Chapter 32: She Was Pulled into a Familiar Woody Embrace. p1
Waking up and looking in the bathroom mirror, Huai Xing saw that her eyes were a little swollen.
She had been holding back her tears last night, but she couldn’t help but feel breathless when she looked back at her past records with Chu Wantang.
What was Chu Wantang thinking when she took those ambiguous photos of them hugging? What was she thinking when she said, “I miss you so much too”?
And what was she thinking tonight when she rejected her with cold words?
Huai Xing had no way of knowing any of it. She only felt her heart was soaked and swollen, and her throat felt as if it had been pricked by a needle. Every time she swallowed, there was a slight stinging pain.
She looked at herself in the mirror, slowly lowered her eyelashes, and picked up the toothpaste.
The minty smell wafted through the air, once again bringing back memories of their kisses, replaying in her mind over and over again.
When she came out of the bathroom, Auntie Chen had just come in.
Seeing her haggard face, Auntie Chen asked with concern, “Miss Huai, what’s wrong with your eyes?”
“I didn’t sleep well last night,” Huai Xing said with a smile. “You know, Auntie, young people love to stay up late.”
“Yes, that’s how you all are. I’ve told my daughter so many times to go to bed early, but she just won’t listen…” Auntie Chen muttered as she went into the kitchen. She then turned back. “Miss Chu told me that she’s busy with work recently, so I’ll just be making meals for you.”
Hearing this, Huai Xing turned to look at the closed door of the master bedroom.
A few seconds later, she took a deep breath and then smiled brightly at Auntie Chen. “Jiejie is very busy. Thank you for your trouble, Auntie Chen.”
“No trouble, no trouble. Just message me if there’s anything you want to eat.”
…
How do two people living under the same roof have a cold war?
Huai Xing had no experience with this before. Because during her cold war with Chu Wantang in March, she had stayed at a hotel for over a week, so it didn’t count as living together.
But this time, she had experience.
It was clearly Chu Wantang who had said, “Don’t give me the cold shoulder like this again,” but it was also Chu Wantang who had started a new round of the cold war—
Chu Wantang would wake up earlier than usual and be out the door by the time Huai Xing woke up.
Chu Wantang would come back later than usual, only returning after Huai Xing had gone to her room.
And during the May Day holiday, she was even more elusive, either going to an exhibition or a design meeting in the morning, or playing golf with CEO Mei.
Her Moments feed would be updated, and her life still seemed to be full of flavor, but there were no more selfies.
As for the camera by the floor lamp in the living room, it had also been taken down by Chu Wantang, and she didn’t know where it was.
Huai Xing looked at the empty surveillance app, her heart also being hollowed out bit by bit.
She was absolutely certain that she had been excluded from Chu Wantang’s world.
To distract herself, Huai Xing took her violin out on the second day of the Labor Day holiday.
She asked Tu Zhaoyu and the others if they were free, and if so, they could practice music together. But her friends had all gone out to play during the five-day holiday. So she went online to look for part-time jobs as a violinist, playing at weddings or high-end restaurants.
In her mind, she could keep herself as busy as a spinning top, so that she wouldn’t think of Chu Wantang when she was busy.
But once she stopped being busy, everything would come rushing back like a tide, drowning her.
On the last day before the holiday ended, Huai Xing finally allowed herself to relax a little and only took a part-time job playing the violin at a high-end restaurant in the evening.
Mainly because Wen Ruyu had come to Jingcheng, and Wen Shiwei had invited her to have lunch at their home. Huai Xing would not refuse such an occasion.
Huai Xing’s subconscious reaction was that she was not alone with Wen Shiwei, so Chu Wantang would not be angry.
When she realized this, she couldn’t help but twitch her lips in self-mockery.
What time was it now? Did Chu Wantang still care about this? And, why did she have to follow the rules set by Chu Wantang?
Chu Wantang had already chosen to have a cold war with her. What was wrong with her breaking her previous promise?
