Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Lu Jinnian leaned back into his car seat with his eyes shut. His phone screen lit up with the post Qiao Anhao has just uploaded on Weibo.
He didn’t ask his assistant to drive in, but to stop at the entrance of Mian Xiu Garden’s neighborhood. He got out of the car, alone, and walked in.
The gates of the mansion were locked. He searched his pocket for ages before he pulled out a set of keys. They were the keys Qiao Anhao had left him in the car on the day she left. He still clearly remembered when he gave her the keys, when they weren’t that close. He had tried hard to appear distant, afraid that he would reveal the excitement he felt inside.
He unlocked it and pushed open the steel doors, stepping in. Without Madam Chen, the courtyard hadn’t been swept for half a month already. The day Qiao Anhao left, the entire courtyard was filled with blooming flowers, but now, they were all withered on the floor.
Lu Jinnian stood on the fallen flowers at the entrance of the mansion. He entered the passcode, pushed the door open, and walked in.
The mansion was empty inside, just like his heart. He walked up the stairs, towards the bedroom. It was the same as the day Qiao Anhao left. The windows were shut. A few days ago, there was a storm, which left strokes of mud marks from the rain.
The silent room stifled Lu Jinnian’s heart. He looked at the bag on the floor of the changing room, and thought of what Qiao Anhao had said to him before she left: Inside, there were clothes that she didn’t want.
Lu Jinnian paused for a moment, then walked over. He opened the bag and pulled out each item of clothing. He took the coat hangers from his clothes and hung her’s up.
In the bag, there were also Qiao Anhao’s cleaning products. He put them under the shower and washed them. Then, he placed them back in their original places.
Once he had tidied up everything, Lu Jinnian’s heart felt the slightest bit better. By putting the things she didn’t want back in their places, it felt like she was still living with him in the mansion.
–
After Xu Jiamu was discharged, he was stuck in the Xu family estate for the entire half a month without going outside. He wasn’t even allowed to take a walk in the courtyard, as the housekeeper or Han Ruchu would make a huge fuss and order the servants to follow behind him, afraid he would get into an accident.
Though he was clearly living an enviable life of luxury, Xu Jiamu felt like it was a prison. He felt incredibly oppressed. One day, he finally snapped and sneaked out of the house when Han Ruchu was at the company and the housekeeper was cooking.
Before sneaking out the front door, Xu Jiamu had called for a taxi in advance. Once he got in the car, he tried to call his close friends to come out with him.
As Xu Jiamu couldn’t drink, he thought about it again. In the end, he decided to hold the party at Mian Xiu Garden, where he promised everyone to cook a lavish dinner.
Before he went to Mian Xiu Garden, Xu Jiamu personally took a trip to the supermarket and bought a bunch of ingredients. He casually left the address and sent the food off for delivery.
The Xu family would send someone over to Mian Xiu Garden to clean the mansion. Within two minutes of Xu Jiamu’s arrival, Qiao Anxia and Chen Yang had already come over. Xu Jiamu called them over to sit anywhere. Before he could even pour them two cups of water, the doorbell rang. It was the supermarket food delivery.
Xu Jiamu pointed at the water dispenser as a signal for Qiao Anxia to help herself. He then pulled the door open, standing there to check his order with the delivery men. That was when he saw Lu Jinnian standing on the balcony of the mansion next door.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Xu Jiamu paused for a moment and turned his head towards the delivery man to continue listening to him rattle on. “A pound of celery, a bag of star anise, soy sauce, vinegar, a bag of salt, two pounds of chili…
“Sir, this is everything you’ve ordered,” the delivery man said as he handed Xu Jiamu the list. “Could you please sign here?”
Xu Jiamu took the pen and signed. After the delivery man left, he stood at the door for half a minute before ignoring the boxes next to him and striding over to the mansion next door.
He pressed the doorbell with the other hand in his pocket. After waiting for a while, the door opened, and Xu Jiamu smiled, calling out, “Bro.”
When Lu Jinnian heard the doorbell, he wondered who it could be. As he opened the door, he saw Xu Jiamu’s beaming smile. He slightly paused, then gently nodded at him.
Xu Jiamu was long used to Lu Jinnian’s personality, and so didn’t mind it. He continued to smile and said, “Bro, I invited Anxia and them to dinner tonight. Do you want to join?”
Lu Jinnian looked over at Xu Jiamu’s mansion and thought back to Qiao Anhao, who he’d seen dragging her suitcase into the house next door when he drew the curtains in the morning. After a while, his lips squirmed, and he replied with only one word, “All right.”
–
Even though Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu said they would divorce, for now, they were still married in name. After moving out of Lu Jinnian’s mansion, she definitely couldn’t live back with the Qiao family, nor was she willing to move into the Xu family’s estate because she would then have to share a room with Xu Jiamu. Once she thought about it for a while, she decided to move back into Mian Xiu Garden. However, this time, not in Lu Jinnian’s mansion, but Xu Jiamu’s mansion.
But because she was in a hurry to film the commercial abroad, she had only put her suitcase in Xu Jiamu’s mansion. Then she hastily rushed off to catch her trip.
The flight from Paris to Beijing completely exhausted her out, so when she reached Beijing this morning, she went straight to Mian Xiu Garden to catch up on some sleep.
When she woke up that afternoon, she heard the faint sounds of talking coming from downstairs. At first, she thought it was a dream. She turned around, shut her eyes, and continued to sleep, then she realized that the rowdiness became clearer. So she climbed out of bed and ran out of the room and down the stairs in her pajamas, where she saw several people in the living room chatting and laughing away.
Qiao Anhao was a little dizzy from the rowdy scene before her. Before she snapped back to reality, she heard Qiao Anxia make a fuss about nothing. “Qiao Qiao, did you just wake up?”
Qiao Anhao furrowed her brows. “Sis, how come you’re all here?”
