Chapter 36: Does That Make Me Your Ex, Too?
Perhaps this question shouldn’t have been a consideration in the first place. Pu Huaiyan had been so unwavering from the very beginning, so of course he would offer such a firm response.
“The disparity in our backgrounds is just too vast. It really isn’t suitable,” Shan Dai said, shaking her head. For the first time in her life, she felt so timid.
Pu Huaiyan’s reaction was remarkably calm: “That has never been a factor in my consideration. On the contrary, if we are speaking of equal standing, I believe you are exceptionally accomplished, Ms. Shan—you are the kind of person I truly admire. When we first met, I said you were young and promising. That wasn’t mere polite flattery; I genuinely meant it. True standing is forged through exceptional ability.”
Shan Dai pursed her lips and murmured softly, “I… I’m just really worried. Before, Lu Zhixing… his family looked down on my background.” She glanced at him briefly before lowering her head again.
A poignant ache surged in Pu Huaiyan’s heart… He had assumed her journey with Lu Zhixing was a sweet, seamless transition from campus romance to marriage, smooth and fulfilling from start to finish. He had never imagined such a painful episode had been hidden within it.
“He is him, and I am me,” his voice fell low and resolute. “I will absolute never let this become an obstacle, nor will I ever let you suffer any grievance because of it. You won’t even have to hear about any of those matters. This is my responsibility, not yours, Dai’dai.”
Shan Dai was stunned. She used to think Lu Zhixing fighting his parents on his own was already wonderful, and she had been deeply touched by it. Yet Pu Huaiyan was saying she wouldn’t even need to know.
She wouldn’t even have to bear witness to the conflict.
Still, she felt compelled to remind him: “Lu Zhixing… he tried hard, and his family eventually gave in. But… but we were only married for a single year. Perhaps something that requires so much effort to maintain is simply inherently fragile.”
Her eyes suddenly reddened. She bit her lip to hold back the unexpected surge of emotion, trying her best to say to him calmly, “How about… let’s just forget it, okay? With someone of President Pu’s background, family legacy, and net worth, Beijing is full of pretty girls from well-matched families. Their talent, beauty, and capabilities are all second to none, perfectly suited for you. Can’t we… just forget it?”
Pu Huaiyan shook his head.
Shan Dai sniffled. “I’m so afraid of it all turning into nothing again. I originally thought I would never get married again in this lifetime. So, I don’t want to get married once, get divorced, and then get married a second time only to…”
“It won’t,” Pu Huaiyan interrupted her directly, cutting short the panic she was sinking into because of her past. Holding her face in his warm, dry palms, he looked tenderly at her reddened nose. “It won’t. I swear, Dai’dai, it absolutely will not happen. Trust me. Given my character and my reputation, do you not trust me? Hmm?”
A sharp pang hit the corners of Shan Dai’s eyes, and a tear spilled over, rolling down her cheek.
Pu Huaiyan suddenly pulled her into his embrace.
Shan Dai felt as though her heart was about to leap out of her chest in an instant. Her arms and legs felt completely weak, utterly drained of strength.
Pu Huaiyan’s broad, powerful hand pressed against her slender waist while his other hand cupped the back of her head, gently caressing it. “Dai’dai, like I said, I was the one who told you about your marriage and that whole affair. I will never become that kind of person. Absolutely, positively never. You can doubt me on other things, but on this, please believe in me forever and ever.”
Shan Dai’s tears suddenly fell like rain.
After all this time, there should have been no need to weep over the past again. Yet at this moment, standing before the man in the entire world who understood this scar of hers best, she succumbed to her overwhelmed heart and sobbed wildly, filled with aggrieved sorrow.
She just felt so wronged. She had eagerly traveled all that way specifically to visit him, only for him to cheat on her…
“Then… what if, after thinking it through to the end,” she wept silently, “it still doesn’t work out? I’m afraid I still won’t have the courage. You’ll be so disappointed then. I’m sorry… how about, how about…”
“If it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out.” He cupped her head, resting his forehead against hers. “If after all my pursuing you still feel it won’t work out, that is my shortcoming. What does that have to do with you?”
