Chapter 19: Loose Tongue 

Cheng Jiali frowned.

He thought it was some clueless Didi driver^[1]Didi driver is someone who works for Didi Chuxing, a leading Chinese ride-hailing platform similar to Uber or Lyft. The drivers provide transportation services, typically using their own cars, and … Continue reading. Urging people to get in the car was one thing, but driving aggressively with high beams glaring in his eyes and almost knocking over his motorcycle? That was crossing the line.

“In such a hurry to take an order? Do you even know how much my bike costs…?” Cheng Jiali muttered with a wry smile, raising his head.

Instead of looking at the person, the man’s first instinct was to look at the car.

A jet-black Rolls-Royce Cullinan, one of the most expensive SUVs in the world. The model was named after the largest South African diamond ever mined, Cullinan. From its interior to its exterior, the vehicle exuded a noble sense of understated luxury. Even the license plate was a rare consecutive-numbered one that couldn’t be purchased with money alone.

Cheng Jiali’s anger got stuck halfway in his throat, neither rising nor subsiding.

The probability of such a car running as a Didi was even lower than Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage.

The night deepened, seeping through the car windows, making the interior even dimmer. The man’s features were sharp and cold.

There was even something… inexplicably familiar about him.

Cheng Jiali looked down and asked Ji Fanling, “Do you know him?”

He then looked up at Fu Yingcheng and said, “Did you call the wrong person?”

Without hesitation, Ji Fanling shook off Cheng Jiali’s hand and got into the car.

Before the seatbelt was even buckled, the Cullinan roared to life with a surge of acceleration, leaving a trail of dust behind as it sped away.

…

Fu Yingcheng’s car was always warm with the heat turned up high, but today it carried an indescribable chill.

The glow of the streetlights streamed across the man’s face like flowing water, yet it couldn’t dispel the coldness. His expression remained clouded, heavy with a stifling gloom.

Ji Fanling, still irritated by Cheng Jiali, stayed silent for a long time.

It wasn’t until the car came to an abrupt stop at a red light that Ji Fanling, jolted forward by inertia and restrained back by the seatbelt, snapped out of her thoughts. She casually remarked, “By the way, you came pretty early today.”

Usually, she would take the bus after finishing work on time, and only around eleven o’clock would their paths occasionally cross.

Fu Yingcheng didn’t look at her. His fingers pressed against the steering wheel, turning white from the force, but his tone remained light: “Was it bad timing?”

“Pretty well-timed, actually.” 

Ji Fanling said. “But why are you driving so fast? If you’re in a hurry, you don’t have to pick me up.”

Fu Yingcheng shot her a glance, his tone icy as he said, “Not as fast as you run.”

Ji Fanling: “?”

The red light reflected in the man’s dark eyes, carrying a kind of cold, forbidden aura. It was as glaring as when she had dashed out of the food stall and ran straight toward Cheng Jiali.

He always seemed slow and unhurried, taking ages to even recognize a car.

Turns out, when it came to others, she was always running.

Fu Yingcheng lowered his eyes, letting out a soft, scoffing laugh. “Looks like your fall yesterday wasn’t that bad after all.” Why bother rushing here early to pick her up?

Ji Fanling: “…”

She wasn’t exactly the most patient person either. “What’s that supposed to mean? Hoping I’d be crippled and stuck at home?”

No wonder Fu Yingcheng had done so much charity work yet had no friends, so it wasn’t without reason!

The light turned green, but Fu Yingcheng didn’t respond. The car fell into a brief silence.

Ji Fanling stayed quiet for a moment.

If she ignored his tone and focused solely on his words, it was possible that Fu Yingcheng had been expressing relief that she wasn’t injured…

Was she just overly sensitive to sarcasm?

Maybe Fu Yingcheng didn’t mean it that way?

Ji Fanling rested her chin on her hand, gazing out the window. Wanting to ease the tension from her instinctive retort earlier, she slowly said, “Actually, if it’s inconvenient for you, you don’t have to pick me up anymore.”

“Oh? Planning to have Cheng Jiali pick you up instead?”

Ji Fanling was already annoyed at the mention of Cheng Jiali. She immediately turned her head, her tone involuntarily laced with irritation. “What does this have to do with him?”

“…..”

Impressive.

She was already defending him.

