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
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Thank you for the chapter 🫶
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