Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
“What charity gala?” The assistant’s random words made Lu Jinnian a little annoyed, and his voice turned cold. “Can you explain what you said?”
The assistant finally understood that Lu Jinnian really wasn’t behind the charity gala incident.
He could feel Lu Jinnian’s annoyance, and hastily explained the ins and outs of what happened. “It’s like this Mr. Lu… I heard about it from my wife. Her course mate from university married Chief Liang of Wanhe two years ago. Tonight, she attended the annual charity ball in Beijing, where the Xu family won the fierce bid for the final item, but when Madam Xu went up on stage to accept it, the background music stopped. Then a recording with Madam Xu and a man’s voice was broadcasted. The recording was about Madam Xu killing Miss Qiao’s child…”
When the assistant said this, Lu Jinnian’s brows gradually started to crease.
“I asked my wife what she roughly heard on the recording. Though it wasn’t the complete story, but I can be certain that it was a conversation between you and Han Ruchu. About your phone call… I recorded it on the recording pen. Wasn’t it in your possession? I thought you were the one who did it tonight…”
With that, Lu Jinnian completely understood the ins and outs of what happened.
“Mr. Lu, for someone to unveil the proud Mrs. Han Ruchu’s true self, her expression at the time must of been rich! What a shame we weren’t there,” lamented the assistant in utter regret.
After silently listening to the assistant for so long, Lu Jinnian suddenly asked, “About the recording pen, besides you and I, who else would know?”
The assistant was stunned by his question, then casually said, “Miss Qiao.”
Following the assistant’s voice, Lu Jinnian said the same name, “Qiao Qiao.”
That’s right. It must of been her.
What his assistant said was right. There was only one recording pen, and it was in the cabinet of Mian Xiu Garden. That was where Qiao Anhao lived, so she was most likely to find the pen, and what’s more, she attended the charity gala tonight.
No wonder tonight… she suddenly said so much to explain herself about Valentine’s day last year. She even told him that she wasn’t the one who sent those messages. He was so happy, he forgot to ask the key question; she was unconscious, so how would she have known about the texts between them? Unless she learned about what happened after looking through the phone…
She actually unveiled Han Ruchu’s true self in front of the entire circle of Beijing’s wealthiest!
Han Ruchu was Xu Jiamu’s biological mother, and didn’t she like Xu Jiamu for a really really long time?
Even till now, she still saw Xu Jiamu as the most important person in her life.
But she chose to give up on Xu Jiamu for their child… to stand up for their marriage…
That woman called Qiao Anhao… just how much did she want to surprise and move him before she gave up?
“Mr. Lu? Mr. Lu?” The assistant couldn’t help but remind Lu Jinnian about them still being on the call when the silence stretched.
Lu Jinnian snapped back to his senses and didn’t hesitate to say, “Book me a ticket for the earliest flight back home this instant.”
When Lu Jinnian finished speaking, he hung up and started to pack his suitcase.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
The important three o’clock meeting was no longer important. Nothing was important. He now only wanted to go back to his country… to go back to her, who took the opportunity to secretly do so much for him, to give him such a big surprise.
–
Qiao Anhao was hung up on twice by Lu Jinnian, so she was a little down, especially since it was the second time she felt so emotional, the atmosphere was so good, and she was softhearted, ready to confess her many years of love for him. In the end, Lu Jinnian didn’t read the mood and spoiled everything with a “kacha” hang of the call.
So those words were left stuck in Qiao Anhao’s throat, not moving up nor down. With that thought, she felt a little distressed.
Especially since she thought that Lu Jinnian would have realized his own mistake and called her back. Who knew that from twelve in the afternoon till three in the morning, she never got a text back, let alone a call.
Later, her brief sadness and distress really made her sulky.
The sulky Qiao Anhao eventually couldn’t take it anymore and gave Lu Jinnian a call. His phone was off?
Was he in a meeting?
Qiao Anhao lay spread out on the bed, drained. She lay there waiting for Lu Jinnian to finish his meeting, but after waiting and waiting, she fell asleep.
Because she slept so late, she also woke up late the next day. The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was check her phone to see if Lu Jinnian had tried to contact her. She realized that besides receiving a message from 10086 and advertising notifications from a few apps, there was nothing!
She calculated the time difference for a moment. It was only ten at night where Lu Jinnian was, so she gave him another call. His phone was still turned off.