Her tears fell like torrential rain as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Pu Huaiyan felt as though his heart had shattered beyond repair, aching in a way that was impossible to describe. Reaching behind her with his stiffened hand, he gently wiped away her tears with the back of his hand, bit by bit. “Don’t cry. I love you, forever.”
He carefully wiped away her tear tracks. “Let’s eat, okay? I’m sorry. I just felt that eating while we both harbored these heavy thoughts would make the meal tasteless, so it was better to lay things out first. I’m sorry for ruining your mood.”
She shook her head. In truth, she was grateful for his approach; she didn’t want to spend the entire meal absentmindedly saying things she didn’t mean either.
Pu Huaiyan took her hand and led her to sit down.
Looking at the roses on her seat, Shan Dai’s cheeks flushed red once more. After taking a moment to gather herself, she quietly picked them up, sat down, and looked over them.
This was technically the third time Pu Huaiyan had given her flowers. So that time he gave her flowers by the river had possessed a deeper meaning after all.
He summoned the server to order dinner, letting her finish ordering before chatting with her again. “I have to make a trip to Toronto in a couple of days. So, you can think things over on your own over the next few days. I will come back as quickly as possible, and once I’m back, I will pursue you in earnest, alright? I won’t keep pestering you constantly right away.” Pausing for two seconds, he added, “I don’t have the standing to bring you along this time, so we’ll have to be long-distance for a few days. My apologies. Next time, I’ll definitely ask if you have time to come with me first, and I’ll schedule the business trip around a time when you’re free.”
Shan Dai’s face burned like fire. She knew perfectly well that he was explaining his itinerary to reassure her about the distance, yet hearing him report his schedule to her still felt so intimate that it made her quite uncomfortable.
“You’re… going on a business trip?”
“Mm. It’s the local branch’s anniversary celebration. Two or three days will be enough.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Pu Huaiyan gestured with a slight tilt of his chin for her to eat first.
Shan Dai glanced at the dessert placed before her. It was the same one he had taken the initiative to order for her during their very first meal together.
Suddenly, tears rolled down her cheeks once more.
Seeing this, Pu Huaiyan immediately grabbed a tissue, stepped over, and bent down. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Dai’dai?”
She sniffled and shook her head. “No.” She looked up at him with a faint smile. “I’m fine.”
She just felt that if that meal hadn’t happened that day, would her life have turned into a ridiculous joke? She likely would have been kept in the dark for a lifetime—or at the very least, it would have taken another year or two, or maybe three to five years, before she discovered Lu Zhixing’s infidelity.
And if she had eventually found out on her own rather than Pu Huaiyan telling her, then for the rest of her life, she truly, utterly would never have opened her heart to love again.
That slice of cake on that day was the only sweetness he could possibly offer her in that moment.
The young woman’s tear-glistening eyes resembled a spring pool; with a single blink, Pu Huaiyan felt his heart turn soft and damp, melting completely.
He wiped away her tears bit by bit. “Eat up. See if you like it.”
Shan Dai asked, “On that day, you ordered this exact cake.”
Pu Huaiyan glanced at it and smiled faintly. “Do you like it? I didn’t know what you liked to eat back then. Little Ci is very fond of this flavor, so I ordered it for you. Tell me what you like, and we can have a fresh one brought out now.”
She shook her head, shaking it gently bit by bit. “It’s delicious. Anything you order is delicious.”
Pu Huaiyan’s hand wiping her cheek came to a sudden halt.
Only after the words left her mouth did Shan Dai realize what she had just said. She immediately ducked her head, her entire body and every limb rapidly heating up.
Pu Huaiyan cleared his throat softly. Choosing not to expose her directly, he silently straightened up, smiled, and walked back to his seat.
