JR Chapter 13

The young person sitting next to Mo Lin was, of course, Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan whispered into Mo Lin’s ear, “The fries are pretty good. Would you like to order another serving, Sister Mo Lin?”

Mo Lin allowed Xu Yuan to enter her personal space because their table was too close to the speakers and it was quite noisy.

She actually felt like leaving…

If only she were alone…

Mo Lin looked at Cheng Lulu, who stood up beside her. She saw that Cheng Lulu, having had some drinks, was having a great time among the group of young people…

There were, of course, more young people at their table than just Xu Yuan.

There were four or five of them, all friends of Xu Yuan, in their early twenties. Each one of them was youthful in appearance, with strong builds and trendy clothing. From the moment Cheng Lulu saw them, she hadn’t been able to keep the smile off her face.

Now, she was completely relaxed, enjoying herself with the young crowd.

Don’t spoil her fun; stay a little longer with her.

Thinking this, Mo Lin responded to Xu Yuan’s words, “The chicken wings are also okay.”

Xu Yuan understood and raised his hand to call the waiter.

Mo Lin casually picked up a cold fry, dipped it in some ketchup, and ate it slowly.

She thought she probably wouldn’t come to such noisy places again.

Mo Lin didn’t like loud music…

Because staying in high-decibel environments for long periods inevitably damaged hearing.

Mo Lin didn’t like alcoholic beverages either…

Alcohol was a group I carcinogen according to the World Health Organization. Whether consumed in large or small amounts, it was harmful to the body. In the short term, it could cause a loss of rationality, as seen with Cheng Lulu now, amplifying emotions and blurring perceptions.

Moreover, as the night wore on, Mo Lin felt an undeniable fatigue. She wanted to go home, take a shower, and sleep…

She had a client scheduled to come see some stones tomorrow, and there were still a few design sketches left unfinished…

Most importantly, Mo Lin hadn’t seen anyone here whom she thought would be suitable to be a father to her children.

The men in the smoking area made her shake her head, and she sighed at the young men drinking excessively. In comparison, Xu Yuan, who was beside her, was much more pleasing to the eye.

But Xu Yuan was indeed quite a bit younger than her, and Mo Lin had some reservations about that.

After scanning the large “young people’s scene” for a long time, Mo Lin still couldn’t find a suitable candidate.

It seemed like she was back to the matchmaking dilemma from five years ago…

Mo Lin suddenly thought, if someone like Jiang Yuanmu hadn’t appeared in her life five years ago, would she still be “unmarried” now?

Certainly, because people like Jiang Yuanmu were too rare…

Mo Lin was thinking when she noticed that Xu Yuan hadn’t managed to call the waiter. He got up and left to find one himself. Mo Lin’s eyes followed Xu Yuan’s back, but in the flashing lights, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

Stunned, Mo Lin turned to look at the sofa seat behind her.

In the surreal lighting, Mo Lin finally saw the only person in this place whom she thought would be suitable to be the father of her children, but also the only person here who couldn’t be—Jiang Yuanmu.

Their eyes met, and in that moment of noise and color, they were both certain that they had seen each other.

Why was he here?

Just as Mo Lin’s doubts arose, she immediately saw the two men beside Jiang Yuanmu. One of them, Ji Ming, was his partner. Mo Lin had met him a few times at Jiang Yuanmu’s company annual meetings. They weren’t close, but she recognized him.

The other man looked familiar, but Mo Lin couldn’t immediately place him.

He was probably also a work partner of Jiang Yuanmu.

He came here for work.

Mo Lin arrived at this conclusion in her mind.

Upon reaching this conclusion, Mo Lin, out of courtesy and following their past “agreement,” calmly nodded at Jiang Yuanmu to greet him.

Then…

She turned back around and continued eating her fries.

It was just a chance encounter. She certainly couldn’t disrupt his work over something like their inability to divorce.

Even if the deal fell through, their friendship remained. She and Jiang Yuanmu hadn’t reached such an unbearable point yet.

Seeing Mo Lin turn back, Jiang Yuanmu’s lips tightened slightly, and his whole body stiffened.

