Chapter 11: The Pros and Cons of a Group Dinner.
After finalizing the date and location with Shen Jiani, Shan Dai felt her entire body relax a bit.
Seeing that it was already past three in the afternoon, she got up to wash up and get ready. Having been sick over the past few days, her complexion was somewhat pale. Since she didn’t usually wear much makeup, she simply applied a bit of blush and dabbed on some lipstick to bring back some color.
Around five o’clock, she hailed a cab to head out to run another errand first.
Lately, she had been catching rides with Ziming to work. Going out on her own today, she lacked the energy to drive, so she opted for a taxi instead.
Arriving at the restaurant at 6:30 PM, she found it nestled in a former foreign concession area of Lan City called Xieshaan. By day, it was a famous scenic landmark in Lan City, and by night, it was exceedingly lovely—a serene sanctuary hidden within the bustling city.
The restaurant was an old church converted into an antique Chinese restaurant, blending Eastern and Western aesthetics with unique charm.
Traffic was congested along the way. When Shan Dai arrived, she caught a glimpse of a black Bentley parked beneath the plane trees on the small path by the restaurant’s entrance. A man clad in a beige shirt sat leaning against the front of the car, left hand tucked in his pocket, while his right hand—wrapped in thick gauze—rested on the hood.
The twilight washed over the man’s broad shoulders and handsome features, enveloping him gently. Just like the photos Secretary Shen had taken, the real person was as eye-catching as a pictorial spread.
On the other side of the road stood a girl with curly, wool-like hair, her arms crossed. Wearing a smoky-pink knitted dress, she was boredom-stricken, looking up at the silhouettes of birds returning home.
Shan Dai immediately grabbed her belongings and stepped out of the cab.
The click-clack of her high heels made one look up while the other turned his head.
The girl was the first to split her lips into a grin: “Ms. Shan, I’m Shen Jiani, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you.”
“Secretary Shen.” Shan Dai smiled at her. “You’re so young, and incredibly pretty.”
“You flatter me, Ms. Shan, but you’re even more—” She gestured with her hands, “—the Number One Beauty in Jiangnan! Seeing your photos on Moments already blew me away, but the real person is three degrees even prettier.” No wonder a certain someone fell in love at first sight and chased a married woman all the way to Jiangnan. Totally understandable now.
Shan Dai offered an unnatural smile. Sensing a gaze subtly shining over from her peripheral vision, she turned her head. Squarely and directly, her eyes met a pair of peach-blossom eyes that were as calm as autumn waters in the dusk.
A wave of awkwardness swept through Shan Dai’s heart. Recalling the scene of their last meeting, this moment felt exceptionally embarrassing, yet she forced herself to offer a greeting. “President Pu, you…” Her gaze fell upon his hand resting on the hood. “How is your injury?”
The second their eyes locked, the man’s gaze quietly surveyed her under the cover of dusk. Beneath the nightfall, the woman’s waist-length hair cascaded down. Her curved eyes held a pink hue, and her expression carried a touch of romanticism overflowing from within.
It was his first time seeing such a romantic look in her eyes.
The man’s thin lips pulled up three degrees. “Madam doesn’t need to worry, it’s merely a fracture in my forearm.”
Shan Dai parted her lips in surprise. “That serious.”
The man leisurely stood up straight, extending a hand in a welcoming gesture toward the restaurant. As they walked, he spoke, “It’ll be fine after resting for a while, no harm done.”
Shan Dai took a deep breath. “Mainly, you don’t even have time to rest quietly, so I’m afraid it’s going to hurt for a while. It really is… too hard on you.” Saying that, she remembered Shen Jiani mentioning they both got injured, so she immediately turned her head to ask the girl walking on her right, “What about Secretary Shen, where were you hurt?”
“I’m already healed. My chest took a hit and hurt for two days, but the X-rays showed nothing serious, and I don’t feel a thing today.” She glanced sideways at the man opposite them. “President Pu has it worse—he was sitting in the passenger seat.”
Shan Dai couldn’t help but look back again at the man’s right hand, which was close to hers, a faint herbal fragrance floating through the air.
“Ms. Shan, what did you bring with you?” Shen Jiani noticed the bag in her hand.
“Oh.” Shan Dai snapped back to reality, glancing down at a gift box in her hand. “Brought a small gift for Ms. Shen. And a kind of tea for President Pu.” She turned her head to smile faintly at Pu Huaiyan. “President Pu must be accustomed to drinking all kinds of expensive teas, but this tea is good for the stomach and is a specialty of Lan City, so please don’t mind it.”
“Madam was far too generous.” Pu Huaiyan said, “This care makes one forget what stomach pain even feels like.”
Shan Dai’s cheeks flushed slightly red.
“Ms. Shan is practically an angel, actually bringing us gifts!” Shen Jiani cupped her hands with endless emotion, beaming as she spoke, “Although I don’t have stomach pain, I wouldn’t mind mooching off President Pu’s tea later.”
