Chapter 20: A Rose for You: I Want You to Be My Girlfriend

“Xiaoying, you’ve run into trouble. Why didn’t you come to me?”

By the time Ye Jiayuan took the phone, her assistant and driver had already gotten out of the car without a word. The back seat was empty now, and all she could hear through the line was the other side’s faint breathing.

A few seconds later, a soft voice came through. “Sister Jiayuan is there too.”

“It’s really just a small thing. I wanted to try handling it myself. At worst, I’d just take it as paying for a lesson.”

Fu Chaoying’s tone was light, as if she were really talking about something trivial. But the vulnerability hidden beneath that independent, distant manner pricked at Ye Jiayuan’s heart like a fine needle.

Ye Jiayuan let out a nearly imperceptible sigh and said quietly, “Xingye is one of Yunji’s investors. It’s just a matter of one sentence.”

There was another two-second silence on the other end, as if Fu Chaoying were thinking. Ye Jiayuan waited patiently, and at last heard a quiet reply.

“Thank you for your kindness, Sister Jiayuan. I’m just afraid I won’t be able to control myself... and end up relying on you more and more.”

The end of the sentence carried a faint note of loss. Like a feather brushing Ye Jiayuan’s heart, it stirred up a difficult, indescribable ache.

Ye Jiayuan’s eyes softened a little, and her voice stayed gentle. “A little dependence isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

Then she added, “Besides... helping you is part of what I should do.”

On the other end of the line, Fu Chaoying’s cool, soft voice drifted over as she looked out at the pavilion beyond the window, where the greenery hung thick overhead. She remembered the day Ye Jiayuan had personally brought her the contract; that perfectly measured tenderness was something she still kept in her heart.

They had sat there for a long time. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and scattered tiny flecks of light across her body, making the scene beautiful, almost like a dream.

Fu Chaoying suddenly laughed at herself, the faintest trace of bitterness in her voice. “Sister Jiayuan, you’re so good to me. Is it because of our families’ long-standing relationship?”

The moment the words fell, it felt as if time had frozen.

Ye Jiayuan’s fingers tightened slightly around the phone, but before she could speak, Fu Chaoying cut in first.

She heard Fu Chaoying say obediently, “Then let’s not trouble Sister Jiayuan this time. Could I ask Assistant Liu to take the call?”

Her tone was breezy, as if the little test just now had only been a joke.

Ye Jiayuan’s gaze darkened. She softly called for Liu Xin and handed the phone back to her.

Then she got out of the car and stood in the sunlight to catch her breath.

Looking at the tulips blooming by the roadside, their vivid petals shining brightly in the sun, she suddenly thought of the flower field she had seen in the Fu family’s courtyard that day.

Her younger sister had once sent her a photo to show off. “These are the flowers Ah Ying and I planted together! Aren’t you jealous, sis!?”

Ye Jiayuan sank into a flood of memories, remembering the girl who had once hugged the birthday gift she’d given her and jumped up in delight. It almost seemed as if stars were sparkling in those clear eyes.

But later, she dated someone else, lived with them, and together they planted tulips that symbolized “perfect yet heavy love.”

And the way she, Ye Jiayuan, took part in her life was nothing more than as the closest bystander.[1]

“CEO Ye.”

Liu Xin’s voice pulled her back from her memories.

Ye Jiayuan turned around and heard her report proactively, “I introduced a lawyer to Miss Chaoying; there shouldn’t be any big problem.”

“Thank you.” Ye Jiayuan gave a slight nod, then said quietly, “Move the meeting the day after tomorrow to tomorrow. Whoever can’t attend can join online.”

*

Fu Chaoying held a video meeting with the lawyer Liu Xin had recommended; the other side said mediation could be arranged first, and that she would handle everything on her behalf.

With that, Fu Chaoying’s hectic stretch of work finally eased. The later exhibition was handed over to the people below her.

After work, she went out drinking with people for two straight days. Shen Guannan had been busy lately and only accompanied her for one of them. On the second day, her cousin Fu Chaohua came to keep her company.

Fu Chaohua had never seen her cousin drink like this before and was taken aback. “Isn’t this almost resolved? Why are you drinking yourself into misery every day?”

Fu Chaoying shook her head, then smiled and said, “I was too tired over the past while; I just wanted to relax a little.”

Fu Chaohua was suspicious, and only when she was finally drunk enough for her eyes to blur did she hear her complaining.

“She rejected me... ”

“Sis, tell me, why did she reject me?”

“What did I do wrong?”

Fu Chaoying repeated those few sentences over and over, her tone full of grievance and unwillingness.

Fu Chaohua stared in shock. “Who rejected you?”

“Ye Jiayuan!”

Fu Chaohua’s brow twitched. “Ye Jiayuan? What did she reject you for?”

“She rejected being my girlfriend... ”

？？？

Fu Chaohua’s mouth fell open; it took her a full two minutes to process the news. “You’re saying you confessed to Ye Jiayuan and she turned you down?”

Fu Chaoying shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again.

Fu Chaohua was stunned, but at the same time felt secretly relieved. Better to be rejected beforehand than to get together and then break up later.

Otherwise, the long-standing friendship between the Fu and Ye families might well be severed by their generation.

