Henyee Translations Henyee Translations

Ji Nuan pushed the door open and entered. She looked at the bright light filling the entire living room.

Feng Ling hesitated outside the door. If Mr. Mo was here, was there no need for her to accompany Ji Nuan tonight? She paused for a moment by the door before finally deciding not to enter.

The condo was large; the bedroom was not far away from the entrance, but the bedroom door was firmly closed. The lights in the bedroom were turned off as well. Aside from the living room, only the kitchen was lit.

Why was it the kitchen?

Did Mo Jingshen really come?

Ji Nuan strangely felt her emotions being stirred up; as though she was finally returning home after a long time.

She had already prepared a belly full of words; she wanted to explain that she had always believed in him. When she spoke those words, she was not expressing her doubts about their feelings and marriage. She had simply expressed what was on her mind without considering how it would affect the trust built between the two of them.

These days, she was always watching her phone in a daze. Her hand would always pause by the ‘dial’ button, unable to press it.

Did he finally cool down from his anger? Was he finally here?

Ji Nuan stood outside the kitchen for a moment. She wanted to enter but feared that it would be too abrupt to do so. She made a mental plan before finally striding in. However, the moment she entered, she found an auntie around fifty years old standing by the fridge. She held a grocery bag with one hand while her other hand was on the fridge door.

Ji Nuan’s footsteps immediately faltered. The hope in her eyes dissipated. She curled her hands into fists for a moment, before releasing her grip, as though there was something she wanted to hold onto but was unable to do so.

The auntie by the fridge heard her footsteps and turned back to see Ji Nuan. She was first astonished, before she asked eagerly and kindly, “Hello, you must be Miss Ji, right?”

Ji Nuan restrained her emotions, speaking, “Yes. You are?”

The auntie immediately smiled. “Nice to meet you, Miss Ji. I’m a private housekeeper hired by Mr. Mo a month ago. I’ve been tasked with cleaning this place and to change all of the ingredients in the fridge to fresh ones every two days. I saw that the food in the fridge was always untouched, and the ingredients I’ve been buying have never been used, but because Mr. Mo has already paid me to do this, I’ve been coming by as instructed.”

Feng Ling stood outside to listen; she could not hear Mr. Mo’s voice and found it strange. Could it be that the person inside was not Mr. Mo?

She took quick steps into the condo and saw Ji Nuan standing by the kitchen entrance. Although she appeared fine, her stiff back was clearly filled with tension.

Feng Ling approached in hesitation. When she raised her head to see the auntie and took into account the words she had heard, she immediately understood.

“No wonder this place is always so clean. Someone has actually been coming by to do the housework,” Feng Ling softly and calmly said, turning to see that Ji Nuan had a similarly mild and polite smile. However, her smile did not reach her eyes.

Clearly, she was disappointed.

“By the way, Miss Ji, is the food I’ve been buying not to your tastes, or have you not been coming by recently? Your bathroom appears to have been untouched for quite some time.” The auntie closed the fridge door and turned back to add, “If you’re not used to the food, you can give me a list. I’ll only buy the food you like from now…”

“There’s no need. It has been a long time since I came back to stay,” Ji Nuan said indifferently, lowering her eyes to look at the well-cleaned ground.

“Oh, oh, no wonder.” The auntie nodded her head. “It’s really too wasteful to keep the things I’ve been buying here. If Miss Ji isn’t going to be staying in the condo, shall I send the food to T University? Are you staying in the dorm right now?”

“It’s not convenient to cook in the dorm. I’m not picky with what I eat either, there’s no need to go through so much trouble,” Ji Nuan mildly replied. “Auntie, in the future, you can just come by to clean. There’s no need to buy anything.”

“But Mr. Mo paid me a lot of money…”

“It’s all right. It’s fine just to clean the place.”

“Miss Ji, then the money…”

Seeing that Ji Nuan’s mood was low, Feng Ling spoke up, “Just do as Miss Ji says. If she says there’s no need to buy, don’t buy anything.”

The auntie was startled. After receiving so much money, she was only tasked with cleaning. She felt uneasy, but seeing their insistence, she could only nod. “All right, then let me give Miss Ji my phone number. In these three months, if there’s anything you need, give me a call anytime.”

Ji Nuan nodded her head and did not say more. She turned to leave.

