Chapter 8: A Peach in Return: "All That Matters Is an Appearance"
08
After that awkward moment in the study that night, the atmosphere between the two seemed to have subtly changed. An unspoken understanding quietly formed between them, making them both more attentive to boundaries and limits in order to get their lives back on track of mutual respect.
The next evening, when Fang Huaixu returned home from get off work, Meng Yao was in the kitchen preparing a simple dinner. Hearing the noise, she turned around and nervously gripped the spatula.
Because of what Fang Huaixu said yesterday, she knew why he had returned early. She wasn't too surprised and nodded to him with a light smile.
Fang Huaixu walked in, his expression as calm and composed as ever. When his gaze swept over her, it lingered for a moment longer than usual, as if to make sure she was alright. He then broke the silence first, his tone as natural as if nothing had happened: "Cooking?"
"Okay, I'll cook some noodles." Meng Yao tried to keep her voice normal and casually asked, "Would you like some for me too?"
Unexpectedly, Fang Huaixu thought for a moment, then said without looking up, "Okay, thank you."
Meng Yao was taken aback. She had only been being polite, but she hadn't expected Fang Huaixu to actually agree.
She stared silently at her bowl of noodles and Fang Huaixu, who wasn't looking in her direction, and finally, helplessly, lit the fire again.
Fang Huaixu had just changed into a silver-gray loungewear and come downstairs when he saw Meng Yao still busy in the kitchen. He wanted to go over and help her, but when his gaze fell on the bowl of noodles that had already been made on the table, he realized that his unintentional remark was the culprit that had kept her busy.
Meng Yao sensed someone behind her, turned around and exchanged a glance with Fang Huaixu before quickly moving away: "Wait a moment, if you're hungry, eat the bowl on the table first."
Fang Huaixu didn't answer directly, but took away the bowl of noodles. Meng Yao thought he was gone and breathed a sigh of relief. But when a new bowl of steaming noodles was scooped into her bowl, a pair of large hands reached around to pick it up.
“We have a housekeeper at home, and Uncle Zhou is a very good cook,” Fang Huaixu said casually as he carried a bowl and put down the kitchen utensils for her. He then turned off the light and said, “If you’re too embarrassed to ask them, you can just tell me, and I’ll explain it to them.”
"No need, no need..."
The sudden closeness made Meng Yao tense up. She tried her best to answer the question and keep her composure: "I'm used to cooking for myself, and cooking noodles is not difficult. For more complicated dishes, I will tell Uncle Zhou in advance."
The two walked side by side to the restaurant and sat down opposite each other. Fang Huaixu placed the freshly cooked bowl in front of her, paused for a moment after sitting down, and looked at her seriously: "What I mean is... we should add each other on WeChat."
Meng Yao looked up at him with some surprise.
Fang Huaixu coughed lightly, but his tone remained businesslike and serious: "I've thought about it carefully. Your discomfort and the inconvenience between us mostly stem from insufficient communication. After adding each other on WeChat, it will be much easier to synchronize our schedules, such as what time I'll be back tonight, what items I need at home, what you need... We should have enough communication, come on..."
He paused for a moment, his eyes darting away slightly, before adding, "To avoid an unnecessary embarrassment like last night."
Thinking about what happened last night, Meng Yao felt her ears burning instantly. Plus, this reason was so irrefutable that she immediately agreed without thinking.
The two quickly added each other as friends by scanning a QR code. Meng Yao's nickname was "Myao," and her profile picture was a Q-version cat sculpture drawn for her by her biggest fan. Fang Huaixu's profile picture was a close-up of a Siamese cat sleeping on a sofa, looking very peaceful and cute, a stark contrast to his own personality.
A strange connection formed between their profile pictures. Meng Yao wasn't sure if she was overthinking it, so she glanced cautiously at Fang Huaixu, but seeing him calmly continuing to add notes, she stopped thinking about it.
After adding each other as friends, the air seemed to fall silent for a moment.
"Then... shall we eat?" Meng Yao spoke first, ending the brief exchange. The two remained silent.
Meng Yao only realized that Fang Huaixu was reporting his itinerary when he actually started sending her messages every day.
From that day on, she and Fang Huaixu really started communicating more, but most of it was limited to WeChat.
[F: I have a business dinner tonight, I'll be back around 11 PM.]
[Myao: Received. Should I wait for you?]
F: No need, get some rest.
...
[Myao: I don't have class tomorrow afternoon, I'll probably be in the study.]
F: Okay, I'll be home after 7 PM, and then I'll spend some time in my study organizing my work around 8 PM.
[Myao: Okay.]
[F: I noticed the flowers in the vase were almost wilted when I left this morning. I'll replace them when I get back tonight. Do you have any favorite varieties?]
[Myao: Huh?]
[F: Unless otherwise requested, I'll continue with your previous Jasmine.]
[Myao: ...That works too.]
...
[Myao: If you come home early tonight, I'll have Uncle Zhou cook dinner for you.]
F: Okay, I'll be home in half an hour. Is there anything I need to bring?
[Myao: I was just about to go downstairs to buy some drinks at home.]
F: (OK gesture)
Despite the simple and straightforward conversation, the two became closer than ever after two weeks.
Meng Yao didn't understand whether contract couples should report their schedules every day like this. At first, perhaps to avoid suspicion, they seemed to have reached some kind of silent agreement to try to avoid appearing in public at the same time.
But gradually, they realized that the other person was very polite, and they both completely relaxed.
Meng Yao also adapted to this way of communicating and began to make some simple requests while showing some basic care: he was truly an extremely respectful and considerate person.
However, sometimes Meng Yao would get a little annoyed by Fang Huaixu's excessive thoughtfulness.
