Forbidden To Be Tempted

The wedding is lively and sacred.

Two women wearing gorgeous wedding dresses, holding hands, walk down the red carpet, their faces filled with happy smiles. They make vows together, and the hall erupts in applause.

Growing up, Cheng Suran is attending a city wedding for the first time, and it's also her first time attending a same-sex wedding. She watches Qi Yan and Lu Zhiqiao embracing each other and feels envious, unable to help but have fantasies.

If it were her and Jiang Yu...

A face flashed in front of her, and Cheng Suran felt a bit dazed. Her gaze swept over to Tian Lin sitting next to her.

They were seated at the same table, and when they saw each other, there was no awkwardness, just a nod and a smile, without much conversation. Until now, the wedding proceedings were already halfway through, and they hadn't exchanged a word.

In the end, Jiang Yu didn't come.

After all, they were ex-girlfriends. Regardless of everything, there was once love between them. It would be awkward for one to appear at the other's wedding. Cheng Suran comforted herself with these thoughts.

As the wedding came to an end, the two brides came over to toast. When it was Cheng Suran's turn at the table, both of them looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know you and Jiang Yu had broken up."

Cheng Suran smiled, her two dimples sinking sweetly, and she softly said, "I wish you, Sister Yanyan and Boss Lu, a happy marriage."

"Cheers!"

Afterwards, someone came to distribute wedding candies*.

*喜糖" (xǐ táng) refers to wedding candies or wedding favors given to guests as a symbol of sharing happiness and gratitude.

Gradually, the wedding was coming to an end, and the banquet was almost finished. The guests started leaving one after another. Tian Lin finished the last sip of her drink, wiped her mouth, and stood up, ready to leave.

"Assistant Tian." Cheng Suran called out to her and also stood up.

Tian Lin's lips curled slightly as she turned her head without showing any emotions.

"May I ask..." Cheng Suran nervously looked at her. "Is Sister doing well?"

Tian Lin calmly nodded. "She's doing fine."

Cheng Suran wanted to ask more, but the words stuck in her throat. After all, she and Jiang Yu were no longer connected. What's the point of asking further? Persisting would only make people dislike her more.

"Thank you." She smiled at Tian Lin.

Tian Lin was expecting her to ask more but was left hanging. She paused for a moment but quickly regained her composure, smiled back, and turned to leave.

Cheng Suran watched her walk away, then sat for a while, drank some juice, wiped her mouth, and prepared to leave.

"Xiao Ranran."

 "?"

A vibrant red approached as Qi Yan, dressed in formal attire, walked up to her. "Are you not happy today?"

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Cheng Suran looked puzzled.

Qi Yan looked apologetic, slightly embarrassed. "Last month, at that time, both Qiao Qiao and I didn't know about you two... Today, you coincidentally sat with Tian Lin..."

After sending out the invitation to Cheng Suran, she learned from Tian Lin that they had already broken up. However, the invitations had already been sent out and couldn't be retracted, so they had to continue despite the circumstances.

Luckily, Jiang Yu didn't attend.

But that person sent Tian Lin instead, who coincidentally ended up sitting next to Cheng Suran today. Xiao Ranran must feel so uncomfortable.

Cheng Suran was taken aback and shook her head repeatedly. "No, I don't mind that. It's just a meal. What's important is celebrating for you and Boss Lu. Don't worry too much about it."

"And, actually, I..." She wanted to tell the truth, to say that she wasn't Jiang Yu's girlfriend.

She had been deceiving everyone.

"It's fine," Qi Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, not paying much attention. "Are you ready to leave? I'll arrange a car to take you home."

"No need, I can take a taxi."

"Don't be polite with me. Today, everyone has cars arranged for them. Let's go, I'll take you to the entrance. There should be an available car now."

Cheng Suran tried to refuse in every possible way, but she ended up following Qi Yan.

Next to the hotel entrance was an open-air parking lot. A row of neatly parked black extended limousines stood on the far left. Each car could accommodate up to nine people, displaying grandeur.

An empty car approached slowly, parked, and several men and women got on.

"Let's take this one. There's space," Qi Yan walked around to the driver's side window and told the driver to go to Jiangcheng Foreign Language University. Then she returned to Cheng Suran's side and lightly tapped her shoulder, whispering softly.

"Congratulations on your new life."

Her gaze was meaningful, as if there was more to her words.

Cheng Suran hadn't reacted yet when she got in the car.

As the door closed, she looked at Qi Yan outside the window, waving goodbye. Suddenly, she understood the meaning of those words...

....

At the end of September, the exchange students flew to Paris, France.

Returning to the familiar place, the city hadn't changed at all since half a year ago. The only difference was that this time Cheng Suran was accompanied by her classmates.

After settling in, everyone couldn't wait to go out and explore, visiting famous landmarks and taking photos.

Cheng Suran, who had been here before, had less interest and silently followed behind, observing the streetscape. She walked slowly and unconsciously fell behind her classmates.

Two women with slightly darker skin approached her, speaking English with a heavy accent. "Could you please fill this out? We are helping disabled children, for the sake of... love and ideals." They handed her a white form and a pen.

