“This is him in person!” Mom’s eyes spit fire. The instant she raised her head, her expression swiftly switched to the most proper smile. “Truly so troublesome. You see you’re so busy yet… sigh—” She got angrier the more she thought, viciously pinching dad again.
Yi Wenze only smiled and said: “This is how it should be. My mother specially entrusted that according to etiquette, I have to pay my respects to you two before Jia He leaves for New Zealand.”
With one line, he successfully drew everyone’s attention back to them again.
Jia He held his palm with both of her hands. Hesitating for quite a while before mumbling: “I happen to be free recently…”
“What the heck, even idol charity shows this late into the night?!”
The shocked yell from the doorway successfully interrupted her. Everyone quickly turned back. They only saw Jia He’s older male cousin bending over, seemingly out of breath from running over. Still panting, he waved towards the younger cousin behind him: “Hurry, hurry call sister, it’s Yi Wenze. He’s in the hospital.”
Truly… she sorrowfully looked at Yi Wenze. What a memorable first meeting…
Luckily mom held up the situation. They quickly left the hospital and returned home. When Yi Wenze drove the family into the residential area, mom even cooperatively rushed out first, terrified the security guard would see who was driving, and remained anxious even on the way up.
Once they entered the home, Jia He seized the chance while mom went to boil water by following her into the kitchen and scrutinizing her: “Mom, nothing wrong?”
“How was it,” mom quirked a brow, smiling proudly, “did your mom embarrass you?”
Jia He hmm-ed and ah-ed: “So dignified and graceful, so generous and proper.”
“Take it in,” mom stuffed her with a whole fruit platter, “time to display your grace and wisdom as a good wife and mother. I’ll review your performance later.”
Jia He stuck out her tongue and obediently brought the fruit platter into her room.
She saw Yi Wenze surrounded by five thick photo albums when she entered, immersed in leisurely enjoying them.
It was mom’s eternal custom to showcase the fruits of raising her daughter to any guest. Jia He feared he would see some wantonly silly photos and quickly put down the platter to pluck a few grapes to feed him.
Mom’s beloved frozen grapes. Biting into one in a heated room in winter—sour, sweet, also cooling.
She sneakily swept over the page he flipped to and was dumbfounded to see it was a picture of herself in middle school taking an ethnic dance class. She had been shorter then, and the clothes were all uniform purchases that oddly suited others but became flowing wide sleeves when worn by her. Seeing that conspicuous red lip print on her forehead, Jia He was completely mortified: “Stop looking already. Watch TV instead.”
He bit the grape, smiling as he watched her: “You learned dancing before?”
Jia He mm-hmmed and seized the chance to take away the albums: “When I was little. Not just dance. It took two hours to get from my home to Jingshan Youth Palace. My mom figured she might as well sign me up for three or four classes if she was taking me all the way there anyway. Shooting blindly without aim. I amounted to nothing in the end.”
She sighed dramatically. Only then did she notice the variety of posters lining her walls and instantly froze.
Crap! Why didn’t she take them down beforehand?!
She stole a glance at Yi Wenze and saw him casually pick up another album to peruse. She could only sidle up next to him and softly say: “How about you go look in the study instead?”
Yi Wenze looked at her. She guiltily said: “I need to change clothes.” And take down the posters while changing… From his expression, it looked as if Yi Wenze was on the verge of laughter yet also didn’t make a big deal out of it. “Go ahead and change then.”
Fine. That excuse was pathetic.
Jia He craned her neck and persevered through gritted teeth: “I haven’t been back home in a while. At least let me tidy up first?”
He finally casually closed the album and glanced at the biggest poster near the balcony door: “This can be considered a rare edition now. Bring it home.” His words completely crushed her last hopes. Jia He could only hmm and ah, casually saying do as you like. Then she took the teacup she had only drank one sip from and ran out to refill it for him again.
The final outcome—not only did he take that poster, but over 40 photos too.
Mom on the other hand was perfectly fine with a generous wave of her hand for him to take them all. She said they only took up space uselessly lying around anyway. Jia He looked upon her mom with tearful eyes yet didn’t dare argue otherwise. If only mom had some feelings of attachment towards her daughter…
It wasn’t until midnight that Jia He hugged new quilt and pillow into her room saying softly: “You’ll sleep here tonight okay? I’ll be in the guest room.” Mom demanded he stay over so late into the night. It wasn’t convenient for her to argue. And oddly enough, Yi Wenze also readily agreed.
She laid out the bedding nicely for him and just as she wanted to turn away, he suddenly embraced her onto the bed.
This was her own room. The familiar lamplight and bed. Even the desk and plants on the balcony had been there since high school. She had slept in this bed to study and watch TV. Woken up early by mom flipping open the blankets. And now she was sinking into the bedding, lying in his arms as he silently kissed her.
The door was cracked open just enough to faintly hear mom nagging dad to sleep. She could vaguely make out dad asking in a low voice if they should make some midnight snacks. Mom decisively killed his hopes with one line and shut the door to their bedroom. The entire home abruptly became quiet.
Jia He had just showered and her hair was still wet. The blankets swiftly became damp. His kiss was gentle beyond ever before. Leaving her lips, it shifted to her earlobe as he lightly bit it asking softly: “Wife?” Unable to withstand it, Jia He shrank away only to be successfully locked in his embrace. She could only cling to that last shred of rationality answering faintly.
Yet he didn’t rush to speak. Instead he started kissing down her slender neck again slowly making his way to her collarbone. Using his teeth to undo one button.
