Half a year had passed since she returned home to China. Summer went, autumn arrived, then came winter. All this time, the temperature difference in this prosperous coastal city of A was very clear. It was never like New Zealand where she had studied. It was a place warm as spring all the year around, fine and beautiful beyond words could ever describe

Dressed in an azure sweater and a pair of navy jeans, Shangguan Ning was sitting in a white Audi A4, driving at a steady pace.

Her skin was pure and white. She was tall and slender. Even the plainest clothes clearly reflected the freshness and charisma of this woman.

The sky was blurred with dim moonlight, and the sea breeze brushed up her smooth, long hair through the half-opened car window. Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy echoed in her ears, making one’s heart soften for some reason.

A couple was hugging below the hibernating magnolia tree. The chemistry between them was so strong that they became tightly tangled with each other, as if no one was around. And their dazzling love was so fierce that even people at a distance could sense the heat clearly.

Envious, jealous, regretful and pain.

Shangguang Ning’s heart was ripped, and the tears could not help but drip down along the cheeks, completely out of her brain’s control.

She pulled out a piece of tissue paper in a fluster and wiped away her tears.

You promised never to think about him again! You promised not to linger like a fool. He doesn’t love you, and is not worth it either. Forget about everything, and everything will pass in the end.

She sniffed, trying hard to calm herself down.

But someone was destined to oppose her, to bring trouble to her.

A man dressed in a pale green plaid shirt on the driver’s seat was driving a black Land Rover towards her. He was a handsome man with refined and elegant charisma. A girl clad in a pink dress sat on the passenger’s seat. She had shoulder-long hair and looked gentle and beautiful.

Their silhouettes were in a happy conversation, and that moment stung Shangguan Ning’s eyes.

She had assumed that she could face that with a smile. But why did her heart ache so much at this moment that she felt like suffocating?

She wished never to run into them again in her life if that was possible because every time it happened, she would have to remind herself that she had been a silly girl!

“Ning, you don’t need to persist any more. I’m grateful that you took care of me for so long, but I don’t love you. I have always regarded you as a sister. I love Xue. She is a kind-hearted girl and you aren’t allowed to bully her. I will pay you back myself!”

His voice echoed in her ears, shattering her heart totally.

What a ridiculous thing it was! They had been separated for just one summer holiday and he claimed to have found his one true love when the school started again!

It had been four years, and it turned out that she had never been able to forget that. Shangguan Ning, you are so useless!

She clenched the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles whitened.

She was just about to press the accelerator, when the people opposite her noticed her first.

Two voices rose at the same time, blended with surprise and guilt.

“Sister”

“Ning!”

Shangguan Ning’s entire body became numb, but inside her heart it was roaring and twisting. She passed by with no expression on face, as if they had never existed.

Shangguan Rouxue, the girl in the Land Rover could not help but call out again, “Sister!”

But the white Audi drove away without turning back.

Shangguan Rongxue’s exquisite face was suddenly filled with tears.

Her pretty voice was laced with a remorseful, guilty tone. “Zhuojun, my sister must still be mad at me. It was all my fault. I betrayed her. I shouldn’t have…”

Xie Zhuojun’s heart ached as he saw Shangguan Rouxue’s saddened face, and his guilty feelings towards Shangguan Ning decreased tremendously.

He parked the car by the road, and grabbed Shangguan Rouxue into his arms.

He comforted her as he gently wiped away the tears on her face, “It had nothing to do with you. I was the one who owed her. But I will compensate her later. Anyways, you are the one I have always wanted to marry.”

At these words, Shangguan Rouxue felt quite moved.

She was about to say something when Xie Zhuojun asked in confusion, “When did she come back to China?”

“I’m not sure either. My sister has changed her phone number and she never replied to my e-mails. Mom and Daddy have been worried about her as well. I wonder if she has been living well all these years. She was totally alone over there, and no one could take care of her even when she got sick. She is such a stubborn woman, and just now she… Ah, it was all my fault, I shouldn’t have… have fallen in love with you. What should I do, Zhuojun, I feel so bad…” she said.

Xie Zhuojun never expected that one question of his could lead Shangguan Rouxue into the self-accusation again. He felt that he had said something wrong, so he squeezed out a smile on his handsome face.

He comforted, “Don’t worry about her, let’s talk about something cheerful.”

