Chapter 24: Rose One — Favoritism

“The weather’s nice today. No lightning, no thunderstorm.” Ye Jiayuan lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze landing on the hand that was lightly tugging at her sleeve, her tone calm.

She sounded like she was simply reading out a weather report.

A hard-to-name pang of disappointment rose in Fu Chaoying’s heart. She had just confirmed their relationship and already asked whether they wanted to sleep together; had she been too hasty?

“Is that so.” Sensing that Ye Jiayuan was about to turn her down, Fu Chaoying forced herself to blink lightly and, as if she didn’t mind, found a clumsy way to smooth things over. “I was just... joking.”

The moment she said it, Fu Chaoying’s fingers loosened from Ye Jiayuan’s sleeve and quickly pulled back. She even took a step away, trying to create some distance between them. Unexpectedly, her wrist was suddenly gripped, and a warm force pulled her back—

“This time, it’s not because the weather’s bad.”

There was a trace of barely perceptible amusement in Ye Jiayuan’s voice, impossible to pin down.

Fu Chaoying looked up sharply and, caught off guard, met those deep eyes. Then she heard a soft line spoken with a hint of laughter: “Come downstairs with me to get the suitcase.”

The warm touch around her wrist seemed to carry electricity, a tingling current that ran all the way to her heart. Fu Chaoying couldn’t help holding her breath; then, led by Ye Jiayuan, she followed step by step out of the room.

When they reached the stairs, Ye Jiayuan naturally let go of her wrist; as if the earlier closeness had only been an illusion, she played the role of a secret affair to perfection, carrying a subtle thrill of taboo.

In the first-floor living room, Liu Xin and the driver had already been waiting for quite some time. When they finally saw CEO Ye and Fu Chaoying coming down one after the other, they both put on just the right amount of polite smiles.

Before either of them could speak, they heard Ye Jiayuan say flatly, “Help carry the suitcase.”

Fu Chaoying stood behind Ye Jiayuan, her expression calm.

The two of them looked exactly the same, both wearing the right degree of distance.

As if Ye Jiayuan staying the night at the Fu family home were a perfectly ordinary thing.

Liu Xin was shocked and confused in equal measure. Ye Jiayuan had a long-term suite at Nanyan Clubhouse, and she also owned several properties in the south of the city and in the CBD.

Why would she suddenly choose to stay over at the Fu residence? Could it be...

Liu Xin didn’t dare take her thoughts any further; she shook her head lightly and pushed down the nearly impossible guess.

She hurried forward, helped carry Ye Jiayuan’s suitcase into the second-floor guest room, and tactfully withdrew.

The second floor fell quiet again.

Fu Chaoying stood at the guest room doorway, staring at Ye Jiayuan’s suitcase. A nameless feeling rose in her heart. She forced a light tone and smiled. “Then... Sister Jiayuan, get some rest.”

Ye Jiayuan looked at her somewhat disappointed back; her gaze shifted slightly, and she suddenly asked, out of nowhere, “Do you want to set a code word?”

The question was absurd, but Fu Chaoying instantly understood what she meant. She turned back at once, her brows lifting as she smiled and tilted her head. “The moon tonight is beautiful?”

Ye Jiayuan clearly hadn’t heard that reference before; she only frowned a little, looking faintly baffled. “What?”

Seeing how serious she looked, Fu Chaoying couldn’t help laughing. She waved a hand. “Nothing. Then you think of one.”

Ye Jiayuan was silent for a moment, as if thinking seriously.

After a while, she raised her head and slowly said a few words: “Odd changes, even stays the same.”

Her tone was earnest and calm.

Fu Chaoying blurted out in response, “The sign changes with the quadrant.”

That code word... was exactly the kind a science student would come up with.

Fu Chaoying thought it was funny and a little cute, and her lips curved as she turned back into the bedroom to shower.

