Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
At Zhao Jingqi's house, Autumn Wind slept until noon, probably waking up just before lunch.
In the kitchen, Zhao Jingqi was busy, and the rich aroma of bone broth wafted in. Phoebe climbed onto the bed, acting like an adult: "Dad is coming back soon, and you're still sleeping. He'll be angry if he sees you!"
Autumn Wind smiled wryly; if Xiao Yuan saw her lying naked on their bed, he definitely wouldn't be angry—he might even be pleasantly surprised. Autumn Wind gave Phoebe a playful slap on the bottom, coaxing her out of the bedroom. Autumn Wind admitted she was quite bold, but she really couldn't change clothes in public; even a kid wouldn't do that.
After getting dressed, Autumn Wind let her hair down and walked out of the bedroom. She picked up her bag from the sofa and called out to Zhao Jingqi, "I heard your husband is coming back today!"
Zhao Jingqi peeked out from the kitchen with her apron on. After she confirmed this to Autumn Wind, Autumn Wind tidied herself up a bit and said, "Alright, I won't disturb your family reunion! I'm leaving now! Call me if you need anything!"
What Autumn Wind liked most about Zhao Jingqi was her straightforwardness; she never pretended or acted against her feelings. Just like now, she was eagerly waiting for Xiao Yuan's return without any insincere attempts to keep Autumn Wind around.
As Autumn Wind put on her shoes at the door, Zhao Jingqi turned off the stove and stood in front of her seriously asking, "Do you think I should wear that yellow dress to meet Sister Sally? Is it okay?"
Qiu Ruolan's face immediately flashed in Autumn Wind's mind. She gasped: "Actually, you look better in pants!" From what Autumn Wind understood about Qiu Ruolan, she didn't like girls dressing as if they weren't wearing anything on their lower halves.
"Pants?! I'd get scolded by the production team!" Zhao Jingqi exclaimed. "If I wear pants, I probably won't get another gig!" "Well, that's not my problem! I'm leaving now, bye!" With that, Autumn Wind pushed the door open and stepped outside.
Autumn Wind knew Qiu Ruolan wouldn't be home today; she would be busy with her career. Whether she was hosting or preparing for a night club opening, Autumn Wind had no idea. So she could go home and take a bath without worrying about Qiu Ruolan suddenly appearing.
She had been very busy—busy making money and meeting various godsons and goddaughters.
Qiu Ruolan had countless godchildren; she would often bring them to various variety shows. This was a mystery that always surrounded Autumn Wind; she could spread news about what happened between her and her numerous godchildren at any time and share her attempts at artificial insemination without any reservations.
But why couldn't she appear in Qiu Ruolan's public life?
Of course, this feeling had evolved from initial resentment to a calm acceptance over time, going through countless tensions and icy standoffs along the way.
But now Autumn Wind has to admit that she has reached a balanced relationship with Qiu Ruolan, where they do not interfere with each other yet rely on one another. Of course, Qiu Mowen plays the most crucial role in this dynamic.
For example, Autumn Wind attended Qiu Ruolan's Golden Bell Award celebration as Qiu Mowen's assistant, and Qiu Ruolan attended Autumn Wind's graduation ceremony as a special guest.
Autumn Wind could feel the surprise on Qiu Ruolan's face when she appeared at the celebration, as the glass filled with red wine paused in her hand for thirty seconds. Autumn Wind could also clearly hear her heart beating rhythmically when Qiu Ruolan called out her name during the graduation ceremony.
After a hurried meal at a restaurant across from Qiu Ruolan's house, Autumn Wind stepped outside only to find the sky had turned unfriendly and dark. She quickly walked home. Just a few steps later, it began to rain heavily, a sign of winter arriving in Taipei. The relentless rain poured down, carrying complex emotions.
The chaos on Zhongxiao East Road followed suit. Autumn Wind took out her phone, trying to capture the disorder. Just as she unlocked the screen, she noticed a message lying quietly on her phone from Leo.
Leo had grown up alongside Autumn Wind; describing them as childhood friends would not be an exaggeration. He was three years older than Autumn Wind and always presented himself as an older brother in front of her.
His role for Autumn Wind was that of a bodyguard and friendly messenger. He protected her from being bullied while using his charm to attract many girls to befriend her.
For him, Autumn Wind was both bait and a garbage disposal station. He used her beauty to recruit boys who were interested in her into his circle.
Of course, if Leo got into trouble, Autumn Wind would have to play the victim, allowing him to shift from being the aggressor to a hero.
But all of this was in the past back in Pingtung.
More importantly, they buried secrets from each other—like Autumn Wind's crush on Ervin and his attraction to men. Although society had become more accepting of these truths that contradicted ethics, neither of them had the courage to come out.
