Novel Bin Chapter 79: Nevertheless, My Boyfriend
Xiao Yuanmu left.
He left behind the key to his apartment and his jade pendant.
At that time, Song Xuanhe had been getting dressed. Xiao Yuanmu had pulled his suitcase over and had grabbed his hand just as he had been doing up his belt. Before Song Xuanhe could get angry, he had put the jade pendant—which had a really ugly, manually woven rope around it—around his wrist. He said in a cool voice, “I didn’t have time to buy a ring. Although this jade pendant isn’t much, I can only use it in place of a ring for now.”
Song Xuanhe’s gaze fell onto the jade pendant around his wrist. His eyes circled the engraved “Xiao” character. The moment he had heard Xiao Yuanmu speak, he was stunned. His pupils then constricted slightly. Without any hesitation, he tried to take it off.
Xiao Yuanmu didn’t tell him, but he already knew what this jade pendant meant to the Xiao Family.
In the book, Xiao Yuanmu hadn’t ever given this jade pendant away. Even if he were to give it away in the future, it should have been to one of his seven pursuers. It absolutely could not be given to Song Xuanhe.
“If you take it off, we’ll finish what we started earlier.” Xiao Yuanmu’s voice was flat, but there was a hidden, dark light in his pitch-black, difficult-to-read eyes. It was like he was really looking forward to seeing Song Xuanhe take off that jade pendant. He reminded Song Xuanhe, “I can also take another flight.”
Song Xuanhe paused. He very awkwardly modified his actions to pretend that he was just carefully examining the jade pendant. When his eyes fell on the Xiao character again, he pretended to ask in a casual voice, “This jade pendant looks expensive. It even has your last name engraved on it. It must be really important to you.”
In the book, the reason the Xiao Family had so quickly recognized Xiao Yuanmu and publicized his identity had been because of this jade pendant. This jade pendant was prepared for every member of the Xiao Family before they were even born. If Xiao Yuanmu didn’t have this pendant, it would definitely be harder for him to be recognized.
“It’s important.” Xiao Yuanmu raised his hand and flashed one of the cufflinks before Song Xuanhe’s eyes. “It has the same meaning as your cufflinks.”
Song Xuanhe frowned. “What meaning?”
Xiao Yuanmu: “They both take the place of rings.”
Song Xuanhe let go of the pendant. Xiao Yuanmu chuckled quietly and then came forward to wrap his arms around Song Xuanhe. He rested his chin on the other’s shoulder. “Let me hold you for a second.”
Two minutes later, he let go of Song Xuanhe when the doorbell rang. There was a trace of rasp in his cool voice. “I’m leaving now.”
Yang Jie had been taken aback when he walked in and saw Song Xuanhe. He nodded at the other in greeting and then took the seemingly light suitcase from Xiao Yuanmu. Tactfully, he waited outside.
Xiao Yuanmu planted a kiss on the corner of Song Xuanhe’s lips. “Wait for me.”
Song Xuanhe watched as the two of them entered the elevator. He then went to stand on the balcony. He saw as the lights of the car at the bottom of the building turned on, and the car slowly drove out of his view. He then turned around to leave as well.
The moment he had turned around, Song Xuanhe received a text from an unknown number: It was Xiao ge’s birthday yesterday. He seems really happy. I had thought that you didn’t care about him and thus wouldn’t prepare a gift for him. Looks like I was wrong. My attitude towards you hasn’t been good in the past. I’m sorry. Also, thank you.
Song Xuanhe fell into a daze. His gaze drifted to the date and time on his phone’s screen: 1:02, January 17th.
So, Xiao Yuanmu’s birthday was on January 16th.
Song Xuanhe’s gaze drifted from the screen to the jade pendant tied around his wrist. It then shifted to his cuffs, which were now loose since the cufflinks had been taken away. The present Yang Jie had mentioned was probably referring to the cufflinks Xiao Yuanmu had taken away.
He didn’t know how he felt. Song Xuanhe clicked his tongue, meaning indistinct. He then quietly said, “What kind of present is this….”