“Jiamu said he’d cook everyone dinner.” Qiao Anxia pointed at the entrance, where Qiao Anhao then saw Xu Jiamu crouched down next to a cardboard, arranging all types of vegetables and fruits.
Xu Jiamu had a box of tomatoes in his hand. He turned his head and glanced at Qiao Anhao. “Qiao Qiao, you’re back from France? How was the commercial?”
“Great…” As Qiao Anhao said that, the doorbell rang. Xu Jiamu, who was just about to stand up to open the door, was beaten to the punch by Qiao Anhao, who walked over. “Let me.”
She didn’t look through the peep hole to see who it was and pulled the door open. When she raised her head, she saw Lu Jinnian’s breathtakingly handsome face.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Qiao Anhao was abruptly stunned on the spot.
When Lu Jinnian saw who opened the door, his pupils clearly widened. As he finally went back to normal, he stared straight at Qiao Anhao. However, it was like his stare had frozen over, giving off a cold feel.
It had only been half a month without seeing each other, but Qiao Anhao felt like it had been as long as a century. His complexion was still outstanding, but his expression looked even colder than before. Between his brows, the heartlessness and remoteness was as thick as the fog.
“Bro, you’re here?”
Xu Jiamu’s words suddenly woke Qiao Anhao up, and she realized that Lu Jinnian was staring at her chest. She was wearing a strappy nightdress, which completely revealed her delicate collar bone.
Her face grew hot. She lowered her head and quickly opened the door. Then she said to Xu Jiamu in a low voice, “You take care of them, I’ll go up and change.”
As she said this, Qiao Anhao turned, and ran all the way up the stairs.
Lu Jinnian stood at the entrance, without moving an inch until Qiao Anhao disappeared around the corner of the stairs. Then he swept his eyes over to Xu Jiamu’s cardboard boxes. Besides vegetables, fruit, and other ingredients, there were a few boxes of condoms. In that instant, it was like his whole body was struck by an electric shock, and his body shook.
“Bro, why are you just standing there? Come and sit!” After seeing Lu Jinnian standing at the door for so long, Xu Jiamu couldn’t help but remind him.
It was like Lu Jinnian didn’t hear Xu Jiamu’s words, as he stared transfixed at the small colorful square boxes.
Xu Jiamu furrowed his brows and called out, “Bro?”
Lu Jinnian snapped back to reality in a blink. His hands silently balled up into fists. Practically using all the power in his body, he forced himself to calmly stride over to Xu Jiamu’s side. As he walked over to the living room full of familiar faces, he responded to their greetings with an absent-minded nod. Then he found a armchair and sat down.
People in the room were happily chatting away and laughing, but Lu Jinnian sat aside and never said a word. His eyes stared outside the window, as though he was in a daze, until Qiao Anhao came back down after getting changed. His pupils then hovered over her body.
With Lu Jinnian in the living room, Qiao Anhao felt a little uncomfortable. She chit-chatted a little with Qiao Anxia and the others, then went into the kitchen to see if she could help Xu Jiamu.
She came out twice, once carrying a pot of tea, and once carrying a plate of fruit.
She even poured everyone a cup of tea. As she handed Lu Jinnian a cup, he spoke his first words since entering the house, “Thank you.”
Qiao Anhao lowered her eyes, and didn’t even look at him. She just gently twitched the corner of her lips and walked back into the kitchen.
–
Even though Xu Jiamu was a young master who lived a life of luxury, he had learned how to cook a table full of dishes during his university years.
Even though Qiao Anhao was in the kitchen, she couldn’t really do much to help. At best, she helped peel the garlic and wash a plate, all whilst Xu Jiamu repeatedly complained about her being in the way.
In the end, Xu Jiamu couldn’t take it any longer and turned the fire off. He pushed Qiao Anhao by her shoulders towards the kitchen door. He was about to kick her out when Lu Jinnian walked head on into them.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu’s footsteps stopped at the same time.
Xu Jiamu smiled and he asked, “Bro, what’s wrong?”
Lu Jinnian’s expression ran cold and he looked away when he saw Xu Jiamu’s hands on Qiao Anhao’s shoulders. He handed him the house phone and said in lonely and cold voice, “You’ve got a call.”
Xu Jiamu pulled his arms from Qiao Anhao’s shoulders and took the phone. He glanced at the caller id, raised his hand, and rubbed his nose. He picked up the call, and cried, “Ma… I’m fine… I was just bored like crazy at home. Qiao Qiao is with me…”
Xu Jiamu passed Qiao Anhao the phone, shrugged with a helpless expression, and said, “Mrs. Han would like to speak with you.”
As Qiao Anhao took the phone, Xu Jiamu pointed at the soup he was cooking in the kitchen and walked over to it.
Qiao Anhao put the phone to her ear and said, “Aunt Xu.”
“Qiao Qiao, you’re back from France?”
Qiao Anhao gave a gentle “mm”, then Han Ruchu’s voice was heard again. “Jiamu turned his phone off. I called you, but you didn’t pick up.”
Qiao Anhao then remembered that her phone was upstairs, and she hurriedly said in a soft voice, “I don’t have my phone on me. Is there something you need?”
“Nothing much… just to look after Jiamu. He’s only just been discharged. Though his condition is good, he’s still not very nimble. Don’t let him drink alcohol…” Han Ruchu rambled into the phone, leaving many tasks for Qiao Anhao.
Qiao Anhao patiently responded to every one of them.
Even though Lu Jinnian didn’t know what Han Ruchu had really said, but he could take a guess what it was. His heart instantly darkened.
“Don’t you worry. I will definitely watch out for Brother Jiamu and take good care of him.” Qiao Anhao’s tone was soft and gentle, as she slowly finished what she had to say. Then she hung up the phone. As she was about to put the phone on the dock, Lu Jinnian, who stood nearby, pulled his arm out and said, “Give it to me.”
