Innocence.
That was her point of deep strategy.
She was not good at socializing.
It was also because she was troublesome, loved to stir things up, and it was best to stay far away from his Wen Yang. Li Man couldn’t breathe properly; she had made it this far by adhering to the principle of taking the initiative. She had to engrave her ambitions into her heart if she wanted to achieve what she desired step by step.
When she married him three years ago, it was based on ambition and a proactive recommendation. Now, however, it had become the point at which he warned her. He had always seen through her, but just chose not to say anything.
She had never imagined that one day he would step down from his pedestal for another woman, to protect her innocence, and shield her from everything that might harm her.
Jiang Yue’s warning was not frightening.
What was frightening was the message behind Fu Xingzhou’s actions.
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Tl bye yzoyup jdsod obyv jkde sq rlapsd pbl oyp.
Tl fwpv eked’v yrralnkyvl kv.
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Xdnl vbyv zyula oyp rllzle yoyu, Nk Yyd’p cseu valxczle pzktbvzu. Mbkp czso oyp qya osapl vbyd bkp kdhlpvxldv kd Eld Zydt’p osaep. Kkydt Zwl pyo vbyv Nk Yyd wdelapvsse bkp xlydkdt, yde bl pxkzle, dseekdt bkp blye, “Yp. Nk, usw’al cwpu, R’zz zlyhl dso.”
Nk Yyd pzsozu nyxl cynj vs bla pldplp, bszekdt bla nwr, yde pweeldzu prsjl, “Qlv swv.”
Kkydt Zwl eked’v yatwl okvb bla, ralvldele dsv vs blya, yde yp vbl essa srldle, bl oyzjle swv. Jlqsal vbl essa nzsple, vblu nswze pvkzz blya Nk Yyd yee, “Qlv swv, tlv swv, tlv swv.”
Xwvpkel vbl sqqknl, y qlo rlsrzl lmnbydtle zssjp. Mblu bye blyae, cwv nswzed’v clzklhl vbyv UOX Nk bye zspv nsdvasz.
Zw Ckdt nswzed’v pzllr olzz yzz dktbv, vsppkdt yde vwadkdt, dsv jdsokdt bso xwnb pbl bye eawdj. Rv oyp ps wdnsxqsavyczl. Eld Zydt osjl wr y qlo vkxlp, wpkdt y oyax vsolz vs okrl vbl polyv qasx bla qynl yde dlnj. Ebld pbl okrle bla nbllj, kv alhlyzle qykdv eyaj nkanzlp, yde Eld Zydt qlzv y rydt sq puxryvbu. Ebld eke vbl nbydtl cltkd? Vlabyrp kv pvyavle vbl eyu Dw Dw fskdle.
Wen Yang knew Yu Qing’s personality. To some extent, she liked to stick to a path once she chose it—she wouldn’t turn back until she hit a wall. She didn’t want to face the truth, and would likely keep feeling pain, which would eventually affect her work.
She took the towel back to the bathroom and then lay back down.
Yu Qing curled up, and a few seconds later, she moved toward Wen Yang. Wen Yang reached out and patted her shoulder, comforting her to sleep.
The next morning.
Wen Yang was still in a deep sleep when Yu Qing began to groan beside her, “Ugh, my head hurts so much, Yang Yang, my head feels like it’s going to explode.”
Wen Yang was woken up by the noise, blinked her eyes groggily. Yu Qing was clutching her head, curled up beside her. Wen Yang immediately woke up and sat up, taking her hand, “Does it hurt a lot?”
Yu Qing opened her eyes to look at her, nodding, “Super painful.”
Wen Yang sighed, “Wait here, I’ll make some porridge, and then you can drink it and take some ibuprofen.”
“Yang Yang, I love you.”
Wen Yang patted her head, got out of bed with her hair disheveled, and went to cook oatmeal, also heating some water. Yu Qing, enduring the pain, got up to wash up in the bathroom but, in too much pain, returned to the bed, picking up her laptop and snuggling in.
Wen Yang finished the porridge and brought it to her, sitting cross-legged on the bed, handing it to Yu Qing. “Drink it while it’s hot, you can’t take medicine on an empty stomach.”
Yu Qing took the porridge from Wen Yang and said, “It smells so good, Yang Yang, you’re the best.”
“Eat quickly.”
“Okay.”
