Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
“Xia Xia, what’s wrong?” Chen Yang was suddenly woken up by Qiao Anxia, who lay beside him. He groggily sat up and asked her what happened with a worried expression.
Qiao Anxia glanced over at Chen Yang, and realized that she was just dreaming. Only then, did she quietly let out a sigh of relief. She outstretched her arms and hugged Chen Yang’s waist. As she pushed her face into his chest, she said in a low voice, “Nothing, it was just a nightmare.”
Chen Yang hugged Qiao Anxia and found a comfortable position. His hand stroked her back over and over again. “Go to sleep. Don’t be scared, I’m here.”
Qiao Anxia didn’t say a word, but she hugged Chen Yang’s waist even tighter.
In the night, silence fell again. Qiao Anxia felt Chen Yang’s strokes become lighter and eventually stop, his breaths growing slow and longer. She knew he had already fallen asleep, but she wasn’t the least bit sleepy.
She opened her eyes and stared at Chen Yang who had his eyes shut and was deep in sleep. Then, she quietly removed his hand from her back, flipped her covers, got off the bed, and left the room.
She went to the kitchen first and grabbed for a cold bottle of RIO. Opening the bottle, she took a sip and walked over to the balcony. She stared out into the city lights at night and thought about the dream she just had.
In the dream, Qiao Anhao knew that she did something terrible. She anxiously stared and pointed at her, and said that she ruined her happiness. Qiao Anhao, in the dream, cried and cried as she said that she saw her as the world’s best older sister, so how could she do this to her?
That blame, that anger, they were all real.
Qiao Anxia couldn’t help but grip tighter onto her bottle of RIO. The icy cold touch slightly calmed her anxious heart.
Qiao Anhao and her had grown up with Xu Jiamu ever since they were young. The three of them were never apart. Their relationship was so good, they had no secrets between each other. But this was something Qiao Anhao didn’t know, nor did Xu Jiamu.
Before she graduated, she had the life of a rich girl who everyone envied. She dated many handsome guys. Among all the boyfriends she’d had, she was impulsive and exciting towards some, whereas she was lonely and empty towards others, but that didn’t mean she had never felt anything for them.
On her fourth year, close to graduation, she dated a Shanghai TV host. He was tall, handsome, and his voice was piercing and charming. However, the one who she truly loved was the man who seemed proud and virtuous… Lu Jinnian.
She was the same as now back then. Even though she wasn’t happy about it, she had already lost all hope of being with him. At first, her wishes were simple. He was just a guy she wanted to date, so she could at least know the feeling of being with him.
How to put it… All in all, she felt a little something for him in the end. She even had the impulse to talk marriage with this guy, but when she brought it up with her parents, they only expressed their strong disapproval. On top of that, they told her something that she never even knew… that she had to marry Xu Jiamu.
That was when she learned about the arranged marriage between the Qiao and Xu family.
The Xu family’s business was vast, and Xu Jiamu was their only son. It was truly rare to find such an ideal person.
Even though Qiao Anxia’s parents had always treated Qiao Anhao very well, when it came to such a great opportunity, they wanted to save it for their own daughter.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
All parents think that the decisions they make are for the good of their children. Qiao Anxia schemed to convince her parents out of it but eventually failed. She even had to break up with her TV host boyfriend in Shanghai.
Qiao Anxia always saw Xu Jiamu as a friend. She never had any feelings for him, yet she couldn’t fight her own parents on this. She was afraid that she’d end up forced to marry Xu Jiamu.
Later, Qiao Anxia was always troubled by this. She even thought about studying abroad and not returning for over ten years to avoid the arranged marriage. But before she could completely carry out her plan, she unintentionally eavesdropped on a conversation.
It was an early summer’s afternoon. She remembered it well. The weather was unexpectedly good that day, with blue skies, white clouds, and a light breeze.
That day, a servant was cleaning her room when she needed to go to the bathroom, so she used Qiao Anhao’s bathroom nearby. At the time, there was a music recording software that was really popular, which she also happened to be obsessed with. When she was on the toilet, she got her phone out to record a song. It was right when the sound of Qiao Anhao’s voice came from the other side of the door.
