Chen Yi spent quite some time pursuing that container of parts. Whether due to price negotiations or distrust of Chinese sellers, progress had stalled for a long while. The turning point came when Chen Yi spotted a sailing photo in the client’s office. Their casual conversation about it led to an unexpectedly pleasant discussion, and not only did they close the deal, but the client even helped him out. Chen Yi ended up making over sixty thousand US dollars in profit.
He didn’t hand this money over to Miao Jing, keeping it instead as startup capital.
Miao Jing accustomed to a comfortable life where everything was provided, felt slightly wistful about him having to go out to make money. Still, she supported his initiatives, her eyes lingering on him as she held her coffee cup and asked, “Planning to switch to doing business?”
Like a snap of fingers that could rouse a lazy dog to wag its tail with vigor, it was time to head out to hunt for food.
Finding a stable job would have been simple, but Chen Yi wasn’t interested in a monthly salary of 2,000 dollars. There might have been easier ways to make money, but now that he had a family, pursuing a more stable life seemed safer.
Swapping his t-shirt and jeans for a dress shirt and slacks gave him a proper yet not-quite-proper allure. A natural clothes hanger, he looked good from any angle. The new watch was Miao Jing’s gift, the best within her means. Their current lifestyle wasn’t particularly frugal, leaning more toward hedonistic pleasures.
Now in his late twenties, he had gradually shed his youthful arrogance, growing increasingly mature and steady. Yet when smoking or squinting with a smile, he still had that somewhat roguish air about him.
“Is it too late?” he asked, rolling up his sleeves to reveal a section of his arm with visible veins.
Miao Jing shrugged: “An old war horse in the stable still yearns to gallop a thousand miles.”
“Oh?” His eyebrows shot up suddenly, his large hand irritably pinching her waist. “Old warhorse? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“I misspoke, I should have said ‘fierce tiger descending the mountain,'” Miao Jing pleaded weakly as her waist softened under his grip. “I was wrong.”
He pulled her close for a good morning kiss, his lips wandering over her sensitive ear, neck, and nape: “Say something nice, you know what I like to hear.”
Trapped by his persistence, she called out softly: “Husband… Brother…”
“Am I your real brother or adopted brother?” He emphasized each word distinctly.
“Both.” Miao Jing could now talk nonsense without blushing or her heart racing. She smoothed out his ruffled shirt collar. “Gino is still waiting downstairs, you should get going.”
Chen Yi drained her coffee in one gulp: “I’m off.”
At that time, cross-border e-commerce primarily targeted European and American markets, while the South American market hadn’t yet flourished. Initially, Chen Yi worked as a partner in a foreign trade SOHO business, helping develop clients, introducing products and companies to local customers, sending samples, and splitting half the profits when deals were closed.
Later, when Pierre needed replacement parts for his motorcycle but faced shortages, Chen Yi turned his attention to motorcycle components. Colombia was a major motorcycle nation with considerable import trade volume. Given his knowledge of vehicles, he attempted and succeeded in closing a small deal with auto repair shops, importing a batch of modification parts from Chinese manufacturers – his first real profit in cross-border trade.
Working with Gino, the two had no specific plan, essentially pursuing whatever profitable opportunities they encountered. Whether due to Chen Yi’s close relationships with locals or his efficient and straightforward business style, clients generally maintained good impressions, and things progressed smoothly.
After six months, Chen Yi established a small company with just himself and Gino as employees. The office was next to a bar, requiring a half-circle detour through the bar to reach it. When clients visited, they could share a drink – quite an innovative setup.
With a proper job now, Chen Yi rushed about early morning to late night, yet still managed to drive Miao Jing to and from work. On weekends, they squeezed in trips to the beach, and when he occasionally traveled for business, he took her along. Together they explored many Colombian cities.
Sometimes Miao Jing accompanied him to business social events, discovering that Chen Yi frequented diverse venues from exclusive private clubs to vibrant nightclubs to outdoor extreme sports. Si Nan noticed Miao Jing’s composure and secretly asked if she wasn’t worried. Miao Jing replied that there was nothing to worry about; she was used to it.
His presence in any setting wasn’t strange; he wasn’t the pure and noble type at all. But in these situations, he maintained just the right balance of neither servile nor arrogant. Miao Jing felt Chen Yi was opportunistic but rarely obviously utilitarian. Coming from an engineering background and holding a technical position, she couldn’t emulate his natural flair.
“Of course, you have to read the room,” he said with a cigarette between his lips. “Different poses for different folks. Chinese people fight amongst themselves, Westerners love to act high and mighty, and South Americans are simple-minded but unreliable. When dealing with different people, it’s best to act even more authentic than they do.”
“So what approach do you take with me?” Miao Jing asked. “What act do you put on in front of me?”
“Approach? I’ve bewitched you.” Chen Yi teased. “You see through any act I try to put on in front of you.”
Miao Jing couldn’t help giving him a coquettish glance.
After nearly two years in Bogotá, they had grown somewhat tired of South American cuisine. Chen Yi’s cooking skills were far inferior to Miao Jing’s, so she rolled up her sleeves again to cook Chinese food. Chen Yi was quite accustomed to her cooking and always showed appreciation when she cooked, but he also had to exercise regularly to maintain his figure. Don’t think he didn’t notice – every time Miao Jing scrolled through her phone, her gaze would linger an extra second on photos of handsome men.
Over these two years, Miao Jing’s temperament had grown more pampered and lazy. Chen Yi’s business dealings inevitably involved entertainment, especially during sports seasons, which meant staying up all night. When Chen Yi came home drunk, sprawling on top of her with lewd talk flowing freely, Miao Jing would ignore him completely, leaving him to sleep on the couch, and the next day would perfunctorily serve him plain noodle soup.
