Romance

When Ye Yuanyin came back from outside, the housekeeper Aunt Yang was directing people to pack up.

There was a black suitcase in the hall, and the brown vegetable-tanned cowhide used for decoration was tightly stitched. When the suitcase was opened, she faintly smelled the scent of cowhide.

Aunt Yang picked up a few business shirts that she had replaced and handed them to the young girl who was standing upright and respectfully waiting for orders.

"Xiao Hu, take Mr. Shen's shirt to the laundry room at home. After washing, use a towel to dry it little by little and put it in the sun to dry. Do not use the dryer. If you make a mistake again, you won't be able to come next month."

The girl called "Xiao Hu" responded timidly: "I promise I won't make the same mistake again."

Seeing her come in, Aunt Yang quickly stood up and greeted her: "Miss Ye, you're back."

She hummed softly and said good-naturedly, "I'm back." She answered every question and looked like a hardworking and diligent student.

Aunt Yang thought that Miss Ye had a gentle temperament, calm eyes, and was shrouded in light smoke and mist, like the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, which filtered soft light through the leaves and gently covered her body, allowing them to share the beauty of the moon even though they were thousands of miles apart.

I still remember the first time I saw her was in the summer. She was a tall and thin girl, holding a bunch of pink and purple flowers in her arms. She wore the simplest black and white clothes, which were plain and reserved. Against her fair and translucent face, she was so beautiful that she seemed to be in a poem.

It is said that people who you can remember at first sight must be people with whom you have a connection in your previous life.

As Aunt Yang ages, she increasingly believes that encounters between people are determined by fate. Sometimes, just a glance tells her whether she'll ever cross paths with someone. She likes the gentle and quiet Ms. Ye very much and believes they could get along well. She just doesn't know what kind of fate it is that led her and her family member to have such a strange connection.

The other was a cold, thoughtful, meticulous, and self-disciplined person who was not easy to talk to. The gap between them was too big. Their status, personalities, and preferences were completely different. There was also a six or seven year age difference. They didn't seem to be a good match.

What puzzled her even more was that, although they had known each other for three or four years, the number of times they had met could be counted on one hand. When they did meet, they were polite and distant, not like they had a close relationship.

Who would have thought that they would get married suddenly?

Aunt Yang is just one of many people serving this family. Although she has worked here for many years and has always been treated well by her employer, she knows how to handle things. After all, they are different in status. No matter how well someone treats you, it's just a favor, but you must know your limits. Therefore, she sees some unreasonable things, keeps them to herself, and can't say anything.

She looked at Ye Yuanyin again. Although she became the mistress of this family, everyone called her "Miss Ye" instead of "Mrs. Shen". This rule was Shen Yan's intention.

Everyone who serves Shen Ji'an is a shrewd person. From a small title, one can glimpse the infinite meaning hidden behind it - this Miss Ye, her current situation at home is "in charge of work" but "not yet a regular employee". If she is disliked one day, a legitimate wife will be parachuted in. Don't let the bad luck of eliminating dissidents fall on yourself.

The workplace is like a battlefield. While service details are a bit strict, the pay is generous. Who doesn't bend over backwards for a few dollars to support a family? Therefore, everyone waited and watched, cautious, keeping a distance from her.

Only Aunt Yang truly cared about her. She raised her chin slightly and nodded towards the second floor. "Just got back. She's in the study."

Her husband had returned from a month-long business trip, so it made no sense for his newlywed wife not to even show up. However, Ye Yuanyin couldn't figure out his thoughts, so she couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

Aunt Yang noticed that she wasn't showing any enthusiasm and reminded her, "It's been a while since we last met. Wouldn't it be better if we went to meet first?"

"Yes." She still spoke in the tone of a good student who always responded to everything.

After saying that, I took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to walk into the elevator. The elevator at home had been used for many years, swaying and rising slowly, trembling just like my current mood.

She knocked on the door, but there was no response for a long time. Great, he wasn't there, Ye Yuanyin breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the storage room at the end of the corridor was pushed open, and Chen Dian walked out.

