Chapter 18: The Quilt She Had Used

“Contract..."

Ye Jiayuan drew out the last syllable, repeating the word with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her gaze was dark and intent, as if she were trying to see straight through Fu Chaoying.

“I’ve already seen far too many carefully designed contracts at work. I never expected to hear that word in everyday life too.”

Her tone was calm, though beneath it lay a faint, hard-to-pin-down note of regret.

The light from the living room ceiling lamp fell across her exquisite profile, and in the interplay of light and shadow, her beauty became even more striking.

Fu Chaoying’s heart skipped a beat, though she showed nothing on her face. She blinked, looking genuinely puzzled. “So you’re turning me down, sis? Because you think this is too ridiculous?”

Ye Jiayuan gave no direct answer. Her fingertips brushed lightly against the side of her cup as she took a measured sip of water, then said in a low voice, “The Ye and Fu families have been close for generations. Our elders are deeply tied to each other. Between us... it doesn’t seem appropriate to mix that with a relationship involving interests.”

Her voice was gentle, but the distance in it was unmistakable.

Being turned down so tactfully, Fu Chaoying felt her heart sink a little.

But she had expected this already, so she didn’t let herself be too disappointed. She only lowered her lashes, hiding the complicated emotions in her eyes, and said softly, “I understand. You’re right, sis; I was too abrupt.”

Ye Jiayuan’s gaze swept over her face. The slyness that had once lived in her eyes was gone completely. Fu Chaoying looked like a wounded little animal, claws withdrawn, fragile and helpless.

Fu Chaoying spoke again, her voice softer still, with a grievance so faint it was almost impossible to catch. “I just... don’t want her to keep pestering me.”

Her voice was very light, so light it sounded like a feather brushing against the heart.

Before the words had fully faded, a pale hand gently covered the back of hers. The touch was soft and delicate, the temperature just right, as if it could reach straight into her heart.

Fu Chaoying’s fingertips trembled slightly. She looked up abruptly, only to fall into Ye Jiayuan’s unreadable eyes.

“I’ll do what I can to handle Yian’s matter; I won’t let her bother you again.”

“You don’t need to make any decision you might regret just to get away from her.”

Ye Jiayuan’s gaze was focused and serious, as though she were making a solemn vow.

Fu Chaoying looked at her, trying to read the complicated emotions in those eyes, but all she found was a calm, still lake.

“You need to think carefully about what you really want,” Ye Jiayuan said more quietly, almost as if speaking to herself.

As soon as the words fell, she withdrew her hand, as though the warmth that had rested on the back of Fu Chaoying’s hand had only been an illusion.

A strange feeling brushed across Fu Chaoying’s heart. She smiled at her. “Thank you, sis. I understand.”

Ye Jiayuan gave a slight nod and stood. “I’m a little tired. I’m going to rest first.”

Just as she turned, Fu Chaoying suddenly said, “I’ve basically finished dealing with everything on my side here.”

Her voice was soft, but the determination in it was impossible to ignore.

Ye Jiayuan’s steps paused slightly. She turned back and looked at her. “When are you planning to go back to the country?”

Fu Chaoying met her gaze. “Tomorrow’s flight.”

She didn’t give the exact time; she wanted to probe Ye Jiayuan’s reaction.

Yet Ye Jiayuan’s expression remained calm, with not the slightest trace of surprise or reluctance. She only said lightly, “All right. Safe travels.”

Those few words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last bit of expectation in Fu Chaoying’s heart.

The test had ended completely.

A hard-to-describe disappointment welled up in Fu Chaoying, but she quickly adjusted her mood and stood up.

Yet just as she turned around, she and Ye Jiayuan unexpectedly met eyes in midair.

Fu Chaoying’s heartbeat sped up again. She unconsciously held her breath, only to hear a click a moment later as Ye Jiayuan mercilessly shut the door.

A scene from her dream flashed through Fu Chaoying’s mind. She had stretched out her hand toward Ye Jiayuan, only for the other woman to look at her coldly without giving any response at all.

Dream and reality overlapped.

The air still seemed to carry a faint scent of magnolia, but that fragrance somehow felt like silent mockery.

Fu Chaoying gave a self-mocking smile and turned back to the bedroom.

The next morning, she deliberately dawdled and refused to get up. Only after hearing that familiar sound of the door closing and confirming that Ye Jiayuan had gone to work did she slowly get out of bed and wash up.

As soon as she stepped into the living room, she spotted a note lying quietly on the coffee table.

Fu Chaoying’s heart tightened. She hurried over, picked it up, and saw the familiar, crisp handwriting on it: [Send me your flight information; I’ll take you to the airport. —Ye Jiayuan]

Why hadn’t she asked last night?

Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together, took up a pen, and wrote a few lines on the note before putting it back where it had been. Then she turned and left.

In the morning, Fu Chaoying wandered aimlessly through the streets and alleys of Singapore. At noon, she found a local specialty restaurant and had lunch.

After returning to the hotel to collect her luggage, she gently pulled the door shut and turned to leave.

Ye Jiayuan had just finished an important meeting when Liu Xin came to report in a low voice, “Miss Chaoying asked me to tell you that she’s already on the flight back home. She said thank you for taking care of her during this time, and that she’ll treat you to a meal when you return.”

Ye Jiayuan gave a soft “mm” and looked as composed as ever, as if the news hadn’t surprised her at all.

But the moment she entered her office, she opened her private WeChat almost unconsciously and clicked on Fu Chaoying’s chat.

It was empty. There were no new messages at all.

Ye Jiayuan’s gaze darkened slightly, and then she closed WeChat.