Qiao Anhao raised her eyelids up at Lu Jinnian’s serene eyes. His beautiful pupils were silently cold and carried no emotions. She hesitated for a moment, then handed the phone to Lu Jinnian. “All right, I’ll leave it to you.”
Lu Jinnian didn’t make a sound when he took the phone with a calm expression. He calmly turned around and walked back into the living room. His back looked cold and arrogant, but no one knew that his heart was bleeding.
–
Xu Jiamu’s dinner was exceptionally grand. The group sat surrounding the dining table. They hadn’t lifted their chopsticks to taste the food yet, but just by looking at the table the dishes were very presentable and smelled wonderful. That’s when everyone started to say all sorts of compliments.
“Jiamu, are you sure that you got someone to fix your face and not your not cooking skills?”
Long before Xu Jiamu had woken up, the Xu family revealed that they had contacted the world’s best plastic surgeon to restore Xu Jiamu’s face, so that the real Xu Jiamu could smoothly handover from Lu Jinnian’s fake “Xu Jiamu” facade.
Not to mention, Jiamu’s face had recovered well. He looked no different from before, and there was no indication that he’d been in a car accident.
“This is truly a full recovery. Before, when you were disfigured, the young master Xu avoided being seen, practically never leaving the house, and never letting anyone come to visit!”
“Come come come now! Let’s raise a glass to our glowing young master. Cheers!”
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
The entire table raised their wine glasses, ready to down their drinks. Qiao Anhao, who sat beside Xu Jiamu, reached out and took glass from his hands in exchange for a cup of water. She then politely explained to the table full of people, “Brother Jiamu still can’t drink alcohol yet. ”
Assuming that Xu Jiamu had only just finished his cosmetic surgery, everybody didn’t force him to drink.
Qiao Anxia teased Qiao Anhao with a bright smile, “Qiao Qiao, you sure are protective of Jiamu.”
Xu Jiamu smiled wordlessly, and downed his cup of water with everyone.
The harsh alcohol ran down Lu Jinnian’s throat with a hint of raw bitterness.
Xu Jiamu’s dishes tasted superb. Everyone around the table assumed Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao were husband and wife, so they couldn’t help but start teasing. “Xiao Qiao, you’re so lucky to be able to eat young master Xu’s exotic dishes everyday.”
After one person started the teasing, others started to chime in as well. “That being said… Jiamu, your wedding ceremony back then with Xiao Qiao was far too sloppy. You didn’t even invite some of us here. Now that your face has recovered, isn’t it about time that you hold a bigger wedding ceremony?”
“Yeah, Jiamu. You didn’t even have a wedding ceremony. Did you do right by Xiao Qiao, did you do right by us?”
Even though Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao knew that the ceremony they were crying about would never come true, the two of them agreed to not let it slip in the slightest before they got the divorce finalized. To do this, Xu Jiamu even played along with everyone, smiling and saying, “Definitely, I’ll definitely make up for the wedding ceremony to Qiao Qiao.”
From start to end, Qiao Anhao kept a gentle smile and didn’t say a word. When Xu Jiamu said those words, she couldn’t help but glance over at Lu Jinnian from the corner of her eyes. His expression was cold and distant as usual as he silently drank his wine, as though the conversations at the table had nothing to do with him.
Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but tightly clutch her chopsticks. Though she said she wouldn’t love him again, whilst others were egging her on with another guy, it still pained her heart to see him so nonchalant.
“Not only make up for the wedding ceremony, make up for the proposal! Xiao Qiao, let me tell you… If young master Xu doesn’t propose, by all means, don’t agree to anything!”
“They’re already married, what can’t she agree to?!”
“She can’t agree to have kids!”
“Yeah yeah yeah, don’t agree to have kids!”
“Xiao Qiao, when he proposes, remember to call upon us. We’ll help you see if he’s sincere enough. Until then, you mustn’t give young master Xu a child.”
Give him a child… Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu’s child… Lu Jinnian instantly thought about his own unborn child who was killed in the belly… His hand couldn’t help but grip harder onto his wine glass.
He couldn’t hear what was so funny about what they just said, but everyone around the table laughed cheerfully. His eyes calmly waited for everyone to change the topic, then when no one noticed, his eyes silently fell on Qiao Anhao. She had her head down, quietly chewing on a piece of chicken thigh that Xu Jiamu had picked up for her with his chopsticks.
Lu Jinnian only looked for five seconds before looking away. Then he raised his head and downed another glass of wine, stood up, and left for the living room.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Lu Jinnian stood alone in the living room. The sound of laughter blared from the dining room. It sounded like the atmosphere was very lively, but his whole body was shrouded heavily with a sense of loneliness that wouldn’t dissipate.
He didn’t know just how long he stood there for. When the dining room doors opened, he masked his loneliness by hurriedly pulling out his phone from his pocket and pressing it against his ear, pretending to be on the phone.
Xu Jiamu called out, “Bro”. Seeing as Lu Jinnian was on the phone, he instinctively shut his mouth, pulled open the communal restroom doors, and walked in.
Lu Jinnian only put his phone back into his pocket when he heard the sound of flushing from the restroom. Xu Jiamu came out, drying his hands with tissue. Seeing as Lu Jinnian was off the phone, he said, “Bro, you finished up?”
Lu Jinnian gently nodded his head.
Someone from the dining room called Xu Jiamu’s name, to which he replied back in a high pitched voice. He chucked the paper into the bin and turned to Lu Jinnian. “Come in and eat.”
Lu Jinnian stood on the spot, motionless and cold. “I have to go, there’s some business I have to attend to.”
A hint of disappointment flashed across Xu Jiamu’s eyes, but he didn’t press on. “All right, if you have time later, I’ll come find you for a meal.”
Lu Jinnian made a “mm” sound and glanced at the dining room door. He didn’t say anything, just stood there quietly for two seconds, then strode out.
The temperature at night had already dropped. It wasn’t as hot as it was during the day, as a matter of fact, it was quite soothing.
