Bringing the Nation’s Husband Home - Chapter 800-824
Or could Lu Jinnian possibly take it as… Qiao Anhao had started to like him many years ago?
This explanation made him feel like someone had hit his pressure points. He held the letter, frozen in his office chair. His ears heard no sound and he could feel his own heart racing especially quick – dong dong dong – like thunder had striking violently.
That ain’t right. He had to figure out what was going on.
Lu Jinnian pulled out his phone and tapped Qiao Anhao’s name. Just as he was about to call her, he remembered the recording pen Qiao Anxia had given him. If he told her… then wouldn’t she know that Qiao Anxia had been meddling behind her back?
He knew just how much she cared for her big sister Qiao Anxia… If she learned about this, she’d feel terrible. Moreover, right now, she was pregnant.
Lu Jinnian paused for a moment, before eventually returning to his contacts.
He never saved Qiao Anxia’s number, but even if he did ask her about what happened with the recording pen, she perhaps might not tell him… just like how she didn’t tell him where Qiao Anhao was.
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So he could only find Xu Jiamu.
Xu Jiamu…
Lu Jinnian paused for a moment and thought back to how Xu Jiamu had went up on stage to clear Qiao Anhao and his name without any hesitation at yesterday’s competition.
If it weren’t for him, then perhaps it would be difficult for Qiao Anhao to ever clear her name.
If it weren’t for him stepping in at the most important moment, he and Qiao Anhao would have really gone through with the emigration idea.
Even if there was resentment between him and Han Ruchu, Xu Jiamu had never treated him poorly.
What’s more, during lunch he overheard a shareholder saying that Han Ruchu had been taken to a hospital at night after coughing up blood from rage due to her own son’s betrayal. Her condition had only stabilized this morning.
No matter how evil Han Ruchu was… she was still Xu Jiamu’s mother. After his mother has been angered to this extent, he must be feeling the most upset now, right?
Lu Jinnian thought deeply about it for a moment, before finally tapping Xu Jiamu’s name and making the call.
–
After leaving the competition, Xu Jiamu received a call from the Xu family estate which said that Han Ruchu was admitted into a hospital for coughing up blood from anger.
He hurriedly drove over there and kept watch all night, until her condition stabilized and she woke up.
However, when his mother opened her eyes, the instant she saw him she went crazy. She sat up, launched herself at him, and slapped him in the face without a second thought. She was as bitter with resentment as one could be. “From today onward, you’re no son of mine! You’re so high and might, so selfless, and I’m a despicable, lowly person. Get out of here!”
Xu Jiamu tried to comfort his mother, but how could she cope with the fact that her own son made a fool of her in front of the whole word? How could she calm down? In the end, she pointed straight at the open door for him to leave, as she suddenly spat a mouthful of blood. Eventually, the housekeeper hastily pushed Xu Jiamu out.
“Young master, I’m not trying to tell you off but how could you help outsiders and treat madam like that? She gave birth to you, and suffered bitter hardships to raise you so big. How can you live it up to her?”
Xu Jiamu stood at the door. He could still hear his mother wailing inside. Her cries pierced his bones and went straight into his heart.
Whilst being blamed by the housekeeper, he gradually lowered his eyes.
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“Young master, madam doesn’t want to see you right now. It’d be better if you weren’t here. It’d save us from making her condition worse.”
Xu Jiamu said, “Aunt Yun, take good care of her for me. I’ll wait for her condition to stabilize before I come back another day to see her.”
He left the hospital, but he wasn’t in a hurry to get in the car. He leaned against the car’s door and lit up a cigarette. He raised his head and looked over at Han Ruchu in the patient’s room.
The wind in Beijing during early spring was cold as usual. It brought a bone-chilling cold with it.
Xu Jiamu’s fingers were freezing when he finished his cigarette.
He threw its butt into the bin beside him, and rubbed his hands. He was just about to open the car door when the phone in his pocket rang.
He paused for a moment, then pulled his phone out to see the name flashing on the screen. Suddenly, he dazed out.
The phone vibrated in his hand for a long time before Xu Jiamu accepted the call. He held his breath, as he put the phone to his ear, and licked his lips. “What’s up?”
The other side was silent for a moment, then came Lu Jinnian’s voice. “Do you have time at six?”
“Yeah.”
“Want to have dinner together?”
“Alright,” responded Xu Jiamu. He then asked, “The old spot?”
“En,” Lu Jinnian replied quietly.
The two of them instantly fell silent. Then after a while, Xu Jiamu heard two knocks at the door through the phone, followed by an assistant’s reminder, “Mr. Lu, the meeting’s about to start.”
“Busy?” asked Xu Jiamu first. With that, he raised his foot and kicked the car tire. “You’re busy. Let’s talk tonight.”
“Alright,” Lu Jinnian replied with one word. Moments after, he hung up
Xu Jiamu put his phone away and stood by his car for some time, before eventually pulling the car door open. He got in and drove away.
–
Lu Jinnian was terribly absent-minded in the afternoon’s meeting. Every now and then, his mind drifted off to the love letter. When it came time for him to speak up, he stumbled a few times, his mind blanking out.
The meeting was over by five. Lu Jinnian let his assistant off early, before he went to the office and gave Qiao Anhao a call to report back to her. He then went into the washroom in the office to change into a set of sports clothes. He grabbed his car keys and went downstairs.
They were meant to meet at six, but Lu Jinnian arrived at their meeting point at 5.50 pm.
It was a privately-owned restaurant by the national stadium. The lady boss was really friendly. Though there weren’t many customers, the restaurant had returning ones. The only reason Lu Jinnian knew about it was because Xu Jiamu had taken him there.
He parked the car. When he pushed open the door to the restaurant, there wasn’t a single customer. The lady boss, who stood at the front desk, immediately put down the calculator, raised her head and shot a dazzling smile at him. “Mr. Lu, you’re here? Mr. Xu has already arrived. He’s been waiting for you at your favorite table.”
Lu Jinnian gave a nod.
The lady boss walked around the front desk and escorted him inside, saying, “Mr. Lu, you haven’t come to eat here for quite some time now, yet Mr. Xu comes often. But every time he comes, he comes alone. I even asked him why you’re not here, but he always just repeats you’re busy.”
Lu Jinnian let out an “En”, as his eyes fell to where Xu Jiamu was sitting. He must of waited for a while, considering that there were two empty bottles of alcohol in front of him.
“Mr. Xu, Mr. Lu has arrived.” With the lady boss’ words, Lu Jinnian elegantly removed his thick jacket and pulled out the chair in front of Xu Jiamu.
Xu Jiamu raised his head and looked at Lu Jinnian. His hands suddenly shivered for a moment holding pint of beer. Then he nodded at the boss.
The lady boss grabbed the menu and asked, “Mr. Lu and Mr. Xu, this time, are we ordering the same dishes as before?”
“En. responded Xu Jiamu. He pointed at the beer on the table. “Bring a few more bottles.”
–
Besides touching glasses every now and then, Xu Jiamu and Lu Jinnian practically didn’t have any interaction with one another throughout dinner.
Business at this privately-owned restaurant was extremely terrible. So much so that there were a total of only three occupied tables at the restaurant up until they paid for their meal.
A woman sitting at a table not too far from Lu Jinnian and Xu Jiamu recognized them. She started taking photos of the two of them with her phone, turning her head from time to time to say a few words excitedly to the person beside her. The moment Lu Jinnian got up to leave, that woman brought her man and ran over to Lu Jinnian, begging him for an autograph.
–
Outside the privately-owned restaurant, there was a narrow alley.
Lu Jinnian and Xu Jiamu walked out, neither one of them pulling out their car keys. Lu Jinnian grabbed his sunglasses and put them on his face, then said, “Basketball?”
“Alright.” Xu Jiamu had no objections.
From the restaurant, they had to walk no more than two hundred meters through the alley and past the back gates to the stadium. It was already nightfall, and there were practically no one in the alley. After a long while, there was a lamp post that shone dimly. The two of them didn’t really interact with one another as they walked side by side for about ten minutes. When they reached the entrance to the stadium and walked in, Xu Jiamu pulled out some money and bought a couple of bottles of water.
Besides the two of them, there was no one else in the empty stadium.
Xu Jiamu took off his winter jacket and grabbed the basketball with one hand. He started to effortlessly dribble the ball for a while, then made a shot. As he caught the ball, he continued to dribble and looked over at Lu Jinnian. “Let’s play a game?”
Lu Jinnian didn’t say a word, but removed his jacket and walked over.
Without a referee and audience, it was just the two of them sweating freely. Besides the sound of shoes brushing against the wooden floors and the dong-dong-dong sound of the ball hitting the ground, the empty stadium was silent.
Neither of them knew how long they played with the ball. The two of them used up all their strength until they eventually sat down next to each other on the ground.
Xu Jiamu picked up a bottle of water and threw it at Lu Jinnian. Then he grabbed another and gulped down some water. He raised his hand to wipe a couple droplets from the corner of his mouth and said, “Since you left, I didn’t have such a good time playing ball.”
Lu Jinnian stopped drinking for a moment, then took another gulp. He put the bottle of mineral water away and said, “I haven’t played basketball for a long time either.”