Qiao Anhao’s heart felt even more crushed. So crushed in fact, she’d sigh even whilst brushing her teeth and going to the toilet.
As she came out from the bathroom, her phone alert went off. Although she secretly swore that she’d ignore Lu Jinnian’s messages, she still ran over to the bed and picked up her phone. It was Zhao Meng… She had sent her a message on Weibo.
It was a link. Qiao Anhao clicked on it to see that there were rumors going around about her. The topic even made it to the top searched: [Qiao Anhao, Man Chaser]
She clicked onto the topic to find two rumors on weibo about herself.
The first post read, “Qiao Anhao harasses Mr. Lu. Unsuccessful in her attempts, she cries in the airport like a shrew. No care for her image in the slightest.”
There was also a video attachment.
Qiao Anhao clicked play, and saw her crying whilst hugging Mr. Lu from behind.
From that video clip, Mr. Lu deliberately tried to hide her from the cameras, but they still caught her beautiful, tear-stained face. It looked like she was pitifully begging Lu Jinnian for something.
Qiao Anhao wasn’t previously considered a popular newcomer, but currently, she had consecutively taken up roles on a few major dramas, which had already caught people’s attention. On top of this, after “Alluring Times” released, she had used her outstanding acting skills and good storylines in her dramas to gain popularity. Then, late last year, she and Lu Jinnian were voted as the best screen couple online, so she was a hot topic by now.
This video was uploaded at five in the morning, which was just five short hours ago. The view count had already reached several thousand million views, and it had already exceeded six figures in shares and comments.
Another weibo post read, “Qiao Anhao claims Lu Jinnian is her husband, but she doesn’t wear a wedding ring?”
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Another weibo post read, “Qiao Anhao claims Lu Jinnian is her husband, but she doesn’t wear a wedding ring?”
There was another video, which Qiao Anhao recognized was taken from the make up room of “Love at First Sight”. She didn’t know who secretly shot it, but it was taken of her whilst a young girl was asking her if Lu Jinnian really was her boyfriend. She replied, no, Lu Jinnian was her husband.
Beneath the topic [Qiao Anhao, Man Chaser], there were already a dozen million posts.
Qiao Anhao roughly swept through them. From the replies, there were barely anyone who stood on her side and helped her.
Lu Jinnian’s fans were always tough. Now that people had seen her hug him and cry, and then claim he was her husband, it attracted a flood of crazed rants. Of course, every public figure had some haters, who without doubt ranted even more seriously.
Apart from this, the other replies either called her shameless or a man chaser, and there were arguments which sounded better. There was ‘chicken soup for the soul’ 1 kind of words for example, women mustn’t be without dignity and integrity, or others would look down on you. But ultimately behind these tactful words, they were still secretly suggesting that she was harassing Lu Jinnian.
Qiao Anhao couldn’t completely ignore these headlines, and in her heart, she felt a little uncomfortable. After all, so many people were ranting about her. If it were anyone else, they couldn’t really be in good spirits and pretend as though nothing had happened either.
To stop herself from being alone and paying attention to such meaningless scandals, Qiao Anhao figured she may as well meet up with Zhao Meng for lunch at ACR.
ACR was a first-class department store in Beijing with restaurants.
The cheapest items up for sale there started from five figures and up.
Qiao Anhao originally wanted to have lunch with Zhao Meng, then casually go shopping, so they found a Japanese restaurant. After making their order and before the dishes arrived on the table, Zhao Meng, who sat opposite her, sent her a few screenshots that completely made her lose her appetite.
Those few screenshots were sent by a second-rate actress who Zhao Meng was friendly with.
Those pictures were from a Wechat group chat.
There weren’t many people in it, perhaps a dozen, all from within the entertainment industry.
It was someone in the group who brought up the headline of her harassing Lu Jinnian. That person asked if she and Mr. Lu were really married.
As a result, it brought on Lin Shiyi’s sarcasm and nasty comments. [What do you think? If Mr. Lu really married her, would he not even give her a ring?]
[Besides… if a man really loves a woman, would he be willing to part with her at the airport in front of so many people whilst she hugged and cried so miserably?]
[In my opinion, Mr. Lu must’ve been harassed by her so bad he had no choice and forced himself to be with her. Most importantly, if she really was Mr. Lu’s wife, wouldn’t he bring her on dinner parties and such?]
Even though Lu Jinnian’s personality wasn’t that great, but he was good looking and rich. He was indeed many women’s dream man. When Lin Shiyi said things like that, a lot of people went along with her.
