Mu Yang is still very busy. Establishing his own firm involves all sorts of miscellaneous tasks that require his attention. Even now, when he says the firm is starting to get on track, he still spends his evenings working in his study.
What kind of expression would they have upon seeing me arrive? Happiness, surprise, or indifference?
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened, interrupting Yan Shu's reverie. She took a deep breath and stepped out.
Walking into Mu Yang's office, I found it empty; everyone had probably gone to lunch. So, where was Mu Yang?
She slowly approached Mu Yang's office. What if no one was home? The thought flashed through her mind. She raised her hand and gently knocked on the door three times.
"Come in." Thankfully, he was there.
She pushed open the door and entered, finding Mu Yang still engrossed in a pile of blueprints, not even looking up. The office was impeccably organized: large bookshelves were filled with books, and several trophies Mu Yang had brought back from the United States were displayed on a nearby shelf. Yan Shu smiled gently and said, "I think I've disturbed you."
Xiao Shu!
Immersed in his work, Mu Yang immediately looked up upon hearing the voice and saw Yan Shu standing at the door with a smile, shaking the lunchbox she was carrying. "I brought you food. Have you eaten?"
Mu Yang stood up and laughed, "I'm starving." He walked over, closed the door, drew the window shut, and pulled Yan Shu to sit down in his seat. He exaggeratedly took a sniff, "It smells so good."
He looked down and asked Yan Shu with a smile, "Have I ever said you're a good wife?"
Yan Shu deliberately lowered her head in thought: "It seems not."
"Then I'll tell you now."
"Okay." She took out a lunchbox and placed it between the two of them. "I know the allure of food is greater than my own."
Mu Yang raised an eyebrow, looking so innocent. Actually, I'd rather eat you.
Taking a sip of tea, Yan Shu sighed contentedly, "The rice balls here are really delicious. No wonder they like to eat there. I'm so full." She patted her stomach, "Ugh, I'm going to gain weight again."
Mu Yang smiled, wiped his mouth with a tissue, took a sip of water, and suddenly stared at Yan Shu.
"What's wrong?"
"There's a grain of rice on the corner of your mouth..." Mu Yang only said one sentence before he bent down and licked it away. "There's a grain of rice on the corner of your mouth." He whispered to her.
Then Yan Shu tasted a sour flavor—yes, plum rice ball. After that, she knew nothing more…
"Roger!" a female voice suddenly interrupted. Mu Yang cursed inwardly and quickly pulled away from Yan Shu's lips. Yan Shu also quickly pushed Mu Yang away and looked up at the newcomer.
So beautiful! That was the first word that flashed through her mind. The person's features were already beautiful, enhanced by exquisite makeup, but more importantly, it was her aura: an innate confidence and a touch of glamour. She wasn't particularly surprised by the scene before her, even though she had witnessed it.
She gently brushed aside her slightly curled hair, exuding charm. She walked in, smiling softly, "Roger, who is she?" She was asking Yan Shu, but her bright eyes were fixed on Mu Yang, completely ignoring Yan Shu.
“My wife, Yan Shu,” Mu Yang introduced with a smile. “Shu, this is Viviane, her classmate in the United States.”
Upon hearing the word "wife," Viviane frowned slightly, but she quickly turned around, looked Yan Shu up and down, and gracefully extended her hand: "Hello. I'm Viviane."
"You... hello." Yan Shu extended her hand as well. Someone like this really made her feel inferior. Especially when she was with Mu Yang, their radiance was the only thing in the room. Spending so long in the entertainment industry, the only thing she'd honed was her ability to read people. For example, she could vaguely sense Viviane's hostility towards her. This thought made Yan Shu tremble slightly. Did she have the confidence to win against her?
Suddenly feeling a warmth on her shoulder, she looked down and saw Mu Yang's hand on her shoulder. She smiled slightly and leaned closer to Mu Yang.
Sensing Yan Shu's relaxation, Mu Yang smiled and asked Viviane, "What brings you here today?"
Viviane nodded. "I think there's something wrong with Uncle's project."
"Really?" Mu Yang gestured for Yan Shu to sit on the sofa. "Sit here first, there are some magazines here. If you're tired, take a rest. After get off work, we'll go out for dinner together. Dui Li, are you free this afternoon?"
"It's nothing." Yan Shu shook her head. "I've finished everything I needed to do today. As long as Asen doesn't cause any trouble, everything should be fine. You can go and get back to work."
