Chapter Ninety-Four: How Long Will It Take?

She flung herself onto the bed, yet the man’s words kept rising unbidden in her mind.

"Ranan, let us be together."

"This is all food Ranan likes. Can’t Ranan tell?"

"If Ranan likes it, she can take a few more pictures."

"I will not tolerate even the slightest danger for you."

"If you ever keep something like this from me again, I may as well bite you to death."

"You dare choose something revealing and see what happens?"

...

She got out of bed and splashed cold water over her face, hoping to wash away every trace of those images.

Suddenly, a sharp cramp twisted through her abdomen. Her face turned pale as she clutched at her stomach.

Her monthly cycle had come.

She braced herself against the sink and turned the water hotter.

She let the warm stream run over her hands, then pressed a hot towel to her face until she had enough strength to go deal with it in the bathroom.

Only after she had finished everything did she, utterly exhausted, collapse back onto the bed and sleep until nightfall.

His longing had become unbearable. Huangfu Shenqing parked his car, found a concealed spot, and slipped inside. By then it was already nine at night.

In the eerie stillness of the dark, all things lay hidden. A swift shadow moved through the night and stopped at the second-floor window.

"Aren’t you going to stop me?"

Ye Zuo adjusted his glasses, his tone faint. "I only hope the young lady can be happy."

He had watched Shangguan Ranran all day long; how could he not know that she had not been happy even once?

And that happiness was not something he could give her.

Nothing in life was more bitter than this: to cherish the happiness of the one you love, yet be unable to offer it yourself.

A flicker of something strange passed through Huangfu Shenqing’s eyes. He quickly climbed to the third floor, went over the balcony, and slipped inside.

Seeing the girl sleeping restlessly, he reddened around the eyes, though the corners of his mouth curved with joy.

He moved with great care, making no sound at all.

He did not dare go too close, afraid of waking her. He could only stand at a distance and study her face in detail, every cell in his body aching with longing.

How he wanted to gather the girl into his arms and cherish her tenderly.

Ranan, how much longer will it take?

How much longer until you are no longer afraid of me?

Until you can forget the me of that time?

...

When Shangguan Ranran woke, she found a faint mint fragrance lingering in the air. Her tears once again began to fall without her consent.

Was it you, Mister Huangfu?

...

The next day, when she went downstairs, she ran into Ye Zuo on the second floor.

She wanted to ask whether that person had come last night.

Seeing her troubled expression, Ye Zuo spoke gently, "Young lady, simply follow your heart. Do not burden yourself with pressure you have placed upon yourself. In time, it will be fine."

Would time make her forget?

Shangguan Ranran went to the company and dealt with matters in her department.

She discovered that the two people her father had sent truly lived up to their reputation; even without her, the department’s performance would not be low.

"Director, is there any problem with the report?"

"No. You did very well. Arrange it like this."

"Yes."

Morina took the report away and discussed the meeting arrangements with Hu Jun.

At the meeting, Shangguan Ranran summarized the individual and departmental performance from September fifteenth to October fifth.

Overall, the results had risen compared with the previous month. This was very good progress.

"In just a few days, Director Hu Jun and Assistant Morina have achieved results even higher than those of our entire department. I hope everyone will take their work seriously. It is also the foundation of your own livelihood."

"Besides that, Hu Ya, who is responsible for coordinating with the Qingran Studio, has the highest performance."

"And Yang Shinzi, who is responsible for real estate sales, has the lowest. I hope this is the last time."

From the corner, Yang Xingzi acknowledged it.

Now that the sales department’s performance was improving, salaries, annual leave, bonuses, overseas trips, and other benefits had all increased as well. So everyone in the department was working earnestly now, completely different from the corrupt and chaotic atmosphere before.

Shangguan Ranran wanted to pour all her mind and body into work, to use work to gradually forget those things.

After all, she could not keep avoiding them forever.

For the following month, Shangguan Ranran moved between only two places: the company and the villa.

The two of them did not meet even once.

And the man gradually grew more irritable.

Floors one hundred eleven through one hundred nineteen seemed sealed off, never opened.

Mo Yi bent his head bitterly to pick up documents; he had long since lost count of how many times this had happened.

Their CEO had remained on the edge of fury and ruthlessness. If one was careless, the documents would go flying straight at his head.

Several directors had already been hospitalized, and after being discharged they all took leave and dared not return.

Mo Jiu and Mo Shi also desperately wanted leave, but they did not dare.

After being discharged, Mo Jiu returned to the company and told them what had happened.

What could they do?

They could not discipline their master’s little darling, nor could they summon her over.

So they could only endure it.

Huangfu Shenqing sat in his office, the whole man shrouded in gloom. Looking at the ring in his hand, he could not help tightening his grip.

It had already been a month.

Ranan, it has already been a month.

He pulled out his phone to check the location, only to find that it was neither the company nor the Shangguan residence. He grabbed his keys at once and drove off to look for her.

After filming ended, Xia Wanqing’s agent enrolled her in a music program in order to raise her profile.

She had studied dance since childhood, so her body was very supple, and her voice was not bad either.

But then she thought of it: Ranan’s piano and zither skills were unmatched. With her joining in, how could they not advance?

The condition Shangguan Ranran had agreed to was that her face must not be shown.

"Welcome, everyone, to this episode of Music Partners. I am your host, Mina."

"Good evening, everyone. I am your host, Yang Kai."

"We have come once again to a new episode."

"Yes, this is already our final episode."

Yang Kai smiled. "The final winner selected in this last episode will compete against the nine winners from the previous nine episodes. The one who prevails will be the champion of Music Partners."

Mina also wore a kindly smile. "That’s right. Now let us welcome tonight’s first performance: a saxophone piece."

Two men in formal dress took the stage: one was tonight’s musical performer, the other the partner he had invited.

Soon, the beautiful tone of the saxophone drifted into everyone’s ears. That hoarse, low voice of heaven brushed against the very heart, intoxicating all who heard it.

...

...

Behind the scenes, the makeup artists were all busily at work, painting fine makeup onto the performers about to go on stage.

The staff in charge were also constantly urging them on, fearful of delaying the schedule or slowing the pace.

"Ranan, let me have my makeup artist help you."

Xia Wanqing was in the middle of being made up when she noticed Shangguan Ranran sitting off to the side in a daze.

"No need. I’m fine like this."

After all, she was not showing her face. Going without makeup was perfectly fine.

Xia Wanqing said proudly, "Even without makeup, my Ranan shines brilliantly."

Shangguan Ranran managed a smile. In truth, lately she had been like this in everything she did, often lost in thought.

She could not easily laugh with abandon, because for some reason she always felt weighed down by something and could not smile at all.

"Ranan, I’m going to wear a Han-style dance dress later. What will you wear? I still have two dance dresses I’ve never worn, and another qipao!"

"Then I’ll wear the qipao. It suits the zither."

"That makes sense."