Chapter 2-10
10
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” He Yajun said, the orange light from the bedside lamp softening her expression. “My flight is tomorrow night, so we can only stay together until noon tomorrow at the latest.”
"Huh?" Qiao Ruo was holding her phone and setting her alarm for tomorrow morning when she heard his words and felt a little dizzy.
"I could have stayed two days longer, but... something urgent came up at work and I had to go back to deal with it," he explained apologetically, his expression also showing remorse.
She was still a little confused. Of course she knew that he was just back on vacation and couldn't stay in his hometown forever, but perhaps because she was afraid of separation, or perhaps because she was still immersed in the joy of being in love with him, she subconsciously avoided thinking about this issue in detail.
She stared blankly at his face, utterly at a loss for words. No, she knew, in truth, that she wanted to throw herself into his arms, hug him tightly, and tell him not to go, to stay. But she couldn't do that, because love wasn't an important part of his life, and she had already promised him she wouldn't bother him. If she were to truly pour out her heart now, he would only leave even faster.
She laughed, feigning indifference, and cancelled her plan to set an alarm: "Then you'll be the one envying me the rest of the time. No matter how much your bank adheres to labor laws, you can't sleep in every day, haha."
He raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by her indifferent reaction: "I thought you would miss me."
She looked at him; his voice was full of teasing, but his eyes were very sincere. She couldn't tell if he was joking or serious.
She put down her phone, lay down, rested her head on his shoulder, and wrapped one arm around his neck, placing it on his other shoulder: "And you, will you miss me?"
He didn't answer immediately, and she waited quietly. Perhaps because his body temperature was higher than hers, her hand resting on his shoulder felt a burning pain, and her palms quickly became sweaty.
Just as she was wondering if he had fallen asleep, she suddenly heard him say, "I don't have any vacation time for a while, but if I can find enough time, I'll come back to see you."
She pondered whether this was an implication that he wasn't reluctant to part with her, but because they were already together, he was willing to promise her that he wouldn't forget her as soon as he went abroad.
She didn't feel comforted. She knew perfectly well that he didn't love her, and that just because they had slept together a few times, he wouldn't value her above everything else, much less change the course of his life for her. Yet, deep down, she still hoped that he might hesitate even slightly about leaving her because of her.
She was relieved that he couldn't see her face, so she didn't have to fake a smile: "It's okay, you don't need to come back specially, that's too much trouble."
"If you don't plan to go back to work anytime soon, you can come to the United States to see me if you have time. Just let me know in advance and I'll arrange everything."
She thought about the 150,000 yuan she had saved in a fixed deposit and realized she simply couldn't accept his invitation. Even if she gritted her teeth and withdrew all the money to pay for one round trip to the US, what about after that? How many trips could that little bit of savings support? Moreover, her father was about to be hospitalized for surgery, and she would have to contribute to the costs, not to mention that she was currently unemployed, leaving her with even less disposable income. She couldn't help but feel melancholy; she had worked so hard for so long, yet nothing had changed. They say love is unrelated to material things, but facing this impending cross-border romance, without financial support, she couldn't be by his side often. It was obvious that maintaining their relationship would be extremely difficult.
Before tonight, his departure was still a future possibility. Although she had a concept of it, compared to his willingness to be with her, she didn't think a long-distance relationship was a major obstacle. She told herself that she was content as long as she cherished each moment, without worrying about tomorrow's path or needlessly wasting her emotions. But now, the separation had hit her hard, and a heavy sense of reluctance and pessimism instantly engulfed her like dark clouds obscuring the sun. She realized that she couldn't be so detached, rationally accepting everything and simply enjoying the present moment of pleasure.
"Resign immediately, go to the United States first, then apply to schools in New York to study for a few years, and find every opportunity to get close to him."
The words Qiao Min had said to her at the restaurant last night unexpectedly came to mind. She smiled bitterly to herself; if she had only heard this suggestion tonight, would she still have thought Qiao Min was crazy?
Not wanting He Yajun to notice her predicament, she changed the subject: "Where do I have so much time to squander? I need to rest for a few more days, then I'll have to start looking for a job, otherwise my parents will kick me out."
Where would you like to work?
"It'll most likely be a dental clinic or something similar. I can't do anything else besides treating other people's teeth."
He asked, "Is it in our local area, or are you planning to go to another city?"
"It's not decided yet."
"Um, why did you resign before?"
Qiao Ruo remained silent for a while before saying, "There's no particular reason. I just feel tired and want to take a good rest. Only by resigning can I have a relatively long vacation and be completely undisturbed by work."
He agreed with her: "Yes, that's true. Once you enter the workplace, you often have no choice in what you do."
She sensed a sense of camaraderie in his tone and looked up to ask, "Your work must be very busy and tiring, right?"
"Being busy is a given, but as for being tired, to be honest, I don't think it's too bad. I studied finance in college, which I really enjoy, and my grades were always good. When I entered the workforce, I met a great boss who taught me a lot, and I got up to speed very quickly. Even today, I'm still interested in this field. Interest is often the best driving force, and even when I encounter difficulties, I don't feel frustrated or tired."
She was happy to learn more about him than she knew: "Are you very strict with your subordinates? The kind who never smiles."
He glanced down at her and asked, "Am I that scary?"
She wrinkled her nose and nodded.
He gently flicked the tip of her nose: "But what you said isn't entirely wrong. I do have high expectations for my subordinates' work, but I'm not harsh. I can still allow them to make small mistakes." He frowned as if recalling something, and said very seriously, "Whether I smile or not, I haven't paid attention to my expression, but I think it should be okay. I'm not ugly, so even if I don't smile, I won't scare people away."
"Do you have any Chinese men under your command like yourself?"