Not even his name could be brought up.

For a few oppressive minutes of dead silence, the talisman hanging beneath the rearview mirror swayed gently.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man’s long, slender fingers loosely gripping the steering wheel. He bent his fingertips and tapped it lightly, as if reminding her, speaking slowly: “Don’t you know he’s married?”

Ji Fanling responded instinctively, “What does his marriage have to do with me?”

“……”

Was this her way of saying she didn’t care?

Still not giving up.

Did she really like him that much?

Fu Yingcheng suppressed the fire burning in his chest, spitting out his words coldly: “Have you ever thought that he might actually love the person he’s married to?”

Ji Fanling recalled Cheng Jiali’s tea-laden phrases like “It’s a marriage arranged by our families,” “She’s getting older too,” and “You’re different from her.” The absurdity of it all made her laugh out loud.

“…I’m serious, that’s not necessarily the case.”

These words fell into Fu Yingcheng’s ears.

To him, it was no different than outright dismissal.

She thought Cheng Jiali didn’t love his wife, loved her instead, and might even divorce to marry her someday.

The Cullinan suddenly slowed down, swerved sharply, braked, pulled over, and came to a stop with hazard lights flashing.

The alternating lights flickered in and out of the shadows.

Fu Yingcheng turned his head, his patience utterly exhausted, and enunciated each word: “Can you wake up already?”

“Can you act a bit more normal?”

Ji Fanling lifted her eyelids and stared at him, her gaze clear and sharp. “Honestly, what’s wrong with you tonight?”

“This is…” Fu Yingcheng stared at her face, struggling to say anything harsher. Gritting his teeth, he finally said, “…illegal. Don’t you know?”

Ji Fanling thought to herself, When have I ever broken the law…?

Oh no, could it be that he found out she still had a fake ID hidden somewhere?

So that’s what all this circling around was about, so he was mad about that.

The girl instantly felt guilty. Fiddling with her fingers, she peeked at the man’s terrible expression through her lashes. “…How—how did you find out?”

“Do you think I’m blind?”

Ji Fanling pressed her lips together, her gaze drifting to the seat beside her as she mumbled, “I know it’s not great, but honestly, the risk isn’t that big…”

Fu Yingcheng: “?”

“The impact isn’t that bad either…”

Fu Yingcheng: “?”

“And it’s really important to me…”

Fu Yingcheng: “?”

Ji Fanling tentatively met his gaze. “Is there any chance you could just, you know, pretend you don’t know about it?”

…

For a moment, Ji Fanling felt like Fu Yingcheng was so angry that he could strangle her.

Fu Yingcheng stared at her, his gaze dark and heavy.

In the dimly lit car, with the two of them only an arm’s length apart, the tension was stretched to its absolute limit.

There was an emotion in his eyes that she couldn’t quite decipher. An undercurrent, deep and surging, as heavy as mountains and seas, pressing down on her until she could barely breathe.

“…That’s not possible.”

After a long pause, Fu Yingcheng spoke in a low voice, leaning back against the seat. His tone was slightly hoarse, laced with an undeniable weariness.

He took off his glasses, pressed the bridge of his nose, and, with his eyes closed, spoke in a low voice: “Ji Fanling.”

He had never called her by her full name before.

Those three words fell from Fu Yingcheng’s lips.

For some inexplicable reason, there was something special about it, something that made her heart skip a beat.

“If you insist on this…” Fu Yingcheng began.

Ji Fanling suddenly interrupted, “Then forget it.”

Fu Yingcheng: “?”

It’s just a fake ID, was it really worth all this?

Ji Fanling spread her hands. “I don’t have it on me. I’ll give it to you when we get home, okay?”

Fu Yingcheng: “?”

Ji Fanling: “?”

Fu Yingcheng frowned deeply. “What are you talking about?”

Ji Fanling looked at him, confused. “My student ID?”

Fu Yingcheng closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m talking about Cheng Jiali, and what on earth are you talking about?”

“Ah?” Ji Fanling froze for two seconds before letting out a sigh of relief. So they were talking about Cheng Jiali all along, she thought they were still on the subject of her student ID. That scared her to death. “What about Cheng Jiali?”

“Can you…” Fu Yingcheng remained silent for a long while, his Adam’s apple moving slightly, as if the words were stuck in his throat. Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, he said:

“…Can you not like him anymore?”