“Brother Jiamu, I need you to help me, but you have to keep it a secret.”
People are naturally curious. When she heard Qiao Anhao say this, she instantly forgot what she was doing. Instead, she stood on top of the toilet and pushed herself up against the bathroom door to listen in on them. From Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu’s conversation, she knew that Qiao Anhao was looking for Xu Jiamu to help her check a love letter.
The contents of the love letter were very well written. Each sentence was filled with emotions, and each word was deep with love.
Xu Jiamu, that young master, sure was serious. He remained composed, waiting for Qiao Anhao to finish reading. When she did eventually finish, he even seriously gave her some suggestions.
In turn, Qiao Anhao accepted Xu Jiamu’s suggestions, and she thanked him happily. She generously followed up on the promise she made Xu Jiamu if he checked her love letter. She was going to treat him to ice cream in return, so the two of them quickly left the room.
Qiao Anxia waited until after it was completely quiet outside before snapping back to reality. As her mind was wrapped around who Qiao Anhao liked, she opened the bathroom door and went back to her own room. When her curiosity subsided, she realized that her phone had recorded the whole thing. She was just about to delete the recording when a thought suddenly flashed accross her mind. She hesitated for a while, but still saved the the recording. Then she replayed it. Hearing Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu’s conversation, a single thought came to her mind.
She immediately ran over to her desk, opened her computer, and stored the recording. She cut out the unnecessary parts and only left the parts that clearly suggested something romantic was going on. She then copied it onto the recording pen that her parents had bought her last year and went to the Xu family.
She knew that Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao were out for ice cream, yet she still pretended to have come for for Xu Jiamu. In the end, seeing that he wasn’t home, she asked Han Ruchu if she wanted to listen to the latest song she had recorded.
Naturally, Han Ruchu agreed, but when Qiao Anxia’s finger clicked play on the recording pen, a song didn’t play. Instead, the recording that she’d edited earlier had played.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Naturally, Han Ruchu agreed, but when Qiao Anxia’s finger clicked play on the recording pen, a song didn’t play. Instead, the recording that she’d edited earlier had played.
Qiao Anxia acted as though she were panic-stricken and turned the recording pen off. But Han Ruchu, who had already heard a portion of it, asked for her to finish playing the recording.
She pretended to look anxious, as she sat next to Han Ruchu. When the recording pen finished playing, she then carefully said to Han Ruchu, “Aunt Xu, no matter what, please don’t let Jiamu and Qiao Qiao know that you know about their love. They told me to keep it a secret.”
–
Thinking of it all, Qiao Anxia suddenly lifted her hand and downed her bottle of RIO.
A pending arranged married was something no one could change, as marriage is the best way to unite two families. To protect herself, she could only betray Qiao Anhao’s lifelong happiness.
She knew that Han Ruchu’s beloved son was her life, so she purposefully put on this act for Han Ruchu to see, to let her believe that her son truly loved Qiao Anhao.
After almost two weeks, she accidentally overheard her own parent’s talking and found out that the daughter-in-law Han Ruchu had her eye on was Qiao Anhao, not Qiao Anxia.
In that instant, her wishes were fulfilled.
However, with her wishes fulfilled, it was the moment when she became riddled with guilt. She often dreamed of Qiao Anhao’s hate-filled eyes, how to make up for her wrongs, and how to make herself feel better about it all. From that moment on, she did her best to be good to Qiao Anhao. Up until the afternoon of the day before yesterday when she learnt that Qiao Anhao, who was married to Xu Jiamu, was actually messing around with Lu Jinnian. Thereafter, she silently put the recording pen, that she carried with her everywhere, in Lu Jinnian’s car.
The reason she did this was simple. It was so that Lu Jinnian knew that Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu were truly in love with each other. No matter how much he loved and cared for Qiao Anhao, he must drop it all. He must give up!
Because Qiao Anxia couldn’t bare to see Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian betray Xu Jiamu any longer. The day everything came out, the only person who would be called a slut, the one who would be blamed woudl be Qiao Anhao!
