This little beast. “Is that what someone with sexual apathy would say?” Ye Meng knelt straddling him, propping herself up to look at him, one hand pinching his chin as she scolded fiercely, “Have I been spoiling you too much? Hmm? You dare make such a request to me?”
Li Jinyu was pinned beneath her, one hand cushioning the back of his head, the other still leisurely pulling at the drawstring of his track pants. With raised eyebrows, he looked inexplicably mischievous: “Not allowed?”
Ye Meng refused. Not slapping him was already an act of mercy. Even if it was Li Jinyu, this was unacceptable. She was already averse to such things, let alone doing it just to please a man—she wasn’t that submissive.
The twilight gradually descended, enveloping this tranquil and comfortable small town. In the dim, sinking light, perhaps because of her imminent departure, the night beneath the vast dome of the sky seemed especially desolate.
Li Jinyu looked at her for two or three seconds, then withdrew his hand from behind his head, hooked it around Ye Meng’s nape, and pulled her towards himself. His gloomy eyes searched her face, his tone unexpectedly possessive: “You don’t love me, do you, sister?”
Ye Meng suddenly wasn’t quite sure what kind of demon she had brought home.
She knelt over him, stunned for a moment, then gently patted his cheek and patiently tried to reason: “Wake up, baby. We’ve only known each other for three months before getting married—it’s practically a flash marriage. Of course, I like you, and I’m willing to comfort you, and spoil you, but if you’re talking about love, that’s stretching it. I think in real life, most people’s marriages don’t involve love. It’s either about compatibility or a gamble. Only a very small, fortunate minority truly marry for what’s called love.”
“Then what are we?” he asked softly.
“A gamble,” she looked at him calmly and said, “I wasn’t willing to break up with you, so I’m willing to gamble on marriage with you. Weren’t you also gambling that I wouldn’t bear to break up with you when you threatened me with a breakup?”
Li Jinyu gazed at her silently: “I didn’t.”
Ye Meng slightly bent her elbow, lowering her supple waist, then pinched his chin and shook it from side to side, unable to resist teasing him, regaining the upper hand: “So you really wanted to break up with me?”
Li Jinyu dispassionately twisted her hand away, saying with frustration: “I feel like you’ve tricked me.”
“Why?” Ye Meng stopped moving, straightening up to look at him properly.
“I don’t know,” he turned his head away indifferently, looking at the vast twilight outside the window, and said coldly, “I only know that you don’t like me as much as you say you do.”
But I seem to like you more than I thought I did.
Ye Meng buried her face in his clean, crisp neck and took a light breath, laughing: “Hey, has anyone ever called you naive?”
Li Jinyu: “…”
Ye Meng lowered her head to kiss him, “The game hasn’t even begun yet, how do you know who will win or lose?”
Li Jinyu was forced to endure her kiss, his hand on her waist pinching her hard as if venting his anger. Ye Meng winced in pain and bit him in various ways. Li Jinyu couldn’t outplay her and frowned, “Gentler.”
Ye Meng loved his sickly sweet demeanor and unconsciously increased her force. Li Jinyu could only pinch her waist tightly to vent. The two seemed to be in a duel, neither willing to yield, mercilessly seeking compensation from each other’s body. Like two hungry lions in an arena that hadn’t been fed for days, they fought ferociously, desperately defending their territory while yearning to dominate the other’s domain.
It was unclear who softened first, but the dim atmosphere eased somewhat, leaving only increasingly clear and blush-inducing pecking sounds. Unexpectedly, the door was pushed open from outside with a “click,” followed by the youngest aunt’s voice: “Meng, you and Li Jinyu come down for dinner—”
It was like a full, pink bubble being punctured. The hazy scene became clear, and the two sprang apart like glass marbles. Ye Meng stood speechlessly against the wall, holding her waist, while Li Jinyu sat on the bed, head lowered, touching his nose.
…
The old lady was increasingly satisfied with Li Jinyu, with his standard handsome features. He was like a man who had stepped out of a television screen, even more good-looking than a celebrity. Especially those beautiful eyes, like a kitten’s, truly endearing to look at. Unlike her granddaughter Ye Meng, whose nimble black eyes moved like abacus beads—clever and quick-witted, but also irritatingly full of ideas. Moreover, Li Jinyu was unusually well-mannered, sitting properly, standing properly, neither slouched nor awkward, looking at people with composed calmness, and always quietly picking food only from the dishes in front of him.