Feng Ling received the note from the auntie. After taking a look at the phone number, she instructed the auntie to continue with her chores. When she turned to see Ji Nuan standing by the ceiling-to-floor windows in the living room, she fell silent. She wanted to approach to talk to her, but the auntie in the kitchen was surprised to finally see someone in the condo and kept looking for topics to chat about. Feng Ling stood in her spot and casually replied to the auntie.

Half an hour later, the auntie left. Ji Nuan remained standing by the window.

“Mrs. Mo, you came back to take your electronic adaptor, right?” Feng Ling spoke up and broke the silence. “Do you remember where you left it? I’ll go find it for you, in case we forget to bring it with us when we leave again.”

“In the study.”

“All right, I’ll go look for it.”

Feng Ling glanced at her again before turning to head to the study.

After locating what Ji Nuan needed, she stepped out, finding that at some point, Ji Nuan had knelt down on the ground.

Ji Nuan knelt by the window quietly.

“Mrs….”

Feng Ling wanted to speak up, but because of the scene before her eyes, she hesitated. She suddenly brought out her phone and silently took a photo of Ji Nuan from this angle, capturing her desolate appearance by the window.

From this angle, she could not see Ji Nuan’s expression. Her long hair blocked her face, while her back view appeared thin and lonely.

Like a child that was abandoned on the roadside, completely at a loss as to what to do.

After taking the photo, Feng Ling stared at her screen for a while before searching for Mo Jingshen’s private number. She directly sent the photo to him.

After only two minutes, she saw that the message was read. She then kept her phone away, approaching the window to kneel by Ji Nuan’s side.

“Mrs. Mo, what do you wish to do the most right now?”

Hearing these words, Ji Nuan turned to the short-haired woman by her side and pursed her lips. “I’m not sure. My brain feels empty. Perhaps listening to some stories or doing something would distract me and make me feel better. Or perhaps, drinking would be a good choice. The ancient people say that ‘intoxication resolves a thousand worries.’ It’s worth a shot.”

In this past month, this was the first time Ji Nuan admitted that her heart was suffering.

Feng Ling raised her brows. “Forget about drinking. Mr. Mo has clearly said that you’re not allowed to drink. Even if he isn’t here, I have to watch you well.”

Henyee Translations Henyee Translations

Hai City, Mo Corporation.

The office door opened. The moment Mo Jingshen stepped out, he heard the ring tone from his phone.

“President Mo, recently there’s been quite some hidden movements on our Hong Kong partner’s side. Just as you expected, they plan to use their position as Mo Corporation’s partner to cooperate with other investors to quietly…”

Shen Mu stepped out of the assistant’s office and took large steps to approach him. He then followed him as he quietly reported.

Mo Jingshen only glanced at him for a second, raising his phone at the same time. He glanced at the displayed message Feng Ling had sent over.

The man’s long finger swiped across the screen. An image was immediately displayed.

Shen Mu watched as Mo Jingshen suddenly stopped by the office door. He did not know what Mo Jingshen had seen on his phone. Just as he was about to approach in curiosity, Mo Jingshen’s phone screen darkened.

“What did you say earlier?” Mo Jingshen spoke up. His tone was mild and did not contain any perceivable emotion.

Recently, not only was President Mo awfully busy and taking frequent work trips, his originally cold temperament had become even harder to understand. Even Shen Mu, who was typically closer to him, had to be more careful with his words.

“Earlier, I said that our Hong Kong partner has been taking advantage of the successful partnership with Mo Corporation to coax various parties into investing in them. They’ve been using our name to convince investors. You’ve always been slightly unhappy with this partnership and have already expected that they wouldn’t be too obedient privately. Do you want to take this opportunity to head to Hong Kong to cut off those investments in case they affect Mo Corporation’s reputation adversely?”

Mo Jingshen’s expression was composed and heavy, his gaze quiet and lonely. “Send the vice president to Hong Kong. Head there with him.”

“You’ve always been paying attention to this issue. You won’t head there personally?” Shen Mu was surprised. Recently, President Mo was rarely in Hai City. Shen Mu thought that he would directly leave for Hong Kong this time as well.

Mo Jingshen turned on his phone once more, staring at the image displayed. A second later, he closed it.

“Book the earliest flight to T City.”

