Chapter 100: Unrequited Love
November 14th, Thursday, 9 AM. In response to the current turbulent times, the Jinhe Club has chosen to publicly announce its closure for renovations, naturally making it impossible for the members of Hyacinth to gather at the club every day in a grand manner; instead, they take turns on standby during their time off.
For the past three days, Jiang Yao has had it the easiest, with free activities during the day and going to lurk outside the Zhong family villa at night to keep watch.
Although Jiang Yan didn’t know how Jiang Yao spent those hours, her expression upon returning clearly indicated that the experience was neither dull nor unpleasant, though it certainly helped that she had brought two power banks.
However, upon returning this morning, Jiang Yan noticed something was off about Jiang Yao’s complexion; she wasn’t unhappy, but there was a distinct sense that something was amiss, obviously indicating that a relative had come to visit.
“What’s going on with you? You didn’t come last month, and now you’ve dragged it out until today. Didn’t you have any premonitions? You didn’t prepare anything; thankfully, you’re wearing a black dress.”
Jiang Yan sighed, rolling up the dress that Jiang Yao had changed out of and tossing it into the basin in the small courtyard to soak. “The past few days you’ve come back smelling of alcohol; what do you need alcohol for while on watch?”
Jiang Yao flushed red and didn’t dare to answer that question, instead hurriedly stepping two at a time into the bathroom.
“Anyway, I have nothing to do today. Sister Xiaodong and Uncle Liang are on duty at the club tonight, so I’ll cover for you. You just need to rest… Ugh, you went to take a shower without even bringing a bath towel or pajamas? I feel like I’m your nanny!”
Jiang Yan shook her head, holding the clothes as she approached the bathroom door, knocking a few times with no response. Realizing the door wasn’t locked, she pushed it open.
Before her, warm water was cascading down, shrouded in steam, but Jiang Yao wasn’t standing under the shower; instead, she was turned sideways, admiring herself in the large mirror of the bathroom from various angles.
Her exquisite and slender figure, with fair skin, was even more radiant and enticing under the moisture, showcasing the youthful beauty unique to her age.
“Um… I…”
Jiang Yao was in a state caught between distraction and focus, examining her reflection, when the sound of the door opening startled her into silence.
Apart from the steaming water, there was also a crumpled shirt and undergarments abandoned in the corner. At that moment, Jiang Yao was completely unclothed, letting out a small squeak, covering her chest, and shrinking into the corner, facing away from Jiang Yan, her face flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s not like I’ve never seen you shower. You’re always preening in front of the mirror… Just remember to bring your own towel and pajamas next time, or you can just stay naked!”
Jiang Yan directly sidestepped the weight of the issue, unceremoniously hanging the bath towel and pajamas on a nearby rack without looking back as she turned to leave.
After the bathroom door closed, Jiang Yan let out a breath and touched her face, feeling a bit helpless.
These past few days, she had clearly been spending every night with Zhong Jing, just as friends; she mustn’t… she mustn’t… As Jiang Yan thought about this, she froze, the earlier scene appearing vividly in her mind.
Sighing, she chided herself for wondering about Jiang Yao when she herself had behaved outrageously too. Jiang Yan gave a bitter smile and shook her head repeatedly.
Sitting in the living room, she resumed her usual routine, starting to check the weapons and ammunition that Jiang Yao had brought back today, disassembling and maintaining them.
The disassembled handgun parts and bullets filled the dining table, but Jiang Yan’s movements gradually slowed.
Though her hands maintained their skillful actions, her mind was still reflecting on the myriad of experiences over the last six months, particularly her life after joining Hyacinth.
Jiang Yan felt that most of her life had been spent in the Jinhe Club. From the lobby on the first floor to the private rooms on the third floor, from the bar to the staff changing room, this little world had unexpectedly become the largest stage for her new life experiences thus far.
The high-end, unique operating model attracted a clientele that represented the more affluent, confident elite of society. At one time, Jiang’s elder sister, a frontline beauty of Hyacinth, had become a label Jiang Yan was accustomed to, and she couldn’t escape the admiring gazes from young male patrons, and the obvious feelings of affection directed toward her.
The Jinhe Club had its gimmicks, and it was inevitable that certain young male members would make advances and flirt with beauties like Jiang Yan.
Under the tutelage of many Hyacinth girls, or rather, through observation and deduction, Jiang Yan had transitioned from initial extreme discomfort to ease, even learning some techniques for interaction and refusal, and could now engage politely and friendly with the customers.
Jiang Yan wasn’t sure how far she was from being a woman, but she had a vague feeling that Jiang Yao was certainly ahead of her.
“Sis, I’m done. I’m going to bed.”