“Yes, but not many. Most of them are foreigners.” He looked at her with a half-smile. “By the way, I heard that several girls in the office say, ‘I am the most handsome Chinese man they have ever seen. If they were asked to marry a Chinese man, they would definitely choose me.’”
"..." She was amused by his expectant look, and nonchalantly pouted, "You said it yourself, there aren't many Chinese people where you are, so the sample size is insufficient, and their evaluations are naturally not very convincing."
"..."
"Are they all very beautiful, with long legs?"
He closed his eyes and ignored her.
Qiao Ruo had encountered foreign faces on the street before, but she had never interacted with foreigners, and her knowledge of foreign women was extremely limited. Based on her experience watching European and American movies, those girls all had large, bright blue eyes, deep-set features, and radiant white skin. Not only that, most of them also had very hot figures and straightforward yet passionate personalities. Even she, a woman, found them stunning, let alone how much men would find them attractive.
She suddenly became interested in He Yajun's ex-girlfriends, punched him on the shoulder, and asked, "Have you ever dated foreign girls? How is it different between dating them and dating Chinese girls?"
He Yajun's lips twitched, but she kept her eyes closed and did not answer.
She pried open his eyelids, forcing him to look at her, and urged him excitedly, "Tell me about it quickly."
He was both amused and exasperated. He rubbed his eyes and patted her forehead with his palm: "Your thought process... I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I only like to talk about love with Chinese women."
He deliberately emphasized the words "romance," even gritting his teeth, but her attention wasn't on them at all. She said with a disappointed look, "Okay, I thought you'd dated at least one before."
"I have to say, perhaps you and Bai Qing are destined to appear in my life. You even asked the same question as her, and your disappointed expressions are exactly the same."
Qiao Ruo was speechless.
He Yajun suddenly laughed, and the laughter grew louder and louder, her chest shaking so much that her whole body trembled as well.
Qiao Ruo covered his mouth: "What are you laughing at?"
He kissed her palm, and when she pulled her hand away because it tickled, he said, "It's nothing, I just think you're cute." Then he burst into laughter again.
"Oh." She was a little confused, but she liked seeing him laugh, so she laughed along with him.
When he finally stopped laughing, she said, "Speaking of Bai Qing, we ran into her at the restaurant entrance last night. After you and Jiang Ming went in, she asked you about you in front of me."
"What did you ask me?"
"To be precise, she asked about you and me." She pursed her lips helplessly. "She asked me if I still liked you, and I... admitted it. Then she encouraged me to confess to you."
He remained silent, looking thoughtful.
"You're not angry, are you? It's no use denying it..."
He smiled and said, "I was wondering why she was acting so strangely this morning. She came to my house and asked me what I thought of you."
Her heart suddenly raced, but she spoke calmly: "I didn't expect her to be so kind. She just asked me the night before, and the next day she started taking action to help me. She's really a good person. I wish I had a childhood sweetheart like her."
He glanced at her again: "I thought you were going to ask me how I answered her."
She blinked and asked cooperatively, "So what did you say to her?"
“I said you’re prettier than her.” His tone was also calm.
This compliment made her hesitant to smile: "You...you're making me offend her, aren't you?"
"Don't worry, her husband will coax her, and she'll calm down in less than three minutes."
The word "husband" struck her heart, inexplicably stirring her emotions. She said with a hint of envy, "It's rare to see someone with such a good relationship with Jiang Ming."
He Yajun remained silent for a while. After an unknown amount of time, he turned over, lay on his side facing her, and called to her in a low voice, "Qiao Ruo, look at me."
She turned her head and met his eyes, her heart skipping a beat. Perhaps it was because of the warm orange light that everything seemed to lose its sharp edges and become softer, so much so that she felt his gaze had lost its coldness and become exceptionally gentle, as if it were filled with love.
They had other moments of close eye contact, of course, but those moments only occurred when their bodies were extremely intimate. Whenever that moment came, he would gaze intently into her eyes—he had done the same half an hour earlier—as if she were the only person in the world who could keep him alive. But at that time, his gaze held more of a desire to conquer than affection.
She turned around and obediently looked at him.
“Listen, whenever you want to come to America to see me, you can just tell me,” he seemed a little hesitant, but continued, “Don’t worry about the money, okay?”
He was so perceptive; he had already seen through her concerns. She felt a little embarrassed and touched. She wouldn't actually spend his money to go to America, but at this moment, she still wanted to agree.
“Okay.” Her hand touched his eyebrows and eyes, and her eyes followed the movement of her fingers. “Then you have to be prepared. I might come to see you every month from now on, and you will soon lose at least the down payment for a house.”
He didn't respond to her joke, but gazed at her quietly for a while. His eyes flickered, and then he began to stroke her eyebrows and eyes.
His fingers traced the outline of her eyes around them: "Your eyes are beautiful."
She was already aroused by his touch, and his praise made her even more excited.
She moved closer to him, hugged his waist, and tilted her face up in his arms. He lowered his head to let her kiss his lips.
His breath always made her lose control; as she kissed him, her breathing and heartbeat became erratic.
He returned her kiss, deepening the kiss.
In her dazed state, she suddenly opened her eyes, tilted her head back, and temporarily parted from his lips.
As she left, he opened his eyes and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?" His voice was very low and hoarse.
Her voice was also hoarse, but her tone was very serious: "Take good care of yourself while you're away, don't get sick, don't be unhappy, okay?"
He froze. She didn't need his answer to yes or no. She slightly raised her body and whispered in his ear, "Ya Jun, I love you."
Before she could lie back down, he rolled over and pinned her shoulders down, the force of which almost made her scream in pain.
"you……"
He kissed her forcefully, swallowing all the words she hadn't said.
She couldn't help but shed tears. He clearly sensed her emotions, sighed, and gently kissed away her tears.
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