See You Again (Time Already Knows) - Chapter 84
Chapter 84 - “That Is My Own Business.”
Shi Jian returned to the apartment in Chengnan by herself. There were two pairs of slippers in front of the shoe rack at the entrance hallway, a pair of men’s slippers and a pair of women’s slippers. She turned on the light, then exchanged her shoes for the pair of women’s slippers that belonged to her.
The sole of the slippers were made of soft leather, and they made no sound as she walked over the floorboards. She passed by a large fish tank. Shi Jian fed the newly bought tropical fish. Then she poked at the glass. The little fishes across the glass inside swam towards her, as if they wanted to kiss the tip of her finger.
She arrived at the living room and turned on the piano music that Ye Jiacheng had rearranged before. The relaxing piano music flowed like a burbling creek. Shi Jian returned to the kitchen and blended a fresh fruit smoothie. Then she went to the treadmill in the living room and started to exercise. She got tired after running for half an hour and stopped to rest. She had nothing to do, so she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and watched the city lights for a while.
Then she drank half of her smoothie and started her shower. She changed into her pajamas and read a boring novel to pass the time. She no longer read those tedious psychology and therapy books. She was now very healthy, in body and mind, other than her lover that was living inside her heart.
She unknowingly read quite a few chapters. It was almost time for her to go to sleep. If she was lucky, she might even be able to dream tonight. She reached out and shut off her lamp.
Even when alone, she was still used to sleeping on the right side of the bed. The lamp by her bedside was the carousel lamp that she’d bought. Unexpectedly, Ye Jiacheng had kept it. Some things were especially easy to lie about, especially feelings. Shi Jian only discovered after she came with Popo to clean up this apartment that Ye Jiacheng had kept the things that they’d bought when they were living together, such as this fantastical carousel lamp, and the couples’ slippers by the door, one pair blue and one pair pink.
Sometimes the more she thought about it, the more she felt that Ye Jiacheng was a bit annoying. However, it didn’t affect her love for him, so much so that she loved him more each day.
The next day was a sunny and cloudless Saturday. Shi Jian just finished eating a simple breakfast when she received a phone call from Zhou Zi. Zhou Zi told her that he was already downstairs. Shi Jian hung up and quickly went down.
Zhou Zi was the police officer that helped recover her purse. He was from Qinglin and had even been classmates with Ye Jiacheng. So last time it wasn’t luck at all that her purse had been found. Zhou Zi also mentioned something. When he drove her to the hospital that time, he had been on his way to visit Mayor Ye. He’d had a conversation with Ye Jiacheng in the hospital room. Then, Ye Jiacheng had run downstairs without another word. “Sometimes people are just people. Does fate really exist? Isn’t that the question?” Zhou Zi said.
On the way to A-City’s prison hospital, Zhou Zi mentioned Yi Qindong’s situation. His epilepsy flared up often, along with various mental disorders. Shi Jian listened very calmly. She only folded her two hands together, and there were little crescents on her palms.
Shi Jian allowed Zhou Zi to bring her into this prison hospital with a wire fence around it. She prepared herself mentally, but her emotions were still stirred up when she saw the place. Each patient had a summary of their case and their sentence written by their bedside. They were vivid in her mind, and there were many departments here, such as AIDS, recovery from drug addiction…… as well as mental disorders.
Yi Qindong was already mentally deranged. He already could not tell why he had been sent to prison, or why he was locked in here. He endlessly explained himself to the people here. Sometimes it was: “I really didn’t hurt Ye Jiacheng, I didn’t…… Someone must have framed me, I definitely……” Other times it was: “Clearly it was Ye Jiacheng who forced me, he forced me! He forced me first!”
Shi Jian looked away and took a deep breath.
Shi Jian paid for Zhou Zi’s lunch in the afternoon. They ate Qinglin cuisine together. Zhou Zi hesitated for a moment but ended up telling her about something. Last year, Mayor Ye had also come to the prison hospital. Shi Jian listened silently and nodded. Her Gonggong had not only seen Yi Qindong before, he had also gone to visit Brother Ding. Gonggong had known long before her about what conflicts Ye Jiacheng had with Yi Qindong, so he requested Brother Dong not to tell her about it.
“Little Shi, it’s all in the past.” Zhou Zi was bad with words, so he could only comfort her like this.
Shi Jian nodded and said the same in return, “Yes, it’s all in the past.”
Zhou Zi looked at her and asked with concern, “How are you now? Are you well?”
