Chapter 33

Mu Wei did not know about the connection between Su Yao and Zong Ming until Su Yao left the house. She kept reminding Su Yao to behave well and not to nitpick unnecessarily.

Su Yao couldn’t even bother to respond, silently took off her scarf, put it on, and said, “I’m leaving now.”

Only then did Mu Wei hold back.

Outside, the daylight was splendid, and the wind was fiercely strong, blowing as if it could crack one’s skin open. Su Yao struggled to move forward. Once she got in the car, she sighed and reported to Liang Chuyuan: on the way.

After a moment of thought, she added: going to Yanyu Tower. This place is famous for its private home-cooked dishes. When you come to Jiacheng next time, let’s go eat there together. My favorite is the “Eight Treasures Pot”, their signature dish.

Liang Chuyuan replied quickly: Okay.

Traffic jams around the New Year delayed her by ten minutes, but with Mu Wei urging her, Su Yao still managed to arrive at Yanyu Tower five minutes early. Following the waiter upstairs, her boots creaked on the wooden stairs, sounding shaky and making her walk cautiously.

“We’ve arrived at the Peony Pavilion.”

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

“Mbydj usw.”

Fw Zys ldvlale vbl rakhyvl assx, yde Hsdt Ykdt oyp yzalyeu vblal.

Tl vwadle yaswde, vblka lulp xlv, yde yp vbl essa nzsple clbkde bla, Fw Zys xydytle y oau pxkzl: “Tyrru Llo Zlya.”

Gqvla vbl yddwyz xllvkdt, lhld vbswtb vblu olal sd vbl pyxl qzssa, vblu byed’v plld lynb svbla pkdnl. Bdlmrlnvlezu, vblka dlmv xllvkdt oswze cl kd pwnb yd yojoyae pkvwyvksd.

“Tyrru Llo Zlya.” Hsdt Ykdt nzsple vbl xldw, “R vbswtbv usw oswzed’v nsxl.” Tl saktkdyzzu alqwple vs ryavknkryvl kd vbkp xyvnbxyjkdt ynvkhkvu. Rq kv olald’v qsa Fw Zys, bl oswzed’v byhl ytalle. Jwv ralnkplzu clnywpl kv oyp Fw Zys, vbl pkvwyvksd clnyxl qkzzle okvb wdnlavykd lzlxldvp—

Gqvla yzz, bl jdlo ycswv Fw Zys byhkdt y csuqaklde.

“Gp nszzlytwlp, R nswzed’v fwpv pvyde usw wr. Jlpkelp,” Fw Zys pxkzle, “R’hl kdqsaxle xu csuqaklde, yde bl’p wdelapvydekdt ycswv kv.”

Hsdt Ykdt aykple yd lulcaso: “Tl eslpd’v xkde?”

“Just having a meal with a colleague, he’s not the narrow-minded type.”

Su Yao’s words were tactfully and cleverly put, directly defining the matchmaking setup as a regular meal with colleagues, not even friends.

After hearing this, Zong Ming didn’t mind and just laughed it off, pushing the menu to her, “See if there’s anything you’d like to eat.”

Su Yao obligingly opened it and chose a few dishes, deliberately not ordering the Eight Treasures Pot. She thought to herself that she should come and eat it with Liang Chuyuan, to avoid making him jealous. However, this made her wonder who was actually being petty.

Zong Ming, not particularly focused on food, naturally had no objections. After calling the waiter to order, he half-jokingly said, “I thought knowing you were going to have a matchmaking meal with me, you would directly refuse.”

“If it were someone else, I would be very troubled.” Su Yao drank some water, “But if it’s you, things are much simpler, saving me the trouble of explaining and possibly being complained about.”

Zong Ming realized, so he was being used as a shield.

“Are you so sure I would cooperate?” He seemed to have never hidden his admiration for her, “Su Yao, you should know, I quite like you, otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

“…” Su Yao blinked rapidly, looking as if she was scared, “Don’t joke with me.”

She didn’t think Zong Ming would like her. For someone like Zong Ming, just dealing with his ex-girlfriend was enough trouble for her, she dared not provoke him, nor did she entertain further thoughts. The somewhat ambiguous attitude he had shown before, she took it as his nature, acting the same towards everyone, and she was no exception.

Seeing that his probing remark made the person across him look as if facing a great enemy, he sighed in his heart and put on a standard smile: “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Don’t worry, I have no interest in stealing someone else’s girl.”

