Chapter 32

A night of unbridled pleasure.

Chen Mian curled up on the quilt.

It was already 4:30 in the morning. Zhou Zhixun ordered a chicken soup rice dish made by the private chef, a plate of custard buns, and a bowl of piping hot white fungus soup.

Before they arrived, he tidied up the guest room, changed the bedding to Chen Mian's favorites, sprayed some sleep-inducing perfume on the pillows, lit her usual scented candles, and then carried Chen Mian to the room.

Chen Mian didn't sleep.

She couldn't sleep at all right now.

After exercising and sweating profusely, I always felt a bit short of breath, my chest heaving, and my head buried in Zhou Zhixun's chest.

"Brother, are you angry?"

Zhou Zhixun gently untangled the strands of hair that were pinning her down. "Why do you ask that?"

"You were so fierce just now, I've never been so fierce before."

"No," Zhou Zhixun was indeed a little angry, but that was before he saw Chen Mian. After seeing her, he had nothing left to be angry about.

I went too far, I guess I couldn't stop myself, I missed her so much, both physically and mentally.

Chen Mian pressed herself against the gap between his arm and chest, struggling uncomfortably in his arms.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"I haven't showered, it's so sticky."

"Eat something and I'll wash you."

A moment of wisdom.

Zhou Zhixun held Chen Mian as they lay on the clean bed, her favorite variety show playing on the television. He held a plate with plump little steamed buns on it, drizzled with glistening condensed milk.

Chen Mian grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Eat slowly," Zhou Zhixun said, his upper body bare, with a deep red tooth mark on his Adam's apple. One leg was stretched out and the other was bent, and Chen Mian sat in the crook of his leg, leaning close to him.

"I'm so full."

"Where?" Zhou Zhixun ran his hand down her lower abdomen and gently pressed below her navel. "Here?"

Chen Mian flinched and dodged, "Do you want to eat these?"

She didn't want to eat chicken soup rice, so she drank some white fungus soup, but didn't finish it.

Zhou Zhixun ate the rest of her food, and at 5:40 he took her for a hot bath. The two of them slept until 4:00 in the afternoon.

-

When Chen Mian woke up, Zhou Zhixun was already up and handling work matters in his study.

She searched for her phone for ages but couldn't find it. She went to Zhou Li'an's place and found it on his desk.

Chen Mian casually asked, "How did my phone end up here?"

It wasn't that she was afraid Zhou Zhixun would check her phone, because Zhou Zhixun didn't even know her phone password.

She knew Zhou Zhixun's password; he had given it to her voluntarily. In exchange, Chen Mian should have told him her own password, but she didn't. She would talk about indecent topics with her friends, afraid that Zhou Zhixun would see it.

Even though Zhou Zhixun doesn't have the habit of looking at her phone.

“Your father just called you, and I answered.”

“Oh,” Chen Mian checked his call log. The latest message was from Chen Kangtong, and they had only talked for about thirty seconds.

Don't you want to ask me what I said to your father?

Chen Mian was initially curious, but after hearing his question, he was no longer curious. "I have nothing to talk about with him, so what do you two have to say to each other?"

"Your dad asked me if he was your boyfriend, and I said no."

Chen Mian raised an eyebrow.

“I told him he was my fiancé. Then he asked me when we would get married, and I said it was up to him.”

That's it?

"yes."

That's all we can talk about in thirty seconds.

There were a few more things Zhou Zhixun didn't say to Chen Mian. Chen Kang told him in an unfriendly tone to break up with Chen Mian, saying that he couldn't give Chen Mian a better future.

“I think my assets could easily buy 10,000 companies like yours.”

This is how Zhou Zhixun answered.

-

Because of Zhou Zhixun's arrival, Chen Mian felt at ease living with him, just like when they were abroad. They planned to go back home the week before Chen Mian started school.

Of course, Zhou Zhixun remains very busy; his business seems to span the entire world, even in China.

Fortunately, Chen Mian didn't need his company. She met many of her childhood friends, and since going abroad, they could only keep in touch with each other on social media.

During his trip back to China, Chen Mian also met an unexpected person – Feng Meixia.

She had dyed her hair a reddish-brown color and was wearing a long black down jacket. The down jacket was probably a cheap promotional item, with insufficient filling, and it looked flat and not warm at all.

Feng Meixia is standing in front of a nail salon, trying to attract customers.

Her red manicure was particularly eye-catching, like a few drops of bright red blood.

Feng Meixia wore a somewhat ingratiating smile, holding a stack of colorful advertising papers in her hand.

She may have seen Chen Mian across the street, or she may not have, or she may have pretended not to see him, or she may not have recognized him.

A cold wind ruffled the hem of Chen Mian's coat as she searched for the nearest luxury store on her phone.

When Chen Mian was a child, he often noticed that Feng Meixia would stare at the rings on other people's ring fingers. Occasionally, when they went out together, they would receive flyers from people handing out leaflets on the street. If it was a gold shop or jewelry store, Feng Meixia would unconsciously look at the products printed on it. Once she found a ring, she would point to the flyer and say to Chen Mian, "I've dreamed of owning a ring like that all my life."