Five years ago, Qiao Anxia had done a terrible thing. She had already wronged Qiao Anhao once.
Now, she had to do her best to protect her, to never let her suffer.
–
Qiao Anhao stood at the study room’s door with keys in one hand and a blue gift box in the other. She took a deep breath.
In the past, she’d given many presents, but this time was her most nervous of all!
Qiao Anhao raised her hand to gently knock on the door. Without waiting too long for an answer, she opened it with the key, turned the handle, and pushed the door slightly open.
She was welcomed by a room pungent with the smell of cigarette smoke. She coughed a little, choked by the smoke. Luckily, she reacted quickly by covering up her mouth, then pushed her head in to look around. Her dark eyes watered and shifted around for a bit until she stared directly at Lu Jinnian who stood by the window with his back to the door.
His posture was perfectly straight, and there were cigarette butts of different sizes all around him. Just how long could he have been here to have smoked so many?
Qiao Anhao furrowed her brows, summoned her courage, and walked into the room. Then she gently shut the door and strode over to Lu Jinnian’s side.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
It was not until Qiao Anhao drew closer did she see that he was holding a cigarette in one hand and something that looked like a pen in his other hand. His eyes stared directly at it. Who knew what he was thinking about…
Qiao Anhao bit her bottom lip, walking a little closer to where Lu Jinnian stood.
Lu Jinnian, who was stuck in a daze all this time, suddenly felt that someone was coming closer to him. He quickly turned his head and swept his cold eyes over Qiao Anhao. He hurriedly shoved the pen back into his trouser pocket and asked in a frosty voice, “Who let you in?”
A long time had passed since Lu Jinnian last spoke to Qiao Anhao in such a deathly cold tone.
Qiao Anhao didn’t quite know how to react, trembling a little. She timidly looked over at him to see that he wore a frighteningly intense look on his face. To her own disappointment, she started to get nervous and scared again.
She instinctively gripped tighter the gift box in her hands, and gulped. Then she shut her eyes and pushed the thing in her hands in front of him, saying in a gentle, low voice, “It’s for you.”
After saying these three words, Qiao Anhao realized that her heart was racing at an alarming rate.
In that moment in time, the feeling she had was exactly the same as the time when she held her carefully written love letter in her arms and traveled all the way to Hangzhou to find him. Apprehensive, uneasy, nervous, impulsive… In that short breath, the sweat in her palms soaked into the wrapping.
Lu Jinnian callously turned around and stared at the blue gift box in Qiao Anhao’s small, delicate hands. His brows furrowed and his eyes looked confusedly at her. Yet, in the end, he showed no intention of reaching out to take it.
Qiao Anhao didn’t know how much time had passed, but her hands were a little sore from holding up the gift box. She became even more helplessly uneasy, and she couldn’t help but secretly lift her eyelids. She glanced up at him, meeting his cold, deep eyes They were like snow that hadn’t melted for a thousand years, staring right at her.
Qiao Anhao’s fingers trembled a little, holding the gift box, and she took a step back, saying in low voice, “Happy Birthday.” But lthough her voice was low, her words clearly reached Lu Jinnian’s ears.
His exquisite, cold complexion instantly froze, and he stared into Qiao Anhao’s eyes. Brushing away his astonishment, he seemed like he wasn’t sure of what she had just said. After a while, he asked in flat tone, “What did you say?”
Since the time he got home till now, those were the first words he said. Even though it was just four words, they let Qiao Anhao’s entire body loosen up.
She got slightly braver as she looked up at Lu Jinnian with his usual cold expression on his face. She repeated the words she had just said one more time, “Happy Birthday.”
She paused, then added two more words, “Happy Birthday to you!”
Qiao Anhao said “Happy Birthday” twice, which finally confirmed for Lu Jinnian that he hadn’t heard wrong.
Happy Birthday… They were two simple words, but to him, they felt so foreign.
To think about it, the last time he’d heard those two words were as long as, perhaps, seventeen or eighteen years ago?
Lu Jinnian wanted to say something, but it was like something was stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t make a sound.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Lu Jinnian wanted to say something, but it was like something was stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t make a sound.
