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Through Yan Heyu’s persistent efforts, he secured two yuan in daily pocket money.
Something was better than nothing.
Ten days passed, and he had saved twenty yuan.
“How much is the cheapest ring in the mall?” he asked Heyan.
“Definitely nothing under a hundred. Probably not even five hundred.”
Heyan felt pity for her brother. “How about this? I’ll find you one online for a few yuan, including shipping. You can wear that for now, and when you’ve saved enough, we’ll get a shiny new one by the end of the year.”
Yan Heyu considered for a few seconds, then agreed to his sister’s suggestion, letting her find one for him, and he would pay.
Yan Heyan: “What’s your ring size for your ring finger?”
Yan Heyu wasn’t sure. He’d never measured it. He asked Kang Bo to find a specialized ring sizer to measure him.
Kang Bo was happy for his boss: “Is Miss Wen buying a ring?”
Yan Heyu replied with a calm “Mm.”
Three days later, the ring Yan Heyan ordered online arrived. She personally delivered it to her brother at Jingyue.
Yan Heyu put down his work and picked up the velvet ring box. “Looks pretty good.”
“The box is my own, free sponsorship for you. It could buy you dozens of rings.”
Yan Heyu didn’t say anything, opening the ring box. The ring indeed looked rather ordinary, not very round, a bit deformed.
“This quality, can it be worn?”
Yan Heyan leaned in and told him to be careful when wearing it. “The ring was originally round. When I engraved your name, I pressed too hard and deformed it.”
“...” Yan Heyu looked up. “Engraved what name?”
“Made it a limited custom edition. Look inside the band, I engraved letters.”
Yan Heyu rotated the ring and saw the letters “W” and “Y” engraved on the inner band. These two letters had to endure many cuts to take shape.
“What did you engrave it with?”
“A small knife, of course. I engraved it myself.”
“...”
“Haha.”
Yan Heyan burst out laughing, still feeling a sense of accomplishment.
“Oh, by the way, brother, try not to wear it when you wash your hands. Although it won’t rust, it easily gets water stains that might not wipe off, and then it won’t have any luster. It’s a nine-yuan ring, don’t demand too much. It’s quite good as it is.”
Yan Heyu put the ring back in its luxurious box. “You go back.”
“Aren’t you going to try it on?”
“No need.”
This was the first time he would wear a ring in his life, and he wanted Wen Di to put it on him.
Wen Di was busy lately, and he only managed to arrange a meeting after three attempts.
Wen Di had moved to a new house, a villa under her parents’ name. She used to prefer living in high-rise buildings, but now she felt everywhere was the same.
When Yan Heyu arrived, she was planting flowers in the garden with the workers.
“Why move here?” Yan Heyu, wearing gloves, helped her loosen the soil.
Wen Di: “I think having a yard is quite nice.”
Perhaps it was the courtyard in the old district of Jiangcheng that made her nostalgic.
“What do you want from me?”
Yan Heyu: “No rush.”
After all the flowers were planted, they went into the living room.
Yan Heyu washed his hands and came out of the restroom. Wen Di was tidying up the books on the coffee table.
“Wen Di, help me out.”
“Help with what?”
“Close your eyes.”
Wen Di initially didn’t cooperate. “Don’t beat around the bush.”
“I’m not giving you a gift. I bought a small gift with the money you gave me, and you’re giving it to me.”
Wen Di couldn’t imagine what twenty yuan could buy that he also needed.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she narrowed her eyes.
Yan Heyu hadn’t brought the ring box. He took the ring from his pocket and placed it between her two fingers.
Wen Di felt it was a ring. He enclosed her hand with one hand, holding the ring for her. Before she could react, the ring was already on his left ring finger.
Wen Di opened her eyes and stared at the ring. “Is self-deception interesting?”
Yan Heyu answered vaguely, “It’s the first time I’ve worn a ring. It’s not about whether it’s interesting or not, it’s about its meaning.”
Wen Di bent down, continuing to tidy the coffee table, her movements pausing repeatedly. “Yan Heyu, you don’t need to explain your past. In our relationship, I don’t care what you were like before.”
Yan Heyu gently spun the ring; it was a bit tight after being deformed.
Wen Di stacked the unfinished magazines and planned to take the finished ones upstairs.
A moment of silence.
Yan Heyu asked, “How do you define our current relationship?”
Wen Di didn’t even look at him. “If I were to get married, I definitely wouldn’t pick someone like you.”
She carried the stack of magazines upstairs to the study.
