Chapter 10.1 (1/2)

s.h.i.+ Yi and Zhousheng Chen are separated for a little while, but don’t worry because his phone calls will be nice and regular.

Chapter 10.1 – Like Your First Adornment (1)

s.h.i.+ Yi made a last minute change to depart on a flight that night. Zhousheng Chen went to the airport with her.

After sending away the people accompanying him, they stood there at the entrance to the security checkpoint, both of them especially quiet.

“This reminds me of the first time I saw you.” s.h.i.+ Yi glanced over to the other side of the security entrance. “You were carrying your computer and ID and nothing else, but you were still asked to go back to be re-screened.”

“First time,” he said. “That was the first time I had ever been requested to go back and screened through security again.”

It was the first time? She remembered the very first time he had looked over at her.

It was because she had been staring too blatantly at him.

He raised his wrist and glanced at the time.

She knew it was nearly time for her to leave. Hooking her pointer finger around his hand, she gently held on and said, “I’m going now.”

She did not want to part from him, but nevertheless, she still needed to be sensible and leave.

Zhousheng Chen gave an “mm,” looked at her, then suddenly asked, “Are you thirsty?”

“A little bit.” She licked her lips. They were a little dry.

Earlier, on the drive here, she had been too preoccupied with talking to him and had forgotten to drink water.

She wanted to tell him it was not an issue, that she could buy something after she had pa.s.sed through security. But before she could open her mouth, Zhousheng Chen had already made a gesture for her to wait a moment, and then he turned around, bought a bottle of water for her, twisted open the cap, and handed it to her.

Somewhat surprised by this, s.h.i.+ Yi took a couple of sips, but then felt she was being wasteful. “I can actually just go in and buy one. It’s such a waste to just take a couple drinks now and then not be able to bring it in with me.”

“It’s alright. I will take it and drink it along the way.”

Their final conversation turned out to be about not wasting a bottle of mineral water.

Later, when s.h.i.+ Yi was boarding the plane and thought about this dialogue again, she still found it humorous.

The nighttime flight was very quiet.

Before long, she grew sleepy. Her thoughts gradually drifted to that intimate moment that had ended soon after it had barely begun. She remembered how he had helped her put on her clothes and asked her why she was suddenly so troubled. With his intelligence, he had easily perceived her abnormal behavior, that she wanted to hurriedly solidfy their relations.h.i.+p and was filled with anxiousness and panic out of fear that there would be some unforeseen misfortune.

She had not answered his question.

If she had said, “I’m afraid I will never see you again,” it would have seemed too soppy and melodramatic.

Or perhaps he would have found the situation unbelievably strange.

She remained in her own thoughts for a while until she heard two people near her discussing the gun battle that had occurred during the day. The content of their conversation was similar to Zhousheng Chen’s explanation. However, the situation described by the mouths of the Europeans provided another perspective, which essentially described that building as a Chinese marketplace that was frequently reported by neighbouring people to have “Chinese triads” present, like the “Fujian Clan” or something similar. Their depictions were so fantastical it was as if Chinese people were the most unstable presence in the city…

These people describing the situation had not confirmed the validity of their words but yet were speaking as if it was all true.

Surrounded by whispered English conversations, she thought of Zhousheng Chen and his friend, Mei Xing. After being raised under the influence of a family culture that stretched back several hundred years, both pairs of dark black eyes did not show even the slightest flicker in any situation. Mei Xing, though, was more similar to the people of during the Six Dynasties period in history in that he chose to follow his own heart and will. But when s.h.i.+ Yi thought about Zhousheng Chen, her heart instantly softened.

She was not able to use a word, a sentence, or a single trait of an era to describe him.

As soon as her vacation was over, she immediately stepped back into the mode of working under high pressure.

Mei Lin had set the final rounds of the contest to take place in Wuzhen’s newly rebuilt and developed West Village, and it was also a collaborative event with this new scenic area. When compared with the old East Village, everything in this newly built area seemed brand new, but already, indications of commercialization could be seen.

Wuzhen: scenic, ancient water town. (

Fortunately, the area had not officially been opened to the public yet.

