Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
As the number “1” left Fu Jichen’s lips, Yu Qing had already leapt into the new year. Afraid she might fall, Fu Jichen instinctively supported her waist with his hand.
“Happy New Year.”
Yu Qing knelt on the floor, hurriedly unwrapping her gift, and said absentmindedly, “Mm. Happy New Year, my boyfriend.”
When she opened the gift, it was a bottle of perfume she had long coveted.
She had guessed it might be a bottle of perfume, but never expected this antique-level one—an out-of-print version that could no longer be found in the market or even at auctions.
She stared at the bottle repeatedly, as if holding a precious treasure.
This must have been a cherished possession from Ye Jinhua.
“This is a gift from my mom, so it has nothing to do with me,” Fu Jichen said while squatting down halfway.
Yu Qing turned her face. “Then where’s your gift?”
Fu Jichen gestured for her to look back.
On the icon representing the past year, there was now a small box that hadn’t been there before.
It was a simple velvet box with no markings.
“Is it also perfume?”
But then she thought it couldn’t be.
He wouldn’t give the same surprise twice.
When Yu Qing opened it, it was a dazzling diamond ring.
The Cullinan series, exuding an ethereal charm.
She didn’t know how much money he had spent to acquire this diamond and have it cut into her favorite shape.
No woman could resist the fatal allure of gemstones; it was impossible to remain indifferent.
Fu Jichen waved his own ring finger. “You’re quite jealous, aren’t you? I was afraid that if I got a ring, you’d want one too but wouldn’t feel comfortable asking for it, so I bought you one.”
Yu Qing: “...”
She burst into laughter.
“Am I jealous of your plain ring?”
She wondered, “Why did you put the ring on the icon of the past year?”
“I wanted to give it to you last year.” Fu Jichen took out the ring. “This ring is just like a barometer. Wear it when you’re in a good mood.”
He held her hand. “How are you feeling right now?” He reminded her, “You just received the perfume.”
Meaning, don’t let your happiness get too overwhelming.
Yu Qing pretended to sigh. “I’m overjoyed to the point of sorrow. I realized I only have a single bottle, but I actually want the whole collection.”
Fu Jichen: “...”
Still, he slid the diamond ring onto her ring finger. “It doesn’t matter. Even if you cry tears of sadness until they flow like a river, this ring won’t mind—it’s waterproof.”
Yu Qing collapsed into his arms, nearly laughing until she ran out of breath.
Fu Jichen picked her up, and the two moved to the bed.
He looked at her. “First, thank you for your gift—the five-year future blueprint. Though it’s unreasonable, at least we’ll still be together for the next five years. In this new year, I hope we have countless more five-year stretches. You aim to collect 1,999 bottles of perfume—I don’t know how many you have now, but within five years, I’ll gather 1,998 bottles for you. The last bottle will wait until twenty years later. Even if we’re not together by then, I want to know what you’ll be like in twenty years, whether you’ll be doing well.”
He kissed her and made love to her again.
________________________________________
In the early hours of the new year, the restaurant was still lively.
After Qin Yu met up with his girlfriend, they decided to dine at this restaurant. There were no restaurants with such high floors in their small town, nor could they enjoy such stunning night views.
They sat at the same table that Qin Moling and Yu Qing had reserved earlier.
By the time Qin Yu arrived, Qin Moling had already left.
Pu Chen typed on her phone: [It’s too late. Let’s go home and not disturb them after closing.]
Qin Yu: “The restaurant operates until 1 a.m., and many people haven’t left yet. Look at the night view for another ten minutes.”
Pu Chen nodded, turned around, and leaned closer to the window glass.
Qin Yu sat snugly beside her, one arm wrapped around her while the other rested against the glass. “Rest your forehead on my palm. This way, looking down won’t strain your neck.”
Pu Chen turned her head to look at him.
He knew she wanted to say thank you, so he gently kissed her. “No need to thank me.”
Pu Chen smiled, resting her forehead against his warm palm, gazing at the dazzling lights below.
With support, her neck no longer felt tired.
