Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Yeah, I never knew that a person could live like that, just like… a child but with… a matured woman’s body. She’s just like the sun and I’m just like… like…”
“A cat.” Zhan Mingwei finished his sentence. “Chuyi, in my heart, you’re just like a cat. Cats like to walk in the dark. They may look elegant, restrained, proud and lonely, but they’re actually a little willful.”
Song Chuyi was dumbfounded when he heard that. It was the first time he was described as a cat by his friend. He didn’t know what to feel, but it seemed a little true. “Am I willful?”
“Yeah, what else would you call a person who doesn’t really listen to what others say if not willful?” Zhan Mingwei laughed softly. The ashes from his cigarette dropped onto his pants from his laughter. He patted the ashes off and said, “There are many stray cats beneath our apartment. Every time they’re seen by someone, they will leap into a bush quickly. I never see them in the day. Sometimes, I wonder if these cats don’t want to interact with us humans at all. After that, I pondered it again. Actually, cats are all very sensitive. Perhaps they don’t want to come out under the sun because they’re afraid people would hurt them. However, they might very well want people to give them a pat. Chuyi, from what I see, you’re a stray cat under my apartment.”
“What nonsense.” Song Chuyi’s face fell, but the tips of his ears began to heat up subconsciously.
Seriously? Someone actually likened me to a cat; how embarrassing.
“CEO Song, perhaps you don’t even know that you’ve already fallen in love with Yan Changqing. It’s precisely because your family is incomplete that you like being with her even more because you’re attracted by all the healthy things she has. I remember when you were young, you told me that your parents often fought, and the one of the worst times, you asked me while crying why you lived with such an unhappy family. You said that you were envious of Shaobin’s family, and from then on, I knew that although you might look aloof, you actually yearn for happiness deep inside. That’s why you became a doctor and have a rare patience when working with your patients. You’re never materialistic. You’re completely different from your brother in these aspects.” Zhan Mingwei stood up with a smile. “It’s not at all strange that you love Yan Changqing because she has all these things that you don’t have but yearn for.”
Song Chuyi’s thick and long lashes trembled gently.
Zhan Mingwei took the basketball and ran towards the court.
“Mingwei, Chuyi, why are you still sitting there? When are you coming up?” their teammate asked.
“Perhaps in a while more. He needs to organize his thoughts.” Zhan Mingwei smiled.
Mauritius.
The weather on the island wasn’t bad today.
The four rented a jeep and drove to Tamarin beach. Jiang Duoyao was the driver while Changqing and Guan Ying sat in the back lazily, almost falling asleep. Suddenly, the car shook and tilted over to one side.
She opened her eyes and saw that the car had driven onto the slope by the side of the road.
Jiang Duoyao, their unreliable driver, was still stepping on the accelerator but the car just couldn’t go up.
“What’s going on?” Changqing frowned. “Didn’t you say that you’re very good at driving? How did you even drive down here on such a wide road?”
Jiang Duoyao scratched her neck with embarrassment. “The steering wheel is on a different side compared to China. A car suddenly flew past us just now and in a moment of nervousness, I got the direction wrong.”
Changqing felt a lingering fear. “Thank God you only went down the slope and didn’t collide with the car.”
“If I knew earlier, I wouldn’t have let her drive.” Guan Ying sighed. The gang got out of the car. As women, after all, they weren’t really good at stuff like this. After thinking for a long while, their car wheel was still suspended in mid-air.
1“What should we do now? We have to get to Tamarin beach by dusk.” Changqing was a little flustered. They were in a foreign country, after all. It was indeed better to have a man around when outside.
“I’ll go stop a car to ask for help.” Guan Ying quickly decided and walked to the side of the road and began waiting for cars.
The people at the attractions were still helpful. In no time at all, she managed to stop a jeep and one blonde man and one Chinese man stepped out. The two looked around their twenties. The blonde man had a hooked nose and deep-set eyes. The Chinese man was wearing a pair of sunglasses and looked refined, bright and clean.
“Are you Chinese too?” The Chinese man started with a smile. His voice was very magnetic. “How did you get the car in there?”
Jiang Duoyao was embarrassed. Guan Ying said gently, “We drove it in there by accident and couldn’t get it out. Could we trouble you to give us a hand? We need to rush to Tamarin beach resort by dusk.”
“No problem.” The blonde man spoke fluently in Mandarin and nodded with a smile.
The Chinese man got into the driver’s seat. The blonde man looked around and finally found a large rock. He placed it under the wheel and in no time at all, the car was back on the road.
“Wow, both of them are very handsome,” Jiang Duoyao said to the three of them softly.
“They actually didn’t recognize you,” Guan Ying said strangely.
Ruan Yang nodded with a smile.
When they got the car up, the four thanked them and Guan Ying asked casually, “You don’t live in China, right?”
