Chapter 18: Can I Go To Your House?
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The lamp's soft light, Song Qingluo's tall and graceful figure, her silver hair enveloping a clear radiance, her bright and charming face displaying countless emotions.
Several male colleagues' eyes shone brightly.
Secretary Song, who had garnered attention since joining.
Cheng Suran looked at her closely. It was this rich lady who tormented Ruoxian so much that she had no choice but to coax her.
She glanced at Wen Ruoxian, her eyes growing more interested.
“It's fine."
"Oh—," the onlookers clapped, "Good, good, CEO Cheng and Secretary Song are also not bad."
Everyone knew that Wen Ruoxian was always serious, and not fond of joining in much. Today was an act of no choice for her. Not singing was normal; it would be strange if she agreed to sing.
The two walked up to the stage and took the microphone.
Song Qingluo secretly glanced at Wen Ruoxian.
Only to see Wen Ruoxian visibly relaxed, the smile in her eyes appeared like pasted paper, shallow enough to tear apart at any moment.
As the prelude began, Song Qingluo gestured to Cheng Suran, indicating she would sing the male part. Upon starting, she immersed herself, "I'm still searching..."
Everyone displayed a stunned expression.
Unlike speaking, when she sang, she had a strong breath, a likable "full voice." She looked affectionately at Cheng Suran as if they were true lovers.
"Happiness begins to have signs..." Cheng Suran's gentle and clear voice matched hers perfectly.
Other colleagues unconsciously started clapping along.
Wen Ruoxian watched them in silence.
Every time she reached the line "Little Dimples," her heart would tremble. She dared not look at Cheng Suran, fearing to see the dimples beneath her smile. Instead, her gaze fell on Song Qingluo.
Song Qingluo’s gaze towards Cheng Suran was like thunder and fire*.
*describing very scary natural forces, in romance novels it could mean desire or passion
Thankfully, Jiang Yu wasn't there.
Otherwise, seeing it, one wouldn't know what feelings would arise. That woman is a possessive, jealous woman, guarding "Ranran" like a precious treasure.
Would she blame her for not managing her people well?
After all, Song Qingluo is her secretary.
As Wen Ruoxian pondered, she couldn't help but smile involuntarily, her expression revealing a bit of coaxing and pampering. Suddenly, a fiery gaze from Song Qingluo swept over, staring straight at her.
“...”
An inexplicable chill ran down her spine.
After the party was over, Wen Ruoxian sent the Young Miss back to her residence.
The car interior was warm, like spring. Song Qingluo sat silently in the passenger seat. The air seemed to have solidified like glue, struggling to flow between the two.
She glanced at the person on her left.
Pedant.
Why hasn't she comforted her yet?
Didn't anyone notice she was unhappy?
Wen Ruoxian drove with full concentration.
Seemingly sensing the atmosphere wasn't right, when the car stopped at a red light at the intersection, she glanced at Song Qingluo and said, "You seem not very happy."
Song Qingluo gave a perfunctory smile, "No, not at all."
But she snorted coldly in her heart.
Old-fashioned.
So, you do know.
After finishing speaking, Wen Ruoxian knew right away that she was truly unhappy. Whenever Ranran had something on her mind but pretended she didn't, she always said the same thing.
It's a pity that she saw through it at a glance.
Wen Ruoxian didn't ask any more questions and changed the subject: "You sing very well."
Song Qingluo said lukewarmly: "Thank you."
“...”
"Shouldn't you praise CEO Cheng more?"
"I want to praise you too, and it doesn't conflict."
"You two are best friends."
“....”
Then the green light came on.
Wen Ruoxian didn't have time to think deeply. She followed the preceding car until they crossed the intersection. When she wanted to say something to Song Qingluo, she found her turning to the side with her back facing her.
“?”
She thought that after spending so many days together, she had figured out the Young Miss’ temper.
But now it seemed she hadn't.
Not far ahead was the residential area where Song Qingluo lived.
Wen Ruoxian felt uneasy and pulled the car to the side. Before she could steady it, Song Qingluo impatiently undid her seatbelt, and as soon as Wen Ruoxian came to a halt, she immediately opened the door and got out.
──bang!
The door shut harder than usual.
Wen Ruoxian also shut down the thought of what she wanted to say.
Watching her swiftly departing figure, Wen Ruoxian sighed, weariness faintly showing on her forehead. She took out her phone and sent a WeChat message to Song Qingluo:
[Why are you unhappy? Can you tell me?]
Tell her, then what next?
What can she do?
Sending it felt impulsive and unnecessary. Even if she is the Young Miss of the Song family, she is only her secretary in name now. There was no need for the boss to be concerned about the secretary at all times. There should be boundaries.
But she promised Song Qingluo that they could be friends in private.
It is natural to care about your friends.
Three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes...
Song Qingluo never replied.
Through the car window, Wen Ruoxian looked up at the high-rise buildings in the community. There were thousands of lights, and she didn't know which one belonged to Song Qingluo.
She reluctantly put down her phone and restarted the car.
The two straight headlights gradually faded away.
Song Qingluo, full of frustration, unconsciously entered the elevator, went upstairs, and entered her rented apartment.
She closed the door and leaned against the wall for a long time.
The more she thought, the more frustrated she felt.
