As the day of going into the mountains for collective training drew near, Bai Yin hurriedly planted the organic vegetable seedlings she had bought in the flowerbed of the backyard garden.
But there were quite a few white peonies planted in the flowerbed.
Bai Yin plucked a peony, sniffed it, and found it had no scent. She casually threw it into the mud, which made the housekeeper Tang Ka shocked and anxious: "Madam, this one was bought at a high price."
"Oh, is that so?" Bai Yin then backed away two steps in surprise.
Tang Ka heaved a sigh of relief and threw the peony on the ground back into the soil.
If Young Master asked, he would say it fell in the wind and rain last night.
However, as soon as he turned around, he saw Bai Yin pick up a shovel and dig up a whole peony plant cleanly and threw it on the lawn decisively.
Tang Ka was scared out of his wits and cried out in despair: "Madam, what are you doing?!"
Bai Yin poked at the peony's rootstalk with the shovel: "I don't like this flower. It's neither fragrant nor pretty. Transplant them outside the yard."
"You can't. This is a valuable variety. Young Master had the soil specially airlifted from the place of origin to grow them." Tang Ka wiped the sweat from his face and explained, "If transplanted to other soil, they won't adapt and will die!"
"Oh, I didn't know they were so delicate." Bai Yin picked up the shovel again and pulled out another peony plant entirely: "Since they don't thrive here, why not just send them to heaven."
"..."
Tang Ka watched Bai Yin dig up all the peonies in the yard, leaving none. The petals fell into the soil and became fertilizer.
"It's better to plant some organic vegetables, healthy and ecological." Bai Yin planted all the vegetable seeds in the peony flowerbed.
Tang Ka picked up the peony plants and said, "Madam, no matter what, they are also lives. Let me transplant them elsewhere. Whether they can survive depends on their fate."
"Okay, go ahead." Bai Yin tidied up the soil nonchalantly, "Survival of the fittest. If such delicate flowers can't survive, don't force them. Let them go in peace."
Tang Ka's back had gone cold. He didn't know how to explain this to Young Master.
Should he push all the blame onto Madam... No, Madam always treated him well. He couldn't betray her.
Moreover, Young Master seldom came home anyway, and the couple's relationship was not intimate. If he ratted on Madam, this marriage would be in jeopardy!
While Tang Ka was pondering, he suddenly heard the beep of a car horn behind him.
A Maybach stopped at the intersection beside him. Chen Huaixiao in a tailored suit stepped out, casting a piercing, cold gaze at Tang Ka digging in the yard entrance -
"What are you doing?"
Tang Ka quickly hid the peony plant in his hand, but there were still several plants at his feet. As he dodged, he trampled and killed several more peony blossoms.
Later, Tang Ka went back to his room and answered a question on Zhihu - "Has there ever been a moment that made you so desperate you wanted to be reborn?"
Answer: "Right in front of the boss, I trampled and killed two flowers worth hundreds of thousands."
Chen Huaixiao's gaze was as calm as still water. He asked lightly, "I'm asking what you are doing."
Tang Ka: "Madam is planting vegetables in the backyard!"
"I asked what you are doing."
"Madam said organic vegetables are naturally healthy without pesticides from the market."
Chen Huaixiao didn't want to talk to him anymore. His gaze lowered to the peony plants under Tang Ka's feet.
Tang Ka felt like an ant on a hot pan, not knowing whether to stand or walk away.
Chen Huaixiao's voice suddenly became extremely low and sinister: "You destroyed my flowers..."
"It wasn't me!" The frightened Tang Ka immediately decided to sell out Bai Yin without any hesitation: "It was Madam who said she wanted to plant some organic vegetables so that when Young Master comes back, you can eat fresh vegetables, so she..."
Chen Huaixiao's icy face softened slightly as he glanced at the fallen flowers on the ground: "Removed from the flowerbed, they won't live long either."
"So Young Master means..."
"Throw them away."
"What???"
Tang Ka looked at Chen Huaixiao in disbelief.
His face was calm, his long fingers holding an unlit cigarette, but he just stepped on the grass and walked toward the house.
That's it? It's over just like that? These were flowers Young Master had bought at a high price. Just a light "throw them away" without any reaction at all, not even a word of reproach!
Chen Huaixiao returned home to find the room empty, but there were trimmed flower branches in a vase on the table, exuding a faint fragrance.
She had also set up an elegant circular ceramic fish tank with quite a few small goldfish, not expensive varieties, just a few bucks each, the kind that ponds in the yards of southern country towns would have.
A linen blanket was casually draped over the sofa, and the TV was on, with a yoga mat laid out in front of it, playing distant, melodious pan flute music.
He hadn't been home for some time. Bai Yin had cleaned up his cold, icy house into a cozy warmth, thoroughly turning his home into hers, and seemed to be living a very comfortable life.
Indeed, it was a sham marriage. Whether her husband was at home or not did not matter to her at all.
Because she had no feelings for him.
At this moment, Bai Yin's clear voice came from the backyard garden, "Tang Ka, who came?"
