"The Mortal Chapter Of Qing Zhuan" - Chapter 11
The Dust Settles
“Fengnian, I will get the Sandmouth Mountain project for you!” Liu Hanxiao sat at her desk, bathed in the soft, yellow light of her lamp. She once again opened the book of prose he had given her.
She read silently and attentively: “The most beautiful encounter is but the first meeting. We remember those first meetings, every frown and every smile, simply because they are the collision of two strange and mysterious hearts. Like a spring breeze caressing the clouds, like a dragonfly touching the water, they are both innocent and warm.
“How many people yearn for the past, yearning for the first meeting, the first smile? In our hearts, the most beautiful images never fade with time. Instead, they become more vivid, until they are like a dream, like a painting, until they are eternal.
“The warmest encounter is but a chance meeting…” Liu Hanxiao recalled the first time they met. He was a god who had come to save her just before she stepped into the gates of hell.
She gently held the book to her chest and smiled to herself. “Fengnian, if not for that joke you made, your words wouldn’t have stayed in my heart for so many years. You said I was yours. Yes, I am yours.”
Looking out at the full moon, she murmured to it, “I will send this heart to the bright moon, so it can be carried to my Lord Lin on the wind.”
Outside, the moonlight gently fell on the windowsill of Lin Fengnian’s bedroom. A soft breeze brushed against his cheek, carrying a distant longing.
He took a sip of clear tea, sitting by the window and continuing to read the documents about He Zhenwei.
On the left side of his desk was a light gray Ruyao vase, holding a few pristine white camellias. On his right was a photo of him and Liu Hanxiao, taken on Affectionate Hill.
Next to the photo frame was a book with the same cover as hers. One page was clearly dog-eared. The prose on that page was titled, “The Most Beautiful Encounter.”
The next day, a knock sounded on the door of Cheng Yugang’s office. Cheng Yugang hung up the phone. “Come in…”
Liu Hanxiao was wearing a simple black work dress and flesh-colored stockings, which accentuated her figure. Her white shirt made her look exceptionally capable, and her wavy hair fell neatly on her shoulders. A faint fragrance of camellias wafted into the room with her.
Her small, delicate face was pale and smooth, full of youthful energy. Her red lips and white teeth shone as she smiled, making her look like a pure white camellia, captivating to behold.
Cheng Yugang stared at her, holding his teacup, unable to snap out of his daze.
Liu Hanxiao called out softly, “Secretary Cheng, Secretary Cheng…”
Cheng Yugang finally came to his senses. He pushed up his glasses, cleared his throat, took a drink of water, and asked gently, “Are you the new secretary? I’ve never seen you before.”
Liu Hanxiao smiled sweetly, her bright eyes and white teeth shining. She replied modestly, “Secretary Cheng, you’re joking. I’m just a small publicity committee member. How could I have caught your eye so easily? If not for the director being in a meeting today, I wouldn’t have had the good fortune to meet you, Secretary Cheng.” She then shyly turned her head away.
The old scoundrel, Cheng Yugang, rubbed his hands together with a vulgar grin. “Oh, little girl, your words are sweeter than honey. You’ll give me cavities!”
His lecherous eyes scanned Liu Hanxiao up and down. He took another strategic sip of water, anxiously rubbing his hands together.
Liu Hanxiao took the opportunity to move closer. The sound of her high heels on the floor accompanied her steps as she moved to his desk. She whispered, “Secretary Cheng, this is a draft of the publicity brochure for Sandmouth Mountain. I spent a month on it. Please give me your guidance…”
Cheng Yugang nodded repeatedly. “Okay, okay, with how much effort you put into this, I will definitely read it carefully. How about this, you can pull up a chair, and we can discuss it together? Hehehe, wonderful! We can discuss the beauty of Sandmouth Mountain…”
Liu Hanxiao nodded and bent down to pull a chair. He furtively watched her out of the corner of his eye until she brought the chair over, then he shifted his gaze back to her face.