The server came to bring the main courses. As Shan Dai ate her cake while looking at dish after dish of her favorite foods, her heart fluttered. In truth, every fiber of her inner self desperately wanted to be with him; it was only her rationality that kept pulling her back.
Suddenly, lost in thought, her sleeve caught on the cake, knocking it right onto her lap.
Shan Dai gasped, “Ah.”
The server immediately rushed over to clean it up. “Ma’am, let me handle it. Don’t worry.”
Thoroughly embarrassed, Shan Dai handed the spoon to the server.
The professional server methodically used the spoon, using both hands to carefully flip over the cake that had fallen sideways onto her dress.
Pu Huaiyan appeared by her side once again. He pulled a wet wipe from the table, bent down, and handed it to her to wipe her dress, then pulled a fresh wet wipe to wipe her sleeve for her.
The sleeve was easy to clean since it hadn’t caught much, but the dress was a bit tricky.
Shan Dai busied herself for a moment. Once the server finished serving the dishes, she offered to take Shan Dai to the restroom to wash and blow-dry it for her.
Blushing, Shan Dai turned her head to look at Pu Huaiyan.
The man looked back at her with a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Take your time. I won’t eat your food behind your back.”
“…”
With her head lowered, she silently walked out while suppressing a shy smile.
The restroom was just around the corner from the private room, not far away. The server dampened a handkerchief with water and knelt on the ground to carefully wipe the white dress for Shan Dai.
She happened to be wearing a silk dress, so even the slightest water stain was exceptionally noticeable. After wiping it down, they had to use a hair dryer on it.
There was a large wet patch near her hip area, and it took the server a full two minutes of blow-drying before it was completely dry.
“Thank you. I’m so sorry for the trouble,” Shan Dai whispered to the server.
“You’re very welcome, ma’am.” Lowering the hair dryer, the server offered a sweet, elegant smile. “It was no trouble at all. If you need anything else later, just let us know directly.”
Shan Dai nodded and subsequently walked out.
Suddenly, she bumped into a man right at the doorway—well, not exactly bumped into him, but rather met him head-on, which startled her slightly.
Pu Huaiyan was leaning against the quiet corridor wall, spinning a phone in the palm of his hand.
His gray shadow stretched along the wall, and the warm orange lighting blurred his outline, yet it could not soften his tall, commanding aura.
When he turned his head, his eyes met her flustered, fox-like eyes directly.
“All done?” he asked, reaching out to gently grasp her wrist.
Shan Dai: “Why are you out here?”
“Came out to take a phone call, and waited for you while I was at it.”
While he was at it? She wasn’t in the private room, so why would he need to step outside just to take a call? Shan Dai knew the truth of his words was open to debate, but she said nothing, simply following him back toward the private room.
A fresh slice of cake had been placed on the dining table—oh, actually two slices, featuring other flavors as well.
When Shan Dai saw it, the corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily.
Honestly, dropping the cake turned out to be a good thing. He had simply wanted to order another slice for her all along. In the past, taking care of her like this would have been inconvenient, but starting today, it was entirely natural.
Some episodes in life are just delightfully perfect.
Taking her seat once again, Shan Dai took a bite of both slices, and earnestly told Pu Huaiyan that she really loved the jasmine flavor, though the original Longjing mango flavor was also quite wonderful.
Pu Huaiyan nodded with a smile, taking mental note of it seriously.
Shan Dai began eating the main course. The food at this restaurant was quite good. Compared to some high-end establishments that focused heavily on ambiance at the expense of taste, leaving the flavor somewhat disappointing, this place was genuinely memorable.
It seemed Pu Huaiyan had done his homework even for their very first proper meal together. After all, he shouldn’t have been familiar with Lan City, and he might not even be fully acquainted with restaurants in Beijing.
Yet his Meiyuan was delicious. If President Pu could expand into the catering industry and open a “Beiyuan” or something in Lan City, that would be wonderful.