He didn’t take Xiao Yuanmu’s apartment key. However, he also didn’t take off the jade pendant the entire way back to his apartment.
*
Time slowly passed. The thin snow on the ground had yet to melt as more snow came falling down. Goose-feather-sized clumps of snow swirled in the sky.
There was a gentle, easy piano melody broadcasting throughout the cafe. Through the high-up French windows, although you couldn’t see the crowd of people on the ground level clearly, you could still feel the festive Lunar New Year holiday spirit from the crowd.
Song Xuanhe flipped through a magazine, bored out of his mind. Page after page, his eyes didn’t stay on any one page for more than a second. It looked like he was lost in his thoughts or simply blanking out.
The waiter’s quiet greeting wasn’t loud even in the quiet cafe. However, Song Xuanhe still looked up when he had heard the sound. When he saw who had come, his lips curled up. “Zhou Nan said that something’s been off about you lately. He said that I had to call you out to straighten things out. Looks like he hadn’t been making a fuss over nothing.”
The slight smile on Xiao Shenglin’s face deepened. In a gentle voice, he said, “He’s too nervous about all of this. It’s just a bit of a minor issue with the family. Didn’t think he’d call you out even today on the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve.”
“It’s just the day before New Year’s Eve, that’s all.” Song Xuanhe leaned back against his chair, his gaze on Xiao Shenglin. The smile on his face grew weaker. “Is it serious?”
Xiao Shenglin was taken aback. He then shook his head, laughing quietly. “It’s really nothing. I can deal with it myself. You’re my friend. If I needed help, I’d definitely ask you.”
“I’ve never seen you with dark circles before.” Song Xuanhe frowned. “You’d have had to stay up late for at least half a month for those to form. Xiao Yuanmu had worked through so many nights for so long, and he’s never gotten dark circles before. He just lost some weight.”
“It’s the first time I’ve heard you mention Xiao Yuanmu of your own accord.” Xiao Shenglin smiled. He then looked at the other worriedly. “I heard that he went to work in America. You two….”
“Mn. He left half a month ago.” Song Xuanhe nodded. He spoke in a casual tone. “Song Guochao found out the next morning. He had nearly put up a banner to express his happiness at the company. But when he came back to himself, his spirits fell. He started to worry that I’d start to suddenly put my everything into work now that I no longer have a boyfriend to distract me. That’s probably why I had ended up encountering that male model a few days ago. I’ve never talked to him before, but he had my number.”
Xiao Shenglin frowned. He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything in the end. It wasn’t his place to talk about his friend’s elders. Therefore, he changed the subject. “Feng Tong contacted me this morning. He said that you haven’t replied to his email. He wanted me to remind you to look at it.”
Song Xuanhe raised a brow and said, “I’ll look at it when I get back. I heard that he’s planning on establishing his own studio?”
“That’s right,” Xiao Shenglin said, “He’s coming back this time for the sake of setting up his own studio. He wants to establish his own original brand and wants to team up with you.”
Song Xuanhe laughed. “There must be thousands of people willing to work under him. I’ve never shown him any of my finished products. I’m really happy that he’s thought of me.”
When Xiao Shenglin heard Song Xuanhe’s implicit refusal, he smiled. “You should talk to Feng Tong about this. He’s always admired your skill. He even thinks that you’re more talented than he is. You’re undervaluing yourself like this.”
Song Xuanhe nodded. Without any modesty, he grinned. “I’m obviously good. I just don’t intend to join someone else’s studio for the time being. But, I will give him my reply myself. Thanks.”
Xiao Shenglin took a sip of hot chocolate. “We’re friends. You don’t have to thank me.”
Song Xuanhe sat up straight, his gaze on his own mug. “This is the first time I’ve seen you drink something this sweet.”
“I wanted to drink something sweet, because it’s cold.”
Song Xuanhe’s eyes narrowed. When he recalled when Xiao Shenglin’s car accident was supposed to take place in the original timeline, he felt his heart grow heavy. However, his emotions were not reflected on his face. “Zhou Nan said that there’s no one at your place, so he’s going to stay with you after spending New Year’s Eve at home. Can I join?”
