Forbidden To Be Tempted

The setting sun dyed the entire sky red.

Cheng Suran rushed out of the gate of the complex with the model in her arms.

Her car was parked on the side of the road nearby. She walked unsteadily towards it, fumbling to unlock the door. Eager to get in, she tripped and fell onto the seat before lifting her foot.

Her wrist hit the steering wheel heavily, and she winced in pain.

"Hiss…"

The broken model in the box rattled, Cheng Suran ignored the pain, closed the car door, hurriedly took off the acrylic box, and checked the model.

Fortunately, there was no secondary damage.

She slumped down.

Carefully stroking the surface with her fingertips, it felt smooth and slightly cool to the touch. It's as if time had flown back to that late night, she was holding the model, sitting alone in an empty room waiting.

From full of expectations to giving up and throwing the gift in the trash.

[In these years when you were not around, it was my only keepsake.]

Her ears were buzzing, as if she had been slapped, invisible hands were tearing at her, and the tears welling up in her eyes fell down.

Jiang Yu...

What does this mean? Why keep the gift she gave? Treasuring it as a keepsake? Is it an attempt to deceive her again? Does she think she's the most obedient and suitable to be a canary? If there was genuine intention at that time, why drive her away so decisively? Why...

Cheng Suran gasped, raised her head and sobbed.

She spent a long time to pull herself out; she put in a great effort to let go of the past. However, Jiang Yu erased it all with just one sentence, straightforwardly telling her: It was all a joke.

She never understood that woman's heart.

—pata

Tears hanging on her jawline splashed onto the model.

Her gaze was sometimes blurred, sometimes clear, as she looked through the window and saw lights in the high-rise buildings, wondering which one was Jiang Yu's...

Cheng Suran realized belatedly that she still cared so much.

The sun had completely set.

After adjusting her mood, Cheng Suran drove home, and as soon as she entered the door, she saw Wen Ruoxian sitting at the dining table eating alone, and their eyes met.

"Ranran?" Wen Ruoxian looked at her in surprise, "Did you finish your meal so soon?"

"Something came up suddenly, so it's rescheduled." Cheng Suran shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. She changed into slippers and headed towards the bedroom.

Wen Ruoxian frowned, putting down her chopsticks and followed after her. "Ranran..."

Cheng Suran stopped, puzzled.

"Are you in a bad mood? What happened?" Wen Ruoxian stared at her, only to see her holding the transparent box in her arms tightly with both hands, and her eyes moved downward.

Inside the miniature landscape model, brightly colored under the light, there was a small garden, a long "stage," and a small figure with a broken arm. On the background board were two capital letters "JY."

"What is that?"

"Just received a package," Cheng Suran instinctively avoided eye contact and lied, "Nothing important. You should go ahead and eat; I'll handle this."

After speaking, she hurried into the bedroom.

After closing the door and locking it, she slid down with her back against the door, looking down at the model in her arms.

In the small garden, the swing is broken, the small person has lost an arm, and the decorations on the background board are scattered and unsightly.

At that time, she was stupid because of the black material on Weibo, which made Jiang Yu angry, and ignored her for many days. She watched everyone in the fan group discussing birthday gifts enthusiastically, and felt that she was stupid, poor and lacked dignity, and Jiang Yu would not like any gift she gives.

But she still wanted to.

She wanted to apologize to Jiang Yu, wanted to make Jiang Yu happy, and  wanted to carefully prepare the most unique gift for the person she liked.

She racked her brains and finally decided to make clay handicraft. She used the money from her part-time job to buy materials, search for tutorials online, draw design drawings and write design ideas by herself. She failed three times in the process, but after two weeks of effort, she finally succeeded.

Then, she threw it into the trash, only for Jiang Yu to pick it up with her own hands...

This is not only a handmade gift, but also a testimony of her sincerity during that youthful time. Maybe in the future, she will never meet someone who can make her heart move like this again.

If it's broken, let it stay broken.

Cheng Suran thought.

But whenever she remembered these years, Jiang Yu had always kept it by her side, and an inexplicable feeling arose within her.

[In these years when you were not around, it was my only keepsake.]