The man’s ink-black, distant eyes shifted towards the window by the office door. Coincidentally, right where he was facing was a thousand miles away from T City.

——

Inside T City’s condo, Feng Ling brought out a can of beverage from the fridge for Ji Nuan. “Don’t think about drinking alcohol. Here, have a drink.”

Ji Nuan had shifted her position, hugging her knees close to herself as she leaned against the window. Seeing the drink Feng Ling had brought over, she smiled slightly and received it. She opened it for a sip.

Ji Nuan gently held the can, softly and clearly speaking, “Initially, I thought that you were difficult to approach. Now I’ve realized that even a stiff, dense person like you hides a warm side. I feel that you’re actually rather good at taking care of people. Why do you always maintain such a distant appearance.”

Feng Ling held another drink in her hand. She sat down by Ji Nuan’s side, and after taking a sip, she curved her lips into a smile. “Earlier on, Mrs. Mo said that you wanted to listen to stories, could it be that you wanted to listen to mine?”

“If you wish to say it, I’ll naturally be happy to listen. It’s not a bad thing if you could distract me. Otherwise, I probably won’t be able to catch any sleep tonight.” Ji Nuan leaned her back against the window. Although she was smiling, her eyes were clearly desolated.

Feng Ling was quiet for a moment before she mildly said, “I’m an orphan.”

Ji Nuan did not reply.

“When I was young, there was no one taking care of me. During those years, America didn’t pay much attention to homeless children without clear backgrounds or nationalities. Afterward, I met a kind couple. Although they couldn’t adopt me, they sent me to a good welfare agency in Los Angeles.” Feng Ling’s voice was extremely soft; it seemed like this was the first time she was sharing her own past with someone. She was slightly hesitant as she considered her past, slowly speaking, “It wasn’t bad at the welfare agency. But my personality isn’t suited for socializing. I didn’t like those little kids who were always crying or acting obediently to obtain special treatment. When I was thirteen, I ran away and infiltrated into the XI training center while dressed as a boy. Back then, I only managed to successfully infiltrate their training base because I had coincidentally saved one of their employees.”

“Afterward, due to puberty, my body kept changing. I wrapped my chest with fabric every day and wore a large uniform to conceal it as much as I could. My character has always been bland. I only interacted with a few close brothers, and my way of working isn’t like a woman either. No one managed to discover it, and I kept training with those men, completing the same missions and receiving equally rigorous training. Afterward, because my results in various drills were more outstanding, my position in the training base gradually became more stable.”

Ji Nuan suddenly chuckled. “Then how were you eventually discovered? Right now, you’re not dressed as a man.”

Feng Ling’s expression clearly faltered. After a few seconds of silence, her tone became colder. “Three years ago, I was discovered during a mission.”

“You hid it so well for so many years. Who was it that found out? Is he that capable?” Ji Nuan held her chin with a smile, turning to look at Feng Ling who was by her side.

If Feng Ling’s hair was shorter, and her clothing was looser, she would indeed be much more handsome than the women in her age group.

“…Nan Heng.” Feng Ling clearly did not wish to bring up this name.

Ji Nuan was not surprised by this answer. Upon hearing this, she suddenly looked at Feng Ling deeply. “Previously, when it was Nan Heng’s birthday, and I invited you to come into the room to sit, was your refusal because of him?”

Arriving at this topic, Feng Ling did not wish to say more. She glanced at Ji Nuan. “Have I successfully distracted you?”

“Don’t pay attention to that. If your story stops midway, it’s even more likely that I’ll lose sleep tonight.”

“There is no continuation. There isn’t any right now, and there never will be.” Feng Ling’s expression suddenly became milder. She stood up and glanced at the time. “Are you planning to stay here tonight or to return to the dormitory? It’s not early anymore. If we don’t return now, it’ll be past our curfew.”

Ji Nuan also took a look at the time. She glanced outside the window; every apartment was lit, only her condo was unusually quiet.

“Let’s go back to the dorm.” Ji Nuan stood up, patting against her slightly numb calves. She did not speak further as she directly headed out.

Ji Nuan left so decisively. It was clear she did not plan to stay in the condo at all.

It seemed like no matter what sort of stories were used, they would be insufficient to calm her emotions.

Feng Ling followed behind, bringing out her phone to look at the ‘already seen’ sign by the photo.