Her footsteps faded into the distance. Yan Heyu stared fixedly at the ring.
The housekeeper had brewed coffee and brought it over.
“Thank you.”
Yan Heyu didn’t drink the coffee and sat on the sofa for a while. Wen Di hadn’t come down since going upstairs.
The coffee gradually cooled, but there was still no movement on the stairs.
If it were in the past, he would probably get in the car and leave, and then they would be in a cold war.
Yan Heyu picked up the coffee cup and drank the lukewarm coffee.
He set down the cup, got up, and went upstairs.
It was his first time here, so he wasn’t clear about the upstairs layout. He could only search for Wen Di room by room: bedroom, guest room, and study. She wasn’t in any of them.
Yan Heyu went to the east-facing terrace. She was leaning against the terrace railing, looking down at the garden below.
Wen Di heard footsteps behind her but didn’t turn around.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind. “No more cold wars between us.”
Wen Di said nothing.
Yan Heyu gripped her shoulders and turned her around to face him.
“I digested for a few minutes downstairs. Those words you just said were probably spoken without thinking, and I’m not angry.” He lowered his head and kissed her lips.
“Wen Di.” Yan Heyu took her hands and wrapped them around his waist. “Although I have no official title, I’m single-mindedly trying to climb up. Don’t always pour cold water on me.”
Wen Di clasped her hands together and hugged him.
Yan Heyu also embraced her tightly.
________________________________________
In the second week after moving into her new home, Wen Di invited Shen Tang and Yuan Yuan to visit. Yin Ziyu happened to have no work today and came along with Shen Tang to share a meal.
Away from the cameras, they no longer needed to worry about their image. They sat cross-legged at a low table, eating snacks and gossiping.
Yin Ziyu didn’t expect the gossip to eventually turn to her. Yuan Yuan asked, “Are you really in love?”
“We haven’t officially confirmed our relationship yet, but we’re seeing each other.”
Yuan Yuan’s heart shattered. “I’ve always shipped you and Tan Moxian’s pairing. It was tragic in the drama, and it’s tragic in reality. Tell me, how am I supposed to live?”
Yin Ziyu laughed and said, “Teacher Tan has someone he likes.”
“Who?”
“I didn’t ask, but he should have someone.”
“One last piece of gossip: Is your potential boyfriend as handsome as our Teacher Tan?”
Yin Ziyu shook her head. “But he’s the best-looking in my heart. He’s incredibly good to me. He established a very small film and television company for me. Resources and connections were limited, and it was incredibly difficult. We endured the hardest times, and just when we saw hope, we broke up.”
Wen Di handed her some nuts. “Cherish it well in the future.”
Yin Ziyu nodded.
Shen Tang peeled a sunflower seed and gestured to Wen Di, “Give me your hand.”
Wen Di smiled, extending both hands to receive the seeds. “Peel more for me.”
“Dream on.”
“Tangtang, when are we going back to Begonia Village?”
Shen Tang teased her: “If you push me on a bicycle, I’ll consider it.”
Wen Di: “Let Jiang Chengyu push you, and I’ll have Yan Heyu push me. Let them push us for a whole day while we sit in the back and eat sunflower seeds.”
Shen Tang slowly nodded. “That’s not bad.”
Yin Ziyu and Yuan Yuan moved to sit beside them, not wanting to be subjected to their public display of affection.
Just then, there was a commotion in the yard, and a sound like an excavator.
The housekeeper came in from the yard, saying that Yan Heyu had sent over several crabapple trees and arranged for people to plant them.
Wen Di got up and went to the yard to look. There were Xifu crabapples and North American crabapples, just like the trees at the old house in Jiangcheng.
She sent a message to Yan Heyu: [Received the crabapple trees. Thank you.]
Yan Heyu replied: [Don’t forget to send today’s two yuan.]
Wen Di: “...”
Yan Heyu flipped through the chat history. Eight out of ten times, he had to remind Wen Di before she remembered to send him the money. [If you’re busy and really can’t remember, set an alarm. It feels a bit embarrassing for me to ask you for money every day.]
Wen Di: [I’ve never felt you were embarrassed.]
She added another sentence: [Money isn’t easy to earn, so spend it sparingly.]
Just as Yan Heyu was about to reply, the driver spoke up: “Mr. Yan, that’s Jiang Zhengqian’s car ahead.”
He looked up; a familiar license plate was pulling out of the compound.
It was the weekend today, and he was returning to the old family home for dinner.
He hadn’t run into Jiang Zhengqian in over half a year, but today was a coincidence.
