“Xiao Ying, you ran into trouble, why didn’t you come to me?”
The assistant and driver had already tactfully exited the car the moment Ye Jiayuan took the phone, the cabin was now empty. Only the sound of faint breathing on the other end remained in Ye Jiayuan’s ear.
After a few seconds, a low murmur came through the line: “So Jiayuan-jie is there too.”
“Actually, it’s just a small matter. I wanted to try and solve it myself. At worst, I’ll just treat it as paying for a lesson learned.”
Fu Chaoying’s tone was casual, as if she were discussing something utterly insignificant. But that fragility hidden beneath her independent and detached language pricked at Ye Jiayuan’s heart like a fine needle.
Ye Jiayuan sighed almost imperceptibly, her voice deep as she spoke: “Xingye is one of Yun Ji’s investors. It would only take a single word from me.”
Silence fell over the line again for two seconds, as if the other person was contemplating. Ye Jiayuan waited patiently until a soft voice finally returned: “Thank you for your kindness, Jiayuan-jie, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself… I’ll become more and more dependent on you.”
The end of her sentence carried a hint of melancholy, like a feather brushing against Ye Jiayuan’s heart, stirring a difficult to describe palpitation.
Ye Jiayuan’s eyes brightened slightly, her tone softening: “Sometimes, appropriate dependence isn’t a bad thing.”
She then added: “Furthermore… helping you is within my duty.”
Through the clear and gentle voice on the phone, Fu Chaoying gazed at the gazebo outside the window, where the green shade was as thick as a canopy. She remembered the day Ye Jiayuan personally delivered the contract to her that perfectly measured tenderness was something she still held in her heart.
They had sat there for a long time. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting fragmented spots of light upon her, as beautiful as a fleeting dream.
Fu Chaoying suddenly gave a self-mocking smile, her voice tinged with an undetectable bitterness: “Jiayuan-jie, you’re so good to me because of our families’ relationship, right?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, time seemed to freeze.
Ye Jiayuan’s fingers tightened slightly around the phone, but just as she was about to speak, Fu Chaoying cut her off.
She heard Fu Chaoying say obediently: “Then I won’t trouble Jiayuan-jie this time. May I speak to Assistant Liu, please?”
Her tone was light, as if the previous probe had merely been a joke.
Ye Jiayuan’s expression dimmed. she called out softly for Liu Xin and handed the phone back.
Afterward, she stepped out of the car to breathe in the sunlight.
Staring at the tulips blooming by the roadside, their vibrant petals shimmering in the sun, she suddenly remembered the flower field she had seen in the Fu family’s yard.
Her younger sister had once sent her a photo to brag: “I planted these with A-Ying! Sis, aren’t you jealous!?”
Ye Jiayuan sank into various memories of the past, remembering the young girl who had jumped for joy upon receiving the coming of age gift she sent. Those clear eyes had looked as if they held twinkling stars.
But later, that girl had fallen in love with someone else, lived with them, and even planted tulips, the symbol of “perfect yet heavy love” together.
And the way she, Ye Jiayuan, participated in her life was merely as the most intimate bystander. [1]
“President Ye.”
Liu Xin’s voice pulled her out of her memories.
Ye Jiayuan turned around. Liu Xin reported: “I introduced a lawyer to Miss Chaoying. It shouldn’t be a big problem.”
“Thank you.” Ye Jiayuan nodded slightly, then said deeply: “Move the meeting from the day after tomorrow to tomorrow. Those who can’t attend in person can join online.”
Fu Chaoying held an online meeting with the lawyer Liu Xin introduced. The lawyer stated she could handle the mediation entirely on her own.
Fu Chaoying’s period of busyness came to a temporary halt, and the subsequent art exhibitions were handed over to her subordinates.
After work, she looked for people to drink with for two consecutive days. Shen Guannan had been busy with work lately and could only accompany her for one day. On the second day, her cousin Fu Chaohua accompanied her.
Fu Chaohua had never seen her cousin drink like this and found it startling: “Isn’t the problem almost solved? Why are you drowning your sorrows every day?”
Fu Chaoying shook her head and smiled: “I was just too tired lately. I just want to relax a bit.”
Fu Chaohua was skeptical, until finally, when Fu Chaoying was bleary eyed with intoxication, she heard the grievance.
“She rejected me…”
“Sis, why did she reject me?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
Fu Chaoying repeated these few sentences over and over, her tone full of grievance and resentment.
Fu Chaohua was dumbstruck. “Who rejected you?”
“Ye Jiayuan!”
Fu Chaohua’s brow jumped. “Ye Jiayuan? What did she reject you for?”
“She refused to be my girlfriend…”
Fu Chaohua’s mouth hung open, it took her a full two minutes to digest this news. “Are you saying you confessed to Ye Jiayuan and she rejected you?”
Fu Chaoying shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again.
Fu Chaohua was momentarily shocked but secretly relieved: a rejection beforehand was better than a breakup after being together. Otherwise, the long-standing friendship between the Fu and Ye families might have been severed in their generation.
