The young man knew this and replied, “Hummers are too niche in Japan. I’ll get you a Range Rover soon.”
“Black,” Ye Zhengchen stated.
“No taste!” the young man shot back.
Ye Zhengchen smiled and bent down to open the car door. He checked a hidden spot, then got out and pulled a black bank card from his wallet.
The young man took it, saying, “Just received news that Fujii Ken has a new Chinese female student.”
This is the best breakthrough point.
Ye Zhengchen remained calm and nodded. “What’s her name?”
“Bo Bing.”
The young man sent a coded message, saying the higher-ups wanted Ye to get close to her. “How do I get close?”
“The higher-ups didn’t specify. Content matters more than form.”
Ye understood. “You want me to seduce her?”
“Let me correct that, not me…”
The smile at the corner of his lips stiffened slightly. “This is essentially deceiving and toying with someone’s feelings.”
“You can maintain the right ‘degree’ – make her admire you, trust you unconditionally, but not love you.” He doubted if such a ‘degree’ existed in a woman’s emotional world.
“What if she falls in love with me?”
The young man laughed. “Then you’ll sacrifice a bit of your charm. Consider it serving the country.”
Ye Zhengchen slammed the car door, making it tremble. “Damn, I don’t have such noble patriotic spirit.”
“Mind your image.”
Ye laughed. “I thought this obvious flirtation would make her keep her distance, but unexpectedly, she blushed and giggled charmingly.” He felt helpless and changed the subject. “Unfortunately, in my eyes, Porsche is not ‘irreplaceable’ either.”
“Why?”
“For me, luxury cars are like beautiful women… there’s no most attractive, only more attractive.”
The woman was momentarily stunned, unsure how to respond. An employee from the dealership approached, holding documents and kneeling halfway, speaking in Japanese: “Mr. Ye, please stamp here.”
Ye Zhengchen took out a pure platinum seal, stamped it, and waited as the employee wiped it clean and returned it to its box.
“Are all the procedures done?” he asked, concerned about the woman’s advances.
“Yes, here are your car keys and bank card. I’ve locked your documents in the safe.”
“Thank you!” Ye Zhengchen smiled at the woman. “It was interesting chatting with you. Let’s talk again sometime.”
The woman watched him drive into traffic. The employee who processed the paperwork commented, “Didn’t I tell you? He’s hard to approach.”
“But I clearly felt he was interested in me.”
“Every woman says that, even Yamamoto.”
Ye Zhengchen drove his new car into traffic.
November should have been a season of maple leaves, but this year, only a few were turning red.
A breeze passed, and a red leaf fell, landing on a girl’s shoulder and sliding off. The girl didn’t notice, holding a thin piece of paper and standing on tiptoe, looking around.
The twilight sun shone on her pure face, clean and transparent, without any unnecessary concealment.
Ye Zhengchen couldn’t help but notice a pendant on the girl’s backpack with a barely visible Chinese character. To see it clearly, he stopped the car in front of her.
When he rolled down the window and saw Jin He, he understood why she didn’t wear makeup. Her natural beauty and pure smile made any embellishment superfluous. Learning she was lost and Chinese, he felt a sense of national responsibility and offered to drive her to the supermarket.
After brief pleasantries, she mentioned, “I’m at Fujii Research…” Hearing this made Ye Zhengchen’s heart sink. He looked again at the pendant, engraved with the word “Ice.”
He carefully examined her gaze, clear and transparent, indicating she was a simple-minded girl. If he could choose, he wouldn’t want to act against someone so pure. He noticed her face blush slightly, despite him not having made a move yet.
“Senior brother, please take care of me in the future,” she said, and the intimacy in her voice made him feel comfortable.
“May I ask your name?” he asked, hoping she wouldn’t say what he feared, but she did: “Hello, my name is Bao Bing.”
It was her, and he felt trapped, like the land he had sworn never to set foot on.
Because of the flames, from the moment he donned his military uniform, he had lost his freedom and carried an unshakable mission. Even in sleep, he couldn’t forget that he was a soldier, bound to obey military orders.
The car glided through the streets as he sighed internally, “I’m sorry, I hope I won’t hurt you too deeply… If I could choose, I wouldn’t want to hurt her, but I have no choice.”
In less than half an hour, Xiao Chen returned with a transfer certificate and a thick stack of papers.
Ye Zhengchen’s father reached for the papers, but Xiao Chen switched them to his other hand. “The attending physician isn’t here, but I’ve spoken with the hospital director. All procedures are complete, and we can leave anytime.”
“What is this?” the commander demanded.
“These are copied medical records.”
Upon hearing “medical records,” Ye Zhengchen’s father dropped his hand, prompting Xiao Chen to hand over the documents with both hands.
“Book five tickets to Beijing and contact the main hospital.”
“Yes!” Xiao Chen replied as he looked at me. I understood and took out my ID card, which he received with both hands before heading to book the tickets. Ye Zhengchen’s father sat on the sofa, carefully examining the medical records.
I noticed Ye Zhengchen’s deep gray eyebrows were almost furrowed, and he occasionally looked up at me, as if pondering something.
The hospital room was so quiet you could hear breathing. Two intense gazes were like lasers, almost burning me.
Since there was no avoiding it, I mustered my courage and faced them. “Uncle, Aunt, have you had breakfast? There are some breakfast items here that I just bought.”
“We ate on the plane,” Ye Zhengchen’s mother smiled slightly, her warmth increasing.
Ye Zhengchen tugged my hand, whispering, “Aren’t you hungry? Have something to eat.”
I shook my head quietly. Under such a powerful atmosphere, I could barely breathe, let alone have an appetite.
“I’m hungry and want to eat something.”
I took out the porridge and handed it to him, but he first scooped a spoonful and held it out to me, his mouth lifting with tenderness.
“Help me check if it’s too hot.”
The stern father and gentle mother in the room looked up, astonished. Their expressions proved that this young master Ye’s temperament had nothing to do with them, and that I had completely spoiled him.
Seeing his hand extended with no sign of retreat, I had to open my mouth and swallow the porridge.
The porridge was warm, melting with a soft rice fragrance.
“It’s not hot, just right.”
He used the spoon I had eaten from to scoop another spoonful, eating with relish. “Tastes good.”
I handed him a pastry. “This pastry tastes good too. Try it.”
He bit into it, looking at the dark jujube paste filling. “What is this?”
“Jujube paste.” Noticing his expression, I quickly asked, “Doesn’t it taste good?”
He said nothing and continued eating.
“Zhengchen is a picky eater. He doesn’t eat jujube paste,” his mother explained, her tone neutral. “He doesn’t eat any food mashed into a paste.”
I was stunned. “What about red bean paste? He won’t eat that either?”
“Not a single bite.”
I looked at Ye Zhengchen guiltily.
“What should I call you? Call you Dad?!” Ye Zhengchen was furious. “Do you think I’m your son?! I need your approval to make friends, choose a university, decide my job, and even have a girlfriend… I’m not your soldier, and I’m not my older brother.”
This was the first time I heard him mention his brother, and his parents’ faces changed, revealing grief that hinted at loss.
Ye Zhengchen’s mother’s eyes turned red, her hands trembling.