Afterward, she lay on the bed playing with her phone and saw a WeChat message from her aunt: 【Tomorrow there’s an event at the provincial art association; come with me.】

She didn’t know when her aunt had gotten back. Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together and replied simply: 【Okay.】

Just after she sent the message, there was suddenly a soft knock at the bedroom door. It knocked twice, then stopped abruptly, replaced by Ye Jiayuan’s cool voice: “Odd changes, even stays the same.”

Fu Chaoying’s lips curved again. She cleared her throat and called out, “The sign changes with the quadrant!”

The moment the words fell, the doorknob turned lightly, and Ye Jiayuan’s tall figure appeared outside the door.

She was wearing a silk pajama set, long sleeves and long pants, almost no different from when she had been in Singapore.

Fu Chaoying’s gaze swept over her quickly, then settled on her eyes. There was always some emotion hidden there that Fu Chaoying could never quite see clearly.

Ye Jiayuan’s gaze also fell on her. Her eyes passed over Fu Chaoying’s low-cut nightdress without a sound, lingering for a moment on the pale skin at her neckline before she asked softly, “Are you going to sleep now?”

Fu Chaoying blinked and deliberately asked back, “Does Sister Jiayuan still have something left to do?”

Ye Jiayuan shook her head, then switched off the bright overhead light in the room.

The bedroom plunged into darkness at once, leaving only the faint glow from Fu Chaoying’s phone screen, barely illuminating the patch of pale skin at the neckline of her nightdress, which looked especially alluring in the night.

Ye Jiayuan’s throat moved. She averted her eyes a little unnaturally, walked slowly to the bed, sat down at some distance from her, and then got into bed.

Hearing the movement, Fu Chaoying crawled to her side and said with a soft laugh, “Sister Jiayuan... did you forget to lock the door?”

She deliberately lowered her voice, making it stand out all the more in the silent night; it sounded as if it carried a kind of taboo, and the tone made one’s imagination wander.

Ye Jiayuan’s breathing paused slightly, then she said softly, “I’ll go now.”

She made as if to get up, only to have her wrist caught in the dark by a soft hand.

“I was joking,” Fu Chaoying said in a spoiled tone, lightly shaking Ye Jiayuan’s wrist, her voice bright. “Aunt Wu won’t come in casually.”

The atmosphere loosened a little all at once.

Fu Chaoying let go of her wrist and obediently lay down, then heard Ye Jiayuan also lie down beside her. She couldn’t help reaching out to test it and found that there was still room for two more people between them.

Something stirred in Fu Chaoying’s heart. She rolled gently toward Ye Jiayuan, trying to shorten the distance between them.

Her arm accidentally brushed Ye Jiayuan’s, and in an instant, an unfamiliar feeling spread through her entire body, making her involuntarily hold her breath.

The bedroom had already been quiet; now even the smallest sounds, touches, and temperatures became especially distinct.

Feeling Ye Jiayuan’s body tense slightly as well, Fu Chaoying’s lips curved without her noticing. She slowly moved her fingers, probing downward bit by bit, then touched her palm.

With her fingertips, Fu Chaoying gently rubbed Ye Jiayuan’s palm, feeling its warmth and dryness.

Then she kept going, brushing lightly across Ye Jiayuan’s fingers with the pad of her thumb, as if testing something.

All five of Ye Jiayuan’s fingers were touched one by one. Not knowing which one Fu Chaoying wanted, she unconsciously held her breath and her body grew increasingly stiff.

But less than two seconds later, her little finger was gently hooked by a soft finger.

“Sister Jiayuan,” Fu Chaoying said in a voice that was half coaxing, half aggrieved, “didn’t you owe me something...?”

Ye Jiayuan’s throat moved. She let Fu Chaoying hook her little finger and rub against it softly. “What.”

Her tone was still calm.

Fu Chaoying gently stroked her little finger, then threaded her own fingers into the gaps between Ye Jiayuan’s. “You refused to hold me in Singapore.”

Their fingers interlocked. Ye Jiayuan drew in a breath and gave a soft hum.

