Chapter 24

Jiang..shi..Jun..

Yan Liang’s hands froze on the door.

Her head went completely blank for a while, then she could no longer suppress her curiosity and pushed the door inwards.

The door was opened from the other side at the same time. Yan Liang was surprised for a moment then looked up, Jiang Yu Nan was standing on the other side.

Jiang Yu Nan’ face had been calm, but his eyes narrowed when he saw Yan Liang standing behind the door.

Two pairs of eyes stared at each other. Jiang Yu Nan was the first to react, like the sun suddenly breaking through overcast weather, he smiled abruptly. “ Why are you here ?”

Yan Liang raised her eyebrows and frowned. Her tone was sharp as a knife, “ This is what I want to ask you, why are you here ?”

His face sank when she suddenly asked this question. He raised his eyebrows to look at her, clearly unhappy, but didn’t say a word as he pulled Yan Liang inside the ward.

They walked through the living room till Yan Liang reached the bedside. The floral upholstery and wood furniture complemented each other, giving a sense of peace, but when Jiang Shi Jun saw Yan Liang, his face turned grim.

Although he looked up, he did not say a word. His eyes were on Jiang Yu Nan.Jiang Yu Nan grabbed Yan Liang’s arm , then her hand, and paused for a moment. Then he said, “ Mr Jiang, Xu and Li Bo both launched similar products, with these allegations of plagiarism, now we have to gather evidence of who copied whom. For the reputation of the two companies , I think we should both take a step back.”

Jiang Shi Jun seemed to think for a moment, but because his head was down, his expression wasn’t visible. He raised his head again, his illness unable to cover the arrogance in his face, “ We in Li Bo launched our product a few minutes earlier, the public opinion is obviously in our favour. Why should I take a step back?”

Jiang Yu Nan was silent for a moment , he seemed to be pondering over the legalities of the matter. Jiang Shi Jun looked over them, his face full of arrogance .Yan Liang found this very annoying. She replied in a lofty tone,”Mr Jiang, since you don’t want to take a step back, we will have to engage in an all out war.We will investigate, but before the results are out, we will apply to the relevant government department to ban the sales of HD make up series as well. Now that Perfect Look has been taken off the shelves, we will ban HD make up sales indefinitely as well. We are looking at launching Ya Yan in new markets like Taiwan, but what the impact of this ban will be on Li Bo, it’s really hard to say.”

Jiang ShinJun’s arrogant smile froze for a moment, then in the blink of an eye, he started laughing. He looked at Yan Liang with admiration, “How can a newbie play such unfair tricks?” Then he looked at Jiang Yu Nan.In a manner of one man confiding to another, he said, “ It’s true what they say about a woman’s heart being the most poisonous.”

Jiang Yu Nan had placed his hand on Yan Liang’s shoulder.He had been calmly listening to her speak. This time he responded, “Mr Jiang, in view of the overall situation, I believe you will not allow this to escalate into an all out war.”

At first, Jiang Yu Nan’s words seemed very modest, but on closer inspection, there was a subtle threat. Jiang Shi Jun had no choice but to take the lifeline they offered without a whimper.

Jiang Yu Nan also seemed to have no intention to stay long, he casually walked up to the bedside table. “ Mr Jiang , you are ill. We took the liberty of disturbing you, I hope you carefully consider what we spoke about and contact me.” Saying this, he inserted his business card in the lily plant on the table.

*** ***

This translation belongs to miumiu596..wordpress.com. If you are reading this elsewhere, it has been taken without the translators permission.

Jiang Yu Nan and Yan Liang left together. Once they were out of the door, even before the door was shut, Yan Liang took a long indrawn breath and looked at Jiang Yu Nan, “ I thought that..”

Jiang Yu Nan immediately asked: “Why?”

This man really know how to put someone on the spot.Yan Liang bluntly changed the topic, “What is he suffering from? It looks very serious.”

“ I have nothing to do with that and I don’t care. I care only about things that affect you.” He looked at her from head to toe, then raised his left brow, a unique expression on his face.” Why did you come to the hospital?”