Leo's parents were involved in international trade, traveling around the world frequently. Like Autumn Wind, he was often accompanied by Grandma, an elderly woman with long silver hair who loved Taiwanese opera. However, she was petite, just reaching Autumn Wind's shoulder. Leo's last name was Xu, so Autumn Wind called her Grandma Xu. Similar to Grandma, Grandma Xu was also from mainland China and came to Taiwan with the military; however, Xu's hometown was Nanjing—historical and charming—while Autumn Wind's hometown was Shandong—known for its pancakes and green onions. Despite their different backgrounds, their shared experiences in military dependents' villages fostered a deep bond between them.
They originally lived together in rural Pingtung but later moved away. Eventually, Grandma bought the apartment where Qiu Feng currently lives. However, not long after they moved in, Grandma Xu brought Leo over to live across from them (Leo’s parents were well-off enough that buying a house was quite easy for them).
In summary, the relationship between the two families is very close, and Grandma Xu and Leo are among the few who know the true relationship between Qiu Ruolan and Autumn Wind.
Standing on the road opposite Qiu Ruolan's mansion, Autumn Wind took a deep breath. Every time she returned home, beads of sweat would inevitably appear on her forehead. Habitually, she looked around with alertness, knowing that her behavior had reached the level of being sneaky, yet she still convinced herself that she looked like an ordinary resident living in this mansion.
Upon opening the door to Qiu Ruolan's house, the entire room was surprisingly clean, nothing like it had been after last night's party. Did Qiu Ruolan call a part-time worker after the party ended?
Autumn Wind sighed. She knew very well that according to Qiu Ruolan's personality, someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder would never allow a messy room. Hiring her as a nanny might simply be Qiu Ruolan's way of providing her with a job opportunity.
After taking a bath, Leo kept urging Autumn Wind to go online. In the video call, his thick eyebrows moved like brushes as he spoke. Before Autumn Wind could express her opinion, Leo got straight to the point: "I'm going back to Taiwan next week!"
Autumn Wind shrugged: "Great, I'll host you!"
Leo replied, "Listen, Ervin, you're living with Aunt Sally now!"
Autumn Wind didn't answer and instead asked, "It should be early morning in America; are you still awake or just getting up?"
Leo also didn't respond to Autumn Wind's question but changed the topic directly. "By the way, I'm bringing a friend along, and Guanghao has arranged our accommodation."
Autumn Wind said "Oh" but didn't continue the conversation. However, Leo began to exclaim: "Why are you so indifferent? Guanghao! You really don't remember him... h, ygd! It seems he really isn't important to you!" He followed up with a long string of English that was hard to hear due to weak signal; his words sounded like insults.
Yao Guanghao was truly insignificant to Autumn Wind, but everyone thought he was important to her simply because he was her first love and the only man she had ever dated.
Autumn Wind adjusted her posture and gave Leo a hard ear dig through the screen before sticking her thumb up her nose. She guessed that under this weak signal transmission, her series of actions would definitely appear in slow motion. Sure enough, she soon heard Leo cursing and immediately switched to a dignified expression.
After Leo finished ranting about Guanghao, he cleared his throat: "Do you have Ervin's address in mainland China?" This sudden question left Autumn Wind stunned.
Autumn Wind saw Leo on the screen with a serious expression and immediately understood that he was using the most relaxed way to inform her about Qiu Mowen's situation: "You really don't know about Ervin going to the mainland? Hm, actually, he is going to work in the mainland for a month or a year, but maybe he will be back soon. Hm, why are you so cold? You've really turned into a cold-blooded creature!"
In Leo's wailing voice, Autumn Wind tried hard to filter out any information related to Qiu Mowen, constantly adjusting her breathing, attempting to maintain the calmest tone to continue communicating with Leo: "When are you coming back?"
Leo stuck out his tongue and continued playing his game of dodging questions: "Aren't you supposed to ask about Ervin Uncle? Oh! Have you fallen for someone else? Oh! Maybe I guessed wrong! You seem uninterested in anything now!"
Autumn Wind couldn't help but start to smile bitterly, but quickly realized she was facing Leo, a man who understood her better than she understood herself; nothing could escape his eyes.
Autumn Wind had to admit that the moment Leo mentioned Qiu Mowen leaving Taiwan, her heart couldn't help but clench into a ball, and now that ball was slowly unfurling, its surface wrinkled with lines, revealing the tender red flesh inside, which began to ache as the wind blew over it.
Autumn Wind bit her lower lip and put on a relaxed facade: "No, it's not that serious! Let me know when you come back; I'll pick you up!"
Leo didn't continue; his side suddenly brightened up like a dim room that had just been lit. Only then did Autumn Wind notice that Leo was wearing a nearly nude-colored top. She intended to express her opinion about this color, but Leo hurriedly wrapped up the conversation: "Huh, baby! I have things to do, so I can't stay with you! Bye!" It was a strange "ab" tone, as if everyone who had studied abroad had to speak like that.
At the moment Leo hurriedly closed the video call, a face with deep features and a smiling eye appeared in the upper left corner of the screen, quite ethereal.
Did I just see a ghost? Autumn Wind thought as a chill slowly began to seep down her back, instantly overshadowing her earlier heartache.
Comment 0 Comment Count