Fu Chaohua sent Fu Chaoying home and stayed overnight in the room she had lived in as a child.
When Fu Chaoying woke up the next day, she saw Fu Chaohua sitting by the bay window reading literature.
“You’re awake. Do you want me to stay with you another day?”
Fu Chaoying looked at the documents in her hand and shook her head firmly. “No need, Sis. Go handle your own business.”
Fu Chaoying suddenly regretted letting the alcohol get to her head last night and telling her cousin about it, otherwise, she wouldn’t have disrupted her sister’s original plans.
Fu Chaohua knew she was afraid of wasting her time and immediately waved the A4 papers in her hand. “I’m just bored and browsing. I’m very free lately.”
Fu Chaoying blinked. “Aren’t you busy with graduation?”
“I sent it for blind review, the results won’t be back so soon.” Fu Chaohua walked to her bedside and pulled her up. “Go wash up quickly, we’re going shopping.”
Since it was Saturday, Fu Chaoying didn’t have to work.
After a day of Fu Chaohua’s company, Fu Chaoying was in a much better mood. The next day, she happily carried holiday gifts to the Ye residence.
When Aunt Chu saw them, her face lit up with joy, and she pulled the two girls to the courtyard for tea.
Fu Chaoying stared at the Zhuyeqing tea in her hand; the emerald green color looked even more translucent and inviting in the sunlight. She became momentarily dazed.
Previously, she had never noticed that the Zhuyeqing tea always stocked by the Ye family was Ye Jiayuan’s favorite. Now that she knew, holding it in her hand felt entirely different.
After chatting for half an hour, Chu Yiyun remembered the chicken soup in the kitchen and stood up. “You two sisters chat. I’ll be right back.”
Fu Chaohua went to the Ye family study to find a book to read, while Fu Chaoying sat quietly in the courtyard sipping tea.
Fu Chaoying liked this courtyard very much; every plant and tree here was familiar.
When she was a child, she had buried a glass bottle here to make a wish, only for it to be dug up later by another child who read the wish on her note out loud.
【I hope Mommy can come back to me.】
At that time, she was weak, pitiful, and helpless.
Later, the two Ye sisters appeared to protect her. She still remembered how Ye Jiayuan shielded her, coldly scolding that other child.
And Ye Yi’an… when did she change?
Fu Chaoying gave a silent smile but suddenly heard a commotion outside the courtyard.
It sounded like a car arriving.
Fu Chaoying looked up, it was a black BMW. The person stepping out of the car wore a blue shirt paired with dark, wide-legged trousers, which perfectly outlined her elegant figure.
It was Ye Jiayuan.
Dragon Boat Festival wasn’t a major holiday, why had she suddenly returned?
Ye Jiayuan looked up, her deep pupils seeming to pierce straight into Fu Chaoying’s soul. Before Fu Chaoying could look away, their eyes met unexpectedly.
“Xiao Ying.”
Hearing her name called, Fu Chaoying pulled her lips into a perfectly measured smile. “Jiayuan-jie returned today too.”
Hearing her polite yet distant greeting, Ye Jiayuan gave a soft “mm.” Her gaze remained fixed on Fu Chaoying’s face, as if trying to find any crack in her expression, but the smile seemed flawless.
Ye Jiayuan walked toward her but did not sit down beside her. She only said warmly: “Come to my study.”
Fu Chaoying thought she wanted to discuss the Yun Ji matter, so she stood up and followed her upstairs.
Ye Jiayuan had had her own study since she was a teenager, it was her private domain, and Fu Chaoying had rarely entered it because Ye Jiayuan didn’t like being disturbed while reading or studying.
The last time she went in was because of her breakup with Ye Yi’an. Fu Chaoying’s lips curled into a silent smile, a trace of undetectable mockery flickering in her eyes.
Ye Jiayuan pushed open the door.
The trees outside were tall, making the light in the study somewhat dim. The air was filled with a faint scent of magnolia.
Fu Chaoying followed her in and gently closed the door.
Ye Jiayuan didn’t sit. She walked straight to the floor to ceiling window, then turned to face her, gesturing for her to come closer.
The two hadn’t seen each other in days, and their last meeting had been so awkward. Fu Chaoying felt inexplicably nervous.
Swallowing lightly, Fu Chaoying met her gaze and stepped forward. “Did Jiayuan-jie need something from me?”
Her voice was very soft, carrying a hint of confusion.
Ye Jiayuan stared into her eyes, her voice gentle: “Have you thought about what you truly want?”
Fu Chaoying suddenly recalled the memory of that night.
When Ye Jiayuan declined her proposal of being a “contract girlfriend,” her final sentence was: “You need to think clearly about what it is you truly want.”
Fu Chaoying blinked, and before she could answer, she heard the other woman continue:
“So, do you want to be my girlfriend? The kind where we cultivate a relationship with marriage as the goal.”