Chapter 41 Chapter 41 The Joy of Innocence
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Professor Zhao's training course started. At noon, Xia Qingwan packed her clothes, pulled her suitcase, and went to the parking lot.
Ye Yuan's driver, Lao Ke, came back from the gatehouse and asked, "Miss Xia, are you going to school now?"
Before Ye Peixiu left, he instructed him to take Xia Qingwan to school at 2 PM, and it's not even 1 PM yet.
"I'd like to go back to the compound first," Xia Qingwan said. "Would it be convenient for you to take me there?"
“Of course it’s convenient,” Old Ke said, taking her luggage in two quick steps and opening the car door. “Please get in.”
As the Maybach slowly drove out of the big red gate, Lao Ke lowered the window and whispered a few words to the guard at the door.
As the Maybach drove onto the main road, Ye Yuan's guards made a phone call to Ye Peixiu.
The old man and Ye Peixiu's father were attending a meeting abroad, so Ye Peixiu was in charge of managing and receiving all the affairs of the old house in Xishan.
Friends and relatives visited, and both host and guests enjoyed themselves.
He was watching a play in the flower hall when he answered the phone and walked to the window. "...What?"
The person on the other end of the phone said, "Miss Xia is pulling a suitcase and says she's going back to the compound first."
-
Before the car even reached the compound, Xia Qingwan received a call from Ye Peixiu.
"Why did you leave?"
"Huh?" Xia Qingwan was a little confused. "I need to put my luggage back home before going to school."
"...And at night?"
"Evening? Don't you have a lot of social engagements?" She realized what he meant. "...You want me to stay at Ye Garden?"
She stayed in Ye Garden. Firstly, there was someone to take care of her and she had three meals on time. Secondly, even if he came back late, they could always see each other.
Xia Qingwan chose her words carefully and said, "A lot of my books are at home. Now that classes have started, it's more convenient to stay at home."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Ye Peixiu said, "...Okay."
She knew that he had always been gentle, and no matter how she lost her temper in the past, he could always hold her emotions steady. But precisely because of this, she had never felt the bottom line of his temper, and didn't know when and why he would lose his temper. Seeing that he spoke without emotion, she couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
Afraid of making him unhappy.
But letting her continue to stay in Ye Garden is really against common sense.
My heart was hanging in the air when I heard him say, "I'll come to see you tonight."
Xia Qingwan felt deeply comforted, and her tone softened slightly, "...Okay, then I'll wait for you."
-
After class in the afternoon, Xia Qingwan went to the library, printed out all of Professor Zhao's journal articles published in the last four years, and took them home.
Fortunately, Grandma Xi had decorated the house before she left, with lanterns and red tassels everywhere, and wishes for "happiness upon opening the door" and "safe passage"...
However, now that she came back alone, she didn't feel the house was lonely.
Busy cleaning and packing my suitcase, I was busy until evening when I received a call from Lin Xiangyu.
As soon as the call was connected, the person on the other end shouted, "My application has been approved!"
"Wow, congratulations, Sister Xiang Yu!"
"I'll treat you to a meal."
Lin Xiangyu smiled.
"Okay, after school starts?"
"Oh, didn't your grandma go to Shaoping to celebrate the New Year? What are you busy doing at home alone?"
Xia Qingwan smiled and sighed frankly, "The spring night is too short, I must cherish it."
When she spoke so calmly, Lin Xiangyu lost her sense of humor and said empathetically, "As long as you had fun."
"I think so."
Lin Xiangyu had been in the entertainment circle with Qiao Yingxue and her group of girlfriends for several years. She knew these playboys' ways very well. When they were young, none of them could escape the common practice of dating female students or minor celebrities, indulging in the glitz and glamour of Shanghai. But once they reached a certain age, they all had to cut ties and obediently go home to get married.
Therefore, she was living for the moment with Sheng Junchi, and thus, she could fully understand Xia Qingwan's plans.
Perhaps because Lin Xiangyu knew the inside story better, Xia Qingwan could confide in her, "On New Year's Eve, Ye Peixiu came back to celebrate my birthday with me, and I met his mother."
When this was mentioned, Lin Xiangyu said, "Oh, I heard Sheng Junchi say that Mr. Ye's mother's surname is Pei. She is the second young lady of the Pei family in Shanghai. The current head of the Pei family is her younger brother."