She turned her head suddenly and met the man's eyes as calm as the sea.

The heart is frightened and beats violently.

He wore a crisp, light-colored shirt and black trousers, standing upright, appearing both understated and distinguished. His composure radiated an unobtrusive elegance. But his gaze radiated the awe-inspiring presence of a superior.

Seeing him approaching, Ye Yuanyin lowered her head and unconsciously stepped aside until the man's feet, wearing plain light grey slippers, stopped in front of her.

Puzzled, she looked up at his elegant, upright face, which was stern and solemn. As soon as he spoke, his voice was like the sound of mountain rain tapping on bamboo, resonant and powerful. "What's wrong with your forehead?"

Ye Yuanyin quickly raised his hand to cover it, "I accidentally bumped into it."

Chen Yan stared at her, the seconds ticking by, until she felt so guilty that she was about to confess, but the man smiled nonchalantly, "You're already a grown-up."

He walked into the study. Ye Yuanyin slowed down his uncontrollable heartbeat and followed him in nervously.

The record player in the study was broken, and the turntable had been taken out. She saw him casually unbutton his sleeves and roll them up a few times, revealing a pair of muscular forearms.

The toolbox that he had just taken out of the storage room was spread out on the table. He used a screwdriver to remove the internal motor. The complex circuit paths and buttons of different colors were like an ancient spell that could not be solved. After being repaired by his hands, the rocker arm drove the stylus, and the notes rolled all over the floor in the quiet room like poured mercury.

With nothing to do and no common topics to talk about, she felt extremely cramped.

Sediment sat back down at his desk.

The desk top was a single, three-meter-long plank of golden nanmu wood. The wood grows deep in the mountains of Yunnan, where only 10% of it is acceptable. The surface was black with a touch of gold, its growth rings visible like the passage of time.

Ye Yuanyin sighed once again: the rich's food, clothing, and daily necessities weren't about practicality, but about grandeur, presence, and the kind of awe-inspiring power that made people feel ashamed. Just like the man before him, his face showed no emotion, like a bottomless abyss.

Only on the night before his wedding, when he heard the news that Zhang Siling was going to another country, he rarely stayed in the room and smoked all night.

Chen Dian looked up from his documents and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Ye Yuanyin came back to her senses and stood in the vast space with her hands and feet tied, like a lonely paper man. The autumn wind blew through the open window, making her heart sway.

She said a ready-made polite remark, "Tonight...what would you like to eat tonight?"

Chen Yan gave her a strange look, with some impatience on his face, "Aunt Yang will see to the arrangements."

Ye Yuanyin said tactfully, "Then I have nothing to do. I won't bother you anymore."

She came in so quietly and left so silently, her character was truly as gentle as ever. He stopped her and said, "We need to go back to the old house tomorrow night. I'll have the driver pick you up."

The marriage without any sense of reality made her still floating in the clouds.

But things like entertaining parents with colorful clothes had to be done. However, Ye Yuanyin had some difficulties that were difficult to talk about.

Chen Yan stopped flipping through the documents, and his extremely long black eyes cast a shadow over her, like the ashes burned out in the furnace. The random bits of ashes that popped out and fell on her were like a scorching forest fire.

"I'm waiting for your answer."

Ye Yuanyin felt embarrassed. Poverty was like short clothes, which could not be covered up with effort. "I don't have clothes to wear for this kind of occasion. For your sake, I will rent a suitable dress, the kind that can be returned after use. It won't cost you too much. Is that okay with you?"

Chen Dian almost suspected that he had heard it wrong.

This young woman, known as his wife, had signed a pre-marital agreement, remaining single and unpaid. Although they weren't very familiar with each other after marriage, the fact that they were married, regardless of the reasons for their initial marriage, couldn't change it. He couldn't possibly be depriving her of money after marriage. He had clearly set up a fund account for her, with monthly income flowing in, yet he couldn't understand why she continued to live like an African refugee.

