“You never told me you had a brother in Teng City.” Cen Ye exchanged pleasantries with Chen Yi while his eyes turned to Miao Jing, saying with a smile: “You and your brother look and act completely different.”
Miao Jing smiled: “Of course, we’re not alike. We just lived in the same household with our parents; there’s no real connection.”
Cen Ye raised an eyebrow, his gaze meeting Chen Yi’s again—the latter wore a casual jacket with his hands in his pockets, standing straight but with a casual attitude, neither enthusiastic about the social occasion nor intimidated, carrying himself with an air of indifference to others’ presence.
The two men nodded politely again, curving their lips in smiles.
The three got in the car, with Cen Ye and Miao Jing sitting in the back while Chen Yi served as the driver. Miao Jing had reserved an upscale restaurant to treat Cen Ye to lunch first. Chen Yi heard the two chatting behind him, their voices and tones carrying that affected business elite style, occasionally peppering their professional vocabulary with fluent English phrases. They first discussed the weather and the reason for the meeting—Cen Ye was on a business trip for a project in the Southwest, and the high-speed rail happened to pass through Teng City. Miao Jing knew business trips were routine for him, often dealing with government agencies, and showed some humility in hosting. When talking about Teng City, Cen Ye demonstrated considerable knowledge of local customs, people, and economic climate. Coming from a highly educated family, he had traveled throughout the country, and as it happened, his mother had a close friend from this province, so he knew some details.
Occasionally including the taciturn Chen Yi in conversation, Cen Ye learned he was a pool hall owner and showed great interest. Billiards was a gentleman’s sport, and those skilled at it had honed their patience. Noticing the tobacco smell in the car, they discussed cigarettes and cigars, his social pleasantries delivered flawlessly, making everyone feel comfortable and at ease.
The car stopped outside the restaurant. While Miao Jing wanted to talk with Cen Ye alone, he sincerely invited Chen Yi—regardless of status, he was thorough in social situations, neglecting no one, and displaying manners that made people feel like a spring breeze.
Miao Jing also spoke up: “Let’s go together then.”
“Sure, I’ll tag along with you two, broaden my horizons.”
Chen Yi wore an ambiguous expression, unimpressed by such social finesse, maintaining a somewhat lazy casualness as he tossed his car keys and followed them into the restaurant.
They had local cuisine in a restaurant that blended Chinese and Western styles, with an unobstructed view of the garden below. The dishes were overly elaborate and innovative. During the meal, Miao Jing and Cen Ye mainly discussed work. They had known each other for about three to four years, going from unfamiliar to very close—Miao Jing had interned at the company during her junior and senior years, spending most holidays in the office, and directly converted to full-time employment after graduation. From her internship in the procurement center to post-graduation work in the R&D center, she had work dealings with Cen Ye’s legal department, delivering documents for signatures and expediting approval processes. His secretary had received countless cups of coffee from her.
Later, when the secretary left in the evenings, Cen Ye could also get black coffee made by Miao Jing. Perhaps because this cup of coffee was so to his liking, with no late-night subway service available, he took both the person and the approval documents home with him.
“The R&D center was such a good platform, it’s a shame you left.”
“I wasn’t suited for R&D. My educational background was too low—surrounded by elite PhDs and masters from abroad, such talented people, I could only work in peripheral positions. Better to be practical as a technical engineer.”
“But I still miss your coffee.”
“There was nothing special about its taste.”
They smiled at each other, letting the implications pass. Beside them, a face as cold as water chewed on tough veal steak, his handsome features appearing particularly determined and persistent. Miao Jing glanced lightly, pouring lemon water into his and Cen Ye’s glasses, turning the conversation back to Teng City, discussing urban life and local attractions, national news, and nearby entertainment options.
The meal ended with everyone satisfied. It was already afternoon when they left the restaurant. Miao Jing took Cen Ye back to his hotel as he had an afternoon conference call. Chen Yi made an excuse about having business to attend to and tossed the car keys to Miao Jing. Cen Ye reached past Miao Jing’s shoulder to catch the keys, smiling brightly: “Thanks.”
They watched as Chen Yi sauntered across the street with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his figure disappearing into the crowd. Miao Jing’s dark eyes flickered as Cen Ye stood beside her: “He has a wild air about him.”
“What kind of wild air?”
“An attitude of carelessness yet ease. Has he seen a lot? He’s not ordinary, is he?”
Miao Jing smiled: “He’s been like that since childhood.”