Fu Chaohua escorted Fu Chaoying home and stayed overnight in the room she had used as a child.

When Fu Chaoying woke up the next day, she saw Fu Chaohua sitting by the bay window, reading papers.

“You’re awake. Want your sis to keep you company again today?”

Fu Chaoying looked at the papers in her hands and slowly shook her head. “No need. Sis, go do your own thing.”

She suddenly regretted blurting out the matter to her cousin the night before after drinking too much. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have disrupted Fu Chaohua’s original plans.

Fu Chaohua knew she was worried about wasting her time, so she immediately waved the A4 sheets in her hand. “I was just bored and flipped through these casually. I’m very free lately.”

Fu Chaoying blinked. “Aren’t you busy with graduation recently?”

“I’ve already sent it for blind review; the results won’t come back that fast.” Fu Chaohua walked to her bedside and pulled her up. “Hurry up and wash up. We’re going out shopping.”

It happened to be Saturday, so Fu Chaoying didn’t have to work.

After a full day of Fu Chaohua’s company, Fu Chaoying was in high spirits. The next day, she happily carried her festival gift to the Ye family.

When Aunt Chu saw them arrive, she immediately beamed and pulled the two girls into the courtyard for tea.

Fu Chaoying looked at the Biluochun in her hand; its jade-green color shone even more translucent and tempting in the sunlight, and for a moment she was lost in thought.

She had never noticed before that the Ye family kept Biluochun on hand as Ye Jiayuan’s favorite tea.

Now that she knew, holding it in her hand felt completely different.

After chatting for half an hour, Chu Yiyun remembered the chicken soup simmering in the kitchen and promptly stood up. “You two sisters chat; I’ll be right back.”

Fu Chaohua went to the Ye family study to find a book to read, while Fu Chaoying sat quietly in the courtyard drinking tea.

She liked this courtyard very much. Every blade of grass and every tree here felt familiar.

When she was little, she had buried a glass bottle in this courtyard and made a wish; later, another child dug it up and read the note inside aloud in front of everyone:

[I hope Mom can come back to my side.]

Back then, she had been small, pitiful, and helpless.

Later, the two Ye sisters had shown up to protect her; to this day, she still remembered how Ye Jiayuan had shielded her behind her back and coldly scolded that child.

And Ye Yian... when had she changed?

Fu Chaoying smiled without a sound, but then she suddenly heard movement outside the courtyard.

It sounded like a car had arrived.

Fu Chaoying looked up; it was a black BMW. The person who got out of the car was wearing a blue shirt with a pair of dark wide-leg pants, perfectly outlining her slender figure.

It was Ye Jiayuan.

It wasn’t even a major holiday; why had she suddenly come back?

Ye Jiayuan lifted her gaze and looked over. Those deep eyes seemed as though they wanted to pierce straight into her heart. Fu Chaoying had not yet had time to look away when their eyes met by accident.

“Xiaoying.”

Hearing her call her name, Fu Chaoying curved her lips into the perfect smile. “Sister Jiayuan is back today too.”

At her polite, distant greeting, Ye Jiayuan gave a soft mm. Her gaze stayed on Fu Chaoying’s face the entire time, as if she were trying to find even the smallest flaw; yet that smile of hers looked perfectly seamless.

Ye Jiayuan walked toward her, but did not sit beside her. Instead, she said gently, “Come to my study.”

Fu Chaoying thought she wanted to talk about Yunji, so she stood and followed her upstairs.

Ye Jiayuan had had her own study since she was a teenager; it had once been her private territory, and Fu Chaoying hadn’t entered it many times, because Ye Jiayuan disliked being disturbed when she was reading or studying.

The last time she had gone in was because of her breakup with Ye Yian. Fu Chaoying curved her lips in a silent smile, a trace of barely perceptible mockery flashing through her eyes.

Ye Jiayuan pushed the door open.

The trees outside were tall, and the study was lit somewhat dimly, the air filled with a faint magnolia fragrance.

Fu Chaoying followed her in and closed the door softly behind her.

Ye Jiayuan did not sit down; instead, she walked straight to the floor-to-ceiling window and then turned back to look at her, signaling for her to come closer.

It had been many days since the two of them had seen each other, and their last meeting had been so awkward; Fu Chaoying felt inexplicably tense at that moment.

So after swallowing once, Fu Chaoying met her gaze and walked forward. “Did Sister Jiayuan ask me up here for something?”

Her voice was very soft, carrying a hint of confusion.

Ye Jiayuan looked into her eyes, her voice warm. “Have you thought clearly about what you truly want?”

Fu Chaoying suddenly recalled that night——

When Ye Jiayuan had politely declined her suggestion of becoming contractual girlfriends, her final words had been, “You need to think clearly about what it is you truly want.”

Fu Chaoying blinked. Before she could answer, she heard Ye Jiayuan continue, “So, do you want to be my girlfriend—the kind where we build a relationship with marriage as the goal?”

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Darlings! We’re going VIP starting with the next chapter!! See you Wednesday, May 21, at 12:00 a.m.!!!!

The scheduled upload might be delayed TT; it’s not that I’m late!

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Note:

[1] From “The way I participate in your life / is as the closest bystander” — Room 104’s Cat, “Title Track”