Yu Qing lowered her head and drank the porridge.
Wen Yang opened a drawer, took out an ibuprofen, and popped a pill. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the laptop screen on Yu Qing’s lap was lit up, but the photo album had already been closed. She hesitated, then looked at Yu Qing and said, “Last night, I took your laptop out and saw photos inside. They were all about Xu Xu.”
Yu Qing stopped drinking the porridge.
Wen Yang looked at her and said, “You were clearly working on drafts, so why were you looking at photos of Xu Xu?”
Yu Qing mumbled, “Just flipping through.”
Wen Yang thought for a moment, then said, “Why did you flip through his photos out of so many others?”
Yu Qing didn’t respond.
Wen Yang rubbed her shoulder-length hair and said, “What are you worried about? Actually, it’s okay to admit that you like him. You can try testing him. If he’s not interested, we can bury the feeling in our hearts. If he shows some interest, then we can see where it goes?”
Yu Qing glanced at Wen Yang, her mouth opening as if she wanted to speak.
Wen Yang immediately said, “I know you don’t want to admit it. Last time I asked, you denied it, but look at you now. You can’t even work on your drafts, you have no inspiration, you go to the bar to drown your sorrows, and last night, you kept tossing and turning, and now your head hurts. Is this affecting your work? You know this is really affecting your work, right?”
“Before, when you were with Liu Yu, you realized it was hopeless, but you still wanted to try. You didn’t want to admit that Liu Yu had completely abandoned you, and you kept struggling. What was the result?”
“The result was that you ended up in the hospital, where you were diagnosed with congenital coronary artery stenosis. The doctor told you to rest well and not to overexert yourself. Now, do you want to end up in the hospital again because of Xu Xu?”
Yu Qing bit her lip, her eyes turning red.
A few seconds later, she said, “But I feel like he won’t like me.”
“That’s not certain. How would you know if you don’t try?” Wen Yang also felt like crying. She took Yu Qing’s hand and said, “Just try. If he doesn’t like you, then give up. If he’s interested, isn’t that a happy outcome for both of you?”
Yu Qing tried to stop herself from crying too much.
She knew tears were about to fall but still tried to bite her lip to hold them in, and said, “So, I should try?”
Wen Yang nodded, “Yes, try. Once you’ve tried, you’ll know the answer, and we can make a decision.”
Yu Qing mumbled in agreement.
The heavy stone in her heart seemed to move aside in an instant.
Trying wouldn’t hurt.
Wen Yang felt relieved.
She tied up her hair and said, “I’m going to wash up.”
“Go ahead, darling.”
Yu Qing closed her laptop, quickly finished her porridge, and obediently took her medicine.
Wen Yang came out after washing up, drank her porridge, and then went to the studio with Yu Qing. Wen Yang started working on the apartment’s design, while Yu Qing, sitting on the sofa, had already started sketching.
Wen Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
She also relaxed, leaning back in her chair, and began modifying the stairs as per the client’s request from yesterday.
At noon.
Wen Yang woke from her nap and sent a voice message to Fu Xingzhou.
He was in a shareholders’ meeting.
There was a heated discussion going on, and with the old lady also at the company, Fu Xingzhou was too busy to attend to everything. His phone was left on the desk, and Jiang Yue, seeing Wen Yang’s message, grabbed the phone and went into Fu Xingzhou’s office.
Fu Xingzhou took the phone, switched it to text, and replied to Wen Yang: Just woke up?
Wen Yang replied: Yes, I’m getting ready to sketch. What about you? Another meeting?
Fu Xingzhou: It’s over, now discussing matters.
Wen Yang: Then I won’t disturb you.
Fu Xingzhou: No problem, just that I might reply a bit slower.
Wen Yang: No worries, no worries (sticking out tongue).
Fu Xingzhou smiled and put his phone down.
The old lady was glaring at her grandson, wondering who he was messaging on his phone while smiling in such a serious atmosphere. Jiang Yue took Fu Xingzhou’s phone and put it back on the desk, guessing that he wouldn’t have time to check it anytime soon.
Jiang Yue thought for a moment.
He picked up the phone, took a picture of Fu Xingzhou in his current situation, and sent it to Wen Yang.
Wen Yang, who was wearing glasses and sketching, heard her phone buzz. It was a message from Secretary Jiang. She opened it, and it was a photo of Fu Xingzhou surrounded by a group of people, several of whom were speaking urgently. Fu Xingzhou, in his suit, stood calmly, listening with a slight frown.