Lu Jinnian held a cup of tea and stood in his balcony as he quietly stared up at the stars.
He only agreed to go to Xu Jinnian’s dinner after seeing her enter the mansion in the morning.
He knew that by going over, he was simply asking to be tortured by things he saw and heard.
Yet, there was no helping it. God only gave him a chance to be with her for two hundred and fifty-one days. Even though he got this opportunity by acting as Xu Jiamu’s substitute, now, all he could do was torture himself to get closer to her.
A single dinner was more torturous than he ever imagined, but that was all right, he was still able to see her. He even spoke twice to her, did he not?
The two conversations: the first was when he said “Thank you” when she handed him tea, the other was when he said “Give it to me” as she hung up the phone on Han Ruchu. But it was all worth it, was it not?
Lu Jinnian stood there all the way up to ten something at night, until there was movement at the neighboring mansion. Perhaps two people had drank a little much, for when they got into their car, they screamed incoherently, which triggered the neighbor’s dog to bark endlessly.
The car lights shone endlessly in the courtyard as they left one-by-one.
Under the faint yellow lights, Lu Jinnian, who stood on the second floor, saw Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao at the gates of the courtyard. They walked back into the mansion and shut the doors, completely silencing the entire world.
Only the two of them, Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao were left in the mansion next door…
Lu Jinnian’s mind wandered to the boxes of condoms he’d seen as part of Xu Jiamu’s shopping earlier, when he went over for dinner, and instantly didn’t want to think more.
After about half an hour, the lights in the mansion next door were out. Lu Jinnian’s hands trembled, and his cup shattered into pieces which fell to the ground.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
The hot tea splashed onto Lu Jinnian’s body, leaving pale yellow stains.
Lu Jinnian retreated back into the bedroom in a fluster. His steps were a little erratic as he walked over to the washroom, turned on the tap, and wildly splashed water onto his face.
That night, he clearly didn’t drink a lot, but in that very moment, his stomach was churning like the sea. It was extraordinarily painful. At that moment, he couldn’t take it any longer and suddenly rushed over to the bathroom. He knelt down and started vomiting.
Lu Jinnian vomited for a long time. He vomited until his stomach was hollowed out, but his insides were still burning in pain.
They’d clearly ended it half a month ago, but he was still a bit slow. He still thought that she would come back to his mansion every day, and would sleep with him in his bed. Now that he thought of her actually living with Xu Jiamu in his mansion, and that there was the possibility of something actually happening between them, like what happened with himself, he couldn’t accept that…
The more Lu Jinnian thought about it, the more he panicked. In the end, he climbed off from the wooden floor. Despite the dirty tea stains on his clothes, he went straight up to Xu Jiamu’s door, raised a hand, and pressed the doorbell.
His movements were brash as he pressed several times.
After the lights in the mansion lit up, Xu Jiamu’s voice reached him. “Who is it?”
Then the doors were open.
Xu Jiamu was already in pajamas. He was probably lying when someone had suddenly woken him up. His expression wasn’t good, but as soon as he saw Lu Jinnian outside the door, his mood immediately became better and he cried out, “Bro?”
Then Xu Jiamu saw Lu Jinnian’s dirty clothes and furrowed his brows. “Bro, what happened to your clothes?”
Lu Jinnian shook his head. “It’s nothing, I accidentally spilled some tea.”
“Oh.” Xu Jiamu yawned. “Bro, did you come find me for something?”
With Xu Jiamu’s question, Lu Jinnian only then realized that he’d been a little impulsive earlier. He was dazed out for a second, when he randomly made up an excuse. “A few days ago, I took a few photos at a charity event, do you want go pick two out?”
Xu Jiamu covered his mouth and yawned again. Then he mumbled, “Another day. It’s late, and I’m a little sleepy. And, Bro, you have to look after yourself. Don’t always sleep so late.”
Lu Jinnian oddly twitched the corner of his lips. “So… You should go get some rest.”
“Mm,” Xu Jiamu responded. He then said to Lu Jinnian, “Goodnight”.
“Goodnight,” Lu Jinnian replied as he turned to leave. Half-way through the courtyard, the lights in the house behind him switched off. Lu Jinnian’s footsteps paused for a moment, and the urge to pry the door open and take Qiao Anhao away came over him.
If he had just the tiniest right, as he was now, then he would definitely take her… But he had no right to do so. Xu Jiamu was Qiao Anhao’s fiance, and him? To her, he was nothing.
Lu Jinnian formed fists, shut his eyes, and his tensed body paused for a moment. In the end, he turned away and walked out of Xu Jiamu’s courtyard with heavy footsteps.
He didn’t go back to his own mansion but went back to the 24-hour convenience store at the gates of the neighborhood. He bought a few boxes of cigarettes, stood under the lamppost outside Xu Jiamu’s mansion, and smoked all night.
That night, it was the longest and most grueling night of his life.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
That night, it was the longest and most grueling night of Lu Jinnian’s life.
Nobody knew what kind of frame of mind he used to survive every second of every minute of that night.
Nor did anyone know, just how many glances he took at Xu Jiamu’s mansion.
Furthermore, no one knew how many times the rim of his eyes had turned red.
That night, his heart was restless, it was bone-piercingly painful, hopelessly depressed… He’d sampled all sorts of emotions in one go.
If he could, he never wanted to relive the emotions he’d lived through that night.
It was only when the first ray of sunshine reached the horizon that he felt the exhaustion of that night. His footsteps staggered him back to his own mansion. Behind him, he left a ground full of cigarette butts.
–
Even though Xu Jiamu was well and healthy, he hadn’t completely recovered. It was easy for him to grow tired. That night, he had cooked a table full of food, and then chatted with his friends for a long time. In the end, he was sufficiently tired out. On top of it all, he had left the Xu family estate in a hurry, so he didn’t bring his car keys and slept on the sofa of Mian Xiu Garden. He woke up at eight in the morning the next day, called a private car, and left straight away.