The pressure of preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam was immense. Meng Yao often studied until late at night. When she overworked her brain, she would get hungry very quickly and would often go to the refrigerator in the kitchen in the middle of the night to have a snack.
But no matter when you go there, the refrigerator is always full of fresh ingredients, fruits, and snacks or semi-finished products suitable for late-night snacks.
At first, she thought it was Uncle Zhou who added it, until one night, when she couldn't concentrate on her book and decided to take a shower first, she saw the kitchen light on the second floor and realized that Fang Huaixu was standing in front of the refrigerator, neatly arranging several large boxes of milk and blueberries from the dining table into the refrigerator. On the counter next to him, there were also several shopping bags that had just been opened.
She finally found out who the refrigerator's "magic" came from.
But discovering the truth wasn't a good thing for her: she really disliked feeling indebted.
Of course, it wasn't because she was some kind of pushover. She didn't mind accepting kindness from others, but Fang Huaixu's kindness towards her involved the marriage alliance and the Lin family. She didn't want to be held back by the extra emotions that arose from this relationship when the marriage alliance ended and she had enough ability to break free from the Lin family's constraints, thus affecting her future judgment.
So the next day she would prepare breakfast, or add some ornaments or interesting little gadgets to his desk as a reward.
Fang Huaixu never explicitly expressed his likes or dislikes for these things, but Meng Yao only needed to see him use and accept them to tacitly acknowledge that he had accepted such a reward.
She reciprocated by doing the same thing she had done for Fang Huaixu.
So, out of this tacit understanding of reciprocity, even though they both hoped that when the collaboration ended, they would both feel that it was a pleasant and respectful experience, and that neither of them would owe the other anything, the two unexpectedly developed a closer relationship in the end.
Meng Yao couldn't figure out where things went wrong; her busy work schedule didn't give her much time to think about it.
"Xiao Meng! Look at these numbers! If you just broadcast for another half hour every day, just half an hour! This month's revenue will definitely double!"
Wang Qiang would wait outside her door almost every day after her live stream ended, pleading with her: "I know you're busy, but look, you need money too, don't you? Grandma's illness, the later rehabilitation, both of those cost a fortune. Just do it for Grandma's sake, and give it your all, okay?"
Meng Yao was driven to distraction by his nagging. In the end, she couldn't withstand the pressure and gritted her teeth to compromise, squeezing out two more hours of live streaming time every day.
The excessive workload made her visibly more tired, and even thick foundation couldn't completely cover her dark circles.
The high frequency of negative and positive exposure has finally backfired.
That day, as soon as she arrived at the company, she sensed that something was off. Several colleagues were whispering among themselves, and when they saw her come in, their eyes flickered with pity.
The receptionist pulled her aside with a serious expression: "Yaoyao, you're here... There's something I need to tell you."
Meng Yao asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
The receptionist sighed, pointed to a package in the corner, and looked frightened: "This morning, the receptionist received a package from you, and when we opened it..."
She paused for a few seconds, carefully choosing her words: "It was quite bloody inside... there were dead sheep entrails and a printed note..."
Meng Yao's heart sank, and she followed her over. The simple cardboard box was still lying in the corner, its contents a mess. On the white printed paper next to it, several ferocious words were scribbled: [Bitch! If you keep trying to ride this wave, next time it won't be like this!]
A chilling fear instantly crept up her spine, making her hands and feet go cold.
Although I have received many malicious private messages and comments online since I started live streaming, this is the first time I have encountered such behavior that directly seeks me out offline and carries a clear threatening intent.
Operations manager Su Xiaogang rushed over from the conference room. He originally wanted to tell Meng Yao about this later, but seeing that Meng Yao already knew, he composed himself and pushed through the crowd to explain: "We have already called the police and checked the surveillance footage, but the other party is very cunning. The package was anonymous, and the surveillance footage did not capture a clear face."
Su Xiao looked at her with concern: "But Yao Yao, don't worry, we will do our best to ensure your safety. Let's take a break from broadcasting for a while. I'm already negotiating with the chairman."
Meng Yao's face turned pale, and she shook her head. She had offended far too many people to simply avoid.
Her biggest "crime" is probably that she has a face similar to Lin Yue's, yet she is still making great strides on the path of being infamous and popular, which is also the means by which she survives.
Wang Qiang also rushed over from the conference room, rubbing his hands together, his tone much more subdued: "This...this is too scary! Xiao Meng, look at the mess this has made, it's true that I didn't think things through...Shall we tone it down for now? Let's not increase the live stream duration for the time being, let's lay low for a while."
Although he assured everyone of safety, his eyes still betrayed his reluctance to give up the traffic and revenue: "Don't worry, the company will definitely strengthen security and communicate with the platform to deal with those extreme comments! We'll adjust the live stream content a bit; we'll definitely be transforming in the future. Safety first, safety first!"
Ultimately, Meng Yao's live stream duration was reduced back to the original two hours, and she could even end the stream early if she wasn't feeling well.
Although Wang Qiang was heartbroken, he was clearly frightened by this sudden offline threat and dared not press the issue as aggressively as before.
The work-related turmoil has temporarily subsided, but that cold threat is like a thorn stuck in Meng Yao's heart.
She looked at her tired face in the mirror, which she had to force to look energetic. Just then, Fang Huaixu sent her a message on her phone to let her know.
[F: I'm working overtime tonight, so I'll get some rest early.]
As usual, she was carefully editing her words on the keyboard, preparing to type out some words of concern and politeness, when she suddenly felt as if her chest was stuffed with air, and she was extremely tired.
I felt like I was struggling in two completely different worlds, but in either one, it was like I was wearing a mask on stage, trying to attract attention.
The glamour was all an illusion; only she knew how restless her blood was screaming when every spotlight shone on her.
A note from the author:
It will get better soon. [Lop-eared rabbit head]
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