Forbidden To Be Tempted

After returning home, Cheng Suran calmed down for a few days, devoted herself to work, and soon forgot her mother. Instead, something else stuck in her mind—

She smashed the model in front of Jiang Yu.

Inconsistent people think that making the most extreme choices will make them resolute, but she overestimated herself. Originally just a small pimple, growing unnoticed in a corner, it later turned into a slightly painful tumor.

After learning the truth about the bunny doll, everything changed.

After much thought, Cheng Suran decided to create a new model, also serving as a birthday gift for Jiang Yu. She bought all the necessary materials, piled them up in a corner of the study, first conceptualized the general structure and scenes, drew a simple sketch, and then began working.

As long as it is a day when she is not on a business trip, she will sit in the study for a while after finishing her work.

The progress is slow but meticulous.

This day, Cheng Suran worked overtime very late, and it was already nine o'clock when she got home. Wen Ruoxian went on a business trip, and she was the only one in the big empty house. There are new ingredients in the refrigerator, she didn't eat dinner, so she cooked a small bowl of vegetable pasta for supper.

After eating, she hurriedly washed up and went into the study.

The model that is about to be completed stands on the desk, and the desk lamp shines on it, the light is soft and bright, and the small Jiang Yu figurine is surrounded by flowers, looking lifelike.

But it appears very plain and lonely.

It would be too ugly and insincere to just send it out as a gift naked like this. Cheng Suran sighed, regretting her initial impulse even more. After thinking for a while, she decided to add more elements to the scene.

She dug out the rest of the material and found that the glue was missing, and she searched around before remembering that Ruoxian had borrowed the glue to fix a pendant on her keychain.

Cheng Suran stepped into Wen Ruoxian's study.

And found the glue on the table.

She stepped forward quickly, took the glue, turned around, and accidentally bumped into the stack of papers on the side of the table, and "crashed" scattered on the ground. These were documents that Wen Ruoxian had printed and discarded. She quickly squatted down to pick them up. As she was about to put them back in place, she noticed a sketchbook underneath.

The coiled book with a large A4 paper size was randomly opened and folded in half, and the corners were crumpled a bit.

A pencil outlines a familiar face on off-white paper...

It was her.

Cheng Suran blinked, unable to react for a while, and turned back two pages.

The later pages were blank, but as she went back, each sheet was filled with sketches of her. Different poses, expressions, close-ups of features, full-body portraits—standing, sitting, lying down... the entire book was filled with her, in various forms.

Realistic, lifelike, and detailed.

Cheng Suran was stunned.

Looking carefully at these works, even if she is a layman, she can feel that they were drawn by someone with a solid foundation, extensive practice behind them must not be short. She and Ruoxian have known each other for five years, but she didn't realize it... The whole book is full of her, could it be that she is used as a model? Then why didn't she tell her?

A trace of subtle emotions surfaced in her heart, disturbing her thoughts. There is an indescribably strange feeling.

Cheng Suran turned back the page of the sketchbook, arranged it together with the discarded documents, grabbed the glue, and left the study in a hurry.

The model materials were scattered on the table, and she sat down, breathed out a sigh of relief, shook those chaotic thoughts out of her mind, and prepared to continue working. The original design in the drawing remains unchanged, and a small house with a garden is added, symbolizing "home."

As she drew and drew, the lines in front of her eyes gradually transformed into her own face, one sketch after another, with different poses, flashing past like a movie, and her smile gradually solidified.

Like a ball of cotton stuck in the throat, dull and irritable.

She put down the pen and paper, looked at the table full of materials, and sighed, she just sat quietly, her mind blank, letting time go by.

The phone vibrated suddenly.

Ruoxian: [Ranran, are you home?]

A simple and ordinary question of concern, Cheng Suran used to reply casually, act coquettishly, and chat a few words, but now...she can't help but think of those sketches, her mind is filled with messy emotions and mixed flavors.

[Yes.]

She simply replied.

Ruoxian: [I just finished my work and got back to the hotel. Get some rest early. Goodnight.]

[Goodnight.]

Cheng Suran typed slowly and sent it, Wen Ruoxian replied with an emoji, the chat between them always ends with Wen Ruoxian, several times Cheng Suran wanted to be the last one to reply, but Ruoxian refused to let it go She sent more than a dozen emoticons at once, so she had no choice but to give up.

Getting along with Ruoxian is always reassuring and comfortable.

But this reassurance began to make her panic.

Those drawings...

Should she ask Ruoxian?

Cheng Suran stared at the emoticon pack, typed a few words uncontrollably with her fingertips, and just as she was about to send it out, she came back to her senses and deleted it all at once.

She couldn't make the model anymore, so she had to put the materials back into the box, turn off the lights and go back to her bedroom.

....

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=4738582

This translation is originally posted on

love4baihe.blogspot.com

please read it there. and check out other stories too 

Late at night.

Cheng Suran lost sleep.

Her mind was full of those sketches. Even with her eyes closed for a long time, she couldn't find sleep. She tossed and turned in the bed, and when she opened her eyes, all she saw was an impenetrable darkness.

