Chapter 20 – His Affairs
Novel t.i.tle: 一生之计在于春 (Spring is the Plan of Life)
Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 姚锦夕 (Yao Jinxi -MC), 吴洋 (Wu Yang -ML)
*Please read at knoxt.s.p.a.ce, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Wu Yang called Xia Ruonan and then went to pick her up.
Xia Ruonan was still wearing the clothes from yesterday, had put on light makeup, and appeared relatively composed, But her smile seemed quite weak. She had initially intended to sit in the front pa.s.senger seat but noticed a paper bag placed there. So she took a seat in the back instead. “Thanks. Oh… you’re not wearing gla.s.ses anymore?”
“I switched to contact lenses.” Wu Yang didn’t feel like explaining anything to her, especially given her absent-minded expression. He asked, “Have you been in contact with w.a.n.g Peng?”
Xia Ruonan’s expression changed. “…He called.”
Wu Yang nodded. “Thinking about reconciling?”
The situation was not as simple as that. But Xia Ruonan didn’t want to say more. Even if she did, she didn’t know how to express it. This matter had left her mentally exhausted and had essentially overturned her previous life. The future she had planned had vanished.
She was feeling very lost.
Wu Yang asked again, “What do you think about all of this? Whether you want to break up or reconcile, the most important thing is to know what you want. Having a clear goal is essential before deciding on your course of action.”
His words were logically sound and devoid of personal emotions. He maintained a professional tone. But Xia Ruonan was somewhat slow to pick up on nuances as she was still trapped in her own confusion. She replied, “Do you think… breaking up with him would be too impulsive?”
“It’s up to you. But don’t hesitate and vacillate. Going back and forth is too exhausting.”
The phrase ‘too exhausting’ could be applied to both of them, though she wasn’t aware of it.
Xia Ruonan fell silent.
Betrayal once indicated the possibility of it happening again. This time, w.a.n.g Peng had an affair with a client who had brought significant importance to his business. w.a.n.g Peng argued that there were some things he couldn’t refuse and their interactions had become somewhat ambiguous. He had no choice in the matter.
Where there’s one. There may come others.
She sighed and rested her head against the window. “I think we should break up. I can’t take it anymore.”
She had carefully guarded a relationship. But when it developed cracks, she lacked the courage to mend it because she didn’t know if it might shatter completely one day.
Wu Yang didn’t pa.s.s judgement on this kind of weakness. “Jinxi is very worried about you.”
Xia Ruonan responded with a faint “hmm.” Her distracted demeanour caused Wu Yang to furrow his eyebrows. Xia Ruonan was usually polite and cautious in her interactions with people. But when it came to Yao Jinxi, she had no reservations. They both did things for each other without hesitation.
Wu Yang was aware of how jealous he felt about this. It was as if something he wanted had been claimed by someone else. As a result, he couldn’t help but develop some aversion toward Xia Ruonan.
Yao Jinxi was gay. And Xia Ruonan was interested in other people. They couldn’t progress into a more intimate relationship.
That fact was enough to alleviate some of Wu Yang’s restlessness. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel twice. “You and Jinxi have a very close relationship.”
“Yes, it’s been so many years,” Xia Ruonan replied honestly despite not understanding why Wu Yang had brought up this topic.
They happened to stop at a red light. Wu Yang turned to her with a smile. “I used to think you both attended the same university because Jinxi mentioned you were close. But he then told me he didn’t go to college.”
Xia Ruonan looked surprised. “He told you?”
“Yeah. Jinxi seems quite knowledgeable,” Wu Yang expressed some curiosity. “He doesn’t seem like he never…you know… so I was quite surprised.”
“He actually got accepted into a prestigious university!” Xia Ruonan became suddenly animated as she discussed this topic. Her previous lackl.u.s.tre mood vanished as if it had been a joke. “That guy was so disappointing back then… It really infuriated me.”
Then she crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows as if some unpleasant memories had come to mind, directed at a certain someone.
There were hidden nuances. Wu Yang had some inkling of it. He was also quite interested in Yao Jinxi’s past.
There were many ways to find out, such as hiring a professional like he did with Jin Xiaoxiao. With that approach, he could easily uncover Yao Jinxi’s life history.
However, regarding Yao Jinxi’s affairs, Wu Yang wasn’t inclined to do so.
He wanted Yao Jinxi to tell him himself.
It might require some effort. But Wu Yang was more than willing because Yao Jinxi was worth it.
It was like having an intriguing puzzle before him. One that could only be unravelled step by step to reveal a grand prize.
“By the way, you’re moving out, right? Have you found a place?” With this thought in mind, Wu Yang lost interest in pleasantries and decided not to bring up Yao Jinxi’s past anymore. In fact, discussing this person with Xia Ruonan also left him feeling dissatisfied because this girl knew far more than he did.
Xia Ruonan looked troubled. “Um… I searched online today. But I haven’t found anything suitable yet.”
Wu Yang mentioned that he had a place to rent and quoted a rental fee that was a bargain considering the location and quality of the house. Xia Ruonan felt a bit embarra.s.sed.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not expecting to make money from this,” Wu Yang casually said. “Plus, you’re Jinxi’s friend.”
Xia Ruonan raised an eyebrow in confusion. “…?”
Why did this statement sound so strange?
The car hadn’t even returned to the hotel when Yao Jinxi’s call came. Wu Yang turned around to pick up Yao Jinxi. Since it was rush hour, the traffic was congested. When they arrived, Yao Jinxi had already been waiting at the entrance for a while.
