Chapter 17 – All This Fuss
Novel Title: 一生之计在于春 (Spring is the Plan of Life)
Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 姚锦夕 (Yao Jinxi -MC), 吴洋 (Wu Yang -ML)
*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Wu Yang, who was driving, remained silent as he navigated the familiar route to his company. Yao Jinxi sat in the passenger seat, staring ahead. He was unsure of what to say. He worried about Xia Ruonan and decided to give her a call.
It seemed that Wang Peng hadn’t contacted Xia Ruonan yet. She found it strange that Yao Jinxi was calling her at this moment. Yao Jinxi repeated several times that she should wait for him at the company, leaving Xia Ruonan puzzled.
Gone was Yao Jinxi’s usual composure and laziness. He was now visibly anxious as he held the phone.
At a red light at an intersection, the car came to a stop.
Suddenly, Wu Yang turned toward him and moved closer. It was in a manner that made Yao Jinxi think he was about to hug him. Yao Jinxi’s eyes widened in surprise. But Wu Yang simply fastened his seatbelt for him and then retreated without a word, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.
This was the first time they had been so speechless with each other.
Yao Jinxi couldn’t resist turning his head to steal a glance at Wu Yang’s profile, wanting to say something. However, Wu Yang’s expressionless demeanour made it impossible for anyone to get close to.
Surprisingly, Yao Jinxi found himself unable to accept this distant version of Wu Yang. What was even more unsettling was that he felt increasingly anxious because of it.
Yao Jinxi turned his head back and took a deep breath. He forced himself to focus on the matter at hand—Xia Ruonan.
It had only taken them about twenty minutes to go from the tea shop to the company. When they arrived downstairs at the office, they were just a few minutes away from the end of the workday. Yao Jinxi tried calling Xia Ruonan again. But she didn’t answer.
He made several more attempts and his eyebrows furrowed deeper with each unsuccessful call.
‘Click.’
The sound of the door unlocking rang out as Wu Yang unfastened his seatbelt. He opened the car door and prepared to step out. Yao Jinxi instinctively grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?”
“You can’t get through to her on the phone, right?” Wu Yang said. “I’ll go up and check.”
Yao Jinxi replied with an understanding “Oh” and was about to release his grip when he suddenly remembered something. “You’re on leave right now. Isn’t it inappropriate to go up at this time?”
Wu Yang looked at him and smiled. “Aren’t you worried about her?”
With that, he turned and got out of the car.
Yao Jinxi watched as Wu Yang crossed the street under the scorching sun and entered the company’s entrance. After a while, he received a call from Wu Yang.
“The Network Department is having a meeting inside. I’ll wait here for her to come down. You can sit in the car for a while. Don’t turn off the air conditioning,” Wu Yang explained on the phone.
Without further ado, he hung up.
In reality, Yao Jinxi thought to himself that what could possibly happen to Xia Ruonan while she’s still in the office? He scolded himself for getting unnecessarily anxious and felt that he was troubling Wu Yang.
After all, Wu Yang had absolutely no connection to this matter. His involvement had been overly considerate and generous. He was going out of his way to help.
The meeting in the Network Department lasted for over half an hour. Yao Jinxi finally saw Wu Yang and Xia Ruonan coming down. He quickly got out of the car.
“Are we going out to eat together?” Xia Ruonan, not understanding the situation, followed Yao Jinxi into the backseat and continued to speculate, “Wu Yang, is today your birthday?”
Wu Yang adjusted the rearview mirror without much enthusiasm and replied, “No.”
“So what’s going on? Why all the secrecy?” Xia Ruonan took out her phone to check. She realised she had several missed calls from Wang Peng. “Oh, Wang Peng called multiple times. I put my phone on silent during the meeting, so I didn’t hear it.”
She was about to return the call when Yao Jinxi nervously stopped her. “Ruonan, let me explain first.”
Xia Ruonan blinked and said, “Go ahead.”
Wu Yang started the car and glanced at Yao Jinxi through the rearview mirror. “Should we go to the hotel first?”
Yao Jinxi absentmindedly agreed, “Oh, okay.” Then, he turned his attention to Xia Ruonan and began to explain what had happened today. He left out the part about the fight. His explanation wasn’t detailed. But coming from him, the words carried enough impact to stun Xia Ruonan.
Because Xia Ruonan knew that Yao Jinxi would never lie. She had no doubts about his words. She believed him even more than if she had witnessed it herself. However, this also meant that she had to believe that her boyfriend of five years had betrayed her.
Xia Ruonan had been fully committed to this relationship, believing that he was the same too. They were supposed to get married and have children, regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl, to provide a warm home for their child.
“Ruonan?” Yao Jinxi touched her face with concern, realising how cold it was. He then hugged her with a heavy heart. “It’s okay. Whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”
Xia Ruonan hesitated for a moment. She then gently asked, “Can I call him?”
Feeling somewhat helpless, Yao Jinxi nodded. “You can. But for now, don’t go back. You know Wang Peng’s temperament. He can be impulsive. I’m worried about you meeting him alone.”
With his approval, Xia Ruonan hesitated for a while before dialling the number. She held the phone to her ear and, after a brief pause, softly said, “Hello?”
She waited for the person on the other end to speak. Her expression immediately changed. She unconsciously gripped Yao Jinxi’s hand tightly and whispered, “Excuse me… Who is this? Where is Wang Peng?”
