Inextricable

Xu Xingxing, with slightly parted lips, looked at Huai Jing in disbelief. She was about to talk back but suddenly remembered where they were, so she just whispered a few words, “I still don’t agree.”

This sentence was akin to an ice pick being dropped into hot water, melting in a splash. The man frowned, but the smile in his eyes deepened.

……………………….

After the tea ceremony was over, the group went to the conference room to discuss work. The cooperation with the TIE Group was a big deal, and all the hard work had already been done, with the contract also signed, so all they had to do was go through some minor issues in this meeting. Originally, the business department could have handled it, but since Huai Jing had come in person, he sat in the head’s position, while listening to Mr. Yang, who was the head of the business department, as he led the meeting.  He didn’t speak during the whole meeting, just sat there staring at the document in his hand, calm and introverted, but anyone could see at a glance that he was the final decision maker in this meeting.

Xu Xingxing, who was taking notes, occasionally glanced at Huai Jing, and every time she looked at him, she remembered what he said in the tea room.

Their relationship was one of mutual sex and companionship, not of him taking care of her. As a result, for the two of them to indulge in sex, her consent was required as well.

The man’s domination was becoming more and more prominent in the relationship between the two, and Xu Xingxing could clearly feel that she would become very weak under his actions. This was not her original intention; after all, the two of them got in this relationship to get what they needed in the beginning. But now, it seemed that Huai Jing could ask for anything.

She was on a business trip, not on a vacation with him, however, Huaji Jing didn’t seem to think so.

The TIE Group’s trip to Wencheng was planned for a total of three days, and the programmes arranged were quite casual, primarily for entertainment. After the meeting, everyone ate dinner together before splitting into two groups. Yan Jialin and Xu Xingxing didn’t need to follow the TIE Group members when they went to play because they had their own interpreters with them as well.

After the meeting ended, Xu Xingxing returned to her room, packed her things and went to the front desk to get the access card for the hot spring. Before she came to this resort, she had reserved a separate small hot spring, which could accommodate 1-3 people, in advance for herself. 

The Maobai Hot Spring Resort was in a remote location, with exquisite and elegant decor, and the people who came here were all famous people from Wencheng and the nearby cities. Therefore, there were very few public baths, with small separate hot springs being the most.

Xu Xingxing changed her clothes, walked through the corridor to the room she had reserved, and opened the door with her card. As soon as the door was opened, the heat from the hot spring in the room rushed out, and she couldn’t even keep her eyes open. After getting used to it, she walked in with curiosity.

There was simply a small hot spring two square metres wide in an exceedingly small separate space. There was a bamboo tube that connected this hot spring to the main one. This tube emerged from a small glass window, and the water from the hot spring flowed into this spring from the tube. The running water ensured that the entire system remained very clean.

Xu Xingxing was satisfied with the facilities in this hot spring room, so she took off her clothes before putting her feet into the water. The water was about 40 degrees, and her skin felt the heat. Xu Xingxing used her feet to get used to this heat before she sank her body into it.

She felt quite comfortable, and temporarily forgot all of her problems, after her body adjusted to the hot water. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them and gazing up at the room’s ceiling.

On the ceiling was a painting of lotus leaves after rain had fallen. Fish-shaped shadows flashed in the overhead lamp from time to time. Xu Xingxing silently counted the number of shadows in her heart, dazing off.

Subconsciously, she began to think about herself: her life, her job, her shop, her mother and younger brother… and her relationship with Huai Jing. Huai Jing, who would definitely marry a wife and have children in the future.

After some time passed, she felt uncomfortable staying in the hot water. It was said that older people liked to soak longer in hot springs, but she didn’t like it very much. Could it be that I’m still too young?

Xu Xingxing was amused by her own thoughts.

She lowered her head and glanced at her body, the places where her skin was soaked had turned red, so much so that even the man’s tooth marks were now hidden by this redness. She looked like a boiled shrimp now.

Xu Xingxing got out, took a shower, changed her clothes, and left the hot spring room. It was eight o’clock in the evening. Since she didn’t intend to go back to her room, she decided to take a walk through the ancient street.

Compared to daytime, the Maobai Hot Spring Resort exuded a more antique charm at night, which may be due to the lighting. They were not incandescent lamps, but some kind of soft orange lanterns. The light gently hit the ancient wooden building, adding an ancient atmosphere to the whole scene.

As she was walking on the street looking at the shops on the side, she remembered Chen Wanwan’s husband mentioning that their son missed her. It was time she visited Kangkang after returning anyway, so she decided to buy the gift for him here.