Further in the screenshot, Lin Shiyi threw the words, [If you don’t sleep with those women who throw themselves at men, then it’s a waste. She really thought that she could just go around and tell people that Mr. Lu is her husband, as though she could ever marry him!]
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
What did she mean by she’s a woman who throws herself out there?
Qiao Anhao felt like she was so angry she had a throat full of blood clots. She felt horrible.
After that, there were a few comments supporting Lin Shiyi’s.
[Say… Do you think she watched far too many idol dramas? Does she really take herself for a princess in a fairytale?], [This is called delusional. She needs to go see a doctor and take meds.], [Usually, she looks like a delicate and weak lady, whose shy and reserved. I never imagined she was way more open than us behind our backs!], [Right now, everyone on the internet is calling her a man chaser and shameless. tsk-tsk-tsk… All in all, I’m embarrassed for her.]
Then Lin Shiyi sent another message, [These kind of rich girls from wealthy families claim that they come from great backgrounds and upbringings, but they’re bad to the bone. They haven’t a clue what self-love is!]
The screenshot stopped there.
Lin Shiyi actually said that she didn’t love herself? So when she was a side chick and slept with men for money, that was ‘self-love’?
Qiao Anhao held her phone and looked at the few screenshots Zhao Meng had sent her. All she could feel was a strong sense of rage rushing to her head. She was so angry, she couldn’t speak and her fingers started to tremble.
Man chaser, shameless, delusional, throwing herself at him, doesn’t understand how to love herself…
How has it been less than seven hours, and yet she’s been associated with so many nasty tags?
“Qiao Qiao, there’s also this one. It’s clearly a dig at you!” Zhao Meng looked even angrier than Qiao Anhao was as she shoved the phone in front of her. “Lin Shiyi is just so shameless! Her group was obviously targeting you.”
Qiao Anhao lowered her head and glanced at Lin Shiyi’s group. After her scandal was exposed, there were three topics.
The first one was a blog she shared from a well-known author of emotional intelligence books telling women to understand self-love. She even added a comment to say women who chase men are worth nothing!
The second was a photo of a man with his back facing the mirror, kneeling in front of Lin Shiyi and outing a ring on her finger. Lin Shiyi’s smile was so dazzling, as though all the happiness in the world was concentrated on her.
The third was a photo with ACR in the background. She carried many shopping bags in her hands and beneath were the words ‘My boyfriend says that if you love a woman, you give her the world’s best. ACR only sells luxury items for classiest of people like me’.
Qiao Anhao didn’t need Zhao Meng to clarify it, she understood why Lin Shiyi sent those three messages to her friends circle. She wanted to show off her happiness and emphasize her tough situation.
Still angry, Zhao Meng said, “Most people in this world can’t bare to see people happy. Now… even a dog can curse you out to make itself feel better.”
In Lin Shiyi’s group, there were quite a few people who were friends with Zhao Meng. Qiao Anhao saw that they either complimented Lin Shiyi or liked what she wrote.
So it turned out that the world really was as Zhao Meng described… Everyone was making fun of her.
Most importantly, the man that made the world ridicule her hung up on her twice and still hadn’t left a voice message or text.
This morning, Qiao Anhao felt a little crushed when she saw people cursing her out in the morning, so she dragged Zhao Meng out for a big meal to make her feel better, but now… at this very moment, she felt really down.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Zhao Meng was furious, while Qiao Anhao, the actual person involved, was inevitably devastated, so Zhao Meng could only hold her anger in and comfort her friend.
“Qiao Qiao… a few days back on the set of “Love at First Sight”, Lin Shiyi must’ve felt terrible after Mr. Lu treated her like that. Can’t you jump two steps back and let her say what she wants to make herself feel better?”
Sometimes, Zhao Meng liked to stray from the topic. The first half of what she said started to make Qiao Anhao feel a bit better, so she nodded in agreement, and picked up her chopsticks, ready to start eating a table full of food.
In the end, she had eaten just two pieces of fish when Zhao Meng digressed. “Qiao Qiao, don’t even talk about… Lin Shiyi’s boyfriend looks pretty rich to propose to her with a ring the size of a dove egg…”
Qiao Anhao, who didn’t have a wedding ring, felt completely down in the dumps.
Don’t even mention a diamond the size of a dove egg. Qiao Anhao didn’t even have a little hundred RMB silver ring…
She glanced over at her bare two fingers, hung her head, and put her chopsticks down.