Qiao Anhao, who had finished shooting the commercial, was completely free. In the following week, she was staying in Mian Xiu garden, sleeping and watching movies.
Xu Jiamu’s and Lu Jinnian’s mansions were divided by just a fence. In the courtyard of one mansion, you could clearly see the what was going on in the other.
Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian never bumped into each other again for a week after that day at Xu Jiamu’s mansion when they’d seen each other for the first time after their split.
Occasionally, when Qiao Anhao would lay on the balcony reading, she would pay attention to the mansion next door. Every time she looked over, the big doors were shut tight. The courtyard had a floor full of tree leaves and flower petals, but no one tended to them.
She bumped into Lu Jinnian again on the first day of the next week.
Qiao Anhao was a signed artist under Huan Ying Entertainment. Usually, she didn’t really need to go into the office, but when Monday came around, she had to go in.
She slept very late the day before, so the next day when she woke up, it was already afternoon. Zhao Meng was busy that day, so she couldn’t pick her up, but she also had her car, and so Qiao Anhao had to call for a private one. She found a place to eat, and then went to Huan Ying Entertainment.
Qiao Anhao stayed alone in the office, bored, so she pulled out her phone and played a game. Half-way through it, she received a message on WeChat.
She exited the game, clicked on WeChat, and saw that the notifications had come from the group chat.
That WeChat group didn’t have many people in it; just the few regular people who liked to get together. About half an hour ago, Qiao Anxia had sent a message about treating everyone tonight to karaoke at the Royal Palace.
Qiao Anhao immediately ignored the WeChat group. At first, she hadn’t seen the message and didn’t respond, but now she saw it after Qiao Anxia just @’d her. She replied with, [I don’t have a car today. It’s not convenient for me to go.]
Then Qiao Anxia @’d Xu Jiamu. Xu Jiamu immediately asked, [Qiao Qiao, where are you?]
[At the office.]
After a while had passed, Xu Jiamu then said in the group, [Quickly get off work. I’ll come pick you up.]
Qiao Anhao didn’t reply. She clicked back into her game and continued to play.
–
Xu Jiamu stopped downstairs of Huan Ying Entertainment before he called Qiao Anhao to tell her that he had reached the office.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
After Xu Jiamu hung up the phone, he coincidentally saw Lu Jinnian and his assistant coming out from the office block. Xu Jiamu paused for a moment, then pushed open the car door and waved over at his friend.
Lu Jinnian’s eyebrows twitched when he saw Xu Jiamu and he walked over. “How come you’re here?”
Xu Jiamu called out “Bro”, then replied to the question Lu Jinnian had just asked, “I’m here to pick up Qiao Qiao.”
Lu Jinnian’s assistant, who stood next to Lu Jinnian, shuddered a little, and hurriedly greeted Xu Jiamu in an attempt to change the topic, “Mr. Xu, long time no see.”
Xu Jiamu politely smiled at Lu Jinnian’s assistant, then turned his head to sincerely invite Lu Jinnian. “Bro, Qiao Anxia is treating everyone to karaoke at the Royal Palace, are you free? If you’re not doing anything, let’s go together.”
Lu Jinnian’s expression and tone was as calm as water when he spoke. “I have to go to a dinner tonight.”
Even though Han Ruchu often told Xu Jiamu to stay away from Lu Jinnian since he was young, but in his heart, he really liked his brother. He loved to call his brother out whenever he did something.
When he heard this, a hint of disappointment crept into his heart. “Oh, right. Bro, tend to your business, it’s more important.”
Lu Jinnian’s car stopped by the roadside, and Xu Jiamu personally opened the car door for his brother. When Lu Jinnian got in, Xu Jiamu ordered his assistant, “Don’t let my bro drink too much.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Xu.”
Xu Jiamu nodded as he bent down, and said to Lu Jinnian, “Bye then, Bro.”
When he saw Lu Jinnian nod back, he closed the door and stepped back two steps.
“Goodbye, Mr. Xu,” the assistant said with his windows rolled down. He stepped on the accelerator and slowly drove off.
Xu Jiamu stood by the road until Lu Jinnian’s car drove into a main road, then he turned around to see if Qiao Anhao had arrived yet. As a result, when he turned his head, he saw a familiar figure come out from Huan Ying Entertainment’s office block.
All of a sudden, the muscles in Xu Jiamu’s entire body involuntarily seized up.
Song Xiangsi walked out of the building in ten centimeter heels, furious, with her assistant and manager trailing behind her. She said to her manager slightly annoyed, “I’ve told you many times, don’t sign me up for dinner parties. Don’t accept them on my behalf. I wanted to go home to sleep tonight, but now, great…”
At the sight of Xu Jiamu at the foot of the stairs, Song Xiangsi suddenly stopped talking and so did her footsteps.
The assistant and manager behind her also stopped walking and looked over at her, a little confused. As they followed her line of sight, their eyes landed on Xu Jiamu.
The manager and assistant looked at one another but didn’t say a word.
On the main street, there was the endless noise of of cars driving past.
In two short minutes, quite a few people entered the Huan Ying Entertainment block, and quite a few people also left it.
There were five meters between Song Xiangsi and Xu Jiamu as they both stared at each other.
After about a minute, when Song Xiangsi assumed Xu Jiamu would walk over to say something, he pulled open the car door behind him and sat inside.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Xu Jiamu acted as though she were a complete stranger.
Song Xiangsi’s hand suddenly tightened, as she stared at Xu Jiamu’s car for just a second. Then, as though nothing had happened, she continued to arrogantly trod on in her heels towards her own car that was parked to one side.
As she walked, she continued to scold her manager, “Tonight, I have to go to the Royal Palace to entertain. It’s not like you didn’t know that each and and every one of those capitalist are like dogs. Every single one of them are bad from their very bones!”
With these words, she had already opened the driver’s door and sat inside.