Fu Chaoying let out a light laugh. “So now shouldn’t you pay it back?”

In the darkness, Fu Chaoying turned her head to look at her, only to realize Ye Jiayuan still hadn’t moved.

Her thumb shifted, lightly rubbing the web of Ye Jiayuan’s hand, as if urging her on. But the person beside her still didn’t react at all, keeping that cool, restrained demeanor.

As if the flirtatious atmosphere had been nothing more than Fu Chaoying’s own illusion.

But this was night, and they were in bed; why was she still acting exactly like she did in the daytime?

Fu Chaoying couldn’t make sense of it. Just as she was about to lose patience, the hand clasped with hers suddenly tightened, and then a warm force pulled her gently closer.

The faint scent of magnolia instantly filled Fu Chaoying’s nose; but the moment she was taken into Ye Jiayuan’s arms, all her other senses seemed to sharpen, as if every nerve had become especially sensitive.

Through two layers of thin sleepwear, softness pressed tightly against softness; the hand at her waist was warm and strong. Fu Chaoying trembled unconsciously, and an indescribable strangeness rose in her heart.

“Sleep,” Ye Jiayuan said softly. Her voice was still calm, but it seemed to carry a trace of barely perceptible helplessness.

Fu Chaoying buried her face against Ye Jiayuan’s neck and tried to close her eyes. But the pounding in her chest and the slight heat in her body would not let her fall asleep.

Ye Jiayuan’s embrace was more stimulating than the concentrated coffee she usually drank.

Wrapped in warmth, she even worked up a thin sheen of sweat. Fu Chaoying mumbled, “I can’t sleep.”

Ye Jiayuan loosened her arm around Fu Chaoying’s waist a little and put some distance between them. “Sorry; was I too tight?”

She was far too rational and polite.

Fu Chaoying lifted her eyes slightly but couldn’t see her expression, and could only murmur, “It’s okay.”

They lay a just-right distance apart, but there was still something subtle hanging in the air.

Listening to each other’s light breathing, Fu Chaoying asked softly, “You’re leaving tomorrow night; do you want to go to the art museum with me during the day and see the exhibition?”

Ye Jiayuan was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, “I have to visit a tech company tomorrow morning.”

So Ye Jiayuan hadn’t come specifically for her; she had work in Nanyan and other more important things to do.

That made sense, Fu Chaoying thought, but she still felt a faint disappointment in her heart.

Neither of them spoke again. Fu Chaoying worked hard to steady her breathing, pushed the thoughts in her head aside, and slowly drifted into sleep.

*

The next morning, sunlight spilled into the room.

Ye Jiayuan slowly opened her eyes. What met her gaze was slightly parted pink lips and a face that looked especially pale in the soft morning light.

Ye Jiayuan stared at her face and unconsciously raised a hand, but just as her fingers were about to touch Fu Chaoying’s cheek, she abruptly stopped and lowered it.

She looked at Fu Chaoying for a long moment, then closed her eyes again. The hand resting at Fu Chaoying’s waist tightened unconsciously.

In the instant Fu Chaoying couldn’t notice, Ye Jiayuan’s throat moved, and her breathing suddenly grew heavier.

Not long after, Fu Chaoying woke slowly. She blinked groggily and discovered that Ye Jiayuan was still beside her.

Before she could take a closer look at her features, there was a sudden burst of urgent knocking from outside the door.

Fu Chaoying’s heart tightened abruptly.

They hadn’t done anything at all; they had only slept together. Yet for some reason, Fu Chaoying suddenly had the illusion of being caught in bed.

“Xiaoying, why are you still not up?”

It was her aunt’s voice! Why was she here?

Fu Chaoying suddenly remembered that she hadn’t locked the door the night before. Her brow twitched, and she quickly turned to gently shake Ye Jiayuan awake.

Ye Jiayuan didn’t seem fully awake yet. Her brows were slightly furrowed as she looked at Fu Chaoying in confusion. “Hm?”

