Yan Yan - Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Roses

The sun was shining brightly, and Su Yan got up from the bed. Actually, she had been awake for a long time but wasn’t in the mood to get ready for the day.

Yesterday, before going to sleep, she accidentally saw a video about Xie Yu’s escape from marriage on the internet. Su Yan was unable to get proper sleep, was thinking about her misfortune, and could only sleep for three hours. The moment she opened her eyes, she was drenched in sweat, and her breathing was disturbed and rapid, like that of a drowning person who had just been pulled out of the water. After staring at the ceiling for a long time, she finally hugged the quilt and cried her heart out.

She began to despise Xie Yu so much that she believed she would never forgive him in this life and even wished for Xie Yu to feel her pain and humiliation. She thought Xie Yu loved her, but she understood that he had not loved her at all. He had loved only Jiang Qi. But what could she do? Compared with the Xie family, her Su family was a small upstart, and it was absolutely impossible to fight against the Xie family.

‘It is precisely because he is not afraid of offending me and my parents that he dares to escape marriage recklessly, right?’

She could only knock it out of her teeth and swallow it in her stomach because she couldn’t ask Xie Yu for an explanation. This was the reality; otherwise, what else could she do?

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she became. Her tears seemed to burst like a dam; she was shaking all over from crying, and when she went to the bathroom to wash up, her entire eye circles were swollen.

After washing her face with cold water, Su Yan looked at her haggard face in the mirror. ‘Xie Yu and Jiang Qi are the villains; why should I live like this? Do I need to live under Xie Yu’s show for the rest of my life? No, why should I? I’m still young. I can have a new turnover.’

Taking a deep breath, Su Yan wiped her face, turned, and left the bathroom.

    …………………

Su Yan walked onto the balcony and looked at Swan Lake. The cool air in the morning entered the lungs along the trachea, and the whole person was immediately refreshed.

Su Yan saw the thin aunt whom she met yesterday holding a pair of long scissors and standing beside a bush to trim it in the garden.

After watching her trim the plants for a while, Su Yan’s gaze subconsciously moved in the direction of the big birdcage. She thought for a while, then went downstairs to go to the garden to relax a bit.

It was around 7 in the morning, and the housekeeping aunt was still making breakfast. Su Yan said hello to her and walked out of the villa through the back door.

Bypassing the swimming pool, she walked into the lush garden along the path on the east side, winding all the way down, and finally stopped in front of the “birdcage” covered with green netting. She was surprised after seeing the size of the cage because it was several times bigger than what she saw from upstairs. She peered through the small, tiny mesh holes and saw that it was different than she thought.

Driven by curiosity, Su Yan stretched out her hand and opened the green net hanging in front of the door. The next second, she was amazed by the picture that came into view.

Inside the birdcage, there were roses everywhere, blooming brightly. The roses planted here were not the common red roses on the market, but apricot or pink roses. The flower shape was cup-shaped, and the petals were layered with bright white. Fresh, elegant, but still bright, like a lady with an outstanding temperament.

These were the most beautiful roses that Su Yan had ever seen.

Su Yan stepped forward into the birdcage, looking at the elegant roses, and carefully reached one of the flowers with twinkling eyes. When her hand touched a petal, she was amazed by its softness and silkiness. She thought that Bai Xingfan’s taste was really good.

After feeling the softness and fragrance of roses, Su Yan, who had never raised any flowers before, wanted to grow flowers. So she took a picture of the rose in front of her and then searched for the species of this rose on the Internet.

The Internet quickly gave her the answer: “Juliet Rose.”

‘It seems like a very romantic name,’ she thought.

Then she searched the purchasing channels and prices of Juliet Roses. She was dumbfounded—three million for one plant? The most expensive rose in the world today costs more than 20 million RMB in British pounds, not RMB.

‘Sure enough, a big family; no wonder he needs a professional gardener to take care of it.’