She sat next to him. Under the pretense of giving her advice, he intentionally moved closer. He caught a hint of her scent, closed his eyes, and savored it.
At that moment, Liu Hanxiao deliberately moved the brochure closer to the teacup. As expected, the cup tipped over, spilling water all over her.
She quickly pulled her hand back and started patting her clothes. Her chest and skirt were soaked. The wet fabric clearly outlined her figure and her pink lace bra underneath.
Cheng Yugang didn’t sit idly by. He reached out with his old hands toward her chest, whispering, “Let me help you wipe it. Look, you’re soaked. Your shirt is so white… The wet area is so large! There’s a beauty mark right there…”
He slowly reached for her collar. Liu Hanxiao quickly covered her chest with her hands, retreating three steps in a panic. She looked down and said shyly, “Oh! Secretary Cheng! I’m so sorry, Secretary Cheng. I’ve already delivered the brochure draft. I’ll take my leave now. I don’t want to bother you…”
She then covered her face and hurried away. Cheng Yugang was still standing there, lost in the fleeting moment of intimacy.
He quickly opened the brochure. On the last page, he saw the name—Liu Hanxiao.
Back at the publicity department, Liu Hanxiao was terrified. She picked up her phone and dialed a number but stopped at the last digit.
She remembered that day on Affectionate Hill. She knew her destiny was to be a pawn, and she had to help Lin Fengnian win this game.
Three months later, at the Lin family mansion, Lin Yulong, Lin Fengnian’s father, smiled as he read the newspaper. “The Liu girl handles things well. She not only helped us secure the real estate project but also hindered the Long family’s progress on Sandmouth Mountain. Very good! Fengnian, what do you think?”
Lin Fengnian took a sip of tea and said mournfully, “Dad, she hasn’t called me in three months!”
His father’s good mood instantly soured. He lowered his voice. “Fengnian! She’s just a pawn! Why are you so emotional about this? In ancient times, Situ sent Diaochan to sow discord between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, and he achieved great success. Today, my son gives Hanxiao to the old scoundrel Cheng! Throughout history, which victory was not achieved through strategy? As the saying goes, a general’s success is built upon the bones of ten thousand soldiers. Since the Liu girl has already sacrificed herself and entered the game, my son should make his next move. Crying and being indecisive are not the actions of a true man! Hmph!” He then flicked his sleeve and left.
Meanwhile, at the Long family mansion, a furious voice rang out from the young miss’s study. “What good are you?! What did you promise me?! There’s been no progress! What’s the point of you?!”
On the other end of the phone, He Zhenwei argued back, “Long Ting, I’m warning you, don’t be unreasonable with me! This matter…”
Long Ting cursed. “He Zhenwei, you’re not a man! You’re a coward!”
Then she yelled, “He Zhenwei! He Zhenwei! How dare you hang up on me, you bastard!”
Long Ting was furious that the project hadn’t moved forward and was fighting with He Zhenwei on the phone. At dinner, she was so angry she flipped the table.
Her mother sighed, “Amitabha, what a sin!”
Long Ting, still fuming, didn’t spare her mother. “You and your chanting! It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t brought on this evil, Dad wouldn’t have had that accident, and the Long family wouldn’t have fallen so low, being bullied by a small family like the Lins!”
Her mother’s face changed dramatically. She frowned and said, “You brat, you! How can you say such a thing?! What a sin, what a sin!”
Long Yan agreed with his sister. “I think my sister is right!” His mother said angrily, “Oh, a pair of brats! How could I have given birth to two brats like you?!” She then stormed off.
The Long family was in chaos, while the masterminds of the whole affair were stirring up the muddy waters from the shadows.
Qin Shaojie took a drag of his cigarette. “Ah Feng, it seems both the Long and Lin families have fallen for the trap! Now the real show begins!”