Shan Dai laughed as she turned back to introduce the tea to her.
The three of them chatted as they entered a private room.
The waiter came in to take their orders. After Shan Dai picked a few Jiangnan specialties, she passed the task to Secretary Shen.
Once she finished ordering, the waiter poured three cups of tea and left. The private room fell quiet for a moment.
Not knowing what to say, Shan Dai asked the girl sitting between her and Pu Huaiyan, “Secretary Shen and President Pu came on a business trip together?”
“Yes. And today…” She tilted her head to explain to her, “President Pu said Ms. Shan might not be divorced yet, making it inconvenient to dine alone with a man, so he asked me to keep you company.”
Shan Dai was struck by this reason, having not even considered that it was unsuitable for her to dine alone with a man. Her gaze naturally fell upon the man across from her, a forced, awkward smile touching her lips.
Pu Huaiyan didn’t avert his eyes, letting her awkwardness linger in the room. He opened his mouth to ask, “Madam still seems to be in a mediocre mood. Are things not proceeding smoothly? Is there anything you need help with?”
Shan Dai tightened her fingers resting on the table.
The man sitting across the table watched quietly. Meanwhile, Shen Jiani kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart, earnestly observing whether the pre-meal snacks looked tasty while trying her best to lower her presence so their conversation could proceed smoothly.
Shan Dai spoke, “It’s not settled yet. For now, I probably don’t need to trouble President Pu for help. Thank you.”
Pu Huaiyan looked straight at her: “This may be presumptuous, but allow me to ask—Manager Lu has been back in Lan City for nearly a week, so why hasn’t it been settled yet? Madam’s state is vastly different from when you were in Beijing, making it truly impossible not to worry. If Madam no longer intends to divorce, consider my question unasked.”
Shan Dai explained, “It’s not that I’m not divorcing. It’s just that my husband doesn’t intend to, so progress is quite slow.”
Sensing the chilly aura emanating from the big boss across from her, Shen Jiani immediately chimed in to ask Shan Dai, “Why doesn’t Manager Lu want a divorce? Could Ms. Shan tell me the reason so I can help brainstorm?”
Shan Dai smiled bitterly, “He wants to make amends.”
Shen Jiani’s heart skipped a beat as she asked, “And what about Ms. Shan’s stance? Firm on divorce, or willing to consider forgiving Mr. Lu?”
Shan Dai shook her head, “There’s no possibility of consideration. I plan to wait until my health improves over these next two days and handle it through legal proceedings.”
Shen Jiani breathed a massive sigh of relief. Thank goodness, this meal could still proceed in a lovely atmosphere.
The waiters arrived one after another to serve the dishes over the next few minutes.
“Madam, please enjoy the meal,” Pu Huaiyan said, picking up his chopsticks with his injured hand.
Seeing that using chopsticks was rather inconvenient for him, Shan Dai picked up the serving chopsticks and served two helpings of food to Shen Jiani first. “These dishes are Jiangnan specialties, Secretary Shen and President Pu should give them a try.” Saying that, she served two dishes to Pu Huaiyan as well.
“Oh yes, wonderful!” Shen Jiani smiled sweetly.
“Madam is too polite. It’s fine, my hand can still pick up food.” The man opposite nodded.
Shan Dai smiled softly, seeing through his knowledge that she was afraid he couldn’t pick up food.
After everyone quietly took a few bites, Shen Jiani played wingman once more. “Ms. Shan, bringing up such things might ruin your appetite, but not saying it makes me worry you’ll be bullied. Since the issue occurred within Yanxin Times, President Pu definitely feels he can’t escape blame and has let you down, while I also feel Ms. Shan has been far too wronged.”
She used the serving chopsticks to dish out food for Shan Dai, continuing, “If Manager Lu doesn’t plan to divorce, waiting for you to file a lawsuit isn’t a good approach either—it takes too long, and your mood will be affected for a lengthy period. How about letting President Pu step in to talk with Manager Lu? I don’t think Manager Lu would stall you under that kind of pressure.”
Shan Dai paused, looking from her to Pu Huaiyan, saying with slight awkwardness, “No need. Truth be told, this matter already felt like I was troubling President Pu due to his prior notification. I knew that night President Pu specifically invited my husband to dinner for my sake, wasting a meal’s worth of your time when you’re so busy. Coming to this meal today was because I wanted to thank President Pu for his recent help—I can’t trouble President Pu any further.”
Pu Huaiyan: “If such a small matter can make things go smoothly for Madam and turn your mood around, my original intention remains the same as that night.”
Shan Dai went quiet, and after a few seconds, she said, “Thank you, many thanks to President Pu. Let me talk to Lu Zhixing again over these next two days, and if it really doesn’t work out, I’ll trouble President Pu then.”
Shen Jiani could feel that she didn’t want Pu Huaiyan to step in, and hearing those words, the corners of Pu Huaiyan’s mouth had already pulled down into a straight line.
Oh no, oh no. There was still a risk that the divorce wouldn’t happen.