Xu Jiamu turned his head, glanced over at his brother, then lay flat onto the wooden floorboards and stared up at the glass ceiling of the stadium.
Lu Jinnian put the lid back onto the bottle and laid down as well.
The two of them were heaving from the intense exercise.
The stadium fell silent the moment they stopped playing ball
Xu Jiamu stared up at the ceiling for who knows how long… He blinked, and without looking at Lu Jinnian, and gently said, “Bro, I’m sorry.
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When Lu Jinnian heard those two words, his eyes flickered and he stayed silent for quite some time before speaking up. “Actually, I never blamed you.”
One simple sentence made the rims of Xu Jiamu’s eyes turn red. His Adam’s apple rolled up and down, and he said, “I know.”
He really did know that his brother never blamed him.
If he did blame him, then why would he leave Xu Enterprise for him to manage.
If he blamed him, then why would he write his name among the beneficiaries on his will.
Actually, Xu Jiamu never blamed Lu Jinnian either.
Even if he did acquire Xu Enterprise, and he had angrily went over to find him and said some terribly irresponsible words, he only did it on impulse, because his mother had fainted out of anger.
If he really did blame him, then he wouldn’t have gotten so agitated when he overheard his mother and Aunt Yun cursing his brother continuously.
If he really did blame him, then he wouldn’t always think about how great he was.
Even though the two of them only exchanged a few words, the atmosphere in the stadium became a little emotional.
After a long while, Xu Jiamu raised his hand and covered his eyes. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, then said with his usual playful tone of voice, “I say… what are we doing? Why are the two great masters arguing?”
Who made the atmosphere like this? Lu Jinnian let out a “Hehe”, then gave Xu Jiamu a side glance and didn’t bother with him after.
Having been given the side eye, Xu Jiamu wasn’t at all angry, but rather, he felt himself relax.
In actuality, between men, this was how they resolved their issues. Unlike women who had long speeches. A few words and an apology was all that was needed. As they lightheartedly worked out drenched in sweat, all misunderstandings would easily be cleared up just like that.
“Let me ask you something,” Lu Jinnian said after about five minutes.
“En?” Xu Jiamu turned his head to see Lu Jinnian’s sweating side profile, then added, “What?”
His brother’s tone of voice was flat when he spoke, the question casual. “Qiao Qiao… Back then, she wrote a love letter. Did you know?”
“Love letter?” Xu Jiamu furrowed his brows, as though he was trying to recollect something. After some time passed, he suddenly remembered. “What you’re talking about happened many years ago, right? At the time, we hadn’t even graduated university yet. If you didn’t mention it, I wouldn’t have even remembered it happened. Her love letter was cheesy as hell. Something about… I’ve dreamed so many dreams, and you were in every single one…”
Because such a long time had passed, Xu Jiamu couldn’t remember clearly what was said at the time. He just said a sentence and then continued, “And something like, ‘you are the whole world to me’… All in all, it was so incredibly cheesy.”
Even though Xu Jiamu didn’t quite connect the sentences in Qiao Anhao’s love letter, Lu Jinnian could still tell that it was from her letter that he read in the afternoon. With that, he continued to calmly ask, “How do you know what was in the love letter?”
“She read it out for me to hear. She wanted me to check if it was all right. At the time, I practically had goosebumps. She was an artistic young woman, and so she wrote something so poetic.” Xu Jiamu shook his head, then as though he had suddenly remembered something, he said, “Back then, I even helped her change a line in her love letter.”
The moment Lu Jinnian heard this, he had an inkling inside about what Xu Jiamu was going to say next. Yet he pretended as though he hadn’t a clue, and asked in response, “What line?”
“The sentence she wrote was…” Xu Jiamu furrowed his brows and contemplated for a moment, then said, “‘In this lifetime, I will love you the most.’ I changed it to ‘In this lifetime, I will only love you.’ Doesn’t it sound much better? ‘Only’ means ‘one’ whereas ‘most’ means that she has fallen in love a lot… tsk tsk tsk… So? My suggestion wasn’t bad, right?”
Xu Jiamu couldn’t help but feel immeasurably self-satisfied over his single adjustment.
Beside him, Lu Jinnian’s heart was swelling up.
So, back then, Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu weren’t actually expressing their love for each other… She just found him to check over her love letter.
Qiao Anhao may have given him the love letter today, but she actually wrote it many years ago, which goes to say, his initial speculations were correct… When she wrote this love letter, she already liked him?
Then did that suggest, in all these years, he wasn’t the only one who tried his utmost to love the other. The two of them had actually used all their strength to love one another, but neither of them had the courage to say “I love you”?
Xu Jiamu was there on his own, admiring himself for a while, when he suddenly turned around to Lu Jinnian and said in curiosity. “Bro, do you know who Qiao Qiao wrote that love letter for? Back then, I asked her so many times, but she wouldn’t tell me no matter what.”
Lu Jinnian, who was deep in thought, didn’t even hear what Xu Jiamu was asking. For a long time now, his chest had been overwhelmed by shock and excitement.
Throughout all his life, he thought that the most heart-rending thing was to suddenly learn that the person you have had a crush on for so many years coincidentally was crushing on you as well.
Xu Jiamu was long used to how silent Lu Jinnian was. After he spoke, he continued, “Forget it. It doesn’t matter who she liked back then, Qiao Qiao is already married to you. However, bro, why didn’t you tell me earlier that you liked Qiao Qiao?”
Lu Jinnian still didn’t bother with him.
Xu Jiamu said pitifully, “If I had known you liked Qiao Qiao, I’d have definitely not had any relations with her. That way, you guys could’ve gotten together ages ago.”
He bumped Lu Jinnian’s arm. “Oi, you say that you and Qiao Qiao are already married, shouldn’t you treat me for a meal?”
After he was nudged by Xu Jiamu, Lu Jinnian didn’t think much of what he had to say next, and gave him a halfhearted “En” in response.
“Also, you guys never had a wedding ceremony?”
“En.”
“You proposed?”
“En.”
“And the ring? A while back, I saw someone online say that Qiao Qiao wasn’t wearing a ring after she got married to you. Isn’t that too shabby?”
“Oh.”
“Oi, Lu Jinnian, are you even listening to what I’m saying?” Xu Jiamu couldn’t help but get angry at how Lu Jinnian gave single syllable answers.
“En?” This time, Lu Jinnian finally spoke with emotion. But then, after he said this, his phone, left on the sidelines, suddenly started to ring. Lu Jinnian grabbed it to see that Qiao Anhao was calling. He hastily took the call. “Qiao Qiao? What’s up? … En, I’m playing basketball with Jiamu…”
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“I’ve finished playing now. I’ll be on my way home right away. If you’re tired, rest early, don’t wait for me. … En, milk? I got it. I’ll drop by the supermarket. Is there something else you want to eat or want me to bring back with me? Fruit? And? Nothing, alright…”
Xu Jiamu looked at Lu Jinnian. There wasn’t a single hint of annoyance on him as he chatted on the phone with a gentle look on his face. Xu Jiamu stared dumbstruck for a long while, before he blinked. Jeez… Why was he using full sentences when he was just gave him five “Ens” and “Ohs” just now. Qiao Anhao hadn’t said ten words while she casually checked up on him, and yet he actually responded with twice as many words?
He and Qiao Anhao were both talking to Lu Jinnian, and yet how was the special treatment so obviously different?
It was like heaven and hell…
Xu Jiamu couldn’t resist but make fun of himself in a sad voice. “The whole special treatment thing is enough as it is, now I have to call her ‘sister-in-law’ when she was the one who used to call me ‘brother’ when she saw me…”
When Lu Jinnian hung up , he coincidentally heard these words and couldn’t help but curve the corners of his lips. Then he got up off of the ground and casually patted the dirt off himself. He looked at Xu Jiamu and reached his arm out.
His brother raised his arm and clutched his hand. With a forceful tug, Lu Jinnian lifted Xu Jiamu from the ground. He immediately let go of him and grabbed his clothes from the sidelines, then headed right out of the stadium.
Xu Jiamu hurriedly picked up his own clothes, cleared the floor of rubbish, and caught up to him. “Must you go home now? Want to find somewhere to get a drink?”
As Lu Jinnian zipped up his jacket, he shook his head with a distressed yet infinitely boastful look on his face. “A family person isn’t as free as you are. I have to head back.”
Hmpf… He spoke as if before he had a family he was free everyday. Like it was ever easy to drag him out at night.
Xu Jiamu couldn’t resist but let out a disdainful chuckle.
Lu Jinnian wasn’t the least bit offended. He reached his arm out and patted Xu Jiamu’s shoulders. “There’s nothing I can do… your sister-in-law is pregnant now. I’m worried that she’s home alone.”
“Let’s go. I have to go home early.” As he said this, Lu Jinnian pulled open the car door and got in
It wasn’t until after he had started the car up and left that Xu Jiamu blinked and snapped back to his senses. Sister-in-law… Sister-in-law… Lu Jinnian definitely heard his taunt just now and purposefully said that!
Having been hit on the inside, Xu Jiamu got into his own car. His phone’s alert went off twice. He picked it up to find that Lu Jinnian had sent him two text messages.
The first message had two simple words: Thank you.
The second message had a few more words: Throughout history, mothers never bore deep grudges.