"...You mean the Pei family, are you referring to...?"
Xia Qingwan was bewildered.
"It's the Pei family you're thinking of."
A family that lives in legend.
"...So that's how it is."
His name carries the expectations of two prominent families.
"I don't know if this is appropriate, but young ladies from big families like that will always look down on people. If she gives you a hard time, don't take it to heart."
Lin Xiangyu comforted her.
“I won’t,” Xia Qingwan said with a smile. “Of course not.”
Lin Xiangyu was not surprised by her answer at all. She was a resilient and insightful girl. In the past, she had already experienced many small hardships in her life, and it was not worth letting unfounded things make her feel bad.
However, Lin Xiangyu also knew that she was a pure and sincere girl. At an age when she was just beginning to experience love and everything was still unsettled, she happened to meet a man like Mr. Ye, who was high-ranking, handsome, charming, knowledgeable, gentle, and considerate...
It probably won't end well.
-
That night, Xia Qingwan studied until late, and when it was time to go to bed, she took a shower and went to bed.
Ye Peixiu said he would be late.
She had promised to wait for him, so she left the door open for him, turned on the bedside lamp, and leaned against the headboard to read.
Perhaps because I had exhausted myself the previous two days, I fell asleep while watching it.
In the early hours of the morning, Ye Peixiu came to her house, took off his coat downstairs, washed his hands of cigarette smoke, went upstairs, loosened the collar of his shirt, and pushed the door open.
The bedroom was dimly lit, with only the soft yellow light of the bedside lamp gently illuminating the corner of the bed.
She was fast asleep.
Ye Peixiu gently took the book from her hand and glanced at the cover.
Collection of Su Shi's poems.
A hardworking young girl.
He was still memorizing his lessons before going to bed late at night.
She is not his pet fish or bird, she has her own life.
As a university student, her academic future is naturally the most important thing. Men and romance are secondary in her life.
Intellectually, he understood all these principles, but at this moment, Ye Peixiu couldn't help but feel a little inappropriately lost and melancholy - she was too clear-headed.
He was so intoxicated by the intense affection and deep, inseparable bond they had shared the previous two days that he was full of vigor and high spirits when he went to social events in Xishan. He was also fueled by his longing to see her that evening, and his whole being was brimming with energy.
But then I received news that she had left with her suitcase.
When I called her, she looked surprised and asked, "You want me to stay in Ye Garden?"
For a moment, he almost laughed in anger.
Ye Peixiu took her book, left the bedroom, sat down on the sofa in the side hall on the first floor, lit a cigarette, and flipped through the pages while smoking.
The last time I sent him white tea, there was a line of Su Shi's poems written on the packaging. Before going to bed, she held this thick collection of Su Shi's poems and read it. It seemed that she was really fascinated by it.
A girl who loves both "Dream of the Red Chamber" and Su Shi possesses both a delicate and melancholic elegance and a free and unrestrained spirit.
After half an hour, when he was almost sober, he went upstairs to her bedroom to take a shower. After showering, he crawled into bed, pulled her into his arms, and deeply inhaled her neck.
-
The next morning, when Xia Qingwan woke up naturally, Ye Peixiu had already left.
She washed up, changed into her outdoor clothes, came to her desk, leaned over the table, and opened the window.
The crisp, bleak winter air blew in, and my face felt the dry chill, making me feel even more awake.
The wind whipped up the gauze curtains, causing them to flutter and sway.
She bent down to tidy her desk, and on the other side of the long table, papers rustled and fluttered in the wind.
Xia Qingwan turned her head to look over.
A bunch of freesias were placed in a sky-blue, thin-necked jade vase. Next to the vase, a piece of Xuelang paper was weighed down by a paperweight, as if it had been brought up from grandma's desk in the side hall downstairs.
It was a corner of the snow-white paper that fluttered in the winter breeze.
She pushed the paperweight away and picked up the Xuelang paper.
There were two lines of text on it, written in the old-fashioned vertical style, from right to left:
"To the evening of the Qing Dynasty:
And they were carefree, enjoying their innocent joy to the fullest.
Xia Qingwan took the paper, turned around, leaned against the desk, and looked down to examine it closely.
She read these few words several times.
The more I looked, the hotter my eyes became, but in the end, I laughed lightly.