She worked as usual, got off work as usual, and returned to that empty residence as usual.

The instant the lights came on, her gaze locked onto the coffee table. The note she had written that morning was still there.

Fu Chaoying hadn’t seen it?

Ye Jiayuan walked over and picked it up, only to find two neat lines added in elegant handwriting: [No need to trouble you. Thank you for taking care of me during this time, Sister Jiayuan~]

Sister Jiayuan.

That polite, distant form of address felt like a tiny silver needle, pricking her heart just enough to hurt.

Ye Jiayuan turned and walked into the second bedroom. The bedding and furniture were all clean and tidy, leaving not a trace of someone having lived there.

It was as if Fu Chaoying had never been here at all.

Even the faint rose scent in the air had grown weak, as though a gust of wind could scatter it.

Only when Ye Jiayuan lay down and pulled over the air-conditioning quilt Fu Chaoying had used did that familiar rose fragrance finally surge back into her nose.

Only that rose scent could prove Fu Chaoying had truly been here, and not merely appeared in a hollow dream.

*

After returning to the country, Fu Chaoying visited old acquaintances of her grandmother and spent a week shuttling between four cities.

The legal team and her assistant were exhausted to the point of collapse following behind her, all joking that she was a work monster.

Fu Chaoying only smiled. “You probably haven’t seen a real work monster yet.”

Her assistant was a young woman fresh out of university, and she asked curiously, “What does a real work monster look like?”

Fu Chaoying’s mind suddenly flashed with a cool, refined face; then she smiled faintly. “Probably someone who’s still holding meetings and reading reports on the way.”

Only then did Fu Chaoying suddenly remember that since returning home, she and Ye Jiayuan hadn’t contacted each other for a full week.

It felt like a sudden cliff after being too close for too long, somehow making everything feel regretful and desolate.

But she was the one who had been rejected.

Fu Chaoying gave a self-deprecating smile and pressed all those emotions down into her heart, then turned back to the endless pile of work.

A few more days passed, and work from Yunji came in as well.

Fu Chaoying was so busy she barely touched the ground; by the time her head hit the pillow each night, she was asleep.

During that time, her cousin Fu Chaohua found time to visit her studio and check on her. Seeing her eating boxed lunch while reading documents, Fu Chaohua couldn’t help widening her eyes. “Why are you working this hard after a trip to Singapore?”

Fu Chaoying shrugged and smiled. “Not really; it’s just that things happened to start moving along these few days.”

Fu Chaohua didn’t press further and instead switched to gossip. “Then did your strategic consultant give you any useful advice?”

Fu Chaoying smiled and shook her head. “I’m not at the stage where I need to consult yet.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Chaoying smoothly changed the topic. “A new hotpot place opened downstairs. I heard it’s pretty good. Want to go try it?”

The two of them went downstairs together.

Fu Chaohua suddenly remembered something. “A few days from now is the Dragon Boat Festival. My mom isn’t in Nanyan either; should the two of us go to the Ye family as usual to celebrate?”

Fu Chaoying thought for a moment and didn’t answer right away.

The two families had always had the tradition of celebrating festivals together.

Seeing her hesitate, Fu Chaohua added, “Yian is filming out of town. She probably won’t be back.”

“Then let’s celebrate ourselves, sisters. Aunt Wu is still at home anyway.” Fu Chaoying hooked her arm affectionately through hers.

Fu Chaohua shook her head. “Both Ye girls aren’t home, and only Aunt Chu would be left alone. She’d probably be lonely.”

Hearing that, Fu Chaoying said, “Then let’s wait for Aunt Chu to call us.”

Chu Yiyun liked traveling everywhere; maybe this year, she simply wouldn’t spend Dragon Boat Festival in Nanyan at all.

That was what Fu Chaoying thought, but that very night she really did receive a call from Chu Yiyun.

The other woman warmly invited the two sisters to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival at the Ye house and complained plaintively that both her daughters were away, leaving her a lonely widow in the house.

Aunt Chu had always been very kind to the younger generation, and Fu Chaoying had never been able to resist her pitiful act; she agreed at once.

In any case, neither of the Ye sisters would be back. She could just as well keep the older generation company for the holiday.

Fu Chaoying could only shake her head helplessly and open her chat with Ye Jiayuan.

Their conversation had stopped several days ago, and there had been no new messages since.

Fu Chaoying turned off her phone and threw herself back into endless work.

Yunji’s requirements were very complicated. Fu Chaoying revised the drafts several times, but the other side’s designer still said it felt wrong.

But something like “feeling” was elusive and impossible to grasp.

Besides, Fu Chaoying had drawn strictly according to the theme and requirements they had provided.

When they first signed the contract, the other side had said it very clearly: “We’ll follow your design on our side; whatever you draw is what it will be.”

Of course, something like that couldn’t be written into the contract.

And everything not written into the contract was just empty talk.

Fu Chaoying shook her head and resigned herself to the hard work, staying up to revise another version and sending it to their designer.

When she looked up again, dawn had already broken.

The sunrise was breathtakingly beautiful. Fu Chaoying casually snapped a photo and posted it to her Moments.

It was far too early, of course, so no one had liked it yet.

Fu Chaoying put away her phone and drove home.

After showering, she checked her messages as usual and casually opened Moments. Among the row of profile pictures, she spotted the familiar ocean avatar at a glance.

It was Ye Jiayuan.

Ye Jiayuan had liked her post?

Fu Chaoying scrolled down further, and her mind instantly went alert; she saw Ye Jiayuan’s comment under her Moments.

[Working until this late? Take care of your health.]

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Then 16 bags!