“Did you open Meiyuan just for your own dining convenience?” Shan Dai asked him.
Pu Huaiyan nodded. “Yes.”
She smiled faintly. “And then after opening it, you don’t even go there to eat. When I went to retrieve my hairband back then, your staff said you only visited once in a long while.”
“That’s because I instructed them to say that.”
Shan Dai was surprised, holding her dessert fork as she stared at him intently.
Pu Huaiyan smiled. “My apologies. In reality, I go there for business dinners once every ten days or so. I originally opened the place to make having lunch convenient, but later I realized it wasn’t a matter of convenience—I simply had no appetite for lunch. Even when it was brought right in front of me, I didn’t feel like eating.”
Shan Dai burst out laughing.
During the meal, Pu Huaiyan spent nearly half his time serving her soup and dishing out food for her. Shan Dai was already used to it, though today she couldn’t help but pay extra attention to his every gesture.
And the more she noticed, the more she felt that President Pu was truly flawless.
“Have you been busy lately?” Pu Huaiyan took the initiative to start another conversation topic.
“It’s alright. My friend went to Beijing on a business trip, so I didn’t go.” She nodded, taking a bite of beef.
Pu Huaiyan: “Another project?”
“Yes. Including the neighboring cities, she needs to negotiate four projects. Since I only came back recently, I let her handle it, plus she wanted to visit some friends there.”
Pu Huaiyan nodded. “Then you’ll be a bit busier these few days. Do you still need to head back home?”
“It’s manageable. As long as I’m not traveling, I can handle the workload. Heading back home for a day or two will be plenty. The company hired a new business manager last month, so someone else can handle the short trips. My workload won’t be as heavy going forward.”
“A guy?”
“Mm.” Shan Dai nodded, not realizing anything amiss. “He poached over from another company, very capable.”
“How old?”
“Just in his twenties, the same age as me. That’s why I really think he’s quite capable, and he has a fun personality. Both my friend and I like him quite a bit.” She looked up with a smile, only to find a certain someone staring straight at her.
Shan Dai blinked. Belatedly catching on, her face flushed red as she lowered her head to eat.
Seeing that she had realized, Pu Huaiyan came straight to the point: “How does he look? Why do you like him?”
“…” If he had asked this earlier, she wouldn’t have walked right into his trap.
Shan Dai explained, “I didn’t mean it in that way. I meant a kind of… appreciation. His looks… are alright, I suppose. His features are certainly proper, but he’s not my type.”
“Oh? What is Ms. Shan’s type?”
“…”
“Forgot to ask, do you have any opinions on a man’s looks?”
“…” Shan Dai said dryly, “It’s not anyone else’s place to have opinions on President Pu; you’re the one who gets to be picky about others.”
“I like Ms. Shan very much, inside and out.”
“…”
Pu Huaiyan glanced sideways at her rosy face. “If anyone tries to pursue you, please remember, Madam—tell them not to cut in line. I was first.”
“…” Shan Dai pressed her hands against her cheeks, which were truly burning as if she had a fever.
“Change how you address me,” she said.
“This one sounds nice.”
“…”
The meal proceeded at a leisurely pace amidst this somewhat agonizing sweet tension as stars began to fill the night sky outside. After the meal, Shan Dai leaned against the glass panel holding a teacup, admiring the starry sky.
Pu Huaiyan stood behind her, their shadows overlapping.
Shan Dai felt too embarrassed to meet his gaze.
Once she slowly finished her cup of tea, Pu Huaiyan said, “Accompany me to meet a client, alright?”
Shan Dai looked up, gazing at him through the reflection in the glass, hesitating. She felt that accompanying him under such an ambiguous status was inappropriate.
Yet she didn’t know how to refuse—or rather, in her heart, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
She silently lowered her head and stepped to the side.
It was a gesture that said, “Let’s go.”
Pu Huaiyan chuckled softly, took her teacup, set it down, and reached out to wrap an arm around her as they walked out together.