The old lady had a particular softness for such sensible children. She attentively asked the youngest aunt to rearrange the dishes on the table and, with thoughtful consideration, noticed that he didn’t eat spicy food, instructing the second aunt to remove all the spicy dishes. She arranged the table meticulously so that he could at least try a little of everything.
Ye Meng suddenly felt that Li Jinyu was very good at pretending, better than anyone else, especially at acting well-behaved in front of elders, making himself look pitiful. And what was this about sitting properly? No one had a worse posture than him normally, lounging around like a hooligan. Once again, she felt that what she had brought home was a demon.
On the way to the city airport, it started raining.
The pouring rain gathered into streams on the windshield. Sitting in the car, Ye Meng looked out at the misty rain, like a vast net covering everyone. Her phone vibrated in the quiet car.
[Gou Kai: The person has been picked up. Are you coming?] [Lemon Leaf: Yes. On my way to the airport.] [Gou Kai: Waiting for you.] [Lemon Leaf: No need. I’ll go straight back to my old place.] [Gou Kai: No need to worry, it’s not just me, Tai Mingxiao is here too.]
Ye Meng had no mood to reply further, and her phone fell silent, no longer making a sound.
Before leaving, Li Jinyu hadn’t spoken much to her, leaning against the wall, silently smoking. She knew he wasn’t happy, but she couldn’t focus on packing or checking if she had everything—she could buy what she needed when she arrived. She casually closed the empty suitcase and, taking advantage of the last moments of intimacy, got up to hug him.
Li Jinyu didn’t respond, leaning against the wall, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a cigarette. Afraid the cigarette might burn her, he only slightly raised his hand, then lowered his head to look at her with cold eyes.
“I’ll come back as soon as I finish my business. I won’t stay long, okay?”
“If I say it’s not okay, will you cancel your flight?” he blew smoke in her face.
“Li Jinyu, don’t be unreasonable.”
“One month,” he suddenly looked at her seriously, the ember of his cigarette burned nearly to the end, “If you don’t come back in a month, I won’t wait for you anymore.”
Ye Meng hugged him tighter: “What, you want to divorce me?”
Li Jinyu pinched out his cigarette, still not hugging her back, putting both hands in his pockets, and replied in a low voice: “Yes.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t have confidence in Ye Meng, but he knew that city too well—lofty, with neon lights everywhere. Someone once said that Beijing is one of the few places where when you talk about your dreams, others don’t think you’re an idiot. You might even be deceived by the city’s hypocritical lights, feeling like you’re the protagonist of life, expecting miraculous encounters to descend from the sky in an ordinary life, reluctant to leave.
Moreover, he understood Gou Kai perfectly—giving a slap and then a piece of candy was a trick he excelled at. Once he had an obsession with someone, he would use every means to keep them by his side.
Before departure, Ye Meng still helped him once in the bathroom. Two intertwined shadows were reflected on the frosted glass, like two mandarin ducks with necks entwined, perched on a tree branch, whispering in each other’s ears. In the misty vapor, water fell like flowers, splashing every inch of their bodies, creating an ambiguous haze.
Li Jinyu’s whole body was arched, hands supporting against the frosted glass, eyes dark, looking down at her with restrained passion, his gaze reluctant to part. Ye Meng hooked one arm around his neck, holding him tightly, her chin resting on his shoulder, moving gently, whispering in his ear: “Li Jinyu, are you unable to be without me now?”
“I don’t know.” His voice was completely hoarse.
“You don’t know if it’s yes or no?” Ye Meng slowly pursued, teasing him. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll let go.”
Li Jinyu was still supporting himself, pinning her against the frosted glass. He lowered his head into the crook of her neck and bit hard, saying in a muffled voice, “You just love to bully me.”
Ye Meng’s heart melted, as if scalded, and she laughed in his arms. Li Jinyu lowered his head and kissed her hard, biting her, embarrassed and angry: “Move.”
…
The flight was delayed, and Ye Meng landed in Beijing at midnight. Beijing was still foggy, incomparable to the air in the small town. As soon as she got off the plane, she couldn’t quite adjust and coughed, putting on a mask amid the disapproving glances of those around her.
