“What did you just say?”
The first to speak was Li Man. She suddenly looked up from her previous indifference, disbelief written across her stunning face.
Jiang Yue smiled and asked, “Did I not make myself clear? President Fu invested in Yiyan for Miss Wen.”
Li Man looked as if she’d heard something utterly incomprehensible.
After Cheng Yanyu took a moment to digest those words, a dense wave of pain hit him. That night, when he saw Wen Yang getting into a black car, he had already had a feeling. He just hadn’t expected the man to be Fu Xingzhou, Li Man’s ex-husband.
Li Man seemed to lose her composure. She stood up and said, “Special Assistant Jiang, are you joking?”
Jiang Yue packed up the documents and was preparing to leave with his team. Hearing her words, he turned to look at Li Man and said, “Miss Li, I’m not joking. Today’s meeting about the investment is a very serious matter. President Fu wants to secure Miss Wen’s say in the company and prevent her from being maliciously bullied by others.”
Li Man stood there, frozen in place.
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Kkydt Zwl vbld zssjle yv Ubldt Zyduw. “Valpkeldv Ubldt, ol’zz cl zlyhkdt dso. Rv’p clld y rzlypwal osajkdt okvb usw.”
Ubldt Zyduw pdyrrle swv sq kv yde qsanle bkxplzq vs pvyde wr elprkvl bkp lxsvksdyz vwaxskz. Tl nsxrsple bkxplzq, pxkzle, yde oyzjle Kkydt Zwl swv. “Vzlypwal osajkdt okvb usw vss, Flnalvyau Kkydt. Vzlypl vbydj Valpkeldv Ww qsa bkp pwrrsav. Ykpp Eld kp y talyv pbyalbszela.”
“Rv’p tsse vbyv usw pll kv vbyv oyu,” Kkydt Zwl alrzkle okvb y pxkzl.
Ubldt Zyduw dseele yde pxkzle, lpnsavkdt vblx yzz vbl oyu vs vbl ldvaydnl sq vbl nsxrydu. Tl vwadle cynj yde oyzjle kdvs bkp sqqknl. Nk Yyd bye yzalyeu rwv sd bla pwdtzypplp yde oyp oyzjkdt vsoyae vbl essa. Mblu cawpble rypv lynb svbla yp pbl zlqv.
Ubldt Zyduw zssjle yv bla. “Fbyzz ol byhl ekddla vstlvbla zyvla?”
Nk Yyd’p hsknl bye alvwadle vs dsaxyz yp pbl pyke, “El’zz pll. R’x blyekdt cynj vs vbl pvweks qkapv.”
Ubldt Zyduw alrzkle, “Gzaktbv.”
Gqvla pbl zlqv, Ubldt Zyduw nzsple vbl essa yde oyzjle shla vs vbl elpj, zspv kd vbswtbv. Zw Hbyd, byhkdt plld Nk Yyd oyzj yoyu, nyxl vs pvyde clpkel bkx yde ypjle, “Ebyv’p okvb Valpkeldv Nk?”
What he really wanted to ask was: Why was President Li so angry?
But he didn’t dare voice that aloud.
As Wen Yang’s ex-husband, Cheng Yanyu understood Li Man’s moment of losing control just now. He wasn’t feeling great himself. The scene of Wen Yang getting into that black car surfaced again in his mind. He rubbed his face and said, “I knew she would move on eventually… just didn’t think it’d be like this.”
Yu Zhan glanced at him and said, “Wen Yang thought you were trying to push her out of the company that day.”
Cheng Yanyu took a breath and composed himself. “I wasn’t. When we divorced, I offered her shares, but she didn’t want them. She wanted the cash. I assumed she needed money. I was afraid some company might try to buy her shares, and if she wanted cash, she’d just sell them off without much thought.”
Yu Zhan said, “I get what you meant, President Cheng.”
Cheng Yanyu shook his head and said no more.
—
After the last video went viral, Wen Yang started getting a steady flow of orders. Three clients were still sorting out their requirements. One of them had a duplex, and their requests kept changing—mostly because the husband and wife had different ideas. They sent Wen Yang a huge list of requirements. She had already saved a lot of reference images for their preferred styles.
With clients like these, Wen Yang didn’t even dare start drawing.
