Chapter 14 Ruins are ruins, but treasures...
As soon as Jiang Nuanyu opened the door, the biting cold that hit her made her shiver.
I forgot to turn off the air conditioner again when I left home this morning.
She entered the house, turned on the light, changed her shoes, and stood there in the entryway for half a minute, lost in thought.
Her straightened shoulders finally slumped down, as if all her strength had been drained away in an instant. She grabbed a cushion from the sofa and curled up in a corner, hugging herself.
The entryway was bright and softly lit, extending all the way into the living room, leaving only a dim and hazy atmosphere.
A chill ran through my skin, accompanied by regret, resentment, anger, and deep self-loathing, spreading like a tide from my chest to my throat.
She resented Jingyao.
She resented him for taking advantage of her, resented his arrogance and indifference, and resented his nonchalant attitude.
But she resented herself even more.
Despite her hesitation and unease, she impulsively and rashly accepted his invitation, leading to a misunderstanding.
Given tonight's scene, coupled with Jingyao's misleading remark at the entrance of the horse ranch restaurant, even as an outsider, she couldn't convince herself that she and Jingyao had no connection whatsoever.
If she herself couldn't believe it, how could she expect Liang Qi to believe her?
But considering Liang Qi's almost indifferent demeanor tonight, she didn't even know if he needed her explanation.
Perhaps in his eyes, she was already a woman with unclear motives, wavering between him and Jingyao; perhaps her once heartfelt confession was also seen as a means with impure intentions.
Thinking of this, her chest ached as if pricked by needles. The emotions she had suppressed all night finally spiraled out of control; she buried her head in her chest, curled up in a ball, and wept silently.
She cried like that until she drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, the tear stains on her face had dried, but her temples were still wet, and large patches of her hair were stuck to her neck.
The night outside the window was deep, and the city was almost completely silent.
The clock on the wall showed that it was already 2 a.m.
The air conditioner made her hands and feet icy cold, so she rubbed her arms, intending to take a hot shower. Passing by the bedroom door, she caught a glimpse of the invitation on the dresser.
Tomorrow is the official opening day of Hans' private art exhibition, and she promised Hans that she would go.
The scene from that night a week ago is still vivid in my mind.
Liang Qi took her to a friend's art exhibition, they had dinner together, and he even drove her home.
She had fantasized that day would be some kind of beginning between her and him.
Now, it seems like everything has been messed up.
·
The next day, Saturday, Jiang Nuanyu didn't wake up until almost noon.
After washing up, she ate something simple to fill her stomach and then took a taxi to Hansfindel's villa.
A temporary reception desk was set up at the main entrance, where staff members checked the invitations.
Unlike when I visited last Saturday, the villa's courtyard had been carefully decorated with flowers, signs, and several parasols.
Food and drinks were laid out on a long table, and behind it were several sets of matching rattan tables and chairs, where people were chatting and drinking in the shade.
Jiang Nuanyu walked through the front yard into the villa. The layout of the second-floor exhibition hall was basically unchanged, except for minor adjustments to the positions of a few paintings.
Because it was a private exhibition, everyone who came was familiar with or connected to Hans, and they all seemed to know each other well. Only Jiang Nuanyu didn't know anyone and appeared to be all alone.
She was wandering around with her arms crossed when someone patted her on the shoulder from behind.
She turned around, and Hans smiled, his eyes shining: "Hey, Nuanyu."
Jiang Nuanyu was infected by his smile and smiled back: "Hi, Hans."
Hans said, "I'm glad you came."
"I've been really looking forward to today's official exhibition ever since the last one."
Jiang Nuanyu looked out the window and said, "The yard is decorated very well, it's beautiful."
Hans shook his head and smiled. "Those were all arranged by someone." He casually asked, "Didn't Liang Qi come with you?"
Jiang Nuanyu's expression became slightly unnatural for a moment, then she nodded: "Mm."
“Oh, okay. I thought you guys would come together.” Hans pursed his lips and teased, “Work arrangements, right? That’s very much in line with his style.”
Jiang Nuanyu lowered her eyes and smiled without saying a word.
Hans suddenly said, "Oh, by the way, I've prepared a gift for you."
"A gift?" Jiang Nuanyu asked in surprise.
Hans smiled mysteriously: "Wait a moment, I'll go get it."
"……good."
A moment later, Hans came downstairs and handed her a piece of stiff cardboard: "Here you go."
