ATLAS TRANSLATES

Facing Ji Feng’s almost pitiful request, what else could Xu Miyu do?

She had no choice but to agree.

The next night, Xu Miyu booked a table at one of the most expensive restaurants in the city.

When Ji Feng arrived, the first thing he asked was: “Why did you choose such an expensive restaurant?” He was worried for her wallet.

Xu Miyu immediately raised her eyebrows and asked: “What’s wrong, are you afraid I can’t afford it? Can’t I treat you to a nice meal?”

The sense of disparity seemed to descend between them again in this back and forth.

Ji Feng immediately complained: “Eating at such an expensive place, why don’t we just eat back at our own hotel? Why spend the money on outsiders, wouldn’t it be better to put the money in our own pockets?”

Xu Miyu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

He had just said “our” twice in a row. Our hotel. Our wallets.

She felt struck by these two “ours”, an indescribable sense of delight and joy.

Seeing Xu Miyu laugh, Ji Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily he had defused this burgeoning crisis of disparity.

He didn’t fight her to pay the bill this meal, giving Xu Miyu the opportunity. He was starting to understand that appropriately letting the other person contribute was also a way of affirming their value.

But after the meal, when Xu Miyu returned home, she also reflected on herself.

Ji Feng was considerate of her wallet and her feelings. Why did she have to be so sensitive herself? It came down to a simple lack of confidence.

She scolded herself, asking why she still couldn’t be completely confident?

She was now in the events department, having planned one successful event after another, even gaining some renown in the industry. But how come when facing him, she still lacked a bit of backbone?

In fact, over this period he had asked her more than once: What level do I need to achieve before I can win you over?

She told him there was no need for him to achieve anything.

Because the one who needed to achieve something was actually her. She needed to be completely confident in herself when facing him.

Hearing this, he felt perplexed. He brought her back to his home, blocking the door and asking: “What else could you possibly lack confidence about? You know your reputation now right? You know many people specifically ask for you by name to handle their events and banquets right? You’re practically a shining star in the industry now! And I also know that privately many people have tried to poach you, not just from other hotels but also many famous marketing firms who want you. Oh and of course I also know there are a few men of status who have tried asking you out for meals and movies. Xu Miyu, you already make me feel very threatened now, both career wise and romantically. What else could you possibly lack confidence about?”

Listening to Ji Feng’s complaining confession, Xu Miyu only felt her heart racing.

She couldn’t help but think, really? In his eyes, was she dazzling? Did she make him feel threatened?

Xu Miyu escaped back to her own home, shutting the door and laughing to herself.

Her phone buzzed in her pants pocket. She took it out and saw it was a message he had chased her with.

The words seemed to transmit his voice and tone – that impatient yet helpless towards her voice and tone: Xu Miyu, you listen to me, I’m not living in some fancy penthouse suite high above, I’m living right next door to you. There is no disparity between us!

As Xu Miyu read the message, the screen suddenly went blank, then displayed a line of light grey text: “He” has withdrawn a message.

“He” was the note Xu Miyu had set for Ji Feng’s number. That single character “he” seemed to divide boundaries yet also harbor endless ambiguous yearning.

Ji Feng had immediately withdrawn the message he just sent.

A few seconds later, another message was resent: You see, I’m not living in some tall penthouse suite, I’m living right next to you. There is no disparity between us.

He had removed the direct name and condescending tone.

Xu Miyu smiled holding her phone. A smile that came from her heart that she couldn’t restrain.

He really was trying to change.

So she had to hurry up too, make herself get rid of the remaining inferiority and become completely confident.

Suddenly there was a knocking sound coming from the wall.

It was him gently rapping, proving he really was right next to her, that there truly was no disparity between them.

Xu Miyu felt her smiling mouth stretch even wider, she couldn’t rein it in at all. She also lifted her hand and gently knocked on the wall, knock knock knock.

Knock knock knock, knock knock knock. Back and forth, the two of them childishly chatted through the wall with these soft knocking sounds.

It turned out to be even more delightful than a face to face spoken conversation.

The next day at work, Xu Miyu received an unexpected client.