Wasn’t there something he wanted to say? Jia He’s brain was still desperately pondering what he wanted to tell her. Until he deftly undid the third button. Only then did she react by rolling out from his arms to the other side of the bed: “…We can talk when we get home.”
Her body shifted back more but a sudden thump nearly made her fall off the bed.
Luckily his reaction was quick enough to grab her back: “Talk about what?”
Jia He was struck speechless by the question. Too embarrassed to keep going. Feeling her body temperature swiftly rise, leaning against his equally heated one, she struggled for quite a while before saying in a small voice: “Wasn’t it just… before going out earlier…”
She strove to put on a proper serious expression yet her ears were guiltily perked listening closely for sounds from the living room.
He suddenly chuckled lowly: “What was that?”
Such a silent space yet it had to be her own room. This contradictory intimacy made her heart race a bit faster.
The disorderly breathing was from bodies far too familiar with each other. It was like a little scale in her heart swaying back and forth. She wavered indecisively. Until he pressed down on her lips in the most tempting way. Only then did she close her eyes with a sigh of resignation that her self-restraint had vanished.
A very long and deep kiss.
“Wife,” the voice at her ear was extremely low, carrying a hint of coaxing: “Go to bed now.”
Huh?
Jia He opened her eyes looking into his pitch black ones to see her reflection. Amidst such stillness, she hazily looked at him for quite a while before abruptly flushing crimson. She streaked off the bed swiftly fleeing the scene.
All the way from the quiet living room into the guest room, her blush didn’t diminish. Rather it deepened.
He did that on purpose! He must have done that deliberately!
Not until waking up completely parched did she open her eyes again. The sun was already high up. She had slept until almost noon again in a daze. Still muddled, she crawled out of bed about to knock on Yi Wenze’s door to wake him up when she heard mom chatting in the kitchen while cooking and frying food: “Already left early. Look how hardworking he is, got up before 5am and went off. Now look at you. It’s true, the early bird gets the worm. No wonder he became famous so young.”
Jia He froze for a second before recalling he seemed to have promotions in Shanghai today. Only then did she feel relieved. “Different careers. Your daughter works hard too!”
Mom looked at her contemplatively until her gaze made Jia He shudder. Only then did she slowly sigh: “You said your schedules are so different. What will you do when you have kids in the future?”
Jia He had just been brushing her teeth about to text when she heard this. Swiftly whipping her head back to look at that extremely worried mom. She was completely defeated.
After being interrogated by mom for an hour, she finally pretended a phone call came in to escape.
In the taxi, she finally undid her scarf and deeply inhaled. The driver asked for an address and covetously looked at her: “Nice property!” Jia He smiled, just about to speak, when the radio happened to be reporting entertainment news about Tian Chu. A rushed engagement. A man from a rich family who had never shown himself in public. This kind of news always involved dragging his name despite being Yi Wenze’s ex-wife simply because of the star effect.
The DJ narrated it vividly but Jia He only half-listened. She casually texted Yi Wenze: There yet? The reply quickly came: Here already. In a meeting. Home yet?
Jia He replied. As she put away her phone, the driver happened to comment: “It’s really been marrying season these past two years in entertainment circles. All the older ones still not married off rushed to marry themselves out before 2012.” Jia He absently muttered in agreement. The driver went on: “There’s really been so much news about Tian Chu recently. A customer I drove the other day supposedly knew inside details.”
Jia He obligingly oh-ed. Nowadays everyone all proclaimed themselves insiders huh?
“You wouldn’t know. The star effect is so powerful. Lots of entrepreneurs directly open high bids for brokerage companies to provide female celebrities to pretend to be their girlfriends. Not kept mistresses oh, purely fabricated girlfriend news. It’s way more useful than ads. Exposure rates unusually high. This Tian Chu. Became so popular from hype during her divorce. Now she’s the most expensive romantic attachment price tag on the market.”
Jia He fell silent. Was this considered a new age new type of endorsement?
The driver really hit his stride, happier the more he spoke.
When Jia He neared home, she unexpectedly got a call from an unfamiliar number that turned out to be someone from Yi Wenze’s company. He seemed to be waiting for her downstairs yet didn’t say why. Not until she got out and off the taxi did she see the small boy bouncing around outside the stairs due to freezing. Spotting her, he grinned and dashed over: “Madam boss, if you didn’t come soon I’d have frozen to death.”
Jia He guiltily pulled out her access card: “Talk about it upstairs then.”
“No need, no need. I’m just here to deliver something,” the boy stuffed a box into her hands, “I can report mission accomplished to the Boss now.” After speaking, he darted off swift as the wind.
Jia He hugged the box upstairs. Undoing the packaging as she entered, she saw over a dozen photo frames inside. Obviously meant for a photo wall collage. Flipping the door shut with one hand, she took them out one by one to lay across the entire sofa. All sizes yet all were photos of her growing up from young to maturity…
She sat on the carpet leaning against the sofa slowly looking them over.
The photos had special processing. There was a sense of years gone by under the warm lighting yet gave warmth.
Just as she absently admired them, the phone on the coffee table suddenly buzzed. It was actually Mu Mu! That girl was in an injected chicken blood state chanting calm down, calm down. Jia He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Hello? Wrong number? Why are you talking to yourself?”
“Sis! I need to stay calm,” Mu Mu told her with utmost seriousness. “You can’t watch TV now but hurry and get online. Doesn’t matter if it’s Tudou or Youku or whatever. As long as it’s a video site, there’s definitely downloads available of my brother-in-law’s show and interview.”
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