Finally!! There was a confusion for quite some time amongst reviewers, if this novel was set in China or Taiwan. I had been suspecting, for a while, that it was Taiwanese. And I was right. Yay Me!! Anyway, it would"ve been a shame if I didn"t know this as the translator of the novel. ??? I self-laud, too much, sometimes.
At the entrance of the amus.e.m.e.nt park, Xi Jin stood with her mouth wide open. What!.. She turned to face Rong fei Lin and retorted,"This is what you meant by finding inspiration! Huh? Lin Lin, how old did you turn this year, haan!?"
Hearing her mock his choice, Rong Fei Lin chuckled and lightly pinched her cheeks, "Since we"re here, it"s now a place for adults. Let"s go and have fun.. Don"t be party-p.o.o.per, okay!?" (T/N: It means someone who spoils the mood. My paraphrasing skills have reached new levels. LOL. Wait till the actual author finds out ? Greaders save me! )
Ignoring her unconvinced look, Rong Fei Lin dragged her inside the amus.e.m.e.nt park.
Silently, observing her surrounding at the park, Xi Jin felt that being here, as a grown-up woman, made her reminisce her past.
Xi Jin had been poor when she was growing-up, since she had been an orphan, who was abandoned by her biological parents at birth. But, she never felt bitter about it knowing that she had found, a wonderful loving mother, and a caring, elder sister, in Hu Mei, who were always there for her. However, due the economic restraints on spending in the orphanage, growing up, she had only been to the amus.e.m.e.nt park twice.
The orphanage had been established in the suburbs, so initially their were no fancy attractions for children. But, as the area developed, a small amus.e.m.e.nt park opened-up in the vicinity. The many slides and swings, and some simple entertainment equipment, had deeply attracted Xi Jin and Hu Mei"s attention, as small children.
So, when the time came, the two escaped from their home, and spent the entire day at the park playing, without realising how late it was when they got back.
On that day, Xi Jin had felt, that for the first time in life, mother had been really angry at them, grounding them for weeks, before they could go out to play again. But later, mother, who was also the dean of the orphanage, took an off, and accompanied her and Hu Mei, to the city"s largest theme park for an entire day’s fun. Later, this became a memory she had cherish the most in her life.
But recalling the size of that theme park, and the one she was standing in presently, was incomparable. Xi Jin saw that this park was really incredible.
However, as she went on a few rides, one after the other, she felt like, she was an old grandma who would need to use the emergency room once she got out of here. She felt this, even more strongly, when Rong Fei Lin forced her to sit on the roaring rapid river ride with him.
She was so d.a.m.n scared, that throughout the ride, she screamed and clung around Rong Fei, like an ugly octopus, who had all her limbs tightly attached to his body, for utmost protection.
Although, she had safely set her feet on dry land later, Xi Jin still felt, like a wobbly jelly, who was unable to shake off her fear.
Witnessing her sorry state, Fei Lin laughed uncontrollably, and knocked her head twice, jesting, "Yo! You"re absolutely useless! Wait till I take you with me, for an actual river rafting expedition to the canyon. It"s a hundred times more exciting.".
"Stop it." She, annoyingly, swatted his hand away and glared at him, declaring "I would rather live for a few more years. Hmpf!"
Teasing her no longer, Rong Fei smiled brightly and said, "Let"s go eat! You must be tired and hungry. Let’s replenish our energy."
They sat in a nearby noodle shop, enjoying a large bowl of spicy noodles each. As they paid for their meal and walked out, Xi Jin noticed that Fei Lin wasn"t next to her anymore. Looking for the missing figure, she saw him standing next to a small news-stand, reading something with a bleak expression.
Xi Jin walking over to him, leaned closer to Fei Lin, to catch a better glimpse of the newspaper. Looking closely, she saw the image of a powerful-looking man that covered more than half of the page of the newspaper. The angle wasn"t good, but the pixels were clear. The image had been captured as soon as the man came out of the airport.
Half his face was hidden by the shadows, with the other half revealing facial features that looked intensely deep. As his tall, upright body, taking steady steps, got captured in the photo, his expression revealed a single, thick, furrowed eyebrow, and a narrowed, penetrating eye, from the side. His sharp nose, looking high and straight, and thin straight lips, that curved at the edge, made him look brilliant and calm.
Although, the image only revealed half of his face, the majestic aura that radiated off the man was ‘too magnificent’ that it was immediately visible to the readers.
Moving her eyes away from the image, the heavily-inked, big and bold letters of the headlines read:
"Real estate giant, President Xi Mu Tian of Taichung city, ready to dominate the entertainment industry. Steps in, temporarily, as Managing Director at Rong Enterprises. Industry set to watch his every move in the coming days."
The news report went on and on throwing out a lot of details that Xi Jin did not understand. But, randomly glancing at the image again, she felt a chill run through her. Was this ‘the’ man that she met ‘that’ fateful night!? Was this ‘the’ President that a.s.sistant kept mentioning? Ahhh!!! Xi Jin secretly moaned at this unfortunate revelation.
But why did such an incredible man resolved to eat my tofu!? Xi Jin thought helplessly. But, suddenly, her mind flashed intermittent images of herself that night, sticking closely to his fragrant chest, pulling him to herself, and tossing crazily in his arms. Dumbfounded by her memory, Xi Jin felt a sense of panic. Yikes!… It was me!… I ate his tofu! I forced myself on him! How the h.e.l.l did I manage to do that!? oh nooo…!!
Calming herself down, Xi Jin felt that it was no use panicking now. What was done was done! She couldn"t change anything now. They had just slept together, and it wasn"t that big of a deal in today"s society either. Moreover, even if the man spent money on her, she had left him ‘her virginity’ on his sheets, so it was only a fair deal. He couldn"t hold her guilty!
More importantly, the money was all gone now, she couldn"t return it even if she wanted too. She had donated the money to the orphanage that she grew up in, as soon as she got home after ‘that’ incident.
Seeing her lost in her precious thoughts, Rong Fei Lin with a dark smile, patted her head, and said, "You go home first. There"s something I need to do, right now… Oh! Yes! Don"t forget to have your dinner. Take care. Bye!"
Huh! What? "Hey, Rong Fei Lin….." as she shouted the words out, she saw a man"s silhouette quickly disappear in the hustle-bustle.
T/N: Well, this was the end of chap 4. So, what do you think? I’m kinda dead right now, so I won’t say too much on what I think about the chapter. All I’ll say is that these two ‘put on’ such happy faces, when they have a lot of emotional baggage that has been troubling them. The MC, especially seems so jovial and care-free, but there’s a harsh reality to it. This makes me think of hundreds of under-privileged kids, in general. Not everyone meets a wealthy prince charming like the movies. So, I would urge my lovely greaders, who have the means, to make even the smallest of contributions, like food, clothes, books, money, etc to the areas closest to them in their own cities, to help make someone else’s life a lil better. Thank you???