Love For You - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Man's Lips Fell Suddenly

Miao Jing went to a BBQ at the old suburban home of a colleague's parents with a group of coworkers. There was a little kid, a big yellow dog, and a vegetable garden, making for a relaxed and happy atmosphere. Lu Zhengsi took on the role of the grill master, while Miao Jing sat beside him stringing skewers. In social settings like these, Miao Jing’s ability to integrate was far inferior to others. She wasn't open, easygoing, or harmonious enough—her sense of detachment usually lay in this. It was difficult to empathize with her; judging by her appearance, manner of speaking, and expression, one could not guess her experiences or thoughts. She kept a somewhat mysterious distance.

After playing for the day, Lu Zhengsi drove Miao Jing home. Seeing her clear brows shadowed with faint disappointment and subtle melancholy, he sent her the group photos taken that day. Even sitting next to the smoky grill, she remained the most serene and gentle one, her lips curved in a faint smile—neither overly joyful nor too indifferent.

"Are you going back to your hometown for the Spring Festival this year? I seem to remember you mentioning your mother lives there." Since the topic came up, Lu Zhengsi sincerely invited her, "If you go back, the two of us, plus a colleague from the workshop, could drive home together."

The Spring Festival was still several months away.

Miao Jing smiled and shook her head: "I probably won't go."

"Are you staying in Teng City for the New Year?" Lu Zhengsi asked her, "When was the last time you went back?"

"The year I started working." She rested her chin on her hand, "I was on a business trip in Z Province and it happened to be on the way, so I went back to take a look. I couldn't remember many places at all."

She couldn't even remember Wei Mingzhen's face clearly. She had calmly called out "Mom," and Wei Mingzhen had shed tears with deep emotion. Miao Jing stayed for a while, had a meal, and left.

"Miao, where did you spend the Spring Festival in the past?"

"Working overtime on projects at the company. One year I went back to my ex-boyfriend's hometown. The customs for the New Year vary from place to place, and the festive atmosphere in some areas is really good."

The two chatted about Spring Festival customs across different regions. When they arrived, Miao Jing said goodbye to Lu Zhengsi. It was getting late, and everyone was tired from the day. He still had a colleague with him who was returning to the company, so Miao Jing didn't ask him to stay in the city.

She went upstairs and opened the door. There was a faint scent of smoke in the house. Chen Yi was home, sitting in his room with his legs up, playing games. Miao Jing had been smoked by charcoal fire all day, so she went to her room to change, tidied up, and washed her hair and showered. When she walked to the balcony, her steps slowed—a brand-new front-loading washing machine had replaced the old one in the corner. The old one was nowhere to be found.

With a relaxed expression, she threw her clothes into the washer, then collected the dry laundry from the balcony. She draped the light blue dress over her arm, her expression stunned, and she furrowed her delicate brows imperceptibly.

The dress was a bit damp.

The game sound effects in the room were deafening. Miao Jing sat on the sofa, quietly folding her clothes. She carried her own pile back to her room, while Chen Yi’s pile remained on the sofa as usual, waiting for him to retrieve it. As Chen Yi passed by after finishing his game and reached out to grab his clothes, his movements stiffened suddenly—Miao Jing had silently thrown that dress into the trash bin beside them.

"Don't you want to ask me why I don't want it?" She sat at the dining table eating, her back to him, but it was as if she had eyes on her back. She tossed out these words calmly.

Chen Yi swallowed hard, shoulders hunched as he held his tall frame, and pursed his dry lips.

"The dress was rewashed? But it was washed rather sloppily, there's a scent of perfume, and the waist seam is stretched." Miao Jing pushed back her chair, stood up, and went into the kitchen, her voice cold, "Chen Yi, does Tu Li look pretty in my dress?"

His fingers touched his lips, where the heavy scent of lingering tobacco remained. He feigned composure: "Her clothes got dirty, so she wore it for a bit."

"I asked if it was pretty. Does it look good?"

