CH 14.3

She was tormented like this until eleven o’clock, when she at last succeeded in making her escape from the interrogation of the masses.

When she took Mumu back to her school, she drove directly to the dormitory building. Just as Mumu got off the car, Jia He heard someone calling her. Turning, Jia He saw one of her old high school classmates, but she had to briefly search hard through her memory for the name before she was able to address him.

Seriously, such a memory like a dog’s and a brain like a pig’s. A few years ago, she even went to this guy’s wedding and chipped in for a group gift.

The man strode over and greeted her with a smile. “You’ve already forgotten me?”

Smiling sheepishly, Jia He opened the door, stepped out of the car, and replied, “How could I?”

That man was about to say something else when a pretty girl popped out from the dormitory building, rushed over, and wrapped herself around his arm. “Who’s this?” After saying this, she eyed Jia He over, then also eyed her car over.

As she stared at the young girl’s slender arms entwined around him, Jia He’s mind seemed to swim for a moment. Then she comprehended.

Mumu, on the other hand, hugged her schoolbag against herself and said nothing. Only after those two people had left did she let out a “humph” and state, “That’s my classmate.”

Very calmly, Jia He nodded and said to her as well, “That was also my classmate.”

Mumu threw her a very contemptuous look. “Just what kind of person is your classmate? Morally degenerate.”

Jia He gazed silently at her. Your classmate doesn’t seem to be any sort of good girl either.

With this sort of thing, you do not really feel anything when you simply hear about it happening. However, once Jia He thought about the fact that dangling off the arm of her old schoolmate was a girl the same age as Mumu, she felt so uncomfortable it was as if hundreds of claws were scratching at her heart.

Mumu made another disdainful comment. “But your classmate is quite loaded. He just randomly gives gifts that have the double Clogo.”

Instantly, Jia He grew wary. “Don’t you go doing something like that. If Granddad found out, he’d definitely have a heart attack.”

Mumu nodded. “If I wanted stuff like that, I’d just go find you. Why would I find some uncle dude?”

It’s not like I’m a sugar daddy. Jia He’s heart was dripping blood, but she still needed to force herself to hold up and give her cousin a good teaching. “Also, your mom told me just now to pass the message on to you: it’s okay to have a boyfriend, but don’t so easily have… you know, it.” Feeling that these words carried no strength, she added something from her own experiences. “Out of all my friends, every one that was conservative in that aspect ended up marrying well. Not lying to you. You need to hang tight.”

Mumu gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Ol’ Sis, are you hinting to me that this was how you caught Yi Wenze? Next time, just be a bit more blunt. You don’t need to say it in such a veiled way.”

……

Sure enough, a five-year age difference creates a generation gap and ten years makes a natural chasm.

Decisively abandoning the idea of giving any teaching, Jia He sped away from there.

Not many people were taking late-night flights, so the parking garage was very quiet.

It was not until Yi Wenze had gotten into the car that she suddenly realized something: such an hour of the day was very awkward. Was she going to have to stay at his place again? When she thought of the word “stay,” her mind instantly associated it with that night… Every partof her felt a little weird. After a long silence, she finally turned her head and asked him, “Are you hungry? Is there anything to eat at the office?” If there wasn’t, they really would need to go to a convenience store and buy some stuff to bring back with them.

Yi Wenze did not say anything, only looking at her and smiling.

Um, what did that mean?

And then… and then… The car was already driving into an unfamiliar community compound before she started being able to process any thoughts through her mind. Gingerly, she asked him. “This is another home of yours?” Truly, the wily rabbit has three burrows; the sly person has more than one hideout. But yet, from the look of that bedroom suite in his office, it should be that he intended to stay there frequently, so even if he did have a place in Beijing, it should not be for him to live in, right?

Giving an “mm,” he turned off the engine, got out of the car, grabbed his luggage, and went upstairs.

Jia He followed him through the door. The entire living room was so empty it felt like an auditorium. The reason for this was that there was not a single piece of furniture inside it. The light shone on the mahogany-coloured floors. It was too clean, as if no one had ever stepped foot in here before.

She pulled open the entryway shoe closet. No slippers inside. “You’re sure you want to stay here tonight?”

There was the sound of a suitcase being set down behind her. Then she felt her feet lift off the ground—Yi Wenze had swept her up into his arms. “Do you like it?”

Do you like it? …

Jia He’s gaze landed on his collar. In her heart, there was a little angel flapping its wings and asking her over and over, “Do you like it, do you like it?” And then, touching his finger to her lip, Yi Wenze repeated the question. “Do you like it?”