Mu Yang smiled, turned back to his desk, and pulled up the blueprints he had scanned a few days ago on his computer. He then discussed them with Viviane. Sometimes they debated calmly, sometimes they pondered deeply, and sometimes they applauded each other's ideas. Yan Shu watched all this, not understanding a word they were saying, but grasping only one truth: they were from completely different worlds. Holding the magazine, she thought to herself: I am utterly useless to Mu Yang's career.
After discussing for a while, Mu Yang suddenly remembered something and said to Viviane with a smile, "By the way, would you like something to drink?"
“The same as always.” Viviane relaxed her brow.
"Okay." Just as she was about to call her secretary outside to bring in coffee, Yan Shu stood up first: "I'll go. Viviane, would you like coffee?"
“Yes, one spoonful of milk and one spoonful of sugar.” Viviane nodded. Watching Yan Shu leave, she turned to Mu Yang and asked, “Your wife?”
"Yes." Mu Yang looked tenderly at Yan Shu's retreating figure and nodded with a smile.
A moment later, Yan Shu happily brought in a cup of coffee and a cup of green tea, and placed them on the table: "Viviane, your coffee; Mu Yang, your tea."
"Tea?" Viviane looked up after taking a sip of coffee. "Don't Rogers always drink Colombian tea?"
Columbia? Yan Shu smiled and explained, "Mu Yang doesn't like coffee."
“Really?” Viviane looked at her. “When Roger was in America, we loved to discuss projects while drinking coffee. And Roger would always drink Columbia.”
"Really?" Yan Shu's smile faded. "I don't know," she stammered. Perhaps more things had changed in the past five years than she had imagined. "I'll go make myself another cup of coffee."
"Never mind." Mu Yang took Yan Shu's hand. "I like the tea you brew."
Yan Shu knew he was trying to comfort her, so she smiled and said, "Then you two go ahead with your work. I won't bother you any longer."
Perhaps there was no place in this world that she could disturb.
"So you feel a little disappointed?" Xiao Wei's voice came from the other end of the phone. After showering, Yan Shu called Xiao Wei to ask about her recent situation. She heard Xiao Wei giving Yang Sen a thorough dressing-down: "Now everyone stares at me when I go out, and some people even come up to me out of nowhere and say, 'Miss, you're so lucky!'" Yan Shu smiled helplessly and began to talk about her day. After listening, Xiao Wei asked this question.
"Yeah." Yan Shu sighed, slumped over her small desk, her fingers tracing circles on the surface unconsciously. Looking up at Mu Yang's large desk, she murmured, "I really am a useless person." Just like she realized at dinner today.
The restaurant was brightly lit that evening. Yan Shu sat there, listening to Viviane and Mu Yang chatter and laugh. Dinner seemed lavish, but she ate mechanically, bite by bite, finding it tasteless.
“The professor was really furious that time. Roger, I never knew you could pull off such a prank.” Viviane took a sip of red wine, her face flushed, making her look radiant. “But it was really fun.”
Mu Yang smiled and said, "Yes, I'm very happy. But don't always criticize me; wasn't it you who always made the suggestion?"
“I…” Viviane pointed exaggeratedly to herself, “No, I’m innocent.” She made a gesture that made Mu Yang burst into laughter.
"Laugh? What's so funny? What's so funny?" Yan Shu took a big bite of her food.
“Oh, right, and that time…” Viviane continued to reminisce with Mu Yang, while Yan Shu listened and ate. Occasionally, she would notice Mu Yang’s concerned gaze and give him a smile.
However, I really missed out on a lot.
“Five years,” she said softly.
"So you regret it? You regret not going to America with Mu Yang?"
"No," Yan Shu answered decisively. "I didn't. That was the time when I knew best what I wanted to do. Mu Yang had his choices, and I had mine. I don't regret it."
"That settles it then," Xiao Wei said with a smile. "You and Mu Yang are a perfect match. Don't overthink it."
"Oh." Yan Shu nodded. Really? She really didn't seem to belong to their world. The happiness of her life with Mu Yang had made her overlook this fact, but now, Viviane's appearance forced her to confront it again.
"Yes. I have things to do. Bye."
"Bye." After hanging up the phone, Yan Shu continued to slump weakly on the table. Not looking at it, not thinking about it, didn't mean it didn't exist.
"Staring blankly again?" Mu Yang walked into the study after taking a shower and saw Yan Shu lying on the table, lost in thought, with her laptop open next to her.