“Xiaoying?” Fu Anyun’s voice came again from outside, carrying a hint of impatience.

Ye Jiayuan understood at once and immediately got out of bed, her movements swift and decisive.

“I’m coming in?”

At the critical moment, Fu Chaoying hurriedly shoved the panicked Ye Jiayuan into the bathroom and closed the door.

The moment the bedroom door was pushed open, Fu Chaoying forced herself to stay calm and pretended to yawn. “Aunt, why are you here?”

Her tone was just the right amount of sleepy.

Fu Anyun looked at her as if she had just woken up and gave her a sidelong glance. “I knew you’d sleep in, so I came to pick you up and go to the art museum together.”

Her aunt was afraid she would be late, or use sleeping in as an excuse to skip it.

Fu Anyun glanced around casually and asked, “Aunt Wu said Xiaoyuan is here too; why can’t I see her?”

Fu Chaoying smiled naturally, her mind racing as she found a suitable excuse. “Sister Jiayuan seems to have a habit of working out; maybe she’s in the gym?”

Fu Anyun nodded in understanding. “Then hurry up and wash up.”

With that, she turned and left.

Watching her back disappear, Fu Chaoying let out a quiet breath, quickly closed the bedroom door and locked it, then turned and hurried to the bathroom door. In a relaxed tone, she said, “Sister Jiayuan, you can come out now.”

Ye Jiayuan looked at her calmly, then stepped forward to open the bedroom door, only to find it wouldn’t turn.

Fu Chaoying gave an awkward little smile and quickly explained, “Just now... just now I was too flustered and accidentally locked it.”

Helpless, Ye Jiayuan let out an almost imperceptible sigh, opened the door, and strode out.

Fu Chaoying was very confident in Ye Jiayuan’s ability to react; she believed she would be able to explain naturally and clearly where she had just been.

Fu Chaoying got ready in no time, put on light makeup, and only then went downstairs.

When she turned into the dining room, Ye Jiayuan and Fu Anyun were already seated at the table.

The two of them were discussing something. Noticing Fu Chaoying’s approach, Ye Jiayuan gave her a polite nod.

Fu Chaoying also replied politely and distantly, “Morning, Sister Jiayuan.”

Fu Anyun and Ye Jiayuan seemed to be discussing a charity auction project.

Fu Chaoying listened quietly and offered no opinion, like an onlooker.

After breakfast, the three of them left together.

Only, Ye Jiayuan was heading off to meet with a business client, while Fu Chaoying and her aunt were going to the provincial art museum for an event.

On the way to the museum, Fu Anyun asked as if offhandedly, “How did Xiaoyuan end up at your place?”

Fu Chaoying looked calm and composed on the surface, but used the excuse she had already prepared at home. “Sister Jiayuan said she was avoiding Aunt Chu’s pressure to get married.”

Her tone carried a trace of helplessness.

Fu Anyun understood at once, nodded lightly, and then asked her, “Are you two on very good terms now?”

Fu Chaoying felt a bit tense inside, but on the outside she just pressed her lips together. “I guess so; but Sister Jiayuan really is a pretty good person.”

Fu Anyun gave her a meaningful look, then said calmly, “Xiaoyuan is a nice person, but you still need to keep an appropriate distance from her. Don’t run to her for help every time something small comes up.”

Fu Chaoying took a deep breath and answered evenly, “I know.”

Keep your distance; don’t keep going to her for help whenever something happened.

That seemed to have always been the rule Fu Anyun wanted her to follow when dealing with her.

So back then, when Fu Anyun asked Fu Chaoying why she hadn’t told the family right away about Ye Yian’s affair, Fu Chaoying had wanted to laugh. If she really had told her first, would Fu Anyun truly have stood firmly on her side?

Fu Chaoying still remembered that in her freshman year, her roommates in her first dormitory had banded together to isolate and exclude her. She fought back, only for them to report her to the counselor.

The counselor asked for a parent to come in and mediate. Carefully, she asked her aunt if she had time to come to the school.