“Do you want to know my New Year’s wish?” Qin Yu whispered close to her.
His warm breath tickled her ear, making Pu Chen shiver slightly, but she still nodded.
“I want to become your husband in the legal sense.”
Pu Chen froze momentarily, her forehead moving slightly against his palm.
Qin Yu rested his chin on her soft shoulder. “Don’t be nervous. I’m not asking you to answer now. This is just a rehearsal, not a formal proposal.”
“If you think you can’t give me vows at our wedding, and it would leave you with regrets, then we can just register and postpone the ceremony for now.”
“But we’ll definitely take wedding photos.”
“As for the wedding, we’ll hold it when you can speak.”
“If ten years isn’t enough, we’ll wait twenty. Trust in medicine—it’s far more advanced than we imagine.”
“At worst, we’ll wait until we’re sixty. By then, we might even have grandchildren who can serve as flower children. That wouldn’t be bad either.”
Pu Chen watched the New Year light show, her thoughts drifting far away.
In her teens, she used to fantasize about what it would be like to marry him.
For her at that time, it was a distant dream.
Just like how, in her small town, she couldn’t possibly imagine how breathtaking it would be to sit here and gaze at Beijing’s night view.
Qin Yu straightened up. “Let’s go home. Tomorrow night, we’ll come back to this restaurant earlier so you can enjoy the night view to your heart’s content.”
He handed her coat to her. “Stay in Beijing for two days, then I’ll take you back and spend two more days with you.”
Pu Chen looked up at him.
Qin Yu could now read all her expressions almost perfectly. He said, “I’m not busy. I’ve finished handling my cases by working overtime, and I’ve handed everything over to my assistant.”
He held her hand, paid the bill, and left.
At 1:30 a.m., the restaurant finally closed.
Zhao Shuqun waited for Chen Yan in the lounge area, sitting there from midnight until now.
The cigarette in his hand had been crushed into tiny shreds, the fine tobacco threads falling to the ground. He painstakingly cleaned them up one by one.
After standing for an entire night, Chen Yan’s legs were numb. She said goodbye to her colleagues, put on her coat, and left.
As she passed the waiting area, her steps faltered.
She hadn’t expected Zhao Shuqun to still be there.
If she hadn’t seen him, she might have forgotten that he was dining with friends here tonight.
Being busy was the best anesthesia.
Zhao Shuqun threw the cigarette into the trash bin and walked over to her.
He hadn’t noticed earlier, but now he saw that her ring finger was empty, save for the faint imprint of a ring.
“Where’s your ring? Did you forget to wear it this morning?”
Chen Yan: “I threw it away.”
Zhao Shuqun felt as if a heavy object had struck his chest several times. That ring had cost him all the savings he had accumulated from years of work back then.
By today’s standards, it wasn’t particularly expensive—less than 70,000 yuan.
But at that time, it represented everything he had.
Since he was at fault, he couldn’t blame her.
The elevator arrived, crowded with people.
Chen Yan deliberately avoided him, leaving several people between them.
With his height advantage, Zhao Shuqun stood out like a crane among chickens, able to clearly see every one of her expressions. Her past tenderness, childishness, and adoring gazes—all gone.
When they reached the basement level, Zhao Shuqun didn’t head toward his car but followed her instead.
Chen Yan drove a white A7, parked in the employee-designated parking space. She hurried toward it.
As Zhao Shuqun placed his hand on the door handle, there was a “click,” and the car door locked from the inside.
The engine roared to life, followed by two quick honks.
Zhao Shuqun stepped back as the car sped off, its taillights flashing as it turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
He stared at the empty parking lot exit for a moment, then opened his phone to locate his car.
The streets at midnight were somewhat desolate.
Pedestrians strolled in small groups of twos and threes.
Cars raced through intersections.
His body and mind were utterly exhausted.
He still had to wake up early tomorrow to go to the company.
On the first day of the new year, evaluations would follow.
The group’s upper management had doubled his targets.
The pressure on him was unprecedented.
His formidable competitor was Qin Moling’s Lemong Drinks.