"I'll pay you back for a new one." Chen Yi stood in the doorway of the kitchen, hands in his pockets, back arched, looking indolent. "You can buy it yourself, or I can buy it for you, either is fine."

"No need, it's just a dress, it's not worth much money." She turned around with a smile as clear as the breeze and moonlight, "If you talk about paying, then we're being strangers. That wouldn't be appropriate. I've lived here for months without paying a single cent of rent. Rent should be calculated. I've already decided to move to the company this weekend to clear some private space for the two of you."

"..." His thick brows furrowed deeply. He watched her with deep, profound eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing, "This weekend?"

"Yes, I've already applied for the dormitory. It'll be more convenient for Zhengsi and me."

Miao Jing walked back to her room, took out an old bank card, and placed it on the dining table. Her fair fingertips tapped the card surface, her tone indifferent, "I'll transfer the rent to this card. Do you still remember this card and its password? You keep it."

This bank card.

Chen Yi's expression instantly turned unsightly. His gaze was extremely impatient, and he pursed his lips in annoyance: "Miao Jing, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything. I've told you," Miao Jing's voice also carried a touch of impatience, "The weather is cold, it's inconvenient for commuting, and I have a lot of overtime, so living at the company is more convenient."

"Take my car to work." His tone was stiff, "Since you were moving, why didn't you know to stay at the company from the start? Why bother moving back and forth here?"

"I didn't know before, but I know now." Miao Jing’s lips curled up, her brows delicate and pitiful. She said coldly, "If you really can't wait, I'll move out tonight and won't disturb your fun."

"Whatever you want."

His eyes were sharp, displaying an indifferent attitude. He slammed the front door shut, causing dust to fall.

Miao Jing did indeed turn around to go back to her room to pack her luggage, throwing her frequently worn clothes and daily necessities into her suitcase. Before leaving, she called Chen Yi to tell him to put the key back in its original place and that she had pre-deposited money for utilities. There were still some large items in the room that couldn't be moved for the time being, and she would come back to pack them when she had time. The sound on Chen Yi's end was noisy, and he could vaguely hear the sound of a man beside her. He furrowed his thick brows, impatiently hung up the phone, his face becoming gloomier and his aura icier. He gritted his teeth and cursed a couple of times.

Women are so damn annoying. Ever since Miao Jing returned to Teng City, he hadn't had a single day of comfort. A pile of big and small troubles. His hand gripping the pool cue was trembling. People around him teased him for missing his shots. Chen Yi simply threw the cue onto the table with a slap. His head was buzzing. He went out to a friend's boxing gym and gave a sandbag a brutal beating. He got into the boxing ring, sweating until his well-defined, smooth pectoral muscles glistened with oil. Finally, the gym owner kicked him to the ground. Chen Yi lay on the ground, drenched in sweat, gasping for air, before being pulled up.

"What's wrong with you today? Every punch was sheer brute force."

"Lost a game. Not feeling it."

Someone laughed: "You can lose a game?"

"I've lost plenty of games." Chen Yi shook his water bottle and took sips, his expression gloomy, "And I haven't got much left."

The dormitory building for the technical department had slightly better conditions than the workshop department. They were generally two-person rooms with private bathrooms, like hotel standard rooms. Female employees lived on the top few floors, and male employees lived below. Because the rooms weren't large and storage space was limited, many employees rented apartments outside. It was rare for someone like Miao Jing to move from home to the company. Her roommate was a female engineer from the procurement center. They had met a few times and got along quite well. Being on a different floor than Lu Zhengsi wasn't far away. Lu Zhengsi was, of course, happy that she had moved into the dormitory; in every aspect, being with Miao Jing felt pleasant.