“I obviously don’t mind. But, your family….”
“Song Guochao and I hate each other. He’ll obviously have a better New Year’s if I’m not at home.” Song Xuanhe knew what the other had wanted to say. “As long as you don’t mind, it’s all good.”
Xiao Shenglin: “Then, I’ll have them tidy up a room for you when I get back.”
The snow outside the window came to a gradual stop. The snowy paradise outside looked especially pure. Song Xuanhe gazed out the window and sighed. “I didn’t think a year would pass by so quickly.”
“Time has always been short.” Xiao Shenglin smiled, eyes downcast. “But, a lot more has happened this year than usual.”
“Yeah.” Song Xuanhe looked back at him. When he recalled how Lu Chao’s funeral had taken place a few days ago, he said in a flat voice, “Some people were left happy while others left sad.”
Xiao Shenglin had also thought of the same thing. “Lu Jiaming has ferreted Lu Yue out. There’s also more to this story. I heard that someone who had been racing with Lu Chao during the accident had been bribed to spike Lu Chao’s drink. But, there isn’t any evidence of this claim yet. I don’t know how the Lu Family is going to deal with this.”
“How else can they deal with it?” Song Xuanhe laughed. There were no unnecessary emotions in his voice. “The Lu Family has two sons. One has died. Even if they know that it had been the surviving son who had caused the other’s death, they can’t kick him out and leave themselves without an heir. Furthermore, Lu Yue and his mother are ruthless. The Lu Family matron position will probably be taken over by someone new soon.”
Xiao Shenglin nodded. His lips then curled into a smile. “Anyway, this has nothing to do with us. Zhou Nan said that we should go snowboarding on White Mountain on the eighth day of the new year. He said we might as well stay at his villa for a few days too. Do you have work? If not, come hang out with us.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t have anything to do with us.” Song Xuanhe nodded. He then replied to the latter topic. “The Song Group does reopen on the eighth day after New Year’s, but that’s none of my business. I’ll go with you guys.”
“Oh, one more thing…” Xiao Shenglin’s smile thinned. “Ranran will be going with us to White Mountain. But, she probably won’t be staying with us. I’m just telling you in advance.”
Song Xuanhe was surprised. “On the eighth day of the new year?”
Xiao Shenglin nodded. “Mn.”
“Isn’t that also Xiao Baicong’s coming-of-age banquet—” Song Xuanhe suddenly furrowed his brows. “Is Uncle Xiao not going? Don’t all members of the Xiao Family have to go?”
“Uncle Xiao is suspended from his duties for the time being.” Everyone had heard of this rumour lately, so Xiao Shenglin didn’t hide this from Song Xuanhe. He straightforwardly told him, “So, Uncle might come to China to stay for a bit. Coincidentally, Ranran’s on vacation as well. So, she’s probably going to come with us.”
A flash of understanding flickered through Song Xuanhe’s eyes. It seemed like this was why Xiao Shenglin had been so busy and why his spirits had been so low as of late. It was just that…Xiao Shenglin’s accident was also supposed to occur around this time as well. Then…had his accident just been an accident in the novel, or was it related to this?
Seeing Song Xuanhe’s pensive expression, Xiao Shenglin asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.” Song Xuanhe smiled, appearing casual. “I just suddenly thought of the Lu Family again. So much has happened near the end of this year. Even a small family like the Lu Family had ended up with a death from all the scheming and fighting. It’s not that strange for Uncle Xiao to be temporarily suspended from his duties. It’s just that the person behind this probably still has things up their sleeve. It’s probably a good thing that Uncle Xiao will be resting for now.”
Xiao Shenglin was taken back for a moment. A trace of something seemed to flash through his eyes.
Eve: Noo, not Shenglin~ also, thank you to everyone who leave kind comments~ Even if I don’t reply, I appreciate it when I see your guys’ “thank yous” and love for this novel You guys help power me through translating~
Kara: insert shockedpikachu.gif…. Shenglin is supposed to die in an accident??