CH 16.2

Chapter 16.2 — The Unexpected (2)

“Also,” Xiao Yu, pulling off from her wrist a black string that had been wrapped more than ten times around it and tying up her hair with it, asked, “are you positive you’re not preggers?”

A shudder racked through Jia He, and the tea cup knocked into her, leaving her teeth sore.

In no rush, Xiao Yu methodically twisted the string around her hair. When she had finally finished tying a slip knot, she resumed, “You haven’t been using any sort of birth control, have you?” Only Miss Xiao Yu would ask so directly.

Uttering a mumbled “mm-hmm,” Jia He continued to dig at her cake with a spoon, digging and digging nonstop.

Xiao Yu pulled out her wallet and called, “The check, please.” Afterwards, she led Jia He all the way to a pharmacy. It was past three in the afternoon, and there were not many people in the pharmacy, only a few older women clustered together, chatting.

Jia He, feeling extremely jumpy at absolutely everything, roved her eyes around. “The supermarket should have them, too, right? And it’s also self check-out.”

“Yes, they have them, but then you’d worry that quality isn’t guaranteed.” After saying this, Xiao Yu turned a question to that group of people. “Excuse me, do you have any home pregnancy tests?” Jia He had not expected that she would be so unperturbed and direct about this, and the thought instantly crossed her mind to turn and flee from there.

Luckily, those several older women had never seen someone so brazen about this sort of thing either, and they all fell quiet for several seconds before immediately scattering. Only one old woman remained. Clearing her throat, she put on a serious manner and asked, “Yes, we do. What brand would you like?”

Xiao Yu smiled, “I have no experience in this. Auntie, how about you recommend one?”

Utterly calm and collected, that old auntie told them, “Please wait a moment,” and then she stepped over to a counter on the other side and pulled out three boxes. Walking back to them, she set the boxes in front of Xiao Yu and informed her, “Price is actually about the same for all of them, but if you buy this one, you’ll get a few more.” Saying that, she pushed out one box to spotlight it.

With an “mm-hmm,” Xiao Yu picked it up, glanced it over a couple of times, and straight out decided, “This one, then. Give me five boxes.”

The look in that old auntie’s eyes faltered momentarily, but she nevertheless pulled over a notepad and began writing up the receipt.

Hence, when the two stepped out from the pharmacy, there was an extra bag in Jia He’s hand. Jia He, however, had only a very small backpack-style purse that was just large enough to hold a wallet, mobile phone, and keys, so even if she wanted to hide that bag, she was unable to. In the brilliant sunshine, she watched as Xiao Yu sashayed away while she, holding that semitransparent bag, had no place she could go.

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In the end, she bought a non-transparent cloth bag, cased it around the other bag, and tied it up securely. Only then was her feeling of guilt placated.

At home there would be her mom watching over her, and if her mom discovered this bundle of stuff, she very likely would deliver the ultimatum that she had to see this “knockoff Yi Wenze.” Should she go to Xiao Yu’s home? Xiao Yu had said just now that she would not be home tonight. Go home? Despondently, Jia He discovered that in Beijing, her true home was the one she had with Yi Wenze.

The last place she could go was the production company, but that was his turf, too.

She was still at an intersection, wavering back and forth and not knowing where she should go, when she suddenly came up with an idea: she could go watch a movie! And then, in the washroom…  And then after that thought of “and then,” her phone rang.

“You’re not at the office?” he asked.

She answered, “Mm-hmm,” and made up an arbitrary fib. “Some stuff needs to be revised in my new drama. I had a little meeting with Director Liu.”

There was a rare moment of silence on his end before he asked, “Where are you? I’ll go pick you up.”

Tilting her head to look up at Xiao Yu’s office skyrise, she continued fabricating her story. “I went to find Xiao Yu after the meeting. I’m on the downstairs level of Oriental Plaza.”

Right as she finished speaking, she heard a familiar voice on the other end of the call. A man’s voice. For a moment, she froze. Then, tears instantly sprang to her eyes. Sure enough, there are always gods above you watching everything… It was Director Liu. How could she have forgotten? Those two had work collaborations as well, and they had even specifically met up in Tianjin.

A smile could be heard in Yi Wenze’s voice as he responded with a few sentences to the other party before saying to her, “I’ll be there really soon. I’ll make a reservation somewhere. You can go straight there and wait for me inside.”

She was exposed—utterly, thoroughly exposed.