The phone displayed twelve past five.

She opened the search engine and question-and-answer app, and awkwardly entered "my best friend secretly drew a sketch of me", but scattered keywords were displayed. She changed words and sentence patterns, but still could not find any effective information.

Has anyone encountered a similar situation?

Unwilling to give up, Cheng Suran created a question by herself, roughly describing the whole process, and blurring the information related to privacy. Whether it's early or late, maybe someone can answer her doubts.

After the question was sent, Cheng Suran held the phone nervously and anxiously. These emotions did not last long. Within five minutes, three people replied to her.

A: [There is nothing to make a fuss about. I also study art. I usually draw people around me when I am bored. I use it as practice or give it to them. They all know about it, so you don't need to overthink it. ]

B: [If you hadn't mentioned that the other person is female, I would've thought it was a guy. Gender-swapping can be quite romantic]

The third reply is longer.

C: Are my ji eyes seeing ji people?* It feels like your friend has a crush on you. You said that you have known each other for several years and you have a good relationship. Why didn’t she tell you that you can draw? Besides, if you two live together, there is no need to hide it. If she thinks you look good and wants to draw you, she could just tell you. Straight female friendship doesn’t have so many hidden thoughts, but if it’s curvy, it’s really uncertain. I suggest you observe her behavior, especially around other girls. Here's a trick: playfully hug her or give her a peck and see her reaction. Straight girls usually won't take it seriously, but if she's interested in you, she might get nervous or blush. Try it.]

*ji = lesbian, is my gaydar going off?

This paragraph was like a heavy stick, pounding hard on Cheng Suran's heart.

Suddenly, she remembered the day when she and Ruoxian were eating hot pot while watching a drama. At an exciting point, the two of them discussed some strange topics...

[How about the female lead teams up with her best friend instead?]

[Exactly!]

[Lily Alliance is good.]

[Absolutely.]

[I think I saw some fan-made edits of their CP scenes online…]

[Exactly, the male lead is just slowing things down!]

The more Cheng Suran thought the more her heart trembled.

After thinking about it, in the past few years since we met Ruoxian, the other party never mentioned men in matters other than work, and she never showed any interest in handsome guys. In watching movies, she always pays more attention to female characters and communicates more with female employees in the company...

She's like that too.

Therefore, their outlook agrees with each other, and they get along very comfortably.

She thought that was why they were good friends.

But once there is doubt, every minute and every second in the past, every detail, will point to doubt. Seemingly normal words and actions will become abnormal... She had a guess in her mind.

Is Ruoxian really...

Cheng Suran deleted the question with trembling fingers, put away her phone, pulled the quilt over her head, and buried herself in the impenetrable darkness.

The next morning, Wen Ruoxian came back.

Cheng Suran didn't have a personal work schedule today, but she was going to the company. She packed up her clothes, put on light makeup, walked out of the bedroom, and ran into Wen Ruoxian who just came back.

"Ranran–"

"I brought you taro cakes and put them on the tea table." Wen Ruoxian pointed to the living room with a slight smile, but her eyes showed a look of exhaustion.

The end-of-year conference season was busy, and she had been working non-stop during this period, managing various matters within the company. Her fatigue was evident, her eyes devoid of their usual radiance.

"Are you going to the office?"

"Mm."

Cheng Suran's heart was beating wildly, but she nodded calmly.

She looked towards the living room, showing a pleasant smile, with two shallow pear dimples on her cheeks, and suddenly, she rushed to grab Wen Ruoxian's neck, "I was just craving the taste of taro cakes yesterday, Ruoxian is the best, You're like roundworm in my stomach*!”

*you know me very well

Wen Ruoxian was taken aback and her body stiffened.

"Hey, by the way, do you know how to draw?" Cheng Suran asked casually, just hugging her like this, feeling the subtle changes in her body.

It was only then that Wen Ruoxian came to her senses, and pushed her away with difficulty, "What?"

"Just... yesterday, I was in your study looking for glue, and accidentally knocked something off the table. When I picked it up, I saw a sketchbook with drawings of me, almost like black and white photos. You're really talented." 

Cheng Suran smiled with narrowed eyes.

Wen Ruoxian's heart skipped a beat, her expression changing. "Mm... I can a little." She chuckled to cover up, "It's not as exaggerated as you're saying."

"A little? Still humble in front of me." Cheng Suran took her hand, strode into the study room, took out the sketchbook that was put away last night, and opened a page at random. "Look, it's not an exaggeration to call it a photo effect. Even though I don't understand art, I have a taste."

Wen Ruoxian looked at her own drawings, her back breaking out cold sweat, she secretly regretted it.

Having finished the drawing the night before, she was busy with work and had left the sketchbook lying around. Rushing for a flight the next morning, she didn't have time to tidy up her cluttered desk. She had been absent-minded. The thought that her secret might have been discovered...

She moved her eyes to Cheng Suran and smiled, but her heart was hanging in her throat.

"It's because you are good-looking that I can draw such an effect."

"But why didn't you tell me?" Cheng Suran observed her calmly.

"Because... Wen Ruoxian hesitated to speak.

