The Evening Breeze Sinks

[Diplomat vs. Classical Dance Prima Ballerina]

On a chilly, rainy night, a classical dance tour came to an end.

After a flurry of activity in the dressing room, a teammate stared in astonishment at the diamond ring on Meng Ting's hand. "Tingting... you're married?"

Hurriedly slipping it off, Meng Ting lowered her eyes to hide her alarm and murmured, "It's just an accessory."

Her teammate sighed in relief. How could someone as cool and aloof, so seemingly untouched by worldly concerns as Meng Ting, have gotten married so easily?

The crowds dispersed, and she realized she'd forgotten her umbrella.

She had planned to run all the way home, but then she spotted him beneath a tree, dressed in a suit and holding a black umbrella, waiting in silence.

She was startled. He was supposed to be in Paris right now.

The man slowly raised his eyes. His voice came through the thin veil of rain, cool and low. "Shouldn't I come back for our anniversary?"

*

Xie Yanjing was impeccably mannered, elegant, and refined. At a young age, he had become a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, admired by everyone.

Because of him, Meng Ting learned what a true child of heaven was.

And because of him, she came to understand exactly what a polished scoundrel was. Beneath his restrained, upright demeanor lay a truly absurd soul.

On the surface, he was always cool and composed, treating her with courteous distance.

She received his carefully restrained "Good morning" and "Good night" written on envelopes, and the short poems he sent beneath the harbor's evening sky.

But she also experienced his ferocity and recklessness at night.

All those years with him, she thought she was repaying a debt.

When the debt was paid, they would part. It was only right.

But on the very morning she was about to leave, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely. "This is how you repay kindness?"

*

In the ten years Meng Ting had known Xie Yanjing, she had called him "big brother" only twice.

The first time, in a misty waterside town, she clutched his sleeve and pleaded through tears, "Big brother, can you take me away?"

The second time, on a night of torrential rain, she had finally resolved to break up with him. Again, she asked through tears, "Big brother, can you let me go?"

Age gap / mutual healing / childhood sweethearts / a touch of angst / later, he chases his wife

◆ "Again and again, I step into the evening breeze, just to hold you when the time is right."

The next novel, "Moonfold," is about a powerful Beijing family and a college girl. If you're interested, add it to your favorites.

*

One afternoon, frustrated by her thesis, Ruan Yi let her roommate take her to the museum to clear her head.

The hall was filled with glittering treasures, dazzling to the eye. Pointing at the donor whose name she'd seen countless times, Ruan Yi couldn't help asking, "Who is Fu Yueli?"

Her roommate was astonished by her naivety and lowered her voice. "You mean Mr. Fu?"

"I'm not exaggerating. Everyone says he's the king of this city of stone."

*

Ruan Yi never expected that one day she would get involved with this "king."

Through the old glass windows on a rainy day, the man stood beneath the faint light, a cigarette between his fingers. His dark eyes were weary, languid, and utterly uninterested. He stared at Ruan Yi as if she were a little sparrow that had blundered in, flustered.

No one expected them to marry in a rush just two days later.

Later, when Ruan Yi spoke to outsiders about their marriage alliance, she gave an awkward look and muttered, "It's a marriage of convenience. We'll get divorced soon."

It was a throwaway remark. She thought he felt the same way.

But it wasn't long before she paid the price for those words.

On a damp day, in a reckless night, her rosy lips were rubbed until swollen, and her slender wrist was held in a crushing grip.

His hoarse voice was edged with coldness. "Want to leave?"

"Yiyi, you didn't say that when you were sitting on my lap."

A little scene:

Another afternoon spent wrestling with her thesis. Ruan Yi propped her chin on her hand, frowning as she deleted a line she'd struggled to write.

The man came over with a glass of water and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Seeing the list of topics on her screen, he couldn't help asking, "You study history. If we lived in ancient times, what kind of person would I be?"

He thought he'd be either a court official or a powerful minister.

But the young woman pointed at him and said each word distinctly: "A tyrannical official."

Yes, the kind who held the world in one hand and answered to no one.

Theme: Perseverance brings victory.