Chapter Five: Jiao Jiao, You Wouldn’t Want to Make Eye Contact With People Either, Right? (2/2)
“… It can’t be what I’m thinking, right?”
“Well, how many people do you think have the surname Xie?”
The rustling sound stopped, and a stick suddenly fell to the ground.
Xie Guanhe picked up the fortune stick and took a glance at it.
It was a bad omen.
He lowered his dark eyes. A faint smirk of ridicule had slowly tugged on his lips; and yet he remained calm and quiet as he placed the stick back in its container. Then he bowed once more. The delicate beads that were resting on his wrist naturally caught the light that poured in from his movements, making his pale, blue-veined hands appear more fragile and slender than they normally were.
Just as Xie Guanhe stood up and took two steps, a woman suddenly entered the room. Her footsteps were quick and urgent; she looked like she was in a hurry. Her eyes immediately drifted to him upon seeing his form. Of course, the two security guards were instantly alerted by her presence. Alarmed, they immediately took action to approach her. On the other hand, Xie Guanhe raised an eyebrow. He was trying to make out her features, but it was difficult when the light was coming from behind her figure.
“Don’t—”
Before the security guard could even finish calling out his words, the woman had already swiftly brushed past Xie Guanhe, the tips of her flowing black hair lightly grazing against his shoulder as she casually did. The next second, she was found dashing straight to the meditation cushion1“蒲团” (futon or meditation cushion) is a round, flat cushion often used in religious settings like Taoist or Buddhist temples. People kneel or sit on it when they are praying, meditating, or engaging in other spiritual practices. It’s a traditional item in many East Asian cultures, providing comfort during prolonged kneeling or sitting while offering respect to the sacred space or rituals.. Kneeling down, she took no precaution. She extended her arms to take the cylindrical tube from the table before shaking it vigorously in front of the founder’s statue.
The security guard who had just abruptly shouted immediately fell silent upon seeing her gestures. Xie Guanhe was also momentarily stunned and turned around to take a look.
He watched as her black hair smoothly cascaded down her slender back, concealing most of her profile except for the sharp line of her jaw. As she humbly knelt herself on her knees, her hair couldn’t help but drape over her shoulders, revealing a glimpse of her delicate, pale neck.
Xie Guanhe waved his hand, and the two security guards immediately relaxed their stances. He had already intended to leave earlier, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but turn back and softly whisper to her, “Putting your hands together is a Buddhist way of praying. You should—”
He paused. For a moment, he wondered if she would even understand if he only relayed these words to her. After a brief pause, he continued again, “If you want, you can also ask the two Taoist priests over there to teach you.”
Even though Xie Guanhe decided to wait for her response for a few more seconds, he didn’t receive anything at all. She remained unresponsive, continuing to kneel on the cushion without bothering to turn around or offer even a single word to him. It was as if she hadn’t intended to acknowledge him in the first place. However, she still kept a firm grip around the lottery tube with both of her hands, with her head slightly lowered and her body completely still.
He couldn’t see her face clearly, and he wasn’t sure if she was just too occupied in making a wish that she simply didn’t hear his words, or if… she was just too completely lost that she didn’t know what to do at all. Thinking of the latter, he couldn’t help but laugh a little, not knowing why he even felt this way.
Xie Guanhe finally decided to turn around and leave, his fingers unconsciously playing around with the prayer beads in his wrist.
Once she heard the sound of the footsteps behind her slowly fading away, instead of becoming at ease, Wen Zhijiao couldn’t help but further tighten her grip on the cylindrical tube while feeling a burning sensation seeming to creep up from her ears and onto her face. Damn it! How embarrassing! Fortunately, she was able to spare herself from the embarrassment by pretending not to hear and brushing them off; otherwise, it would have been even more humiliating!
Wen Zhijiao then momentarily set down the cylindrical tube, deciding to correct her posture. When she managed to adjust and fix her Taoist hand gestures, it was only then that she retrieved the tube and began to shake it again.
Let’s see if I can draw a bad fortune to scare Jiang Yuancheng away!
She had already visited a Buddhist temple earlier this morning, and then this afternoon, she decided to come to this Taoist temple. But, even after running around for a long time, she still couldn’t find anyone willing to cooperate with her plans, as they all simply thought of her as a mad troublemaker! Finally, when she had enough, she mustered the courage to adopt a tough attitude and shake off the bodyguards who were following her all this time, going to negotiate with them all alone!