Chen Mian had heard phrases like "a ring like this" more than ten times, but he belatedly realized that Feng Meixia simply wanted a ring that she could rightfully wear on her ring finger.

The only person who could give this ring its unique meaning was Chen Kang.

But Chen Kang would never do that.

Following the navigation, Chen Mian found the nearest luxury store, picked out a low-key yet expensive ring, and quickly paid for it.

The few birthdays she had when she was a child, on the few occasions she was able to eat cake, were all spent with Chen Kang.

On her birthday, Chen Kang would express some of his rare feelings of guilt and fatherly love.

Chen Mian will have the opportunity to receive a small birthday cake.

She gave this precious opportunity to make a wish to Feng Meixia, praying that if God could hear her wish, Chen Kang would give his mother a ring, even if it was just a plastic ring bought casually on the street.

Little Chen Mian didn't know anything about ring prices or brands at the time, and she didn't even know where she could buy rings.

All she knew was that she had seen similar items when Feng Meixia led her to a street-side jewelry store to buy hair ties.

She then made that wish.

...

Chen Mian, carrying a paper bag of luxury goods, hesitated for a while outside the shop where Feng Meixia worked.

The wind was so strong that she shivered.

Let's finish this quickly.

She thought.

Chen Mian stepped into the narrow, cramped, and cluttered room. Near the door, on a table, sat a purple nail lamp, a thin layer of white powder from manicures lingering in front of it. Several bottles of nail polish, their caps off, lay scattered about.

A middle-aged woman with waist-length hair sat on a high stool next to the innermost cashier, holding an old-fashioned black calculator in her hand.

She looked over at the sound. A practiced, slightly ingratiating smile appeared on her face, and her voice was high-pitched and thin, "Little sister, what kind of project do you want to do?"

"We offer manicures, eyelash extensions, hair removal, and beauty treatments here."

The shop owner subtly observed Chen Mian. Although Chen Mian's clothes appeared simple, every item of them seemed out of place in the humble interior of the shop.

The scarf she wore around her neck alone could cover three months' rent. The shop owner had seen the same style in the latest fashion magazine, priced at nearly ten thousand yuan.

She didn't think the young woman was there to make a purchase.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I asked the shop owner."

"Excuse me, is Feng Meixia here?"

"Oh, Sister Xia just went out for lunch. What do you need her for?"

Chen Mian herself didn't realize that she breathed a sigh of relief after hearing from the shop owner that Feng Meixia was out.

She didn't want to see her mother.

"Could you please give this item to her?"

Chen Mian handed over a red paper bag with a gold logo in the center.

The shop owner, with his keen eye, realized that this was a valuable item and did not immediately agree to it.

"What is your relationship with her? She'll be back in a bit, why don't you sit and wait?"

Chen Mian shook her head, standing somewhat awkwardly in the center of the store, the rich perfume lingering around her nose.

It has a pungent, irritating smell.

She didn't want to stay any longer.

“I’ll give you some reward,” Chen Mian said, “I’ll give you ten thousand yuan, and you can pass on this item for me.”

Upon hearing this, the shop owner got down from the bar stool.

Ten thousand yuan.

It was her net profit over several months.

“Okay,” the shopkeeper readily agreed, pulling up the payment code and handing it to Chen Mian. “Don’t worry, little sister, I’ll give this to Sister Xia as soon as she gets back.”

“Okay,” Chen Mian said, lowering his eyes as he paid. “Thank you.”

"You're welcome," the shopkeeper thought to herself, she should be the one thanking this 'generous benefactor'.

I unexpectedly received 10,000 yuan.

I won't have to worry about rent and utilities for the next few months.

After giving his instructions, Chen Mian left the shop without looking back and turned the nearest street corner.

The extra ten thousand yuan she paid was simply to prevent the shop owner from taking advantage of her and keeping the ring for himself; one must sometimes be wary of people's true intentions.

Even if she paid more money, the shop owner might not necessarily hand over the item to Feng Meixia as she requested, which only means that Feng Meixia and the ring were not meant to be.

From now on, I will no longer need to dwell on the wishes I had when I was young.

...

Feng Meixia ordered a medium-sized bowl of wontons from a snack stall on the street.

She pulled a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder and stirred the scallions on the soup. The image in her mind was frozen half an hour earlier, frozen on Chen Mian across the street.

She seems to be living a life of luxury.

She stood across the street, silent, staring calmly at herself.

Feng Meixia drank a big mouthful of noodle soup, and her body finally warmed up.

She finished her wontons in a few bites and returned to the shop.

The woman who partnered with her in the shop handed her a red paper bag.

“After you left, a young woman in her early twenties brought this over, saying it was for you.”

Feng Meixia took a breath and opened the paper bag.

Inside, besides the jewelry box, there was also a postcard.

"The wish you made as a child, the one Chen Kang couldn't give you, I'll give you. Do whatever you want with it. Best wishes, and may we never meet again."

The woman asked who the little girl was.

Feng Meixia said, "She was my daughter before."

My former daughter?

The woman didn't understand. Hearing it was her daughter, she teased her, "Isn't she anymore?"

“Hmm,” Feng Meixia opened the ring and glanced at it, “It’s not anymore.”