After the marriage, Yan Shu placed a small rug in his study, and on the rug, a small desk. He would read and draw at the large desk, while Yan Shu would lie on the small desk to write, surf the internet, or simply daydream.
"No." Seeing that Mu Yang's hair was still dripping wet, Yan Shu naturally took the towel, made him lower his head, and started drying his hair. "I was on the phone with Xiao Wei."
Mu Yang nodded, enjoying Yan Shu's attentive service, a slight smile on his face: "How is she?"
"It's alright." Yan Shu looked at Mu Yang and asked seemingly casually, "Who is Viviane?"
"My classmate in the United States."
"A girl... studying architecture too, that's impressive." Unlike her, who seems to have no knack for STEM subjects, "She's American."
“Yes, an American of Chinese descent.” Mu Yang smiled. “A typical yellow banana.”
Why did she come back?
"She said her uncle's company in China needs her help." Mu Yang looked at Yan Shu. "What? You're that interested in her?"
"It's nothing," Yan Shu shook her head. "I just wanted to learn more about your classmates in America."
"Want to know more about my experiences in America?" Mu Yang asked with a smile, sitting down on the carpet as well. "I can tell you. We have a lifetime to talk about it."
Yan Shu looked into Mu Yang's warm eyes and smiled. She suddenly pecked Mu Yang's lips: "Yes." Stop overthinking, yourself. Yan Shu leaned into Mu Yang's arms, listening attentively to his every word, trying to ignore the little unease in her heart.
Since then, Yan Shu has seen Viviane more often. Occasionally she'll bump into her in Mu Yang's office, sometimes while eating out, and occasionally she'll visit Yan Shu's home… Each time she appears before them, she'll talk at length with Mu Yang about her experiences in America, or discuss professional topics related to architecture. She'll casually mention things Yan Shu wasn't involved in, and subtly reveal the differences between them.
“Roger, my uncle praised your design to me again.” After dinner, Viviane said to Mu Yang with a smile, “He said you’re a genius.”
"Really?" Mu Yang smiled. "Didn't you tell Uncle that you also put in a lot of effort?"
“You can’t take my credit for this,” Viviane said with a smile, her eyes sparkling with confidence. She shifted her gaze, her alluring expression shifting. “Roger, how about considering working for my Uncle’s company, or even coming to America with me to work for my family’s conglomerate?”
Mu Yang frowned: "Thank you, but no need. I like being my own boss."
“Of course!” Viviane laughed and flicked her hair. “Of course you can be your own boss.”
Mu Yang smiled and said, "Such generous terms."
"I'll go to the kitchen and cut some fruit for you." Yan Shu, who hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise, stood up, turned around, and walked towards the kitchen. "I bought some oranges when I came back today."
"Let me help too." Viviane followed her into the kitchen, walked up to Yan Shu, and softly called out, "Yan Shu."
"Huh?" Yan Shu, who was bending down to pick up the fruit plate, paused, feeling a strange fear at the sudden greeting. The small unease in her heart had gradually grown into fear with her interactions with Viviane over the past few days.
Viviane glanced at the man sitting in the dining room: "I love Roger." A simple sentence, yet very clear.
"Bang—" The fruit plate fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
"I'm not answering!" Yang Sen roared as he stormed out of the room, followed by Xiao Yi: "Why aren't you answering again? After the last crisis was resolved, you finally turned misfortune into a blessing, and your popularity soared again!" (Source: )
"What do you mean by 'fitting the image'? I just hate acting alongside that fake fairy woman." Yang Sen pointed at the female lead.
"You—you shouldn't be so willful!"
“I’ve been wanting to be in the camera lately; I need to shoot a commercial,” Yang Sen said lazily, plopping down on the sofa. “I just finished filming that movie last time, and I hate doing the same thing over and over again in such a short period of time.”
"You... okay, if you want to shoot an advertisement, someone has to ask you to do it. Sister Yan, what do you say?" Xiao Yi waited for a long time, but didn't hear the expected voice. He turned his head and saw that Yan Shu was still in a daze.
"Sister Yan!" he called out. Yan Shu seemed to snap out of a daze and looked at them, "Yes, yes. What's the matter?"
"Don't talk about us. You, you're always so lost and dejected." Yang Sen narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?" Xiao Yi didn't speak, just looked at her.
Yan Shu felt a warmth in her heart. She knew they cared about her, but she still just smiled and shook her head. "It's really nothing, I'm just a little tired."
"You..." The sudden ringing of her phone stopped Yang Sen from asking further questions. Yan Shu took out her phone; it was an unfamiliar number.