But he and Qin Moling were different. Besides Lemong, Qin had the backing and capital of the Qin family, while he was just a high-level employee.
He couldn’t afford to lose.
Nor could he bear to.
During tonight’s dinner gathering, he had received a call.
From Boss Qian, one of their distributors.
Boss Qian asked him why Zhuo Hua Trading had Duo Xin products and had begun large-scale distribution, especially in the catering channel. The low prices had squeezed out several of his clients.
The mess caused by Xiao Yilin, apart from the company’s evaluation, was the second most troubling issue for him.
The new year brought no joy, only countless new troubles.
It was already 2 a.m.
The city had not yet rested.
Ji Qingyuan returned home to find the bedroom cold and empty.
He turned on the light—no one was in bed, nor on the sofa.
Tonight, his family had a gathering, but Yu Jingxin hadn’t come back with him. Her excuse was flimsy—they were having a New Year’s Eve sleepover with her girlfriends.
It didn’t matter that she hadn’t come home; he had been bombarded by family members asking if he had contacted his ex-girlfriend again.
No matter what he said, no one believed him.
Ji Qingyuan went to the guest room next door but still didn’t find Yu Jingxin.
Her car was at home, and her coat was downstairs.
He went to the study and found the desk lamp on. She had fallen asleep at the desk.
“Jingxin, wake up.” Ji Qingyuan gently patted her back.
Yu Jingxin jolted awake and tried to sit up but suddenly winced and squinted. Her neck was stiff and painful due to her awkward sleeping position.
It felt like a case of torticollis.
Ji Qingyuan turned the chair so she could rest her head against him and began massaging her neck.
When he pressed hard on the acupressure point behind her ear with his thumb, Yu Jingxin almost couldn’t bear the pain and instinctively grabbed his shirt.
“Hold on.”
“How did you fall asleep in the study?” He looked down at her, seeing only half of her profile.
“Overtime. I got tired.”
“Did you receive your New Year’s gift?” Ji Qingyuan made small talk.
Yu Jingxin gave a faint “Mm.”
The gifts he gave her were always simple and superficial.
A transfer check.
Of course, she was also materialistic—she only loved cash.
After about ten minutes of massage, Yu Jingxin’s neck could straighten normally, though turning her head still hurt a little.
She got up, her lower back and shoulders aching.
“Go take a bath and sleep.” Ji Qingyuan turned off the computer, but as the screen lit up, what appeared wasn’t a spreadsheet full of numbers—it was their wedding photo.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Yu Jingxin looking at it too. She had just remembered that before falling asleep, she had been flipping through their wedding album.
In the photo on the screen, he was bending down to kiss her.
The atmosphere grew awkward and strange.
Yu Jingxin: “I was thinking... after the divorce, how should we separate these joint photos?”
That one sentence destroyed whatever atmosphere was left.
Ji Qingyuan shut down the computer. “No need to separate them—it’s too much trouble. Just permanently delete them.” He unplugged the laptop, locked it in the safe, and changed the safe’s password.
Yu Jingxin: “...”
________________________________________
New Year’s Day dawned clear.
The first rays of sunlight fell upon the soft, snow-covered ground.
The entire city was blanketed in snow.
Gentle.
Stunning.
Yu Qing slept in until she woke naturally; Fu Jichen had turned off her 5 a.m. alarm.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in Fu Jichen’s arms.
She didn’t know if he had been holding her all night without letting go or if he had secretly set another alarm and pulled her into his embrace before she woke up.
Today, they were going home, so she didn’t linger in bed.
The first thing Fu Jichen did upon waking was to take Yu Qing’s left hand and check—her ring was still on her finger. He gently rubbed it with his thumb.
Yu Qing wasn’t used to wearing a ring at all. “President Fu, can you give me a reason why I must wear this ring?”
After a moment,
Fu Jichen: “Didn’t you once say that if we divorced, you’d only have money and no longer have me? As long as you wear this ring, you’ll always have me, whether we’re married or not.”
“It sounds nice.”