The mask. She started thinking about Li Jinyu again. They had only been apart for a few hours. She looked down at her phone—quiet and still, extremely well-behaved.
She carried her luggage slowly, intending to take a taxi straight back to her previous place. Unexpectedly, at the arrival gate, she saw a familiar face dressed in an impeccable three-piece suit, well-groomed like Gou Kai. It was Tai Mingxiao.
Tai Mingxiao was Gou Kai’s childhood friend, also a sharp-minded young heir from a wealthy family. He was a know-it-all in Beijing circles, a social butterfly among the rich kids. Compared to Gou Kai’s calculating nature, Tai Mingxiao was very open and generous. Previously in Beijing, the three often drank and chatted together to alleviate the frustrations of their careers. Tai Mingxiao was very handsome, but not very tall, only 173cm. Gou Kai, counting his hair and shoe inserts, barely reached 180cm. Before, Ye Meng didn’t think they were short, but since being with Li Jinyu, she realized they truly were.
Tai Mingxiao very gentlemanly took her suitcase, pointed to the billboard behind him, and said like a mascot: “Beijing welcomes you.”
The two didn’t rush to get in the car, but stood by Tai Mingxiao’s multi-million yuan Lamborghini and smoked for a while. Ye Meng wore a gray casual suit inside, clean and crisp, with a cashmere coat casually draped over it that she had just pulled from her suitcase. Her black hair was styled in large waves, gently flowing down her back, mature and graceful, with a woman’s charm yet also capable and unrestrained. Tai Mingxiao was not one to spare compliments, and no matter how many times he saw Ye Meng, he sincerely marveled a thousand times: “Do all women in your town look like you? Is the environment there especially nurturing? You’ve been back for half a year, how have you become even more radiant?”
The two leaned side by side against the car door, feet on the curb. Ye Meng lit a cigarette for herself, glanced at him sidelong, and scoffed with disdain, “Stop flattering me.”
Tai Mingxiao smiled and said: “How long are you planning to stay this time? I’m afraid Boss Gou won’t let you go so easily.”
Ye Meng leaned against the car door, her hand with the cigarette unconsciously tapping lightly. She tilted her head back, looking at the city’s towering buildings and the brilliant lights of the bustling city, narrowing her eyes dreamily, and said: “I’ll leave after finishing my business. He can’t keep me here.”
“You and Gou Kai…”
“I’m married,” Ye Meng interrupted, putting out her cigarette. “Let’s go.”
Tai Mingxiao stood silently behind for a moment, soundlessly mouthing “wow”—how dramatic.
The night scenery was left behind as they drove. Tai Mingxiao told her while driving, “We’ve been in contact with this Singaporean Chinese collector for a long time, but he was never willing to meet in person. This time, Gou Kai put in a lot of effort to get him to make this trip from Singapore to China. Otherwise, his contracts are usually signed by his secretary.”
“And about your Xinhe case, I’ve already gotten it back for you. The Xinhe project is a big piece of meat that others can’t chew,” Tai Mingxiao chattered. “To be honest, when it comes to relationships, it has to be you. Don’t mind Gou Kai, he’s just privileged from childhood and can’t stand seeing others get things easily. If you asked him to humble himself for someone, he’d rather lose the business than flatter people. So in the past half year, if I hadn’t been holding things together, who knows how low the signing rate would have fallen. It seems like we two need to work together. Your reputation as a social butterfly is well-deserved.”
“Are you sure you’re not insulting me?” Ye Meng said, looking out the window.
“Not, I’m complimenting you.”
Ye Meng didn’t respond, looking down at her phone because she noticed that in the Moments updates, there appeared a profile picture that rarely appeared—a pitch-black one. The baby posted on Moments?
How rare.
What could it be? It couldn’t be a confession to her, could it?
What would he post?
With these three questions in her mind, Ye Meng carefully opened it with an excited heart.
He had posted ten Moments, all in a row, all his. And they were all photos, at his home, seemingly with those friends who made music. The photos weren’t very clear. The angles were all very dim, people in groups of two or three, that depressing and decadent atmosphere—someone who didn’t know better might think these young punks were gathered to do drugs. Qiao Maimei was there too, along with her flashy girlfriends.
Very good.
Little beast.