Shangguan Rouxue tried to make herself look cheerful and answered him with a little nasal voice, “Yeah, okay.”

As Xie Zhuojun watched the girl in his arms trying to hold up her emotions so that he could be happy, he finally made up his mind inside.

“Xue, let’s go and order the dress tomorrow.”

“Huh? What dress? For your company’s event?”

“No, the dress for our engagement party.”

Shangguan Rouxue slightly raised her graceful face in surprise. She knew completely well that she looked best from this angle.

Tears dangled in her large eyes. She called out his name, moved, “Zhuojun…”

Her baby-voice seemed to be filled with deep affection, so that Xie Zhuojun’s fluctuated emotions because of Shangguan Ning’s appearance vanished instantly.

He bent down his head and could not wait to place his lips upon her slightly-pursed red lips. He started tenderly before going deeper and more passionate.

The two soon became tangled, stripping each other’s clothes. It was getting very warm in the car.

Shangguan Rouxue’s face and lips were dripping with lust. Her eyes were wandering and she whispered in a soft voice, “Not here, Zhuojun. Let’s go home, alright…”

The oiled engine of the Land Rover started up instantly, heading off towards a certain direction like the wind.

And the girl named Shangguan Ning was no one but a passer-by.

Shangguan Ning drove at a high speed. She didn’t know how long did it take before she revived from the grieving emotion.

She knew that she must have got quite pale without looking herself at the mirror. She was a scattered woman who had been trying hard to stay calm.

However, strangely enough, despite the suffocating feeling that drowned her inner heart like the sea, she did not shed a single tear any more. She had thought that she would have cried until her eyes got swollen like two peaches.

She sneered in a self-mocking way – had she been hurt so badly that she already got immune to that?

She parked her car by the road and closed her eyes out of exhaustion, leaning herself against the seat and forcing herself never to think about anything anymore.

A piece of catchy and happy music rang. Shangguan Ning opened her eyes and glimpsed at the cell phone. On the screen a “Mr. Guo Shuai” was displayed.

A jolt came to her – she just recalled of the appointment with someone tonight.

Oh no, she must be late. Guo Shuai was a very punctual man. He must be mad.

Shangguan Ning took a glimpse at the time. Their set time was 19:30 and now it was already 19:40. She had navigated towards somewhere else because of her unstable emotion.

It was a fifteen-minute drive from the place she was, in to the western restaurant where they were supposed to meet.

She answered the phone, trying to keep her voice calm, “Hey, Mr. Guo. Are you there yet?”

A displeased male voice came from the cell phone. “Ms. Shangguan. I have been waiting for you for thirteen minutes. Are you just too conceited to come in time on our second ever date?”

Everyone has their own habits in life, and possessing a clear concept of time ought to be a merit.

Shangguan Ning herself did not like being late either, and she took the blame for this matter on this particular occasion.

Therefore, she apologized sincerely, “I’m very, very sorry. I just ran into some issue. I’m on the way there now. You can start without me.”

“Then please hurry up. I will wait for you.” The voice on the other side of cell phone still sounded displeased.

Shangguan Ning felt weird after hanging up. It was hard to describe the bizarre feeling,

Were they on… a date?

Goosebumps spread over Shangguan Ning when she thought about this word.

They had just eaten dinner once, and Guo Shuai wanted to treat her back today. They were co-workers and could run into each other every single day. That made it difficult to turn him down.

She was a teacher at University of X after she returned to China. Both she and Guo Shuai were the teachers for freshmen students. She belonged to the Department of Foreign Languages whilst Guo Shuai belonged to the Department of Chinese Language.

They had run into one other on different occasions and greeted each other with smiles. They had also exchanged a few words but had never gone further than that. Several days ago, they accidentally ended up eating a dinner together, and out of politeness, Shangguan Ning shared the bill, which Guo Shuai did not disagree with.

That was all. It was far from an actual “date”, wasn’t it?

Yet conversations on cell phones did not work well. She expected to put forward a clearer explanation face-to-face on the spot.

Shangguan Ning drove at such a high speed that she used only ten minutes to finish the fifteen-minute drive. She finally arrived at the western restaurant.

She put on a black woolen coat, grabbed her handbag and walked into the restaurant.

There were few guests at the restaurant. It was probably because the restaurant was new. It took her seconds before she found Guo Shuai, who was sitting at a seat by the window.

