Yan Yan - Chapter 9

Chapter 9- The Nightingale 

Su Yan couldn’t stand at the door, but she also didn’t have the guts to be carried inside the house by Bai Xingfan. Since that was the issue, she paused for a moment before stepping into the house with soiled, bare feet without giving it much thought.

“You don’t have to think too much; just treat this as your own home.” Bai Xingfan’s gentle voice gave Su Yan a bit of relief.

Typically, a host would say such things to the guests for the sake of politeness, but after gaining some understanding of Bai Xingfag, Su Yan knew that he didn’t just say that out of politeness. All in all, his speech and behaviour made her feel relieved and comfortable.

So if she didn’t accept this kindness, she would be a little cruel. “Ok…” Su Yan nodded.     

She subconsciously wanted to say “thank you,”  but as soon as she opened her mouth, she thought about what happened earlier and then closed her mouth. 

“Auntie will take you to the room; just ask her directly if you need anything.” Bai Xingfan continued to explain.

Su Yan: “…”

When he didn’t get any response, Bai Xingfan sighed, turned around, and walked towards the stairs without saying a single word.

Su Yan was at a loss, but luckily, the slightly fat aunt came to her just in time and said, “Come with me.” And that aunt led her to a certain room on the second floor.

That room was very large, with an attached bathroom, study, cloakroom, and balcony. The most interesting thing about that room was that it had floor-to-ceiling windows facing the blue Swan Lake.

After the fat aunty went out, Su Yan decided to take a shower right away because she wanted to get rid of the wet wedding dress that was still on her body, and she actually didn’t have the mood to admire the pleasant view outside the window right now. 

When she came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, the aunt had already put some clean clothes on the bed—the ladies’ disposable underwear, a skirt, and a blouse were new with hang tags.

Su Yan couldn’t help being taken aback, thinking, ‘When did Bai Xingfan ask his aunt to prepare clothes for me? On the way back? This is too sweet, right?’

As soon as she changed her clothes, there was a light knock on the door, and she immediately went to open it.

“Ms. Su, it’s time for lunch; let’s go and eat.” The fat aunt gave her a gentle smile.

“Oh…ok…” Su Yan hurriedly followed the housekeeping aunt, fearing she had delayed Bai Xingfang from having his lunch. However, to her disappointment, she didn’t see Bai Xingfang there. As a guest, she definitely couldn’t declare war to seize the master, so she did not move her chopsticks, quietly and obediently sitting at the dining table waiting for him, even though she was extremely hungry now.

It was almost twelve o’clock, and it had been seven hours since she ate last.

The dining table was full of delicacies, almost all of which were her favourite dishes. But as she could only watch but not eat, it became a kind of torture.

After waiting for about ten minutes, she was already in great torment, swallowing her saliva continuously and, at the same time, questioning Bai Xingfan in her heart: ‘Why didn’t you come? Why are you still not here? Why are you still not here? The dishes are getting cold!’

After suffering through another five or six minutes, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. Su Yan’s eyes glowed, prompting a swift turn. She quickly lost her twinkle when she realised it wasn’t Bai Xingfang but the fat aunty. 

When the fat aunty saw that Su Yan had not eaten a single bite, she was surprised. “Ms. Su, why haven’t you eaten yet? Is the food not to your liking?”

“No, no, it’s all my favourite dishes.” Su Yan hurriedly explained. “I’m waiting for Mr. Bai.”

The fat aunt suddenly realised Su Yan’s thoughts and said apologetically, “I’m really sorry, I forgot to tell you, Sir has already left.” 

“Huh?” Su Yan was shocked and stunned. “When did he leave? Then when will he come back?” 

“I’m not sure; he is usually busy with work, but if you want to see him, you can call him directly,” the fat aunty replied.

Su Yan was embarrassed. “I-I don’t have a phone.”

Actually, she didn’t have her phone with her now, and she didn’t even know where she was.

The fat aunt smiled warmly and comforted her, saying, “Don’t worry, it’s all prepared for you, and it’s on the bedside table in your room.”

Su Yan was startled and looked at the fat aunt in disbelief.

The fat aunt said softly, “Don’t worry, sir; he has gone because he was very busy, and he will never ignore you. Don’t blame him.”

Su Yan: “…” ‘What does she mean by that?  These words—why do they sound weird? It seems that I am a clingy girlfriend who likes to cause trouble for no reason. For God’s sake, I don’t know Bai Xingfan well!’ Su Yan’s mind became chaotic.

In order to avoid creating misunderstandings, Su Yan quickly explained, “How can I blame him? We are just ordinary friends.” Worried that the atmosphere would be awkward, she used a tone that was half joking and half serious, but after she finished speaking, she regretted it because this tone sounded too yin and yang.