Jiang Yu's face flashed in her mind. There was tenderness in those cold and stern eyes. After many years, although she couldn't discern whether it's true or fake, it awakened the beautiful memory deep in her heart.

On the night they officially met, she was afraid, but Jiang Yu didn't force anything. Instead, she gave her a long time to adapt. When she was caught up in rumors and gossip, Jiang Yu didn't mind the trouble and helped her settle things, even comforting her. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, she accompanied her to guess riddles and gaze at the moon, keeping in mind the prize she wanted. When she was injured, Jiang Yu busily ran back and forth, taking meticulous care of her. Upon learning about her background, she encouraged her, telling her to move forward courageously...

Many, many things.

In the darkest days of her life, it was Jiang Yu who brought a glimmer of light to her, and it was Jiang Yu who allowed her to experience warmth, excitement, and beauty for the first time in the world.

A person with far richer knowledge and experience than her is willing to bend down to communicate with her, guide her, and encourage her, isn't that a form of gentleness?

She was nurtured voluntarily, and she violated the terms of the agreement. She never hated Jiang Yu, never complained about Jiang Yu, she only thought that Jiang Yu didn't like her, but treated her with all kindness, she was even grateful.

But today...

Jiang Yu's eyes, Jiang Yu's expression, Jiang Yu's words. Everything was a knife in her heart.

Maybe Jiang Yu just misses that period of nurturing, she just can't let go of her old canary. She's afraid of revealing even the slightest emotional fluctuation, fearful that her vulnerability will be exploited, and even more terrified that Jiang Yu might discover that she still cares and has feelings for her.

She couldn't easily fall into it again.

Tears slid down silently.

Cheng Suran wiped her face, got up, set the model aside, and took out a bank card from the bedside table.

There are three million in it, which is all the working capital she currently has. She has been slowly saving money these years, just hoping that if she meets Jiang Yu again one day, she can return all the money that the other party spent on her in the past .

Only in this way can she completely cut off those memories.

Now the money is almost saved up.

The five-month nurturing agreement is 500,000 yuan, the intermittent pocket money during that period is 300,000 yuan, car gas, hotel meals, accommodation, gifts and other miscellaneous things, add up to about 200,000 yuan, and finally the check, two million.

These kinds of things, just enough.

After the money is returned, she will become a "pauper" with a zero account, but she could get rid of the past and really start from scratch.

Thinking about it makes her feel very at ease.

Cheng Suran stuffed the card into her bag, the phone vibrated suddenly, she took it out to see that it was a text message.

Jiang Yu: [Ranran, I'm sorry.]

"..."

Cheng Suran sighed.

At this moment, she had already calmed down. She knew that she had to face and resolve the situation; avoiding it wouldn't help.

Thinking it over, she replied: [Let's talk when you're free.]

Jiang Yu replied instantly: [I'm available all day on the weekend.]

Cheng Suran clicked on WeChat, found her weekly work schedule sent by her assistant, and then continued to reply: [See you on the terrace of WINK Cafe at 2 p.m. on Sunday.]

Jiang Yu: [OK.]

There was a knock on the door.

"Ranran, come out and eat." Wen Ruoxian shouted outside.

Cheng Suran put away her phone: "Coming." She unlocked the door, opened the door, met Wen Ruoxian's worried gaze, and smiled, "Sister Xian, what delicious food did you cook?

"You never learn." Wen Ruoxian reached out and tapped her forehead. "Don't call me 'sister'."

"Okay~"

"Sit down first, I'll help you serve the meal." Wen Ruoxian took her to the dining table, pulled the chair out for her, and turned to go to the kitchen. After a while, she came out again with a small bowl of rice and put it in front of her.

Then she handed her the chopsticks with both hands.

Cheng Suran was startled by this action, and blinked amusedly: "Are you treating me as the queen mother or something?"

"Queen." Wen Ruoxian corrected softly.

"Is there a difference?"

"The Queen Mother relies on others, and the Queen relies on herself."

"Our Miss Wen is getting better at talking." Cheng Suran squinted and smiled, then lowered her head to eat.

Wen Ruoxian also smiled, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere, and a hint of obscurity clouded her deep gaze. She watched Cheng Suran eat and suddenly asked, "Did you deliver Miss Jiang's watch today?"