Jiang Nuanyu reached out and took it, still looking unsure of what was going on.
Hans gestured to her with his eyes: "Open it and take a look."
The cardboard was carefully tied with ribbon. Jiang Nuanyu carefully untied it, and inside the cardboard pages, there was a small square sketch fixed on each of the left and right sides.
She looked closely.
The left page shows the backs of a man and a woman in front of a painting; the man has one hand in his pocket and stands tall; the woman stands on the other side, her long hair falling gently over her shoulder. The right page shows the same couple sitting at a table, looking in the same direction.
The character's facial features are depicted with only a few strokes, yet they are remarkably lifelike.
Jiang Nuanyu recognized her and Liang Qi.
She couldn't help but reach out and gently trace the lines on the drawing with her fingertips.
She was overjoyed, her heart churning with a storm of emotions, but she couldn't utter a word for a moment.
Hans looked at her quietly, a smile in his eyes: "I hope you like it."
“…I really like it.” Jiang Nuanyu looked up, her eyes filled with undisguised excitement. “Thank you, Hans.”
Hans said, "I hope Liang Qi will like it too."
Jiang Nuanyu's eyes dimmed slightly for a moment.
Faced with Hans's slightly blessing-like expression, she felt inexplicably guilty: "Hans, Liang Qi and I... actually, it might not be what you think."
Hans was taken aback, then quickly raised his hands and shook his head with a smile: "Oh, of course. Of course, it doesn't mean anything."
He explained earnestly, "After you left that day, these two images kept flashing through my mind, so I just sketched them down. There was no other meaning behind it."
"I really like these two paintings, but..."
She looked at the scene in the sketch, the beauty of the past and the coldness of reality tearing at her heart. The humiliation and helplessness of the previous night surged up unexpectedly and got stuck in her throat, impossible to swallow.
She frowned and smiled, regretting her lapse in composure: "Sorry."
“It’s okay.” Hans looked at her and said softly, “Although I don’t know what happened between you two, Nuanyu, it’s okay.”
Jiang Nuanyu forced back the tears welling up in her eyes, nodded gently, and tried to calm herself down.
After a moment of silence, Hans said, "Just as you said, painters only serve a fleeting inspiration. The scene in this painting, at that moment, truly existed; it hasn't changed, and it won't change because of what happened later."
Jiang Nuanyu suddenly thought of the night she confessed her feelings on Menghe Island.
When she told Liang Qi "I like you," she didn't think about the future; she was simply giving an explanation for her current feelings and her past emotions.
Perhaps her relationship with Liang Qi was crushed into ruins before it even truly began, crushed by reality and inexplicable misunderstandings. But ruins are ruins, and gems are gems.
The excitement and beauty were real, and when we look back, they should shine brightly.
Hans said, "No matter the outcome, I hope that when you see or remember this scene again, it will bring you joy."
Jiang Nuanyu looked up and smiled at him: "Yes, I understand what you mean."
She is indeed a clever girl, Hans thought.
He smiled at her, opened his arms in a welcoming gesture: "I hope you can still enjoy yourself here."
“I will,” Jiang Nuanyu said sincerely. “Thank you, Hans.”
Hans shrugged, said nothing more, and patted her arm in comfort.
After Hans walked away, Jiang Nuanyu slowly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling momentarily dazed and even more surprised at her own loss of composure.
She composed herself, carefully put away the painting Hans had given her, said goodbye to Hans, fulfilled her promise, and then prepared to leave.
It was sunny outside, so she took out her sunglasses from her bag and put them on. Just as she stepped out, she ran into Shi Youning, who was coming up the steps.
Upon seeing each other, the two paused simultaneously.
"Editor Jiang?"
Shi Youning stepped onto the last step and greeted everyone first.
Jiang Nuanyu hesitated for a moment, then nodded in response: "Shi She".
Shi Youning glanced behind her and, seeing that she seemed to be alone, asked hesitantly, "You... know Hans?"
Jiang Nuanyu avoided eye contact and gave a vague "hmm," secretly glad she was wearing sunglasses.
For some reason, she felt somewhat ashamed to admit this relationship in front of Shi Youning.
She gave a dry laugh and changed the subject: "What a coincidence, running into you here."
Shi Youning nodded subconsciously: "Yes, I never expected that." Her eyes flickered, clearly deep in thought.