Ms., actually, our sir cares about you a lot. Before he went, he reminded us to take good care of you.” The fat aunt didn’t seem to understand Su Yan’s words.

Su Yan: “…” ‘The more you talk, the more mistakes you make. It’s better to keep my mouth shut.’

This time, she learned her lesson, so she didn’t intend to continue the conversation, picked up the chopsticks, and began to eat. “Thank you.”

However, the fat aunty thought Su Yan was angry because Bai Xingfac didn’t accompany her. She quietly left the dining room, took her mobile phone, and sent a message to Bai Xingfang: [Sir, Ms. Su seems to be angry.]

[What’s wrong?] He replied after a few seconds.

[It seems because you didn’t accompany her to lunch.]

……………………….

After finishing her lunch, Su Yan returned to her room. She saw a tablet and mobile phone on the bedside table, and she felt very relieved. Although she didn’t want to contact her family and friends at the moment, that didn’t mean she wanted to cut connections with the outside world completely.

As she went to check the devices, the screen on the mobile phone flashed up, indicating a text message from an unknown number. There was no screen password set on this phone; Su Yan opened it with a light touch and then clicked to read the text message.

[Sorry, I’m too busy today; I will return tomorrow morning.]

Su Yan knew who had sent this message in an instant, and she immediately felt ashamed. ‘Don’t think too hard about it; he probably sent this message because his aunty told him to.’ Su Yan tried to comfort herself.

Then she typed a reply to send, but before sending it, she realised that explaining it would be more awkward, so in the end, she didn’t send a message back. 

After deleting the message, she threw the phone on the bed and then sighed for a long time, a little tired and relaxed. Things that happened today were really unexpected. When she was thinking, her eyes drifted towards the scenery outside the French windows. The beautiful scenery had a healing quality that made people yearn for it. She could not help but walk towards the French windows.

Outside the window was the balcony. The ground of the balcony was paved with walnut-coloured wood flooring, with transparent glass fences on the edges, and a set of tables and chairs for people to enjoy the scenery was placed in the center of the balcony.

Su Yan walked to the edge of the balcony and lay down on the fence. She saw a rectangular swimming pool, but it was not stocked with water, and beyond that, there was a garden with a few light-coloured flowers, tall trees, and lush bushes that spread down the mountain. Seeing this, Su Yan could understand that Bai Xingfang didn’t like bright colours,  but only liked fresh and elegant things. But what made Su Yan even more curious was the green net on the east side of the garden. It was a circular net that was supported in a shape similar to a yurt but much higher than the yurt. At first glance, it looked like a giant birdcage covered with a net. That reminded Su Yan of the bird cages that were covered with green nets in zoos where birds were kept to prevent them from flying away.

When she was floating in her thoughts, a sudden knock on the door brought Su Yan back from her thoughts. “Come in,” she said.

The fat aunt walked into the room, put the things in her hand on the bedside table, and said, “These are your daily necessities.”

There were facial cleansers, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and other items.

Su Yan quickly thanked her. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome; just tell me if you need anything.” The housekeeping aunty didn’t intend to bother Su Yan, and she was about to leave, but Su Yan stopped her and pointed to the garden, asking, “What is that? Is it a birdcage?”

“Well, sir, once a nightingale was raised,” the fat aunty said, nodding.

‘Nightingale? Is it the kind of nightingale in fairy tales?’

“How long? Then did it die?”

“It died many years ago.” The aunt replied.

Su Yan felt a bit regretful because she had never seen a real nightingale before and had missed the chance to see one.

Aunt Fat: “However, the flowers in the birdcage are still pretty. If you are interested, you can go and have a look.”

Su Yan thought, ‘It really is a birdcage, but the big family is different. The birdcages are so high-end and luxurious. It’s like a palace-level birdcage. What a happy nightingale! But there was no freedom; trapped in the extravagant palace in the name of love, life appeared to be unhappy.’

She was in a daze when she suddenly heard her aunt asking softly, “That wedding dress of yours…”

Before the aunt finished speaking, Su Yan said without thinking, “Just throw it away… I don’t want it anymore.”

This wedding dress was tailor-made by Xie Yu from a well-known Italian designer. Every piece of yarn and every flower on it were hand-stitched, and it took three months to finish.

On the day she tried on the wedding dress, Xie Yu accompanied her.

He also said that she must be the most beautiful bride in the world.

She may not be the most beautiful bride in the world, but she must be the most miserable bride. She became a laughingstock on the wedding day. All of this was given to her by her groom, including her wedding dress. Not only did she no longer want this wedding dress, but she also didn’t want anything about Xie Yu.

End of Chapter 9