Seeing Duan Aoxiang sitting in the reception room chatting with her, Xu Miyu felt it was all somewhat surreal.

She would never have imagined that there would come a day when she and Duan Aoxiang could sit down together calmly and discuss cooperation.

When Duan Aoxiang arrived, he told her directly: “You’ve been quite popular recently. I came to find you because of your reputation. I want you to help me organize an event at your hotel.”

Xu Miyu was caught off guard for a moment because it was so unexpected.

Duan Aoxiang casually asked: “What, you won’t do business with me or take on my projects?”

Xu Miyu smiled: “I won’t turn away business that comes to my door. Besides, I still haven’t thanked Mr. Duan for helping me out at the wine event last time.”

She stood up and bent down to pour Duan Aoxiang a cup of tea, signaling him to drink the tea as thanks.

But Duan Aoxiang just stared at her slender waist the whole time as she moved to pour the tea.

Xu Miyu remembered what Li Qiaoqi had said about him having a particular fondness for slim waists. That was why when they first met and he had simply seen her back profile, he had already started getting muddled from the alcohol.

Xu Miyu used to be quite afraid of gazes like his, but strangely, now she didn’t feel afraid at all. She felt like she could sense that Duan Aoxiang was also changing. There was only appreciation left in his gaze at her waist, none of the vulgarity from before.

“What a pity,” Duan Aoxiang said as he lowered his eyelids and picked up the teacup to sniff it. He took a sip.

Xu Miyu raised her eyebrows and asked, “Is the tea not to your taste?”

Duan Aoxiang put down the teacup and grinned, saying, “What a pity, you’ve been labeled as Ji Feng’s now, so I really can’t make a move on you anymore.”

Xu Miyu was speechless for a moment. Even if he did try to make a move, she would block him directly. As for her relationship with Ji Feng, after thinking about it, she still weakly explained: “Him and I, actually…”

“It’s not important,” Duan Aoxiang directly interrupted her. “Whether you two are dating or not, have broken up or not, or might get back together again, none of that is important. What’s important is that Ji Feng has already warned me not to try anything with you, or he’ll break three of my legs.” His voice sharpened at the end.

Xu Miyu coughed and awkwardly steered the conversation back to the main topic. She asked Duan Aoxiang what kind of event he wanted to organize, how many attendees there would be, roughly how many days the conference would last, whether all attendees needed accommodation, what style he preferred for the venue decor, if he had any requirements for the menu design for meals, and so on.

Duan Aoxiang was also pulled back into the main topic.

“Help me organize a financial salon event. I’m currently doing some acquisition and resource integration work. As for the questions you just asked, I’ll have someone coordinate with you directly.” Duan Aoxiang replied.

Although he still spoke a bit frivolously, his gaze had changed. From his serious eyes, Xu Miyu could see that he had changed and was now seriously working.

Xu Miyu thought for a moment and asked, “Your main business operations are in Thailand, right?” She actually wanted to ask if he needed a few reliable translators arranged for the event, to avoid any hitches that could happen due to language barriers.

But she was afraid the second half of that question would sound a bit offensive, so she stopped after just the first sentence.

Duan Aoxiang immediately smirked and laughed: “You dare bring that up?”

Xu Miyu became a little nervous, worried that he would dredge up old grievances and things would spiral out of control.

But then Duan Aoxiang changed track: “Thanks to your and Ji Feng’s sincere cooperation last time, I lost all my face in the land of durians. Not only that deal, but afterwards, that bastard Ji Feng steadily cleaned out the little bit of foothold I had established in the land of durians.” He cocked his chin at Xu Miyu and asked, “Tell me, why do you say you like Ji Feng when he’s such a petty man?”

Xu Miyu immediately retorted: “Oh really? If he’s so petty, then why do you like him?”

Duan Aoxiang panicked and frantically denied: “Don’t spout nonsense! I’m the number one straight guy under heaven! Me, like him? Blech!”

“Liking someone doesn’t have to necessarily be romantic between a man and woman. It could also be liking someone of the same gender and wanting to become friends with them,” Xu Miyu said with a smile.