“Where is it?”
“Not far.”
Tonight, Pu Huaiyan had switched back to the Bentley.
Shan Dai knew he usually drove the Bentley; taking the Off-Road Land Rover to the Civil Affairs Bureau this afternoon had been purely to keep her from noticing.
“Traffic is so heavy tonight.” Night had just fallen, and the orange neon lights of the city washed over the endless street like a surging flood. They had barely driven fifty meters before getting caught in gridlock.
Pu Huaiyan glanced at her. “Mm.”
Shan Dai: “This is my first time sitting in a car and watching the night scenery of this city.”
Pu Huaiyan kept his eyes fixed on her, unblinking, reluctant to look away.
Shan Dai: “In the year since graduation, between work and getting married, I’ve always been so busy. Whenever I drove alone on the road, my mind was always calculating numbers, projects, or thinking about the person I had to see back home. It felt as if not a single moment truly belonged to the journey itself.”
Pu Huaiyan stared intently at the young woman lost in her memories.
She slowly turned her head and smiled at him. “It turns out the night in Lan City is actually quite beautiful.”
Pu Huaiyan offered a faint smile. “I realized it was quite nice the last time I came here, because you are here.”
Shan Dai immediately lowered her head, her face completely flushed.
The car moved in a stop-and-go fashion, trapped among the multitude of brake lights like all the other living souls out there—moving, stalled, yet in a wonderful mood.
About fifteen minutes later, the car pulled into the starry underground garage of a luxury residential complex.
“Your client is at home?” Or was it some commercial club operating inside a residential community?
Pu Huaiyan nodded. “Yes, at home.”
Shan Dai opened the car door and followed him down.
This complex was actually quite close to the building where they had just dined. It was just a different route, and navigating a turn during peak traffic wasn’t easy, taking quite some time to drive over.
Pu Huaiyan caught up to her near the front of the car, taking her wrist as they walked to the elevator together.
Shan Dai glanced at him, the corners of her mouth curving up surreptitiously.
After entering the elevator, Pu Huaiyan swiped his card for the thirty-third floor.
The elevator ascended rapidly. The smooth mirror surface reflected a man and a woman; Shan Dai felt too embarrassed to look at Pu Huaiyan—he was so obviously watching her—so she kept her head lowered.
“You’ve been dodging me all evening,” the man suddenly said.
“…” Shan Dai instantly stomped her foot in panic, looking up to deny it. “How could I? We were sitting face-to-face during dinner just now, where was I dodging?”
He burst out laughing.
Blushing with embarrassment, Shan Dai puffed out her cheeks and silently turned her head away.
The elevator came to a stop, and the doors glided open to reveal an entrance foyer garden. Stepping out, an unobstructed vista unfolded, offering a breathtaking, front-row river view right from the doorway.
Breathing in the evening breeze of the high-rise, Shan Dai comfortably spread her hands open. “It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed the breeze like this. The floor I live on now isn’t very high.”
Her former marital home with Lu Zhixing had been decent—the twentieth floor with a great view. The temporary place she found herself was a bit lacking, so she was always thinking about switching to a new one.
Pu Huaiyan swiped his card and opened the door. “Do you like it?”
“I do.”
Shan Dai was so occupied with admiring the river view that she hadn’t even noticed a certain someone had swiped his own card to enter the house.
Turning her head, Pu Huaiyan pressed the master switch in the foyer, illuminating the entire house with light. Only then did Shan Dai realize something seemed off.
“Huh? You… isn’t this the client’s home?”
“No.”
“It’s your property? You have a place in Lan City? Then why did you stay at a hotel when you came over during the day?”
Pu Huaiyan took her hand and led her inside.
Shan Dai stepped through the spacious main doorway, following him in quick, short steps through the quiet foyer until her view opened up completely.