Wu Yang parked the car in front of him and said, “Sorry. We got stuck in traffic.”
He removed the paper bag that had been occupying the pa.s.senger seat just as Yao Jinxi opened the car door and sat down. Wu Yang casually placed the bag on Yao Jinxi’s lap.
Yao Jinxi was filled with question marks, thinking that Wu Yang had asked him to hold onto it for a moment.
However, Wu Yang smiled and said, “I was visiting a friend earlier. He insisted on giving me something. I don’t need these things myself, but I thought you might like it. So I took it for you.”
If someone else had said this, Yao Jinxi might not have believed it. But coming from Wu Yang, it was highly convincing. He seemed to have graduated from the University of Social Relationships, always able to connect people and build bridges between different individuals.
“Oh? What is it?” Yao Jinxi took a box out of the paper bag. The wooden box was square and looked very high-end.
He opened it. To his surprise, the large box contained only a string of Buddha beads. The wooden beads had intricate patterns carved into them, resembling cursive script. But Yao Jinxi couldn’t discern what scripture it was.
Yao Jinxi frowned. “Is it ivory? It’s too expensive. I can’t accept it…”
“How could it be ivory? Don’t think so highly of it.” Wu Yang laughed. “He told me it’s carnelian and a few agate beads. It’s a gift. So don’t make me the one who wears it, okay?”
Carnelian and agate were both considered one of the seven treasures in Buddhism, making them suitable materials for prayer beads. This string of pure white carnelian beads adorned with a few bright red agate stones was indeed quite beautiful.
Yao Jinxi looked at it and liked it. Besides his wrist.w.a.tch, Wu Yang didn’t wear anything else on his hands. He hesitated for a moment and said, “Well, you can consider it as something you sold me. I don’t feel like picking something else. How much is it?”
Understanding Yao Jinxi’s personality, Wu Yang didn’t want to force the gift on him as it might make him uncomfortable. After some thought, he suggested, “How about a month’s worth of your menu?”
Yao Jinxi didn’t react immediately. “Menu?”
“Come to think of it, I don’t even know what dishes you can cook. How about you make a list of the dishes you can cook? It will make it easier for me to order,” Wu Yang continued to smile. “What do you think?”
Yao Jinxi chuckled at the situation. What was this all about? He wasn’t naive. He knew that Wu Yang was basically saying that the item was free. He estimated that the string of beads was worth a few hundred yuan at most. Considering their relationship, it wasn’t worth haggling over. He could treat it as a birthday gift.
“Well, that won’t do. A whole month? How about half a month?” Yao Jinxi decided to play along and negotiate with Wu Yang. The two of them bantered back and forth, leaving Xia Ruonan in the backseat with a puzzled look.
When did these two become such good friends?
With the limited time before dinner, the three of them had a quick meal at a nearby fast-food restaurant. Since Xia Ruonan had decided to move and Wu Yang’s place was brand new, it was almost certain that they needed quite a few things. Wu Yang took them to see the place. It was clean but lacked any personal touch. It had all the basic furnishings but no household items.
Taking advantage of having a car, Xia Ruonan and Yao Jinxi went to a nearby supermarket to buy various miscellaneous items. However, they were uncertain about what they would ultimately take with them when moving, so they only bought essentials like bedsheets and pillows. Wu Yang diligently pushed the shopping cart behind them, observing Yao Jinxi enthusiastically discussing what they needed with Xia Ruonan.
In the end, both of them carried large bags of items. They knew they would probably need to come back and buy more later.
“Have you talked to w.a.n.g Peng about it? Moving your stuff on Sunday?” Yao Jinxi asked.
Facing Yao Jinxi’s question, Xia Ruonan could only force a bitter smile. The sadness and pain that had started to fade came back in full force. “I’m thinking of taking a day off on Thursday.”
She really didn’t want to face w.a.n.g Peng. Imagining w.a.n.g Peng coldly watching her pack up her belongings, Xia Ruonan felt that the scene would definitely drive her to tears.
Yao Jinxi nodded at Xia Ruonan’s agreement. “Alright, we’ll go help you. Tonight, take a hot bath. Don’t let your thoughts wander and get a good night’s sleep.”
Xia Ruonan nodded in response.
Tonight, Yao Jinxi decided not to sleep with Wu Yang. Since Xia Ruonan seemed to be in better spirits today, he would stay at his own place. Normally, Wu Yang would have stayed a while longer at the teahouse. But with Xia Ruonan around, it wasn’t an option. Drinking tea without her presence just didn’t feel right to him. Wu Yang found the evening somewhat dull and given that Yao Jinxi was constantly worried about Xia Ruonan, he felt a bit irritated. He thought it was best to take Xia Ruonan home earlier.
“Will you accompany me tomorrow to buy a car?” Wu Yang asked. He still needed to purchase a car. The one he was driving wasn’t really his. He felt strange driving it.
Yao Jinxi hesitated for a moment. “I can’t tomorrow. I need to deliver tea to an old customer.”
Wu Yang was disappointed but didn’t insist. “Alright. I’ll buy the car first and then come over.”
Xia Ruonan, sitting in the back, was filled with question marks once again.
It seems like Wu Yang didn’t go anywhere else at all after taking leaves and just stayed at Yao Jinxi’s place?
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*Author’s Note: The girl is feeling quite puzzled.-YXF
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*Translator’s Note: If I’m Xia Ruonan, I’ll already be shipping them…like aggressively… -K
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☝?That Buddha beads should look like this.
Next update: 2023.10.21
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