Xu Jiamu looked at both texts and instantly felt a strangely warm sensation tightly enveloping him.
He knew that Lu Jinnian was thanking him for clearing things up yesterday.
He also knew that the second message was to comfort him.
That cold and detached man was always like that. His words were able to prod the softest part of his heart with no difficulty.
Xu Jiamu didn’t reply the texts. Instead he leaned back into the car seat and closed his eyes. At that moment, he realized that he was now the calmest he’d ever been in the last six months. It was as though he had unloaded a heavy backpack and an unprecedented sensation of freedom surfaced from the deepest part of his heart.
It wasn’t like he wasn’t worried over his mother’s poor health, but he just didn’t regret the decision he made yesterday.
His mother committed far too many, and far too severe, injustices. So much so, she took a life.
Actually, if it was possible, Xu Jiamu really hoped that no matter if it were his mother or Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao, they could all live happily.
But most of the time, it was difficult to satisfy both sides.
At that thought, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
–
Even though Qiao Anhao went to the hospital with Zhao Meng once before, Lu Jinnian was still worried, so he especially asked someone to find the best gynecologist in the whole of Beijing and booked an appointment. On a bright and sunny afternoon, he took Qiao Anhao to see that person.
After about two hours of performing a series of physical examinations, the results came out. The mother and child were both very healthy.
They left the hospital at three in the afternoon.
A few days ago, the weather was so cold it was no different from a severe winter. Yet, from last weekend, the weather seemed to have slowly picked up. With each passing day, it grew warmer. In one night, the winter jasmine flowers bloomed on the streets of Beijing, willow trees started to sprout, and people on the streets had removed their thick jackets.
Today, the weather was exceedingly good. The blue skies looked like they had just been painted. There wasn’t a single cloud in thousands of miles. There wasn’t the slightest hint of wind, and the bright rays of sunshine warmed the body.
When they got into the car, Lu Jinnian helped Qiao Anhao put on her seatbelt, then looked out the window. Seeing as the weather was so good, he asked, “Let me take you somewhere?”
“Where?” Qiao Anhao turned her head. Her pitch-black pupils were filled with curiosity.
“You’ll know when you get there.” Lu Jinnian wore an incomprehensible expression.
Qiao Anhao pursed her lips and stopped asking questions.
He started the engine and drove slowly for about over half an hour. Qiao Anhao discovered that her surroundings seemed to be growing more and more familiar. Just when she recognized where he was taking her, the car came to a stop. “The road ahead leads to the school, but they don’t let cars park there so let’s walk over.”
Afraid that they’ll be recognized, Lu Jinnian had prepared two hats in the car in advance. He wore one, then put the other on Qiao Anhao’s head.
He took her to their high school. Because it had been almost ten years, the school had made many refurbishments since then, but the fundamental structure hadn’t changed. Especially the two internet cafes opposite the school, which were still in business to this day.
It was the weekend, so the school was really quiet.
Facing the giant gates was a block of classrooms, and in front of that was a water fountain, which looked like it never spewed any water.
Lu Jinnian held Qiao Anhao’s hand and cut directly through the block of classrooms, around the back, and through a long pathway. Eventually, he took her to the third floor of the Qinghua Building.
It was the same floor where he and Qiao Anhao’s classrooms were in their third year of high school.
The first classroom on the left up the stairs was the room for Class Three. The classroom ahead of that belonged to Class Two, and further ahead was Class One.
That year they attended, the education bureau approved the school funds, and so that year, they completely replaced the desks and chairs with new ones. Now, after ten years had passed, it looked like they were still using the same set from back in the day.
Because it was the weekend, the doors to the classrooms were locked. However, Class Three had an open window.
Lu Jinnian let go of Qiao Anhao’s hand and swiftly climbed in, stood on a table, and jumped to the ground. He walked to the front door and opened the classroom from the inside.
Qiao Anhao walked in, and he shut the door behind her. He held her hand and walked her around the classroom, as he examined the desks. After he had practically checked each one, he suddenly pointed at one, and said, “This desk is the one you laid on back then in Class Three.”
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The desks in the classroom were the same as they were ten years ago. She could remember well the one she used to lie on.
But that had happened ten years ago… Lu Jinnian pointed at a desk that was peeling off, then told her with absolute certainty that it was hers. She didn’t believe him at all, and thought that he was talking nonsense. She pursed her lips and said, “You’re making it up.”
Lu Jinnian raised his brows, but didn’t argue. Instead, he released her hand and pulled the chair from under the desk. He sat there, half-crouched at the desk, then reached his arm out and rubbed the table for quite some time. All of a sudden, he said, “En, it’s here.”
“What’s there?” asked Qiao Anhao curiously in return, as she had no idea what he meant by that.
Lu Jinnian didn’t say a word, but guided her hand under the table and against the left side of the drawer.
She felt the bumpy wooden table with the tip of her finger, and turned her head to look over at Lu Jinnian in bewilderment.
He still didn’t utter a word. He just pressed down and slid her fingertips across the table, slowly following the grooves. The feel of English letters against her fingertips registered in her her brain, and she looked at Lu Jinnian in realization. Then, in a questioning tone, she said, “S?”
Lu Jinnian gave a nod, then continued to lead her along another English letter. With each one, Qiao Anhao would spell it out.
“H?”
“M?”
“I?”
“L?”
“Y?”
That was the final letter, and Qiao Anhao tilted her head in deep thought for a moment, then formed a word from those letters. She couldn’t resist but let it slip. “Shmily?”
“Shmily means ‘See,how,much,I,love,you’…” As she said this to herself, she wondered how Lu Jinnian could of carved the letters there. She gazed into his eyes, and as if a light was set free, she asked, “Did you carve them here?”
“En,’ Lu Jinnian whispered gently as he slowly got up.
Deep down inside, Qiao Anhao did actually know the answer, but she felt more assured after she asked. Now that she heard his answer, her mind made a daring assumption. “After you were transferred from Class One to Class Three, you deliberately chose to sit at the desk I laid on?”
Lu Jinnian gently pushed the chair back to it’s original spot, then let his eyes fall on her face.
Just then she thought that he would say she was over-thinking things, but she heard him slowly say, “Not just the desk, but also the same chair you sat on. However, I believe it’s been scrapped by now. I was looking around but couldn’t find it.”
As he said this, Lu Jinnian searched the classroom again, before finally allowing his eyes to fall on the fifth seat by the window. He raised his finger and pointed. “Back then, you sat there, right?”
This, Qiao Anhao remembered well. She did in fact sit on the fifth row against the window. Well, actually she sat against the wall at first and Qiao Anxia sat against the window. She had then used two months worth of allowance and a lot of pleading before she agreed to swap seats.
Because through the window she could see the school’s basketball court. Every Wednesday afternoon, during the third period, she would watch as Lu Jinnian played basketball during Class One’s P.E. class.
He started at her seat for a long while before turning his head to gaze back into Qiao Anhao’s eyes. His tone of voice sounded quite lonely. “Back then, I thought that we could be classmates.”
Qiao Anhao felt a hint of sadness and was unspeakably moved by what Lu Jinnian said at the same time.
When he was young, he deliberately left half the test empty just to be able to get into Class Three, yet she fought her way into Class One for him. With that, the two of them missed one another by pure chance.
It was like something was stuck in her throat… something that ached, something that was warm. Qiao Anhao curved the corners of her lips and spoke up in a slightly trembling voice. “What a coincidence, at the time, I also thought that we could be classmates.”
Lu Jinnian stared at Qiao Anhao in astonishment, the feeling of being pleasantly surprised filling him. “You passed the test to get into Class One just so that we could be classmates?”
“Yeah.” Qiao Anhao nodded as she casually leaned up against the desk. She seemed to be reminiscing about that year when she tilted her head for a long while. After some time, she said, “Now that I think about it, those were some nightmarish six months of studying just to get into Class One. I practically didn’t sleep before 1 am…”
Before Qiao Anhao could finish, Lu Jinnian suddenly pulled her tightly into his arms. As they hugged, he said in a neutral voice, “So you also studied to get into A University because of me?”
“En,” responded Qiao Anhao gently before covering his lips.
As they kissed, Lu Jinnian suddenly parted from her lips and said in an unsteady breath, “Qiao Qiao, I’m really happy.”
‘Truly, really happy.’
In those naive years of their youth, he wasn’t the only one who worked hard, she was also fighting for the same thing.
‘I am truly grateful to have fallen in love with you when I was young.’
Lu Jinnian covered Qiao Anhao’s lips once again. The classroom was extremely silent, and the sunshine quietly shone through the windows and onto the layer of dust on the desks.
It was truly great.
That year, he met her, and that same year they started their story.
And thirteen years later, they were finally together. Even though their bodies had changed, he was the same young man in his bones, and she was still the youthful her deep in her blood.
After kissing for a long time, the two of them finally parted.
In the quiet classroom, the sound of their heaving breaths was the only thing that could be heard.
Even though Qiao Anhao was now someone’s wife, and she was pregnant at that, the kiss made her face flush. She slightly lowered her head while standing in front of Lu Jinnian.
He looked down at her for a long while, before finally reaching his arm out to brush her hair behind her ears. He held her hand and said, “Come on, let’s continue our walk.”