The Cadillac’s driver’s seat was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate Cen Ye’s build. They drove to the hotel, where the room had been arranged by Miao Jing. There were two key cards—Cen Ye kept one and held out the other between his long fingers, openly offering it to Miao Jing: “Want to come up for a while?”
Miao Jing’s cherry lips pressed slightly together as she hesitantly took the key card and accompanied him upstairs. It was an executive suite with a spacious office area. Cen Ye opened his laptop for the meeting, which would take about two to three hours. Miao Jing habitually helped him prepare tea and cut fruit and had room service take away dirty clothes for pressing.
After their campus romance ended at graduation, Miao Jing vaguely felt she needed a man like Cen Ye—brilliant, mature, charming, and capable. Standing out among Cen Ye’s many pursuers, it was hard to imagine a young woman having such courage and ability. The qualities mixed within her were too complex.
Though there was inevitably an element of calculation, Cen Ye felt it was within acceptable limits. But Miao Jing severely lacked a sense of security and trust. She was indifferent at her core and strongly disliked family atmospheres, making her not very popular with Cen Ye’s parents.
The meeting dragged on until six in the evening, just in time for dinner. Miao Jing was washing coffee cups at the sink when the man, sleeves rolled up, leaned beside her: “Do you remember my document signature?”
“I do.”
Cen Ye C.Y.
He had known Miao Jing for several years but only today learned Chen Yi’s name and saw his face. He had known she liked men who smoked, having occasionally noticed traces in bed, though when he sometimes pretended to light a cigar, Miao Jing would approach on her own, kissing his lips in the cigar’s afterglow, her body enchanting and seductive in the faint smoke, completely different from her cool exterior.
Cen Ye smiled: “I just realized, my name is the same as Chen Yi’s.” He stared directly at her, pausing before continuing, “Is he that man who smokes in bed?”
Miao Jing shook her head in denial: “Just a coincidence.”
“You’ve been gone so long, suddenly contacting me—was it just to see me?”
She looked up at him, her gaze clear: “I need your help with something.”
“Help with what?”
“You know many people, have many lawyer friends, deep government connections. It would be easy for you to investigate someone.”
Cen Ye raised an eyebrow: “At my age, I’m still being played for a fool?”
“Don’t you owe me a favor, Director?” Miao Jing smiled.
Cen Ye also smiled: “Looks like I was thinking too much about tonight.”
–
The hotel had a buffet dinner. Miao Jing didn’t say goodbye and leave until nine in the evening. She went to the parking lot to find the car first, calling Chen Yi to ask where he’d parked it—at the pool hall or home.
Chen Yi’s end was noisy with music, either at a KTV or bar. He’d probably been drinking, his tone impatient as he mumbled something unclear. When she called again, he directly hung up.
Miao Jing asked Bo Zi, who made a series of calls to friends before finally giving her an address.
In the bar street not far from the hotel, Miao Jing searched bar after bar before finally finding Chen Yi by the dance floor, holding a beer bottle, his dark eyes deep and glistening, intimately chatting with a scantily clad beautiful woman.
Seeing her push through the crowd, Chen Yi had his arm around the beauty’s shoulders, coldly watching her. Miao Jing stood before him: “It’s so late, aren’t you going home?”
“The nightlife’s just starting at this hour.” He raised his eyebrows, curving his lips in a seductive smile. “You’re done already?”
He had a GPS on his phone—for seven whole hours, the car hadn’t moved from the hotel parking lot.
Miao Jing brushed aside a loose strand of hair by her cheek, calmly answering over the noisy music: “Just finished. How much have you drunk? Shall I take you home?”
He watched with amusement as she changed her appearance—shoulder-length hair loosely tied back, makeup half-faded, her brilliant lip color returned to a light pink, her bright eyes slightly tired yet properly composed, her black knit sweater collar drawn up to her chin, proud yet clean.
“Let’s go.”
Finishing his beer in one gulp, Chen Yi carried a hazy smell of smoke and alcohol, following her out of the bar with unsteady steps. He sat lazily in the passenger seat with his long legs crossed. Miao Jing’s phone rang—it was Lu Zhengsi asking about a work procedure, and then asking where she was. Miao Jing answered softly that she was entertaining a friend, ending the call in a few words.
“Don’t want Lu Zhengsi to know?”
“Right.”
“That guy was your ex-boyfriend?”
“Mm.”
He clapped his hands lightly, his tone quite appreciative: “Miao Jing, you’re something else, playing so many men in the palm of your hand, handling it with ease. Impressive.”