On weekends, they went boating and camping in nearby towns with friends. While Miao Jing was playing ball with friends on the lawn, Chen Yi disappeared without notice, saying he and some other men had driven to a nearby town to buy local corn liquor. When they returned, the car carried two exotic women, mixed-race beauties so striking it was hard to look away.
Miao Jing couldn’t help but feel angry, unsure whether it was because he left without saying anything or because she watched the beautiful woman chatting with Chen Yi. She reached out to ask for the cigarette in his mouth. He frowned slightly in surprise, then smiled and took a fresh one from the pack to give her. The two stood together, sharing clouds of smoke.
When Chen Yi turned back and saw Miao Jing’s cold expression, he realized she was angry and tried to coax her with gentle words, but failed to improve her mood.
When truly unable to appease her, the anger built up, though she wasn’t sure what she was being stubborn about. She started bringing up old grievances, her sharp tongue leaving Chen Yi dumbfounded. He truly felt like a terrible sinner – bullying her since childhood, making her sick with fever, flirting with other women, forgetting her birthday, and all those things with Tu Li that left her with such deep psychological trauma.
Their interactions were awkward, but things were particularly intense in bed. He loved how she would bite her lip trying not to cry, messy hair stuck to her cheeks, eyes wide and round, filled with physiological tears of alluring charm. She would bite him with her sharp little teeth, her slender figure writhing like a snake. He pulled out a necktie, and they both ended up drenched in sweat and panting.
“What are you upset about?” He pinched her smooth, sticky skin. “I just gave someone a cigarette, and you’ve been mad at me for so long. How about I quit smoking, would that work? Hm?”
“Yes!” She quickly turned to look at him, her beautiful face full of determination. “Promise!”
Chen Yi froze, then flopped helplessly onto the bed, staring at the ceiling in despair: “Fine… I’ll quit then…”
Quitting smoking was quite difficult.
He didn’t smoke as heavily as before, but the addiction remained, and he didn’t feel right without a few cigarettes each day. Miao Jing bought him lots of candy, and Chen Yi would pop one in his mouth from time to time, crunching away. When he really couldn’t take it, he’d light a cigarette and just quietly watch it burn, inhaling the scent of nicotine.
This addiction naturally transferred to Miao Jing – an exchange of one thing for another. His eyes carried a soft filter when he looked at her, constantly going over to cling to her, kissing her with his mouth, addicted to her scent and touch. Finally, Miao Jing couldn’t take it anymore and gave him a suggestion.
“How about this – let’s find a school for you to study at. If you can’t smoke, having a pen in your mouth isn’t a bad alternative.”
“??????”
“Instead of spending all that energy on me, why not find a school to study at in Bogotá? Whether it’s a community college or public school, with your Spanish being so good, taking some classes wouldn’t be difficult.”
Chen Yi’s thick eyebrows furrowed, his face full of reluctance: “No.”
Miao Jing explained gently, “I saw some schools offer short-term courses, and weekend classes, and the fees aren’t high. Now that you’ve started your company, you need to learn everything first. Why not recharge and supplement your knowledge base? I’ll go with you?”
He thought for a long while, somewhat hurt: “Do you look down on my education level?”
“I just want to see how amazing Chen Yi can be. Never having studied anything before, yet somehow managing to get a degree from an international university in the end – that would be impressive.” Miao Jing rested her chin on his head. “Just imagine you sitting in a classroom, reading and writing.”
She missed the image of him in middle school, swaggering around in his school uniform. The loose uniform on his frame somehow particularly drew people’s attention.
Miao Jing’s soft lips pressed against his ear, seductively saying: “A man’s brain is sexier than his body.”
And so Chen Yi was pulled into the pit of studying by Miao Jing. He enrolled in an adult education program at a university, spending quite a sum of money on an economics class. Besides attending weekend classes, he had to make time in the evenings to study and do homework at home. Between Spanish and unfamiliar professional terms, Miao Jing accompanied him as he slowly worked through the books. Their evenings for a time became quite peaceful and loving.
Miao Jing’s work also changed. Her assignment to Bogotá was for an electric vehicle project in the city, and now that the project had entered the production phase, with the manufacturing center in Brazil, she needed to go there on a business trip for some time.
The security situation in Brazil wasn’t necessarily better than in Bogotá, so Chen Yi, worried about her safety, went along on the business trip.
They stayed in Brazil for over a month, naturally visiting the Amazon rainforest and Rio de Janeiro. That period happened to coincide with the Brazilian Carnival, and the grand celebration filled almost every corner of the city with colorful parade teams. Large numbers of tourists flooded the city, and the air seemed to be permeated with sensuality and passionate desire.
When packing their luggage, Chen Yi hadn’t forgotten to stuff a handful of contraceptives into the suitcase, but the consumption rate was alarming, and at times they couldn’t restock quickly enough. Since it was Miao Jing’s safe period, they weren’t so careful a few times.
After returning to Bogotá, Miao Jing often felt drowsy. Initially, she thought it was fatigue from the business trip and went to a spa with Si Nan.
One day when Chen Yi picked her up from work, just as she stepped out of the company building, she caught a whiff of car exhaust and suddenly covered her mouth – nauseous to the point of dry heaving.
At that time, they hadn’t realized that a child had quietly arrived.
When Miao Jing’s period was late, she brought home a pregnancy test from the pharmacy. Chen Yi, looking at the two lines, fell into contemplative bewilderment.