He stared at Qiao Anhao for a long time before trying hard to suppress the impact of her three “Happy Birthday”s to him. Even so, even if he tried to sound cold on purpose, there was still a hint of a tremble in his voice. “How did you know that today’s my birthday?”
Whoops… She had only wanted to buy him a birthday present and give him a surprise. Yet she forgot she found out about his birthday by eavesdropping.
Qiao Anhao’s face flushed slightly, and she bit the corner of her lip. She awkwardly drew her pursed lips back, honestly revealing, “The day before yesterday, when I was going to call you for dinner, I accidentally overheard your conversation with your assistant…”
At this point, Qiao Anhao lifted her eyes and analysed Lu Jinnian’s expression. When she realized that it hadn’t changed much, she summoned her courage to continue the rest of her story. “So then, that’s how I knew about your birthday.”
As she said that last sentence, Qiao Anhao’s voice grew quieter and quieter, until at the very last word it disappeared. But Lu Jinnian understand what she meant.
So when his assistant complained that it was also his birthday on Friday, she stood outside the study room.
For the first time in Lu Jinnian’s life, he felt that having a talkative and fussy assistant wasn’t such a bad idea.
Qiao Anhao couldn’t hear Lu Jinnian’s thoughts, so she lifted her eyelids and sneaked a peak at him.
There weren’t big changes in his expression. Only the deepest part of his eyes seemed to be reeling with emotions, and yet it didn’t.
Behind Lu Jinnian’s cold expression, Qiao Anhao couldn’t quite grasp if he was or wasn’t upset. And so, to win his favor, she lifted the gift box a little higher, proudly saying, “This is my birthday present to you. I chose it whilst shopping with Xia Xia in the afternoon the day before yesterday.”
Lu Jinnian blinked softly. His pitch-black pupils calmly looked at Qiao Anhao for a moment. Then he reached his arms out and took the box from her hands.
Nobody noticed his fingertips trembling.
As though to control his own emotions, Lu Jinnian asked for the first time, “What is it?”
When Qiao Anhao heard Lu Jinnian’s question, she relaxed completely. Seeing his eyes slightly soften up, her mood also became more cheerful, and she said cutely, “Presents are more meaningful if you don’t know what they are before you open.”
“Really?” Lu Jinnian asked light heartedly in return. His slender fingers hooked open the seal, and then he ripped open the packaging. This revealed a golden velvet box, and he opened it. There was a striking tie pin inside.
Under the lights of the house, the small diamonds in the tiling above reflected the light and shot directly at Lu Jinnian’s eyes, causing them to, for some reason, start to heat up.
When he was with his mother, his standard of living wasn’t great, so from where would there be extra money left over to get him a present? The cake was even secretly taken from the night club his mother worked at. That was probably the only present he had ever received.
Since his mother passed away, nobody had paid attention to his birthday, so even he stopped caring about it.
But he never imagined that there would actually be a day when he would receive such an exquisite and touching present.
Not to mention, the present was given to him by the woman he had loved for so many years.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Right then, Lu Jinnian felt like he was in a dream. He stood frozen on the spot, casual and elegant, with his eyes locked on the tie clip. After a long while, he finally looked up at Qiao Anhao, and said in a hoarse voice, “Thank you.”
Qiao Anhao smiled gently. Under the bright lights of the study room, her expression seemed to become cuter and softer. “I didn’t know what kind of presents you liked, so I chose something I liked for you, not knowing if you might like or dislike it yourself.”
“I like it,” Lu Jinnian said without any hesitation. He stared at the tie clip in the box for a long time before carefully putting the lid back on. Then he said, “I really like it.”
Qiao Anhao continued to smile, revealing a hint of relief in her eyes.
Lu Jinnian’s fingers gently stroked the box. As he stared at Qiao Anhao’s smiling face, it was as if the coldness between his eyes subsided immensely. For someone who didn’t like to reveal any traces of worry to people around him, the next words were very surprising. They just suddenly floated out of his mouth. “It’s been many years since I last received a birthday present.”