Zhao Fangshuo and Sun Youwei giggled. Luan Qingfeng took a sip of wine. “Now we just sit back and watch the show, everyone! Get ready! Hahahahahaha…”
Because of Long Ting’s verbal abuse, He Zhenwei refused to see her for the next month. Even when she called or went to see him, he avoided her.
This gave the Lin family the opportunity they needed.
One day, Lin Fengnian finally mustered the courage to text Liu Hanxiao. “Hanxiao, can we meet tomorrow night? I’ll pick you up. How have you been?”
He immediately got a reply. “Okay! I’m doing great, don’t worry.”
He stared at the cold screen, but those words made his heart warm.
Perhaps she, too, was struggling. But due to the gap in their status, some things could not be changed. It was as if the chess master could never truly love a pawn but could also never live without one, for it was their destiny.
Once a person has tasted the flavor of power, it’s hard not to fall in love with it!
Liu Hanxiao emerged from the station in a white dress with her hair draped over her shoulders, which added a touch of charm.
At dinner, they talked about many things. Liu Hanxiao told Lin Fengnian that she could now enter Cheng Yugang’s office freely.
She also told him that in three days, Cheng Yugang would be bringing a geological survey team and her to Sandmouth Mountain for an inspection.
She would take this opportunity to offer herself to Cheng Yugang, luring him into giving the Lin family the right to use the land and the related development funds. This would completely crush the Long family’s ambition.
After dinner, Liu Hanxiao suggested, “Fengnian, let’s go back to Affectionate Hill! I want to see the camellias at night, okay?”
Lin Fengnian nodded, smiling at her. “Okay, whatever you want.”
The two of them went back to Affectionate Hill. Compared to the daytime, the hill at night revealed a different kind of beauty.
The moonlight was like water, and the white camellias swayed in the wind. The fragrance of the flowers filled the air. Liu Hanxiao closed her eyes and spread her arms, feeling their presence. “Fengnian, the Buddha’s disciple Ananda once said, ‘I wish to become a stone bridge, enduring five hundred years of wind, five hundred years of sun, and five hundred years of rain, only to have her walk across it.’ In his eyes, every encounter is enough to be eternal. For me, to have met you in this life is enough. I have no regrets!”
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew, messing up Liu Hanxiao’s hair and knocking down a whole tree of camellias next to her.
She looked at the fallen flowers and thought of her own fate, which might be just like theirs.
She smoothed her hair and looked at Lin Fengnian with deep affection. “Fengnian, I know my fate is just like these flowers, but I don’t want to be defiled by Cheng Yugang for nothing. Fengnian, can you…”
Lin Fengnian quickly turned his back to her and replied, “I can’t… Hanxiao, it’s getting late. Let me take you home…”
His heart was in turmoil, a chaotic stampede of emotions, but he had to stay calm and hide his feelings.
Liu Hanxiao was in tears, her face disheveled by the wind, looking soft and lovely. Lin Fengnian clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, using the pain to keep himself sober and rational.
No matter how cold and heartless he pretended to be, how could he deceive himself?
But in the face of the bigger picture, love was so pale and powerless! As it is said, “Beauties love heroes, but heroes use beauties as bait to fish for officials!”
Back at home, Liu Hanxiao looked at herself in the mirror. She thought about all of Lin Fengnian’s care and kindness over the years and swore to herself, “I must help Fengnian win back Sandmouth Mountain, no matter the cost! Liu Hanxiao, you can do this! You can!”
Lin Fengnian was also tossing and turning in bed. He got up and sat by the window, rereading that one page.
“I always wanted to walk through the Jiangnan region in a spring rain, holding a paper umbrella.
“Maybe there won’t be moss-covered flagstones, or broken bridges with weeping willows, or a good friend to walk and talk with. Just me, walking quietly.
“There, I could meet the little grasses breaking through the soil, showing their vibrant life. I could meet the gentle March breeze that wasn’t cold on my face. I could meet a like-minded friend to sit and talk with.
“Some say that an encounter is just meeting a certain person or thing at a certain place at a certain time, perhaps with something happening.