They left the classroom hand-in-hand, walking in the direction of Class One. The two of them didn’t actually go in, but when they passed the window, they still halted and peaked inside.
The blackboard wasn’t erased. There were a few graphs drawn on it with a complicated array of formulas.
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“I hated studying maths in school. It was difficult as hell,” said Qiao Anhao, unable to help feeling regret whilst looking at the formulas she had no clue about now whatsoever. She then suddenly thought about something little that had happened in school, and she couldn’t help but excitedly share it with Lu Jinnian. “Speaking of maths, I remember a magical thing that happened to me.”
Lu Jinnian placed a single hand elegantly on the window sill, and turned his head to ask her, “What?”
“It was during the first half of the second year of high school. Didn’t Class One and Class Three have the same teacher for maths? You should know, that teacher had a special thing. After every other month, he liked to set a test. I may not have understood everything in maths, but at least I knew most of it… all besides the parabola. It gave me a headache just looking at it.
“When it came to the test on parabola, Class Three was the first to take the test, so I told Qiao Anxia to secretly copy the answers for me in advance. Then, in the evening, I could go find Brother Jiamu and get the right ones so the next morning during the test I could just write down the answers. In the end, guess what happened?”
As Qiao Anhao said this, she wore a hint of disbelief on her own face. “At the time, I was in P.E. and when I went back to the classroom, school had coincidentally ended. I didn’t even have a chance to find Qiao Anxia for the answers when I saw a test paper in my desk drawer! Ay… The paper was full of answers… Say, who do you think would have the foresight and put their text paper into my drawer….”
Qiao Anhao tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, “Perhaps someone in Class Three had a crush on me? But if you have a crush, wouldn’t you give a love letter? You shouldn’t give a test paper… If they put it in the wrong drawer… Aiya… Anyways, no matter what, Lu Jinnian… Let me tell you, that was the only time I ever got a perfect score in maths!”
Even though Qiao Anhao cheated, she couldn’t help but cheerfully bring up her perfect score.
Lu Jinnian looked at her proud little face, and couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “What a coincidence, that was the only time I ever got zero at maths.”
“Eh?” Qiao Anhao was left dazed for a while, having no idea what he meant.
Lu Jinnian reached his hand out and patted her head, then explained, “That test paper… The classroom was empty, as you all were at P.E, so I put it in your drawer..”
“Ah?” With a light shriek of surprise, Qiao Anhao asked in response, “You put it there?”
“En,” responded Lu Jinnian gently.
“How did you know that I needed the answers to the test.”
As they headed towards the stairs hand-in-hand, they reminisced about what had happened back then.
After a while, he replied, “I overheard what you said to Qiao Anxia.”
That afternoon, before the two girls walked into the classroom, Qiao Anhao had pulled her sister’s clothes and said “Remember to write down the answers to this afternoon’s maths test.”
Coincidentally, it had been his turn to wipe the blackboard so he overheard that conversation.
At the time, he had the top grades in maths in Class Three. After every test, he was the one to collect all the tests.
So, that time, he didn’t submit his own. When everyone left the classroom for P.E., he shoved his test into her drawer.
Lu Jinnian held Qiao Anhao’s hand as they walked out of the Qinghua Building and went round to the back. Right in the center of the school, there was a pretty garden and a man-made lake. When they passed it, Qiao Anhao suddenly pointed at a stone bench on the side and said, “I saw a girl give you a love letter over there once.”
“Did you?” asked Lu Jinnian in response. As he held her hand, they walked on for quite some distance before he pointed at the tree beside the rock garden opposite the lake, then said, “What a coincidence, I saw a guy give you a box of chocolates over there.”
“You did?” With a strange look on her face, Qiao Anhao stared at the spot he had pointed to for a while. She vaguely remembered that something like that had happened, then she said, “But I never ate the chocolates, I gave them to Anxia.”
“Same, I threw the love letter straight in the bin without even taking a look.”
Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but shoot him a smile as they continued to walk slowly down the road. Some time later, she said, “I used to often walk down this path because I’d bump into you every time.”
This path took them through the block of classrooms to the library. Back then, Lu Jinnian was a complete bookworm.
Qiao Anhao flashed a smile. “Back then, every time I said ‘Hi’ to you, you were either coming out of the library or about to go into it.”
Actually, he never really wanted to go to the library, it was just that he often saw her take this path, so he liked to take it too. The library was but an excuse for him to be there.
Thinking back to things that had happened in their youth… even though they were young and inexperienced, the memories were beautiful. Lu Jinnian couldn’t resist but let out a chuckle. “What a coincidence, the only reason I liked to walk this way was because I could bump into you.”
The two of them walked hand-in-hand around the entire school. When they reached some spots, they remembered brief moments of how they had secretly longed for one another.
She cried so many tears over him in the little forest behind the school.
He fought a boy in an isolated area behind the block of classrooms because that boy had said horrible things about her.
Just to be able to act as though they had coincidentally bumped into one another, he bought lollipops that he would never eat from the supermarket by the canteen, and she bought Mai Dongs that she didn’t like to drink.
There were some things that had happened long ago that they had thought long forgotten.
But as they reminisced about the good times, they realized that since their youthful days till today, they remembered every little detail about each other as clear as day.
–
Having walked around each and every corner of the school, Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian finally went to the library.
It was Qiao Anhao’s suggestion. During her school days, she always fantasized that the two of them would be like other female classmates in love, reading books in the library, shoulder to shoulder.
Because it was the weekend, there were very few people inside. Besides the staff on duty, there were only two or three students in uniform, sitting by the window as they concentrated on reading.
As the two walked through the rows of bookshelves, Lu Jinnian casually picked up a chemistry textbook, and Qiao Anhao picked up a teen novel. They then found an empty spot and sat down.
The two of them sat side by side, obediently following the library rules. Neither of them spoke as they quietly flipped through the books in their hands.
==========================================================================
Lu Jinnian had paper and pen on him. Even after having not touched the textbook for so many years, he pulled his note book and proceeded to comfortably answer a chemistry question.
He had only casually flipped through two pages of the chemistry textbook when he pulled out a lilac envelope from his pocket. He gently pushed it in front of Qiao Anhao and nudged her arm.
The teen novel was so gripping, Qiao Anhao was a little captivated by the story. All of a sudden, she felt Lu Jinnian nudging her arm. She swiftly turned her head to see a blue envelope beside her. Instinctively, she looked over at Lu Jinnian with a pen in hand, slowly writing in his notebook, effortlessly answering the chemistry questions.
Qiao Anhao blinked in confusion, then picked up the purple envelope. She opened it to find a folded piece of paper. She pulled the warm yellow colored paper and unfolded it. There, was Lu Jinnian’s elegant cursive handwriting.
Classmate Qiao Anhao,
I was delighted to receive your letter.
If you don’t mind, can I ask you out tonight at half seven?
Classmate Lu Jinnian.
Below, the letter was dated to five years ago. With that, Qiao Anhao suddenly realized that this letter was a response to the one she had put in his suit jacket a few days ago.
The corner of her lips couldn’t help but rise. She stared at the letter for a moment, then pulled her arm out and stole Lu Jinnian’s pen from his hands. On the other side of the letter she received, she wrote a passage.
Classmate Lu Jinnian,
Tonight, see you there!
Classmate Qiao Anhao.
Then she folded the letter and placed it into the envelope, pushing it back in front of Lu Jinnian.
He saw her message and let out a gentle laugh. He picked up the paper she’d left to one side, the quickly scribbled a few words. Without folding it up and placing it into the envelope, he directly handed it to her.
Qiao Anhao saw that Lu Jinnian had written five simple words on it: See you at half seven.
Unable to contain herself, she let out a giggle but quickly managed to stop. She didn’t know why but deep down inside, she felt a tinge of sadness.
If Lu Jinnian had told her that he liked her earlier, then perhaps she would have summoned the courage to tell him that she liked him as well. If that happened, then they would of been just as happy as they are now but earlier?
She took the pen from his hands and bit it out of habit, deep in thought. After a while, she wrote on the letter paper. What a pity that we missed out on so many years together.
When Lu Jinnian saw these words, his relaxed complexion stiffened for a moment. Before he could write a word though, Qiao Anhao pulled the letter paper back and wrote, At first, did you constantly treat me hot and cold because of Brother Jiamu?
As Qiao Anhao wrote this, she thought back to the time when they pretended to be husband and wife. There was one time when she stayed over at his villa in Mount Yi and they spoke for a long time about the woman he loved.
At the time, he told her she was married. She never imagined that the woman he spoke of was her, but now that she thought about it… To him, she was married at the time. Then there was also that one time when he was drunk back in Mian Xiu Garden. He had hugged her and said, ‘Why am I not the one you love?’.
==========================================================================
At the time, she thought that he had the wrong person…
At that thought, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but let out a faint sigh. “As long as you gave me the tiniest hint, we wouldn’t have had so many near-misses.”
After her sigh, she suddenly thought of something. She wrote another message on the paper. Since you liked me so much, why didn’t you try to fight for me? Were you really willing to see me with someone else? If Brother Jiamu and I didn’t get a divorce, for the rest of our lives, would we have never had a chance to be together?”