“Xiao Huai,” Wen Ruyu’s voice pulled Huai Xing back to reality. “What are you thinking about?”
Huai Xing picked at the rice in her bowl. She had no appetite for anything recently. Hearing this, she put on a smile and said, “I was thinking about my mom. I remember one May Day, our two families went on a road trip to Liucheng, and we encountered a domestic violence incident on the street. Later, that woman successfully escaped with my mom’s help…”
“Your mom also received a banner from her. She even attended the funeral later,” Wen Ruyu also remembered all this, and felt sad talking about it. “Ah Zhao was such a good person…”
At this moment, Wen Shiwei patted the table and said with a smile, “Alright! If you keep talking, you’re going to cry. We’re almost out of tissues at home. We can’t afford you two like this.” She reached out and patted Huai Xing’s shoulder, and couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. “Xingxing, why are you so thin again?”
“I’m not,” Huai Xing blinked. “I’m still the same weight.”
In fact, she hadn’t weighed herself recently.
Wen Ruyu frowned. “Shiwei is right. Your chin looks a little sharper than when I saw you last month. Xiao Huai, what’s going on?”
Wen Shiwei: “Is Chu Wantang not feeding you?”
“How could that be, Sister Shiwei? Jiejie is very good to me. The auntie she hired comes to cook every day.” Huai Xing’s eyes curved, and she made an excuse for herself. “It’s a bit hot, so I don’t have much of an appetite. Plus, work is a bit tiring. Don’t worry, the next time we meet, I’ll definitely be rounder than this time, okay?”
The two of them were a little more relieved.
After the meal, Huai Xing politely declined Wen Shiwei’s invitation to take her home. When she came out of the Wen family’s house, she held a parasol and looked at the shadow on the ground, her smile gradually fading.
She let out a breath. The weather forecast showed that the temperature was twenty-seven degrees, but she thought that the weather forecast must be inaccurate.
Otherwise, why would she feel cold?
That night, in a high-end restaurant in Jingcheng.
The spatial layout here was very stylish. There were several famous paintings hanging on the walls. The tablecloths on each table were neatly spread out, and in the crystal vases on the tables, there were a few dewy tulips.
The customers who came here were dressed formally, and they were all drinking and chatting, laughing and talking.
Chu Wantang and Su Cheng had an appointment to have dinner with a well-known foreign designer here. Wan Yi’s status as an international supermodel was still very “useful” in this aspect. This designer named Alex had also agreed to meet with the two of them because of Wan Yi.
They spoke English, their smiles warm, and they chatted enthusiastically about fashion design.
There was a small stage in the center. When the sky darkened, a jazz band had already gone up to play. All kinds of lively notes were intertwined, flowing slowly in the restaurant, blending with the light conversation of the customers.
Halfway through the meal, the band changed.
This time, a young and beautiful violinist came up and stood in the center of the stage. As soon as she came up, she attracted the attention of some people.
Chu Wantang was originally facing away from the stage, her focus solely on chatting with Alex. But when the melodious sound of the violin sounded, Su Cheng, who was sitting next to her, looked up and was slightly stunned.
She gave her a look.
Chu Wantang followed her gaze. After meeting Huai Xing’s gaze for half a second, she nonchalantly retracted her gaze and took a sip of her drink.
Huai Xing was standing in a very central position, so it was hard for her not to notice Su Cheng, and Chu Wantang, who had just turned around and quickly sat up straight again.
She closed her eyes and continued to play without distraction, not daring to be distracted.
Playing in this restaurant, it was about playing for an hour, then resting for twenty minutes, and then playing for another hour before it was over.
By the time Huai Xing finished her first hour, the people at Chu Wantang’s table had already changed.
She was not surprised. She went to the room arranged by the restaurant and sat down, eating the dishes provided by the restaurant.
Wasn’t Jingcheng very big? In the past ten days, she hadn’t run into Chu Wantang at home or at the company. She hadn’t expected to see her at this restaurant tonight.
She couldn’t help but think that Chu Wantang’s period was probably here again.