Hearing her voice, Chen Huaixiao frowned slightly. Tang Ka understood and said, "No one, Madam. It's me coming inside."
"Oh, make me a cup of tea." Bai Yin languidly drawled, "Use Chen Huaixiao's best Rain Before Dragon Well tea leaves. Make it strong for me. Don't skimp on it."
Tang Ka anxiously replied, "That pot of Rain Before Dragon Well is... Young Master's collectible. He'll notice if even a little is missing."
"Then mix in some bamboo leaf green. He can't tell anyway."
"..."
Tang Ka wiped his sweat and looked at Chen Huaixiao.
Chen Huaixiao showed no displeasure at all on his face. He beckoned for Tang Ka to bring the Rain Before Dragon Well tea leaves over. He sat calmly at the tea table and started brewing tea.
Tang Ka stood beside him to boil water, watching as he washed the Zisha teapot, added a small tea cake, and carefully used the first brew to rinse the tea.
In the past, he had also tried to imitate Young Master's gongfu tea process but could never get it right.
Chen Huaixiao's fingers, beautiful as art, elegantly handled the tea set and leaves. Each movement was so tranquil and graceful, exuding a sense of deep, still waters.
In the garden, Bai Yin impatiently urged: "Tang Ka, it's taking so long to make a cup of tea. I'm dying of thirst."
Even when impatient, the woman's voice had the soft tones of the Wu region dialect, naturally giving a feeling of coquetry that made one's bones tender.
Chen Huaixiao cast a cold, fierce glance at Tang Ka, clearly very displeased.
Tang Ka shuddered, breaking out in cold sweat.
How was Madam's tender voice his fault! Was Young Master jealous over this?
He deeply felt that if the couple continued their cold war, his job as housekeeper of the Chen family would not last long.
Finally, after brewing a cup of tea, Tang Ka took the Zisha teacup outside.
Chen Huaixiao went upstairs to the balcony overlooking the garden where Bai Yin was.
Bai Yin wore a loose, creamy white robe, often worn when she danced in the southern country town.
The loose style enveloped her petite figure. The hemline had exquisite embroidered cloud patterns, probably hand-stitched by her.
She was fiddling with the vegetable seedlings in the flowerbed, carefully digging soil to plant them well. Her fair fingers were tipped with light pink nail polish. Her hair was tied in a braid draped by her ear.
It had been a long time since he last saw her dressed so gracefully. Ever since they married, in front of him she was either sexy or bewitching...
No matter which style she took, Chen Huaixiao appreciated and craved her.
The one he couldn't let go, in the end, was himself.
Tang Ka brought the teacup to Bai Yin: "Madam, please drink slowly."
Bai Yin took the brewed tea. Her tender lips sipped once. Suddenly she paused, subconsciously looking up toward the balcony on the second floor.
The balcony was empty without a shadow.
She frowned slightly.
Tang Ka asked, "What's wrong, Madam?"
"Nothing. The tea brewing skills have improved."
...
After Bai Yin finished planting the vegetable seedlings, she went back to her room.
The room was empty, and the gongfu tea set used earlier had also been cleaned spotless.
It was as if he had not come back at all.
But Bai Yin still felt the lingering aura of the man.
She knew Tang Ka's tea brewing skills. The tea was bitter and astringent, with dregs in it.
But the cup just now was mellow and rich, with a subtle texture, leaving a lingering aftertaste after swallowing.
Only Chen Huaixiao could brew such a sweet aftertaste tea.
Of course, there was an even more important reason -
When Tang Ka brewed tea for her, he would never let it cool first but always brought a scalding hot cup, burning her lips many times.
She used to drink well water and developed the bad habit of drinking without checking the temperature, just taking it and drinking it. Only Chen Huaixiao knew about this filthy habit of hers.
Bai Yin sat down on the cushion next to where he had just sat at the tea table. She casually picked up a Zisha teapet and fiddled with it for a while.
So he came home just to make her a cup of tea?
Bai Yin lazily sprawled on the straw mat.
Whatever. To him, this home was just like a hotel anyway.
Come and go as he pleased. Bai Yin didn't care at all.
...
At night, Bai Yin lay in the two-meter wide bed, idly browsing Weibo on her phone.
There was no new news. Assassin was trending every day, gaining a lot of box office from massive marketing campaigns, at the height of Su Anning's glory.
Bai Yin knew it would take some time to pull her down.
She was in no hurry.
After waiting so many years, a day or two didn't matter. Let her enjoy the limelight for now.
Sun Lili did send Bai Yin a text: "Dear, sleep early tonight, don't stay up late. We're setting off at 6 am tomorrow."
Bai Yin: "That early?"
Sun Lili: "Yes, we're going into the mountains!"
Bai Yin put her phone down. Thinking that she would be away for three months this time, plus the recent period, she wouldn't see Chen Huaixiao for four months.
Not seeing him, so what? It wasn't like she missed him.
Bai Yin pulled the quilt over her head, forcing herself to sleep.
After closing her eyes to sleep for half an hour, she impatiently flipped open the soft quilt and sat up, looking at her messy hair in the dressing mirror.
