The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 4 - 9

Chapter 4 - 9

Sleeping in separate beds once again.

Yujia barely slept a single stroke of the night.

So this was Liren's secret? It wasn't exactly fresh. A person always needs to find an exit. It was just that stumbling upon a husband's secret in this manner was far too... awkward... If she hadn't known, everything could have remained just as it always was; the undercurrent would have forever stayed an undercurrent. Now that she knew by accident, this matter, this problem, was effectively placed right out in the open where neither of them could pretend not to see it.

Liren did not eat breakfast at home. As he left, he carried Das Kapital with him.

Yujia carried this heavy matter in her heart as she headed to work. The higher-ups were coming to inspect the work, throwing the publishing house into a chaotic frenzy. All middle managers were required to report for duty, and administrative staff like Yujia had to be present as well, standing by on immediate standby.

Yurui looked for her. Bail Yuanhai also sent a message. Only then did Yujia remember her promise from before the New Year, but she had far too much on her plate and could only apologize and ask to reschedule for another time.

No matter what she was doing, this matter concerning Liren remained resting squarely in her heart, prickly and uncomfortable, completely undigestible.

Was she a failure?

Yujia was unwilling to admit it. Let alone the seven-year itch, they had already hit a dozen-year itch; they were so familiar with each other's bodies that it was practically like the left hand touching the right hand.

Losing interest was normal.

What was the big deal about a man taking matters into his own hands? He was merely looking for a bit of fun online.

Yujia felt a sense of fortune; Liren had a sense of propriety. He had status and standing; he wouldn't go about messing around blindly—this couldn't even be counted as infidelity.

Right, exactly, Yujia told herself repeatedly, she ought to forgive him.

If he didn't bring it up, then she wouldn't mention it either, and this whole affair would simply be considered over. If he did bring it up—just in case, she meant just in case—then she would definitely have to put on a display of magnanimity right on the spot. She wasn't a woman of petty, narrow mind. Besides, who among people didn't have certain needs? Men naturally possessed an animalistic nature. This just proved her husband still possessed vitality...

Amidst this emotional tug-of-war, alternating between self-consolation and agitation, Yujia slowly managed to finish her work. Yet the moment the tasks in her hands stopped, she could immediately feel a faint, melancholy sorrow pervading the air.

Yujia blamed Liren: when he encountered difficulties, why wouldn't he talk to her about them?

This was a difficulty too!

Desires, venting them, overcoming them—any of it was fine. She could help him think of ways—though she didn't understand why something like this, once placed openly on the table, instantly lost all its flavor. Yujia wanted to investigate the situation around Liren. The absolute worst-case scenario was simply that he had someone on the outside.

Living apart in different places for so long—Yujia wasn't without mental preparation for this. Given Liren's current situation, there was no way he would divorce her; enduring for a moment would bring peace and calm, and even if he did have some lingering threads outside, it would ultimately just be the tail of a rabbit that couldn't go far.

A man like him needed to maintain a respectable, dignified family.

Returning home that evening, Yujia took out some of the cured sausages, dried pork, and bamboo shoots she had brought from her hometown, hurriedly whipping up a few dishes, and waited by the table for Liren.

By eight o'clock, he still hadn't returned.

She didn't call him either; she simply waited. It wasn't until ten o'clock, when she deemed there was little hope left, that she sent him a message saying the food was on the table and she was getting ready to rest.

He didn't reply.

Yujia sat on the sofa with the television volume turned down very low. No, sooner or later this matter had to be broken open; once it was talked out, things would be fine. Between husband and wife, what was there to feel too embarrassed about?

Right, she had to talk it out. If he didn't bring it up, she would; she needed to show her stance and set his mind at ease.

For several consecutive days, Di Liren stayed at the office dormitory. Yujia originally intended to go look for him. Right as she was about to head out, she felt that cooling things down for a bit might be for the best. Discussing it now would very likely escalate the conflict and produce the opposite effect. After things sat stagnant for a few days, Yuyi brought Sisi back, and only then did Liren finally return home. In front of their daughter, he still had to put up a superficial show.

