Chapter Forty-Five: The Photo Scandal
In the bookshelf, there was a row of English books, probably some of his books from when he was at Columbia University. I curiously opened one, and there was one with a particularly exquisite cover that didn't look like a book. I opened it and found that it was a yearbook, but the whole design was quite high-end, and all the messages were in English. I found that my English level of CET-6 seemed a bit difficult to translate these. It's true that practice makes perfect!
As I flipped through the pages, a photo suddenly caught my eye. In it, Chu Zhen exuded youthful energy, dressed in sportswear, holding a basketball, sitting under a hoop. A girl was perched on his shoulder—clearly a very pretty Chinese girl. The background looked like Columbia University. Chu Zhen smiled, and the girl smiled too. The intimacy of their actions suggested they were a couple; I simply couldn't believe they weren't. A woman's intuition is often accurate, especially the way other women look at her man.
Chu Zhen told me he'd never been in a relationship, and I was his first love. Sure enough, men's words are deceiving. I put the photos inside, returned the yearbook to its place, took out my suitcase, and went to the cloakroom to pack my things. Suddenly, I felt like a joke.
Back at our place, the room was indeed as my mom described—too messy to even step in. I'm the kind of person who likes to do a major tidying up when the room is extremely chaotic, while Huang Yanyan is the kind of person who likes things to be messy. She says that chaos is the most authentic reflection of life.
I changed my clothes and started cleaning the house, hoping to get that photo out of my mind as well. But even when the whole house was spotless, the photo was still lingering in my mind.
"Honey, I thought I went to the wrong house! When did you get back?" Huang Yanyan exclaimed as she walked in after get off work.
"I got back this afternoon. I made some porridge. Would you like some?"
"Wow, what a virtuous wife! She can even cook porridge now! I want some to try my darling's cooking!" Yan Yan put down her bag and went to the kitchen.
"Big sister, is this the porridge you were talking about?"
"What's wrong?" I went to the kitchen.
Water is water, rice is rice; I completely forgot to press the porridge button.
"It's okay, we'll cook it now and have some to drink in a little while." I pressed the button and went back to the sofa.
"Lin Dang, what's wrong? You seem a bit off. Is it because Auntie's recovery isn't going well?"
"My mom is recovering quite well."
"Yan Yan, Chu Zhen lied to me!" After thinking about it, I decided to tell Yan Yan that there were no secrets between us.
"What did I lie to you about?"
"He has been in relationships and had girlfriends."
"Really? You saw him?" Huang Yanyan was a little surprised because I had told her before that I was Chu Zhen's first love.
"I saw the photos!" I described the photos from the afternoon to Yan Yan.
"Lin Dang, I think you might be overreacting. Maybe she's Chu Zhen's sister? Look, we didn't expect Chen Weiqi to be Chu Zhen's cousin either!"
"No, your eyes don't lie!"
"Actually, Chu Zhen is quite outstanding in every way. It's normal for him to have a girlfriend, right?"
"I was prepared for him to have a girlfriend, but why did he lie to me and say he didn't?"
"Maybe they're worried you're being too sensitive. Look, aren't you very sensitive right now?"
"How about we skip the porridge and go out for drinks instead?"
Okay~
Yan Yan took me to a quiet bar she frequents. The place was quite secluded, but the decor was nice, with a classic and antique feel. When we went in, the waiter greeted Yan Yan, so it seemed like she was a regular customer.
"Just bring out a bottle of wild kudzu!" This was another name I heard besides beer and red wine. Huang Yanyan told me, "Just define it as a foreign liquor."
The wine really doesn't taste good, but the heartburn feeling is actually quite comfortable for me right now. The singer has started singing, and it's my favorite song, "Lemon Tree".
"Drink slowly, this wine has a strong aftereffect," Huang Yanyan said when she saw me drinking continuously.
"It's okay, being drunk is just a good excuse to get a good night's sleep!"
Blacking out after drinking is normal for me, just like the first time I got drunk I didn't know why I was video chatting with Chu Zhen, and this time I don't know how I ended up in Chu Zhen's bedroom again.
"Why are you drinking again?" Chu Zhen asked me coldly as he sat on the edge of the bed.
Where is Yan Yan?
“She wasn’t drunk. I took her home. Why did you leave without saying goodbye? Why were you drinking?” Chu Zhen asked again.
"Yan Yan was home alone, so I went back to keep her company. The drinking was unintentional."
"Lin Dang, do you know you can't lie?" Chu Zhen moved closer to me, staring into my eyes.
"And what about you? Are you good at lying?" I sneered.
"I knew something was wrong. What happened? What lie did I tell you? Tell me."
"You have a girlfriend, so why did you tell me I was your first love?" I finally asked. It was really painful to keep it to myself, even if Chu Zhen just came up with another excuse to lie to me.
"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" Chu Zhen was a little confused.
He was still trying to make excuses and lie to me. I got out of bed, ran straight to the study, and took out that photo.
"I accidentally found it while cleaning yesterday, it wasn't intentional."
Chu Zhen glanced at the photo and then placed it on the bedside table.
"If you have any problems in the future, just ask me directly. Don't go drinking. It's not only unsafe, but it's also bad for your health."
"Okay, how do you explain this photo?"
“She was my high school classmate, and we went to Columbia University together, but she’s still in the United States now.”
"So you stayed in the US all this time because of her. If your parents hadn't divorced, would you still have returned to China?" I believe I've lost my mind to question Chu Zhen like that. This is the kind of romantic relationship I find most objectionable.
"Lin Dang, I've always thought you were a rational girl. I'm explaining this to you now, but from now on, please believe everything I say. We should trust each other."
Chu Zhen paused for a moment and said, "She likes me, but I don't like her. There were several people together that day, but when we were taking pictures, she suddenly leaned on me, and that's how this photo came about."
"The photo was taken by accident, so how come you've kept it all this time?"
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't know there were photos in there?" Chu Zhen said, looking at me.
"I trust you!"
I rarely read romance novels, but I have watched a few melodramatic romance dramas with Huang Yanyan. There were similar plots in them, so I'll just assume that the girl secretly put it in there to give Chu Zhen a memory!
"Your expression shows complete disbelief. I've said it before, my first love was you, and my first love and my wife are the same person, understand?" Chu Zhen looked at me with a firm expression.
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