The company had an activity center, as well as a yoga room and a gym. Everyone could play badminton or table tennis together after work. The labor union did quite well in this regard. Everyone was young, and there were plenty of sports activities arranged. Miao Jing had less overtime and was dragged along by friends to watch matches at the stadium, which was better than staying in the office drawing diagrams. Everyone knew she and Lu Zhengsi were close and that there was definitely something between them, although it wasn't made public. There were many people in the company who wanted to pursue Miao Jing, but they were all blocked by Lu Zhengsi.

After Miao Jing quietly moved back to the company, she lived peacefully for a week. Lu Zhengsi spent a lot of time with her and fully understood her social circle and daily habits. He just hadn't expected to receive a call from Tu Li, asking him if he knew about the situation between Miao Jing and Chen Yi.

Chen Yi ignored Tu Li completely. Tu Li was proud and wounded; she couldn't bring herself to do anything clingy or humble. She could accept Chen Yi cheating or having a change of heart for another woman, but if the object was Miao Jing, that probably felt like swallowing a fly—the two lived under the same roof; who knows, they might have been sleeping together at night, acting upright in front of people by day, and behaving lewdly in private. That was simply too hypocritical and disgusting.

Lu Zhengsi was stunned by Tu Li's question. He was playing badminton at the stadium while Miao Jing was right beside him. He found an excuse to walk away, listening to Tu Li on the other end of the line saying that Chen Yi and Miao Jing were having an unusual relationship in private. Of course, Tu Li didn't explicitly mention the incident where she wore Miao Jing's dress to seduce Chen Yi; she only said that the two were flirting in a way that was worth pondering, and asked Lu Zhengsi if he had noticed anything unusual about his girlfriend.

But when it came to flirting, there was no evidence to grasp. Lu Zhengsi truthfully said that Miao Jing had moved back to the company dormitory. He and Miao Jing came and went together and lived in the same dormitory building. He hadn't seen Chen Yi at all recently, nor had he seen Miao Jing in contact with him. As for the past, other than the fact that Miao Jing's indifference toward Chen Yi was strange to the point of being completely ignorant, he couldn't see any other signs.

Tu Li couldn't find any evidence from Lu Zhengsi and hung up the phone in low spirits. She had wanted to rush straight in front of Miao Jing and have a showdown, but with what grounds? Other than Chen Yi's behavior, she hadn't caught the two of them in any substantive act. Miao Jing had even moved back to the dormitory and wasn't with Chen Yi. This was completely anti-human and anti-logical.

After Lu Zhengsi finished the call, he held his phone, thinking silently for a long time. Tu Li didn't know that his identity as a boyfriend was just a title, and she forgot to ask him why he had gone into Miao Jing's room that rainy day and left later anyway.

"What's wrong?" Miao Jing saw him come back sluggishly, his expression a bit dim, "Are you okay?"

"Tu Li called me just now and said Chen Yi broke up with her." Lu Zhengsi examined her expression carefully, rubbing his nose, "Asked me if I knew about it. I said no."

He asked cautiously: "Seems like it happened a few days ago. Do you know, Miao?"

"Is that so." Miao Jing was holding a badminton racket, her expression very indifferent—indifferent to the point of hearing a boring piece of gossip, without even a single ripple. Her tone was sincere and gentle, "I don't know either. Chen Yi didn't tell me, and Tu Li didn't contact me."

The two played ball and chatted with colleagues as usual, returning only after the lights were turned off at night. Miao Jing's words and actions were calm and determined, showing no signs of being absent-minded or unusual. They even agreed to go out for hotpot on their day off the next day. Miao Jing nodded and said yes. Lu Zhengsi parted ways with her downstairs at the dormitory, watching her graceful back as she went upstairs.

He couldn't understand Miao Jing at all.

Because he couldn't understand her, he became all the more curious.

Miao Jing had lived at the company for nearly a month and hadn't returned home once. She had only packed some current season's clothing and daily necessities; other seasonal items and large pieces of luggage remained at home. Because of overtime and various activities, she hadn't gone back to get them.

Of course, she hadn't contacted Chen Yi either—not even half a phone call or a message.