Fifteen minutes later, Wen Zhijiao could be found staring blankly at the eight good fortunes that lay before her, a wave of despair slowly surging over her heart.
It’s over. It’s completely over for her. The last resort she had up on her sleeves also failed. Was she really left with no choice? Did she really have to go out on the street to find someone to deceive Jiang Yuancheng? While Jiang Yuancheng is crazy, he’s not stupid. Ordinary people might not be able to hold their tongue in front of him. Instead of them tricking him, what if she ended up being the one who got sold to him by them?
Wen Zhijiao placed a palm over her forehead, tears almost spilling out from the corners of her eyes. She felt extremely distressed. Using the table and chair as her support, she rose from her kneeling position and decided to leave. Just then, her phone suddenly vibrated. Once she realized that it was her mother calling, she couldn’t help but be surprised, her eyes slowly widening.
As soon as she answered, she immediately covered her mouth, trying to stifle the cries that might leave her throat. She feared that she might suddenly burst out crying from the frustration.
“Jiao Jiao, how have you been lately?” On the other end of the phone, her mother began to chatter, “I just found out a few days ago that your engagement party has been moved up. I’ve been waiting for you to call and tell me, but you’ve gone all quiet. Now, I’m the one who has to initiate and ask you these questions.”
“Mom…” Wen Zhijiao swallowed the lump in her throat, her voice starting to trail off before she could even start. “I… I…”
Her mother immediately sensed something was wrong and was quick to express her concerns. “What happened? Were you wronged? Did the Jiang Family treat you coldly? Or did you catch a mistress? Are you being bullied?”
“No, no…” For a moment, Wen Zhijiao wanted to spill out all her emotions, but she quickly realized that doing that would only be useless. What could they even do? Her family was barely wealthy, and compared to a monster like the Jiang Family, they were nothing but ants. She had never had a say in anything. After a long time, she kept the phone on hold, quietly sniffing as she walked out of the temple.
After walking for a long time, she finally picked up the phone call again. However, by the time she answered, her mother was already on the verge of exploding. “What on earth happened?!”
“I just don’t want to get engaged so soon.” Reaching a cherry blossom tree, Wen Zhijiao made herself comfortable under its shade, gently leaning her body against its trunk. She sniffled again. “I’m still studying. I don’t want to get engaged yet. It’s just too soon for me.”
Her mother was silent for a while, but she also decided to break this silence herself. “Are you sure that it’s not only that you don’t want to get engaged with him, or do you also want to break up with him?”
Wen Zhijiao bit her lip, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “Does my thoughts even matter? What can our family do—”
“By the way, Mom…” Wen Zhijiao dragged her words, “Does Dad know any fortune tellers? Back home, I remember how he always used to say that our supermarket is so profitable because we chose a good location.”
As her other free hand began to unconsciously roam over the rough bark of the tree, her skin had naturally perceived its uneven surface. Not far away, the lights on the third floor of the ancient Taoist temple building suddenly flickered on. At the same time, the wind suddenly caught the gauze curtain in that certain floor, lifting it slightly and revealing a glimpse of the situation inside.
In front of an ancient painted screen2画屏 (huà Píng): type of decorative folding screen commonly used in traditional Chinese interiors. It typically consists of several connected panels, each painted with intricate designs, such as landscapes, flowers, birds, or calligraphy. These screens serve both an aesthetic and functional purpose, often used to divide space in a room, provide privacy, or act as a backdrop for furniture., Gu Ye draped his coat over the sofa before crossing his legs and sipping his tea. Meanwhile, in the main seat, Xie Guanhe was flipping through some documents, though he wasn’t as efficient as usual, when he got a plump orange cat lazily sprawled across his pile of papers.
Xie Guanhe lifted his eyes. His tone was calm. “Take your gift away.”
“No, let the temple keep it and raise it.” Gu Ye chuckled, “Have some compassion. Just look how pitiful this little fat boy is. It looks like he hasn’t even eaten for a few minutes now.”
Xie Guanhe mainly grasped the cat by the scruff of its neck and put it aside. “Well, this isn’t my Taoist temple to begin with.”
“Hey! That’s not true at all. Who would dare disobey your orders?” Gu Ye raised an eyebrow before realizing something. “Oh, right. We have Jiang Yuancheng.”
Xie Guanhe gave him a casual glance while Gu Ye suddenly leaned forward with a sarcastic smirk. “All he does is listen to his girlfriend and get driven mad by her. And right now, he even decided to set their engagement banquet to an earlier date.”
