Chapter 96: Every Bush and Tree an Enemy

Someone wearing a thin cotton-padded jacket hurried past her. A dried leaf fell on her shoulder and was blown away. Gan Xun realized it was the end of November—already deep autumn.

She quickly entered the building and pressed the elevator button.

The beginning of the month had still revolved around Zhao Chiyun’s birthday. Gan Xun had once felt fortunate that they could celebrate it together. Silly thoughts had floated through her mind.

For instance, once this birthday passed, their relationship would have no regrets.

The gifts fate had bestowed far exceeded her initial wishes.

She still remembered the day she lost her previous job. That dejected summer night had been disrupted by Zhao Chiyun, disrupted into vibrant new life.

It was like a story’s turning point, like vegetation shattered in the rain only to regrow.

Yet after that date passed, she discovered her own naivety.

Once you fell in love with someone, you could never encounter a timeline that said, “This is far enough.”

She was very afraid that Zhao Chiyun would suddenly leave her.

Even more afraid than before.

They had shared so many wonderful experiences. She couldn’t imagine what she would do if one day she lost her, or if Zhao Chiyun stopped loving her.

As for the latter, she had thought about it many times recently. It had been interrupted at the end of that birthday trip by Li Shutang’s forceful appearance. Gan Xun still felt a lingering fear.

As for the former, she was seeing enemies in every bush and tree.

That afternoon, during a non-work time when Zhao Chiyun was home, she hadn’t replied to messages for an hour and hadn’t answered three calls.

So Gan Xun left the company and took a taxi home at top speed.

Cold sweat beaded on her skin the whole way. The driver was already going fast, but she was still burning with anxiety.

She hated the city’s traffic and, while she was at it, the Luo Corporation ads on the billboards along the way.

The harsh reality was that if Zhao Chiyun left, Li Shutang would go with her.

Back in Mirror Country, they would be even closer than before, bonded by shared hardship. Even recently, Gan Xun had noticed that Zhao Chiyun’s attitude toward Li Shutang had grown much warmer.

At first, there had been lingering knots from the past and the strangeness of not seeing each other for so long, plus Gan Xun’s less-than-welcoming attitude. Whenever Zhao Chiyun mentioned her, her tone had always been detached, her thoughts still on Mirror Country matters.

But after more than twenty days together, they were no longer the Zhao Chiyun and Li Shutang from Mirror Country.

They met several times a week, dined out together, worked out, got spa treatments, attended meaningful events, visited each other’s companies and projects. Zhao Chiyun and Li Shutang had gone from somewhat unfamiliar friends to close ones.

When she talked about her with Gan Xun, she no longer offered calm critiques.

She would tell Gan Xun that Shu Tang was truly impressive—a strong woman who had taken charge of managing the company in such a short time, fluent in foreign languages, wielding real influence in the group.

She also indulged Gan Xun’s gossip, saying the crown prince had no extraordinary looks or height. “You’ve seen Yin Shangwen—you should know their family’s stock is truly average.”

Gan Xun had no intention of defending that crown prince of the Yin Family. She just thought Zhao Chiyun’s words might carry a bit of bias.

Because perhaps in Zhao Chiyun’s heart, no one was worthy of Li Shutang.

That was fine, too. With their shared experiences traveling back and forth, if Zhao Chiyun missed home in Mirror Country, she’d have someone to talk to.

As these thoughts swirled, Gan Xun found herself short of breath in the car.

She rolled down the window and gulped cold air to stop her wild imaginings.

Panting, she stepped out of the elevator. At home, she found Zhao Chiyun sleeping soundly on the sofa.

Her head rested on a pillow, a dark blanket covered her body, and her long hair spilled out casually. The room was so dim it made Gan Xun want to crawl into bed herself.

Gan Xun turned on the light.

Disturbed, Zhao Chiyun barely opened her eyes, slowly sat up, still groggy from sleep. With some annoyance, she asked, “How long did I sleep? Are you off work already?”

Gan Xun stood dazed in the middle of the living room, forgetting to change her shoes. Listening to her heartbeat, she asked in a voice that wasn’t too heavy or too light, “Why didn’t you pick up the phone? On silent?”

Zhao Chiyun let out an “ah,” looked around, and found her phone in the sofa cushions. She unlocked it and glanced. “It was on silent. I was watching a movie before sleeping and didn’t check in time.”

Gan Xun had no intention of blaming her.

She knew Zhao Chiyun wasn’t the type to constantly check her phone or wait for messages. She focused wholly on whatever she was doing.

At most, she’d glance for urgent notifications when getting up for a glass of water midway.

Before this, Gan Xun had never panicked over something like that.

Seeing the missed calls and timestamps, Zhao Chiyun looked surprised at Gan Xun, who sat nearby wiping sweat. “You came back specially for this?”

Gan Xun nodded guiltily.

She didn’t know why she’d panicked like that in the moment.

She hadn’t wanted to finish work, had urged the driver to go faster without caring about safety, and before opening the door, she’d thought that if Zhao Chiyun had really left, she wouldn’t be able to face the coming autumn and winter calmly.

Zhao Chiyun didn’t tease her for overreacting. Instead, she came over, hugged her, and said, “My fault. Next time I go to sleep, I’ll tell you. I was just so tired today.”

But Gan Xun didn’t blame Zhao Chiyun at all.

Zhao Chiyun must find it annoying to have such an insecure girlfriend.

So Gan Xun told her, “No need. Don’t worry about it. Next time something like this happens, I’ll wait two hours first, then figure out how to find you.”

