They didn’t even have breakfast and rushed to the airport. When they arrived at the airport it was exactly 10:30 in the morning and Xiang Yu ran all the way to the international arrival gate.

Jin Fubai put his hands in the pockets of his coat and walked with his long legs behind her leisurely. His voice went over the crowd as he told her, “Run slower, don’t fall.” 

After passing by an electronic sign, Xiang Yu stopped, “It seems like they were delayed.”

They waited for more than an hour that day, and Xiang Yu asked if Jin Fubai wanted to buy some food to eat, but he refused and just said that he would keep his stomach to accompany her parents to eat. It wasn’t until noon that the flight finally arrived at the airport but everyone was gone and Xiang Yu did not see a shadow of her parents.

The calls did not go through and Xiang Yu suddenly had a bad premonition. She dialled the phone of her parents’ colleagues abroad and learned that her parents had not returned to China and were in a meeting abroad.

When she hung up the phone,  Jin Fubai saw that her face was not good and he asked, “What’s the matter?”

Xiang Yu frowned, “Nothing, let’s go, they didn’t come back today.” This was not the first time this kind of thing happened. Xiang Yu had already disregarded the feeling of being ditched by her parents countless times and she was familiar with this situation.

The first time was when she was in elementary school. The parents of all her classmates came to parent-teacher meeting and only she was there by herself. Sitting as the head of the house she pretended to be calm.

On the way back, the navigation app showed “Seriously congested ahead” and a large section of the road was dark red.

Xiang Yu looked at Jin Fubai’s profile and suddenly apologized. Because of her family affairs, Jin Fubai had been busy all morning. Now it is past 1 o’clock in the afternoon, he hasn’t eaten anything and they are stuck on the highway. She touched her pockets, her clothes were new with only her phone and wallet. There was not even a small cookie.

“What are you looking for?”

“I want to find something to eat…” So I can give it to you.

Jin Fubai couldn’t hear the next words as he pulled the door to get out of the car. The entire highway was full of cars as he opened the trunk, took out a box of snacks, tore off the tape, passing it to Xiang Yu.

It was a big box with only five small cakes in it. There is a word on each cake, “Fu, Lu, Shou, Kang, Xi” all wishing the person eating. The cake’s body is beautifully patterned, a bit like paper cutting.

_{Fu, happiness. Lu, blessing. Shou, long life. Kang, health. Xi, joy.}

“Is this expensive? It is a good gift…”

Jin Fubai fastened his seat belt again and with a gentle tone, “Eat some to pad your stomach and I’ll take you to have a good meal later.”

Xiang Yu held a piece and wanted to pass it to Jin Fubai. She hadn’t done anything while he was driving back and forth so if she was hungry that would mean he was even more hungry.

But Jin Fubai took her hand and kissed the back of her hand, “Don’t be dejected, wherever you want to go I’ll take you there.” 

They were already near the section of the expressway where you could see the tall buildings, the billboard cards were bright, and the street lights still hung with Chinese knots. Xiang Yu was immersed in Jin Fubai’s tenderness and she was stunned for a long time before she brought the snack to his lips, “You should eat it, you should be hungry.”

Jin Fubai asked Xiang Yu if she blamed her parents. She shook her head and said that they were people who had worked hard in life. They have worked so hard and she is not one to be ungrateful.

When they were eating, Xiang Yu’s mother called and her tone was apologetic, “Yuyu, we can only return on the fifth. Some things popped up temporarily so we are very busy and can’t leave yet.”

Xiang Yu just said it’s okay, and would pick them up at the airport on the fifth. Hanging up the phone, she turned her head to talk with Jin Fubai, “I’m back at work on the sixth but I said that I would go to the hot springs with my parents.”

“Are you going to ask for leave?”

“Our company is so short of people, is leave even an option?”

Jin Fubai teased her, “Do you want me to pretend to be your father and ask for leave for you from your boss?”

“No! What kind of father are you!”

Jin Fubai really dotted her. On the night of the fourth day of lunar new year, Li Chi asked Jin Fubai to go to a gathering but he turned his head to see him sitting on the sofa and looking at web pages. The pages were all about ring styles.

Li Chi was very excited, “Brother Jin, you finally figured out that you should wear a ring. I told you that your hand looks good with a ring! Let me show you this one that I recently began to wear, it’s definitely suitable for you to wear.”

As he said this, he stretched out his hand that had three rings on it in front of Jin Fubai and the black diamonds shone brightly under the light.

Jin Fubai only glanced at him and then retracted his gaze, “I’m choosing a ring for a woman.”

“A woman? Who is it for?”. Li Chi was taken aback, “Could it be? Your family made arrangements so soon? Which lady? I thought I would have to wait for you to be 31 or 32 years old…”

Jin Fubai paused, he frowned and raised his eyes. Before he could say anything, out of the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of Xiang Yu running in. She went to eat with her godfather and godmother today, saying that she would come back by herself later and checking the time it was still early.

But the girl was fierce and unhappy. Before the person ran to him, a bag first smashed into his arms, “Jin Fubai, I blame you! My parents are not coming back!” 

When she hit him with the bag a ring flew out and fell onto the sofa.

Li Chi was dumbfounded, thinking that Jin Fubai would lose his temper. Unexpectedly, Jin Fubai smiled, pulled the person into his arms, took the ring and put it on Xiang Yu, “What do you blame me for?”

It turned out that Xiang Yu’s parents bid for a project from an enterprise in the top 100. Something that had a one in ten thousand chance of happening was actually accepted and with cooperation being discussed, her parents were too busy to come back to China. How could there be such a good thing, it must be Jin Fubai’s “scheming”.

Jin Fubai also thought about it for a long time before vaguely remembering that he had picked up a bidding document when he was abroad and the last name was Xiang. He coaxed the person in his arms, “Isn’t it just hot springs. I’ll accompany you, what can you do soaking with father-in-law and mother-in-law, isn’t it better to soak in the hot spring together as a couple.”

Xiang Yu punched him hard, “You jokester.”

Their interaction was too natural. Li Chi was shocked when he watched them from the side. He felt that Jin Fubai shouldn’t be a person who indulges in love and would disregard his overall situation. Or maybe Xiang Yu’s methods were too great?

“Xiang Yu.” Li Chi said deliberately. He wanted to remind Xiang Yu that she would not be able to attain what she ultimately desired with Jin Fubai and that she shouldn’t be too demanding.

Xiang Yu sat in Jin Fubai’s arms and looked back. Her eyes were clear as if she understood everything but she only smiled and said, “Long time no see, Li Chi.”

---

Author: 殊娓

http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5163285

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