Chapter 9.1: Constant Temperature
(translated by lidge and edited by peanuts)
0.30: It was natural to wake up late the next morning.
Moreover, Yi Chen was the one who woke her up. She did not know when he woke up, but he looked refreshed and was holding her phone.
“Your call.”
“Oh.” Mo Sheng opened her eyes with difficulty and reached out to take the phone from Yi Chen’s hand. As soon as she answered, sister Chen’s voice swept forcefully through like a typhoon: “Zhao Ah Sheng, do you know what time it is now? We’re all waiting for you only at the airport. Hurry up! If you dare to be slow like a tortoise, I will step on your shell. I’ll murder you with a hammer, then use your skull as an ornament……” sister Chen threatened in her distinguished way.
At this moment, Mo Sheng was fully awake. She looked at the time on the phone then quickly jumped up.
She scrambled to get dressed and packed her suitcase. Yi Chen frowned at her disorganization and grabbed her: “Can you be more organized? You’ve fastened the buttons wrongly.”
“Oh?” Mo Sheng looked down and watched Yi Chen’s slender fingers slowly helped her to re-do her coat’s buttons. The embarrassment and shyness that were temporary replaced by anxiety slowly returned. Mo Sheng’s face gradually turned red.
“Okay, done.” Feeling the awkward atmosphere surrounding them, Yi Chen’s mood changed and he immediately dropped his hands. He pushed aside his wild and fanciful thoughts and picked up the car keys, “Hurry up, get all your things. I’ll drive you to the airport.”
When they arrived at the airport, it was 20 minutes away from boarding. Thus, Mo Sheng was in a hurry to get out of the car, but Yi Chen pulled her back.
2.03: “I’m very late.” Mo Sheng suddenly paused. She stared at the extra thing on her ring finger on her left hand.
It was a plain and simple platinum ring. The design was simple, not extravagant. Only a small circular diamonds followed the delicate lines on the ring. It apparently looked elegant and natural.
“When did you buy this?”
“I don’t remember.” It has been too long, “I found it last night.”
“Oh……” Mo Sheng held up her hand and looked foolishly at the ring on her finger. It reflected the bright rays of light of the winter sun.
“You have less than 10 minutes.” Yi Chen smiled and reminded her.
Ten minutes? Mo Sheng immediately thought of sister Chen holding a hammer….. dead la!
Not even saying goodbye, Mo Sheng took her luggage and ran. While running, she could not help but looked down at the ring on her finger again and again. Endless happiness filled her heart until overflowing.
3.08: Hong Kong.
The magazine publisher sent a delegation to mainly discuss about cooperation matters with a major magazine publisher in Hong Kong. Actually, this had nothing to do with Mo Sheng except being fluent in English, she was brought along as an interpreter.
Because preparation was made carefully in advance, the negotiation went smoothly. Three days later, the two sides signed the contract. Finished with work, the group decided to go shopping right away.
“Oh My God! Why is the cosmetic so cheap here? Oh! Recently, I paid 1,000 yuans more for this type of necklace back home……” sister Chen looked murderous in the shopping mall.
Originally, she was supposed to accompany Mo Sheng to go shopping, but in the end she bought more than Mo Sheng. They shopped all day into the night in Hong Kong, a city that does not sleep at night. In the end, everyone was tired. More so than when they were involved in the important negotiation that spanned several days.
Back at the hotel, the moment sister Chen walked into the room, she flopped onto the bed and lay like a corpse.
Mo Sheng looked at the phone on the desk, hesitating, not sure if she should call Yi Chen.
“If you want to call, do it quickly. You can get business expense reimbursement.” Mo Sheng was startled and turned around to look at sister Chen, whose eyes were still closed………. Was she talking in her sleep?
Picking up the phone, she pressed a number she knew by heart.
Very quickly, Yi Chen answered in a calm voice: “Mo Sheng.”
Mo Sheng was stunned: “How did you know it’s me? A meeting of the minds?”
“Caller ID.”
Like this ah. “Oh, then have you come home from work yet?”
“……You’re calling our home phone.”
