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Chapter 16 – Spark

“Meow, meow, meow…”

Lu Shiyin perked up with interest and stepped closer. “You said it—no take-backs.”

He nodded. Lu Shiyin got a bit excited, rubbed her arms, and sat down on the sofa, coughing twice.

Cheng Jinghe took off his suit jacket and draped it over her. “Before we start, let me ask—did you take your medicine?”

She froze. Her eyes darted around before she gave an awkward smile. “Uh… I don’t think I did.”

He said, “Knew it.”

He got up and walked to the dining table to get her medicine. He had seen it sitting there when he came in—clearly untouched.

The suit jacket he draped over her was warm. Lu Shiyin tucked both hands into the sleeves. They were long, the shoulders broad—she must look ridiculous, she thought.

Cheng Jinghe quickly came back with her medicine and a glass of warm water.

Lu Shiyin, true to her style, popped the pills into her mouth and downed them with the water in one gulp—decisive and bold.

She put down the glass and began to speak. “I think…”

Cheng Jinghe sat beside her, unfolded a blanket, and laid it over her legs.

His movement interrupted her train of thought, and she forgot what she was about to say. Meanwhile, the culprit sat beside her, patiently waiting for her to continue.

The living room lights were off, save for a warm yellow floor lamp nearby that lit up just the sofa. In the dim room, the flickering light resembled a little flame, dancing, licking at her heart.

Cheng Jinghe asked gently, “What is it?”

She suddenly felt warm, pulled her hair out from under the jacket, and let it fall behind her. “I was saying, your task is…”

Her original idea was to have Cheng Jinghe do frog jumps back and forth across the house. But now, she had a new plan.

“I’ll randomly pick someone from your phone contacts while I keep my eyes closed, and you’ll have to call them and say ‘meow, meow, meow.’”

Cheng Jinghe paused, licked his lips, then chuckled. He looked at her, then away, and finally asked, “That’s it? Nothing else?”

Seeing his reaction, Lu Shiyin knew she’d chosen well and grinned mischievously.

“Nope! You picked ‘dare’ yourself.”

“What if it’s a client in my contact list?”

“Then use your personal phone.”

“My personal phone only has family. You sure you want me doing that to my family?”

Lu Shiyin thought calling family would be boring. “Fine, then use your work phone. If I land on a client, skip them. But if it’s not a client—you have to go through with it.”

He propped his hand against his forehead, helpless. “Okay.”

He opened his contacts and handed her the phone. Lu Shiyin looked away and randomly swiped. “Has it stopped?”

Cheng Jinghe glanced at the screen. “It stopped.”

“Third contact on the page.”

She turned her head to look. The name was Manager Chen (Shengxing Architecture Firm).

Lu Shiyin pouted. “How’s it a client right off the bat?”

Cheng Jinghe shook his head. “I’m his client.”

Speechless, she said, “One more try.” She turned away again, swiping several times. “Fifth contact this time.”

Still a client.

She laughed in disbelief. “Is your contact list all clients?”

Cheng Jinghe laughed too. “Not all. I have friends in there too. You just missed them.”

“Again!”

Swipe. “First one.”

Quan Junchi.

Lu Shiyin knew him—not a client. In fact, Cheng Jinghe was his boss.

Cheng Jinghe’s expression stiffened. “Not this one. Pick another.”

“Why not? He’s not a client. We only said ‘no clients,’ not ‘no subordinates.’”

Cheng Jinghe was speechless. He pursed his lips. “Is it too late to switch to ‘truth’?”

Lu Shiyin shook her head dramatically. “The mighty CEO of Jinghuai Technologies, heir to Baozhen Wine Co.—and who knows what other businesses you run—and you’re backing out? Doesn’t sound great, does it? President Cheng?”

Looking at her gleeful expression, Cheng Jinghe sighed with a smile and made the call on speaker.

It rang a long time—no answer.

Cheng Jinghe exhaled in relief. Lu Shiyin, disappointed, sighed. “Fine, you’re off the hook today. Probably everyone’s asleep anyway.”

Just then, Quan Junchi called back.

Lu Shiyin leaned over, pointing to the screen. “Pick up! I want to hear!”

Cheng Jinghe had no choice. He answered on speaker.

Quan Junchi: “Hey, boss, what’s up? I just got out of the shower.”

Cheng Jinghe: “You home alone?”

Quan: “Yeah. Who else would be here? I’m single.”

Cheng Jinghe looked at Lu Shiyin, who silently mouthed, Do it!

He took a deep breath, still hesitating.

Quan: “Hello? Boss?”

Cheng Jinghe, stiffly: “…Meow, meow, meow.”

Quan: “???”

Lu Shiyin collapsed on the couch in laughter. After a beat of stunned silence, she sat up and muted the call. “What kind of cat sound is that? You have to sound cuter! Try again!”

Quan: “Boss? You okay? Did you get possessed?!”

Cheng Jinghe unmuted and, in a higher voice: “Meow~ meow~ meow~”

This time, Lu Shiyin gave him a thumbs-up before falling over laughing again. Cheng Jinghe quickly hung up.