“How did you know?” The blonde man laughed with surprise. “I’m British. You can call me James. This is Lin Yueli. We’re here in Mauritius to discuss a business plan and tour around while we’re here. Are you going to Tamarin beach? What a coincidence. We’re heading there too.”
“That’s really a coincidence.” Jiang Duoyao nodded with a grin.
“Let’s go together; it’s safer that way,” Lin Yueli suddenly said with a smile. It was the first time Changqing and the others saw him smile. This man looked very bright and clean when he smiled. The four women were all stunned.
“That’s great. We’re all Chinese anyway.” Ruan Yang nodded. “Besides, we don’t really know how to get there.”
This time, the others were strongly against Jiang Duoyao driving. After a discussion, it was decided that Ruan Yang would drive.
Lin Yueli’s car drove at a steady speed in front of theirs. Jiang Duoyao was chattering in the back about how handsome the two men were.
Changqing nodded. “That Lin Yueli looked quite good when he smiled. He looked like a good person.”
“What kind of evaluation is that? Would anyone look like a bad person when he smiles?” Jiang Duoyao rolled her eyes at her.
Changqing chuckled. “Fine, since you’re so satisfied with him, we won’t fight with you. We’ll let you have him.”
“That won’t be necessary. I think we should let you have him since you’re about to get a divorce. You can start your second romance immediately so you won’t feel so upset after the divorce and you can piss Song Chuyi off.” Jiang Duoyao thought about it and laughed. “We’ll let Changqing and Guan Ying have those two.”
The three laughed and talked while Ruan Yang drove seriously.
They only reached the holiday resort they booked at Tamarin beach around seven at night. The four booked a hotel by the beach which had palm trees surrounding it. After sending them to their hotel, Lin Yueli and his friend found the environment pretty good. Since they had yet to book their accommodation, they quickly checked-in.
After a tiring day, the four went for a spa session that night. Jiang Duoyao said with a smile, “The two are staying in the same hotel as us. Say, do you think they’ve got their eyes on one of us?”
“Sometimes, one shouldn’t think too much,” Ruan Yang said lazily. “From what I see, although those two are dressed very leisurely, their clothes are all branded and cost a bomb. They checked in to a hotel that costs several thousand without even thinking. They should be quite wealthy.”
“Ruan Yang, you have a keen eye.” Jiang Duoyao nodded.
After the spa session, when the three came out and were admiring the night view from the hallway, they bumped into Lin Yueli and James again. Both of them had probably just finished showering and had changed into comfortable beach tank tops, revealing their nicely-sculpted figures.
“Hi,” James greeted them warmly with his foreign-accented Mandarin. “We’re preparing to chill at a bar. Do you want to come along?”
“Erm…” Changqing looked at Jiang Duoyao and Guan Ying cautiously. Guan Ying didn’t speak but Jiang Duoyao, who was still talking big right before, was also hesitant and silent.
“Sure, let’s,” Ruan Yang said.
A few glasses of beer went down their stomachs and after some casual conversation, they all let loose. Since James and Lin Yueli both grew up abroad, their liveliness, humor, cheerfulness and gentlemanly manner made the ladies comfortable with them. Hence, they agreed to go swimming together.
Back in the room, everyone had a lot of fun. Jiang Duoyao said jokingly, “Why did you agree to play with them?”
“I just thought that since we’ve been playing within our group every day, it should be time to have a change of taste.” Ruan Yang smiled lightly. “Didn’t we agree to come out and take beautiful pictures and pick up handsome guys as much as we liked? The past few days, our faces were still horrendous. These few days, we’ve slowly been recovering. Actually, when we’re out, we should be careful, but there’s no need to be too cautious. Especially when it comes to foreigners like them who are actually very open and like to socialize. When they invite you to a bar, they might not have any other intentions. It’s us women who think too much. Sometimes, we need to be a little more open.”
“Mm, mm.” Changqing and Jiang Duoyao listened seriously. The two of them were privately obscene, but when facing outsiders, they were still too narrow-minded.
“But I feel that James seems quite interested in Guan Ying,” Ruan Yang said suddenly.
“What?” At the sudden mention of herself, Guan Ying’s face blushed unnaturally. “I don’t think so.”
“Stop pretending; you’re too meek on the outside but wild inside.” Ruan Yang exposed her. “Guan Ying, you just put on too much of a pretense. There’s no need to. We’re all so familiar with each other.”
“Ruan Yang…” Guan Ying stared at her awkwardly.
“We just got to know each other during a trip; it’s not a big deal. You can show your real side as much as you like.” Ruan Yang grinned and turned around to take a shower.
Guan Ying looked at Changqing and Jiang Duoyao.
Jiang Duoyao touched her nose. “James is pretty handsome. Why didn’t he set his eyes on me?”
Changqing blinked. “I also think the blonde one is very unique. Way better than Song Chuyi and more sincere and generous.”
Guan Ying was stunned and forced out a smile. “Yeah, the most important thing is you’re not a substitute.”