The manager hurriedly said, “Sis Xiangsi, let me drive…”
Song Xiangsi didn’t even wait for her manager to finish speaking when shot back, “What are you two stupidly standing there for? Are you going or not?”
As she said this, Song Xiangsi stepped on the accelerator, scaring the manager and assistant into quickly pulling the car door’s open. They crawled in, but before the assistant could close the car door, Song Xiangsi stepped on the accelerator. The door brushed Xu Jiamu’s car, caused it to suddenly jump.
In the driver’s seat, Xu Jiamu looked as though he was staring straight ahead, but from the corner of his eyes, he was looking Song Xiangsi up and down through the rear view mirror. In that split second when her car brushed his, a burning rage hastily erupted in his eyes, and he abruptly tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
–
When Qiao Anhao got Xu Jiamu’s call, she was in the restroom. Once she had gathered her things into her bag, left the restroom, and come downstairs, about ten minutes had passed.
The moment she came out of the Huan Ying Entertainment office’s block, she saw Xu Jiamu’s car and waltzed over. She pulled open the passenger door, sat inside, and called, “Brother Jiamu?”
Without any reaction, Xu Jiamu stared in the direction of Song Xiangsi’s car that had driven away a long while ago.
Qiao Anhao lifted her hand up and waved it in front of Xu Jiamu, whilst half-jokingly saying, “Brother Jiamu, you can’t be mad at me for making you wait ten minutes, right?”
Xu Jiamu’s pupils shifted for a bit, before he pulled himself back and gently chuckled, as though he’d heard a funny joke. “What the hell are you saying? What’s there for me to be angry about?”
“You’re really not mad?” Qiao Anhao looked like she didn’t believe a word of it. She tilted her head and smiled at Xu Jiamu. “But your expression just now didn’t look too happy. Did something happen?”
Xu Jiamu didn’t say a word, but started the car up and steadily drove off.
–
The atmosphere in the car was extremely tense. While driving, the assistant glanced over to check on Lu Jinnian in the rear view mirror, twice.
The man didn’t say a word as he gazed out the window at the surging traffic. He wasn’t angry nor sad, but after working as Lu Jinnian’s assistant for so many years, he could still feel the gloomy mood.
When the car was almost at the Bejing hotel, Lu Jinnian, who hadn’t really moved since he got in the car, finally moved. He diverted his attention from outside the window to his assistant at the wheel, then said, “After dinner, didn’t they say they were going to find a place to play cards?”
Lu Jinnian only asked a single question, but his assistant instantly understood everything. He intuitively answered, “Yes, Mr. Lu. Where do you guys want to go to play cards at night? The Capital Club, or the Royal Palace?”
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Naturally, the assistant knew what was going through Lu Jinnian’s mind, and so he didn’t even wait for him to choose. He paused for a while, and then continued, saying “Mr. Lu, you had a little clash in the past at the Capital Club with Chief Lin who you are meant to have dinner with tonight, and so would you like to go to the Royal Palace?”
Though the assistant had clearly said the words on Lu Jinnian’s mind, his face didn’t reveal a hint of happiness. Instead, after listening to the assistant’s words, he remained silent for a while, then gently nodded as though he didn’t care.
Of course, the assistant didn’t dare expose Lu Jinnian’s hypocrisy and went on with official business, pulling out his phone and booking a booth at the Royal Palace.
The car fell silent again, but the atmosphere didn’t feel as tense as before.
Through the rear view mirror, the assistant looked over at Lu Jinnian again. His head was turned again as he stared out the window. However, the gloom that accumulated between his eyes for the past few days seemed to have dissipated a little.
Because of Lu Jinnian’s overly good skills at masking his criticism, the assistant randomly felt a hint of sadness just now.
He clearly didn’t like places like the Royal Palace, nor did he like to play cards. Above all, he hated women who he didn’t know throwing themselves at him. Yet, tonight, because that woman will be at the Royal Palace, he was going too.
Even if they were clearly in the same place, the two of them might not even bump into each other, but just by getting closer to her, even like this, improved his mood.
The assistant had studied science and technology, a serious degree with incredibly technical language, but at that moment, for some reason, his mind boggled over Eileen Chang’s famous tragic but beautiful quote, “Loving somebody is being humbled to the dust, and then from there blooming into a flower.”
But Mr. Lu has been humble for so many years now. How has the flower not bloomed yet?
Just what could be going through his mind? After all these years… Clearly there isn’t the least bit of hope, how could he hold on like this?
The assistant thought about it over and over again, and started to get depressed. Then, he started to shout at himself – For god’s sake! As a mother f*cking grown man with a wife and kids, an awesome salary, who was living the life, did he really have nothing else to do but to be THIS fucking sad.
–
Qiao Anxia booked a combo room with a card room and an additional small KTV booth.
A row of people who excitedly hugged the microphone, screaming, then ran over to play cards. Qiao Anhao, who wasn’t at all interested, sat on her own and watched the TV.
Qiao Anxia’s luck must’ve been good. Every now and then, her excited screams could be heard.
Xu Jiamu sat opposite Qiao Anxia. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t played in such a long while, he wasn’t in the right condition tonight; he lost every round. In the end, he let someone else spectating behind him take his place.
Xu Jiamu brought a bottle of beer to his mouth, lifted his head, and drank half the bottle. Then he saw Qiao Anhao, who was sitting on her own on the sofa and hugging a pillow, immersed in the television. He strode over and sat next to her.
Qiao Anhao was watching an old movie which starred Song Xiangsi as the leading female. At the time, Song Xiangsi was still quite young, and though her acting skills weren’t as refined as they were now, there were hints of those beloved skills that everyone supported her for.
Xu Jiamu stared at the screen with raised brows, and felt his mood thwarted.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Of all people, Song Xiangsi’s calm voice was coincidentally heard from the television. “Let’s break up…”
Suddenly, Xu Jiamu tightly grasped his beer bottle, bending its top until it exploded and splashed all over his hands. Completely unaware, he stared at the television screen with riveting emotions, then raised the remains and downed them. He casually put what was left of the bottle on the coffee table, got up, and then walked out of the room.