“Oh, good, you can sleep a bit longer. When you wake up, we’ll have a late lunch.”
Jiang Yao had already wrapped herself in winter pajamas and was standing beside her before Jiang Yan realized it. Jiang Yan quickly assembled the handgun but didn’t look up.
Jiang Yao took a couple of steps toward her bedroom, turned back, and looked at Jiang Yan earnestly loading bullets.
Hesitating for a moment, she leaned against Jiang Yan from behind, resting her head on her shoulder, her voice low and her face slightly warm: “Sis, if one day a good man really pursues you, what will you do?”
“It’s impossible.”
Jiang Yan pressed all the bullets into the magazine, inserted it into the handgun grip, then took it out again, her expression calm. “He’s already dead.”
At her words, Jiang Yan herself was taken aback, nearly letting the handgun slip from her grasp. Jiang Yao gaped at the unexpected answer.
“You… actually, I don’t know whether he liked me or not. No one understands his thoughts. I just accompanied him on his final journey. It’s not as complicated as you think. Don’t misunderstand me.”
Jiang Yan turned around, supporting Jiang Yao’s body, and smiled: “Xiao Yao, if you had a pill that could let you make a choice again, would you choose the old Gu Yao or continue with the current Jiang Yao?”
Jiang Yao looked at the suddenly “philosophical” Jiang Yan, puzzled, chewing on the question, her expression growing more dazed. This was evidently another explosive query.
Countless strange thoughts flashed through her mind. Slowly, Jiang Yao reached up to touch her mouth, as if she remembered a physical flaw she had almost forgotten.
“Hehe, ‘If, itself, is a false proposition and a trap. It’s okay if you can’t answer; I was just teasing you. Go to sleep.’”
Seeing that Jiang Yao was baffled, Jiang Yan gently patted her arm and stood up, intending to go tidy up the small yard.
“So you’re changing the subject? Don’t just tease me; what about you?”
Jiang Yao finally snapped back to reality, clearly irritated by the earlier question, and retorted a bit aggressively, refusing to let it go.
“Actually, I don’t know the answer either. But I didn’t have any long-term plans before. I went wherever I had to, and my biggest life goal was to open a small restaurant after discharging from the military and then take care of Grandma Jiang.”
Jiang Yan took a decorative hair tie off her wrist, bit it, and then tied her long hair into a ponytail behind her head, laughing: “A few days ago, I told Sister Wan I wanted to be like her, and she gave me a harsh critique. Hehe, is that not a more ambitious and appealing ideal than opening a small restaurant?”
“That kind of person like Sister Wan? She’s over eighty, okay!”
Jiang Yao mumbled, taking a tiny sidestep.
“Everyone grows up… When it comes to choices, it’s actually a matter of different life directions and ideals. Unlike Meng Huai, I’m not someone who is overly obsessed, but I still can’t make a choice now since my directions and ideals are still too limited.”
“Xiao Yao, you and I are different. You don’t even have your own life direction and ideals; you might not even have thought about these questions. How can you be sure that your current feelings or choices are right? That has nothing to do with being a woman.”
After finishing, Jiang Yan stepped out of the living room, leaving Jiang Yao in a daze, seemingly grasping and not grasping, with a blank expression.
……
……
Late at night, just past 11 PM, in a high-end villa community in Area Q.
Jiang Yan held a small bag in both hands, containing necessary watch supplies, and walked along the winding paths of the community.
Today’s outfit was almost identical to what Jiang Yao wore on her first day of duty: a deep brown long-sleeve shirt, a black bow tie, a black suspender dress in a collegiate style, black tights, and she was even carrying a wrapped Dao sword on her back, her hairstyle identical to Jiang Yao’s.
The rhythm of her mid-heeled boots echoed on the gravel path, and occasionally, property security would glance back at her a few more times.
Jiang Yan quickly found the large tree in a prime location, checked her watch, adjusted her skirt, and easily climbed up.
She untied the Dao from her back and hung her bag on a branch before opening her e-reader and leaning against the robust trunk, quietly reading.
If it were summer, Jiang Yan’s posture as a girl resting in a tree would have undoubtedly been a gorgeous sight, but on this chilly night in early winter, it felt rather out of place.
Time passed to shortly after midnight when under the sparse streetlights, a young man in sportswear was jogging, as if out for a midnight workout, circling around before slowly making his way through a small square with a fountain toward a corner.
“There’s no beer at home today; is soda okay?”
Zhong Jing stood under the tree with a smile, but today it was strange that there was no response from above. A faint glow could be seen in the canopy, light from an electronic screen and the outline of a girl.
“What’s wrong? Not in a good mood today?”