Zhao Chiyun nodded. “Okay. Anyway, as long as I’m still here, no rush to find me.”

There was half a sentence more, but Gan Xun just gave her a look, and she didn’t say it.

Gan Xun’s gaze carried an unwitting fragility and plea. Her expression was clearly gentle, yet fragile like thin smoke that would scatter at a breath.

Because of the wind and cooling that day, Gan Xun fell ill with a high fever. She made several trips to the hospital before recovering somewhat.

For days after recovery, she still coughed occasionally.

After getting better, she reflected deeply and picked out a few cotton-padded jackets and down jackets to send to Zhao Chiyun. Winter clothes needed preparing—which one did she like?

Zhao Chiyun: [They’re all ugly. Why is winter clothing so dull?]

Gan Xun didn’t know how winter clothes could be dull. Weren’t Mirror Country’s winter outfits varied and colorful?

[Basic styles are like this. Winter can still be cold sometimes—you need a couple.]

At that point, a message came in.

Communication between Tang Sifeng and Cen Xiangrui had gone smoothly. The first repayment had arrived.

That evening, Gan Xun took Zhao Chiyun out for a celebratory meal. Afterward, she asked if she wanted to go car shopping with her over the weekend.

“Now that we have money, per our deal, we can buy one. It’ll make getting around easier.”

Zhao Chiyun happily agreed. “Good. No more hassle with taxis and buses.”

“But no driver to go with it.”

Zhao Chiyun looked at her puzzled. “Can’t you drive?”

“I mean, I can’t provide you with everything.” Gan Xun felt a bit apologetic.

Zhao Chiyun was puzzled at first, thought for a moment, then said honestly, “I noticed that the first day I came here.”

It felt like a dark joke.

Gan Xun held back, then laughed.

“At the Prince’s Mansion, I had my own coachman, always on call.”

She stated without complaint, “Adapting to life without a personal driver started the first time I went out with you.”

“It wasn’t from after you buy a car, so no need to worry.”

Zhao Chiyun sometimes lacked worldly savvy, surprising Gan Xun with her thought processes.

But more often, she grasped the depths when others only skimmed the surface, and she was empathetic.

Falling for someone like that held no suspense for Gan Xun. She wouldn’t meet anyone better in the future.

These days, she’d seen Li Shutang’s car and driver. The last time Li Shutang picked up Zhao Chiyun in the rain, Gan Xun had gone down with her.

Li Shutang stood holding an umbrella, opened the car door for Zhao Chiyun, then said very politely to Gan Xun under the other umbrella, “Miss Gan, why not join us?”

Gan Xun’s cold hadn’t fully cleared then, and Li Shutang was just being courteous. Hearing the polite refusal, she smiled and got in on the other side.

Zhao Chiyun rolled down the window and, from the spacious back seat, told her to go back and rest a bit.

Li Shutang sat beside Zhao Chiyun, gave Gan Xun a cool glance, then smiled brightly when Zhao Chiyun turned.

Optimistically speaking, Gan Xun couldn’t afford that model car in three to five years.

She said her car budget was just one year’s salary and asked Zhao Chiyun if she’d be dissatisfied. “We’ll have to pick one that’s comfortable to sit in.”

Zhao Chiyun was noncommittal. “Any car beats a horse carriage, doesn’t it?”

Gan Xun assured her, “That I can guarantee. I’m much steadier than your coachman, and I’m always on call.”

But Zhao Chiyun was busy now, with limited time. She opened her schedule.

She had three classes over the weekend and had to attend a Book Garden live event as a guest.

Saturday afternoon was set for shopping with Li Shutang.

Only Sunday afternoon after two was free.

Lately, luxury brands had piled up at home. Li Shutang was taking care of Zhao Chiyun in every way, just as Gan Xun had once done.

Zhao Chiyun refused most, but accepted many.

So their once-spacious home now felt cluttered.

Gan Xun thought again of rushing home that day, and how Zhao Chiyun had soothed her that night, saying, “Don’t be scared. I’m here.”

She couldn’t help reminding her, “If one day you can’t find me, don’t be too sad.”

Then she recalled Li Shutang’s cool, distant gaze.

Before bed, Zhao Chiyun asked her, “Can you get off work on time Friday night?”

“What’s up?”

“Shu Tang wants to invite us to dinner. We haven’t really talked after all this time.”

“Really?” Gan Xun asked first, “Does she want to see me, or do you want me to meet her?”

“Isn’t it the same?”

“Not quite, but I have time.”

“Good, I’ll tell her.”

Gan Xun decided quickly. “Don’t let her arrange it. She’s done so much for you these days. Though it’s from her as your old friend, as your girlfriend, I want to treat her once.”

Zhao Chiyun understood and smiled. “Perfect. I told her your cooking is good—she probably thinks I favor you. So invite her here to try it?”

“Good. Ask her.”

Zhao Chiyun didn’t ask; she stated it directly. [Friday 7 PM, at my place. Head chef Gan Xun. Hope President Li can grace us.]

“Business Chiyun speak,” Gan Xun affirmed.

Li Shutang replied simply: [Okay.]

Gan Xun had her own plans for this arrangement.

She didn’t want to be invited to some lavish restaurant like a Hongmen Banquet, timid and restrained before the glamorous President Li, her emotions stirred by a few words.

She wanted to invite her to their place—hers and Zhao Chiyun’s home.

Gan Xun thoughtfully added, “Tell her if she doesn’t mind, she can bring her boyfriend.”

Then she reconsidered and vetoed it. “Never mind. She’ll think I want to network.”