Mr. Guo Shuai was 32 years old, a graduate with a Doctor’s Degree from a second-rated domestic university. His skin was slightly tanned and he wore a pair of glasses with golden frame. He did look cultured and educated like a teacher, with a height, couple of centimeters more than that of Shangguan Ning’s 168cm. He had a slightly bloated shape and an ordinary look. It seemed that he was quite far from what his parents had expected in his name – the “handsomeness”.

Shangguan Ning put on a pair of flat-sole shoes on purpose today. She was aware of Gao Shuai’s feelings regarding height.

She walked to the table and sat down. She picked up a glass and sipped the lemon water before saying calmly, “I’m so sorry for being late, Mr. Guo.”

Actually, Guo Shuai had already spotted her the moment Shangguan Ning walked in, but he pretended that he had not seen her at all. At this moment, he gave a slight nod and replied with a nonchalant “hmm”.

Women were not to be spoiled, especially those like Shangguan Ning who used to live abroad, and who possessed both charisma and beauty, otherwise they were definitely going to rip the roof away later in life

However, it was undeniable that Shangguan Ning was a rare beauty. Although she looked tired and wore no makeup, she was still so elegant and refined.

Guo Shuai could hardly get angry in front of such an exquisite face.

But he did not show much enthusiasm to Shangguan Ning either, because she did not seem to care so much about him at all.

“Ms. Shangguan, we are both well-educated people, and you especially. You have been abroad before, but… oh yes, it was just to a tiny place like New Zealand, wasn’t it? Do people in New Zealand tend to be impolite and come to meetings late?”

Shangguan Ning frowned. She had thought of him as someone kind and friendly. He could have been a little morally lofty, but after all he was a good teacher who was devoted to literature. Today, however, he acted more like a 20-year-old young cynic.

“Ning, what are you frowning at?” he asked.

Ning! Was he calling her by that now?

He had addressed her Ms. Shangguan a moment ago. How did he suddenly became such a close person to her? Goosebumps spread over Shangguan Ning’s white, tender arms.

“I am a few years older than you, so I can teach you something. What women need most, is to be nursed with love. Don’t set your standards too high. You aren’t a young girl and you are getting older and older, meaning that you are getting cheaper and cheaper. At the moment, you are lucky to marry someone so excellent like me, but as time goes by, you will have no choice but to marry the security guards at our university gate! Why didn’t your parents tell you anything…”

Before Guo Shuai finished his words, Shangguan Ning smashed down the glass on the table so loudly that the other guests turned their heads towards this direction.

She did not care about the strange look of others around her. She was trying hard not to spill the lemon water onto the man sitting opposite her.

She had already been in a sour mood. She had shown politeness towards Guo Shuai only because she felt guilty for being late. But by this moment, it was clear that the man was picking on her. What was the point of not fighting back!

“Mr. Guo, you didn’t brush your teeth before leaving home today, did you?” she asked.

Guo Shuai did not quite catch Shangguan Ning’s words, so he threw a glare at her, meaning that he didn’t understand her at all.

Shangguan Ning didn’t wait for his reply before saying unceremoniously, “Because your mouth stinks!”

“You…”

“I have not only been to New Zealand. I have travelled to Great Britain, America, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and so on! Men from those countries are all gentle and friendly. Why do I keep running into these single hicks after I returned to China?”

“What do you mean by hicks? Who are you referring to here??”

Shangguan Ning ignored Guo Shuai who had already gotten extremely angry.

She replied in a mocking tone, “Mr. Guo, you really studied hard to come to this University being a vocational school student. What was your major? Could it have been the studies of excavators? Because you are very interested in digging pits and jumping into them yourself. If you want to compliment me, just say so. No one would ever care or understand your roundabouts.”

“You…”

“No wonder Mr. Guo talks like a hick. You must have done a great deal of digging, so that even a Master’s Degree or Doctor’s Degree can’t help to hide up your hick characteristics. Don’t feel less of others, I am not laughing at your background, I am just looking down at your moral qualities.”

“I…”

“You think you are better than the guards at University of X? No, no, no. Those guards might not be as learned as you, but they are morally better than you in every single way. Did you come to University of X through a back-door passage? If not, wouldn’t that be too much a risk for the school to allow an excavator student to teach the Chinese language?”

As a matter of fact, Guo Shuai was indeed quite learned, and he hadn’t come in through back-door passage. Shangguan Ning was just trying to piss him off.