Fu Anyun had only said lightly, “You know I’m busy. How could I have time to deal with your problems?

“And besides, if other people bully you, why don’t you first look for the problem in yourself? Is there something you did wrong too?

“Even if they are bullying you, you’ve cried since you were little. With such a weak personality, how will you survive when you enter society?”

Later, Grandma Fu Li somehow found out about it and dragged her sick body to the school in a wheelchair.

“Our Xiaoying has been polite and sensible since she was little, and she has a kind heart; there’s no way she would bully others for no reason.”

Fu Chaoying still remembered that sallow face of her grandmother’s, and her breathless voice.

Fu Chaoying said nothing more; she clearly didn’t want to continue this topic.

Fu Anyun seemed to notice that the atmosphere had turned a little off and changed the subject.

Fu Chaoying was unwilling to say much more to her, but she didn’t show it; she only chatted with her half-heartedly about one trivial thing after another.

The Provincial Art Association was holding a Southern-style ink painting exhibition on the weekend. They had borrowed several paintings by Grandma Fu Li and very politely invited the Fu family descendants to join the discussion panel.

Fu Chaoying very much disliked such occasions, because they always talked about Grandma’s achievements and then, overtly or subtly, implied that the provincial art association hoped Southern-style ink painting could reach more people and be better carried forward.

What they really wanted was for the Fu family to bring out the paintings Grandma Fu Li had treasured while she was alive; though there were not many of them, they were all the works she had been most satisfied with in her entire life.

Fu Chaoying had witnessed the creation of part of those paintings with her own eyes; her grandmother had taught her hand in hand and guided her stroke by stroke.

To Fu Chaoying, those paintings were not just priceless works of art; more than that, they represented the unconditional love Grandma had given her—

a kind of favoritism no one had ever given her again since.

Fu Chaoying would never let anyone take away this love, tangible yet also intangible.

When it was time for the discussion panel, Fu Chaoying, as always, remained silent and simply watched her aunt handle the others.

At 11 o’clock, during the intermission, Fu Chaoying found an excuse to leave, only to be held back by her aunt. “Your sister is coming later too.”

Fu Chaoying gave a soft hmm, took her phone out of her bag, and absentmindedly lit up the screen, only to discover that Ye Jiayuan had sent her a WeChat message half an hour earlier: 【Are you free at noon?】

Something stirred in Fu Chaoying’s heart. She immediately opened the chat and quickly replied: 【Call me directly; otherwise Aunt won’t let me leave.】

As soon as her message was sent, a voice call request popped up on her phone screen.

On the phone, Ye Jiayuan said that the tech company she was visiting might need a Chinese ink painting art consultant, and asked whether Fu Chaoying had time at noon to have a simple meal together and talk about cooperation.

Fu Chaoying deliberately pretended to hesitate and even asked her aunt’s opinion: “Sister Jiayuan said there might be a cooperation opportunity and asked whether I can go talk to them now.”

Fu Anyun was in the middle of an animated conversation with the art association people and didn’t even look up as she waved a hand. “If there’s a cooperation opportunity, hurry up and go. Remember to come back early this afternoon.”

The moment Fu Chaoying walked out of the art museum building, she felt instantly lighter, body and mind alike.

Just as she took out her phone to call a ride, she realized Ye Jiayuan hadn’t sent her the lunch location.

Fu Chaoying paused slightly, only to suddenly hear a horn sounding behind her.

She instinctively turned around and saw a black Mercedes slowly pull up in front of her.

Then she saw Ye Jiayuan get out and walk toward her.

Ye Jiayuan didn’t stop; her steps were steady and determined.

Her figure, backlit by the sun, looked like a savior descending from above, radiating a dazzling light all around her.

Fu Chaoying’s heart gave a hard jolt. She stood frozen in place, only to hear Ye Jiayuan say lightly, “It’s only been three hours since we last saw each other, and you don’t recognize your girlfriend anymore?”

Her tone seemed to carry a trace of amusement.