Yao Jinxi winced as her grip became painful. But Xia Ruonan’s lifeless expression worried him even more. Since the initial exchange, Xia Ruonan hadn’t said another word. It was evident that she was listening to the person on the other end of the line, who was speaking at length. Yao Jinxi, with his keen hearing, could only distinguish that it was a woman’s voice.
Xia Ruonan’s voice, filled with tension, finally spoke again, “Alright, I understand. Goodbye.”
Yao Jinxi watched silently as she ended the call. Her hand covered her eyes and tears streamed down her face. He put his arm around her shoulder, allowing her to rest her head against his neck.
Time seemed to have turned back to many years ago when they were children. Xia Ruonan had been terrified by the violent fights between her parents and had sought refuge in the home next door, where Yao Jinxi was like an older brother, comforting her.
After all these years, they had grown into adults. But they still yearned for things they couldn’t have. In the end, they were just as powerless as they were when they were children.
Wu Yang had remained quiet throughout the entire ordeal. Now, he finally handed a pack of tissues to the backseat without looking back and continued to play the role of the unnoticeable driver.
The entire car was filled with the low sobs of Xia Ruonan.
They arrived at the hotel’s parking lot. The three of them took the elevator to the lobby on the first floor. Wu Yang’s VIP status proved especially useful at this moment. He was able to obtain the room card at the front desk and proceed to their room directly.
Their room happened to be next to Wu Yang’s, numbered 1707. Wu Yang made a request at the front desk to have three meals sent to room 1708 later. He then led the two emotionally drained individuals upstairs.
The room was the same as the one Wu Yang had been staying in. It was a spacious suite with a living room and a bedroom, identical in layout.
As soon as he entered, Wu Yang fetched two bottles of mineral water from the refrigerator and placed them in front of the two sitting on the couch. “Have some water first. I’ll go next door for a moment.”
Yao Jinxi understood that Wu Yang was giving them some alone time and appreciated his subtle consideration. “Alright… Thank you.”
Wu Yang nodded and headed out of the room, leaving Yao Jinxi and Xia Ruonan in the suite.
“No need to worry. You can call me if you need anything. Or you can call the front desk directly,” Wu Yang said with a smile, pointing to the phone on the coffee table. “The phone is right there. I’ll be next door.”
After Wu Yang left, Yao Jinxi remained silent. There was nothing he could say at this moment. Xia Ruonan, on the other hand, started to stare blankly into space between her tears. She would cry for a while and then drift into a state of numbness, only to resume crying shortly after.
Yao Jinxi sat quietly beside her. He could understand Xia Ruonan’s feelings. This wasn’t just about a simple boyfriend. It was about what she thought was her whole life.
Suddenly, Xia Ruonan said, “I’m sorry…”
Yao Jinxi, jolted by her words, leaned closer and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s all my fault,” Xia Ruonan said, holding her face and shaking her head. “I’m sorry.”
She was completely immersed in her own emotions. This apology wasn’t directed at Yao Jinxi. She had grown accustomed to apologising and also to step back and accommodate others. She did that thinking that it would maintain the status quo. Even when the woman on the other end of the phone call criticised her casually, she could only say these words when her emotions collapsed.
Yao Jinxi’s heart ached. Apart from holding her, there was nothing else he could do. He repeated softly, “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay…”
Originally meant to be comforting, even Yao Jinxi’s voice sounded numb. Life had tossed them around so much that they seemed to have lost their direction.
He also felt like crying. But he didn’t know why he felt that way.
The exhausted couple was reminded by the doorbell. They finally realised that the outside sky had gradually darkened. Yao Jinxi stood up, rubbed the sides of his nose, and turned on the lights while heading to the door.
“Hello. Meals for 1708,” the hotel had prepared a meal according to the chef’s recommendations for the evening since Wu Yang hadn’t specified any particular dishes. They had brought it on a two-tiered serving trolley.
Yao Jinxi, searching his wallet, asked while approaching the door, “How much is it?”
The server, who was about to leave, paused upon hearing this question. He wore a professional smile. “This will be charged to your room card. You can place the trolley in the corridor after you finish your meal. We will come to collect it.”
“Oh… thank you,” Yao Jinxi was impressed by the hotel’s service. He turned to Xia Ruonan and said, “Ruonan, you should eat something.”
In reality, Yao Jinxi understood that Xia Ruonan didn’t want to eat anything at the moment. However, based on his personal experience, he knew that allowing emotions to sink lower and doing nothing at a time like this would only make the situation worse.
Fortunately, Xia Ruonan listened to him and sat down at the table. But she seemed uninterested in the food. Yao Jinxi then called Wu Yang to come over for dinner.
Coming over from the adjacent room, Wu Yang didn’t show any signs of being affected by the emotions of the two. “I’m sorry. But I thought you might not want to go out for dinner. So I took the liberty of ordering a meal for you.”
Sitting across from him, Yao Jinxi smiled helplessly, “No. This works out perfectly. If it weren’t for you, we might have forgotten to eat.”
Seeing him looking almost weak, Wu Yang expressed concern, “Are you okay? You had heatstroke earlier. Are you still feeling uncomfortable now?”
“I’m okay…” Yao Jinxi poked at the rice, his drooping eyelids showing signs of fatigue.
At this moment, Xia Ruonan put down her chopsticks and took a deep breath, “I think I should break up with Wang Peng.”
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*Author’s Note: I want to have a home~ [whoops] -YXF
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*Translator’s Note: Give me a Wu Yang too…. -K
Next update: 2023.10.15
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