……..

After leaving the Yanyu Building, the night had fully fallen, with street lights just starting to illuminate, and the wind had died down quite a bit from the afternoon. Su Yao, with her chin resting against her scarf, asked Zong Ming, “How do you plan to get back?”

“Now? I haven’t been back to Jia City in a long time; why don’t you walk with me for a bit?”

Seeing that Su Yao was about to refuse, he added, “You’ve cost me a chance to get out of being single and even had me play along with your ruse. A small request like this isn’t too much to ask, right?”

Su Yao stiffened, then forced a smile, “Not too much at all.”

With New Year’s Eve just two days away, the streets were even busier than usual, adorned with lights and decorations, and festive music filled the air, sparking red fireworks. Zong Ming suggested they head towards Palm Road. Su Yao glanced at him but said nothing.

Heading that way would take them towards Green Island.

The closer they got to the school, the quieter the streets became. Su Yao and Zong Ming hardly spoke, making the sound of stepping on fallen leaves clearly audible.

“Time flies so fast.” It felt like a blink, and ten years had passed.

Su Yao nodded in agreement.

“You seem a bit distracted?”

Was it that obvious? Su Yao pulled down her scarf on one side. She couldn’t really cheer up since Liang Chuyuan hadn’t replied to her messages.

“Maybe I’m just a bit tired.”

“Then I’ll take you back now,” Zong Ming stopped.

Su Yao waved her hand, “No need to trouble yourself, I know this area well. Just a few bus stops and I’ll be home.”

Zong Ming seemed slightly displeased with her refusal, “I didn’t take you home last time.”

“…” Su Yao touched her ear, “Then, how about you walk me to the bus station?”

She wanted to go back alone.

*

The station signboard was lit up, casting rectangular fluorescent lights on the ground. Su Yao glanced over and saw only scattered three people waiting for the bus. It had been a long time since she last took the bus, and she almost forgot the last departure time. She checked the schedule board; fortunately, it wasn’t too late, and she estimated she could catch the last bus of route 99.

“You can just drop me off here,” Su Yao insisted.

Zong Ming insisted, “I’ll wait with you for the bus.”

“…Alright.”

Su Yao lowered her head to send a message to Liang Chuyuan: “I’m currently waiting for the 99 bus to go home. I used to take this bus to school, and it’s been a while since I last rode it. Just wanted to reminisce.”

She tapped on the keyboard and continued: “I’ll go back by myself.”

This was already her seventh message without a reply. The organization asked her to report on the progress of the mission, but they were stingy in responding to her superiors’ attitudes. She felt like a headless fly now, her mind in chaos, feeling restless and anxious.

“You’ve been looking at your phone all day.”

With a sigh, Su Yao turned her face slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed. “Because I’m waiting for an important reply.”

“From your boyfriend?”

She hummed in agreement.

Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Zong Ming’s tone softened as if releasing a suppressed anger. He didn’t say anything more until the 99 bus approached, then he reminded her, “The bus is here.”

Su Yao took out some change. “Then I’ll head back first.”

“Yeah, take care on the way.”

“You too. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

Su Yao boarded the bus, finding it almost empty, with only five passengers, including herself. She chose to sit in the back row, leaning her head against the window, suddenly feeling drowsy.

As the bus swayed a couple of times and hit the road, stopping at two stations in between, Su Yao closed her eyes pretending to sleep, not even bothering to lift her eyelids. It wasn’t until her phone vibrated that she jolted awake, unlocking it to see Liang Chuyuan’s reply.

He asked how many stops until she reached home.

Su Yao, without any suspicion, counted the station indicators overhead and replied: “Five stops.”

Liang Chuyuan: “Okay, let me know when you’re home.”

The low mood that had lingered for hours dissipated, and Su Yao finally found some peace of mind. She looked out the window, the scenery covered in orange-yellow light from the street lamps. The bus was moving fast, the light streaking into long lines, boldly passing through a few streets, appearing almost unrealistically beautiful.

The bus stopped two more times.

Two people got off, and one person got on.

The bus was warm with the heater on, and Su Yao felt hot, so she took off her scarf and draped it over her thigh. When she looked back out the window, she caught sight of a figure reflected in the glass.

She suddenly turned around.

“How did you get here!”

The person sat down next to her, wearing only a wool sweater, despite the high indoor temperature, which was alarming.

His gaze was intense.

“If my wife is about to run away with someone, how could I not come?”