Because of those simple words, the smile on Qiao Anhao’s face gradually disappeared. Her mind went back to the day she had watched through the study room’s doorway and seen Lu Jinnian’s expression when he said, “What’s more, I’ve never really celebrated my birthday”. It was the same look. Though his tone was nonchalant, it also revealed hints of sadness.
From what she remembered, Lu Jinnian would always attend Xu Jiangmu’s birthdays, but he had never celebrated his own. Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but ask the question in her heart, “Do you never celebrate your birthday?”
“Mmm.” Lu Jinnian didn’t open his mouth but made a sound deep in his throat. After a while, he slowly opened his mouth to say, “After my mother passed away, I never celebrated my birthday again.”
Lu Jinnian’s words didn’t really sound nonchalant. For some reason, when Qiao Anhao heard them, a sharp, intense pain crept into her heart.
She knew that Lu Jinnian and Xu Jiangmu were step-brothers, and she knew that Lu Jinnian’s mother passed away early. But besides this, she didn’t know much more.
Even if Xu Jiangmu, who was the same age as Lu Jinnian, didn’t know his birthday, their father surely would of known… Even if he was an illegitimate son, he was Uncle Xu’s own flesh and blood. Even if it couldn’t have been as extravagant as Xu Jiangmu’s birthday parties, at the very least, he must of received a present or birthday wishes?
Qiao Anhao slowly moved her lips and asked, “What about Uncle Xu? Did he never celebrate your birthday?”
Lu Jinnian’s face instantly froze over, and a ruthlessness slowly rose in his eyes.
Qiao Anhao was astonished. Realizing that she had said something wrong, she felt uneasy in her heart and bit her bottom lip. In a low voice, she was just about to say “sorry”, but she only made it to “So-” when Lu Jinnian turned his head with a frozen expression.
He stared into the night sky beyond the window, and said in a oddly calm tone as though he was recounting someone else’s story, “Instead of wanting to celebrate my birthday, he would have rather that I’d never had a birthday.”
To Lu Jinnian’s father, his birth was a stain on his life.
If it were possible, his father must of not wanted for him to live on this earth.
The ache in Qiao Anhao’s heart grew stronger.
Translator: Kingbao Editor: DarkGem
Qiao Anaho felt her heart clench, aching for him. Her throat choked, stopping her from speaking.
Lu Jinnian looked out the window, his lips curling into a small faint smile, as though mocking the situation. Nonchalantly, he continued, “But it’s fine, I’ve gotten used to it.”
Used to it….
He said those words so lightly that Qiao Anhao could no longer keep her sorrow in. She had never known that the man she had loved so deeply, the man that was always proud and aloof actually had such a heartbreaking story that no one knew about.
Qiao Anhao could feel tears welling up as her vision clouded. She glanced at Lu Jinnian who was staring out the window . Summing up all her courage, she said, “In the past, nobody was there to celebrate with you, but now you have me….”
Lu Jinnian froze, his body tensing.
Even though he looked oblivious, his heart and mind were in a frenzy.
Qiao Anhao struggled to curl her lips into a smile, suppressing her tears. “If you don’t mind, I would like to celebrate all your birthdays with you from now on.”
If you don’t mind, I would like to celebrate all your birthdays with you from now on.
Even though Lu Jinnian knew that the girl he loved didn’t love him and that her words didn’t mean much, he still couldn’t help feeling touched by her words. Even though they weren’t particularly touching, he was satisfied.
Lu Jinnian felt his throat close up, and before Qiao Anhao could react, he reached out and pulled her into his embrace.
Lu Jinnian’s actions were too sudden, catching Qiao Anhao off guard. When she finally came to her senses, she was already in his arms, her head resting on his chest.
She moved her head instinctively. Lu Jinnian suddenly raised one hand to hold her in place and used the other to secure her waist. Squeezing her to him, he instructed, “Don’t move.”
As he spoke, he rubbed his face against her fluffy hair before pressing his lips to her head, inhaling her faint scent. In a faint voice, he murmured, “Don’t move, let me hug you for a while, just a while.”