That was when Zhao Meng realized that she said something wrong. She quickly shut her mouth, and carefully sneaked a few glances over at her friend. Just as she was about to say something else to cheer her up, Qiao Anhao’s phone suddenly rang.
“Who’s calling?” asked Zhao Meng. Seeing as Qiao Anhao didn’t even react, she lifted her chin in curiosity, and saw the words “Lu Jinnian” come up on the screen, so she reminded Qiao Anhao in a surprised voice, “Mr. Lu is calling. Didn’t you wait all afternoon?”
Qiao Anhao rested both hands on her chin, turning her head over in no hurry. She glanced at it, then reached her hand out to pick up the phone.
Zhao Meng thought that Qiao Anhao would take the call and return to how she was before; chatting, picking up her chopsticks to grab and drool over the sea urchin.
But before Zhao Meng could put the sea urchin into her mouth, she saw Qiao Anhao’s fingers casually swipe the screen. She didn’t pick up the call, but hung up!
Zhao Meng’s hand shook, and the sea urchin in her chopsticks fell to the table. As she called the waiter over for a new cup of tea, she asked, “Qiao Qiao, why didn’t you pick up?”
Before the last word fell, Lu Jinnian called again. This time, it rang for about five rings before Qiao Anhao hung up on him again.
“You’ve obviously been waiting for his call. Now that you’ve waited so long for it, you clearly want to pick it up, and yet you’re acting all proud… what do you call this?”
In the midst of Zhao Meng’s speech, Qiao Anhao hung up another one of Lu Jinnian’s calls.
“I remember… it’s that… your body is more honest than your words…”
With Zhao Meng’s words, Lu Jinnian called again. Before the phone could ring, Qiao Anhao ruthlessly cut it off.
–
On the plane home, Lu Jinnian who hadn’t rested well in a long long time was so excited that he didn’t sleep for the entire fifteen hour journey. Instead, he sat there in a daze.
When he reached Beijing International Airport, he got his suitcase and immediately walked over to the car park without any stops, and drove his car back to Mian Xiu Garden.
It was just eleven in the afternoon at the time. According to his understanding of Qiao Anhao, she probably would have just woken up or might even still be asleep, as she slept late last night.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
On the flight, Lu Jinnian hadn’t really thought about what he’d do when he got home. If Qiao Anhao was awake, then he’d sneak up on her and give her a hug from behind. If she was asleep, then he’d kiss her awake, then he’d… mmm… wild things.
On his drive back to Mian Xiu Garden, Lu Jinnian deliberately turned into a flower shop and bought a fresh bouquet of flowers for delivery. Half an hour later he arrived home.
Lu Jinnian thought that he timed it well. From the airport to Mian Xiu Garden, it took about an hour by car. Even with buying flowers, it took him only forty minutes.
The car stopped in the the courtyard of Mian Xiu Garden. He got out of the car and glanced at the red roof, white wall villa bathed in the golden rays of sunshine. Eventually, his line of sight landed on the second floor master bedroom window. An unspeakable sense of comfort overcame his heart when he saw the leaves of the green plant stuck onto the glass of the window sill.
He couldn’t wait to get in. As he dragged his suitcase hurriedly through the doors, he hastily changed his shoes and threw his suitcase in the living room of the first floor. Then he took large leaps up the stairs.
Just as he reached the bedroom door, Lu Jinnian shut his eyes for a moment, and deliberately slowed down his movements like a thief. He slowly pushed the door open and lightly stepped into the room.
The bedroom was very quiet. You could hear the warm breeze gently come in. Lu Jinnian imagined that Qiao Anhao, that little pig, was still asleep, so his footsteps became even lighter. When he passed the changing room, he carelessly took a peak. His whole body jumped in shock.
His suit, shirt, tie, and her dress, jacket, hat, and glasses were thrown everywhere on the floor.
Before the thought settled, Lu Jinnian was shocked speechless by the chaos in the bedroom.
He raised his hand and rubbed his temple where his head hurt. He thought about getting someone to clean this all up, then he tiptoed over to the bed. After just two steps, his feet stopped on the spot to find that half the covers had fallen to the floor and there was an open pack of crisps by the pillow.
Where was Qiao Anhao?