Xu Xingxing first took fancy to straw-woven objects. Not far from her were placed various small animals made of grass. She walked towards the straw weaving booth, but was greeted by a sweet smell on the way.

Xu Xingxing stopped and looked for its source. A woman was making a sugar figurine with a spoon filled with boiled syrup. Xu Xingxing was fond of sweets, and usually brought candy for himself whenever she went to the supermarket. She walked to the sugar figurine shop, took a look at the patterns available, picked a butterfly one, and told the woman in the booth with a smile, “Draw this for me.”

There were not many people at the sugar figurine booth, so Xu Xingxing soon got her butterfly. She handed the money to the woman, then held it and looked at it for a while. The sugar syrup made the figurine appear brownish yellow, but very transparent and beautiful under the light. After admiring it for a while, she licked it lightly, and the corners of her eyes rolled.

So sweet.

Just as she finished swallowing her first bite, her phone rang. It was Yan Jialin.

“Hello, Sister Jialin.”

“Lin Weiyu is here, you can be her interpreter and follow along,” Yan Jialin said.

“Okay, where do I have to go?”

“To the music room, Mr. Huai is also there. He came this time mainly to confirm the cooperation of the jewellery spokesperson with the TIE Group.” Yan Jialin gave a brief explanation.

Huai Jing came this time to confirm the spokesperson. At first Xu Xingxing thought he was here for vacation, but sure enough, the company’s senior executives were not as free as she had thought.

“Okay, I’ll be there right away,” Xu Xingxing responded and walked towards the music room. The music room and the tea room were not far apart, so Xu Xingxing knew where to go.

“Lin Weiyu is the spokesperson appointed by the Huai Group directly, so be careful in what you say and do,” Yan Jialin warned.

""

Yan Jialin’s intentions were clear to Xu Xingxing. Since the Huai Group had appointed Lin Weiyu, it was obvious that the senior management of the parent company was involved. Huai’s IO Jewelry Group was merely a division of this larger organisation, thus she couldn’t handle Lin Weiyu carelessly in any way.

“Understood, thank you Sister Jialin.”

There had been reports that Lin Weiyu was the spokesperson for TIE and IO’s collaborative jewellery project since before the Mid-Autumn Festival. There had also been a lot of talk in IO that Lin Weiyu was dating Huai Jing, especially when it was first suggested that Lin Weiyu was the spokesperson.

Xu Xingxing wasn’t fully convinced by this rumour. Since Lin Weiyu’s ties to the entertainment sector were quite troublesome, and since Huai Jing was most frightened of trouble, he would not associate with her.

When she arrived at the door of the music room, she took a deep breath, knocked on the door, opened the sliding door and walked in. In the room, Huai Jing and Felix, the executive of TIE, were talking in German, while watching the performance on the stage. The 

performer on stage was none other than Lin Weiyu. She was dressed in Hanfu, holding a pipa to half cover her face, her eyes were glistening, so soft and gentle, that even Xu Xingxing couldn’t move her eyes away.

After Huai Jing finished speaking with Felix, he raised his eyes and glanced at Xu Xingxing who was standing beside him. She seemed to have come hurriedly, for her breasts were heaving slightly, and her skin was pale and rosy. She was looking at the stage while holding a sugar figurine in her hand. 

“Like sweets?” Huai Jing leaned over and asked softly.

Xu Xingxing was taken aback. She then looked down at the sugar figurine in her hand, and with a panicked look in her eyes whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Then she walked to the trash can at the entrance and threw the sugar figurine into it.

She happened to encounter the man’s gaze when she returned. His lips were slightly pursed and his eyes were as deep as water, and he was staring at her as if he wanted to see right through her. Heartbroken, Xu Xingxing murmured, “I’ll go to the dressing room to pick up Miss Lin,” and lowered her head.

The performance was over, so Xu Xingxing hurried to the dressing room backstage, and knocked on the door. Lin Weiyu’s assistant opened the door.

Xu Xingxing smiled politely at the assistant first, and then introduced himself, “Hi, I’m from the translation department of IO Group, and I’m here to translate for Ms. Lin.” 

The assistant looked up at her, and said lightly, “Got it, wait outside the door first.”

Lin Weiyu came from a film background and became famous at a young age, and she was regarded as a standard beauty. After becoming famous for starring in domestic films, she went to Hollywood to develop for a period of time, and now was well-known internationally.

Xu Xingxing stood outside the door and waited for Lin Weiyu. The sound insulation of the door of the dressing room was not very good, so she could hear the conversation inside.

“Being a star is too tiring now. It’s not enough to just know English, I also need to know French, Japanese, Korean, and now German… When I retire, maybe I can open a language training class.”