Su Yan’s thought of raising flowers was instantly dispelled. At the same time, she was a little envious of the nightingale who used to live here. It was really raised in a luxurious palace full of gold. No one was there to bully or betray it, let alone mock it because it had a strong master and a solid backer.

She suddenly realised that she was not as good as a bird.

Sighing heavily, Su Yan slowly turned around and kept walking out of the cage. But as soon as she lifted the net of the cage, she was stunned.

‘Bai Xingfan, why is he…?’

Bai Xingfan, after sending his younger brother back to college, went home and heard from the housekeeping aunt that Su Yan had gone to the garden. However, when he met Su Yan this time, he was also taken aback because he remembered their first meeting back in the ancient town. He couldn’t help but lose his mind and stare at her intently.

–Flashback–

Last August, in the ancient town, she also wore a long white dress like this and held a teal-white parasol, standing on the bridge to watch the scenery. The gentle breeze on the bridge gently blew her skirt and hair slightly.

At that time, Bai Xingfan was drinking tea with the mayor on the second floor of a certain tea house on the shore and accidentally caught a glimpse of Su Yan. After that, he could no longer look away and even forgot to put down the teacup in his hand, staring blankly at the bridgehead as if his soul had been hooked away.

Who would have thought that the girl standing in the centre of the bridge would have suddenly raised her head, looked in his direction with a bright smile, raised her right arm, and waved vigorously?

Bai Xingfag was struck by lightning when he saw the girl’s smile, and he held his breath, and involuntarily squeezed the white porcelain teacup in his hand; his every joint turned white. At this time, the mayor who was sitting opposite him suddenly asked with a smile, “Does Mr. Bai like that girl?”

When Bai Xingfan heard the mayor’s question, his expression became stern, and he asked in a deep voice, “You arranged it?”

When he first joined the group, there were indeed many people who were tempted to give him money or women. Trying to please him in this way At first, he just refused, but those people still didn’t know how to restrain themselves and continued to send them one after another. Later, he simply terminated his investment plan in a certain company and severely punished an executive who sent women to his room. The effect of killing chickens as an example for monkeys was good. Since then, no one had dared to use such indecent methods.

He was in charge of the investment and development project of this ancient town, and he came here this time for project inspection, but he never expected that a town mayor would dare to use this method against him.

The mayor was shocked by Bai Xingfan’s words, and after a while, he realised that there was an oolong, and hurriedly explained: “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know this girl either.”

The mayor was dripping with cold sweat and had to tell the truth. “I just asked casually because I saw that you seemed interested in that girl.”

However, even though the mayor said that he didn’t arrange such a thing, the girl was still waving her hand and looking at them. So when Bai Xingfag looked at her with a stern face, another girl’s voice came from above his head: “Here! Yanyan, I’m here.”

He raised his eyes subconsciously, looked upstairs, and finally figured out the reason for the matter—she didn’t greet him at all but greeted the friend upstairs who was sitting in the same position as him.

It was really not the mayor’s fault; it was his own sentimentality.

But for some reason, his mood became worse and worse, and he even felt a little bit lost. He couldn’t control himself. Immediately afterward, he felt a sense of disdain and disgust for himself; he liked to put everything in his own hands, including inner feelings and self-control, which were his basic requirements for himself.

It could be said that for him, being out of control means failure, so he hated the feeling of being out of control so much.

“I know where that girl lives.”

The words of the mayor suddenly reached his ears.

He glanced at the mayor indifferently.

“Her name is Su Yan; she is a new resident in the town; she lives at No. 06 Dongsi Lane, and she seems to be a screenwriter; our town is relatively quiet, so it is suitable for her to write scripts,” the mayor said.

As the mayor of a town, he basically knew the identity information of all the original residents and long-term tenants in the town.

Bai Xingfan didn’t change his face; he was noncommittal, and he didn’t even mention this matter again.

But the mayor was a person who could read a person just by looking at him, so he arranged for his residence to be next door to that woman named “Su Yan” that day.