Wen Yang replied to Jiang Yue: I’ve saved the photo, Secretary Jiang.
Jiang Yue: Haha, Miss Wen, I sent you that to let you know that Mr. Fu is very busy today. If he replies slowly, don’t be mad.
Wen Yang: I won’t be mad.
Jiang Yue: That’s good. Mr. Fu still has to meet with some people tonight. It’s with these uncles and cousins. They won’t leave until the discussion is over.
Wen Yang: That sounds tough.
Jiang Yue: It sure is.
Jiang Yue: But Mr. Fu is used to it. The shareholders’ meeting is like this every year.
Wen Yang: So it’s a shareholders’ meeting. He didn’t tell me.
Jiang Yue: Haha.
He could sense the playful tone in Wen Yang’s response.
Wen Yang didn’t reply to Jiang Yue again. She adjusted her glasses and looked at the sketches. She rested her face in her hand for a moment, thinking about the photo from earlier, and remembered a phrase—a battle of words with scholars.
Wen Yang smiled to herself.
Around 7:30 PM.
Wen Yang stretched, poked her head to check on Yu Qing, who was texting. Yu Qing had already completed a third of the draft in front of her. She picked up her phone and showed it to Wen Yang.
Wen Yang saw she was messaging Xu Xu, asking him to go out for drinks.
Wen Yang blinked. “Drinks?”
Yu Qing nodded. “Besides drinking, how else can I get him to respond?”
Wen Yang thought for a moment, then said, “That’s true, I guess that works.”
Yu Qing smiled.
Wen Yang said, “I’ll head out first.”
“Go ahead, go ahead.”
Wen Yang stood up, smiling as she packed her laptop and left the studio. She took a car to the club but didn’t go upstairs immediately. Instead, she went to a nearby supermarket, bought some fruit, and then headed upstairs.
The housekeeper had also prepared a fruit platter with seasonal fruits. Wen Yang had bought pears, and in the kitchen, she found a stewing pot. After a bit of rummaging, she made some stewed pear with rock candy.
Around 9 PM.
Fu Xingzhou entered the door, and the house was quiet. His eyes scanned the room, and he saw Wen Yang asleep on the small sofa, her laptop in front of her. As he prepared to walk into the small living room, he noticed a stewing pot on the table, with a note placed underneath.
He walked over, picked up the note, and read it.
I don’t know when you’ll be back. Secretary Jiang said you’ll be late tonight. After talking all day, your throat must be dry. Drink something refreshing.
—Yang
The neat handwriting.
Fu Xingzhou stared at it for a few seconds, and a hint of tenderness appeared in his eyes.
The discussion had indeed been exhausting.
So many things to deal with.
He placed the note back on the table and walked toward the small living room. She was so tired that she had collapsed onto the armrest, wearing the outfit from the initiation ceremony the other day. Her hair was tied in a small, pretty bow at the back of her head—just the right size, beautifully done. Fu Xingzhou bent down, took her arm, and gently picked her up, carrying her toward the master bedroom.
The master bedroom was spacious, with a large bed in the center. The curtains reached the floor and extended to the bay window.
Fu Xingzhou placed Wen Yang on the bed. As soon as she touched the bed, she woke up, her eyes fluttering open. Her gaze was soft, and she looked at the man, her eyes shimmering with moisture. “You’re back?” she said in a gentle voice.
Fu Xingzhou leaned down and looked at her, replying, “Mm, I’m back.”
His voice was just as gentle.
“Did you drink the pear soup?”
“Not yet.”
Wen Yang hummed in acknowledgment.
Under the dim light, she gazed at him, unaware of her situation. The fabric of her shirt was soft, blending with the blanket. Fu Xingzhou watched her for a few seconds, then reached up to pull her neck, leaning down to kiss her lips.
Wen Yang instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, and Fu Xingzhou pried her lips open, kissing her deeply. Wen Yang’s eyes became misty from the kiss, and soon she was lifted up, her waist held tightly. She leaned back into his embrace, his hand pressing against her waist, with no obstruction between them. Wen Yang shivered lightly, her long legs brushing against her soft pink dress.
Her long hair cascaded over her beautiful back.
Drops of water followed, rolling down.
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