After listening to Lin Weiyu, Xu Xingxing smiled and felt that her complaints were quite reasonable.

While she was still smiling, Lin Weiyu came out. The assistant opened the door, and she walked out surrounded by a group of people. When she saw Xu Xingxing, she smiled and said, “Sorry, I’ve kept you waiting.”

“Let’s go there, President Huai and the others are waiting.” Xu Xingxing smiled and walked ahead to lead the way.

Xu Xingxing’s sense of smell was very keen, and she smelled a slight smell of smoke from Lin Weiyu’s body. Celebrities were under a lot of pressure, so smoking was a trivial matter, there were even people who smoked and did drugs in that industry.

Lin Weiyu went out and met Felix, who was obviously amazed by her, and was very satisfied with this spokesperson.

The group briefly chatted about culture and the jewellery cooperation, and then dispersed. Lin Weiyu had to catch up with her next appointment, while Felix was received by a special person for his next activity, and Huai Jing was saying goodbye to him.

After being busy for the whole day, Xu Xingxing was a little tired. She looked up at Huai Jing who was talking to Felix, and was going to go back first. Unexpectedly, as soon as she turned around, a man’s deep voice came from behind her—

""

“Let’s go together.”

Xu Xingxing thought about it, and when she looked back at Huai Jing, she noticed that Felix had already left with the receptionist. Huai Jing walked over casually and stood beside her. The man’s tall figure covered her, and Xu Xingxing felt a sense of oppression.

She pursed her lips, avoiding his gaze, and said softly, “No more.”

Looking down at the woman with her head bowed in front of her, Huai Jing frowned slightly, and snorted.

“You have never changed your habit of turning your face and denying people.”

“Huh?” Xu Xingxing was a little confused by that. She looked up at Huai Jing, her lips moved, she was about to say something, but Huai Jing spoke before she could, “The spokesperson’s matter is over, I’ll go back to Xia City tomorrow morning.”

Huai Jing’s words made Xu Xingxing feel guilty. He had really come to Wencheng to deal with official matters, not to bite her… her earlobe felt a little hot, and she felt that she was a bit out of control.

Seeing that she didn’t respond, Huai Jing took a step ahead of her and said, “Let’s go.” 

The man left first, showing her a slender back. Xu Xingxing pursed her lips, and followed.

When they were walking, Xu Xingxing noticed that they were not heading towards her room. She hurried two steps and caught up to Huai Jing, to remind him, “Mr. Huai, my room is not here, but over there…” 

After hearing Xu Xingxing’s words, Huai Jing’s expression did not change. He just responded softly, then lifted his legs and walked out of the door.

Xu Xingxing walked out with him.

They arrived at the ancient street.

Xu Xingxing stood at the entrance of the ancient street, looked up, and saw that the man had already arrived in front of the sugar figurine booth. The orange light from the lanterns shone faintly on his body, enveloping him in tenderness.

There were not many people in the store right now, and it seemed that he was the only customer. The man was standing tall, wearing a suit and leather shoes, and a cool-coloured tie tightly tied, seemingly incompatible with the quaint old street, but also, strangely, complementing each other.

The speed of making sugar figurines was very fast, and the stall owner handed them over once they were done. After the man thanked in a deep voice, he took the sugar figurines. It was at this moment that he turned his face around. With high arched eyebrows, raised peach blossom eyes, a straight nose bridge, and deep features shattered by the soft light, he looked so charming that Xu Xingxing couldn’t move her eyes away.

When Huai Jing met Xu Xingxing’s eyes, he gave her a smile and walked towards her. 

Only when he stood in front of her did she clearly see that the sugar figurine in his hand was a butterfly, the very same shape she had thrown away in the music room. Xu Xingxing’s eyes moved slightly as he handed the sugar figurine to her.

Xu Xingxing took it, put the sugar figurine in her mouth, and sucked at it lightly. It was sweet, so sweet that Xu Xingxing’s heart softened. Holding the sugar figurine, she spoke softly with her eyes curved, “Candy is delicious, but if you eat too much, your teeth will hurt.” She lightly licked her lower lip with the tip of her tongue, and snorted through her nose.

“I don’t have a toothache when I eat candy, but it does hurt when I eat you,” Huai Jing responded.

Xu Xingxing’s jaw trembled, and her eyes opened wide.

The man looked at her slightly changed expression, and the smile in his eyes deepened. He leaned over to her ear, and gently touched her earlobe with his lips to whisper—

“Because… you are much sweeter than sugar.”

End of chapter 19

[TL Notes: Hanfu is a traditional clothing in China.]