Lu Jinnian’s eyes started to sting. He lowered his eyelashes, bringing her closer to his body, as though he wanted to merge them together.
Regardless of who you love, please let me hug you quietly today, on my birthday. I just need a little while. Let me feel this warmth that I’ve never felt before, let me feel a little less lonely for a bit.
I’m not as cold and emotionless as you think I am, but only by hiding behind my ruthlessness am I able to look a little less pathetic.
Qiao Anhao stopped moving, standing quietly, allowing Lu Jinnian to hug her. After a long while, she raised her arms to hug him back.
Outside, the skies were dark, inside they didn’t speak, they just stayed in each other’s arms.
They were both using their entire souls to love the other, but they forgot to say “I love you.”
That night passed by peacefully, and they separated only after a very long time.
That night, unlike the previous nights, nothing happened.
Translator: Kingbao Editor: DarkGem
The next day, when Lu Jinnian woke up, Qiao Anhao was still asleep. He prepared quietly, making sure not to disturb her before leaving for work.
At the door, he turned and saw her still deep asleep, and he pondered for awhile before taking large strides towards the bed. Staring down at her, he lowered his head to kiss her temples before tugging the blanket around her. Satisfied, he walked out of the bedroom.
While he was searching for his car keys in his pockets, he felt the box that he had deliberately brought along in the morning. Sitting in the car, he paused momentarily before removing the tie clips from the box. Looking at the rear mirror, he attached the tie clips before driving off in satisfaction.
When Qiao Anhao woke up, it was close to 11 am in the morning, but because she had slept late the night before, she still felt sleepy. She widened her eyes before turning back to hug the blankets, preparing to sleep more. But after closing her eyes for half a minute, she jolted awake, remembering her plans.
She turned to look at the time before rushing to prepare herself.
When she came down, Madam Chen had already prepared lunch. Qiao Anhao hurriedly filled her stomach, then pulled Madam Chen upstairs to help her blow the balloons to decorate the room.
Qiao Anhao deliberately moved the flower racks in the balcony aside, and with Madam Chen’s help, she started arranging the candles she had bought.
Even though it was just a simple “Happy Birthday Lu Jinnian”, the two of them struggled for two hours.
After decorating the room, Qiao Anhao looked around to inspect the decor. Satisfied, she got Madam Chen to bring all her baking supplies to the kitchen.
Ever since she was young, Qiao Anhao had never set foot in the kitchen, much less to say bake a cake. This was the first time in her life that she was making it, and it was indeed an uphill task. Luckily, Madam Chen was experienced, and with her guidance, she was able to finish baking a simple cheese cake.
After waiting for the cake to cool, she started to add a layer of buttercream while instructing Madam Chen to cut some fresh fruits for the cake. Lastly, in the empty space in the middle, she used red cream to write an almost illegible “Happy Birthday”.
Qiao Anhao inspected the cake, the taste was still unknown, but it’s appearance was passable. Pleased with her product, she hid the cake in the freezer section.
Madam Chen smiled and started to wash up. “Mrs. Lu, Mr. Lu will definitely be happy with your surprise!”
Qiao Anhao’s lips curled into crescents as she grinned happily, staring at the cake in the freezer. Turning back to Madam Chen, she instructed, “Madam Chen, why don’t you take the day off today? You can come back tomorrow afternoon.”
Madam Chen understood instantly. “Yes, yes! How could I forget! If it’s Mr. Lu’s birthday, you must not want to be disrupted. I’ll leave after packing up.”
Qiao Anhao smiled in embarrassment. “Thank you Madam Chen.”
Madam Chen waved her hands, packing up swiftly before leaving.
Translator: Kingbao Editor: DarkGem
After Madam Chen left, Qiao Anhao realized that Xu Jiamu’s dinner celebration was about to begin. She hurriedly rushed upstairs to prepare herself.
That night, Lu Jinnian had to attend the dinner celebration as Xu Jiamu. His assistant cleared his schedule for the evening, pushing everything forward. Ever since he entered the office, he had been so busy he had to eat packed food for lunch.