What kind of rotten head does that old-fashioned have? At the dinner table, she ignored her when she spoke to others. Didn't she find it strange at all? She knew she was unhappy, yet she didn't console her or even get out of the car to chase after her...
She didn't care at all.
Her face turned red in the afternoon because of just a few words from her.
Song Qingluo was in turmoil. She momentarily forgot to leave and hail a cab to go home, kicked off her shoes, walked to the edge of the sofa, and collapsed, pulling out her phone from her bag.
The WeChat message from a dozen minutes ago caught her eye.
"..."
Indeed, a rotten head.
She didn't know why she was unhappy, but she'd rather sluggishly send a WeChat than come over to find her.
Song Qingluo felt both angry and amused, poking the screen forcefully twice with her fingertip, as if it were Wen Ruoxian's face, hoping to cause her pain.
Face...
No.
That face she liked, such a beautiful face. She couldn't bring herself to poke it.
Song Qingluo carefully rubbed the screen.
Then, footsteps echoed outside the corridor.
The smart surveillance kept prompting—
Someone passed by the door.
Someone lingered at the door.
Someone lingered at the door for a minute.
The real-time surveillance shows the figure of a man.
Song Qingluo's nerves suddenly became tense.
The next second, the man leaned in to look through the peephole, startling her so much she almost threw her phone.
Then he began making a phone call.
Only the man's deep voice from outside was audible: "Hello, hey, your delivery is here, which unit? It's not written."
“...”
A false alarm.
Song Qingluo froze on the sofa, watching the real-time surveillance screen, and suddenly thought of a plan…
….
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
This was the third time Wen Ruoxian came to Qing Bar* this year. She ordered a glass of lemonade as usual and sat alone in the corner by the window to drink it slowly.
*lit. clear bar, a relatively quiet bar that mainly plays light music and does not have a hot dance floor, female escorts, or high-decibel activities. Like a piano bar.
The lighting was dim, casting faint shadows on the people.
A singer on stage was singing a soft ballad.
It was still early and there weren't many people around. It was serene. Wen Ruoxian felt at ease, her mind slowly calming from the jumbled emotions.
The endless workload couldn't numb her. Nine months, half a year, another season—though in a much better state compared to when she first found out about Ranran and Jiang Yu being together, she still couldn't completely forget. Every non-work-related encounter with Ranran felt like experiencing a major earthquake.
Rubble, reconstruction, then more rubble, and reconstruction again.
Exhaustion overwhelmed her.
Five years of hidden affection—how could it be easily forgotten?
It doesn't matter. She had firmly decided to live her life alone. She had plenty of time to slowly forget. If three to five years weren't enough, then eight or ten. She could manage being alone however long it took.
"Don't let anyone into her heart, only to leave her in the end..."* Familiar lyrics penetrated her ears. It was a song she had replayed countless times.
*Lyrics from the song “Gulf of Alaska” by Firdhaus
This is a song she has played countless times.
The singer wasn't cutting it. She couldn't convey that feeling.
It’s not half as good as Song Qingluo’s singing.
Wen Ruoxian was wandering in her thoughts when suddenly she froze. She couldn't understand why such a thought emerged. Unexpectedly, she recalled the fiery gaze from tonight's singing during the dinner gathering.
Her phone buzzed incessantly.
Caller ID showed Song Qingluo—
“...”
Think of the ancestor and the ancestor will appear.
Before she could speak, she heard Miss Song's trembling voice, "Wen Ruoxian, where are you? Can you come over now? There's a man outside pacing around, and he's leaning against my door. I'm scared..."
"Don't hang up the phone, I'll be there right away!" Wen Ruoxian immediately stood up and left without thinking.
Qing Bar was a ten-minute drive from the residential area where Song Qingluo lived.
The rush hour had passed, and the roads were clear. Wen Ruoxian slightly increased her speed, wearing her earphones. She listened to Song Qingluo reporting the door number while thinking of a solution: "I'm just two or three minutes away. Hang up and call the property management. Ask them to send two security guards up."
"The security guards are all old men, can they handle it?" Before she finished speaking, the entrance to the residential area was in sight.
Wen Ruoxian hurriedly locked the car, grabbed an iron rod from the trunk, and instead of immediately going upstairs, she went to the guard room to call two security guards—elderly ones.
It’s better to have something than nothing.
A large number of people can boost courage.
Taking the elevator upstairs, Wen Ruoxian's heartbeat accelerated, her nerves making her sweat. When the elevator doors opened, the two guards looked out—
The hallway was empty. No one was there.
"I'm here, and there's no one at the door." She spoke into her phone, exchanging glances with the two guards.
“Please open the door."
The side door opened with a click.
Song Qingluo cautiously extended half of her head out. As soon as she saw Wen Ruoxian, she immediately rushed over, "Wen Ruoxian, I'm so scared. There really was a suspicious man captured by the surveillance..."
A gust of fragrant wind rushed into Wen Ruoxian's arms.
“Mm,” her body stiffened, but she instinctively gathered her arms and softly reassured, "I'm here, everything's okay."
"I don't want to live alone anymore..."
"Alright, you won't."
For every sentence she uttered, she soothed Song Qingluo in return.
Song Qingluo, with red eyes, lifted her head, "Can I go to your house?"
Author's Note:
Wen-jiejie:
Come before twelve o'clock!
The next chapter will be in V*, so I won’t update tomorrow. See you on Thursday night, cuties.
*paid chapter