Upon returning, they still slept in separate beds. He read his copy of Das Kapital, and not a single superfluous word was uttered. Yushuang and Kanglong had returned from their trip outside and called Yujia to ask about how the New Year had gone.

Yujia gave a brief summary. Yushuang said they should get together.

Yujia wasn't in the mood. She only asked if Shuang had been in touch with Yumeng and Yurui.

"They're both back," Yushuang said. "We'll find a time to get together."

Just after the start of the new year, Shuang's company wasn't too busy, and the children were still on break. After hanging up the phone, Bail Yuanhai called, once again bringing up the matter of the music score project. Yujia declined once more. Only after the refusal did a flash of inspiration hit her, and she felt she ought to use their friends to smooth over the relations between herself and Liren. At the very least, getting together for a meal could soften the tension.

However, she couldn't be the one to organize the gathering.

It had to be someone with prestige, someone who held enough weight to speak to Liren. Luan Chengyun was relatively suitable; he had a good relationship with Liren. Yet with Yumeng caught in the middle, Yujia found it awkward to cross boundaries and contact him. Moreover, Luan himself was a playboy and newly divorced; she feared that keeping bad company would corrupt good morals and drag Liren down.

Bail Yuanhai seemed suitable; he had business dealings with Liren, and Liren quite appreciated him. It was just that asking him to host a dinner felt a bit too abrupt and presumptuous.

She would give it a try.

Yujia called Yushuang and briefly outlined her awkward standoff with Liren, expressing her wish to host a dinner to ease the atmosphere.

Yushuang readily offered, "Why don't I just host it?"

Yujia said that wouldn't work; if she hosted, Old Di probably wouldn't agree. Yushuang asked what they should do then. Only then did Yujia suggest that Bail Yuanhai might be a suitable candidate. Yushuang immediately took the matter upon herself.

Yujia instructed her earnestly: make sure not to mention that she and Old Di were having a cold war; just frame it as a casual meal where he would host and she would pay, and she could reimburse her privately later.

Yushuang laughed. "Relax, sis, what's money between us?"

A reply came very quickly. Bail Yuanhai was willing to accept the invitation, and he even insisted on treating them himself, inviting them to visit his home as guests. Yujia was flattered. She then asked, "Could you have him call Old Di directly?" Yushuang indicated that it was no problem at all.

She had gone through immense, painstaking trouble.

Old Di actually agreed—he still had matters he needed to ask Yuanhai for help with down the line, so he gracefully accepted. With the time agreed upon, they were all set to head over to Yuanhai's place for a lively gathering. On the day of the gathering, Yujia woke up at the crack of dawn. After preparing gifts, she also applied her makeup; her complexion looked much more natural now. Sisi got out of bed looking extremely reluctant. "Mom, do I have to go..."

"No way." Yujia applied lotion while looking in the mirror.

"Where are we even going?" Sisi asked.

The phone sat by the sink. "Take a look, Aunt Shuang sent the address."

Sisi picked up the phone to take a peek. A faraway place. Thirty-six kilometers away from their home.

"The middle of nowhere." Looking closer, Sisi instantly snapped wide awake. "Why, this is where lots of celebrities live! So-and-so went to check out real estate here!" Look at that—she knew all about it.

Yujia freed up a hand to take a look. She remembered Yuanhai's place wasn't far from Shuang's place. She called Yushuang to ask if there had been some mistake. Yushuang explained that this was the man's villa, urging her to hurry on over. She had already been hanging out and having a barbecue at Yuanhai's place the night before.

Liren got up and selected a suit. Yujia wanted to remind him whether a jacket might be more appropriate for this kind of casual occasion. But she worried that saying too much would lead to mistakes.

A suit it was. Once he took off his jacket inside, he'd just be in a dress shirt, which wasn't improper.

Passing through the security gate, the car drove slowly into the residential compound. Both Yujia and Di Liren experienced a jolt of shock; they knew Yuanhai was successful and wealthy, but they hadn't expected him to be rich to this degree. Sisi rolled down the car window, took a deep breath, and sighed, "Now this is what you call life."

Yujia gave a low reprimand, "Stop gawking and fidgeting."