“ You care about me?” She was calm before he mentioned this, but as soon as he said this, her face changed from apologetic to angry. “ If you were really concerned about me, then why didn’t you call me for more than a week?”

(Miumiu: I hear you sister! What is it about men and their inability to call when you want them to ? How can they just suddenly forget to call? Ok..rant over )

Jiang Yu Nan was surprised for a moment, then laughed ,”You and Lu Zheng are having an ardent relationship, I’m afraid I don’t match up to him, I am only one among the masses of salaried workers.”

He was obviously joking, Yan Liang couldn’t really complain, but she responded to him in a slightly mocking tone, “ That’s also true. Now the world knows that I am Lu Zheng’s future wife, even my dad is taken up with this idea. It would be really embarrassing to receive a phone call from another man.”

Jiang Yu Nan’s face changed.

Yan Liang had seldom seen his face darken with anger to such a degree.She patted his shoulder to comfort him, “ If I chat with you here , and the media photographs us, then it will look bad.”

Before he could catch her, Yan Liang quickly withdrew her hand from his shoulder, smartly pirouetted on her heels and walked away.

Jiang Yu Nan stood motionless at the same place, watching the woman walk away. Then she smiled. That smile, with traces of childish pride, cooled all his anger and softened his…. heart.

His heart should not thump like this, he should not be emotionally affected…not in a thousand years..not in ten thousand years..

Yan Liang missed the unprecedented flash of horror in the man’s eyes. She continued to walk away, proud of her retaliation, but before long she was caught by Jiang Yu Nan.

He wrapped his arms gently around her waist, and caught her in a hug.

“ The future wife of Mr Lu?” He asked with raised eyebrows. Yan Liang nodded , “Well..”, and her mouth was blocked.

Jiang Yu Nan kissed her for nearly half a minute, in full public view, before he was satisfied and raised his head, “You’re obviously my woman.”

*** ***

When the so-called future wife of Mr Lu woke up in Mr Jiang’s home, it was already early morning.

Although she had a bath, as they made love through the night, the tiredness had not washed away from her body. She didn’t even have the strength left to turn. She felt Jiang Yu Nan move away from her,, then come back a moment later, when he lay down again and hugged her.

It was a cold night, and she enjoyed the warmth of the warm man.

Jiang Yu Nan wrapped her waist tightly with one arm, while he put the phone back on the bedside table with his other hand.” Did I wake you up?”

Yan Liang glanced up at the bedside table and just saw the phone screen turning dark. She realised that the sound of the ringing phone she had heard was real, and not just her dream.

She could not help rubbing her sleepy eyes, “ Who is calling you this late?”

“Work. Something urgent came up.”

Yan Liang wanted to turn towards him, but he was hugging her tightly, so she continued lying with her back against his chest.” Is it solved?”

“ Yes.” Jiang Yu Nan placed a soft kiss on her delicate earlobe.

“ Sleep.”

The lights were dim. Their clothes were strewn over the carpet as evidence to their night of passion.

Under the quilt, the couple hugged tightly. One was sleepy , with her eyes closed. The eyes of the other were usually dark, but now it was engulfed in the deepest darkness, not a hint of light left in them.

As she was falling asleep, she heard him whisper in her ears, “Move in with me.”

It wasn’t a question, nor was it the usual commanding tone, rather he said it as if stating something obvious.

Yan Liang raised her head,” As what ?”

“My girlfriend*”

His words made her feel as if her heart was overflowing with the sweetness of honey.

As tiredness followed the sweet feeling, seeping through her pores, there was still a trace of uncertainty and insecurity in her heart. A while back, when she had glanced up at the bedside table, before the phone screen turned dark, the name that was flashing incessantly till the call dropped was three words ..Xu Zi Qing.

miumiu : This would have been such a sweet chapter if this were a normal romance novel. Yan Liang teasing the mighty JYN, JYzn inviting her to move in which is the next big step in any normal reaction ship…But then there is that hint that’s things are not what they seem .. the look of horror, and the darkness in his eyes..

* literal translation: hostess.