Cheng Suran snapped back to reality and glanced at them for a moment, her gaze falling on the form.

It was a questionnaire.

Just as she was about to take the paper and pen, a flash crossed her mind, and she suddenly remembered Jiang Yu's words:

[There are often Gypsies and Romanian people on the streets, trying to put a bracelet on you or asking for your signature on a paper. They are all scams. Don't pay attention to them…]

Cheng Suran hesitated, then withdrew her outstretched hand, pushing them away and swiftly running away.

After catching up with her classmates, Cheng Suran still had lingering fear.

[There are many thieves here, so you should keep an eye on your belongings. Crossbody bags are safer than shoulder bags. As two Asian faces, some people see us as walking money-printing machines.]

Cheng Suran took off her backpack and adjusted its position, wearing it in reverse.

They continued on their way without any trouble.

In the afternoon, they went to Parc de Scaeux, located in an affluent area. Cheng Suran looked at the well-manicured gardens around her and felt a strong sense of familiarity. If she remembered correctly, Jiang Yu's mansion should be nearby.

A thought crossed her mind...

Could Jiang Yu be there?

However, the area was too large, and they couldn't explore the entire park in the afternoon. Without a car and specific coordinates, it was impossible to find that house.

As the sun began to set, Cheng Suran stood in front of a castle and took a selfie. She opened WeChat and sent it to the gray-black profile picture that had been silent for a long time.

As expected, she saw the red exclamation mark.

She pretended that the other person received it.

She thought to herself.

How long will it take to completely forget about that person?

….

The last day of October was Jiang Yu's thirty-third birthday.

As usual, there were daytime celebrations at the company and studio, followed by an evening celebration with friends. The only difference was that this was her first birthday after "retiring."

But it seemed like nothing had changed.

She was still herself.

The gifts sent by fans filled a large table, and a few girls in the studio were organizing and categorizing them by size: large, medium, small, and mini. The room was orderly.

"It's strange, why are there so many gifts from abroad this year?"

"Because our sister Yu 'retired,' and the contract with the Paris-based management company also expired. The business contact address has been unified to the domestic studio, so we can expect to receive many gifts every year from now on."

 "Oh, oh."

They continued sorting and chatting, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a slender figure entering. "Sister Yu, you're here!"

"Welcome, our big birthday star!"

"Happy birthday!"

Everyone cheered.

Jiang Yu had vibrant red lips and was wearing a coffee-colored long-sleeved shirt with a black vest over it. The top two buttons were always undone, revealing her slender neck. She paired it with a regular straight-legged jeans, looking light and capable.

She walked to the table and scanned the room with her gaze, smiling. "Thank you all. I've added another year."

A white gift box caught her attention.

It was completely white, without any decorative patterns or labels, only a black satin ribbon wrapped around it, tied in a tassel knot. Simple and understated, it stood out among the colorful boxes.

It precisely hit Jiang Yu's aesthetic preferences.

She held it in her hands, looked at it, and then used her fingertips to pull the ribbon, undoing the knot. She slowly opened the transparent inner box.

Her heartbeat inexplicably quickened, as if something mysterious and precious was hidden inside.

A rabbit plush toy lay quietly in the box, about the size of a basketball. The neck was embroidered with the words "Happy Birthday," and it had two front paws holding a carrot, looking silly and cute.

Behind the rabbit, there was also a postcard with two lines of letters written in beautiful calligraphy:

Ma robe à fleurs sous la pluie de novembre

Tes mains qui courent, je n'en peux plus de t'attendre

It's in French.

Jiang Yu couldn't understand and raised her gaze, asking, "Who knows where this was sent from?"

"These are all gifts sent by overseas fans. The gifts from domestic fans have been sorted and placed on that table," a young girl pointed to the adjacent table.

Jiang Yu furrowed her brows slightly, unsure why she had a hunch that the person who sent this gift might know her...

She took out her phone and searched for the meaning of the two lines of letters:

—My floral dress sways in the November rain

—I walk in haste, no longer willing to wait

It was the lyrics from "Winter Garden."

Memories rushed in, and Jiang Yu's mind conjured up the image of a girl with a beautiful face and pure deer-like eyes. And then, a flood of buried memories resurfaced.

Time seemed to flow back to that night when the girl sang "Winter Garden," back to the same day years ago.

"Sister Yu, what's wrong?" Others noticed her abnormal expression and asked with concern.

Jiang Yu snapped back to reality, smiled, and said, "It's nothing. I actually quite like this gift. Let's leave it as it is." She casually put the postcard back into the box and closed it.

As she walked out of the studio's door, the outside was filled with bright sunshine and the fragrance of golden osmanthus.

[Sister, do you still like it?]

[I like it very much.]

Jiang Yu paused in her steps.

She still remembered it so clearly...

She wondered.

How long would it take to completely forget that person?

Time flies, and years pass by. At that time, no one knew that the farewell would last for a whole five years.

And even more unexpected was the possibility of meeting again.

Author's Note:

Five years later.

Cheng Cool tossed a list of names in front of Jiang Scum Yu: Ah, these are the sisters I've dated over these years (not .jpg).