Yu Qing rested her head on his arm. “A ring can often trap a woman’s heart but can’t hold onto a man’s. Isn’t that tragic?”
“You don’t have such worries.”
“Why?”
“You’re slippery like fish scales and constantly bouncing around. Who could possibly hold you down?”
“...”
Yu Qing laughed, then suddenly flipped over and pinned him down, intending to tease him. But in the end, she collapsed in laughter. “Fu Jichen, soon I won’t be able to outwit you anymore.”
“You flatter me. I’m just showing off in front of an expert.”
Fu Jichen hugged her, then flipped them over so she was beneath him.
“Shall we?” he asked her.
Yu Qing hooked her arms around his neck.
Their morning exercise began, their bodies tightly pressed together.
They left the house at nearly 10 a.m.
Today, Fu Jichen was driving, and Yu Qing sat leisurely in the passenger seat.
The sunlight was cold, and the air was freezing.
“Stop taking your pills today.” Fu Jichen suddenly remembered again and repeated himself patiently.
Yu Qing was looking at the convenience stores along the road and didn’t pay attention to what Fu Jichen said.
The car moved slowly, allowing her to observe carefully. She was certain that through the window, she could see a display fridge with Duo Xin’s logo inside.
“I’m talking to you. Don’t ignore me.”
Without turning her head, Yu Qing pointed outside: “President Fu, did your Duo Xin start placing display fridges this year?”
Fu Jichen glanced at it but didn’t see clearly, then refocused on the road. “Mm.” He wasn’t very familiar with the specific operational process.
Yu Qing turned to look at him. “Zhao Shuqun is moving quickly.” It was only January, yet the refrigerated display fridges had already been deployed.
Their Lemong Drinks had always had display fridges, though they had been in use for many years.
Single-door models, outdated styles.
If they were to deploy new ones, it would involve a significant cost.
“Our Lemong has increased our grassroots marketing efforts this year, and your Duo Xin is following suit. We changed our celebrity endorsement, and so did you. And you even chose a star who doesn’t get along well with our spokesperson. Is Lu Chen determined to replicate our success and apply it to Duo Xin?”
Fu Jichen glanced at her. “Do you know what this is called?”
Yu Qing gestured for him to continue.
“Husband follows wife’s lead.”
“...”
Yu Qing had been stumped by Fu Jichen several times today. In this new year, his combativeness seemed to be at its peak.
She rested her forehead on her hand, temporarily losing the energy to argue with him.
Speaking of Lu Chen, she asked another question: “What’s going on between him and Yu Fei?”
“Not sure. Men never gossip.”
When Yu Qing looked out the window again, she noticed a Duo Xin beverage display fridge inside a liquor and tobacco specialty store. “You’ve placed quite a few units, covering all channels.”
Fu Jichen thought for a moment. “I forgot the exact number, but there are many, covering every area.”
Yu Qing nodded. When she went to work, she would ask the marketing department of their Lemong for data—they would definitely have all of Duo Xin’s investments for the year.
And Zhao Shuqun’s side would naturally have their Lemong’s data as well.
“Lawyer Yu.”
“What?”
Yu Qing turned her gaze back.
Fu Jichen spoke softly: “Does your futures account still have money? How much have you lost?”
Yu Qing: “...”
Was there such a way to stab someone?
Asking how much she had lost.
The topic of futures, to her, was like asking a man about his stamina face-to-face—it was taboo, something one shouldn’t mention.
Fortunately, they arrived at a traffic light just then, and Fu Jichen stopped the car.
He leaned over and gave her a gentle comforting kiss. “The 1.9 million you gave me earlier is still valid. You can hire me for seven days, and I’ll help you make money.”
As for timing, he suggested: “Let’s choose early summer when beverage companies compete most fiercely. We can go on vacation and ignore those troubling matters.”
Yu Qing gazed at him. This idea wasn’t bad.
At the Yu family villa, they were the last to arrive.
The snow in the yard hadn’t melted yet, and Yu Shaohong was holding the baby while admiring the snowy scenery.