Qiao Anhao pushed the paper to Lu Jinnian, but when she suddenly started to feel a lingering sense of fear.
Luckily Brother Jiamu didn’t like her and luckily her and Jiamu got a smooth divorce, otherwise, they would have really missed out on being with one another forever.
Lu Jinnian saw Qiao Anhao’s three questions, but remained silent for a long while, before he picked the pen up and started writing.
He spent a long time, pausing between his writing. When he finally finished, he folded the paper and put it in front of Qiao Anhao.
She unfolded it to find that he had written over half a page.
Not willing… But there was nothing I could of done because I thought that Jiamu was the one you loved. I really wanted to fight for you, but I was afraid to trouble you. In my heart, Jiamu is a hundred times better than I am. He is more suited to be with you than I am. Even until now, I still think that I’m not worthy of you.
I thought that if I didn’t see you, then I could forget you, but there there wasn’t a single night or day where I didn’t miss you. If my sense of longing could make a sound, it’d deafen your world.
When Qiao Anhao saw this, the rims of her eyes became red.
Every time you turned around to leave, in my heart, I really wanted to beg you not to leave me. However, there are two types of love; one is possessive, the other is accepting. I really want to possess you, but I couldn’t be selfish, so I chose to accept.
To me, your happiness was my greatest happiness. If I knew earlier that besides me, nobody could ever make you happy, then I’d have definitely held your hand tightly and never let go.
If you and Jiamu hadn’t gotten a divorce, I’d have rather swallowed all the pain than ever let you know what I had done for you. Because not burdening you was the only thing I could do for you back then. I had no other option but to do my best.
At first, she thought that he was cold, distant, and hated her a lot.
Only at this moment did she finally understand that behind his cold and reclusive exterior there was a heart far more emotional than that of anyone else.
Her tears crashed uncontrollably onto the letter. She grabbed the pen and raised her trembling hand, then wrote, If I had really did ended up with someone else, what would you have done?
As she penned those words, another large teardrop came crashing down, creating a ring of black ink.
Lu Jinnian replied with the most fitting words, I’d have never married. Would have been alone my whole life.”
–
At seven, Lu Jinnian found an excuse to go to the bathroom and leave the library.
Qiao Anhao waited over ten minutes on her own, but he never came back. She pulled her phone out. Just when she was about to call him, she received his text.
[Aren’t we going on a date tonight? School playground at half seven, see you there.]
==========================================================================
Qiao Anhao, who was just moved to a mess of tears by Lu Jinnian, couldn’t help but giggle out loud. She then hastily covered her mouth with her hands when she realized that she was still in the library.
Lu Jinnian was so childish… he got carried away with the whole love letter game!
Whilst Qiao Anhao called him out for being immature, she replied to him even more childishly, “Got it, classmate Lu.”
–
When Qiao Anhao came out of the library, the skies were already dark.
The sports field was a little far from where she was. Back in middle high, it took twenty minutes to get there after school.
Though Qiao Anhao may have been impatient, she didn’t dare to walk too quickly because she was pregnant. On top of this, it was the weekend, so there weren’t many street lights lit up. When she reached the basketball court, it was already forty minutes afte seven.
The entrance to the sports field was through the basketball court.
There were lights over the platform in the sports field. When they were on, they could turn the dark sports field into a field of white. Yet, today, the sports field was only lit up by a few ordinary lamp posts. The rays of light were pale yellow, and they only gave light to the path for pedestrians.
Qiao Anhao just reached the racing track when she received Lu Jinnian’s text: [From your current position, walk straight ahead.]
When she compliantly strode over to the front of the platform, he sent another text message. [Turn your back to the platform and walk to the center.]
Qiao Anhao stood on the spot for a moment, doubtful. In the end though, she still turned around and headed over to the center of the sports field.
The closer she got, the dimmer the lights shone. She didn’t know how far she had walked, but seeing as Lu Jinnian wasn’t in sight, she pulled out her phone, wanting to give him a call. All of a sudden, all the lamp posts in the sports field went out.
Tonight, there was no light from the sky, it was new moon. The entire sports field was instantly pitch-black. When Qiao Anhao lifted her head, she saw the faint glimmer of stars.
She stood helpless and confused. She quickly turned her phone on and searched for Lu Jinnian’s number. Before she could call him, she suddenly heard the eruption of firecrackers popping off.
She lifted her head up in curiosity to see a load of fireworks. Infinite glowing multicolored lights fell all around her, lighting up the pitch-black night sky.
Qiao Anhao gaped in shock. Then another series of blasts went off. Clusters of fire shot into the sky, and erupted into an overwhelming display of giant rings of light.
In the end, the sky above the entire sports field was shrouded in fireworks.
It was just a shame that they had come and ended so quickly. In just five short minutes, they disappeared .
Qiao Anhao suddenly snapped back to her senses. She pulled her phone out and dialed Lu Jinnian’s number. Before she could hear the sound of the call connecting, it was answered. She brought the phone to her ear, obviously excited. “You set off the fireworks?”
“Did you like them?”
She heard those words twice. Once by her ear, and another from her phone.
She was stunned for about three seconds, then responded. She abruptly turned her head to find Lu Jinnian standing silently to her left.
With one hand in his pocket, and one hand holding up the phone to his ear, he stood poised. He had his head raised slightly up to the sky, staring at the last fireworks.
Qiao Anhao hung up and put her phone away. “When did you get here?”
“About thirty seconds ago.” Lu Jinnian also put his phone away. The entire sports field faded back into darkness when the fireworks completely disappeared. He then gradually turned his head and looked over at Qiao Anhao.
Even if the only light in the sports fields came for the neon lights of a town block far away, she could see the intense burning glow in his eyes.
“Qiao Qiao, do you still remember this place?” asked Lu Jinnian very gently and calmly. He didn’t wait for her to respond and continued regardless. “That year we entered first year of high school and had to report to the sports field as new students. That was when you and I first officially met. It was right in front of the platform, just about the center of the sports field…”
“I remember,” Qiao Anhao said. “Anxia and I came over to find Brother Jiamu, and you were coincidentally with him at the time, talking about something.”
“En, Xu Jiamu introduced us. You hid behind Qiao Anxia with a shy smile and said timidly, ‘Hello, I’m Qiao Anhao.’” Lu Jinnian thought back to the time when they first met, and couldn’t help but curve the corner of his lips up. “That was the first time you spoke to me.”
“You were rather reserved when you replied with a flat “en” to my introduction. In the end, Brother Jiamu had to tell me your name,” complained Qiao Anhao, as she remembered the scene of how they first officially met as well.
“I remember at the time, it wasn’t an ‘en’ it was ‘hi’,” corrected Lu Jinnian.
Having been nitpicked, Qiao Anhao puffed up her cheeks and pursed her lips, a little annoyed.
Lu Jinnian let out a chuckle, reached his hand out, and stroked her long hair. Under the wandering night lights, he said in a simple and elegant manner, “Qiao Qiao, don’t I owe you a few words?”
“En?” Qiao Anhao turned her head in confusion, then looked at him. “What?”
Lu Jinnian didn’t look at her, but instead stared right ahead. He slowly blinked, then said, “Qiao Qiao, can I go after you?”
Qiao Anhao never imagined that he would say something like that, so she couldn’t help but gape at him.
He fell silent for about a minute, then said, “After I got your attention, I would still have to say, ‘Qiao Qiao, will you be my girlfriend?’”
Lu Jinnian suddenly turned around when he said this. As the light was quite dim, Qiao Anhao couldn’t see his face clearly, but she could feel how intense the atmosphere was. She stared at him in a daze. Deep down inside, she guessed what he was going to say next, which made her feel nervous. Her hand subconsciously gripped her sleeves.
All of a sudden, a warm yellow light lit up behind Lu Jinnian. She was stunned, as warm yellow lights started to light up on her left, right, and behind her.
All the way down to the very end of the sports field.
Then those lights started to flicker. Qiao Anhao scanned her surroundings in astonishment. There, in the center of the sports field, were colorful lights hidden in a man-made field of grass. Under them, she saw that the grass field was adorned with scattered Lisianthus petals.
==========================================================================
When Qiao Anhao arrived, there were only a few lamps on the sides. When she stepped onto the grass of hidden dim multicolored lights, she didn’t feel a thing. In fact, she didn’t even notice that there were decorations on the lawn in the center of the race track.
This was the surprise Lu Jinnian had prepared for her? When did he start to plan this behind her back?
She scanned her surroundings. It practically looked like a stunning, magical scene from the Grimm’s fairy tales. Dumbfounded, she turned her head to look over at Lu Jinnian with hints of confusion in her eyes.
The multicolored lights shone with every color under the sun on his face, accentuating his rugged handsome good looks. He gazed deeply and intensely into her eyes, before he spoke with a voice like the most melodic song in the world. His relaxing, soothing voice tore open the sky. “Qiao Qiao, you know? You were once the warmth I tried my hardest to get close to.”
She couldn’t help but curve her lips and let out a giggle, as she wasn’t used to his suddenly cheesy words. She felt something warm crash into her heart, which made her eyes a little wet.
Lu Jinnian quietly stared into her eyes with a look that made people unable to resist drowning within his infinite and inescapable charms. “It’s not like you didn’t know that your one casual smile could warm my entire world.”