When Xu Jiamu came out of the restroom, the door to room 1005 opened, and Song Xiangsi, who wore a skin-tight mini-dress, stepped out. The two of them exchanged looks for no more than one second, before they looked away as though they hadn’t seen each other at all. The two of them looked straight ahead of them, brushing past the other with arrogance and calmness.
Xu Jiamu heard the “Ta ta ta” of heels behind him fade away. His footsteps suddenly stopped, and he stood on the spot for a while. He pulled out his phone, made a call, and waited a while. The door of room 1005 behind him opened. A man in an ashy silver suit popped out, “Young master Xu, over here.”
Xu Jiamu followed the guy in the ashy silver suit into room 1005 with no emotions on his face.
The private room was filled with debauchery and corruption. There sat quite a few men and women. Two women were in a maid outfits and were sitting around a middle-aged man with a large stomach, who was singing. That middle-aged man was clearly off-tune, but he sang into the microphone with an expression as though he was deeply engrossed in the song.
“You are my little apple, I can’t love you enough…”
Ever since Xu Jiamu was little, he mingled in Beijing’s business circles. Han Ruchu started to take him to various types of events from a young age, for him to better get to know more people. Though when he grew up it all became a little fake, Xu Jiamu knew how to conduct himself.
He wouldn’t say that he knew the hundred percent of the rich people in Beijing, but at least ninety for sure There was a total of five men in this private room, and he knew all of them. Two of the five were self-proclaimed actors. After being unconscious for eight months, Xu Jiamu didn’t recognize them.
On seeing him enter, the man who was singing stopped and put down his microphone to greet the manager of the Royal Palace.
Even though Xu Jiamu hadn’t been here for several months, the manager didn’t dare to neglect him in the slightest, politely lining up all the pretty girls in the shop in front for him to choose.
Xu Jiamu laid down nonchalantly on the sofa, glancing a few times over several girls. Yet, in the end, he had no intention of saying a word, as though he was waiting for something.
The manager stood to one side with a smile but didn’t dare press him.
The man sitting next to Xu Jiamu, who was hugging a cute woman, moved closer to his side and pointed twice. He gave his opinion. “This one, and this one, aren’t bad…”
“Oh really?” asked Xu Jiamu nonchalantly.
Before his voice dropped, the door opened. It was Song Xiangsi, who had just came back from the restroom after finding an excuse to avoid drinking. The moment she pushed the door open, she gritted her teeth tightly, and complained deep down inside on how she wouldn’t be here to entertain at all if it didn’t pay so well.
Then she suddenly saw Xu Jiamu sitting in the center of the sofa. A flash of hostility flashed across her eyes, and before she could speak, Xu Jiamu suddenly raised his hand, waved it around, and landed it on her, “Then this one.”
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
The entire private room instantly froze. The man sitting next to Xu Jiamu swiftly explained, “Young master Xu, you’ve got it wrong. Miss Song is our business partner, not one of the girls.”
Manager promptly said, “That’s right, Young master Xu. Miss Song is our guest.”
In the face of every one’s comments around him, Xu Jiamu had no intention of changing his mind. He still chose Song Xiangsi. The words from his mouth seemed as though they were directed at the manager but were in fact meant for Song Xiangsi to hear. “Name a price. How much will it be to go out for supper?”
Song Xiangsi, who was originally a little bewildered, completely understood what was happening in that very moment. Her brows didn’t move, she calmly stood her place and stared back at Xu Jiamu.
“Ermm… that’s…” The manager didn’t dare offend Xu Jiamu or Song Xiangsi, so he only said these two words. He glanced over at both parties, then smiled with a troubled look and said, “Young master Xu, take a look at these pretty girls I brought. They’re new. Which do you like? You can also take them out for supper.”
“To go out for supper with this girl, five thousand. What? Won’t this price cover this girl?” Xu Jiamu effectively disregarded the manager’s words. On his own accord, he looked back at Song Xiangsi, and after a while, he asked, “Could it be that you want five million?”
Xu Jiamu purposefully emphasized the words “Five million”. A hint of temptation clearly appeared in Song Xiangsi’s eyes.
Xu Jiamu curved his lips into a smile, as his eyes fell on the manager, yet his words were for Song Xiangsi to hear. “You won’t agree to five million? Then fifty million? Five hundred million…”
The manager carefully said, “Mr. Xu, this isn’t something I can decide.”
When he finished speaking, the manager glanced over at Song Xiangsi, who was standing to one side.
This time, Xu Jiamu absolutely didn’t give Song Xiangsi any time to react at all, by directly adding, “Unless you don’t want money, you want something else? If it’s not face…”
Before Xu Jiamu could finish, Song Xiangsi suddenly shot a bright smile and said, “It’s just supper, right? I’ll go.”
In the entertainment circle, Song Xiangsi practically never ate alone with a man. No matter how high the price, one couldn’t take her out. At most, she would attend an event like this one tonight under the pretense they were business partners. And so, when she said those words, everyone in the room stared blankly for a moment.
Song Xiangsi always did things her way. In the face of everybody’s doubts, she didn’t have the slightest intention of explaining herself. Instead, she hastily walked out of the private room first, stood outside, and waited for Xu Jiamu.
Xu Jiamu got up and threw at the manager, “Put the bill for this room under my name”. Then he bid everyone farewell and walked out without even a look at Song Xiangsi, who waited at the door outside. He took big strides towards the exit.
The two of them didn’t speak to each other all the way to the car park. Xu Jiamu opened the car door, glanced at Song Xiangsi, and got in the car fist. He waited for her to get in before abruptly stepping on the accelerator, and his car jumped out.