Maybe she was playing tricks again? Thinking of this, his face darkened and his voice was calm, "It's up to you."

"Thank you." Ye Yuan thanked politely, closed the door and went out.

*

That evening, Chendixia was picked up from boarding school. Chendi'an, who hadn't seen his sister for a long time, stood in the yard waiting for someone.

Since he had come out, Aunt Yang naturally called Ye Yuanyin out as well.

As the driver stopped, a little girl in her teens, wearing a private school uniform, pushed open the car door and rushed out, followed closely by a pure white teddy bear. She ran and jumped into Chen Yan's arms, hugged his neck, and shouted happily, "Brother, you're back."

Seeing her clinging to Shen Ji'an like a koala and refusing to get down, Aunt Yang couldn't help but shake her head: "You're so old, but you still don't behave."

Chen Yanxia didn't care about her. She shook his neck harder and harder, her eyes shining as she acted coquettishly: "Brother, did you buy Elsa's skirt for me? Did you buy it?"

Yan Chen teased her deliberately, "Oh, I was so busy that I forgot."

"Ah? How could this happen! We clearly agreed on this!" Chen Yinxia shouted in disappointment, "Brother, you are such a bad guy! But that's not right. Didn't Ji Quan always follow you? She definitely wouldn't forget. You must have bought it, right?!"

Aunt Yang turned her head to look at Ye Yuanyin, and saw that she was smiling as usual, and did not seem to have any resentment towards her. She felt mixed emotions.

On the wedding night, her husband was called away by this woman named Ji Quan. Her family had no power, and no one to support her, so no matter how angry she was, she could only suffer in silence.

No wonder marriages emphasize matching of family backgrounds. If the gap in family background and status is too great, people in a disadvantaged position cannot withstand the pressure.

Miss Ye was quiet and gentle, and naturally pretty, but she had a rather literary air. It would have been fine if she'd married someone else, but staying with a man like Mr. Shen, surrounded by gold and jade, surrounded by emerald green and red, who wouldn't even bother with him, and yet women would still be obsessed with him. A weak and good-tempered woman like her wouldn't be able to keep her.

Only someone with an iron-fisted style like Ji Quan is more suitable for the position beside him.

*

Shortly after dinner, Ye Yuan suddenly felt abdominal pain.

A layer of hives appeared on my arms, as if they had been boiled in boiling water and then fried over fire.

Aunt Yang was too busy to leave, so she asked her to coax Chen Xixia to sleep as usual.

That night, she endured her physical discomfort and read her The Great Gatsby before going to bed. The little girl rubbed the pure white silk feather quilt covering her body and asked her, "Do you think Gatsby's American dream came true?"

Ye Yuanyin stared at her malicious face and asked, "What do you think?"

Chen Yinxia yawned and asked cunningly, "Are the shoes you are wearing today Gi's?"

Her answer was honest and frank: "No. There is no brand."

"My brother won't even buy you a pair of shoes?"

Ye Yuanyin didn't say anything, and the pain in his abdomen became more and more severe.

Chen Yanxia enjoyed her awkward silence, drew out her tone, blinked her eyes and said, "I think it might have come true."

When Ye Yuanyin was ten years old, he lived in the desolate and secluded Jiutao Village. His only dream was to study hard and get out of the mountains. He didn't even know what Gatsby was. However, the ten-year-old Chen Dixia who lived in Ancheng had already learned to mock people calmly.

The facts were before her, and she could not find any reason to refute them. But in her mind, there were wars and battles, and the enemy generals were cutting down her self-esteem one by one.

After the little girl fell asleep, she gently closed the door and walked out of the princess-like gorgeous room, dragging her body as if it was on fire, feeling dizzy.

Chen Dianxia's room was on the third floor. Across from her, slightly to the west, was Chen Dian'an's bedroom. Ye Yuanyin lived in the guest room on the east side. Although they were married, they were unfamiliar with each other, so they rarely spoke to each other, and certainly never slept together.

Chen Dian had just finished taking a shower and walked out of the bathroom. The two met again across half a corridor.