Guo Shuai was feeling more and more agitated. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was trying hard to hold back or because he was too pissed.

He stood up abruptly, his face already twisted.

He lifted his chin and replied in a disdainful voice, “Shangguan Ning, you will definitely pay for what you said today. Bah!”

With these words, he took his things and stormed out.

Good… he’s finally gone. The world was finally quiet.

The restaurant was decorated in a European style, with a classical air going around. The music played there was low and melodious. It was a wonderful place for food.

Shangguan Ning removed her coat and gestured to the waitress. “Take the order here, please.”

The steak was tender and fresh, effusing out tempting scents. The pasta tasted smooth and delicious, whilst the vegetable salad turned out to be a great appetizer when served with Chinese style corn-pea porridge. Shangguan Ning, who was so hungry, felt very satisfied after consuming the dishes.

She had thrown away all the unpleasantness, and devoted herself completely to the wonderful food.

She drank half a glass of lemon water after eating. On the way to the counter, a short-hair girl in a light grey Prada blouse came to the seat in front of her.

Shangguan Ning got slightly surprised. “Anan, what are you doing here?”

Zhao Anan brushed away her short hair in a cool way whilst a bright smile hovered over her face. “This is my restaurant. Any problem with the Boss inspecting the place?”

Zhao Anan was also a teacher from University of X. More specifically speaking, she was an associate professor at University of X. She worked at the same Department – Department of Foreign Languages, as Shangguan Ning. Anan was in charge of oral English education whilst Shangguan Ning taught the discipline of British and American Literature.

They had entered University of X on the same day and their birthdays were just one day apart. The two of them got on very well with each other. Everytime when one of them was forced to run an urgent errand, the other would help take over that person’s lessons. The two of them hung out on weekends for shopping in the mall or training at the gym. As a result, their friendship developed rapidly.

However, they had come to a tacit agreement that private matters were never to be discussed between them. They agreed to help each other in troublesome situations and leave private space for each other at the same time.

Zhao Anan could be considered as Shangguan Ning’s best friend for the past four years.

The same went for Zhao Anan.

Zhao Anan had a boyish personality. She was easy-going, careless and stayed fascinated by something for no more than three days. It came as a surprise to Ning that she had opened her own restaurant.

Keeping aside her surprise, Shangguan Ning was actually very happy for her good friend.

She smiled lightly at Anan and said, “It’s great that you opened this Victorian restaurant. Seems like that I would be able to save a good deal of food money in the future.”

The overhead shining light landed upon her undecorated face. Her smooth, black long hair fell all over her back in a casual way and clearly reflected her pure white skin. Everything was perfect about her face and that bright smile simply blew Anan’s mind away.

“What is it?” Shangguan Ning asked as she noticed Anan staring at her.

She thought that she might have some rice stuck on the face. She pulled up some tissue papers from the table and tried to wipe the food away.

Anan let out a smile. “You, Shangguan Beauty, your smile has bedazzled me! You better hold back that smile for important occasions, otherwise people will be killed by your extreme beauty!”

Shangguan Ning was aware that she was not ugly but she had never considered herself a beauty.

She had been compared with Shangguan Rouxue since childhood and always remained the ugly duckling under the shadow of the white swan.

“Oh, isn’t this Xue? You are getting really pretty. You are definitely going to be a real beauty in the future! Eh… Ning, you are quite tall indeed, yes, very tall… haha…”

“Xue scored the first position again! You must have received many scholarship by now. And Ning, oh yes, you have progressed by two steps. It is good too, but try learning from Xue and get into the top 10. It would be a shame if the elder sister lost to the younger, wouldn’t it?”

“Hey, did you hear that? Shangguan Rouxue is in relationship with Song Zixuan, the best-looking boy in the school. She is just so lucky. Song is handsome, excellent in studies and rich too. I do envy Xue…”

“News, biggest news! Shangguan Rouxue’s elder sister Shangguan Ning is engaged to a vegetative man. She must be interested in his money, even if it means being a living widow. What a shame for Shangguan Rouxue to have a sister like that. I feel so sorry for her…”

“Shangguan Ning! Who I, Xie Zhuojun, love the most is Shangguan Rouxue, not you. She is the girl I am destined to protect in this world. You should stop badgering me and behave like an elder sister is supposed to!”

For some reason, the old stories just popped into her brain all of a sudden and the cruel words were still clear as crystal.