Jiang Nuanyu made an excuse: "Um, Shi She, I have something to do." She pointed in the direction of the villa's gate, "So I'll be leaving now."
Shi Youning paused for a moment, then said, "Oh, no problem. Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Jiang Nuanyu said with a sigh of relief. "See you later."
After saying goodbye, she quickly left, but Shi Youning's gaze remained fixed on her back, a hint of confusion in his heart.
Hans's network of connections in China is mostly concentrated in the art circle. She got to know Hans because of Liang Qi's personal relationship with Hans.
As an editor of Florian, it's not entirely impossible that Jiang Nuanyu met Hans by chance, but logically speaking, they might not have become so familiar that she was invited to a private exhibition.
Shi Youning frowned, stood there for a while, shook her head, and turned to go inside.
·
It's Monday again, and it's also the week for sending out monthly publications.
Unlike the August issue, the September issue is not only the peak of advertising spending throughout the year, but is also considered the most crucial issue of the year in terms of content and influence.
The workload is naturally not on the same level.
Jiang Nuanyu personally checked all the content of the page she was responsible for, and only before lunch did she compile a list of the tasks that needed final coordination and hand it over to He Anqi for follow-up.
After returning from lunch, she didn't rest either.
The October issue's feature on synthetic herbs was ultimately photographed in Bodrum, Turkey.
She's leaving next week, so she needs to finalize her outfit list by tomorrow. There are some clothes she doesn't have on hand, so she needs to set aside time to arrange for someone to contact the brands to coordinate borrowing them.
In the afternoon, a slight weariness permeated the editorial department.
Jiang Nuanyu stared at the computer screen, flipping through the paper catalog that He Anqi had printed out, checking each item one by one.
Halfway through her work, she closed her sore eyes, reached for her cup, and found that the extra-large cup of coffee she had been drinking since lunch was already empty.
The company's coffee machine is broken, so she can only drink instant coffee now, but she really doesn't want to wait for delivery.
It's instant, so be it!
She grabbed an empty cup and got up to walk towards the tea room.
I had only taken a few steps into the corridor when Shi Youning turned in from outside, seemingly heading straight for the photo editing area.
Jiang Nuanyu instinctively turned around to avoid a direct confrontation with her.
She pretended to walk back a few steps, and only came back after the person had passed.
She managed to avoid it, but she still felt uneasy and began to feel guilty.
She couldn't even understand why she was avoiding Shi Youning. Was it because she wanted to escape anything related to Liang Qi?
She doesn't understand herself.
But before that, she thought, "I'll try to hide once, even if it's just once."
Just before she was about to leave work, her phone on the table vibrated. She glanced at it and saw it was a WeChat message.
I casually clicked on it and found it was a message from Shi Youning: "Let's have dinner together after get off work."
Her head suddenly felt huge.
She hadn't even figured out how to greet someone if they made eye contact, let alone sit at the same table for a meal.
This was clearly not a situation she could handle.
Without hesitation, she decided to refuse.
Her two thumbs hovered above the keyboard, her mind racing, trying to find a convincing reason. She even considered pretending not to have seen the message and explaining it later.
While I was weighing my options, a new message popped up.
Shih Yu-ning: "I'll be waiting for you at the magazine office entrance."
Jiang Nuanyu: "..."
My colleagues who aren't working overtime have already started packing their things, talking about which restaurant to go to that night, what movie to watch, or where to go shopping.
Jiang Nuanyu kept dawdling.
At this moment, she really wished an urgent task would suddenly come up and make her work overtime.
However, at this point in time, with no events scheduled, no interviews arranged, and no filming scheduled, her somewhat perverse idea simply couldn't be realized.
She closed her eyes and tapped her phone back and forth.
"Jiang Jiang, it's time to get off work."
As Feng Shasha passed by, she asked, "Aren't you leaving yet? Going to work overtime?"
No overtime.
Jiang Nuanyu forced a smile: "I'm leaving soon."
"Bye-bye then~ See you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow."
Feng Shasha left briskly, and Jiang Nuanyu sighed silently and turned off her computer.
As she packed her things, she tried to reassure herself: it was probably just a dinner date between colleagues; she was overreacting because she had something to hide…
She picked up her bag and walked out of the office area. Sure enough, Shi Youning was leaning against the front desk, looking like she was waiting for someone.
Their eyes met, Jiang Nuanyu smiled slightly, and stepped forward.
A note from the author:
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