“……” Mo Sheng did not know what else to say.
There was also a moment of silence on Yi Chen’s side and Mo Sheng could feel he was sighing: “What have you done in Hong Kong these past few days?”
“Oh……” Mo Sheng immediately told him about her work. Whenever she did not know what else to say, Yi Chen would always mention another topic. The call actually lasted for nearly an hour. After hanging up the phone, Mo Sheng’s thought was still immersed in that phone call.
On the other end, after Yi Chen hung up the phone, he picked up his pen, but he could not write a word for a long time.
5.03: She spoke so long without coughing, so she had probably recovered from the cold.
Lately, the law firm continuously won cases. After a routine weekly meeting, everyone was in a good mood and did not want to leave so soon. They were determined that the three lawyers should treat everyone to a meal. Having Lao Yuan, this kind of boss who likes a lively atmosphere, he waved his hands and generously said: “All right, all right, you guys just name the place where you want to go to celebrate. Lawyer He will pay for everything.”
As it turned out, he was being generous with other people’s money? All through the meeting, Yi Chen who did not speak one word, but now asked succinctly: “Reason?”
“Still need a reason?” Lao Yuan gave a strange facial expression, “Don’t tell me you don’t know, since ancient times, the person to get ripped off has always been the minister who has given the most outstanding service. The larger the contribution, the faster being slaughtered.”
That made sense. Yi Chen understood and nodded to show his willingness to be slaughtered.
Immediately, everyone cheered loudly. They discussed noisily about where to go to celebrate. Although each person had a different opinion, one thing in common was they all wanted to go somewhere expensive.
Xiang Heng listened, shook his head and said to Yi Chen: “You have to prepare yourself mentally.”
Yi Chen smiled. Actually, it did not matter.
The discussion went on for a long time, but the people could not reach a consensus. In the midst of all the chatter, suddenly someone suggested: “What do you guys think about going to lawyer He’s house?”
6.13: Everyone in the meeting room immediately stopped talking. They looked at the speaker, it was the new intern Xiao Gao.
Suddenly becoming the center of attention, Xiao Gao who is a straightforward girl became embarrassed: “I, I thought going somewhere might not be as fun as going to lawyer He’s house to eat hot pot. We can cook it ourselves, so it will be more meaningful.”
Everyone agreed but did not dare to say what they wanted out loud. At the law firm, except Lao Yuan who was always jovial and cheeky, the other two lawyers were hard to get close to. This was especially so with lawyer He, who always separated his personal life from work issues. Except focusing on work at the office, lawyer He kept a distance from everyone.
But lawyer He’s house…… really wanted to go there to have a look.
“That’s right! That’s right!” Suddenly, Lao Yuan slapped his thigh, “Why didn’t I think of it? Since your house is large, going there is perfect, as we can eat in comfort. How about it? Let us know what you think.”
Hearing Lao Yuan said that, everyone also looked forward to Yi Chen’s reply. Yi Chen thought it was funny seeing the hopeful expressions in everyone’s eyes. Remembering, since Mo Sheng would only return tomorrow, it would be good if he had something to do tonight so he nodded and said: “If you guys won’t think that is cheap of me, everyone is welcome.”
7.10: The car moved smoothly, Xiao Gao sat in the passenger’s seat, unable to hide her excitement. Everyone was assigned tasks just now. Other people had to go buy the ingredients for the hotpot, whereas Xiao Gao and lawyer He would go to his house to prepare things first. Just the two of them ah! Today must be her lucky day.
Sneaking a look at lawyer He’s face, he is so handsome. The aura of a successful man made her blush and her heart was beating rapidly. Although she had worked under lawyer He’s internship for only several days, Xiao Gao already realized this is a man of excellence and integrity. Hence, it was impossible not to feel any attraction for such a man!
“Lawyer He, what sort of person do you like?” Xiao Gao inquired curiously. She had an air of innocence and boldness of a student.
Yi Chen smiled. What a typical question from a young girl! However, he also found it difficult to answer.