The car was silent. From the very start, Xu Jiamu never looked directly at Song Xiangsi. When they were about to reach Gui Street, Song Xiangsi asked, “Young master Xu, where are we going for supper?”
Xu Jiamu didn’t make a sound. Rage surged beneath his eyes, and he drove faster.
In the end, Xu Jiamu turned the car into a high-end apartment block in the city. Song Xiangsi’s expression grew pale.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
The car stopped in the underground car park. Xu Jiamu got out of the car and went ahead and pressed the elevator button. He stood at the entrance waiting for Song Xiangsi to get in before he stepped in. Then he pressed the floor number.
The elevator door opened when it reached the right floor. Xu Jiamu walked over to the left door, entered the passcode, and pushed open the door. As usual, he watched as Song Xiangsi entered first, then followed behind.
Xu Jiamu closed the door and threw the car keys randomly by the entrance. He stared directly at Song Xiangsi without a word, then suddenly raised his hand, slapping her brutally across the face.
That slap came out of nowhere and was sufficiently hard. Song Xiangsi, who was completely caught off guard, fell to the ground from it’s sheer force.
–
Eleven o’clock. Everyone had left.
Xu Jiamu left the private room at ten and never came back.
Other people drank quite a lot, so they called a car. Whoever had a ride, got picked up. Qiao Anhao called fro Chen Yang, who had coincidentally just finished work, to pick up Qiao Anxia. Then, she pulled out her phone and called Xu Jiamu. After a few times, he still didn’t pick up.
When Lu Jinnian’s assistant came out of the restroom, he saw Qiao Anhao at the lobby of the Royal Palace and greeted her, “Miss Qiao.”
Qiao Anhao put her phone away and nodded at the assistant.
Seeing that Qiao Anhao was on her own, the assistant was slightly confused, so he nosily asked, “Miss Qiao, didn’t you come here with Mr. Xu? Why are you here alone?”
Qiao Anhao wondered how Lu Jinnian’s assistant knew.
The man added, “I coincidentally bumped into Mr. Xu waiting for you downstairs at the office.”
Qiao Anhao understood and pursed her lips into a smile, then said, “I don’t know where he is. I’m waiting for him.”
The assistant made an “oh” sound in sudden realization. Then politely said, “Miss Qiao, I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be off now.”
Qiao Anhao smiled gently and nodded.
–
The assistant pushed open the door and glanced at Lu Jinnian over at the mahjong table.
There were three other players, one of whom had a young girl in his lap, then there he was – far removed and alone.
The assistant silently walked over to Lu Jinnian and glanced at his tiles. There was nothing he could say, his tiles were incredibly lucky. He waited for Lu Jinnian to throw out a two dot tile, then bent down, and whispered in his ear, “Mr. Lu, on my way back from the restroom just now, I saw Miss Qiao in the corridors.”
Lu Jinnian’s expression didn’t change, but his fingers obviously clenched harder onto the tiles.
The assistant continued to report back in a low voice. “Who knows where Mr. Xu went. Miss Qiao is waiting for him.”
“Oh.” Mr. Lu gave a nod, as though it didn’t matter.
The assistant’s pupils twitched lightly, and he added, “It looks like Qiao Anhao didn’t drive. If she can’t wait for Mr. Xu, she might hitchhike. It isn’t easy to get a car from here…”
Before the assistant could finish, Lu Jinnian stood up from his seat, calm and composed. He pointed at his winnings and said to his assistant, “Take over for a while.”
He then said “Sorry” to the other three players, who looked confused, and grabbed for his jacket behind his seat and left the private room, all without waiting for his assistant to react.
Translator: Kingbao Editor: DarkGem
Qiao Anhao called Xu Jiamu several times but was still not able to reach him, so she gave up, sending him a text before leaving. She stood at the side of the road, waiting for a cab to arrive.
She stood in the heart of the city where the rich would frequent, the people here had their own cars and would rarely grab cabs, hence there were barely any cabs in the area.
Lu Jinnian rushed to the main hall while putting on his jacket. He scanned the area trying to find Qiao Anhao but she was nowhere in sight. He ran out and continued to scan the surroundings.
The security guard seemed to have recognized Lu Jinnian, for he walked forward and greeted him politely, “Mr. Lu.”
Lu Jinnian ignored his greeting, continuing to look around. He ran towards the road, panting slightly. He took several deep breaths before turning to look at the main entrance. Around two hundred meters from the entrance, under a street lamp, stood Qiao Anhao.
She wore a light blue dress with a floral pattern. Lu Jinnian’s gaze turned gentle as he continued to look at her in a daze. Taking several steps forward, he gradually increased his pace to reach her.
Just when he was about a hundred meters from her, a cab suddenly stopped beside her. She seemed to have met a savior, quickly entering the cab without hesitation, and just like that, she disappeared into the night.
Lu Jinnian froze,his gaze locked on the direction she’d left.
The tiny glimpse of hope he had when his assistant had told him that she may need a ride back vanished in an instance.
The cold night wind blew past. He stood there, listening as cars sped past. After a long while, he turned back with heavy steps. Before he could enter Royal Palace, he paused once again, hesitating slightly, he turned towards the car park at the side.
He started his car, driving straight back to Mian Xiu Garden after circling the area.
He took the expressway, and sped to Mian Xiu Garden reaching it in a short while. As he drove past Xu Jiamu’s house, Qiao Anhao had just reached it. She bent to pick up her bag and was preparing to pay the cab.
Lu Jinnian slammed into the brakes instinctively.
After paying the cab driver, she turned and entered the front yard, shortly after, the mansion lit up.
Lu Jinnian waited for the cab she had taken to leave before he drove forward, stopping in-between his and Xu Jiamu’s mansions.
–
After spending such a long time outside, Qiao Anhao was getting hungry. She hurriedly defrosted some dumplings before throwing them in the pot and chopsticks into the basin.
After taking a light shower, she laid back down on her bed. She scrolled through her weibo, and only at 1 am did she off the lights.