There seemed to be a voice in her ear telling her: This is a good opportunity, be brave and express your heart. You may fail if you speak, but it will never be possible if you don’t speak.

The seeds that have been buried for many years began to stir.

In the next second, she saw the discarded documents on the table and some meeting materials, and she woke up in an instant. She raised her hand and tapped Cheng Suran on the head, and said with a sneer, "It's just a small hobby. I'm afraid that if I make ugly pictures, someone will be upset."

It was the familiar Wen Ruoxian again, the Wen Ruoxian who loved to tease her.

Cheng Suran suddenly felt relieved, but subconsciously, she also felt that this reason wouldn't stand up to scrutiny. She didn't dwell on it, and her fist landed on Wen Ruoxian's shoulder, "Am I that petty?"

"That's not certain."

"Okay, I'll show you today, I'll show you carefully!"

She put down her sketchbook, and rolled up her sleeves as if to fight, Wen Ruoxian dodged away and started playing with her, to hide the chaos in her heart...

After trying all the methods of the netizen, Cheng Suran still couldn't determine Wen Ruoxian's orientation. Those so-called "reactions" sometimes matched and sometimes didn't, like a maze that trapped her in it.

She even wanted to ask upfront...

But if Ruoxian didn't have that kind of thinking, doing so would embarrass each other, and their future relationship would never return to the way it was before.

For a while, she was in a dilemma.

Soon, the busy work at the end of the year left Cheng Suran with no time to take care of these things. She and Ruoxian could only see each other three or four nights a week, even their conversations revolved around work. Often, they were so tired that they fell asleep immediately, gradually leaving behind their thoughts.

In her limited rest time, Cheng Suran immersed herself in creating the model. After tinkering for half a month, she finally completed a new model—one that was larger than the old one. It faithfully replicated the original scene and characters, but she also added a small house and crafted a miniature Jiang Yu to place inside.

Looking at the brand-new model, Cheng Suran was relieved a lot.

This is a gift that contains both an apology and a thank you.

It was her, the present Cheng Suran, thanking Jiang Yu for extending a helping hand to the six-year-old her and apologizing for impulsively breaking the model. Perhaps it also represented her truly moving forward from the past, becoming a brand-new and empowered self.

Today was her day off, not a weekend, but she wanted to give this gift now.

Thinking about it, she dialed the phone.

Within three seconds of ringing, a slightly surprised voice came from the other end: "Ranran?"

The speed was so fast that Cheng Suran wondered if Jiang Yu had set an exclusive ringtone for her number.

"Are you..." Cheng Suran became inexplicably nervous, and paused on the edge of his mouth, "Are you free now?"

"Yes. "

"Oh, where are you? I have something for you."

Without asking what that "something" was, Jiang Yu replied with a slightly faster speech, "At the brokerage company, in my office."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

After speaking, Cheng Suran quickly hung up the phone.

....

Jiang Yu is listening to the report in the office.

After putting down the phone, her cold face instantly softened, the corners of her lips curled up slightly, and she couldn't hide her smile.

Tian Lin who was standing opposite was stunned for a moment.

"Sister Yu?"

"Continue."

She tapped the table with her fingertips.

Tian Lin lowered her head and glanced at her tablet. "It's almost ready. Take a look." She adjusted the orientation and handed it over. The achievements of all the managers for the month were there, except for Mina.

"Why is she missing again?" Jiang Yu frowned.

"She's been very busy recently, we couldn't get through two of the three phone calls, and when we do, she could only say two or three sentences, and she couldn't be seen in the company at all."

"Did she say what she was up to?"

"She's juggling both domestic and international tasks. For the international side, it's mainly France, Russia, and Ukraine. She's handling around seven or eight models, and her daily schedules are different."

Jiang Yu lowered her eyes in thought, glanced at the documents on the tablet, and muttered to herself: "Although she has a lot of models, they are not considered newcomers. There are many things that don't require her to accompany them personally. Moreover, we have already cooperated with Russia. Signed a yearly contract with the parent company in France, and there is no need to go back and forth frequently to find recruits, so what is she doing?"

"I don't know..." Tian Lin shook her head in embarrassment.

Although she is the vice president, as the oldest chief agent, Mina is absolutely free to act, even if her rank is lower than her, she doesn't have to report everything to her.

She feels helpless.

Jiang Yu sighed, rubbed the center of her brows, and said, "Forget it, go get busy."

"Mm."

Tian Lin left, and the room fell into silence.

Jiang Yu had an uneasy feeling, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She sat on the chair like a sculpture, lost in thought. A knock at the door brought her back to reality.

Raising her head, a splash of ginger-yellow caught her eye. Cheng Suran entered from outside, closing the door behind her and walking towards the warm sunlight.

"Did I disturb you?"

Even the formal title was omitted.

That's also good.

She didn't want to hear her calling "Miss Jiang".

Jiang Yu's eyes were bright, she looked at her softly, and shook her head slightly: "No." After that, she stood up and pointed to the sofa set by the window, "Let's sit over there."

She walked around the desk and took Cheng Suran's hand.