A gust of wind lightly blew by in the night. A few scattered petals were blown up into the air and swirled around before falling back down to the grass.
The numerous flashing multicolored lights suddenly turned light pink. One after the other, they lit up and then went out again.
The surrounding area was a romantic pink for a moment, then returned to a still darkness.
“Even though I’ve said things to express my feeling, and I’ve said many deeply emotional things, but at this very moment… I still want to tell you in all seriousness…” With that, Lu Jinnian slightly paused for a moment. The pink lights turned to blue. He looked into her eyes with extreme intensity, as though he was was saying a pledge. “Qiao Anhao, I love you.”
Qiao Anhao couldn’t smile anymore. She raised her hand and covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes.
“Since I just said those words, I love you even more.”
In actuality, Lu Jinnian had prepared those words in advance. The moment he wrote them down, he thought it was pretentious and cheesy, but a proposal was a once in a lifetime thing. Other men proposed lovingly and affectionately, so he couldn’t not do it.
Not only did he want to do it, he wanted it to be grand. He wanted to make up for his missing confession, and all the things they missed when they could of been dating.
“Right now, I love you more than a second ago…
“And I love you deeper with each passing minute…
“It continues to deepen…
Due to Lu Jinnian’s words, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but let out another giggle, tears now flowing down her face.
The surrounding multicolored lights suddenly all went out, leaving the scene in complete darkness.
Lu Jinnian stood before her, silently staring at her for about half a minute. He reached his hand out and pulled out a square object, then without any hesitation, he slowly went down on one knee.
==========================================================================
Qiao Anhao took a step back in shock. With her clouded vision, she heard what sounded like a box being opened. Then she saw the unlit multicolored lights around her flash on one after the other around her and Lu Jinnian.
Under the glow of thousands of them, she clearly saw the dark purple box in Lu Jinnian’s hands. Within it there was a ring with a deep blue diamond that shimmered in the dark night.
In the midst of the bright lights, Lu Jinnian looked up to see Qiao Anhao’s face. After about ten seconds, he said in a serious tone, “The third year of middle school, you listened to “Common Jasmine Orange”, so I bought an album of Jay Chou.
“The first year of high school, you saw “Flowers in Never Dream”, so I bought a novel of Guo Jingming.
“The second year of high school, you fell in love with the hot spicy soup restaurant opposite the school, so I ate there many times on my own.
“The third year of high school, you fell in love with QQ, so I signed up on QQ.
“In university, we were in two different places. I would follow your QQ every day, listen to the songs you listened to, read the books you read, and space out seeing photos that you posted.
“After graduation, you and I were estranged. I kept thousands of unsent messages to you on my phone.”
Qiao Anhao was stunned to tears by Lu Jinnian’s grand plan.
“There were still several hundreds of scattered posts. I followed your Weibo and WeChat Moments activity, and messages I wrote them to you.
“But, Qiao Anhao, I don’t want to silently follow you anymore. I want to listen to your favorite songs together with you, read your favorite books by your side, go to your favorite places and eat your favorite foods alongside you.
“I also want to be able to look at your face every night, say ‘Goodnight’ and ‘Good morning’ to you as soon as you wake up.
“In future years to come, I wish to spend New Years with you, everyone’s birthdays, and Valentine’s day.
“So…”
Lu Jinnian took a breath and stared into her eyes, notably more focused now. “Qiao Anhao, will you marry me?”
Large teardrops fell from the corners of Qiao Anhao’s eyes. She tried hard to raise the corner of her lips as she hastily nodded at him. With a tearful voice, she said, “Yes.”
Today, he said he was casually going to take her for a walk, was it all just to propose to her?
They got married quite suddenly, so they didn’t have wedding bands, not to mention a wedding proposal and wedding ceremony. Nor did he ever buy a ring for her. Even though she never mentioned it to him, but she thought about it occasionally and got quite disappointed over it. Now that she was pregnant, it was clear that she and Lu Jinnian were going to be together for the rest of their lives, and so she had had the urge to go and buy a set of rings to complete their marriage.
That very idea pained her heart though.
Yet she never imagined that he’d actually propose to her so lavishly where they first officially met.
Even though there wasn’t an audience, applause, or someone taking photos, it was still intensely emotional and pleasantly happy.
At that thought, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but burst out laughing with a face full of tears. She gave a reaffirming nod and repeated again, “Yes.”
==========================================================================
Lu Jinnian took the ring out of the box and reached for Qiao Anhao’s left hand. He slowly placed the ring on her ring finger. “Qiao Qiao, do you believe me?”
Even though Lu Jinnian didn’t specify what he meant, she understood that he was asking if she believed that he could bring her happiness.
She could feel the coolness from her fingertips all the way up to her heart, which shook a little. Nodding furiously, she exclaimed, “I do, I believe you.”
Overjoyed with happiness, she grabbed onto his hand, pulling him up from the floor. Standing on the tip of her toes, she planted a kiss on his lips.
Once wasn’t enough so she went at it again but she still couldn’t express her joy. Leaning forward again, she planted yet another kiss on his lips… Qiao Anhao continuously planted kisses on his lips until Lu Jinnian could finally no longer suppress his desires. He suddenly tightened his grip around her waist and deepened the kiss.
“Qiao Qiao, do you believe me?”
“I do, I believe you.”
There was no one else in this world that was able to make her feel loved and there was no one else in this world that could make her feel blessed.
They met and fell in love with each other in the most beautiful years of their life, but they only got together at the end of those beautiful years.
In between were thirteen long years that were soaked with tears and pain, only the both of them able to understand the extent of how long they had actually been.
So if she didn’t believe him, who would she believe in?
The colorful lights flickered back to their original glory.
The night breeze blew, sending the grass and flowers flying, a few of them landing in Qiao Anhao’s long hair.
The kiss went on for a very long time.
They enjoyed each others embrace for a while more before finally separating.
Qiao Anhao lowered her head to glance at the ring Lu Jinnian had gotten for her.
The diamond was huge, it was even bigger than her finger.
It was dazzling but why did it look so familiar?
Qiao Anhao titled her head to the side as she continued to stare. “Ehh… Why does it look like the Heart of Eternity?”
The moment the words left her, she grew even more confident of her conjecture. She took out her phone to take a quick look at the photo of the Heart of Eternity that she had saved in her gallery. “It’s the same…”
Lu Jinnian’s face lit up when she recognized the diamond. In a warm voice, he asked,” Like…”
Before he could finish his question, Qiao Anhao suddenly widened her tear-stained eyes to stare at him. She exclaimed, “Lu Jinnian, how did you do it? You got such a good imitation of the Heart of Eternity!”
Imitation?
What a joke… He had spent so much time and money just to get the diamond ring but she treated it as an imitation?
Lu Jinnian’s breathing stilled.
“Even the color and shape exactly the same! Lu Jinnian, how did you do it?”
When Qiao Anhao asked this, there were clearly hints of admiration in her voice, but Lu Jinnian wasn’t the least bit conceited. Instead, his heart felt even more stifled.
Qiao Anhao completely didn’t notice that the person beside her looked extremely poor. She just looked the diamond ring up and down, then gleefully complimented her husband, “Lu Jinnian, you’re just awesome!”
The compliments sounded like ridicule to his ears. He finally couldn’t help but grit his teeth and cried out, “Qiao-An-Hao!”
Qiao Anhao felt his anger and shivered in fright. She raised her head and secretly glanced at him, then quickly turned away. Her eyes quivered non-stop as she racked her brain over why he could possibly be mad.
Government reports all said that the whereabouts of Heart of Eternity were unknown. What’s more, it was so expensive… Qiao Anhao thought that it couldn’t be real, so she thought about it more. Eventually, she figured that even if the diamond was an imitation, she couldn’t say it aloud, because Lu Jinnian would lose face…
Then she instinctively shot her hand out, grabbed his cuff-link, and started to act cute. “Sorry, I was wrong. Don’t be mad…”
Lu Jinnian’s brows instantly smoothed over. He was just about to tell Qiao Anhao that it was the real Heart of Eternity, but she begun to pout, trying to play up to him. “Even if I know it’s an imitation of Heart of Eternity, I still love it the most!”
Lu Jinnian didn’t think twice and threw Qiao Anhao’s hand away, turned around, and walked away from the sports field. He hadn’t walked five meters away when he turned back and stared at Qiao Anhao with anger in his eyes.”It’s real!”
Then he took hold of her hand and left.
He held her hand for quite a distance, before she had a delayed response. “Lu Jinnian, you’re saying that this diamond really is the Heart of Eternity?”
He didn’t say a word but gave her a side-eye that said “What do you think?”.
“It really is the real Heart of Eternity!” Qiao Anhao raised the hand with the ring. As she admired it, she couldn’t help but gasp in admiration. “Lu Jinnian, you’re truly awesome! You even got the Heart of Eternity!”
This time, her compliment made Lu Jinnian feel happy and a lot more at ease.
“You must’ve spent a lot of money…” she then added with a trace of pity in her voice.
Perhaps it was because he said so many genuinely romantic words at tonight’s proposal, Lu Jinnian hadn’t pulled himself out of the moment just yet. He couldn’t help but pinch Qiao Anhao’s hand, wanting to tell her “It doesn’t matter how much it costs, as long as you like it”.