Back then, she brought white tea as a gift to Ye Yuan, with a line of Su Shi's poem written on the packaging. Now, he visits her at midnight and leaves at dawn, also leaving her a line of Su Shi's poem.
After looking at it carefully, she folded the Xuelang paper and put it in the drawer.
He took out his phone and sent a message to Ye Peixiu:
"When will Mr. Ye have some free time? How about we share a pot of wine, a quiet evening, and Pei Xiu?"
Ye Peixiu returned her call, and as soon as she answered, he said, "Why not tonight?"
"OK."
She leaned against the desk, rubbing her toes lightly on the carpet.
"You agreed so readily? I'm a little skeptical."
Ye Peixiu smiled meaningfully and said, "When you left yesterday, didn't you have even the slightest hesitation?"
Xia Qingwan was silent for a moment, then said softly, "...I think you should understand what I mean." She paused and continued, "Otherwise, you should be angry with me."
"How do you know I'm not angry?"
He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he wanted to settle accounts with her.
"If you get angry, it means you understand me and are good to me, so you hold back your anger and come to see me in the evening."
Look.
Seeing that she was usually cold and aloof, she was quite unpretentious when she spoke these soft words.
It's always accurate.
Ye Peixiu's initial anger was soothed and flattered that it turned into a calm and pleasant demeanor.
He laughed, a lazy and tender tone in his voice, "Are you trying to coax me?"
As he spoke, he looked at his watch, wishing it would get dark soon so that this boring and long social event could end.
"And," she continued, "I know what you mean."
Ye Peixiu nodded.
After hanging up the phone, Wang Jingzi, who was accompanying him on the balcony enjoying the breeze, smiled and jokingly lowered his voice, "Miss Xia is really good at coaxing people."
He had a gloomy face for half the morning, making everyone in the box nervous and afraid to breathe. But after a phone call, the mood suddenly brightened up.
Ye Peixiu looked at him coldly, but he was actually happy in his heart. He lowered his eyes and smiled lazily.
A smile as warm as spring.
-
In the evening, Sheng Junchi organized the gathering.
It’s at the old location of the Hutong Club.
Wang Jingzi drove the car and stopped it steadily in the club's exclusive parking lot. Without staying for a second, he quickly got out of the car, closed the door, and walked away.
He had just walked two meters away when the car body shook violently.
In the dim light of the car, Xia Qingwan stared at Ye Peixiu with her moist eyes, "Are you punishing me?"
Deep beneath the black coats, the two were deeply connected, and from where the tree roots twisted together, streams of underground hot spring water gushed out.
Ye Peixiu stared at her with his dark eyes, "Do you think this is a punishment?"
She pursed her lips and nodded.
Ye Peixiu said, "I'm sorry."
After saying that, he kissed her lips more deeply, the opposite of his actions, explaining politely, "You've been starving me, I'm just begging for food." He said, "Besides, didn't we agree today to enjoy ourselves and be carefree? Isn't it good that you can 'reap the benefits'?"
"If Su Shi knew you were using his words for this purpose, he would be furious."
She grabbed his shoulder and angrily started biting his chin.
"Then I'll also say sorry to him."
What a scoundrel.
He should have known, he knew it all along. He shamelessly said she was taking advantage of him on their first meeting; deep down, he had the unconventional air of a typical Beijing youth.
"...I thought the evening would be a refreshing and elegant wine tasting..."
She said all that to him on WeChat: a pot of wine, a quiet evening, and Pei Xiu... so elegant!
But this person...
"You have to forgive me for this," Ye Peixiu kissed her again, his tone lazy after a blissful moment. He chuckled and said, "I told you long ago, accompanying you to admire flowers and drink tea is just my affectation. What I, a common man, want is you."
-----------------------
The author's note: "Let us be carefree and enjoy our innocent joys." This comes from Su Shi's "Xingxiangzi: Expressing My Feelings"; "To be a leisurely person, with a pot of wine, a quiet evening, and a Pei Xiu," is an adaptation of Su Shi's "Xingxiangzi: Expressing My Feelings": When will I return to be a leisurely person? Facing a zither, a pot of wine, and a stream of clouds.
If there are any fans of Su Shi, I'm so sorry, please don't generalize the character's actions to the author, thank you!
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