Cheng Suran paused her chopsticks for a moment and hummed softly: "Delivered."

"Then when you said you're having a meal with a client, was it Miss Jiang?"

"Mm..."

"I think Miss Jiang is a bit strange." Wen Ruoxian observed her expression. Just as she began to speak, Cheng Suran's hand, which was gripping the chopsticks, tightened slightly, and she raised her head.

She continued: "Why did she want you to personally deliver it to her home? Instead of the company or having a driver, or an assistant come to pick it up? Was it for the purpose of having a meal with you? But then the meal was rescheduled… Mm, it's really strange."

"..."

Cheng Suran was at a loss for words.

It's not that she didn't know how to respond, but rather she didn't know which choice to make. Should she be honest with Ruoxian about her past connection with Jiang Yu, or should she continue to keep it a secret?

"Ranran..."

Wen Ruoxian was about to say something when she caught sight of a bruise on Cheng Suran's elbow. She furrowed her brows and asked, "How did you hurt your arm?"

Cheng Suran looked at his elbow, and said perfunctorily, "Oh, I accidentally bumped it, it's okay."

"I'll apply some medicine for you after dinner." Wen Ruoxian sighed.

"Okay."

Cheng Suran agreed in a muffled voice and continued eating.

After sitting for a long time, seeing that she had almost finished eating, Wen Ruoxian got up to get the medicine box, sat on the sofa, and took out the medicines that needed to be used.

She took another look at Cheng Suran.

Since Ranran returned from the three-day conference last month, something has been off with her. She's been fine at work, but at home, she often seems restless, locking herself in her room. Previously, if both of them were home in the evening, they would always go for a walk after dinner or watch a movie. However, recently, no matter how much she suggests, Ranran is unwilling to go out.

She had asked once, and Ranran had mentioned that work was too exhausting, and whenever she had free time, she just wanted to stay at home and rest.

Today's incident is also quite strange... a speculation emerged in her mind.

Could it be related to Jiang Yu?

….

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=4738582

This translation is originally posted on

love4baihe.blogspot.com

please read it there. and check out other stories too

The last trace of light on the horizon was swallowed by the twilight.

Jiang Yu sat on the windowsill, gazing intently outside. The lights on both sides of the riverbank were bright, and leisure boats glided slowly on the river's surface, their scattered lights reflecting in her eyes.

After a while, she raised her hand, intending to wipe her face. Her fingertips touched warm skin, only then realizing that her tears had dried.

She lowered her head and unlocked her phone.

The text that remained in the editing box was never sent.

[Can you return the model to me? I've already lost you; I don't want to lose it as well.]

This text message had been edited repeatedly for almost half an hour. Jiang Yu had been hesitating, to send or not to send. She looked at the two previous messages in the thread and found them glaring at her.

Talk?

From this simple sentence, she detected a hint of farewell, even though she had been so delighted upon receiving the text.

Perhaps it meant discussing ending their entanglement, maybe it meant talking about maintaining only a business partnership, or perhaps it meant ending things between them. Whatever it was, none of these scenarios were what she wanted.

It was getting dark, the lights in the room were not turned on, and the phone screen gave off a faint cold light, illuminating her pale face.

Strong regret welled up in her heart.

The model should have been put away earlier—it represents the past, the shady money relationship, the past that Ranran is most unwilling to recall.

She was careless.

Jiang Yu touched her face, as if she could still feel the warmth of Ranran's palm. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt at all, like being bitten by a mosquito.

She pressed her fingertips on the "delete" symbol on the keyboard.

The text has been deleted cleanly.

"Miss Jiang—"

The nanny stood outside the wardrobe and called out to her, "Dinner is ready."

She raised her head in response, stepped down from the window sill, stepped on the carpet with her bare feet, and floated out like a ghost.

There are a sumptuous five dishes and one soup on the table.

No onions, no cilantro, no chili...these are all dishes that Ranran likes to eat.

However, she had lost her appetite.

"Miss Jiang, everything was prepared according to your instructions. How does it look?" The auntie looked at her with a smiling expression.

Jiang Yu shook her head expressionlessly, "You and Xiao Zhou can have it. If you can't finish it, throw it away."

Author's Note:

Yu Baby: Regretting it now.jpg