So did she have cramps like last time?
After a long while, Huai Xing revealed a bitter smile.
Why did she care about this? She didn’t even know when this cold war between her and Chu Wantang would end.
Just as that thought arose, her phone received a text message notification of a transfer.
This bank card had been specially made for her by Chu Wantang. In the past few years, all the money she had received from Chu Wantang had been transferred to this card.
This text message was to inform her that she had received fifty thousand yuan.
Huai Xing looked at the amount, and her breathing became a little more difficult.
What was this? Did she think she looked pitiful playing the violin at the restaurant? So the amount was a little larger than before.
In the end, Huai Xing did not return the fifty thousand yuan.
If Chu Wantang thought she was pitiful, then so be it. Wasn’t she pitiful now?
She had originally thought that by hiding everything in her desire for her body, she could spend the rest of her life with Chu Wantang like this. She had even been confirming Chu Wantang’s feelings for her. In the end, it was just another dream.
Or was it because of the surprise she had prepared last month, that Chu Wantang knew that begonias represented a secret love, and that was how Chu Wantang had discovered her feelings?
So Chu Wantang felt that she had crossed the line and was silently rejecting her… then she had still made things difficult for Chu Wantang, right?
Just as she thought of this, Huai Xing felt as if she had been drenched in a basin of cold water. She was stunned on the spot, even forgetting how to breathe.
A staff member from the restaurant came over at this time to remind her, “The break is almost over. Please tidy up your appearance and go on stage.” She looked at Huai Xing. “Hello, is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” Huai Xing said, her eyes filled with tears. The tears were like dewdrops rolling on a lotus leaf in the early morning, rolling down due to gravity. “It’s just that I haven’t had such delicious food from your restaurant in a long time.”
The staff member was slightly surprised for a moment and handed over a tissue. “Miss Huai, we can cooperate more often in the future.”
Huai Xing smiled politely, wiped away her tears, and left the lounge.
The soft light on the stage shone, and nothing could be hidden.
The violinist who had just cried had wet eyelashes, a red nose, and faint tear stains on her face, which added a different kind of charm to her beauty.
Seeing this, the manager sent someone to take pictures with professional equipment.
Nowadays, even expensive high-end restaurants could not escape online promotion.
Chu Wantang was standing by the railing on the second floor. She soon saw the post from the manager on her Moments. Of the nine photos of the restaurant’s atmosphere, two were of Huai Xing.
She lifted her eyelids, her gaze falling on the girl’s back.
She wouldn’t be discovered from this angle.
Su Cheng finished her call with Wan Yi and came out of the private room.
She followed her gaze and then sighed. “Wantang, don’t you think you’re living a very conflicted life right now?”
“How am I conflicted?”
“If you want to see her, then go see her. It’s not like I can stop you. After Alex left, you even specially came back to change places.” Wan Yi yawned. “Also, don’t think I don’t know who the dress you’ve been secretly designing recently is for. I don’t know what happened between you two, but you can just die from your conflict.”
Chu Wantang listened to the sound of the violin, her eyelids lowered.
What happened?
Although she knew, she couldn’t say.
After a long while, she called a waiter and ordered a bottle of champagne.
She drank and chatted with Su Cheng about work by the railing. The meeting with Alex tonight had benefited them both a lot.
Unconsciously, it was nine o’clock.
The restaurant was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, with an excellent view of the beautiful night scenery of Jingcheng.
After finishing the champagne in her glass, Chu Wantang’s gaze fell back on Huai Xing.
The sound of the violin in the restaurant had ended. The audience on the first floor applauded, and Huai Xing bowed to everyone.
Just as she got off the stage, a male customer in a suit came up to Huai Xing.
Chu Wantang was afraid of being discovered and stepped back a little.
But through the glass, she could still clearly see the smile on Huai Xing’s face, and the action of adding the man in the suit on WeChat.
Su Cheng had gone back to the private room to call a client. She was watching this scene alone.
Her grip on the wine glass couldn’t help but tighten.
…