After waiting for a few seconds with no reaction, Zhong Jing’s smile gradually shifted to skepticism.
After some rustling sounds, a rope fell down, landing in front of Zhong Jing.
“Am I supposed to climb up myself? You’re really playing house, huh?”
Again, there was no response from the tree. Zhong Jing shrugged, stretched his waist and arms, then grabbed the rope with both hands and huffed for half a minute before finally pulling himself up to the thick trunk.
Rubbing his slightly sore arms and smarting palms, Zhong Jing finally noticed the girl a short distance away, slightly turned away from him, facing the direction of their villa, and the light from her electronic screen had vanished.
“Did Master tell you that He Jianqing is coming back tomorrow, and that you’re unhappy?”
Zhong Jing pulled up the bag that had fallen at the end of the rope, smiling as he edged closer to the girl. “She makes us a bit uncomfortable, but she’s very much liked by my mom. It’s surprising for someone her age to mimic a young girl so well.”
In the dim night, the girl turned her head, a faint smile on her lips: “Zhong Jing, do you think that since He Jianqing is coming back, Sister Wan will withdraw her protection over the Zhong family, and Xiao Yao will be very disappointed?”
“No way!”
Zhong Jing was startled, his body swaying slightly, nearly dropping the can in his hand. “Jiang Yan!? Why are you here today? And you dress exactly like Jiang Yao!”
Coming from a superficially good family background, with beautiful features, a homegrown identity that everyone in Hyacinth trusted. Apart from being a flirt, she had no particularly bad habits, was broad-minded and humorous, and could solve many difficulties for everyone…
“Zhong Jing, these are the evaluations most of the Hyacinth sisters have of you. For Xiao Yao, interacting with you is not too much of a pressure at all… Zhong Jing, do you really only see Xiao Yao as an ordinary friend?”
Without the slightest shift in tone, Jiang Yan and Zhong Jing had the same steady expression, though she felt she was merely seeing a superficial, hypocritical smile.
Zhong Jing slightly shifted his body, thinking for a few seconds, and said lightly: “I suppose she’s still the best kind of ordinary friend? Um, in trendy terms, it’s the kind of relationship that’s more than friends but less than lovers.”
“Ha ha, for the past few days, I’ve been imagining your feelings towards me and how you regard Xiao Yao, and today I finally realized that, actually, there’s no difference; that night, he finally became just like you.”
Jiang Yan sighed helplessly, stroking the rough, cool tree trunk. “You two brothers haven’t even passed over your own inner barriers, yet you still have to provoke us. Hehe, maybe I’m also…”
“My big brother? He just nervously enjoyed a little before dying; how can you have such a high negative opinion of him? Comparing him to me makes me feel unaccomplished!”
Zhong Jing self-deprecatingly chuckled, taking out a cigarette from his pocket. Furthermore, please don’t think “more than friends, less than lovers” is something that’s common in this world; most of the time, it’s scarcer and purer than true love!
“But for you, it’s very cheap, isn’t it? You just tease Xiao Yao and lead her into the trap, right!?”
Jiang Yan’s tone suddenly changed. A flash of silver light emerged, the Dao sword was unsheathed, and lightly pressed against Zhong Jing’s chest. “I loathe this kind of hypocritical willingness! Xiao Yao’s condition is already very dangerous; sometimes I really want to kill you!”
Zhong Jing didn’t move an inch, and even his expression remained unchanged. He slowly raised his hand to light the cigarette in his mouth, gently exhaling a puff of smoke. “Do you think a person like me can really live long? To have come this far, I’ve not yet sunk into self-destructive despair; that is my greatest kindness toward women.”
“Get lost! You and Meng Huai are the same!”
Jiang Yan took several deep breaths, her body slightly trembling. “If you… truly think Xiao Yao is good, wait for her to find a life direction and ideal, and then truly like her, helping her realize it, okay? I also hope she can have someone dependable…”
In the dark night, Jiang Yan wiped her face with the back of her hand and no longer engaged with the young man behind her.
“Sometimes, I feel that having a sister like you is the greatest luck for Xiao Yao, but it’s also her greatest misfortune. Also, my brother is probably dead; don’t whip him to comfort yourself! Goodnight!”
Zhong Jing’s voice was serious for the first time. With a whispering sound, his figure gradually moved away and then disappeared beneath the tree.
Zhong Jing had left, and the old tree returned to tranquility.
What’s wrong with me? Why am I feeling so sentimental… Touching the moisture on the back of her hand, Jiang Yan shook her head vigorously, unable to find a hint of an answer.
Turning to look at the outline of the Zhong family villa in the night, Jiang Yan closed her eyes and leaned wearily against the tree trunk.