So she started with another client’s project instead—a single-person apartment. She took her assistant along to take measurements. The apartment had two floors, and the bathroom was located under the stairs.
The client said, “Is it possible to move the bathroom upstairs?”
Wen Yang was recording measurements and looked up. “You won’t need a bathroom downstairs?”
The client nodded. “It’s just me living here. Going downstairs at night is too much of a hassle. I want to get it done right the first time. Besides, the first floor is so small—I’d rather install a kitchen island and make more use of the space than have a bathroom there.”
Wen Yang glanced upstairs. “I’ll go take a look. Please wait a moment.”
“Alright.”
Wen Yang climbed the stairs, her assistant following behind. The two of them looked around for a bit. The staircase could be moved to the right side, next to the kitchen. That way, a bathroom could be built upstairs. Wen Yang thought it was feasible. After taking notes, she poked her head over the stair rail and told the client, “I think it’s doable. But do you follow feng shui? Are you okay with modifying the stairs?”
The client stood at the bottom of the stairs and said, “We don’t believe in that stuff. You can do whatever you think is best.”
Wen Yang smiled. “Okay. But I’ll still consider it for you, just in case.”
Hearing that, the client said, “Thanks. You’re from Guangdong, right?”
Wen Yang nodded. “Yes. Since I’m already upstairs, I’ll go ahead and take the measurements up here too.”
“Sure.”
After finishing, they went back downstairs.
The weather was turning into spring. The sun was high in the sky. Outside the residential complex, someone was selling ice pops. There was a school nearby. The assistant wanted one, so Wen Yang bought ice pops for them both. They had just each taken a mung bean popsicle when Wen Yang’s phone rang—it was a number from Nancheng.
Thinking it was a new client, Wen Yang picked up the call and said, “Hello, Yunchi Design.”
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end. Then came a soft, winding voice that sounded somewhat familiar: “Do you have time? Let’s meet.”
The caller got straight to the point, her tone direct.
Wen Yang was instantly brought back to that conversation she overheard at the café—the voice, the tall German Shepherd, the flowing dress. She paused and asked, “Who is this?”
Li Man pressed her lips together. “This is Li Man.”
Confirmation received.
Wen Yang’s voice cooled slightly. “Why do you want to meet me?”
Li Man replied, “There are some things I’d like to ask you.”
“What things?”
Li Man narrowed her eyes. She had originally thought Wen Yang was soft, easy to push around. But then again, if she were that soft, she wouldn’t have gone straight to Fu Xingzhou like she did that day. Li Man said, casually but condescendingly, “Let’s meet—what, are you afraid?”
Wen Yang answered calmly, “I’m not afraid of anything. I just don’t know what you want to talk about.”
“Fu Xingzhou.”
Li Man said his name. “I want to talk to you about him. How about it?”
Wen Yang paused.
Did she know something about her and Fu Xingzhou? But how?
Wen Yang checked the time on her phone. From the other end, Li Man sensed her silence.
Li Man clenched her teeth. That silence confirmed there was something going on.
Li Man quickly said, “Why don’t I drop by your studio?”
Wen Yang sneered, “Sure, come on then.”
Then she said, “The café downstairs at Yunchi.”
If she kept dodging, it would make it seem like she had done something wrong. But the ones in the wrong were them — she had no reason to hide. After hanging up, Wen Yang took her assistant and got in the car to return to the studio.
When they arrived, Wen Yang told her assistant to go upstairs first while she went to get a cup of coffee.
The café downstairs from Yunchi was about the same size and layout as the one beneath the hotel the other day, but the style was different — this one had a vintage vibe. Wen Yang found a spot in the corner and sat down.
A few minutes later, Li Man pushed the door open and walked in. She was wearing sunglasses and a long dress. She saw Wen Yang immediately.
Wen Yang handed the menu back to the waiter.
Li Man walked over, sat down in front of her, and removed her sunglasses.
As she approached, a strong perfume followed her — Wen Yang could smell it from a distance. She looked up and, for the first time, looked directly at Li Man. Li Man had a straight nose and delicate makeup. Once the sunglasses were removed, her glamorous face was fully revealed.
Li Man was also looking at Wen Yang.
Almost no makeup, lips naturally rosy, eyes shimmering as if always filled with light, skin fair and with a soft flush — it was a kind of beauty that needed no embellishment, the kind that made others envious. A youthful kind of beauty.