But then, the woman he was holding didn’t even wait for him to speak before she started to mumble to herself beside him. “I actually own such a valuable diamond ring. If one day we get a divorce, then I’ll still be a rich woman… Ah… Lu Jinnian, why did you hit my butt…”
–
When Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao finished dinner, they returned to Mian Xiu Garden at eleven at night.
The two of them took their separate showers, then Lu Jinnian watched as Qiao Anhao took her folic acid, and they got into the bed together.
Having been proposed to, Qiao Anhao was so happy she couldn’t sleep. Every now and then, she glanced at the Heart of Eternity on her hand. In the end, Lu Jinnian’s one warning “Look at it again and I’ll take the ring back” frightened her so much that she hurriedly shut her eyes and squeezed herself into his arms. She then obediently stayed still.
The night was still, yet Qiao Anhao couldn’t sleep no matter what.
Even though they didn’t speak, Lu Jinnian could feel that every now and then the pregnant woman by his side gently shifted. He knew she hadn’t fallen sleep yet, so he slowly said, “Qiao Qiao, we should take advantage of the fact that your stomach isn’t big yet, we should prepare for our wedding ceremony.”
Without opening her eyes, Qiao Anhao gave a nod and softly said, “Alright.”
After a moment of silent, she spoke again. “Lu Jinnian, find some time and come back with me to the Qiao family estate.”
When she got married, she didn’t even tell her uncle and aunt. In the end, they saw it on entertainment news and had to call her for the truth. Even though her aunt wasn’t angry with her at the time, she could still feel that she was a little disappointed.
Now that she was pregnant, Lu Jinnian had proposed to her, and they were even preparing for their wedding ceremony, she should bring him to pay her uncle and aunt a visit.
“Alright,” Lu Jinnian agreed readily.
After a bout of silence, he spoke once more. “But before we pay uncle and aunt a visit, I think we should visit your parents first.”
Deep down, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help up but warm up inside, pressing closer against him. She let out an “En’, then added, “And we have to visit your mother.”
Lu Jinnian didn’t say a word, but tightened his arms around her.
There was another moment of silence. Suddenly, he asked, “Qiao Qiao, what does your uncle and aunt like?”
Qiao Anhao thought about it for a moment, then listed a few things. Lu Jinnian repeatedly let out an “En”, and memorized each and every thing she mentioned.
He waited until she finished before he asked in hesitation, “Also, what about Qiao Anxia? What does she like?”
As soon as Lu Jinnian mentioned her sister, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but feel a little heavy inside.
Qiao Anxia had tried to go after Lu Jinnian twice. Even though she was rejected, she still liked him. What’s more, he had once went to Qiao Anxia to ask where she was, and Qiao Anxia hadn’t told him. Perhaps she still cared about him rejecting her in the past.
Since the news came out that she and Lu Jinnian got married, Qiao Anxia, who would call her to go out shopping or eat out every now and then, stopped contacting her.
Qiao Anhao wanted to call her sister several times, but she didn’t have the courage. She was afraid that when she saw her, then so many years of sisterhood would be gone just like that.
However, what’s meant to be will be. Even if she was avoiding her, she had to face the facts eventually.
Qiao Anhao tried to push down her uneasiness. She told Lu Jinnian her sister’s favorite brand of jewelry, clothes, and bags etc. In the end, she added, “Forget it, if you’re going to go shopping, I’ll go with you. You might not choose what Anxia likes.”
“En, alright.” Even though Qiao Anhao didn’t say anything, Lu Jinnian could still feel that she was still troubled by her sister. He stayed silent for a moment, then finally pulled her into his arms. He stared into her eyes and said, “Qiao Qiao, don’t think too much about it. No matter what happens, I’ll be by your side.”
The world’s happiest thing is to have someone care for you when you’re worried.
Lu Jinnian’s words had a magical power that made Qiao Anhao instantly relax.
Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but fall into Lu Jinnian’s arms. After a while, she said, “Lu Jinnian, do you know what is the most touching word in the world?”
He smoothed out her long hair and asked, “What?”
She slightly lifted her head and whispered into his ear, “Husband.”
Lu Jinnian’s body clearly tensed up. He froze completely for about a minute, before suddenly pushing her onto the bed, then kissing her deeply.
If he could, he really wanted to love her right now
Unfortunately… he could only just think about it.
Lu Jinnian made out with Qiao Anhao for a long time, then he finally let go of her whilst panting and spoke in a stifled voice. “Qiao Qiao, do you know what’s the most touching word in the world?”
He whispered into her ear, “Wife.”
He copied her… Qiao Anhao’s face flushed, and she let out a giggle.
After it, she drew closer to his ear and said, “Lu Jinnian, there is something I didn’t tell you.”
“En?”
“Actually, I fell in love with you at first sight… En…” Qiao Anhao paused for a moment, then said, “Which goes to say, I fell for you that day I found shelter from the rain. I’ve liked you for thirteen whole years.”
Since he read the love letter, he had thought that she liked him for five years. Then, after they went to the school, he realized that she studied to get into Class One for him. That’s when he thought that she must’ve liked him since the first year of high school, but now… she just told him that she fell in love with him at first sight. That was thirteen years ago.
At that moment, Lu Jinnian heard his blood run. He stared at her for a long long time, then said, “What a coincidence, I’ve also liked you for thirteen years.”
–
Because Father and Mother Qiao had to go work, Qiao Anhao had to call to arrange a time to visit in advance. They agreed for it to be on the weekend.
Early that morning, Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao woke up, got ready, and drove to the cemetery.
Qiao Anhao’s parents and Lu Jinnian’s mother’s graves weren’t in the same cemetery, and they were a little far apart. After they finished paying their respects, they returned to the city at around eleven in the afternoon. They drove to the Qiao family estate and tried to make it in time for their scheduled visit.
Father Qiao opened the door. Qiao Anhao greeted first, then turned her head to introduce Lu Jinnian. When he gave his regards to father Qiao, he appeared calm and courteous.
Qiao Anhao had assumed that since Lu Jinnian asked what Father and Mother Qiao liked, then he’d buy something from the list of things she mentioned. Yet, she never considered that he might buy each and every item. The various wrapped boxes filled a big corner of the Qiao family’s living room.
Mother Qiao was in the kitchen watching as a servant was cooking. When she heard Father Qiao’s voice, she walked into the living room and offered Lu Jinnian a seat. She even personally cut some fruit and brought it to him.
Qiao Anhao scanned the living room but didn’t see Qiao Anxia. She waited for Lu Jinnian to answer a few of Father Qiao’s questions before asking, “Where’s sis? Not at home?”
“Xia Xia is upstairs, I’ll call her…” Mother Qiao answered with a smile. Just as she stood up, Qiao Anhao saw her sister in a light blue, long sleeved knitted dress walk down the stairs.
==========================================================================
Qiao Anhao subconsciously balled her hands into a fist, until Qiao Anxia walked in. Then she shouted out, “Sis!”
When Qiao Anxia heard her sister’s voice, she slightly lowered her eyes. After a while, she turned her head, and her eyes fell on Lu Jinnian. She stared at him for quite a long time, before she moved her eyes to Qiao Anhao. Then, she slightly lifted her chin, and sat in an empty seat next to Father Qiao without saying a word.
Even though Qiao Anxia only shot her a look, Qiao Anhao could clearly feel the cold and distant aura within her eyes.
Her body involuntarily stiffened.
Mother Qiao didn’t know that Qiao Anxia tried to go out with Lu Jinnian, so when she saw her take a seat, she also sat down and said with a beaming smile, “I was just about to go upstairs to call you, when you came down. Also, Xia Xia, Lu Jinnian especially bought you those gifts over there. He’s so considerate. He bought you all your favorites and they’re all items from the new season.”
Lu Jinnian was so busy talking to Father Qiao about business, he didn’t notice what was going on. As he was sitting next to Qiao Anhao, he clearly felt her body tense up. Deep down inside, he understood that it must’ve have something to do with Qiao Anxia.
Now that he heard Mother Qiao’s words, he immediately politely and gently said, “Auntie, how would I know what Miss Qiao likes. Qiao Qiao personally chose them in the shopping mall. That Chanel bag… Qiao Qiao said Miss Qiao likes it in blue, and that she likes it in rose too. In the end, she even told me to just buy them both.”
In truth, Lu Jinnian was the one who wanted to buy both Chanel bags. At the time, Qiao Anhao was confused why he did that but now that he said this, she finally understood. Lu Jinnian did this so that Qiao Anxia would know just how much her sister cared about her.
Lu Jinnian’s attentiveness warmed Qiao Anhao’s heart for a moment, and she instinctively turned to look at Qiao Anxia.
Her sister acted as though she didn’t hear what Mother Qiao and Lu Jinnian said. She didn’t even bother sweeping a glance at the shopping bags in the corner, but stared straight at an advert on TV.
The atmosphere in the room instantly grew awkward.
Thankfully, Mother and Father Qiao were experts at pretending that all is well. Father Qiao scolded Qiao Anxia until she smiled apologetically at Lu Jinnian. They changed the subject, and Mother Qiao continued their conversation. Lu Jinnian acted as thought nothing had happened just now, and continued to chat with them.
