No Wind or Rain

After accompanying Du Jiayi as he ate in his office, Yu Sichun took the lunch box and went back home. Today, she agreed to Jack’s idea. Although she was impulsive about the matter, she didn’t regret it.

She was accepted into Jiaotong University in Jiangcheng but didn’t end up going because she was getting married that year. Her teacher felt that it was a shame and made a special trip to see her but she still refused.

She suddenly thought of it today and wanted to go to Jiangtong University to have a look.

Du Jiayi respected her privacy.

He didn’t know much about her, let alone that she was actually his junior. Even if he did know, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Their relationship would remain like this with no change. If nothing happened, then nothing would change.

Jiangtong University was the same as 3 years ago and there was very little difference. The kind uncle at the entrance and auntie in the cafeteria was still there, the ginkgo leaves falling with the wind, the flowers blooming in the flower beds and the red creepers on the walls in Huanxiao Street were the same. She walked all the way to the International Relations building and looked at the students who were gradually leaving class. They walked away with books in their arms and occasionally one or two students would look at her with surprised eyes.

She walked into the building and the classroom had two or three classmates lingering around who were tidying up their own things.

Jiangcheng’s autumn wasn’t cold or hot, it was just right. A beautiful girl dressed in simple clothing with the only decoration being a black scarf with beige stripes. She walked in her direction and when she saw her, she smiled and hurried away.

Yu Sichun walked into the classroom and saw the professor surrounded by students. After smiling, she went over to say hello.

“Teacher Li.”

“Sichun, I haven’t seen you for so long. How are you doing?”

Li Yu was a very young teacher. After graduation, she stayed in the school as a professor. It had been more than seven years since then. Yu Sichun just so happened to be her first student when she began the job so naturally, their feelings were inevitably deeper.

“Very good, how are you, teacher?”

“Me? Aren’t I always the same? You’re now…”

“I don’t have much to do recently. I’m idle every day.” Yu Sichun accepted her words with a smile.

Li Yu was a little surprised. She always thought that the little genius from the past would have entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as she said she would and be living in Germany long-term.

She never thought it’d be like this.

There was no special change in the way she dressed. It was still the classic, Mixiang. Li Yu knew Yu Sichun liked that brand a lot. Since she first met the girl, her clothes had always been Mixiang and it had remained unchanged. She had very few hobbies and her life was like an old man in her seventies or eighties with no particular passion. She was plain, peaceful and quiet but also idle and elegant.

“Send those questions to me through mail after you leave, I’ll answer them when I get back home.”

Li Yu sent the students around her away. Then, she walked out of the classroom with Yu Sichun and found a coffee shop near the school to sit down in. Li Yu knew what her habits were and picked a seat by the window. This way, she could see the pedestrians walking past outside. When she was in school, she liked to finish her homework in such an environment and could sit there for a long time with just a cup of cappuccino.

“Hello, what can I get you?”

“A cup of Blue Mountain, a cup of cappuccino and a mousse cake, right?”

Li Yu turned her head and looked at her. Yu Sichun nodded her head with a smile.

“Okay, please wait a moment.” The waiter answered them politely and turned away.

“I didn’t expect to see you ever again. That time you refused so firmly, I thought you would never come back to Jiangcheng. It was really… I thought you were so cruel back then.” Li Yu pretended to be angry and stared at Yu Sichun.

Yu Sichun just smiled. “I’ve always been in Jiangcheng.”

“You have always been…”

“Yes.”

“But…” Why did you drop out of school instead of continuing your studies?

Before Li Yu could finish her words, she was interrupted. The waiter had come back and placed the dessert and coffee they ordered on the table.

“Please enjoy.”

“Thank you,” Yu Sicheng nodded and said gratefully. After eating a mouthful of cake, she said, “I just wanted to try the exam and I didn’t expect to get in. Later, something happened so I didn’t want to study anymore.”

“So it was like that…” Li Yu bowed her head. It was a pity that she no longer went to school. She happened to see the ring on her ring finger which was a little unexpected. She was only 23 years old. Why did she get married so early?

“Are you married?”

Perhaps in ordinary people’s eyes, that question was a little presumptuous but according to Li Yu’s temper, she had always been like that.

“Yes, I’m married.” Yu Sichun heard her own words and was stunned. After coming back to her senses, she looked at her wedding ring and blankly opened her mouth.

Originally, Li Yu, who thought she was just overthinking it, now had many complex emotions in her heart. She couldn’t decide if it was a pity or strangeness. There was also a hint of curiosity in the mix. She was curious about who had married her.

“It’s been three years.” Yu Sichun spoke again.

“Isn’t that…” Did you give up your studies?

Halfway through though, Li Yu felt that it was inappropriate of her to say so and stopped talking.

They didn’t chat long. The two of them sat relatively silently for a long while. Yu Sichun raised her hand again to look at the time. The hour hand was already pointing at the number 3. Recently, the company weren’t particularly busy so Du Jiayi would go home on time for dinner. She planned to get up and say goodbye.

Outside the window, a black Maybach was parked there. The driver in the car said to the man in the back seat. “Boss, isn’t that the lady who comes to deliver your meals every day?”

When the man heard that, he frowned as if he were thinking about something. After a moment, he rubbed his aching temples and opened his mouth. “That’s my wife.”

She wasn’t just some delivery lady.

He turned his head again and looked at the woman sitting in the cafe with a gentle smile on her face. A similar smile was also on the corners of Yu Sichun’s mouth.