…

“Me? Like him?” Ji Fanling pointed at herself.

“Me?? Like him??” Her nerves were firing off in her head.

“Me??? Like him???” The frustration Ji Fanling had been bottling up for days completely erupted.

“Why don’t you grab a megaphone and shout it in the streets?” Fu Yingcheng said, his face dark.

“I don’t like him at all!” Ji Fanling exploded with anger. “I’d rather like a rock than him!”

“He disgusted me all night, and now you’re saying this to disgust me even more,” Ji Fanling said through gritted teeth.

“Get this straight,” Ji Fanling said coldly, “I’ve never liked him, past, present, or future. Dead, alive, or half-dead, I do not like him.”

Fu Yingcheng blinked slowly.

The warm amber glow of the streetlights outside the windshield, like distant stars sinking into the deep sea, finally reflected in his eyes. “Then before… you…”

“In front of so many people, he said he wanted me to be his girlfriend. Everyone was cheering him on, and he’d gone through so much effort to prepare.” 

Ji Fanling said, crossing her arms and rubbing her nose, her tone slow and deliberate. “You know me, I’m not the type to ruin everyone’s fun.”

“Just because of that?” Fu Yingcheng frowned deeply.

Of course, it wasn’t just because of that.

It was also because of that sweltering summer day, when her low blood sugar caused her to faint, and in the infirmary, she felt a fleeting yet undeniable flutter in her heart.

But at this moment, Ji Fanling refused to admit she had ever liked Cheng Jiali. She saw it as a stain on her life, something she wanted to distance herself from as much as possible. Biting down, she insisted, “Just because of that.”

“……”

After saying it, she felt a bit foolish herself and glanced at Fu Yingcheng unhappily. “Are we going or not?”

Fu Yingcheng’s brows were still furrowed, but for once, he was unusually agreeable.

“…We can.”

*

The ride was silent, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

When the car stopped in the basement parking lot, they walked toward the building entrance, one after the other, and entered the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, Ji Fanling suddenly realized something. She looked up at Fu Yingcheng and asked, “Wait, don’t tell me, you think I’ve been chasing after Cheng Jiali like a clingy fool?”

“……”

Without waiting for him to answer, Ji Fanling continued, “He’s married, and I’m still hung up on him? Trying to break up their marriage? What, am I crazy?”

“……”

Ji Fanling let out an angry laugh, crossing her arms and tilting her head back to glare at him. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

In the past, Ji Fanling never cared how others saw her. Whether they said she was raised without a mother despite being born to one, that she was just like Ji Guoliang, or that she was self-indulgent and hopeless, it all meant nothing to her.

But for some reason, she cared a little about Fu Yingcheng’s opinion.

…Maybe it was because she had taken too much from him.

She had laid her baggage bare.

Fu Yingcheng glanced at her sideways, his voice carrying a subtle tone. “What kind of person are you?”

Ji Fanling hummed in response.

Fu Yingcheng looked at her, as if weighing and evaluating her, or maybe just suppressing the upward curve of his lips. “Instead of talking about those useless things, I’m more curious about that student ID you mentioned earlier…”

Ji Fanling: “……”

Fu Yingcheng drawled slowly, “…What’s that all about?”

Uh-oh.

She’d walked right into that one.

“You misheard,” Ji Fanling said with a smile, reaching out to pat Fu Yingcheng’s elbow.

“People living together, misunderstandings are bound to happen sometimes. I trust that, overall, I still hold a pretty good place in your heart.”

Ji Fanling knew perfectly well that Fu Yingcheng was someone who was not easily fooled and had no qualms about calling others out. Internally, she was already bidding farewell to her fake student ID.

Fu Yingcheng let out a low chuckle.

It was like the bow of a cello lightly gliding across the lower strings, deeply resonant and remarkably pleasing.

It wasn’t the kind of laugh laced with mockery.

Ji Fanling glanced up at him curiously, the shifting lights from the elevator’s advertisement panel casting fleeting reflections.

She only caught a fleeting glimpse of the corner of his lips.

He seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood.

With one hand casually in his pocket, Fu Yingcheng stepped out of the elevator. His expression was out of sight, but he left behind a faint, almost indifferent remark:

“…If you say so, then it must be so.”

*