“Then, that’s good. He has hidden it so well. Now, I finally have the chance to take a look,” Xie Guanhe casually said as he continued to skim through the documents. “But who knows, maybe he’ll break another leg.”
Gu Ye couldn’t help but give out a mischievous chuckle at his friend’s remark. The two of them both held amusement in their eyes. He then continued, recounting his previous encounter. “Well, actually, I happened to run into her when she was inside Jiang Yuancheng’s car yesterday. I was actually planning to go and say hi to her, but the Mr. High-and-Mighty Jiang told me to get lost. I’m seriously impressed tbough. How did he end up like this? How could he live life like this? He skips parties, doesn’t answer calls, and ignores messages. All he does is work, and after work, he goes straight home. It feels like he’s been leashed up like a dog.”
Click—
As soon as the door knob was turned, a voice suddenly chimed in.
“Sorry, I’m late! Got caught in a traffic jam.” The voice was accompanied by a cheerful smile. Pei Ye suddenly stepped inside the room. Wearing a baseball uniform and jeans, he also decided to pair it with a flamboyant grin of his. “Why did you guys stop talking? Were you guys just talking about me behind my back right now?”
“No, we were talking about Jiang Yuancheng.” Gu Ye’s expression conveyed sincerity in his words. As he suddenly remembered something, he immediately asked, “Oh, by the way, back when you were still studying in that high school, did you ever meet Wen Zhijiao? I remember she got held back and entered her first year of high school late, and from what I know, you also happened to skip a grade around that time, right?”
The campus of Shengliu National High School is quite large, with each of the three year levels located in separate areas, making them far apart from one another. For this reason, students don’t usually venture into other departments unless there’s a special reason.
Pei Ye turned around to close the door as he mumbled, “Hmm.” It was then later followed by a question. “And what about it?”
“Can you tell me what’s so special about Wen Zhijiao that has Jiang Yuancheng acting like this?” Gu Ye genuinely found it puzzling. After all, back when they were all studying in the same school, Jiang Yuancheng could still be considered a normal person apart from being a bit too taciturn. But now, it seemed like the entire world revolved around him and Wen Zhijiao. He resisted all social interactions, and his temper was unpredictable.
“Her? She’s pretty annoying.” Pei Ye smiled, but he didn’t sit down. Instead, he looked out the window and couldn’t help but give a side remark, “Anyways, I really can’t stand it. This place always reeks of old stench every time I come here.”
Xie Guanhe paused in his reading as he expressed his curiosity toward the topic. “But why do you find her annoying?”
“She’s just… timid and never speaks up. Even though she gets angry easily, she always keeps her emotions bottled up, making it hard for people to read her.” Pei Ye yawned, revealing his sharp, cold fangs. For a moment, he took his time before deciding to add again, “Well, as for her looks, she’s pretty, but not that pretty. She’s average. Honestly, I also don’t get what people see in her that makes them like her—”
As he gazed outside the skies, he noticed the dust on the window and the petals swirling in the distance as they both got swept by the wind. His eyes couldn’t help but follow the petals as they danced through the air until the moment they fell over a certain figure, who was currently standing under the shade of the tree while appearing to be occupied in making a phone call.
“Hey! Why aren’t you suddenly saying anything?”
“I told you. I don’t really know what there is to like about her.”
“Next time, just add one. I can’t stand grammatical errors3he meant this as incomplete sentences..”
Gu Ye poured himself a cup of tea with a smile as he prepared himself to act like a jerk once more when he suddenly heard a ring. It was then followed by the sound of Pei Ye’s hurried footsteps as he headed straight for the door.
“Well, excuse me for a moment. It’s my phone ringing. I’m just going to take the call outside .”
Pei Ye didn’t even wait for their reply as he immediately closed the door behind him.
Inside the room, Xie Guanhe was silent for a moment, taken aback by the unexpected scene. “Was that even a phone’s ringtone?”
Gu Ye casually replied, “That was an alarm clock’s ringtone.”
He then couldn’t help but chuckle to himself after saying that.
Good grief! Did he really just choose to leave just for him to answer an alarm clock?
T/N: Sorry for updating just now! I found chapter five quite more difficult to translate compared to the previous chapters, so it took me days to finish it. Aside from that, I have been quite demotivated for a few days now. But I love this book, so I still managed to push through. ((Do me a favor and if you see this note, please rate our novelupdate) Anyways, there you go! We’re getting to know the other male leads now. I wonder what happens next hehe
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