Seeing Duan Aoxiang panic just now reassured her at heart.

No matter how profligate and unruly he was on the surface, when you stripped away the monetary trappings and looked inside, he was just an ordinary person after all, the same kind of ordinary person as everyone else. He could no longer make her feel afraid.

Duan Aoxiang looked at Xu Miyu for a moment then suddenly said, “Has Ji Feng never told you not to keep smiling at men all the time?”

Xu Miyu nodded openly: “He’s said that before. But there’s no helping it, for service industries like hotels, can you not smile while you work? Besides, there’s nothing wrong with my smile itself. It’s people like all of you who attach additional meaning from your own thoughts onto it.”

It was like when pretty girls go outside wearing short skirts, bad men always say it’s because the girls want to seduce someone, otherwise why would they dress that way. But what to wear and how to smile, aren’t those a woman’s own rights? Those who feel seduced should probably check their own minds first.

Duan Aoxiang was rendered speechless for a moment.

After a while, he laughed and shook his head: “I never thought there would come a day when you could get the better of me.” He paused, then said to Xu Miyu, “Alright, I get it. From now on I’ll correct my biased thinking. As for subsequent event arrangements, I’ll have my assistant personally coordinate with you.”

Xu Miyu raised her eyebrows slightly. When Duan Aoxiang was being serious, he really did seem decent and no longer annoying.

She nodded and said “Okay.”

After Duan Aoxiang and Xu Miyu finished their business discussion in the reception room, Xu Miyu got up to leave to work on the event proposal. But Duan Aoxiang said: “My driver is out washing the car. Keep me company and chat for a bit until he gets back.”

Xu Miyu smiled beautifully, but declined him.

“Once you exit the reception room, go straight down the hallway and take a right. That’s our hotel’s grand terrace. It’s worth checking out and a good way to pass the time. But I have work to get back to and can’t accompany Mr. Duan to chat more.” Having said that, she firmly took her leave.

She was worried that if she was too friendly with Duan Aoxiang he would revert to his flippant ways towards her.

As Duan Aoxiang watched Xu Miyu’s departing figure, he glared incredulously at the empty room.

“She actually dared to turn me down. She really is a good match for Ji Feng. Both get a guy all hot and bothered but just out of reach, damn.”

But still he got up and followed Xu Miyu’s directions, going straight down the hall, taking a right, ending up at the hotel’s second floor terrace.

He was surprised to find it was actually a pretty nice spot. He had stayed at the Sway Hotel many times but never wandered over here before.

As he was casually strolling about, his eyes happened to spot Ji Feng sitting outside a tea room at one corner of the terrace.

Ji Feng was sitting at one of the outdoor seats drinking tea.

Without a word Duan Aoxiang immediately sidled over and pulled out the chair across from Ji Feng, plopping himself down on it.

“What are you doing sitting here, old Ji?” Duan Aoxiang asked excitedly as soon as he sat.

But he noticed Ji Feng seemed to be ignoring him completely, kept looking over his shoulder, even impatiently urging him: “Move over there, you’re in my way.”

Duan Aoxiang didn’t budge.

Suddenly he noticed Ji Feng was actually craning his neck to see past him.

He couldn’t help looking back as well.

Glancing back he finally realized – from this spot you could see Xu Miyu when she passed by. Xu Miyu’s events department was on the hotel’s second floor. As she moved about discussing event details with colleagues from the design team and PR team, she frequented the hallway. Through the floor to ceiling glass, Ji Feng’s seat had a perfect view of her comings and goings.

Duan Aoxiang swiveled his head back around to Ji Feng, mouth gaping wide enough to fit an ostrich egg.

“No way, old Ji. You’ve fallen this deep for Xu Miyu?”

He could understand Ji Feng’s attraction to Xu Miyu because he was attracted to her himself. But he never imagined stoic Ji Feng would be attracted to Xu Miyu to this extent – it was like he had become another person.

The Ji Feng he knew before, even if the world’s most beautiful woman fell down in front of him, if she didn’t meet his criteria for a spouse he would step right over her without a second glance.