He definitely did it on purpose…

The restaurant was one she had been to previously for a post-project celebratory dinner, so before Yi Wenze got there, she estimated the timing of his arrival and then ordered an entire table’s worth of dishes, gnashing her teeth as she helped him waste his money. His text message came in just as she set down the menu: I’ll be there right away.

Three minutes after this statement of “right away,” the door truly was pushed open. The hostess leading the way was obviously a little too keen. Before the man of the moment had even made his appearance in the room, she was already incessantly rambling on, saying Mr. Yi this and Mr. Yi that. Jia He quickly bowed her head, keeping her eyes on the menu, until she sensed that two people had taken a seat. All of a sudden, a hand took the menu away from her. “You’ve ordered already?”

Feeling awkward, Jia He looked up and, through the glow of interlacing lights, answered, “Mm-hmm.” Next, she turned to Director Liu and tugged her lips up into a smile. “Director Liu.”

“Ah, it’s Jia He?” Director Liu smiled very deliberately, then informed her, “I knew a long time ago. You don’t need to be uptight.”

Jia He was genuinely struck stupid with this, and twisting her head to the side, she stared at Yi Wenze. He was unhurriedly flipping through the menu. With a very placid smile, he told her, “When we were in Tianjin, I accidentally let it slip while I was talking.”

So, all along, she basically had been trying to fool everyone but had only been fooling herself? Like she was covering her ears to steal a bell[1]? Obstructing her eyes with a leaf and not seeing the obvious[2]?

So, yes, he did do it on purpose…

The dish of spinach stirred with a mustard sauce truly brought tears to her eyes when she ate it, and she reached for an orange juice. When her hand contacted the glass, though, she realized it was ice-cold. She hesitated, for she remembered those items in the black, non-transparent bag beside her, and then in guilty discomfiture she asked the female server to add a cup of warmed coconut milk to their order. After making this request, she received a glance from Yi Wenze.

All right, she did admit that she had always liked drinking iced orange juice with her meals.

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It was after they were already in the car and she had very carefully thrown that bag to the backseat that he finally asked her, “Where did you go today?”

Jia He remembered that she still owed him an explanation. However, no matter how she racked her brain, she was unable to come up with a more decent, presentable excuse. So, she could only reply with unruffled composure, “Xiao Yu broke up with a guy. I went to keep her company.”

Xiao Xiao, I’ve done you wrong.

She said this in her mind.

Yi Wenze could only let out a resigned chuckle. “Your friends have relationship breakups so easily?”

She gave a firm, confident “mm-hmm” and even explained in a pained voice, “She, too, finds this too humiliating, so she told me over and over again that I was not allowed to tell anyone.”

He finally let her off the hook. “You’re feeling unwell today?”

So perceptive, she glumly sighed in her mind before answering, “Uh-huh.”

Guilt ate at her from simply holding that black bag in her hand.

Thus, in such a state, she got out of the car, went upstairs, and walked into the suite with him. She watched as he changed out of his clothes, had a shower, and, finally, sat behind the desk, where he started to read through the documents that were piled on it. Only now, having at last found the best opportunity, did she slip into the bathroom.

She had just taken out one box and was carefully reading through the instructions when she heard him walk into the bedroom. Next, there was the sound of his voice as he answered a phone call, neither too soft nor too loud and seeming to hover by her ear, causing her to take a long time to simply read a few lines. This was plainly a very straightforward set of instructions and there were even pictures to go with it, but she simply could not process it. Such a long phone call. Who had so much to say?

Worried that he might think she was staying in here too long, she turned on the shower. With the sounds of rushing water surrounding her, she at last relaxed.

Without warning, a knock echoed on the door, giving her such a shock that she nearly dropped the paper from her hand.

“You didn’t bring in any clothes with you?”

“Uh. Oh, yeah, I forgot.”

After a little while, he knocked again on the door. With no other choice, she poked her head out, her conscience guilty, and she saw in his hands her underwear and pajamas. “Temperatures have been dropping these last several days. Don’t come out with only a towel wrapped around you.”

Taking everything from him, she smiled, then speedily shut the door.

Under immense pressure, she tossed her clothes onto the rack, reached over, and finally ripped open that package. One second. Two seconds. Each second seemed as long as an entire century. She felt only that her throat was tight and so dry that she wanted to drink some water.

The result: a very distinct, red line. Only one line.

What does one line mean?She picked up the sheet of instructions and carefully skimmed through it again.Oh, negative. Not pregnant.