As their cars passed each other, they both slowed down and stopped as if on cue.
The rear windows of both cars aligned, and at roughly the same time, both Yan Heyu and Jiang Zhengqian rolled down their windows.
Yan Heyu’s left hand rested on the car window, the ring on it still somewhat dazzling in the sun.
Jiang Zhengqian spoke first: “I’ll give you a chance. Return the projects you took from the Jiang family, and we’ll call it even. From now on, we’ll mind our own business.”
Yan Heyu said unhurriedly, “Unfortunately, I won’t give you a chance.”
Jiang Zhengqian sneered, “Then good luck to you. Hope you don’t regret it later.”
Yan Heyu: “You too, good luck.”
The car window slowly rose, blocking out the stuffy heat outside the car.
Today, Yan Hongjin was at home. From the moment his son entered the house, he noticed the ring.
During dinner, he couldn’t stand his son’s actions anymore. “I saw your ring. You don’t need to keep waving your left hand with chopsticks in front of me. Eat with your right hand instead.”
Yan Heyan snorted with laughter. She had been holding it in for several minutes and finally could laugh out loud.
Ye Minqiong kicked her husband under the table. “Heyu has been left-handed since he was little, have you forgotten?”
Yan Hongjin: “I confuse left and right, you know that.”
Yan Heyan put down her chopsticks, tears of laughter in her eyes.
Yan Heyu was used to being subtly criticized, and calmly continued eating his meal.
However, he switched his chopsticks from his left hand to his right.
Yan Hongjin asked him, “Did the proposal succeed?”
“Not yet proposed. Wen Di bought it for me.”
“Then next time I’m on leave, bring her back for dinner.”
“We’ll see.”
Ye Minqiong interjected, “He hasn’t gotten past that hurdle in Jiangcheng yet. Wen Di definitely won’t come to our house with him easily.”
Yan Hongjin nodded, “That’s true.”
He had a daughter himself and could understand Wen Changyun’s feelings, so he didn’t say anything more.
He picked up his wine glass and clinked it with his son. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Yan Hongjin stared at his son’s ring again and again. It was a bit deformed, not perfectly round, but he didn’t think much of it. Since it was a ring given by Wen Di, it must be the best. “Are these irregular styles popular now?”
Yan Heyu: “...Yes.”
________________________________________
In late July, Wen Di immersed herself in a new script. This time, she didn’t go to a resort. The villa area’s environment was elegant and quiet enough for her to seclude herself at home.
Today’s work was completed early, and Wen Di was in the mood for a rose bath again. Rose essential oil wasn’t enough, so she went downstairs to the refrigerator to get a few roses for the bathroom.
The rain outside intensified, driven by the wind, sweeping diagonally against the windowpanes.
She turned off the lights, leaned against the bath pillow, and listened to music.
Suddenly, she thought of Wenwen. She had been considering whether to bring Wenwen over these past few days.
There was a spacious courtyard in front, enough for Wenwen to play.
Her phone vibrated on the shelf. Wen Di opened her eyes, picked it up, and saw it was a phone alarm, reminding her to send Yan Heyu his daily pocket money.
Wen Di transferred two yuan, with the note: [How much have you saved?]
Yan Heyu instantly received the red packet and replied: [Two yuan a day, what do you think I can save?]
Wen Di put down her phone and casually peeled off a face mask to put on.
Ten minutes later, Yan Heyu sent another message: [On my way to your villa.]
Wen Di: [Back from your business trip?]
[Mm.]
Wen Di glanced out the window, [Don’t come over. The rain’s heavy, and the roads aren’t safe.]
Yan Heyu said: [You haven’t cared about me in a long time.]
Immediately after, he added: [Going over to see you.]
The third message was: [I’m in a meeting.]
It seemed he was having a video conference in the car, so Wen Di didn’t bother him further.
She didn’t know where he was now, so she peeled off her face mask. She could only quickly end her bath, go to shower, and wash her hair.
After her basic skincare and drying her hair, Yan Heyu still hadn’t arrived.
She couldn’t possibly meet him in a nightgown, so she went to the walk-in closet and found a long dress to change into.
No car had yet driven into the courtyard. Wen Di poured herself a glass of red wine and went to the study to read while waiting for him.
Lost in a piece of detective fiction, she didn’t notice if a car arrived.
“Wen Di.” Yan Heyu came up from the first floor, calling her name from the hallway.
Wen Di came to her senses and said towards the door, “In the study.”