Anan noticed a change in Shangguan Ning’s expression, so she said immediately, “What is it? Did I say something wrong?”

Shangguan Ning brought herself back to Earth. She shook her head slightly, trying to wipe away the unpleasant memories from her brain.

She looked at Anan’s sunny face and lips which were shaped like a hook.

She replied in a soft voice, “Of course not, Boss Zhao, you have great taste. Do remember to compliment me every day. I will never get too full of that.”

Anan burst into laughter as she saw Ning’s serious face. “Haha, you are really thick-cheeked, aren’t you?”

Anan’s emotion apparently affected Shangguan Ning, who could not help but laugh alongside with her.

After a cheerful moment, Anan suddenly approached her and whispered in a mysterious tone, “Seriously, Ning, you are my best friend, why not be my sister-in-law? Benefits should always be kept for our own people, you know.”

Shangguan Ning jerked back for a second. She understood that Anan must have seen what happened between her and Guo Shuai.

Therefore, Shangguan Ning waved that away immediately, “You are always joking around. I won’t talk to you any more if you continue to do so.”

“No way. I am only telling you this because you are so close to me. I wouldn’t want others to know about him.”

“Anan, I know you mean well, but…”

Anan was a stubborn woman.

She refused to hear what Shangguan Ning had to say and interrupted her by starting to talk, “No buts. You have never met my brother before. As his little sister, I just can’t help but brag about him. Ordinary girls are not suitable for him. He has an attractive charisma and is super good-looking. His EQ and IQ that are so high that the indices can exceed the current Guinness Record. His body shape is so perfect that women from eight to eighty years old would all become obsessed. Most importantly, he never fools around with anyone!”

In Shangguan Ning’s opinion, Anan was praising her brother in an endlessly exaggerating way. It was a normal thing that a younger sister would worship her older brother. She could not say anything, so listened quietly.

“…You know, he has attracted numerous girls since he was young, even boys! But he always exercises self-control and is never willing to speak with others. He has focussed upon nothing but studies. He has always been the straight-A student at school.”

Exercises self-control ? He sounds like he is a man with autistic issues.

“He is particular about his food. He doesn’t eat food with green leaves, food with tough textures, food with bad looks…”

Oh girl, please! He was not particular about food, he was critical about food.

“If his dog bites somebody else, he would never blame it for that. Instead, he would feed the dog better food, just to ensure that it can run faster and not be caught next time it bites someone. My brother is just so kind-hearted…”

“Kindhearted”… didn’t seem like the right word in this case.

For the first time in six months of knowing her, Shangguan Ning heard Anan, who was more tomboyish than womanly, speak so highly of a boy in such a fascinated tone.

Shangguan Ning could not help but shake her head.

Anan grasped her arm all of a sudden, “Alright, it’s a deal then. My brother returned to China last month and he is currently available at home all the time. It is Saturday tomorrow and we both are also free. So, you must come and meet him.”

“Well, I don’t… think that is necessary. Your brother is so amazing… I’m sure that many people would fight for him. I will skip getting into that mess.”

“Stop hesitating. You really have a bad judgement about people. Trust me, please. I won’t hurt you in anyway.”

Yes, Anan was totally right. She really had a bad judgement about people. She had thought that Xie Zhuojun would be her Mr. Destiny yet the result turned out to be the opposite. She had thought that Guo Shuai was a nice man, but the fact was that he totally wasn’t…

But, Anan’s judgment was also… very suspicious.

She was about to say something, when Anan looked at her rather maliciously, “What is it, my Beauty? You don’t believe me? Or my brother? If you don’t agree with this proposal, then you are not allowed to leave this sinister restaurant tonight.”

Her voice was getting louder and louder, drawing the attention of a couple on the table closeby.

She didn’t even care about scaring off her guests with her fierce words.

Shangguan Ning was worried that messier words would come out of her mouth, so she immediately nodded in agreement, “Okay, okay, okay! I will meet your brother. Don’t scare your guests away. You just opened the restaurant.”

Zhao Anan was finally happy again. Her face was filled up with excitement, “Okay! That’s final then. Tomorrow night, 7 o’clock. Come to my Victorian restaurant for a sell, oh, sorry, for a meeting!”

Shangguan Ning felt a terrible hunch rising from her heart as she saw Anan’s eagerness.

Why did it feel as if she had just been sold away?