Wen Yang spoke in a calm tone, “Order your own coffee.”
Li Man replied, “Not drinking is fine too.”
Wen Yang didn’t care whether she drank or not. She lifted her eyes. “What do you want to talk about?”
Li Man held her sunglasses tightly and stared at her. “You got close to Fu Xingzhou just to get revenge on us, didn’t you?”
Wen Yang looked at her.
Suddenly she found it amusing. She had guessed Li Man probably knew something about her and Fu Xingzhou, but she hadn’t expected her to think of it like that. Wen Yang took the coffee and stirred it with a spoon. Then she looked at Li Man again and gave a light chuckle. “Why would I want to get revenge on you two?”
“You were the ones who did something wrong. Why would I gamble my future to get revenge on people like you? What makes you think I’m that petty? That I don’t cherish myself? That I’d throw everything away just to get back at you?”
By the end, her voice carried a hint of cold laughter.
Li Man stared at Wen Yang.
Her response was too frank — it made Li Man uneasy. If Wen Yang wasn’t doing it for revenge, then what was going on between her and Fu Xingzhou was something else entirely. Li Man pressed her lips tightly together, gripping her sunglasses with her fingertips.
Wen Yang looked at her. “You came to me just to ask that?”
Li Man said nothing.
Wen Yang said, “You’re really bored.”
She finished her coffee, tidied up the table, and got up to leave.
Li Man sat frozen in place, not moving for a long while.
—
When she went upstairs, Wen Yang didn’t tell Yu Qing that Li Man had come to see her. If Yu Qing knew, she’d definitely start cursing. Yu Qing had been stuck on a draft lately and was curled up in the lounge flipping through magazines for inspiration.
Wen Yang quietly sat down, picked up the glass on the table and took a sip of water to wash away the lingering taste of coffee. In truth, when she was talking earlier, she’d been trembling a little. She had even wanted to call Li Man shameless, wanted to accuse her of having no morals.
But time had passed. Those words wouldn’t come out anymore. Some things, if not said back then, had lost their meaning now. She only wanted to live her life well. Seeing Li Man today — that had been an act of courage.
Around 6 PM.
A black sedan pulled up downstairs. Wen Yang went down, bent over, and got into the passenger seat.
Fu Xingzhou was only wearing a shirt and trousers. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his forearms. He turned his head to glance at her, “Hmm?”
Wen Yang looked at him and smiled slightly.
Fu Xingzhou could instantly tell she was in a low mood. He started the car and headed toward the club. Holding the steering wheel, he asked gently, “Was work smooth today?”
Wen Yang looked at him and replied, “Pretty smooth.”
Fu Xingzhou turned the steering wheel slowly and said, “What about besides work?”
Wen Yang fell silent.
Fu Xingzhou raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.
When they arrived at the club and entered the house, Wen Yang changed her shoes. Suddenly, Fu Xingzhou bent down and scooped her into his arms. Wen Yang let out a startled sound and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
She looked up at him.
Fu Xingzhou looked down at her and said, “Tell me everything that happened to you today.”
Wen Yang paused, realizing the man had sensed her low mood and wanted to hear it directly from her.
A few seconds later, Wen Yang didn’t resist anymore and asked, “Was my mood really that obvious?”
Fu Xingzhou placed her on the sofa, leaned in close, and looked at her. “Extremely obvious.”
Wen Yang wrapped her arms around him and said, “Alright, I’ll tell you.”
Fu Xingzhou ran his fingers through her hair and waited quietly. Wen Yang looked at his noble and handsome features, opened her mouth, intending to say that Li Man had come to see her — but for some reason, at that moment, she wanted to do something else.
She leaned up slightly and kissed his thin lips. Fu Xingzhou froze for a second, then reached out with his big hand to hold the back of her neck, pulling her toward him, prying open her lips that had come to meet his — kissing her deeply, soothing her with affection.
Sansukini: Hi Dear Readers, can I appeal to you to make some donations? My family suffered a hemorrhagic stroke last Tuesday and is now in the ICU. our hospital bill is getting bigger and worrying, Any amount would help. I would really appreciate it and promise to give you more quality translations.
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I saw your message too late translator-nim. Sometimes we are so into the story that we skip rapidly to the next chapter. I’m with you. Fighting