She didn't contact Chen Yi, and Chen Yi was naturally happy to be free and easy. Without Tu Li, he was even more relaxed and happy, spending every day in the pool hall and engaging in all kinds of eating, drinking, and playing. He would return home in the middle of the night to shower and sleep, as free as could be.

The call from Miao Jing came during a deep autumn cold snap. The temperature in Teng City wasn't too cold, but there was a chill at night, and it was raining. Miao Jing asked Chen Yi on the phone if he could bring over her silk quilt and a few other items from her cabinet. She didn't have the house key, and she really couldn't get away today.

The voice on the phone was soft and cold, with a slight nasal tone.

Chen Yi was chewing gum, his voice blurred and sluggish: "I'm not free during the day. If you can wait until night, I'll find time to go back."

"Thank you." Miao Jing adopted a professional politeness, "Then I'll trouble you. Please call me when you reach the entrance."

Chen Yi chewed the gum, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Dragging it out until 8:00 PM, Chen Yi finally arrived in a languid manner. Miao Jing held a black umbrella, waiting for him on the roadside of the industrial park. She wore a white knitted top and a light green long skirt, revealing a slender, porcelain-white neck and ankles that were blinding. Outside, she wore a long, thin knitted coat. The hem of her skirt was blown by the night wind, fluttering outside the umbrella, stained with rain, light and heavy, turning silently. She, the whole person, was like a bright, clear, and quiet evening primrose, silently blooming in the dim and unclear rainy night.

The black Cadillac pulled over. The window rolled down, and she met Chen Yi's sinister and indifferent eyes.

"You're here." Miao Jing nodded, "Sorry for the trouble."

Chen Yi’s expression was numb and icy: "The stuff is in the trunk."

He opened the door and stepped out, still appearing robust and dark. Boots and a long trench coat, his coat hem flapping, his brows sharp, fierce, and handsome. He walked into the rain.

Miao Jing moved her umbrella around, and the two walked to the trunk of the car. Her umbrella was held high over his head, and the water droplets from the trunk lid splashed up, landing on the center of his brow. The crystalline drops swayed, slowly sliding down the center of his brow.

Just say men are unreliable. Chen Yi had brought a small box over and swept the things off her tabletop clean, leaving behind several items.

"There's also a hairdryer and that box of power cords, and a thermos cup. Did you forget?" Miao Jing brushed her wet hair behind her ears, lowering her head to look through things, "It's not this quilt, the size is wrong."

He crossed his arms impatiently, putting on an imperious attitude: "If you don't want it, forget it. Or why don't you go home and get it yourself?"

Miao Jing frowned and glanced at him: "Then I... will go back once."

Chen Yi gave a cynical, indifferent laugh. His finger pressed down, and the trunk door slammed shut: "Suit yourself."

The two got into the car. Miao Jing put her umbrella by her feet. The car started, and the wipers scraped away fine streams of water. The rainy night was dim and unclear, and the streetlights were hazy and dim. The speed was kept very, very slow. Neither of them spoke. The car was quiet and stuffy, with only the sound of the engine.

Chen Yi opened a crack in the window, smoking while driving. The smell of tobacco filled the car. Miao Jing bit her lower lip, frowning deeply, but held back from speaking. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Smoking while driving hinders safe driving, two points deducted, 200 yuan fine. If an accident happens, it's one thing if you get hurt, but if others are accidentally injured, that's a heinous crime."

"Others? There isn't even a shadow on the road in this ghost place." He flicked the ash slowly, "Are you talking about yourself?"

"I'm afraid of being poisoned by secondhand smoke." Miao Jing was calm and composed, "You can just die yourself. No one would care how you want to die, but don't drag others down with you. Nobody wants to keep you company."

Chen Yi gave a cold, mocking laugh: "You're so vicious, does anyone know? Know that you speak so harshly?"

Miao Jing’s chin tilted slightly, her eyes reflecting the flow of the streetlights: "Harsh or not, vicious or not, it depends on who it is. Some people deserve it, others don't. Being a little harsh and vicious doesn't hurt."