Still uncertain, she used up all five boxes. Only then was her heart wholly set at ease.

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After tidying away everything, showering, and dressing herself at lightning speed, she stepped back outside. By now, she was totally cool and composed, for her mind had been assured.

When she came out from the bathroom, she saw Yi Wenze leaning back in his chair, gently massaging himself between his brows while reading through a document. Walking over, she cast a quick look over it as well. It was the schedule for the promotional events of his film that would be released during the New Year period. Densely listed on the paper were a dozen or so cities. Wordlessly, she glanced at the very last date on the list: two weeks from now, in Kuala Lumpur. Two weeks… Her heart fluttered a bit and her mood, which had been taut for an entire day, at last completely unwound and relaxed.

As he turned to look at her, he was met face-on with her dazzling smile, and he could not contain the upward curve of his own lips either. “What’s caused you to smile so happily?”

For some reason, this question from him actually induced guilt in her. How could she say it?

Hesitating, she took hold of his hand and very solemnly walked over to the couch to take a seat. With each step, she was able to come up with a line that she could say, but once she actually sat down, she once more became a mute and still did not know how she could tell him.

He seemed a little tired and only sank back into the couch. Extending an arm, he pulled her down to lie on his thighs and then lowered his gaze to her. “You still haven’t come up with how you’re going to say it?”

His words sounded as if he had guessed everything already. Jia He blinked. “If I say it, you can’t get mad.”

His smile was warm as he reached down and helped her to fasten the top button of her pajamas. “Why would I be mad?”

That’s true.

Only now, as he turned this question back on her, did Jia He feel that, oh right, it wasn’t her fault. You know, if there really is nothing, then we’re each half responsible for that. While she nonsensically mused and mused away like this, spots of pink tinged her cheeks. What was she even thinking? Why was it that after just a couple of looks from him, there was this feeling of guilt in her, like they had prayed and tried for a child for many years but her belly only brought disappointment…

She turned over so that she was facing away from him, mumbling, “Xiao Xiao reminded me today that I might want to check whether I’m, you know, that.” She paused briefly, but did not hear him speak. He should understand what she meant, right? “And then… I tested and discovered that I’m not that.” Sigh. Her years as a screenwriter had basically been for nothing. All the important words in the dialogue had been replaced with “that.”

He still isn’t saying anything. He wouldn’t really be mad, would he? It’s not my fault.

Hey, wait, that’s not right either. We’re still not married yet. Of course I can’t be that…

Terribly conflicted, she turned back over and looked up into his face. And then she suddenly perceived that the button that he had done up for her only a moment ago had been openly and unabashedly unfastened once again by him. One button. Another button. Steadily. Unhurriedly. And also his low voice, imbued with mirth, asking her, “And so you washed yourself nice and clean in preparation for us to keep working hard at it?”

Huh? I did?

This was the sitting area, and this suite was also on the second floor, near the stairwell.

Although the suite itself was very quiet, outside, there were sounds everywhere of people talking and moving about. Even when her arms were wrapped around his neck, she was still trying to put up a struggle, suggesting softly, “Let’s go into the bedroom.”

His voice was right against her ear. “No, just right here.”

The lightheadedness was more intense this time than any of the other times. Her arms as they clung to him began to grow weak. His burning kisses scalded her skin, and even the air he breathed out was scorching.

The couch was very soft. It had practically reached its limit with the weight of two people bearing into it.

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A sudden banging on the door gave her such a fright that a cry almost slipped from her.

As she bit down on her lip with all her might, she heard Wu Zhilun’s voice shouting, “I’m hungry!” She did not even know whether she should cry about this or laugh. And then, the sound of his breathing thoroughly caused her mind to grow blurry. Heat. Daze. She felt that her face was so flushed it must look like it was dripping blood. That determined, tireless knocking finally came to a stop. But then, someone yelled, “Yi Wenze, you care only about your woman and not your bro!”

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[1]This idiom 掩耳盗铃“to cover your eyes while stealing a bell” illustrates that, in a futile attempt to cover up something that is plainly obvious, you are unable to deceive anyone and deceive only yourself with your actions, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

[2]一叶蔽目. The full idiom is 一叶蔽目，不见泰山 “a leaf in front of the eyes obstructs your view of Mount Tai.” This describes a situation in which a small, trivial thing prevents you from seeing what is important, or the big picture has been overshadowed by something trivial.