She laughed so hard she couldn’t get up, tears streaming down her face.

Cheng Jinghe stood nearby, face dark with embarrassment—but when he saw how happy she was, he couldn’t help but smile too.

After a long while, Lu Shiyin wiped her eyes and sighed. “Should’ve recorded it and sent it to Cheng Jingzhi.”

Cheng: “Don’t you dare.” If she got it, the whole world would know.

Lu Shiyin was just teasing. She patted his shoulder. “Okay, okay, I won’t.”

Then she remembered his awkward “meows” again and burst out laughing, squatting on the floor and burying her face.

Cheng: “Was it that funny?”

She nodded without lifting her head.

He hadn’t expected it would make her laugh this much—it was the happiest he’d seen her in a long time. That made him happy, too.

When she finally stopped laughing, she waved him off. “Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow. I can’t keep looking at you right now or I’ll start laughing again.”

She left for her room.

Back in her room, she got ready for bed and noticed she was still wearing his jacket. She walked to the mirror and chuckled at her own appearance. She started to return the jacket but paused—there was a subtle, warm scent on it, woody and familiar.

Realizing what she was doing was a bit weird, she snapped out of it and went to return the jacket.

She opened the door just in time to see Cheng Jinghe walking by. She handed him the jacket. “Your coat.”

He took it. “Finally done laughing?”

She still had a smile on her face and nodded. “Goodnight.”

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Near the Wedding

As the wedding drew near, Lu Shiyin was so busy it felt surreal.

The night they came back from checking out the venue, she had a strange dream. She was walking through a thick white fog, unable to see anything, afraid she’d misstep and fall.

The scene shifted. She was on a lush green lawn, with a string orchestra playing beside a stage. Long tables were lined up, draped in white cloth adorned with camellias.

On the tables: stacked champagne glasses, sweet-smelling champagne, and a towering six-tiered cake decorated with buttercream flowers.

Guests with blonde hair and blue eyes lifted their glasses and toasted her. She looked down—she was wearing a pure white wedding gown. She was the bride.

The groom stood in front, wearing a tuxedo. But she couldn’t see his face clearly.

The priest asked him, “Do you take this beautiful woman as your wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, till death do you part?”

The man turned to her and said, “Yes.”

But somehow, she knew he wasn’t Cheng Jinghe. Horrified, she froze.

When the priest asked her if she was willing, she said: “No.”

The crowd panicked. Chaos erupted. At the end of the aisle, Cheng Jinghe stood tall. “Lu Shiyin, come with me!”

Wearing her wedding dress, she ran to him. Together, they ran with the wind at their backs—only the sound of her heartbeat and the wind filled her ears.

---

Her alarm went off like a death knell. Lu Shiyin fumbled for her phone and turned it off, staring at the ceiling.

She didn’t know why she had that dream. Maybe it was because the wedding was tomorrow.

For the ceremony, she had already moved back to her parents’ home. Tomorrow, Cheng Jinghe’s wedding procession would come pick her up.

Everything was split into three groups—Cheng Jinghe and his team decorated their new home; his family prepared the wedding venue; her family decorated her home with festive red symbols, dates, peanuts, and longans.

Xu Ma brought her a traditional breakfast: red date eggs. Lu Shiyin hated it but ate quickly under Xu Ma’s stern gaze and left for the rehearsal.

Some elder had suggested the bride and groom shouldn’t see each other the day before the wedding, so she didn’t see Cheng Jinghe all day.

That night, after just a few hours of sleep, she was pulled out of bed at 4 a.m. for makeup. She let the stylist do her thing, face blank.

As the sky brightened slightly, Cheng Jingzhi arrived in her bridesmaid dress to help.

Later, the groom’s party arrived, and Lu Shiyin finally saw Cheng Jinghe again. Her bridesmaids were few, so her aunts helped block the door, causing chaos.

When he finally entered and carried her downstairs amid cheers, Lu Shiyin suddenly recalled her dream. In the car, as the wind brushed her ears, it felt just like it had in the dream.

She was exhausted. The makeup was thick, and the dress stiff—she couldn’t sit comfortably.

Cheng Jinghe glanced at her. “Take a nap if you’re tired.”

She shook her head. “Too uncomfortable.”

He picked up a bit of her dress fabric, examining it. He thought: even on him, something this bulky wouldn’t feel good. Beauty and comfort—you could only choose one.

He leaned closer. “Lu Shiyin, should I make you a promise now?”

Her heart skipped. “What is it?”

“That we’ll only get married once—just this time.”

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Author’s Note:

Midnight. Quan Junchi lay in bed, holding his phone, still dazed. What did I just hear? Why did the boss call me like that??

A message popped up. He opened it:

Cheng Jinghe: That was a dare with my wife. Pretend it never happened.

Quan Junchi: …

3 a.m. He was still awake. He slammed the bed and cursed.

“Damn it! I’ve become part of their weird little couple game again!”