"Spent a few years outside, seen the world, learned things, and learned how to pretend." Chen Yi took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaling slowly, his tone mocking, "Not bad, Miao Jing, you've made something of yourself."

"Of course more something of myself than you have." Miao Jing responded coldly, "You'd better spend your whole life living like this, free and easy, having your own way, and finally rotting in the dirt."

"You don't seem to have lived that well either. To say nothing else, I really thought you could be high and mighty, shining and brilliant, having gotten some impressive man. But in the end, you're still just a working dog working yourself to death, finding some greenhorn like Lu Zhengsi." He laughed maliciously, "The money you earn doesn't even amount to half of mine. I really raised you for nothing for a few years, what a damn waste."

He ground his tongue against his back molars bitterly, his eyes fierce and smiling: "Why is there no regret medicine in this world?"

Miao Jing curled her lips in a shallow smile: "You're quite proud of yourself. Isn't it pretty good to see for yourself what kind of life I live? Doesn't that just prove that what you've done has always been right? It's good enough for you to live your life your way, and I'll live my life according to my own plan, and see who gets the last laugh."

Chen Yi was angered to laughter by her. He grinned and laughed, then laughed again: "Isn't that just... damn it."

Miao Jing sat up straight, her brows and lashes frozen still. Her eyes focused ahead, her tone light and clear: "What are you angry about? It's not like you haven't fucked it."

The air suddenly stopped for a long time. Everything around her was magnified and slowed down: the dense raindrops on the windshield, the dim, confusing light, the whistling of the night wind and the car, the repressed and restrained breathing of the person beside her, and his solidified, sharp, young, and handsome side profile.

They had tacitly never brought it up, yet they had never forgotten it either.

The finger resting on the window edge moved. The half-smoked cigarette with its embers quietly fell, dropping into a puddle by the road, emitting a last wisp of blue smoke before returning to silence.

Chen Yi blinked slowly. His strong, tight-set face twitched, and the corners of his mouth moved too. He swallowed his burning anxiety, flattened his lips, and kept a straight face without speaking.

After a long time, he couldn't help himself in the end. His fingers gripping the steering wheel trembled.

"So, you came back to get fucked?" He revealed an irreverent, bad-boy grin, "Then you can wait slowly. The girls lining up to crawl into my bed are in a queue."

"Are you talking about Lu Zhengsi and me? That really doesn't need to trouble you. The company dormitory is quite convenient." Miao Jing’s expression was serious and calm, stabbing him harshly, "You'd better be careful about getting sick. I have a physical examination voucher here, I'll give it to you. Check early and treat it early; don't harm others and yourself."

The man blinked hard. His chest felt blocked, he pursed his lips and didn't speak, his face gray-black like miasma—he had been angered by her.

He slammed the accelerator to the floor, and the car accelerated abruptly, roaring along the empty road. Miao Jing’s body was jerked backward, and she choked from the sudden speed. She gripped her seatbelt, sitting there with a cold face, not saying a word.

The steering wheel turned abruptly, and he turned onto the side of the road. The car screeched to a halt, the tires emitting a long, piercing sound. Miao Jing’s body lurched forward. Before the seatbelt could pull her back, the person beside her had already made a swift movement. With a light click of the seatbelt, she was grabbed by brute force and pulled into the passenger seat. That dark, cold face leaned over viciously, and a large hand held her down tightly. Miao Jing hadn't even had a chance to breathe—

Outside the window, the rain was torrential, pouring down like a waterfall. The night wind was cold and chilly. In the dim light, she saw a pair of deep, shining, yet cold and manic eyes. The man's lips suddenly fell, wet and boiling hot, landing on her cheek, craving and shifting. He burned her, her breathing stalled, her cold hands and feet curled tightly, and her heart felt like it was being scratched by a thousand needles until it twitched slightly. She clutched her skirt tightly.