Shi Jian replied, “I’m pretty alright.”
Zhou Zi looked away.
Shi Jian smiled and repeated, “Really, I’m doing pretty alright.”
Shi Jian wasn’t lying. She really was doing pretty good now. When she had to work, she worked. When it was time to rest, she rested. She had a balance between both, and she was not tired of living. She even had some hopes and dreams that she had to achieve.
Shi Jian returned and received a package from the guard in the lobby. It was sent from Qinglin City. Popo said two days ago that she would send her some Qinglin snacks. It had arrived so quickly.
Shi Jian called Popo and they chatted for a bit as usual. She now got along with Father Ye and Mother Ye. It really was very natural. She didn’t spend five years as their daughter-in-law for nothing. Then Mama Ye implored her, “Remember to make more friends and go have fun, you understand?”
Shi Jian promised.
At night, Shi Jian went to have dinner at the Yang household. Uncle Yang Jiantao had swapped careers in the last two years and started a publishing company. He no longer dealt with construction sites. Using Yang Jiantao’s own words, he, Yang Jiantao, also had a day where he gave up being a merchant and turned to literature.
Originally, after Yang Jiantao was released from prison, he also started a publishing house. He mainly published children’s books. On one hand, he was making up for the lost time with Nini, on the other hand, starting a publishing company was also Uncle’s deepest hidden dream. He had mentioned this to Ye Jiacheng before: “As humans, who doesn’t have a few dreams?”
“Jian-er……” Yang Jiantao set down Nini and turned to look at her. After a while, he spoke especially sincerely, “If you wanted to work again, come work here at Uncle’s. You can be editor in chief. Don’t go working at Tianhua. Won’t you be tired?”
Shi Jian shook her head and declined, “I’ve been working this career for too long. I can’t change it.”
“Who says you can’t?” Yang Jiantao brought up an example, “Look, didn’t I change careers?”
“Maybe in the future,” Shi Jian raised her lips and replied very lightly in a tone that meant there was no discussion to be had.
Ai! Yang Jiantao dropped the subject. This daughter of the Shi family did not have a tough temperament but she was a person that had her own ideas. Thus, as long as it was something that she decided herself, regardless of her parents or her aunt and uncle, there was no way to change her mind.
Only, why did Jian-er have to work at Tianhua? Unless…… Ai! Yang Jiantao heaved a deep sigh again.
“Little fox, is Tianmei Jia Park our home……?”
The next day, Shi Jian drove to Linxi by herself. Then she stopped the car at the side of the road and walked for a long time. Linxi currently looked like it was still waiting for building to start. The lake and wetlands were still preserved, but a large plaza, commercial building, and gym was already planned to be built in front of it.
This place was slowly returning to the state that she was familiar with.
But what about Tianmei Jia Park, the home of her and Ye Jiacheng? Would it still return? Shi Jian looked at the nearby and distant surroundings of this area. The image of Tianmei Jia Park appeared before her eyes, each tree and blade of grass, each brick and roof tile.
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The Linxi Project’s land was bought by Yi Mao Real Estate. Tianmei Jia Park was the important project that Yi Mao Real Estate was about to start…… Didn’t a definite will from the heavens exist within these things so that these coincidences happened? The original developer of Tianmei Jia Park had also been Yi Mao Real Estate. The only time that Mr.Ye had worked with Yi Mao Real Estate was on the Tianmei Jia Park project. Later, Yi Mao Real Estate continued to invite him to collaborate, but Ye Jiacheng no longer had much interest. Using words that Mr.Ye had said in the past, his father had always compared him with Yi Pei, so he especially didn’t want to work with Yi Mao Real Estate.
Later, Mr.Ye rarely designed residential buildings. Tianmei Jia Park was his most ideal concept of home, so when the market opened on Tianmei Jia Park, Ye Jiacheng bought the best complex for himself.
Afterwards, he met her, as if it was the mysterious ways of the heavens.
Shi Jian was lost in thought for a long time. She turned. There was an extra black car nearby, with the license plate 06. The car quietly stopped by the curb, dignified and subtle.
……
Shi Jian and Yi Pei sat in an ordinary restaurant beside the road leading to Linxi for a while. The boss came with their tea. Probably because she thought Yi Pei’s aura was excessively powerful, the boss appraised him for a long time before leaving.
Yi Pei leaned back in the ordinary chair of the restaurant. His expression was silent but warm. He cracked a smile and asked, “How have you been recently?”