In a spot people couldn’t see, he secretly covered Qiao Anhao’s hand.
Even though the two of them didn’t say a thing, she understood he was trying to comfort her.
Qiao Anxia’s cold attitude made her feel a little upset inside, but after Lu Jinnian’s silent actions, she loosened up.
The servants finished preparing lunch, so everybody walked over to the dinning table.
Mother Qiao knew Qiao Anhao was pregnant so she especially asked them to cook light meals. She waited till after everyone were in their seats before she brought over a bowl of chicken soup for her.
“Thanks auntie.”
Qiao Anhao received the bowl with both hands. Her eyes couldn’t help but look over at Qiao Anxia sitting next to her. She hesitated for a moment, but brought the bowl over to her in the end and said, “Sis, you drink first.”
Qiao Anxia continued to sit silently with a stoic expression. After about half a minute, she lifted her head to glance over.
Qiao Anhao looked expectant, assuming that she was going to take the bowl of soup but instead, Qiao Anxia grabbed onto Mother Qiao’s bowl. Without a word, she lowered her head and started sipping the soup.
The atmosphere stilled.
Qiao Anhao froze.
Lu Jinnian’s face fell, his displeasure apparent. He struggled to suppress his frustration before reaching out to remove the bowl of soup from Qiao Anhao. Standing up, he pressed her back into the chair. “Enough, you’re pregnant right now, you should be more concerned about yourself.”
Lightly, he stirred the soup, clearing the layer of oil at the top before feeding her a spoonful.
Father Qiao turned to glare at his daughter, but the blissful scene appeased him instantly. “Qiao Qiao, you’ve been blessed with a good husband.”
“No, I’m the one that is blessed for being able to marry Qiao Qiao,” Lu Jinnian replied warmly before placing one of her favorite dishes into her mouth. After she finished it, he brought another of her favorites.
“Jinnian, you really know Qiao Qiao well, you’re aware of all the dishes that she likes,” Mother Qiao commended warmly.
His lips curled into a faint smile. Without replying, he took a side glance over at Qiao Anxia. It was obvious that her face had darkened.
Qiao Anhao cared about her sister hence he wanted to protect her too.
But that was only to make Qiao Anhao happy.
Ever since the beginning, Qiao Anxia was the one who had wronged Qiao Anhao. Even if she felt upset, it was Lu Jinnian’s fault, how could he let her vent her frustrations on Qiao Anhao?
He wasn’t able to disregard Qiao Anxia’s feelings but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t make her feel worse off than Qiao Anhao!
Lu Jinnian reached for the fish, ensured that it was clear of bones, then placed it into Qiao Anhao’s bowl. When he caught her sister peeking at them, he continued his act, using a piece of tissue to wipe her lips.
Qiao Anhao had informed both her aunt and uncle beforehand that they were in the midst of their wedding preparations. Even though she wasn’t their biological daughter, they still treated her as one, since they had brought her up for so many years, after all.
While they ate, they discussed the details of the wedding. Towards the end, mother Qiao turned to grin at Qiao Anxia. “Xia Xia, when are you and Cheng Yang going to hold yours? If it’s after Qiao Qiao and Lu Jinnian’s, the two of you can be their bridesmaid and groomsman, but if yours is first, they can be yours!”
Qiao Anxia was already upset because of Lu Jinnian and now that she heard Cheng Yang’s name, she was reminded that it has been half a month since their breakup. Throughout this entire period, he hadn’t called her at all.
THUD!
Qiao Anxia could no longer suppress her emotions, slamming her chopsticks onto the table.
===============================================================================================================================
“Xia Xia!” Mother Qiao exclaimed in shock.
Qiao Anxia stood up nonchalantly. “I’m full.” Without waiting for anyone to respond, she turned to leave.
An awkward atmosphere yet again overtook the room. Father Qiao who was always indulgent of her tantrums could no longer suppress his fury. “Qiao Anxia, get back here!” he shouted.
Without hesitation, Qiao Anxia left the dinning room, slamming the door behind her.
Father Qiao’s chest swelled, and he vented breathlessly, “This is outrageous, she is getting out of hand!”
Mother Qiao couldn’t bear to see her daughter being embarrassed so she quickly explained, “Xia Xia has been moody for the past few days and Cheng Yang hasn’t contacted her, they must be having a fight. She must have been triggered when I mentioned him just now.”
Father Qiao hesitated, calming down slightly.
Mother Qiao anxiously placed meat into his bowl before addressing Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao. “Don’t mind her, she has always had a bad temper. Let’s eat.”
Even though Father Qiao wasn’t pleased, he suppressed his anger and forced on a smile, resuming the conversation. “Has the hotel and photoshoot been booked yet?”
“We have just started looking through our options,” Lu Jinnian replied respectfully, seemingly unaffected by Qiao Anxia’s behavior.
“Since Qiao Qiao is pregnant, she won’t have much energy, you can definitely approach your aunt if you need any help. She has been waiting to prepare for Xia Xia’s and Qiao Qiao’s weddings since years ago.”
Mother Qiao was truly happy, a huge smile never once leaving her face. “We should hurry, Qiao Qiao won’t look good in a dress when her belly starts to show, we’ll be running on a tight schedule.
“But it’ll be fine, having a tight schedule would make it more festive.” Mother Qiao paused before turning to look at Father Qiao. “We should find an auspicious date soon.”
–
The atmosphere remained cheery as they continued discussing the wedding details.
Father Qiao allowed himself to enjoy some wine in Lu Jinnian’s presence, though due to his age he no longer possessed a high tolerance. Even though he didn’t have much to drink, he started to get emotional, his eyes reddening. “Qiao Qiao has been with us ever since she was ten. Even though she isn’t my biological daughter, in my heart, she is though. I have even given her half of my inheritance. I don’t ask for much, I just hope that you will treat her well.”
Qiao Anhao was originally affected by Qiao Anxia’s behavior but now after hearing what Father Qiao said, her heart tightened, and the sorrow was drowned away by a warm embrace.
===============================================================================================================================
Though Mother and Father Qiao weren’t her biological parents, at that very instant, she felt like they were her real family.
She didn’t think much of it when Lu Jinnian mentioned having a wedding ceremony that night. It was just a ceremony to her, but now, her heart was full of anticipation.
–
Throughout the wedding preparations, Qiao Anhao didn’t lift a finger. Mother Qiao, Lu Jinnian, Zhao Meng, and the assistant did all the work.
But if there was anything important, everyone would still go to ask for her opinion. They followed her every preference from everything as big as choosing the hotel to the smallest detail such as the box of wedding sweets.
Her only regret was that Qiao Anxia hadn’t contacted her since she and Lu Jinnian went to visit Mother and Father Qiao and spoke about the wedding. Occasionally, Qiao Anhao would send her a text or call, but she’d never receive a reply.
There was still a week left till the wedding, and Lu Jinnian went to the hospital with Qiao Anhao for another check up.
He had made an appointment with the last doctor they’d visited, Beijing’s best gynecologist. Even though there were some areas of the department of gynecology where men were forbidden to go in, Lu Jinnian tried his best to be there for Qiao Anhao, to not leave her sight and take care of her.
He could only walk her down the corridors. When he took her to take the B-scan, he carefully left her with a few words.
Qiao Anhao sat in her seat and waited for about ten minutes. When she finally heard them call her name and walked in, there was someone getting out of the bed after taking their B-scan. When Qiao Anhao saw the person’s back, she thought that it looked familiar, so she couldn’t resist but sneak a few more glances, until that person turned her head. Only then did she say, “Sister Xiangsi?”
Song Xiangsi had been feeling unwell lately, so she especially went to the hospital for a checkup. She was afraid that the paparazzi would recklessly write about her so she deliberately chose the best doctors to keep her medical records at utmost secrecy. Yet, she still managed to get recognized by someone. By instinct, she jumped in surprise, then turned her head to see that it was Qiao Anhao. As she saw her, she let out a sigh of relief and raised her lips into a smile. “Xiao Qiao is here for a prenatal examination?”
“En, what a coincidence.” Qiao Anhao arched her lips into a smile. At the thought of her B-scan, she couldn’t help but ask in curiosity, “Sister, are you also…”. Qiao Anhao pointed at her lower abdomen, suggesting that she was pregnant.
“No.” Song Xiangsi let out a chuckle and shook her head. “I haven’t had a body check for a long time, so I’m here to get a check up.”
“Oh,” replied Qiao Anhao without a second thought to it. She looked at Song Xiangsi’s ten centimeter heels and instantly thought that she was overthinking things, so she asked with a smile, “How are you?”
“Very good.” Song Xiangsi fixed up her clothes, then glanced at Qiao Anhao’s flat stomach. “How’s the baby?”
Qiao Anhao nodded. “The baby’s good too.”
Song Xiangsi curved her red lips into a smile. She put on her face mask and sunglasses. “I have some things to deal with, so I’ll be off first. Go ahead with your check up. See you at the wedding.”
“En, goodbye.” The moment Qiao Anhao’s voice dropped, Song Xiangsi gave a nod and picked up her bag and left.
She first went to see the doctor. After a while, she came out and headed straight for the elevator. She went downstairs to the underground parking, and got into her car. After a while, she took off her sunglasses.