After storing away his documents, he got out of the car and happened to see Yu Sichun and the other woman come out together. She probably saw him just then because, after a pause, she went over to him.

“This is my husband, Du Jiayi.” Yu Sichun revealed Du Jiayi’s identity to Li Yu.

The woman was stunned for a moment and then reacted. She said. “Hello, Mr Du, I’m Li Yu. A professor at Sichun’s University.”

“Hello.” Du Jiayi nodded.

Li Yu knew Du Jiayi. He was the male lead of the most watched couple in the school at that time. She also knew him now because he was a well-known entrepreneur who often appeared in major financial newspapers and channels.

The only thing that was unclear was how he got married to Yu Sichun.

After saying a simple greeting, Li Yu told Yu Sichun. “Then let’s get together another time. Bye.”

“Okay, goodbye.” Yu Sichun nodded at Li Yu.

———

Looking at Li Yu’s back to which was getting farther and farther away, Yu Sichun turned towards Du Jiayi and asked. “What do you want tonight?”

Du Jiayi lowered his gaze to look down at the top of her head. Today, she wore a beige knitted sweater with a white coat. Her hair wasn’t loose like it was in the noon but instead, tied up. She looked both young and energetic.

Thinking about it, his wife was only 24 years old (1) this year. A normal girl would have started working not too long ago and yet she had been married to him for three years. He didn’t care much about her personal matters and didn’t even know where in her studies she was at.

He paused for a moment after thinking of that and heard her ask him what he wanted to eat. Suddenly, he felt mischievous and bowed his head to whisper in her ear. “I don’t know what to eat tonight but I want to eat you this evening.”

“You…”

Yu Sichun’s face instantly turned red. She heard Du Jiayi’s low laughter ring in her ear and she unconsciously moved her head away because she wasn’t used to such intimacy.

Du Jiayi sensed her reaction and just wrapped an arm around her waist to lead her to the car. “Let’s eat out today.” He turned his head and told the driver, Xiao Liu. “Go to Qingji.”

Xiao Liu saw Du Jiayi talking in Yu Sichun’s ear from the rearview mirror and Yu Sichun blushing bright red. He found that she was really beautiful.

So she was the boss’ wife.

In a way, the boss and her were a good match. She was a talented and beautiful woman. Looking at the boss’s attitude towards his wife, their relationship didn’t seem bad. It didn’t look like a marriage without emotions or love. So why didn’t he wear a wedding ring?

Although he thought those thoughts, Xiao Liu was just a transparent person the entire drive. He ate the dog food sprinkled in the back seat by his boss and his wife. The pure thoughts of a single dog: I’m still a child, can’t you give me some friendship love…?  (2)

Jiaotong University wasn’t that far from Qingji. Yu Sichun and Du Jiayi let Xiao Liu go back after arriving there. It also happened that it wasn’t far from their apartment so they planned to take a walk back after dinner.

Qingji was opened by a young woman. The decoration inside was very stylish and the dishes were an improved version of(Dreams of the Red Chamber). The chef’s skills were also very good.

Yu Sichun liked to eat in this restaurant. She had been here several times with Du Jiayi but most of the time she would come to eat alone. If she didn’t need to deliver food to Du Jiayi when she was staying at home then she would only eat one meal a day. At 3 pm, she would go out to the Qingji and orders a few dishes without rice and silently eat for a long time.

Those lonely times seemed like invisible shackles on her. It was like she was carrying the shackles and voluntarily locking herself in a cage that she couldn’t break free from.

Du Jiayi found her being distracted and thought that she didn’t want to come to this restaurant for dinner. He frowned and said. “We can eat somewhere else.”

“No, it’s fine here.” Yu Sichun smiled.

“En, that’s good.”

When the two of them walked into a private room, a waiter came over. “Hello, Miss Yu, is it just the two of you?”

“En, yes.” Yu Sichun nodded.

“What can I get you?”

“The usual but add two bowls of rice and a soup.”

“Okay,” the waiter asked after writing. “What soup would you like?”

“Something light.”

“Well, for a lighter one then I recommend you this fresh mushroom soup, is it okay?” The waiter said and pointed to the soup on the menu.

“Okay.” Yu Sichun nodded.

Du Jiayi didn’t say anything and just kept looking at Yu Sichun.

“It’ll only be a moment.”

After the waiter went out, Du Jiayi stared at Yu Sichun’s face for a long time. She was looking at the scenery outside the window. The sunset fell on her face and time seemed to have been paused.

“Do you come to this restaurant often?”

“I do.”

After answering, Yu Sichun no longer looked out of the window and lowered her head to play with her fingers.

She didn’t know when it began but she and Du Jiayi no longer had anything to talk about. Occasionally, they would talk about something but it would still end in awkwardness.

Later, she stopped trying to find a topic to talk about between him and her. There didn’t seem to be anything to talk about between them anyways.

“I’m going overseas for business the day after tomorrow.” Du Jiayi paused for a moment before opening his mouth to continue.

“Well, is there anything special you want to prepare? Tell me and I’ll prepare it for you.” Yu Sichun nodded and asked.

“Nothing,” Du Jiayi stared at her indifferent eyebrows for a while. After some time, the waiter came back and served the dishes on the table, Yu Sichun started using her chopsticks before he asked. “Don’t you want to go with me?”

“No, just work hard.” She remembered that he would be very busy every time he went on a business trip.

“There aren’t that many things on this business trip.” Du Jiayi couldn’t pinpoint what mood he was in. He just opened his mouth and paused for a while again before saying. “Go with me.”

“Okay.”