Every Friday, Huan Ying Entertainment would have a meeting at 3 pm in the afternoon, but today, it was brought up by an hour.
By the time the meeting ended, it was already 3 pm. When Lu Jinnian came out of his office, he coincidentally passed by Cheng Yang’s office.
Since Qiao Anxia had to attend Xu Jiamu’s dinner, she specifically came over to Huan Ying Entertainment to get Cheng Yang so the both of them could go together.
Cheng Yang’s office was open, but he wasn’t inside, leaving Qiao Anxia alone with her phone. When she heard footsteps passing, she looked up and saw Lu Jinnian walking past.
After about two steps, Lu Jinnian stopped. His assistant, who was following behind, stopped as well. He didn’t understand why he had stopped, asking,”Mr. Lu?”
Lu Jinnian’s eyes darkened slightly before he faintly instructed, “Wait in my office, I have something to do.”
“Yes,” the assistant replied, leaving.
Lu Jinnian wanted for his assistant to leave before turning to walk back, standing in front of Cheng Yang’s office.
Qiao Anxia froze momentarily, not expecting Lu Jinnian to return. She placed her phone down and looked up at him without moving. After about five seconds, she asked, “Yes?”
Lu Jinnian didn’t reply, instead he walked wordlessly into Cheng Yang’s office. When he was about one metre away from her, he stopped, fishing for the voice recorder in his pocket. Without even looking at Qiao Anxia, he tossed it at her, then turned to walk out the door.
Qiao Anxia looked at the voice recorder he had tossed, pursing her lips. She reached for it shouting out, “Lu Jinnian.”
Lu Jinnian stopped, but he didn’t turn around.
Qiao Anxia walked over in her heels and held the voice recorder in front of his face. She asked, “You heard the contents, didn’t you?”
Lu Jinnian remained calm, not planning to respond.
But from his expression, Qiao Anxia could tell that he had heard it. This meant that he knew that Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu were in love…
Just then, she spotted the tie clip on Lu Jinnian’s tie.
It was from Qiao Anhao!
Even after he found out that she loves Xu Jiamu, he didn’t get mad?
He even accepted her present and placed it on his tie…
What did that mean? He wasn’t going to give up even though he knew they were in love?
Qiao Anxia turned serious. “If you heard the contents, you should know that QIao Qiao and Xu Jiamu are in love.”
Translator: Kingbao Editor: DarkGem
Lu Jinnian remained nonchalant, but his fingers curled into a fist. He returned a frosty gaze, still not willing to say a word.
“Lu Jinnian, I know that you like Qiao Qiao, and I know that there’s something between the two of you, but she is Jiamu’s wife, Xu Enterprise lady boss, you can never be with her!
“If you really like her, please stop harassing her. If this carries on, you’re going to destroy her!
“And you aren’t just going to destroy Qiao Qiao, the Qiao family and Xu family will also be implicated!
“As her sister, I can’t just see her walking into the flames!
“Besides, you should know that you’re the third party in this right?”
Qiao Anxia’s words unknowingly agitated Lu Jinnian, a sharp glint sparked in the depths of his eyes. He turned and stared at her ferociously, before brushing past to leave the room.
Qiao Anxia was angered by his lack of respect, and her whole body trembled in fury. She couldn’t help reaching out to grab his arm. “You’re charming, and even though she is involved with you right now, it may not be her true feelings. She might just be confused or infatuated momentarily. Don’t forget that Qiao Qiao and Jiamu grew up together, their bond will definitely be tighter and stronger than yours…”
“Said enough?” Lu Jinnian interrupted, his hands clenched into tight fists, suppressing the urge to hit her. He stayed silent for another two seconds before speaking in a calmer tone, “Qiao Anxia, there isn’t a point in telling me this. Besides…”
Lu Jinnian stopped, his breathing pausing as well. After a long while, he took a deep breath and continued in a calm tone, “I have always been clear that she doesn’t love me.”
Qiao Anhao opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he spoke. “About me destroying her and pushing her into the flames…”
Irony flashed past his eyes as though mocking Qiao Anxia’s ignorance. He spoke in a clear, direct voice. “Let me tell you truthfully, even if I destroy myself or throw myself into the flames, I will never hurt her. Don’t you worry!”