Miao Jing focused on driving, operating the classic car gently, not sparing attention to respond to him. After half an hour of silence, when the car stopped beneath the apartment building, she replied calmly.
“Thanks for the exaggeration! Like father, like a child—you taught me well.”
Chen Yi’s lips twitched, his face darkening unpleasantly.
She got out of the driver’s seat, threw him the car keys, lowered her head to tighten her coat, and turned to leave, but Chen Yi, leaning against the car door, called out: “Miao Jing, come up and make me some hangover soup.”
His handsome eyes were half-closed, fingers rubbing his brow, his tall frame somewhat dejected and listless. Miao Jing turned to look at him, silently pausing, lost in thought. The night wind blew her messy, loose hair across her face. Miao Jing wearily brushed her hair back, briefly revealing her charming allure, and turned toward the stairwell, her voice gentle: “Do you have milk at home? What food is left?”
“Don’t know.”
His voice also carried a slightly hoarse nasal tone.
It had been a while since Miao Jing moved to the company dormitory. She had let go of everything, and Chen Yi was too lazy to manage things, so they returned to that desolate, cheerless home. Miao Jing took off her coat, rolled up her sleeves, and went to the kitchen to wash her hands and make soup, using the remaining unexpired ingredients to serve a bowl of egg and red date soup, handing it to Chen Yi who was sprawled on the sofa.
Her phone rang again—it was Cen Ye calling. Miao Jing went to the balcony to take the call, her tone gentle and slow, chatting for a few sentences before turning back inside.
Chen Yi was curled up on the sofa smoking, creating a fog of smoke.
She frowned, moving her bag and coat hanging on the edge of the sofa away to avoid secondhand smoke damage, hearing Chen Yi ask in a deep voice.
“Such a high-class boyfriend, how could you bear to break up?”
“You want to know?”
“Shouldn’t you tell me about it?”
His long fingers flicked off some ash before taking another deep drag from the filter, blowing out faint smoke rings.
She crossed her arms and thought for a moment before speaking slowly: “The external reason was that his parents felt my background didn’t match. The internal reason… before he became director, the legal department had several legal managers, each with their background and influence, fighting intensely. I was in the R&D center then, mainly assisting with project management. For work convenience, the employee account had some internal permissions, and because I had worked in procurement before, I knew many people. Cen Ye had a competitor from the business department, and through some clues, I accidentally discovered this person had a project loophole. I privately reported it to Cen Ye, and he took that person down. Some people knew about our private relationship, and to avoid compliance issues, I ended things with him and resigned from the company… he promised to give me a good career opportunity in return.”
He mentally constructed a drama: “So you came back to Teng City…”
“Do you think I came back because of you?” Miao Jing was very calm. “It wasn’t that. This project involved quite complex elements, and things got very ugly internally. Afraid of getting involved, I just found a place to lay low. I’ve always told people I’m from Z Province; almost no one knows I’m from Teng City.”
Chen Yi bit down on his cigarette, his form seemingly frozen.
Miao Jing slowly blinked: “Weren’t you always telling me to get lost? I don’t plan to stay long in Teng City. Once the storm passes and I’ve rested enough, I’ll leave again. My abilities and career path won’t be limited to a small city… Chen Yi, I told you, I won’t return to Teng City again.”
He broke into an ethereal, pale smile: “That’s great… you fucking…”
How impressive, that’s Miao Jing for you.
She smiled gently, her pupils suddenly brightening as she looked at him with joy: “I still have to thank you. During my college years, I lived very well. Thank you for that money you gave me, letting me stand confidently alone in a strange big city. I didn’t have to worry much about living expenses, but instead tried many things. I tried dating, tried dressing up and wearing makeup, tried making friends, tried connecting with people of higher status. At formal occasions and high-class parties… it seems no one knew I was once a burden who couldn’t even afford to eat.”
Chen Yi stared at her steadily.
Miao Jing’s eyes were filled with gentle starlight as she reached out her pale, slender fingers to carefully touch his handsome brow, whispering: “Chen Yi, to me, you were my first benefactor. I think this is the result you wanted, right? For me to reach higher, further places.”
“Very good.” He closed his eyes, his black lashes trembling, tilting his head back with a choked throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You did very well.”
She carefully pressed a light kiss to his brow, her fragrant hair floating against his cheek, silently asking: “Do you want to do it with me? It’s been six years, but I still often think of those days.”
“Why not?” A cruel smile played on his lips. “That summer, weren’t you the one who offered yourself first?”