Yu Jingze was responsible for building a snowman. One had already been completed—a chubby little snowman that looked quite cute, wrapped in a scarf.
The baby was bundled up like a little dumpling, with only two round eyes peeking out, looking around curiously.
Everything was fascinating to the child.
Ji Qingyuan and Yu Jingxin stood apart—one on this side of the garden, the other on the opposite side—deliberately maintaining some distance.
After Yu Qing arrived, the atmosphere noticeably livened up.
She cheerfully walked over to Yu Jingze. “Brother.” She wanted a snowman too.
Yu Jingze glanced at her, and from her expression, he knew nothing good was coming. “Are you giving me a New Year’s gift?”
Yu Qing: “...Yes.”
She found a tree branch and drew a heart in the snow, writing inside: [Happy New Year. Thank you, Brother, for taking care of me since I was fourteen. In this new year, I’ll love you even more. I hope you’ll step up your game too.]
Turning to her father, Yu Qing said, “Dad, you probably don’t know that when I was younger, my brother would always indulge me. Once, our city had a heavy snowfall, and I wanted a snowman. Without hesitation, he built one for me.”
Yu Shaohong: “People shouldn’t live in the past—they need to look forward. Face it, your brother has no intention of building you a snowman now. Can you wake up already? It’s embarrassing just watching you.”
Yu Qing: “...”
She burst out laughing.
Yu Jingze: “Let Fu Jichen build one for you.”
“He’s playing tennis with my brother-in-law. I don’t want to disturb him.”
She noticed that Fu Jichen and Ji Qingyuan were getting along quite well now.
“Dad will build one for you,” Yu Shaohong volunteered, handing the baby to Yu Jingxin to hold. “So, how big do you want it? What shape? Dad will build one for you.”
Yu Jingxin was speechless: “...How old am I? Am I still playing with snowmen?”
Yu Shaohong whispered quietly, “Does age matter? Why can’t you be like Yu Qing—clear in your heart but muddled in words?”
He couldn’t help but sigh. “Both you and Ji Qingyuan are so boring. Look at what you’ve done to your once-good life. You have a perfect example right in front of you—why don’t you learn from it?”
Yu Jingxin didn’t respond and went off to play with her son in a sunny, windless spot.
Yu Shaohong asked the housekeeper for tools and gloves and began building a snowman for Yu Qing.
On the other side of the garden, Fu Jichen and Ji Qingyuan took a break during their tennis match and smoked half a cigarette.
Now considered part of the family, Fu Jichen asked casually, “Are you two still in a cold war?”
“Mm.” Ji Qingyuan extinguished his cigarette and popped a mint into his mouth.
Yu Jingxin was too stubborn, and he had no idea what to do about it.
“We barely talk anymore.”
Fu Jichen thought for a moment. “Let me be the good guy here.”
Ji Qingyuan was puzzled: “?”
Fu Jichen unscrewed his water bottle and poured some water into the cap. He tested the temperature with his finger—it was lukewarm. Then, he walked behind Ji Qingyuan and splashed the water onto his back.
Ji Qingyuan: “...”
He didn’t dare react too strongly, fearing they might look over.
“What did you do that for!”
Fu Jichen gestured for him to follow his lead. “Go find Yu Jingxin and tell her I accidentally splashed water on you. Ask her to find a hairdryer to dry your shirt.”
Ji Qingyuan tugged at his damp shirt, which clung uncomfortably to his body. He quickly went to find Yu Jingxin, who was on the first-floor terrace playing with the child.
“Jingxin, my shirt is wet. Can you find a hairdryer to help me dry it?”
Yu Jingxin had just gone upstairs to fetch something for the baby and saw Ji Qingyuan whispering with Fu Jichen. She watched as Fu Jichen poured water into the cap and splashed it onto Ji Qingyuan.
“The hairdryer is broken,” she said, pointing to the side. “The sun is nice today. Stand in the sunlight, and it’ll dry in half an hour.”
Ji Qingyuan: “...”
Yu Jingxin stood up and went back inside.
Google Sites
Report abuse