Lu Jinnian’s voice became desolate towards the end. He swallowed his saliva, sorrow clouding his face as he continued in an almost inaudible tone, “I willing love her, never expecting anything in return.”
Suddenly, he pulled his hand out of Qiao Anxia’s grip, taking large strides away.
–
Qiao Anhao applied a light and elegant makeup, deliberately choosing a peach-colored long dress and pumps.
She wanted to give Lu Jinnian a surprise, so she didn’t want him to enter the house. After tidying up the place, she stopped in front of a mirror to do a final check, and then moved to wait by the door with her bag.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Qiao Anhao wanted to give Lu Jinnian a surprise, so she didn’t want him to enter the house. She got everything together and stood by the floor mirror. After a quick check, she grabbed her handbag and walked over to Mian Xiu Garden’s doors.
She waited for almost fifteen minutes before she saw Lu Jinnian’s car turned in from a distant crossing.
Coincidentally, the sun was setting in the west, covering the entire mansion in red. With the red sunlight reflecting off of Mian Xiu Garden’s white walls, the mansion looked like an utopia.
Just as Lu Jinnian drove in, he saw Qiao Anhao standing outside the fences. The multi-colored Japanese roses on the fence were just in bloom. Under the radiance of the sunset and fresh flowers, he saw her wearing a long peach-colored dress, her skin snowy white and long black hair falling to her waist.
The image was so beautiful, it had to be something from a fantasy.
Lu Jinnian looked like he was in a daze until Qiao Anhao, who stood by the side of the road, waved at him. He blinked, snapping back to reality, and hurriedly stepped on the break; the car still drove about three meters past Qiao Anhao.
Just as Lu Jinnian was getting ready to bring the car around, Qiao Anhao walked over in her high heels. She bent down first to see Lu Jinnian through the car window, opened the door, and then got in.
Before coming to pick Qiao Anhao, Lu Jinnian had already dressed in a navy and fixed his hair to Xu Jiamu’s favorite hairstyle. He stuck many fake scars on his face and drew on Xu Jiamu’s usual brows. He had a complete makeover.
Xu Jiamu was a pampered and spoiled young master, and Lu Jinnian had a cold and antisocial aura about him. Even if they really did look similar, they seemed like very different people, and so it was really difficult for others to catch the deceit.
If Qiao Anhao didn’t know it was Lu Jinnian pretending to be Xu Jiamu, who she had grown up with, it would have been difficult to tell this “Xu Jiamu” in front of her was an impostor.
Xu Jiamu’s birthday party was held at the Xu family mansion, which wasn’t too far away from Mian Xiu Garden. Even though it was after work hours, with a little traffic, it took no more than forty minutes to reach the Xu family mansion.
The birthday party was meant to start at eight in the evening. It was just seven, so there was still an hour to go. The guests hadn’t arrived yet, and the large courtyard remained peacefully empty.
Lu Jinnian randomly found an empty space and parked his car. Then he and Qiao Anhao walked to the door. Like a gentleman, Lu Jinnian pressed the doorbell. After less than ten seconds, the sound of someone unlocking the doors was heard. The door opened, and there stood Xu family’s housekeeper, who had served the family for many years. He claimed that he came from the Han family, ever since Han Ruchu married into the family.
The housekeeper moved aside to let Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian in, then screamed into the house, “Sir, Madam, Miss Anhao is here.”
Clearly, both Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian stood outside the door, but the housekeeper only mentioned Qiao Anhao.
As they went around the entrance, Qiao Anhao was greeted by Han Ruchu.
Han Ruchu wore an off-the-shoulder dress, a large ruby necklace, and an up-do. She looked elegant and extravagant. Just like the housekeeper, she only spoke of Qiao Anhao. “Qiao Qiao, you’re here?”
She grabbed onto Qiao Anhao’s hand and enthusiastically linked arms with her into the house. From the very start, she never even glanced at Lu Jinnian, who stood beside Qiao Anhao. It was as though he was air.