Perhaps he didn’t notice it himself, but Ji Ming, beside him, did.

Under the bar’s red, yellow, blue, and purple lights, Ji Ming saw a strange green glow¹there’s this idiom in chinese “to wear a green hat” that means to get cheated on. That’s what the green colour here is refering to” almost emanating from Jiang Yuanmu’s face, lighting up the lively bar scene.

Especially when the young man by Mo Lin’s side returned, and they were “whispering” and “speaking in low voices”. Jiang Yuanmu’s gaze remained calm, without joy or sorrow, and he didn’t utter a single word…

But Ji Ming seemed to hear a thousand words.

No matter how long Ji Ming waited, Jiang Yuanmu remained motionless.

This old friend… Ji Ming had never understood him, and he accepted that.

But given the situation, Ji Ming pondered for a while, and with the increasing impact of the music, he chose to put down his drink and deal with someone easier to handle:

“Brother Ye, it’s a bit noisy here. How about we move to a quieter place? It’s been a while since we met, let’s have a deeper chat?”

But what surprised Ji Ming even more was that He Ye didn’t respond to him either.

He Ye stood up silently, his face even darker than Jiang Yuanmu’s. Moving like the wind, he strode purposefully toward the “most lively” table.

Ji Ming’s mouth opened, realizing he had forgotten how to speak for a moment. He could only watch as He Ye went straight to Mo Lin’s side.

Jiang Yuanmu also saw this, his brows slightly furrowed.

Mo Lin noticed and looked up at He Ye, while Xu Yuan was also alarmed and turned his head to observe.

However, He Ye’s gaze didn’t linger on either of them. Instead, he walked straight to Cheng Lulu, reaching for her waist—not to embrace her, but to grab the hand of another man who had his hand on Cheng Lulu’s waist.

At that moment, there was a brief lull in the noisy music, so He Ye’s already outstanding voice successfully reached everyone’s ears.

“Don’t take advantage of her being drunk to grope her.”

All the noise suddenly fell into silence.

When the bass once again pounded everyone’s eardrums, the liveliest table had already quieted down.

Cheng Lulu stared blankly at He Ye in front of her, stammering, “You, you, you…” but couldn’t finish her sentence.

The young man who had been taking advantage of Cheng Lulu, now caught by He Ye and exposed in front of his friends, looked extremely sullen and embarrassed.

“It’s not…” The young man, unable to save face, started to curse, “Who the hell are you…”

Before he could finish, “Bang!”—a punch landed.

He Ye had made his move.

The two started fighting.

Cheng Lulu stood aside, stunned, forgetting to even step back.

Mo Lin sat nearby, watching the young man who had been knocked down at her feet, momentarily unable to react. Meanwhile, the young man’s friends quickly responded, some trying to help, others trying to break up the fight. Mo Lin was nearly buried among the tall figures.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan grabbed Mo Lin’s arm, trying to protect her. At that moment, Mo Lin felt her chair being pulled back. Following the force, she was “rescued” from the chaos.

Mo Lin looked up and met familiar eyes.

She remained seated on her small chair, with Jiang Yuanmu’s hands resting on its thin armrests. Despite being in an open space, Mo Lin felt as if she were “enclosed.”

“Are you okay?”

Jiang Yuanmu’s steady voice, coupled with the flashing lights, seemed somewhat eerie to Mo Lin, but strangely, it calmed her racing heartbeat.

“I’m okay.”

Mo Lin controlled her voice, responding to Jiang Yuanmu with the same steadiness and calmness.

“Sister Mo Lin!” Xu Yuan’s anxious voice also came from the side. He hurriedly navigated around the young people tangled on the ground and rushed to Mo Lin’s side, only to stop when he saw Jiang Yuanmu.

The light also flickered across Xu Yuan’s face, leaving shadows under his eyes.

Jiang Yuanmu glanced sideways at him, sweeping him lightly with his gaze.

For the first time, their eyes met, each hiding a degree of contempt, deep or shallow.

• 1
  there’s this idiom in chinese “to wear a green hat” that means to get cheated on. That’s what the green colour here is refering to”