Yan Heyu pushed the door open and entered. He had just gotten out of the car and entered the villa without an umbrella. His arm was a bit wet from the rain, and his shirt was damp in one spot. He rolled up his sleeve, finishing just as he reached Wen Di.
A section of his forearm was revealed, with smooth lines.
“What are you reading?”
Wen Di held up the book to show him the cover. “Give me two minutes, let me finish this part of the story.”
“No rush, you go ahead.” Yan Heyu leaned against the edge of the desk. She read, he watched her.
The last time wasn’t exactly a cold war, but she had been somewhat lukewarm towards him. Only tonight did she show concern, about the heavy rain and unsafe roads.
Wen Di turned another page, reading with great interest.
Yan Heyu picked up the stemmed glass on the table and took a sip. The taste was good.
He bent down and adjusted her chair higher.
Wen Di braced her hands on the edge of the table and looked up at him. “What are you doing?”
Yan Heyu took another sip of red wine, then lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers, feeding her red wine.
The red wine left a lingering fragrance between their lips.
Wen Di barely tasted the wine; he had swallowed it all. She tilted her head and held up the book in her hand: “Half a page left to read, then all the red wine in the glass is yours. Drink slowly.”
“I’ll compete with the book for your time.” Yan Heyu put down the wine glass, took the book from her hand, and put his hand through her bent legs, picking her up.
As he picked her up, their lips remained pressed together.
Yan Heyu sat her on the desk. Wen Di instinctively braced herself with both hands behind her, stabilizing her center of gravity.
Since they weren’t living together now, it was rare for him to see her without makeup. Her skin was soft and delicate. His lips kissed from her eyes all the way down to her chin.
He kissed her twice over.
His hot, wet kisses were like the fierce wind and rain outside the window, as if to devour her.
Wen Di braced her right hand on the desk, freeing her left hand to grab his shoulder. She sat up straight. “I just checked the weather forecast on my phone; there’s a heavy downpour after midnight. You should go back quickly.”
Yan Heyu’s kiss went directly from her nose bridge to her lips, sucking on her upper lip, preventing her from speaking.
After a moment, he said, “Kiss me.”
Wen Di lifted her right hand from the desk, wrapped it around his neck, and then faintly, almost imperceptibly, returned his kiss.
Just that one kiss.
“Go back quickly. I’ll add one yuan for you tomorrow.”
That single kiss ignited all of Yan Heyu’s hormones.
Yan Heyu pressed his forehead against hers, trying to calm himself.
He shifted his attention: “What did you just say?”
Wen Di: “You’ve already seen me. If you don’t leave now, the rain will get heavier and the roads won’t be safe.”
“For safety, I’ll stay. I’ll stay in the room next to yours.”
“...What else are you thinking?”
“Your villa won’t be short of a room for me to stay in, and if I move in, I can split the property management fees and utility bills with you.”
“I’m not short on money for property management fees.”
Yan Heyu negotiated with her, “Then, from now on, you give me two more yuan pocket money every day.”
“...”
Wen Di slapped him. “You’re asking for too much.”
Yan Heyu gazed into her dark eyes. “I want to take it a bit further.”
Wen Di hadn’t quite understood what he meant when Yan Heyu swept her up in a princess carry from the desk. He used his elbow to turn off the light in the study.
The curtains weren’t drawn. By the faint light from the courtyard, they could just about make out the furniture in the room.
Yan Heyu carried her to the sofa by the window, placed her on it, and bent her legs.
Wen Di sank into the sofa, her feet resting on the edge of it.
Her smoky pink long dress wasn’t very long; in that sitting position, it didn’t even cover her knees.
She pulled a blanket from beside her and haphazardly draped it over her front.
Closer to the window, the heavy, hurried sound of rain outside mingled with the thumping of her heart inside.
Wen Di couldn’t see the depths of his eyes, only felt his dominance.
Yan Heyu remembered something, then got up, walked a few steps to the desk, and picked up the stemmed glass.
There wasn’t much wine left in the glass, but he didn’t want to drink it all. He handed the red wine glass to Wen Di.
The wine was hers, and she was his.
Yan Heyu then knelt in front of her, took the blanket off her, put it aside, held her ankles, and buried his head to kiss them.
“Yan Heyu.”
But she couldn’t stop him; his lips were already pressed against her skin.
Wen Di turned her head to look out the window, the wine glass in her hand unconsciously swaying slightly.
The scent of red wine on his lips, the scent of roses on her body.
What he gave her tonight was truly a feast for the senses.
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