She immediately pretended to chime in with Shan Dai, “That works too, it’s clear Ms. Shan wants to try her best to part on good terms, so the feelings between you two must run deep.”
Shan Dai offered a forced, faint smile, “It’s all in the past.”
Shen Jiani pretended to gossip, “Ms. Shan and he have been together for a long time?”
“Three years. Only…” she explained, “my husband, he…” She took a deep breath, “He used to be very good. During my hardest times, he accompanied me all the way. Back when I was still studying, I had no money, and my family member was sick, requiring both expensive surgery fees and blood donations—he did all of that for me. I don’t want us to end up turning on each other as enemies or making life so ugly; parting on good terms is enough.”
Shen Jiani had an epiphany, “I understand, Ms. Shan is truly so good. Sadly, true hearts change in an instant, and it’s Manager Lu who has let Ms. Shan down.”
She sneaked a glance at the man next to her. Utterly doomed. Seeing that the hope for divorce was temporarily dashed, the mood of the person waiting to step up was even worse than the person who couldn’t get divorced. Coming all the way on a business trip was just to probe the reality, wasn’t it?
Truly, human joys and sorrows were not shared.
After dinner, Shen Jiani mentioned it was her first time in Lan City, noting how pretty the area around the restaurant was, and offered to walk with Shan Dai to relax since she looked to be in a low mood.
Although Shan Dai wasn’t in much of a mood to stroll, she was still touched and happy to act as a local host.
The area around the restaurant was filled with clusters of European-style buildings, peaceful and beautiful when lit up at night.
Shen Jiani walked in the middle, with Shan Dai and Pu Huaiyan on her left and right, while their car carrying the gifts trailed behind at a snail’s pace a dozen meters away.
Shan Dai introduced the place with a tolling bell ahead to Shen Jiani, “That’s a church left over from the last century, and one of the few remaining churches in Lan City.”
“Wow. That chime sounds so distant and long-lasting, really lovely.”
From an unknown window, low-pitched music spilled out—the classic song “The Bund”.
Worldly affairs / so full of turmoil / turning into rolling waves flowing east
A Porsche pulled up at the intersection ahead alongside the song, and a man wearing a white shirt stepped out of the car. In the next second, a woman stepped out swiftly from the dim shade—high heels, long straight black hair, and a red dress—her hands wrapping around the man’s waist in an instant.
The man pushed her up.
“No, Lu Zhixing… don’t.” The woman’s voice carried a crying tone, “It’s rare for me to get a chance to come to Lan City on a business trip—rarely—do you not want to see me at all? I know you came back because of company arrangements and had no choice, but you haven’t been replying to my messages lately, are you going to treat me like this?”
Lu Zhixing’s voice was raspy, “I’m sorry, but let’s not contact each other anymore. I came out just to make this clear to you.”
“Why?” She laughed bitterly, “Manager Lu is returning to his family just like that?”
His smile turned even more bitter: “There’s no family left.”
The woman paused, asking, “Your wife found out?”
“Mm.”
“She wants a divorce? Are you divorced?” Overjoyed beyond belief, she immediately wrapped her arms around him again.
Lu Zhixing lifted her up once more, “Not divorced, but close enough. But if my wife finds out tonight, I’ll never be able to stand back up for the rest of my life. Let me go, it’s my fault, I let her down and I let you down, let’s not contact each other anymore.”
The woman instantly burst into tears, standing before him sobbing.
The man knitted his brows, slowly looking up at the sky with a long sigh.
Xu Minheng sobbed loudly, “She wants a divorce, why won’t you agree? Am I that much worse than her? If I’m so much worse, why did you spend so many days with me, taking care of me so gently? Is it that I’m not as understanding of you as she is? I’ve been on a business trip here for several days, told you, and when you didn’t reply to my messages, I didn’t keep pestering you. The company said you took leave, I was worried you were sick, worried to death yet didn’t dare message you often out of fear your family would find out, but now that it’s beyond saving, and I’m right here, are you just going to be like this?”
She embraced him, her tear-streaked face burying into his chest, “Lu Zhixing, don’t be like this.”
The man’s frame swayed, and after several seconds of silence, amidst the woman’s sobs, he slowly reached out to embrace her, “Don’t cry, Minmin.”
Shan Dai’s line of sight was blocked by a hand wrapped in gauze. The bitter air was replaced by a herbal fragrance, and then that hand turned her body around. Following that, he used his good hand to grip her wrist, pulling her firmly back through the shirt on her wrist.
Shan Dai stumbled along with Pu Huaiyan’s leather-shod steps, the mere five-centimeter heels beneath her feet feeling remarkably unsteady for the very first time.
Shen Jiani caught up quickly, turning her head after a few steps to aim her phone straight at the embracing pair, taking a barrage of snap snap snap photos to preserve evidence.
Damn it, scumbag and cheat.
Translator’s note:
lanang JANCOK😭😭😭😭 OOOOHHHH HE PISS ME OFF SO BAD😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
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