“But in the vast sea of people, how many of those we pass by are still vaguely in our memory?
“Without an engraving on the soul, it can’t really be called an encounter. In March at West Lake, a woman in light clothes, Lady White, walked by and met a gentle scholar. From then on, they created a deep and unforgettable love story.
“On the Grass Bridge, Liang Shanbo met Zhu Yingtai. From their parting journey to their transformation into butterflies at their grave, they created a beautiful and tragic ripple in their love story.
“The most beautiful encounter is but the first meeting. We remember those first meetings, every frown and every smile, simply because they are the collision of two strange and mysterious hearts.
“Like a spring breeze caressing the clouds, like a dragonfly touching the water, they are both innocent and warm.
“How many people yearn for the past, yearning for the first meeting, the first smile? In our hearts, that’s where the heart’s journey begins.
“If life could be like the first meeting, the most beautiful images would not fade with time. Instead, they would become more and more vivid, until they are like a dream, like a painting, until they are eternal.
“The warmest encounter is but a chance meeting. If every first meeting is the convergence of clouds and wind, then I believe every chance meeting is a shooting star passing by.
“Without a plan, without a discussion, it just arrives so suddenly. How happy it must be.
“Life’s greatest sorrow is always the unknown, but so is its greatest joy.
“We cannot predict who we will meet in the next second, nor can we predict when we will meet the person we want to meet.
“The sea of people may not be vast, but opportunities are scarce. So, we stop trying to force things, entrusting everything to fate.
“When we meet unexpectedly one day, we will find that it is simpler and more casual than any rehearsal or plan, and yet it is the warmest.
“The Buddha’s disciple Ananda once said, ‘I wish to become a stone bridge, enduring five hundred years of wind, five hundred years of sun, and five hundred years of rain, only to have her walk across it.’
“Because in his eyes, every encounter is enough to be eternal, even if he is a weathered old bridge.
“I close my umbrella, even though the rain is still falling. I immerse myself in the mist, listening to the sound of raindrops on my hair.
“Looking back suddenly, I only smile gently, wishing to meet you in the most beautiful way—The Most Beautiful Encounter.”
He read the prose again, and a tear blurred the page. His mind replayed their first meeting.
“You’re mine from now on.”
“I’m not selling myself…”
“Who asked you to sell yourself? I wouldn’t even buy you…”
Lin Fengnian murmured to himself, “Hanxiao, back then, I actually liked you from the first moment I saw you! But do you understand that a person from my background has his own hardships?”
“Hanxiao, I love you, I, Lin Fengnian, love you… Wuwuwu…” His tears finally burst out, a torrential flood.
He gently caressed the photo, touching her face in the picture, and stayed up all night.
Three days later, Cheng Yugang and his team arrived in Yancheng. He Zhenwei, along with Old Master Lin and Long Ting, greeted them.
Old Master Lin and Lin Fengnian took Cheng Yugang to pay respects at their family graves. Old Master Lin said, “Old Cheng! It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
Cheng Yugang nodded. “It has! It’s been a year since we last parted. I heard from Hanxiao recently that Fengnian has managed Sandmouth Mountain very well. The economy has developed quickly in the last six months, which has also increased the income of the surrounding residents! Very good, very good, Fengnian! Keep up the good work!”
Lin Fengnian nodded in response. “Yes, yes, Uncle Cheng. Your nephew will keep your words in mind!”
Liu Hanxiao, standing by, looked at the handsome and eloquent man in front of her and felt a pang of loneliness.
She knew she could not turn back now! She was a pawn he had personally placed, a key piece on this complex chessboard! She secretly glanced at him, wanting to deeply imprint his confident image in her mind…
Amidst the roaring of firecrackers, the clinking of glasses at the feast, and the dim light of the bedroom at night, as the curtain fell, a single tear quietly fell from Liu Hanxiao’s eye. From that moment on, she and Lin Fengnian were no longer a possibility.