“Lawyer He, don’t you know?” Xiao Gao asked in disappointment. This meant she would not know where to channel her effort, but she had to persist. “Lawyer He, have you liked anyone before?” Xiao Gao wondered how a rational and an aloof person like Lawyer He would act if in love with someone. Would he be more gentle? It was difficult to imagine ah.
“Of course.” This question was a lot easier to answer.
“Oh….” Surprisingly, he had! Xiao Gao said enviously, “She must be very outstanding.”
“No, exactly the opposite.” Yi Chen shook his head, “She is far from excellence. Her grades in school were so-so only because she always only wanted to play. She is absent-minded, so she gives people a headache. Unfortunately, she apparently hasn’t improved with age. I don’t know what she did with her time.”
Oh, that did not sound like what she imagined: “Then, she must be very beautiful?”
Yi Chen smiled faintly and said objectively: “She looks pretty good, but there are also many people more beautiful than her.”
“Then, she surely must have great personality.” Xiao Gao said with certainty.
Great personality? Where got! Yi Chen sighed.
8.38: “She is very noisy.” So much so that in the first few years, whenever he closed his eyes, he always could hear her voice calling “Yi Chen! Yi Chen! Yi Chen!”, but when he opened his eyes, there was nothing.
That was when he began to hate her.
Xiao Gao was confused, not outstanding and not beautiful. Lawyer He’s tone implied she is also not a beauty with great personality. “Then, why did lawyer He like her ah?”
Why? Yi Chen also did not understand.
Perhaps her continuous chatter filled his empty soul; Perhaps she obviously did not like to study outside of class time but she would still regularly accompany him to study. The result was her falling asleep and drooling all over his criminal law books; Perhaps she has not even passed grade four English but she was happy and excited to drag him to celebrate his passing grade six English with excellent result, although she was berated badly by her on that day because it was deemed his fault for not teaching his girlfriend properly…… At that time, she miserably raised her hand and vowed to definitely pass grade 4 next time so he would not be disgraced. Unfortunately, there was no such an opportunity later……
Turning to Miss. intern who was still waiting for his answer, Yi Chen smiled faintly and looked helplessly: “At that time, my vision was not good. Liking someone was simply that. It was not possible to know why.”
9.52: Why was it so noisy outside?
Mo Sheng buried her head under the quilt but she still could not block out the noises flowing into her ears. Could it be the TV? Had Yi Chen returned home?
She turned and woke up but still feeling dazed. She got down from the bed, opened the bedroom door and was immediately stunned…… Why were there so many people in the living room?
The people in the living room, one after the other started to notice Mo Sheng who was standing at the doorway of the bedroom. Suddenly, everyone quieted down.
The two sides stared at each other. No one said a thing. Silence filled the room.
Yi Chen walked out of the kitchen with bowls and chopsticks in his hands and saw Mo Sheng standing at the doorway of the bedroom. His handsome face looked flabbergasted, then he frowned.
10.28: “Go in and put on your slippers.”
“Ah? Oh.” Mo Sheng looked down at her feet. She came out in a hurry and forgot to put on her slippers.
Yi Chen put the bowls and chopsticks on the table, then nodded politely at everyone who were caught off guard: “Excuse me.”
Everyone nodded in bewilderment. After the owner of the house disappeared behind the bedroom door, Mei Ting was the first one to react.
“Lawyer He will go so far as to……” Xiao Gao and Lao Yuan looked at each other. The two of them could not believe their eyes, but the evidence was obviously conclusive: the bedroom, her pajamas……
The group simultaneously came to the same conclusion: “Live together!”
Her idol bubble burst! Xiao Gao’s heart was broken to pieces. She thought lawyer He was an extremely honorable man, but unexpectedly, he also secretly living together with someone!
Ouch, such a big blow! Lao Yuan felt like crying. Even Yi Chen was living with someone, but he was still single!
11.16: Only Xiang Heng was not surprised like everyone else, although he did not expect He Yi Chen and Zhao Mo Sheng to be living together, “I’ve already said before, so long as He Yi Chen runs into Zhao Mo Sheng, all his principles also can be discounted.”