In fact, Bai Xingfan originally planned to leave here as soon as the project inspection was over, but he failed to do so because he couldn’t control what he did, he planned to leave tomorrow, but tomorrow didn’t come.

The woman next door appeared to possess mystical powers because she was able to capture him from this distance without uttering a single word or a single look. In fact, his analysis revealed that this ancient town was not suited for the development of the tourism industry. He nonetheless signed an investment deal with the town’s mayor despite the fact that the town’s surroundings were highly picturesque but far away and inconvenient, perfect for a living but not for tourism.

The concept of developing a luxury convalescent town was revised from the original intention to promote tourism. Not for any other reason than to have a good excuse to stay here for a few more days, this was the first and only time he had ever mingled his personal thoughts into work so far.

During those two months, he lived a life he had never thought of, looking forward to the woman leaving the ancient town so that he would be free. One day, two months later, she was finally going to move out. Before leaving, she even came to bid farewell to his neighbour, but at that moment, he did not feel relieved but extremely depressed. He wanted to forcefully keep her by his side, but there was no reason. His inner self constantly reminded him to stay away from that woman; otherwise, his heart would completely lose control.

So he didn’t hold her back and didn’t even show any reluctance; he just replied lightly, “See you again by fate.”

“See you again by fate,” she said with a smile.

Bai Xingfan sat in his yard all night the day she left the ancient town, looking at her house.

When the first beam of sunlight came, he stood up from the chair; his head was a little dizzy, and his eyes turned black, which was the result of a sleepless night. He closed his eyes, supported the back of the chair with one hand, and rubbed his temples with the other, thinking, ‘Let go, let go; I won’t miss her anymore.’

Two months after returning to Dongfu, he still couldn’t forget her. Only then did he realise, belatedly, that he was in love and that he wanted that woman.

He even had her contact number and her home address. Unfortunately, when he was ready to pursue her, she already had a boyfriend and had gotten engaged recently. He blamed him for not taking action when she was in the ancient town because, at that time, she didn’t have a boyfriend.

After an investigation, he found out that the man was Xie Yu, her junior high school classmate, and the two were childhood sweethearts. However, he didn’t choose to retreat despite difficulties, let alone consider fair competition. Instead, he became more and more determined that he wanted this woman. Later, he investigated the entire Xie family, waited patiently for another four months, and gave Xie Yu a fatal blow at the wedding. –

–End of flashback–

“Bai, Mr. Bai.”

The sudden appearance of Bai Xingfan made Su Yan feel a little guilty. This kind of guilt was based on the price of the Juliet rose in the birdcage. If she didn’t know that the rose was so expensive, she wouldn’t feel so guilty, although she didn’t do anything to destroy it. But it felt like she had entered the room where the precious artefacts were placed.

“Why did you wake up so early?” Bai Xingfan asked with a gentle tone.

Su Yan said honestly, “I can’t sleep.”

Bai Xingfan asked warmly, “Let’s go inside?”

Su Yan did not refuse and nodded lightly.

The path in the garden was narrow enough to accommodate two people walking side by side. They walked without saying anything, just enjoying the morning breeze.

After some time, Bai Xingfan said that Su Zhan had called him.

Su Yan was not surprised; she had expected that guy to definitely do this. She sighed lightly, and her tone was helpless and apologetic. “I’m bothering you.”

“No.” Bai Xingfan explained, “He asked me to tell you not to come home because your grandmother is very angry.”

Su Yan: “…”

Su Yan felt very ashamed after hearing her brother’s message. Although that was her grandmother’s way, how could she be willing to expose her family’s ugliness to strangers? Su Yan secretly looked at Bai Xingfan, but she didn’t see any unusual expressions.

Perhaps it was also because of Bai Xingfan’s moderation that she suddenly had the desire to confide in her—’this is how people are; the more they were spied on, the more they wanted to cover themselves tightly and not leave any openings for the other party. A sensitive person would never take the initiative to inquire about other people’s privacy but instead could make others open their hearts to him.’