With just this one action, her entire sense of touch focused onto his finger and her own lip. Her heart was overcome with waves of weakness, her “mm-hmm” seemingly only ringing silently in it. In reality, though, her answer had been audible.

His finger was still caressing her lip. Jia He felt that this action was simply too evocative, and bracing her heart for an instant, she nipped his finger. Forcing herself to hang in there, she joked, “Don’t tell me you’re giving this to me.” She did not notice until after she said this that her throat was tight. Then, he was carrying her through the living room, past the dining room and quite a few tightly-shut room doors, and into the master bedroom. “I am giving it to you, but it’s for us to live in together.”

Live in together, aaaah…

Jia He heard buzzing by her ears, and romantic pink bubbles were dancing and floating nonstop before her eyes. She still did not forget to retain her levelheadedness, though. “Then what should I do about my apartment in Shanghai? How about I sell it and then you and I can each pay for half of this?” The question was already asked before she realized just how silly it was. All she had was just the one little property, and she reckoned that after selling it, she would only be able to pay for one-third of this one.

While her brain was rapidly totalling up her assets, he spoke up. “The traditional teaching that Chinese men have received since ancient times is to buy a house, marry a wife, and have children. Honey, you only need to focus on doing a good job of the last one, and that will be good enough.”

“Oh,” she answered him, then completely ceased her side of the discussion on this topic.

The bedroom did have a bed in it—and that was it.

Setting her down on the bed, he lowered himself into a crouch and asked her, “Would you like to take a shower first?”

Her eyes were flitting this way and that, looking everywhere. “Your place here has nothing. Can we even shower?”

It was two-thirty in the middle of the night. Were they really going to have go to the convenience store to buy some daily necessities?

“All the necessary bathroom items should be there.” He stood. “I have a change of clothes for you in my suitcase, and also contact lenses.” Jia He was a little stunned. Uttering an “oh,” she shuffled woodenly into the bathroom.

Indeed, everything that might be needed was available. As she gazed at all the unopened bottles of body wash and shampoo as well as towels, etc., she was even more dazed. She turned on the water. Before long, white steam rose up in the bathroom. Yi Wenze knocked on the door and handed some clothing in to her, and through the cracked-open doorway, Jia He took them from him. After one glance, however, she lost it. Who could tell her just who had been the one to go buy all this underwear that still had the tags on them? …

The little white bunny had hopped herself right up to the door, the water was already boiling in the pot, the seasonings were all prepared, and the fork and knife were in place—this was what Jia He was feeling at this moment.

Facing that door, she wavered back and forth for half a minute over even whether she should lock it or not. She felt that she was about to go crazy from all this torture.

Finally, steeling herself, she swiftly washed herself clean. When she came out, she very primly and properly removed the tags of the garments and even buttoned her top to the very last button before dawdlingly stepping back outside.

There were no slippers, so she could only walk barefoot across the floor, leaving behind a damp trail of footprints.

She lifted her head, wanting to say something—but then saw that Yi Wenze was in the midst of disrobing. The glorious sights of his upper body were completely visible, and his jeans, its waistband already unbuttoned, hung loosely on his hips. The lights were neither too bright nor too dim; they were just right. He took a look at Jia He. “Are you really cold?”

… Jia He blinked, and blinked some more. Very self-consciously, she replied, “A little.” Then, solemnly, she walked over to the one and only solid object in the room—that large bed.

You’re absolutely doing this on purpose. On purpose!

Could you not wait until you were in the bathroom before you undressed?

Click. Behind her, he had already shut the bathroom door.

Only now did Jia He tearfully sit down on the bed. Such a big room. Such a big bed. But apart from these, there was nothing. She was not even given the opportunity to watch TV to try to distract herself.

Even when Yi Wenze had finished showering and come back out, she was still sitting there, well-behaved, her head bowed, her feet over and over brushing back and forth against the floor. In truth, her entire body was so tense she was about to die from exhaustion. This was utterly unlike their first time. That time had absolutely been an ambush, where he had taken advantage of her toothache and made his move. This time, though, beginning with her shower, she had very methodically… um, waited for it.

She watched Yi Wenze’s feet draw nearer and come to a stop in front of her. “Tomorrow we’ll go buy furniture?”

“Buy furniture?” Jia He finally lifted her head. She saw him rubbing his hair with his towel, and then… and then she felt so bashful she was about to faint. She was dressed so properly she could not get any more proper. He, on the other hand, basically was not wearing anything that did not need to be worn…

“We’ll talk on the bed. It’s really late.”