“What a perfect spot!” Duan Aoxiang continued teasing Ji Feng, still stunned.

Xu Miyu had already passed from view.

Ji Feng withdrew his gaze, glancing briefly at Duan Aoxiang before him.

That glance was Ji Feng’s usual contemptuous way of looking at people, making Duan Aoxiang feel wronged yet unable to leave. He could only curse himself for being a masochist.

“Happens I have something to ask you,” Ji Feng said directly, not bothering with Duan Aoxiang’s kaleidoscopic facial expressions.

“If you have something to ask me, shouldn’t you be more humble and friendly about it?” Duan Aoxiang stubbornly tried to win himself a better attitude.

Ji Feng glanced at him again, an even more vexing look than before.

“Cut the nonsense. I’m asking if something happened with her while I was occupied that night of the banquet and not by Xu Miyu’s side.”

Duan Aoxiang wanted to dangle it in front of him: “Oh, so you want to ask about that huh. Yes, it does seem like something happened. Do you want to know? If you want to know then be nicer to me.”

Ji Feng impatiently glanced at him again before getting up to leave.

When had he ever lowered his head to the likes of this frivolous punk?

But Duan Aoxiang called after his retreating back: “Heh, arrogant bastard! Too proud to get that info even if it kills you huh? Then I guess you’ll never know what happened to precious Xu Miyu that night.”

These words halted Ji Feng’s footsteps.

Ji Feng struggled for a moment before walking back to sit in the original seat.

He haughtily crossed one leg over the other, haughtily folded his arms across his chest, haughtily raised his chin, and asked Duan Aoxiang: “What exactly happened.”

Duan Aoxiang seemed to have finally discovered Ji Feng’s weakness. More cockily than ever before he demanded: “Attitude. Your attitude towards me!”

Ji Feng took a deep breath, lowering his crossed arms, dropping his crossed leg, retracting his lifted chin. “Please tell me what exactly happened with Xu Miyu that night.”

Duan Aoxiang had intended to torment Ji Feng some more, to avenge himself for the years of condescension. But seeing Ji Feng now, the determination in his eyes to humiliate himself for that woman’s sake, Duan Aoxiang lost his motivation.

He even felt a hint of envy towards Ji Feng, and Xu Miyu too. He wondered how it was he came to like both these people.

He dropped his cocky demeanor and told Ji Feng: “That night Xu Miyu was mob attacked by a bunch of rich madams. They insulted her.”

He described what he witnessed that night.

Ji Feng clenched his fists tightly.

“Old Ji, someone there was very familiar with Xu Miyu’s past. They announced she had been divorced before, and also knew she was seeing the boss. So they told those gossiping madams that Xu Miyu slept her way into that social circle by sleeping with the boss. Then they took the lead instigating those rich women to gossip maliciously, saying Xu Miyu wasn’t good enough for you and she had deliberately schemed to seduce you and whatnot.” Duan Aoxiang explained to Ji Feng.

Hearing all this, Ji Feng narrowed his eyes at Duan Aoxiang, gaze gone icy cold and terrifying.

Duan Aoxiang immediately shrank away: “Why are you looking at me like that? I’ve been reformed recently with no evil deeds to my name. If you’re upset don’t take it out on me!”

But Ji Feng continued staring fixedly at him, scaring Duan Aoxiang so much he wanted to turn tail and flee. Just then Ji Feng said coldly: “Thank you.”

“Huh?” Duan Aoxiang was dumbfounded for a second. “What?”

“Did you just say what to me?? Thank me???” Duan Aoxiang was completely flabbergasted. “F*k, has hell frozen over?? You, Ji Feng, actually just thanked me, Duan Aoxiang??”

Ji Feng looked at him, speaking more fluently than before, and thanked him again: “Yes, I’m saying thank you. Thank you for helping her out of that situation that night.”

Duan Aoxiang was even more confused, then he started laughing, laughing loudly while slapping the table: “You, saying thank you to me again? Haha! Ji Feng, will there be a day when you can say thank you to me continuously?! What the hell, what a good day is this today? Hahahahaha!”