Lu Jinnian instinctively walked closer and circled the room. Eventually, when he reached the study room, he saw that it was just as messy as the bedroom, as though it had been ransacked. Documents were all on the floor, there were unopened packs of cigarettes in the bin, and even the cabinet that was usually locked had been opened. The recording pen, phone, and other documents were thrown chaotically inside.
Qiao Anhao wasn’t at home, and the house was so messy, like it was ransacked by burglars…
Lu Jinnian shivered for a moment at first, but then relaxed when he realized that nothing valuable in the house was taken.
Who could tell him what in the hell Qiao Anhao did whilst he was gone for two days and nights? How did the house end up like this?
Lu Jinnian quickly pulled out his phone and gave Qiao Anhao a call.
It rang for a long while without anyone picking it up. Lu Jinnian furrowed his brows slightly, then the call was hung up.
He furrowed his brows even tighter as he continued to call and got continuously get hung up on… In the end, before he got through to the doot-doot-doot sound of a connected signal, it went to busy tone and he was hung up on again.
What was the woman up to? Not even picking up her phone?
Lu Jinnian raised a hand and pulled on his tie. He kicked the documents to one side, then pulled his phone and called his assistant.
Translator: Paperplane Editor: DarkGem
Lu Jinnian raised a hand and pulled on his tie. He kicked the documents to one side, then pulled his phone and called his assistant.
“Mr. Lu?” came the assistant’s voice through the phone.
As if on a conditioned reflex, Lu Jinnian asked, “Do you know where Qiao Qiao is?”
After he asked that question, Lu Jinnian came to his senses and realized, why would his assistant know where Qiao Anhao was?
Just as Lu Jinnian was about to hang up and call Zhao Meng instead, his assistant said, “Miss Qiao? She’s with Zhao Meng at ACR right now, eating Japanese food.”
At that instant, Lu Jinnian felt like something wasn’t quite right, since he thought that his assistant shouldn’t be aware of Qiao Anhao’s whereabouts. His face immediately dropped. “How do you know where Qiao Qiao is?”
The assistant who knew Lu Jinnian very well felt the jealousy seep through the phone, so he quickly explained himself. “Mr. Lu, ten minutes ago, I saw Zhao Meng send a message on her friends’ circle. That’s how I found out. I even gave it a ‘like’.”
Lu Jinnian snorted, as though he was ready to hang the call.
The assistant thought about how Qiao Anhao was hounded by the internet right now, and said, “Mr. Lu…”
Yet how could he see their friends’ circle, and Lu Jinnian couldn’t? He then remembered that he hadn’t been on WeChat since last year when he and Qiao Anhao parted ways on Chinese Valentine’s day. Then his eyes fell onto the phone in the drawer.
With that, Lu Jinnian halted the finger he was going to use to cut the call and interrupted the assistant. “Oh, that’s right. Go to a branch for China Mobile, get them to make a new SIM for my old number, and take it to ACR.”
“Yes, Mr. Lu,” replied the assistant. Then he wanted to continue with what he was just going to say. “Mr. Lu, Miss Qiao was…”
“Doot-doot-doot…” The call was bluntly cut off by Lu Jinnian.
–
Lu Jinnian didn’t even change his clothes, heading straight back to his car in the same attire. Just as he got ready to drive off, the flowers coincidentally arrived.
He lowered the car window, and the delivery boy handed him a card. “Sir, please sign for this.”
Sign for what… the person who’s meant to sign it isn’t at home… and she trashed the house…
Lu Jinnian secretly wanted to swear, but he grabbed the pen and signed his name. Then he took the flowers and threw them to the back seat.
–
When Lu Jinnian sped over to ACR, his assistant was already waiting at the department store entrance. As soon as he saw Lu Jinnian, he immediately handed him his new SIM card.
Lu Jinnian put it into his phone and turned it on, whilst rushing into ACR.
He stood on the first floor in front of the map and found the Japanese restaurant. Then rushed over to the escalators.
His assistant followed behind him and said, “Mr. Lu, I have something to report to you, it’s about…”
“If there’s something, let’s talk about it later.” Lu Jinnian completely wasn’t in the mood to talk about business. Right now, all he could think about was that woman and why did she hang up on him.
“Mr. Lu, what I wanted to talk to you about was…” Inside, his assistant had already started to cry. Could he just finish what he had to say? He wanted to talk about Miss Qiao’s issues.
“Do you want me to repeat what I just said?” Lu Jinnian casually asked in response as he entered his WeChat password without even a glance at his assistant.