Many people asked Shi Jian this question. Shi Jian gave a similar reply each time, “Pretty well.”
Yi Pei nodded. He believed her.
Yi Pei had always believed her…… Shi Jian smiled and recalled that Yi Pei was already the executive chairman of Yi Mao. She said a word of congratulations. There was one more thing that she recalled after she woke up. She apologized sincerely to Yi Pei. But it was in the past now; to bring it up was strange.
Shi Jian lowered her head. She reached out for the menu and ordered a few dishes. She had been with Yi Pei in these small restaurants a few times before when she was on a business trip with herself, Zhang Kai, and Yi Pei. Each time it was like she and Zhang Kai were following their high ranking master in plainclothes to an inspection tour.
In that period of time, she had lived with such high hopes. She worked for Yi Pei and thought about how to chase after Ye Jiacheng at the same time. She was living wholly in a fantasy of her own making.
Even though this restaurant wasn’t big, it was very clean and orderly. Not having seen her in two years, Yi Pei watched her, his gaze landing on her neck. There was some kind of diamond pendant there, drooping slightly, dazzling and profound.
Yi Pei reluctantly looked away and said, “Shi Jian.” His ordinary tone had a little bit of resoluteness that had just broken, “Regarding Tianmei Jia Park, let’s make a business deal.”
Shi Jian looked up. Her eyes flashed for a moment.
Yi Pei continued, “An exchange between friends.”
……
Shi Jian returned to work at Yi Mao Real Estate, but not in the general office. She was in the Project Development Department. She was responsible for participating throughout the whole process of the Linxi Project’s Tianmei Jia Park. Afterwards, each day was busy, really busy. She was often so busy that she couldn’t breathe easy, but her body still had her unceasing strength, as if all her energy was being concentrated.
There was a kind of busyness that was enjoyable, so much so that one felt that they were fortunate. Shi Jian felt that she was fortunate. These words sounded like she was lying to herself.
Only, perfect satisfaction existed in this world. There was also near perfect benevolence when one asked for it. There was also a certain kind of happiness. There might be only a little bit of it left, but it could still exist firmly inside the heart and grow roots and sprout. Then it became that sole kind of hope, making the person continue to persevere.
——
Shi Jian returned to work at Yi Mao, and she was even in charge of the Tianmei Jia Park Project…… Zhang Kai was thinking about a question in his more spacious and sparkly office in the Yi Mao general headquarters: if A-Pei still had some feelings that he didn’t want to break off in his heart, wouldn’t making Shi Jian an assistant be more beneficial because she was closer to him then?
Zhang Kai knew some things, and other things he didn’t know.
Tianmei Jia’s market performance broke records. A-Pei had attended the celebration party, but Shi Jian didn’t. A-Pei seemed not to notice. That day, many project managers came up to A-Pei and spoke a few words. Then, everyone took a photo together. Someone mentioned Shi Jian with amusement, “Such an important occasion, but unexpectedly, Manager Shi didn’t even attend. That’s too impolite.”
Too impolite…… Zhang Kai felt the same way. But everyone had secrets kept in their hearts.
That night, A-Pei got drunk. When he returned to the Tangquan residence, he leaned on the sofa with a flushed face. He suddenly said, “I still pressured her……”
A-Pei pressured who?
The Tianmei Jia Park Project had concluded. Shi Jian was transferred and she returned to work as an assistant at the Yi Mao building for three years.
Many years later, Zhang Kai sincerely felt that he had two friends with strong personalities, A-Pei and Shi Jian. If A-Pei’s strength had the ambition of conquering the world, Shi Jian’s strength had the determination to compete against the world.
Time went on. The past Shi Jian had fallen ill for half a year, living inside her own world in confusion. Would she be able to get better in the future? No one knew the answer. Only the future knew.
Really, no one dared say that the thirty-one year old Shi Jian lived poorly. She swapped to a new car, an SUV, and traveled to all kinds of places when she had time. She persevered with exercising everyday. At the annual company checkup, she was healthier than the majority of people. She even took out a loan and bought a 200 square meter complex in Tianmei Jia Park’s Garden Building. She decorated the interior and renovated it entirely by herself.
Only, even if Shi Jian lived so nicely, people still advised her not to live like this.
Every time, she could always tell people with a smile that she was doing great, and there was nothing to complain about. Only, people continued to look at her with sympathetic eyes. She would still say, “That is my own business.”
Her own business. How she wanted to live her life, whether she was happy or not. That was all her own business.
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