Yujia suddenly felt that the few boxes of tea leaves she had brought were a bit shabby. Fortunately, her trunk held a set of decorative ornaments—clay figurines of the Twelve Beauties of Dream of the Red Chamber that a relative had "tribute-offered" to them, which she had never taken out. Though not terribly expensive, they at least had a touch of tasteful charm. Yujia planned to gift them to Yuanhai.

The door was opened by Yumeng, all smiles and springtime radiance. Having lived through the New Year, she seemed even more spirited and youthful.

The villa had two stories. The rooms were so numerous she couldn't count them all at once. The moment Sisi stepped inside, she let out an awed gasp. The rooms were filled with sculptures, hanging scrolls, and various antiques, large and small.

Yujia's gift instantly became inappropriate once more.

Yushuang and Kanglong walked down from upstairs, alongside two young men introduced as Yuanhai's college classmates. They all had good relationships and had come together to hang out.

Yujia and Liren entered the living room. Bail Yuanhai walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron, with Yu Qi trailing behind him. Yujia was somewhat surprised.

Everyone was here.

Yushuang laughed and said, "It's no fun with fewer people. We're going to fleece old Bai good today."

Yu Qi hadn't seen Yujia in a long time and hurried forward to greet her. Yujia asked where her sister was. Yu Qi said Yurui had gone out to buy cooking wine.

Coming over as a guest this time, Yurui hadn't brought Shi Tongguang along. For one thing, she was worried he would grow jealous; for another, she wanted to give him a bit of color to look at as payback for the New Year "grudge."

"Make yourselves at home," Yuanhai smiled, greeting Liren as well.

Liren glanced around the surroundings, smiled, and said, "A guy like you is still striving so hard—how are the rest of us supposed to live?" He then asked, "Got a cigarette?"

Yujia hurriedly chimed in, "You guys chat, I'm going to the kitchen." Cooking was her specialty.

Sisi wandered everywhere, having her horizons broadened. Yumeng led her on a tour as if she were the lady of the house.

Yushuang and Kanglong sat on the sofa cracking melon seeds.

Only Yu Qi followed Yujia into the kitchen.

The kitchen counter was covered in iron skewers, all prepped for a barbecue session. Shortly afterward, Yurui returned carrying a bottle of cooking wine and a bottle of flavor-enhancing chicken bouillon. She exchanged greetings with Yujia, and the three women busied themselves. The kitchen was full of raw ingredients that would take quite a while to transform into finished dishes.

They didn't sit together for the meal. Liren deliberately avoided Yujia. Yet watching him with a cold eye, Yujia felt that Liren was in a rather good mood today. He spoke more words at the dining table than he had at home over the past half-month. Sisi also dug into the food with great gusto, crowding next to Yuanhai and claiming she wanted to absorb some of the mystical aura of a senior overseas student pioneer.

Because her romance with Liangcai was heating up, Yumeng was in high spirits, and everyone else benefited as a result—she showered every single person at the table with compliments. She praised Liren for his broad forehead, saying he had the look of an official; she praised Yuanhai for his martial eyebrows and prominent nose, declaring his luck certainly wouldn't be bad; she praised Kanglong for having a storehouse of five cartloads of books and excellent genes; she praised Yujia for being virtuous and the queen of supportive wives, adding that if she were a man, she'd fight tooth and nail to marry her; she complimented Yurui for being gentle, amiable, sensible, and considerate; she lauded Yu Qi as pure and kind, a truly good girl; she praised Sisi for having a pair of soulful, spirited eyes; and even Yuanhai's two male classmates, whom she was meeting for the first time, were praised for having square mouths and large earlobes, signs of boundless, enduring blessings.

After listening around the circle and hearing no mention of herself, Yushuang refused to let it go and asked, "Sis, do I not have any merits?" Yumeng mischievously retorted, "You do, of course you do. You're independent, smart, and capable—you must be from the matriarchal Kingdom of Women! Look, drink this wine, and you'll pop out a child."

Everyone burst into loud laughter.

Yushuang struck back: "It's fine if I give birth, but Sister Meng shouldn't go popping out any more kids." The atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point.

Kanglong nudged her with his elbow. Yujia stepped in to smooth things over, changing the subject: "Save some room in your stomachs, we'll be having the barbecue soon."