With an “okay,” Jia He brought her head down and very, very slowly began to undress.

She had only just removed the cardigan she had been wearing, but she was already sweating. Silently, she lamented that her shower had basically been a waste…Yi Wenze took in her expression, which was like that of a lamb to the slaughter; even her ears had grown crimson. The corner of his lips lifting ever so slightly, he picked her up into his arms, set her directly onto the bed, and helped remove each article of clothing from her.

“I’ll do it myself…” Jia He felt that he was not simply undressing her; he was also subtly, unperturbedly doing other things as well.

“You’re too slow, honey.” He seemed to be grinning. “I’m really tired.”

Did this look like he was tired?

Resigning herself to her fate, she held on to him. Once more, she could not control herself as quivers came over her, from the tips of her fingers to the very tip of her heart. It was autumn, yet she soon became terribly hot, practically feeling drops of perspiration trailing down from her.

Until his palm covered her nape and he lowered his body onto hers. At last, Jia He blinked her eyes. “That. You forgot that.”

He purposely chuckled. “What?”

Jia He pulled back, trying to evade him. “Don’t tell me you prepared everything but forgot the most important thing.”

“Honey, I have a very cute nephew.” Gently, he fondled her earlobe with his fingers. “He’s almost two.”

Jia He gave an “mm,” a slight tremor her voice. Oh gosh, you can’t divert my attention like that, aaaah…

“Just look at me. I’m in my thirties already.” Bringing his face down, he completely enclosed her lips in his. Her jaw tingled, but still her mind dwelled on what his words to come might be. Only when he was deeply, thoroughly inside did he finish the second half of what he was saying. “It’s time to have a child.”

……

Eventually, when he finally carried her to have a bath, even Jia He’s eyelids were glued together, unable to open. Curled up inside the bathtub, she mumbled that she needed to visit him more when he was filming and could not let them go so long without seeing one another. It was too scary…

The next day, the sun was already high in the sky when she finally crawled out of bed.

Because her eyes were tired, they were constantly watering when she put on her contact lenses, and were so red they looked like a rabbit’s eyes. Perplexed, Yi Wenze asked her what was wrong. Jia He immediately glared at him. She had not slept the whole night and was almost unable to even put in her contacts.

When they were buying furniture, the two deliberately split up to look around. If she saw something she liked, she would call him and tell him where to go to find it and what brand it was, and then she would move her battle to the next location. At first, she had wanted to discuss the choices a little bit with him, but she eventually discovered that he would simply, without any questions, buy everything she mentioned. Hence, she could only very carefully recollect what she had selected and hope that the effect would not be a mish-mashed one.

After buying a bottle of water, she was standing in the mall atrium taking a rest when Xiao Yu’s phone call suddenly came in. “What are you doing?”

“Buying furniture,” Jia He reported honestly.

“You guys sure are moving fast.” Xiao Yu sighed, “Don’t tell me the next time I call, you’re already going to be doing a prenatal check.”

Jia He nearly lost her hold on her bottle of water. Out of the blue, she remembered last night, and her heart thumped and thumped. She really was feeling a bit nervous.

“Just this morning, I heard about a celebrity couple who are divorcing. Our client is furious, saying that the commercial only just started airing but now they’re divorcing. The client’s in discussions with their management agency and demanding compensation.” A faint sigh came through from the other end of the line. “Everything was still harmonious in the household when we shot the commercial half a year ago, but now things are like this. I’m sweating in nervousness for you.”

Her hands on the railing, Jia He gazed down the atrium at the people walking down below.

She saw, in the distance, Yi Wenze walk into a shop on the second level. He appeared to be looking at the furniture she had selected. To avoid arousing suspicions, he had purposely brought along A-Qing and a few others with him. The several sales associates were secretly delighted and eagerly stepped forward to introduce the items to him while even leaving a responsible person to stand guard at the entrance and prevent people from taking photographs.

As she merely watched from afar like this, it felt quite like she was detached from all this, that she had nothing to do with any of it.

Jia He shook her head, shattering away that little bit of unsettledness in her. “Even when dating or marrying an ordinary person, you’ll encounter breakups and divorces everywhere. Just recently, I ran into a high school classmate who’s married; he’s found himself a university student.”

Xiao Yu laughed. Then they hung up.

Here in this main atrium, one of Jay Chou’s old songs was playing. She sprawled her upper body on the railing, nibbling on the mouth of the water bottle. In the end, only one line of lyrics drifted into her ear: I like this picture in which you, in the tides of people, belong only to me[1].

[1]A line from the song 《爱在西元前》“Love in the B.C. Era.”