The spring wildcat cried again outside.
The more she forced herself to sleep, the more awake she was.
She wandered casually around the house and walked into Chen Huaixiao's study.
Moonlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the room in clear brilliance. Bai Yin roamed barefooted. Her soft skirt brushed past the half-height vase.
Her fingers stroked the bottles and jars on the shelves, antique silverware. Whenever she came across a liked jade or stone trinket, she slipped it into her pocket.
Passing the desk, she saw their photo together in the old town.
It was still here.
Bai Yin casually picked up the photo frame.
She rummaged around the study, picked out a few antique jade and stone ornaments, a exquisitely styled lighter, didn't find anything particularly valuable.
Passing the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, Bai Yin noticed the safe embedded in the wall.
There should be some fun stuff in the safe.
Bai Yin was immediately interested. She opened the bookshelf and tried random passwords on the safe - 888, 666 a few times, all wrong passwords.
She thought for a moment, and input Chen Huaixiao's birthday on the dial, but still wrong.
Bai Yin randomly entered her own birthday. Click, correct password, the door opened!
???
She pulled open the safe door in surprise.
The safe was empty, only... a handkerchief in light white.
No cash, no gold bars?
Clutching at the last shred of hope, Bai Yin took out the handkerchief.
As the safety deposit box was so exquisitely made, Bai Yin had expected it to contain some ultra-luxurious designer silk scarf. However, disappointing her, it was just a very ordinary silk handkerchief that looked quite old.
Bai Yin sighed, about to throw the handkerchief back into the box, when she suddenly realized this silk scarf looked familiar. The pink cherry blossom branches on it...wasn't this the one she had sold to Chen Huaixiao for 30 yuan years ago!
...
Bai Yin walked out of the study room waving the handkerchief and gave Tang Ka a call: "Are you asleep? Come over now."
Tang Ka's voice trembled: "Madam!!! Are you sure???!!!"
"I'm sure. You have ten minutes."
After that, Bai Yin hung up the phone. Barefoot, she went to the dressing room and casually took out a backless black dress to change into.
Ten minutes later, Tang Ka was waiting at the door. Seeing the woman emerge gracefully in a black dress, her exquisite features veiled in the hazy night, he turned pale even though her expression was impassive. Voice trembling, he said, "Madam, you...reconsider this. If the young master finds out, I'll be dead."
"Don't worry, I'm here." Bai Yin's voice was calm in the night: "Bring the Bentley around."
"Drive the car?"
"Take me to Chenshi Media."
Tang Ka was stunned for a moment, then heaved a sigh of relief tinged with faint disappointment: "I'll be right there, Madam. Please wait a moment."
He quickly drove the Bentley out of the garage and stopped in front of Bai Yin.
Bai Yin got in. The dim nightlights cloaked her aloof beauty. Though her face was expressionless, she was so beautiful it was hard to look at her directly.
"Tang Ka, sorry to trouble you so late at night." The woman's voice was slightly hoarse in the darkness, languid and seductive.
Tang Ka said, "It's nothing. The young master and madam have a deep conjugal bond. Madam is leaving tomorrow, so it's only right to see the young master again."
A deep conjugal bond? That was debatable.
Bai Yin was simply fired up by the wicked spark from the Longjing tea this afternoon...
...
Not just anyone could enter the penthouse where Chen Huaixiao lived. With a key card that granted access to the main door and top floor, Bai Yin easily entered his room after taking the elevator up.
Chen Huaixiao never spent his nights alone. If not racing cars, he would be at the club. But tonight he was obediently staying in the penthouse.
As Bai Yin pushed open the door, she smelled the soporific essential oil Chen Huaixiao had lit on the table.
After a tiring day at work, it was hard for him to fall asleep at night, so he would light the essential oils to aid sleeping.
The fragrance was deep and lingering. According to Assistant Shen, it was a small bottle of aromatherapy oil worth tens of thousands, and could indeed quickly lull one to sleep after sniffing it.
Bai Yin took off her shoes and tiptoed into the bedroom.
The man was lying flat on the bed, sleeping as impeccably as he conducted himself when awake, his handsome features untouched by the mundane world, warding others off from a thousand miles away.
Bai Yin's slender, smooth fingertips brushed lightly over his chiseled eyelids.
Chen Huaixiao was very vigilant. At her touch, he immediately woke up.
But before he could see her, Bai Yin placed the thin silk handkerchief embroidered with cherry blossoms over his face.
Smelling the faint fragrance on the handkerchief, Chen Huaixiao did not remove it, letting it rest on his face. "You went through my safe deposit box. To think it held a tattered handkerchief instead of gold bars."
"The gold bars aren't in the safe deposit box but in a secret room on the basement level two. If you want to go in, have Tang Ka open the door for you."
"Got it, bye."
Bai Yin made to leave, but in the next moment, Chen Huaixiao grasped her slender wrist.
He pulled her back. Through the handkerchief, Bai Yin nibbled on his lips as if savoring something.
The next second, the man's hands circled her waist and lifted her onto him.