Taking a deep breath, she mustered up the courage to ask, “Have you seen the video on the Internet?”

Bai Xingfan did not deny it. “Yes.”

Su Yan expected that answer, but when she heard it, she felt ashamed, so she lowered her head with blushing cheeks and said, “It’s embarrassing…”

Bai Xingfan: “Who are you referring to?”

Su Yan sighed helplessly. “Of course it’s me.”

Bai Xingfan slightly frowned. “Why is that? Why do you think so?”

Su Yan completely opened the conversation. “In front of a large number of family members and friends, the groom fled with his ex-girlfriend. Am I not embarrassed to be a bride? Now that I’ve been dumped, everyone knows…”

Bai Xingfan: “He should be the one who is ashamed.”

“But in the end, it is not he who has to face all the judgmental eyes, but me.” Su Yan didn’t care at all and said whatever came to mind, she needed to vent now. Otherwise, she would be driven mad by the depression in her heart. “Since I was with him, many people have scolded me, scolded me for being a mistress, and scolded me for climbing high branches, but I didn’t. It was Xie Yu who chased me. It’s been a long time since he broke up with Jiang Qi. I also know that they are all waiting to see my good show, waiting for Xie Yu to dump me. I didn’t pay attention to those people before and even thought that I would win. Well now, the clown is actually me; they finally got their wish; I was dumped by Xie Yu, and it was at the wedding; how ironic.”

She was an ordinary person, and she couldn’t resist the eyes of the world, especially those with malicious eyes. She used to think that Xie Yu loved her sincerely, so she had the capital to despise those malicious people, but now, what capacity did she have to suppress those malicious people? Xie Yu’s escape from marriage was a serious injury to her. It not only hurt her feelings and dignity but also increased the prestige of those people.

Jiang Qi’s appearance at the wedding added powerful testimony to the trumped-up charge that “she is a mistress.” Together, the two of them pushed her into the abyss of malice.

Bai Xingfan listened to her words patiently and asked in a cold voice, “Does he know that you have been slandered and insulted?”

Su Yan shook her head: “I don’t know, I never told him, those people didn’t use Weibo accounts. They sent me private messages through WeChat scolding me, and for a period of time I received dozens of private messages scolding me almost every day.”

Although she didn’t know who these scolding people were, she was very sure that they must be Jiang Qi’s friends and Jiang Qi also acquiesced to their approach.

Bai Xingfan: “Why didn’t you tell him?”

Su Yan was silent for a moment. “I don’t want him to be upset about me anymore. In order to marry me, he almost broke up with his mother.” After finishing speaking, she smiled wryly again. “At first, he would rather cut off his relationship with his mother and marry me; I thought he really loved me, so I was willing to put up with the malice for him, but who knew he was just pretending, and his acting skills are quite good?”

Bai Xingfan looked at her and said without doubt: “In the future, if someone slanders you, you don’t have to bear it, and you don’t have to hide it.” ‘I will block all malicious intentions for you, and make those people shut up.’

Su Yan was noncommittal, thinking, ‘How come later? She and Xie Yu will never have a future in this life.’

Su Yan didn’t have the mood to continue talking about Xie Yu, so she changed the subject: “Now not only have I lost someone, but our family has also lost someone. My grandma didn’t like me in the first place, and she will definitely attribute all the faults to me. My younger brother asked me to go home in a few days because of this.”

“You are not wrong.” Bai Xingfan said firmly, “It is Xie Yu who did wrong and didn’t marry you.”

Su Yan smiled slightly and said, “Thank you for your kind words.” She said again, “I have caused you a lot of trouble these two days; I just…”

Bai Xingfan didn’t give her a chance to finish her sentence: “Anywhere else to go?”

Su Yan: “…No.”

“Do you have any money?”

Su Yan: “…” No

“Planning to sleep on the street?”

Su Yan: “…”

Bai Xingfan: “Are you still leaving?”

Su Yan: “…”

End of chapter 11