A twenty-meter-long curved floor-to-ceiling window gathered all the prosperity of Lan City into its embrace. The beauty of this city continued to strike Shan Dai’s heart tonight.
Shan Dai looked around, noting that the house was very empty. The living room had no sign of daily life whatsoever—not a single piece of clothing in sight.
Was it because he didn’t usually stay here?
Pu Huaiyan stood behind her at this moment and said gently, “Move in later. It’s your house.”
Shan Dai turned around swiftly, her eyes wide with shock.
He smiled.
Shan Dai turned to leave immediately.
Pu Huaiyan wrapped his arms around her body, holding her gently as he let out a soft sigh. “Such a big reaction. But Dai’dai, I don’t come here often. I bought it for you; it’s useless to me.”
Shan Dai could barely catch her breath. She frowned deeply. “Don’t be like this. I can buy one myself. Besides, didn’t you say you wouldn’t let me buy one? I’m going to Beijing anyway.”
“Going is going, but it’s impossible for you not to come back all year round. The company is here, so you’ll always have to visit.”
“It’s really not necessary. I can just stay in a hotel, it’s so convenient.”
“It’s not convenient. That’s a helpless compromise, and I don’t allow such compromises to exist.”
Shan Dai’s heart trembled violently. She understood every word he said and every action he took, yet she simply couldn’t bring herself to accept such a gift.
His eyes were wrapped in smiles—so firm, calm, and gentle like water, yet impossible to push away.
Shan Dai knew she couldn’t refuse him again. Just like the car this afternoon, he simply presented it quietly before saying a word.
Presenting a fait accompli was simply Pu Huaiyan’s true nature.
He likely knew that talking too much was useless. And at this moment, she understood as well—a love capable of making one’s soul tremble was often quiet, often requiring nothing more than a single glance, like his resolute gaze right now.
She pushed him away gently, pacing around in anxiety, looking everywhere as if desperate to run away and vanish without a trace this instant.
Pu Huaiyan casually strolled over to the floor-to-ceiling window with utter composure. “Take your time looking around, Dai’dai. See if there are any design changes you’d like to make, and I’ll have someone get on it. We’ll try to get you moved in before you leave for Beijing, so you can terminate the lease on your current place.”
Shan Dai walked up to him and grabbed the man’s arm. “President Pu.”
“Could you change to a more pleasant form of address?” He tilted his head, his brow knitting slightly.
“…” She pouted coquettishly. “What’s wrong with it?”
He raised an eyebrow languidly, tossing out a line in a magnetic voice: “What do you think? Is there a form of address that’s equivalent to ‘Madam’?”
“…”
Shan Dai laughed out of exasperation. Lowering her voice, she scolded softly, “Pu Huaiyan, you said earlier that you were going to pursue me.”
He looked completely bewildered: “When I wasn’t pursuing you, I called you ‘Madam’ too. Is there any contradiction?”
“…” Shan Dai felt embarrassed to death. Her gaze dodged for a moment before she couldn’t help but glare at him. “I was just too lazy to correct you. Don’t get so used to saying it that you blurt it out in front of outsiders.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“…” Leaning against the glass, Shan Dai lowered her head, hugging her arms and pouting. After pondering for a moment, she looked up and said, “Lu Zhixing’s range of activity will most likely be the same as before—Lan City and Beijing.”
“Why bring up an irrelevant person?”
“If he finds out that I got together with his boss right after my divorce, how do you think Lu Zhixing will feel?”
Pu Huaiyan smiled. With his hands lazily resting behind his back, he leaned down slightly toward her, raising his eyebrows. “Madam is so kind-hearted, even caring about whether your cheating ex’s psychological health is intact?”
“…” Shan Dai turned around and stomped her foot.
Pu Huaiyan: “Hmm?”
Shan Dai turned her head back to him: “If you keep calling me that randomly, I’m going to block you!”
Pu Huaiyan: “Does that make me your ex, too? Are you going to care for my broken heart?”
Shan Dai: “…”