Ji Feng frowned, glanced at Duan Aoxiang very disgustedly, got up and left.

Xue Rui, who had been waiting in the corner, saw his boss get up and hurried to follow. As he walked past Duan Aoxiang, seeing him slapping the table while laughing wildly, he couldn’t help jogging two steps to catch up with Ji Feng and asked in a low voice: “Boss, is Mr. Duan okay? Why is he laughing like Fan Jin passed the imperial examination, as if he’s going crazy?”

Ji Feng looked back with great disdain at Duan Aoxiang, and said impatiently: “What could happen to him? He’s silly all day long.”

After learning about what happened at the banquet that night from Duan Aoxiang, besides feeling furious at those vicious rich ladies, Ji Feng also blamed himself very much.

He recalled that Xu Miyu had told him at the time that someone mocked her for not deserving him. At that time, he only felt that she was too sensitive, just like when he bought her nice clothes or a nice bag, she would hide away to secretly feel inferior, so perhaps others didn’t really mean to mock her, she just thought too much.

Therefore, after the banquet, he didn’t specifically investigate what exactly happened that night.

Today, seeing Duan Aoxiang, he simply asked about it. But he didn’t expect Xu Miyu to have suffered such an insult that night.

And that night, after she was so excessively judged by that group of mean and superficial women, not only did he not comfort and understand her in time, but he even felt that she argued with him for no reason at all, and breaking up was totally unjustified.

Whenever he thought of this, Ji Feng’s heart felt stabbed by a knife tip.

He realized that he was indeed not a considerate lover.

He decided that the culprits who insulted Xu Miyu at the beginning should pay the price. He had to let people know that the woman they recklessly commented on was the one Ji Feng cherished in his heart, and no one was allowed to despise and bully her.

He started investigating things related to the banquet that night. He wanted to know exactly who knew Xu Miyu so well that night, and why she took the lead in badmouthing Xu Miyu.

Through some connections and means, he obtained the list of attendees at the banquet that night, as well as the surveillance video of the time when he was not by Xu Miyu’s side. Through investigations and verification from all aspects, he determined that the troublemaker that night was a woman named Lu Zhenzhen.

This woman turned out to be the current wife of Xu Miyu’s ex-husband and the woman with whom this ex-husband had an affair.

Looking at this investigation result, Ji Feng clenched his fists. He still remembered that this affair partner had come to the hotel to make trouble for Xu Miyu more than once, and at that time Xu Miyu was still in the housekeeping department.

He sneered coldly, thinking that the world is becoming more and more bizarre that a mistress who seduced another woman’s husband to take his position would actually still shamelessly plot against the original partner without end.

He thought that since Xu Miyu was unwilling to get entangled with them anymore, he would help her get through this for her.

On the day he found out the results, Ji Feng issued a ban within Xingji Group to directly stop all hotels under their banner and Nie Yucheng’s travel company Changyang Tourism’s room booking interface for their travel agency, refusing to receive any of their travel groups and tourists.

In addition to his own hotels, Ji Feng also exchanged conditions with several bosses of other similarly high-end five-star hotels of different brands, so several five-star hotels of other brands also stopped the room booking interface for Changyang Tourism together.

This ban took effect very quickly. Many high-end tourists who booked through Changyang Travel could not stay in five-star hotels, and could only settle for second-best, staying in medium and low-end inns. This experience of consumption downgrade made them very dissatisfied. So they began to cancel the binding and cooperation with Nie Yucheng’s travel company one after another, and turned to other travel companies or travel agencies instead.

Hu Tu, the general manager of Changyang Tourism, looked at the sudden decline in performance income and racked his brains but couldn’t figure out where exactly he had offended Ji Feng, to have such a bolt from the blue of non-cooperation.

He took the initiative to try to talk to Ji Feng several times, but unfortunately he didn’t get the opportunity to meet Ji Feng at all.

Ji Feng’s attitude made Hu Tu even more nervous.

He understood very well that although he didn’t know where he offended Ji Feng, this offense must be something extremely important.