As a staff member of the organizer, she was able to enter the area earlier. When Hong Xiaoyu heard about this, she took advantage of it and insisted on coming along with her to stay for leisure. This type of ancient water town of Jiangnan was very beautiful at night, and to be there without all the tourists and visitors was an opportunity you could only chance upon.

On the phone, Hong Xiaoyu made a vague mention about her new boyfriend.

s.h.i.+ Yi did not think too much about it and simply asked Mei Lin to reserve an extra room for them.

The two came rather late, arriving there in the evening.

s.h.i.+ Yi stood waiting for them at the entrance to the new scenic area. Off in the distance, she saw Hong Xiaoyu carrying a camera and walking beside a man, all the while talking and laughing. The man looked to be upright and honest, his features emitting a gallant feel about him.

s.h.i.+ Yi’s eyes made a quick sweep over his face. Hong Xiaoyu had already noticed her and jogged over. “You know, it’s so hard to even get a chance to see you . We both live in Shanghai, but these last couple months, your whereabouts have been so irregular. Now, finally, we actually end up meeting in a place just outside of Shanghai. Gee, no offense, beautiful s.h.i.+ Yi, but the extent that you put your man above your friends can definitely go down in history books.”

“You can wait two or three days, then. I’ll be back in Shanghai after that.” She could not be bothered with Hong Xiaoyu’s mocking and whispered to her, “Don’t think I don’t know. You just want to have some ‘real’ development in your relations.h.i.+p with him, and you’re using me as an excuse to come here.”

Hong Xiaoyu threw her a quick glare and then gave brief introductions between the two of them.

That person’s occupation was similar to Hong Xiaoyu’s except one was a journalist while the other was a news photographer.

But s.h.i.+ Yi had a persistent sense that there was a sharp fierceness within this person that he could not completely conceal.

Her intuition had always been very accurate, and as the three of them chatted and walked into the scenic area, she inevitably eyed him over several times. However, when she heard Hong Xiaoyu mention later that he was a war correspondent, her mind was finally set at ease.

She remembered his name. It was Du Feng.

Several people from her company had arrived, and all of them possessed extremely beautiful voices.

Hong Xiaoyu would normally not have the opportunity to meet these people. This time, because of her connection to s.h.i.+ Yi, she finally got to see them all. Everyone was very easygoing, and when s.h.i.+ Yi made the introductions, she was also very casual. Most of the time, she would say something along the lines of, “This is the narrator in XX doc.u.mentary,” or “This is the male/female lead of such and such hit drama”…

Over and over again, an expression of sudden realization would show up on Hong Xiaoyu’s face.

But Du Feng would only smile from time to time. Mostly, he simply laughed at Hong Xiaoyu for making such a fuss.

“Most of these water towns have stories in them.” Mei Lin pinched a snail sh.e.l.l in one hand and grinned as she looked at D. w.a.n.g. “I remember last time you told me that story about Xitang, the one where frequently, someone who is staying there will disappear for several hours and then when they come back…”

w.a.n.g shook his head and cut her off. “s.h.i.+ Yi gets scared easily. Don’t talk about stuff like that at night.”

He said this very naturally.

However, a lot of people there knew about the relations.h.i.+p between him and s.h.i.+ Yi. Some of them had smiles that carried hinted meanings while others were already starting to tease them. This type of good-natured joking was common and harmless.

To avoid him feeling awkward, s.h.i.+ Yi only smiled and did not really reject his kindness.

Hong Xiaoyu had never seen D. w.a.n.g before, and she was now intrigued. In a low voice, she asked s.h.i.+ Yi, “How does he know you’re scared easily?”

s.h.i.+ Yi whispered back, “I often have to record late into the night. Every time, I have to wait for someone to come with me before I dare take the elevator to go downstairs. The people who have worked with me for a long time all know. It’s pretty normal.”

“Nope, not normal.” Hong Xiaoyu’s eyes narrowed. “Extremely not normal.”

s.h.i.+ Yi pinched the back of her hand lightly. “Don’t be nosy.”

“This is the last thing I’ll say.” Hong Xiaoyu asked her curiously, “If your hubby finds out someone likes you, will he get jealous?”

Would he get jealous?

s.h.i.+ Yi did not have any confidence when it came to the answer to this question.

She thought, Zhousheng Chen definitely did like her, but how much? In her heart, she really was not sure.